Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Locating, collecting, and maintaining colonies of fungus-farming ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini)

The fungus-farming ants (Myrmicinae: Attini: Atta species group; herein referred to as “attine” ants, sensu Ward et al. (2015) are a monophyletic group, exclusively New World and primarily Neotropical in distribution, consisting of >250 described species as well as many more awaiting discovery and description (Brandão & Mayhé-Nunes, 2001; Schultz & Meier, 1995; Schultz & Brady, 2008; Schultz et al., 2005; Sosa-Calvo et al., 2013). As far as is known, all fungus-farming ants obligately depend upon the cultivation of basidiomycete fungi (Agaricales: Leucocoprineae and Pterulaceae) for food (Barrer & Cherrett, 1972; Chapela et al., 1994; Cruz & Filho, 1993; Dentinger et al., 2009; Fisher et al., 1994; Heim, 1957; Hervey et al., 1977; Möller, 1893; Mueller et al., 1998; Munkacsi et al., 2004; Quinlan & Cherrett, 1979; Weber, 1955). In return, the ants provide their fungal cultivars with nourishment, dispersal, and protection from competing and pathogenic microbes (Currie & Stuart, 2001; Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe methods developed by generations of attinologists for locating, collecting, and maintaining in the laboratory live colonies of fungus-farming ants. Our goal is to accelerate the study of the poorly known and increasingly threatened non-leaf-cutting species of this fascinating and biologically important group because leaf-cutting ants have historically received the majority of scientific attention. We describe standardized measurement and data collection protocols in three sections: (i) locating fungusfarming ants in the field; (ii) collecting whole colonies of fungusfarming ants; and (iii) maintaining living colonies of fungusfarming ants in the laboratory. We provide lists of necessary equipment and materials, including information on where they can be acquired. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects
Impacts of a Tax Elimination on Consumption of Food and Agricultural Products in Brazil

The present paper has used a Computable General Equilibrium Model to analyze the impact of a tax eliminating policy at the final consumption of food and agricultural goods, which constitute the largest part of the consumption basket of lower income classes. The impact on government revenue was also evaluated by considering a transfer of income from higher income classes simulating a progressive income tax. The withdrawal of taxes shows a positive impact on the economic well-being of households in aggregate form, despite a fall in the government’s economic well-being. After triggering the transfer of resources from the higher income classes, the reestablishment of government accounts with a decrease in subtle well-being is highlighted, with an effective income redistribution policy.
Impact of Aging on the Phenotype of Invariant Natural Killer T Cells in Mouse Thymus

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells represent a subclass of T cells possessing a restricted repertoire of T cell receptors enabling them to recognize lipid derived ligands. iNKT cells are continuously generated in thymus and differentiate into three main subpopulations: iNKT1, iNKT2, and iNKT17 cells. We investigated the transcriptomes of these subsets comparing cells isolated from young adult (6–10 weeks old) and aged BALB/c mice (25–30 weeks of age) in order to identify genes subject to an age-related regulation of expression. These time points were selected to take into consideration the consequences of thymic involution that radically alter the existing micro-milieu. Significant differences were detected in the expression of histone genes affecting all iNKT subsets. Also the proliferative capacity of iNKT cells decreased substantially upon aging. Several genes were identified as possible candidates causing significant age-dependent changes in iNKT cell generation and/or function such as genes coding for granzyme A, ZO-1, EZH2, SOX4, IGF1 receptor, FLT4, and CD25. Moreover, we provide evidence that IL2 differentially affects homeostasis of iNKT subsets with iNKT17 cells engaging a unique mechanism to respond to IL2 by initiating a slow rate of proliferation.
Response of vegetation to fire disturbance: short-term dynamics in two savanna physiognomies

Fire is a constitutive ecological force in savanna ecosystems, but few studies have monitored its short-term effects on plant community dynamics. This study investigated changes in plant diversity in the South American savanna (Cerrado) after severe disturbance by fire. We monitored 30 permanent plots (10 m × 5 m) distributed in two Cerrado physiognomies (tipico: more forested; ralo: grass-dominated), being 10 plots in the area disturbed by fire, and five in a preserved control area (undisturbed). From August 2010 to June 2011, we evaluated changes in species richness, abundance and composition of savanna vegetation. Monitoring started one week after the fire; disturbed plots were surveyed monthly, while control plots were surveyed every two months. We observed rapid reassembling in both physiognomies: plots affected by fire showed rapid increase in species richness and plant density during the first four months after the disturbance. Concerning species composition, disturbed plots in the cerrado tipico tended to converge to control plots after one year, but each local assemblage followed particular temporal trajectories. A different pattern characterized cerrado ralo plots, which showed heterogeneous trajectories and lack of convergence between disturbed and control plots; the structure of these assemblages will likely change in next years. In conclusion, our results showed that fire significantly affected plant diversity in the two savanna physiognomies (cerrado tipico and ralo), but also indicated that community reassembling is fast, with different dynamics between Cerrado physiognomies.
Electromagnetic shower generation with Graph Neural Networks

In this work, we propose an approach for electromagnetic shower generation on a track level. Currently, Monte Carlo simulation occupies 50-70% of total computing resources that are used by physicists experiments worldwide. Thus, speedup of the simulation step allows to reduce simulation cost and accelerate synthetic experiments. In this paper, we suggest dividing the problem of shower generation into two separate issues: graph generation and tracks features generation. Both these problems can be efficiently solved with a cascade of deep autoregressive generative network and graph convolution network. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the application of graph neural networks to the generation of a complex recursive physical process.
Antioxidant enzymes and antioxidant activity in two soursop selections (Annona muricata L.) from Nayarit,Mexico stored at 15 °C

Abstract The changes in concentration of vitamin C, enzymatic and antioxidant activity during the ripening of two soursop selections (G1 and G2) at room temperature (22 ºC) and refrigeration (15 ºC) with an HR 85% were evaluated. The content of soluble protein, the activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), the concentration of vitamin C, as well as the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP methods. The initial soluble protein concentration of the G1 and G2 selections diminished at 22 and 15 °C during ripening. Fruits stored at 22 °C showed the highest CAT activity. The maximum activity of SOD was recorded on the sixth and fourth day in fruits stored at 22 and 15 ºC, respectively. Fruits stored at 22 °C recorded the highest amount of vitamin C. Fruits stored at 22 and 15 ºC showed the highest antioxidant activity on the fourth day. The fruits stored at 15 ºC was able to increase the shelf life up to 8 days without affecting the ripening process. Therefore, the enzymatic and antioxidant activity has an important role in the possible alteration that the fruit might suffer during its fruit ripening.
Trends in Runoff From Dryland, Cropped Fields on the Texas High Plains, and Implications for Their Management

Capturing precipitation as soil moisture is essential for successful dryland crop production, especially in semi-arid regions. Runoff is a loss of precipitation that does not result in increased soil moisture. Therefore, understanding the factors affecting runoff from cropped fields is important to successful dryland farming. Runoff frequency and volume were assessed using data from 1990 to 2009 from a long-term wheat-sorghum-fallow rotation near Bushland, Texas (USA), an area with an annual precipitation of ~500 mm and pan evaporation rate of over 2,000 mm. The likelihood that a rainfall event generated runoff increased with increasing rainfall volume such that all storms in excess of 50 mm yielded runoff. Runoff volume also increased with storm intensity. Rainfall in the preceding week was positively related to runoff volume. Runoff tended to be greater in no-till plots as compared to stubble mulched plots. During El Nino phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation the number of precipitations during the months of December through February tended to be higher. During La Nina phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation the number of precipitations during the months of November through January, respectively, tended to be lower. There also was a tendency for rainfall events during the El Nino phase to be of greater volume. However, the data did not support the hypothesis that greater winter rainfall with the El Nino event was associated with greater runoff. Therefore, greater rainfall during the El Nino phases should have been available for crop production. These results are discussed with regarding crop management practices for the Texas High Plains.
Integrating prediction errors at two time scales permits rapid recalibration of speech sound categories

Speech perception can be derived from internal models of how speech sounds are systematically associated with sensory features. When features associated with a speech sound change, the listener should recalibrate its internal model by appropriately weighing new versus old evidence in a volatility dependent manner. Models of speech recalibration have classically ignored volatility. Models that explicitly consider volatility have been designed to describe the behavior of human participants in tasks where sensory cues are associated with arbitrary experimenter defined categories or rewards. In that setting, a model that maintains a single representation of the category but continuously adapts the learning rate works well. We argue that recalibration of existing “natural” categories is better described by a model that represents sound categories at different time scales. We illustrate our proposal by modeling the rapid recalibration of speech categories reported by Lüttke et al. (2016).
The Perception and Use of Social Media by the Parent of Student at University Malaysia Perlis

Communication is very important in an organization as a means of communication with one another. The role of communication is emphasized in an organization as a channel and partnership between partners, lecturers, family members and others. Communication is also important as a tool of socialization and education experienced by an individual to bring him to a person having knowledge of the intricacies of social media. This study was conducted to find out the use and usage pattern of social media among parents of University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). The research method used in this study was a “semi-structural” interview. The data were analysed using thematic method. The results of the analysis found that some categories of social site use among parents are for the purpose of keeping up with current developments; connect with family members, to get information, entertainment, motivation and others. The finding found that Facebook’s good and bad. In the context of relationship with children, some respondent admit that social media has the potential to be platform to monitor children activities.
NÍQUEL EN LA COMPOSICIÓN MINERAL Y EL RENDIMIENTO DE PIMIENTO MORRÓN (Capsicum annuum L.) CULTIVADO EN CASA SOMBRA

Nickel (Ni) is a micronutrient for higher plants; the information about this element and its effects on agricultural crops is scarce. Because of that, horticulture producers in Mexico do not apply Nickel in their production systems. The yield of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Cannon) grown in a shade house with drip irrigation is affected by the application of Ni2+ by altering the nutrimental concentrations in the plant organs. The objective of this study was to evaluate four concentrations of Ni2+ in nutritive solution (NS) (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg L-1) in the mineral composition and yield of bell pepper. The experimental design was complete randomized blocks and four replications. The variables evaluated were the mineral composition of leaves, stems and fruits, along with weight, diameter, length, number and yield of fruits (PF, DF, LF, NF, and RF). The results were analyzed with ANOVA and the averages were compared with the Tukey test (p£0.05). The Ni2+ reduced the concentrations of Cu and Zn in leaves and increased the foliar concentrations of Ni, Fe, Mg, and N in fruits. Although there were no significant differences in yield, highest production (71.32 Mg ha-1) was obtained with 1.0 mg Ni2+ L-1 in the NS, higher by 10.63 Mg ha-1 than that of the treatment without Ni2+ (60.69 Mg ha-1). The nickel was not detected in the fruits, which can be consumed fresh without risks for human health. The application of 1.0 mg Ni2+ L-1 in the NS increased by 14.9% the yield of bell pepper grown in a shade house using drip irrigation.
A Domain-General Cognitive Core Defined in Multimodally Parcellated Human Cortex

Numerous brain imaging studies have identified a domain-general or “multiple-demand” (MD) activation pattern that is associated with many tasks and may play a core role in cognitive control. Though this finding is well established, the limited spatial localization provided by traditional imaging methods has precluded a consensus regarding the precise anatomy, functional differentiation and connectivity of the MD system. To address these limitations, we used data from 449 subjects from the Human Connectome Project (HCP), with cortex of each individual parcellated using neurobiologically grounded multi-modal MRI features. The conjunction of three cognitive contrasts reveals a core of 10 widely distributed MD parcels per hemisphere that are most strongly activated and functionally interconnected, surrounded by a penumbra of 17 additional areas. Outside cerebral cortex, MD activation is most prominent in the caudate and cerebellum. Comparison with canonical resting state networks shows MD regions concentrated in the fronto-parietal network but also engaging three other networks. MD activations show modest relative task preferences accompanying strong co-recruitment. With their distributed anatomical organization, mosaic functional preferences, and strong interconnectivity, we suggest that MD regions are well positioned to integrate and assemble the diverse components that make up cognitive operations. Our more precise delineation of MD regions provides a basis for refined analyses of their functions and interrelations.
Admission Levels of Interleukin 10 and Amyloid β 1–40 Improve the Outcome Prediction Performance of the Helsinki Computed Tomography Score in Traumatic Brain Injury

Background: Blood biomarkers may enhance outcome prediction performance of head computed tomography scores in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Objective: To investigate whether admission levels of eight different protein biomarkers can improve the outcome prediction performance of the Helsinki computed tomography score (HCTS) without clinical covariates in TBI. Materials and methods: Eighty-two patients with computed tomography positive TBIs were included in this study. Plasma levels of β-amyloid isoforms 1–40 (Aβ40) and 1–42 (Aβ42), glial fibrillary acidic protein, heart fatty acid-binding protein, interleukin 10 (IL-10), neurofilament light, S100 calcium-binding protein B, and total tau were measured within 24 h from admission. The patients were divided into favorable (Glasgow Outcome Scale—Extended 5–8, n = 49) and unfavorable (Glasgow Outcome Scale—Extended 1–4, n = 33) groups. The outcome was assessed 6–12 months after injury. An optimal predictive panel was investigated with the sensitivity set at 90–100%. Results: The HCTS alone yielded a sensitivity of 97.0% (95% CI: 90.9–100) and specificity of 22.4% (95% CI: 10.2–32.7) and partial area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic of 2.5% (95% CI: 1.1–4.7), in discriminating patients with favorable and unfavorable outcomes. The threshold to detect a patient with unfavorable outcome was an HCTS > 1. The three best individually performing biomarkers in outcome prediction were Aβ40, Aβ42, and neurofilament light. The optimal panel included IL-10, Aβ40, and the HCTS reaching a partial area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic of 3.4% (95% CI: 1.7–6.2) with a sensitivity of 90.9% (95% CI: 81.8–100) and specificity of 59.2% (95% CI: 40.8–69.4). Conclusion: Admission plasma levels of IL-10 and Aβ40 significantly improve the prognostication ability of the HCTS after TBI.
Potential of Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) Leaf Extract on Immune Proliferation Response in Balb/c Mice Infected with Salmonella typhimurium

Background and Objective: Syzygium aromaticum is an immunomodulator with the main active compound eugenol which can stimulate the function of lymphocyte proliferation and macrophage production. Lymphocytes play an important role for body protection against infection. This study aims to analyze the effect of S. aromaticum extract to increase proliferation of lymphocytes, lymphoblasts and macrophage production in Balb/c mice infected with Salmonella typhimurium. Methodology: Mice strain Balb/c were divided into 4 groups: treatment group infected with S. typhimurium and control group (without treatment) to tested the activity of peritoneal macrophages. The treatment group was administrated by S. aromaticum leaf extract (15 mg, 75 mg, 150 mg/kgbw) for 12 days. Results: S. aromaticum leaf extract increased the proliferation activity (p < 0.001) at dose of 15, 75, and 150 mg/kgbw, increased lymphocytes at dose 150 mg/kgbw (p < 0.05), increased the activity of macrophage ROI secretion at dose of 150 mg/kgbw (p < 0.05), and increased in lymphoblast (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Administration of S. aromaticum leaf extract increased the proliferation activity of lymphocytes, lymphoblasts and ROI secretion of macrophagesin Balb/c mice infected with S. typhimurium.
Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase, the Endothelial Basement Membrane, and the WNT Pathway: New Players in Vascular Normalization and Tumor Infiltration by T-Cells

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are major players in the immune-mediated control of cancer and the response to immunotherapy. In primary cancers, however, TILs are commonly absent, suggesting T-cell entry into the tumor microenvironment (TME) to be selectively restricted. Blood and lymph vessels are the first barriers that circulating T-cells must cross to reach the tumor parenchyma. Certainly, the crossing of the endothelial cell (EC) basement membrane (EC-BM)—an extracellular matrix underlying EC—is a limiting step in T-cell diapedesis. This review highlights new data suggesting the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase-3 (SOD3) to be a regulator of EC-BM composition in the tumor vasculature. In the EC, SOD3 induces vascular normalization and endows the EC-BM with the capacity for the extravasation of effector T-cells into the TME, which it achieves via the WNT signaling pathway. However, when activated in tumor cells, this same pathway is reported to exclude TILs. SOD3 also regulates TIL density in primary human colorectal cancers (CRC), thus affecting the relapse rate and patient survival.
Non-stationary and unpredictable data distributions in classification and quantification

DOS REIS, D. M. Non-stationary and unpredictable data distributions in classification and quantification. 2020. 175 p. Tese (Doutorado em Ciências – Ciências de Computação e Matemática Computacional) – Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos – SP, 2020. In the last years, we observed a crescent academic interest on nonstationary data. On the one hand, differences between the data that was used to induce a model and the data that is found after the model is deployed cause a decrease of performance for several tasks, such as classification. On the other hand, in several tasks, such as quantification, we are explicitly interested in measuring how a distribution changes over time. For any of these problems, however, we generally run into solutions that rely on strong assumptions, which are impractical or even impracticable in real world applications. In this thesis, we provide solutions that rely on less restrictive and/or more realistic assumptions in order to allow such methods to be employed in real applications. In the concept drift detection area, we introduce unsupervised drift detection methods that allow for performing classification and quantification without ever requesting true labels after deployment. In the quantification area, we bootstrap a new research topic called one-class quantification. Similarly to one-class classification, in one-class quantification we are able to avoid strong assumptions regarding the negative class, which is deemed unpredictable. Our experimental results are promising and provide favorable evidences about the viability of solutions that are focused on solving real-world problems.