Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parapedobacter pyrenivorans sp. nov., isolated from a pyrene-degrading microbial enrichment, and emended description of the genus Parapedobacter.

A novel pyrene-degrading, Gram-negative bacterium, designated strain P-4(T), was isolated from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading enrichment of polluted soils from a coking chemical plant. Cells of strain P-4(T) were non-motile rods. Strain P-4(T) grew at 15-45 °C (optimum, 37 °C), pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 8.5) and 0-4 % (w/v) NaCl. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain P-4(T) was related phylogenetically to members of the genus Parapedobacter, with sequence similarity of 93.7-95.1 %. The cellular fatty acids of strain P-4(T) were iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1ω9c and/or 10-methyl C16 : 0), anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 3-OH, C16 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G, C16 : 0 3-OH and C17 : 0 2-OH. Cells contained menaquinone 7 as the major quinone. The polyamine of strain P-4(T) was homospermidine, and the main polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and a sphingolipid. The G+C content of the DNA was 45.4 mol%. Strain P-4(T) showed a range of phenotypic characteristics that differentiated it from previously recognized Parapedobacter species, particularly its ability to use pyrene as a sole carbon source for growth and its alkaline optimal pH for growth (pH 8.5). On the basis of these results, it is concluded that strain P-4(T) represents a novel species of the genus Parapedobacter, for which the name Parapedobacter pyrenivorans (type strain P-4(T) = NBRC 109113(T) = CGMCC 1.12195(T)) is proposed. An emended description of the genus Parapedobacter is also provided.
Powerful Pathways Across Race: Sense of Belonging in Discriminatory Collegiate Environments

Title of Document: POWERFUL PATHWAYS ACROSS RACE: SENSE OF BELONGING IN DISCRIMINATORY COLLEGIATE ENVIRONMENTS Justin Fincher, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Assistant Professor Julie J. Park, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education The purpose of this study was to explore potential direct or indirect relationships among discriminatory climate, structural diversity (i.e., compositional diversity), mentorship experiences, socio-cultural discussions, level of involvement onand off-campus, and individual characteristics (e.g., gender, class standing, and socioeconomic status) and how these relationships potentially affect students’ sense of belonging. To understand the individual and shared relationships among these multiple variables, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. Informed by existing research and literature, the proposed model suggests directionality and a specific set of pathways towards the outcome of sense of belonging. The model tested a series of relationships simultaneously to explore significance of specific variable relationships relative to all other variables. The model was applied separately to White, Black, Latino, and Asian racial groups to explore unique findings associated with one’s race. This study builds on previous climate and belonging research and illuminates three key pathways to bolster students’ sense of belonging within discriminatory collegiate experiences. On-campus involvement is the most powerful pathway to a deeper sense of belonging across Asian, Black, Latino, and White students. Additionally, socio-cultural discussions and mentorship prove to be positive supports for belonging and counteract the significant negative effects of discrimination. The pathway for off-campus involvement is not a powerful mediator between a discriminatory climate and belonging, but off-campus experiences that are not connected to discrimination appear to support a greater sense of belonging for some students. Researchers and educators within higher education can use the results of this study to build more complex studies, construct more effective interventions, and raise the level of discourse about students’ sense of belonging in college. POWERFUL PATHWAYS ACROSS RACE: SENSE OF BELONGING IN DISCRIMINATORY COLLEGIATE ENVIRONMENTS
The Moderating Role of Performance in the Link From Interactional Justice Climate to Mutual Trust Between Managers and Team Members

The main goal of this study was to examine the interaction between team members’ performance and interactional justice climate in predicting mutual trust between managers and team members. A total of 93 small centers devoted to the attention of people with intellectual disability participated in the study. In each center, the manager (N = 93) and a group of team members (N = 746) were surveyed. On average, team members were 36.2 years old (SD = 9.3), whereas managers were 41.2 years old (SD = 8.8). The interaction between interactional justice climate and performance was statistically significant. Team members’ performance strengthened the link from interactional justice climate to mutual trust.
The Oscillopathic Nature of Language Deficits in Autism: From Genes to Language Evolution

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders involving a number of deficits to linguistic cognition. The gap between genetics and the pathophysiology of ASD remains open, in particular regarding its distinctive linguistic profile. The goal of this article is to attempt to bridge this gap, focusing on how the autistic brain processes language, particularly through the perspective of brain rhythms. Due to the phenomenon of pleiotropy, which may take some decades to overcome, we believe that studies of brain rhythms, which are not faced with problems of this scale, may constitute a more tractable route to interpreting language deficits in ASD and eventually other neurocognitive disorders. Building on recent attempts to link neural oscillations to certain computational primitives of language, we show that interpreting language deficits in ASD as oscillopathic traits is a potentially fruitful way to construct successful endophenotypes of this condition. Additionally, we will show that candidate genes for ASD are overrepresented among the genes that played a role in the evolution of language. These genes include (and are related to) genes involved in brain rhythmicity. We hope that the type of steps taken here will additionally lead to a better understanding of the comorbidity, heterogeneity, and variability of ASD, and may help achieve a better treatment of the affected populations.
Role of transforming growth factor-beta in the preferential induction of T helper cells of type 1 by staphylococcal enterotoxin B.

Stimulation of murine CD4+ T cells with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) results in the preferential development of T helper (Th) 1 cells [i.e. high interferon (IFN)-gamma and low interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-10]; whereas in response to plate-bound anti-CD3 or anti-T cell receptor-alpha beta, Th1 as well as Th2 cells develop. In the present study, we examined the mechanism which is responsible for the selective Th1 development in the SEB system. The addition of IL-4 resulted in a strong development of Th2 cells showing that SEB stimulation can result in Th2 differentiation. Co-stimulation with anti-CD28 was insufficient in this regard. Lack of Th2 development in the SEB system was in part due to the inhibitory effect of endogenously produced transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), because anti-TGF-beta allowed the development of Th2 cells. Similarly, TGF-beta inhibited Th2 development and stimulated Th1 development in the anti-CD3 system. This shift was only partially prevented by also including IL-4 in the cultures. The effects of TGF-beta could only partially be explained by stimulation of IFN-gamma or inhibition of IL-4 as intermediatory cytokines: (1) TGF-beta stimulated Th1 development even in the presence of anti-IL-4 and anti-IFN-gamma, and (2) a strong inhibitory effect of anti-TGF-beta on Th1 development was still observed when anti-IL-4 and IFN-gamma were simultaneously added to the cultures. It is concluded that SEB favors Th1 development by stimulation of TGF-beta production. Inhibition of Th2 development by TGF-beta is due, in part, to inhibition of IL-4 and stimulation of IFN-gamma, and, in part, to a direct effect of TGF-beta on the responding T cells.
Killing the Beloved: Homicide Between Adult Sexual Intimates

Easteal researches the circumstances and contributing variables surrounding deaths relating to homicide between partners in a domestic relationship. She analyses data from courts and national data sets to determine who is involved, why they resort to homicide, contributing factors, the gender-biased responses of the judiciary, differential sentencing of men and women who commit domestic homicides, and some solutions. Her expressed goal in gathering and interpreting the data is to provide an empirical basis to Australian policy makers and relevant agencies for the prevention of homicides of this type.
The validity and reliability of attending evaluations of medicine residents

Objectives: To assess the reliability and validity of faculty evaluations of medicine residents. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study (2004–2012) involving 228 internal medicine residency graduates at the Medical College of Wisconsin who were evaluated by 334 attendings. Measures included evaluations of residents by attendings, based on six competencies and interns and residents’ performance on the American Board of Internal Medicine certification exam and annual in-service training examination. All residents had at least one in-service training examination result and 80% allowed the American Board of Internal Medicine to release their scores. Results: Attending evaluations had good consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.96). There was poor construct validity with modest inter-rater reliability and evidence that attendings were rating residents on a single factor rather than the six competencies intended to be measured. There was poor predictive validity as attending ratings correlated weakly with performance on the in-service training examination or American Board of Internal Medicine certification exam. Conclusion: We conclude that attending evaluations are poor measures for assessing progress toward competency. It may be time to move beyond evaluations that rely on global, end-of-rotation appraisals.
Spatial view cells and the representation of place in the primate hippocampus

The information represented in the primate hippocampus is being analysed by making recordings in monkeys actively walking in the laboratory. In a sample of 352 cells recorded in this situation, no “place” cells have so far been found. Instead, we have found a considerable population of “spatial view” cells tuned to respond when the monkey looks at small parts of the environment. We have been able to demonstrate (1) that these hippocampal neurons respond to a view of space “out there,” not to the place where the monkey is; (2) that the responses depend on where the monkey is looking, by measuring eye position; (3) that the responses in some cases (e.g., CA1 but not CA3) still occur if the view details are obscured with curtains; (4) that the cells (in, e.g., CA1) retain part of their “space” tuning even in complete darkness, for several minutes; and (5) that the spatial representation is allocentric. The spatial representation is, thus, different from that in the rat hippocampus, in which place cells respond based on where the rat is located. The representation is also different from that described in the parietal cortex, where neurons respond in egocentric coordinates. This representation of space “out there” provided by primate spatial view cells would be an appropriate part of a memory system involved in memories of particular events or episodes, for example, of where in an environment an object was seen. Spatial view cells (in conjunction with whole body motion cells in the primate hippocampus, and head direction cells in the primate presubiculum) would also be useful as part of a spatial navigation system, for which they would provide a memory component. Hippocampus 1999;9:467–480. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Metabolomics diagnostic approach to mustard airway diseases: a preliminary study

Objective(s): This study aims to evaluate combined proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolic profiling approaches, for discriminating between mustard airway diseases (MADs) and healthy controls and for providing biochemical information on this disease. Materials and Methods: In the present study, analysis of serum samples collected from 17 MAD subjects and 12 healthy controls was performed using NMR. Of these subjects, 14 (8 patients and 6 controls) were analyzed by GC-MS. Then, their spectral profiles were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares regression discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Results: A panel of twenty eight metabolite biomarkers was generated for MADs, sixteen NMR-derived metabolites (3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, lactic acid, lysine, glutamic acid, proline, hydroxyproline, dimethylamine, creatine, citrulline, choline, acetic acid, acetoacetate, cholesterol, alanine, and lipid (mainly VLDL)) and twelve GC-MS-derived metabolites (threonine, phenylalanine, citric acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, tyrosine, arachidonic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid). This composite biomarker panel could effectively discriminate MAD subjects from healthy controls, achieving an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of 1 and 0.79 for NMR and GC-MS, respectively. Conclusion: In the present study, a robust panel of twenty-eight biomarkers for detecting MADs was established. This panel is involved in three metabolic pathways including aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, arginine, and proline metabolism, and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, and could differentiate MAD subjects from healthy controls with a higher accuracy.
Is there Progress? An Overview of Selecting Biomarker Candidates for Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) contributes to a significant worldwide disease burden, expected to be second only to heart disease by 2050. However, accurate diagnosis has been a historical weakness in clinical psychiatry. As a result, there is a demand for diagnostic modalities with greater objectivity that could improve on current psychiatric practice that relies mainly on self-reporting of symptoms and clinical interviews. Over the past two decades, literature on a growing number of putative biomarkers for MDD increasingly suggests that MDD patients have significantly different biological profiles compared to healthy controls. However, difficulty in elucidating their exact relationships within depression pathology renders individual markers inconsistent diagnostic tools. Consequently, further biomarker research could potentially improve our understanding of MDD pathophysiology as well as aid in interpreting response to treatment, narrow differential diagnoses, and help refine current MDD criteria. Representative of this, multiplex assays using multiple sources of biomarkers are reported to be more accurate options in comparison to individual markers that exhibit lower specificity and sensitivity, and are more prone to confounding factors. In the future, more sophisticated multiplex assays may hold promise for use in screening and diagnosing depression and determining clinical severity as an advance over relying solely on current subjective diagnostic criteria. A pervasive limitation in existing research is heterogeneity inherent in MDD studies, which impacts the validity of biomarker data. Additionally, small sample sizes of most studies limit statistical power. Yet, as the RDoC project evolves to decrease these limitations, and stronger studies with more generalizable data are developed, significant advances in the next decade are expected to yield important information in the development of MDD biomarkers for use in clinical settings.
CELLULAR SENSITIZATION IN KURU, JAKOB‐CREUTZFELDT DISEASE AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Following intramuscular injection of Kuru and Jakob‐Creutzfeldt brain material into chimpanzees, circulating lymphocytes became sensitized to scrapie mouse brain (and spleen) to a greater degree than to normal tissue. This sensitization subsided after about a month, to be followed some 90 days later by a secondary peak attributed to establishment of changes in the nervous system. Special sensitization to scrapie material occurs in Kuru and Jakob‐Creutzfeldt disease, but is not specific to them. The immunological evidence suggests that parenchymatous destruction may precede astroglial hypertrophy in these diseases. An early peak occurred in animals inoculated with multiple sclerosis brain and normal brain, but neither showed a delayed second peak. Thus there was no evidence of establishment of infection, even though all four animals were in intimate contact for over 200 days, and no evidence of the injection of MS material itself having established an infection. Biohazards in Kuru, Jakob‐Creutzfeldt and MS work appear to be very low. The significance of the increased sensitization to scrapie material in Kuru and Jakob‐Creutzfeldt disease, especially in relation to normal ageing (where it also increases), is discussed.
Joint-Angle Coordination Patterns Ensure Stabilization of a Body-Plus-Tool System in Point-to-Point Movements with a Rod

When performing a goal-directed action with a tool, it is generally assumed that the point of control of the action system is displaced from the hand to the tool, implying that body and tool function as one system. Studies of how actions with tools are performed have been limited to studying either end-effector kinematics or joint-angle coordination patterns. Because joint-angle coordination patterns affect end-effector kinematics, the current study examined them together, with the aim of revealing how body and tool function as one system. Seated participants made point-to-point movements with their index finger, and with rods of 10, 20, and 30 cm attached to their index finger. Start point and target were presented on a table in front of them, and in half of the conditions a participant displacement compensated for rod length. Results revealed that the kinematics of the rod's tip showed higher peak velocity, longer deceleration time, and more curvature with longer rods. End-effector movements were more curved in the horizontal plane when participants were not displaced. Joint-angle trajectories were similar across rod lengths when participants were displaced, whereas more extreme joint-angles were used with longer rods when participants were not displaced. Furthermore, in every condition the end-effector was stabilized to a similar extent; both variability in joint-angle coordination patterns that affected end-effector position and variability that did not affect end-effector position increased in a similar way vis-à-vis rod length. Moreover, the increase was higher in those conditions, in which participants were not displaced. This suggests that during tool use, body and tool are united in a single system so as to stabilize the end-effector kinematics in a similar way that is independent of tool length. In addition, the properties of the actual trajectory of the end-effector, as well as the actual joint-angles used, depend on the length of the tool and the specifics of the task.
An Exploration of Bachelors of Social Work Students' Personal and Professional Perspectives on Spirituality and Religion

iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Vita vi List of Illustrations viii Chapter 1: Statement of Research Topic 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review 5 Chapter 3: Methodology 11 Chapter 4: Findings 21 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Discussion 34 Chapter 6: Implications and Limitations 38 References 43 Appendices 46
The importance of the CXCL12-CXCR4 chemokine ligand-receptor interaction in prostate cancer metastasis.

AIM Chemokines or chemotactic cytokines are known to be important in the directional migration or chemotaxis of leucocytes in conditions of homeostasis and in inflammatory or immunological responses. However, the role of chemokines is extending beyond their involvement in mediating leucocyte trafficking with an increasing body of evidence suggesting these proteins are intimately involved in many stages of tumour development and progression. Our aim was to study the role of the CXCL12:CXCR4 chemokine ligand:receptor complex in determining the organ-specific metastasis of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS CXCR4 mRNA expression was determined by RT-PCR in 3 metastatic prostate cancer cell lines DU145, LNCaP and PC3, the primary prostate cancer cell line 1542 CPT3X and the normal prostate epithelial cell lines 1542 NPTX and Pre 2.8. This was followed by Taqman quantitative PCR analysis of CXCR4 mRNA in these cell lines. Flow cytometry analysis was then used to measure the expression of the CXCR4 receptor protein on the cell surface. The influence of the receptor on cell migration was studied using Transwell, Migration Assays. Finally, Taqman quantitative PCR was performed on RNA obtained from laser microdissected fresh primary prostate tumour and benign tissue samples from patients. RESULTS In DU145, LNCaP and PC3 CXCR4 mRNA expression was approximately 1000, 400 and 21 times respectively that of 1542 NPTX, Pre 2.8 and 1542 CPT3X. In patient primary tumour samples and patient benign tissue specimens CXCR4 mRNA expression was similar to that of the metastatic cell line DU145. Flow cytometry analysis showed that significantly higher levels of the CXCR4 receptor were present on the cell surface of the 3 metastatic cell lines. Migration studies revealed that chemotaxis of the metastatic cell lines PC3 and DU145 was enhanced by CXCL12 ligand and inhibited by antibody to CXCR4. CXCL12 did not influence the migration of the normal prostate epithelial cell line 1542 NPTX. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated that human prostate cell lines derived from metastases express functional CXCR4 receptor and that CXCL12 ligand enhances their migratory capabilities. Also, laser microdissected primary patient tumours and patient benign tissue specimens express CXCR4 mRNA at high levels (it is suggested that post-transcriptional modification of the CXCR4 receptor plays a major role in regulating protein expression). These results suggest prostate cancers may be influenced by the CXCL12:CXCR4 pathway during metastasis. This pathway would provide a novel target for therapeutic intervention.
Predicting Maximum Data Staleness in Real-Time Warehouses ∗

This paper presents an analysis technique for estimating maximum data staleness in a data warehouse that collects “near-real-time” data streams. Data is pushed to the warehouse from a variety of external sources with a wide range of inter-arrival times (e.g., once a minute to once a day). In prior work, ad hoc heuristic algorithms have been proposed for scheduling warehouse updates. In this paper, global mul tiprocessor real-time scheduling algorithms are consider e as an alternative. It is shown that schedulability results c oncerning such algorithms can be used to analytically derive upper bounds on maximum data staleness based upon characteristics of warehouse tables and the parameters of updat e tasks. Simulation experiments are presented that show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Environmental Disclosure, Environmental Performance and Firm Value

the interrelations among environmental performance, environmental disclosure and corporate value, are basic issues of firm environmental behavior. There are different arguments in prior literatures. Based on the investigation of 145 listed chemical firms in China, we obtain results (1) environmental disclosures level is significantly associated with environmental performance; (2) environmental disclosures can not impact firm value significantly.