Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Degradation and Mineralization of Nanomolar Concentrations of the Herbicide Dichlobenil and Its Persistent Metabolite 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide by Aminobacter spp. Isolated from Dichlobenil-Treated Soils

ABSTRACT 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide (BAM), a persistent metabolite from the herbicide 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (dichlobenil), is the pesticide residue most frequently detected in Danish groundwater. A BAM-mineralizing bacterial community was enriched from dichlobenil-treated soil sampled from the courtyard of a former plant nursery. A BAM-mineralizing bacterium (designated strain MSH1) was cultivated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fatty acid analysis as being closely related to members of the genus Aminobacter, including the only cultured BAM degrader, Aminobacter sp. strain ASI1. Strain MSH1 mineralized 15 to 64% of the added [ring-U-14C]BAM to 14CO2 with BAM at initial concentrations in the range of 7.9 nM to 263.1 μM provided as the sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source. A quantitative enzyme-linked immunoassay analysis with antibodies against BAM revealed residue concentrations of 0.35 to 18.05 nM BAM following incubation for 10 days, corresponding to a BAM depletion of 95.6 to 99.9%. In contrast to the Aminobacter sp. strain ASI1, strain MSH1 also mineralized the herbicide itself along with several metabolites, including ortho-chlorobenzonitrile, ortho-chlorobenzoic acid, and benzonitrile, making it the first known dichlobenil-mineralizing bacterium. Aminobacter type strains not previously exposed to dichlobenil or BAM were capable of degrading nonchlorinated structural analogs. Combined, these results suggest that closely related Aminobacter strains may have a selective advantage in BAM-contaminated environments, since they are able to use this metabolite or structurally related compounds as a carbon and nitrogen source.
Survey of Claimed Encounters with the Dead

In a national survey in Iceland, 31 percent of respondents reported “having perceived the presence of a deceased person. ” A multinational Gallup survey conducted in sixteen western countries showed widespread claims of personal contacts with the dead, as well as, considerable national differences. Such experiences were reported most frequently by Icelanders and Italians whereas Norwegians and Danes, considered culturally closest to Icelanders, reported the lowest incidence (9%). In the Iceland survey, interviews were conducted with 127 persons on the nature of these experiences, their relationship with the deceased, the conditions under which these experiences occurred, and various characteristics of the interviewees, as well as, the deceased persons. Attempts were made to test some theories of what may elicit such experiences.
Hysteroscopy as a minimally invasive surgery, a good substitute for invasive gynecological procedures

Background: Hysteroscopy is a safe and high efficient procedure so it is changing to a widespread procedure in dealing with many gynecologic and obstetrical conditions. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutical efficiency of hysteroscopy in managing the common conditions including abnormal uterine bleeding, abortion and infertility. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study to compare hysteroscopy as a minimally invasive approach with conventional laparatomy and hysterectomy or repair of mulerian anomalies and watch the uterine cavity for intrauterine pathology in cases of infertility. Overall 277 women underwent hysteroscopy were evaluated in three groups: with AUB 226 cases, with infertility 34 cases and with recurrent abortions with septate uterus17 cases. The overall success rate was recorded and analyzed after six months in order of indication of hysteroscopy Results: Hysteroscopy as sole diagnostic procedure in 16.5, 8.8 and 14.3%of AUB, infertility and abortion cases, respectively. In AUB cases, curettage, myomectomy, polypectomy and hysterectomy were the main diagnostic-therapeutical approaches along with hysteroscopy. In infertiles, myomectomy, polypectomy were the main diagnostic-therapeutical approaches In abortion group, laparoscopy guided, septum resection adhessiolysis , curettage and myomectomy were the main aproach. There was not any major complication. The diagnostic-therapeutically measures accompanying with the hysteroscopy were successful in 73.5% of the bleeding group and 33.3% of the infertility group in follow-up period. Conclusion: Based on our results, hysteroscopy is a safe, accurate and highly-efficient procedure in managing women with abnormal uterine bleeding, recurrent abortion due to septate uterus
When the Referee Sees Red …

Hill and Barton (2005) showed that wearing red sports attire has a positive impact on one's outcome in a combat sport (e.g., tae kwon do or wrestling). They suggested that this effect is due to an evolutionary or cultural association of the color red with dominance and aggression, proposing that this association triggers a psychological effect in an athlete who wears red (or in his or her opponent; e.g., Cuthill, Hunt, Cleary, & Clark, 1997; Milinski & Bakker, 1990; Setchell & Wickings, 2005). Rowe, Harris, and Roberts (2005) criticized this argument and instead attributed the bias evident in these and other data (judo) to differences in opponents' visibility. We disagree with both interpretations (see also Barton & Hill, 2005), arguing that this phenomenon is actually due to a perceptual bias in the referee. That is, we propose that the perception of colors triggers a psychological effect in referees that can lead to bias in evaluating identical performances. Referees and umpires exert a major influence on the outcome of sports competitions (Plessner & Haar, 2006). Athletes frequently make very rapid movements, and referees have to view sports competitions from a very disadvantageous perspective, so it is extremely difficult for them to make objective judgments (Oudejans et al., 2000). As a result, their judgments may show biases like those found in other social judgments (Frank & Gilovich, 1988; Plessner & Haar, 2006; Ste-Marie & Valiquette, 1996). Therefore, we believe that it is the referees who are the actual cause of the advantage competitors have when they wear red. Because the effect of red clothing on performance and on the decisions of referees may well have been confounded in the original data, we conducted a new experiment and found that referees assign more points to tae kwon do competitors dressed in red than to those dressed in blue, even when the performance of the competitors is identical.
Prognostic Values of microRNAs in Colorectal Cancer

The functions of non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumorigenesis are just beginning to emerge. Previous studies from our laboratory have identified a number of miRNAs that were deregulated in colon cancer cell lines due to the deletion of the p53 tumor suppressor gene. In this study, the in vivo significance of some of these miRNAs was further evaluated using colorectal clinical samples. Ten miRNAs (hsa-let-7b, hsa-let-7g, hsa-miR-15b, hsa-miR-181b, hsa-miR-191, hsa-miR-200c, hsa-miR-26a, hsa-miR-27a, hsa-miR-30a-5p and hsa-miR-30c) were evaluated for their potential prognostic value in colorectal cancer patients. Forty eight snap frozen clinical colorectal samples (24 colorectal cancer and 24 paired normal patient samples) with detailed clinical follow-up information were selected. The expression levels of 10 miRNAs were quantified via qRT-PCR analysis. The statistical significance of these markers for disease prognosis was evaluated using a two tailed paired Wilcoxon test. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was generated followed by performing a Logrank test. Among the ten miRNAs, hsa-miR-15b (p = 0.0278), hsa-miR-181b (p = 0.0002), hsa-miR-191 (p = 0.0264) and hsa-miR-200c (p = 0.0017) were significantly over-expressed in tumors compared to normal colorectal samples. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that hsa-miR-200c was significantly associated with patient survival (p = 0.0122). The patients (n = 15) with higher hsa-miR-200c expression had a shorter survival time (median survival = 26 months) compared to patients (n = 9) with lower expression (median survival = 38 months). Sequencing analysis revealed that hsa-miR-181b (p = 0.0098) and hsa-miR-200c (p = 0.0322) expression were strongly associated with the mutation status of the p53 tumor suppressor gene. Some of these miRNAs may function as oncogenes due to their over-expression in tumors. hsa-miR-200c may be a potential novel prognostic factor in colorectal cancer.
Ahab: A cloud‐based distributed big data analytics framework for the Internet of Things

Smart city applications generate large amounts of operational data during their execution, such as information from infrastructure monitoring, performance and health events from used toolsets, and application execution logs. These data streams contain vital information about the execution environment that can be used to fine‐tune or optimize different layers of a smart city application infrastructure. Current approaches do not sufficiently address the efficient collection, processing, and storage of this information in the smart city domain. In this paper, we present Ahab, a generic, scalable, and fault‐tolerant data processing framework based on the cloud that allows operators to perform online and offline analyses on gathered data to better understand and optimize the behavior of the available smart city infrastructure. Ahab is designed for easy integration of new data sources, provides an extensible API to perform custom analysis tasks, and a domain‐specific language to define adaptation rules based on analysis results. We demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach using an example application for autonomous intersection management in smart city environments. Our framework is able to autonomously optimize application deployment topologies by distributing processing load over available infrastructure resources when necessary based on both online analysis of the current state of the environment and patterns learned from historical data. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Communicating CSR, citizenship and sustainability on the web

Purpose – The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of corporate web sites – of which corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship and sustainable development (CSR/CC/SD) issues are included – which stakeholders are privileged, and which mechanisms of inner and outer control are referred to in these web sites.Design/methodology/approach – A specific tool was developed to monitor the treatment of CSR/CC/SD issues on corporate web sites. Content analysis was applied to the complete spectrum of enterprises within the IBEX‐35, which is the selective index of the Spanish Stock Exchange.Findings – The research reported herein shows that the web has become an essential instrument for the communication of CSR/CC/SD issues, although its use is limited to certain content. There is also a disparity between the volume of information and its dispersion; communication is primarily unidirectional/expositive; and companies do not sufficiently use eternal criteria to guarantee the corporate behaviour .
The self‐efficacy expectations and occupational preferences of females and males

Hackett & Betz (1981) proposed that Bandura's (1977) theory of self-efficacy can provide a useful conceptual framework in which to view the occupational preferences of women. They suggested that, largely due to socialization experiences, women have low self-efficacy expectations in relation to traditionally male occupations, and that this may contribute to women's continued underrepresentation in these occupations. A total of 121 current and prospective university students rated their self-efficacy for, their liking of, and the extent to which they had considered entering, various traditionally male and traditionally female occupations. The females displayed lower self-efficacy than the males for all but one of the traditionally male occupations. The males did not lack self-efficacy in relation to the majority of the traditionally female occupations. However, contrary to expectations, women's lower self-efficacy did not deter them from considering entering traditionally male occupations. The implications of these findings are discussed and some of the assumptions underlying the self-efficacy theory of women's occupational preference are questioned.
Effects of recombinant soluble type I interleukin-1 receptor on human inflammatory responses to endotoxin.

Effects of soluble recombinant human type I interleukin-1 receptor (sIL-1RI) were evaluated in 18 volunteers given intravenous endotoxin and randomized to placebo (n = 6), low-dose (n = 6), or high-dose (n = 6) sIL-1RI. Soluble IL-1RI decreased IL-1 beta (P = .001), but decreased IL-1ra (P = .0001), and resulted in 10-fold and 43-fold dose-related increases in sIL-1RI-IL-1ra complexes compared with placebo (P < or = .001). High-dose sIL-1RI was associated with increased levels of immunoactive tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P = .02), IL-8 (P = .0001), and cell-associated IL-1 beta (P = .047). C-reactive protein levels were higher after sIL-1RI than placebo (P = .035). Soluble IL-1RI decreased the severity of chills (P = .03), but did not alter other symptoms, changes in temperature, systemic hemodynamic responses, or changes in leukocyte and platelet number. Thus, sIL-1RI had no discernable antiinflammatory effect following endotoxin administration due in part to low levels of circulating IL-1 beta and neutralization of IL-1ra inhibitory function. This latter interaction represents an indirect mechanism of agonist activity elicited by sIL-1RI and may contribute to increases in inflammatory mediators, limiting therapy with sIL-1RI during endotoxemia.
Systems models in educational research: a review and realignment in the context of curriculum

System models are commonly used in tertiary education as a mechanism for describing the interacting components of educational phenomena, but have hitherto been uncritically accepted. This paper provides a critical review of existing systems models, including the 3P model defined Biggs, and outlines their conceptual challenges. A revised model developed for curriculum research is presented. The paper would be of interest to those undertaking education-focused research, scholarly teaching practitioners as well as those with an interest in the use of systems models as a framework for educational alignment.
A Multi-Institutional Assessment of Moral Reasoning Development among First-Year Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-curricular experiences, course-taking behaviors, and educational practices that influence the moral reasoning development of 1,469 first-year students at 19 American colleges and universities. Results showed that contexts and practices that encourage students to engage divergent perspectives when approaching a problem or issue are those most conducive to moral reasoning growth. Implications for researchers in higher education and moral psychology are discussed.
The ‘Whalebone’ in the (Social Work) ‘Corset’? Notes on Antonio Gramsci and Social Work Educators

The writings of the Italian philosopher and political activist Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) are neglected in social work, but his complex body of work might aid the profession's understanding in the early twenty‐first century. Social work education, specifically, may have much to gain from Gramsci's theorisation. The focus of this article—perhaps, something of an introduction of Gramsci—will be on his approach to Marxism and his ideas related to ‘common sense’, intellectuals and intellectuality. It will be maintained that Gramsci's contributions on these questions could contribute to social workers' critical reflection during a period of neoliberal inspired transformations.
Evidence for Gene Duplication and Allelic Codominance (not Hierarchical Dominance) at the Mating‐Type Locus of the Ciliate, Euplotes crassus

The high‐multiple mating system of Euplotes crassus is known to be controlled by multiple alleles segregating at a single locus and manifesting relationships of hierarchical dominance, so that heterozygous cells would produce a single mating‐type substance (pheromone). In strain L‐2D, now known to be homozygous at the mating‐type locus, we previously identified two pheromones (Ec‐α and Ec‐1) characterized by significant variations in their amino acid sequences and structure of their macronuclear coding genes. In this study, pheromones and macronuclear coding genes have been analyzed in strain POR‐73 characterized by a heterozygous genotype and strong mating compatibility with L‐2D strain. It was found that POR‐73 cells contain three distinct pheromone coding genes and, accordingly, secrete three distinct pheromones. One pheromone revealed structural identity in amino acid sequence and macronuclear coding gene to the Ec‐α pheromone of L‐2D cells. The other two pheromones were shown to be new and were designated Ec‐2 and Ec‐3 to denote their structural homology with the Ec‐1 pheromone of L‐2D cells. We interpreted these results as evidence of a phenomenon of gene duplication at the E. crassus mating‐type locus, and lack of hierarchical dominance in the expression of the macronuclear pheromone genes in cells with heterozygous genotypes.
Using Dasymetric Mapping to Identify Communities at Risk from Hazardous Waste Generation in San Antonio, Texas

The primary objective of this study is to examine if minorities, the poor, and non-homeowners have a higher potential for exposure than the general population to large-quantity hazardous waste generation in Bexar County, Texas. Results indicate that this is indeed the case: people living near the generators are more often Black non-Hispanic or Hispanic, and more likely to live below the poverty level and not own their own home. Although previous studies conducted in the United States have used states, counties, zip codes, or census tracts as the unit of spatial analysis, we use dasymetric mapping to create population maps at a resolution of 30 m. This allows for the reconfiguration of the areal aggregations chosen for the analysis while preserving its findings. It also reduces, if not eliminates, the effects of the Modifiable Area Unit Problem (MAUP) on the results.
Perceptual asynchrony: motion leads color

It is widely accepted that motion and color are processed in separate brain areas of primates. Numerous studies on monkeys suggest that neural mechanisms responsible for motion processing respond faster than those for color. Recent studies on humans, however, provide contradictory evidence. Is this discrepancy due to a gap between species (animal vs. human), or between measures (neurophysiological vs. behavioral)? To help resolve this issue, event-related potentials were acquired as human participants viewed motion and color stimuli. Results indicated that the physiological response evoked by motion arose earlier than that by color, which is consistent with previous findings in animals. This temporal precedence of motion signal processing over color was corroborated in a parallel behavioral experiment.
Child Maltreatment, Attachment Security, and Internal Representations of Mother and Mother-Child Relationships

Attachment security and internal representations of mothers, and of the mother—child relationship, were examined in an ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged sample of maltreated (N = 92) and nonmaltreated (N = 31) preschool-aged children. Maltreated preschoolers had lower rates of secure attachment and higher rates of disorganized attachment than did nonmaltreated preschoolers. Maltreatment also was associated with less positive global representations of the mother—child relationship relative to the nonmaltreated comparison group. Analyses were conducted to determine whether maltreatment characteristics such as subtype, chronicity, severity, and frequency were associated with attachment organization and with internal representations. Implications of these results for developmental theory and intervention with maltreated children are discussed.
The Impact of Acculturation on the Perception of Academic Achievement by Immigrant Mothers and Their Children

This study investigated the effect of acculturation on definitions and attributions towards children's school achievement. Iranian and Iranian-canadian immigrant mothers and their upper-elementary school children were interviewed about their definitions and attributions about school success and failure. There were significant effects of acculturation on the definitions and attributions of both mothers and children. Definitions of school success and failure held by Iranian mothers and their children were product-based, whereas the immigrant mothers and their children used definitions that were more process-based. While Iranian mothers attributed their children's school performance primarily to `effort', `family' appeared to be the most frequent attribution held by Iranian-canadian immigrant mothers. The Iranian children consistently attributed academic success and failure to `effort', whereas the immigrant children's responses were variable, demonstrating acculturation to Western belief systems. The findings demonstrate how acculturation influences mothers' and children's beliefs about school achievement through the process of immigration. Implications for theory are discussed.
Enhanced expression of adenovirus-mediated sodium iodide symporter gene in MCF-7 breast cancer cells with retinoic acid treatment.

UNLABELLED Increased expression of the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) is required for effective radioiodine treatment and reporter gene imaging of breast cancer. We investigated the effect of retinoic acid on adenovirus-mediated expression of the human NIS gene in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. METHODS The MCF-7 cell line was infected with recombinant adenovirus carrying the human NIS gene (Rad-NIS). Levels of NIS messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression and radioiodine ((125)I) uptake were measured to evaluate adenovirus-mediated NIS gene expression in wild-type and Rad-NIS-infected MCF-7 cells after treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA; 10(-8)-10(-6) mol/L). RESULTS The transduction efficiency of adenovirus in MCF-7 cells at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 50 was >60%. After incubation with 10(-6) mol/L ATRA, the mRNA level in Rad-NIS-infected MCF-7 cells increased to 118.5 times that of wild-type MCF-7 cells, whereas the mRNA level in wild-type MCF-7 cells showed only a 2.1-fold increase. Western blot, immunocytochemical staining, and flow cytometry analyses showed that NIS protein expression in MCF-7 cells infected with Rad-NIS increased after ATRA treatment. With ATRA treatment, the amount of (125)I uptake increased in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.001). The (125)I uptake in wild-type MCF-7 cells increased 3.1-, 5.5-, and 7.6-fold with treatment with 10(-8), 10(-7), and 10(-6) mol/L ATRA, respectively. Rad-NIS-infected cells showed a 4.0-fold increase in (125)I uptake. Treatment of Rad-NIS-infected cells with 10(-8), 10(-7), and 10(-6) mol/L ATRA increased (125)I uptake by 4.9-, 8.2-, and 27.6-fold, respectively, compared with wild-type MCF-7 cells. The level of NIS expression in Rad-NIS-infected MCF-7 cells treated with 10(-6) mol/L ATRA (245.0 +/- 13.7 pmol/10(6) cells) was much greater than the sum of the expression levels seen in ATRA-treated wild-type cells and Rad-NIS-infected wild-type cells. CONCLUSION Retinoic acid increases adenovirus-mediated NIS expression in MCF-7 cells. Our results indicate that improved efficiency of NIS gene therapy or reporter imaging in breast cancer may be possible with retinoic acid treatment.