Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The creation and circulation of public geographies

In response to the commentaries, we discuss further how social media disrupts and remakes the creation and circulation of geographical knowledges and potentially reconfigures the moral economy of the social sciences. In particular, we examine questions of what is meant by public geography, the publics which such geographies serve, alternative and complementary approaches to social media, the politics of authorship within collective blogs, the politics and mechanisms of knowledge circulation, and the extent to which social media has an impact beyond the academy, enacting ‘minimal politics’.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone Protein GRP78 Protects Cells from Apoptosis Induced by Topoisomerase Inhibitors

A large number of correlative studies have established that the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) alters the cell's sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents. Although the induction of the glucose-regulated proteins (GRPs) is commonly used as an indicator for the UPR, the direct role of the GRPs in conferring resistance to DNA damaging agents has not been proven. We report here that without the use of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inducers, specific overexpression of GRP78 results in reduced apoptosis and higher colony survival when challenged with topoisomerase II inhibitors, etoposide and doxorubicin, and topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin. While investigating the mechanism for the GRP78 protective effect against etoposide-induced cell death, we discovered that in contrast to the UPR, GRP78 overexpression does not result in G1 arrest or depletion of topoisomerase II. Caspase-7, an executor caspase that is associated with the ER, is activated by etoposide. We show here that specific expression of GRP78 blocks caspase-7 activation by etoposide both in vivo and in vitro, and this effect can be reversed by addition of dATP in a cell-free system. Recently, it was reported that ectopically expressed GRP78 and caspases-7 and -12 form a complex, thus coupling ER stress to the cell death program. However, the mechanism of how GRP78, a presumably ER lumen protein, can regulate cytosolic effectors of apoptosis is not known. Here we provide evidence that a subpopulation of GRP78 can exist as an ER transmembrane protein, as well as co-localize with caspase-7, as confirmed by fluorescence microscopy. Co-immunoprecipitation studies further reveal endogenous GRP78 constitutively associates with procaspase-7 but not with procaspase-3. Lastly, a GRP78 mutant deleted of its ATP binding domain fails to bind procaspase-7 and loses its protective effect against etoposide-induced apoptosis.
[Ocular refraction in Zaire].

PURPOSE to determine frequencies of refractive errors in Zairian blacks and to investigate the influence of race upon refraction. METHODS we examined the records of all patients seen at the department of Ophthalmology from 1963 to 1972. Refraction was measured by objective (skiascopy) or subjective methods. RESULTS we found 4326 patients with ametropia, about 16% of the total. The records of 2594 Zairian patients with refractive errors were compared to those of 1417 non Zairian black patients and 315 Caucasian patients. The frequency of spherical refractive errors in Zairian black patients was 56%: (simple myopia: 33% myopia over 5 D: 1%, hypermetropia: 22%), astigmatism was seen in 44% (myopic astigmatism: 31% and hypermetropic astigmatism: 11%). The data of Zairian were similar to those of non-Zairian black patients. Spherical refractive errors in Caucasian patients were found in 46% of the patients (simple myopia: 19%, myopia over 5 D: 2%, hypermetropia: 25%). Astigmatismatic errors were seen in 54% (myopic astigmatism: 27%, hypermetropic astigmatism: 24%, mixed astigmatism: 3%). Hypermetropia increased with age in all groups, but slightly earlier in Zairian patients. CONCLUSION Although the data of refractive errors did not show significant differences between Zairian and Caucasian patients, hypermetropic astigmatism seems to be less frequent and myopia more frequent among Zairian patients.
End-of-Life Education Using the Dramatic Arts: The Wit Educational Initiative

Caring for dying persons requires skill in interpersonal aspects of care, which may be difficult to teach using conventional educational methods. The Pulitzer Prize–winning play Wit relates the personal story of a patient dying from metastatic ovarian cancer and describes the protagonist’s experience with medical care from diagnosis to death. Members of the Department of Medicine at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health care System and the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA developed a program that utilized Wit to educate medical students, residents, and staff providers in the humanistic elements of end-of-life care. Between February 2000 and January 2002 the Wit Educational Initiative organized on-site readings of Wit by local professional theatre companies at medical centers throughout the United States and Canada, inviting medical students, housestaff, and other providers to attend the play followed by structured discussions of the play’s themes. The Initiative provided extensive support for potential program sites including publicity, providing a handbook with a step-by-step guide to organizing local programs, and feedback of postperformance survey results. The Initiative was successful in organizing performances at 32 out of 54 (59%) medical centers where a local production of Wit was identified. Survey respondents confirmed the appeal, emotional impact, and perceived relevance of drama in end-of-life education. An educational program using theatre to educate trainees in the humanistic aspects of end-of-life care was enthusiastically received by medical schools and rated highly by attendees.
Aflatoxin exposure in human populations: measurements and relationship to cancer.

A number of epidemiological studies have associated the exposure status of people to aflatoxin B 1 as being important in the etiology of liver cancer. However, to date these studies have relied upon the criteria of presumptive intake data, rather than relying upon quantitative analyses of aflatoxin DNA adduct and metabolite content in biological samples
Pathways for Preparation: Locating Suicide Education in Preparing Professionals for Encounters with Suicidal Adolescents

Current suicide prevention strategies often include suicide education based on the premise that education can lead to recognition of those at risk of suicide and others who are prepared can respond and potentially save lives. As suicide is a leading cause of death for young people, it is relevant to explore how suicide education is made available to those who serve this population. In a comprehensive review of the existing literature, the presence of suicide content along the path through pre-service programs is examined. While education may be a central part of youth suicide prevention efforts, this review of the literature suggests the following needs: (a) a need for more overt inclusion of suicide content, (b) future examination of suicide content within pre-service programs not yet considered, and (c) appraisal and innovation in suicide pedagogical approaches to determine how preparedness may be enhanced and linked to subsequent practical action.
Use of Occult Blood Detection Cards for Real-Time PCR-Based Diagnosis of Schistosoma Mansoni Infection

Background In Schistosoma mansoni infection, diagnosis and control after treatment mainly rely on parasitological stool investigations which are laborious and have limited sensitivity. PCR methods have shown equal or superior sensitivity but preservation and storage methods limit their use in the field. Therefore, the use of occult blood detection cards (fecal cards) for easy sampling and storage of fecal samples for further PCR testing was evaluated in a pilot study. Methodology Stool specimens were collected in a highly endemic area for S. mansoni in Ethiopia and submitted in an investigator-blinded fashion to microscopic examination by Kato-Katz thick smear as well as to real-time PCR using either fresh frozen stool samples or stool smears on fecal cards which have been stored at ambient temperature for up to ten months. Principal Findings Out of 55 stool samples, 35 were positive by microscopy, 33 and 32 were positive by PCR of frozen samples and of fecal card samples, respectively. When microscopy was used as diagnostic “gold standard”, the sensitivity of PCR on fresh stool was 94.3% (95%-CI: 86.6; 100) and on fecal cards 91.4% (95%-CI: 82.2; 100). Conclusions The use of fecal cards proved to be a simple and useful method for stool collection and prolonged storage prior to PCR based diagnosis of S. mansoni infection. This technique may be a valuable approach for large scale surveillance and post treatment assessments
Adrenocorticotropin stimulation tests in patients with hypothalamic‐pituitary disease: low dose, standard high dose and 8‐h infusion tests

OBJECTIVES Low doses of ACTH [1‐24] (0·1, 0·5 and 1·0 µg per 1·73 m2) may provide a more physiological level of adrenal stimulation than the standard 250 µg test, but not all studies have concluded that the 1·0 µg is a more sensitive screening test for central hypoadrenalism. Eight‐hour infusions of high dose ACTH [1‐24] have also been suggested as a means of assessing the adrenals' capacity for sustained cortisol secretion. In this study, we compared the diagnostic accuracy of three low dose ACTH tests (LDTs) and the 8‐h infusion with the standard 250 µg test (HDT) and the insulin hypoglycaemia test (IHT) in patients with hypothalamic‐pituitary disease.
Turkish prospective teachers’ understanding and misunderstanding on global warming

The key objective of this study is to determine the Turkish elementary prospective teachers’ opinions on global warming. It is also aimed to establish prospective teachers’ views about the environmental education in Turkish universities. A true–false type scale was administered to 564 prospective teachers from science education, social studies education and primary school education departments of three universities in Turkey. The findings revealed that prospective teachers had some misunderstandings about global warming. It was also found that they accessed information on global warming through informal sources such as TV, radio and Internet. In addition, there were significant differences in participants’ total scores in terms of gender and department. According to the findings, prospective teachers thought that environmental education given at universities was not adequate for various reasons.
Social Class and Sickness Absence in Norway

In this article we study class differences, as measured by the Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocarero (EGP) class scheme, in long-term sickness absence, and, using data from three years of the Norwegian Level of Living Survey, we investigate the possible explanatory mechanisms for these differences in Norway. Our results show that there are class differences in sickness absence especially among men, but also among women. The two main underlying factors are education and physical work environment. The results suggest that selection mechanisms and material conditions are important, and prompt the question whether psychosocial work environment explains the marked class differences in sickness absence.
College Student Attitudes to ward Buddhism and Islam

A sample of 197 and a sample of 141 undergraduates from a larger population of 200 at a large southeastern American university revealed their attitudes toward Buddhism and Islam respectively. In regard to Buddhism, while over 90% of the respondents reported NOT being knowledgeable about Buddhism, they reported generally positive beliefs about Buddhism which is associated with spiritual enlightenment, positive mental health, and the search for peace. Further analysis of the data revealed significant gender, age, religious, Christian denomination, and political orientation differences in attitudes toward Buddhism. In regard to Islam, results revealed less positive views than those results relating to Buddhism as well as significant differences based on gender, year in university, race, degree of religiosity, and political affiliation. Implications and limitations of the data are suggested.
InfluenceRank: A machine learning approach to measure influence of Twitter users

We devise a system for measuring influence of Twitter users, which we call InfluenceRank, based on certain features extracted from their Twitter profiles and tweets authored over the duration of two months. As in the real world, influence of a user on social media may be judged by the engagement they drive through the content they publish. For a tweet, engagement can be most obviously measured by the number of retweets (RTs), favourites and replies it gets. Our system comprises of a regression based machine learning approach with InfluenceRank as the predictor variable against the set of our proposed features. The regression model has shown reasonable accuracy despite being fit on limited data.
A dual-route model of crossed categorisation effects

Categorisation is a pervasive psychological process that structures our social world and provides the basis for in-group favouritism. Crossed categorisation is the logical extension to theorising and research in this domain in its description and explanation of the processes and outcomes that occur when two or more dimensions of group membership become simultaneously salient or accessible. Building on previous theoretical, empirical, and meta-analytical work, we propose an integrative model of crossed categorisation effects. Adopting a "dual-route" perspective, we suggest that moderators of crossed category evaluations will produce specifiable outcome patterns via two mediational routes: affective and cognitive. We review recent empirical work within the framework of this model, finding general support for the proposed processes. Finally, we suggest refinements and outline possibilities and implications for the model and future work into crossed categorisation, intergroup relations, and social discrimination.
Coupled Contagion Dynamics of Fear and Disease: Mathematical and Computational Explorations

Background In classical mathematical epidemiology, individuals do not adapt their contact behavior during epidemics. They do not endogenously engage, for example, in social distancing based on fear. Yet, adaptive behavior is well-documented in true epidemics. We explore the effect of including such behavior in models of epidemic dynamics. Methodology/Principal Findings Using both nonlinear dynamical systems and agent-based computation, we model two interacting contagion processes: one of disease and one of fear of the disease. Individuals can “contract” fear through contact with individuals who are infected with the disease (the sick), infected with fear only (the scared), and infected with both fear and disease (the sick and scared). Scared individuals–whether sick or not–may remove themselves from circulation with some probability, which affects the contact dynamic, and thus the disease epidemic proper. If we allow individuals to recover from fear and return to circulation, the coupled dynamics become quite rich, and can include multiple waves of infection. We also study flight as a behavioral response. Conclusions/Significance In a spatially extended setting, even relatively small levels of fear-inspired flight can have a dramatic impact on spatio-temporal epidemic dynamics. Self-isolation and spatial flight are only two of many possible actions that fear-infected individuals may take. Our main point is that behavioral adaptation of some sort must be considered.
Influence of monolayer amounts of HNO3 on the evaporation rate of H2O over ice in the range 179 to 208 K: a quartz crystal microbalance study.

The evaporation flux J(ev) of H2O from thin H2O ice films containing between 0.5 and 7 monolayers of HNO3 has been measured in the range 179 to 208 K under both molecular and stirred flow conditions in isothermal experiments. FTIR absorption of the HNO3/H2O condensate revealed the formation of metastable alpha-NAT (HNO(3). 3H2O) converting to stable beta-NAT at 205 K. After deposition of HNO3 for 16-80 s on a 1 mum thick pure ice film at a deposition rate in the range (6-60) x 10(12) molecules s(-1) the initial evaporative flux J(ev)(H2O) was always that of pure ice. J(ev)(H2O) gradually decreased with the evaporation of H2O and the concomitant increase of the average mole fraction of HNO3, chi(HNO3), indicating the presence of an amorphous mixture of H2O/HNO3 that is called complexed or (c)-ice whose vapor pressure is that of pure ice. The final value of J(ev) was smaller by factors varying from 2.7 to 65 relative to pure ice. Depending on the doping conditions and temperature of the ice film the pure ice thickness d(D) of the ice film for which J(ev) < 0.85J(ev)(pure ice) varied between 130 and 700 nm compared to the 1000 nm thick original ice film at 208 and 191 K, respectively, in what seems to be an inverse temperature dependence. There exist three different types of H2O molecules under the present experimental conditions, namely (a) free H2O corresponding to pure ice, (b) complexed H2O or c-ice, and (c) H2O molecules originating from the breakup of NAT or amorphous H2O/HNO3 mixtures. The significant decrease of J(ev)(H2O) with increasing chi(HNO3) leads to an increase of the evaporative lifetime of atmospheric ice particles in the presence of HNO3 and may help explain the occurrence of persistent and/or large contaminated ice particles at certain atmospheric conditions.
University teachers' collateral transitions: Continuity and discontinuity between research and teaching

Abstract University teachers in teacher education programmes are increasingly expected to combine teaching and research, in spite of widespread recognition of the differences between these epistemic practices. This study questions how the (dis)continuities university teachers encounter, when engaging in a collateral transition between research and teaching, are experienced. To answer that question, this study engages in an in-depth longitudinal analysis of 84 weekly journals reported during such a transition. In contrast to widely held assumptions, we find that continuity can also be experienced negatively, whereas discontinuity is sometimes experienced quite positively. Based on our results, we offer suggestions for how transition processes can be supported.
Mentoring for enhancing females' career development: the bank job

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how formal mentoring programmes may enhance female mentees' career development, particularly in a case study of a major high street bank.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical case study work, from mentees' and mentors' points of view, on the evaluation of a pilot formal mentoring programme for the career development of females is discussed. The two stage evaluation encompasses gender issues such as the impact of gender imbalance and the nature of ambition, together with mentoring issues such as expectations and development of the programme.Findings – Overall, it is found that the mentoring programme is considered, in different ways to mentees and mentors, to be highly successful. Further, it can offer benefits to mentors too. Although females' self‐perceptions, gendered values and perceptions of management and leadership can often impede the career development of females, effective, formal mentoring can be seen to offset such impediments.Practical implic.
Cutaneous hypersensitivity due to beryllium; a study of thirteen cases.

DERMATITIS caused by beryllium compounds is one of the principal occupational hazards in beryllium-extraction plants. Gelman 1 cited Pack as having observed a papulovesicular dermatitis on the exposed surfaces of workers engaged in the extraction of beryllium. Ulcers resembling those caused by chromates and dichromates occurred on the fingers of these workers. De Nardi 2 reported 202 cases of dermatitis, 131 cases of tracheobronchitis, and 57 cases of pneumonitis from two beryllium-extraction plants near Cleveland during the period from 1940 to Jan. 17, 1950. Of the 202 cases of dermatitis, De Nardi lists 156 as due to beryllium fluoride (BeF 2 ) and 45 as due to beryllium sulfate (BeSO 4 ). 3 Many of the workers who acquired the dermatitis also acquired conjunctivitis and rhinopharyngitis. Van Ordstrand and De Nardi and associates 4 observed that the skin and mucous membrane symptoms occurred in about 25% of the new employees
Hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation: effects of supernova feedback

We numerically simulate some of the most critical physical processes in galaxy formation: The supernova feedback, in conjunction with gasdynamics and gravity, plays a crucial role in determining how galaxies arise within the context of a model for large-scale structure. Our treatment incorporates a multi-phase model of the interstellar medium and includes the effects of cooling, heating and metal enrichment by supernovae, and evaporation of cold clouds. The star formation happens inside the clouds of cold gas, which are produced via thermal instability. We simulate the galaxy formation in standard biased CDM model for a variety of parameters and for several resolutions in the range 2--20$h^{-1}$kpc. In our picture, supernova feedback regulates the evolution of the gas components and star formation. The efficiency of cloud evaporation by supernova strongly influences star formation rates. This feedback results in a steady rate of star formation in large galaxies (mass larger than $2-3x10^{11}\Msun$) at a level of $(1-10)\Msun\yr$ for $z -15$. In the case of both large and small galaxies, the distribution of luminous matter (stars) is strongly BIASED with respect to the dark matter. We find an approximate biasing measure of the form $\rho_{lum}= (\rho_{dm}/133)^{1.7}$ for z=0 and overdensities exceeding 1000. Deviations from this relation (a factor 2-3) depend on the environment. For halo masses exceeding $2x10^{10}\Msun$, the dependence of the absolute magnitude on the total mass can be approximated as $M_V=-18.5-4\log(M_{tot}/10^{11}\Msun)$, with a scatter of less than 0.5mag.
Evaluation of the impact of exercise of gait on a treadmill on balance of people who suffered from cerebral stroke.

PURPOSE The aim of the study is to define the impact of exercise on a treadmill on static balance and stability of posture in a group of patients after cerebral stroke rehabilitated in a late period, with an application of a treadmill with the function of visual biofeedback. METHODS The examination was carried out in a group of 46 people in a late period after ischemic cerebral stroke. The patients examined were randomly put to a group with intervention (n = 23), in which a rehabilitation programme with an application of a treadmill with the visual feedback function was realized and to a control group (n = 23). They evaluated balance in standing on both feet by means of a force plate, symmetry of load of lower limbs and dynamic balance in Up & Go test. RESULTS A statistically significant change of stabilometric parameters was observed only in the area of postural sways of the centre of pressure (COP). A significant improvement of the symmetry of load of lower limbs in standing (p = 0.0266) was diagnosed in the examined group after the end of the programme. After the end of the programme no significant difference between the group with intervention and the control group as for a change of balance of the examined patients was found. CONCLUSIONS In the examined group in the chronic period after cs no significant improvement of stabilometrically evaluated balance was obtained, but improvement of the symmetry of load of lower limbs as well as improvement of dynamic balance were observed.