Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Adjustment of Italian Immigrants in Buenos Aires and New York, 1870-1914

AMEDEO CANUTI AND GIUSEPPE TRIMORA left Italy for the Americas at the turn of the past century. Amedeo was born in the tiny Adriatic fishing village of Sirolo in 1865. When the town's fishing industry came upon hard times during the latter part of the nineteenth century, he and his three brothers went to Buenos Aires. In 1894 Amedeo was recorded in the membership lists of a leading mutual aid society as a literate, twenty-nine-year old sailor who lived with six fellow villagers at 175 Calle La Madrid in the Boca, the center of Argentina's maritime industry. He later married and moved with his family to the nearby town of Quilmes, where he became the owner of a grocery store. Giuseppe's background was somewhat different. As an unmarried Sicilian of thirty-two, he migrated to New York in 1896. The census of 1900 records him as living with eighty other individuals, all but five of whom were Italian, in a tenement house at 228 Elizabeth Street in the heart of one of the city's many Sicilian colonies. Guiseppe could not read, write, or speak English. He listed his occupation as laborer, but at the time of the census he had been unemployed for several months. 1 Amedeo and Guiseppe were joined by millions of their countrymen who migrated to Argentina and the United States before World War I. Some remained permanently in their adopted country. Others returned home. Still others went back and forth many times. By 1914, however, nearly a million Italians lived in Argentina and a million and a half in the United States. In each country, the Italian immigrants settled primarily in the urban areas, especially in the rapidly growing commercial and industrial port cities of Buenos Aires and New York. When World War I broke out, three hundred and twelve thousand Italians-one-third of the total in Argentina-lived in Buenos Aires, and three hundred and seventy
Paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy and ganglionic acetylcholine receptor antibody

We read with interest the editorial by Benatar and Tandan on the Awaji electrophysiological diagnostic criteria for ALS. As the original authors of this revision to the El Escorial recommendations regarding electrophysiological testing in the diagnosis of ALS, we wish to state that it is unfortunate that Benatar and Tandan have failed to both fully understand the Awaji algorithm and to recognize adequately the subsequent studies validating it. Benatar and Tandan consider three aspects of clinical neurophysiological assessment in the diagnosis of ALS. First, they briefly review its role in ALS in general. Second, they summarize the El Escorial and Awaji criteria, and discuss two recommendations made by the Awaji group. The first is that electrophysiological changes noted in a single muscle be regarded as equivalent to clinical changes in that same muscle. This is, in fact, what most clinicians do in practice, but it is not what the El Escorial criteria suggest, as this criterion is written such that neurophysiological information is employed in the evaluation of the limb in its entirety. Second, they question the suggestion that fasciculation potentials have similar significance to the physiologist as fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves in some circumstances. In this regard, they are technically correct; fibrillation potentials are the result of denervated muscle fibers, and fasciculation potentials imply some amount of motor unit integrity. However, it was not the intention of the Awaji group to claim that the findings are identical, but rather merely to suggest that they may be regarded as evidence of ongoing motor unit damage or remodeling. Third, Benatar and Tandan assert that the studies so far published on this issue, all of which have validated the Awaji algorithm, are of poor quality. However, recent prospective studies have confirmed both earlier diagnosis and greater sensitivity using the Awaji modification of the revised El Escorial criteria. In addition, they suggest that a consensus document should not be published without first testing the validity of the consensus proposals, a suggestion that would invalidate just about every attempt to consider advances in diagnostic practice in medicine. We remind readers that the El Escorial and the revised El Escorial criteria were proposed in a consensus document, without previous validation, which was investigated after publication. New diagnostic suggestions are put forward with the expectation that they will be tested rigorously by investigators other than those responsible for the consensus statement, as has occurred in this instance. We look forward to Benatar and Tandan’s own investigations of this issue, and to any positive suggestions they may wish to make concerning robust early diagnosis of ALS. If accepted as a universal rule, the position taken by Benatar and Tandan would block almost all recommendations, guidelines, and diagnostic criteria from being applied in modern medicine.
Situación del búfalo de agua en Costa Rica

La historia del bufalo de agua en Costa Rica no es nueva, este animal llego en el ano 1974, gracias a una importacion que hizo Japdeva, con el objetivo de incorporar una nueva alternativa de produccion animal para el Atlantico costarricense.En esa ocasion, se importo un hato compuesto por dieciocho hembras y dos machos de la raza bufalypso, raza reconocida desde 1963, la cual se formo en Trinidad y Tobago a partir del cruce indiscriminado de las razas Murrah, Jafarabadi, Nagpuri, Surti y Nili-Ravi. El doctor Steven Bennett, creador de esta raza, busco que los animales fueran bayos o amarillos para diferenciarlos, aunque el color de su piel es variable (negro, amarillento), esta caracteristica aun no se ha fijado (Bourne. 1988). Estos animales se mantuvieron en la Finca Blanco, en Limon, como animales exoticos. Sin embargo, ocho anos despues, por intereses institucionales, Japdeva decide hacer una distribucion de los doscientos veinticinco animales que formaban el hato. Los animales fueron enviados a diferentes instituciones, ubicadas en Bananito, Limon centro, La Bomba, Siquirres, Guapiles, Pococi, Puerto Viejo y Rio Frio de Sarapiqui, Santa Clara y Muelle de San Carlos, Upala, Tres Rios, y Palmar Sur, con el fin de fomentar esta actividad pais.Las personas e instituciones que los recibieron, por desconocimiento, los trataron como si fueran vacunos, lo cual genero problemas con el manejo de los animales.Actualmente, se encuentran bufalos de agua en todo el territorio nacional, en su mayoria, con poca orientacion en su produccion. Pocos productores tienen claro el potencial que ofrece este animal para su explotacion para produccion de leche, para carga y en algunos terminan en el matadero (Rosales y Wingching, 2007).
Terms of Trade Volatility and Precautionary Savings in Developing Economies

This paper investigates the link between terms of trade volatility and long-term output growth in developing countries. I find that differences in terms of trade volatility account for 25% of the cross-country variation in growth from 1980 to 2007. The magnitude is arresting: a two-standard-deviation difference in terms of trade volatility between two countries is associated in the data with a 32-percentage-point difference in overall output growth. A decomposition of output growth distinguishes the dynamic effects of productivity growth from pure factor accumulation. The data show that precautionary savings in the 1970’s and 80’s took the form of high domestic investment, which was replaced in the 2000’s by investment in foreign assets. The reallocation of precautionary savings from domestic to foreign assets led to falling output in countries with volatile terms of trade. A neoclassical capital accumulation model has significant precautionary savings associated with terms of trade risk. Opening foreign bond markets in the model induces a shift away from capital and a fall in output in price-volatile countries, reproducing my finding from the data.
TMEM16A Contributes to Endothelial Dysfunction by Facilitating Nox2 NADPH Oxidase–Derived Reactive Oxygen Species Generation in Hypertension

Ca2+-activated Cl− channels play a crucial role in various physiological processes. However, the role of TMEM16A in vascular endothelial dysfunction during hypertension is unclear. In this study, we investigated the specific involvement of TMEM16A in regulating endothelial function and blood pressure and the underlying mechanism. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, coimmunoprecipitation, confocal imaging, patch-clamp recordings, and TMEM16A endothelial-specific transgenic and knockout mice were used. We found that TMEM16A was expressed abundantly and functioned as a Ca2+-activated Cl− channel in endothelial cells. Angiotensin II induced endothelial dysfunction with an increase in TMEM16A expression. The knockout of endothelial-specific TMEM16A significantly lowered the blood pressure and ameliorated endothelial dysfunction in angiotensin II–induced hypertension, whereas the overexpression of endothelial-specific TMEM16A resulted in the opposite effects. These results were related to the increased reactive oxygen species production, Nox2-containing NADPH oxidase activation, and Nox2 and p22phox protein expression that were facilitated by TMEM16A on angiotensin II–induced hypertensive challenge. Moreover, TMEM16A directly bound with Nox2 and reduced the degradation of Nox2 through the proteasome-dependent degradation pathway. Therefore, TMEM16A is a positive regulator of endothelial reactive oxygen species generation via Nox2-containing NADPH oxidase, which induces endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. Modification of TMEM16A may be a novel therapeutic strategy for endothelial dysfunction–associated diseases.
Effect of vitamin C, acetylsalicylic, NaHCO3 and KCL supplementation on the performance of broiler chickens under heat stress condition.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of vitamin C (Vit.C; 62.5mg/L), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; 62.5 mg/L), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3; 75 mg/L), and potassium chloride (KCl; 125 mg/L) in drinking water on heat-exposed broilers. A total of 225 male Cobb 500 broiler chicks, 33 d of age, were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups, with 3 replicates of 25 birds each. The chicks in the first group were exposed to cyclic temperatures (31 to 34°C for12h and 22 to 24°C for12h) and supplemented with Vit C, ASA, KCl and NaHCO3(HS-SUP), the chicks in second group were exposed to cyclic temperatures (31 to 34°C for 12 h, and 22 to 24°C for 12 h) [heat-stress non supplemented (HS-NON); the other chicks were kept under thermoneutral condition (22 to 24°C) and not supplemented as control(C). At the end of the experiment chicks in the control group had better (P<0.05) live body weight, daily gain, total feed intake and less mortality rate (%) than chicks in the HS-SUP and HS-NON groups, whereas chicks in the HS-SUP group had better (P<0.05) live BW and gain, total feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality rate than chicks in the HSNON group. The results of this study suggest that ascorbic acid; ASA, KCl, and NaHCO3 in combination offer a potential protective management practice for preventing heat stress-related depression in the performance of broiler chickens.
NEUROLOGICAL AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICIENCIES IN A GROUP OF OLDER ADOLESCENTS WITH DYSLEXIA

A group of 34 male adolescents with poor results on a spelling test and 34 controls were examined neurologically and neuropsychologically. The index group was inferior to the controls mainly in tasks involving fine motor control of the left hand, hut also in auditory non‐verbal sequential information processing and phoneme manipulation tasks. The manual sequencing disorder and the verbal and non‐verbal auditory problems could he interpreted in terms of deficient information‐processing in the left hemisphere, but the reason for the psychomotor disorder of co‐ordination, mainly in the left hand, remains unclear.
The influence of drone monitoring on crop health and harvest size

This paper looks at the benefits of drones in agriculture, and their limitations, illustrating from examples how drones operate on farms. Different features of drones are discussed, specifically how they assist farmers in maximizing their harvest by detecting problems early, and managing the crops by using specific cameras to detect pests and water shortages. Two interview were done: one with a strong emphasis on drone camera technology - UVIRCO and the second - Aerobotics - to further illustrate the uses of agricultural drones. The article concludes by recommending that more farmers invest in drone technology to better their agricultural outputs.
Relationship of renal function to homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) levels: the frequency of the combination of both risk factors in chronic renal impairment.

BACKGROUND Total homocysteine (tHcy) and lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels have been recognized as risk factors for vascular disease. The combination of elevated tHcy and Lp(a) levels may be particularly atherogenic, although no study has examined the prevalence of the combination of both risk factors in patients with chronic renal impairment. METHODS One hundred ninety-seven patients with renal impairment were studied. Patients had glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measured by clearance of chromium 51-labeled EDTA. Blood was obtained for the determination of tHcy, Lp(a), and apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoform levels. RESULTS Patients were divided into five groups according to GFR. Mean tHcy levels in the five groups were as follows: GFR less than 10 mL/min, 30.2 +/- 9.8 (SD) micromol/L; GFR of 10 to 20 mL/min, 26.6 +/- 10.5 micromol/L; GFR of 20 to 30 mL/min, 23.9 +/- 8.6 micromol/L; GFR of 30 to 45 mL/min, 22.2 +/- 8.6 micromol/L; and GFR of 45 to 75 mL/min, 18.2 +/- 9.1 micromol/L compared with control levels of 12.7 +/- 4.6 micromol/L. There was a progressive increase in median Lp(a) levels with declining renal function: median Lp(a) levels for those with a GFR less than 10 mL/min were 37.1 mg/dL (range, 0.6 to 156.0 mg/dL); GFR of 10 to 20 mL/min, 30.3 mg/dL (range, 2.6 to 163.7 mg/dL); GFR of 20 to 30 mL/min, 26.1 mg/dL (range, 0.0 to 164.0 mg/dL); GFR of 30 to 45 mL/min, 20.9 mg/dL (range, 0.0 to 99.8 mg/dL), and GFR of 45 to 75 mL/min, 16.8 mg/dL (range, 2.1 to 81.0 mg/dL) compared with control values of 12.5 mg/dL (range, 0.0 to 88.7 mg/dL). CONCLUSION Defining hyperhomocysteinemia as tHcy levels greater than the 90th percentile of controls and elevated Lp(a) level as greater than 30 mg/dL, the frequency of the combination increased with declining renal function. Fifty-eight percent of patients with a GFR less than 10 mL/min had both hyperhomocysteinemia and elevated Lp(a) levels, and even in patients with mild renal impairment, 20% of patients had both risk factors present.
Secular trends in variables associated with the metabolic syndrome of North American children and adolescents: A review and synthesis

The aim of this article is to summarize and critique reports from selected large‐scale population health surveys (U.S. and Canada national health surveys (e.g., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and Canada Fitness Survey), and active research programs in preventive pediatric cardiology (i.e., Bogalusa Heart Study, Princeton Lipids Study, and Minneapolis Blood Pressure Study)) pertaining to the secular trend in variables associated with the metabolic syndrome of North American youth. These surveys were chosen since they have published peer‐reviewed articles on the topic and consist of relatively large samples. The increased body mass index and prevalence of overweight and obesity are clear, particularly over the past two decades. The secular increase in overweight and obesity cannot be linked to available self‐report data on physical activity or diet, although measurement issues need to be considered. The emergence of Type II diabetes in adolescents parallels the increase in obesity; however, subsequent changes in blood lipids and blood pressure are less clear. There is some evidence to suggest adverse changes in the blood lipid profile. Aerobic fitness, as determined by maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), has not appeared to change in youth except perhaps for adolescent females. The results suggesting the emergence of metabolic syndrome X during childhood and adolescence are discussed in the context of perturbation and dysregulation of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis. It can be suggested that a subsistent lifestyle consisting of increased lifestyle activity (not exercise per se), a prudent diet, adequate sleep and rest, and stress reduction be advocated to combat diseases of Western Civilization/metabolic syndrome that have affected North American children (and adults) in recent years. The results also highlight the importance of population surveillance of obesity, physical activity, and dietary intake and cardiovascular health of children into the 21st century. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:786–794, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral Manifestations of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome is a common autoimmune rheumatic disease. The most common symptoms of Sjögren’s syndrome are extreme tiredness, along with dry eyes (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) and dry mouth (xerostomia). Saliva plays an essential role in numerous functions of the mouth. Xerostomia can be caused by medications, chronic diseases like Sjögren’s syndrome, and medical treatments, such as radiation therapy and bone marrow transplant. Xerostomia can eventually lead to difficulty in swallowing, severe and progressive tooth decay, or oral infections. Despite having excellent oral hygiene, individuals with Sjögren’s syndrome have elevated levels of dental caries, along with the loss of many teeth, early in the disease. Sjögren’s syndrome alters the protein profile and brings about a change in the composition of saliva. There is an increase in the levels of lactoferrin, β2-microglobulin, sodium, lysozyme C, and cystatin C, and a decrease in salivary amylase and carbonic anhydrase. Up to 90% of individuals with Sjögren’s syndrome have antibodies targeting the Ro 60 and La autoantigens. Natural aging, regardless of Sjögren’s syndrome, is also another factor that brings about a significant change in the composition of saliva. The most prevailing cause of xerostomia in elderly persons is the use of anticholinergic medications. Currently, there is no cure for Sjögren’s syndrome, and treatment is mainly palliative.
Negative thermal expansibility change for dissociation of lysozyme variant amyloid protofibril

A disulfide‐deficient variant of hen lysozyme, 0SS, is known to form an amyloid protofibril spontaneously, and to dissociate into monomers at high hydrostatic pressure. We carried out native PAGE at various temperatures (20–35°C) and pressures (0.1–200 MPa), to characterize the dissociation equilibrium of disulfide‐deficient variant of hen lysozyme amyloid protofibril. Based on the density profiles, the partial molar volume and thermal expansibility changes for dissociation, ΔvD and ΔeD, were obtained to be −74 cm3/mol at 25°C and −2.3 cm3 mol−1 K−1, respectively. The dissociation of amyloid fibril destroys the cross β‐structure, and such conformational destruction in native protein fold rarely accompanies negative thermal expansibility change. We discussed the negative thermal expansibility change in terms of hydration and structural packing of the amyloid protofibril.
The Relevance of Sensory Input for the Cerebellar Control of Movements

The performance of a motor task not only requires subjects to plan, prepare, and initiate but also to monitor how a movement is performed. We used positron emission tomography to examine to what extent the human cerebellum is involved in controlling motor output or sensory input from movements in normal subjects. In the first study, we compared the active performance of a motor task (flexion and extension of the right elbow) to the passive execution of the same movements. Passive movements were driven by a motor with the arm fixed in a guide hinge. Active movements (compared to rest) elicited increases of rCBF mainly in the ipsilateral neocerebellar hemisphere and vermis of the posterior lobe. During passive movements, almost identical parts of the cerebellar hemispheres and vermis were activated (compared to the rest condition). The direct comparison of active and passive movement conditions revealed a small activation of the neocerebellar hemisphere of the posterior lobe and cerebellar nuclei ipsilateral to the movement. Approximately 90% of cerebellar neuronal activity was related to sensory input. In the second study, we compared the execution of a free selection joystick movement task to a condition in which subjects simply imagined the movements. The execution of movements (compared to rest) was associated with increases of rCBF in the ipsilateral neocerebellar hemisphere and vermis of the posterior lobe. During movement imagination, a small part of the ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere and vermis of the posterior lobe was activated (compared to rest). The increase of rCBF during movement imagination accounted for only 20% of the signal seen during movement execution. Our results indicate that the neocerebellum may be much more concerned with sensory information processing than has been considered previously.
Computed Tomography Features of Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas

Objective No previous study has been reported on computed tomography (CT) features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). This study aimed to evaluate CT features of PTCs and to compare the ultrasound (US) and CT features of PTCs. Methods This study enrolled 134 consecutive PTC patients who received neck US and CT examinations before thyroid surgery. For each case, US and CT features were retrospectively and independently investigated by a single radiologist using a picture archiving and communication system. Results Of the 120 PTC cases, 106 were detected by CT, but 14 were not visualized. In each CT category, the most common feature included low attenuation, homogeneous attenuation, a taller-than-wide shape, no calcifications, decreased enhancement, and homogeneous enhancement. In the comparison of US and CT features, nodular shape and calcification demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05), but no significant difference existed in the nodular margin (P = 0.559). For the 21 PTCs with ultrasonographically detected microcalcifications, CT showed no calcifications. Conclusions The study results demonstrated that the most common CT features of PTCs included homogenous low attenuation, a taller-than-wide shape, no calcifications, and homogeneous decreased enhancement and that CT was inferior to US for evaluating nodular shape and calcification.