Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental health regulation in urban South Africa:a case study of the Environmental Health Practitioners of theCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Environmental health is concerned with relations between the environment and human health and their management and remains a considerable public health challenge into the 21st century, particularly for cities where more than half the world’s population now lives. In South Africa local government Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) have been regulating local environmental health since Victorian times and are well placed to bring protective and developmental laws to life but are confronted by challenges not dissimilar to their Victorian forebears. The main research question is therefore: how do the EHPs of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (CoJ) regulate environmental health? A literature review developed an interdisciplinary model of governance to describe and explore how EHPs regulate environmental health (EH) and the factors that could influence this process. This model utilised a socio-legal framework grounded in theoretical perspectives from criminology, history, the law, organisational studies, political science and sociology. A multiple case study strategy was developed to test this model. Qualitative methods were conducted on 10 street-level case EHPs from four CoJ regional offices through observation, interviews, questionnaires and the analysis of regulatory documents. These were supplemented by observations and interviews with other street-level EHPs and their managers and the analysis of other relevant documents, including quantitative data on the activities of CoJ EHPs. A new model of governance was developed by this thesis to describe, analyse and explain how CoJ EHPs regulate and found most of their work focused on a traditional regulatory ‘law enforcement’ pathway alongside other activities, notably an EH monitoring role for other CoJ departments and provincial government. But contrary to their Victorian inspector stereotype, EHPs behaved as responsive regulators and used mainly persuasive approaches (e.g. education, advice, negotiation), with more punitive approaches generally used for serious cases or when persuasion fails. This responsiveness was limited by factors including resources and weaknesses in more punitive approaches. A second regulatory pathway involving EH project and promotion activities was documented but remained secondary to traditional regulatory work. In conclusion, the model of governance conceptualised urban EH regulation as the continuous circulation of power within and between EHPs and local government itself, other spheres of government and civil society. Power was unequally distributed between these actors, but there were many opportunities for challenging power that were rarely captured or closed. Local government EHPs are therefore contributing towards making cities more productive, inclusive, sustainable and better governed and the model of governance created by this thesis was a useful tool for exploring their work.
Searching for Footprints of Positive Selection in Whole-Genome SNP Data From Nonequilibrium Populations

A major goal of population genomics is to reconstruct the history of natural populations and to infer the neutral and selective scenarios that can explain the present-day polymorphism patterns. However, the separation between neutral and selective hypotheses has proven hard, mainly because both may predict similar patterns in the genome. This study focuses on the development of methods that can be used to distinguish neutral from selective hypotheses in equilibrium and nonequilibrium populations. These methods utilize a combination of statistics on the basis of the site frequency spectrum (SFS) and linkage disequilibrium (LD). We investigate the patterns of genetic variation along recombining chromosomes using a multitude of comparisons between neutral and selective hypotheses, such as selection or neutrality in equilibrium and nonequilibrium populations and recurrent selection models. We perform hypothesis testing using the classical P-value approach, but we also introduce methods from the machine-learning field. We demonstrate that the combination of SFS- and LD-based statistics increases the power to detect recent positive selection in populations that have experienced past demographic changes.
Effects of a traditional lifestyle on the cardiovascular risk profile: the Amondava population of the Brazilian Amazon. Comparison with matched African, Italian and Polish populations.

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationships between lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors among the Brazilian Amondava, one of the world's most isolated populations. DESIGN Cross-sectional, population-based study. Four age- and sex-matched samples from Brazil Africa, Italy and Poland, representing different levels of modernization, were compared. Body weight, height, blood pressure, serum cholesterol and glycaemia were measured, and a standard questionnaire administered. Data concerning dietary habits and physical activity were collected. A personal socio-economic score was calculated, on the basis of type of economy, level of formal education, type of occupation, type of habitat, availability of piped water and electricity, main source of income, housing conditions, availability of radio, television or personal computer, knowledge of a second language, and organized health facilities. SETTING Primary epidemiological screening, at an institution. RESULTS Among the Amondava blood pressure was always <140/90 mm Hg, it did not increase with age and was not correlated with any other variable; 46.6% of subjects had systolic blood pressure <100 mm Hg. Blood pressure among the Amondava (109.6+/-11.1/69.5+/-6.4 mm Hg) was on average lower (P<0.0001) than in all other samples. Among the Amondava, the concentration of total cholesterol was always <200 mg/dl, i.e. similar to that of Africans whose diet included large amounts of vegetable foodstuffs; 90% had glycaemia (<80 mg/dl), and their mean value was the lowest (55.1+/-14.9 mg/dl) of all the groups. CONCLUSIONS In addition to a possible genetic predisposition not analysed in this study, a traditional lifestyle (no contact with civilization, diet based on complex carbohydrates and vegetables, high energy expenditure) may protect against the development of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, and diabetes.
Transneuronal Circuit Analysis with Pseudorabies Viruses

Our ability to understand the function of the nervous system is dependent upon defining the connections of its constituent neurons. Development of methods to define connections within neural networks has always been a growth industry in the neurosciences. Transneuronal spread of neurotropic viruses currently represents the best means of defining synaptic connections within neural networks. The method exploits the ability of viruses to invade neurons, replicate, and spread through the intimate synaptic connections that enable communication among neurons. Since the method was first introduced in the 1970s, it has benefited from an increased understanding of the virus life cycle, the function of viral genome, and the ability to manipulate the viral genome in support of directional spread of virus and the expression of transgenes. In this unit, we review these advances in viral tracing technology and the way in which they may be applied for functional dissection of neural networks. Curr. Protoc. Neurosci. 68:1.5. 1‐1.5. 39. © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Primary Trabeculectomy Surgery Performed by Residents at a County Hospital

PurposeTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of trabeculectomies performed by ophthalmology residents at a metropolitan county hospital, under the supervision of attending physicians. MethodsA retrospective analysis of resident-performed trabeculectomies at the San Francisco General Hospital from the period of 1994 to 2004 was performed. The preoperative and postoperative ocular data of 50 eyes in 35 patients were evaluated. Of the 50 cases, 47 procedures were performed as primary trabeculectomies and 3 were revisions of trabeculectomies. ResultsThe average follow-up period was 28.9±17.6 months with an intraocular pressure (IOP) decrease from 23.2±9.4 mm Hg preoperatively to 11.3±4.4 mm Hg at last follow-up, for a mean reduction of 11.9±10.5 mm Hg (51.6%) (P<0.0001). Follow-up periods ranged from 3 months to over 6 years. The number of medications required decreased from 3.2±1.1 to 0.6±0.1 (P<0.0001). Success, defined by a postoperative IOP ≤21 mm Hg or a decreased postoperative IOP of at least 25% from preoperative pressure if the preoperative IOP was already ≤21 mm Hg, was observed in 42 eyes (84%) at last follow-up. Best-corrected visual acuity was stable or improved in 22 eyes (44%) and was noted to decrease 2 or more Snellen lines in 28 eyes (56%). Notable complications included 3 cases (6%) of persistent hypotony (IOP<5), 1 case (2%) of late endophthalmitis, and 1 case (2%) of phthisis. Seven eyes (14%) required subsequent penetrating glaucoma procedures due to bleb failure. ConclusionsResults of this study suggest that the outcomes of trabeculectomies performed by residents at a county hospital can have a high success rate, comparable with previous studies in the literature. Rates of complications are overall similar to those found in the published literature.
Temperature-Compensated Model for Lithium-Ion Polymer Batteries With Extended Kalman Filter State-of-Charge Estimation for an Implantable Charger

As implantable devices become more sophisticated and their extended functionalities impact their energy requirements, they not only rely on charging for the extra energy but also become ever more sensitive to battery deep discharge or overcharge. Accurate state-of-charge (SOC) estimation plays a fundamental role in ensuring the operation safety of implantable medical devices. Temperature variation can impact the battery model parameters and directly affect the accuracy of SOC estimation. This study investigates a temperature-compensated model for lithium-ion polymer batteries that incorporates an extended Kalman filter method to estimate the state of the dynamic nonlinear system and its parameters, from 37 °C to 40 °C at intervals of 1 °C. Both simulation and experimental results indicate that the estimation error can be effectively limited to within ±3%. Through the accurate SOC estimation, the conventional constant current to constant voltage charging strategy is guided in order to reduce the charging time and increase the charging capacity.
A pilot Swedish twin study of affective illness, including hospital- and population-ascertained subsamples.

OBJECTIVE We sought to compare the probandwise concordance rate (PRC) for affective illness (AI) in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins in samples ascertained through psychiatric hospitalization vs samples from the general population. METHODS Twins were ascertained through psychiatric hospitalization for AI from the Swedish Psychiatric Twin Registry or as a matched sample from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry. Lifetime diagnoses were based on a mailed questionnaire containing, in self-report format, DSM-III-R criteria for mania and major depression. Returned questionnaires were obtained from 1484 individuals and both members of 486 pairs, of whom 154 were classified as MZ, 326 as DZ, and six of unknown zygosity. RESULTS No evidence was found for violations of the equal environment assumption. Using either a narrow or broad diagnostic approach, the risk for AI in cotwins of proband twins was independent of the gender, polarity (ie, unipolar vs bipolar) and mode of ascertainment of the affected proband (ie, via hospitalization vs from the general population). Combining both subsamples, PRC for total AI using narrow diagnostic criteria was 48.2% in MZ and 23.4% in DZ twins. Using broad diagnostic criteria, the parallel figures were 69.7% and 34.9%. The risk for bipolar illness was substantially increased in the cotwins of probands with bipolar AI. CONCLUSIONS Genetic factors play a major role in the etiology of AI in Sweden, as assessed by self-report questionnaire. Heritable factors appear to be equally important in AI as ascertained in clinical and epidemiological samples.
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty as first-line treatment of transplant renal artery stenosis.

BACKGROUND Transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) is a frequent complication after renal transplantation, however long-term follow-up data after interventional treatment are rare. PATIENTS In our transplant center 11 of 264 consecutive renal transplant recipients (4.17%) were diagnosed with TRAS. In addition, TRAS occurred in 2 renal transplant recipients that had been transplanted at other centers but who had their follow-up examinations in our center. Either a rise of the serum creatinine level and/or worsened systemic hypertension or routine examination with color Doppler sonography were indications for further diagnostic workup. METHODS Direct angiography of the transplant renal artery was performed followed by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) after the diagnosis of TRAS was confirmed in all of these patients. RESULTS The immediate success rate for PTA was 92.3% (12/13). Only 1 patient with a severe kinking of the transplant renal artery had to undergo surgery to restore renal function. No complications occurred after the interventions. Thereafter the patients were monitored for a mean observation period of 33.15 months. Serum creatinine levels were significantly lower after the intervention, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) increased accordingly. With regard to blood pressure there was only a trend for lower blood pressure levels and less antihypertensive use, whereas the dose of the prescribed drugs decreased significantly with time after interventional treatment of TRAS. In addition, a long-lasting rise of the hemoglobin levels could also be demonstrated. CONCLUSION In summary, the beneficial effect of PTA of TRAS on renal function is long-lasting. Therefore, PTA, usually combined with stent placement, should be first-line treatment in TRAS in all patients. Surgical revascularization is only warranted, if PTA fails.
Small Indian mongooses and masked palm civets serve as new reservoirs of Bartonella henselae and potential sources of infection for humans

Abstract The prevalence and genetic properties of Bartonella species were investigated in small Indian mongooses and masked palm civets in Japan. Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat-scratch disease (CSD) was isolated from 15.9% (10/63) of the mongooses and 2.0% (1/50) of the masked palm civets, respectively. The bacteraemic level ranged from 3.0 × 101 to 8.9 × 103 CFU/mL in mongooses and was 7.0 × 103 CFU/mL in the masked palm civet. Multispacer typing (MST) analysis based on nine intergenic spacers resulted in the detection of five MST genotypes (MSTs 8, 14, 37, 58 and 59) for the isolates, which grouped in lineage 1 with MST genotypes of isolates from all CSD patients and most of the cats in Japan. It was also found that MST14 from the mongoose strains was the predominant genotype of cat and human strains. This is the first report on the isolation of B. henselae from small Indian mongooses and masked palm civets. The data obtained in the present study suggest that these animals serve as new reservoirs for B. henselae, and may play a role as potential sources of human infection.
Kaldor and Kornai on Economics without Equilibrium – Two Life Courses

Nicholas Kaldor and Janos Kornai are known in the academic literature as the most principled and unyielding opponents of the neoclassical, mainstream economics in general, and the Arrow-Debreu General Equilibrium Theory (GET) in particular since the beginning of the 1970s. Nevertheless, they remained in the minority camp with their views until today. The mainstream of the economic profession still holds that only the neoclassical paradigm offers a comprehensive, systematic, consistent and, above all, mathematical (hence “scientific”) description of how modern economies operate. This paper aims at investigating why these two prolific writers, who were friends and spoke the same mother tongue, did not find a common ground and did not even try to build a school of followers jointly.
Interleukin‐2‐mediated inhibition of dendritic cell development correlates with decreased CD135 expression and increased monocyte/macrophage precursors

We have previously shown that interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) inhibits dendritic cell (DC) development from mouse bone marrow (BM) precursors stimulated with the ligand for FMS‐like tyrosine kinase 3 receptor (Flt3L), and have provided evidence that this inhibition occurs at the monocyte DC precursor stage of DC development. Here, we explored the mechanism of IL‐2‐mediated inhibition of DC development. First, we showed that these in vitro cultures accurately model DCs that develop in vivo by comparing gene and protein expression of the three main Flt3L‐induced DC subsets from the BM, CD11b+ and CD24+ conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) with their respective ex vivo spleen DC subsets (CD11b+, CD8+ and pDCs). Next, gene expression changes were quantified in Flt3L DC subsets that developed in the presence of IL‐2. These changes included increased expression of Bcl2l11, which encodes the apoptosis‐inducing protein Bim, and decreased expression of Flt3 (CD135), the receptor that initiates DC development. Interleukin‐2 also significantly reduced Flt3 protein expression on all three Flt3L DC subsets, and attenuated Flt3L‐induced STAT3 phosphorylation in DCs. Based on these data, we hypothesized that decreased Flt3 signalling may divert BM precursors down monocyte and macrophage lineages. Indeed, addition of IL‐2 led to increases in Flt3− cells, including cKit+ Ly6C+ CD11b− populations consistent with the recently identified committed monocyte/macrophage progenitor. Therefore, IL‐2 can inhibit DC development via decreased signalling through Flt3 and increased monocyte/macrophage development.
The history of accounting standard setting in an emerging transition economy: The case of Vietnam

The article aims to examine the history of Vietnam’s accounting practices and standard setting in the context of its transition towards a market-based economy. Vietnam is chosen as a case study because of its unique combination of factors and the accelerated changes occurring in recent years. More specifically, the article has three research objectives: (1) to explore the distinctive stages in the evolution of accounting practices in Vietnam, (2) to explain the institutional pressures that have shaped the evolution of accounting standards in Vietnam and (3) to understand the implications of these historical developments on the changes in Vietnam’s accounting standards. To achieve these research objectives, we employ a theoretical framework that incorporates elements of the institutional theory to the 7Ps model proposed by Carnegie and Napier. This framework analyses the issues under study in terms of the seven dimensions: periods, places, people, practices, propagation, products and profession.
Social Signals Regulate Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons in the Green Treefrog

Animals coordinate their physiological state with external cues to appropriately time reproduction. These external cues exert effects through influences on the gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons (GnRH), at the apex of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis. In green treefrogs, mating calls are important regulators of reproductive behavior and physiology. Reception of mating calls causes an increase in androgen levels, and androgens promote the production of mating calls, demonstrating a mutual influence between the communication and endocrine systems. In order to investigate the central nervous system correlates of social regulation of the HPG axis in green treefrogs, we exposed males to a mating chorus or a control stimulus (tones), counted the resulting number of septo-preoptic GnRH-immunoreactive cells (GnRH-ir), and measured changes in plasma androgens. We found that reception of the mating chorus caused an increase in the number of GnRH-ir cells. As previously shown, we also found that the reception of the mating chorus resulted in higher androgen levels, suggesting that the higher GnRH-ir cell number represents increased GnRH production and release. We suggest that mating calls are an important supplementary cue that promotes GnRH production and release within the context of GnRH regulation by seasonal cues. Previous studies have proposed a neuroanatomical link between the anuran auditory system and GnRH neurons. Our results demonstrate a functional role for this proposed sensory-endocrine circuit, and show for the first time an influence of acoustic signals on GnRH neurons.
Clinical characteristics associated to atrial fibrillation in chronic hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia diagnosed in non-uremic patients and its prevalence increases in older subjects, however, information concerning AF in dialysis patients is scarce. Therefore, we carried out a prospective cross-sectional study from September 1996 to December 1996 in order to evaluate the prevalence and some of the clinical characteristics associated to AF in hemodialysis (HD) patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS 316 HD patients (age 63 +/- 12 years, dialysis duration 69 +/- 71 months) treated in three different hospital-based units were studied. Standard 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) carried out in the interdialytic day during the study period were reviewed. Data concerning age, history of ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), presence of diabetes, smoking history and antihypertensive therapy were collected. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting cholesterol and triglycerides, albumin and hemoglobin were also derived from the clinical records. Performance status was assessed by Karnofsky index (Ki). RESULTS 74 patients (23.4%) had persistent AF, i.e. presence of AF in all (at least two) ECGs performed in the study time. Patients with AF were older (age 69 +/- 10 vs 62 +/- 12 years, p < 0.001), had lower Ki (54 +/- 20 vs 68 +/- 17, p < 0.01), cholesterol (182 +/- 46 vs 198 +/- 52 mg/dl, p < 0.01) and albumin (3.9 +/- 0.5 vs 4.1 +/- 0.5 g/dl, p < 0.001) compared to those with no AF. Prevalence of IHD (44.5% vs 19%, p < 0.05) and PVD (23% vs 11%, p < 0.05) was higher among AF patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that IHD (p < 0.001) and Ki (p < 0.01) were independently associated to AF. CONCLUSION We conclude that AF is a frequent arrhythmia in HD patients treated in hospital-based dialysis units, especially in those with low performance status. It appears to be associated to the atherosclerotic damage of coronary arterial tree. Prospective studies are necessary to assess whether it could contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in end-stage renal disease.