Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phantoms of the Archive: Kwame Nkrumah, a Nazi Pilot Named Hanna, and the Contingencies of Postcolonial History-Writing

IN MARCH 1962, AS THE WEST AFRICAN nation of Ghana marked five years of independence from British colonial rule, the country’s most popular newspaper, the Daily Graphic, introduced readers to yet another in a long list of high-profile international visitors. This visitor, however, was not the usual diplomat, artistic performer, or anticolonial freedom fighter. A prominent headline and accompanying photo announced her as “The Woman Who Dares the Heavens. ”1 And who was this daring woman? She was, according to the news story, the famous West German pilot Hanna Reitsch, who was visiting the nation’s capital, on President Kwame Nkrumah’s invitation, to “advise” the government on flight and gliding. In addition to providing brief biographical information, which noted Reitsch’s “carrying out [of] dangerous test flights” during the war and the fact that she had been awarded the Iron Cross First Class, the “highest German decoration,” the article focused primarily on the reason for her visit to Ghana and her notably demure appearance. “Anyone who has heard of Hanna Reitsch,” journalist Edith Wuver informed local readers, “would expect her to be tall and perhaps masculine in build. But she is only a small woman, hardly above five feet and feminine in every way . Hanna has the feminine approach to her profession. ”2 What the journalist did not mention—nor any of her colleagues in the national news service who covered the visit—was that Flight Captain Hanna Reitsch was not just an extraordinary woman pilot, “feminine in every way,” in a profession dom-
SNP rs 356219 of the a-synuclein ( SNCA ) gene is associated with Parkinson ’ s disease in a Chinese Han population

Background: Over the last decades, increasing knowledge about the genetic architecture of Parkinson’s disease(PD) has provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of the disorder. Recently, several studies in different populations have found a strong association between idiopathic PD and the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs356219, which is located in the 30UTR of the SNCA gene. In this study, we aimed to verify these findings and to explore further the nature of the association in a subset of Chinese Han PD patients. Methods: Four hundred and three unrelated patients with sporadic PD and 315 healthy ethnically matched control subjects were recruited consecutively for the study. Patients and normal controls were genotyped for SNCA rs356219 variant by ligase detection reaction (LDR). Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the frequencies of the single alleles of rs356219 (c2 1⁄4 12.986,P 1⁄4 0.002) between PD patients and normal subjects. The distribution of A > G genotypes was different between patients and controls (c2 1⁄4 13.243, P < 0.001). The OR for subjects with the variant genotypes (AG and GG) was 1.88 (95%CI 1⁄4 1.27e2.78, P 1⁄4 0.001). The frequencies of the homozygous genotype for this variant was 42.2% (170 patients), which was significantly higher than that in controls (32.4%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results suggested that SNCA rs356219 variant might have an increased risk of susceptibility to PD in a Chinese Han population. Further studies are needed to replicate the association that we found. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
[Early prediction of severity in acute pancreatitis].

OBJECTIVE To identify the score that best predicts early severity in patients with acute pancreatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective cohort study was performed from December 2009 to December 2011. Cases of pancreatitis were classified as mild or severe based on the organ failure criteria and/or local complications according to the Atlanta Symposium. APACHE-II, BISAP and urea were calculated using data from the first 24 hours. Ranson was calculated using data from the first 48 hours. Hemoconcentratión was assessed 24 hours from admission, after adequate hydration. To assess the predictive value of the different scores the area under the curve ROC was used. RESULTS 329 patients with acute pancreatitis were included: 214 women (65%) and 115 males (35%). The most common etiology was biliary 245 (74.3%). Two hundred and forty were mild cases of pancreatitis (73%) and 89 were severe (27%). The areas under the curve ROC were: APACHE-II: 0.74; BISAP: 0.78; Ranson: 0.48; urea: 0.70; hemoconcentratión: 0.73. There were 10 deaths (mortality: 3%). There were no significant differences between BISAP and APACHE-II, urea or hemoconcentration, but a significant difference existed with Ranson score. CONCLUSION BISAP is a simple score that applied early in the emergency room identifies patients with severe pancreatitis with an efficacy similar to APACHE-II, urea and hemoconcentration, and KEY WORDS acute pancreatitis, BISAP, severity, prognostic scoring.
América Latina: violencia entre estudiantes y desempeño escolar

Se estimo la magnitud de la violencia escolar en las escuelas latinoamericanas y su incidencia en el desempeno de los estudiantes de primaria. Se analizaron caracteristicas sociodemograficas del estudiante vinculadas al maltrato entre pares. Se utilizaron modelos multinivel de cuatro y tres niveles con los datos del Segundo Estudio Regional Comparativo y Explicativo (SERCE) de la Organizacion de las Naciones Unidas para la Educacion, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO), analizandose 2.969 escuelas, 3.903 aulas y 91.223 estudiantes de 6o. grado de 16 paises latinoamericanos (excluido Mexico al relacionar violencia escolar y desempeno academico). Conclusiones: la violencia interpares es un grave problema en toda la region; los estudiantes que sufrieron violencia de sus iguales alcanzaron un desempeno en lectura y matematicas significativamente inferior al de quienes no la experimentaron; en aulas con mayores episodios de violencia fisica o verbal los educandos muestran peores desempenos que en aulas con menor violencia
Type I Interferon Receptor Deficiency Prevents Murine Sjögren’s Syndrome

In Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS), inherent glandular defects, autoimmunity, and mononuclear cell infiltration within the salivary glands cause reduced salivation leading to xerostomia. Excessive production of type I interferons (IFN), triggered by environmental and genetic factors, is considered pathogenic in this disorder. However, whether type I IFN production is causative or an outcome of the disease process is not known. To address this question, we introduced a deficiency of interferon alpha receptor 1 (Ifnar1) into B6.Aec1Aec2 mice, which are known to have the genetic loci necessary for developing a SS-like disorder. This new mouse strain, B6.Aec1Aec2Ifnar1-/-, lacking type I IFN-mediated signaling, was characterized for pilocarpine-induced salivation, the presence of serum autoantibodies, sialoadenitis, and dacryoadenitis. Compared with the B6.Aec1Aec2Ifnar1+/+ (wild-type) mice, the B6.Aec1Aec2Ifnar1-/- (knockout) mice had significantly lower mononuclear cell infiltration in the salivary and lacrimal glands. The knockout mice were completely protected from salivary gland dysfunction. Surprisingly, they had a robust autoantibody response comparable with that of the wild-type mice. These findings demonstrate that, in the absence of type I IFN-mediated signaling, systemic autoantibody responses can be dissociated from glandular pathology. Our study suggests that, in genetically susceptible individuals, the type I IFN pathway can instigate certain features of SS.
Inferring Population History and Demography Using Microsatellites, Mitochondrial DNA, and Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Genes

Abstract Microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have traditionally been used in population genetics because of their variability and presumed neutrality, whereas genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are increasingly of interest because strong selective pressures shape their standing variation. Despite the potential for MHC genes, microsatellites, and mtDNA sequences to complement one another in deciphering population history and demography, the three are rarely used in tandem. Here we report on MHC, microsatellite, and mtDNA variability in a single large population of the eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum). We use the mtDNA mismatch distribution and, on microsatellite data, the imbalance index and bottleneck tests to infer aspects of population history and demography. Haplotype and allelic variation was high at all loci surveyed, and heterozygosity was high at the nuclear loci. We find concordance among neutral molecular markers that suggests our study population originated from post-Pleistocene expansions of multiple, fragmented sources that shared few migrants. Differences in Ne estimates derived from haploid and diploid genetic markers are potentially attributable to secondary contact among source populations that experienced rapid mtDNA divergence and comparatively low levels of nuclear DNA divergence. We find strong evidence of natural selection acting on MHC genes and estimate long-term effective population sizes (Ne) that are very large, making small selection intensities significant evolutionary forces in this population.
Probabilistic Analysis of Two Euclidean Location Problems

— In this paper two location problems in the plane are considered. We give two polynomial time algorithms that produce arbitrarily good solutions with probability 1. Résumé. — Dans ce papier on a considéré deux problèmes sur le plan. On montre deux algorithmes caractérisés par complexité de temps polynômial qui produisent des solutions arbitrairement proches de la solution optimale avec probabilité 1.
Immunogenic properties of Klebsiella pneumoniae type 2 capsular polysaccharide

The immunoprotective activity of Klebsiella pneumoniae K2 cell surface preparations and purified capsular polysaccharide was tested in mice. The 50% protective dose (PD50), expressed as capsular polysaccharide content, was 2 ng for cell surface preparations and 50 ng for purified capsular polysaccharide. Both preparations lost their immunoprotective activity after alkali treatment. Immune sera were raised in rabbits immunized with cell surface preparations. The precipitating and hemagglutinating capacity of these antisera was tested against either purified capsular polysaccharide or alkali-treated capsular polysaccharide. No difference was observed between the reactivity of the antisera against each antigen. The protective activity of these sera was tested on mice in passive transfer experiments, before and after absorption with either purified capsular polysaccharide or alkali-treated capsular polysaccharide. The sera lost their protective activity after absorption with purified capsular polysaccharide and after absorption with alkali-treated capsular polysaccharide. These experiments show that the difference in immunoprotective activity of cell surface preparations, purified capsular polysaccharide, and alkali-treated capsular polysaccharide is not due to a difference in their antigenic determinants. Cell surface preparations and purified capsular polysaccharide were fractionated by gel filtration on Sepharose 4B and by ultracentrifugation on cesium chloride density gradients. Three forms of capsular polysaccharide have been characterized. (i) A form of capsular polysaccharide with a very high protective activity (PD50 = 2 ng) that copurified with protein and lipopolysaccharide and was characterized by a low coefficient of distribution (Kd = 0.20) and a low density (1.5 to 1.6 g/cm3). (ii) A form of capsular polysaccharide with an intermediate protective activity (PD50 = 50 ng), contamined by less than 3% protein and 1% lipopolysaccharide, with a Kd of 0.35, and a density of 1.7 to 1.8 g/cm3. (iii) A nonimmunoprotective capsular polysaccharide obtained after alkali treatment of either cell surface preparations or purified capsular polysaccharide. The Kd of these fractions varied from 0.20 to 0.90 and their density from 1.7 to 1.8 g/cm3.
Multi-level analysis of alcohol-related injury among emergency department patients: a cross-national study.

AIM The aim of this analysis was to examine the average rate and variation of alcohol-related injury across emergency department (ED) studies, the effect of usual drinking on likelihood of alcohol-related injury, whether cross-study variation in rate of alcohol-related injury can be explained by between-study difference in usual consumption and whether social-cultural contextual variables help explain cross-study variations, after between-study difference in usual consumption has been controlled. DESIGN Data were merged from the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project (ERCAAP) and the WHO Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injuries, together representing 28 studies in 16 countries, and include 8423 (drinking) injury patients who arrived in the ED within 6 hours after injury. Alcohol-related injury was based, separately, on a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and self-reported drinking within 6 hours prior to injury. A multi-level design and hierarchical generalized linear models were used for analysis in which patients were nested within studies. FINDINGS Overall prevalence of alcohol-related injury was 24% and 29% for positive BAC and self-report, respectively. At the patient level, log-transformed alcohol consumption in the last 12 months was a significant predictor of alcohol-related injury. At the study level significant variation in rates of alcohol-related injury was observed; studies with higher overall average consumption reported a higher rate of alcohol-related injury. When volume was controlled, societies with higher detrimental drinking pattern and higher legal level for intoxication while driving were more likely to have an increased rate of alcohol-related injury. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related injury varies across EDs and countries. While it is associated with an individual's usual alcohol consumption, it is also affected by a number of societal drinking characteristics including the aggregate volume of consumption, overall drinking pattern and legislative policies to control drinking and related harms.
The world of North Saqqâra

Abstract The recent excavations carried out by the Egypt Exploration Society at North Saqqâra have brought to light a remarkable community. The site lies on a plateau of the western desert some 20 km. south of Cairo, more or less opposite the ruins of Memphis, the ancient capital, and consists of a series of temples dedicated to various gods of the Egyptian pantheon. Each god was also represented by a sacred animal or animals, and these, whether bulls, cows, birds or baboons, were mummified and stacked in galleries beneath the surface of the desert. In the last centuries B.C. this area, known generally as the Serapeum, became the focus for pilgrimage from all over the known world; and through its written records, as much as in its physical remains, the Serapeum represents a unique link between archaeology and religion.
A weekly combination of carboplatin and irinotecan for previously untreated extensive disease small-cell lung cancer, results of a minimum follow-up of 3 years: a multi-center Phase II trial JMTO LC02-02.

OBJECTIVE We conducted a Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a weekly combination of carboplatin and irinotecan regimen for patients with extensive disease small-cell lung cancer. METHODS Patients with previously untreated extensive disease small-cell lung cancer, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0, 1 or 2, were enrolled in this trial. Carboplatin area under the curve of two and irinotecan (50 mg/m(2)) were administered on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks. Treatment was continued up to a maximum of six cycles. The expected response rate was 85%, and this regimen was considered sufficiently positive if >45 responses were observed in the 55 patients. RESULTS Between December 2003 and September 2006, 56 patients were enrolled and 55 patients were eligible. Of 55 patients, 6 complete remissions and 37 partial remissions were achieved, and the response rate was 78.2% (95% confidence interval: 64.6-87.9). Major Grade 3 or more toxicities were leukocytopenia 3, neutropenia 15, anemia 7, infection 5, diarrhea 3, anorexia 7, nausea 6 and pneumothorax 1. The median survival was 13.9 months (95% confidence interval: 11.8-18.5) and the median progression-free survival was 5.7 months (95% confidence interval: 4.9-7.4). CONCLUSIONS This Phase II trial of a weekly combination of carboplatin and irinotecan for extensive disease small-cell lung cancer was not positive for a response rate that is considered to be worthy of further Phase III trial.
Polymorphisms in the muscarinic receptor 1 gene confer susceptibility to asthma in Japanese subjects.

RATIONALE The human cholinergic receptor muscarinic-1 (CHRM1) is widely distributed in the lungs. In patients with asthma, CHRM1 may be involved in airway constriction, airway epithelial cell proliferation, and airway inflammation. The CHRM1 gene is located on chromosome 11q13, which is one of the candidate loci for asthma and atopy. OBJECTIVES To determine the role of the CHRM1 gene polymorphisms in asthma. METHODS We studied nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (-18379G > A, -9697C > T, -6965T > C, -4953A > G, +267A > C, +1353C > T, +3970C > G, +5418C > G, and +5455G > T) in a case-control study using 326 patients with asthma and 333 healthy control subjects. We also examined functional consequences of the -9697C > T and -4953A > G polymorphisms at the regulatory region using an mRNA reporter assay. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Two common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (-9697C > T and -4953A > G) were associated with asthma. The odds ratio for the TT homozygotes at the -9697C > T polymorphism was 0.29 compared with the CC homozygotes (95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.73; p = 0.008), and the odds ratio for the GG homozygotes at the -4953A > G polymorphism was 1.86 compared with the AA homozygotes (95% confidence interval, 1.04-3.34; p = 0.038). Haplotype analysis showed that the -9697T/-6965T/-4953A haplotype was associated with a lower risk of asthma (p = 0.00055) and the -9697C/-6965T/-4953G haplotype was associated with an increased risk of asthma (p = 0.020). The -9697T/-4953A haplotype was also associated with lower luciferase activity in vitro compared with the -9697C/-4953G haplotype. CONCLUSIONS This study, together with an in vitro functional study, suggests that the CHRM1 gene is an important susceptibility locus for asthma on chromosome11q13.
Evaluation of bone‐derived and marrow‐derived vascular endothelial cells by microarray analysis

This study focused on the differential expression levels of proteins that may exist between bone‐derived and marrow‐derived vascular endothelial cells (BVEC and MVEC). The vascular cells were isolated from trabecular bone regions and central marrow cavity regions of mouse long bones. Cells were cultured for 1 week to expand the population then separated from non‐vascular cells using biotinylated isolectin B4, streptavidin‐coated metallic microbeads, and a magnetic column. After an additional week of culture time, RNA was isolated from both cell types and compared using microarray analysis. RT‐PCR was used to confirm and relatively quantitate the RNA messages. The bone‐derived cells expressed more aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1 (ALDH3A1), Secreted Modular Calcium‐2 (SMOC‐2), CCAAT enhancer binding protein (C/EBP‐β), matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP‐13), and annexin 8 (ANX8) than the marrow‐derived cells. Spα and matrix GLA‐protein (MGP) were produced in greater abundance by the marrow‐derived cells. This study reveals that there are profound and unique differences between the vasculature of the metaphysis as compared to that of the central marrow cavity. The unique array of proteins expressed by the bone‐derived endothelial cells may support growth of tumors from cancer cells that frequently metastasize and lodge in the trabecular bone regions. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 463–472, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Homojunction internal photoemission far‐infrared detectors: Photoresponse performance analysis

The concept of homojunction internal photoemission far‐infrared (FIR) detectors has been successfully demonstrated using forward biased Si p‐i‐n diodes at 4.2 K. The basic structure consists of a heavily doped IR absorber layer and an intrinsic (or lightly doped) layer. An interfacial workfunction between these regions defines the long‐wavelength cutoff (λc) of the detector. Three types of detectors are distinguished according to the emitter layer doping concentration level. Our model shows that high performance Si FIR detectors (≳40 μm) can be realized using the type‐II structures with a tailorable λc, in which the absorber/emitter layer is doped to a level somewhat above the metal‐insulator transition value. Analytic expressions are used to obtain the workfunction versus doping concentration, and to describe the carrier photoemission processes. The photoexcitation due to free‐carrier absorption, emission to the interfacial barrier, hot‐carrier transport, and barrier collection due to the image force eff.
Do urinary levels of vascular endothelial growth factor predict proliferative retinopathy?

PURPOSE. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is elevated in the vitreous of patients with proliferative retinopathies (PR). Angiogenic factors like VEGF are elevated in the urine of subjects with cancers, including those distant from the genitourinary tract. We hypothesized that local increases in VEGF in the vitreous would be reflected in the urine of subjects with PR. METHODS. Urine samples were collected from adults with absent, mild, or severe (requiring laser photocoagulation) PR. VEGF was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS. Of 42 subjects, 16 had no PR and 26 had PR (8 mild, 18 severe). Thirty subjects had diabetes mellitus; 24 of these had PR. Subjects with PR were older than controls. Subjects with PR tended to have higher urinary VEGF (median 123 pg/ml Cr, range 3–1738) than controls without PR (median 93 pg/ml Cr, range 2–200) (p = 0.08). None of 16 controls, but 11/15 subjects with PR had >200 mg VEGF/mg Cr (p = 0.003), yielding high specificity (100%), but poor sensitivity (42%) of elevated urinary VEGF for PR. Urinary VEGF was also modestly correlated with urinary protein excretion (r 2 = 0.23). Correction of VEGF values for urinary protein abrogated any correlation with PR. CONCLUSIONS. Urinary levels of VEGF are associated with PR, but this relationship may be caused by concurrent renal diseases that result in proteinuria and/or renal VEGF production. The insensitivity of the association may preclude its use in screening to avoid eye examinations.
Low‐skill fibreoptic intubation: use of the Aintree Catheter with the classic LMA

We describe a series of patients in whom anaesthetists – many of whom were trainees and had no prior experience of using the Aintree Intubation Catheter – successfully intubated the tracheas of patients in whom conventional attempts at intubation had failed. This was achieved by passing a fibrescope loaded with an Aintree Intubation Catheter through a classic Laryngeal Mask Airway (cLMA™), which had already been placed to maintain the patient's airway.
DVB-H and IP Datacast—Broadcast to Handheld Devices

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) is the digital broadcast standard for transmitting broadcast content to handheld terminal devices, developed by the International DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) Project. DVB-H is based on the DVB-T standard for digital terrestrial television but tailored to the special requirements of the pocket-size class of receivers. The IP Datacast specification, which was also recently standardized, contributes the higher layer protocols to build a complete end-to-end system. This article presents an overview of the DVB-H and IP Datacast systems with respect to features and technology. An outlook on DVB-H network deployment is given