Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Policing Colonial Nigeria

Philip Ahire here offers a radical interpretation of the history of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). He deploys the tools of the student of political economy effectively to justify his two central theses: that colonialism was all about the political subjugation and economic exploitation of the governed by the governors; and that the members of the NPF were a most useful tool in the realization of that goal. He identifies two 'phases' in the development of Nigerian policing; the militaristic, covering the period i860 to 1914; and the civil, from 1914 to i960. It might have been better to see these two as distinct ' modes' of policing rather than as sequential phases, for his own account suggests that they went side-by-side throughout the colonial period (and even beyond). But Ahire is a sociologist, not an historian, and this may explain some of the inexactitudes to be found in the text. There is a tendency for Ahire to select his facts to suit his ideological orientation and to justify his theses. This is especially evident in his treatment of the Native Authority Police Forces which existed in many parts of colonial Nigeria and which were administered separately from the NPF. The political relationship between the NPF and the Native Authority forces was a problem throughout the colonial period. Ahire analyses this through a discussion of the views of Inspectors-General C. W. Duncan, Major A. Saunders and Col A. S. Mavrogordato on the secondment scheme that permitted NPF officers to serve with Native Authority forces; but he misrepresents the views of Duncan, claiming that he entirely opposed the scheme, and then seems to confuse Duncan's opinions with those of Major Saunders (who was virtually the only Chief Commissioner who objected to the scheme). The quotation from Mavrogordato (p. 101 note 40) also fails to represent adequately the subtlety of that officer's position on the matter.
Exploiting Elementary Landscapes for TSP, Vehicle Routing and Scheduling

Abstract : There are a number of NP-hard optimization problems where the search space can be characterized as an elementary landscape. For these search spaces the evaluation function is an eigenfunction of the Laplacian matrix that describes the neighborhood structure of the search space. Problems such as the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and Graph Coloring are elementary. Problems such as MAX-kSAT are a superposition of k elementary landscapes. This research has exploited statistical and mathematical properties of elementary landscapes to develop new gradient methods for combinatorial optimization problems, particular for TSP and MAXSAT and other k-bounded pseudo-Boolean optimization problems.
Health, Responsibility, and Choice: Contrasting Negotiations of Air Pollution and Immunisation Information

This paper presents an empirical study of public conceptions of responsibility and choice in relation to health protection, and the influence of these upon responses to official information. Two contrasting case studies are used, air pollution and childhood immunisation (specifically the MMR vaccination). The results confirm social networks and everyday experiences, and social normalisation of behaviour as important influences upon learning, responses to information, and the taking of personal action. People require information to support the freedom to make personal choices. However, the two cases illustrate that notions of collective responsibility are weaker, in the case of MMR overridden by personal responsibility, in the case of air pollution being transferred to other institutions. Conclusions are developed relating to information provision in an age promoting individualisation and retraction of government, specifically the need for explicit engagement with the benefits (personal and collective) of health protection measures.
Assessing the Durability of Formats in a Digital Preservation Environment: The INFORM Methodology

Purpose – To describe INFORM, a new methodology for investigating and measuring the risk factors of digital formats and providing guidelines for preservation action plans.Design/methodology/approach – Construction of a model which aims to discover specific threats to preservation and measure their possible impact on preservation decisions. The methodology defines: risk categories of digital formats and their dependencies; risk factors for each category; scales to measure probability of occurrence and impact; and methods to collect, report and interpret the results.Findings – While individuals are biased and subjective in their aversion to risk, collating the assessments of many individuals should generate group‐consensus or group‐averaged objective results. Hence, preservation plans can be based on objective analysis of risk trends instead of individuals’ opinions developed in the relative isolation of their institutions. The methodology takes into consideration individuals’ aversion to risk, therefore re.
Mortality of Roma population in Serbia, 2002-2005.

AIM To describe and compare mortality and population changes in the Roma and non-Roma population in Serbia in 2002 and 2005. METHODS The number of cases of death were obtained from the 2002 and 2005 Mortality Database and population data from the Population Census 2002. Standardized sex specific rates of non-traumatic and traumatic mortality in 2002 and 2005 were calculated in relation to the European standard population. We presented population pyramid and aging index for both populations in 2002 and compared sex specific standardized traumatic and non-traumatic mortality rates and the average age of death for 2002 and 2005. The causes of death were coded according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) groups, and the proportional mortalities in the year 2002 and 2005 were compared between the Roma and non-Roma population using chi2 test. RESULTS Standardized mortality rates were higher in the Roma than in the general population. Non-traumatic mortality rate in Roma men in 2002 was 18.2 per 1000 and in slightly decreased to 18.0 per 1000 in 2005; it was significantly higher than in non-Roma men in both years (11.9 per 1000 in 2002 and 12.5 per 1000 in 2005; P<0.001). Standardized non-traumatic mortality rate in Roma women decreased significantly from 16.78 per 1000 in 2002 to 14.89 per 1000 in 2005 (P=0.014), but it was still significantly higher than in non-Roma women (8.46 per 1000 in 2002 and 8.84 per 1000 in 2005; P<0.001). Morbidity structure indicated that the most common causes of death in the Roma population were cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, and respiratory system diseases. In relation to the general population respiratory system diseases were denoted as main causes of deaths in significantly higher percent (6% vs 3% in 2002 and 7% vs 4% in 2005; P<0.001) and cardiovascular diseases in significantly lower percent (44%:55% in 2002 and 46%:57%; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our data show that mortality rates in the Roma population are significantly higher than in the general population, and morbidity structure of the most common causes of death significantly different from that of general population.
Cellular microenvironment controls the nuclear architecture of breast epithelia through β1-integrin

Defects in nuclear architecture occur in a variety of diseases, however the fundamental mechanisms that control the internal structure of nuclei are poorly defined. Here we reveal that the cellular microenvironment has a profound influence on the global internal organization of nuclei in breast epithelia. A 3D microenvironment induces a prolonged but reversible form of cell cycle arrest that features many of the classical markers of cell senescence. This unique form of arrest is dependent on signaling from the external microenvironment through β1-integrins. It is concomitant with alterations in nuclear architecture that characterize the withdrawal from cell proliferation. Unexpectedly, following prolonged cell cycle arrest in 3D, the senescence-like state and associated reprogramming of nuclear architecture are freely reversible on altering the dimensionality of the cellular microenvironment. Breast epithelia can therefore maintain a proliferative plasticity that correlates with nuclear remodelling. However, the changes in nuclear architecture are cell lineage-specific and do not occur in fibroblasts, and moreover they are overcome in breast cancer cells.
Feature selection using principal feature analysis

Dimensionality reduction of a feature set is a common preprocessing step used for pattern recognition and classification applications. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is one of the popular methods used, and can be shown to be optimal using different optimality criteria. However, it has the disadvantage that measurements from all the original features are used in the projection to the lower dimensional space. This paper proposes a novel method for dimensionality reduction of a feature set by choosing a subset of the original features that contains most of the essential information, using the same criteria as PCA. We call this method Principal Feature Analysis (PFA). The proposed method is successfully applied for choosing the principal features in face tracking and content-based image retrieval (CBIR) problems. Automated annotation of digital pictures has been a highly challenging problem for computer scientists since the invention of computers. The capability of annotating pictures by computers can lead to breakthroughs in a wide range of applications including Web image search, online picture-sharing communities, and scientific experiments. In our work, by advancing statistical modeling and optimization techniques, we can train computers about hundreds of semantic concepts using example pictures from each concept. The ALIPR (Automatic Linguistic Indexing of Pictures - Real Time) system of fully automatic and high speed annotation for online pictures has been constructed. Thousands of pictures from an Internet photo-sharing site, unrelated to the source of those pictures used in the training process, have been tested. The experimental results show that a single computer processor can suggest annotation terms in real-time and with good accuracy.
Neural correlates of empathy towards robots

We conducted an fMRI study to investigate emotionality in human-robot interaction. Subjects (N=14) were presented videos showing a human, a robot and an unanimated object, being treated in either an affectionate or a violent way. Violent interaction towards both the robot and the human resulted in similar neural activation patterns in classic limbic structures indicating that both the robot and the human elicit similar emotional reactions. However, differences in neural activity suggest that participants show more negative empathetic concern for the human in a negative situation.
PREVALENCE OF METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS NASAL CARRIAGE IN PATIENTS ADMITTED TO DRISCOLL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

A nasal swab specimen was collected for culture within 48 hours of admission and a questionnaire was completed using a convenience sample of 350 patients admitted to Driscoll Children's Hospital between February 15 and March 15, 2005. Of the 350 patients enrolled, 125 (36%) patients were colonized with Staphylococcus. aureus and 76 (61%) of the 125 S. aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant.
Adherence communication: a qualitative analysis of physician-patient dialogue.

OBJECTIVE To explore how HIV/AIDS care physicians communicate with HIV-positive patients about the need for adherence to antiretroviral treatment regimens. DESIGN Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, a qualitative research method. SETTING A comprehensive, multidisciplinary, HIV/AIDS practice at San Francisco General Hospital. PARTICIPANTS Fifteen physicians, most of whom (73%) were board certified in internal medicine and/or infectious diseases; all were involved in HIV continuity care. RESULTS Most physicians engaged in both pre- and post-prescription phases of adherence communication with their patients. During the pre-prescription phase, physicians made decisions about offering prescriptions to patients, often based on their beliefs about the patient's likelihood of adhering to therapy. During the post-prescription phase, physicians asked patients questions about if/how they were adhering to the regimens. Physicians' practices, such as the length of time spent in the pre-prescription phase, the timing of the 'check-ins' in the post-prescription phase, and the overall content of both phases, varied significantly. CONCLUSIONS Physicians have diverse ways of communicating with patients regarding adherence to antiretroviral medications. The effect of such communication on treatment outcomes needs to be assessed; however, the potential benefit suggests that training programs should be developed to improve physicians' skills in this area. Further studies should be done to assess how generally applicable these findings are to other groups of physicians.
Golgi organelle response to the antibiotic X537A

The effects of the ionophoric antibiotic X537A on cell structure were studied with phase-contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopy. X537A induced selective vacuolation of the Golgi apparatus of vascular and intestinal smooth muscle, epithelium, plasma cells, and cultured chick heart and guinea pig vascular smooth muscle cells. The swelling of the Golgi apparatus induced by X537A was reversible in the systems examined for reversibility: vascular smooth muscle and cultured chick heart. Myelin figures were common in the Golgi apparatus vacuolated by X537A. Fluorescence microscopy of cultured cells incubated with X537A showed the characteristic blue X537A fluorescence associated with lipid globules in the cultured cells. Incubation of cultured chick heart cells with X537A reduced the beating rate and, after 24-72 h, abolished the sarcomere pattern. The swelling of the Golgi membranes produced by X537A in cultured vascular smooth muscle was associated with inhibition of D-[6-3H]glucosamine and [35S]sulfate incorporation into glycosaminoglycans.
Strategic imperatives for transformation in the conventional sales organization

Abstract Conventional sales organizations in many companies across the world are under intense scrutiny as a result of the pressure for enhanced productivity and the potential for replacing many traditional sales activities with Internet-based initiatives, as well as the escalating demands by major customers for superior value and new types of buyer-seller relationship. This paper identifies the transformation from conventional transactional sales activities to strategic customer management as a major challenge for executives. As a management agenda, the authors identify strategic sales imperatives of: involvement of sales in strategic decision making, deploying intelligence through enhanced market sensing capabilities, integration of cross-functional contributions into coherent value offers, internal marketing to ‘sell’ the demanding customer inside the organization, and infrastructure change in salesforce structure and process to implement new business strategies. This template provides a framework for managers to design the reformed sales organization as an important component of business strategy. A process of strategy realignment by top management, linked to designed change in the sales organization, and the implementation of change in salesforce structure and process by sales management is described.
Tolerance of Soil Flagellates to Increased NaCl levels

Abstract The ability of heterotrophic flagellates to survive and adapt to increasing salinities was investigated in this study. Whole soil samples were subjected to salinities corresponding to marine conditions and clonal cultures were used to perform growth and adaptation experiments at a wide range of different salinities (0–50 ppm). More morphotypes tolerant to elevated NaCl levels were found in road verge soil that was heavily exposed to de-icing salt than in less exposed soils, though there were fewer tolerant than intolerant morphotypes in all soils examined. Heterotrophic flagellates isolated on a freshwater medium from a non-exposed soil were unable to thrive at salinities above 15 ppt, and showed reduced growth rates even at low salt salinities (1–5 ppt). The findings suggest that heterotrophic soil flagellates are less tolerant to NaCl than their aquatic relatives, possibly due to their long evolutionary history in soil, and support the idea that identical morphospecies may differ considerably with respect to physiology
Eupsychia Revisited: the Role of Spiritual Leaders

This study builds on the workplace spirituality and spiritual leadership literatures to revisit the Maslowian notion of eupsychian management, showing that leaders' behavior has an impact on how people perceive the organization at the higher levels of self-actualization: the spiritual ones. A total of 105 employees reported 175 critical incidents, 120 antieupsychian events, and 55 eupsychian ones. The most frequent antieupsychian behaviors were power abuse and bossiness, ruthlessness or unkindness, disrespect for personal and inner life of employees, and laziness and cowardice. The more frequent reactions to those behaviors were expressing protest and/or disapproval against leader behavior, negative emotions and feelings, neglect and passivity, retaliation or disobedience, and performance decrease. The most cited eupsychian behaviors were the promotion of self-determination, employee personal development, and respect for the personal and inner life of employees. The most frequent reactions to these behaviors were higher levels of psychological well-being, higher commitment, and stronger sense of calling.
Cocrystals of 6-chlorouracil and 6-chloro-3-methyluracil: exploring their hydrogen-bond-based synthon motifs with several triazine and pyrimidine derivatives.

In order to obtain complexes held together by hydrogen as well as halogen bonds, 6-chlorouracil [6-chloropyrimidin-2,4(1H,3H)-dione; 6CU] and its 3-methyl derivative [6-chloro-3-methylpyrimidin-2,4(1H,3H)-dione; M6CU] were cocrystallized with 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine and the three triazine derivatives 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine (melamine), 2,4-diamino-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine and 2-chloro-4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine, which all offer complementary hydrogen-bonding sites. Three of these compounds form cocrystals with 6CU; however, melamine yielded only a new pseudopolymorph with 6CU, but formed a cocrystal with M6CU. All six cocrystals contain solvent molecules (N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide or N-methylpyrrolidin-2-one), whose intermolecular interactions contribute significantly to the stabilization of the crystal packing. Each of these structures comprises chains, which are primarily formed by strong hydrogen bonds with a basic framework built by R2(2)(8) hydrogen bonds of either pure N-H.N or mixed patterns. Solvent molecules are aligned to the border of these chains via N-H.O hydrogen bonds. Two of the reported crystal structures containing 6CU show additional Cl.O halogen bonds, which connect the chains to two-dimensional layers, while one weak and one strong Cl.Cl interaction are observed in the two structures in which molecules of M6CU are present.
Understanding Conversational Programmers: A Perspective from the Software Industry

Recent research suggests that some students learn to program with the goal of becoming conversational programmers: they want to develop programming literacy skills not to write code in the future but mainly to develop conversational skills and communicate better with developers and to improve their marketability. To investigate the existence of such a population of conversational programmers in practice, we surveyed professionals at a large multinational technology company who were not in software development roles. Based on 3151 survey responses from professionals who never or rarely wrote code, we found that a significant number of them (42.6%) had invested in learning programming on the job. While many of these respondents wanted to perform traditional end-user programming tasks (e.g., data analysis), we discovered that two top motivations for learning programming were to improve the efficacy of technical conversations and to acquire marketable skillsets. The main contribution of this work is in empirically establishing the existence and characteristics of conversational programmers in a large software development context.
Higher Alu Methylation Levels in Catch-Up Growth in Twenty-Year-Old Offsprings

Alu elements and long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) are two major human intersperse repetitive sequences. Lower Alu methylation, but not LINE-1, has been observed in blood cells of people in old age, and in menopausal women having lower bone mass and osteoporosis. Nevertheless, Alu methylation levels also vary among young individuals. Here, we explored phenotypes at birth that are associated with Alu methylation levels in young people. In 2010, 249 twenty-years-old volunteers whose mothers had participated in a study association between birth weight (BW) and nutrition during pregnancy in 1990, were invited to take part in our present study. In this study, the LINE-1 and Alu methylation levels and patterns were measured in peripheral mononuclear cells and correlated with various nutritional parameters during intrauterine and postnatal period of offspring. This included the amount of maternal intake during pregnancy, the mother’s weight gain during pregnancy, birth weight, birth length, and the rate of weight gain in the first year of life. Catch-up growth (CUG) was defined when weight during the first year was >0.67 of the standard score, according to WHO data. No association with LINE-1 methylation was identified. The mean level of Alu methylation in the CUG group was significantly higher than those non-CUG (39.61% and 33.66 % respectively, P < 0.0001). The positive correlation between the history of CUG in the first year and higher Alu methylation indicates the role of Alu methylation, not only in aging cells, but also in the human growth process. Moreover, here is the first study that demonstrated the association between a phenotype during the newborn period and intersperse repetitive sequences methylation during young adulthood.