Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bureaucrats as Modernizing Brokers? Clientelism in Colombia

A growing literature suggests that important features of many political systems can be explained through an analysis of patron-brokerclient relationships within these systems.1 Such relationships involve the reciprocal exchange of goods and services.2 They are multiplex and require the proximity and socioeconomic inequality of the participants.3 Party politics sometimes draw these clientelist relations into the political process. When this occurs, clients often use the vote as a medium of exchange. In this article, clientelism in Colombia will be discussed first by describing the role it has played in shaping the political system. This will be followed by an analysis of the three-cornered struggle among: (a) the traditional Liberal and Conservative parties which have made extensive use of clientelist networks; (b) the new political party, Alianza Nacional Popular (ANAPO), which has tried to mobilize its own networks; and (c) the bureaucracy, which is split between a new technocratic segment and the traditional patronage bureaucracy of the Liberals and Conservatives.
Population genomic analysis uncovers African and European admixture in Drosophila melanogaster populations from the southeastern United States and Caribbean Islands

Genome sequences from North American Drosophila melanogaster populations have become available to the scientific community. Deciphering the underlying population structure of these resources is crucial to make the most of these population genomic resources. Accepted models of North American colonization generally purport that several hundred years ago, flies from Africa and Europe were transported to the east coast United States and the Caribbean Islands respectively and thus current east coast US and Caribbean populations are an admixture of African and European ancestry. Theses models have been constructed based on phenotypes and limited genetic data. In our study, we have sequenced individual whole genomes of flies from populations in the southeast US and Caribbean Islands and examined these populations in conjunction with population sequences from Winters, CA, (USA); Raleigh, NC (USA); Cameroon (Africa); and Montpellier (France) to uncover the underlying population structure of North American populations. We find that west coast US populations are most like European populations likely reflecting a rapid westward expansion upon first settlements into North America. We also find genomic evidence of African and European admixture in east coast US and Caribbean populations, with a clinal pattern of decreasing proportions of African ancestry with higher latitude further supporting the proposed demographic model of Caribbean flies being established by African ancestors. Our genomic analysis of Caribbean flies is the first study that exposes the source of previously reported novel African alleles found in east coast US populations.
Moderate consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon attenuates A� neuropathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Recent studies suggest that moderate red wine consumption reduces the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical dementia. Using Tg2576 mice, which model AD‐type amyloid beta‐protein (Aβ) neuropathology, we tested whether moderate consumption of the red wine Cabernet Sauvignon modulates AD‐type neuropathology and cognitive deterioration. The wine used in the study was generated using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Fresno, California, and was delivered to Tg2576 in a final concentration of ~6% ethanol. We found that Cabernet Sauvignon significantly attenuated AD‐type deterioration of spatial memory function and Aβ neuropathology in Tg2576 mice relative to control Tg2576 mice that were treated with either a comparable amount of ethanol or water alone. Chemical analysis showed the Cabernet Sauvignon used in this study contains a very low content of resveratrol (0.2 mg/L), 10‐fold lower than the minimal effective concentration shown to promote Aβ clearance in vitro. Our studies suggest Cabernet Sauvignon exerts a beneficial effect by promoting nonamyloidogenic processing of amyloid precursor protein, which ultimately prevents the generation of Aβ peptides. This study supports epidemiological evidence indicating that moderate wine consumption, within the range recommended by the FDA dietary guidelines of one drink per day for women and two for men, may help reduce the relative risk for AD clinical dementia. —Wang, J., Ho, L. , Zhao, Z. , Seror, I. , Humala, N. , Dickstein, D. L. , Meenakshisundaram, T. , Percival, S. S. , Talcott, S. T. , Pasinetti, G. M. Moderate consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon attenuates Aβ neuropathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. FASEB J. 20, 2313–2320 (2006)
Prise en charge de la diarrhée de l’enfant avec SRO à faible osmolarité et le zinc dans les régions de Dakar, Diourbel et saint louis au Sénégal

Introduction. A la veille de l’echeance des Objectifs du Millenaire pour le Developpement (OMD), la morbi-mortalite des enfants de moins de 5 ans, imputables aux maladies diarrheiques, reste encore elevee dans la plupart des pays en developpement. Au Senegal, certes des progres fort louables a travers differents programmes ont ete notes ces dix (10) dernieres annees, mais le rythme de reduction est tres lent pour esperer atteindre l’OMD 4 a la date butoir. Cette etude a pour objectif d’evaluer la prise en charge de la diarrhee dans les regions de Dakar, Diourbel et St Louis en rapport avec les nouvelles directives ministerielles relatives a l’utilisation des SRO a faible osmolarite et le Zinc en cas de diarrhee chez l’enfant. Methode. Cette etude descriptive et analytique, qualitative et quantitative, realisee du 5 au 20 septembre 2011, a concerne l’ensemble des personnes cles impliquees dans la mise en œuvre des nouvelles directives ministerielles a tous les niveaux du systeme afin de recueillir leur point de vue et leur suggestion pour un passage a l’echelle, les partenaires ainsi que les beneficiaires de soins dans les trois (03) regions. Ainsi, plusieurs outils de collecte des donnees ont ete concus et adaptes en fonction de la cible et selon la nature de l’information a renseigner, permettant ainsi a l’equipe de terrain d’adopter soit la demarche de l’enquete quantitative ou qualitative pour la collecte. La saisie et l’analyse des donnees ont ete effectuees grâce au logiciel SPSS version 12, avec le calcul des moyennes et frequences. Resultats. Les principaux resultats revelent qu’ne depit de la perception de la dangerosite de la diarrhee chez l’enfant, la majorite des meres ou gardiennes d’enfants preferent plutot une solution domestiques avec une therapie de rehydratation orale (TRO). Alors, quand, elles decident de recourir a des soins en dehors de la maison en cas d’echec de cette TRO, le premier recours reste la structure de sante. Par ailleurs, suite a la formation specifique des agents de sante et des relais sur le traitement de la diarrhee des enfants par SRO/Zinc et malgre la disponibilite de ces intrants dans les regions, le taux de prestation de SRO etait moyen avec 24% sur l’ensemble des regions en contraste avec le taux d’utilisation du Zinc autour de 2% sauf a Saint-Louis ou il etait a 25%. Conclusion. Dans cette etude, la disponibilite des produits SRO/Zinc dans les structures n’a pas influe sur son niveau de prestation. D’ou l’interet pour les autorites sanitaires du Senegal d’intensifier les campagnes de sensibilisation sur les avantages therapeutiques de l’association SRO/Zinc a l’endroit de la population et d’assurer la formation continue des prestataires de soins. Mots cles : Diarrhee aigue – enfant de moins de 5 ans – Senegal - SRO/Zinc
Immunology of Helicobacter pylori Infection

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, spiral bacterium that colonizes the gastric mucosa of at least 50% of the world’s population and plays a causative role in the development of chronic gastritis as well as in gastric and duodenal ulcers. H. pylori triggers vigorous humoral and cellular immune responses in both systemic and mucosal compartments. In spite of this response, the vast majority of infected hosts are unable to clear the infection, and it persists for decades. Although Helicobacter is tolerated by a naïve host organism, preclinical studies have demonstrated that prophylactic or therapeutic vaccinations efficiently clear Helicobacter from the stomach. The understanding of the mechanisms leading to the Helicobacter persistence or the vaccine-induced eradication of Helicobacter in animal models will help to define optimal immunization strategies for future anti-Helicobacter vaccination clinical trials.
MiR-196a2 rs11614913 T>C Polymorphism is Associated with an Increased Risk of Tetralogy of Fallot in a Chinese Population.

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous, small, noncoding single-stranded RNAs that act as post-transcriptional gene regulatory elements. MiRNA polymorphisms may be associated with susceptibility to congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of miRNA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on CHD susceptibility. METHODS We genotyped two functional SNPs, miR-196a2 rs11614913 and miR-146a rs2910164, in a case-control cohort of 173 Chinese patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and 207 non-CHD controls. RESULTS When the miR-196a2 rs11614913 TT homozygote genotype was used as the reference group, the TC genotype was not associated with an increased risk of TOF. The CC genotype was associated with a borderline significantly increased risk for TOF. In the recessive model, when the miR-196a2 rs11614913 TT/TC genotypes were used as the reference group, the CC homozygote genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of TOF (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.18-3.25, p = 0.01). The miR-146a rs2910164 C>G polymorphism was not associated with developing TOF. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggested that the miR-196a2 rs11614913 T>C polymorphism may play a role in the development of TOF. Future larger studies that include populations of other ethnicities are required to confirm these findings. KEY WORDS Congenital heart disease; MiRNA; Molecular epidemiology; Polymorphisms; Tetralogy of Fallot.
Fractal Analysis of Indian Financial Markets: An Empirical Approach

In this article, the traditional rescaled range analysis (R/S) is used to distinguish a random series from a fractal series. It is used to determine the persistence in trends of the financial time and to detect the long-memory effect of these financial time series over a long period of time. All chaotic systems have a quantifying measurement known as a fractal dimension. The Fractal Dimension Index (FDI) is a specialised tool that applies the principles of chaos theory and fractals. With FDI one can determine the persistence or anti-persistence of any equity or commodity. In this article, the FDI is computed from the Hurst exponent, and the Hurst exponent is computed from rescaled range (R/S). Data from Indian Mutual Funds and Indian Stock Markets are analysed using these statistical techniques and graphs are plotted for finding the most persistent of the financial series and the long-term memory content of these series are also analysed.
A Qualitative Examination of Jim Kemeny’s Arguments on High Home Ownership, the Retirement Pension and the Dualist Rental System Focusing on Australia

ABSTRACT A key aspect of Jim Kemeny’s argument is that in advanced economies that have high levels of home ownership, the age pension is only adequate if you have low accommodation costs. A related argument is that these societies will be dominated by what he calls a dualist rental market. In this rental market regulation is minimal and landlords hold sway. Kemeny’s thesis, was given added support by Castles’ (1998) more extensive comparative analysis. He concluded that his findings were ‘extremely supportive’ of Kemeny’s conclusion. In this paper, I use in-depth interviews to test Kemeny’s thesis. The circumstances of older homeowners and older private renters in Australia are compared. All of the interviewees were dependent solely or primarily on the government age pension. The interviews indicated that almost all of the older homeowners felt that the age pension was adequate. They were able to consume adequately, engage in leisure activities, run a car, go on holiday and they had little anxiety about their financial situation. This was especially so in the case of those interviewees drawing the couples pension. In contrast, most of the older private renters suffered from severe financial stress. Invariably they had to use a large proportion of their income to pay for accommodation, and as a result, they found it difficult to purchase basic items and any unexpected expense precipitated much anxiety. Their limited resources severely impacted on their capacity to sustain social contacts, engage in leisure activities and look after their health. In addition to having limited resources, many had minimal security of occupancy. The interviews strongly substantiated Kemeny’s original thesis. They illustrated that within a dualist rental market the housing tenure and attendant accommodation costs of a person dependent on the government age pension are crucial determinants of their capacity to live a decent life.
Trichostatin A and 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine influence the expression of cold-induced genes in Arabidopsis

ABSTRACT The expression of cold-induced genes is critical for plants to survive under freezing stress. However, the underlying mechanisms for the decision of when, where, and which genes to express are unclear when a plant meets a sudden temperature drop. Previous studies have demonstrated epigenetics to play a central role in the regulation of gene expression in plant responses to environmental stress. DNA methylation and histone deacetylation are the two most important epigenetic modifications. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of inhibiting DNA methylation and histone deacetylation on gene expression, and to explore the potential role of epigenetics in plant responses to cold stress. The results revealed that histone deacetylase inhibitors (trichostatin A) and DNA methylation inhibitors (5-Aza-2′-deoxycytosine) treatment enhanced cold tolerance. DNA microarray analysis and the gene ontology method revealed 76 cold-induced differently expressed genes in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings that were treated to 0°C for 24 h following Trichostatin A and 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine. Furthermore, analyses of metabolic pathways and transcription factors of 3305 differentially expressed genes were performed. Each four metabolic pathways were significantly affected (p < 0.01) by Trichostatin A and 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine. Finally, 10 genes were randomly selected and verified via qPCR analysis. Our study indicated that Trichostatin A and 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine can improve the plant cold resistance and influence the expression of the cold-induced gene in A. thaliana. This result will advance our understanding of plant freezing responses and may provide a helpful strategy for cold tolerance improvement in crops.
Novel strategies for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Considerable progress has been made in recent years towards better understanding the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a dementing neurodegenerative disorder that affects > 10 million individuals in the US and Europe combined. Recent studies suggest that alterations in the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP), resulting in the accumulation of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) and the formation of oligomers leads to synaptic damage and neurodegeneration. Therefore, strategies for treatment development have been focused on reducing Aβ accumulation using, among other approaches, antiaggregation molecules, regulators of the APP proteolysis and processing, reducing APP production (e.g., small-interfering RNA), and increasing Aβ clearance with antibodies, apolipoprotein E and Aβ-degrading enzymes (e.g., neprilysin). The main focus of this review is on novel treatments for AD with a special emphasis on delivering neuroprotective and antiamyloidogenic molecules by gene therapy and by promoting neurogenesis.
A prospective study of vitamin supplement intake and cataract extraction among U.S. women.

We prospectively examined the association between vitamin supplement intake and the incidence of cataract extraction during 12 years of follow-up in a cohort of 47,152 female nurses. Women were 45 years or older and free of diagnosed cancer in 1980; others were added as they reached 45 years of age, for a total of 73,956 women. During 720,082 years of follow-up, 1,377 senile cataracts were diagnosed and extracted. Those who used multivitamins or separate supplements of vitamin C, E, or A did not have decreased risks of cataract as compared with nonusers even for use of 10 or more years. After adjusting for cataract risk factors, including cigarette smoking, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus, users of vitamin C supplements for 10 or more years had a relative risk (RR) of 0.95 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.76-1.20]. Associations were stronger among long-term vitamin C supplement users who were never-smokers (RR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.47-1.08) and less than 60 years of age (RR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.49-1.04). These findings suggest that there is little overall benefit of long-term use of vitamin supplements for risk of cataracts requiring extraction.
Human antibody to influenza C virus: its age-related distribution and distinction from receptor analogs

Sera from persons of four age groups (1 to 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 20 to 30 years, and 65 to 85 years) were analyzed for hemagglutination inhibition (HI) activity for influenza C virus. Significant HI activity was found in 66% of the 237 sera tested, and titers ranged from 8 to 512. In the yoiung adult group, 96% had antibody and the highest mean titer (74.7) of any age group. Positive sera were far less common in young children (36 to 47%), and relatively low titers (18.3) were common among adults over 65. The high percentage of sera with antibody to influenza C virus suggests that infections with this virus occur at a rate greater than previously recognized. The high percentage of young adults with elevated levels of HI antibody suggested either that an immune response to influenza C infections is common or that the observed HI activity might be attributable, in part at least, to nonspecific inhibitors in the sera. We showed both directly and indirectly that most if not all the inhibitory activity in the human sera we examined was due to specific antibody, mostly immunoglobulin G. This conclusion is based on the finding that the single serum protein fraction with HI activity was found to have a molecular weight equivalent to that of 7S antibody (150,000) and that the HI activity was removed by absorption to staphyloccal protein A. Moreover, immunoglobulin from only HI-positive sera bound specifically to cells infected with influenza C virus, as shown by inhibition of hemadsorption and immunofluorescence. These findings were supported by similar results obtained with chicken antisera to C virus.
Cauliflower-like deformation of pulmonary valve in a case of infective endocarditis by a rare organism: Gemella morbillorum

Infective endocarditis often presents with vegetations attached to the surface of the valve leaflets and sometimes with structural damage of the valves in the form of perforation of the leaflets or in the form of valvular or perivalvular abscesses. Sometimes smouldering infection can damage the valve structure and can cause deformation of the valve structure to such an extent that it conforms abnormal shapes. We report a rare case of a middle-aged person with a previously undiagnosed atrial septal defect (ASD) who presented with symptoms of progressively worsening exertional fatigue and dyspnoea. The patient had a history of being treated for infective endocarditis by a rare Gram-positive cocci Gemella morbillorum which was previously known as Streptococcus morbillorum . The patient was …
Modern age pathology of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

RATIONALE The impact of modern treatments of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) on pulmonary vascular pathology remains unknown. OBJECTIVES To assess the spectrum of pulmonary vascular remodeling in the modern era of PAH medication. METHODS Assessment of pulmonary vascular remodeling and inflammation in 62 PAH and 28 control explanted lungs systematically sampled. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Intima and intima plus media fractional thicknesses of pulmonary arteries were increased in the PAH group versus the control lungs and correlated with pulmonary hemodynamic measurements. Despite a high variability of morphological measurements within a given PAH lung and among all PAH lungs, distinct pathological subphenotypes were detected in cohorts of PAH lungs. These included a subset of lungs lacking intima or, most prominently, media remodeling, which had similar numbers of profiles of plexiform lesions as those in lungs with more pronounced remodeling. Marked perivascular inflammation was present in a high number of PAH lungs and correlated with intima plus media remodeling. The number of profiles of plexiform lesions was significantly lower in lungs of male patients and those never treated with prostacyclin or its analogs. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that multiple features of pulmonary vascular remodeling are present in patients treated with modern PAH therapies. Perivascular inflammation may have an important role in the processes of vascular remodeling, all of which may ultimately lead to increased pulmonary artery pressure. Moreover, our study provides a framework to interpret and design translational studies in PAH.
Peroxisomal disorders.

Peroxisomes are subcellular organelles catalyzing a number of indispensable functions in cellular metabolism. The importance of peroxisomes is stressed by the existence of an expanding number of genetic diseases in which there is an impairment of one or more peroxisomal functions. The prototype of this group of diseases is the cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome of Zellweger (ZS), first described as a familial syndrome of multiple congenital defects in 1964. ZS is characterized by the presence of dysmorphias and polymalformative syndrome, severe neurologic abnormalities including neurosensory defects and hepato-intestinal dysfunction with failure to thrive and usually early death. Other peroxisomal disorders share some of these symptoms, but with varying degrees of organ involvement, severity of dysfunction and duration of survival. This paper provides an overview of the peroxisomal disorders including their clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics with particular emphasis on the clinical presentation in neonates.