Missing voices in rediscovering late Ottoman and early British Jerusalem

non peer-reviewedLooking at the vast and conflicting literature about Jerusalem, it soon becomes evident that there are gaps in the historiographic output. The city’s transition from Ottoman to British rule is one such omission: very little attention has been paid to that formative period. What are the reasons for this lack of interest? The relative scarcity of works dealing with this era is due to a number of factors, including a lack of political interest in this period, and an arbitrary division of history that fails to take into account both the changes and continuities in this transition. However, in the last decade a number of works were produced that focus on this period, significantly including local voices often overlooked in favor of Western sources only. A discussion of how historical literature on turn-of-the-century Jerusalem is moving forward will afford the opportunity for a reassessment of the field

Antonio de la Cierva y Lewita: the Spanish consul in Jerusalem 1914-1920

non peer-reviewedIn September 1914 a young Spanish diplomat, arrived in Jerusalem- a few months afterwards he, began to record his experiences in Jerusalem, a city that was increasingly involved in the First World War due to the Ottoman alliance with Germany. His name was Antonio de la Cierva Conde de Ballobar

Multivariate meta-analysis of QTL mapping studies

A large number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for milk production and quality traits in dairy cattle has been reported in literature. The large amount of information available could be exploited by meta-analyses to draw more general conclusions from results obtained in different experimental conditions (animals, statistical methodologies). QTL meta-analyses have been carried out to estimate the distribution of QTL effects in livestock and to find consensus on QTL position. In this study, multivariate dimension reduction techniques are used to analyse a database of dairy cattle QTL published results, in order to extract latent variables able to characterise the research. A total of 92 papers by 72 authors were found on 25 scientific Journals for the period January 1995-February 2008. More than thirty parameters were picked up from the articles. To overcome the problem of different map location, the flanking markers were mapped on release 4.1 of the Bos taurus genome sequence (www.ensembl. org). Their position was retrieved from public databases and, when absent, was calculated in silico by blasting (http://blast.wustl.edu/) the markers’ nucleotide sequence against the genomic sequence. Records were discarded if flanking markers or P-values were not available. After these edits, the final archive consisted of 1,162 records. Seven selected variables were analysed both with the Factor Analysis (FA), combined with the varimax rotation technique, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). FA was able to explain 68% of the original variability with 3 latent factors: the first factor extracted was highly associated (factor loading of 0.98) to marker location along the chromosome and could be considered as a marker map index; the second factor showed factor loadings of 0.74 and 0.84 related to the variable number of animals involved and year of the experiment, respectively, and it can be regarded as an indicator of the dimension of the study; the third factor was correlated to the significance level of the statistical test (0.78), number of families (0.63), and, negatively, to the marker density (-0.43). It can be named as index of power of the experiment. Same patterns can be observed in the eigenvectors of PCA. Four PCs were able to explain about 80% of the original variance. The first two PCs basically underlined accurately the same structure found with the first two factors in FA, whereas PC3 and PC4 summarized the structure of F3. The score that each QTL gets on each Factor or PC could be useful to classify the original QTL records and make them more comparable once that the redundancy of information has been removed

Linfocitose monoclonal de células B: uma breve revisão para clínicos gerais

Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is a recently described medical condition that displays biological similarities to the most common subtype of adult leukemia in the Western world, i.e. chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Diagnostic criteria have been published with the aim of differentiating between these two entities. The overall prevalence of MBL is at least 100 times higher than that of CLL, which indirectly suggests that MBL is not necessarily a pre-leukemic condition, although in some circumstances, CLL cases can really be preceded by MBL. In view of this high prevalence rate, general clinicians and even non-hematological specialists have a high chance of being faced with individuals with MBL in their routine clinical practice. MBL is classified as "clinical MBL", "population-screening MBL" and "atypical MBL" and the clinical management of affected individuals depends greatly on this differentiation. The present review provides a guide to diagnosing and following up MBL patients.A linfocitose monoclonal de células B (LMB) é uma condição médica recentemente descrita que exibe similaridades biológicas com o mais comum subtipo de leucemia em adultos de países ocidentais, qual seja, a leucemia linfocítica crônica (LLC). Critérios diagnósticos foram publicados com o intuito de separar as duas entidades. A prevalência global da LMB é pelo menos 100 vezes maior do que a da LLC, o que, indiretamente, sugere que a LMB não é necessariamente uma condição pré-leucêmica, embora, em algumas circunstâncias, casos de LLC possam realmente ser precedidos pela LMB. Em virtude dessa alta taxa de prevalência, clínicos gerais e mesmo outros especialistas não hematologistas têm grande chance de deparar-se com casos de LMB em suas rotinas clínicas. A LMB é classificada como "LMB clínica", "LMB de screening populacional" e "LMB atípica", sendo que o manuseio clínico dos indivíduos afetados depende substancialmente dessa diferenciação. A presente revisão fornece um guia para o diagnóstico e acompanhamento dos pacientes com LMB.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Alien shades of grey: New occurrences and relevant spread of Sciurus carolinensis in Italy

The eastern grey squirrel is listed among the worst invasive species throughout the world. This species of American origin is currently replacing the native Eurasian red squirrel in most of the Great Britain, as well as in parts of Ireland and Italy. It may debark trees and exert damages to woodlands and tree plantations. Therefore, its spread may be deleterious for biodiversity and environment, emphasising the need for a rapid detection in new areas of occurrence. In this work, we reported for the first time, the presence of new populations of this invasive species in Tuscany (Central Italy) and some updates and analyses regarding the status of this species in Veneto (North-Eastern Italy). Occurrences were collected through citizen-science contributory approach supported by photos, road-kills, and/or hair-tube sampling. Field investigations ad hoc were carried out in Veneto and Tuscany   to confirm the repeated reports in the surroundings of Arezzo and in the province of Siena. Although records can be possibly related to erratic or single individuals escaped from captivity, reproductive nuclei have also been detected in both regions, with the observations of juveniles and/or lactating females. The occurrence of the  species in these regions is still scarce and localised, but considering the surrounding favourable wooded habitats, a rapid removal of the animals would be required to prevent their spread

Protección de menores con progenitores drogodependientes y modelo trigeneracional: un estudio de caso único

Introducción. Las hijas y los hijos de progenitores drogodependientes suelen ser objeto de denuncia a la autoridad judicial por negligencia, descuido o porque corren el riesgo de sufrir posibles daños en su desarrollo. El problema de la relación entre los progenitores que abusan de las sustancias tóxicas y sus hijas e hijos está representado por innumerables estudios sobre los factores de riesgo para las y los menores. Esto ha determinado en los operadores una mayor atención al desarrollo de estas niñas y estos niños y la necesidad de activar metodologías de trabajo eficaces. La necesidad de intervenir con prontitud para formular vías de ayuda y recuperación en equipos interdisciplinarios es el tema de reflexión de esta contribución. Método. El primer objetivo de la investigación fue la observación y el análisis cualitativo de unas decenas de casos tratados, a cargo de los servicios sociales con medidas de protección. En segundo lugar, verificar las metodologías de trabajo de los equipos sociosanitarios. Por último, mediante el seguimiento y la evaluación de los casos tratados. El modelo teórico que inspiró el estudio se refería a las investigaciones realizadas en los últimos 30 años sobre los tipos de familia de las personas con drogodependencias y el estudio de las relaciones intergeneracionales. Resultados. Los resultados de la investigación permitieron esbozar metodologías de trabajo y estrategias operativas, sobre cómo combinar la atención y la protección, cómo fomentar la colaboración interdisciplinaria y la colaboración interinstitucional entre los servicios que se ocupan de la atención y los que se ocupan de la protección de las niñas y los niños. A través del estudio y la lectura crítica de un "caso único", se esbozan estrategias de intervención, procedimientos y medidas de protección adecuadas y eficaces. Discusión. La realidad en la que se basa la investigación, presenta una fuerte demanda de intervenciones articuladas en el territorio, donde también juega un papel importante la búsqueda de familias de acogida con las que se pueda afrontar la emergencia. Los traslados y acogimientos se llevan a cabo a través de medidas promovidas por los servicios y activadas por los jueces con proyectos de protección que no siempre son fáciles para los diferentes equipos implicados. A menudo se generan conflictos relacionales entre las familias, los servicios y los abogados que deben ser debidamente mediados. Conclusiones. La investigación saca a la luz un área de interés relacionada con el uso del traslado y el acogimiento temporal de las niñas y los niños fuera de la familia nuclear cuando estos se encuentran en una situación de grave dificultad y perjuicio, a través del instrumento del acogimiento familiar y/o de las comunidades materno-filiales. La elección se hace partiendo de la base de que estas intervenciones pueden proteger a las niñas y a los niños pero también fomentar la recuperación de los progenitores

Missing Voices in Rediscovering Late Ottoman and Early British Jerusalem

Is it possible to write about Jerusalem in the late ottoman and early British eras without being subservient to a cause or claim? In attempting to answer this difficult question this article will consider three themes dealing with the changing historical narratives produced in the last decade. the first will emerge from a discussion of the war period and the transitional era from ottoman to British rule. I will argue that the choice of one periodization rather than another is often driven by political, ideological and religious aims. I will show how current literature has introduced the study of the impact of the First World War on Jerusalem and its late ottoman past, thereby contributing to a bitterly contested re-writing of the history of the city. The second theme is the inclusion of local narratives produced by natives and residents, often neglected by scholars, as the city was being appropriated by others while the indigenous residents were not seriously considered as potential agents of change. The last theme to be reviewed will be the hitherto ignored sources and non-English narratives. I will show how the former can be crucial in rewriting and rediscovering the history of the city and its inhabitants, and how the interpolation of narratives produced in different languages can substantially alter our understanding of the city and its dynamics. Additionally, a second overall objective of this article is to recall attention to a historical period that was at risk of being erased by competing historical narratives. While discussing these themes, it will also be possible to present an overview of the current literature suggesting avenues for new lines of research, as well as pointing at possible criticisms of this literature

Jerusalem in the First World War: Transition from Ottoman to British rule (1914-1920).

This thesis discusses the history of Jerusalem from 1912 to 1920, with a particular focus on the period of the First World War and the British military administration of the city up to July 1920. It examines the dynamics of the transition from Ottoman to British rule and compares the two administrative structures, as well as changes which affected the foreign population of the city and its religious communities. This thesis is organised in six chapters and evolves around three main themes. The first theme discussed in Chapter One addresses the complex issue of periodisation. The re-interpretation of the transitional period from Ottoman to British rule is discussed through the historiographical approach known as microhistory, in order to highlight the methodological underpinnings of this study. The second theme considers these two periods from the perspective of continuity and change. As far as change is concerned, this thesis underlines the changes which affected the political sphere; namely, the political identities of local communities that followed the end of the war in 1917 and the establishment of the British Military administration in Jerusalem. The third theme investigated is the relationship between the city and its foreign population, focussing on the foreign impact upon the political and social milieu of Jerusalem. Chapter Two discusses the late Ottoman administration of Jerusalem, providing a thorough analysis of the demographic structure in the transitional period. Chapter Three examines in detail the phases of the transition from the Ottomans to the British as a consequence of the military operations in Palestine. Chapter Four looks at the presence and functioning of the Christian religious institutions and their reactions to the British occupation. Chapter Five assesses the foreign presence in the city, with particular focus to some unexplored diplomatic sources. Chapter Six examines the functioning of the British Military administration, with particular focus on the role of the military governor Ronald Storrs