Youth as Actors of Change? The Cases of Morocco and Tunisia

In the last decades, ‘youth’ has increasingly become a fashionable category in academic and development literature and a key development (or security) priority. However, beyond its biological attributes, youth is a socially constructed category and also one that tends to be featured in times of drastic social change. As the history of the category shows in both Morocco and Tunisia, youth can represent the wished-for model of future citizenry and a symbol of renovation, or its ‘not-yet-adult’ status which still requires guidance and protection can be used as a justification for increased social control and repression of broader social mobilisation. Furthermore, when used as a homogeneous and undifferentiated category, the reference to youth can divert attention away from other social divides such as class in highly unequal societies

The association among cytochrome P450 3A, progesterone receptor polymorphisms, plasma 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate concentrations, and spontaneous preterm birth

Background Infants born <37 weeks’ gestation are of public health concern since complications associated with preterm birth are the leading cause of mortality in children <5 years of age and a major cause of morbidity and lifelong disability. The administration of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate reduces preterm birth by 33% in women with history of spontaneous preterm birth. We demonstrated previously that plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate vary widely among pregnant women and that women with 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations in the lowest quartile had spontaneous preterm birth rates of 40% vs rates of 25% in those women with higher concentrations. Thus, plasma concentrations are an important factor in determining drug efficacy but the reason 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations vary so much is unclear. Predominantly, 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate is metabolized by CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 enzymes. Objective We sought to: (1) determine the relation between 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations and single nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP3A4 and CYP3A5; (2) test the association between progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms and spontaneous preterm birth; and (3) test whether the association between plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate and spontaneous preterm birth varied by progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms. Study Design In this secondary analysis, we evaluated genetic polymorphism in 268 pregnant women treated with 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate, who participated in a placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the benefit of omega-3 supplementation in women with history of spontaneous preterm birth. Trough plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate were measured between 25-28 weeks of gestation after a minimum of 5 injections of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate. We extracted DNA from maternal blood samples and genotyped the samples using TaqMan (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assays for the following single nucleotide polymorphisms: CYP3A4*1B, CYP3A4*1G, CYP3A4*22, and CYP3A5*3; and rs578029, rs471767, rs666553, rs503362, and rs500760 for progesterone receptor. We adjusted for prepregnancy body mass index, race, and treatment group in a multivariable analysis. Differences in the plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate by genotype were evaluated for each CYP single nucleotide polymorphism using general linear models. The association between progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms and frequency of spontaneous preterm birth was tested using logistic regression. A logistic model also tested interaction between 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate concentrations with each progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphism for the outcome of spontaneous preterm birth. Results The association between CYP single nucleotide polymorphisms *22, *1G, *1B, and *3 and trough plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate was not statistically significant (P =.68,.44,.08, and.44, respectively). In an adjusted logistic regression model, progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms rs578029, rs471767, rs666553, rs503362, and rs500760 were not associated with the frequency of spontaneous preterm birth (P =.29,.10,.76,.09, and.43, respectively). Low trough plasma concentrations of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate were statistically associated with a higher frequency of spontaneous preterm birth (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence ratio, 0.61–0.99; P =.04 for trend across quartiles), however no significant interaction with the progesterone receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms rs578029, rs471767, rs666553, rs503362, and rs500760 was observed (P =.13,.08,.10,.08, and.13, respectively). Conclusion The frequency of recurrent spontaneous preterm birth appears to be associated with trough 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations. However, the wide variation in trough 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate plasma concentrations is not attributable to polymorphisms in CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 genes. Progesterone receptor polymorphisms do not predict efficacy of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate. The limitations of this secondary analysis include that we had a relative small sample size (n = 268) and race was self-reported by the patients

Vaccination against GnRH may suppress aggressive behaviour and musth in African elephant (Loxodonta africana) bulls - a pilot study

Aggressive behaviour and musth are constant problems in captive and sometimes in free-ranging African elephant bulls. Aggressive bulls are difficult and musth bulls almost impossible to manage without severely restricting their movement either by leg-chaining or using tranquillisers. This study investigated the relationship between faecal androgen metabolites (FAM) and faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) concentrations and aggressive behaviour and tested aGnRHvaccine as a means of down-regulating aggressive behaviour and musth in 1 free-ranging and 5 captive elephant bulls. The bulls were non-aggressive (n = 3), aggressive (n = 2) or in musth (n = 1) at the onset of the study. The bulls were injected with a GnRH vaccine-adjuvant combination 3 or 4 times at 3- to 7-week intervals. Behaviour, FAM and FCM concentrations were measured during every week prior to vaccination until 4 months after the last vaccination. FAM concentrations were positively correlated with aggressive behaviour before the 1st vaccination. Androgen production, as reflected by FAM concentrations, was down-regulated in 3 of the 6 immunised bulls. At least 2 bulls and possibly a 3rd showed behavioural improvement followingGnRHvaccination and in all 3 temporal gland secretion ceased. No further aggressive behaviour was observed until the end of the study in any of the bulls. The results of this 1st GnRH immunisation study suggest that it could be a useful method to control aggressive behaviour and musth in African elephant bulls

Human factors guidelines for designers of telecommunication services for non-expert users Volume 1: volume 2

In 2 vols. Set ISBN 1-901267-00-8Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:98/24635-6 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo