The Role of Women in the Egyptian 25th January Revolution

This article examines women’s roles in the January 25th Revolution in Egypt. I examine portrayals of women’s roles in the revolution in literary fiction released shortly after the revolution and in digital media. I argue that the fictional and even nonfictional texts are incomplete in their depiction of female roles. I further examine the representation of women’s roles in digital media, specifically blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, and argue that digital social media give the most pervasive, extensive, and accurate description of women’s roles in the revolution; it not only engages women politically, but it also provides a wide range of roles for female participation in the revolution

Nation, Gender, and Identity: Children in the Syrian Revolution 2011

This article examines the victimization and role of Syrian children in the Syrian Revolution 2011. I claim that through engaging in a competition to provide a definitive image of the nation, both the regime and the opposition victimize Syrian children. Nevertheless, the art projects undertaken by nonviolence activists have proven to help children heal and to cope with the predicaments brought on them by the crisis. The poetry, paintings, drawings, and songs produced by these children are the best means they have of representing their victimization and their role in the revolution, and communicating their perspectives on the Syrian nation today. I argue that by producing art that conveys their perception of the revolution, Syrian children reclaim their identities as citizens of Syria

The Effects of Histone H1 and Benzo[a] Pyrene on Chromatin Modifying Complexes.

Packaging of DNA into the condensed structure of chromatin presents a barrier to many cellular processes that require DNA access such as transcription and replication. This problem is solved, in part, by the action of various complexes that modify the chromatin structure so that it becomes more accessible and, therefore, a more suitable platform for these processes. ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes and histone acetyltransferases are examples of many chromatin modifying complexes that work to alleviate chromatin-mediated repression. Histone H1 is an important component of chromatin which serves in both stabilizing and folding of chromatin into a higher order structure. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of histone H1 in gene regulation. Furthermore, histone H1 has been suggested to affect the functions of modifying proteins. In this study, we have used pull-down assay to test the effects of histone H1 on the binding of two chromatin modifying complexes (SWI/SNF and SAGA) to in vitro assembled unmodified and acetylated nucleosomal arrays. Gel shift assay was also performed to check for the effect of histone H1 on the binding of these complexes to mononucleosomes. Furthermore, we have tested the effects of histone H1 on the remolding activity of SWI/SNF using restriction enzyme accessibility assay. Our results show reduced binding of both SWI/SNF and SAGA complexes to both unmodified and acetylated nucleosomal array templates in the presence of histone H1. However, the histone H1-dependent inhibition of binding was specific to SWI/SNF when unmodified mononucleosomes were used. Furthermore, histone H1 was found to decrease the activity of the SWI/SNF complex. Additionally, we investigated the effects of benzo[a]pyrene [B(a)P] on two cell lines, WRL-68 and HepG2 cells in an attempt to find whether chromatin modification is a possible pathway in the carcinogenesis of this compound. Benzo[a]pyrene is a chemical carcinogen that belongs to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and is known to induce DNA damage by forming DNA adducts. We tested both cells lines with different concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene and for different durations. Cell viability and apoptosis were checked by cell cytotoxicity assay and flow cytometery, respectively followed by studies on the expression patterns of three chromatin remodeling proteins (BRG1, Gen5 and BAF155). Results show toxic effects of benzo[a]pyrene on both cells lines with increasing concentration and duration, while no changes in the expression of either BRG1, Gen5, and BAF155 was observed. This suggests that the carcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene doesn’t affect the expression pattern of at least these three proteins. However, our results don’t exclude chromatin modification as a possible pathway in the carcinogenesis of this compound. The expression of other chromatin modifying proteins need to be checked as well as the effects of B[a]P on the activity of these proteins before we can completely rule out a link between B[a]P effects on cells viability and chromati

Molecular Functions of the Chromatin Remodeler Fun30

Many studies have identified conserved ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes whose functions are to modulate DNA access by relieving chromatin-mediated repression. We have previously characterized Fun30 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a homodimer with ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling activity. Other studies have shown that Fun30 plays a role in maintaining the silenced state of subtelomeric and centromeric chromosomal regions. Fun30 has also been shown to play an important role in DNA damage repair by facilitating long range resection of DNA in Double Strand Breaks. This thesis was focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which Fun30 is involved in DNA damage repair. Results presented here show that Fun30 can anneal complementary strands of DNA that is facilitated by ATP hydrolysis and a helicase activity in the presence of trap DNA. In addition, Fun30 was found to be able to relax both negatively and positively supercoiled DNA in an ATP-independent manner and cleave a 3’ overhang in a forked DNA duplex or a duplex that has a protruding 3’. Annealing and 3’ flap endonuclease activities of Fun30 suggest a mechanism by which Fun30 can facilitates double strand break repair by the Single Strand Annealing pathway, while a potential helicase activity can facilitate Synthesis Depended Strand Annealing and as a result reduce the generation of recombination intermediates. Moreover, employing in vivo approaches, we show that Fun30 genetically interacts with the Mus81 nuclease upon chronic treatment with chemicals that stall the replication fork, suggesting that Fun30 deletion might lead to the accumulation of toxic recombination intermediates that are difficult to resolve in the absence of Mus81. We also found that Fun30 deletion affects the cell cycle progression of cells lacking TopI, without affecting the viability of the cells. This might explain a function for Fun30 in facilitating the progression of the cell cycle in the presence of torsional stress which can be induced by TopI deletion. Moreover, we found that Fun30 is not involved in removing camptothecin induced TopI/DNA complexes since no genetic interaction between Tdp1 and Fun30 was observed. Furthermore, we show that Fun30 genetically interacts with Asf1 under DNA damaging conditions, suggesting that Fun30 is required in the absence of Asf1. Finally, couple of models are proposed that explain how Fun30 annealing and nuclease activities may be important in the Single Strand Annealing pathway and how Fun30 helicase activity might be used to reduce the level of toxic recombination intermediates and thus maintain genomic stability, which if compromised could lead to cancer or other diseases

Study of an open circut hydraulic power system with compact cooler-reservoir unit

In this research, a complete open hydraulic drive mixer system has been designed, instrumented and commissioned, and an extensive programme of experimental tests has been undertaken to 1)- investigate the effectiveness of a cooling unit as an integral part of the open hydraulic system and 2)- validate the mathematical model. The results have shown that the working temperature could be reduced by 40 % by using the integral cooling/reservoir unit and the temperature is always kept below the recommended operation temperature. A mathematical model for temperature distribution under unsteady state conditions in an open hydraulic systems has been developed to predict pipe wall and fluid temperatures in the system. The thermodynamics processes and heat transfer by convection, conduction and radiation have been taken into account. The developed temperature transient equations are solved by using numerical integration technique which are used widely in computer programming. A software package has been developed to be used in hydraulic system design. The main advantage of this package is the user friendliness. The simulation results shows a significant difference between the temperatures of the fluid and the pipe wall in the hydraulic systems and demonstrated that this mathematical model is more accurate than those reported elsewhere. The main results of this investigation is that the hydraulic reservoir has been reduced in the size to about 15 percent of the conventional reservoir in the open hydraulic systems. Furthermore, the experimental results have shown a close agreement with the theoretical results

Students Achievements In English At Jordanian Private And Public Schools And Parents Attitudes Towards Teaching Their Children At Private Ones: A Comparative Study

This study aimed at comparing private and public schools in terms of students' achievement in English Language and parents' attitudes towards teaching their children in private schools. To achieve the aim of the study the researchers conducted a test to measure students' achievements in English language and they also distributed a questionnaire among the parents of the students in private schools. The sample of the study consisted of 165 students from two public schools and two private schools, and 66 parents. Means, standard deviations and T-test were used to analyze the results. Results showed that there are statistically significant differences in students' achievement in English language between students of private and public schools in favor of private schools, it also shows that there are statistically significant differences at (a= 0.05) in the parents' attitudes towards teaching their children in private schools due to the academic level, gender, and financial level variables

Different Views and Evaluations of IT Artifacts

The introduction and adoption of a multitude of new and interactive information technology (IT) artifacts has impacted adoption research. Rather than solely functioning as productivity tools, new IT artifacts assume the roles of interaction mediators and social actors. This paper describes these varying roles, and discusses the type of perceptions users form when using them. Further, the paper proposes and distinguishes between four foci of how the different types of artifacts are evaluated across cognitive, relational, social, and emotional beliefs. A theoretical model is developed that maps the different views of IT artifacts to the four distinct types of evaluations, and a number of propositions are presented

The Adoption and Use of IT Artifacts: A New Interaction-Centric Model for the Study of User-Artifact Relationships

The question of why a user adopts an information technology (IT) artifact has received ample research attention in the past few decades. Although recent adoption research has focused on investigating some of the relational and experiential aspects associated with adopting and using IT artifacts, the theories utilized have been static in nature. Furthermore, many have been based on traditional models like TAM and TPB, which focus on the utilitarian benefits that users accrue from their interactions with IT artifacts. Independently, recent research has paid much-needed attention to factors surrounding the use of IT artifacts. In this paper, we offer an overview of a theoretical model that connects these two interrelated processes. Starting with a survey of concepts related to social interactions, we present an argument in support of viewing IT artifacts as social actors, whose characteristics are manifested within the context of interactions. The proposed interaction-centric model highlights how the characteristics of an IT artifact, together with the user’s internal system and other structuring factors, affect users’ choices in terms of how to utilize the artifact. The nature of that utilization, subsequently, affects the beliefs users form about the artifact and the outcomes from using it. Furthermore, the model proposes that users will also form beliefs about their bond or relationship with the IT artifact. These beliefs do not refer to observations made in a single interaction, but rather concern users’ mental representations of past interactions and outcomes. To facilitate the study of the relationship that develops from user-artifact interactions over time, the model describes how past interactions affect future ones. Specifically, it proposes that deciding how to utilize an IT artifact in subsequent interaction, consistent with theories of relationship development, is influenced by already held beliefs about the artifact and the relationship with it