L’arbre sans racines : la Constitution égyptienne de 1923

Treize mois après la « déclaration à l’Égypte » mettant fin au protectorat britannique sur la vallée du Nil, le roi Fouad promulgue le « rescrit établissant le régime constitutionnel de l’État égyptien » : la vieille Égypte devenue indépendante fait peau neuve en adoptant de nouvelles institutions. Vingt-neuf ans plus tard, en juillet 1952, les Officiers libres font irruption sur la scène politique égyptienne et contraignent le roi Farouk à abdiquer. En décembre de la même année, la Constitut..

L’intervention en Somalie 1992-1993

En janvier 1991, Siyad Barré quitte le pouvoir en Somalie sous la pression des opposants organisés en multiples factions. Avec la fin du régime de Barré, la guerre civile s’installe durablement dans le pays. Les populations fuient les massacres et les pillages. Les circuits d’approvisionnement sont totalement désorganisés et la population commence à mourir de faim. La communauté internationale ne prend la mesure de la crise somalienne que très tardivement. En avril 1992, le Conseil de sécurité créé la première mission de l’ONU en Somalie mais celle-ci est incapable de remplir sa tâche. En décembre, une nouvelle réunion du Conseil de sécurité décide de l’envoi d’une force de 38 000 hommes, l’UNITAF, chargée d’établir un environnement sûr pour acheminer l’aide humanitaire. L’opération « Restore Hope»menée par l’UNITAF est plutôt un succès. En mars 1993, l’UNITAF cède la place aux forces de l’ONUSOM II. Au printemps, il apparaît que l’engagement de l’ONUSOM II a changé de caractère et s’est transformé en une lutte partisane contre l’un des leaders somaliens, le général Aïdid. Lorsque le 3 octobre, les Américains perdent 18 de leurs hommes dans Mogadiscio, le président Bill Clinton choisit de retirer ses troupes de Somalie. L’échec de l’intervention de l’ONU en Somalie a généré de nombreuses analyses afin qu’une telle situation ne se reproduise pas.The intervention in Somalia 1992-1993  In January 1991, Siyad Barré left office in Somalia under pressure from opponents organized into multiple factions. With the end of the Barré regime, a civil war began permanently in the country. People fled the massacres and looting. Supply channels were completely disorganized and the population began to die from starvation. The international community did not address the Somali crisis until very late. In April 1992 the Security Council established the first UN mission in Somalia but it was unable to fulfill its task. In December, another meeting of the Security Council decided to send a force of 38,000 men, UNITAF, charged with establishing a secure environment for delivering humanitarian aid. Operation “Restore Hope” led by UNITAF was quite successful. In March 1993, UNITAF gave way to the forces of UNOSOM II. In the spring, it appears that the commitment of UNOSCOM II changed its nature and turned into a partisan struggle against one of the Somali leaders, General Aïdid. On October 3 when the Americans lost 18 of their men in Mogadishu, President Bill Clinton chose to withdraw their troops from Somalia. The failure of the UN intervention in Somalia has generated numerous studies to ensure that this situation does not recur

L’intervention en Somalie 1992-1993

En janvier 1991, Siyad Barré quitte le pouvoir en Somalie sous la pression des opposants organisés en multiples factions. Avec la fin du régime de Barré, la guerre civile s’installe durablement dans le pays. Les populations fuient les massacres et les pillages. Les circuits d’approvisionnement sont totalement désorganisés et la population commence à mourir de faim. La communauté internationale ne prend la mesure de la crise somalienne que très tardivement. En avril 1992, le Conseil de sécurité créé la première mission de l’ONU en Somalie mais celle-ci est incapable de remplir sa tâche. En décembre, une nouvelle réunion du Conseil de sécurité décide de l’envoi d’une force de 38 000 hommes, l’UNITAF, chargée d’établir un environnement sûr pour acheminer l’aide humanitaire. L’opération « Restore Hope»menée par l’UNITAF est plutôt un succès. En mars 1993, l’UNITAF cède la place aux forces de l’ONUSOM II. Au printemps, il apparaît que l’engagement de l’ONUSOM II a changé de caractère et s’est transformé en une lutte partisane contre l’un des leaders somaliens, le général Aïdid. Lorsque le 3 octobre, les Américains perdent 18 de leurs hommes dans Mogadiscio, le président Bill Clinton choisit de retirer ses troupes de Somalie. L’échec de l’intervention de l’ONU en Somalie a généré de nombreuses analyses afin qu’une telle situation ne se reproduise pas.The intervention in Somalia 1992-1993  In January 1991, Siyad Barré left office in Somalia under pressure from opponents organized into multiple factions. With the end of the Barré regime, a civil war began permanently in the country. People fled the massacres and looting. Supply channels were completely disorganized and the population began to die from starvation. The international community did not address the Somali crisis until very late. In April 1992 the Security Council established the first UN mission in Somalia but it was unable to fulfill its task. In December, another meeting of the Security Council decided to send a force of 38,000 men, UNITAF, charged with establishing a secure environment for delivering humanitarian aid. Operation “Restore Hope” led by UNITAF was quite successful. In March 1993, UNITAF gave way to the forces of UNOSOM II. In the spring, it appears that the commitment of UNOSCOM II changed its nature and turned into a partisan struggle against one of the Somali leaders, General Aïdid. On October 3 when the Americans lost 18 of their men in Mogadishu, President Bill Clinton chose to withdraw their troops from Somalia. The failure of the UN intervention in Somalia has generated numerous studies to ensure that this situation does not recur

La guerre du canal 1951-1952

La « guerre du canal » éclate au lendemain de l’abrogation unilatérale du traité anglo-égyptien de 1936 par l’Egypte. Episode d’une décolonisation qui se prolonge depuis 1922, la violence du côté égyptien déborde le 26 janvier 1952 le cadre des relations anglo-égyptiennes et des revendications nationales pour animer une lutte politique et sociale. La position britannique est elle aussi riche d’équivoques. Les Britanniques semblent, par leur démonstration de force, vouloir affirmer leur primauté dans la défense de la zone Sud-orientale de la Méditerranée.The “Canal War” is breaking out after the Egyptian unilateral abrogation of the 1936 Treaty. First, there is an exultant mood in Egypt, then the scene is turning into Anglo-Egyptian confrontation. Anti-British demonstrations are an episode of Egyptian decolonization process. But, 26 January 1952, the mobs are burning Cairo, the breakdown of order is complete. The guerrilla war is turning into a political and social struggle. Black Saturday is an outburst of frustrated fury. British position in the “Canal War” is full of ambiguity also : Britain is reinforcing its garrison. It seems Britain wants to assert its primacy in South-East Mediterranean zone defence in Cold War and security pacts context

C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon)

The dugong (Dugong dugon), a large marine mammal herbivore of the Indo-Pacific, is vulnerable to extinction at a global scale due to a combination of human-related threats including habitat degradation. The species forages on seagrass habitats (marine phanerogams) and plays a key role in the functioning and sensitivity of these declining coastal ecosystems. The trophic behaviour and plasticity of dugong populations in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors are therefore crucial features to both dugong and seagrass conservation. Yet, this knowledge remains limited to few visual observations and analyses of mouth, stomach or faecal contents of stranded individuals. We take advantage of a long-term monitoring of stranded individuals from the endangered New Caledonian population to depict features of dugongs’ trophic ecology from Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotopes. A total of 59 dugong skin samples were used to portrait the stable isotope niche of dugongs according to their sex and maturity. In light of previous work conducted in New Caledonia, a subset of these samples was used to model the trophic mix of dugong males and females. Our stable isotope mixing models used C and N isotope values of 10 taxa belonging to five divisions of metazoans, plants, and chromists. Our results represent the first estimate of the species dietary niche in the isotopic space. They suggest that the diet of dugong calves overlaps more with that of adult females (δ13C: − 6.38 ± 1.13 ‰; δ15N: 2.49 ± 1.10 ‰) than males (δ13C: − 5.92 ± 1.10 ‰; δ15N: 3.69 ± 1.28 ‰). Further, we highlight differences in the expected trophic mix of dugong adult males and females. From these, we formulate a sex-specific foraging behaviour hypothesis in dugongs, whereby lactating females could forage over smaller spatial ranges but more diverse food sources than males. The study emphasizes the importance of long-term stranding monitoring programs to study the ecology of marine mammals.. Finally, it depicts an ecological feature that may contribute to the sensitivity of vulnerable dugongs to ongoing changes on tropical coastal ecosystems

Un discours islamique officiel en Égypte

Au début des années soixante-dix, l'État égyptien est confronté au militantisme semi-légal ou clandestin de mouvements islamistes qui mettent en cause ses structures en les jugeant non conformes au précepte divin de « commander le bien et pourchasser le mal » dans tous les domaines de la vie sociale, économique et politique. Pour ces mouvements, l'islam est un « système global et total » (nizâm kâmil wa shâmil) qui ne peut se réaliser que dans le cadre d'un État islamique dont la législation ..

Demographic and physiological signals of reproductive events in humpback whales on a southwest pacific breeding ground

The field of marine mammal conservation has dramatically benefited from the rapid advancement of methods to assess the reproductive physiology of individuals and populations from steroid hormones isolated from minimally invasive skin-blubber biopsy samples. Historically, this vital information was only available from complete anatomical and physiological investigations of samples collected during commercial or indigenous whaling. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a migratory, cosmopolitan species that reproduce in warm, low-latitude breeding grounds. New Caledonia is seasonally visited by a small breeding sub-stock of humpback whales, forming part of the endangered Oceania subpopulation. To better understand the demographic and seasonal patterns of reproductive physiology in humpback whales, we quantified baseline measurements of reproductive hormones (progesterone – P4, testosterone - T, and 17β-estradiol – E2) using an extensive archive of skin-blubber biopsy samples collected from female humpback whales in New Caledonia waters between 2016-2019 (n = 194). We observed significant differences in the P4, T, and E2 concentrations across different demographic groups of female humpback whales, and we described some of the first evidence of the endocrine patterns of estrus in live free-ranging baleen whales. This study is fundamental in its methodological approach to a wild species that has a global distribution, with seasonally distinct life histories. This information will assist in monitoring, managing, and conserving this population as global ecological changes continue to occur unhindered.Peer reviewe

Specificity of T cells in synovial fluid: high frequencies of CD8(+) T cells that are specific for certain viral epitopes

INTRODUCTION: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is transmitted orally, replicates in the oropharynx and establishes life-long latency in human B lymphocytes. T-cell responses to latent and lytic/replicative cycle proteins are readily detectable in peripheral blood from healthy EBV-seropositive individuals. EBV has also been detected within synovial tissue, and T-cell responses to EBV lytic proteins have been reported in synovial fluid from a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This raises the question regarding whether T cells specific for certain viruses might be present at high frequencies within synovial fluid and whether such T cells might be activated or able to secrete cytokines. If so, they might play a 'bystander' role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory joint disease. OBJECTIVES: To quantify and characterize T cells that are specific for epitopes from EBV, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and influenza in peripheral blood and synovial fluid from patients with arthritis. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) were obtained from patients with inflammatory arthritis (including those with RA, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and reactive arthritis). Samples from human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A2-positive donors were stained with fluorescent-labelled tetramers of HLA-A2 complexed with the GLCTLVAML peptide epitope from the EBV lytic cycle protein BMLF1, the GILGFVFTL peptide epitope from the influenza A matrix protein, or the NLVPMVATV epitope from the CMV pp65 protein. Samples from HLA-B8-positive donors were stained with fluorescent-labelled tetramers of HLA-B8 complexed with the RAKFKQLL peptide epitope from the EBV lytic protein BZLF1 or the FLRGRAYGL peptide epitope from the EBV latent protein EBNA3A. All samples were costained with an antibody specific for CD8. CD4(+) T cells were not analyzed. Selected samples were costained with antibodies specific for cell-surface glycoproteins, in order to determine the phenotype of the T cells within the joint and the periphery. Functional assays to detect release of IFN-γ or tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α were also performed on some samples. RESULTS: The first group of 15 patients included 10 patients with RA, one patient with reactive arthritis, one patient with psoriatic arthritis and three patients with osteoarthritis. Of these, 11 were HLA-A2 positive and five were HLA-B8 positive. We used HLA-peptide tetrameric complexes to analyze the frequency of EBV-specific T cells in PBMCs and SFMCs (Figs 1 and 2). Clear enrichment of CD8(+) T cells specific for epitopes from the EBV lytic cycle proteins was seen within synovial fluid from almost all donors studied, including patients with psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis and those with RA. In donor RhA6, 9.5% of CD8(+ ) SFMCs were specific for the HLA-A2 restricted GLCTLVAML epitope, compared with 0.5% of CD8(+) PBMCs. Likewise in a donor with osteoarthritis (NR4), 15.5% of CD8(+) SFMCs were specific for the HLA-B8-restricted RAKFKQLL epitope, compared with 0.4% of CD8(+) PBMCs. In contrast, we did not find enrichment of T cells specific for the HLA-B8-restricted FLRGRAYGL epitope (from the latent protein EBNA3A) within SFMCs compared with PBMCs in any donors. In selected individuals we performed ELISpot assays to detect IFN-γ secreted by SFMCs and PBMCs after a short incubation in vitro with peptide epitopes from EBV lytic proteins. These assays confirmed enrichment of T cells specific for epitopes from EBV lytic proteins within synovial fluid and showed that subpopulations of these cells were able to secrete proinflammatory cytokines after short-term stimulation. We used a HLA-A2/GILGFVFTL tetramer to stain PBMCs and SFMCs from six HLA-A2-positive patients. The proportion of T cells specific for this influenza epitope was low (<0.2%) in all donors studied, and we did not find any enrichment within SFMCs. We had access to SFMCs only from a second group of four HLA-A2-positive patients with RA. A tetramer of HLA-A2 complexed to the NLVPMVATV epitope from the CMV pp65 protein reacted with subpopulations of CD8(+) SFMCs in all four donors, with frequencies of 0.2, 0.5, 2.3 and 13.9%. SFMCs from all four donors secreted TNF after short-term incubation with COS cells transfected with HLA-A2 and pp65 complementary DNA. We analyzed the phenotype of virus-specific cells within PBMCs and SFMCs in three donors. The SFMC virus-specific T cells were more highly activated than those in PBMCs, as evidenced by expression of high levels of CD69 and HLA-DR. A greater proportion of SFMCs were CD38(+), CD62L low, CD45RO bright, CD45RA dim, CD57(+) and CD28(-) when compared with PBMCs. DISCUSSION: This work shows that T cells specific for certain epitopes from viral proteins are present at very high frequencies (up to 15.5% of CD8(+) T cells) within SFMCs taken from patients with inflammatory joint disease. This enrichment does not reflect a generalized enrichment for the 'memory pool' of T cells; we did not find enrichment of T cells specific for the GILGFVFTL epitope from influenza A or for the FLRGRAYGL epitope from the EBV latent protein EBNA3A, whereas we found clear enrichment of T cells specific for the GLCTLVAML epitope from the EBV lytic protein BMLF1 and for the RAKFKQLL epitope from the EBV lytic protein BZLF1. The enrichment might reflect preferential recruitment of subpopulations of virus-specific T cells, perhaps based on expression of selectins, chemokine receptors or integrins. Alternatively, T cells specific for certain viral epitopes may be stimulated to proliferate within the joint, by viral antigens themselves or by cross-reactive self-antigens. Finally, it is theoretically possible that subpopulations of T cells within the joint are preferentially protected from apoptotic cell death. Whatever the explanation, the virus-specific T cells are present at high frequency, are activated and are able to secrete proinflammatory cytokines. They could potentially interact with synoviocytes and contribute to the maintenance of inflammation within joints in many different forms of inflammatory arthritis

Introduction

This book aims to suggest an analysis of the conflict that focuses on three crucial points. The first is related to space. It is now evident that the framework of the nation-state is too circumscribed and does not capture the complexity of the relations that came into being at local, national and international levels. In this regard, we find particularly penalising the conventional approach that tends to investigate WWI in Africa and the Middle East as two separate settings, a view that unfortunately is still prevalent. Also, WWI studies have tended to examine the conflict within the geographical contours created by the area studies paradigm. Adopted in the 1950s, the area studies model has been under scrutiny since the mid-1990s.73 The artificial disjuncture between Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East reveals all its inadequacies when we deal with the Horn of Africa, an area strongly connected to the neighboring regions. Our choice to focus on a territory which stretches from Libya to Ethiopia and encompasses the Yemen and Middle East is an attempt to overcome this hiatus. Erasing the artificial lines that divide the Horn of Africa from the wider Red Sea region allows approaches that offer a greater understanding of the dynamics at work during WWI. Ours is only a partial attempt to address this methodological limit. But we are aware that Shar\u12bf Husayn\u2019s break with the Ottomans and the volatile situation in Yemen and along the Red Sea deserves more attention from scholars of African history

Radiology

Background: A target mismatch profile can identify good clinical response to recanalization after acute ischemic stroke, but does not consider region specificities. Purpose: To test whether location-weighted infarction core and mismatch, determined from diffusion and perfusion MRI performed in patients with acute stroke, could improve prediction of good clinical response to mechanical thrombectomy compared with a target mismatch profile. Materials and Methods: In this secondary analysis, two prospectively collected independent stroke data sets (2012–2015 and 2017–2019) were analyzed. From the brain before stroke (BBS) study data (data set 1), an eloquent map was computed through voxel-wise associations between the infarction core (based on diffusion MRI on days 1–3 following stroke) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. The French acute multimodal imaging to select patients for mechanical thrombectomy (FRAME) data (data set 2) consisted of large vessel occlusion–related acute ischemic stroke successfully recanalized. From acute MRI studies (performed on arrival, prior to thrombectomy) in data set 2, target mismatch and eloquent (vs noneloquent) infarction core and mismatch were computed from the intersection of diffusion- and perfusion-detected lesions with the coregistered eloquent map. Associations of these imaging metrics with early neurologic improvement were tested in multivariable regression models, and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) were compared. Results: Data sets 1 and 2 included 321 (median age, 69 years [IQR, 58–80 years]; 207 men) and 173 (median age, 74 years [IQR, 65–82 years]; 90 women) patients, respectively. Eloquent mismatch was positively and independently associated with good clinical response (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.27; P =.02) and eloquent infarction core was negatively associated with good response (OR, 0.85; 95% CI: 0.77, 0.95; P =.004), while noneloquent mismatch was not associated with good response (OR, 1.03; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.07; P =.20). Moreover, adding eloquent metrics improved the prediction accuracy (AUC, 0.73; 95% CI: 0.65, 0.81) compared with clinical variables alone (AUC, 0.65; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.73; P =.01) or a target mismatch profile (AUC, 0.67; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.76; P =.03). Conclusion: Location-weighted infarction core and mismatch on diffusion and perfusion MRI scans improved the identification of patients with acute stroke who would benefit from mechanical thrombectomy compared with the volume-based target mismatch profile. © RSNA, 2022.Translational Research and Advanced Imaging Laborator