Nazira Zeineddine: a jovem e os xeiques

For over forty years discussion and debate about the hijab had raged around the Muslim Arab world, and pitted conservatives against reformists within a political context shaped by European colonialism. In 1927 Syrian shaykhs announced that women must cover their faces. Women took to the streets, and a nineteen-year-old Druze woman from the Beirut bourgeoisie took to her desk. Quoting Islamic scriptures and contemporary religious and secular authorities on almost every page, Nazira Zeineddine wrote four hundred pages about the harm to society of covering women’s faces. Within a few months she published Unveiling and Veiling. The book, the first by a woman to detail women’s rights in Islam, was an attack on shaykhs who presumed to order women to cover their faces, and who manipulated interpretations of the Qur’an and hadiths with the sole goal of empowering men. In this essay, I will provide an overview of Nazira’s hermeneutics and my hypotheses for why she and her writings remained virtually unknown until the end of the 20th century.A lo largo de más de cuatro décadas los debates sobre el hiyab se extendieron por todo el mundo árabe musulmán, confrontando a conservadores y reformistas en un contexto político moldeado por el colonialismo europeo. En 1927, los jeques sirios decretaron que las mujeres debían cubrirse el rostro. Las mujeres salieron a la calle y al escritorio se sentó una chica drusa de diecinueve años, Nazira Zeineddine, perteneciente a la burguesía de Beirut. Escribió cuatrocientas páginas sobre el daño a la sociedad de cubrir los rostros de las mujeres, citando escrituras islámicas y autoridades religiosas y seculares contemporáneas en casi todas las páginas. Unos meses más tarde, publicó Desvelando y velando. El libro, el primero escrito por una mujer que aborda los derechos de la mujer en el Islam, fue un ataque a los jeques que se atrevieron a ordenar a las mujeres que se cubrieran el rostro y que manipularon las interpretaciones del Corán y los hadices con el único objetivo de garantizar el poder a los hombres. En este ensayo, presento una síntesis de la hermenéutica de Nazira y mis hipótesis acerca de por qué ella y sus escritos permanecieron prácticamente desconocidos hasta fines del siglo XX.Por mais de quatro décadas os debates sobre o hijab se alastravam pelo mundo árabe muçulmano, opondo conservadores e reformistas em um contexto político conformado pelo colonialismo europeu. Em 1927, os xeiques sírios decretaram que as mulheres deveriam cobrir o rosto. As mulheres saíram às ruas e uma jovem drusa de dezenove anos, Nazira Zeineddine, pertencente à burguesia de Beirute, sentou-se à escrivaninha. Escreveu quatrocentas páginas sobre os prejuízos para a sociedade do ato de cobrir o rosto das mulheres, citando as escrituras islâmicas e autoridades religiosas e seculares contemporâneas em quase todas as páginas. Poucos meses depois, ela publicava Unveiling and Veiling. O livro, o primeiro escrito por uma mulher a tratar dos direitos das mulheres no Islã, foi um ataque aos xeiques que se atreveram a ordenar que as mulheres cobrissem seus rostos e que manipulavam as interpretações do Alcorão e dos hadiths com o único objetivo de assegurar poder aos homens. Neste ensaio, apresento uma síntese da hermenêutica de Nazira e minhas hipóteses sobre por que ela e seus escritos permaneceram praticamente desconhecidos até o final do século XX

Tumour-Associated Tissue Factor (TF)-mRNA Is A Precursor for Rapid TF-Microvesicle Release and A Potential Predictive Marker for the Risk of Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients

Predicting which cancer patients are at risk of thrombosis remains a key challenge to effective thromboprophylaxis. This study was based on the hypothesis that the rapid release of TF-containing MV occurs in cancer cells that possess high levels of TF mRNA, permitting the transient but amplified TF-protein production in response to cellular activation. To gather preliminary clinical evidence for this hypothesis the correlation between the levels of tumour-associated TF mRNA and incidence of Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in Gastrointestinal cancer patients (GI) was assessed using stringently-selected patient cohorts. Furthermore, the rapid TF-MV release was assessed in three cell lines with high TF mRNA in which protein-translation or mRNA-transcription were inhibited separately. On applying the exclusion criteria, the study accrued 9 clinical samples with incidental PE (colonic n=5; gastroesophageal n=4) which were type, gender and stage of cancer matched one-to-one with patients without PE (9+9 samples). Total-RNA was extracted from the samples using a FFPE-RNA extraction kit and TF mRNA was quantified using a quantitative real-time PCR procedure along with a standard curve prepared using in vitro-transcribed TF mRNA. Relative amounts of PAR2 mRNA were also determined. Analysis of absolute amounts of tumour-associated TF mRNA showed significant increase in patients who developed PE (mean=26.931±15.371 pg/100ng-total RNA; median=5.340 pg/100ng-total RNA; range=0.4-131.43 pg/100ng-total RNA) compared to those who didn’t (mean=0.098±0.023 pg/100ng-total RNA; median=0.110 pg/100ng-total RNA; range=0-0.19 pg/100ng-total RNA). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis returned an area under the curve of 1. In contrast, no significant difference in PAR2 mRNA was recorded. To provide an explanation for these findings, inhibition of protein-translation using cycloheximide prevented the incorporation of TF but not the MV release. However, blocking of RNA-transcription did not prevent TF-MV release. In conclusion, this is a first demonstration of a strong correlation between the risk of PE in GI cancer and the levels of tumour-TF mRNA, and further supports the hypothesis that the process is driven by the rapid translation of mRNA into TF-protein, following stimulation

Effectiveness of the interventions in preventing the progression of pre-frailty and frailty in older adults:a systematic review protocol

REVIEW QUESTION / OBJECTIVE : The objective of this review is to identify the effectiveness of the interventions in preventing progression of pre-frailty and frailty in older adults. More specifically, the review questions are: - What is the effectiveness of interventions in preventing or reducing frailty in older adults? - How does effectiveness vary with degree of frailty? - Are there factors that influence the effectiveness of interventions? - What is the economic feasibility of interventions for pre-frailty and frailty? INCLUSION CRITERIA : Types of participants This review will consider studies that include older adults (female and male) aged 65 years and over, explicitly identified as pre-frail or frail by the researchers or associated medical professionals according to a pre-specified scale or index, and who have received health care and support services in any type of setting (primary care, nursing homes, hospitals). This review will exclude studies that: - Include participants who have been selected because they have one specific illness - Consider people with a terminal diagnosis only. - Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest: The clinical/medical component of the review will consider studies that evaluate any type of interventions to prevent the progression of pre-frailty and frailty in older adults. These interventions will include, but will not be limited to, physical activity, multifactorial intervention, psychosocial intervention, health and social care provision, and cognitive, nutrition or medication/medical maintenance and adherence focused interventions. The economic component of the review will consider studies that have performed any type of health economic analysis of ..

Effectiveness of interventions to prevent pre-frailty and frailty progression in older adults:a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the best available evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions for preventing frailty progression in older adults. INTRODUCTION: Frailty is an age-related state of decreased physiological reserves characterized by an increased risk of poor clinical outcomes. Evidence supporting the malleability of frailty, its prevention and treatment, has been presented. INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review considered studies on older adults aged 65 and over, explicitly identified as pre-frail or frail, who had been undergoing interventions focusing on the prevention of frailty progression. Participants selected on the basis of specific illness or with a terminal diagnosis were excluded. The comparator was usual care, alternative therapeutic interventions or no intervention. The primary outcome was frailty. Secondary outcomes included: (i) cognition, quality of life, activities of daily living, caregiver burden, functional capacity, depression and other mental health-related outcomes, self-perceived health and social engagement; (ii) drugs and prescriptions, analytical parameters, adverse outcomes and comorbidities; (iii) costs, and/or costs relative to benefits and/or savings associated with implementing the interventions for frailty. Experimental study designs, cost effectiveness, cost benefit, cost minimization and cost utility studies were considered for inclusion. METHODS: Databases for published and unpublished studies, available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Dutch, from January 2001 to November 2015, were searched. Critical appraisal was conducted using standardized instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data was extracted using the standardized tools designed for quantitative and economic studies. Data was presented in a narrative form due to the heterogeneity of included studies. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies, all randomized controlled trials, with a total of 5275 older adults and describing 33 interventions, met the criteria for inclusion. Economic analyses were conducted in two studies. Physical exercise programs were shown to be generally effective for reducing or postponing frailty but only when conducted in groups. Favorable effects on frailty indicators were also observed after the interventions, based on physical exercise with supplementation, supplementation alone, cognitive training and combined treatment. Group meetings and home visits were not found to be universally effective. Lack of efficacy was evidenced for physical exercise performed individually or delivered one-to-one, hormone supplementation and problem solving therapy. Individually tailored management programs for clinical conditions had inconsistent effects on frailty prevalence. Economic studies demonstrated that this type of intervention, as compared to usual care, provided better value for money, particularly for very frail community-dwelling participants, and had favorable effects in some of the frailty-related outcomes in inpatient and outpatient management, without increasing costs. CONCLUSIONS: This review found mixed results regarding the effectiveness of frailty interventions. However, there is clear evidence on the usefulness of such interventions in carefully chosen evidence-based circumstances, both for frailty itself and for secondary outcomes, supporting clinical investment of resources in frailty intervention. Further research is required to reinforce current evidence and examine the impact of the initial level of frailty on the benefits of different interventions. There is also a need for economic evaluation of frailty interventions

Raman signal from a hindered hydrogen rotor

We present a method for calculation of Raman modes of the quantum solid phase I hydrogen and deuterium. We use the mean-field assumption that the quantized excitations are localized on one molecule. This is done by explicit solution of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation in an angle-dependent potential, and direct calculation of the polarization. We show that in the free rotor limit, the H₂ and D₂ frequencies differ by a factor of 2, which evolves toward √2 as the modes acquire librational character due to stronger interactions. The ratio overshoots √2 if anharmonic terms weaken the harmonic potential. We also use density functional theory and molecular dynamics to calculate the E_(2g) optical phonon frequency and the Raman linewidths. The molecular dynamics shows that the molecules are not free rotors except at very low pressure and high temperature, and become like oscillators as phase II is approached. We fit the interaction strengths to experimental frequencies, but good agreement for intensities requires us to also include strong preferred orientation and stimulated Raman effects between S₀ (1) and S₀ (0) contributions. The experimental Raman spectrum for phase II cannot be reproduced, suggesting that the mean-field assumption is invalid in that case

Painting the Nation:Examining the Intersection Between Politics and the Visual Arts Market in Emerging Economies

Politics and art have throughout history, intersected in diverse and complex ways. Ideologies and political systems have used the arts to create a certain image and, depending on the form of government this has varied from clear-cut state propaganda, to patronage, to more indirect arms-length funding procedures. Therefore, artists working within the macro-level socio-political context cannot help but be influenced, inspired and sometimes restricted by these policies and political influences. This article examines the contemporary art markets of two emerging, Socialist economies to investigate the relationship between state pol-itics and the contemporary visual arts market. We argue that the respective governments and art worlds are trying to construct a brand narrative for their nations, but that these discourses are often at cross-purposes. In doing so, we illustrate that it is impos-sible to separate a consideration of the artwork from the macro-level context in which it is produced, distributed, and consumed