Ismaili Studies Antecedents and Modern Developments

In the course of their long and complex history dating to the formative period of Islam, the Ismailis have often been accused of various heretical teachings and practices and a multitude of myths and misconceptions circulated about them. This is mainly because the Ismailis were, until the middle of the 20th century, studied and evaluated almost exclusively on the basis of the evidence collected or often fabricated by their enemies. It was only from the mid-20th century onwards that studies based on Ismaili sources came to dominate the field, leading to a much less biased understanding of the Ismailiyya

The Evolving Educational Challenge: Balancing Patient Numbers, Conference Attendance, Sleep, and Resident Wellness

The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACMGE) 2011 guidelines for resident physicians specifically limited interns to 16-hour shifts and forced a paradigm switch from traditional overnight call.1 In “Shift Schedules and Intern Work Hours, Patient Numbers, Conference Attendance, and Sleep at a Single Pediatric Residency Program,”2 we prospectively compared intern work hours, patient numbers, conference attendance, sleep duration, pattern, and quality in 2003 and 2011 ACGME duty hour compliant call schedules at a single pediatric residency program. We concluded that a shift schedule reduced intern work hours and improved sleep duration and pattern. Although intern didactic conference attendance declined significantly during high census months, opportunities for experiential learning in a shift schedule remained robust with unchanged or increased intern patient numbers. Since the publication of our study, the ACGME has removed the 16-hour intern work hour limit, but still requires a maximum 80-hour work week and limits consecutive time on-task to 24 hours, plus 4 hours to transition care.1 Educators aim to provide the best clinical education for residents, while meeting requirements. In this progress report, we consider our study's findings in light of what has been published since October 2016 and discuss innovative scheduling, didactic and experiential resident education, resident sleep, and wellness and areas for future work

TB STIGMA – MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE

TB is the most deadly infectious disease in the world, and stigma continues to play a significant role in worsening the epidemic. Stigma and discrimination not only stop people from seeking care but also make it more difficult for those on treatment to continue, both of which make the disease more difficult to treat in the long-term and mean those infected are more likely to transmit the disease to those around them. TB Stigma – Measurement Guidance is a manual to help generate enough information about stigma issues to design and monitor and evaluate efforts to reduce TB stigma. It can help in planning TB stigma baseline measurements and monitoring trends to capture the outcomes of TB stigma reduction efforts. This manual is designed for health workers, professional or management staff, people who advocate for those with TB, and all who need to understand and respond to TB stigma

BRCA1: linking HOX to breast cancer suppression

Homeobox (HOX) genes play key roles in embryogenesis and tissue differentiation. Recently, a number of groups have reported altered HOX gene expression in breast cancer. However, the mechanism of HOX gene regulation and the search for direct targets of its transcriptional regulatory function have been minimally fruitful. Recently, Gilbert and colleagues reported that HOXA9 restrains breast cancer progression by upregulation of BRCA1, a tumor suppressor. This finding raises our hope that more, rather elusive targets of HOX genes important in tumor progression or suppression will be found in the future

Measuring Transcription Factor–Binding Site Turnover: A Maximum Likelihood Approach Using Phylogenies

A major mode of gene expression evolution is based on changes in cis-regulatory elements (CREs) whose function critically depends on the presence of transcription factor–binding sites (TFBS). Because CREs experience extensive TFBS turnover even with conserved function, alignment-based studies of CRE sequence evolution are limited to very closely related species. Here, we propose an alternative approach based on a stochastic model of TFBS turnover. We implemented a maximum likelihood model that permits variable turnover rates in different parts of the species tree. This model can be used to detect changes in turnover rate as a proxy for differences in the selective pressures acting on TFBS in different clades. We applied this method to five TFBS in the fungi methionine biosynthesis pathway and three TFBS in the HoxA clusters of vertebrates. We find that the estimated turnover rate is generally high, with half-life ranging between ∼5 and 150 My and a mode around tens of millions of years. This rate is consistent with the finding that even functionally conserved enhancers can show very low sequence similarity. We also detect statistically significant differences in the equilibrium densities of estrogen- and progesterone-response elements in the HoxA clusters between mammal and nonmammal vertebrates. Even more extreme clade-specific differences were found in the fungal data. We conclude that stochastic models of TFBS turnover enable the detection of shifts in the selective pressures acting on CREs in different organisms

Avaliação da resistência ao cisalhamento da união entre duas ligas a base de CoCr e uma cerâmica

INTRODUCTION: Based on the importance of the integrity of the metal/ceramic interface, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the shear bond strength of the metal-ceramic union of two Co-Cr alloys (Wirobond C, Bego; Remanium 2000, Dentaurum) combined with Omega 900 ceramic (Vita Zahnfabrik). MATERIAL and METHOD: Eleven cylindrical matrixes were made for each alloy, and the metallic portion was obtained with the lost wax casting technique with standardized waxing of 4mm of height and of 4mm of diameter. The ceramic was applied according to the manufacturer’s recommendations with the aid of a teflon matrix that allowed its dimension to be standardized in the same size as the metallic portion. The specimens were submitted to the shear bond test in an universal testing machine (EMIC), with the aid of a device developed for such intention, and constant speed of 0.5mm/min. RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS: The mean resistance was 48.387MPa for Wirobond C alloy, with standard deviation of 17.718, and 55.956MPa for Remanium 2000, with standard deviation of 17.198. No statistically significant difference was observed between the shear strength of the two metal-ceramic alloys. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RESUMOINTRODUÇÃO: Baseados na importância da integridade da interface metal-cerâmica, este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a resistência ao cisalhamento da união metal-cerâmica de duas ligas de Co-Cr (Wirobond C, Bego; Remanium 2000, Dentaurum) combinadas com a cerâmica Omega 900 (Vita Zahnfabrik). MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram confeccionados 11 corpos-de-prova cilíndricos para cada liga utilizada, sendo que a porção metálica foi obtida por fundição pela técnica da cera perdida, através de enceramentos padronizados com 4mm de altura por 4mm de diâmetro. A aplicação da cerâmica foi realizada segundo recomendações do fabricante, com auxílio de uma matriz de teflon que permitia sua padronização com as mesmas dimensões da porção metálica. Os corpos-de-prova foram submetidos ao ensaio de resistência ao cisalhamento em máquina de ensaios universal (EMIC), com auxílio de dispositivo desenvolvido para tal propósito, sob velocidade constante de 0,5mm/ min. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÕES: As médias de resistência obtidas foram 48,387 MPa para a liga Wirobond C, com desvio padrão de 17,718, e 55,956 MPa para a Remanium 2000, com desvio padrão de 17,198. Após análise de variância foi possível observar que não há diferença estatisticamente significante entre os valores de resistência ao cisalhamento das duas ligas metalocerâmicas

Two cultures, one identity: formulations of Australian Isma'ili Muslim identity

The Shi'a Imami Nizari Isma'ili Muslims have often been considered the "poster child" for pluralistic integration (Cayo 2008). This ethos has been inculcated within members of the community, with its adherents seeing themselves as a diverse and multi-ethnic collective. Nevertheless, despite this purported pluralism, social research on the Isma'ilis has primarily focused on the diasporic and post-diasporic migrant communities of South Asian descent, the 'first and second-generation immigrants,' in the Euro-American context (Mukadam and Mawani 2006, 2009; Nanji 1983, 1986). The experiences of co-religionists in other contexts have often been neglected. This study examines how members of the self-described geographically and socially isolated Isma'ili community in Australia construct their identity vis-à-vis the larger, global, Isma'ili community, and how they have responded to the potential of identity threat given the arrival of another group of Isma’ilis with a differing migratory history integrating into the extant community. Using the approach of identity process theory, this study examines how salient features of identity are constructed amongst the Australian Isma'ilis, how religion and identity take on multiple meanings within the Australian Isma'ili context, and, finally, sheds light on the self-sufficiency of this community despite geographic and social isolation