Prostate cancer disparities and management in southern Africa : insights into practices, norms and values

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of mortality in men of African origin. While men of African descent in high-income countries (HICs) demonstrate poor prognosis compared to their European counterparts, African men on the African continent, particularly Southern Africa have shown even higher PCa mortality rates. Extrinsic factors such as the socioeconomic status, education level, income level, geographic location and race contribute to PCa patient outcome. These are further deepened by the African norms which are highly esteemed and may have detrimental effects on PCa patients’ health. Insights into African cultures and social constructs have been identified as key elements towards improving men’s health care seeking behaviour which will in turn improve PCa patients’ outcome. Compared to Southern Africa, the Eastern, Western and Central African regions have lower PCa incidence rates but higher mortality rates. The availability of cancer medical equipment has also been reported to be disproportionate in Africa, with most cancer resources in Northern and Southern Africa. Even within Southern Africa, cancer management resources are unevenly available where one country must access PCa specialised care in the neighbouring countries. While PCa seems to be better managed in HICs, steps towards effective PCa management are urgently needed in Africa, as this continent represents a significant portion of low–middle-income countries (LMICs). Replacing African men in Africa with African American men may not optimally resolve PCa challenges in Africa. Adopting western PCa management practices can be optimised by integrating improved core-African norms. The aim of this review is to discuss PCa disparities in Africa, deliberate on the significance of integrating African norms around masculinity and discuss challenges and opportunities towards effective PCa care in Africa, particularly in Southern Africa.The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/1404hj2023Medical Oncolog

Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks and splicing switches in cervical cancer : HPV oncogenesis, clinical significance and therapeutic opportunities

Cervical cancer (CC) is the primary cause of female cancer fatalities in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Persistent infections from the human papillomavirus (HPV) can result in cervical cancer. However, numerous different factors influence the development and progression of cervical cancer. Transcriptomic knowledge of the mechanisms with which HPV causes cervical cancer pathogenesis is growing. Nonetheless, there is an existing gap hindering the development of therapeutic approaches and the improvement of patient outcomes. Alternative splicing allows for the production of numerous RNA transcripts and protein isoforms from a single gene, increasing the transcriptome and protein diversity in eukaryotes. Cancer cells exhibit astounding transcriptome modifications by expressing cancer-specific splicing isoforms. High-risk HPV uses cellular alternative splicing events to produce viral and host splice variants and proteins that drive cancer progression or contribute to distinct cancer hallmarks. Understanding how viruses utilize alternative splicing to drive pathogenesis and tumorigenesis is essential. Although research into the role of miRNAs in tumorigenesis is advancing, the function of other non-coding RNAs, including lncRNA and circRNA, has been understudied. Through their interaction with mRNA, non-coding RNAs form a network of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), which regulate gene expression and promote cervical cancer development and advancement. The dysregulated expression of non-coding RNAs is an understudied and tangled process that promotes cervical cancer development. This review will present the role of aberrant alternative splicing and immunosuppression events in HPV-mediated cervical tumorigenesis, and ceRNA network regulation in cervical cancer pathogenesis will also be discussed. Furthermore, the therapeutic potential of splicing disruptor drugs in cervical cancer will be deliberated.We would like to thank the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Grant Number 23108, and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Grant Number 138139, for funding this work.The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganismsam2023Medical Oncolog

Role of precision oncology in type II endometrial and prostate cancers in the African population : global cancer genomics disparities

Precision oncology can be defined as molecular profiling of tumors to identify targetable alterations. Emerging research reports the high mortality rates associated with type II endometrial cancer in black women and with prostate cancer in men of African ancestry. The lack of adequate genetic reference information from the African genome is one of the major obstacles in exploring the benefits of precision oncology in the African context. Whilst external factors such as the geography, environment, health-care access and socio-economic status may contribute greatly towards the disparities observed in type II endometrial and prostate cancers in black populations compared to Caucasians, the contribution of African ancestry to the contribution of genetics to the etiology of these cancers cannot be ignored. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) continue to emerge as important regulators of gene expression and the key molecular pathways involved in tumorigenesis. Particular attention is focused on activated/repressed genes and associated pathways, while the redundant pathways (pathways that have the same outcome or activate the same downstream effectors) are often ignored. However, comprehensive evidence to understand the relationship between type II endometrial cancer, prostate cancer and African ancestry remains poorly understood. The sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has both the highest incidence and mortality of both type II endometrial and prostate cancers. Understanding how the entire transcriptomic landscape of these two reproductive cancers is regulated by ncRNAs in an African cohort may help elucidate the relationship between race and pathological disparities of these two diseases. This review focuses on global disparities in medicine, PCa and ECa. The role of precision oncology in PCa and ECa in the African population will also be discussed.This research was funded by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Grant No. 23108 and the National Research Foundation (NRF) Grant No. 138139.The South African Medical Research Council and the National Research Foundation.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerphMedical OncologyUrolog

«Έτσι χορεύουν τα βουνά»: Η γυναικεία αισθητική της Ηπείρου στο έργο της Τασίας Βενέτη

This article offers a close reading -both grammatological and text-cantered- of debut author Tasia Veneti’s work, in order to demonstrate its historical and aesthetic correlation with the Epirote literary tradition, as well as with Modern Greek prose writing of the 19 th century, with pretensions that far exceed the expectations of a first work. The paper focuses, in particular, on the writer’s gendered perspective, with respect to the primacy on her part of the female experience and narrative perspective, which significantly differentiates her work from her contemporary Epirote fellow-writers. The female experience of Epirus, based on the cruelty of lived reality, intrinsically linked to space in its physical, historical, and social dimension, forms in Veneti, as I hope to show, a gender-determined ethographic, naturalistic and by definition realistic aesthetic, which is its own.Este estudio tiene como objetivo dar una lectura detallada -gramatológica y texto-céntrica- de la obra de la escritora debutante Tasia Veneti, con el fin de demonstrar su correlación histórica y estética con la tradición literaria Epirota, así como con la prosa neogriega del siglo XIX, con pretensiones que superan la calificación de primera obra. Se examina, en particular, la perspectiva de género de la autora, con respecto a su primacía de la experiencia y perspectiva narrativa femenina, que la diferencia significantemente de sus pares Epirotas contemporáneos. La experiencia femenina de Épiro, basada sobre la dureza de vivencia, directamente vinculada con el espacio en su dimensión física, histórica y social, forma en Veneti, como espero demostrar, una estética etográfica, naturalista y realista por definición, determinada por la dimensión de género, que le es propria.Στην παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρείται μία εκ του σύνεγγυς ανάγνωση -γραμματολογική και κειμενοκεντρική- του έργου της πρωτοεμφανιζόμενης πεζογράφου Τασίας Βενέτη, προκειμένου να αναδειχθεί η ιστορική και αισθητική του συνάφεια με την ηπειρώτικη λογοτεχνική παράδοση, αλλά και με τη νεοελληνική πεζογραφία του 19ου αιώνα, με αξιώσεις μάλιστα που υπερβαίνουν κατά πολύ τον χαρακτηρισμό του πρωτόλειου. Εξετάζεται, ειδικότερα, το έμφυλο στίγμα της συγγραφέα, με αναφορά στην πριμοδότηση από μέρους της της γυναικείας εμπειρίας και αφηγηματικής οπτικής, το οποίο διαφοροποιεί αισθητά την πεζογραφική της κατάθεση της από σύγχρονους Ηπειρώτες ομοτέχνους της. Η γυναικεία εμπειρία της Ηπείρου στη βάση της σκληρότητας του βιώματος, άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με τον τόπο στη φυσική, την ιστορική και την κοινωνική του διάσταση, διαμορφώνει στη Βενέτη, όπως επιθυμώ να καταδείξω, μια έμφυλα προσδιορισμένη ηθογραφική, νατουραλιστική και εν γένει ρεαλιστική αισθητική, που του είναι ίδια

Woman and Commited Poetry : Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda, Yannis Ritsos

Cette thèse traite de la question de la femme dans la poésie de trois auteurs engagés majeurs du XXe siècle : Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda et Yannis Ritsos. Avec un type d’approche résolument comparatiste, elle permet d’avoir une vision plus générale de la femme dans la poésie militante, tout en révélant la spécificité de ces auteurs et de leurs écrits. Ces écritures qui participent d’un dialogue intertextuel et universel placent le rapport entre amour, histoire et politique au cœur de leur relation avec les femmes et avec l’œuvre. Relevant de la problématique de la différence sexuelle et du rapport entre genre et classe – et en utilisant une méthode qui part du particulier pour aller vers le plus général, et qui va donc du personnel au collectif –, cette thèse, centrée sur la production littéraire de la guerre froide des poètes en question, étudie leur évolution personnelle en regard de celle de la poésie engagée en général. De fait, les différentes images de la femme parviennent à représenter la vision du monde de l’écrivain engagé, profondément bouleversée dans la période concernée. Allant progressivement d’une construction à une déconstruction de l’identité collective, des tons hauts aux tons sourds, de l’épique au lyrique, des mythes révolutionnaires aux mythes soulignant le caractère inaltérable de la condition humaine, de la physique à la métaphysique, de l’idéal du Progrès, enfin, à une dépréciation de l’Histoire – qui se manifeste sous des figurations cycliques –, l’écrivain engagé se retrouve à la limite de son entreprise, où les contradictions restent souvent inconciliables.The aim of this thesis is to explore the question of woman in the poetry of three major committed poets of the twentieth century : Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda and Yannis Ritsos. Having adopted a comparative type of approach, this study gives a general vision of woman in militant poetry, while at the same time it highlights the specificity of the authors and their works. This poetry forms part of a universal and intertextual dialogue placing the relationship between love, history and politics at the centre of the authors’ relation with women and the creative process. Within the scope of the sexual difference problematic, as well as the interplay between class and gender, and by employing a method that moves from the particular to the more general – and thus, from the personal to the collective –, this thesis, centered on the Cold War literary production of the authors concerned, focuses on their personal development with respect to the evolution of the committed poetry more generally. Indeed, the different images of woman come to represent the vision of the world of the committed writer, profoundly disrupted during the period in question. Moving progressively from a construction to a de-construction of the collective identity, from high to low tones, from epic to lyric flair, from revolutionary myths to myths outlining the inalterable character of human condition, from physics to metaphysics, lastly, from the ideal of Progress to a depreciation of History – expressed by cyclical figurations –, the committed writer is found on the outermost boundary of his undertaking, where contradictions are often unreconciliable

« Je m’appelle Ève » : écriture féminine et réécriture de la Bible dans Beauté superflue de Nasia Dionysiou

Abstract: Nasia Dionysiou is a remarkable young Cypriot writer. Her first short-story collection, Superfluous Beauty (2017), has won the National Short-Story Prize (Cyprus). This article offers a close reading of Superfluous Beauty through a comparativist lens. In particular, it examines the way in which the author offers a subversive—feminine and feminist—re-writing of the Bible, by forging an intertextual network which allows a rich and productive interaction and convergences, especially with the work of dissident writer Milan Kundera. The article focuses on the ways in which this reading of the Bible is accompanied by a conceptualization of writing which draws from the corporeal experience of the female, directly linked to Hélène Cixous foremost concept of écriture féminine, actualizing thus a critical distrust towards authority as formulated by French theory in the 1970s. In revisiting the Bible, which founds the values and the rational premises of the Western civilization, Dionysiou, like Cixous, de-subjectifies the origins of Logos, by exploring the inexhaustible creative potential of the female, in quest of a truth about existence which remains plethoric and inconceivable by definition

1821-2021: Μια φεΜινιστική επαναστασή

This article examines the reception of the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence in contemporary women’s writing. It offers an analysis of a wide range of female writers, which demonstrates a major literary tendance concerning the manifestation of a feminist or gendered consciousness, which the critic and historian of Modern Greek literature can no longer ignore. In the contemporary context, the event of the Greek Revolution is received through a more private prism, which in the works of female writers relates to the female experience, visibility, and identity. These works denounce in particular the exclusion of the female experience of the Revolution from dominant national narratives or defy the male authority of the literary canon with respect to the poetry of Dionysios Solomos, whom the writers in question however respect and creatively rework. All in all, this study demonstrates the necessity for a contemporary feminist criticism with solid methodological foundations.Η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει την πρόσληψη της μεγάλης επετείου των διακοσίων χρόνων από την Ελληνική Επανάσταση από τη σύγχρονη γυναικεία λογοτεχνία στην Ελλάδα. Aναλύεται ενδεικτικά ένα εύρος Ελληνίδων συγγραφέων, συνεισφέροντας στην αναδίφηση μιας μείζονος λογοτεχνικής τάσης, με αναφορά στην έκφραση μιας ευδιάκριτα φεμινιστικής ή έμφυλης συνείδησης, η οποία δεν μπορεί πλέον να αγνοηθεί από τον κριτικό και τον γραμματολόγο του σήμερα. Το γεγονός της Επανάστασης προσλαμβάνεται στη σύγχρονη συνθήκη μέσα από ένα ιδιωτικότερο πρίσμα, το οποίο στις λογοτεχνικές καταθέσεις γυναικών άπτεται αμεσότερα της γυναικείας εμπειρίας, ορατότητας και ταυτότητας. Σε αυτές στηλιτεύεται ειδικότερα ο αποκλεισμός της γυναικείας εμπειρίας της Επανάστασης από τις κυρίαρχες εθνικές αφηγήσεις ή κλονίζεται η αντρική αυθεντία του λογοτεχνικού κανόνα, με αναφορά στη σολωμική κατά κύριο λόγο ποίηση, την οποία ωστόσο οι υπό εξέταση συγγραφείς δείχνουν να σέβονται και να αναζωογονούν δημιουργικά. Τέλος, αναδεικνύεται συνολικά η αναγκαιότητα για μία σύγχρονη φεμινιστική κριτική με σαφή μεθοδολογικά ερείσματα

The effects of medicinal plant extracts on the microbial, biofilm and autolytic activity of several pathogenic bacteria.

More people are aware of the problems with drugs and are reverting to herbal (plant) and over-the-counter medications. The conclusion made is the urgency to study new plants for antimicrobial activity. Various plant extracts were used in the study to determine the antimicrobial, mode of action and autolytic activity against various microbial species. Techniques used in this study include culturing via streaking method, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), zymography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), autolytic activity assay, minimum inhibition concentration assay, dilution activity assay, Spot-on-lawn assay and Bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay. The whole cell protein profile was used to show the proteins without any extraction method for comparison with the applied extraction method. With the extraction method implemented, less proteins where seen as the extraction method was specific to the peptidoglycan hydrolases. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (4%) extraction method was more effective as an extraction method when compared to lithium chloride (LiCl). Plant extract 4.2 showedantimicrobial activity as seen by the inhibition zone on the agar plate (Figure 27 and Figure 28). Plant extract 4.2 and 5.2 showed decreased autolytic activity (Figure 20-22). The conclusion made was that the presence of the plant extracts decreases growth of the microbial species thus decreases protein production. Markers were identified using HPLC where 1 marker showed antimicrobial activity (Sebacic acid) and another marker showed anti-inflammatory activity (Loxoprofen Sodium) based on previous literature. S. aureus 12600 in the presences of extract 4.2 had antimicrobial activity but results were not significant. Extract 5.2 showed biofilm formation. Extract 4.2 showed positive results in most experiments conducted.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2018.South African Biochemistry and Informatics for Natural Products (SABINA) National Research Foundation (NRF)BiochemistryMScUnrestricte

Influence of Overall Habitual Physical Activity on the Age-Related Change in Muscle Mass in 60 to 85 Year-Olds

204 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000.The primary objective was to evaluate the influence of overall habitual physical activity (OHPA), including occupational (OPA), household (HPA) and leisure-time activity (LTA), on the age-related change in muscle mass. A second objective was to examine the relationship between leg muscle mass and concentric/eccentric peak force production (CEPFP) of the quadriceps femoris muscle group. The final objective was to examine the relationship between muscle mass and measures of physical function, i.e., speed of gait, speed of ascending and descending stairs, and balance. The 36 men and 46 women (initial mean age 65.6 +/- 6.9 years, weight 71.3 +/- 12.5 kg, height 168 +/- 10.1 cm.) were tested twice 7 years apart. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry showed reductions (p < 0.05) in appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) mass by 1.9%, mineral-free lean mass by 1.6%, fat-free mass by 1.8%, bone mineral density by 5.3% and bone mineral content by 5.8%. Percent body fat increased by 8.9% (relative change) and total fat by 12.5%. Height decreased ( p < 0.05). Weight and body mass index increased (p < 0.05). OHPA, LTA and OPA decreased, whereas HPA remained the same as estimated from questionnaires. Change in ASM mass was not associated with OHPA, LTA, OPA, HPA, heavy, moderate, and light intensity leisure-time activity, weight training, swimming, health club and home exercise and transportation to work. Higher levels of stair climbing at work (SCW) and running during leisure (RDL) were associated with a smaller age-related loss in ASM mass, even when accounting for age, time of follow-up and gender. Leg muscle mass was positively associated with CEPFP, even when accounting for age and gender. Age accounted for an additional amount of the variance in CEPFP indicating that declines in strength are not caused uniquely by loss in muscle mass. Gender did not have an association with CEPFP. ASM mass was not associated with speed of ascending and descending stairs and speed of gait. Greater amounts of ASM mass were associated with higher balance scores, even when accounting for age, weight and gender. In summary, only two of the examined physical activity estimates, SCW and RDL, were associated with change in ASM mass.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

La femme et la poésie engagée (Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda, Yannis Ritsos)

Cette thèse traite de la question de la femme dans la poésie de trois auteurs engagés majeurs du XXe siècle : Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda et Yannis Ritsos. Avec un type d approche résolument comparatiste, elle permet d avoir une vision plus générale de la femme dans la poésie militante, tout en révélant la spécificité de ces auteurs et de leurs écrits. Ces écritures qui participent d un dialogue intertextuel et universel placent le rapport entre amour, histoire et politique au cœur de leur relation avec les femmes et avec l œuvre. Relevant de la problématique de la différence sexuelle et du rapport entre genre et classe et en utilisant une méthode qui part du particulier pour aller vers le plus général, et qui va donc du personnel au collectif , cette thèse, centrée sur la production littéraire de la guerre froide des poètes en question, étudie leur évolution personnelle en regard de celle de la poésie engagée en général. De fait, les différentes images de la femme parviennent à représenter la vision du monde de l écrivain engagé, profondément bouleversée dans la période concernée. Allant progressivement d une construction à une déconstruction de l identité collective, des tons hauts aux tons sourds, de l épique au lyrique, des mythes révolutionnaires aux mythes soulignant le caractère inaltérable de la condition humaine, de la physique à la métaphysique, de l idéal du Progrès, enfin, à une dépréciation de l Histoire qui se manifeste sous des figurations cycliques , l écrivain engagé se retrouve à la limite de son entreprise, où les contradictions restent souvent inconciliables.The aim of this thesis is to explore the question of woman in the poetry of three major committed poets of the twentieth century : Louis Aragon, Pablo Neruda and Yannis Ritsos. Having adopted a comparative type of approach, this study gives a general vision of woman in militant poetry, while at the same time it highlights the specificity of the authors and their works. This poetry forms part of a universal and intertextual dialogue placing the relationship between love, history and politics at the centre of the authors relation with women and the creative process. Within the scope of the sexual difference problematic, as well as the interplay between class and gender, and by employing a method that moves from the particular to the more general and thus, from the personal to the collective , this thesis, centered on the Cold War literary production of the authors concerned, focuses on their personal development with respect to the evolution of the committed poetry more generally. Indeed, the different images of woman come to represent the vision of the world of the committed writer, profoundly disrupted during the period in question. Moving progressively from a construction to a de-construction of the collective identity, from high to low tones, from epic to lyric flair, from revolutionary myths to myths outlining the inalterable character of human condition, from physics to metaphysics, lastly, from the ideal of Progress to a depreciation of History expressed by cyclical figurations , the committed writer is found on the outermost boundary of his undertaking, where contradictions are often unreconciliable.PARIS4-Bib. électronique (751059905) / SudocSudocFranceF