Change and Persistence, Proceedings of the International Conference, Tunis, 12-13 November 2013

This publication is based on the proceedings of an international conference entitled ‘Arab Revolutions and Beyond: Change and Persistence’, which was held in the framework of a multilateral project called ‘Challenges and Transformations in the Wake of the Arab Spring’ (2012-2014). The project is funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and based upon the longstanding partnership between Cairo University in Egypt and Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, specifically between the EuroMed Study Program at the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences (FEPS) and the Centre for Middle Eastern and North African Politics at Otto-Suhr-Institute, Department for Political and Social Sciences. Dieser Sammelband ist ein Ergebnis der internationalen Tunis-Konferenz "Arab Revolutions and Beyond: Change and Persistence", die im Rahmen des multinationalen DAAD-Projekts "Challenges and Transformations in the Wake of the Arab Spring" im November 2013 stattfand. Neben Kolleg_innen der Universität Kairo, mit der bereits eine langjährige Partnerschaft besteht, sind auch Nachwuchsforscher_innen aus Tunesien, Libyen, Jordanien und weiteren Arabischen Staaten beteiligt. Das Projekt stellt sich den Herausforderungen, welche sich durch die politischen und sozialen Umbrüche in der Region für die akademische Bildung, v.a. in den Sozialwissenschaften ergeben haben. Hieraus soll ein produktiver Dialog über theoretische, methodische und thematische Felder der Sozialwissenschaften eröffnet werden, um die Strukturen von Forschung und Lehre dauerhaft zu verbessern.This publication is based on the proceedings of an international conference entitled ‘Arab Revolutions and Beyond: Change and Persistence’, which was held in the framework of a multilateral project called ‘Challenges and Transformations in the Wake of the Arab Spring’ (2012-2014). The project is funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and based upon the longstanding partnership between Cairo University in Egypt and Freie Universität Berlin in Germany, specifically between the EuroMed Study Program at the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences (FEPS) and the Centre for Middle Eastern and North African Politics at Otto-Suhr-Institute, Department for Political and Social Sciences. The project addresses the challenges of current political and social transformations and their ramifications for higher education and the social sciences in Egypt and the region. The overarching objective of the project is to enter a productive dialogue on theories, methodologies and topics in social science research among Arab and German researchers. At the same time, we aim to improve teaching and research structures in the social sciences in a sustainable and efficient way. This will build students’ and teachers’ capacities on both shores of the Mediterranean and at the same time strengthen institutional efforts to promote the role of social sciences in the current transformations

Gene expression profiling of mesenteric lymph nodes from sheep with natural scrapie

Background: Prion diseases are characterized by the accumulation of the pathogenic PrPSc protein, mainly in the brain and the lymphoreticular system. Although prions multiply/accumulate in the lymph nodes without any detectable pathology, transcriptional changes in this tissue may reflect biological processes that contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of prion diseases. Little is known about the molecular processes that occur in the lymphoreticular system in early and late stages of prion disease. We performed a microarray-based study to identify genes that are differentially expressed at different disease stages in the mesenteric lymph node of sheep naturally infected with scrapie. Oligo DNA microarrays were used to identify gene-expression profiles in the early/middle (preclinical) and late (clinical) stages of the disease. Results: In the clinical stage of the disease, we detected 105 genes that were differentially expressed (=2-fold change in expression). Of these, 43 were upregulated and 62 downregulated as compared with age-matched negative controls. Fewer genes (50) were differentially expressed in the preclinical stage of the disease. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were largely associated with the following terms: glycoprotein, extracellular region, disulfide bond, cell cycle and extracellular matrix. Moreover, some of the annotated genes could be grouped into 3 specific signaling pathways: focal adhesion, PPAR signaling and ECM-receptor interaction. We discuss the relationship between the observed gene expression profiles and PrPSc deposition and the potential involvement in the pathogenesis of scrapie of 7 specific differentially expressed genes whose expression levels were confirmed by real time-PCR. Conclusions: The present findings identify new genes that may be involved in the pathogenesis of natural scrapie infection in the lymphoreticular system, and confirm previous reports describing scrapie-induced alterations in the expression of genes involved in protein misfolding, angiogenesis and the oxidative stress response. Further studies will be necessary to determine the role of these genes in prion replication, dissemination and in the response of the organism to this disease

Host genotype affects endotoxin release in excreta of broilers at slaughter age

Host genotype, early post-hatch feeding, and pre- and probiotics are factors known to modulate the gut microbiome. However, there is a knowledge gap on the effect of both chicken genotype and these dietary strategies and their interplay on fecal microbiome composition and diversity, which, in turn, can affect the release of endotoxins in the excreta of broilers. Endotoxins are a major concern as they can be harmful to both animal and human health. The main goal of the current study was to investigate whether it was possible to modulate the fecal microbiome, thereby reducing endotoxin concentrations in the excreta of broiler chickens. An experiment was carried out with a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement including the following three factors: 1) genetic strain (fast-growing Ross 308 vs. slower growing Hubbard JA757); 2) no vs. combined use of probiotics and prebiotics in the diet and drinking water; and 3) early feeding at the hatchery vs. non-early feeding. A total of 624 Ross 308 and 624 Hubbard JA757 day-old male broiler chickens were included until d 37 and d 51 of age, respectively. Broilers ( N = 26 chicks/pen) were housed in a total of 48 pens, and there were six replicate pens/treatment groups. Pooled cloacal swabs ( N = 10 chickens/pen) for microbiome and endotoxin analyses were collected at a target body weight (BW) of 200 g, 1 kg, and 2.5 kg. Endotoxin concentration significantly increased with age ( p = 0.01). At a target BW of 2.5 kg, Ross 308 chickens produced a considerably higher amount of endotoxins ( Δ = 552.5 EU/mL) than the Hubbard JA757 chickens ( p < 0.01). A significant difference in the Shannon index was observed for the interaction between the use of prebiotics and probiotics, and host genotype ( p = 0.02), where Ross 308 chickens with pre-/probiotics had lower diversity than Hubbard JA757 chickens with pre-/probiotics. Early feeding did not affect both the fecal microbiome and endotoxin release. Overall, the results suggest that the chicken genetic strain may be an important factor to take into account regarding fecal endotoxin release, although this needs to be further investigated under commercial conditions

Cerebrovascular mental stress reactivity is impaired in hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brachial artery reactivity in response to shear stress is altered in subjects with hypertension. Since endothelial dysfunction is generalized, we hypothesized that carotid artery (CA) reactivity would also be altered in hypertension.</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>To compare (CA endothelium-dependent vasodilation in response to mental stress in normal and hypertensive subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluated CA reactivity to mental stress in 10 young healthy human volunteers (aged 23 ± 4 years), 20 older healthy volunteers (aged 49 ± 11 years) and in 28 patients with essential hypertension (aged 51 ± 13 years). In 10 healthy volunteers and 12 hypertensive subjects, middle cerebral artery (MCA) PW transcranial Doppler was performed before and 3 minutes after mental stress.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mental stress by Stroop color word conflict, math or anger recall tests caused CA vasodilation in young healthy subjects (0.61 ± 0.06 to 0.65 ± 0.07 cm, p < 0.05) and in older healthy subjects (0.63 ± 0.06 to 0.66 ± 0.07 cm, p < 0.05), whereas no CA vasodilation occurred in hypertensive subjects (0.69 ± 0.06 to 0.68 ± 0.07 cm; p, NS). CA blood flow in response to mental stress increased in young healthy subjects (419 ± 134 to 541 ± 209 ml, p < 0.01 vs. baseline) and in older healthy subjects (351 ± 114 to 454 ± 136 ml, p < 0.01 vs. baseline) whereas no change in blood flow (444 ± 143 vs. 458 ± 195 ml; p, 0.59) occurred in hypertensive subjects. There was no difference in the CA response to nitroglycerin in healthy and hypertensive subjects. Mental stress caused a significant increase in baseline to peak MCA systolic (84 ± 22 to 95 ± 22 cm/s, p < 0.05), diastolic (42 ± 12 to 49 ± 14 cm/s, p < 0.05) as well as mean (30 ± 13 to 39 ± 13 cm/s, p < 0.05) PW Doppler velocities in normal subjects, whereas no change in systolic (70 ± 18 to 73 ± 22 cm/s, p < 0.05), diastolic (34 ± 14 to 37 ± 14 cm/s, p = ns) or mean velocities (25 ± 9 to 26 ± 9 cm/s, p = ns) occurred in hypertensive subjects, despite a similar increase in heart rate and blood pressure in response to mental stress in both groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mental stress produces CA vasodilation and is accompanied by an increase in CA and MCA blood flow in healthy subjects. This mental stress induced CA vasodilation and flow reserve is attenuated in subjects with hypertension and may reflect cerebral vascular endothelial dysfunction. Assessment of mental stress induced CA reactivity by ultrasound is a novel method for assessing the impact of hypertension on cerebrovascular endothelial function and blood flow reserve.</p

PhoP: A Missing Piece in the Intricate Puzzle of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Virulence

Inactivation of the transcriptional regulator PhoP results in Mycobacterium tuberculosis attenuation. Preclinical testing has shown that attenuated M. tuberculosis phoP mutants hold promise as safe and effective live vaccine candidates. We focused this study to decipher the virulence networks regulated by PhoP. A combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis revealed that PhoP controls a variety of functions including: hypoxia response through DosR crosstalking, respiratory metabolism, secretion of the major T-cell antigen ESAT-6, stress response, synthesis of pathogenic lipids and the M. tuberculosis persistence through transcriptional regulation of the enzyme isocitrate lyase. We also demonstrate that the M. tuberculosis phoP mutant SO2 exhibits an antigenic capacity similar to that of the BCG vaccine. Finally, we provide evidence that the SO2 mutant persists better in mouse organs than BCG. Altogether, these findings indicate that PhoP orchestrates a variety of functions implicated in M. tuberculosis virulence and persistence, making phoP mutants promising vaccine candidates

Evaluation of a new virtual-reality training simulator for hysteroscopy

BACKGROUND: To determine realism and training capacity of HystSim, a new virtual-reality simulator for the training of hysteroscopic interventions. METHODS: Sixty-two gynaecological surgeons with various levels of expertise were interviewed at the 13(th) Practical Course in Gynaecologic Endoscopy in Davos, Switzerland. All participants received a 20-min hands-on training on the simulator and filled out a four-page questionnaire. Twenty-three questions with respect to the realism of the simulation and the training capacity were answered on a seven-point Likert scale along with 11 agree-disagree statements concerning the HystSim training in general. RESULTS: Twenty-six participants had performed more than 50 hysteroscopies ("experts") and 36 equal to or fewer than 50 ("novices"). Four of 60 (6.6%) responding participants judged the overall impression as "7 - absolutely realistic", 40 (66.6%) as "6 - realistic", and 16 (26.6%) as "5 - somewhat realistic". Novices (6.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.28-6.7) rated the overall training capacity significantly higher than experts (6.08; 95% CI 5.85-6.3), however, high-grade acceptance was found in both groups. In response to the statements, 95.2% believe that HystSim allows procedural training of diagnostic and therapeutic hysteroscopy, and 85.5% suggest that HystSim training should be offered to all novices before performing surgery on real patients. CONCLUSION: Face validity has been established for a new hysteroscopic surgery simulator. Potential trainees and trainers assess it to be a realistic and useful tool for the training of hysteroscopy. Further systematic validation studies are needed to clarify how this system can be optimally integrated into the gynaecological curriculum

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on mink farms between humans and mink and back to humans

Animal experiments have shown that nonhuman primates, cats, ferrets, hamsters, rabbits, and bats can be infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in felids, mink, and dogs in the field. Here, we describe an in-depth investigation using whole-genome sequencing of outbreaks on 16 mink farms and the humans living or working on these farms. We conclude that the virus was initially introduced by humans and has since evolved, most likely reflecting widespread circulation among mink in the beginning of the infection period, several weeks before detection. Despite enhanced biosecurity, early warning surveillance, and immediate culling of animals in affected farms, transmission occurred between mink farms in three large transmission clusters with unknown modes of transmission. Of the tested mink farm residents, employees, and/or individuals with whom they had been in contact, 68% had evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Individuals for which whole genomes were available were shown to have been infected with strains with an animal sequence signature, providing evidence of animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within mink farms

SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats and dogs in infected mink farms

Animals like mink, cats and dogs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the Netherlands, 69 out of 127 mink farms were infected with SARS-CoV-2 between April and November 2020 and all mink on infected farms were culled after SARS-CoV-2 infection to prevent further spread of the virus. On some farms, (feral) cats and dogs were present. This study provides insight into the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2-positive cats and dogs in 10 infected mink farms and their possible role in transmission of the virus. Throat and rectal swabs of 101 cats (12 domestic and 89 feral cats) and 13 dogs of 10 farms were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using PCR. Serological assays were performed on serum samples from 62 adult cats and all 13 dogs. Whole Genome Sequencing was performed on one cat sample. Cat-to-mink transmission parameters were estimated using data from all 10 farms. This study shows evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 12 feral cats and 2 dogs. Eleven cats (18%) and two dogs (15%) tested serologically positive. Three feral cats (3%) and one dog (8%) tested PCR-positive. The sequence generated from the cat throat swab clustered with mink sequences from the same farm. The calculated rate of mink-to-cat transmission showed that cats on average had a chance of 12% (95%CI 10%–18%) of becoming infected by mink, assuming no cat-to-cat transmission. As only feral cats were infected it is most likely that infections in cats were initiated by mink, not by humans. Whether both dogs were infected by mink or humans remains inconclusive. This study presents one of the first reports of interspecies transmission of SARS-CoV-2 that does not involve humans, namely mink-to-cat transmission, which should also be considered as a potential risk for spread of SARS-CoV-2