Viziers in the Administrative System of Egypt under the Burji Mamluks

Поступила в редакцию: 03.11.2021. Принята к печати: 24.06.2022.Submitted: 03.11.2021. Accepted: 24.06.2022.К числу наименее изученных проблем в истории Султаната мамлюков (1250–1517) относятся принципы и динамика взаимодействия мамлюков с административным аппаратом, к службе в котором привлекались представители местной элиты. В статье рассматриваются вопросы, связанные с происходившей на протяжении всего бурджитского периода ( 1382–1517) трансформацией мамлюкского административного аппарата. Уже в XIII–XIV вв. началось постепенное смещение представителей гражданского населения с различных административных должностей и замена их на мамлюкских эмиров. Особое значение этот процесс приобрел в связи с должностью вазира, поскольку последние мамлюкские султаны перед вступлением на престол занимали именно эту позицию. Вопросы, связанные с эволюцией военно-административной системы в Египте в XIII–XV вв., были поставлены еще Д. Айалоном (1914–1998), однако комплексное и систематическое изучение намеченных этим пионером и одним из основоположников современного мамлюковедения проблем до сих пор не проводилось. На основе нескольких арабских хроник и биографических словарей XV в. прослежены изменения положения и функций вазира в мамлюкской административной системе, отмечены причины этих изменений, их значение для эволюции политических и социальных отношений в Султанате мамлюков в завершающий период его истории. На примере вазирата рассмотрена существенная трансформация египетского государственно-административного аппарата при султанах Бурджитах, самым тесным образом связанная со сломом преобладавших в предшествующий период социальных границ и стереотипов, приобретением политическими группировками новых форм и функций, реконфигурацией центральной власти.Among the least studied issues in the history of the Sultanate of the Mamluks, there are the principles and dynamics of the Mamluks’ interaction with the administrative system represented by the local elite. The article considers issues connected with the transformation of the Mamluk administrative system which took place during the Burji period (1382–1517). As early as the thirteenth — fourteenth centuries, a gradual displacement of representatives of the civilian population from various administrative positions and their replacement with Mamluk emirs began. This process acquired particular importance in connection with the position of the vizier, since the last Mamluk sultans occupied this position before assuming the throne. In the twentieth century, D. Ayalon (1914–1998) raised some questions related to the evolution of the military-administrative system in Egypt between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, but a comprehensive and systematic study of the problems outlined by this pioneer and one of the founders of modern Mamluk studies has not yet been carried out. Based on several Arabic chronicles and biographical dictionaries of the fifteenth century, the author traces changes in the position and functions of the vizier in the Mamluk administrative system, highlighting the reasons for these changes, their significance for the evolution of political and social relations in the Mamluk Sultanate in the final period of its history. Referring to the vizierate, the author considers a significant transformation of the Egyptian state-administrative system under the Burji sultans, which is most closely associated with the destruction of the social boundaries and stereotypes that prevailed in the previous period, the acquisition of new forms and functions by political groups, and the reconfiguration of the central government

What Is the Optimal Therapy for Patients with H5N1 Influenza?

Nicholas White discusses optimal dosing of oseltamivir, Robert Webster and Elena Govorkova discuss combination antiviral therapy, and Timothy Uyeki discusses clinical care of patients with H5N1

Mutations in Polymerase Genes Enhanced the Virulence of 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus in Mice

Influenza A virus can infect a wide variety of animal species with illness ranging from mild to severe, and is a continual cause for concern. Genetic mutations that occur either naturally or during viral adaptation in a poorly susceptible host are key mechanisms underlying the evolution and virulence of influenza A virus. Here, the variants containing PA-A36T or PB2-H357N observed in the mouse-adapted descendants of 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus (pH1N1), A/Sichuan/1/2009 (SC), were characterized. Both mutations enhanced polymerase activity in mammalian cells. These effects were confirmed using recombinant SC virus containing polymerase genes with wild type (WT) or mutant PA or PB2. The PA-A36T mutant showed enhanced growth property compared to the WT in both human A549 cells and porcine PK15 cells in vitro, without significant effect on viral propagation in murine LA-4 cells and pathogenicity in mice; however, it did enhance the lung virus titer. PB2-H357N variant demonstrated growth ability comparable to the WT in A549 cells, but replicated well in PK15, LA-4 cells and in mice with an enhanced pathogenic phenotype. Despite such mutations are rare in nature, they could be observed in avian H5 and H7 subtype viruses which were currently recognized to pose potential threat to human. Our findings indicated that pH1N1 may adapt well in mammals when acquiring these mutations. Therefore, future molecular epidemiological surveillance should include scrutiny of both markers because of their potential impact on pathogenesis

Detection of Resistance Mutations to Antivirals Oseltamivir and Zanamivir in Avian Influenza A Viruses Isolated from Wild Birds

The neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors oseltamivir and zanamivir are the first-line of defense against potentially fatal variants of influenza A pandemic strains. However, if resistant virus strains start to arise easily or at a high frequency, a new anti-influenza strategy will be necessary. This study aimed to investigate if and to what extent NA inhibitor–resistant mutants exist in the wild population of influenza A viruses that inhabit wild birds. NA sequences of all NA subtypes available from 5490 avian, 379 swine and 122 environmental isolates were extracted from NCBI databases. In addition, a dataset containing 230 virus isolates from mallard collected at Ottenby Bird Observatory (Öland, Sweden) was analyzed. Isolated NA RNA fragments from Ottenby were transformed to cDNA by RT-PCR, which was followed by sequencing. The analysis of genotypic profiles for NAs from both data sets in regard to antiviral resistance mutations was performed using bioinformatics tools. All 6221 sequences were scanned for oseltamivir- (I117V, E119V, D198N, I222V, H274Y, R292K, N294S and I314V) and zanamivir-related mutations (V116A, R118K, E119G/A/D, Q136K, D151E, R152K, R224K, E276D, R292K and R371K). Of the sequences from the avian NCBI dataset, 132 (2.4%) carried at least one, or in two cases even two and three, NA inhibitor resistance mutations. Swine and environmental isolates from the same data set had 18 (4.75%) and one (0.82%) mutant, respectively, with at least one mutation. The Ottenby sequences carried at least one mutation in 15 cases (6.52%). Therefore, resistant strains were more frequently found in Ottenby samples than in NCBI data sets. However, it is still uncertain if these mutations are the result of natural variations in the viruses or if they are induced by the selective pressure of xenobiotics (e.g., oseltamivir, zanamivir)

Tissue Tropism of Swine Influenza Viruses and Reassortants in Ex Vivo Cultures of the Human Respiratory Tract and Conjunctiva ▿ † ‡

The 2009 pandemic influenza H1N1 (H1N1pdm) virus was generated by reassortment of swine influenza viruses of different lineages. This was the first influenza pandemic to emerge in over 4 decades and the first to occur after the realization that influenza pandemics arise from influenza viruses of animals. In order to understand the biological determinants of pandemic emergence, it is relevant to compare the tropism of different lineages of swine influenza viruses and reassortants derived from them with that of 2009 pandemic H1N1 (H1N1pdm) and seasonal influenza H1N1 viruses in ex vivo cultures of the human nasopharynx, bronchus, alveoli, and conjunctiva. We hypothesized that virus which can transmit efficiently between humans replicated well in the human upper airways. As previously reported, H1N1pdm and seasonal H1N1 viruses replicated efficiently in the nasopharyngeal, bronchial, and alveolar epithelium. In contrast, representative viruses from the classical swine (CS) (H1N1) lineage could not infect human respiratory epithelium; Eurasian avian-like swine (EA) (H1N1) viruses only infected alveolar epithelium and North American triple-reassortant (TRIG) viruses only infected the bronchial epithelium albeit inefficiently. Interestingly, a naturally occurring triple-reassortant swine virus, A/SW/HK/915/04 (H1N2), with a matrix gene segment of EA swine derivation (i.e., differing from H1N1pdm only in lacking a neuraminidase [NA] gene of EA derivation) readily infected and replicated in human nasopharyngeal and bronchial epithelia but not in the lung. A recombinant sw915 with the NA from H1N1pdm retained its tropism for the bronchus and acquired additional replication competence for alveolar epithelium. In contrast to H1N1pdm, none of the swine viruses tested nor seasonal H1N1 had tropism in human conjunctiva. Recombinant viruses generated by swapping the surface proteins (hemagglutinin and NA) of H1N1pdm and seasonal H1N1 virus demonstrated that these two gene segments together are key determinants of conjunctival tropism. Overall, these findings suggest that ex vivo cultures of the human respiratory tract provide a useful biological model for assessing the human health risk of swine influenza viruses