Egypt\u27s post-colonial approaches to internal self-determination

This thesis explores the linkage between the right to self-determination and democracy. In view of the popular uprisings taking place throughout the Middle East and North Africa, it is highly relevant to revisit the concept of self-determination. In particular, considering the undetermined nature of the right to self-determination, this thesis examines the contemporary legal meaning of self-determination. Specifically, it questions the prospects of â the peopleâ to self-determination against the background of undemocratic structures at the global level. Following the introduction, the second part of this thesis deals with a critical overview of the international legal ideology on self-determination. In the third part, the legal content and scope of the right to self-determination regarding its political and economic dimension will be explored. Consequently, an examination of Egypt\u27s approaches to self-determination will not only illustrate the obstacles to democratization, but will primarily serve as a test case for exploring the (in)compatibility of the process of economic liberalization with the right to self-determination

Adulte Neurogenese im Gyrus dentatus der Ratte 28 Tage nach inkompletter globaler zerebraler Ischämie und Reperfusion und deren Beeinflussung durch S(+)Ketamin

The effect of S(+)ketamine on neuroregenerative potency in the dentate gyrus of the adult rat after incomplete global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion The present study investigates the concentration dependent effect of the anaesthetic agent S(+)ketamine on the neuronal damage in the hippocampus and on the adult neurogenesis in the rat after incomplete global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion after a time period of 28 days. Animals were randomly assigned to one of the following anaesthetic groups: halothane (0.8 Vol%), S(+)ketamine 0.75 mg/kg/min and S(+)ketamine 1.0 mg/kg/min. Each anaesthetic group was subdivided into an ischemic group and a control group (each group n=8). Ischemia of the forebrain was induced by bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries for 10 minutes in combination with hemorrhagic hypotension (mean arterial pressure: 40 mmHg) in animals of the three ischemic but not in the three control groups. A native group (n = 8) without any treatment serves as physiological control for the histological examinations in addition to the operated test groups. To mark the stem cells in vivo 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU, 100 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to all animals. After 28 days at the end of the observation period the animals were euthanized and the brains were prepared for further analysis. We used a Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining to evaluate the extent of tissue damage in the CA1- and CA3-region of the hippocampus. The immunohistochemical detection of BrdU, which was incorporated into the nucleus of mitotic cells, was performed to examine the number of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus. To differentiate whether newly formed cells were neurons or other cells, an additional double immunofluorescence staining with BrdU and the neuronal marker NeuN was performed and the ratio of neurogenesis assessed. HE-staining revealed no significant differences in the extent of the ischemic damage dependant of the mode of anaesthesia, although there was a tendency found that S(+)ketamine in a dosage of 1.0 mg/kg/min seems to reduce the neuronal damage compared to halothane anaesthesia. The results of the BrdU-staining show an increase of cell proliferation after an ischemic insult compared with the control groups and the native group. But neither in the control groups nor in the ischemic groups were significant differences in the number of BrdU-positive cells dependent of the chosen anaesthetic agents or dosages. There was a trend of S(+)ketamine in higher dosages to reduce the neuroregenerative potency. The data of the double immunofluorescence staining showed that neither the mode of anaesthesia nor the induction of an ischemic insult influenced the differentiation of newly born cells. In summary, the findings suggest that a high dose of S(+)ketamine acts neuroprotective up to 28 days after an ischemic insult, but concurrently reduces the extent of damage-induced neurogenesis. Further investigations will be required to investigate the detailed mechanisms of the anestheic agent S(+)ketamine on neuroregenerative potency and to develop a successful treatment of ischemic insult and its consequences

Advancing book clubs as non-formal learning to facilitate critical public pedagogy in organizations

Book clubs are a well-known form of social engagement and are beneficial for those who take part, yet book clubs are not fully realized within management as a site for learning. This is unfortunate because book clubs that read fiction can foster social processes and help employees in search of more critical and emancipatory forms of learning. We theoretically synthesize the literature to advance current thinking with regard to book clubs as critical public pedagogy in organizations. We begin by introducing book clubs as non-formal adult learning. Then, book clubs that employ fiction as a cultural artifact are presented as a way for members to build relationships, learn together, and to engage in cultural change work. Next, the traditional notions of book clubs are made pedagogically complex through the lens of critical public pedagogy. Finally, we offer two implications: (1) as public pedagogy, book clubs can act as an alternative to traditional learning structures in organizations; and (2) book clubs, when valued as public pedagogy, can be fostered by those in management learning and HRD for consciousness raising and challenging existing mental models in their organizations.Peer reviewe

DNA-binding properties of the MADS-domain transcription factor SEPALLATA3 and mutant variants characterized by SELEX-seq

Key message We studied the DNA-binding profile of the MADS-domain transcription factor SEPALLATA3 and mutant variants by SELEX-seq. DNA-binding characteristics of SEPALLATA3 mutant proteins lead us to propose a novel DNA-binding mode. MIKC-type MADS-domain proteins, which function as essential transcription factors in plant development, bind as dimers to a 10-base-pair AT-rich motif termed CArG-box. However, this consensus motif cannot fully explain how the abundant family members in flowering plants can bind different target genes in specific ways. The aim of this study was to better understand the DNA-binding specificity of MADS-domain transcription factors. Also, we wanted to understand the role of a highly conserved arginine residue for binding specificity of the MADS-domain transcription factor family. Here, we studied the DNA-binding profile of the floral homeotic MADS-domain protein SEPALLATA3 by performing SELEX followed by high-throughput sequencing (SELEX-seq). We found a diverse set of bound sequences and could estimate the in vitro binding affinities of SEPALLATA3 to a huge number of different sequences. We found evidence for the preference of AT-rich motifs as flanking sequences. Whereas different CArG-boxes can act as SEPALLATA3 binding sites, our findings suggest that the preferred flanking motifs are almost always the same and thus mostly independent of the identity of the central CArG-box motif. Analysis of SEPALLATA3 proteins with a single amino acid substitution at position 3 of the DNA-binding MADS-domain further revealed that the conserved arginine residue, which has been shown to be involved in a shape readout mechanism, is especially important for the recognition of nucleotides at positions 3 and 8 of the CArG-box motif. This leads us to propose a novel DNA-binding mode for SEPALLATA3, which is different from that of other MADS-domain proteins known.Peer reviewe

Complete genome sequence of Marinobacter adhaerens type strain (HP15), a diatom-interacting marine microorganism

Revista Open Access. Artículo con licencia Creative Commons Attribution. -- 11 páginas, 4 figuras, 4 tablas.Marinobacter adhaerens HP15 is the type strain of a newly identified marine species, which is phylogenetically related to M. flavimaris, M. algicola, and M. aquaeolei. It is of special interest for research on marine aggregate formation because it showed specific attachment to diatom cells. In vitro it led to exopolymer formation and aggregation of these algal cells to form marine snow particles. M. adhaerens HP15 is a free-living, motile, rod-shaped, Gram-negative Gammaproteobacterium, which was originally isolated from marine particles sampled in the German Wadden Sea. M. adhaerens HP15 grows heterotrophically on various media, is easy to access genetically, and serves as a model organism to investigate the cellular and molecular interactions with the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. Here we describe the complete and annotated genome sequence of M. adhaerens HP15 as well as some details on flagella-associated genes. M. adhaerens HP15 possesses three replicons; the chromosome comprises 4,422,725 bp and codes for 4,180 protein-coding genes, 51 tRNAs and three rRNA operons, while the two circular plasmids are ~187 kb and ~42 kb in size and contain 178 and 52 protein-coding genes, respectively.Peer reviewe

PABPN1 gene therapy for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy

International audienceOculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is an autosomal dominant, late-onset muscle disorder characterized by ptosis, swallowing difficulties, proximal limb weakness and nuclear aggregates in skeletal muscles. OPMD is caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the PABPN1 gene that results in an N-terminal expanded polyalanine tract in polyA-binding protein nuclear 1 (PABPN1). Here we show that the treatment of a mouse model of OPMD with an adeno-associated virus-based gene therapy combining complete knockdown of endogenous PABPN1 and its replacement by a wild-type PABPN1 substantially reduces the amount of insoluble aggregates, decreases muscle fibrosis, reverts muscle strength to the level of healthy muscles and normalizes the muscle transcriptome. The efficacy of the combined treatment is further confirmed in cells derived from OPMD patients. These results pave the way towards a gene replacement approach for OPMD treatment

Gene therapy for monogenic liver diseases: clinical successes, current challenges and future prospects

Over the last decade, pioneering liver-directed gene therapy trials for haemophilia B have achieved sustained clinical improvement after a single systemic injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) derived vectors encoding the human factor IX cDNA. These trials demonstrate the potential of AAV technology to provide long-lasting clinical benefit in the treatment of monogenic liver disorders. Indeed, with more than ten ongoing or planned clinical trials for haemophilia A and B and dozens of trials planned for other inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases, clinical translation is expanding rapidly. Gene therapy is likely to become an option for routine care of a subset of severe inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases in the relatively near term. In this review, we aim to summarise the milestones in the development of gene therapy, present the different vector tools and their clinical applications for liver-directed gene therapy. AAV-derived vectors are emerging as the leading candidates for clinical translation of gene delivery to the liver. Therefore, we focus on clinical applications of AAV vectors in providing the most recent update on clinical outcomes of completed and ongoing gene therapy trials and comment on the current challenges that the field is facing for large-scale clinical translation. There is clearly an urgent need for more efficient therapies in many severe monogenic liver disorders, which will require careful risk-benefit analysis for each indication, especially in paediatrics

Leaders’ Well-Being: Exploring Implications for Leadership Theory and Organizational Practice

Leadership is a challenging and complex practice. The study of leadership spans across organizational and functional boundaries, applies to institutions, academia, private and public industry, theoretical exploration and conceptual application. Well-being is also a broadly encompassing term, embracing elements across human complexities, organizational and team dynamics, as well as social and general implications. Marrying these two terms—leaders and well-being–this research seeks to understand well-being for leaders themselves. Accepting leaders as humans and their role to play in their followers’ well-being, provides a basis for exploration, yet recognizes how leaders are often exempted or excluded. The literature suggests support for a relationship between leadership and followers’ well-being. The missing aspect is understanding well-being for leaders themselves. Hearing leaders’ well-being stories through qualitative interviews provided rich and contributory data. The main research question for this study was, how do leaders describe their well-being experiences? The purpose of this study was to develop the concept of leaders’ well-being, identify leaders’ practices of well-being, and to capture the story of how leaders describe their well-being experiences. The study goal was understanding and elemental construction of the leaders’ well-being concept, and to capture the narrative in how leaders tell their stories. This complementary approach aimed to elicit insights into leaders’ well-being experiences, exemplifying needs to explore this topic more deeply. Leaders acknowledged opportunities to improve their own well-being management, while recognizing lack of support for this focus. Leadership development opportunities do not provide comprehensive, holistic approaches required to allow leaders to be successful with their own well-being. Thematic analysis developed themes contributing to leaders’ well-being and illustrating a balanced approach in assessing both “what” and “how” leaders describe their well-being experiences. Collecting data contributing to leaders’ intra- and inter-personal needs suggests complex requirements for developing leaders’ well-being as a concept. Embracing an intradisciplinary approach while inviting diverse perspectives and leaders’ experiences is necessary to ensure the leaders’ well-being concept finds useful application for individual leaders and broad generalization to the study and practice of leadership as a whole.doctoral, Ph.D., Leadership and Counseling -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2022-0