The contribution of prenatal stress to the pathogenesis of autism as a neurobiological developmental disorder: a dizygotic twin study

This paper reports on the contribution of prenatal stress to the pathogenesis of autism as a neurobiological developmental disorder in a dizygotic study. The aim was to explore whether the neurobiological impact of stress prior to week 28 of gestation might be related to the pathogenesis of autism. The following data-generating strategies were employed: a diagnostic stress inventory, the 16-Personality Factor Questionnaire, magnetic resonance imaging and blood plasma sampling. It was found that maternal stress during pregnancy may have produced elevated leucocytes and glucocorticoids during gestation, because stress affects cellular immunity due to involvement of the hipothalamic–pituary–adrenal axis. These were implicated in suboptimal placental functioning, heightened exposure of the foetus to glucocorticoids and altered neural development. The autistic subject’s blood plasma pathology results showed elevated glucocorticoids and serotonin. Significant cortisol and serotonin differences were noted in the blood plasma pathology results of the autistic subject and the control. Hyperserotonemia and elevated glucocorticoids were therefore implicated in altered programmed neural development, as suggested by the autistic subject’s magnetic resonance images. Differences in head circumference were also noted. It was concluded that prenatal maternal stress might have significantly contributed to the pathogenesis of autism

Dynamics of Entrepreneurship in Egypt: Assessing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Can Entrepreneurship Contribute to the Economic Development in Egypt?

The January 25th revolution in Egypt has inspired a spirit of motivation for youth to take matters into their hands and create their destiny. In less than 6 years the Egyptian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (EE) managed to draw regional and global attention in terms of business support, funding, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and research. Tech-savvy and multi-lingual youth are the Egyptian EE\u2019s largest strength, and more constituents are joining the EE every hour. Despite the fact that more support services and stakeholders are emerging to promote entrepreneurship in Egypt, scattered efforts, uncoordinated initiatives, fragile legal framework and low-quality education do not seem to move the nascent ecosystem into a growth stage. Using a rigorous analysis, we conclude that the Egyptian EE is still at birth stage and most of its constituents are mostly fledgling organizations. The legal framework is inefficient. The market lacks genuine ideas and mentors. Venture capitalists still lack expertise, scientific research is not authoritative. Innovation infrastructure is underdeveloped, most of the patents are registered offshore, IP protection is practically inexistent. More worryingly the country is unable to retain its most qualified talents who immigrate to more robust innovation environments. To date, entrepreneurship in Egypt is unable to create sustainable employment or impact national economic growth. However, there is a significant opportunity for improvement. In this chapter we assess the Egyptian EE, then present a set of recommendations for policy makers and investors