Cinematic Islamic feminism and the female war gaze: Reflections on Waad Al-Kataeb’s For Sama

One of 2019’s most acclaimed documentaries, Waad Al-Kateab’s For Sama is an extraordinary feminist representation of the Syrian civil war (2011present). Al-Kateab impressively documents five years of the most traumatic contemporary conflict in the Middle East by focusing on personal confessions to Sama, her new-born daughter. Raw, dramatic, and sometimes unbearable to watch, it is a poetic tribute to a micro-level, “singularly unmanly”, and painfully intimate portrayal of war and hope (Montgomery). A mixture of love and horror unfold through a kaleidoscopic personal narrative that broaches macro-political and religious subjects without centralising them in the cinematic experience. This article discusses how Al-Kateab’s documentary is a novel and risky experiment that intermingles the female war gaze with a subtle, image-based Islamic feminism. Capitalising on Svetlana Alexievich’s “female war gaze”, which represents the invisible stories of women in war, I show how Al-Kateab’s cinematography expands the scope of the female war experience through carefully selected visual refences to Islamic ethical praxis, as interiorised by the camerawoman. For Sama is simultaneously an intimate motherly confession and act of both “listening” and “remembrance” (as the praxis of the Sufi Samāʿ suggests). In short, it mediates an ethical truth about the human condition in ruins

Building a mechanistic mathematical model of hepatitis C virus entry.

The mechanism by which hepatitis C virus (HCV) gains entry into cells is a complex one, involving a broad range of host proteins. Entry is a critical phase of the viral lifecycle, and a potential target for therapeutic or vaccine-mediated intervention. However, the mechanics of HCV entry remain poorly understood. Here we describe a novel computational model of viral entry, encompassing the relationship between HCV and the key host receptors CD81 and SR-B1. We conduct experiments to thoroughly quantify the influence of an increase or decrease in receptor availability upon the extent of viral entry. We use these data to build and parameterise a mathematical model, which we then validate by further experiments. Our results are consistent with sequential HCV-receptor interactions, whereby initial interaction between the HCV E2 glycoprotein and SR-B1 facilitates the accumulation CD81 receptors, leading to viral entry. However, we also demonstrate that a small minority of viruses can achieve entry in the absence of SR-B1. Our model estimates the impact of the different obstacles that viruses must surmount to achieve entry; among virus particles attaching to the cell surface, around one third of viruses accumulate sufficient CD81 receptors, of which 4-8% then complete the subsequent steps to achieve productive infection. Furthermore, we make estimates of receptor stoichiometry; in excess of 10 receptors are likely to be required to achieve viral entry. Our model provides a tool to investigate the entry characteristics of HCV variants and outlines a framework for future quantitative studies of the multi-receptor dynamics of HCV entry.Wellcome, Royal Society, Newton Trus

Building a mechanistic mathematical model of hepatitis C virus entry.

The mechanism by which hepatitis C virus (HCV) gains entry into cells is a complex one, involving a broad range of host proteins. Entry is a critical phase of the viral lifecycle, and a potential target for therapeutic or vaccine-mediated intervention. However, the mechanics of HCV entry remain poorly understood. Here we describe a novel computational model of viral entry, encompassing the relationship between HCV and the key host receptors CD81 and SR-B1. We conduct experiments to thoroughly quantify the influence of an increase or decrease in receptor availability upon the extent of viral entry. We use these data to build and parameterise a mathematical model, which we then validate by further experiments. Our results are consistent with sequential HCV-receptor interactions, whereby initial interaction between the HCV E2 glycoprotein and SR-B1 facilitates the accumulation CD81 receptors, leading to viral entry. However, we also demonstrate that a small minority of viruses can achieve entry in the absence of SR-B1. Our model estimates the impact of the different obstacles that viruses must surmount to achieve entry; among virus particles attaching to the cell surface, around one third of viruses accumulate sufficient CD81 receptors, of which 4-8% then complete the subsequent steps to achieve productive infection. Furthermore, we make estimates of receptor stoichiometry; in excess of 10 receptors are likely to be required to achieve viral entry. Our model provides a tool to investigate the entry characteristics of HCV variants and outlines a framework for future quantitative studies of the multi-receptor dynamics of HCV entry

Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles from N-Carboxyethylchitosan and Polycationic Double Hydrophilic Diblock Copolymers

For the first time, the polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) formation tool was used for preparation of core-shell nanoparticles form the natural polyampholyte N-carboxyethylchitosan (CECh) and weak polycationic (protonated) polyoxyethylene-b-polyl [2-(dimethyl-amino)ethyl methacrylate] (POE-b-PDMAEMA) diblock copolymers. The performed dynamic light scattering analyses revealed that nanoparticles with a PEC core and a POE shell could be formed at mixing ratio between the oppositely charged groups equal to 1/1 depending on CECh molar mass, polymerization degree of PDMAEMA, block and ionic strength. The results were confirmed by the performed AFM and cryo-TEM analyses. When high molar mass CECh was used, core-shell nanoparticles were obtained with the diblock copolymer of the shortest PDMAEMA block at ionic strength (I) of 0.01. At ionic strength value close to the physiological one (I = 0.1) secondary aggregation occurred. Spherical nanoparticles at I = 0.1 were obtained upon lowering the CECh molar mass. Depending on the polymer partners and medium parameters the size of the obtained particles varied from 60 to 600 nm. The X-ray photoelectron spectra evidenced the hydrophilic POE-block shell-coacervate CECh/PDMAEMA-block core structure. The nanoparticles are stable in a rather narrow pH range around 7.0, thus revealing the high pH-sensitivity of the obtained core-shell particles. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 21052117,200