Giving in Transition and Transitions in Giving: Philanthropy in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia 2011-2013

This publication explores how shifts in the sociopolitical environment in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia manifested themselves in the philanthropic realm during an uncertain mid-point in the transitions. To what extent have both institutional and informal philanthropy evolved to keep up with the pace of escalating needs and expectations of the people? As those shifts continue in all three countries, with variations to be explored in each country chapter, the report encourages actors in the sector to take bolder steps from diagnostics to action

About A Rare Cause Of Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Introduction: Primary hyperparathyroïdism is observed in 35 to 44 subjects/ 100000 persons. The increased production of parathyroid hormones is secondary to primary glandular modifications consisting mainly in adenomas. The authors report a clear-cell hyperplasia causing primary hyperparathyroidism. Observation: We report the case of a 25-year-old man who was admitted to explore pathologic fractures of the left arm and a malignant hypercalcaemia. Complementary laboratory tests revealed primary hyperparathyroidism. A multiple endocrine neoplasia was excluded by radiologic examinations. Cervical ultra-sound examination revealed 2 parathyroid adenomas and per-operative exploration showed 3 « adenomas ». Microscopic examination of the 4 parathyroid glands specimen concluded to a clear cell hyperplasia. Conclusion: Clear cell hyperplasia is a benign cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. The diagnosis is based upon histologic findings and examination of the 4 glands

The relationship of 3′UTR HLA-G14-bp insertion/deletion and +3142 C/G polymorphisms and soluble HLA-G expression with gynecological cancers: An updated meta-analysis

Objectives: Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is implicated in several cancers and is considered to be an immune checkpoint regulator. We determined the association between polymorphisms in the 3' untranslated region of HLA-G and soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) expression with gynecological cancers (GCs).Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the association between HLA-G14-bp insertion (I)/deletion (D) and +3142C/G polymorphism in GC and to evaluate sHLA-G expressionResults: We revealed a significant association between the +3142C/G polymorphism and invasive cervical cancer (ICC) based on the allelic model G versus C (odds ratio [OR] = 0.738, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.563-0.966, p = 0.027), dominant GG+GC versus CC (OR = 0.584, 95% CI = 0.395-0.862, p = 0.007), and codominant GG versus CC (OR = 0.527, 95% CI = 0.312-0.891, p = 0.017) models, suggesting that the G allele and GG genotype are protective against ICC. In gynecological precancerous patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, we found that the 14-bp I/D under the codominant DD versus DI model (OR = 0.492, 95% CI = 0.241-1.004, p = 0.051) was of borderline signifi- cance. Soluble HLA-G levels were significantly higher in patients compared with healthy controls (standardized mean differences [SMD] = 1.434, 95% CI = 0.442-2.526, p = 0.005). Stratification by cancer type revealed that the sHLA-G levels were significantly increased in cervical cancer (SMD = 4.889, 95% CI = 0.468-9.310, p = 0.030) and in subjects of Asian ethnicity (SMD = 4.889, 95% CI = 0.467-9.309, p = 0.030).Conclusions: HLA-G14-bp I/D and +3142 C/G polymorphisms are associated with GC and HPV-associated cervical cancer. In addition, we found significantly increased sHLA-G levels in cancer patients. These results provide a basis for further studies in diagnostics and immunotherapy of GC

MRCP compared to diagnostic ERCP for diagnosis when biliary obstruction is suspected: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is an alternative to diagnostic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for investigating biliary obstruction. The use of MRCP, a non-invasive procedure, may prevent the use of unnecessary invasive procedures. The aim of the study was to compare the findings of MRCP with those of ERCP by the computation of accuracy statistics. METHODS: Thirteen electronic bibliographic databases, covering biomedical, science, health economics and grey literature were searched. A systematic review of studies comparing MRCP to diagnostic ERCP in patients with suspected biliary obstruction was conducted. Sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, acceptability and adverse events were reported. RESULTS: 25 studies were identified reporting several conditions including choledocholithiasis (18 studies), malignancy (four studies), obstruction (three studies), stricture (two studies) and dilatation (five studies). Three of the 18 studies reporting choledocholithiasis were excluded from the analysis due to lack of data, or differences in study design. The sensitivity for the 15 studies of choledocholithiasis ranged from 0.50 to 1.00 while specificity ranged from 0.83 to 1.00. The positive likelihood ratio ranged: from 5.44–47.72 and the negative likelihood ratio for the 15 studies ranged from 0.00–0.51. Significant heterogeneity was found across the 15 studies so the sensitivities and specificities were summarised by a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. For malignancy, sensitivity ranged from 0.81 to 0.94 and specificity from 0.92 to 1.00. Positive likelihood ratios ranged from 10.12 to 43 and negative likelihood ratios ranged from 0.15 to 0.21, although these estimates were less reliable. CONCLUSION: MRCP is a comparable diagnostic investigation in comparison to ERCP for diagnosing biliary obstruction

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Association of an HLA-G 14-bp Insertion/Deletion polymorphism with high HBV replication in chronic hepatitis

reserved12siIdentification of an HLA-G 14-bp Insertion/Deletion (Ins/Del) polymorphism at the 3′ untranslated region of HLA-G revealed its importance in HLA-G mRNA stability and HLA-G protein level variation. We evaluated the association between the HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism in patients with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a case-control study. Genomic DNA was extracted from 263 patients with chronic HBV hepatitis and 246 control subjects and was examined for the HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism by PCR. The polymorphic variants were genotyped in chronic HBV seropositive cases stratified according to HBV DNA levels, fibrosis stages and in a control population. There was no statistical significant association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and increased susceptibility to HBV infection neither for alleles (P = 0.09) nor for genotypes (P = 0.18). The stratification of HBV patients based on HBV DNA levels revealed an association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and an enhanced HBV activity with high HBV DNA levels. In particular, the Ins allele was significantly associated with high HBV DNA levels (P = 0.0024, OR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.2-2.4). The genotype Ins/Ins was associated with a 2.5-fold (95% CI, 1.29-4.88) increased risk of susceptibility to high HBV replication compared with the Del/Del and Ins/Del genotypes. This susceptibility is linked to the presence of two Ins alleles. No association was observed between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and fibrosis stage of HBV infection. We observed an association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and high HBV replication characterized by high HBV DNA levels in chronic HBV patients. These results suggest a potential prognostic value for disease outcome evaluation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.mixedA. B. Laaribi; I. Zidi; N. Hannachi; H. Ben Yahia; H. Chaouch; D. Bortolotti; N. Zidi; A. Letaief; S. Yacoub; A. Boudabous; R. Rizzo; J. BoukadidaA. B., Laaribi; I., Zidi; N., Hannachi; H., Ben Yahia; H., Chaouch; Bortolotti, Daria; N., Zidi; A., Letaief; S., Yacoub; A., Boudabous; Rizzo, Roberta; J., Boukadid

Clinicopathologic significance of HLA-G and HLA-E molecules in Tunisian patients with ovarian carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G and HLA-E, non classical HLA class I molecules, have been highly implicated in immune tolerance. HLA-G and HLA-E molecules were proposed as putative markers of several advanced cancers. As a step towards a better understanding of ovarian carcinoma, we evaluated the expression of both HLA-G and HLA-E molecules and explored their prognostic implication. METHODS: HLA-G and HLA-E expression were studied by immunohistochemistry on ovarian carcinoma tissues. This expression was semi-quantitatively scored into four expression groups and correlated to clinicopathological parameters and patients' survival. RESULTS: HLA-G and HLA-E have been found to be highly expressed in ovarian carcinoma tissues (Respectively, 72.4% and 96.8%). They are frequently co-expressed. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that a positive HLA-G expression status in tumor tissue is a promising candidate parameter to predict disease recurrence in addition to the disease status in Tunisian patients with ovarian carcinoma. Moreover, the elevated HLA-E expression was associated with serous ovarian carcinoma subtype as well as with advanced stages of ovarian carcinoma. CONCLUSION: HLA-G and HLA-E are highly represented in ovarian carcinoma suggesting a potential association with progressive disease mechanism. HLA-G and HLA-E molecules might be new candidates' markers for ovarian carcinoma progression. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Increased plasmatic soluble HLA-G levels in endometrial cancer

Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (HLA-G) is known as an immune suppressive molecule; it interacts with several immune cells and inhibits their functions. HLA-G molecule is highly represented in pathological conditions including malignant transformation. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that focuses on the expression of soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) in endometrial cancer (EC). We aimed at exploring sHLA-G plasma levels and its prognostic value in EC. We examined total sHLA-G expression as well as the sHLA-G1 and HLA-G5 isoforms expression in plasma samples from 40 patients with EC and 45 healthy controls by a specific sandwich ELISA. Immunoprecipitation and Coomassie blue staining were performed to explore the presence of plasmatic sHLA-G monomers and dimers. sHLA-G plasma level was significantly enhanced in patients with EC compared to healthy controls (p = 0.028). Additionally, HLA-G5 molecules were highly represented than sHLA-G1 molecules in EC, at the borderline of significance (p = 0.061). Interestingly, sHLA-G has been shown to be increased in early stages (Stages I and II) as well as in high grade EC (Grade 3) that is associated with rapid spread of the disease (p = 0.057). sHLA-GpositiveEC plasma were majorly in monomeric form (75%). Clinically, all the HLA-G dimers were detected in early stages and in high grade of EC. Our data strengthen the implication of HLA-G molecules in EC etiology and especially in progression