Sect and House in Syria: History, Architecture, and Bayt Amongst the Druze in Jaramana

This paper explores the connections between the architecture and materiality of houses and the social idiom of bayt (house, family). The ethnographic exploration is located in the Druze village of Jaramana, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. It traces the histories, genealogies, and politics of two families, bayt Abud-Haddad and bayt Ouward, through their houses. By exploring the two families and the architecture of their houses, this paper provides a detailed ethnographic account of historical change in modern Syria, internal diversity, and stratification within the intimate social fabric of the Druze neighbourhood at a time of war, and contributes a relational approach to the anthropological understanding of houses

A case of congenital left brachium agenesis (amelia, brachiomelia monobrachium) in Sahel goat ecotype

This rare case of amelia in a doe-goat was observed in Tarka local government area, Benue State, middle belt region of Nigeria. The congenital deformity consisted of complete agenesis of the affected fore limb; the defect is commonly unilaterally manifested. The present congenitally impaired goat was approximately one and a half years old, and was a second kiddling of a normal multiparous dam. The left fore -limb was grossly vestigial in development, while the homologous right hoof was splayed; the hind limbs were anatomically normal. Radiographs revealed morphological aberrations in intergumentary, skeletal, vascular, nervous systems and musculature of the affected limb. Sahel goat is alien to this developmental syndrome and this is to the best of our knowledge - the first case report of left sided brachial agenesia, (amelia) in a doe-goat of this breed. By season of occurrence, the hypothesis of interplay between genetics, climate and environment at large in the pathogenesis of this hereditary anomaly is raised and supported by the abundance of phytoteratogens in alternative diets in the dry seasons. The condition is compatible with life but may contribute to reproductive and economic loss in farms

Preclinical emergence of vandetanib as a potent antitumour agent in mesothelioma: molecular mechanisms underlying its synergistic interaction with pemetrexed and carboplatin

BACKGROUND: Although pemetrexed, a potent thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor, enhances the cytoytoxic effect of platinum compounds against malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), novel combinations with effective targeted therapies are warranted. To this end, the current study evaluates new targeted agents and their pharmacological interaction with carboplatin-pemetrexed in human MPM cell lines. METHODS: We treated H2052, H2452, H28 and MSTO-211H cells with carboplatin, pemetrexed and targeted compounds (gefitinib, erlotinib, sorafenib, vandetanib, enzastaurin and ZM447439) and evaluated the modulation of pivotal pathways in drug activity and cancer cell proliferation. RESULTS: Vandetanib emerged as the compound with the most potent cytotoxic activity, which interacted synergistically with carboplatin and pemetrexed. Drug combinations blocked Akt phosphorylation and increased apoptosis. Vandetanib significantly downregulated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Erk/Akt phosphorylation as well as E2F-1 mRNA and TS mRNA/protein levels. Moreover, pemetrexed decreased Akt phosphorylation and expression of DNA repair genes. Finally, most MPM samples displayed detectable levels of EGFR and TS, the variability of which could be used for patients' stratification in future trials with vandetanib-pemetrexed-carboplatin combination. CONCLUSION: Vandetanib markedly enhances pemetrexed-carboplatin activity against human MPM cells. Induction of apoptosis, modulation of EGFR/Akt/Erk phosphorylation and expression of key determinants for pemetrexed and carboplatin activity contribute to this synergistic interaction, and, together with the expression of these determinants in MPM samples, warrant further clinical investigation