A Postcolonial Approach to the Problem of Subalternity in Toni Morrison's God Help the Child

This study focuses on the different forms of subalternity, the effect of marginalizing subaltern characters, and the postcolonial discourse among characters coming from different backgrounds in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child (2015). A close reading of this novel shows how subalternity shapes the novel as a whole, both in its form and content. The title, language, tone, multiple points of view, and characters, all form a postcolonial frame and setting to the whole novel which highlights the problems of racism and child abuse in the United States of America in the twenty-first century. The novel is mainly about a dark child named Bride. She is born in a white family and represents children’s marginalization in a white society because of a very long history of discrimination against black people. In addition to Bride, the study shows many other examples of racism and child abuse. So, one can argue that postcolonialism is one of the best approaches that can help the reader better understand the marginalized characters. A postcolonial approach will shed more light on the suffering of all these people and help the reader find out the victim and the victimizer. As a whole, God Help the Child necessitates a totally different approach to the problem of subalternity. Instead of Spivak’s view that the subaltern cannot speak, it is possible to anticipate a near future in which the subaltern might be able to speak

Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using leaf extract of Dittrichia viscosa and in vivo assessment of its anti-diabetic efficacy.

Several studies have reported the anti-diabetic effect of biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). This study was designed to investigate the in vivo anti-diabetic activity of AuNPs synthesized using the leaf extract of Dittrichia viscosa in a high-fat diet (HFD)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. AuNPs were synthesized using the leaf extract of D. viscosa, and the synthesized AuNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometer, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To study the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the AuNPs formed using D. viscosa extract, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups (6-8 rats/group) as follows: control group, a diabetic group without treatment, and a diabetic group treated intraperitoneally with a daily injection of AuNPs at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg for 21 days. Diabetes was induced by maintaining the rats on HFD for 2 weeks, followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of 45 mg/kg of STZ. Serum and liver samples were collected at the end of the treatment period and used to measure glucose levels and hepatic gene expression and activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), the rate-limiting enzyme in the liver gluconeogenic pathway. The AuNPs formed using D. viscosa extract were mainly spherical with a size range between 20 and 50 nm with good stability and dispersity, as indicated by the zeta potential and DLS measurements. Treatment with AuNP significantly lowered the blood glucose level, the gene expression, and the activity of hepatic PEPCK in comparison to the diabetic untreated group (P < 0.05). This study suggests that AuNPs synthesized using D. viscosa leaf extract can alleviate hyperglycemia in HFD/STZ-induced diabetes in rats, which could be through the reduction of hepatic gluconeogenesis by inhibiting the expression and activity of the hepatic PEPCK gene. Schematic illustration of the biosynthesis of AuNPs showing their distinctive morphology under the EM. The generated particles were injected into animals and serum glucose levels were reported in addition to the PEPCK expression and activity

Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization Mapping of Anthrax Vaccine Publications from 1991 through 2021

Purpose: This study aims to analyze and characterize anthrax vaccine-related research, key developments, global research trends, and mapping of published scientific research articles during the last three decades (1991–2021). Methods: A bibliometric and visualized study was conducted. The Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCC) was searched using relevant keywords (“Anthrax” OR “Anthrax bacterium” OR “Bacillus anthracis” OR “Bacteridium anthracis” OR “Bacillus cereus var. Anthracis” (Topic)) AND (“Vaccine” OR “Vaccines” OR “Immunization” OR “Immunisation” OR “Immunizations” OR “Immunisations” (Topic)) with specific restrictions. The data was analyzed and plotted by using different bibliometric software and tools (HistCiteTM software, version 12.3.17, Bibliometrix: An R-tool version 3.2.1, and VOSviewer software, version 1.6.17). Results: The initial search yielded 1750 documents. After screening the titles and abstracts of the published studies, a total of 1090 articles published from 1991 to 2021 were included in the final analysis. These articles were published in 334 journals and were authored by 4567 authors from 64 countries with a collaboration index of 4.32. The annual scientific production growth rate was found to be 9.68%. The analyzed articles were cited 31335 times. The most productive year was 2006 (n = 77, 7.06%), while the most cited year was 2007 (2561 citations). The leading authors and journals in anthrax research were Rakesh Bhatnagar from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India (n = 35, 3.21%), and Vaccine (n = 1830, 16.51%), while the most cited author and journal were Arthur M. Friedlander from the United States Department of Defense (n = 2762), and Vaccine (n = 5696), respectively. The most studied recent research trend topics were lethal, double-blind, epidemiology, B surface antigen, disease, and toxin. The United States of America (USA) was the most dominant country in terms of publications, citations, corresponding author country, and global collaboration in anthrax vaccine research. The USA had the strongest collaboration with the United Kingdom (UK), China, Canada, Germany, and France. Conclusion: This is the first bibliometric study that provides a comprehensive historical overview of scientific studies. From 2006 to 2008, more than 20% of the total articles were published; however, a decrease was observed since 2013 in anthrax vaccine research. The developed countries made significant contributions to anthrax vaccine-related research, especially the USA. Among the top 10 leading authors, six authors are from the USA. The majority of the top leading institutions are also from the USA. About 90% of the total studies were funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), USA

Crocin treatment improves testosterone induced benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats

Background and objective: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a typical nonmalignant growth of the prostate in the elderly. Crocin, a bioactive component of Crocus sativus L., commonly known as saffron, is known to have an anti-proliferative activity against numerous types of cancer, including prostate cancer. This study investigated the effects of crocin on testosterone-induced BPH development in rats. Materials and methods: The study sample included three groups of adult male rats (3 months old, weighed 250 g): the control group received corn oil only, the second and the third groups were injected with testosterone (3 mg/kg dissolved in corn oil) subcutaneously. The second group was considered as testosterone-induced BPH (untreated) while the third groups were assigned as testosterone-induced BPH-crocin treated group (100 mg/kg orally for 14 days). Results: After animal sacrifice, histopathological analysis of the prostate tissues was performed in parallel with gene expression of proliferation (PCNA), inflammation (IL-6), and vascularization (VEGF-A) markers, analyzed by qRT-PCR. Crocin treatment significantly reduced prostate index and the thickness of the epithelial layer in rats with BPH. Additionally, the mRNA expression levels of PCNA, a marker of cell proliferation; IL-6, an inflammatory cytokine; and VEGF-A, an angiogenesis marker, were significantly down-regulated in the BPH group that were treated with crocin. Conclusions: The present study indicates that crocin can effectively prevent the development of experimentally induced BPH through inhibition of prostatic cellular proliferation, inflammation, and angiogenesis

Postmortem lung and heart examination of COVID-19 patients in a case series from Jordan

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a pandemic for more than 2 years. Autopsy examination is an invaluable tool to understand the pathogenesis of emerging infections and their consequent mortalities. The aim of the current study was to present the lung and heart pathological findings of COVID-19–positive autopsies performed in Jordan. Methods The study involved medicolegal cases, where the cause of death was unclear and autopsy examination was mandated by law. We included the clinical and pathologic findings of routine gross and microscopic examination of cases that were positive for COVID-19 at time of death. Testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed through molecular detection by real-time polymerase chain reaction, serologic testing for IgM and electron microscope examination of lung samples. Results Seventeen autopsies were included, with male predominance (76.5%), Jordanians (70.6%), and 50 years as the mean age at time of death. Nine out of 16 cases (56.3%) had co-morbidities, with one case lacking such data. Histologic examination of lung tissue revealed diffuse alveolar damage in 13/17 cases (76.5%), and pulmonary microthrombi in 8/17 cases (47.1%). Microscopic cardiac findings were scarcely detected. Two patients died as a direct result of acute cardiac disease with limited pulmonary findings. Conclusions The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in postmortem examination can be an incidental or contributory finding which highlights the value of autopsy examination to determine the exact cause of death in controversial cases

Erythropoietin Receptor (EPOR) Signaling in the Osteoclast Lineage Contributes to EPO-Induced Bone Loss in Mice

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a pleiotropic cytokine that classically drives erythropoiesis but can also induce bone loss by decreasing bone formation and increasing resorption. Deletion of the EPO receptor (EPOR) on osteoblasts or B cells partially mitigates the skeletal effects of EPO, thereby implicating a contribution by EPOR on other cell lineages. This study was designed to define the role of monocyte EPOR in EPO-mediated bone loss, by using two mouse lines with conditional deletion of EPOR in the monocytic lineage. Low-dose EPO attenuated the reduction in bone volume (BV/TV) in Cx3cr1Cre EPORf/f female mice (27.05%) compared to controls (39.26%), but the difference was not statistically significant. To validate these findings, we increased the EPO dose in LysMCre model mice, a model more commonly used to target preosteoclasts. There was a significant reduction in both the increase in the proportion of bone marrow preosteoclasts (CD115+) observed following high-dose EPO administration and the resulting bone loss in LysMCre EPORf/f female mice (44.46% reduction in BV/TV) as compared to controls (77.28%), without interference with the erythropoietic activity. Our data suggest that EPOR in the monocytic lineage is at least partially responsible for driving the effect of EPO on bone mass