Discourses on Emotions: Communities, Styles, and Selves in Early Modern Mediterranean Travel Books Three Case Studies

The present study focuses on emotion discourses in early modern travel books. It attempts a close textual, intertextual, and contextual analysis of several embedded narratives on emotions in three late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century travel books: Kit?b N??ir al-D?n 'ala 'l-Qawm al-K?fir?n: Mukhta?ar Ri?lat al-Shih?b 'ila Liq?´ al-A?b?b by Andalusian traveller Ahmed bin Q?sim al-?ajar? (1570- c.1641), The Diary of Master Thomas Dallam by an English craftsman, Thomas Dallam (1575-1630), and Seyahâtnâme (The Book of Travels) by Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi (1611-1685). In these travel books, al-?ajar?, Dallam, and Evliya narrate their journeys as emotionally protean experiences. They associate emotions with the contexts of their journeys, their volition to travel, and their authorial motives to write about their journeys. They display their emotions in their dreams, humour, and other subjective experiences. Their narratives yield uncommon notions of emotions, namely the emotions of encounter. A love story between a Muslim traveller and a Catholic girl, an English craftsman's anxiety at the court of an Ottoman Sultan, a disgusting meal in a foreign land, are just a few examples of emotionally freighted situations which are unlikely to be found in any genre but a travel book. The close textual analysis aims to identify the role of the writers' cultures in shaping and regulating their discourses on emotions. The intertextual and contextual analysis of these narratives reveals that the meaning and function of these displayed emotions revolve around the traveller's community affiliation, religion, ideology, and other culture-specific discourses and practices such as Sufism, folk medicine, myths, folk traditions, natural and geographical phenomena, cultural scripts, social norms, and power relations. In a nutshell, reading the travellers' discourses on emotions means reading many cultural and historical aspects of the early modern world. To approach discourses on emotions in texts of the past, the present study draws on the theory of culture-construction of emotions. It uses three analytical notions from the fields of language, anthropology and history of emotions: 'emotional communities', 'emotional styles' and 'emotional self-fashioning'. The present study uses a theoretical framework defined by a recent wave of studies on self-narratives as sources for the history and cultural diversity of emotions in the medieval and early modern periods. Within this approach, travel writing is seen as a self-narrative, a communicative act, and a social practice. This approach to emotion discourses in Ri?la, travel journals and Seyahat genres allows us to project the transcultural and entangled history of the early modern Mediterranean, which as much it was a contested frontier between Islam and Christianity, was also a space of religious conversion and hybrid identities, the articulation of diplomacy and cultural exchange, mysticism and religious pluralism. This approach also pinpoints the diverse forms of cosmopolitanism, or rather cosmopolitanisms, in the plural

INFLUENCE OF ROOTING MEDIA AND INDOLE-3-BUTYRIC ACID (IBA) CONCENTRATION ON ROOTING AND GROWTH OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONOCARPUS ERECTUS L. STEM CUTTINGS

The present study was conducted to evaluate the influence of rooting media (clay, peat moss + sand, peat moss + perlite and vermiculite), cutting types (tip, middle and basal) and different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (control, 50, 100 and 200 ppm IBA) on the rooting and growth of Conocarpus erectus L. stem cuttings. The experiment was laid out in a split-split-plot design, with three replicates. The obtained results showed that vermiculite was the best rooting medium used for improving the rooting percentage, root number, root length, stem length, branch number and leaf number per rooted cutting, followed by peat + perlite (1:1 in v/v) and peat + sand (1:1 in v/v), respectively comparing with clay soil which recorded the lowest values. The tip cutting was superior to the middle and basal ones in all rooting media used, especially in vermiculite medium. Among IBA concentrations used, cuttings treated with IBA at 100 ppm produced significantly better rooting (42.9%) than 50 ppm (36.3%), 200 ppm (36.0%) and untreated cuttings (23.1%). The greatest rooting percentage (95.0%) and the best root and growth characteristics as well as the highest endogenous contents of phenols, indole acetic acid (IAA) and the lowest abscisic acid (ABA) contents were obtained from tip cuttings treated with IBA at 100 ppm and planted in vermiculite substrate. Moreover, the combined treatment of 100 ppm IBA and vermiculite substrate significantly improved the rooting percentage, root and growth measurements of middle and basal cuttings as well as gave the highest C/N ratio in basal cutting tissues compared to the same cutting types combined with the other rooting media and IBA concentrations. Hence, it could be recommended to treat the different types of C. erectus stem cuttings with IBA at 100 ppm and planting in vermiculite medium for improving rooting, quality and growth of cuttings

Adaptive Scatter Search to Solve the Minimum Connected Dominating Set Problem for Efficient Management of Wireless Networks

An efficient routing using a virtual backbone (VB) network is one of the most significant improvements in the wireless sensor network (WSN). One promising method for selecting this subset of network nodes is by finding the minimum connected dominating set (MCDS), where the searching space for finding a route is restricted to nodes in this MCDS. Thus, finding MCDS in a WSN provides a flexible low-cost solution for the problem of event monitoring, particularly in places with limited or dangerous access to humans as is the case for most WSN deployments. In this paper, we proposed an adaptive scatter search (ASS-MCDS) algorithm that finds the near-optimal solution to this problem. The proposed method invokes a composite fitness function that aims to maximize the solution coverness and connectivity and minimize its cardinality. Moreover, the ASS-MCDS methods modified the scatter search framework through new local search and solution update procedures that maintain the search objectives. We tested the performance of our proposed algorithm using different benchmark-test-graph sets available in the literature. Experiments results show that our proposed algorithm gave good results in terms of solution quality

Radiological evaluation of postoperative complications after non-sleeve gastrectomy bariatric procedures

Background: Obesity is a medical condition, which may lead to serious related diseases, ultimately, resulting in many morbidities and early mortality. Its management involves many approaches of which bariatric surgery is considered nowadays as one of the most effective treatment for it. However, follow up of postoperative complications of this surgery by effective radiological method as computed tomography (CT) is important for assessment of its success.Objective: The aim of this study was to illuminate the radiological signs and features of postoperative complications after non sleeve bariatric procedures and stressing the importance of using multi-slice CT (MSCT), and fluoroscopic study for detection of these complications. Patients and methods: An observational cohort study for 275 patients with suspected complications after non sleeve gastrectomy bariatric procedures, including 195 patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), 76 patients after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and 4 patients after intragastric balloon placement was done. These patients were subjected to either multi-slice CT and or fluoroscopy. Results: We detected complications in 21 patients out of the 195 patients who underwent RYGB: leakage, abscess, intestinal obstruction, internal hernia, port site ventral hernia, intussusception, fistula between the gastric pouch and the excluded stomach and hiatus hernia. On the other hand, 8 out of 76 patients operated by LAGB developed complications: band slippage, band erosion, pouch dilatation and tubal disconnection. Lastly two out of the 4 patients who placed intra-gastric balloon encountered other complications: gastric outlet obstruction, spontaneous balloon deflation and distal migration with intestinal obstruction.Conclusion: It could be concluded that bariatric procedures may be followed by many complications and accurate diagnosis of these problems by proper radiological procedures as MSCT is imperative

Molecular genetic studies in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction

Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR) are common and costly obstetric complications. Both conditions are associated with immediate and remote mortality and morbidity for the mother and the offspring. Impaired placentation and aberrant maternal systemic responses are implicated as pathophysiological mechanisms in preeclampsia and FGR. Both preeclampsia and FGR are known to have a clear genetic basis. This study has investigated the roles of several candidate genes including those previously associated with diabetes (TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-g, CDKN2B-AS1 and KCNJ11), and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Functional consequences of variants within the EGF gene were also investigated. A bidirectional association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and preeclampsia is consistently reported, whereby each condition is associated with an increased risk of the other. Furthermore, fetal growth restriction, which complicates 30% of preeclamptic pregnancies, predisposes the offspring to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) later in life. 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reproducibly associated with T2D in the TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-y, CDKN2B-AS1 and KCNJ11 genes were investigated as susceptibility loci for preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction in a maternal case control study. The study group consisted of 448 white western European women with preeclampsia, 673 controls with no evidence of preeclampsia, 243 women with pregnancies complicated by FGR, and 570 controls with no evidence of growth restriction. A maternal haplotype on the T2D region of the CDKN2BAS1 gene on chromosome 9p21 was found to be a risk variant for fetal growth restriction (P=O.005).The other 9 investigated SNPs in TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-y, and KCNJ11 showed no association with growth restricted pregnancies. None of the SNPs investigated showed an association with preeclampsia. These findings suggest that some maternal diabetogenic risk variants are associated with an altered risk of FGR pregnancy but not preeclampsia. The results require replication in a larger sample and fetal-maternal gene interactions merit investigation. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is described as a major regulator of the placentation process. It also helps to maintain an adequate blood supply to the growing fetus through its effects on umbilical vessel tone. Investigating the role of two genetic variants of the EGF gene in susceptibility to preeclampsia and FGR showed that the maternal variants, rs4444903 in the 5'UTR and rs2237051 in exon 14 of the EGF gene has no effect on the risk of preeclampsia or FGR pregnancy. The G allele of the SNP rs4444903 was associated with higher systolic blood pressure measures in the control group. The G allele of the rs4444903 and the A allele of rs2237051 have been associated with increased risk for FGR and lower birth weight in a previous study from our laboratory. This led to investigations to characterize the functional consequences of the two SNPs in the EGF gene on transcription, translation and ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing using a variety of methods. These experiments have shown that the G allele of rs4444903 was transcriptionally more active than the A allele in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and more active than EGFP on its own in choriocarcinoma (Jeg-3) cell lines using a luciferase reporter gene assay. There was no effect of this variant on translational efficiency in the cell lines investigated using reporter gene assays, or in a cell free environment using an in vitro translation assay. DNA-protein interaction was investigated using nuclear extract from HepG2 cells to further define the mechanism by which the G allele exerts its higher transcriptional activity. Initial experiments suggest that the Sp1 transcription factor interacts with and represses the A allele of the rs4444903 SNP. The study also demonstrated no evidence of higher activity of the G allele on EGF expression in vivo using term placental tissues. It was expected that higher EGF expression as a function of genotype at rs4444903 SNP may lead to down regulation of the EGFR in the placenta, which was not confirmed in this study. SNP rs2237051 in exon 14 of the EGF gene is in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs4444903, and disrupts a predicted exon splicing enhancer region. This polymorphism was investigated using a minigene assay, but there was no evidence that it affected splicing of exon 14. Taken together, these findings provide no evidence that EGF genetic variants alter the risk of preeclampsia or FGR though functioning

Structure of the Deformed 7075 Aircraft Al - Alloy with Material Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD)

This work aims to study the effect of plastic deformation on the 7075 Al - alloy using Material Analyses Using Diffraction (MAUD). Plastic deformation produces dislocation defects. Using a hydraulic press, samples were deformed up to 25%. The XRD was measured for each degree of deformation. The MAUD program was used to analyze the data, and mathematical methods were deployed to understand the various behaviors observed. The lattice parameter, crystallite size, average internal stress, micro-strain, and dislocation density of the 7075Al-alloy were calculated. As the deformation degree increased, there was a progressive decline in the crystallite size as an increase in the micro-strain and dislocation density. The flow stress changes from 5.8 to 49 MPa and the stored dislocation energy varies from 2.62 to 185 kPa

1,2,4-Triazine Chemistry Part II: Synthetic approaches for phosphorus containing 1,2,4-triazine derivatives

This review represents the methods developed for the synthesis of phosphorus containing 1,2,4-triazine moieties. These methods depends on the phosphorylation of side functional groups of 1,2,4-triazines and cyclization of side functional groups of 1,2,4-triazines with phosphorus reagents to give isolated and fused phosphorus heterocyclic systems

Molecular genetic studies in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction

Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR) are common and costly obstetric complications. Both conditions are associated with immediate and remote mortality and morbidity for the mother and the offspring. Impaired placentation and aberrant maternal systemic responses are implicated as pathophysiological mechanisms in preeclampsia and FGR. Both preeclampsia and FGR are known to have a clear genetic basis. This study has investigated the roles of several candidate genes including those previously associated with diabetes (TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-g, CDKN2B-AS1 and KCNJ11), and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Functional consequences of variants within the EGF gene were also investigated. A bidirectional association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and preeclampsia is consistently reported, whereby each condition is associated with an increased risk of the other. Furthermore, fetal growth restriction, which complicates 30% of preeclamptic pregnancies, predisposes the offspring to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) later in life. 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reproducibly associated with T2D in the TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-y, CDKN2B-AS1 and KCNJ11 genes were investigated as susceptibility loci for preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction in a maternal case control study. The study group consisted of 448 white western European women with preeclampsia, 673 controls with no evidence of preeclampsia, 243 women with pregnancies complicated by FGR, and 570 controls with no evidence of growth restriction. A maternal haplotype on the T2D region of the CDKN2BAS1 gene on chromosome 9p21 was found to be a risk variant for fetal growth restriction (P=O.005).The other 9 investigated SNPs in TCF7L2, FTO, PPAR-y, and KCNJ11 showed no association with growth restricted pregnancies. None of the SNPs investigated showed an association with preeclampsia. These findings suggest that some maternal diabetogenic risk variants are associated with an altered risk of FGR pregnancy but not preeclampsia. The results require replication in a larger sample and fetal-maternal gene interactions merit investigation. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is described as a major regulator of the placentation process. It also helps to maintain an adequate blood supply to the growing fetus through its effects on umbilical vessel tone. Investigating the role of two genetic variants of the EGF gene in susceptibility to preeclampsia and FGR showed that the maternal variants, rs4444903 in the 5'UTR and rs2237051 in exon 14 of the EGF gene has no effect on the risk of preeclampsia or FGR pregnancy. The G allele of the SNP rs4444903 was associated with higher systolic blood pressure measures in the control group. The G allele of the rs4444903 and the A allele of rs2237051 have been associated with increased risk for FGR and lower birth weight in a previous study from our laboratory. This led to investigations to characterize the functional consequences of the two SNPs in the EGF gene on transcription, translation and ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing using a variety of methods. These experiments have shown that the G allele of rs4444903 was transcriptionally more active than the A allele in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and more active than EGFP on its own in choriocarcinoma (Jeg-3) cell lines using a luciferase reporter gene assay. There was no effect of this variant on translational efficiency in the cell lines investigated using reporter gene assays, or in a cell free environment using an in vitro translation assay. DNA-protein interaction was investigated using nuclear extract from HepG2 cells to further define the mechanism by which the G allele exerts its higher transcriptional activity. Initial experiments suggest that the Sp1 transcription factor interacts with and represses the A allele of the rs4444903 SNP. The study also demonstrated no evidence of higher activity of the G allele on EGF expression in vivo using term placental tissues. It was expected that higher EGF expression as a function of genotype at rs4444903 SNP may lead to down regulation of the EGFR in the placenta, which was not confirmed in this study. SNP rs2237051 in exon 14 of the EGF gene is in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs4444903, and disrupts a predicted exon splicing enhancer region. This polymorphism was investigated using a minigene assay, but there was no evidence that it affected splicing of exon 14. Taken together, these findings provide no evidence that EGF genetic variants alter the risk of preeclampsia or FGR though functioning

Synthesis of novel naphthalene-heterocycle hybrids with potent antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antituberculosis activities

Multitarget-directed drugs (hybrid drugs) constitute an efficient avenue for the treatment of multifactorial diseases. In this work, novel naphthalene hybrids with different heterocyclic scaffolds such as nicotinonitrile, pyran, pyranopyrazole, pyrazole, pyrazolopyridine, and azepine were efficiently synthesized via tandem reactions of 3-formyl-4H-benzo[h]chromen-4-one 1 with different nucleophilic reagents. Analysis of these hybrids using PASS online software indicated different predicted biological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, anti-inflammatory, etc. By focusing on antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antituberculosis activities, many compounds revealed remarkable activities. While 3c, 3e, and 3h were more potent than doxorubicin in the case of HepG-2 cell lines, 3a–e, 3i, 6, 8, 10, 11, and 12b were more potent in the case of MCF-7. Moreover, compounds 3c, 3h, 8, 10, 3d, and 12b manifested superior activity and COX-2 selectivity to the reference anti-inflammatory Celecoxib. Regarding antituberculosis activity, 3c, 3d, and 3i were found to be the most promising with MIC less than 1 mg mL–1. The molecular docking studies showed strong polar and hydrophobic interactions with the novel naphthalene-heterocycle hybrids that were compatible with experimental evaluations to a great extent