Pious Fun at Saints Festivals in Modern Egypt

Mawlids, traditional festivals in honour of saints, are among the most popular, but also the most controversial Islamic traditions in Egypt. Millions of people - even half of all the Egyptians, according to an unofficial estimate - participate in these festivals. In the public sphere, however, Islamists and conservative men of religion often find themselves side to side with many secularists, both vehemently opposing what they consider a shameful deviation from proper Islamic and/or modern culture

Dominant g(9/2)^2 neutron configuration in the 4+1 state of 68Zn based on new g factor measurements

The $g$ factor of the $4_1^+$ state in $^{68}$Zn has been remeasured with improved energy resolution of the detectors used. The value obtained is consistent with the previous result of a negative $g$ factor thus confirming the dominant $0g_{9/2}$ neutron nature of the $4_1^+$ state. In addition, the accuracy of the $g$ factors of the $2_1^+$, $2_2^+$ and $3_1^-$ states has been improved an d their lifetimes were well reproduced. New large-scale shell model calculations based on a $^{56}$Ni core and an $0f_{5/2}1pg_{9/2}$ model space yield a theoretical value, $g(4_1^+) = +0.008$. Although the calculated value is small, it cannot fully explain the experimental value, $g(4_1^+) = -0.37(17)$. The magnitude of the deduced B(E2) of the $4_1^+$ and $2_1^+$ transition is, however, rather well described. These results demonstrate again the importance of $g$ factor measurements for nuclear structure determination s due to their specific sensitivity to detailed proton and neutron components in the nuclear wave functions.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figs, submitted to PL

First measurement and shell model interpretation of the g factor of the 21+ state in self-conjugate radioactive 44Ti

AbstractThe g factor of the 21+ state in radioactive 44Ti has been measured for the first time with the technique of α transfer to 40Ca beams in inverse kinematics in combination with transient magnetic fields, yielding the value, g(21+)=+0.52(15). In addition, the lifetimes of the 21+, τ=3.97(28) ps, and the 41+ states, τ=0.65(6) ps, were redetermined with higher precision using the Doppler shift attenuation method. The deduced B(E2)'s and the g factor were well explained by a full fp shell model calculation using the FPD6 effective NN interaction. The g factor can also be accounted for by a simple rotational model (g=Z/A). However, if one also considers the B(E2)'s and the E(41+)/E(21+) ratios, then an imperfect vibrator picture gives better agreement with the data

Attendance in a national screening program for diabetic retinopathy:a population-based study of 205,970 patients

AIMS: A nationwide diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening program has been established in Denmark since 2013. We aimed to perform an evaluation of adherence to DR screenings and to examine whether non-adherence was correlated to DR progression. METHODS: The population consisted of a register-based cohort, who participated in the screening program from 2013 to 2018. We analyzed age, gender, marital status, DR level (International Clinical DR severity scale, none, mild-, moderate-, severe non-proliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR)), comorbidities and socioeconomic factors. The attendance pattern of patients was grouped as either timely (no delays > 33%), delayed (delays > 33%) or one-time attendance (unexplained). RESULTS: We included 205,970 patients with 591,136 screenings. Rates of timely, delayed and one-time attendance were 53.0%, 35.5% and 11.5%, respectively. DR level at baseline was associated with delays (mild-, moderate-, severe NPDR and PDR) and one-time attendance (moderate-, severe NPDR and PDR) with relative risk ratios (RRR) of 1.68, 2.27, 3.14, 2.44 and 1.18, 2.07, 1.26, respectively (P < 0.05). Delays at previous screenings were associated with progression to severe NPDR or PDR (hazard ratio (HR) 2.27, 6.25 and 12.84 for 1, 2 and 3+ delays, respectively). Any given delay doubled the risk of progression (HR 2.28). CONCLUSIONS: In a national cohort of 205,970 patients, almost half of the patients attended DR screening later than scheduled or dropped out after first screening episode. This was, in particular, true for patients with any levels of DR at baseline. DR progression in patients with delayed attendance, increased with the number of missed appointments

Distinct Binding and Immunogenic Properties of the Gonococcal Homologue of Meningococcal Factor H Binding Protein

Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis. The bacterium recruits factor H (fH), a negative regulator of the complement system, to its surface via fH binding protein (fHbp), providing a mechanism to avoid complement-mediated killing. fHbp is an important antigen that elicits protective immunity against the meningococcus and has been divided into three different variant groups, V1, V2 and V3, or families A and B. However, immunisation with fHbp V1 does not result in cross-protection against V2 and V3 and vice versa. Furthermore, high affinity binding of fH could impair immune responses against fHbp. Here, we investigate a homologue of fHbp in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, designated as Gonococcal homologue of fHbp (Ghfp) which we show is a promising vaccine candidate for N. meningitidis. We demonstrate that Gfhp is not expressed on the surface of the gonococcus and, despite its high level of identity with fHbp, does not bind fH. Substitution of only two amino acids in Ghfp is sufficient to confer fH binding, while the corresponding residues in V3 fHbp are essential for high affinity fH binding. Furthermore, immune responses against Ghfp recognise V1, V2 and V3 fHbps expressed by a range of clinical isolates, and have serum bactericidal activity against N. meningitidis expressing fHbps from all variant groups

Diabetic retinopathy as a potential marker of Parkinson's disease:a register-based cohort study

Neurodegeneration is an early event in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, and an association between diabetic retinopathy and Parkinson’s disease has been proposed. In this nationwide register-based cohort study, we investigated the prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s disease among patients screened for diabetic retinopathy in a Danish population-based cohort. Cases (n = 173 568) above 50 years of age with diabetes included in the Danish Registry of Diabetic Retinopathy between 2013 and 2018 were matched 1:5 by gender and birth year with a control population without diabetes (n = 843 781). At index date, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease was compared between cases and controls. To assess the longitudinal relationship between diabetic retinopathy and Parkinson’s disease, a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was estimated. The prevalence of Parkinson’s disease was 0.28% and 0.44% among cases and controls, respectively. While diabetic retinopathy was not associated with present (adjusted odds ratio 0.93, 95% confidence interval 0.72–1.21) or incident Parkinson’s disease (adjusted hazard ratio 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.56–1.05), cases with diabetes were in general less likely to have or to develop Parkinson’s disease compared to controls without diabetes (adjusted odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.71–0.87 and adjusted hazard ratio 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.78–1.00). In a national cohort of more than 1 million persons, patients with diabetes were 21% and 12% were less likely to have prevalent and develop incident Parkinson’s disease, respectively, compared to an age- and gender-matched control population without diabetes. We found no indication for diabetic retinopathy as an independent risk factor for incident Parkinson’s disease

Marriage “sharia style”: everyday practices of Islamic morality in England

The growing visibility of Islam in the public spaces of Western societies is often interpreted in the media as a sign of Muslim radicalisation. This article questions this postulate by examining the flourishing Muslim marriage industry in the UK. It argues that these ‘halal’ services, increasingly popular among the young generation of British Muslims, reflect the semantic shifting of categories away from the repertoire of Islamic jurisprudence to cultural and identity labels visible in public space. Informed by long-term ethnographic fieldwork in the British field of Islamic law, this article examines a Muslim speed-dating event, which took place in central London in 2013. It investigates how Islamic morality is maintained and negotiated in everyday social interactions rather than cultivated via discipline and the pursuit of virtuous dispositions. Using Goffman’s “frame analysis” and his interpretation of the social as a space of “performances” as well as recent anthropological reflections on “ordinary ethics” (Lambek) and “everyday Islam” (Schielke, Osella and Soares), it examines the potential for such practices to define the contours of a new public culture where difference is celebrated as a form of distinction

Cerebral Blood Flow and Cerebral Edema in Rats With Diabetic Ketoacidosis

OBJECTIVE— Cerebral edema (CE) is a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children. Osmotic fluctuations during DKA treatment have been considered responsible, but recent data instead suggest that cerebral hypoperfusion may be involved and that activation of cerebral ion transporters may occur. Diminished cerebral blood flow (CBF) during DKA, however, has not been previously demonstrated. We investigated CBF and edema formation in a rat model of DKA and determined the effects of bumetanide, an inhibitor of Na-K-Cl cotransport