Men of Shoubra: Hairdressing, shades of masculinities, and ghosts of sectarianism

This thesis looks at the intersections of masculinities, religiosity, and Coptic-Muslim cohabitation/ tensions through exploring the everyday lives of Shoubra’s male hairdressers who work exclusively with women. It builds on the fieldwork that I had conducted as an assistant hairdresser for one of Shoubra’s Coptic hairdressers. The thesis argues that the interplay of masculinities and religious identities is strongly embedded in the everydayness of Shoubra as a social space in ways that make them inseparable. This project started as an attempt to look at the masculinities of male hairdressers whose clients are women; however, by time it turned to be a project that aimed at unpacking and challenging categories such as Muslims, Copts, and masculinities. This unpacking was premised on embedding such categories in the multi-layered social and political structures of Shoubra in order to understand how the intersections between masculinities and religious identities shape the gendered relations between the male hairdressers and their women clients

Primary sclerosing cholangitis – The arteriosclerosis of the bile duct?

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology affecting the large bile ducts and characterized by periductal fibrosis and stricture formation, which ultimately result in biliary cirrhosis and liver failure. Arteriosclerosis involves the accumulation of altered lipids and lipoproteins in large arteries; this drives inflammation and fibrosis and ultimately leads to narrowing of the arteries and hypoperfusion of dependent organs and tissues. Knowledge of the causative factors is crucial to the understanding of disease mechanisms and the development of specific treatment. Based on pathogenetic similarities between PSC and arteriosclerosis, we hypothesize that PSC represents "arteriosclerosis of the bile duct" initiated by toxic biliary lipids. This hypothesis is based on common molecular, cellular, and morphological features providing the conceptual framework for a deeper understanding of their pathogenesis. This hypothesis should stimulate translational research to facilitate the search for novel treatment strategies for both diseases

Regioselective synthesis and antimicrobial studies of novel bridgehead nitrogen heterocycles containing the thienopyrimidinone skeleton

Versatile 2-(alkylthio)pyrimidine-type and 2-(phenacylamino)thiophene building blocks (4a-d) and 16 were obtained based on an ortho functionalized thiophene derivative 1. A novel series of thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-one derivatives with annelated bridgehead nitrogen heterocycles was synthesized starting from precursors 4 and 16 through convenient methods. Cyclocondensation of 2-(phenacylthio)pyrimidinone derivative (4b) with sulfuric acid led to the tricyclic thiazole derivative 5. Initial hydrazinolysis of 3-(carbethoxymethyl)pyrimidinone derivative (4d) followed by nitrous acid deamination of the formed N-aminolactam (7) to obtain a N-protodeamino analogue 8a, which on further treatment with formaldehyde and piperidine yielded the respective Mannich-type base 8b. On the other hand, initial hydrazinolysis of 3-unsubstituted pyrimidinone derivative 4a and subsequent acetylation gave the condensed 3-methyltriazole derivative 12, whereas the condensed pyrrole derivative 19 was obtained by heterocyclization of 2-phenacylamine derivative 16 with malononitrile. All newly-obtained thienopyrimidinones with annelated bridgehead nitrogen were screened for their antimicrobial activity against strains of a representative panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi together with reference drugs. The compounds under investigation displayed generally good in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities, with compound 8b that has a N-piperidinylmethyl moiety showing essentially the highest inhibition in both assays. Despite promising antimicrobial activity of N-1-substituted imidazole derivative 8b, the corresponding N-1-unsubstituted analogue 8a displayed poor activity. The heteroannelation of a N-(piperidinylmethyl)imidazole or 3-methyltriazole moiety to the thienopyrimidinone scaffold could be considered as a potential strategy for the development of new therapeutic antimicrobial agents

Effect of hydrogenation temperature on the palm mid-fraction fatty acids composition and conversion

AbstractPalm mid fraction (PMF) was hydrogenated using Armfield hydrogenation pilot plant unit. Effects of hydrogenation temperature on the total conversion and selectivity were investigated. Noticeable effect of hydrogenation temperature on the reaction conversion was found. The values of reaction conversion at temperatures 99 and 130°C were found to be considerably lower, when compared to those at temperatures 137 and 149°C. The alteration on fatty acid composition had been studied at varying temperature and other parameters were kept constant. It can also be observed that the trans-fatty acids (TFA) content in the PMF samples hydrogenated at temperature ranges 130–137°C, and 137–149°C were found to be 0.197 and 0.186, respectively. Effect of reaction temperature on mass transfer resistance from the hydrogen bubble to the catalyst surface was estimated. The obtained results clarify that the volumetric mass transfer coefficient was increased around 140% by increasing the reaction temperature from 99 to 130°C

Cognitive dysfunction among inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia : relationship to positive and negative symptoms

Background: Cognitive impairment is an established feature of schizophrenia and is a strong predictor of eventual social and functional outcome. Few studies have investigated cognitive impairment in hospital long-stay patients with schizophrenia. This study evaluates and compares cognitive function among a sample of patients with schizophrenia in both inpatient and outpatient departments in order to determine the relationship between cognitive impairment and clinical variables. A cross-sectional comparative study based on a semi-structured interview investigating 100 inpatients with schizophrenia recruited from El-Abassia Mental Health Hospital departments compared to 100 patients with schizophrenia selected from the outpatients’ clinic matched with cases. The assessment tools included SCID-I, the Adult Wechsler Intelligence Scale, the computerized version of Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: Patients with schizophrenia showed significant deficits on cognitive function with no statistically significant difference between the inpatient and outpatient groups. Executive function was significantly correlated with verbal, non-verbal, and total IQ. Executive function was negatively correlated with the positive and general symptoms of PANSS and not correlated with its negative symptoms. In addition, we did not find any statistically significant relationship between cognitive functions and the duration of illness. Conclusion: The study provides evidence that institutionalization is not an influential factor on cognitive impairment patients with schizophrenia. However, the psychopathological aspects of the disorder are one of the crucial factors affecting the cognitive function in schizophrenia

Adipose triglyceride lipase activity is inhibited by long-chain acyl-coenzyme A

AbstractAdipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) is required for efficient mobilization of triglyceride (TG) stores in adipose tissue and non-adipose tissues. Therefore, ATGL strongly determines the availability of fatty acids for metabolic reactions. ATGL activity is regulated by a complex network of lipolytic and anti-lipolytic hormones. These signals control enzyme expression and the interaction of ATGL with the regulatory proteins CGI-58 and G0S2. Up to date, it was unknown whether ATGL activity is also controlled by lipid intermediates generated during lipolysis. Here we show that ATGL activity is inhibited by long-chain acyl-CoAs in a non-competitive manner, similar as previously shown for hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), the rate-limiting enzyme for diglyceride breakdown in adipose tissue. ATGL activity is only marginally inhibited by medium-chain acyl-CoAs, diglycerides, monoglycerides, and free fatty acids. Immunoprecipitation assays revealed that acyl-CoAs do not disrupt the protein–protein interaction of ATGL and its co-activator CGI-58. Furthermore, inhibition of ATGL is independent of the presence of CGI-58 and occurs directly at the N-terminal patatin-like phospholipase domain of the enzyme. In conclusion, our results suggest that inhibition of the major lipolytic enzymes ATGL and HSL by long-chain acyl-CoAs could represent an effective feedback mechanism controlling lipolysis and protecting cells from lipotoxic concentrations of fatty acids and fatty acid-derived lipid metabolites

Associations between Human Aldosterone Synthase (CYP11B2) and Angiotensin II type 1 Receptor (ATR1) Gene Polymorphisms with End Stage Renal Disease In hypertensive Egyptian Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

Many people with an advanced form of kidney disease do not know they have weak or failing kidneys, but early detection and treatment can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure. The resulting costs of treatment of ESRD are enormous. ESRD is a complex phenotype, which results from the presence of underlying kidney disease, and superimposing inherited and environmental factors. Among the predisposing genetic factors, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) disruption is clearly involved in ESRD development. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between CYP11B2 C-344T and ATR1 A1166C gene polymorphisms with increased risk for ESRD in hypertensive Egyptian patients on maintenance hemodialysis.This study included 70 ESRD patients on maintenance hemodialysis (32 males and 28 females, mean age 54.5± 9.5 years, recruited from El Doaah and El Rayan hospitals, Cairo, Egypt. 70 healthy individuals, of matching age and sex (30 males and 40 females, mean age 50.2 ± 13.1 years), were also included in the study. All subjects were genotyped for both CYP11B2 C-344T and ATR1 A1166C gene polymorphisms. Serum aldosterone was also measured for all subjects. Concerning the CYP11B2 gene, HD patients showed increased frequency of the TT genotype (68.57%) as compared to controls (only 12.85%), with no significant differences in T allele distribution between the 2 groups. In contrast, HD patients had low frequency of the CC genotype (5.71%) as compared to controls (32.85%), with a significant difference in C allele distribution between the HD patients (28.56%) and controls (70.7%). Comparing serum aldosterone levels in various CYP11B2 genotypes in HD patients revealed that patients with TT genotype had statistically higher aldosterone levels (121.583 ± 43.311) than those with the TC (72.055 ± 11.709) or CC genotype (68.75 ± 13.145). On the other hand, for AT1R A1166C genotype frequency, HD patients showed significantly (p˂0.05) higher frequency of CC genotype (70%) than controls (7.1%), with lower AA genotype frequency (5.71%) compared to controls (57%). Moreover, there was significant differences in A allele distribution between the HD patients (27.13%) and controls (64.25%).  The same was true for the C allele, with a frequency of (59.28%) in HD patients compared to a frequency of (39.25%) in controls. On the other hand, studying ATR1 A1166C gene polymorphisms revealed that patients with the CC genotype had significantly higher aldosterone levels (121.25 ± 43.006) than those with AA (87.6 ± 25.4) genotype.

Coliform Bacteria and Hatching Egg Disinfectants

(This study aimed to monitoring the microbial status of broiler breeder hatching eggs through isolation of coliform bacteria, especially Salmonella and E coli from eggs and hatched chicks and identification of isolated microorganism by PCR. Besides, the reduction of the contamination rate by using different egg disinfectants. A total of 600 broiler breeder Saso fertile eggs was purchased from a commercial broiler breeder flock aged 27 wk, which reared on a deep litter system at a private farm in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt. The eggs were allocated randomly into four equal treatment groups (n?150) according to the disinfectant used. The eggs in the first group were kept as a control without treatment. While, the eggs in the second group were disinfected by 1.4% H2O2. The eggs in the third group were disinfected by 0.5

Curative and protective potentials of Moringa oleifera leaf decoction on the streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in albino rats

The present study was designed to investigate the protective, and curative potentials of Moringa oleifera (MO) leaves powder against streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in rats. Fifty adult Wistar male albino rats were randomized and divided into five equal groups: The normal control group, the Moringa group, The diabetic group, the therapeutic group, and the diabetic rats (3 days after STZ injection) were received-MO-for successive 8 weeks and the prophylactic group, the rats were received-MO-for 2 weeks before STZ induced diabetic rats and lasted for 8 weeks. The protective or treated oral administration of 1 ml freshly prepared aqueous leaf decoction of-MO-revealed a significant upregulation of the mRNA expression of PDX-1, Ngn3, VEGF, IGF-1, and GLUT-2. Additionally, it induced a significant downregulation of FBG level compared to that of the diabetic group, a significant reduction in MDA level and a significant elevation in the TAC level. Furthermore, the histopathological observations of pancreas, liver, and kidney tissues affirmed the improvement in treated and prophylactic groups compared to STZ-diabetic groups, and the improvement in the prophylactic group was more distinct than the treated group. MO-aqueous leaf extract can treat and protect against STZ-induced T1DM; via its antioxidant action (increase the TAC and decrease MDA). Thus, it has the potential for utilization as a prophylactic against diabetes

Lysosomal Acid Lipase Hydrolyzes Retinyl Ester and Affects Retinoid Turnover

Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) is essential for the clearance of endocytosed cholesteryl ester and triglyceride-rich chylomicron remnants. Humans and mice with defective or absent LAL activity accumulate large amounts of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides in multiple tissues. Although chylomicrons also contain retinyl esters (REs), a role of LAL in the clearance of endocytosed REs has not been reported. In this study, we found that murine LAL exhibits RE hydrolase activity. Pharmacological inhibition of LAL in the human hepatocyte cell line HepG2, incubated with chylomicrons, led to increased accumulation of REs in endosomal/lysosomal fractions. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of LAL in murine liver largely reduced in vitro acid RE hydrolase activity. Interestingly, LAL-deficient mice exhibited increased RE content in the duodenum and jejunum but decreased RE content in the liver. Furthermore, LAL-deficient mice challenged with RE gavage exhibited largely reduced post-prandial circulating RE content, indicating that LAL is required for efficient nutritional vitamin A availability. In summary, our results indicate that LAL is the major acid RE hydrolase and required for functional retinoid homeostasis