Social and Economic Security and National Development

The symposium on Social Research for Development was held on May 5-11, 1981, in Cairo, Egypt; by the Social Research Center (SRC) of The American University in Cairo (AUC). The Symposium was supported by funds from Battelle Human Affairs Research Center, Ford Foundation, International Development Re­search Center {IDRC}, and the Population Council. The theme of the Symposium was selected in respons.e to the increased con­cerns of social scientists, policymakers and funding agencies about the current status and new directions of social science research, its role in the pro­cess of social and economic development, and its contribution to policy-rele­vant issues. The Symposium, therefore, aimed at providing a valuable opportu­nity for the invaed participants to exchange ideas and views on social research findings, methodologies, priorities, strategies, and funding as they relate to policy issues of various aspects of social and economic developmenthttps://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_book_chapters/1832/thumbnail.jp

B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in multiple myeloma: rationale for targeting and current therapeutic approaches.

Despite considerable advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) in the last decade, a substantial proportion of patients do not respond to current therapies or have a short duration of response. Furthermore, these treatments can have notable morbidity and are not uniformly tolerated in all patients. As there is no cure for MM, patients eventually become resistant to therapies, leading to development of relapsed/refractory MM. Therefore, an unmet need exists for MM treatments with novel mechanisms of action that can provide durable responses, evade resistance to prior therapies, and/or are better tolerated. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is preferentially expressed by mature B lymphocytes, and its overexpression and activation are associated with MM in preclinical models and humans, supporting its potential utility as a therapeutic target for MM. Moreover, the use of BCMA as a biomarker for MM is supported by its prognostic value, correlation with clinical status, and its ability to be used in traditionally difficult-to-monitor patient populations. Here, we review three common treatment modalities used to target BCMA in the treatment of MM: bispecific antibody constructs, antibody-drug conjugates, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T-cell therapy. We provide an overview of preliminary clinical data from trials using these therapies, including the BiTE® (bispecific T-cell engager) immuno-oncology therapy AMG 420, the antibody-drug conjugate GSK2857916, and several CAR T-cell therapeutic agents including bb2121, NIH CAR-BCMA, and LCAR-B38M. Notable antimyeloma activity and high minimal residual disease negativity rates have been observed with several of these treatments. These clinical data outline the potential for BCMA-targeted therapies to improve the treatment landscape for MM. Importantly, clinical results to date suggest that these therapies may hold promise for deep and durable responses and support further investigation in earlier lines of treatment, including newly diagnosed MM

Stereoselective Synthesis of Pseudosaccharide Derivative and Bisphosphoramidate Core of EM2487

HIV is among the leading causes of death worldwide resulting in over 1 million deaths annually according to the World Health Organization. Despite advances in the treatment of HIV, eradicating this pathogen remains a top priority in the medical and scientific communities. EM2487 is a natural product produced by Streptomyces sp. Mer-2487 that possesses promising activity against HIV. Specifically, EM2487 is a potent and selective inhibitor of HIV replication in both acutely and chronically infected cells. The observed HIV activity is hypothesized to be the result of targeting the Tat-TAR (trans-activation response) element which activates RNA polymerase II at the stage of transcriptional elongation. EM2487 has a unique structure that poses two important synthetic challenges: 1) The stereochemical relationships of the complex pseudosaccharide core, and 2) The synthesis of the rare bisphosphoramidate in EM2487. First, the stereochemical relationships of the complex pseudosaccharide core were not elucidated during the isolation due to the significant line broadening of the NMR spectra and must be determined by total synthesis. Toward this goal, Achmatowicz reaction of furfuryl alcohol followed by rearrangement of the pyranone into a cyclopentenone provided the core pseudosaccharide in 30% yield over three steps. Bromination, Stille coupling, and phosphoramidite coupling produced the protected EM2487 pseudosaccharide. Finally, global deprotection using trifluoroacetic acid and boron trichloride provided an isomeric mixture of the target pseudosaccharide (trans and cis) in two steps overall yield of 30%. Chemical correlation experiments were used to determine the trans relationship between the hydroxyl groups in EM2487. In addition to approaches towards the pseudosaccharide, the synthesis of the rare bisphosphoramidate in EM2487 will be described. In addition to resolving the structure of EM2487, novel analogues with improved potency could be pursued by discovering an efficient synthesis scheme

Review: Biological imprinting: Some genetic considerations

Genetic imprinting represents one of the most puzzling, still unexplained, phenomena in genetics. Changing some agreed upon concepts and redefinition of some common traditional terms in classical genetics seems imperative for understanding the nature of imprinting, as well as for interpretation of possible mechanisms implicated in its occurrence.Keywords: Genetic imprinting; Mutations; Re-sense mutation; Epigenetic alterations; DNA methylation/demethylation; Parthenogenesis; Position-effect variegation; Post-fertilization genomic imprinting; microRNA; Chromatin modifications; Pyknon

Clean Energy at the Crossroads of America: An Integrated Resource Plan for Northern Indiana Public Service Company, LLC (NIPSCO)

This paper outlines an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for the Indiana electric utility company, NIPSCO, looking forward to the year 2050 and evaluating different pathways to net zero emissions from the power generation sector. It is a plan for the future, identifying the most cost-effective and reliable mix of resources to meet the energy needs of NIPSCO\u27s customers and reaching decarbonization goals by mid-century

Effect of Superpave Short-Term Aging on Binder and Asphalt Mixture Rheology

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Superpave short term aging period length and type of additive used in modifying the asphalt binder on the creep behavior of asphalt binder and asphalt mix. Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) specimens were prepared at optimum asphalt content using unmodified asphalt, or asphalt with 4% by weight of SBS or PE. The Universal Testing Machine was used to conduct dynamic creep tests. Tests results indicated that the effect of extending the aging period on creep deformation is highly dependent on type of additive used in preparing the asphalt mix. Extending the aging period more than three hours caused insignificant effect of creep behavior of control asphalt mixes. On the other hand, extending the aging period more than one hour caused insignificant effect of creep behavior of asphalt mixes prepared using SBS additive. While for mixes prepared using PE, the creep deformation continues to decrease as aging period increase

National Environmental Factors for Implementing Total Quality Environmental Management in the Libyan Food Industry

Aims: Investigates national environmental factors on implementing total quality environmental management (TQEM) in the Libyan food industry (LFI), in order to develop modern managerial techniques. Study Design: A questionnaire was conducted with 62 managers and 518 employees from three companies in the LFI. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Libya, the fieldwork was conducted in 2013. Methodology: Using existing measures obtained from the literature and new ones specifically developed for this research, a battery of items was derived to investigate technical capability, organizational culture, competition, government policy and human resource. Results: The results revealed that, five national environmental factors are identified. The findings show that the social responsibility factor is a new phenomenon that has not generally been studied in Libya, and particularly not in the LFI. Conclusion: This research contributes to the knowledge by investigating the national environmental factors for implementation of TQEM in a different context (i.e., the Arab/North African context). The findings provide a valuable basis to establish a framework model for the implementation of the TQEM in the Libyan context