Legal capacities required for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases

Law lies at the centre of successful national strategies for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. By law we mean international agreements, national and subnational legislation, regulations and other executive instruments, and decisions of courts and tribunals. However, the vital role of law in global health development is often poorly understood, and eclipsed by other disciplines such as medicine, public health and economics. This paper identifies key areas of intersection between law and noncommunicable diseases, beginning with the role of law as a tool for implementing policies for prevention and control of leading risk factors. We identify actions that the World Health Organization and its partners could take to mobilize the legal workforce, strengthen legal capacity and support effective use of law at the national level. Legal and regulatory actions must move to the centre of national noncommunicable disease action plans. This requires high-level leadership from global and national leaders, enacting evidence-based legislation and building legal capacities

Gender discourse in Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra: deconstructing Ibn Sa\u27d\u27s portrayal of the model Muslim woman

This study examines the impact of Ibn Saʽd’s (d. 230/845) historical context on his portrayal of the women of the Prohetic household in Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (KTK). The KTK stands as the oldest, extant version of a biographical dictionary of the early Muslim community and has been canonized as an authority on the lives of individuals who are perceived as the exemplary model (al-salaf al-ṣaliḥ) for later Muslims generations. As critical historiography suggests a strong link between a historical narrative and the socio-political context in which it was created, the two hundred year gap between the time of authorship of the KTK and the period which it narrates could have had a significant impact on the author’s discourse. Especially that the work was authored during the vibrant ʽAbbasid period of Harun al-Rashid and al-Maʾmun ; a time that witnessed the production of the Sunni intellectual narratives of hadith collections, schools of jurisprudence (fiqh), as well as major historical annals. Gender representation is a particularly intriguing area of examination; therefore, this study identifies and analyzes main themes and topoi in Ibn Saʽd’s portrayal of prominent women (the Prophet’s wives and daughters) in relation to the local traditions in Iraq and developing fiqh legislation. The themes are compared to Ibn Sa’d’s presentation of other “common” women as well as to prominent men and gauged against biographical works by other authors to assess how such women were presented differently. The findings echo the fusion of sira, hadith, and local regional traditions which, combined, present the tenets of a power discourse advancing the call of a patriarchal ʽAbbasid Imperial project as the guardian of the Sunni doctrine of the time

Wasserstofferzeugung durch Partielle Oxidation von Ethanol an Eisenoxid-Katalysatoren im Nanometerbereich, Erzeugt durch Chemische Gasphasensynthese

This work presents the experimental results of the synthesis of unsupported and supported SiC iron oxide nanoparticles and their catalytic activity towards ethanol partial oxidation. For comparison, further unsupported iron oxide phases were investigated towards the ethanol partial oxidation. These γ-Fe2O3 and α/γ-Fe2O3 phase catalysts were prepared by the CVS method using Fe(CO)5 as precursor, supplied by another author. The α-Fe2O3 and SiC nanoparticles were prepared by the CVS method using a home made hot wall reactor technique at atmospheric pressure. Ferrocene and tetramethylsilane were used as precursor for the production process. Process parameters of precursor evaporation temperature, precursor concentration, gas mixture velocity and gas mixture dilution were investigated and optimised to produce particle sizes in a range of 10 nm. For Fe2O3/SiC catalyst series production, a new hot wall reactor setup was used. The particles were produced by simultaneous thermal decomposition of ferrocene and tetramethylsilane in one reactor from both sides. The production parameters of inlet tube distance inside the reactor, precursor evaporation temperature and carrier gas flow were investigated to produce a series of samples with different iron oxide content. The prepared catalysts composition, physical and chemical properties were characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, BET surface area, FTIR, XPS and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The catalytic activity for the ethanol gas-phase oxidation was investigated in a temperature range from 260°C to 290oC. The product distributions obtained over all catalysts were analysed with mass spectrometry analysis tool. The activity of bulk Fe2O3 and SiC nanoparticles was compared with prepared nano-iron oxide phase catalysts. The reaction parameters, such as reaction temperature and O2/ethanol ratio were investigated. The catalysts stability was reported for a reaction time of 10 hours. The results showed that the reaction route, the product distribution and hydrogen selectivity strongly depend on the iron oxide phase. The α-Fe2O3 phase showed high hydrogen selectivity with the highest stability. Over α-Fe2O3/SiC supported catalysts acetaldehyde, water and CO2 were the main products. The product distributions strongly depended on the catalyst iron content. With increasing sample iron content, more CO2 and water was produced. The catalyst with an iron content of 1.9% showed the highest acetaldehyde yield. This is attributed to the low iron oxide content at active sites which lead to a dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. In contrast, at higher iron content more active sites were provided hence the acetaldehyde re-adsorbed and further oxidised to CO2. All supported catalysts showed a good stability for 10 hours. In this time, the ethanol conversion was decreased by 9% with constant acetaldehyde yield. These results provide evidence that the reaction occurs over the iron oxide surface and iron oxide-support interface but not over the SiC particles. These results were supported by carrying out the ethanol oxidation over pure α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with different surface areas. Those surface areas were chosen depending on the surface areas measured for the pure α-Fe2O3 and surface area calculated for iron oxide in the supported samples. The investigation showed that with a large catalyst surface areas hydrogen with a high selectivity may be produced, whereas with a small surface area only acetaldehyde, water and CO2 can be produced. The characterisation of the used catalyst showed a small variation of the iron oxide particle size and large surface area. This proved that the SiC support avoids a hot spot formation and prevents iron oxide particles from being sintered.Diese Arbeit präsentiert die experimentellen Ergebnisse der Synthese von nicht unterstützten und unterstützten SiC-Eisenoxid-Nanopartikeln und deren katalytische Aktivität gegenüber der partiellen Oxidation von Ethanol. Zum Vergleich wurde eine nicht unterstützte Eisenoxidphase in Richtung der partiellen Oxidation von Ethanol getestet. Die γ-Fe2O3 und α/γ-Fe2O3-Phasen-Katalysatoren wurden mit Hilfe des CVS-Verfahrens mit Fe(CO)5 als Vorstufe hergestellt und stammen von einem anderen Autor. Die α-Fe2O3 und SiC-Nanopartikel wurden nach dem CVS-Verfahren mit Hilfe eines Heißwandreaktors bei atmosphärischem Druck hergestellt. Ferrocene und Tetramethylsilan wurden als Vorstufe für die Herstellung verwendet. Prozessparameter der Vorläufer-Verdampfungstemperatur, Vorläufer-Konzentration, Gasgemisch-Geschwindigkeit und Gasgemisch-Verdünnung wurden analysiert und optimiert, um die kleinstmögliche Partikelgröße herstellen zu können. Für die Serienproduktion des Fe2O3/SiC-Katalysators wurde eine neue Heißwandreaktor-konstruktion für die Herstellung der Partikel verwendet. Die Partikel wurden durch gleichzeitige thermische Zersetzung von Ferrocene und Tetramethylsilan in einem Reaktor von beiden Seiten erzeugt. Produktionsparameter für den Abstand des Einlaufrohrs innerhalb des Reaktors, d.h. die Vorläufer-Verdampfungstemperatur und der Trägergasstrom, wurden untersucht, um eine Reihe von Proben mit verschiedenen Eisenoxidanteilen zu produzieren. Die Zusammensetzung, die physikalischen und chemischen Eigenschaften der präparierten Katalysatoren wurden durch XRD, EDX, REM, BET-Oberfläche, FTIR, XPS und dynamische Lichtstreuung (DLS) charakterisiert. Die katalytische Aktivität gegenüber der Gasphasenoxidation von Ethanol wurde in einem Temperaturbereich von 260 bis 290°C untersucht. Die Produkt-verteilung der einzelnen Katalysatoren wurde anhand der Massenspektrometrie analysiert. Die Aktivität von Fe2O3-Schüttgut und SiC-Nanopartikeln wurde mit präparierten Nano-Eisenoxidphasen-Katalysatoren verglichen. Die Reaktions-parameter, d.h. die Reaktionstemperatur und das O2/Ethanol-Verhältnis, wurden optimiert. Eine Stabilität der Katalysatoren wurde für eine Reaktionszeit von 10 Stunden gemeldet. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Reaktionsstrecke, die Produkt-verteilung und die Wasserstoff-Selektivität stark von der Eisenoxid-Phase abhängen. Die α-Fe2O3-Phase zeigte eine hohe Wasserstoff-Selektivität mit der höchsten Stabilität. Bei den α-Fe2O3/SiC-Trägerkatalysatoren waren Acetaldehyd, Wasser und CO2 die Hauptprodukte. Die Produktverteilung war stark vom Eisengehalt des Katalysators abhängig. Mit steigendem Eisengehalt der Probe wurde mehr CO2 und Wasser hergestellt. Der Katalysator mit 1.9% Eisengehalt zeigte die höchste Acetaldehyd-Ausbeute. Das ist auf den geringen Eisenoxidgehalt an den aktive Stellen zurückzuführen, die zur Dehydrierung von Ethanol zu Acetaldehyd führen. Dagegen wurden bei höherem Eisengehalt mehr aktive Stellen gebildet und somit das Acetaldehyd readsorbiert und weiter zu CO2 oxidiert. Alle Trägerkatalysatoren zeigten eine gute Stabilität für 10 Stunden. In dieser Zeit verringerte sich der Ethanolumsatz auf 9% bei konstanter Acetaldehyd-Ausbeute. Diese Ergebnisse liefern Hinweise darauf, dass die Reaktion über die Eisenoxid-Oberfläche und Eisenoxid-Schnittstelle erfolgt und nicht über die SiC-Partikel. Diese Ergebnisse wurden durch die Ethanol-Oxidation in reinen α-Fe2O3 Nanopartikeln mit unterschiedlichen Flächen unterstützt. Diese Flächen wurden in Abhängigkeit von der gemessenen Fläche für reines α-Fe2O3 und der errechneten Fläche für Eisenoxid in den Trägerproben ausgewählt. Die Untersuchung ergab, dass bei einer großen Katalysator-Oberfläche Wasserstoff mit hoher Selektivität hergestellt werden kann, während bei kleiner Fläche nur Acetaldehyd, Wasser und CO2 produziert werden können. Die Charakterisierung der verwendeten Katalysatoren zeigte eine kleine Variation in der Eisenoxid-Partikelgröße und eine große Fläche. Dies bewies, dass der SiC-Träger eine Hot-Spot Bildung vermeidet und ein Sintern der Eisenoxid-Partikel verhindert

Vad gör en socialarbetare när den gör det den säger att den gör? : Socialarbetares berättelser om våldsutsatta och våldsutövare utifrån ett genusperspektiv

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine social workers´ experiences of their work with violence in intimate relationships. This was performed by taking part of the social workers narratives about their work through semi - structured interviews. The social workers are employed at social services in Helsingborg, Sweden. The survey is built upon theories about intersectionality and gender. What we could see from the interviews was that different factors affected the work with violence. Factors such as different attitudes and standards had a crucial impact on the support for victims and assailant. Furthermore the results showed that social services many times strive for a gender-neutral workplace. But at the same time they mean that women in general are the primary target group for social services, based on the fact that women are exposed to violence to a greater extent. The informants also indicated that they are prejudice when it comes to the violence perpetrated by men and women. The majority of the social workers perceived that women's violence against men are less common than men's violence against women and that it was more common among women to use psychological violence against men. We could also see from the interviews with the social workers that shameful feelings from men were stronger than women as a victim of intimate violence. They meant that men in general should be strong and not disclose their feelings. This was a problem, because there are men who need help in that situation as well.Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka socialarbetares beskrivning av våldsutsattas och våldsutövares situation samt att undersöka könets betydelse för hur insatser utformas inom socialtjänsten. Vidare var studiens frågeställningar hur socialarbetare definierade våld i nära relationer, hur socialarbetare beskrev mäns respektive kvinnors upplevelse av att vara våldsutsatt i en nära relation samt hur socialarbetare arbetar med män respektive kvinnor som är våldsutsatta eller våldsutövande. Dessa frågor har i sin tur besvarats med hjälp av insamlad empiri, tidigare forskning och teoretiska utgångspunkter. En kvalitativ ansats med sex olika respondenter har legat till grund för insamlingen av materialet. Utifrån studiens syfte och frågeställningar har vi sålunda valt att undersöka hur dessa sex socialarbetare arbetar och vad det är som styr deras arbete, men också deras uppfattning av våld i nära relationer. Sammantaget har resultatet visat på att arbetet med våld i nära relationer påverkas av olika faktorer, såsom normer, värderingar och strukturer. Dessa faktorer påverkar i sin tur vad vårt samhälle anser vara det rätta och naturliga,inklusive synsättet och arbetet inom socialtjänsten

A Novel Approach in Pigment Printing Using Nano-keratin Based Binder

This study is devoted to preparation and characterization of nano-keratin based binder (NKBB) from cheap renewable natural resources, namely coarse Egyptian wool or feather. The prepared NKBB is utilized as a biodegradable, environment-friendly and relatively cheap binder in textile pigment printing of polyester, pure polyacrylic, viscose, polyester/viscose, and polyester/acrylic fabrics. Different concentrations of the prepared NKBB as well as its mixture with commercially produced one are used in the pigment printing paste. The colour strength of the printed fabrics as well as their fastness properties to light, washing, and perspiration are evaluated. The effect of the used binder on the bending stiffness of the printed fabrics is also assessed. Results show that the NKBB gives almost the same colour strength and fastness properties as the commercial binder with improved stiffness of the printed samples in relation to that printed with commercial one

Role of CD99 in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Background: When it comes to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the large proportion of patients usually have relapses. Acute myeloid leukemia, Lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia, as well as Ewing sarcoma all have high CD99 expression.Objective: The aim of the current work was to assess CD99 expression frequency in patients with AML, and also to evaluate its association with different clinical and laboratory data.Patients and Methods: This comprehensive study included a total of 40 AML patients and 20 matched healthy subjects, attending at Departments of Clinical Pathology and Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospitals. Clinical and laboratory data were correlated with CD99 expression frequency in patients with AML in order to examine its usefulness as a predictive and prognostic factor.Results: Examination of CD99 expression in AML patients revealed that 80% of patients are CD99 positive, while (20%) are negative.Conclusion: CD99 expression in acute myeloid leukemia patients is of good prognostic value

Rethinking global poverty measurement

[Introduction] From a money-metric perspective, poverty is a crystal-clear concept. A household is considered to be poor (poverty is typically estimated for households, not for individuals) if the total income or expenditure of its members lies below a specific threshold (referred to as the poverty line) which reflects the cost of meeting the family’s basic food and non-food needs. Poverty can be thus be defined in terms of the monetary value required to attain a particular level of welfare. In a way, money is a proxy for some of the broader dimensions of poverty - for example, with sufficient financial resources, households and individuals can conceivably purchase better health care and better education for their children. However, they cannot easily improve their own education or job opportunities or access good and sufficient public services if they are not there to begin with. Therefore, while the ‘money-metric’ indicator of poverty is a powerful tool to understand the scope of deprivation, it should, at the very least, be supplemented by other indicators of well-being. (...

Design, synthesis, antitumor activity and molecular docking study of novel 5-deazaalloxazine analogs

open access articleProtein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are the most potential therapeutic targets for cancer. Herein, we present a sound rationale for synthesis of a series of novel 2-(methylthio), 2-(substituted alkylamino), 2-(heterocyclic substituted), 2-amino, 2,4-dioxo and 2-deoxo-5-deazaalloxazine derivatives by applying structure-based drug design (SBDD) using AutoDock 4.2. Their antitumor activities against human CCRF-HSB-2, KB, MCF-7 and HeLa have been investigated in vitro. Many 5-deazaalloxazine analogs revealed high selective activities against MCF-7 tumor cell lines (IC50: 0.17–2.17 µM) over HeLa tumor cell lines (IC50 > 100 µM). Protein kinase profiling revealed that compound 3h induced multi- targets kinase inhibition including −43% against (FAK), −40% against (CDKI) and −36% against (SCR). Moreover, the Annexin-V/PI apoptotic assay elucidate that compound 3h showed 33% and potentially 140% increase in early and late apoptosis to MCF-7 cells respectively, compared to the control. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) and molecular docking study using PTK as a target enzyme for the synthesized 7-deazaalloaxazine derivatives were investigated as potential antitumor agents. The AutoDock binding affinities of the 5deazaalloxazine analogs into c-kit PTK (PDB code: 1t46) revealed reasonable correlations between their AutoDock binding free energy and IC50

Defying role of specific microorganisms on efficiency of organic materials (olive pomace) on the growth and productivity of olive trees

This study has been carried out through three successive seasons (2012, 2013 and 2014) on 12 years old Manzanillo olive trees in a private orchard located at 50 km of Cairo – Alexandria road in north-west of Egypt. The main objective of this study was to improve the physical and chemical properties of olive pomace by adding microorganisms specific to phenolic substances, which leads to their disposal and suitability for cultivation. Two microorganisms (Trichoderma virdi and Pseudomonas fluorescens) were evaluated to determine their promoting effect on the growth and productivity of olive trees. The experiment consisted of 9 treatments, 2 trees per treatment replicated 3 times in a randomized block design. Data exerted that, the treatment with compost 50 % + Pomace 50 % + Pseudomonas fluorescens gave the highest fruit set (%), yield, remaining fruits and leaf nitrogen and potassium. While, using the compost 75% + pomace 25 % + Trichoderma virdi + Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded the highest number of leaves and inflorescence/meter.Conclusively, it could be recommended under the same conditions of this study, using pomace (olive mill wastes) at the rate of compost (Comp.) 50 % + Pomce (Pom.) 50 % + Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pseu.) to increase the productivity of Manzanillo olive trees