THE DETERMINANTS OF EMPLOYMENT STATUS IN EGYPT

Egyptian labor market is moving from a period of high overall unemployment to one where unemployment is increasingly concentrated among specific groups whose access to the private-sector labor market is limited. Educated young women are more adversely affected than their male counterparts by the transition to a private-sector-led economy. There is no systematic link between youth unemployment among new entrants and poverty unless it is the head of the household who is unemployed. An economic policy environment that is favorable for labor-intensive, export-oriented industries would help absorb the new entrants into the labor market, and the prospect is particularly good for young female workers. Policymakers should consider a reduction in the femalespecific employer mandates (such as the existing provision for a generous maternity leave) that raise the cost of hiring women

The determinants of employment status in Egypt

Egyptian labor market is moving from a period of high overall unemployment to one where unemployment is increasingly concentrated among specific groups whose access to the private-sector labor market is limited. Educated young women are more adversely affected than their male counterparts by the transition to a private-sector-led economy. There is no systematic link between youth unemployment among new entrants and poverty unless it is the head of the household who is unemployed. An economic policy environment that is favorable for labor-intensive, export-oriented industries would help absorb the new entrants into the labor market, and the prospect is particularly good for young female workers. Policymakers should consider a reduction in the female-specific employer mandates (such as the existing provision for a generous maternity leave) that raise the cost of hiring women.Labor market. ,Unemployment. ,Female labor ,Egypt. ,

The determinants of employment status in Egypt

Egyptian labor market is moving from a period of high overall unemployment to one where unemployment is increasingly concentrated among specific groups whose access to the private-sector labor market is limited. Educated young women are more adversely affected than their male counterparts by the transition to a private-sector-led economy. There is no systematic link between youth unemployment among new entrants and poverty unless it is the head of the household who is unemployed. An economic policy environment that is favorable for labor-intensive, export-oriented industries would help absorb the new entrants into the labor market, and the prospect is particularly good for young female workers. Policymakers should consider a reduction in the female-specific employer mandates (such as the existing provision for a generous maternity leave) that raise the cost of hiring women.Labor market. ,Unemployment. ,Female labor ,Egypt. ,

Experimental Models of Microvascular Immunopathology: The Example of Cerebral Malaria.

Human cerebral malaria is a severe and often lethal complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Complex host and parasite interactions should the precise mechanisms involved in the onset of this neuropathology. Adhesion of parasitised red blood cells and host cells to endothelial cells lead to profound endothelial alterations that trigger immunopathological changes, varying degrees of brain oedema and can compromise cerebral blood flow, cause cranial nerve dysfunction and hypoxia. Study of the cerebral pathology in human patients is limited to clinical and genetic field studies in endemic areas, thus cerebral malaria (CM) research relies heavily on experimental models. The availability of malaria models allows study from the inoculation of Plasmodium to the onset of disease and permit invasive experiments. Here, we discuss some aspects of our current understanding of CM, the experimental models available and some important recent findings extrapolated from these models

Production, Fate and Pathogenicity of Plasma Microparticles in Murine Cerebral Malaria

In patients with cerebral malaria (CM), higher levels of cell-specific microparticles (MP) correlate with the presence of neurological symptoms. MP are submicron plasma membrane-derived vesicles that express antigens of their cell of origin and phosphatidylserine (PS) on their surface, facilitating their role in coagulation, inflammation and cell adhesion. In this study, the in vivo production, fate and pathogenicity of cell-specific MP during Plasmodium berghei infection of mice were evaluated. Using annexin V, a PS ligand, and flow cytometry, analysis of platelet-free plasma from infected mice with cerebral involvement showed a peak of MP levels at the time of the neurological onset. Phenotypic analyses showed that MP from infected mice were predominantly of platelet, endothelial and erythrocytic origins. To determine the in vivo fate of MP, we adoptively transferred fluorescently labelled MP from mice with CM into healthy or infected recipient mice. MP were quickly cleared following intravenous injection, but microscopic examination revealed arrested MP lining the endothelium of brain vessels of infected, but not healthy, recipient mice. To determine the pathogenicity of MP, we transferred MP from activated endothelial cells into healthy recipient mice and this induced CM-like brain and lung pathology. This study supports a pathogenic role for MP in the aggravation of the neurological lesion and suggests a causal relationship between MP and the development of CM. © 2014 El-Assaad et al

Endocytosis and intracellular processing of platelet microparticles by brain endothelial cells

Platelet-derived microparticles (PMP) bind and modify the phenotype of many cell types including endothelial cells. Recently, we showed that PMP were internalized by human brain endothelial cells (HBEC). Here we intend to better characterize the internalization mechanisms of PMP and their intracellular fate. Confocal microscopy analysis of PKH67-labelled PMP distribution in HBEC showed PMP in early endosome antigen 1 positive endosomes and in LysoTracker-labelled lysosomes, confirming a role for endocytosis in PMP internalization. No fusion of calcein-loaded PMP with HBEC membranes was observed. Quantification of PMP endocytosis using flow cytometry revealed that it was partially inhibited by trypsin digestion of PMP surface proteins and by extracellular Ca2+ chelation by EDTA, suggesting a partial role for receptor-mediated endocytosis in PMP uptake. This endocytosis was independent of endothelial receptors such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and was not increased by tumour necrosis factor stimulation of HBEC. Platelet-derived microparticle internalization was dramatically increased in the presence of decomplemented serum, suggesting a role for PMP opsonin-dependent phagocytosis. Platelet-derived microparticle uptake was greatly diminished by treatment of HBEC with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of microfilament formation required for both phagocytosis and macropinocytosis, with methyl-β-cyclodextrin that depletes membrane cholesterol needed for macropinocytosis and with amiloride that inhibits the Na+/H+ exchanger involved in macropinocytosis. In conclusion, PMP are taken up by active endocytosis in HBEC, involving mechanisms consistent with both phagocytosis and macropinocytosis. These findings identify new processes by which PMP could modify endothelial cell phenotype and functions. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine © 2011 Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine/Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Positive Psychology:to what extent does contemporary research support the effectiveness of happiness hacks

Every self-help author, positive psychologist and meditation guru wants people to believe they have the secret to happiness. In recent decades, large volumes of research have been conducted on happiness, particularly regarding the interventions and activities that can supposedly improve people’s happiness. This paper provides a review of this literature, critically evaluating the effectiveness of different happiness interventions. In addition, the paper delineates reasons for being cautious regarding interventions that claim to lead to lasting changes in happiness, delving into some of the psychological barriers to happiness, and the reasons many people struggle to experience and maintain a positive mood. The focus here will be on social comparison, competition, psychological pain and hedonic adaptation. With regard to happiness interventions, the effectiveness of meditation and mindfulness, nature exposure, social interaction and gratitude will be critically evaluated. The paper aims to use scientific evidence to determine which interventions are more useful (in terms of impact and practicality) for improving feelings of happiness. It also aims to identify happiness hacks that may be in need of further research prior to drawing conclusions regarding their effectiveness. Research found a potential for happiness hacks to overcome evolutionary barriers to happiness. However, many of these lack objective measures thus must be approached with caution; and so with further research, greater insight can be gained into positive psychology methodologies. Therefore, individuals can make more informed decisions of which hacks to invest their time and money into

Algorithmic and computational models for probing congenital heart diseases through TLL1 gene and GATA transcription factor

Dissertation. Ph.D. American University of Beirut. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2016. ED:78Chair : Dr. M. Adnan Al-Alaoui, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering ; Advisor : Dr. Zaher Dawy, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering ; Co-Advisor : Dr. Georges Nemer, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics ; Members of Committee : Dr. Fadi Karameh, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering ; Dr. Hazem Hajj, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering ; Dr. Firas Kobeissy, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics ; Dr. Nashat Mansour, Professor, Computer Science, Lebanese American University ; Dr. Tayssir Hamieh, Professor, Faculty of Science, Lebanese University.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-105)Degradomics - the proteomics analysis of proteases - is reforming the understanding of proteases function. By revealing their substrate repertoire, also called the substrate degradome, the crucial biological roles of proteases is becoming discoverable. Thus, an interesting utility of degradomics is the outcome of protein biomarkers whose role can be symbolic like calpain and caspase proteases, injurious like Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9), or constructive like the Tll1 gene, depending on the corresponding biological process. In this thesis, we elaborate on the role of the Tll1 protease in Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) and the role of calpain and caspase proteases in brain injury and neuronal cell death types. It has been a challenge to identify the protease cleaved fragments with high precision and efficiency. Recently, advanced proteomics techniques have shown a remarkable progress in identifying them experimentally. We present in this thesis a detection method that identifies them accurately and efficiently, with validation against experiments from the literature. The method aims at predicting the consensus sequence occurrences and their variants in a large set of experimentally detected protein sequences, based on state-of-the-art sequence matching and alignment algorithms. After detection, the method generates all the potential cleaved fragments. This space and time efficient algorithm is flexible to handle the different orientations that the protein and consensus sequences can take before cleavage by the protease. Subsequently, this knowledge will feed into the development of a novel web tool for researchers to detect the diverse types of biomarkers online, and that will guide in the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases. Protein-DNA interactions are of fundamental importance in molecular biology, playing roles in functions as diverse as DNA transcription, DNA structure formation, and DNA repair. Protein-DNA association is also important in medicine and understanding protein-DNA bind

Synthesis, photophysical properties and applications of arylpyrene and dithienophenazine derivatives -

Thesis. M.S. American University of Beirut. Department of Chemistry, 2016. T:6372Advisor : Dr. Bilal Kaafarani, Associate Professor, Chemistry ; Members of Committee : Dr. Makhlouf Haddadin, Professor, Chemistry ; Dr. Tarek Ghaddar, Associate Professor, Chemistry ; Dr. Digambara Patra, Associate Professor, Chemistry.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 353-362)The synthesis and full characterization of a series of pyrene-based compounds and their application in organic electronics owing to their blue-emitting properties is reported. The synthesis of these compounds was carried out from pyrene using different procedures including electrophilic aromatic substitution, reduction, oxidation, and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. The synthesis of a stable fluorescent sensor for anion detection based on a dithienophenazine core is also reported starting from an alpha-diketone and 1,2-benzene diamine. The synthesis involved tosylation, nitration, hydrogenation, keto-amino condensation, and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. In Chapter 2, we start by introducing pyrene and its properties. These included its chemical reactivity through electrophilic aromatic substitution, and its photophysical properties. Synthetic routes to reach different arylpyrene categories starting from unsubstituted pyrene are presented along with the photophysical advantages of the 1,3,6,8-tetraarylsubstitution. In this Chapter, the synthesis and full characterization of nine 1,3,6,8-tetraarylpyrene compounds (2.21-2.29) is described through three different synthetic procedures. The photophysical properties of these compounds in different environments including solid state will be discussed, in parallel to a discussion of their X-Ray structures and thermal properties. Based on this discussion their potential for being involved in organic electronic devices is evaluated. This is done in comparison to a reference compound (1,3,6,8-tetraphenylpyrene) and to pyrene itself, which illustrates the effect of different substituents on the properties of pyrene from a steric and an electronic point of view. In Chapter 3, a further step towards other arylpyrene categories (other than the 1,3,6,8-tetraarylpyrenes presented in Chapter 2) is made by the synthesis and characterization of new 2,7-diarylpyrene (3.1-3.3) and 2,7-diaryl-4,5,9,10-tetrahydropyrene (3.4-3.6) derivatives. The study focuses on their photophy