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Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Group has developed a new multidimensional instrument measuring cancer-related fatigue to be used in conjunction with the quality of life core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). The module EORTC QLQ-FA13 assesses physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of cancer-related fatigue.Methods: The methodology follows the EORTC guidelines for phase IV validation of modules. This paper focuses on the results of the psychometric validation of the factorial structure of the module. For validation and cross-validation confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood estimation), intraclass correlation and Cronbach alpha for internal consistency were employed. The study involved an international multicenter collaboration of 11 European and non-European countries.Results: A total of 946 patients with various tumor diagnoses were enrolled. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis, we could approve the three-dimensional structure of the module. Removing one item and reassigning the factorial mapping of another item resulted in the EORTC QLQ-FA12. For the revised scale, we found evidence supporting good local (indicator reliability ≥ 0.60, factor reliability ≥ 0.82) and global model fit (GFI t1|t2 = 0.965/0.957, CFI t1|t2 = 0.976/0.972, RMSEA t1|t2 = 0.060/0.069) for both measurement points. For each scale, test-retest reliability proved to be very good (intraclass correlation: R t1-t2 = 0.905-0.921) and internal consistency proved to be good to high (Cronbach alpha = .79-.90).Conclusion: Based on the former phase III module, the multidimensional structure was revised as a phase IV module (EORTC FA12) with an improved scale structure. For a comprehensive validation of the EORTC FA12, further aspects of convergent and divergent validity as well as sensitivity to change should be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:This paper attempts to chart the history of head and neck cancers and their surgical treatment, starting from ancient Egypt and concluding with Galen.Conclusion:The ancient Egyptians appear to have treated head and neck cancers with local applications. The ancient Greek corpus contains a reference to treating pharyngeal carcinoma with cautery, but the description is too vague to establish the diagnosis conclusively. The ancient Romans moved away from surgical treatments, with Galen establishing a prejudice against surgery that would last through the Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the development of European-style education in Egypt during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as Egyptian reformers and governments, in their desire to create relevant and effective educational institutions, began looking to Europe for inspiration. The resulting institutions utilized modern methods while preserving the local character of education, often straddling the line between the strictly European and Egyptian. With these compromises and negotiations, ultimately, one of the most influential legacies of European education was the belief in education as a "cure" for all the ills of modern Egyptian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the onset of his ministry, 'Abdu'l-Baha faced significant family opposition to his authority and position. These family members, led by Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, a younger half-brother of 'Abdu'l-Baha to whom Baha'u'llah had given a rank subordinate to 'Abdu'l-Baha, colluded in spreading false allegations against 'Abdu'l-Baha who was seeking to spread the Baha'i Faith to Europe and North America. For several years, 'Abdu'l-Baha worked hard to contain these defections and to prevent news of them from reaching other Baha'i communities. By 1896-7, the Baha'is of Egypt had heard enough of the details that when Mirza Ḥabību'llāh Afnān was going on a visit to 'Akka, they asked him to learn as much of the details as he could. To his great shock, while in 'Akka, the Afnan learned that indeed 'Abdu'l-Baha's brothers and the majority of his family had arisen against him in rebellion. As instructed by 'Abdu'l-Baha, the young pilgrim on his return to Egypt informed the Baha'i community of the occurrences in 'Akka and the opposition to 'Abdu'l-Baha. The celebrated Mirza Abū'l-Faḍl found this hard to accept. Therefore, he wrote to 'Abdu'l-Baha inquiring about the veracity of this news, and received in response a lengthy tablet dated 26 March 1897, which we propose to be called the First Thousand-Verse Tablet. This paper will provide historical background and a provisional translation of this momentous tablet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained arrhythmia, impacts healthcare resource utilization (HCRU). This study aims to estimate global resource use in AF patients, using the GARFIELD-AF registry. A prospective cohort study was conducted to characterize HCRU in AF patients enrolled in sequential cohorts from 2012 to 2016 in 35 countries. Components of HCRU studied were hospital admissions, outpatient care visits, and diagnostic and interventional procedures occurring during follow-up. AF-related HCRU was reported as the percentage of patients demonstrating at least one event and was quantified as rate-per-patient-per-year (PPPY) over time. A total of 49,574 patients was analyzed, having an overall median follow-up of 719 days. Almost all patients (99.5%) had at least one outpatient care visit, while hospital admissions were the second most frequent medical contact, with similar proportions in North America (37.5%) and Europe (37.2%), and slightly higher in the other GARFIELD-AF countries (42.0%; namely Australia, Egypt, and South Africa). Asia and Latin America showed lower percentages of hospitalizations, outpatient care visits, and diagnostic and interventional procedures. Analyses of GARFIELD-AF highlighted the vast AF-related HCRU, underlying significant geographical differences in the type, quantity, and frequency of AF-related HCRU. These differences were likely attributable to health service availability and differing models of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examines the characteristics, consequences, and the future of illegal migration for Egyptians to Europe. It used data obtained from the researcher’s fieldwork carried out in 2015 on the areas of origin and multiple official government data. Moreover, the study revealed that there is a clear selectivity for young males who belong to large families, illegal migration rates are high among those who are educated, unemployed, and never married in Europe.; in Europe. Egyptian migrants engage in five main occupations (Sales occupations, Services occupations, Agriculture, Hunting, Industrial and chemical operations, and The food and engineering industries that are essential to help). Additionally, this migration has some negative economic impacts on the Egyptian society, rural areas, and migrants themselves; but its positive economic impacts are limited to emigrant and his family. Besides, it has some negative social impacts such as losing the head of the family, weakening the family ties, increasing wife responsibilities; but the positive social impacts include the change of emigrants’ marital status and improving emigrant social position. Moreover, the security impacts of emigration include arresting emigrants, human trafficking, and contributing to the rise of crime rates in Europe. On the other hand, the geographical impacts are contributing to the sprawl of settlement on agricultural land, horizontal rapid settlement growth, and the morphological change of Egypt’s countryside. Moreover, in the case of the future of this emigration, it is estimated that the annual average of emigrants will be six thousand in the next years. This migration can be reduced through effective cooperation between the North and the South countries of the Mediterranean, benefiting from the experiences of development in other countries, completing Egypt’s major projects, and establishing the new development of the new project, as well as, the state will complete major projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral hepatitis B is a global public health problem affecting nearly two billion subjects; 3.3% of whom are from the WHO (World Health Organization) Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO). It induces both acute and chronic hepatic disorders with subsequent liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a considerable percentage of patients based on the age of exposure. In this review, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCC prevalence, distribution and prevalence of different genotypes, and male/female infection frequencies in relation to the vaccination status in the Mediterranean countries were reported. Study Design. This systematic review describes the prevalence of hepatitis B infection, genotype distribution of hepatitis B virus, and prevalence and incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Mediterranean countries belonging to three different continents: Southern Europe (Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Greece), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt), and the Near East region (Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, and Palestine). We tried to collect new data from electronic databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and public health reports between 1980 and 2019. For each publication, we recorded reference, publication year, study characteristics (date, locations, sample size, and study population), and participant characteristics (population group, year, age, and sex). No language limitation was imposed, and articles or reports from non-peer-reviewed sources were not considered for this analysis. The main keywords were HBV prevalence, hepatitis B infection, HBV genotype, and HCC. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Healthy population-based studies included the following sample populations: (i) voluntary blood donors, (ii) pregnant women, (iii) community studies, (iv) hemodialysis patients, (v) hospitalized patients, (vi) healthcare workers, (vii) sex workers, (viii) drug abusers, and (ix) prisoners. We excluded studies from the following special groups who were assumed to be at a special high risk: patients from sexually transmitted disease clinics and thalassemia clinics and professional or paid blood donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now generally accepted that there are no human societies which are truly egalitarian; this also true of bonobos and chimpanzees, among whom rank is inherited. If it were true of the common ancestor of Homo and Pan, there would have been (inherited) social inequality throughout our hominin ancestry. The problem is how to find it. It is also accepted that artefacts play an active and important role in our social lives; thus, socially defined differences may be reflected among the very simplest of artefacts. A case study of flaked stone from southwestern Egypt, dating to about 7000–8000 years ago, suggests that social differences can, indeed, be identified within very simple artefacts — in this case, plain, unmodified stone flakes. Using unmodified stone flakes, I explore the possibility of identifying not merely social difference but, specifically, inherited social difference in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe and among early African hominins more than 2,000,000 years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her astute study of contemporary Arab women writers, Anastasia Valassopoulos begins by noting the pitfalls of much existing criticism of writers such as El Saadawi and Djebar in the West. Citing Amal Amireh's article on the fraught history of the reception of El Saadawi in Egypt and in Europe, Valassopoulos comments that Arab women's literature tends to be seen as 'documentary', and this obscures the 'core issue of representation' as it is explored and challenged by women writers. In the face of this omission, the present article explores a selection of works by El Saadawi and Djebar from an aesthetic perspective. El Saadawi and Djebar use literary writing as a means to escape the constraints placed upon them by patriarchy, as well as by colonialism, and uphold creativity and poetry as a possible release from imprisonment. This article also uses Glissant's and Bhabha's concepts of literary opacity and the right to narrate as a partial framework for a reading of the relation between writing, freedom and aesthetic form in the works of El Saadawi and Djebar. El Saadawi and Djebar purposefully deploy a form of self-effacement, both in their autobiographical representations and in their portraits of female characters, also akin to Trinh Minh-ha's strategy in Woman, Native, Other. Minh-ha's dissemination of the writing voice, and the affirmation of collective solidarity between multiple but internally fragmentary feminist positions, serves, then, as a further theoretical backdrop for El Saadawi's and Djebar's use of opacity and the right to narrate as tools in an active feminist resistance to sexist and racist discourses. Both El Saadawi and Djebar use their writing to conceive women's liberation from various forms of imprisonment, and they figure women's fractured, convoluted and at times opaque self-expression as a direct form of resistance to both patriarchal and colonial oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the views of Joseph Justus Scaliger, a scholar on ancient Egypt who lived during the Renaissance, and in what way he was affected by the so-called Egyptomani that characterized his time. It describes the people in Europe during the time of Scaliger became so fascinated and intrigued on Egypt, particularly Egypt's ancient records and wisdom. Several discoveries of ancient writings concerning Egypt have added to the interest of the people on ancient Egypt. It says that Scaliger's views on Egypt is in context with his other studies.

The article reconsiders the mud-brick architecture of Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy (1900-1989), looking particularly at his two major (but, for different reasons, incomplete) projects for settlements at New Gourna (1945-1949), across the Nile from Luxor, and at New Baris (1965-1967), in the Kharga Oasis (or New Valley). This reconsideration is timely in two contexts: first, current interest in sustainable architecture and the potential of mud brick as a low-cost (or, as Fathy put it, a no-cost) solution for the housing needs of nonaffluent countries and, second, reflections from a position in postmodernity on modernism and the possibility that there are alternative modernisms besides the international modernism specific to Europe and North America. This leads to debates around modernism and tradition, and Fathy occupies a complex position in this regard. But his work also raises questions as to the production of space, not least in a fusion of design and building, and the handing over to local masons of key aspects of both. The key question, however, in which both of the above aspects figure, is whether Fathy's work, particularly his efforts to create whole settlements, constructs a traditional (and nationalist) alternative to modernism or (still as nationalism) an alternative modernism incorporating aspects of European modernism and articulating them in new ways. The question has wide implications for visual culture--art and design as well as architecture--as well as being a means to read Fathy's work within postcolonial and postmodern frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Egypt's relations with Europe have always occupied an important place on the country's foreign policy agenda, and have fluctuated between conflict and cooperation, driven by five factors: the historical legacy; the varying ideology of the ruling elite; the Arab Israeli conflict; the US; and the economic factor. The effect of changes in these factors has been a significant improvement of relations. Both sides have overcome the negative aspects of their historical connections; ideology has become much less important; Europe's position on the Arab Israeli question has moved closer to Arab concerns; the US factor has unwittingly worked to push Egypt, if anything, closer to Europe; and Europe is also seen increasingly as important on the economic front. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the images in Dominique-Vivant Denon's Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute d'Egypte (1802), this article explores the relationship between Denon's illustrations of Egypt and the creation of a politically charged style of design in France and England at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The process of transcribing a historic site creates something that is at once removed from its original situation and, thus, the meaning of the image is altered depending upon its context of use. Previous regimes had turned to revivalism an its powerful aura of the past to support their hegemonic activities in the present, and Denon is shown to use the past to define the present in post-Revolutionary France. By using the example of Voyage and theorizing it by way of resources provided in the work of Roland Barthes, this essay aims to explain some of the processes that reconfigured the image of Egypt in France and England at the beginning of the nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infertility has always been a constant preoccupation. The problems it raises today on medical, social, ethical, political and religious levels bear witness to this emphasis, but also to how complicated infertility is to deal with and understand. This study not only examines the history of infertility and the treatments applied but also the repercussions for infertile women socially. As we look through history, we find that the attitudes of physicians have often reflected the role of the woman and her image in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Group has developed a new multidimensional instrument measuring cancer-related fatigue to be used in conjunction with the quality of life core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). The module EORTC QLQ-FA13 assesses physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of cancer-related fatigue., Methods: The methodology follows the EORTC guidelines for phase IV validation of modules. This paper focuses on the results of the psychometric validation of the factorial structure of the module. For validation and cross-validation confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood estimation), intraclass correlation and Cronbach alpha for internal consistency were employed. The study involved an international multicenter collaboration of 11 European and non-European countries., Results: A total of 946 patients with various tumor diagnoses were enrolled. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis, we could approve the three-dimensional structure of the module. Removing one item and reassigning the factorial mapping of another item resulted in the EORTC QLQ-FA12. For the revised scale, we found evidence supporting good local (indicator reliability ≥ 0.60, factor reliability ≥ 0.82) and global model fit (GFI t1|t2 = 0.965/0.957, CFI t1|t2 = 0.976/0.972, RMSEA t1|t2 = 0.060/0.069) for both measurement points. For each scale, test-retest reliability proved to be very good (intraclass correlation: R t1-t2 = 0.905-0.921) and internal consistency proved to be good to high (Cronbach alpha = .79-.90)., Conclusion: Based on the former phase III module, the multidimensional structure was revised as a phase IV module (EORTC FA12) with an improved scale structure. For a comprehensive validation of the EORTC FA12, further aspects of convergent and divergent validity as well as sensitivity to change should be determined., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Egypt focused on organ transplantation, this paper examines the ways in which the "scientific" criteria of determining death in terms of brain function are contested by Egyptian doctors. Whereas in North American medical practice, the death of the "person" is associated with the cessation of brain function, in Egypt, any sign of biological life is evidence of the persistence, even if fleeting, of the soul. I argue that this difference does not exemplify an irresolvable culture clash but points to an unsettling aspect of cadaveric organ procurement that has emerged wherever organ transplantation is practiced. Further, I argue that a misdiagnosis of the problem, as one about "religious extremism" or a "civilizational clash," has obfuscated unresolved concerns about fairness, access, and justice within Egyptian medical spheres. This misdiagnosis has led to the suspension of a cadaveric procurement program for over 30 years, despite Egypt's pioneering efforts in kidney transplantation.

Blood letting and the therapeutic use of Hirudo medicinalis date back to ancient Egypt and the beginning of civilisation. Their popularity has varied over the years, reaching such a peak in Europe between 1825 and 1850 that supplies were exhausted. Towards the end of the century they fell out of favour and, during this period, the leech, once used by the physicians of emperors and influential academic surgeons, became associated with lay therapists and quackery. Leeches have enjoyed a renaissance in reconstructive microsurgery during the last 15 years, having been used by maxillofacial [Br. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg 41 (2003) 44] and other reconstructive surgeons to aid salvage of compromised microvascular free tissue transfers [Laryngoscope 108 (1998) 1129; Br. J. Plast. Surg. 34 (1984) 358], replanted digits [Int. J. Microsurg. 3 (1981) 265], ears [Ann. Plast. Surg. 43 (1999) 427], lips [Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 102 (1998) 358; J. Reconstr. Microsurg. 9 (1993) 327] and nasal tips [Br. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 36 (1998) 462]. Peer-reviewed evidence suggests that the survival of compromised, venous-congested tissues is improved by early application of a leech [J. Reconstr. Microsurg. 12 (1996) 165; Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 114 (1988) 1395; Br. J. Plast. Surg. 45 (1992) 235]. Leeches have also recently been used to treat a wide range of conditions, including periorbital haematomas [Br. J. Ophthalmol. 75 (1991) 755], severe macroglossia [Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 125 (2001) 649; J. Laryngol. Otol. 109 (1995) 442] and purpura fulminans [Ann. Plast. Surg. 35 (1995) 300]. The first medicinal leech farm, Biopharm, was set up in Swansea in 1981 by Dr Roy Sawyer, and now supplies leeches to hospitals all over the world. In this paper, we summarise the history of treatment with Hirudo medicinalis from its origin to the present day, and take a brief look at the possible future of the annelid.

In this paper past, present, and future treatments of degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine are outlined in a straight forward manner. This is done to review previous knowledge of the disease, define current treatment procedures, and discuss future perspectives. An analysis of a subject of this magnitude dictates that one describes as accurate a history as possible: an anatomical/historical "tract" with emphasis on all possible deviations. Although spinal disorders have been recognized for a long time, the view of DDD as a particular disease entity is a more recent development. In this paper, the authors attempt to outline the history of DDD of the lumbar spine in an unbiased and scientific fashion. Physiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic implications will all be addressed in this study.

The history of dementia is probably as old as mankind itself. In recent years, considerable advances have been made in our understanding of the epidemiology, the pathogenesis and the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders, and the nosology of these disorders is under scrutiny. Furthermore, we are witnessing the emergence of therapeutic agents specifically designed to enhance memory and cognition in AD patients. Despite the limited efficacy of the agents currently available, their introduction has shed an entirely new light on the field. We therefore feel that this is a good time to look at the past to understand the present and perhaps gain insight into the future. This paper reviews the history of dementia and of attitudes about dementia as documented in early medical writings, in recorded history and in the arts. It also examines developments that occurred in Alois Alzheimer's time as well as closer to our day.

The urinary catheter is one of the most frequently used medical devices and has a long and intriguing history of development. This paper describes the catheter from its simple beginnings through the subtle but important changes it has undergone paralleling the advances in plastics technology witnessed this century. The changes have not been without controversy and the recent association of catheters with tissue toxicity, which has forced the implementation of strict guidelines for their manufacture and use, is described.

For 5,000 years innovative researchers, often anonymously, have been providing dentists and their antecedents with a rich inheritance of information, techniques, and materials. The giants of dental research of the past can still serve as role models today. This paper presents a history of clinical research and relates past work to current and future trends. In the last few decades, both technical innovation and oral biology and prevention have been progressing at an accelerated rate to provide a steady influx of new answers to dental practitioners and to elicit new questions from the next generation of dental investigators.

The paper presents a brief survey of literature on the occurrence of byssinosis in the Polish flax industry. Moreover, the most essential conclusions from studies on the prevalence of the disease in the plants processing flax in other countries were presented. The need to undertake a similar analysis in flax industry in Poland was emphasized and proposals of problems to be included were presented.