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This collaborative autoethnography reflects on how each author experienced COVID-19 and associated precarity. We explore the ways in which this experience relates to our identities (both particular and plural), and our positionalities in terms of privilege and marginality. As a collective of diverse collaborators, we confront dialectical questions of self and society. Our contributions reveal our advantage/disadvantage, mobility/immobility, and the borders and boundedness before/ during/after COVID-19. We show the power of curative writing in collaborative autoethnography and how the sharing of our experiences of vulnerability represents an invitation to human connection.

After the “Arab Spring” uprisings, an optimistic strand in the field of media and social change emerged which presents the role of social networking websites as key tools for Muslim and Arab women to change the dominant representations about themselves in the media and literature as oppressed and sexually objectified by their men (Nahed Eltantawy 2013). While I acknowledge the role of online social media spaces as resources for social change, this paper incorporates feminist scholarship on gender, postcolonialism, and representation (Abu-Lughod 2002; Chandra Mohanty 2003; Aihwa Ong 1999) to critically evaluate social networking websites as spaces that actually promote stereotypical and/or hegemonic understandings of Syrian refugee women's issues. As an example of what Ong (1999) calls “self-orientalization,” I analyze the discourses of the Facebook campaign “Refugees Not Captives” (RNC) and argue that this campaign's messages transfer to and interact with mainstream global media coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis. My main goal is to show how what may appear to be a local authentic online campaign aiming to encourage feminist actions to end the suffering of Syrian refugee women is, in fact, disconnected from the offline realities of these women and the activist groups who work with them on the ground. My concern is to critique a form of feminist online campaign that claims to represent the voices of women who generally do not have the economic and educational privileges to access the online spaces to speak for themselves. Methodologically, this article is part of a broader study based on my fieldwork during the summer of 2013 in Jordan, where I conducted ethnographic research as well as thirty-three in-depth interviews with Syrian refugee women and activists, including the representative of the RNC campaign. My paper discusses how the discourses of both this online campaign and the Western media reinforce hegemonic orientalist representations of Syrian women, as well as marginalizing both refugee women's voices and the voices of activists that do not fit dominant representations of Muslim women.

This article examines the Game of Thrones (GoT) fan phenomena in the Arab world. Although I contextualize GoT as a commodity within HBO's global ambitions to attract a global audience, I study GoT Arab fans as an organized interpretive online community. I examine the Arabic fan Facebook page "Game of Thrones--Official Arabic Page" (GoT-OAP), which has over 240,000 followers, as a case study of cultural production and consumption by fans. Based on interviews with members of the administration staff of the GoT-OAP Facebook page, as well as textual analysis of the page's posts, I ask: How is fan culture around GoT produced in the Arab world? How are the boundaries between being fans, media producers, and consumers negotiated? Are there connections between the themes of GoT and the current unrest across the Arab region? If so, how are they articulated? Through emotional realism and hybridity, I show that Arab fans find ways to negotiate their fandom of GoT with their local context and lived experiences.

Since 2011, media has played a significant role in the Syrian conflict, which started as a peaceful uprising, then escalated into a violent civil war resulting in the largest refugee and displacement crisis in the world. Mass media played a negative role, acting as a driver of the Syrian conflict by inciting violence, hate speech, and sectarianism. In this article, I focus on successful alternative media interventions that challenge the violent, stereotypical discourse dominant in mass media. As part of a larger research project, I examine, as a case study, the discourse surrounding the Syrian television drama series Ghadan Naltaqi (GN) [We’ll Meet Tomorrow] which generated an exemplary dialogue between the forcibly displaced segment of its audience and the writer/creator of the show, Iyad Abou Chamat. I consider GN as an alternative media intervention because it provides a case where media creators help displaced people both to mitigate the traumatic effects of a highly polarising conflict, and to find a healing space from violent and alienating dominant media discourses.

[Introduction]: "It was September 2, 2015 when the Syrian refugee crisis abruptly came to dominate the English-language media. On that day broadcast and print outlets led with the iconic image of Alan Kurdi, 3, lying lifeless on a Turkish beach after his family’s failed attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. The shocking picture prompted solemn pronouncements from Western leaders regarding the world’s responsibility to care for refugees, even as actual policy in most Western countries got worse. In the United States, the increased attention to the refugee crisis prompted outright hostility. Thirty-one governors pledged not to accept Syrians in their states. The House of Representatives passed a bill suspending programs for admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees with 47 Democrats and 242 Republicans voting in favor. The general tenor of media coverage helps to explain the nasty political environment. A quantitative comparison by Abby Jones found that British and Canadian media were more inclined to compassionate, welcoming themes than US outlets, which generally portrayed Syrians as dangerous strangers to be kept out of the country."

In "I must save my life and not risk my family’s safety!”: Untold Stories of Syrian Women Surviving War, Alhayek provides several case studies of Syrian women whose lives were irreversibly changed as a result of the events that unfolded after March 2011. The stories of these women vividly illustrate how difficult it is to come up with a neat and easily accessible profile for the suffering of Syrian women. Yet, this is precisely what Western media, albeit sympathetic, has attempted to achieve. Stories on child brides being sold to wealthy old men from the Gulf, though on the surface highlighting the suffering that Syrian women have undergone, are shown by Alhayek to have grossly misrepresented not only Syrian women, who are in fact as complex and multi-faceted as their Western counterparts, but also Syrian families for being willing to take part in such arrangements in the first place. Through interviews with six Syrian women, Alhayek brings home the idea that our understanding of the Syrian Uprising must be based on stories that are collected from below rather than on stereotypes imposed from above. The case studies defy any simplified narrative that one may wish to impose on them. In one case study, for example, the army is directly responsible for killing civilians, while in the other the army is shown to have been very respectful of women, especially in the early phase of the Uprising.

Wilhelm Roentgen first discovered X-rays in 1895. Since its introduction in the mid-1980s, digital radiography has surpassed traditional screen-film radiography. Since 2000, more than 75 percent of medical clinics in the United States have migrated to digital radiography (DR). In fact, the US government has ordered that all medical records be converted to digital. Indirect, direct, or semi-direct digital radiography pictures are types of digital radiography currently available. Forensic radiology is a branch of medical imaging technology that helps clinicians. Radiology technology has evolved and grown tremendously in recent years. When comparing aggregated antemortem and postmortem information, radiographs are crucial. Adopting new technologies into a dental business demands a certain amount of bravery. After all, why alter things if your practise is running smoothly? To grasp the new equipment and procedures, the dentist and his or her staff will need further training. It's not always apparent how the new strategy will influence the practice's present logistics. These factors may cause the practitioner to be hesitant to alter present techniques. In this article we’ll reviewing digital dental radiography, and what are the advantages of going digital. And also what are the challenges that face us.

This performative and collaborative autoethnography plays with the homophonic or maybe homiletics of “inter” and “enter” as the invitational aspect of collaborative autoethnography. The contribution of diverse collaborators from differing racial, ethnic, geo-spatial locations, and generational standpoints speak to/between experiences with the dialogic aspects of autoethnography; the speaking of self with and for others that is always a part of autoethnographic practice, now made salient in the intentional collaborative, thus exploring the interpersonal, interracial, international, intersectional, interstitial, and the symbolic interactional aspects of autoethnography.

In view of the worldwide antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threat, new bacterial targets and anti-infective agents are needed. Since important roles in bacterial pathogenesis have been demonstrated for the collagenase H and G (ColH and ColG) from

In the process of urinary stone formation, several heavy metals and trace elements (HMTE) have been identified among the major constituents of the calculi. The micro-elements within the stones cannot be identified by ordinary laboratory analytical techniques, the latter can only detect the major crystalline component. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the different types of HMTE (no. 22) and their concentrations within the urinary stones. The stone samples were obtained from patients living in different geographical locations (10 countries: 5 Western and 5 non-Western). The number of retrieved stones after open or endoscopic procedures was 1177. The concentrations of the 22 HMTE in the stones were assessed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The statistical data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, one-way ANOVA, and SPSS software (version 20). The biochemical stone analysis showed that calcium oxalate was present as a major component in 650 patients (55.2%), calcium phosphate in 317 (26.9%), and uric acid and cystine stones in 210 (17.8%). The analyzed stones showed the presence of HMTE in different concentrations. Significantly higher concentrations of 17 elements (Al, As, Ba, B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Se, Sr, and Zn) were noted in all stones. Seven elements (Al, As, Se, Sr, Fe, Zn, and Ni) were present in higher concentrations in calcium-based stones. In comparison, eight elements (Mg, B, Ba, Cd, Se, Pb, Sr, and Zn) in higher concentrations were associated with phosphate-based stones. Both uric acid and cystine stones had a higher concentration of sulfur. The concentrations of HMTE in calcium phosphate stones were higher than in calcium oxalate and uric acid stones. Calculi obtained from patients living in western countries contained higher levels of 13 HMTE (B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mo, P, Pb, and Se) than those in non-western countries. The age of calculi-forming patients from non-western countries was younger than those living in western countries. These results may indicate the role of many significant heavy metals and trace elements in the pathogenesis of urinary stone formation. The types and contents of HMTE within urinary stones differ from one country to another. The conventional stone analysis techniques cannot either identify the stone micro-elements or the concentrations of HMTE, so a specific and additional instrument such as the ICP-OES is necessary. Further research work on the urinary stone micro-elemental structure could lead to a new strategy for the prevention of stone formation and recurrence.

BackgroundA major antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), is a key factor in the antioxidant defense mechanism against oxidative stress and aging-related functional declines. Our previous observational study showed positive correlations between brain GSH concentrations and dairy food consumption, particularly milk (p < 0.001), in older adults.ObjectiveTo investigate whether a recommended amount of milk intake (3 cups/day) in low dairy consumers enhances brain GSH concentrations through an intervention trial.MethodsSeventy-three older adults (60–89 years) with a low dairy intake (≤1.5 servings/day) were randomized (5:2 ratio) in this 3-month randomized clinical trial. The intervention group was provided 1% milk weekly and instructed to consume 3 cups of milk/day for 3 months while the control group continued their habitual intake of total dairy ≤ 1.5 servings/day (ResultsAmong 73 randomized participants, 66 participants (49 intervention; 17 controls) completed the study. Milk intake in the intervention group increased from 0.2 ± 0.3 cups/day to 3.0 ± 0.6 cups/day (p < 0.001) between baseline and the end of the study, while milk intake in the control group did not differ throughout the study duration (0.4 ± 0.4 cups/day). The intervention group showed increases in brain GSH concentrations by 7.4 ± 11.7% (p < 0.001) in parietal and 4.7 ± 9.8% (p = 0.003) in fronto-parietal regions, and 4.6 ± 8.7% (p < 0.001) in overall brain concentration after the intervention compared with baseline, while the control group showed no changes.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that milk serves as a good dietary source to increase and/or restore brain GSH concentrations in older adults. Identifying dietary sources that effectively enhance antioxidant defenses and neuroprotection could lead to the development of new strategies to promote brain health in the aging population.Clinical trial registration[https://ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT02957422].

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by episodes of depression and mania, associated with impaired emotion processing. Several functional MRI (fMRI) studies have been used to investigate the structural and functional alteration in BD. Here, we aim to investigate the current fMRI findings of brain activation during emotion-regulation tasks between BD patients and healthy controls (HC).A systematic search through PubMed database for fMRI studies on bipolar patients and HC yielded 685 studies. We performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) on 21 studies for emotion regulation in BD patients and HC. Furthermore, we performed subgroup analyses for task performances in response time and accuracy between bipolar patients and HC.The total sample included 21 fMRI studies, comprising 543 BD patients, compared to 565 HC. ALE maps for emotion-related tasks showed hyperactivation in BD patients in the caudate, amygdala, precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyri, and sub-gyrus. Whereas hypoactivation was seen in the inferior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus.We could not apply a correction for p-value thresholds, as it needs large number of foci. Second, functional abnormalities were investigated for adult BD patients only, as BD patients have functional differences correlated with age.Our results showed that limbic and cortical regions can represent a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and management of BD, by showing clustered brain regions of abnormal patterns of increased activation between BD patients and HC.

Microbial infections are a significant threat to public health, and resistance is on the rise, so new antibiotics with novel modes of action are urgently needed. The extracellular zinc metalloprotease collagenase H (ColH) from Clostridium histolyticum is a virulence factor that catalyses tissue damage, leading to improved host invasion and colonisation. Besides the major role of ColH in pathogenicity, its extracellular localisation makes it a highly attractive target for the development of new antivirulence agents. Previously, we had found that a highly selective and potent thiol prodrug (with a hydrolytically cleavable thiocarbamate unit) provided efficient ColH inhibition. We now report the synthesis and biological evaluation of a range of zinc‐binding group (ZBG) variants of this thiol‐derived inhibitor, with the mercapto unit being replaced by other zinc ligands. Among these, an analogue with a phosphonate motif as ZBG showed promising activity against ColH, an improved selectivity profile, and significantly higher stability than the thiol reference compound, thus making it an attractive candidate for future drug development., Stable “pathoblocker”: A series of compounds with non‐thiol (stable) zinc‐binding groups has been synthesised and tested for inhibition of the collagenase ColH, a key mediator of clostridial pathogenicity. The most promising compound, a phosphonate, was studied for selectivity over potential human off‐targets and its toxicity both in vitro and in vivo, and was shown to significantly reduce collagenase activity.

The green plant-mediated synthesis of silver (GPS-Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) has been increasingly popular due to its eco-friendliness, availability, cost-effectiveness, and the fact that it can be safely handled and possesses a broad variability of metabolites, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. In this current study, the synthesis of AgNPs has been demonstrated using aqueous extracts of fresh leaves of Ficus carica and Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary) that reduced aqueous silver nitrate. This procedure made the synthesis of NPs possible, which was characterized by numerous analytical techniques such as ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering studies. The visual observation indicated that the colour of aqueous silver nitrate turned brownish yellow after treatment with the fresh leaf extracts and was confirmed by UV-Vis spectra. In addition, the TEM analysis showed that the synthesized NPs well dispersed with average sizes less than 22 nm. Furthermore, AgNPs and aqueous leaf extracts of F. carica and rosemary were examined for their antimicrobial activities against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains. The results indicated that the AgNPs, derived from F. carica, have more antibacterial activities than others and inhibited bacterial growth.

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the serious global public health threats. Unlike the conventional antimicrobial drugs, antivirulence agents disarm rather than kill bacterial pathogens and therefore represent an alternative option to skirt the problem of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase (LasB) and Clostridium histolyticum collagenase (ColH) are extracellular bacterial proteases which play a critical role in the establishment and progression of the respective bacterial infection. In this study, we report the modulation of the α-position of the previously reported N aryl mercaptoacetamide class leading to a new type of highly potent LasB and ColH inhibitors (N aryl 2-iso-butylmercaptoacetamides). In addition to their non-toxicity and high selectivity over several human off-targets, selected derivatives may be considered unprecedented dual inhibitors of both LasB and ColH. Among the prepared derivatives, compound 37 showed the most promising properties: it had a favorable safety profile, maintained the viability and integrity of both skin- and lung-cells treated with P. aeruginosa supernatant, demonstrated in vivo efficacy in Galleria mellonella larvae, and revealed a good volume of distribution and moderate in vivo clearance in mice. Taking together, these results demonstrate that compound 37 is a promising candidate for antivirulence drug development.

Despite the progress in surgical techniques and antibiotic prophylaxis, opportunistic wound infections with

Kinetic target‐guided synthesis represents an efficient hit‐identification strategy, in which the protein assembles its own inhibitors from a pool of complementary building blocks via an irreversible reaction. Herein, we pioneered an in situ Ugi reaction for the identification of novel inhibitors of a model enzyme and binders for an important drug target, namely, the aspartic protease endothiapepsin and the bacterial β‐sliding clamp DnaN, respectively. Highly sensitive mass‐spectrometry methods enabled monitoring of the protein‐templated reaction of four complementary reaction partners, which occurred in a background‐free manner for endothiapepsin or with a clear amplification of two binders in the presence of DnaN. The Ugi products we identified show low micromolar activity on endothiapepsin or moderate affinity for the β‐sliding clamp. We succeeded in expanding the portfolio of chemical reactions and biological targets and demonstrated the efficiency and sensitivity of this approach, which can find application on any drug target., Screening fast: The Ugi four‐component reaction (Ugi‐4CR) is introduced as a novel reaction in kinetic‐target guided synthesis (KTGS). Novel inhibitors of a model enzyme (aspartic protease endothiapepsin) and new binders of the emerging antibacterial target (β‐sliding clamp DnaN) were successfully identified. This new technique enables a rapid screening of a large number of compounds in early drug discovery.

Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis "ECCL" is a rare, sporadic neurocutaneous disorder that results from a lethal autosomal mutation surviving by somatic mosaicism. It is characterized by unilateral involvement of skin, eyes and central nervous system in addition to a propensity for mesenchymal tumors. A 30-year-old male with previously controlled epilepsy presented with recurrent seizures. Brain imaging revealed a left parietal parasagittal enhancing tumor, in addition to left sided gyriform calcifications, and bilateral cerebral atrophy and ventricular dilatation more prominent on the left side. He also presented multiple left sided sebaceous nevi and abundant subcutaneous lipomas in addition to left mandibular condylar cysts. The brain tumor was excised, and cytopathology revealed a WHO grade I fibrous meningioma. After a thorough evaluation and exclusion of alternative diagnoses, the patient was diagnosed with definite encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis as per Moog's criteria. Several cases of ECCL recently presented with different intracranial neoplasms. Here we report the first case of ECCL in association with meningioma.

In light of the global antimicrobial-resistance crisis, there is an urgent need for novel bacterial targets and antibiotics with novel modes of action. It has been shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase (LasB) and Clostridium histolyticum (Hathewaya histolytica) collagenase (ColH) play a significant role in the infection process and thereby represent promising antivirulence targets. Here, we report novel N-aryl-3-mercaptosuccinimide inhibitors that target both LasB and ColH, displaying potent activities in vitro and high selectivity for the bacterial over human metalloproteases. Additionally, the inhibitors demonstrate no signs of cytotoxicity against selected human cell lines and in a zebrafish embryo toxicity model. Furthermore, the most active ColH inhibitor shows a significant reduction of collagen degradation in an ex vivo pig-skin model.