631 research outputs found
Between obedience and rebellion: a field study on the young women of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
No full textThis research explores the perceptions young Saudi women in Jeddah have of their lives. It seeks to uncover the role and different degrees that obedience and rebellion feature in the everyday lives of the young Saudi women in Jeddah. The subjects of the research were young Saudi women aged 16-21, all living in Jeddah at the time of the study and studying at either high school or university. The study employed a qualitative methodology to identify the extent of obedience and rebellion and their manifestations in the young women’s daily lives. The research relied on in-depth semi-structured interviews as the principal data collection method. By analysing the data derived from this process, I sought to explore the range, subtleties and continuum of rebellion and obedience in terms of three major themes: Hijab, gender relations, and young women’s private spaces. The study found that the participants associated Hijab with high social and religious values and had great respect for it. The conceptualization and practice of wearing Hijab, was associated with freedom and access to ‘the public sphere’ for many participants.In contrast, the study found that Qiwama (Guardianship), a religious Islamic concept that regulates family life, was much less respected by the participants, at least in its traditionalist incarnation that prevails in Saudi Arabia. The traditional Qiwama, per the findings, is a patriarchal structure that results in the reproduction of the social reality that marginalizes women, relegating them to follower status. The female participants rejected this as an incorrect interpretation of religious text. A majority of participants also pointed out that the definition of rebellion differs from one generation to the next. In fact, the participants noted that the actions of young Saudi women that are often classified as rebellious are actually demands for personal rights and an attempt to remove some of the restrictions they face in a subtle way that does not directly clash with family, religion and state policy.This study is important because it represents the unique contribution of giving a voice to young Saudi women to narrate their experiences and explore their ways of subtly negotiating with or conforming to social realities and by so doing enables the examination of the connections between obedience, rebellion, or subtle negotiation
The potential therapeutic role of palm oil on prostate cancer
Get PDFMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)Prostate cancer is one of the heterogeneous groups of neoplastic diseases originating from the reproductive system of the male naming, the prostate gland. In the west, prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting African men in older age (over the age of 55) and usually with a family history of the disease. The initiation and progression of this disease is thought to result from the genetic alterations of gene expression in the prostate epithelial cells. Prostate cancer has a very slow progression. This observation provides the advantage of early detection and the notion for using diet to prevent the cellular and molecular processes of carcinogenesis.
Epidemiological research has documented a positive health role for red palm oil on atherosclerosis, arterial thrombosis and several types of cancers. This thesis focuses on investigating the effect of different concentrations of the red palm oil (0.1, 1, 10, 100, 500, 1 000 μg/ml) on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells and benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells over 24 and 72- hours. The following parameters were investigated: cell morphology and viability (using MTT assay), the expression of androgen receptors and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) via RT-PCR and/or PSA ELISA kit.
The results of this study demonstrate that red palm oil has significant cytotoxic effects on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells but caused only a slight decrease in cell viability of benign (PWR- 1E) prostate cells. Morphologically, we noted a clear increase in detachment and cell death in malignant (LNCaP) cells as the concentrations of red palm oil increased. Moreover, the viability decreased significantly in both 24 and 72-hour treatment of red palm oil. Further to this, red palm oil significantly promoted the reduction of total PSA concentration in malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells whereas in benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells the Red Palm Oil maintained the total serum PSA at its basal physiological level.
In conclusion, red palm oil is significantly cytotoxic to malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells whereas weakly cytotoxic effect toward benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells. The potent inhibition to mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity is responsible for the aforementioned effects respectively. The decrease in total serum PSA demonstrate the strong therapeutic effects that red palm oil has on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cell
Aesop's Fables in Persian: Luqman Hakim
No full textThis is a print-on-demand paperback of 216 pages, 5½" x 8½", featuring a picture of its author on the back cover, with a link to his website. There are frequent very simple black-and-white illustrations throughout the book. Here is Amazon's comment: "Aesop's Fables in Persian is translation work of Dr. Hafiz Sahar, Professor of Journalism and Chief Editor of major newspaper in Afghanistan in the early 1970s. The stories are timeless teacher of truth that has endured the test of time in every major language since 6th century BC, when it was first composed by Aesop. There are over 250 captivating short stories, each to teach children and adults about philosophy, ethics, morals and a clear view of humanity's nature. Dr. Sahar's deep commitment to free speech/press and love of philosophy and social justice were driving force for this work. "Language note: PersianHafiz Saha
The potential therapeutic role of palm oil on prostate cancer
No full textMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)Prostate cancer is one of the heterogeneous groups of neoplastic diseases originating from the reproductive system of the male naming, the prostate gland. In the west, prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting African men in older age (over the age of 55) and usually with a family history of the disease. The initiation and progression of this disease is thought to result from the genetic alterations of gene expression in the prostate epithelial cells. Prostate cancer has a very slow progression. This observation provides the advantage of early detection and the notion for using diet to prevent the cellular and molecular processes of carcinogenesis.
Epidemiological research has documented a positive health role for red palm oil on atherosclerosis, arterial thrombosis and several types of cancers. This thesis focuses on investigating the effect of different concentrations of the red palm oil (0.1, 1, 10, 100, 500, 1 000 μg/ml) on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells and benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells over 24 and 72- hours. The following parameters were investigated: cell morphology and viability (using MTT assay), the expression of androgen receptors and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) via RT-PCR and/or PSA ELISA kit.
The results of this study demonstrate that red palm oil has significant cytotoxic effects on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells but caused only a slight decrease in cell viability of benign (PWR- 1E) prostate cells. Morphologically, we noted a clear increase in detachment and cell death in malignant (LNCaP) cells as the concentrations of red palm oil increased. Moreover, the viability decreased significantly in both 24 and 72-hour treatment of red palm oil. Further to this, red palm oil significantly promoted the reduction of total PSA concentration in malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells whereas in benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells the Red Palm Oil maintained the total serum PSA at its basal physiological level.
In conclusion, red palm oil is significantly cytotoxic to malignant (LNCaP) prostate cells whereas weakly cytotoxic effect toward benign (PWR-1E) prostate cells. The potent inhibition to mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity is responsible for the aforementioned effects respectively. The decrease in total serum PSA demonstrate the strong therapeutic effects that red palm oil has on malignant (LNCaP) prostate cell
Genomic instability in South African breast cancer patients
Get PDFMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignancies in women. Death results from treatment failure and metastatic disease. Thousands of lives might be saved if it was possible to detect and eliminate occult metastatic cells before they become clinically evident. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify new markers to improve treatment options for these patients. Genomic instability is the earliest indication of breast cancer and the use of genomic methodologies is a progress towards early detection and treatment, through the identification of biomarkers that can be translated into novel therapy targets. The interferon regulatory factor-1(IRF-1) gene, localized on chromosome 5q31.1, is believed to act as a tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer. The IRF-1 was found to be inactivated by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in breast cancer suggesting
that the loss of its function might be critical to the development of the disease.
The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3) signaling pathway mediates key cellular
functions and alterations of genes in this pathway, including PIK3CA, serine-threonine protein kinases (AKT1and AKT2), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) and ERBB2, whose expression have been demonstrated to be altered in breast cancer patients. In addition, these genes are linked to treatment resistance. vi In this study, we have investigated allelic loss of IRF-1 gene in primary tumors obtained from patients undergoing mastectomy at Groote Schuur hospital (Cape Town, South Africa). These samples were then further analyzed for the DNA copy number changes of specific genes involved in the PIK3/AKT signaling pathway. Statistical analysis has been performed in order to correlate genomic findings with clinical-histopathological and follow up information from the patients and to establish whether these genes can predict prognosis. Our data analysis has indicated that 46 cases (45.5%) out of 101 cases were informative for the IRF-1 dinucleotide marker used for LOH analysis (Figure 3.1). LOH was detected in 23 of these informative cases (23/46; 50%). No statistical significance was found between LOH at the IRF-1 locus and age (≤50 years or >50 years) (P value = 1.0000) and earlier stage (Stages I and II) (P value= 0.4982) based on Fisher’s exact test. Patients presented a high level of DNA copy number changes in genes involved in the PIK3/AKT pathway. The most frequent changes were observed in the PIK3CA and PTEN genes. PIK3CA presented high copy number in 36.8% of the cases. PTEN was
observed with low copy number in 47.5% of the cases. This dissertation shows the effectiveness of genomic methodologies as means for the detection of early breast cancer progression in South African women. The PIK 3/AKT genes can validate the usefulness of breast cancer therapies
The effects of various combinations of different classes of anticancer drugs and tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell line
No full textMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)This study investigated the effects of TKIs on the growth and proliferation of MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells in culture. MCF-7 cells were exposed to different concentrations of TKIs alone and in combination with each other. Inhibition of cell growth by TKIs used individually occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When EGFR Inhibitor I, EGFR Inhibitor II/BIBX1382 and the multi-specific EGFR/ErbB-2/ErB-4 Inhibitor were used in combination with each other at equimolar log dose concentrations, the combined effects on cell growth was significantly different to inhibitors used individually as reflected in a decreased EC50 (IC50) during combination treatments. Generally, for the combinations with DOX, CPL and the TKIs, synergistic as well as antagonistic effects were observed at isoeffective concentrations with resultant decreases in dose reduction indices (DRIs) implying greater efficacies with the respective combinations. In this study, conventional PCR was used to detect and illustrate the presence of the EGFR gene in the samples, while RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of this gene in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell
The effects of various combinations of different classes of anticancer drugs and tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell line
Get PDFMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)This study investigated the effects of TKIs on the growth and proliferation of MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells in culture. MCF-7 cells were exposed to different concentrations of TKIs alone and in combination with each other. Inhibition of cell growth by TKIs used individually occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When EGFR Inhibitor I, EGFR Inhibitor II/BIBX1382 and the multi-specific EGFR/ErbB-2/ErB-4 Inhibitor were used in combination with each other at equimolar log dose concentrations, the combined effects on cell growth was significantly different to inhibitors used individually as reflected in a decreased EC50 (IC50) during combination treatments. Generally, for the combinations with DOX, CPL and the TKIs, synergistic as well as antagonistic effects were observed at isoeffective concentrations with resultant decreases in dose reduction indices (DRIs) implying greater efficacies with the respective combinations. In this study, conventional PCR was used to detect and illustrate the presence of the EGFR gene in the samples, while RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of this gene in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell
Molecular genetics: strategies to identify congenital cataract genes in captive-bred Vervet monkeys
No full textMagister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS)The present study describes molecular aspects of inherited congenital cataract in captive-bred Vervet monkeys. Congenital cataracts are lens opacities that are present at birth or soon after birth and include hereditary cataracts or cataracts caused by infectious agents. The MRC Primate Unit is housing a colony of captive-bred Vervet monkeys in which 7.5% is suffering from congenital cataract. However, the parents of the affected individuals were asymptomatic. Six families within the colony have been identified to be affected by two types of morphologies (Y-sutural and total cataract). Based on the evidence provided above, it was speculated that the colony was affected with autosomal recessive cataract. The main aim of this study was to facilitate a strategy for managing breeding programs by minimizing cataract occurrences in captive-bred Vervet monkeys. Integrated combination of clinical, molecular and bioinformatic strategies were used to identify and assess reciprocal candidate susceptibility genes for cataracts. The genes that are known to be responsible for most human congenital cataract cases were prioritized. The genes include Heat shock transcription factor 4 (HSF4), Crystalline Alpha A (CRYAA), glucosaminyl (N-acetyl) transferase 2 (GCNT2) and Lens intrinsic membrane protein 2 (LIM2). Twenty two subjects were selected based on their morphology (5 carriers, 5 controls and 12 cataracts). 2ml of blood was collected for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction. Coding exons and flanking regions were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequenced. The CLC DNA workbench was used for results analysis. The screening of four genes revealed 20 sequence variants which were not present in the control individuals. Sequencing of HSF4 revealed three mutations: R116R, L245>L and P421>L in exon 5, 10 and 14, respectively. The coding exons for CRYAA showed two sequence variants: S134W and K166N in exon 3. Twelve mutations were identified in exon one of all three GCNT2 transcripts (A, B and C). These mutations include: G212G, H256>H, M258>V, N275>N, V16>I, Y122>F, S15>S, S24>N, S38>S, I118>I, D194>D and Y373>Y which was found in exon three of all transcripts. There were no mutations in LIM2, however, three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in exon 2 (P66>P) and 3 (I118>T and A127>T). The above mutations were conserved when aligned with other species. The sequence variations vary among the families and those individuals with the same or different cataract phenotype. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the four candidate genes harbour mutations that are responsible for both phenotypes. The effect of these mutations in Vervet monkeys is not yet understood, however, their impact will be further investigated. For future studies, it will be of absolute importance to screen the entire family to verify that indeed cataract formation in this colony is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner
The Blinding Color of Race: Elections and Democracy in the Post-Shelby County Era
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