Writing boards and blackboards are emblematic of two radically different styles of education in Islam. The essays in this lively volume address various aspects of the expanding and evolving range of ...educational choices available to Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa. Contributors from the United States, Europe, and Africa evaluate classical Islamic education in Africa from colonial times to the present, including changes in pedagogical methods--from sitting to standing, from individual to collective learning, from recitation to analysis. Also discussed are the differences between British, French, Belgian, and Portuguese education in Africa and between mission schools and Qur'anic schools; changes to the classical Islamic curriculum; the changing intent of Islamic education; the modernization of pedagogical styles and tools; hybrid forms of religious and secular education; the inclusion of women in Qur'anic schools; and the changing notion of what it means to be an educated person in Africa. A new view of the role of Islamic education, especially its politics and controversies in today's age of terrorism, emerges from this broadly comparative volume.
We report here the complete genome sequences of four subcluster L3 mycobacteriophages newly isolated from soil samples, using
mc
155 as the host. Comparative genomic analyses with four previously ...described subcluster L3 phages reveal strong nucleotide similarity and gene conservation, with several large insertions/deletions near their right genome ends.
Coalescing involves gluing one or more rooted graphs onto another graph. Under specific conditions, it is possible to start with cospectral graphs that are coalesced in similar ways that will result ...in new cospectral graphs. We present a sufficient condition for this based on the block structure of similarity matrices, possibly with additional constraints depending on which type of matrix is being considered. The matrices considered in this paper include the adjacency, Laplacian, signless Laplacian, distance, and generalized distance matrix.
This paper explores the economic character of relations between marabouts (Muslim holy persons) & followers in Niger. In particular, it uses the blurred edges between gifts & commodities to contrast ...the (oft-divergent) modalities with which marabouts & followers conceptualize knowledge. Across Francophone West Africa, marabouts have historically depended largely on gift economies for their livelihood. Yet, followers are increasingly inclined to conceptualize the knowledge transmitted by marabouts as a commodity rather than as a gift. These developments suggest a growing tendency to view social relations with marabouts in terms of isolated transactions more so than continuing personal connections framed by enduring moral obligations. References. Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.
Exposure of macrophages to endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in a cascade of events resulting in the release of multiple inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators. The Toll-like receptor ...(TLR) 4 complex is the major receptor that mediates LPS signaling. However, there is evidence that other surface molecules may play a complementary role in the TLR-induced events. Integrin receptors are one class of receptors that have been linked to LPS signaling. This study investigates the role of macrophage integrin receptors in the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases by LPS. In conditions where macrophages were not permitted to adhere to matrix or a tissue culture surface, we found a decrease in LPS signaling as documented by a marked reduction in tyrosine phosphorylation of whole cell proteins. This was accompanied by a significant decrease in extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase MAP kinase activation. Inhibition of integrin signaling, with EDTA or RGD peptides, decreased LPS-induced MAP kinase activity. The functional consequence of blocking integrin signaling was demonstrated by decreased LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha production. These observations demonstrate that, in addition to the TLR receptor complex, optimal LPS signaling requires complementary signals from integrin receptors.
Some of the ways in which Muslims in Niger make choices about learning challenge the idioms of education they frequently invoke. As such, this chapter shifts focus away from understanding types of ...education only in terms of the preparations they provide—religious, moral, secular, practical, quotidian, or otherwise—and the linked outcomes they promise. Instead, it considers how the actualities of learning and anxieties about schooling challenge ideologies of education.
Scholars and Muslims alike surround Islamic learning in Africa with issues of formality and personality, such that formal, impersonal schools (whether madrasas,écoles Franco-Arabes, or Western-modeled secular schools) contrast with
•Only 12.3% of patients with ATLL underwent alloHSCT.•No suitable donor was available for 25% of alloHSCT HLA-typed eligible patients.•Early mortality, loss to follow-up, uninsured status, and lack ...of available suitable donors, including haploidentical, were major barriers to alloHSCT.
In the United States adult T cell lymphoma–leukemia (ATLL) carries a dismal prognosis and mainly affects immigrants from human T cell lymphotropic virus 1 endemic areas. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) can be effective and is recommended as an upfront treatment in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. We studied the barriers to alloHSCT in one of the largest ATLL populations in the United States. Comprehensive chart and donor registry reviews were conducted for 88 ATLL patients treated at Montefiore Medical Center from 2003 to 2018. Among 49 patients with acute and 32 with lymphomatous subtypes, 48 (59.5%) were ineligible for alloHSCT because of early mortality (52%), loss to follow-up (21%), uninsured status (15%), patient declination (10%), and frailty (2%). Among 28 HLA-typed eligible patients (34.6%), matched related donors were identified for 7 (25%). A matched unrelated donor (MUD) search yielded HLA-matched in 2 patients (9.5%), HLA mismatched in 6 (28.5%), and no options in 13 (62%). Haploidentical donors were identified for 6 patients (46%) with no unrelated options. There were no suitable donors for 7 (25%) alloHSCT-eligible patients. The main limitation for alloHSCT after donor identification was death from progressive disease (82%). AlloHSCT was performed in 10 patients (12.3%) and was associated with better relapse-free survival (26 versus 11 months, P = .04) and overall survival (47 versus 10 months, P = .03). Early mortality and progressive disease are the main barriers to alloHSCT, but poor follow-up, uninsured status, and lack of suitable donor, including haploidentical, are also substantial limitations that might disproportionally affect this vulnerable population. AlloHSCT can achieve long-term remissions, and strategies aiming to overcome these barriers are urgently needed to improve outcomes in ATLL.
ATLL is an aggressive T cell malignancy with dismal prognosis which occurs mainly in Caribbean immigrants in the US. AlloSCT is an effective treatment option in eligible patients (pts). We sought to ...identify barriers to alloSCT for these pts in a tertiary center with one of the largest ATLL populations in the US.
Pts with ATLL treated at Montefiore Medical Center were identified from 2003 to 2018. Comprehensive review of charts and donor registry searches were conducted.
We identified 88 pts, mean age 56 yrs, 7 (8%) with chronic/smoldering subtypes. Of pts with acute (49, 60.5%) or lymphomatous (32, 39.5%) types, 48 (59.5%) were not considered for alloSCT due to early death (52%, n=25), lost to follow up (19%, n=10), uninsured (13%, n=7), declined HSCT (9%, n=5) and frailty (2%, n=1).
Of 33 (40.7%) pts evaluated for alloSCT, 28 (34.6%) underwent HLA typing. A 10/10 matched related donor (MRD) was identified in 7 (25%). Registry search for matched unrelated donors (MUD) in the remainder 21 showed 10/10 (9.5%, n=2), 9/10 (19%, n=4), 8/10 (9.5%, n=2) and none (62%, n=13). Haploidentical donors were identified for 6 of 13 (46%) pts with no MUD. No donor options were available for 7 (25%) HLA-typed pts.
AlloSCT was performed in 10/21 (47.6%) pts. Reasons for not undergoing alloSCT were progressive disease (50%, n=9), and patient declination (11%, n=2).
AlloHSCT was associated with better median relapse-free (RFS) (26 vs. 11 mo, p=0.04) and overall survival (OS) (47 vs. 10 mo, p=0.03). Early transplant-related mortality (TRM) rate was 40%. Pts transplanted in complete remission (CR) and with MRD/MUD had better outcomes.
This is the first study demonstrating the barriers for alloHSCT for ATLL in the US. Only 12.3% pts proceed to alloSCT in ATLL. Early mortality, lost to follow up, uninsured status, lack of available suitable donors, including haploidentical, are significant problems. In pts who have successful induction, alloSCT can achieve long term remissions. Hence, better upfront treatments to achieve CR, early alloSCT, and consolidation/maintenance strategies in those who do not proceed to alloSCT are urgently needed to improve outcomes in ATLL.
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