At the beginning of the twenty-first century countries in the Middle East and North Africa contend with the threats and opportunities of economic globalization, the driving force of change in the ...contemporary world. As the authors confirm in their straightforward and, at times, irreverent analysis of the regions' response to these challenges, it is globalization which is the key to an understanding of economic reform. Through an investigation of the structures of state and civil society, including financial systems, they also demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between economic performance and democratization. In other words, the more liberal the polity, the more effective is its economy in responding to globalization. With its interesting and incisive approach to the politics and economics of the Middle East and North Africa, this will be an essential purchase for students and policy-makers and anyone trying to come to grips with economic globalization generally.
Summary
An ideal vaccine against mucosal pathogens such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) should confer sustained, protective immunity at both systemic and mucosal levels. ...Here, we evaluated the in vivo systemic and mucosal antigen‐specific immune responses induced by a single intramuscular or intragastric administration of recombinant adenoviral type 5 (Ad5) or type 41 (Ad41) ‐based vaccines expressing the MERS‐CoV spike (S) protein. Intragastric administration of either Ad5‐S or Ad41‐S induced antigen‐specific IgG and neutralizing antibody in serum; however, antigen‐specific T‐cell responses were not detected. In contrast, after a single intramuscular dose of Ad5‐S or Ad41‐S, functional antigen‐specific T‐cell responses were elicited in the spleen and pulmonary lymphocytes of the mice, which persisted for several months. Both rAd‐based vaccines administered intramuscularly induced systemic humoral immune responses (neutralizing IgG antibodies). Our results show that a single dose of Ad5‐S‐ or Ad41‐S‐based vaccines represents an appealing strategy for the control of MERS‐CoV infection and transmission.
For the past two decades, insights gained from the burgeoning field of borderlands studies have enabled a new generation of scholars to challenge popular depictions of the emergence of the modern ...Middle East. For them, the region’s borderlands were not just mere sites of peripheral activity, but rather liminal spaces criss-crossed by global flows and circulations central to state- and nation-formation across the Middle East. Regimes of Mobility offers a select number of case studies that highlight the connectedness of the politics of borderlands throughout the interwar Middle East. The emergence of the modern Middle East is the result of three complementary historical developments: the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, the institution of British and French control in its stead and the nationalist challenges to this colonial scramble. The introduction of international borders that accompanied this process is commonly portrayed as the drawing of lines in the sand, an artificial partitioning that brought diplomatic closure to an otherwise contested historical space.
...as the MERS-CoV progressed overtime there was more identification of asymptomatic individuals due to increased surviellance and contacts testing. Asymptomatic carriage of influenza virus was ...estimated to be 5.2%–35.5% 4 Based on serology, the positivity rate was 13% in asymptomatic SARS 4% in those with mild symptoms, and 82% in those with severe disease 5. Since the emergence of SARS-COV-2, (known initially as 2019-nCoV), in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the number of global cases had increased significantly. ...studies will enhance the understanding of the pathogenesis of these emerging viruses and will inform policy makers to make scientifically sound recommendations.Funding source None.CRediT authorship contribution statement Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft.Declaration of competing interest None.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) utilizes host cellular proteases to enter cells. A previous report shows that furin, which is distributed mainly in the Golgi apparatus and ...cycled to the cell surface and endosomes, proteolytically activates the MERS-CoV spike (S) protein following receptor binding to mediate fusion between the viral and cellular membranes. In this study, we reexamined furin usage by MERS-CoV using a real-time PCR-based virus cell entry assay after inhibition of cellular proteases. We found that the furin inhibitor dec-RVKR-CMK blocked entry of MERS-CoV harboring an S protein lacking furin cleavage sites; it even blocked entry into furin-deficient LoVo cells. In addition, dec-RVKR-CMK inhibited not only the enzymatic activity of furin but also those of cathepsin L, cathepsin B, trypsin, papain, and TMPRSS2. Furthermore, a virus cell entry assay and a cell-cell fusion assay provided no evidence that the S protein was activated by exogenous furin. Therefore, we conclude that furin does not play a role in entry of MERS-CoV into cells and that the inhibitory effect of dec-RVKR-CMK is specific for TMPRSS2 and cathepsin L rather than furin.
Previous studies using the furin inhibitor dec-RVKR-CMK suggest that MERS-CoV utilizes a cellular protease, furin, to activate viral glycoproteins during cell entry. However, we found that dec-RVKR-CMK inhibits not only furin but also other proteases. Furthermore, we found no evidence that MERS-CoV uses furin. These findings suggest that previous studies in the virology field based on dec-RVKR-CMK should be reexamined carefully. Here we describe appropriate experiments that can be used to assess the effect of protease inhibitors on virus cell entry.
This paper studies the relationship between land revenue systems and returns to agricultural labour in colonial India. I provide the first district‐level comparative estimates of agricultural labour ...returns relative to average income, on the basis of wage/income ratios for 1916. I then use those estimates to analyse the impact of the land revenue systems established by the British colonial authorities. Results show that districts with a larger proportion of non‐landlord land revenue systems presented higher relative wages, closer to the average income. This effect was mainly driven by differences in land concentration connected to the type of landownership introduced by land revenue systems.
Summary Objectives To report the experience with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection at a single center in Saudi Arabia. Methods Cases of laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV ...occurring from October 1, 2012 to May 31, 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Information sources included medical files, infection control outbreak investigations, and the preventive medicine database of MERS-CoV-infected patients. Data were collected on clinical and epidemiological aspects and outcomes. Results Seventy consecutive patients were included. Patients were mostly of older age (median 62 years), male (46, 65.7%), and had healthcare acquisition of infection (39, 55.7%). Fever (43, 61.4%), dyspnea (42, 60%), and cough (38, 54.3%) were the most common symptoms. The majority developed pneumonia (63, 90%) and required intensive care (49, 70%). Infection commonly occurred in clusters. Independent risk factors for severe infection requiring intensive care included concomitant infections (odds ratio (OR) 14.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.58–126.09; p = 0.018) and low albumin (OR 6.31, 95% CI 1.24–31.90; p = 0.026). Mortality was high (42, 60%), and age ≥65 years was associated with increased mortality (OR 4.39, 95% CI 2.13–9.05; p < 0.001). Conclusions MERS-CoV can cause severe infection requiring intensive care and has a high mortality. Concomitant infections and low albumin were found to be predictors of severe infection, while age ≥65 years was the only predictor of increased mortality.
In May 2015 in United Arab Emirates, asymptomatic Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection was identified through active case finding in 2 men with exposure to infected dromedaries. ...Epidemiologic and virologic findings suggested zoonotic transmission. Genetic sequences for viruses from the men and camels were similar to those for viruses recently detected in other countries.
Highlights • Serological, molecular and phylogenetic analysis of a recently imported case of MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Greece. • MERS-CoV remained detectable in the respiratory tract secretions ...of the patient until the fourth week of illness, whereas viraemia was last detected two days after the institution of the triple combination therapy. • The non-detectable viral RNA in serum by day 3 after the initiation of the antiviral treatment could be explained either by viral clearance in an otherwise immunocompetent person or by effectiveness of the instituted antiviral regimen.
The graves of Tarim Ho, Engseng; Ho, Engseng
2006., 20061008, 2006, c2006., 2006-11-07, Letnik:
3
eBook
The Graves of Tarim narrates the movement of an old diaspora across the Indian Ocean over the past five hundred years. Ranging from Arabia to India and Southeast Asia, Engseng Ho explores the ...transcultural exchanges—in kinship and writing—that enabled Hadrami Yemeni descendants of the Muslim prophet Muhammad to become locals in each of the three regions yet remain cosmopolitans with vital connections across the ocean. At home throughout the Indian Ocean, diasporic Hadramis engaged European empires in surprising ways across its breadth, beyond the usual territorial confines of colonizer and colonized. A work of both anthropology and history, this book brilliantly demonstrates how the emerging fields of world history and transcultural studies are coming together to provide groundbreaking ways of studying religion, diaspora, and empire.
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