North African Men Research Articles

Intersectional invisibility: The moderating impact of perceived incongruence between stigmatized identities

There is evidence that people with multiple stigmatized identities sometimes experience psychological invisibility—perceivers show difficulty remembering information about these targets (e.g., their faces, spoken statements). In three experiments (total N = 397; within-subject design), we examined how North African gay men’s invisibility is impacted by the perceived incongruence between their minority identities. Across all studies, participants made more memory errors for North African gay men’s statements when they personally believed that being both gay and North African is highly incongruent. In addition, evidence for the salience of intersectional categories as an underlying psychological mechanism was found (Study 3). The present work adds to the literature by showing that invisibility depends on the characteristics of the targets but also on perceivers’ beliefs about targets’ identity incongruence.

P-453 Bacterial semen infections of North-African men: A 10-year retrospective study of 10.386 semen samples between January, 2013 and December, 2022

Abstract Study question What is the situation of bacterial semen infections in North African men between 2013 and 2022? Summary answer The proportion of positive-bacterial-semen-cultures of North-Afrian men was of 5.9%: Tunisian-patients positive rate was of 5.8%. Algerians of 7.9% and of Lybian was of 4.7%. What is known already Numerous bacteria can influence spermatogenesis process at different levels and disrupt spermatozoa development, maturation, and transport. Presence of pathogenic bacteria in the male-genital-system has been mainly associated with poor sperm function, leading to infertility. Bacterial semen infections such as infections by Chlamydia-trachomatis (CT), Mycoplasma-hominis (MH) and genitalium (MG), Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and parvum (UP), Escherichia coli (EC), Enterococcus-faecalis (EF), Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and haemolyticus (SH), Helicobacter pylori, Streptococcus agalactiae, Gardnerella-vaginalis, Anaerococcus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are among the most common isolated bacteria, affecting semen quality and interfering with male fertility. (Wang et al., 2021; Farsimadan and Motamedifar, 2020). Study design, size, duration Retrospective study including 10.386 Sperm-culture-analyzes performed between January, 2013-December, 2022 of patients from North-Africa (Tunisians, Algerians and Libyans) aged between 19 and 73 years-old (y.o) (average-age: 43.2 y.o ± 7.16). Semen samples were divided in two main groups, Group-1: Bacterial-Semen-Infected-samples and Group-2: Semen without bacterial-infection. The investigation of the situation of North-African men’ semen-bacterial-infections was based on the types of bacteria analyzed, the years from 2013 to 2022 (year by year) and the nationalities of the patients. Participants/materials, setting, methods 10.386 North-African-patients composed of 79% of Tunisian-patients (n = 8201), 11% of Algerian-patients (n = 1142) and 10% of Libyan-patients(n = 1038) presented to the Laboratory for Semen-infection-diagnosis. Semen-samples were analyzed according to World-Health-Organization(WHO)-guidelines. Real-time-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) and biochemical-identification using Vitek2®ID-cards (BioMérieux) were used for bacterial-semen-infections’ detection such as with atypical-bacteria, aerobic/anaerobic bacteria. Statistical-analyzes were performed using SPSS22.0 for Windows-software. Kolmogorov–Smirnov-test for normality-analysis and comparisons by Student-t-test/Mann–Whitney-U-test, as appropriate. Pearson/Spearman’ tests for correlations were used as appropriate, P-value <0.05 was considered as significant. Main results and the role of chance A total of 10.386 semen cultures were performed with 613 positive-bacterial-semen-cultures, showing an annual variation rate of 0.7% from the first year to the last year of the study. The proportion of positive bacterial semen cultures was of 5.9% and was stable throughout the study period (4.8% to 7.3%) in except of 2018 (9.5%) and 2022 (12.5%). Leucocytes concentration which is positively correlated to bacterial-semen-infections in our study (r = 0.165; p < 0.001) have shown a significant increase in its average levels between 2019 and 2021 in comparison with the other years of the study. UU was the most present atypical bacteria in Goup-1 with 270 infected-samples, UP was the second with 134 infected-samples and then MH with 71 infected-samples and CT with 19 infected-samples and MG with 13 infected-samples. For aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in Group-1, EC was present with 17.3%, EF with 10.5%, SH with 5.7%, SA with 5.2% and NG with 2.2%. Positive semen cultures of Tunisian patients in our study presented a rate of 5.8%. Algerian positive bacterial semen cultures’ rate was of 7.9% and of Lybian patients was of 4.7%. Our study may represent an update on bacterial-semen-infections of North-African men over the past decade. Limitations, reasons for caution Our study is a retrospective-statistical-survey that included patients presenting to the laboratory for bacterial-semen-infection-diagnosis due to a pathology and/or inflammation of the genital tract or for a simple fertility-diagnosis. Meta-analysis studies in addition to more prospective-randomized-controlled-trials in collaboration with other Microbiology/Andrology laboratories are necessary to confirm or deny our results. Wider implications of the findings These results should interest epidemiologists, reproductive biology fundamentalists, urologists, microbiologists, gynecologists, and embryologists who want to improve the investigations on the semen bacterial infections in North-African men with or without fertility problems. Trial registration number Not applicable

O-018 Impact of atypical bacterial semen infections on spermocytogram parameters and Spermatozoa DNA fragmentation and denaturation

Abstract Study question Does Spermocytogram parameters and Spermatozoa-DNA-Fragmentation (SDF) / Denaturation (SDD) levels are affected by atypical-bacterial semen infections in North-African men during the period between 2013-2022? Summary answer SDD presented positive-correlations with the presence of 3/5 atypical bacteria in the semen. Various Spermocytogram-parameters were also found to be negatively associated with atypical-bacterial-semen-infection. What is known already Atypical-Bacterial semen infections such as infections by Chlamydia-trachomatis (CT), Mycoplasma-hominis (MH) and genitalium (MG), Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and parvum (UP), were shown to be associated with poor sperm function (Prabha.et.al.,2009; Agarwal.et.al.,2012). In infections caused by CT, SDF was observed to be increased significantly and associated with male infertility (Karinen.et.al.,2004; Gallegos.et.al.,2008). In addition, MH and UU appeared to cause induction of nuclear decondensation and SDD, which damages sperm and has effects on sperm parameters. However, other studies failed to show any effect of MH, UU and CT on sperm parameters and SDD (Lee.et.al.,2013; Gdoura.et.al.,2008; Huang.et.al.,2015; Farsimadan and Motamedifar,2020). Study design, size, duration Retrospective study, including Sperm-culture-analyzes, Spermocytograms and SDF/SDD tests performed between January,2013 and December,2022 of 10.386 patients from North-Africa aged between 19 and 73 years-old (y.o) (average-age: 43.2 y.o ± 7.16). Patients were classified in 2 main groups according to the presence (Group-1: n = 613) or not (Group-2: n = 9773) of atypical-bacteria in the semen and 5 subgroups of monobacterial-infected-semen which were extracted from Group-1 as: CT (n = 14), MH (n = 61), MG (n = 10), UU (n = 147) and UP (n = 73) subgroups. Participants/materials, setting, methods 8201-Tunisian-patients(79%), 1142-Algerians(11%) and 1038-Libyans(10%) presented for semen-analyzes. Samples were analyzed according to World-Health-Organization (WHO) guidelines. Bacterial-semen-infection was detected by real-time-polymerase-chain-reaction(RT-PCR). Spermocytogram analyzes were performed according to WHO2010-recommendations using Sperm-class-analyzer-software (SCA5/6(CASA-system)) and SCA-scope (Microptic®). SDF analyzed with terminal-uridine-nucleotide-end-labeling(TUNEL)/sperm chromatin dispersion(SCD) techniques. SDD analyzed with the Aniline-Blue-staining-method. Statistical-analyzes were performed using SPSS22.0 for Windows-software. Kolmogorov–Smirnov-test for normality-analysis and comparisons by Student-t-test/Mann–Whitney U-test, as appropriate. Pearson/Spearman’ tests for correlations were used as appropriate, P-value<0.05 was considered as significant. Main results and the role of chance Sperm concentration was significantly lower in atypical-bacterial-semen-infected-group (Group-1) compared to controls (Group-2) with 11.39[0-311] vs 20.06[0-694]x106spz/mL, (p = 0.014); respectively, as well as progressive motility (14.6%[0%-64.47%] vs 21.89%[0%-81.35%], (p = 0.002); respectively) and typical morphology (5.34%[0%-18%] vs 9.29[0%-21%] (p < 0.001); respectively). However, Leucocytes concentration and SDD presented significant higher levels in Group-1 compared to Group-2 with 1.8[0.1-8.5] vs 0.5[0.1-2.45]x106 leucocytes/mL, (p < 0.001) and 21%[4%-60%] vs 15%[2%-75%], (p = 0.04); respectively. Similar significant differences were observed with 3/5 of the monobacterial-semen-infected-subgroups in comparison with Group-2 (MH, UU and UP-subgroups). No significant differences were observed in MG and CT-subgroups in except of SDD which presented significant higher levels in CT-subgroup in comparison with Group-2 (52%[4%-85%] vs 15%[2%-75%], (p = 0.002);respectively). Correlation-analyzes showed that SDD was positively correlated to MH (r = 0.069; p = 0.022) and UU (r = 0.084; p = 0.005) which is in accordance with the study of .Lee.et.al.(2013). Leucocytes concentration was also correlated positively to MH, CT, UU and UP (r = 0.047; p<0.001; r = 0.035; p=0.005; r = 0.074; p<0.001; r = 0.045; p=0.05; respectively). Sperm concentration, Progressive motility and Typical morphology presented Negative correlations with MH (r=-0.038; p=0.034; r=-0.048; p=0.05; r=-0.047; p=0.05; respectively), UU (r=-0.034;p=0.003; r=-0.04; p<0.001; r=-0.067; p=0.007; respectively) and UP (r=-0.072; p<0.001; r=-0.078; p=0.018; r=-0.057; p<0.05; respectively). Our results are in accordance with other studies such as of Prabha.et.al.(2009) and Agarwal. et al. (2012). However, SDF did not show any significant variation between our studied groups. Limitations, reasons for caution Our study is a retrospective-statistical survey that included patients presenting to the laboratory for fertility diagnosis or for a diagnosis due to a pathology and/or inflammation of the genital tract. Meta-analysis studies in addition to more prospective-randomized-controlled-trials in collaboration with IVF or other medical-analyzes-laboratories are necessary to confirm/refute our results. Wider implications of the findings These results should interest urologists, microbiologists, gynecologists, reproductive science fundamentalists, epidemiologists and embryologists who want to improve the investigations on the relationship between bacteria and semen parameters to the reasons of infertility, recurrent miscarriages and poor quality embryos in IVF. Trial registration number Not applicable

Stereotype Content of North African Men and Women in France and Its Relation to Aggression

The present research examines the stereotypes held about North Africans in French society today. Extending past works, we included gender and separately studied the stereotypes of North African men and women. Using three techniques, namely, spontaneous generation, attribute rating, and pathfinder analysis, our results revealed distinct stereotypes of North African men and women in French society. North African men are ascribed more antisocial traits. Traits associated with North African women are related to submissiveness and domestic chores. This suggests that stereotypes revealed in past studies concerned mainly the men of the group. The results underscore the need to consider gender when studying stereotypes of ethnic and minority groups.

Decline in semen quality of North African men: a retrospective study of 20,958 sperm analyses of men from different North African countries tested in Tunisia over a period of 6 years (2013–2018)

Background According to numerous studies from around the world, semen quality seems to have declined dramatically in recent times. However, the data available on male fertility status and semen quality in North Africa are limited. Aim To investigate the status of semen quality in North-African men and to understand its variations. Subjects & methods 20,958 sperm-analyses (Spermogram – Spermocytogram) of North-African men (19–77 years old) consulting for infertility, performed in a private laboratory of medical analyses (Tunis, Tunisia) over a period of 6 years (2013–2018), were investigated. All patients had at least 1 year of unprotected intercourse with their partners before the test. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 22.0 software for windows. Results Libyan men presented a clear decline in all sperm parameters. A continuous decline in sperm morphology quality was shown in Tunisian and Algerian men. Mauritanian men presented a significant increase in sperm vitality with pseudo-stability in the rest of the sperm parameters during the whole study period. Conclusion North-African men presented remarkable decreases in their semen quality over the last decade. This data could confirm possible global common-causes that need to be identified in order to limit their negative impact on sperm quality, and consequently on male-fertility.

Transnational Intimacies and the Construction of the New Nation

This article examines love as a facet of nation building in constructions of modern womanhood and national identity in the 1950s and 1960s. In Tunisia and France, romantic love was evoked to define an urban, middle-class modernity in which the gender norms implicit in companionate marriage signaled a break with the past. These ideals were represented in fiction and women’s magazines and elaborated in the novel genre of the advice column. Yet this celebration was interrupted by concern about “mixed marriage” and the rise of anti-immigrant discrimination targeting North Africans in France. Referring to race or religion, debates about interracial marriage in Tunisia and the sexual stereotyping of North African men in France reveal the continuity of colonialism’s racial legacies upon postcolonial states. The idealization of marital choice as a testament to individual and national modernity was destabilized by transnational intimacies revealing the limits of the nation-state’s liberatory promise to women.

Transnational Intimacies and the Construction of the New Nation

Abstract This article examines love as a facet of nation building in constructions of modern womanhood and national identity in the 1950s and 1960s. In Tunisia and France, romantic love was evoked to define an urban, middle-class modernity in which the gender norms implicit in companionate marriage signaled a break with the past. These ideals were represented in fiction and women's magazines and elaborated in the novel genre of the advice column. Yet this celebration was interrupted by concern about “mixed marriage” and the rise of anti-immigrant discrimination targeting North Africans in France. Referring to race or religion, debates about interracial marriage in Tunisia and the sexual stereotyping of North African men in France reveal the continuity of colonialism's racial legacies upon postcolonial states. The idealization of marital choice as a testament to individual and national modernity was destabilized by transnational intimacies revealing the limits of the nation-state's liberatory promise to women.

Clinician's guide for the management and research of osteoporosis in North African men: a guidelines comparison, a cost-effectiveness analysis, and a local algorithm.

Osteoporosis affects both men and women; however, no local recommendations for the condition are available for the male population. Therefore, this study was undertaken to produce recommendations for men based on the applicability of current international recommendations and the cost effectiveness of local drugs. The International Osteoporosis Foundation website, EMBASE, and SUMSEARCH-2 databases were searched to identify all guidelines that included recommendations for males. Regional and international guidelines were then appraised using the Advancing Guideline Development, Reporting, and Evaluation in Healthcare-II tool. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using the perspective of an uninsured patient, international outcomes, and local costs. Recommendations were then formulated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines, and symbolic representations. Twenty-six guidelines were found. Only one of the guidelines focused entirely on males, with the remainder making inferences based on recommendations for females. Six regional guidelines were mainly of low quality. Alendronate was considered to be the most cost-effective drug, while teriparatide was found to be unaffordable. Recommendations for men with osteoporosis are based on that of women, and the topic lacks exploration in the Middle East. International recommendations and other guidelines were evaluated and adopted to create guidance for the management of osteoporosis in men for application in Egypt.

Established and novel gender dimorphisms in type 2 diabetes mellitus: Insights from a multiethnic cohort

Background and aimsIn type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), sexual dimorphisms modulate the natural histories of hyperglycemia, anthropophysical/cardiometabolic phenotype, and susceptibility to chronic micro and macrovascular complications. The purpose of this work was to revisit known or new dimorphisms within a multiethnic cohort. MethodsAmong 1238 T2DM patients, men (63%) were compared to women (37%), including leading ethnicities: Whites (67.4%; 542 men; 293 women); Maghrebians (9.4%; 62 men; 54 women); and Blacks (12.5%; 92 men; 63 women). ResultsAge, BMI, diabetes duration, insulin sensitivity, B-cell function loss, HbA1c, and hyperglycemia index were similar in both genders. All-cause microangiopathy and cerebrovascular disease did not differ between sexes. Women had significantly more retinopathy (27% vs. 21%) and men more microalbuminuria (25% vs. 19%), all-cause macroangiopathy (40% vs. 26%), CAD (29% vs. 17%) and PAD (11% vs. 6%). Among Blacks, sexual dimorphism in terms of retinopathy was more pronounced (24% in women vs. 11%), while there was no sexual dimorphism in all-cause macroangiopathy, CAD or PAD. B-cell function loss was faster among North African men (+15%), who also had more hepatic steatosis (+27%) than women. ConclusionsT2DM abolishes the CV protection provided by the female gender in Blacks. In White women, the loss of CV protection in diabetes is limited to cerebrovascular disease. In Black women, a markedly increased risk of retinopathy is present, despite glycemic exposure similat to men. Sexual dimorphisms do not affect glucose homeostasis and metabolic control in all ethnicities, except for lesser B-cell function loss in Maghrebian women.

Vitamin D Status in the North African Population: a Review

Even though the North African countries are located in one of the sunniest place in the world, several North African studies from there proved a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in men and women. The objectives of the present review are to summarize the existing literature on vitamin D status and to list the main predictors of hypovitaminosis D in North African population. We searched Medline/PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, and Springerlink for the published data on vitamin D in North African countries. The identified articles had to meet all the following criteria: human clinical outcomes rather than animal experiments, a cross-sectional or longitudinal study and quantitative information on vitamin D status in North Africa must be included. Several studies proved a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in North African men and women. Also, these studies reported that determinants of vitamin D status were the culture of avoiding the sun, the wearing of the veil for women, the pigmented skin, the lack of vitamin D supplementation in the aliments, the breastfeeding for 2 years. This review on vitamin D status in North Africa indicates a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in men and women (among all age groups).

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Seroprevalence Among Different National Populations of Middle East and North African Men.

There are limited data on herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We examined country- and age-specific HSV-2 seroprevalence among select MENA populations residing in Qatar. Sera were collected from male blood donors attending Hamad Medical Corporation between June 2013 and June 2016. Specimens were screened for anti-HSV-2 IgG antibodies following a 2-test algorithm: HerpeSelect 2 ELISA was used to identify HSV-2-positive specimens, and Euroline-WB was used to confirm positive and equivocal specimens for final HSV-2 status. Trends and associations with HSV-2 seropositivity were assessed. Of the 2077 tested sera, 61 were found and confirmed positive. The proportion of those confirmed positive increased steadily with HerpeSelect 2 ELISA index value, ranging from 16.3% for index values of 1.101 to 1.999 to 92.9% for index values of 4 or greater. Nationality-specific seroprevalence was 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1%-8.8%) in Qataris, 5.3% (95% CI, 2.5%-11.1%) in Iranians, 4.2% (95% CI, 1.8%-9.5%) in Lebanese, 3.1% (95% CI, 1.2%-7.7%) in Sudanese, 3.0% (95% CI, 1.4%-6.4%) in Palestinians, 2.2% (95% CI, 1.1%-4.3%) in Egyptians, 2.0% (95% CI, 1.0%-5.0%) in Syrians, 1.0% (95% CI, 0.3%-3.6%) in Jordanians, 0.7% (95% CI, 0.1%-3.7%) in Yemenis, and 0.5% (95% CI, 0.1%-2.8%) in Pakistanis. There was evidence for higher seroprevalence in older age groups. The seroprevalence of HSV-2 was in the range of few percentage points. There were no major differences in seroprevalence by nationality. These findings add to our understanding of HSV-2 epidemiology in MENA and indicate unmet needs for sexual health and control of sexually transmitted infections.

Imperial Legacies: The Historical Layers of a Maghrebi Society (1860 – 1930)

A close study of the trans-Mediterranean legal conflicts prompted by the death of a former Tunisian minister in Florence in 1887, this article calls for a new interpretation of the history of modern North Africa. Rather than focusing on a close reading of colonial primary sources or depending on a single colonial temporality, this new interpretation must incorporate other analytical frameworks. It must also consider the overlap of French and Ottoman imperial temporalities that persisted across the Mediterranean until the 1920s, as well as the increasing number of litigations initiated before the French colonization of Tunisia—legal cases that were still influencing the rationales of North Africans during the colonial period. Analyzing these litigations not only in terms of their colonial context but also according to other temporalities, as well as diversifying our sources, allows us to nuance the commonplace, often reiterated in scholarly works on colonial North Africa, that there is a dearth of so-called “local” documentation. North African men and women involved in litigations contributed alongside Europeans to the writing of a huge amount of legal evidence and literary tracts, including in Arabic. Such sources were not always filed in the colonial archive. They are, however, of paramount importance for conceiving the modern history of North Africa in new ways.

The United States Supreme Court case Ziglar v. Abbasi and the severe psychological and physiological harms of solitary confinement

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a group of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian men was arrested for immigration violations, held as "terrorism suspects," and detained in federal prison for months. Each of these men was, or was believed to be, Muslim or Arab. These men (the "Detainees") alleged that they were detained solely on the basis of their religion or race, and that there was no individualized basis to suspect them of terrorism. They further alleged that, during their detention, they were abused physically and verbally and subjected to inhumane conditions, including solitary confinement. After several months, the Detainees were cleared of any connection to terrorism and deported. The Detainees allege that they suffered severe psychological and physiological harms as a result of the conditions of their detention and that they continue to suffer the effects of this trauma today.

Racializing “Oriental” Manliness: From Colonial Contexts to Cologne

We propose a co-authored, interdisciplinary paper examining the durability of Islamophobic stereotypes connected to men from the MENA region and their specific forms of “manliness”. We argue that European notions of “Oriental” manliness — covering all ethnic and religious groups from this region — were strangely homogenized and static: the colonized “Oriental” manliness was constructed as the “primitive” counterpart to an idealized form of European masculinity. The significant markers of “Oriental” manliness, as defined in the 19th century, were still essentially the same in the 1960s, when Frantz Fanon wrote that his contemporaries had solidified (but not founded) the idea of North African men as “born slackers, born liars, born thieves, born criminals”.1 The events in Cologne on New Year's Eve 2015 went viral worldwide. Right-wing groups felt vindicated when the public discourse seemed to confirm their narrative of North African, sexually uncontrolled men. A lot of the media coverage following the events in Cologne overlapped with right-wing (and colonial) notions of wild North African men, who are in Europe in order to sexually threaten the white female body. Following the assaults in Cologne, this anxiety was not just limited to women in Germany, but extended across much of Europe. To analyze this alleged durability, we propose to divide our paper into a historical part, which will give a short overview over the formulaic metaphors, images and knowledge production of colonized “Oriental” manliness. In our contemporary analyses, we will trace the harmful longevity of these colonial stereotypes, from the Victorian epoch to the sensationalist reports following the recent incidents in Cologne. We will use pictures from German (and other European) public media depicting the incidents in Cologne and analyze how they reproduced the longstanding anti-Muslim-racist stereotypical image of and knowledge on the North African masculine subject.

Blood pressure and psychological distress among North Africans in France: The role of perceived personal/group discrimination and gender.

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between perceived ethnic discrimination and (physical and mental) health indicators among North African women and men living in France. This study included 82 North Africans, aged 18-64 years. Perceived discrimination was measured at both group level (PGD) and personal level (PPD). The physical health indicator was blood pressure. The mental health indicator was self-reported psychological distress. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher levels of PGD predicted higher blood pressure. PPD was not related to blood pressure. PPD was positively related to psychological distress among women, but not among men. PPD and PGD are associated with physical and mental health indicators in different ways among North African women and men in France.

Accuracy of the contemporary Epstein criteria to predict insignificant prostate cancer in North African Man

ObjectiveTo determine the accuracy of the contemporary Epstein criteria for predicting insignificant and organ-confined prostate cancer in a North African ethnic group of patients who were eligible for active surveillance based on these criteria, but had been subjected to radical prostatectomy. Patients and methodsA total of 340 North African men underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer at two academic institutions between January 2006 and September 2013. In 74 of these patients (21.76%), prostate cancer had been assumed to be insignificant based on the contemporary Epstein criteria. The radical prostatectomy specimens were analyzed in order to identify the rate of pathologically unfavorable prostate cancer, defined as either pathologic Gleason score 7–10 and/or a tumor volume>0.5cc, and/or non-organ-confined disease (stage≥pT3a and/or pN1 and/or positive surgical margins). ResultsGleason sum upgrading (≥7) was necessary in 16 (21.6%) and upstaging of the radical prostatectomy specimens in 18 patients (24.3%). Simultaneous upstaging and upgrading of the specimens was observed in 12 patients (16%). A tumor volume≤0.5cc was found in 42 patients (57%). The rate of multifocality of prostate cancer (≥2 foci) was 59.5%. The accuracy of the contemporary Epstein criteria for predicting insignificant prostate cancer was 57%, while it predicted organ-confined disease in 85%. ConclusionThe contemporary Epstein criteria used for the identification of clinically insignificant prostate cancer have been found to underestimate the real state of prostate cancer in as many as 43% of our patients. They were a good tool for predicting organ-confined rather than insignificant prostate cancer in our North African patients. Therefore, caution is advised when the decision on the implementation of active surveillance or focal therapy is solely based on these criteria.

Empowering or impeding return migration? ICT, mobile phones, and older migrants’ communications with home

AbstractIn the last two decades, transnational social fields have been transformed by advances in information and communication technologies (ICT). Many scholars have noted the empowering effects of these technological advances for migrants. Drawing on the concept of return preparedness, it follows that ICT use should also empower prospective returnees, enabling them to be better informed and prepared for return. However, multi‐sited ethnographic research with older North and West African men living in migrant worker hostels in France finds that ICT use – particularly mobile telephony –impedes return. In some instances, mobile phones serve to amplify the pressures on the men to provide financially for their stay‐at‐home relatives. In others, mobile phones reinforce attachments to France by facilitating networks of solidarity among hostel residents. Instead of returning definitively at retirement, many hostel residents choose a bi‐residence strategy, dividing their time between France and countries of origin.

Mutations of the aurora kinase C gene causing macrozoospermia are the most frequent genetic cause of male infertility in Algerian men.

Klinefelter syndrome and Y-chromosomal microdeletion analyses were once the only two genetic tests offered to infertile men. Analyses of aurora kinase C (AURKC) and DPY19L2 are now recommended for patients presenting macrozoospermia and globozoospermia, respectively, two rare forms of teratozoospermia particularly frequent among North African men. We carried out genetic analyses on Algerian patients, to evaluate the prevalence of these syndromes in this population and to compare it with the expected frequency of Klinefelter syndrome and Y-microdeletions. We carried out a retrospective study on 599 consecutive patients consulting for couple infertility at the assisted reproduction unit of the Ibn Rochd Clinique, Constantine, Algeria. Abnormal sperm parameters were observed in 404 men. Fourteen and seven men had typical macrozoospermia and globozoospermia profiles, respectively. Molecular diagnosis was carried out for these patients, for the AURKC and DPY19L2 genes. Eleven men with macrozoospermia had a homozygous AURKC mutation (79%), corresponding to 2.7% of all patients with abnormal spermograms. All the men with globozoospermia studied (n = 5), corresponding to 1.2% of all infertile men, presented a homozygous DPY19L2 deletion. By comparison, we would expect 1.6% of the patients in this cohort to have Klinefelter syndrome and 0.23% to have Y-microdeletion. Our findings thus indicate that AURKC mutations are more frequent than Klinefelter syndrome and constitute the leading genetic cause of infertility in North African men. Furthermore, we estimate that AURKC and DPY19L2 molecular defects are 10 and 5 times more frequent, respectively, than Y-microdeletions.

A Moroccan Islamist Woman Shaped by the Colonial Heritage: Nadia Yassine’s The Life of The Prophet Imagined, 2010

The Maghreb Review, Vol. 39, 2, 2014 © The Maghreb Review 2014 This publication is printed on longlife paper A MOROCCAN ISLAMIST WOMAN SHAPED BY THE COLONIAL HERITAGE: NADIA YASSINE’S THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET IMAGINED, 2010 RUTH RODED* In January 2010, Nadia Yassine began posting chapters from the life story of the Prophet Muhammad on her internet site and Facebook page entitled La vie du Prophète romancée. She is head of the women’s branch of the Moroccan Islamist movement al-fiAdl wa-l√iḥsāne (Justice and Charity, or Justice and Spirituality, JSA) and daughter of its founder, the late Cheikh Abdessalam Yassine. She was born two years after Moroccan independence, but her life and work have been shaped by Morocco’s French colonial heritage: her Berber/Amazigh tribal roots, the family’s educational trajectory and their language strategy. She has been portrayed as an Islamist and an anti-feminist in words and deeds, but she has interrogated feminism and Islamic feminism, and adopted some of their ideas. Her Life of the Prophet Imagined embodies her French colonial heritage in language, art and music, and illustrates how the heritage of French colonialism and neo-colonialism has intersected with Moroccan experiences in Islamist discourse in the 21st century. Among the images that Ms Yassine used to illustrate the life story was the ubiquitous Orientalist painting of a Berber woman (Femme berbère) by Emile Vernet-Lecomte, 1870 (N. Yassine, 2010b). 1 This interesting choice seems to indicate an Islamic privileging of the Berber/Amazigh people from whom she is descended, as well as a familiarity with French Orientalist art. Ms Yassine had a Francophone education, despite the fact that her father was an Arabic teacher. She is, however, also fluent in Arabic and English (see http://www.nadiayassine.net, now unavailable; Dilday, 2007). Examining her family background will show how French colonial and neocolonial policy affected her Berber/Amazigh tribal roots, the family’s education and their language. Ms Yassine has been active in Moroccan politics since the early 1970s, and gained prominence in 2000 when she led an Islamist mass rally in Casablanca, organized to counter a feminist gathering in Rabat. After the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in 2011, she published a volume of essays in French titled Toutes voiles dehors, later issued in an English translation as Full Sails Ahead in 2006, and in Arabic as Arkiba ma’ana: Da’wa ila Ibhar (Yassine, 2003). She * The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Although this paper was not presented at our Oxford conference, we feel that it usefully complements other papers in this issue. 1 N. Yassine, ‘Khadija la magnifique’, in La vie du Prophète romancée (see http://www.Ms Yassineyassine.net, 3 December 2010 (accessed 23 April 2011) (now unavailable). NADIA YASSINE’S THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET IMAGINED, 2010 209 has also expressed her views in interviews, articles, and postings on her website and Facebook pages (currently not available). Analysing Ms Yassine’s activism and voice will illustrate the impact of her cultural and linguistic colonial heritage on her methods and discourse. Moreover, although she has been portrayed as an Islamist and an anti-feminist in words and deeds, her interrogation of feminism and Islamic feminism, and adoption of some of their ideas will be revealed. The chapters of her virtual Life of the Prophet Imagined were posted in French as well as in Arabic. Figurative pictures of North African tribal women and men introduced the stories. The music accompanying the vignettes ranged from a spiritual church-like sound, to a North African flute and drum arrangement, to a Western-style composition for piano, guitar and flute. Scrutinizing the biographical sketches of the life story of Muhammad will demonstrate the extent to which The Life of the Prophet Imagined was shaped by her French colonial heritage in language, art and music. The chapters are stories told from the woman’s perspective, reflecting her own life experiences. In conclusion, the fascinating confluence of colonialism, neo-colonialism and Islamism that epitomizes Ms Yassine’s life and works will be explored. FRENCH COLONIAL HERITAGE SHAPES PERSPECTIVES: BERBER/AMAZIGH TRIBAL ROOTS, EDUCATIONAL TRAJECTORY AND...

Impact of socio-cultural factors, dietary habits, and lifestyle patterns on the health status of North African migrants in France

AbstractThe available studies in France showed a paradox among North African migrant men in France and some other developed countries, i.e., that migration could have a protective effect against some nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases compared to French. The origin of this paradox is not well documented. Particular attention was given to the influence of socio-cultural and environmental factors on health status of North African migrants. Conservation of healthy diet habits, lower prevalence of smoking, lower alcohol consumption, and adoption of a more active lifestyle may confer protective effects on morbidity and mortality of North African men compared to local-born French. It should be noted however that beneficial effects of migration in men would be expected to decrease with the length of stay in the host country because of acculturation to the host country lifestyle. More comprehensive and larger-scale studies will be required to provide a better insight into migration-health relationships.