Zohra ahmed - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Zohra ahmed

Social Science Research Network, Jan 17, 2020

reports on Ferguson and Baltimore to draw out the differences between "traditional liberal approa... more reports on Ferguson and Baltimore to draw out the differences between "traditional liberal approaches to criminal law reform" with a "decarceral agenda rooted in an abolitionist imagination").

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review.

European Chemical Bulletin, 2016

The aim of this study was designed to determine whether maternal supplementation with olive oil i... more The aim of this study was designed to determine whether maternal supplementation with olive oil influence plasma lipid profile and oxidant/antioxidant status later in life of rats with cafeteria- diet-fed during gestation and in their offspring throughout adulthood. Altering the fatty acid profile of rat diets during the gestation has long-term consequences for the growth and development of their offspring. Our results clearly demonstrate that maternal intake of olive oil before gestation, during gestation and during lactation display remarkable health benefits for the prevention of obesity and associated metabolic disorders by decreasing the lipoprotein metabolism and oxidant/antioxidant status alterations brought about by obesity in offspring at birth until adulthood.

South Asian Journal of Experimental Biology, 2021

Dietary fiber is a group of food components which is the subject of many studies on several aspec... more Dietary fiber is a group of food components which is the subject of many studies on several aspects of human health. Recent research demonstrate that dietary fiber intake is associated with reduced diabetes risk. The aim of the present work was to test the effect of dietary fiber such as cellulose and mucilage on disorders of lipid metabolism induced by experimental diabetes in the aged Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Aging male Wistar rats diabetic and control rats were fed highly-pure-cellulose-mucilage-enriched (HPCME) diet or control diet for 2 months. At the end of study, blood samples and tissue are collected for de-termination of biochemical parameters (glucose, total cholesterol, triglycer-ides and lipoproteins) and lipases activities. 2 months of HPCME diet intake by diabetic aged rats improves diabetic control, induced a decrease of body weight, a reduction of plasma lipid concentration, lower blood-glucose and a significan...

Pure and Applied Biology, 2018

To check the abundance of specific abo blood groups and its coordination with bleeding time and c... more To check the abundance of specific abo blood groups and its coordination with bleeding time and clotting time among individuals of different ethnicity in Quetta,

Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine, 2018

It has long been established that maternal nutritional condition and fatty acid intake during pre... more It has long been established that maternal nutritional condition and fatty acid intake during pregnancy and/or lactation may influence the modifications in the individual risk for developing metabolic diseases throughout life, but little is known about the possible role of maternal nutrition before conception. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal supplementation with olive oil on offspring lipid metabolism under obesogenic conditions. Female Wistar rats were fed control or cafeteria diet which were either supplemented or not supplemented with olive oil (5%) for 2 months before and during gestation. Pregnant rats and their offspring were also fed on similar diet. After overnight fasting, offspring were sacrificed at 1 and 3 month of life. Cafeteria diet led to higher body weight, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, LDL cholesterol, serum Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activity and tissues lipoprotein lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase in offspring. In contrast, adult obese offspring had a lower HDL cholesterol. Olive oil rich-CAF diet decreased plasma lipids, increased HDL cholesterol and up-regulated lipolytic enzyme activities at weaning until adulthood. These data suggest that maternal olive oil may an effective strategy to improving metabolic alterations related to cafeteria diet in offspring.

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Background Diets based on industrially processed foods, rich in calorie, fat and sugar (cafeteria... more Background Diets based on industrially processed foods, rich in calorie, fat and sugar (cafeteria type food), are suitable for modeling, in animals, metabolic abnormalities of human obesity. The literature has long been interested in the therapeutic effects of Opuntia ficus indica (OFI) in particular, its fruit and seed. However, few experiment studies are carried out on cardioprotective effects of its by-coproducts (cladodes or nopalitos). Purpose The effects of OFI nopalitos were studied on arterial pressure, dyslipidaemia, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in rats exposed prematurely to cafeteria diet (CD). Methods Sixteen young Wistar male rats were divided into two homogeneous groups fed a CD containing 50% of hyperlipidic diet and 50% of junk food mix, supplemented or not with 50 g of fresh OFI nopalitos, for 30 days. Results Arterial pressure was not sensitive to OFI nopalitos supplementation. Nevertheless, OFI nopalitos decrease significantly serum total cholesterol and triacylglycerols contents, attenuate in serum, blood red cells and aorta, lipid peroxidation by decreasing hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances levels, and protein oxidation by reducing carbonyls concentrations, improved antioxidant capacity by enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities. In addition, OFI nopalitos reduces serum uric acid level and corrects endothelial dysfunction. Conclusion OFI nopalitos probably because of their richness in bioactive compounds, improves cardiovascular risk markers in rats exposed prematurely to CD, and could constitute a novel functional ingredient in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical to prevent metabolic disorders induced by an unbalanced diets. Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Current Nutrition & Food Science, 2019

Background: The present work aims at determining the effects of maternal-diet-induced obesity on ... more Background: The present work aims at determining the effects of maternal-diet-induced obesity on offspring metabolism. The short-term of a marine microalgae diet and its effects on lipids metabolism was investigated. Method: Before gestation, some rats are fed control diet and others cafeteria diet. Moreover, two groups of dams were fed standard and cafeteria diets, and two other groups were fed the same diets but containing 10% of microalgae. This feeding started at gestation, and continued throughout parturition, lactation until their offspring's weaning age. Results: Cafeteria diet was shown to increase the body weight and visceral obesity, with aberration in lipid metabolism. The results obtained show that the microalgae diet supplement induces a significant decrease in the maternal body weight and relative adipose tissue weight, plasma glucose and lipid levels, liver-triglyceride (TG) and adipose tissue-TG at parturition and at the end of lactation. Also, the addition of th...

New Labor Forum, 2017

There is a prosecutor in Manhattan Criminal Court who wears a Black Lives Matter button on the jo... more There is a prosecutor in Manhattan Criminal Court who wears a Black Lives Matter button on the job. One day, a group of public defenders, myself included, found him alone in a courtroom where only quality of life offenses are heard, authorizing plea bargains more lenient than the standard recommendations of the New York County District Attorney’s office: reducing fines, reducing community service, even avoiding convictions. The button seemed a puzzling appropriation for a prosecutor. At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015, after all, public defenders had worn the same pins in court only to face hostile looks and defensive questioning from court and police officers. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve would probably roll her eyes at this surprise, arguing that public defenders scarcely have higher moral standing than prosecutors. In her new book Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court, Van Cleve examines the criminal courts in Chicago’s Cook County. She finds that all lawyers working in the criminal courts are complicit in the propagation of America’s caste system. Crook County exposes how the gritty daily rhythms of the criminal process methodically put people through the mill of mass incarceration and reproduce twenty-first-century racism. Van Cleve’s long-term study relies on her internships as both a prosecutor and defender from 1997 through 2004. She also draws on her own direct observations as unaffiliated researcher, as well as those from court observers under her supervision. Her qualitative research is supplemented by questionnaires and interviews. The book narrates patterns and practices common throughout American criminal courts, magnified in Cook County because of the large number of defendants it engenders and cycles through its processes. The local specificities also shine through, in particular, the police department’s brutal history of torture, such as at the illegal detention black site known as Homan Square. In Van Cleve’s account, all parties in the court are responsible for what she calls “racial degradation ceremonies” performed on those accused of crimes. Shackling, sitting for hours awaiting cases to be called, harsh discipline by court officers imposed on those situated in the courtroom pews—these routine indignities of criminal court, Van Cleve writes, solidify the defendant’s position as a racial, legal, and social outcast. Further ostracism takes place when defense, prosecutors, and judge meet behind closed doors to negotiate a plea bargain. In “402 conferences,” as they are known under Illinois law, a few professionals decide the worth of someone’s life and liberty. Van Cleve pays attention to the moral language through which the professionals understand the accused—their misery, their criminality. Lawyers have difficulty seeing the 681535 NLFXXX10.1177/1095796016681535New Labor ForumBooks and the Arts research-article2016

Pathology & Oncology Research, 2009

This study was carried out to determine the relationships between leptin concentrations, lipid al... more This study was carried out to determine the relationships between leptin concentrations, lipid alterations, oxidant/ antioxidant status, in vitro LDL oxidizability and LDL-fatty acid composition in overweight breast cancer patients. Glucose, insulin, leptin, lipids, LDL-cholesteryl ester fatty acids, markers of oxidant status (MDA, Hydroperoxides, carbonyl proteins, conjugated dienes) and markers of antioxidant status (vitamins A, C, E, erythrocyte activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase, SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase,GPx, and glutathione reductase, GR and the serum total antioxidant status, ORAC) were investigated in breast cancer patients and in control women. Our findings showed that insulin, leptin, triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations were increased in patients compared to controls. ORAC and vitamin C and E values were lower while plasma hydroperoxide, carbonyl protein and conjugated diene levels, SOD and GPx activities were higher than in controls. Alterations in LDL-fatty acid composition were associated with their enhanced oxidative susceptibility. There were significant positive correlations between leptin concentrations and LDL-C, hydroperoxides, carbonyl proteins, SOD activity, baseline conjugated diene levels and oxidation rate, and significant negative correlations between leptin and ORAC, lag time and LDL-PUFA in patients. In conclusion, breast cancer is associated with lipid alterations and enhanced oxidative stress linked to high leptin levels in overweight.

Sex Education, 2011

In the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) model stands as internatio... more In the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) model stands as international best practice in preventive education. Ideally, a BCC intervention aims to changes behaviors and attitudes by facilitating group negotiation and introspection, with a resultant improvement in health. However, introducing this best practice model to a group of youth in Nairobi resulted in suboptimal outcomes: they were unaccustomed to expressing themselves in the ways prescribed by the class. To explain this failure, I examine how local discourses produced by parents and teachers communicate agency, sexuality and health, and highlight the diverging practices invoked at home, school and by the BCC model to make these youth 'health conscious'. At home and at school, the key commonality was the absence of any attempt to inculcate internal reasoning-in contrast to the BCC model. Rather, they relied on external pressures, through repetition, silence and behavioral discipline. Both local prevention schemes operated according to their own coherent ideological framework, molded by structural circumstances. Given the contextual contingency of how agency is acquired and construed, a BCC intervention may undermine overall efficiency and the host community's cultural autonomy. Ethnographic analysis is needed to enhance our understanding of local schemes and their merits, and to envision more hybrid notions of agency mediating the global and local.

Social Science Research Network, Jan 17, 2020

reports on Ferguson and Baltimore to draw out the differences between "traditional liberal approa... more reports on Ferguson and Baltimore to draw out the differences between "traditional liberal approaches to criminal law reform" with a "decarceral agenda rooted in an abolitionist imagination").

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review.

European Chemical Bulletin, 2016

The aim of this study was designed to determine whether maternal supplementation with olive oil i... more The aim of this study was designed to determine whether maternal supplementation with olive oil influence plasma lipid profile and oxidant/antioxidant status later in life of rats with cafeteria- diet-fed during gestation and in their offspring throughout adulthood. Altering the fatty acid profile of rat diets during the gestation has long-term consequences for the growth and development of their offspring. Our results clearly demonstrate that maternal intake of olive oil before gestation, during gestation and during lactation display remarkable health benefits for the prevention of obesity and associated metabolic disorders by decreasing the lipoprotein metabolism and oxidant/antioxidant status alterations brought about by obesity in offspring at birth until adulthood.

South Asian Journal of Experimental Biology, 2021

Dietary fiber is a group of food components which is the subject of many studies on several aspec... more Dietary fiber is a group of food components which is the subject of many studies on several aspects of human health. Recent research demonstrate that dietary fiber intake is associated with reduced diabetes risk. The aim of the present work was to test the effect of dietary fiber such as cellulose and mucilage on disorders of lipid metabolism induced by experimental diabetes in the aged Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Aging male Wistar rats diabetic and control rats were fed highly-pure-cellulose-mucilage-enriched (HPCME) diet or control diet for 2 months. At the end of study, blood samples and tissue are collected for de-termination of biochemical parameters (glucose, total cholesterol, triglycer-ides and lipoproteins) and lipases activities. 2 months of HPCME diet intake by diabetic aged rats improves diabetic control, induced a decrease of body weight, a reduction of plasma lipid concentration, lower blood-glucose and a significan...

Pure and Applied Biology, 2018

To check the abundance of specific abo blood groups and its coordination with bleeding time and c... more To check the abundance of specific abo blood groups and its coordination with bleeding time and clotting time among individuals of different ethnicity in Quetta,

Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine, 2018

It has long been established that maternal nutritional condition and fatty acid intake during pre... more It has long been established that maternal nutritional condition and fatty acid intake during pregnancy and/or lactation may influence the modifications in the individual risk for developing metabolic diseases throughout life, but little is known about the possible role of maternal nutrition before conception. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal supplementation with olive oil on offspring lipid metabolism under obesogenic conditions. Female Wistar rats were fed control or cafeteria diet which were either supplemented or not supplemented with olive oil (5%) for 2 months before and during gestation. Pregnant rats and their offspring were also fed on similar diet. After overnight fasting, offspring were sacrificed at 1 and 3 month of life. Cafeteria diet led to higher body weight, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, LDL cholesterol, serum Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activity and tissues lipoprotein lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase in offspring. In contrast, adult obese offspring had a lower HDL cholesterol. Olive oil rich-CAF diet decreased plasma lipids, increased HDL cholesterol and up-regulated lipolytic enzyme activities at weaning until adulthood. These data suggest that maternal olive oil may an effective strategy to improving metabolic alterations related to cafeteria diet in offspring.

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Background Diets based on industrially processed foods, rich in calorie, fat and sugar (cafeteria... more Background Diets based on industrially processed foods, rich in calorie, fat and sugar (cafeteria type food), are suitable for modeling, in animals, metabolic abnormalities of human obesity. The literature has long been interested in the therapeutic effects of Opuntia ficus indica (OFI) in particular, its fruit and seed. However, few experiment studies are carried out on cardioprotective effects of its by-coproducts (cladodes or nopalitos). Purpose The effects of OFI nopalitos were studied on arterial pressure, dyslipidaemia, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in rats exposed prematurely to cafeteria diet (CD). Methods Sixteen young Wistar male rats were divided into two homogeneous groups fed a CD containing 50% of hyperlipidic diet and 50% of junk food mix, supplemented or not with 50 g of fresh OFI nopalitos, for 30 days. Results Arterial pressure was not sensitive to OFI nopalitos supplementation. Nevertheless, OFI nopalitos decrease significantly serum total cholesterol and triacylglycerols contents, attenuate in serum, blood red cells and aorta, lipid peroxidation by decreasing hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances levels, and protein oxidation by reducing carbonyls concentrations, improved antioxidant capacity by enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities. In addition, OFI nopalitos reduces serum uric acid level and corrects endothelial dysfunction. Conclusion OFI nopalitos probably because of their richness in bioactive compounds, improves cardiovascular risk markers in rats exposed prematurely to CD, and could constitute a novel functional ingredient in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical to prevent metabolic disorders induced by an unbalanced diets. Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases Supplements, 2019

Current Nutrition & Food Science, 2019

Background: The present work aims at determining the effects of maternal-diet-induced obesity on ... more Background: The present work aims at determining the effects of maternal-diet-induced obesity on offspring metabolism. The short-term of a marine microalgae diet and its effects on lipids metabolism was investigated. Method: Before gestation, some rats are fed control diet and others cafeteria diet. Moreover, two groups of dams were fed standard and cafeteria diets, and two other groups were fed the same diets but containing 10% of microalgae. This feeding started at gestation, and continued throughout parturition, lactation until their offspring's weaning age. Results: Cafeteria diet was shown to increase the body weight and visceral obesity, with aberration in lipid metabolism. The results obtained show that the microalgae diet supplement induces a significant decrease in the maternal body weight and relative adipose tissue weight, plasma glucose and lipid levels, liver-triglyceride (TG) and adipose tissue-TG at parturition and at the end of lactation. Also, the addition of th...

New Labor Forum, 2017

There is a prosecutor in Manhattan Criminal Court who wears a Black Lives Matter button on the jo... more There is a prosecutor in Manhattan Criminal Court who wears a Black Lives Matter button on the job. One day, a group of public defenders, myself included, found him alone in a courtroom where only quality of life offenses are heard, authorizing plea bargains more lenient than the standard recommendations of the New York County District Attorney’s office: reducing fines, reducing community service, even avoiding convictions. The button seemed a puzzling appropriation for a prosecutor. At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015, after all, public defenders had worn the same pins in court only to face hostile looks and defensive questioning from court and police officers. Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve would probably roll her eyes at this surprise, arguing that public defenders scarcely have higher moral standing than prosecutors. In her new book Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court, Van Cleve examines the criminal courts in Chicago’s Cook County. She finds that all lawyers working in the criminal courts are complicit in the propagation of America’s caste system. Crook County exposes how the gritty daily rhythms of the criminal process methodically put people through the mill of mass incarceration and reproduce twenty-first-century racism. Van Cleve’s long-term study relies on her internships as both a prosecutor and defender from 1997 through 2004. She also draws on her own direct observations as unaffiliated researcher, as well as those from court observers under her supervision. Her qualitative research is supplemented by questionnaires and interviews. The book narrates patterns and practices common throughout American criminal courts, magnified in Cook County because of the large number of defendants it engenders and cycles through its processes. The local specificities also shine through, in particular, the police department’s brutal history of torture, such as at the illegal detention black site known as Homan Square. In Van Cleve’s account, all parties in the court are responsible for what she calls “racial degradation ceremonies” performed on those accused of crimes. Shackling, sitting for hours awaiting cases to be called, harsh discipline by court officers imposed on those situated in the courtroom pews—these routine indignities of criminal court, Van Cleve writes, solidify the defendant’s position as a racial, legal, and social outcast. Further ostracism takes place when defense, prosecutors, and judge meet behind closed doors to negotiate a plea bargain. In “402 conferences,” as they are known under Illinois law, a few professionals decide the worth of someone’s life and liberty. Van Cleve pays attention to the moral language through which the professionals understand the accused—their misery, their criminality. Lawyers have difficulty seeing the 681535 NLFXXX10.1177/1095796016681535New Labor ForumBooks and the Arts research-article2016

Pathology & Oncology Research, 2009

This study was carried out to determine the relationships between leptin concentrations, lipid al... more This study was carried out to determine the relationships between leptin concentrations, lipid alterations, oxidant/ antioxidant status, in vitro LDL oxidizability and LDL-fatty acid composition in overweight breast cancer patients. Glucose, insulin, leptin, lipids, LDL-cholesteryl ester fatty acids, markers of oxidant status (MDA, Hydroperoxides, carbonyl proteins, conjugated dienes) and markers of antioxidant status (vitamins A, C, E, erythrocyte activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase, SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase,GPx, and glutathione reductase, GR and the serum total antioxidant status, ORAC) were investigated in breast cancer patients and in control women. Our findings showed that insulin, leptin, triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations were increased in patients compared to controls. ORAC and vitamin C and E values were lower while plasma hydroperoxide, carbonyl protein and conjugated diene levels, SOD and GPx activities were higher than in controls. Alterations in LDL-fatty acid composition were associated with their enhanced oxidative susceptibility. There were significant positive correlations between leptin concentrations and LDL-C, hydroperoxides, carbonyl proteins, SOD activity, baseline conjugated diene levels and oxidation rate, and significant negative correlations between leptin and ORAC, lag time and LDL-PUFA in patients. In conclusion, breast cancer is associated with lipid alterations and enhanced oxidative stress linked to high leptin levels in overweight.

Sex Education, 2011

In the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) model stands as internatio... more In the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Behavior Change Communication (BCC) model stands as international best practice in preventive education. Ideally, a BCC intervention aims to changes behaviors and attitudes by facilitating group negotiation and introspection, with a resultant improvement in health. However, introducing this best practice model to a group of youth in Nairobi resulted in suboptimal outcomes: they were unaccustomed to expressing themselves in the ways prescribed by the class. To explain this failure, I examine how local discourses produced by parents and teachers communicate agency, sexuality and health, and highlight the diverging practices invoked at home, school and by the BCC model to make these youth 'health conscious'. At home and at school, the key commonality was the absence of any attempt to inculcate internal reasoning-in contrast to the BCC model. Rather, they relied on external pressures, through repetition, silence and behavioral discipline. Both local prevention schemes operated according to their own coherent ideological framework, molded by structural circumstances. Given the contextual contingency of how agency is acquired and construed, a BCC intervention may undermine overall efficiency and the host community's cultural autonomy. Ethnographic analysis is needed to enhance our understanding of local schemes and their merits, and to envision more hybrid notions of agency mediating the global and local.