Beauty Standards in Egypt

The creation of a hybrid beauty in the cartoon sphere and in advertising intersected with popular and consumer culture at a moment when women’s roles in the public sphere were changing. Politically the nation was at a crossroads: the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 removed most impediments toward Egyptian independence; however, British troops remained in the Suez Canal zone. With respect to economic history, multinationals were expanding in Egypt, while an emerging bourgeoisie worked to establish local industries. With World War II came economic crisis: inflation, profiteering, black markets, rising inequality, and the return of British troops to strategic locations around the country. This article argues that the hybrid beauty represents the push and pull between women’s emerging roles in public spaces and traditional values, imperialism versus authenticity, local industry competing against multinationals, and a negotiation of new roles for husbands and wives in companionate marriage.

Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy for different types of lumbar disc herniation: A retrospective study

Objective To introduce the concept of ‘nerve root as the core’ and to investigate the surgical procedure and curative effect of percutaneous translaminar endoscopic discectomy (PTED) surgery in the treatment of different types of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods This retrospective study analysed the clinical data from patients with LDH that underwent single-segment PTED surgery. They were divided into three groups based on LDH location: central canal zone group, lateral recess zone group and foraminal/far lateral zone group. Different working cannula placement methods were used for the different types of LDH. All patients were followed for at least 12 months. Clinical and follow-up data were compared between the three groups. Results A total of 130 patients were enrolled in the study: 44 (33.8%) in the central canal zone group, 72 (55.4%) in the lateral recess zone group and 14 (10.8%) in the foraminal/far lateral zone group. All three groups of patients achieved good postoperative results. The improvements in leg pain and disability were most marked in the first postoperative month in all three groups. Conclusion PTED achieved adequate decompression for different types of LDH. The concept of ‘nerve root as the core’ facilitated the accurate placement of the working cannula.

The Panama Papers

This chapter presents a case study of grassroots networks between the Spanish anarchist movement and migrant laborers working on the construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914). Sources provided by the anarchist press of both areas reveal sustained material and ideological exchange across the Atlantic in these years, with print materials, remittances, solidarity campaigns and public debates binding radical workers in a new and challenging context to the one they had left behind. Sites of global industrial capital, such as the Canal Zone, are thus revealed to form a central locale in the conception and functioning of an alternative, radical geography in the early twentieth century, marked by the horizontal connections sustained by the publishers, contributors and readers of anarchist print.

Impressions of National History: Retracing Panama through Memory Lines

Against the background of the 30th anniversary of the invasion of Panama by U.S. troops, this article analyzes cross-generational differences in how Panamanians evoke and signify this event. Panama’s current climate is ideal to explore this topic, because 2019 also marked 500 years since the foundation of Panama City. This article focuses on how different generations revamp collective memory and relate a story that befits the circumstances of their time. Drawing on informal interviews, secondary data, and relevant aspects of family biography, it examines the interplay between generational drifts and subjective knowledge of Panama. This analysis spotlights how local and transnational processes intersect with biography, shaping perceptions of national history. By the end of the 20th century, U.S. militarized presence in the Panama Canal Zone gave way to a less conspicuous—yet no less significant—influence over Panamanian affairs. Thereupon, past generations’ concern with sovereignty has been overshadowed by a growing focus on the country’s integration in the global economy. While Panamanian millennials are not oblivious to recent U.S. armed intervention, their attitude towards this action is impersonal and dispassionate. Their perception of an increasingly faster course to meet the future dovetails with both a subjective distancing from Panama’s neocolonial history and a growing disconnect from the anti-imperialist discourse of past generations.

Gender, Race, and Migrant Labor in the “Domestic Frontier” of the Panama Canal Zone

The cover of Maid in Panama depicts a West Indian higgler as a “mammy.” Her skin is an exaggerated ink-black, her body is large, her face round, and she wears a servant's uniform, including headscarf and apron. The higgler walks across an open field carrying a tray of tropical fruits on her head, with a background of palm trees, a placid river, and fluffy clouds.