Hassen Chaabani

• Professor
• University of Monastir

The first incentive leading to this study is to search for the origin and the nature of what Levis-Strauss meant by fundamental structures and/or hidden rules that contribute to the construction of languages and cultures within the principal idea of structural anthropology. This leads to rethink the process of knowledge origin that is still a matte...

Anthropology has as ambition the study of the whole of humanity. It includes several specialties and sub-specialties that, despite their differences, offer an overall perspective that requires a holistic research approach. In Biological Anthropology, one of its specialties, anthropologists study biological variations in contemporary human populatio...

Ten years after the launch of its 2011 revolution, Tunisia has reached a catastrophic socioeconomic situation that confirms that none of major goals of this revolution have been achieved. Here, from an anthropological analysis of major events happened during this decade I reveal and discuss mysteries of this revolution, and I show how and why it go...

In this paper I present new insights into the processes of biological evolution and human reproduction in the light of a dialogue between the current scientific knowledge and Qur‟an verses. I demonstrate how this dialogue could provide new complementary information and a more comprehensive state of each of these two processes. After clearing up som...

Background: Genetic variation in glucuronosyltransferases (UGT) is crucial in drug metabolism and risk of some diseases Aim: To examine genetic variation in glucuronosyltransferases (UGT)in North African populations. Subjects & Methods: Allele frequencies of SNPs UGT1A424Thr, UGT1A448Val, UGT2B1585Tyr, UGT2B15523Thr and UGT2B17 CNV deletion from Mo...

The Sephardim are a major Jewish ethnic division whose origins can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula. We used genome-wide SNP data to investigate the degree of Sephardic admixture in seven populations from the Iberian Peninsula and surrounding regions in the aftermath of their religious persecution starting in the late 14th century. To this e...

In this paper I focus on the anthropological aspects of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 showing how anthropology could offer several angles of insight into the study of this revolution, which represents a new model of political revolutions. I show that this revolution has three major particularities: the young age of the revolutionaries, the indepe...

Aim: To describe the diversity of four cytochrome and four sulfotransferase polymorphisms in six north African samples. Scarce data have been compiled for these samples despite the rich genetic background of north African populations. Materials & methods: CYP3A4*1B, CYP3A4*17, CYP3A4*3, CYP3A5*3, SULT1A1*2, SULT1A2*2, SULT1A2*3 and SULT1E1*2 pol...

Linkage disequilibrium patterns and haplotype block structure observed in North Africa and in southern Europe for the region 9p21.

Genomic location of the 6 North African SNPs used to calculate the risk score in the case-control samples.

Linkage disequilibrium patterns and haplotype block structure observed in North Africa and in southern Europe for the region 10q11.

Case-control allelic frequencies and association parameters adjusted for gender in the genotype and imputed case-control samples.

Flowchart of all the analyses performed.

Linkage disequilibrium patterns and haplotype block structure observed in North Africa and in southern Europe for the region 1p13.

Linkage disequilibrium patterns and haplotype block structure observed in North Africa and in southern Europe for the region 1q41.

Genomic location of the genetic variants, genotyping, and imputation details.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in southern Europe.

Background: In recent years, several genomic regions have been robustly associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in different genome-wide association studies (GWASs) conducted mainly in people of European descent. These kinds of data are lacking in African populations, even though heart diseases are a major cause of premature death and disabi...

Among conclusions deduced from my recent deep study of holy Qur’an verses related to the topic of man creation, the man creation had begun a very long period of time before his emergence. It had begun with the creation of his earthy and clayey nature in clay. Very likely “his earthy and clayey nature” means the basic structures of his bio-molecules...

The Rhesus (Rh) blood group system is one of the most highly polymorphic genetic systems used in the investigation of human genetic relationships. In this paper the researchers aimed to expand the determination of the Rh haplotype frequencies in new samples from North African populations providing comparative analyses within and between these popul...

It is generally accepted that the human evolutionary history was started insub-Saharan Africa by the emergence of first individuals belonging to our genus Homo. But details of this evolution, particularly those of its last stage relating to the modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) emergence, represent until now a controversial topic. Confusion and imp...

The Middle East and Mediterranean represents one of the most ancient and largest areas of human civilization. Although several genetic studies have been carried out on certain regions of this area, it would be interesting to take advantage of additional global studies, including larger numbers of regions. In this paper we aim to expand previous gen...

Background: It is thought that the ancient population of Libya was mainly composed of Saharan Berbers. Socio-geographic conditions and historical events have exerted some changes on the composition of the present-day Libyan population. Aim: To screen a set of autosomal Alu markers in a representative sample of the general Libyan population in or...

Background: The geographical location of Egypt at the crossroads of several major cultural areas between North Africa and the Middle East has contributed to its population history. Aim: To analyse the genetic structure of the population living in two geographical parts of Egypt. Subjects and methods: A sample of 112 Egyptians from the North Af...

Generally the position of different organs is determined by simple description following the anatomical elements surrounded them and such description could be developed and applied in surgical anatomy. Here, I present for the first time a theoretical three-dimensional ovary position in link with the global anatomical structure of each human female...

Background: The genetic differentiation of Bahrain natives is unclear because of the absence of adequate genetic studies. Aim: Eight Alu insertion polymorphisms have been analysed in Bahrainis and southern Iranians to examine the origins of Bahrainis and to determine their genetic position among wider Middle East populations. Subjects and metho...

Before anthropology existed as a discipline, important grounding relating to different aspects of the study of humanity were present in many ancient writings of

Although much of Jordan is covered by desert, its north-western region forms part of the Fertile Crescent region that had given a rich past to Jordanians. This past, scarcely described by historians, is not yet clarified by sufficient genetic data. Thus in this paper we aim to determine the genetic differentiation of the Jordanian population and to...

The aim of this study was to show how, in some particular circumstances, a physical marker can be used along with molecular markers in the research of an ancient people movement. A set of five Alu insertions was analysed in 42 subjects from a particular Tunisian group (El Hamma) that has, unlike most of the Tunisian population, a very dark skin, si...

In holy Qur'an countless verses are related to topics on the nature and the universe. In this report I try to show how these verses carry scientific concepts taking as examples some of those relating to anthropological sciences. In one of these verses God "Allah", speaking to scientists, presents signs to what we designate currently the

During successive historical periods, Tunisia has been a crossroads of multiple civilizations and their corresponding key population movements. The aim of this study was to provide genetic information relating to the mixed origin of the Tunisian population, and to analyze its genetic relationship with other North African and Mediterranean populatio...

Immoderate blood clotting constitutes a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in modern industrialised societies, but is believed to have conferred a survival advantage, i.e. faster recovery from bleeding, on our ancestors. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of the Coagulation Factor VII gene (F7) by analysing five cardiovascular-risk-a...

To analyze apolipoprotein gene polymorphisms in the Tunisian population and to check the relation of these polymorphisms and homocysteine, lipid and apolipoprotein levels to the coronary artery disease (CAD). In healthy blood donors and in patients with CAD complicated by myocardial infarction (MI) four apolipoprotein gene polymorphisms [APO (a) PN...

In spite of important anthropological data stored up to date, the recent human evolution is still a subject of great controversy. Here I present a revision of the definition of modern man and an attempt to estimate the date of his emergence within a grand synthesis between rigorous anthropological basic data. The anatomical feature criterion can no...

Among polymorphisms of non-transcribed DNA sequences and functional genes, those of Alu insertions and that of the APOE gene have been widely used to clarify the degree of genetic relationships between human populations. APOE gene and eight Alu insertion polymorphisms were investigated in Tunisians and compared with data from neighbour populations...

Alu elements are the most abundant mobile elements in the human genome (approximately 1,100,000 copies). Polymorphic Alu elements have been proved to be useful in studies of human origins and relationships owing to two important advantages: identity by descent and absence of the Alu element known to be the ancestral state. Alu variation in the X ch...

Present human populations show a complex network of genetic relationships, which reflects mainly their unique origin and their migration and isolation history since the recent creation of modern man. The scrutiny of their genetic characteristics, according to GM polymorphism, shows that the continuity of the genetic variation between populations fr...

For introducing Yemeni population in synthesis of genetic relationships of human populations, analysis of rhesus and Gm polymorphisms have been carried out for a population sample of 210 Yemenites. Rhesus haplotype frequencies were compared to those estimated in an original sample of 171 Tunisians and to available data for other populations. Gm hap...

The number of loci for non-syndromic autosomal recessive sensorineural (N-SARS) deafness, was estimated within the Tunisian population and compared to that obtained in other populations. 30 deaf couples have been collected from 4 governorates (2,318,900 inhabitants) and 3 villages. Our investigations in these regions show that the percentage of con...

A distal (type 1) renal tubular acidosis (RTA-1) has been studied in 60 of 69 living members of a large family "HK" and two unrelated small families. The "HK" family, including 28 RTA-1 subjects, presents the first large family with only primary RTA-1 reported to date. The genetic situation in this family confirms the autosomal dominant transmissio...

Blood samples from 120 Tunisian Berbers of Gallala village were typed for Gm and Km immunoglobulin allotypes, alpha-1-antitrypsin variants and AB0 blood groups. The results were compared with those of other Berber groups. The combined data, considered in the light of sociological, historical and paleontological data, support the hypothesis that the...

DNA polymorphisms in the human immunoglobulin gamma (gamma) region have been studied in random Arabo-Berber Tunisians and in a large Tunisian Berber kindred. Haplotypes have then been designated, based on variation in the BamHI restriction fragments containing the C gamma 1, C gamma 2, C gamma 4, and C psi gamma genes. Two new haplotypes, in additi...

The constant region of the gamma 1, gamma 2 and gamma 3 heavy chains of the human IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 immunoglobulins carries antigenic determinants or G1m, G2m and G3m allotypes, which are genetic markers of these subclasses. The exceptional presence on gamma 1 and gamma 2 chains of Gm allotypes usually located on the CH3 domain of gamma 3 shows a...

Gm phenotypes and the Km(1) allotype were studied in Tunisian patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A highly significant association was found between the Km(1) allotype and the NPC disease. Two rare Gm haplotypes, Gm(1, 17; 11, 15, 21) and Gm(1, 3, 5, 11), were found to be significantly increased among the NPC patients.

The constant region of the γ1, γ2 and γ3 heavy chains of the human IgGl, IgG2 and IgG3 immunoglobulins carries antigenic determinants or G1m, G2m and G3m allotypes, which are genetic markers of these subclasses. The exceptional presence on γl and γ2 chains of Gm allotypes usually located on the CH3 domain of γ3 shows an unexpected clustering of bas...

The immunoglobulin heavy-chain genes are located in a cluster on chromosome 14. The simultaneous absence of the human IgG1, IgG2, IgG4, and IgA1 subclasses was previously reported in a healthy Tunisian Berber and was later shown to be due to a multigene deletion. We now describe a serological and molecular study of a different deletion observed in...

The Gm, Am and Km immunoglobulin allotypes and ABO blood groups were studied in three groups of Tunisian Berbers. The results showed that the actual Berbers of Tunisia present certain heterogeneity and their ancestors were probably the first inhabitants of North Africa. Indeed, although their Gm-Am haplotypes are mainly Caucasoid, some of them are...

The alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) (Pi) polymorphism has been studied in three Berber groups of Tunisia by high-resolution isoelectric focusing. The results showed that actual Tunisian Berbers are mainly Caucasoid. A new variant of alpha 1-AT, tentatively called Pi S Berber, was found in the three Berber groups. On isoelectric focusing this varia...

Previously we reported a gross genetic polymorphism of the human immunoglobulin heavy chain locus manifest by a large internal deletion within the constant region gene segment. We now describe a detailed serological and molecular genetic study of a Tunisian family in which members appear to carry two chromosomes 14 with different DNA deletions. The...

The HLA A*2, Bw*50-BF*S07-C4 A*2, B*1 linkage group was transmitted unambiguously in four unrelated Tunisian families. In one of these, another allele association, also carrying BF*S07, HLA A*9, Bw*50-BF*S07-C4 A*1, B*1, was encountered. The previously reported linkage disequilibrium between BF*S07 and HLA Bw*50, a subtypic specificity of HLA Bw*21...

Simultaneous absence of the IgG1, IgG2, IgG4 and IgA1 immunoglobulins has been unambiguously demonstrated in a healthy 75-year-old woman by testing for allotypes, isoallotypes and for isotypes of these four subclasses. Only IgM, IgD, IgG3, IgA2 and IgE were present. The IgG3 levels were significantly increased. Family investigation showed inheritan...

Unusual combinations--unexpected sets, excess of lack--of antigenic determinants, or Gm allotypes, on the constant regions of the heavy chains of the human IgG1 and IgG3 immunoglobulins are accounted for in terms of genetic events (exchanges, duplications and deletions) involving the DNA sequences, or exons, coding for the three CH1-, CH2- and CH3...