Abu’l–‘Izz al-Jazari and His Role in The Advancement of the Science of Mechanics (1136-1206)

Abu’l-‘Izz al-Jazari is considered one of the pioneers of mechanical engineering in the middle Islamic centuries. He is known not only as a collector of previous scientists' thoughts but also as an inventor and a mechanical engineering designer.Writing about this scientist is of special significance because it basically explains an important and neglected aspect of mechanical science. This study aims to shed light on al-Jazari’s efforts in the field of mechanics based on the documents and resources of Islamic history as well as foreign resources

Brucella epididymo-orchitis: A single-center experience with a review of the literature

Brucella epididymo-orchitis (BEO) is a rare complication of brucellosis. Despite the high incidence of brucellosis in developing countries, few case series on BEO are available. This study focuses on the clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of BEO with a review of the literature. This study included consecutive BEO patients diagnosed and treated at Smart Health Tower between 2021 and 2023. The required data were retrospectively collected from patients' profiles. The BEO diagnosis was established through scrotal Doppler ultrasound in cases with a positive Rose Bengal test and positive IgG and IgM results for brucellosis, in addition to scrotal pain and swelling. This study included 11 cases whose ages ranged from 22 to 55 years. Most of the cases presented with testicular pain (72.7%), followed by fever (63.6%) and arthralgia (63.6%). The right side (54.5%) was slightly more affected than the left side (45.5%). The major abnormal laboratory finding was an elevated C-reactive protein (82%). The treatment was conservative, in which a combination of gentamicin, doxycycline, and rifampicin was administered to the patients for about 6-8 weeks. One case underwent an orchiectomy due to the abscess formation. All the patients responded well to the treatment, with no recurrence. In the Middle East, brucellosis remains a concerning infectious disease. Early diagnosis, aimed at preventing abscess formation and other complications, takes first priority to avoid invasive interventions

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The Culture and Customs of Saqaliba in Ibn Faḍlān's Siāhat-Nāme (Travel Narrative) (921 AD-309 H)

All the journeys and tours aimed at gaining knowledge about other peoples and lands seem to have achieved the set goals. Those who have tried to have a successful trip, have never ignored the upshot of their trip, but have benefited from the results and experiences and presented them to others in the form of a travelogue. One can argue that the product of the account of these travelogues seems to be most of the concepts related to unity and human relations and the necessity to understand other societies.This research aims to investigate one of the travelogues written in the Abbasid era (656-1258), in the 10th century, namely, Ibn Faḍlan’s travelogue, which is the product of a journey to the lands of the Persians, Turks, Saqaliba, and Khazars. To this end, in the first section, using the analytical method, the course of and reasons for his journey as well as its effects will be discussed. Then, based on the analytical and comparative method, the second section deals with the Saqaliba and their role in the region, as well as relevant texts focusing on the culture and tradition of the Saqaliba and their classification.According to the findings of this research, it was Ibn Faḍlan who for the first time, provided information about Saqaliba and their relations with Bulgaria and the Slavic race. More importantly, as a political envoy, apart from his special mission, which was to promote Islam and announce the Caliph's support for Saqaliba against the Khazars, he gives an account of the culture and customs in Europe and non-Muslim countries to the Muslims and the Caliph. This report is actually the first account of European non-Muslim customs given to the caliphate system

Child labor and health: a systematic literature review of the impacts of child labor on child's health in low- and middle-income countries

Objective To summarize current evidence on the impacts of child labor on physical and mental health.Methods We searched PubMed and ScienceDirect for studies that included participants aged 18 years or less, conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and reported quantitative data. Two independent reviewers conducted data extraction and assessment of study quality.Results A total of 25 studies were identified, the majority of which were cross-sectional. Child labor was found to be associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including but not limited to poor growth, malnutrition, higher incidence of infectious and system-specific diseases, behavioral and emotional disorders, and decreased coping efficacy. Quality of included studies was rated as fair to good.Conclusion and recommendations Child labor remains a major public health concern in LMICs, being associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Current efforts against child labor need to be revisited, at least in LMICs. Further studies following a longitudinal design, and using common methods to assess the health impact of child labor in different country contexts would inform policy making.</p

Effect of shear span-to-depth ratio on the shear behavior of BFRP-RC deep beams

This study investigates the shear behavior of deep concrete beams reinforced with basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars for flexure without web reinforcements. The experimental testing performed herein consisted of a total of 4 short beams, three of which were reinforced with BFRP and one beam was reinforced with steel bars. The primary test variable was the shear-span-to-effective-depth ratio (a/d) and its influence on the beams’ mid-span deflections, shear capacity, load-deformation relationships and the failure modes

Effect of shear span-to-depth ratio on the shear behavior of BFRP-RC deep beams

This study investigates the shear behavior of deep concrete beams reinforced with basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) bars for flexure without web reinforcements. The experimental testing performed herein consisted of a total of 4 short beams, three of which were reinforced with BFRP and one beam was reinforced with steel bars. The primary test variable was the shear-span-to-effective-depth ratio (a/d) and its influence on the beams’ mid-span deflections, shear capacity, load-deformation relationships and the failure modes

Safety and Efficacy of Autologous Intra-articular Platelet Lysates in Early and Intermediate Knee Osteoarthrosis in Humans: A Prospective Open-Label Study

Objective: To explore the safety and benefit from intra-articular autologous platelet lysate (PL) injection in early and intermediate knee osteoarthritis

Intra-articular injection of expanded autologous bone marrow mesenchymal cells in moderate and severe knee osteoarthritis is safe: a phase I/II study

Abstract Background Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a major health problem especially in the aging population. There is a need for safe treatment that restores the cartilage and reduces the symptoms. The use of stem cells is emerging as a possible option for the moderate and severe cases. This study aimed at testing the safety of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) expanded in vitro when given intra-articularly to patients with stage II and III KOA. As a secondary end point, the study tested the ability of these cells to relieve symptoms and restore the knee cartilage in these patients as judged by normalized knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods Thirteen patients with a mean age of 50 years suffering from KOA stages II and III were given two doses of BM-MSCs 1 month apart totaling 61 × 106 ± 0.6 × 106 by intra-articular injection in a phase I prospective clinical trial. Each patient was followed for a minimum of 24 months for any adverse events and for clinical outcome using normalized KOOS. Cartilage thickness was assessed by quantitative MRI T2 at 12 months of follow-up. Results No severe adverse events were reported up to 24 months follow-up. Normalized KOOS improved significantly. Mean knee cartilage thickness measured by MRI improved significantly. Conclusion BM-MSCs given intra-articularly are safe in knee osteoarthrosis. Despite the limited number of patients in this study, the procedure described significantly improved the KOOS and knee cartilage thickness, indicating that they may enhance the functional outcome as well as the structural component. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT0211851