Scientific and Literary Progress During Medieval Period with Special Reference To Medicine (750-945)

During the Abbasid period, Muslim culture and civilization was at its zenith. It was a period of economic prosperity and of great intellectual awakening. The Abbasid Caliphate provided the most congenial atmosphere for the advancement of learning and education. In fact, the reign of Mamun-ar-Rashid who has deservedly been called the 'Augustus of Arabs' formed the culmination of the intellectual achievements of the Muslims. He was followed by a brilliant succession of Caliphs who continued his work. Muslims gained access to the Greek medical knowledge of Hippocrates, Discords, and Galen through the translations of their works in the seventh and eighth centuries. These initiatives by Muslims could be seen in the different aspects of the healing arts that were developed. The translation movement of the twelfth century in Latin Europe affected every known field of science, none more so than medicine. The present paper is an attempt to give a detailed contribution of Muslims to science with special reference to medicine. It is in this context the present paper has been analyzed

Scientific And Literary Progress During Medieval Period With Special Reference To Medicine (750-945)

During the Abbasid period, Muslim culture and civilization was at its zenith. It was a period of economic prosperity and of great intellectual awakening. The Abbasid Caliphate provided the most congenial atmosphere for the advancement of learning and education. In fact, the reign of Mamun-ar-Rashid who has deservedly been called the 'Augustus of Arabs' formed the culmination of the intellectual achievements of the Muslims. He was followed by a brilliant succession of Caliphs who continued his work. Muslims gained access to the Greek medical knowledge of Hippocrates, Discords, and Galen through the translations of their works in the seventh and eighth centuries. These initiatives by Muslims could be seen in the different aspects of the healing arts that were developed. The translation movement of the twelfth century in Latin Europe affected every known field of science, none more so than medicine. The present paper is an attempt to give a detailed contribution of Muslims to science with special reference to medicine. It is in this context the present paper has been analyzed

Women in Contemporary Islamic Society: A Case Study of Iran

With the overthrow of the Shah and the rise to power of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, Iran changed from a monarchy to an Islamic regime based on an Islamic Constitution and Islamic laws. As a result, a western stereotype of Iranian women as veiled and helpless creatures got created. This stereotypical view has dominated public opinion since 1979 in both Western societies in general, and among western scholars in particular. Meanwhile, a remarkable development related to Iranian women has been taking place in the years after the revolution, i.e. a growth in labor force, political participation and increasing access to education. In this context it can therefore be argued that paradoxically the Islamic revival in Iran has been having a positive influence on the development of the status and the position of women in the public sphere in contemporary Iran. This paper aims to highlight the current position of women in Iran and how far they have been able to utilize the rights and privileges granted to them by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Cost of Living in a Conflict Zone: A Study of Shahnaz Bashir’s Scattered Souls

Art and conflict share filial affinity with each other. Art has been used as a perennial tool to fight the oppression and to give voice to the voiceless. Where ever the menace of occupation digs its roots, art comes as a handy tool of resistance to fight back against the oppressor. Art, in conflict zones, shoulders the burden of a witness to highlight the innumerable crimes committed against humanity. For long, Kashmir has borne the trauma of conflict. This has not only caused the human rights violation but has amounted to almost a psychological rape of the local people who live in a constant state of siege and anxiety. The pain and misery of living in a conflict zone is reflected in the literature produced by the natives. Aga Shahid Ali has been followed by writers like Mirza Wahid, Basharat Peer, Rahul Pandita, Siddhartha Gigoo, and Shahnaz Bashir. The aim of this paper is to study Shahnaz Bashir’s Scattered Souls (2016) as a text which tries to reflect the day to day miserable life of a common Kashmiri who lives in a constant state of pain and anxiety

The Philosophical and Intellectual Heritage during Medieval Period: A Study of Ibn Rushd

Philosophy connotes the search for knowledge and understanding of the nature and meaning of the universe and of human life. Reflection on cosmic processes and on the mystery of human existence is as old as man himself. Therefore, Philosophy may be regarded as the oldest discipline. All civilization possesses a rich collection of observations on cosmology and on human nature, which is reflected in their world-view, folklore, legends and mythology. Muslim Scholars made an outstanding contribution to the history of ideas as well as to the description and classification of the various disciplines. Islamic epistemology has an astonishingly open and dynamic character. Inspired by this epistemology, Muslims embarked on the pursuit of knowledge with a fervor and intensity which has not been witnessed either before or after. They explored the treasure-houses of knowledge in the East and the West, and imbibed the wisdom of the ancients. They carefully sifted and evaluated the intellectual heritage of other civilizations within the ideational and moral framework of Islam. What emerged out of this process was a creative synthesis which bore the unmistakable imprint of the Islamic ethos. The story of the quest for philosophy in the annals of Islamic civilization conforms to this patter. Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd, better known in the Latin West as Averroes, lived during a unique period in Western intellectual history, in which interest in philosophy and theology was waning in the Muslim world and just beginning to flourish in Latin Christendom. Just fifteen years before his birth, the great critic of Islamic philosophy, al-Ghazzali (1058-1111), had died after striking a blow against Muslim Neoplatonic philosophy, particularly against the work of the philosopher Ibn Sina (Avicenna). From such bleak circumstances emerged the Spanish-Muslim philosophers, of which the jurist and physician Ibn Rushd came to be regarded as the final and most influential Muslim philosopher, especially to those who inherited the tradition of Muslim philosophy in the West. This paper provides an overview of Ibn Rushd’s contribution to philosophy, emphasizing his commentaries, his educational philosophy with special reference to Averroism school of thought and his lasting influence on medieval thought and the Western philosophical tradition

Integration of GIS and Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) for Soil Loss Estimation in a Himalayan Watershed

In order to assess soil erosion at watershed scale Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) erosion model has been used on IEL7 watershed of Lidder Catchment in Himalayan Region. Erosion calculation requires huge amount of information and data, usually coming from different sources and available in different formats and scales. Therefore GIS was used, which helped considerably in organizing the spatial data representing the effects of each factor affecting soil erosion. The factors that most influence soil erosion are linked to topography, vegetation type, soil properties and land use/cover. Average annual soil losses were calculated by multiplying five factors: R; the erosivity factor, K; the soil erodibility factor; LS, the topographic factor; C, the crop management factor and P; the conservation support practice. The annual soil loss predictions range between 0 and 61tons ha-1. Average soil loss was highest (26 tons ha-1 year-1) in agriculture area and lowest soil loss rate was found in forest area (0.99 tons ha-1 year-1). For horticulture and plantation the soil loss rates were 1.47 and 5.39 tons ha-1 year-1 respectively. For pasture, fallow and scrub the soil loss rates were 25.47, 28.39 and 35.76 tons ha-1 year-1 respectively

Prevalence of dry eye and tear film changes in diabetic population: experience at our tertiary care centre

Background: Abnormalities in tear secretion, alteration of epithelial barrier and autonomic neuropathy lead to tear film and ocular surface changes in diabetes, thus causing dry eye. Aim was the evaluation of tear film and ocular surface of diabetic patients and to assess the prevalence of dry eye in diabetic patients presenting to our department. Methods: It was prospective, observational study. Visual acuity was tested for all the patients and slit lamp evaluation was done followed by staining methods to evaluate dry eye. The parameters included ocular symptoms, Schirmer test, tear meniscus height, tear film breakup time, corneal staining with fluorescein, conjunctival staining, presence of strands/filaments and presence of diabetic retinopathy. Results: A total of 200 diabetic patients were assessed. Forty percent had the duration of diabetes mellitus ranging between 6-10 years. Majority of patients were having grittiness (54%). Around 32% of the study participants are having dry eye. On Schirmer test majority (43%) were having 6-10 mm. 69% of the study participants were having more than 1 mm of tear meniscus height. Majority (69%) of the study participants had more than 10 sec tear film breakup time. 18% of the study participants were having positive conjunctival staining and 18% of the study participants were having positive corneal staining. 13% of the study participants are having filaments/strands. Conclusions: The incidence of dry eye was seen to increase with increasing duration of diabetes and increasing age. Careful elicitation of history followed by proper evaluation to diagnose dry eye is emphasized

Impact of land use/land cover dynamics on himalayan wetland ecosystem

Wetland ecosystems integrate many upstream processes and the differential contributions of spatially distributed controlling factors, especially land use / land cover. In view of the significant importance of wetlands in the ecosystem and regional economy, an attempt has been made to analyze the impact of land use / land cover dynamics on spatial status of Hokar Sar wetland, a Ramsar Site located in Kashmir Himalayas. The impact assessment has been carried out by analyzing the multi-temporal (1986, 1995, 2005) changes in the upstream land use / land cover characteristics of wetland watershed, by using remote sensing data of SPOT HRV-I, Landsat-ETM and IRS-LISS-III, respectively. The multi-temporal land use / land cover statistics revealed that significant changes have taken place from 1986 to 2005 in the watershed. And in response to these upstream watershed changes, the Hokar Sar wetland has exhibited changes in spatial extension, structure and hydrological characteristics. As a consequence of continuous inflow of sediment load and nutrients from the upper catchment due to changing land use, the wetland has fragmented into various spatial zones with varying physicochemical characteristics. Average water depth of the wetland has reduced significantly, wetland has attained eutrophication condition and the overall ecosystem of the wetland has been found to be degraded

Clinico-Biochemical Parameters, Treatment, and Prognostic Indicators of Peritonitis in Buffaloes

Background: The present study aimed to describe clinical findings, hemato-biochemical changes, response to medical treatment, and outcomes for buffaloes suffering from peritonitis. Another objective of this study was to determine the prognosis of the disease. Methods: The study was conducted on 25 buffaloes suffering from peritonitis and presented to the Large Animal Hospital of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The buffaloes were subjected to detailed clinical examination. Hematological, biochemical, and peritoneal fluid analysis was carried out along with treatment. Results: Peritonitis was more prevalent in pregnant buffaloes, being septic peritonitis in 60% of cases. The important clinical findings were depression, anorexia, reduced water intake, scanty feces, dehydration, and absence of rumen motility. The hematological findings were hemoconcentration, left shift, and toxic changes in neutrophils. Biochemical analysis revealed increased total bilirubin, AST, ALP, GGT, glucose, triglycerides, BUN, creatinine, lactate, fibrinogen, and rumen chloride, whereas albumin, fibrinogen ratio, potassium, chloride, calcium, and phosphorus were decreased. Abnormal peritoneal fluid changes were altered physical parameters and the presence of degenerated neutrophils, bacteria, and gut contents. Nucleated cell count and total peritoneal fluid protein were not reliable indicators of peritonitis. The absence of rumen motility, marked left shift, toxic changes in neutrophils, higher BUN, lower potassium (≤3.6 mmol/L), and unfavorable peritoneal fluid changes were the negative prognostic signs. Treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics and supportive therapy led to a recovery in about 50 percent of cases, with diffuse peritonitis cases being unresponsive. Long time survival rate was good, and there was no recurrence. Conclusion: The prognosis of peritonitis in buffaloes has to be precisely assessed on the basis of clinical, hemato-biochemical, and peritoneal fluid alterations. Standard classification of transudate and exudate did not apply in the majority of buffaloes with peritonitis