The Role of Community Engagement and the Practical Role of Moderate and Non-violent Extremist Movements in Combating Jihadist Terrorism

This synthesis chapter gathers research evidence around community engagement in relation to combating jihadist influenced terrorism, including the practical role of moderate and non-violent extremist movements. The chapter is divided into three sections: the first section sets out the key debates within the research literature on the challenges of engaging communities and moderate and non-violent extremist movements in the UK. This section emphasises the importance of engaging communities in combating jihadist terrorism and also highlights the key complexities and challenges involved. This section also highlights that whilst there is considerable debate and controversy about the involvement of non-violent extremist movements in counter-terrorism, there is nonetheless research evidence of the merits of including non-violent extremists in community-based approaches. Section two explores some of the key Islamist movements from an historical and ideological perspective and what the research tells us about these movements in relation to their involvement in violence and its prevention. This section particularly focusses upon our understanding of Islamist movements in relation to their involvement in perpetuating and/or combating jihadist terrorism in the UK and internationally. Section three presents research evidence of the more contemporary practical involvement of non-violent “extremist” movements, both nationally and internationally, in combating terrorism

The Theory of Punishment in Islamic Law: A Comparative Study.

This thesis deals with the theory of Punishment in Islamic law. It is divided into four chapters. In the first chapter I deal with the fixed punishments or "al hudud"; four punishments are discussed: the punishments for theft, armed robbery, adultery and slanderous allegations of unchastity. The other two punishments which are usually classified as "hudud", i.e. the punishments for wine-drinking and apostasy are dealt with in the second chapter. The idea that they are not punishments of "hudud" is fully explained. Neither of these two punishments was fixed in definite terms in the Qur'an or the Sunna, therefore the traditional classification of both of them cannot be accepted. The third chapter discusses the punishment for homicide and injury. It is usually said that homicide is treated under Islamic law rather as a tort than a crime, and an attempt is made to explain and elucidate this. "The fourth chapter deals with the discretionary punishments or "al-ta'zir", and the fifth chapter deals with the law of evidence in criminal cases. In this thesis I have tried to explain the philosophy underlying the theory of punishment in Islamic law, so a survey in which Islamic law is examined in the light of modern penologists' ideas has been added to each of the first four chapters. The conclusion is devoted to a discussion of the possibility of applying the Islamic Penal System in present Muslim societies. I have tried to explain that unless Islamic law is accepted and enforced as a complete and comprehensive system, the Islamic penal system cannot be adopted

Textual relations in the Qur'an.

This is a study of textual relations in the Qur'an which explores the possibility of looking differently at the relations holding between the variety of topics that are usually encountered in the long Qur'anic suras. It adopts principles from linguistic and pragmatic theory, and attempts to explain textual relations in accordance with those principles. The main argument of the thesis is that the study of textual relations may be based on a search not necessarily for unity of theme, but rather for whatever types of relations do exist, how they work, and what linguistic tools can be used in directing the reader towards understanding them. The study is divided into an introduction and five chapters. In the first chapter I discuss the development of the view of textual relations in the field of Qur'anic studies and suggest the need for a new methodology that is more systematic and more theoretically guided. In the second chapter I explain the theoretical framework adopted and its implications for the study of the Qur'an, with particular focus on the role of context in understanding text and textual relations. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to analyzing two sample suras from the Qur'an and discussion of their problematic textual relations in the light of the linguistics and pragmatics of their texts. The discussion of the two sample suras covers many aspects of textual relations that are encountered elsewhere in the Qur'an, and the findings of the analysis are used to propose a generalized solution of the problem and a methodology and guiding mechanisms for further applications. The fifth and final chapter draws conclusions from the study and considers the implications of this research for tafsir in general and in understanding the structure of information and textual relations in the Qur'an in particular

Identification Of Collapsible Soils In Deroua (Morocco)

Deroua belongs to the Berrechid plain and it is characterized generally by a flat relief, formations from the quaternary and Pliocene age and unconformably on sedimentary formations of Cretaceous and Permian Triassic on shcists from the primaries. Several anomalies were detected in the buildings and pavement structures in different cities in the territory of the Berrechid plain, such as settlement, cracking or even sudden collapses. The presence of a water table with 1500 square kilometers in area, the climatology of the region and a major urban development are factors favoring collapsing soils. Thus, we conducted a series of geotechnical tests on four samples taken from Deroua, 10 km from the city of Berrechid to identify the nature of the soils of this city in order to study their behavior in unsaturated state. The results of Atterberg limits and the oedometer test, correlated with results of previous studies and bibliographical research confirm the hypothesis of collapsible soils. Therefore, the results will help to quantify and map the collapse of soils in Deroua, in order to establish a local hazards map that can be exploited by the urban agency

Etude Comparative Des Produits Issus De La Transformation En Filature Des Fibres De Trois Nouvelles Variétés De Cotonnier

Résumé - Au Mali, comme ailleurs en Afrique, la sélection variétale est à la base du succès de la culture cotonnière. Le coton du Mali est presqu’entièrement exporté ; les fibres issues des variétés cultivées doivent répondre aux exigences du marché en termes de caractéristiques technologiques des fibres, facteurs clés du fonctionnement de la filature. Cette étude comparative a été réalisée sur trois nouvelles variétés de cotonniers A, B et C, issues d’un point d'expérimentation. L'objectif de l'étude est d’identifier les variétés ayant les meilleures performances variétales et industrielles pour la vulgarisation en production commerciale par les sociétés cotonnières. 1 échantillon représentatif de 100g de coton fibre, 20 échantillons de 5 m de rubans de carde, d’étirage et de 10 m de mèches, 30 échantillons de 100 m de fil et 40 échantillons de 500 mm de fil ont été respectivement prélevés par balle de chaque variété et à différentes étapes du processus de transformation par variété. Ces échantillons ont été testés sur des appareils de mesure dans les conditions requises au laboratoire de métrologie textile du CERFITEX, Ségou - Mali.L’analyse de variance (ANOVA) des données relatives aux fibres, rubans, mèches et fils et la comparaison de leurs principales caractéristiques de qualité à celle de la production mondiale avec l’application des USTER STATISTICS 2018 ont montré que les variétés de cotonnier A et B sont nettement meilleures que celle de C. Les performances variétales et industrielles de A et B, meilleures que celles de C sont recommandées à la vulgarisation Mots clés : Coton, caractéristiques technologiques, qualité, fibres, fils. [Comparative Study Of The Products Resulting From The Transformation Into Spinning Of The Fibers Of Three New Varieties Of Cotton]Abstract - In Mali, as elsewhere in Africa, varietal selection is the basis of the success of cotton growing. Cotton from Mali is almost entirely exported; fibers from cultivated varieties must meet market requirements in terms of the technological characteristics of fibers, key factors in the operation of the spinning mill. This comparative study was carried out on three new varieties of cotton A, B and C, from an experimental point. The objective of the study is to identify the varieties with the best varietal and industrial performance for popularization in commercial production by cotton companies. 1 representative sample of 100g of cotton fiber, 20 samples of 5m of carding and drawing slivers and 10m of rovings, 30 samples of 100m of yarn and 40 samples of 500mm of yarn were respectively taken per bale of each variety and at different stages of the transformation process by variety. These samples were tested on measuring devices under the required conditions at the CERFITEX textile metrology laboratory, Ségou - Mali.The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of fiber, sliver, roving and yarn data and the comparison of their main quality characteristics to that of world production with the application of USTER STATISTICS 2018 showed that cotton varieties A and B are clearly better than those of C. The varietal and industrial performances of A and B, better than that of C are recommended for popularisation Keywords : Cotton, technological characteristics, quality, fibres, yarns

Analysis of pfhrp2 genetic diversity in Senegal and implications for use of rapid diagnostic tests

Background: The Senegalese National Malaria Control Programme has recommended use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that target the histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), specific to Plasmodium falciparum, to diagnose malaria cases. The target antigen has been shown to be polymorphic, which may explain the variability in HRP2-based RDT results reported in field studies. The genetic diversity of the pfhrp2 gene has not been investigated in depth in many African countries. The goal of this study is to determine the extent of polymorphism in pfhrp2 among Senegal, Mali and Uganda parasite populations, and discuss the implications of these findings on the utility of RDTs that are based on HRP2 detection. Methods: Sequencing data from the pfhrp2 locus were used to analyze the genetic diversity of this gene among three populations, with different transmission dynamics and malaria parasite ecologies. Nucleotide diversity (π) and non-synonymous nucleotide diversity (πNS) were studied in the pfhrp2 gene from isolates obtained in Senegal. Amino acid repeat length polymorphisms in the PfHRP2 antigen were characterized and parameters of genetic diversity, such as frequency and correlation between repeats in these populations, were assessed. Results: The diversity survey of the pfhrp2 gene identified 29 SNPs as well as insertion and deletion polymorphisms within a 918 bp region. The Senegal pfhrp2 exhibited a substantial level of diversity [π = 0.00559 and πNS = 0.014111 (πS = 0.0291627)], similar to several polymorphic genes, such as msp1, involved in immune responses, and the gene encoding the SURFIN polymorphic antigen, which are surface exposed parasite proteins. Extensive repeat length polymorphisms in PfHRP2, as well as similar patterns in the number, organization and the type of predicted amino acid repeats were observed among the three populations, characterized by an occurrence of Type 2, Type 4 and Type 7 repeats. Conclusions: These results warrant deeper monitoring of the RDT target antigen diversity and emphasize that development of other essential genes as a target for diagnostic tools is critical

Incorporation of calcium in glasses: a key to understand the vitrification of sewage sludge

The quantity of sewage sludge generated daily by wastewater treatment plants represents a major environmental problem and a financial burden for plant operators. Valorization strategies focusing on reusing sewage sludge as a raw material are currently developed. Vitrification can help us reduce the volume of waste and binds the components in the structure of chemically stable glasses and glass‐ceramics. In this study, the vitrification of sewage sludge inside a basaltic rock has been simulated by producing glasses and a glass‐ceramic from basalt enriched in calcium that lie between the stability fields of pyroxene and melilite in the system CaO‐MgO‐SiO2‐Al2O3. CaO addition causes the oxidation of the melt at above the liquidus, increases the crystallization temperature, decreases the melting temperature and improves the microhardness of the glasses Glass‐ceramic processes improves the properties of the Ca‐doped basalt glass. The microhardness of the glass (8.2 GPa) and the glass‐ceramic (8.6 GPa) and leaching tests (in the ppb range) place both the glass and the glass‐ceramics at the high end of the mechanical properties and chemical resistance of ceramic tiles for the building industry

The diastereoselective Meth-Cohn epoxidation of camphor-derived vinyl sulfones

Some camphor-derived vinyl sulfones bearing oxygen functionality at the allylic position have been synthesized and their nucleophilic epoxidation reactions under Meth-Cohn conditions have been explored. The γ-oxygenated camphor-derived vinyl sulfones underwent mildly diastereoselective nucleophilic epoxidation reactions, affording the derived sulfonyloxiranes in up to 5.8:1 dr. The observed diastereoselectivities were sensitive to the reaction conditions employed. In contrast, no stereoselectivity was observed in the nucleophilic epoxidation of the corresponding γ-oxygenated isobornyl vinyl sulfone. A tentative mechanism has been proposed to explain the origins of the diastereoselectivit

Cellular Radiosensitivity: How much better do we understand it?

Purpose: Ionizing radiation exposure gives rise to a variety of lesions in DNA that result in genetic instability and potentially tumorigenesis or cell death. Radiation extends its effects on DNA by direct interaction or by radiolysis of H2O that generates free radicals or aqueous electrons capable of interacting with and causing indirect damage to DNA. While the various lesions arising in DNA after radiation exposure can contribute to the mutagenising effects of this agent, the potentially most damaging lesion is the DNA double strand break (DSB) that contributes to genome instability and/or cell death. Thus in many cases failure to recognise and/or repair this lesion determines the radiosensitivity status of the cell. DNA repair mechanisms including homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) have evolved to protect cells against DNA DSB. Mutations in proteins that constitute these repair pathways are characterised by radiosensitivity and genome instability. Defects in a number of these proteins also give rise to genetic disorders that feature not only genetic instability but also immunodeficiency, cancer predisposition, neurodegeneration and other pathologies. Conclusions: In the past fifty years our understanding of the cellular response to radiation damage has advanced enormously with insight being gained from a wide range of approaches extending from more basic early studies to the sophisticated approaches used today. In this review we discuss our current understanding of the impact of radiation on the cell and the organism gained from the array of past and present studies and attempt to provide an explanation for what it is that determines the response to radiation