The concepts of al-halal and al-haram in the Arab-Muslim culture : a translational and lexicographical study

This paper aims at providing sufficient definitions of the concepts of al-Halal and al-Haram in the Arab-Muslim culture, illustrating how they are treated in some bilingual Arabic-English dictionaries since they often tend to be provided with inaccurate, lacking and sometimes simply incorrect definitions. Moreover, the paper investigates how these concepts are linguistically reflected through proverbs, collocations, frequent expressions, and connotations. These concepts are deeply rooted in the Arab-Muslim tradition and history, affecting the Arabs' way of thinking and acting. Therefore, accurate definitions of these concepts may help understand the Arab-Muslim identity that is vaguely or poorly understood by non-speakers of Arabic. Furthermore, to non-speakers of Arabic, these notions are often misunderstood, inadequately explained, and inaccurately translated into other languages

The study of somatic idioms from a linguistic-cultural perspective: the case of ‘heart’

En el presente trabajo se analizan las expresiones somáticas que existen en español y en árabe que contengan el término ‘corazón/qalb ( القلب )’ siguiendo los postulados de la Teoría Conceptual de la Metáfora. Mediante el estudio de los dominios meta a los que hace referencia el corazón en ambas lenguas se pretende establecer los modelos culturales subyacentes que imperan en ambas lenguas.In this paper we analyze the somatic expressions that exist both in Spanish and Arabic containing the term 'heart / qalb ( القلب )' following the tenets of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. Through the study of the target domains referring to the heart in both languages, we intend to establish the underlying cultural models prevailing in both languages

Toward Cost-Sensitive Modeling for Intrusion Detection

Intrusion detection systems need to maximize security while minimizing costs. In this paper, we study the problem of building cost-sensitive intrusion detection models. We examine the major cost factors: development costs, operational costs, damage costs incurred due to intrusions, and the costs involved in responding to intrusions. We propose cost-sensitive machine learning techniques to produce models that are optimized for user-defined cost metrics. We describe an automated approach for generating efficient run-time versions of these models. Empirical experiments in off-line analysis and real-time detection show that our cost-sensitive modeling and deployment techniques are effective in reducing the overall cost of intrusion detection

TSH-secreting pituitary tumors: two case reports and literature review

INTRODUÇÃO: Tumores hipofisários secretores de hormônio estimulante da tireoide (TSH), tireotropinomas, são raros e correspondem a menos de 2% de todos os adenomas da hipófise. Manifestam-se clinicamente com sintomas e sinais de tireotoxicose, eventualmente associados a sintomas compressivos, sobretudo visuais, devido ao efeito de massa do tumor. Esses tumores se caracterizam pela presença de níveis séricos elevados de hormônios tireoidianos e níveis séricos elevados, ou inapropriadamente normais, de TSH. Frequentemente, ao diagnóstico, há relato de tratamento prévio cirúrgico, medicamentoso e/ou ablativo, por hipótese de hipertireoidismo primário por doença de Graves. OBJETIVO: Relatar dois casos de tireotropinomas acompanhados na Unidade de Neuroendocrinologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HC-FMUSP) e revisar a literatura visando ao manejo desta afecção. CONCLUSÃO: Na presença de hormônios tireoidianos elevados e níveis de TSH inapropriadamente normais ou elevados, a possibilidade de adenoma hipofisário produtor de TSH deve ser considerada com vistas à realização da terapia adequada.INTRODUCTION: TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas are rare pituitary functioning tumors accounting for less than 2% of the pituitary adenomas. The clinical feature consists of thyrotoxicosis occasionally associated to tumoral symptoms due to mass effect. The biochemical feature consists of elevated thyroid hormones levels and normal or high TSH concentrations. This disease is often wrongly diagnosed as Grave's disease, and the ablative therapy is frequently conducted prior to the diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: To report two cases followed in the Neuroendocrine Unit of Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo and to review the literature aiming at the management of this affection. CONCLUSION: In the presence of elevated thyroid hormone levels associated with inappropriate normal or increased TSH levels, the possibility of a TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma should be considered for the proper medical treatment

The Use of Nasal Dilator Strips as a Placebo for Trials Evaluating Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

Objectives: The aim of the current study was to compare the objective and subjective effects of continuous positive airway pressure to the use of nasal dilator strips in patients with acromegaly and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Methods: We studied 12 patients with acromegaly and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (male/females = 8/4, age = 52$\pm$8 ys, body mass index = 33.5$\pm$4.6 Kg/m$^2$, apnea–hypopnea index = 38$\pm$14 events/h) who had been included in a randomized, crossover study to receive three months of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure and nasal dilator strips. All patients were evaluated at study entry and at the end of each treatment by polysomnography, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and treatment satisfaction questionnaires. Results: The apnea–hypopnea index values decreased significantly with continuous positive airway pressure treatment but did not change with the use of nasal dilator strips. All of the subjective symptoms improved with both treatments, but these improvements were significantly greater with continuous positive airway pressure than with the nasal dilator strips. Conclusion: The use of nasal dilator strips had a much smaller effect on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with acromegaly and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in comparison to the use of continuous positive airway pressure. Moreover, the improvement in several subjective parameters without any significant objective improvement in obstructive sleep apnea resulting from the use of nasal dilator strips is compatible with a placebo effect

Plural Belonging: The Samaritans\u27 Negotiation of Space in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Created in 1993 in accordance with the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accords, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has grappled with the administration and maintenance of a vortex of highly fragmented legal and judicial systems. These fractured frameworks are the result of centuries-old colonial and military administrations that have exercised jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). A self-governing entity whose sovereignty has been undermined since its inception, the PA idealizes a democratic modus-operandi for the nation’s future, while actively participating in and benefiting from an overarching network of laws, court systems, and regulatory frameworks designed to discriminate against and abuse their subjects. Palestinian subjects as a whole struggle to gain access to the majority of their fundamental rights within these interweaving legal and judicial systems. Minority communities and vulnerable populations in particular have been harshly affected by these systems’ shortcomings and castigate the PA for its reluctance to incite meaningful change

The Power of the Body: Analyzing the Logic of Law and Social Change in the Arab Spring

Under conditions of extreme social and political injustice—when human rights are most threatened—rational arguments rooted in the language of human rights are often unlikely to spur reform or to ensure government adherence to citizens’ rights. When those entrusted with securing human dignity, rights, and freedoms fail to do so, and when other actors—such as human rights activists, international institutions, and social movements—fail to engage the levers of power to eliminate injustice, then oppressed and even quotidian actors may resort to non-traditional tactics of resistance. One example of these radical modes is the use of the corporeal body as a means of protest. The use of the human body to make political argument may catalyze legal, social, and cultural change where rational arguments fail. This Article examines the power of the human body in spurring political and legal action. It analyzes the 2010 self-immolation of Tarek Mohammad Bouazizi in Tunisia, which sparked an unprecedented wave of protests across Arab countries, leading to what came to be known as the “Arab Spring.” It suggests that when human rights-based arguments are exhausted, space is created for alternative strategies of resistance. Mobilized and deployed as tools of resistance, human bodies become the argument

Fragments of an Early Islamic Arabic Papyrus from Khirbat Hamra Ifdan

Excavations in 2013 at the site of Khirbet Hamrā Ifdān in the Faynān revealed several pieces of an Arabic papyrus, the first ever found in Jordan. Although the papyrus is poorly preserved, a detailed analysis of the fragments based on parallels have suggested that it dates to the late seventh/early–mid-eighth century AD. This article discusses the papyrus fragments and places them within their papyrological and archaeological contexts