Halal Certification of Food, Nutraceuticals, and Pharmaceuticals in the Arab World

Food is an organic need and essential to our survival, whereas nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals play an important role in disease prevention and cure. The food processing and healthcare industries are often linked together for economic growth and health promotion. However, the complexity of the ingredients and processes led communities to question their motivation, accuracy, and imposed standards. Different standards are often applied to ensure high quality, reproducibility, and traceability. Many processed products contain ingredients derived from animals, where the consumption of such products is prohibited by several religions and lifestyles. Patients who want to avoid certain medications derived from animal need to know the source of origin and detailed ingredients contained in their medicines. Recently many Muslim and non-Muslim countries have realized the value of Halal products and led to an increase in Halal awareness. This chapter aims to provide more insight into the issue of Halal status of food and medications in the context of healthcare and describe the process of certification and the list of ingredients and drugs with potential non-Halal sources. Traceability procedure and identification of a long list of ingredients is a challenge but also key for verifying the Halal status of the end product. Implementation of Halal-Tayyib concept is essential to determine the Halalness of food and pharmaceuticals. To increase confidence, eliminate suspicion, and improve trust with producers, Halal certification is required. However, exerting 100% effort is possible, whereas achieving products that are 100% clean and pure and comply with Shari’ah is debatable

MXene materials based printed flexible devices for healthcare, biomedical and energy storage applications

The advent of cost effective printed smart devices has revolutionized the healthcare sector by allowing disease prediction and timely treatment through non-invasive real time and continuous health monitoring. Future advancements in printed electronic (PE) materials will continue to enhance the quality of human living. For any PE application, materials should possess proper mechanical integrity and resistivity while being non-toxic. In the case of sensing devices for physiological and biochemical signals, excellent conductivity is an essential requirement for obtaining high response signals. The emergence of the novel class of 2D materials called MXenes and their composites has resulted in structures and materials hugely relevant for healthcare devices. Exploiting solution based 2D MXene materials can expedite their practical application in PE devices by overcoming the present limitations of conductive inks such as poor conductivity and the high cost of alternative functional inks. There has been much progress in the MXene functional ink generation and its PE device applications since its discovery in 2011. This review summarizes the MXene ink formulation for additive patterning and the development of PE devices enabled by them in healthcare, biomedical and related power provision applications

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58\ub75%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31\ub72%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10\ub72%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12\ub73%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9\ub74%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14\ub70%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23\ub72%] of 1282) HDI (p<0\ub7001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17\ub78%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31\ub74%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39\ub78%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1\ub760, 95% credible interval 1\ub705\u20132\ub737; p=0\ub7030). 132 (21\ub76%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16\ub76%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19\ub78%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35\ub79%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p<0\ub7001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication. Funding: DFID-MRC-Wellcome Trust Joint Global Health Trial Development Grant, National Institute of Health Research Global Health Research Unit Grant