La doctrina malikí sobre esclavitud y el Miray de Ahmad Baba

La obra Miray al-s. uud, del alfaquí de Tombuctú Ah. mad Baba (1556-1627), perteneciente a la escuela jurídica malikí, es una fatwà u opinión legal en el marco de la jurisprudencia islámica, que aborda la cuestión de los esclavos negros (sudan) que reclamaban la libertad en los mercados del norte de África, por haber sido capturados siendo musulmanes, algo que no está permitido en el islam. De acuerdo con el Derecho islámico clásico, sólo los no musulmanes que no cuenten con la protección de un pacto o del estatuto de lad imma, pueden ser esclavizados. Ah. mad Baba reitera esta doctrina en el Miray, haciendo hincapié en que, de acuerdo con la religión islámica, no existe ninguna relación entre el color de la piel y la esclavitud, y que los negros que habitan el bilad al-sudan (el África occidental premoderna) no son esclavos por naturaleza. Además, como medio para evitar la esclavización de musulmanes libres procedentes del África occidental premoderna, el autor lleva a cabo una clasificación de los pueblos que, en su época, han adoptado o no el islam en este ámbito geográfico, un sistema que plantea serias debilidades estructurales a la hora de llevar a cabo su fin, quizá también intencionadas.The work Miray al-s. uud, written in 17th century Timbuktu by Ah. mad Baba (1556- 1627), an Islamic scholar that adhered to the Malikí law school, is a fatwa or legal opinion that addresses the issue of the black (sudan) slaves that claimed their freedom in the markets of North Africa, for having been captured while being Muslims, something not allowed in pre- Modern Islamic law. According to it, only infidels without the protection of a pact or of the dhimma status can be legally enslaved. Ah. mad Baba repeats this doctrine, while emphasising that the black skin colour has nothing to do with slavery in islam, and that the peoples of pre-Modern West Africa (bilad al-sudan) are not slaves by nature. Besides this, and as a means of preventing the capture and sale of free African Muslims, the author classifies the peoples of sub- Saharan Africa according to their adherence (or lack of) to islam, a system that, however, could be hardly put into practice, as perhaps intended by the author himself

Algunos aspectos de la biología evolutiva de la Familia Hormogastridae Michalesen, 1900

La presente Tesis Doctoral pretende hacer una aproximación a distintos aspectos de la Biología Evolutiva de las lombrices de tierra de la Familia Hormogastridae. Para ello, se hace uso de técnicas moleculares que permiten responder a preguntas difíciles de abarcar usando técnicas tradicionales. [ABSTRACT]The present Phd dissertation studies different aspects of the Evolutionary Biology of Hormogastridae earthworms. Molecular techniques are used and permit to answer questions that would be impossible to cover by traditional methods

Extra virgin olive oil and cardiovascular diseases: benefits for human health

The cardioprotective properties of Mediterranean Diet were demonstrated for the first time from the Seven Country Study. In the last few decades, numerous epidemiological studies, as well as intervention trial, confirmed this observation, pointing out the close relationship between the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular diseases. In this context, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), the most representative component of this diet, seems to be relevant in lowering the incidence of cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and stroke. From a chemical point of view, 98-99% of the total weight of EVOO is represented by fatty acids, especially monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid. Tocopherols, polyphenols and other minor constituents represent the remaining 1-2%. All these components may potentially contribute to "health maintenance" with their beneficial effects by EVOOO

Is there an interplay between adherence to mediterranean diet, antioxidant status, and vascular disease in atrial fibrillation patients?

Mediterranean Diet (Med-Diet) is associated with reduced incidence of vascular events (VEs) in atrial fibrillation (AF), but the mechanism accounting for its beneficial effect is only partially known. We hypothesized that Med-Diet may reduce VEs by improving antioxidant status, as assessed by glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We performed a prospective cohort study investigating the relationship between adherence to Med-Diet, serum baseline GPx3 and SOD activities, and the occurrence of VEs in 690 AF patients. GPx3 activity was directly associated with Med-Diet score (B = 0.192, p < 0.001) and inversely with age (B = −0.124, p = 0.001), after adjustment for potential confounders; Med-Diet weakly affected SOD levels. During a mean follow-up of 46.1 ± 28.2 months, 89 VEs were recorded; patients with VEs had lower GPx3 levels compared with those without VEs (p = 0.002); and no differences regarding SOD activity were found. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that age (Hazard ratio [HR]:1.065, p < 0.001), logGPx3 (above median, HR: 0.629, p < 0.05), and Med-Diet score (HR: 0.547, p < 0.05) predicted VEs. Med-Diet favorably modulates antioxidant activity of GPx3 in AF, resulting in reduced VEs rate. We hypothesize that the modulation of GPx3 levels by Med-Diet could represent an additional nutritional strategy to prevent VEs in AF patients

Lipopolysaccharide as trigger of platelet aggregation via eicosanoid over-production

The effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on platelet aggregation is still controversial. We performed in vitro and ex vivo studies in controls and in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) to assess the effect of LPS on platelet activation (PA). LPS (15-100 pg/ml) significantly increased PA only if combined with sub-threshold concentrations (STC) of collagen or ADP; this effect was associated with increased platelet H2O2 production, Nox2 activation, PLA2 phosphorylation, thromboxane (Tx)A2 and 8-iso-PGF2α-III, and was inhibited by aspirin, TxA2 receptor antagonist or by Toll-like receptor 4 blocking peptide (TLR4bp). Analysis of up-stream signalling potentially responsible for Nox2 and PLA2 activation demonstrated that LPS-mediated PA was associated with phosphorylation of AKT, p38 and p47phox translocation. In 10 consecutive CAP patients serum endotoxins were significantly higher compared to 10 controls (145 [115-187] vs 18 [6-21] pg/ml; p<0.01). Ex vivo study showed that agonist-stimulated platelets were associated with enhanced PA (p<0.01), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression (p<0.05), thromboxane (Tx)A2 (p<0.01) and 8-iso-PGF2α-III (p<0.01) production in CAP patients compared to controls. The study provides evidence that LPS amplifies the platelet response to common agonists via TLR4-mediated eicosanoid production and suggests LPS as a potential trigger for PA in CAP

Gut-Derived Serum Lipopolysaccharide is Associated With Enhanced Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Atrial Fibrillation: Effect of Adherence to Mediterranean Diet

Gut microbiota is emerging as a novel risk factor for atherothrombosis, but the predictive role of gut-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is unknown. We analyzed (1) the association between LPS and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in atrial fibrillation (AF) and (2) its relationship with adherence to a Mediterranean diet (Med-diet)

Is there an interplay between adherence to mediterranean diet, antioxidant status, and vascular disease in atrial fibrillation patients?

Mediterranean Diet (Med-Diet) is associated with reduced incidence of vascular events (VEs) in atrial fibrillation (AF), but the mechanism accounting for its beneficial effect is only partially known. We hypothesized that Med-Diet may reduce VEs by improving antioxidant status, as assessed by glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We performed a prospective cohort study investigating the relationship between adherence to Med-Diet, serum baseline GPx3 and SOD activities, and the occurrence of VEs in 690 AF patients. GPx3 activity was directly associated with Med-Diet score (B = 0.192, p &lt; 0.001) and inversely with age (B = −0.124, p = 0.001), after adjustment for potential confounders; Med-Diet weakly affected SOD levels. During a mean follow-up of 46.1 ± 28.2 months, 89 VEs were recorded; patients with VEs had lower GPx3 levels compared with those without VEs (p = 0.002); and no differences regarding SOD activity were found. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that age (Hazard ratio [HR]:1.065, p &lt; 0.001), logGPx3 (above median, HR: 0.629, p &lt; 0.05), and Med-Diet score (HR: 0.547, p &lt; 0.05) predicted VEs. Med-Diet favorably modulates antioxidant activity of GPx3 in AF, resulting in reduced VEs rate. We hypothesize that the modulation of GPx3 levels by Med-Diet could represent an additional nutritional strategy to prevent VEs in AF patients