Women's rights in Islam and current discourse of international human rights law

The international norm of non-discrimination on the basis of sex as reflected in the UN human rights instrument culminated in 1979 with the adoption of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. With the adoption of the Convention, the separate concepts of women's rights were recast in a global perspective, and supervisory machinery with terms of reference similar to those of existing human rights organs was provided for. Although the Convention is considered as the most important binding document for elimination of discrimination against women, it met with a large number of reservations by member states. The number of far reaching reservations entered to the Women's Convention has been the subject of a global debate and the Convention is seen as the most 'political' of all the human rights instruments. Muslim member states to the Convention have entered reservations to its substantive provisions based on Islamic Law and emphasise that the formulation and interpretation of these rights in Sharia is very different from the concept of human rights in international human rights instruments.Reservations of Muslim state parties to the substantive provisions of the Women's Convention and present gender discriminatory laws in Muslim states based on some jurists' interpretation of a few verses in the Quran and the existence of a few ahadith, including qawwamun (the superiority of male over female in marriage), divorce, guardianship and custody, women's testimony which is worth half that of a man in financial transactions; inheritance rights of women where women are entitled to half the share of a man in a comparable situation; polygamy and some issues in Islamic penal law which are undesirable from the perspective of women's human rights in international law have led to the belief that women in Islamic societies are second citizen and Islamic principles are an obstacle to eliminating discrimination against women. They also reinforce the view in the West that the concept of women's human rights in Islam is entirely irreconcilable with international human rights norms on the subject, such as those expressed in the Women's Convention.By studying the origin of the religion and Islamic sources, the present author, however, seriously doubts the validity of the Western view and Muslim parties' reservations to substantive provisions of the Convention, based solely on their interpretation of the Sharia. Contrary to the common perception, the principles of Islamic law do not consist of an immutable, unchanging set of norms, but have an inbuilt dynamism that is sensitive and flexible so that Islamic law can remain up-to-date and respond to the questions and demands of people at different times and places.This project, in the light of Islamic sources and interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence from both schools of thought, Sunni and Shi'a, is designed in four parts to discuss and explore the place of women's rights in Islam and the current discourse of women's human rights in modem international law in order to determine whether Islamic law is reconcilable with international women's human rights such as those expressed in the Women's Convention

Evaluation of Normal Pressures during Filling in Steel Hoppers with Eccentric Outlet

Filling pressures are a necessary starting point in the design of silos and hoppers. The hoppers with complicated geometries are common in industrial applications due to physical space constraints and the need to interface with other processing equipment. The current paper deals with the effect of outlet eccentricity on normal pressures formed in steel hoppers during distributed filling process. Using finite element method, progressive filling process in hoppers was simulated and by changing the percentage of outlet eccentricity, the variation of pressure distribution was fully studied. The results showed an increase in the normal pressures of shallow side compared with the steep side of eccentric hopper. To quantify the pressure asymmetry, two parameters were introduced and they were evaluated for practical range of material parameters and steel hoppers dimensions. The results obtained are of interest since they facilitate the design of silos and hoppers with eccentric outlet

Different sonographic features of peripheral thyroid nodule calcification and risk of malignancy : a prospective observational study

Purpose: To investigate the association of peripheral calcification, as well as its sonographic features, with thyroid nodule malignancy. Material and methods: This study was prospectively conducted during 2015-2020 on patients diagnosed with thyroid nodule undergoing ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in Shahid Beheshti teaching hospital or private offices in Babol, northern Iran. The ultrasonographic characteristics of the nodules, as well as the cytological findings, were recorded. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between sonographic results and malignancy. We also used receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analysis to estimate the ability of ultrasound to predict the characteristic features of malignancy, as estimated by the area under the curve (AUC). Results: A total of 1857 thyroid nodules were finally included, of which 84 were peripherally calcified nodules. There was a significant positive association between the nodule malignancy and peripheral calcification (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.13-4.35). In the nodules with peripheral calcification, significant positive associations were seen between malignancy and lobulated margin (OR = 3.85, 95% CI: 1.02-14.54) and solid composition (OR = 4.05, 95% CI: 0.99-16.53). The ROC analysis indicated that AUC for lobulated margin and solid composition was 63.8% and 66.5%, respectively, in predicting malignant thyroid nodules. Conclusion: The findings showed that peripheral calcification on sonography can be a potential indicator of malignant thyroid nodules. Also, the presence of lobulated margin and/or solid composition, besides peripheral calcification, can be helpful in better distinguishing malignant from benign nodules

Relation of hemoglobin A1c to left ventricular diastolic function in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and without overt heart disease

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a main feature of diabetic heart disease. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the relation of hemoglobin A1c and diastolic function in type 1 diabetes mellitus. We examined echocardiographic studies of 25 patients with type 1 diabetes without clinical evidence of heart disease and 25 healthy age-and sex-matched normal individuals. In patients with type 1 diabetes, there was a diastolic dysfunction with lower transmitral E/A (1.28±0.3 vs. 1.6±0.3; p=0.01), more prolonged isovolumic relaxation time (99±11 vs. 71±8, p=0.003) in comparison with normal subjects. Furthermore, HbA1c correlated with diastolic indices. These results demonstrate that asymptomatic diastolic dysfunction is common in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and that its severity correlates with glycemic control

Vulnerability measures for flood and drought and the application in hydrometric network design

Climatic variability and change can have profound impacts on human societies and wildlife habitats. Extreme events and natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and windstorms, can lead to loss of lives, economic damages, and disruption in livelihoods, infrastructure, and ecosystems. These impacts depend on the intensity and the magnitude of the hazard and the characteristics of the society hit by the disaster. Investigating and predicting adverse effects of frequent climatic hazards are essential for policy makers and resource managers to plan for the future and be prepared for the consequences of these types of natural disasters. Vulnerability assessments provide a framework to detect the potential threats by exploring the nature of the hazard as well as the political, economic, and social conditions that are expected to affect the capacity of communities to cope with or adapt to that hazard. This research involves the development of a framework for vulnerability assessment of flood and drought at the river basin, sub-catchment, and community scale. The vulnerability assessment method is composed of three major components of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Several indicators are identified to represent these major components of the vulnerability structure. The developed vulnerability assessment has then been implemented on the Upper Ottawa River Basin, Canada. A Geographic Information System-based methodology is used to manage a wide variety of data, to aggregate and integrate several indicators including socio-economic and biophysical indicators, and to visualize the final vulnerability map. The studied areas are categorized in three levels of the vulnerability, high, moderate, and low. North Bay is identified as highly vulnerable to both flood and drought risk. Noranda is also classified as a highly flood-vulnerable area. The vulnerability assessment will provide a valuable insight for mitigation planning as well as prioritizing resource allocation for decision makers. In this research, the location and adequacy of the hydrometric monitoring stations in the Upper Ottawa River Basin are evaluated using the vulnerability map for optimum design of monitoring network.4 month

Prevalence and severity of ocular involvement in Graves’ disease according to sex and age: A clinical study from Babol, Iran

Background: Thyroid-associated eye disease (TED), previously known as Graves’ ophthalmopathy is a cosmetically and functionally debilitating disease that is seen worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical severity of ocular manifestations of Graves’ disease according to sex, age and duration in northern Iran. Methods: Between April 2011 and March 2012, 105 patients with Graves’ disease, underwent ophthalmic examination, including ocular motility, exophthalmometry, intraocular pressure (IOP), slit lamp and fundoscopy. Patients received scores according to modified Werner’s NO SPECS classification. Results: Ocular involvement was found in 70 patients with established Graves’s disease. The mean age was 35.0 years, (SD 13.0, range 15 to 69). The most common ocular findings were exophthalmometric proptosis of more than 20 mm (63.8%), lid lag (55.7%), lid retraction (52.8%) and tearing (38.6%). Almost 70% of patients had bilateral involvement. Elevated IOP was seen in 15 (25.4%) patients, and was significantly related to proptosis (P=0.007). More than half of the patients (n=36, 52.2%) had a modified Werner’s NO SPECS score of 3.00. Clinical severity as shown by the increasing number of signs and symptoms per patient was correlated to increasing age (r=0.31, P=0.01) but not to gender (P=0.17). Conclusions: Both functional (ocular motility disorders, increased IOP) and cosmetic (proptosis, periorbital edema) sequels are common ocular presentations in patients with Graves' disease. Proptosis was the most common finding in this study and was associated with elevated IOP. Clinical severity was found to correlate to increasing age

Sonographic and Serological Survey of Hydatid Disease in Rural Regions of Shahdad and Chatroud, Kerman Province, 2006-2007

Abstract: Background & Aims: Human cystic Echinococcosis (CE) caused by larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, has a cosmopolitan distribution and is particularly more prevalent in rural regions. Iran is an endemic focus for CE and human cases are reported regularly from medical centers in different parts of Iran including Kerman. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of hydatidosis among rural communities in Shahdad and Chatroud in Kerman province. Methods: A total of 451 individuals (87 males and 364 females) were selected by randomized cluster sampling between 2006 and 2007. Demographic features were recorded in a questionnaire and abdominal ultrasonography was carried out. Then 5 ml venous blood sample was collected for ELISA test. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and Multivariate logistic regression for risk factors analysis. Results: Two hydatid cases (0.4%) were detected by ultrasonography. Serological results showed 8.8 % (37 cases) seropositivity, and females (9.7%) were more positive than males (4.9%). There was a significant difference in CE prevalence in different age groups (p=0.012). Results showed the seroprevalence of 8.5% and 9% in Shahdad and Chatroud respectively and there was no significant difference in CE prevalence rates between the two regions. Multivariate logistic regression showed that females were 4.6 times more likely to be infected than males (OR=4.6, 95% CI=1.27-16.79). Proper washing of vegetables decreased the probability of infection by 71% (OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.13-0.65).Dog ownership was not a significant risk factor of CE (OR=0.28, 95% CI=0.06-1.22, P=0.09). Housewives (9.6%) and farmers (9.1%) were more seropositve than other groups. Canclusion: The study showed that seroprevalence of hydatid disease is relatively high in rural regions of Shahdad and Chatroud. Keywords: Echinococcosis, Hydatidosis, Ultrasound, Seroprevalence, Epidemiology, Kerma

The use of plasmapheresis in a severe case of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis

Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) can be difficult to treat since amiodarone\u27s long half-life leads to a persistent effect on thyroid function. We present a case of a 74-year-old male with severe AIT who presented with altered mentation and ultimately required intubation and intensive care for management of thyroid storm. Standard medical therapy for treatment of thyroid storm was initiated immediately, but the patient remained unresponsive with worsening biochemical parameters with increasing total T3 levels and sustained elevated levels of free T4 after 5 days of medical management. Due to the lack of a clinical and biochemical response to conventional medical therapy, the patient was started on plasmapheresis and underwent a total of 7 cycles of plasmapheresis over a period of 10 days. He significantly improved with plasmapheresis and was successfully bridged to a total thyroidectomy, which was completed without complications

Polyaniline Modified with Cobalt-Hexacyanoferrate (PmCH) as an Adsorbent for Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solutions

In this study, polyaniline modified with cobalt-hexacyanoferrate (PmCH) composite was synthesized and characterized for removal of Rb+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, and Ni2+ by FTIR and XRD. The effect of pH, adsorbent dosage, ionic strength, contact time, initial ion concentration, and temperature were studied. The competition adsorption experiments between metal ions were investigated. Batch desorption was also conducted to evaluate the reusability of PmCH. The maximum adsorption capacities were 96.15, 27.17, 17.85, 19.15, and 4.76 mg g-1 of Rb+, Cd2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, and Ni2+, respectively. The optimum pH was determined at natural pH of each solution