Anderson, E. W. & L. D. Anderson. An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs 2 nd edition. New York: Routledge, 2014.

Book review

The concept of the collective ądāla of the Prophet Muhammad's Companions

This study seeks to investigate the concept of the collective ta'dil of the Prophet Muhammad's Companions as presented in the Sunni sources. According to this concept, all the Companions are considered trustworthy transmitters and this is the guarantee of the preservation of the whole religion of Islam. From our examination of the early and medieval Sunni sources, it is concluded that the root of the concept goes back to the early Murji'i attitude towards the Companions, an attitude taken according to their definition of faith and the position of the grave sinner. Not only did the concept develop out of this, but it also rested on the same epistemological ground of Murji'ism; that is, certitude is the only valid basis of any attitude towards people and events. In order to block any attempt to question the original 'adala of the Companions, the Sunni scholars argued that it was confirmed by the Qur'an and the Sunna. The accounts of the early schisms do not provide certain knowledge and thus cannot annul the original and certain 'adala of the Companions. This agrees with an established rule in Sunni Hadith criticism that everyone is 'adl until proven otherwise (expressed in some Sunni schools of law as the rule of istishab). From all this, it is concluded that the Sunni sources implicitly make a distinction between the 'adala and the ta'dil of the Companions: whereas 'adala is the original state that is further confirmed by the Qur'an and the Sunna, ta'dil is the sound attitude that Muslims should take according to the rule of istishab and, to a lesser extent, according to the view that the Companions were exercising ijtihad. This means that belief in the original 'adala of the Companions is the actual Sunni doctrine. Ta'dil, which is the main object of ijma' in this issue, is an attitude based mainly on the ground of lack of certitude

USING CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TO EVALUATE APICAL TRANSPORTATION AND CENTERING ABILITY OF WAVEONE, ONESHAPE AND TORNADO ROTARY SYSTEMS: A CLINICAL STUDY

This clinical study was aimed to evaluate apical transportation and centering ability of WaveOne, OneShape files and Tornado rotary system using Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Lower molars with a curving angle of buccal canals extending from 15°-45° in 24 patients were arbitrarily divided into three groups (n=8) rendering to the rotary systems used: Group 1, Tornado system, Group 2, WaveOne rotary system, and Group 3, OneShape rotary system. CBCT was used as a diagnostic method to evaluate centering ratio and canal transportation at 2, 5 and 8 mm from apical foramen. One-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey tests were used for statistical analysis at p≤0.05. No statistically significant difference in the magnitude of transportation and centering ability was found at all tested levels (P\u3e0.05). WaveOne and OneShape nickel-titanium files and Tornado stainless-steel file conserved the original canal curvature with no significant variance

Applying Association Rules and Co-location Techniques on Geospatial Web Services

Most contemporary GIS have only very basic spatial analysis and data mining functionality and many are confined to analysis that involves comparing maps and descriptive statistical displays like histograms or pie charts. Emerging Web standards promise a network of heterogeneous yet interoperable Web Services. Web Services would greatly simplify the development of many kinds of data integration and knowledge management applications. Geospatial data mining describes the combination of two key market intelligence software tools: Geographical Information Systems and Data Mining Systems. This research aims to develop a Spatial Data Mining web service it uses rule association techniques and correlation methods to explore results of huge amounts of data generated from crises management integrated applications developed. It integrates between traffic systems, medical services systems, civil defense and state of the art Geographic Information Systems and Data Mining Systems functionality in an open, highly extensible, internet-enabled plug-in architecture. The Interoperability of geospatial data previously focus just on data formats and standards. The recent popularity and adoption of the Internet and Web Services has provided a new means of interoperability for geospatial information not just for exchanging data but for analyzing these data during exchange. An integrated, user friendly Spatial Data Mining System available on the internet via a web service offers exciting new possibilities for spatial decision making and geographical research to a wide range of potential users.   Keywords: Spatial Data Mining, Rule Association, Co-location, Web Services, Geospatial Dat

The Media and the Making of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

While views may differ on the factors that made the 2011 Egyptian revolution possible, the role of mass media will remain undisputable. The Internet-based social networks caught the Mubarak regime by surprise, and the popular disillusionment with the ‘national’ media led the public to turn to private newspapers and satellite channels for keeping pace with the events. This paper examines the role of specific media during the 18 days of the 2011 Egyptian revolution – from 25 January to 11 February, 2011 – which we have divided into four parts. It discusses how these media contributed to the unfolding of events, conceptualized the protests and the demands of the public, and presented the actors that participated in or opposed the revolution. These points are addressed by discussing the content of the Facebook pages of the Sixth of April Movement and We Are All Khalid Said, as well as that of a private Egyptian newspaper, al-Shuruq, and the state-run newspaper al-Ahram.1 1 This paper was presented in the conference Covering the Arab Spring, Middle East in the Media – Media in the Middle East at the University of Copenhagen on 1-2 September, 2011. We would like to thank the conference organizers, Ehab Galal and Riem Spielhaus, as well as the two reviewers of Global Media Journal (German Edition) for their useful comments and suggestions

Emergency small- vs large-tube thoracostomy in chest trauma patients

Background: Therapeutic drainage is used to treat pleural disorders such as pneumothorax, hemothorax, empyema, chylothorax, and malignant effusions. This study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of small (24-26 Fr) versus large (30-32 Fr) tube thoracostomy in terms of the efficacy of drainage due to concerns about obstruction (in the case of hemothorax) or inadequate drainage (in the case of hemothorax, pneumothorax, or hemopneumothorax), pain score, repositioning, and the need for thoracotomy. Methods: This randomized prospective study included 112 chest trauma patients who experienced significant hemothorax, pneumothorax, or a combination of these conditions in a trauma unit (reception, inpatient, or ICU) between December 2021 and December 2022. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group I included 56 patients who underwent small (24–26 Fr) tube thoracostomy and 56 patients in Group II, in which a large (30-32 Fr) tube thoracostomy was performed. We investigated the differences between the two groups in terms of pain score, complication rate, duration of tube insertion, and need for another chest tube or thoracotomy. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups concerning the mode of trauma, chest trauma, or effect of trauma (p= 0.781, 0.622, >0.99, and >0.99, respectively). The two groups had a highly statistically significant difference regarding the pain score (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the duration of tube insertion (P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding outcomes (drainage efficacy, tube repositioning, tube replacement, or the need for thoracotomy) (p= 0.315, 0.344, and 0.814, respectively). Conclusion: Increasing the tube size might not affect the efficacy of drainage, the duration of tube insertion, the need for another tube, or the need for thoracotomy. Small (24-26 Fr) tube thoracostomies could also have favorable pain score outcomes

XEN Glaucoma Implant with Mitomycin C 1-Year Follow-Up: Result and Complications

Purpose. To evaluate gel microstent (XEN, Aquesys, Inc) for treatment of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods. In this prospective interventional study, 13 eyes with POAG underwent XEN implantation with subconjunctival mitomycin-C. Of those eyes, 3 were pseudophakic and 10 underwent simultaneous phacoemulsification and XEN. Patients had uncontrolled IOP, had intolerance to therapy, or had maximal therapy but undergoing cataract extraction. Follow-up visits included IOP, number of medications, vision, and complications and lasted for 1 year. Complete success was defined as IOP reduction ≥20% from preoperative baseline at 1 year without any glaucoma medications while partial success as IOP reduction of ≥20% at 1 year with medications. Results. IOP dropped from 16 ± 4 mmHg pre-op to 9 ± 5, 11 ± 6, 12 ± 5, 12 ± 4, and 12 ± 3 mmHg at 1 week, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months (p=0.004, 0.026, 0.034, 0.01, and 0.01, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks) consecutively. BCVA (LogMAR) was 0.33 ± 0.34 and improved to 0.13 ± 0.11 at 1 year. Mean number of medications dropped from 1.9 ± 1 preoperatively to 0.3 ± 0.49 (p=0.003) at 1 year. 42% of eyes achieved complete success and 66% qualified success. Complications included choroidal detachment in 2 eyes, and implant extrusion in 1 eye, and 2 eyes underwent trabeculectomy. Conclusion. XEN implant is an effective surgical treatment for POAG, with significant reduction in IOP and glaucoma medications at 1 year follow-up