Role of Identity in Peace Process: A Re-Interpretation of the Islamic Heritage

Reviewing the Western theories and ideologies on building and maintaining peace reflected in the conflict management and resolution in practice always indicates an imperative need for another perspective that could play an integral role in the international society. Regardless of the continuing call for an Islamic contribution in this field on the part of some Western scholars, the Muslim society itself based on a specific culture and a distinctive identity requires a different approach with particular tools that could fit its epistemological model. Exploring this approach, which is the main concern and the main aim of this paper, would never be limited to the Western tools from an Islamic perspective. In fact, it could be described as a difficult dual-task, because of its dependence on revising and rethinking the Islamic heritage, especially Quran and Prophet’s sayings, and presenting it within a framework that is suitable for the present era, and efficient in dealing with the current conflicts. These two anvils reflect one of the Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) branches, which is Ijtihad (the process of deriving the laws of the Shari\u27ah from its sources). This paper tries to focus on; first- The Purpose of Diversity in Islam: A Re-Interpretation of Some Pertinent Quranic Verse, second- the analysis of the Medina charter as the first civic constitutionin the world, and finally- the common values between the Western and the Islamic perspectives in terms of the different cultural and religious sources that aim at building, keeping and maintaining peace. This last point, specifically, is considered as an extract of the two first points; it bridges a serious gap between the Western and the Islamic perspectives on peace by trying to compensate for weaknesses that appear in the Western theories on peace,and enlightening the role of identity in transforming conflicts to peaceful coexistence and cooperation in Islam. As a conclusion and within this framework, the paper proves that the Quranic text and Medina Charter provide the field of peace studies with a new perspective on conflict management and resolution in international relations based on a trilogy of identity in Islam, which are; formation, acceptance and recognition. Referring to a number of Western literature, the Islamic contribution in peacebuilding needs to be explored and spread in order to test new sustainable and acceptable solutions and treatments for conflicts between nations, civilizations, and cultures

Community-Based Ecotourism Principles as a Framework for Community Development in Protected Areas

Tourism is one of the most important sources of national & international income in the World. One type which has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities and alleviation of poverty levels is Ecotourism. Ecotourism implies responsibility to the environment, resident communities, and a duty to respect, invest, and develop local cultures. This definition not only suggets that there should be a recognition of and positive support for the conservation of natural resources, both by suppliers and consumers, but also that there is a necessary social dimension to ecotourism. The term ‘community-based ecotourism’ (CBET) takes this social dimension a stage further. This is a planning paradigm where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community. CBET is considered the logical link between the environment, the local community, and the tourism industry. It has become the newest planning process approach in tourism development, devised to support community involvement, improve their living standards and protect natural resources which is the main current problem resulting from the mass tourism industry in Egypt. Since 2002, also the year when eco-tourism was internationally promoted by the UN the Egyptian government began to seek new strategies and plans to actively support the participation of local communities in ecotourism development initiatives in Egypt’s rich biodiversity and numerous protected areas. However, the actual implementation of involving communities in decision making is poorly achieved, which impacted negatively on the effectiveness and sustainability of these initiatives. This paper proposes an integrated community-based ecotourism framework. This was done through a theoretical study of the main principles and stratergies of community ecotourism that have been successfully applied in developing countries by using the Egyptian protected areas classifications which determine the applicable community participation types for effectively involving local communities in protected areas. Subsequently the framework can be applied to specific destinations and recommend action points for their development according to each area‘s needs and variable circumstances. Once developed, this integrated planning tool can be used to devise a local urban development plan by the local government and other organisations in protected areas to improve the physical and social environments and to create a better understanding of the relationship between tourism and community

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Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Physiotherapy Using Kinect

What Services Can Be Provided by Telemedicine? Sometimes telemedicine is best understood in terms of the services provided and the mechanisms used to provide those services. Here are some examples: Primary care and specialist referral services may involve a primary care or allied health professional providing a consultation with a patient or a specialist assisting the primary care physician in rendering a diagnosis. This may involve the use of live interactive video or the use of store-and-forward transmission of diagnostic images, vital signs, and/or video clips along with patient data. Remote patient monitoring, including home telehealth, uses devices to remotely collect and send data to a home-health agency or a remote diagnostic testing facility (RDTF) for interpretation. Such applications might include a specific vital sign, such as blood glucose or heart ECG, or a variety of indicators for homebound patients. Such services may supplement the use of visiting nurses. Consumer medical and health information includes the use of the Internet and wireless devices for patients to obtain specialized health information and access online discussion groups that provide peerto-peer support. Medical education provides continuing medical education credits for health professionals and special medical education seminars for targeted groups in remote locations. • What Delivery Mechanisms Can Be Used? Networked programs link tertiary care hospitals and clinics with outlying clinics and community health centers in rural or suburban areas. The links may use dedicated high-speed lines or the Internet for telecommunication links between sites. American Telemedicine Association (ATA) estimates the number of existing telemedicine networks in the United States at roughly 200, providing connectivity to over 3,000 sites. Point-to-point connections using private high-speed networks are used by hospitals and clinics that deliver services directly or outsource specialty services to independent medical service providers. Such outsourced services include radiology, stroke assessment, mental health, and intensive care (ICU) services. Monitoring center links are used for cardiac, pulmonary or fetal monitoring, and home care services. Often normal land-line or wireless connections are used to communicate directly between the patient and the center, although some systems use the Internet. Web-based e-health patient service sites provide direct patient outreach and services over the Internet. Under tele medicine, these include those sites that provide direct patient careTelemedicine is the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another through electronic communications to improve a patient’s clinical health status. Telemedicine includes a growing variety of applications and services using two-way video, e-mail, smart phones, wireless tools, and other forms of telecommunications technology

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An <i>in-vitro</i> quantitative investigation on the synergistic effect of capsaicin and 5-fluorouracil encapsulated into lipid nanocapsules to treat breast cancer

Breast cancer conventional therapeutics are effective; however, they encounter some limitations including multidrug resistance, the presence of pharmacological barriers, and non-selectivity which hinder their optimal therapeutic efficacy. Overcoming such drawbacks necessitates the development of efficient drug vehicles including lipid-based nanoparticles. This study aimed to quantitatively investigate in-vitro the synergistic therapeutic effect of the novel combination of capsaicin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) encapsulated in lipid nanocapsules (LNCs). To this end, thorough physicochemical and in-vitro assessments on the breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) were done. The drug-loaded LNCs were characterized using DLS, TEM imaging, stability study, and in-vitro release study. Furthermore, the biological activity of the prepared LNCs was assessed by implementing comparative cytotoxicity studies as well as apoptosis, and cell cycle flow cytometric analyses. The developed nanoformulations were monodisperse with average particle size (PS) of 31, 43.8, and 127.3 nm for empty LNCs, Cap-LNCs, and 5-FU-LNCs, respectively, and with a surface charge of −35.4, −21.7 and −31.4 mV, respectively, reflecting good physical stability. The TEM micrographs revealed the spherical morphology of the drugs-loaded LNCs with comparable PS to that obtained by DLS. on the other hand, all the biological assessments confirmed the superior antiproliferative effect of the combined drug-loaded LNCs over their free drug counterparts. Intriguingly, the study findings highlighted the potential synergistic activity of the drugs (capsaicin and 5-FU) and the extensive enhancement of their biological activity through incorporation into LNCs. Such promising results will pave the way to further novel combined nanoformulation in preclinical and clinical studies on breast cancer patients.</p

Rajia El BialyThe GEO approach to integrated environmental assessment Table of Contents List of Acronyms Overview Course Materials

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