When Environmental Obligations Collide with State Sovereignty: An International and Sharia Law Perspective

This article critically reviews the notion of State sovereignty under international law and argues that to achieve eco-justice as well as sustainable development goals, a restrictive and ecological approach needs to be taken toward the principle of states’ permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Environmental sustainability requires states’ environmental obligations to be identified as erga omnes so they can be addressed toward the international community as a whole and fall within the scope of article 48 of the ILC Articles on States Responsibility. Interestingly, in complete alignment with this progressive interpretation, sustainable utilization of natural resources has a longstanding foundation in Islam. According to some Islamic scholars, the Islamic notion of Al-Anfal implies that the Islamic States cannot own the natural wealth and resources in their territories, but should only manage them for the benefit of all generations in a manner that the origin of the source would be preserved at all times. Therefore, suggested transformation can be acceptable to the Muslim majority countries. This research takes a normative approach and a library research method to the inevitable development that needs to take place in international law

Comparison of rumination between men and women with obsessive- compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Ruminations are one of the influencing factors in the development and continuation of obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobias. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the rumination between man and women with obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety. Materials & Methods: The research design was cross-sectional. The research participants included 30 patients with social anxiety disorder and 30 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder who were aged between 15 and 50 years from Zanjan city in 2017. Samples were selected on the basis of psychiatrist diagnosis and structured diagnostic interviews (SCID-I) and (SCID-II), and the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The rumination response style questionnaire (RRS) was used to measure the variables. Results: The results of MANOVA showed that women with OCD have more rumination and distraction than men with this disorder (p≤0.05). However, there was no significant difference between two groups regarding the component of contemplation. There was no significant difference between men and women in social anxiety disorder in terms of rumination and its related components. Conclusion: According to research findings, rumination plays an important role in obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety, which are experienced by both groups. Therefore, the role of ruminations in women with obsessive-compulsive disorder is more intense. &nbsp

Significance of physicochemical factors in the transmission of Escherichia coli and chloride

Background: Organic manures are the source of many pathogenic bacteria which could be dangerous for human health. Bacterial transmission and retention in soil is important for processes ranging from contaminant degradation during in situ bioremediation to transport of pathogenic bacteria into groundwater. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the transport of Escherichia coli and chloride (Cl) in the soil saturation conditions, considering the importance of preferential flow using synthetic macrospores (different diameters of macrospores including 0, 1 and 2 cm) and HYDRUS-2D model. Also, the effect of different salinity levels of water (including electrical conductivity of 1, 2 and 4 dSm-1) on the transmission of E. coli was investigated. The preferential flow system was prepared and designed using two sand sizes including fine sand and coarse sands in the columns. Results: The results showed that the retention of E. coli increased with the ionic strength of the solution, while the effect of E. coli in the fine sand was greater than that of the coarse sand. This bacterial transfer behavior was well described by numerical simulations. The importance of preferential flow in bacterial transfer showed that it increases at higher ionic strength, even if overall transmission is reduced. Although the bacterial transmission is facilitated in salinity, the results of this study showed that with increase of ionic strength of the soil solution, the amount of bacterial purification was increased that could be effective in controlling groundwater contamination with saline water management. Conclusion: According to the results, with increase of ionic strength of the soil solution, the amount of bacterial purification was increased that could be effective in controlling groundwater contamination with saline water management, so that the least transition has taken place and the conditions for the use of unconventional water sources were also created, without the environmental problem of the risk of groundwater pollution. Keywords: Escherichia coli, Soil, Water pollutio

Effectiveness of Hesabyar Cognitive Rehabilitation on Neuropsychological Functions of Children with Special Learning Disabilities

Background: Children with learning disabilities have cognitive impairments not attributable to their intelligence. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Hesabyar Cognitive Rehabilitation on neuropsychological functions of children with special learning disabilities.Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study which had pre-test and post-test design and conducted with a control group. The statistical population included all the male elementary students with special learning disabilities in Semnan, Iran, in the academic year 2019-2020. The sample consisted of 40 students (20 participants in each group) with special learning disabilities that were treated. The Conners Psychological Scale was used for data collection. The experimental group underwent cognitive load rehabilitation every other day for 10 sessions while the control group did not receive any treatment. The data were analyzed using the statistical method of multivariate analysis of covariance and SPSS version 24.Results: The mean±SD of age in the experimental group and the control group were respectively 11.2±0.9 and 11.5±0.8. The results of ANCOVA analysis showed that Hesabyar Cognitive Rehabilitation program made significant changes in components of variables, including selective attention (P=0.002), sustain attention (P=0.001), attention shifting (P=0.001), attention divided (P=0.004), attention span (P=0.002) l-term memory (P=0.011) [components of difficulty in memory function and learning], executive functions (P=0.001), problem with speed and cognitive processing ability (P=0.016), as well as components of academic performance problems, namely attention functions (P=0.004), computational science (P=0.002), argument/calculations (P=0.014), and attitudinal discussions (P=0.001) [components of academic performance problems: mathematics].Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, Hesabyar Cognitive Rehabilitation program is one of the treatments that can be used to minimize the problems of students with math learning disorders

Expression of Leishmania major LmSTI1 in Yeast Pichia Pastoris

Background: Leishmania major LmSTI1 is a conserved protein among different species of leishmania, and expressed in both amastigote and promastigote forms of L. major life cycle. It has previously been expressed in bacterial systems.Materials and Methods: To express LmSTI1 in the methylotrophic yeast         Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris), the shuttle vector pPICZA containing gene lmsti1 was constructed under the control of the AOX1 promoter. The recombinant vector was electro-transformed into P. pastoris, and induced by 0.5% methanol in the buffered medium. The expression of the LmSTI1 protein was visualized in the total soluble protein of P. pastoris by 12% SDS-PAGE, and further confirmed by Western blotting with L.major-infected mouse sera and HRP-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG as the first and secondary antibodies, respectively.Results: The expression level was 0.2% of total soluble proteins.Conclusion: It might be possible to use this formulation as a whole yeast candidate vaccine against cutaneous leishmanization

ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE FATTY ACIDS IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS AND HOT-NATURE DIETARY INTERVENTION WITH CO-SUPPLEMENTED HEMP-SEED AND EVENING-PRIMROSE OILS

The risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with increased dietary intake of saturated fatty acids. For many years it has been suspected that this disease might be associated with an imbalance between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids. We determined erythrocyte membrane fatty acids levels in Hot nature dietary intervention with co-supplemented hemp seed and evening primrose oils in multiple sclerosis patients. To determine the erythrocyte membrane fatty acids levels and correlate it with expanded disability status scale (EDSS) at baseline after 6 months intervention in MS patients by gas chromatography, in this double blind, randomized trial, 100 RRMS patients with EDS

The clinical and genetic spectrum of autosomal-recessive TOR1A-related disorders.

In the field of rare diseases, progress in molecular diagnostics led to the recognition that variants linked to autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative diseases of later onset can, in the context of biallelic inheritance, cause devastating neurodevelopmental disorders and infantile or childhood-onset neurodegeneration. TOR1A-associated arthrogryposis multiplex congenita 5 (AMC5) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder arising from biallelic variants in TOR1A, a gene that in the heterozygous state is associated to torsion dystonia-1 (DYT1 or DYT-TOR1A), an early-onset dystonia with reduced penetrance. While 15 individuals with TOR1A-AMC5 have been reported (less than 10 in detail), a systematic investigation of the full disease-associated spectrum has not been conducted. Here, we assess the clinical, radiological and molecular characteristics of 57 individuals from 40 families with biallelic variants in TOR1A. Median age at last follow-up was 3 years (0-24 years). Most individuals presented with severe congenital flexion contractures (95%) and variable developmental delay (79%). Motor symptoms were reported in 79% and included lower limb spasticity and pyramidal signs, as well as gait disturbances. Facial dysmorphism was an integral part of the phenotype, with key features being a broad/full nasal tip, narrowing of the forehead and full cheeks. Analysis of disease-associated manifestations delineated a phenotypic spectrum ranging from normal cognition and mild gait disturbance to congenital arthrogryposis, global developmental delay, intellectual disability, absent speech and inability to walk. In a subset, the presentation was consistent with fetal akinesia deformation sequence with severe intrauterine abnormalities. Survival was 71% with higher mortality in males. Death occurred at a median age of 1.2 months (1 week - 9 years) due to respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, or sepsis. Analysis of brain MRI studies identified non-specific neuroimaging features, including a hypoplastic corpus callosum (72%), foci of signal abnormality in the subcortical and periventricular white matter (55%), diffuse white matter volume loss (45%), mega cisterna magna (36%) and arachnoid cysts (27%). The molecular spectrum included 22 distinct variants, defining a mutational hotspot in the C-terminal domain of the Torsin-1A protein. Genotype-phenotype analysis revealed an association of missense variants in the 3-helix bundle domain to an attenuated phenotype, while missense variants near the Walker A/B motif as well as biallelic truncating variants were linked to early death. In summary, this systematic cross-sectional analysis of a large cohort of individuals with biallelic TOR1A variants across a wide age-range delineates the clinical and genetic spectrum of TOR1A-related autosomal-recessive disease and highlights potential predictors for disease severity and survival

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors 2017 includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. METHODS: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 359 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

How long one lives, how many years of life are spent in good and poor health, and how the population's state of health and leading causes of disability change over time all have implications for policy, planning, and provision of services. We comparatively assessed the patterns and trends of healthy life expectancy (HALE), which quantifies the number of years of life expected to be lived in good health, and the complementary measure of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), a composite measure of disease burden capturing both premature mortality and prevalence and severity of ill health, for 359 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories over the past 28 years. Methods We used data for age-specific mortality rates, years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature mortality, and years lived with disability (YLDs) from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to calculate HALE and DALYs from 1990 to 2017. We calculated HALE using age-specific mortality rates and YLDs per capita for each location, age, sex, and year. We calculated DALYs for 359 causes as the sum of YLLs and YLDs. We assessed how observed HALE and DALYs differed by country and sex from expected trends based on Socio-demographic Index (SDI). We also analysed HALE by decomposing years of life gained into years spent in good health and in poor health, between 1990 and 2017, and extra years lived by females compared with males. Findings Globally, from 1990 to 2017, life expectancy at birth increased by 7·4 years (95% uncertainty interval 7·1-7·8), from 65·6 years (65·3-65·8) in 1990 to 73·0 years (72·7-73·3) in 2017. The increase in years of life varied from 5·1 years (5·0-5·3) in high SDI countries to 12·0 years (11·3-12·8) in low SDI countries. Of the additional years of life expected at birth, 26·3% (20·1-33·1) were expected to be spent in poor health in high SDI countries compared with 11·7% (8·8-15·1) in low-middle SDI countries. HALE at birth increased by 6·3 years (5·9-6·7), from 57·0 years (54·6-59·1) in 1990 to 63·3 years (60·5-65·7) in 2017. The increase varied from 3·8 years (3·4-4·1) in high SDI countries to 10·5 years (9·8-11·2) in low SDI countries. Even larger variations in HALE than these were observed between countries, ranging from 1·0 year (0·4-1·7) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (62·4 years [59·9-64·7] in 1990 to 63·5 years [60·9-65·8] in 2017) to 23·7 years (21·9-25·6) in Eritrea (30·7 years [28·9-32·2] in 1990 to 54·4 years [51·5-57·1] in 2017). In most countries, the increase in HALE was smaller than the increase in overall life expectancy, indicating more years lived in poor health. In 180 of 195 countries and territories, females were expected to live longer than males in 2017, with extra years lived varying from 1·4 years (0·6-2·3) in Algeria to 11·9 years (10·9-12·9) in Ukraine. Of the extra years gained, the proportion spent in poor health varied largely across countries, with less than 20% of additional years spent in poor health in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, and Slovakia, whereas in Bahrain all the extra years were spent in poor health. In 2017, the highest estimate of HALE at birth was in Singapore for both females (75·8 years [72·4-78·7]) and males (72·6 years [69·8-75·0]) and the lowest estimates were in Central African Republic (47·0 years [43·7-50·2] for females and 42·8 years [40·1-45·6] for males). Globally, in 2017, the five leading causes of DALYs were neonatal disorders, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALY rates decreased by 41·3% (38·8-43·5) for communicable diseases and by 49·8% (47·9-51·6) for neonatal disorders. For non-communicable diseases, global DALYs increased by 40·1% (36·8-43·0), although age-standardised DALY rates decreased by 18·1% (16·0-20·2)