82 research outputs found
<Special Feature 1 "Islam as a Source of Contemporary Thought: New Advances and Outlooks">Ijma' in Islamic Law and Islamic Thought: Tradition, Contemporary Relevance, and Prospects
This article investigates the theoretical importance and historical developments of consensus/ijma' (ijmā') in Islam, in Islamic jurisprudence in particular as well as in Islamic thought in general, and against this background it will present a case of consensus making in the current conditions. The religion of Islam introduced by Prophet Muhammad to the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century declared its adherents, the Muslims, to be one single Ummah (Umma, community) and prioritized consensus and collectivism in its teachings. However, early divisions among the Muslims created disagreements and it took nearly two and a half centuries for the silent majority to formulate their stance as one which holds to the Jama'a (Jamā'a, collectivity). In the formation of Islamic Jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-Fiqh), ijma' was firmly positioned as the next source of legal interpretations after the Qur'an and Sunna. However, its strict definition made actual consensus making difficult. Subsequently, in the 20th century, alternative expressions relating to consensus, such as ittifaq (ittifāq, agreement) and jumhur (jumhūr, majority), became more widely circulated. While the traditional consensuses were all "resultant" ones, in the 21st century a new era of ijma' building through institutions has started, as demonstrated by the case of the "Ijma' of Amman Message.
<Special Feature 1 "Islam as a Source of Contemporary Thought: New Advances and Outlooks"> Editors' Preface
Endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy for Raynaud's phenomenon
AbstractPurpose: For many years, thoracic sympathectomy via open surgery was not used to treat Raynaud's phenomenon because of the invasiveness of this procedure and the poor long-term outcomes associated with it. However, with the introduction of endoscopic surgery, thoracic sympathectomy (or sympathicotomy) has been performed by some surgeons as a less invasive surgical option for patients with Raynaud's phenomenon. The less invasive procedure has the possibility of emphasizing merits of sympathectomy. The purpose of this study was to reevaluate the efficacy of sympathicotomy for Raynaud's phenomenon with endoscopic technique and its range of applicability. Methods: Between December 1992 and August 2001, endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) was performed in 28 patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (of a total of 502 patients with autonomic disorders who underwent ETS) at National Kanazawa Hospital. We considered indications for surgical treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon to include severe chronic symptoms or nonhealing digital ulceration refractory to intensive medical therapy. All patients were mailed a self-assessment questionnaire after surgery to determine the immediate and long-term results of the procedure. Data from both initial and long-term follow-up examinations were obtained. Results: Fifty-four ETS procedures were performed in 28 patients. No operative mortality was seen, and no occurrence of major complications necessitated open surgery. Initial resolution or improvement of symptoms was achieved in 26 of 28 patients (92.9%). However, later in the postoperative period, symptoms recurred in 23 of 28 patients (82.1%), although no recurrence of digital ulceration was seen throughout our observation. At the final follow-up examination (median follow-up period, 62.5 months), 25 patients (89.3%) reported overall improvement of the frequency and severity of their symptoms. Conclusion: Despite the high rate of recurrence, ETS clearly produced a high rate of initial relief. ETS did indeed promote healing of digital ulcers, and the procedure shows potential for reducing the severity of refractory symptoms. We consider ETS to be the method of choice for treatment of severe or refractory Raynaud's phenomenon, and especially for Raynaud's involving digital ulcer, because of its safety and efficacy. (J Vasc Surg 2002;36:57-61.
Treatment with Corticosteroid for Pericardial Effusion in a Patient with Advanced Synchronous Esophageal and Gastric Cancers following Chemoradiotherapy
Severe late toxicity following chemoradiotherapy in esophageal cancer, especially cardiac toxicity, is sometimes difficult to treat and is associated with mortality. However there is little published information with regard to patients with delayed pericardial effusion following chemoradiotherapy and its management. We herein report the case of a 63-year-old man with advanced synchronous esophageal and gastric cancers. This patient presented with pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade after definitive chemoradiotherapy and was successfully treated with corticosteroid after pericardiocentesis. No instances of pericardial and pleural effusions were observed during the 2-year follow-up period until his death from cancer relapses
Prenatal diagnosis of severe mitochondrial diseases caused by nuclear gene defects: a study in Japan
Prenatal diagnoses of mitochondrial diseases caused by defects in nuclear DNA (nDNA) or mitochondrial DNA have been reported in several countries except for Japan. The present study aimed to clarify the status of prenatal genetic diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases caused by nDNA defects in Japan. A comprehensive genomic analysis was performed to diagnose more than 400 patients, of which, 13 families (16 cases) had requested prenatal diagnoses. Eight cases diagnosed with wild type homozygous or heterozygous variants same as either of the heterozygous parents continued the pregnancy and delivered healthy babies. Another eight cases were diagnosed with homozygous, compound heterozygous, or hemizygous variants same as the proband. Of these, seven families chose to terminate the pregnancy, while one decided to continue the pregnancy. Neonatal- or infantile-onset mitochondrial diseases show severe phenotypes and lead to lethality. Therefore, such diseases could be candidates for prenatal diagnosis with careful genetic counseling, and prenatal testing could be a viable option for families
Decomposition of the Superwind in M82
We present new optical images (, , and H) of the archetypical
starburst/superwind galaxy M82 obtained with the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope to
reveal new detailed structures of the superwind-driven nebula and the
high-latitude dark lanes. The emission-line nebula is decomposed into (1) a
ridge-dominated component comprising numerous filament/loop sub-structures
whose overall morphology appears as a pair of narrow cylinders, and (2) a
diffuse component extended over much wider opening angle from the nucleus. We
suggest that these two components have different origins. The ridge-dominated
component appears as a pair of cylinders rather than a pair of cones. Since
this morphological property is similar to that of hot plasma probed by soft
X-ray, this component seems to surround the hot plasma. On the other hand, the
diffuse component may arise from dust grains which scatter stellar light from
the galaxy. Since inner region of this component is seen over the prominent ^^
^^ X"-shaped dark lanes streaming out from the nuclear region and they can be
reproduced as a conical distribution of dust grains, there seems to be a dusty
cold outflow as well as the hot one probed by soft X-ray and shock-excited
optical emission lines. If this is the case, the presence of such high-latitude
dust grains implies that neutral gaseous matter is also blown out during the
course of the superwind activity.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in PAS
A Shock-Induced Pair of Superbubbles in the High-Redshift Powerful Radio Galaxy MRC 0406-244
We present new optical spectroscopy of the high-redshift powerful radio
galaxy MRC 0406244 at redshift of 2.429. We find that the two extensions
toward NW and SE probed in the rest-frame ultraviolet image are heated mainly
by the nonthermal continuum of the active galactic nucleus. However, each
extension shows a shell-like morphology, suggesting that they are a pair of
superbubbles induced by the superwind activity rather than by the interaction
between the radio jet and the ambient gas clouds. If this is the case, the
intense starburst responsible for the formation of superbubbles could occur
yr ago. On the other hand, the age of the radio jets may
be of the order of yr, being much shorter than the starburst age.
Therefore, the two events, i.e., the starburst and the radio-jet activities,
are independent phenomena. However, their directions of the expanding motions
could be governed by the rotational motion of the gaseous component in the host
galaxy. This idea appears to explain the alignment effect of MRC 0406244.Comment: 4 pages (emulateapj.sty), Fig. 1 (jpeg) + Fig.2 (eps). Accepted for
publications in ApJ (Letters
GEOTAIL observation of the SGR1806-20 Giant Flare: The first 600 ms
On December 27, 2004, plasma particle detectors on the GEOTAIL spacecraft
detected an extremely strong signal of hard X-ray photons from the giant flare
of SGR1806-20, a magnetar candidate. While practically all gamma-ray detectors
on any satellites were saturated during the first ~500 ms interval after the
onset, one of the particle detectors on GEOTAIL was not saturated and provided
unique measurements of the hard X-ray intensity and the profile for the first
600 ms interval with 5.48 ms time resolution. After ~50 ms from the initial
rapid onset, the peak photon flux (integrated above ~50 keV) reached the order
of 10^7 photons sec^{-1} cm^{-2}. Assuming a blackbody spectrum with kT=175
keV, we estimate the peak energy flux to be 21 erg sec^{-1} cm^{-2} and the
fluence (for 0-600 ms) to be 2.4 erg cm^{-2}. The implied energy release
comparable to the magnetic energy stored in a magnetar (~10^{47} erg) suggests
an extremely efficient energy release mechanism.Comment: 6 pages, 2 color figures, submitted to Natur
SARS-CoV-2 disrupts respiratory vascular barriers by suppressing Claudin-5 expression
臓器チップ技術を用いて新型コロナウイルスが血管へ侵入するメカニズムを解明 --Claudin-5発現抑制による呼吸器の血管内皮バリア破壊--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-09-22.A study using an organ-on-a-chip reveals a mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 invasion into blood vessels --Disruption of vascular endothelial barrier in respiratory organs by decreasing Claudin-5 expression--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-09-27.In the initial process of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects respiratory epithelial cells and then transfers to other organs the blood vessels. It is believed that SARS-CoV-2 can pass the vascular wall by altering the endothelial barrier using an unknown mechanism. In this study, we investigated the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the endothelial barrier using an airway-on-a-chip that mimics respiratory organs and found that SARS-CoV-2 produced from infected epithelial cells disrupts the barrier by decreasing Claudin-5 (CLDN5), a tight junction protein, and disrupting vascular endothelial cadherin–mediated adherens junctions. Consistently, the gene and protein expression levels of CLDN5 in the lungs of a patient with COVID-19 were decreased. CLDN5 overexpression or Fluvastatin treatment rescued the SARS-CoV-2–induced respiratory endothelial barrier disruption. We concluded that the down-regulation of CLDN5 expression is a pivotal mechanism for SARS-CoV-2–induced endothelial barrier disruption in respiratory organs and that inducing CLDN5 expression is a therapeutic strategy against COVID-19
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