Hooks et al. posit that gastrointestinal microbes alter the end state of development indirectly. Here, we present the immune system as the link that facilitates communication between the gut and the brain. Illustrating the case of autism spectrum disorder, we explicate the role of the immune system in responding to microbial dysbiosis by inducing an inflammatory state that affects neurodevelopment. We propose two models: directly, within the infant, and indirectly, via maternal and infant systems.

Although the field of psychiatry has witnessed the proliferation of studies on Gene x Environment (GxE) interactions, still limited is the knowledge we possess of GxE interactions regarding developmental disorders. In this perspective paper, we discuss why GxE interaction studies are needed to broaden our knowledge of developmental disorders. We also discuss the different roles of hazardous versus self-generated environmental factors and how these types of factors may differentially engage with an individual’s genetic background in predicting a resulting phenotype. Then, (...) we present exemplar studies that highlight the role of GxE in predicting atypical developmental trajectories as well as provide insight regarding treatment outcomes. Supported by these examples, we explicate the need to move beyond merely examining statistical interactions between genes and the environment, and to investigate specific genetic susceptibility and environmental contexts that drive developmental disorders. We propose that further parsing of genetic and environmental components is required to fully understand the unique contribution of each factor to the etiology of developmental disorders. Finally, with a greater appreciation of the complexities of GxE interaction, this discussion will converge upon the potential implications for clinical and translational research. (shrink)

This study aims to determine the paradigm shift of scientists who use inner reason to external reason (mind), a concept initiated by Aristotle. The change allegedly occurred because of the strict laws of science. Philosophers basically talk about a topic broadly and deeply about inner reason, while scientists are more focused and narrower (outer reason). Data are obtained from six articles closely related to reason, mind, and brain, then explored and presented by six expert panels for data analysis using the (...) N Vivo 12 QSR tool. The study shows a very strong correlation between the philosophical factor and reason. The results of the cluster analysis describe various comprehensive topics discussed by philosophers regarding reason which are correlated with inner reason and God, while the scientific discussion shows a very strong correlation between the brain and the alpha band. The alpha band is a condition that exists in brain waves. The cluster analysis results illustrate that scientists' discussions are focused and narrow on the brain. Thus, there has been a paradigm shift, where scientists now use outer reason to solve problems in life rather than applying inner reason. An interesting finding from this paper is that philosophers refer to reason as a noun, which means that reason is matter. This information is helpful because until now, based on a literature search, there have been no articles from scientists explaining that reason is a matter. (shrink)

The Mediterranean region is facing major challenges for soil conservation and sustainable agriculture. Conservation agriculture (CA), including reduced soil disturbance, can help conserve soils and improve soil fertility, but its adoption in the Mediterranean region is limited. Examining farmers’ perceptions of soil and underlying sociocultural factors can help shed light on adoption of soil management practices. In this paper, we conducted a survey with 590 farmers across Morocco, Spain and Tunisia to explore concepts that are cognitively associated with soil and (...) perceptions of tillage. We also evaluated differences in perceptions of innovation, community, adaptive capacity, and responsibility for soil. We found that farmers’ cognitive associations with soil show awareness of soil as a living resource, go beyond agriculture and livelihoods to reveal cultural ties, and link to multiple levels of human needs. Beliefs about the benefits of tillage for water availability and yield persist among the surveyed farmers. We found that openness towards innovation, perceived adaptive capacity and responsibility for soil were associated with minimum tillage, whereas community integration was not. Education, age and farm lifestyle were also associated with differences in these perceptions. CA promotion in the Mediterranean should emphasize the multiple values of soil, should demonstrate how sufficient yields may be achieved alongside resilience to drought, and be tailored to differing levels of environmental awareness and economic needs across north and south. (shrink)

Classification in statistics is usually used to solve the problems of identifying to which set of categories, such as subpopulations, new observation belongs, based on a training set of data containing information whose category membership is known. The article aims to use the Gaussian Mixture Model to model the daily closing price index over the period of 1/1/2013 to 16/8/2020 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The daily closing price index over the period declined, which might be the effect of (...) corona virus, and the mean of the study period is about 7866.965. The closing price is the last regular deal that took place during the continuous trading period. If there are no transactions on the stock during the day, the closing price is the previous day’s closing price. The closing auction period comes after the continuous trading period, during which investors can enter by buying and selling the stocks at this period. The experimental results show that the best mixture model is E with three components according to the BIC criterion. The expectation-maximization algorithm converged in 2 repetitions. The data source is from Tadawul KSA. (shrink)

The recent development of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has rekindled the ethical debate concerning human germline modification that has begun decades ago. This inexpensive technology shows tremendous promise in disease prevention strategies, while raising complex ethical concerns about safety and efficacy of the technology, human dignity, tampering with God’s creation, and human genetic enhancement. Germline gene editing may result in heritable changes in the human genome, therefore the question of whether it should be allowed requires deep and careful discussion from various perspectives. (...) This paper explores Islamic perspectives on the concerns raised and highlights the ethical principles in Islam that should be taken into consideration when assessing the permissibility of CRISPR/ Cas9-mediated human germline gene editing. As argued in this paper, human germline gene editing would be considered lawful for medical purpose under certain conditions. It should not be applied on humans until the safety and efficacy issues are resolved. Robust ethical guidelines and strict regulations are necessary to preserve human dignity and to prevent premature and misuse of the technology. Maqasid al-shariah’s principles of preservation of human life, lineage, and dignity and ‘preventing harm takes precedence over securing benefit’ are among the guiding principles in assessing the permissibility of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated human germline editing from an Islamic perspective. Further discussions are important to address the controversies as well as to explore the related ethical principles. (shrink)

Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257. By Taef El-Azhari. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019. Pp. xix + 449. $140, £90.

Although Sibawayh dealt with it in a scattered manner under different headings there have been different views on na't (adjective), which is gene-rally included in the tawabi group in Arabic syntax, and there have been debates around these views. Na't, which is categorized as a proper adjective and qualifies the meaning of man'ut (mawsuf), has different characteristics from the sentence elements that indicate the subject. Nahiv scholars have mostly divided na't into two parts: real and causal na't, and they have (...) formulated certain rules for these two parts in accordance with the structure of the Arabic language. Since na't and man'ut are accepted as nouns, the i'rab of na't is subject to men'ut. However, some examples in the Qur'an and some expressions used by the Arabs caused objections to the i'rab of na't being the same as men'ut. It is observed that these objected examples are the cases where men'ut is known and the exceptional cases of madih, zam and jarri jivar. It is also obligatory for the na't to conform to the man'ut in terms of ma'rifiyyah, nekiriyyah, custom and gender. While Sibawayh (d. 180/796) considered it qabh (ugly) for non-propositional words to be na't, scholars such as Ibn Hisham (d. 218/833), Ibn al-Ḥajib (d. 646/1249), and Abd ar-Rahman Jami (d. 898/1492) accepted that na't could be either propositional or non-propositional and cited many examples of na't in the case of non-propositional words. Scholars such as Ibn Jinni (d. 392/1002) and Ibn al-Hajib gave an explanation of the causative na't without naming it, scholars such as Ebu’l-Bekā al-Ukbari (d. 616/1219) analyzed the subject under the title of causative adjective or causative na't, and Halid b. Abdullah al-Azhari discussed it under the title of al-wasf al-majazi. The subject of our study is to examine the handling of na't, which is one of the sentence elements in the Arabic language, in the works written on the field, its parts, the dimension that affects the meaning and the controversial aspects. The aim of the research is to examine the rules that Sibawayh deals with in his al-Kitâb on na'ta and the objections of later Arab linguists to these rules, and to contribute to the field by revealing different views on the subject. (shrink)