The present research paper aims to find out the life patterns of urban beggars' demographic characteristics, socio-economic status and their involvement in criminal activities in Karachi city. A descriptive research design was employed and face to face interviews were conducted in this study. A sample of 140 street beggars, were selected from different public places using a convenience sampling technique. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized for data collection. The key findings of the study show that criminal beggars are (...) organized and have the well-kept house and work in routine as front-line professionals in the city. This study recommends that a comprehensive policy should be implemented to control the begging practice in the city. In this regards a proper advocacy campaign is needed for social mobilization at mass the level. (shrink)

With the recent advent of facial transplant (FT) treatment, patients who live with facial disfigurement have a new hope of improved facial aesthetics and quality of life. However, FT has been the subject of intense ethical debate, and there are numerous important ethical considerations surrounding FT that require further in-depth exploration. In the present review, the numerous ethical issues surrounding FT are elucidated, especially the weighty psychosocial impacts of FT, issues surrounding patients’ consent, selection and donor matching, and current challenges (...) with postoperative complication management and the facial reconstruction of donors. These are discussed with a key focus on stakeholders’ perspectives including recipients, donors’ families, and the medical teams involved. This review found that a number of key ethical questions remain unanswered in the field of FT, and further consideration is needed for this novel surgical procedure to have the same evidence-based ethical backing as conventional surgical procedures. (shrink)

As a result of the devastating health effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, the lockdown has been considered a safety measure in many countries. In Pakistan, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in February 2020. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate people’s risk perception and protective behavior during the lockdown. Twenty-two (22) participants from eight big cities across Pakistan were interviewed. A six-step reflective thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The study focused on risk perception and (...) protective behaviors. Our main analytical goal was to understand how risk perception shapes human behavior in the context of lockdown, pandemic-related information flow, and corresponding meaning-making. The study revealed that people influenced by information and advice campaigns form a perception of risk that has shaped their protective behavior. They used familiar means of coping with distress, including the search for strength through religious belief practices and following the precautions recommended by health professionals through the media. (shrink)

Nowadays, due to restrictions on fossil fuels, the use of renewable energies is increasing day by day. Among renewable energies, solar energy has received more attraction due to its availability in all places. Among solar energy technologies, the solar tower has been welcomed due to its high power generation of electrical energy. For accurate modeling of the studied system, each component of the system has been evaluated and modeling has been done. Therefore, in this research, solar tower modeling has been (...) conducted to achieve high electrical energy production, and to better compare the production rate, 5 cities in Iran with different weather conditions have been considered. According to the results, it can be mentioned that the highest production power by the studied system is related to Shiraz city with an average production of 20 kW/m2, and among the cities studied, the lowest rate is related to Mashhad with a production power of 15 kW/m2. (shrink)

BackgroundAt the start of 2021, oncologists lacked the necessary scientific knowledge to adapt their clinical practices optimally when faced with cancer patients refusing or reluctant to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite the marked vulnerability of these patients to severe, and even fatal forms of this new viral infectious disease. Oncologists at Foch Hospital were confronted with this phenomenon, which was observed worldwide, in both the general population and the population of cancer patients.MethodsBetween April and November 2021, the Ethics and Oncology (...) Departments of Foch Hospital decided to investigate this subject, through an empirical and interdisciplinary study in bioethics. Our scientific objective was to try to identify and resolve the principal bio-ethical issues, with a view to improving clinical practices in oncology during future major pandemics of this kind, from a highly specific bio-ethical standpoint. We used a mainly qualitative methodological approach based on questionnaires and interviews.ResultsIn April 2021, 29 cancer patients refused or were reluctant to be vaccinated. Seventeen of these patients said that making vaccination mandatory would have helped them to accept vaccination. In October 2021, only 10 cancer patients continued to maintain their refusal. One of the main reasons for the decrease in refusals was probably the introduction of the “pass sanitaire” in July 2021, which rendered vaccination indispensable for many activities. However, even this was not sufficient to convince these 10 cancer patients.ConclusionWe identified a key bio-ethical issue, which we then tried to resolve: vaccination policy. We characterized a major tension between “the recommendation of anti-COVID-19 vaccination” and “free will”, and the duty to “protect each other”. Mandatory vaccination, at least in France, could resolve this tension, with positive effects on quality of life, or survival, in cancer patients initially refusing or reluctant to be vaccinated, but only if collective and individual scales are clearly distinguished. (shrink)

Estudio del termino sakina en su evolucion postcoranica en el que se muestra, en primer lugar, lo que la investigacion ha dicho sobre el, para, a continuacion, presentar, traducir y analizar cinco textos pertenecientes al ambito islamico y al filosofico en donde aparece dicho termino y que no habian sido tenidos en cuenta hasta ahora. Estos textos proceden de: Ibn Habib, al-Tawhidi, traduccion arabe de los Versos aureos, y Comentarios de Jamblico y de Proclo a estos Versos aureos. La (...) sakina coranica evoluciona en estos autores pasando a connotar una pacificacion en los animales violentos en Ibn Habib y un estado cercano a la divinidad de caracteres proximos al de los sufies en al-Tawhidi, mientras que en los Versos aureos se emplea sakina para traducir daim.n, con sus efectos de eliminacion de los males originados por la discordia innata a los hombres. En los Comentarios a los Versos aureos se dan explicaciones, de corte religioso y racionalista a la vez, de dicho termino. (shrink)