Antidiabetic Effect of Combined Leaf Extracts of Portulaca oleracea L., Beta vulgaris L., and Cichorium intybus L. in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Purslane (P), chard (CHA), and chicory (CHI) leaf extracts are individually and traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Polyphenols, flavonoids, the polyphenolic profile of the extracts, and their antioxidant activity were determined. This study evaluated the antidiabetic activity of combinations of these extracts in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetic groups were administered orally and daily for 40 days with the investigated extracts at 250 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) or metformin (100 mg/kg b.w.) as a drug. Fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance, insulin, and fructosamine were assessed. The combined extracts with high levels of P or CHI exerted potent hypoglycemic activity compared with metformin in addition to the restoration of the histopathological changes in the liver and pancreas of diabetic rats to a near-normal state. Therefore, these combined extracts could be developed as natural drugs for diabetes.

Academic freedom under siege.

This paper describes a global pattern of declining academic freedom, often driven by powerful political interference with core functions of academic communities. It argues that countering threats to academic freedom requires doubling down on ethics, specifically standards of justice and fairness in pursuing knowledge and assigning warrant to beliefs. Using the example of the selection of a Qatari university to host the 2024 World Congress of Bioethics, the authors urge fairness towards diverse groups over time and efforts to counter injustices that conferences generate.

Legal approaches to risk of harm in genetic counseling: perspectives from Quebec and Qatar.

Genetic counseling is a fast-growing profession worldwide, with genetic counselors taking on increasingly comprehensive and autonomous roles in the healthcare sector. However, the absence of appropriate legal frameworks could potentially create risks of harm to the public. Legal recognition serves to protect the public from risk of harm by regulating the safe and competent practice of healthcare professionals. Genetic counseling is not legally recognized in most world jurisdictions. Examination of the legal status of genetic counseling in different jurisdictions and whether existing legal mechanisms are adequate to address potential risks of harm is therefore timely. This paper examines the different roles of genetic counselors in the Canadian province of Quebec and the state of Qatar, the authors' respective jurisdictions. It considers the types of harms that may be created where appropriate legal mechanisms are lacking, considering the socio-political and legal differences between the two jurisdictions. Moreover, it examines the legal status of genetic counseling in Quebec and Qatar to determine whether these statuses appropriately address the identified risks of harm. The authors argue that existing legal frameworks are inadequate to address these risks and recommend that additional regulatory mechanisms be implemented to properly protect the public from risks of harm.

Concordance of International Regulation of Pediatric Health Research.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the comparability of international ethics principles and practices used in regulating pediatric research as a first step in determining whether reciprocal deference for international ethics review is feasible. Prior studies by the authors focused on other aspects of international health research, such as biobanks and direct-to-participant genomic research. The unique nature of pediatric research and its distinctive regulation by many countries warranted a separate study. STUDY DESIGN: A representative sample of 21 countries was selected, with geographical, ethnic, cultural, political, and economic diversity. A leading expert on pediatric research ethics and law was selected to summarize the ethics review of pediatric research in each country. To ensure the comparability of the responses, a 5-part summary of pediatric research ethics principles in the US was developed by the investigators and distributed to all country representatives. The international experts were asked to assess and describe whether principles in their country and the US were congruent. Results were obtained and compiled in the spring and summer of 2022. RESULTS: Some of the countries varied in their conceptualization or description of one or more ethical principles for pediatric research, but overall, the countries in the study demonstrated a fundamental concordance. CONCLUSIONS: Similar regulation of pediatric research in 21 countries suggests that international reciprocity is a viable strategy.

Bioethics and the thorny question of diversity: The example of Qatar-based institutions hosting the World Congress of Bioethics 2024.

In 2022, the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) submitted a proposal to host the 17th edition of the World Congress of Bioethics. After announcing that the CILE-WISH proposal was the winning bid, concerns were raised by bioethicists based in Europe and the USA. To address these concerns, the International Association of Bioethics (IAB) developed a dedicated FAQ section, in coordination with the host institutions, for the first time in IAB history. One-to-one communication ensued and individual responses were shared with these colleagues. As a continuation of this conversation, we (CILE Acting Director, WISH Research Fellow and Head of Content, and WISH CEO) address the concerns raised in the Letter-to-the-Editor of Bioethics by Graaf et al. As we support the call to revisit some contentious issues within the global community of bioethicists, we maintain that this should be based on meticulously discussed, informed, consistent and equitable criteria. We also argue that mutual learning from diverse cultures and moral traditions is the optimal way for our scholarly community to be truly global and to eschew the flaws ensuing from ethnocentric discourses.

Sunni Islamic perspectives on lab-grown sperm and eggs derived from stem cells - in vitro gametogenesis (IVG).

An exciting development in the field of assisted reproductive technologies is In Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG) that enables production of functional gametes from stem cells in the laboratory. Currently, development of this technology is still at an early stage and has demonstrated to work only in rodents. Upon critically examining the ethical dimensions of various possible IVG applications in human fertility treatment from a Sunni Islamic perspective, together with benefit-harm (maslahah-mafsadah) assessment; it is concluded that utilization of IVG, once its efficacy and safety are guaranteed, could be permissible by strictly adhering to Islamic ethical principles related to marriage, biological/genetic relatedness, sexual intercourse, and moral status of the embryo/fetus versus that of the gamete. As a result, IVG will be acceptable for treating primary infertility, age-related infertility, and preventing genetic diseases. However, it will be unacceptable for application in posthumous reproduction, donor gametes, genetic enhancement, and procreation in same-sex couples.

Explainable, trustworthy, and ethical machine learning for healthcare: A survey.

With the advent of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) empowered applications for critical applications like healthcare, the questions about liability, trust, and interpretability of their outputs are raising. The black-box nature of various DL models is a roadblock to clinical utilization. Therefore, to gain the trust of clinicians and patients, we need to provide explanations about the decisions of models. With the promise of enhancing the trust and transparency of black-box models, researchers are in the phase of maturing the field of eXplainable ML (XML). In this paper, we provided a comprehensive review of explainable and interpretable ML techniques for various healthcare applications. Along with highlighting security, safety, and robustness challenges that hinder the trustworthiness of ML, we also discussed the ethical issues arising because of the use of ML/DL for healthcare. We also describe how explainable and trustworthy ML can resolve all these ethical problems. Finally, we elaborate on the limitations of existing approaches and highlight various open research problems that require further development.

Diversifying stem cell debates: Including Muslim contexts and perspectives.

Greater transcultural and transdisciplinary engagement within Muslim contexts and deliberate inclusion of diverse Muslim voices in the development of international guidelines is required to improve understanding of the state of stem cell science, strengthen thinking about attendant ethical complexities, enhance compliance, deepen public deliberation, increase trust, and strengthen practice standards.

Hypolipidemic Effect of Moringa oleifera Lam Leaf Powder and its Extract in Diet-Induced Hypercholesterolemic Rats.

The leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam possess some potential medicinal value. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of M. oleifera leaf powder and its extract against hyperlipidemia in rats. Adult male albino rats were divided into six groups. The first group was fed on a basal diet that served as a negative control, whereas the others were fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) containing moringa leaf powder at 0.737% or 1.475% or administered daily with 200 or 400 mg dry moringa leaf extract/kg bw for 60 days. A positive control group was fed on the HFD. Serum indices related to lipid profile, oxidative status, and liver function were analyzed. Feeding rats on an HFD containing moringa leaf powder at 0.737% or an oral dose of its dry extract at 400 mg/kg bw alleviated the harmful elevation of cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, malondialdehyde, and the activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in serum that were induced by the HFD. This is the first study demonstrating the hypocholesterolemic effect of M. oleifera leaf powder.

Prenatal screening for congenital anomalies: exploring midwives' perceptions of counseling clients with religious backgrounds.

BACKGROUND: In the Netherlands, prenatal screening follows an opting in system and comprises two non-invasive tests: the combined test to screen for trisomy 21 at 12 weeks of gestation and the fetal anomaly scan to detect structural anomalies at 20 weeks. Midwives counsel about prenatal screening tests for congenital anomalies and they are increasingly having to counsel women from religious backgrounds beyond their experience. This study assessed midwives' perceptions and practices regarding taking client's religious backgrounds into account during counseling. As Islam is the commonest non-western religion, we were particularly interested in midwives' knowledge of whether pregnancy termination is allowed in Islam. METHODS: This exploratory study is part of the DELIVER study, which evaluated primary care midwifery in The Netherlands between September 2009 and January 2011. A questionnaire was sent to all 108 midwives of the twenty practices participating in the study. RESULTS: Of 98 respondents (response rate 92%), 68 (69%) said they took account of the client's religion. The two main reasons for not doing so were that religion was considered irrelevant in the decision-making process and that it should be up to clients to initiate such discussions. Midwives' own religious backgrounds were independent of whether they paid attention to the clients' religious backgrounds. Eighty midwives (82%) said they did not counsel Muslim women differently from other women. Although midwives with relatively many Muslim clients had more knowledge of Islamic attitudes to terminating pregnancy in general than midwives with relatively fewer Muslim clients, the specific knowledge of termination regarding trisomy 21 and other congenital anomalies was limited in both groups. CONCLUSION: While many midwives took client's religion into account, few knew much about Islamic beliefs on prenatal screening for congenital anomalies. Midwives identified a need for additional education. To meet the needs of the changing client population, counselors need more knowledge of religious opinions about the termination of pregnancy and the skills to approach religious issues with clients.

Pre-modern Islamic medical ethics and Graeco-Islamic-Jewish embryology.

This article examines the, hitherto comparatively unexplored, reception of Greek embryology by medieval Muslim jurists. The article elaborates on the views attributed to Hippocrates (d. ca. 375 BC), which received attention from both Muslim physicians, such as Avicenna (d. 1037), and their Jewish peers living in the Muslim world including Ibn Jumay' (d. ca. 1198) and Moses Maimonides (d. 1204). The religio-ethical implications of these Graeco-Islamic-Jewish embryological views were fathomed out by the two medieval Muslim jurists Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi (d. 1285) and Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350). By putting these medieval religio-ethical discussions into the limelight, the article aims to argue for a two-pronged thesis. Firstly, pre-modern medical ethics did exist in the Islamic tradition and available evidence shows that this field had a multidisciplinary character where the Islamic scriptures and the Graeco-Islamic-Jewish medical legacy were highly intertwined. This information problematizes the postulate claiming that medieval Muslim jurists were hostile to the so-called 'ancient sciences'. Secondly, these medieval religio-ethical discussions remain playing a significant role in shaping the nascent field of contemporary Islamic bioethics. However, examining the exact character and scope of this role still requires further academic ventures.

The role of religion in decision-making on antenatal screening of congenital anomalies: a qualitative study amongst Muslim Turkish origin immigrants.

OBJECTIVE: to explore what role religious beliefs of pregnant Muslim women play in their decision-making on antenatal screening, particularly regarding congenital abnormalities and termination, and whether their interpretations of the religious doctrines correspond to the main sources of Islam. DESIGN: qualitative pilot study using in-depth interviews with pregnant Muslim women. SETTING: one midwifery practice in a medium-sized city near Amsterdam participated in the study. PARTICIPANTS: 10 pregnant Muslim women of Turkish origin who live in a high density immigrant area and who attended primary midwives for antenatal care were included in the study. DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS: to explore the role of religion in decision-making on antenatal screening tests, a topic list was constructed, including four subjects: being a (practising) Muslim, the view on unborn life, the view on disabled life and the view on termination. To analyse the interviews, open and axial coding based on the Grounded Theory was used and descriptive and analytical themes were identified and interpreted. FINDINGS: all 10 interviewees stated that their faith played a role in their decision-making on antenatal screening, specific to the combined test. They did not consider congenital anomalies as a problem and did not consider termination to be an option in case of a disabled fetus. However, the Islamic jurisprudence considers that termination is allowed if the fetus has serious abnormalities, but only before 19 weeks plus one day of gestation. KEY CONCLUSIONS: religious convictions play a role regarding antenatal screening in pregnant Muslim women of Turkish origin. The interviewees did not consider a termination in case of an affected child. Women were unaware that within Islamic tradition there is the possibility of termination if a fetus has serious anomalies. Incomplete knowledge of religious doctrines may be influencing both decisions of antenatal screening and diagnostic tests uptake and of terminating a pregnancy for fetuses with serious anomalies. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTISE: counsellors should be aware of the role of religious beliefs in the decision-making process on antenatal screening tests.

Milk banks through the lens of Muslim scholars: one text in two contexts.

When Muslims thought of establishing milk banks, religious reservations were raised. These reservations were based on the concept that women's milk creates 'milk kinship' believed to impede marriage in Islamic Law. This type of kinship is, however, a distinctive phenomenon of Arab tradition and relatively unknown in Western cultures. This article is a pioneer study which fathoms out the contemporary discussions of Muslim scholars on this issue. The main focus here is a religious guideline (fatwa) issued in 1983, referred to in this article as 'one text', by the Egyptian scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi who saw no religious problem in establishing or using these banks. After a number of introductory remarks on the 'Western' phenomenon of milk banks and the 'Islamic' phenomenon of 'milk kinship', this article analyses the fatwa of al-Qaradawi 'one text' and investigates the 'two contexts' in which this fatwa was discussed, namely, the context of the Muslim world and that of Muslim minorities living in the West. The first context led to rejecting the fatwa and refusing to introduce the milk banking system in the Muslim world. The second context led to accepting this system and thus allowing Muslims living in the West to donate and receive milk from these banks. Besides its relevance to specialists in the fields of Islamic studies, anthropology and medical ethics, this article will also be helpful to physicians and nurses who deal with patients of Islamic background.

Religio-ethical discussions on organ donation among Muslims in Europe: an example of transnational Islamic bioethics.

This article analyzes the religio-ethical discussions of Muslim religious scholars, which took place in Europe specifically in the UK and the Netherlands, on organ donation. After introductory notes on fatwas (Islamic religious guidelines) relevant to biomedical ethics and the socio-political context in which discussions on organ donation took place, the article studies three specific fatwas issued in Europe whose analysis has escaped the attention of modern academic researchers. In 2000 the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) issued a fatwa on organ donation. Besides this "European" fatwa, two other fatwas were issued respectively in the UK by the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council in 1995 and in the Netherlands by the Moroccan religious scholar Mustafa Ben Hamza during a conference on "Islam and Organ Donation" held in March 2006. The three fatwas show that a great number of Muslim religious scholars permit organ donation and this holds true for donating organs to non-Muslims as well. Further, they demonstrate that transnationalism is one of the main characteristics of contemporary Islamic bioethics. In a bid to develop their own standpoints towards organ donation, Muslims living in the West rely heavily on fatwas imported from the Muslim world.