Is Circumcision "Necessary" in Islam? A Philosophical Argument Based on Peer Disagreement.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in debates on the ethics of child genital cutting practices, both female and male, including within a Muslim context. Opponents of female genital cutting sometimes assert that the practice is not mentioned explicitly in the Qur'an as a way of implying that it does not have any religious standing within Islam. However, neither is male genital cutting mentioned explicitly in the Qur'an, and yet most people accept that it is a Muslim religious practice. Both practices, however, are mentioned in secondary sources of Islamic jurisprudence, with disagreement among religious authorities about the status or authenticity of some of these sources. This paper considers the religious status of both female and male genital cutting practices within Islam and employs a philosophical argument based on "peer disagreement" to ask whether either practice is necessary (i.e., religiously required) for a devout Muslim to endorse.

Preparation and characterization of PAN nanofibers containing boehmite nanoparticles for the removal of microbial contaminants and cadmium ions from water.

Nanofibers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/boehmite were prepared by electrospinning a homogeneous solution of PAN/DMF (dimethyl formamide). Enhancing the amount of boehmite nanoparticles (NPs) led to increase in the nanofibers' diameter. Samples had high pure water flux, which did not change significantly with boehmite concentration, but decreased with increasing electrospinning duration. Escherichia coli bacteria removal was remarkably more efficient, as it was enhanced from 72.33% to 97.37% with increase in the boehmite NPs' concentration from 0 to 10% wt. High bacterial removal efficiency could be attained by the large surface area of NPs, as well as the electrostatic force of attraction between NPs and microorganisms. The increase in boehmite concentration from 10 to 30 and 50% did not noticeably affect bacterial removal. Prolonging electrospinning time significantly enhanced bacteria removal. Hence, it was shown that 6-hour electrospinning of PAN/boehmite nanofiber layers composed of 50% boehmite led to 99.7%, 99.39%, 99.8%, and 74% E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria removal, particles' separation efficiency of 2 µm and cadmium adsorptivity, respectively, which were better than those obtained by using pure PAN nanofibers. E. coli bacterial removal efficiency of the sample was increased to 99.99% by repeating filtering four times. Considering the results, this PAN/boehmite nanofibers' membrane has potential application to purification of drinking water.

Nature of intramolecular interactions of vitamin C in view of interacting quantum atoms: the role of hydrogen bond cooperativity on geometry.

The conformational analysis of six dihedral angles was calculated by second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with the correlation-consistent aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) was applied to gain a description of the atoms and chemical bonds. A high content of hydroxyl groups in vitamin C's (VC) structure leads to a wide range of intramolecular interactions. The nature of these interactions within the selected VC conformers was studied in view of the interacting quantum atom (IQA) approach. Complete IQA analysis of the atomic and interatomic interaction energies indicated hydrogen bond formation was responsible for the stability of most of the local minima in the potential energy surface. In these conformers, the tandem participation of interactions was operating by way of two- or three-centered (bifurcated) cooperative networks. For the intramolecular hydrogen bond interplay in cooperativity, changes of the IQA atomic and interatomic interaction energies of the participant interactions were monitored during the formation of cooperative networks. The results of the intramolecular cooperativity were evaluated with changes of the delocalization index and bond distances.

Medical Ethics in Qisas (Eye-for-an-Eye) Punishment: An Islamic View; an Examination of Acid Throwing.

Physicians in Islamic countries might be requested to participate in the Islamic legal code of qisas, in which the victim or family has the right to an eye-for-an-eye retaliation. Qisas is only used as a punishment in the case of murder or intentional physical injury. In situations such as throwing acid, the national legal system of some Islamic countries asks for assistance from physicians, because the punishment should be identical to the crime. The perpetrator could not be punished without a physician's participation, because there is no way to guarantee that the sentence would be carried out without inflicting more injury than the initial victim had suffered. By examining two cases of acid throwing, this paper discusses issues related to physicians' participation in qisas from the perspective of medical ethics and Islamic Shari'a law. From the standpoint of medical ethics, physicians' participation in qisas is not appropriate. First, qisas is in sharp contrast to the Hippocratic Oath and other codes of medical ethics. Second, by physicians' participation in qisas, medical practices are being used improperly to carry out government mandates. Third, physician participation in activities that cause intentional harm to people destroys the trust between patients and physicians and may adversely affect the patient-physician relationship more generally. From the standpoint of Shari'a, there is no consensus among Muslim scholars whether qisas should be performed on every occasion. We argue that disallowing physician involvement in qisas is necessary from the perspectives of both medical ethics and Shari'a law.

Theoretical investigation of the borazine-melamine polymer as a novel candidate for hydrogen storage applications.

Ab initio calculations and molecular dynamic simulation were employed to study the interaction of molecular hydrogen with the borazine-melamine polymer (BMP) in order to explore its potential for hydrogen storage applications. The calculations were performed using the long range corrected version of density functional theory, the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) and the second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2). The results showed that the average adsorption energy per hydrogen is about -0.7 and -0.3 kcal mol(-1) at the MP2/6-311+G(d,p) and CAMB3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) levels of theory, respectively. The adsorption energies were corrected for the basis set superposition error (BSSE) by the counterpoise method. It was found that the hydrogen storage capacity of the BMP is about 6.49 wt%, which is close to the values reported for the other selected materials for the hydrogen storage in the literature. The maximum number of hydrogen molecules, which were adsorbed by the BMP building block, is about ten. Molecular dynamic simulation was performed to assess the potential of BMP for hydrogen storage.

Approaches to Muslim Biomedical Ethics: A Classification and Critique.

This paper provides a perspective on where contemporary Muslim responses to biomedical-ethical issues stand to date. There are several ways in which Muslim responses to biomedical ethics can and have been studied in academia. The responses are commonly divided along denominational lines or under the schools of jurisprudence. All such efforts classify the responses along the lines of communities of interpretation rather than the methods of interpretation. This research is interested in the latter. Thus, our criterion for classification is the underlying methodology behind the responses. The proposed classification divides Muslim biomedical-ethical reasoning into three methodological categories: 1) textual, 2) contextual, and 3) para-textual.

A cystine-based dual chemosensor for fluorescent-colorimetric detection of CN- and fluorescent detection of Fe3+ in aqueous media: Synthesis, spectroscopic, and DFT studies.

A new dual-responsive chiral cystine based chemosensor, Cys(cou)2, has been designed and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis as well as elemental analysis. This sensor exhibited an excellent response towards Fe3+ and CN- with high selectivity and sensitivity by fluorescence turn-off mechanism. The binding mode of Cys(cou)2 with Fe3+, and CN- was confirmed by ESI-MS, 1H NMR, and fluorescence titration and also quantum chemical calculation. These results showed that the stoichiometric ratio of Cys(cou)2-Fe3+ and Cys(cou)2-CN is 1:1 and 1:3 in DMSO/Tris aqueous buffer (1:1, v/v), respectively. The linear relationship of the Stern-Volmer plot illustrates the static quenching mechanism at different concentrations. The detection limit (LOD) and binding constant (Ka) for Fe3+ and CN- are 0.029 µM, 1.28 × 104 and 0.51 µM, 9.94 × 106, respectively. Moreover, Cys(cou)2 can act as a colorimetric sensor for CN- in DMSO with the color change from colorless to yellow.

Spectroscopic, quantum chemical DFT/HF study and synthesis of [2.2.1] hept-2'-en-2'-amino-N-azatricyclo [3.2.1.0(2,4)] octane.

The compound 4-N-bicyclo [2.2.1] hept-2'-en-2'-amino-N-azatricyclo [3.2.1.0(2,4)] octane (2) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-vis, mass and NMR. Density functional theory (DFT) and Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations have been carried out for the title compound by using the standard 6-31G* basis set. The calculated results show that the predicted geometry can well reproduce the structural parameters. Predicted vibrational frequencies have been assigned and compared with experimental IR spectra and they complement each other. The theoretical electronic absorption spectra have been calculated by using CIS, TD-DFT and ZINDO methods. The (13)C NMR and (1)H NMR of compound (2) have been calculated by means of Becke 3-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) density functional method with 6-31G* basis set. Comparison between the experimental and the theoretical results indicates that density functional B3LYP method is able to provide satisfactory results for predicting NMR properties. On the basis of vibrational analyses, the thermodynamic properties of the title compound at different temperatures have been calculated.

Experimental and CIS, TD-DFT, ab initio calculations of visible spectra and the vibrational frequencies of sulfonyl azide-azoic dyes.

The detailed experimental and computational analysis [Hartree-Fock (HF), Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory (TD-DFT) and Second-Order Møller-Plesset Perturbation Theory (PM2) levels of theory at standard 6-31G* basis set] of structure, infrared spectra and visible spectra of azo dyes are investigated. The optimized geometries and calculated vibrational frequencies are evaluated via comparison with experimental values. The vibrational spectral data obtained from solid phase FT-IR spectra are assigned based on the results of the theoretical calculations. The observed spectra are found to be in good agreement with the calculated values. The geometry optimization yields a planar conformation for phenyl rings with azo moiety. The energy and oscillator strength calculated by Configuration Interaction Singles (CIS) complements the Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory (TD-DFT) results and the experimental findings. Unfortunately, PM2 method could not predict vibrational frequencies and visible spectra of the azo dyes under conditions of this investigation.

DFT and ab initio study of structure of dyes derived from 2-hydroxy and 2,4-dihydroxy benzoic acids.

We present a detailed analysis of the structural, infrared spectra and visible spectra of a series of azo dyes preparation of salicylic acid and 2,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid derivatives as the coupling component. The preparation of these azo dyes with salicylic acid and 2,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid derivatives (salicylic acid, methyl salicylate, ethyl salicylate, butyl salicylate, methyl 2,4-dihydroxy benzoate, ethyl 2,4-dihydroxy benzoate, salicylaldehyde, salicylamide, 2,4-dihydroxy benzamide, salicylaldoxime) have been investigated theoretically by performing HF and DFT levels of theory using the standard 6-31G* basis set. The optimized geometries and calculated vibrational frequencies are evaluated via comparison with experimental values. The vibrational spectral data obtained from solid phase FT-IR spectra are assigned modes based on the results of the theoretical calculations. The observed spectra are found to be in good agreement with the calculations.

DFT and ab initio calculations of the vibrational frequencies and visible spectra of triazenes derived from cyclic amines.

We present a detailed analysis of the structural, infrared spectra and visible spectra of the 4-substituted aminoazo-benzenesulfonyl azides. The preparation of 4-sulfonyl azide benzenediazonium chloride with cyclic amines of various ring sizes (pyrrolidine, piperidine, 4-methylpiperidine, N-methylpiperazine, morpholine and hexamethyleneimine) have been investigated theoretically by performing HF and DFT levels of theory using the standard 6-31G* basis set. The optimized geometries and calculated vibrational frequencies are evaluated via comparison with experimental values. The vibrational spectral data obtained from solid phase FT-IR spectra are assigned modes based on the results of the theoretical calculations. The observed spectra are found to be in good agreement with the calculations.

The effects of second electron acceptor group on the performance of tetrazole-based nanocrystalline TiO2 sensitizers in DSSCs.

Three new organic sensitizers with two electron acceptor groups were synthesized and applied to nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cells. The ethyl 2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) acetate, (2H-tetrazol-5-yl) acrylonitrile and 1H-tetrazole-5-acetic acid moieties were introduced to the triphenylamine as electron acceptor groups. The photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of the solar cells based on the synthesized sensitizers were studied and compared with their counterparts of single electron acceptor type. Quantum chemical calculations were also carried out to consideration of the electronic and optical properties of these dyes. The dye with the (2H-tetrazol-5-yl) acrylonitrile electron acceptors showed the absorption maxima in the longer wavelength, compared to the dyes with ethyl 2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) acetate and 1H-tetrazole-5-acetic acid. The solar cell based on the dye with 1H-tetrazole-5-acetic acid showed the highest conversion efficiency of 3.53% (open circuit voltage=569mV, short circuit photocurrent density=11.50mAcm-2, and fill factor of 54% under AM 1.5G conditions). The results also showed that the dyes with two electron acceptor groups gave the higher performance than the dyes with single electron acceptor.

NMR investigation of methyl-2,4-dimethoxysalicylate: effect of solvent and temperature.

(1)H NMR and (13)C NMR of methyl-2,4-dimethoxysalicylate 2 was measured in chloroform-d at the temperature range of 220-330 K, in dimethyl sulfoxide-d(6) at the temperature range of 300-400 K and in a polar protic solvent (CD(3)OD) at 300 K. The structure of 2 in liquid phase (solvent) is compared with those in solid phase (X-ray) and in the gas phase (quantum mechanical calculations). The relationship between molecular geometry, (1)H NMR chemical shift and W coupling of involved protons has a complex nature, but hydrogen bonds [C=O...H-O and C=O...H-CH(2)O] strength is the principle factor.

Experimental and theoretical study of racemization, stability and tautomerism of vitamin C stereoisomers.

Experimental degradation of vitamin C (VC) in water was monitored using specific rotation, FT-IR and (1)H NMR at room temperature and at 80-90°C. The optical activity was reduced (100%) to zero after 6 and 63 days at 80-90°C (≅25% in less than 24h) and room temperature, respectively. (1)H NMR and FT-IR was performed after these periods which indicated the formation of a complex mixture at higher stirring time and elevated temperature. These observations indicated that vitamin C is unstable in solution at room temperature or at elevated temperature. The solid VC did not lose optical activity after several mounts at room temperature. The instability of VC was related to isomerization (loss of optical activity) of the l-enantiomer either to d-enantiomer (racemization), degradation to undesired products or tautomerization to other isomers. Theoretical investigation (at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) and MP2/6-311++G(d,p) levels of theory in vacuo and aqueous phases) formulated tautomerization for RS-stereoisomers of ascorbic acids (AA). The mechanism for deactivation of VC was examined.

Linear free energy relationship for the anomeric effect: MP2, DFT and ab initio study of 2-substituted-1,4-dioxanes.

The anomeric effect of 2-substituted 1,4-dioxane derivatives was calculated and compared with the values for substituted cyclohexane. The bond lengths, bond angles, torsion angles, and relative energies of axial and equatorial conformers of 2-substituted 1,4-dioxanes were calculated by the second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2), density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP), and Hartree-Fock (HF) methods using 6-31G(∗) basis set. The energy differences between the axial and equatorial conformers, endo and exo-anomeric effects, repulsive non-bond and H-bonding interactions were investigated. A linear free energy relationship (LFER) between calculated (MP2/6-31G(∗)) anomeric effect and inductive substituent constants (σ(I)) was obtained for 2-substituted-1,4-dioxanes (slope=6.19 and r(2)=0.967). The calculated energy differences indicate lower equatorial orientation for 2-substituted-1,4-dioxanes compared to the 2-substituted-tetrahydropyrans. The contribution of resonance, hyperconjugation, inductive, steric, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, and level of theory influences the anomeric effect.