Khat Chewing and Lipid Profile in Human and Experimental Animals

Background. Catha edulis, also known as khat or qat, is a plant that grows in East Africa and southern Arabia. Several millions of people chew the leaves and twigs of khat plant for their central stimulating amphetamine-like effects. Khat chewing is becoming more common in Europe and the United States, owing to worldwide migration. Objective. This review examines the khat ingredients, global prevalence, and legal status as well as its effects on lipid profile. Methodology. A literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar to collect information within articles published up to April 2021 with the goal of identifying relevant studies. The proposed mechanisms of cathinone effects on total cholesterol and triglyceride were also discussed. Conclusion. The khat chewing habit is considered as a serious economic and health issue that needs specialized programs to assist those people to quit or reducing this habit.

The Stalagmite Record of Southern Arabia: Climatic Extremes, Human Evolution and Societal Development

The fluctuating climatic conditions of the Saharo-Arabian deserts are increasingly linked to human evolutionary events and societal developments. On orbital timescales, the African and Indian Summer Monsoons were displaced northward and increased precipitation to the Arabian Peninsula which led to favorable periods for human occupation in the now arid interior. At least four periods of climatic optima occurred within the last 130,000 years, related to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5e (128–121 ka BP), 5c (104–97 ka BP), 5a (81–74 ka BP) and 1 (10.5–6.2 ka BP), and potentially early MIS 3 (60–50 ka BP). Stalagmites from Southern Arabia have been key to understanding climatic fluctuations and human-environmental interactions; their precise and high-resolution chronologies can be linked to evidence for changes in human distribution and climate/environment induced societal developments. Here, we review the most recent advances in the Southern Arabian Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene stalagmite records. We compare and contrast MIS 5e and Early Holocene climates to understand how these differed, benchmark the extremes of climatic variability and summarize the impacts on human societal development. We suggest that, while the extreme of MIS 5e was important for H. sapeins dispersal, subsequent, less intense, wet phases mitigate against a simplistic narrative. We highlight that while climate can be a limiting and important factor, there is also the potential of human adaptability and resilience. Further studies will be needed to understand spatio-temporal difference in human-environment interactions in a climatically variable region.

Explorative Journey Through Hadith Collections

The article offers insight into a fresh way to utilise hadith collections beyond criticising their material in terms of their authenticity or discussing their implications for Islamic law. It builds on a digital corpus of collections to represent the wealth of canonical Sunni, Shia and Ibadite traditions. In this first exploration of this corpus, the interconnectedness of early Islamic Arabia with other parts of world is highlighted through an analysis of travelling words, proper names, and concrete objects in a few case studies organised into five sections by geographical area. These include translation, a Wanderwort, and contact through commerce and trade. The methods applied to analyse the material are those of historical and comparative linguistics. The results indicate that exploring linguistic aspects of hadith collections—notwithstanding editorial revision and their canonisation—can inform studies of language change in Arabic and set the course to research the standardisation of Arabic. Key words: Hadith Studies, historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, Middle Persian, Southern Arabia, Late Antiquity

A Greek-speaking Jew in the land of the Ḥimyarites?

Some scholars believe that ‘genuine’ Jews were present in Yemen as early as the 10th to the 6 th century BCE. The Ḥimyarite Kingdom saw another phase of Judaization between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. The history of Judaism in Southern Arabia is interlinked with the other two major religions of our time, namely Christianity and Islam, both of which were also practised in the area. The spread of the religions was inevitable as the interconnectedness of cultures and religions increased through political and trade relationships. This paper focuses on the nature of the ‘non-converted’ Jewish community in Yemen. The discovery of a Greek inscription in the ruins of a synagogue at Qanī (South Yemen) adds additional knowledge about the nature of the Jews of Ḥimyar. Is this an isolated case? When and where were the Jews exposed to the Greek culture? In 1936 and 1937, Mazar revealed a remarkable system of tombs in Bĕţ Śĕ̕̕̕ ‘ārīm (Qiryat Tib’on) in northern Israel (near Haifa) and showed that these tombs were those of the Jews of Ḥimyar. The cemetery served as a burial place for Jews from various regions after the diaspora in late antiquity. It is furthermore ‘notable that the inscriptions at the Ḥimyari tombs in Bĕţ Śĕ̕̕̕ ‘ārīm are in Greek, next to an interlacing of Epigraphic South Arabian script. Apparently, it often happened that Jews of Ḥimyar sent the bodies of their relatives to be buried in Israel. A review and analysis of the historical literature will be employed. An epigraphic and archaeological approach illuminates this investigation.