The effectiveness of a rational, emotional, behavioral program in modifying the irrational thoughts related to the pressures of life for forced retirees

Thinking includes cognitive processes implicit or explicit, or an internal mental perception of events or things, or a mental means by which a person deals with facts, things and events through the cognitive processes that are represented in the use of symbols, concepts and words. Thinking and style are its types, it is the outcome of interaction between several changes, such as an individual’s past, past experiences, ability to teach, level of education, level of education and social upbringing, cultural and civilizational factors and the influence of the surrounding environment. Work is one of the important factors that affect the life of a pensioner. Without it, the individual suffers from many social and psychological diseases, such as isolation, depression, anxiety, stress and fear. Work is the basis of respect for the individual and the respect of people for him, and the individual achieves many gratifications through his work, and when he loses it, he is exposed to many frustrated situations related to his inaction. Compulsory retirement is the second of the growth crises experienced by the individual after the crisis of adolescence. Compulsory retirement from work has become one of the most important problems facing them. Here, there are many studies that dealt with adaptation to retirement, which emphasized the importance of preparing for the post-retirement phase so that the individual avoids potential psychological disorders and to achieve a sound psychological and social harmony and a smooth transition to the retirement stage. Irrational thoughts come as a result of false cognitive precipitations in forced retirees, resulting in many socio-psychological problems, such as the problem of family relationships and a tendency to depression. Accordingly, the problem of the study was determined in a question: What is the effectiveness of a professional intervention program within the framework of strategies and methods of rational emotional-emotional-behavioral therapy in modifying the irrational thoughts related to the pressures of life for forced retirees?

Islamic Tourism in Southeast Asia: The Concept and its Implementation

Tourism has now become an important source of revenue for many countries in the world. The spillover from this booming and lucrative industry impacts positively the other sectors of the national economy in those countries. This situation is not only true in the advanced countries of the world, but also in the Muslim world. In this present study on Islamic tourism the researchers intend to investigate the definition, destination, purpose and ethical issues related to Islamic tourism. Very particularly, the study will focus on the situation in three of the Muslim countries situated in the region of Southeast Asia; namely Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Driven by the passion to study on Islamic tourism, the researchers are interested to know the guiding principles set in these countries in contrast to others in the region. Apart from the crux of the investigation, on the peripheral, this study will also look into the topic of tourism from the Islamic ethical dimension, mainly referring to the Qur’an and Sunnah. As a qualitative study, the researchers will employ the library research approach in collecting the pertinent data related to the study. By using the textual-analysis method they will scrutinize data collected from online and print materials. It is hoped that this modest research can be a contribution in advancing Islamic tourism in the Malay Archipelago and elsewhere in the world. From this study, it could discovered initially that Islamic tourism is a huge opportunity for the Muslims in the region to develop further to tap the industry as well as to introduce the region with Muslim majority to the world. Enormous efforts have been done to promote and to develop the religious tourism in the region along with the conventional tourism generally and it had achieved significant results by attaining the top place in Islamic tourism industry. However a lot of works should be done such as the lack of standard facilities and promotions as well as the regional coordination in order to bring the religious industry to another level. It is necessary to expand the niche of Islamic tourism which is still below 20 percent out the conventional tourism industry largely.

Consumer Behavior Changes Post Pandemic Covid-19

The Corona virus or Covid-19 which is unexpected will come to us, has an impact on health, economy and also humanity throughout the world and is able to fundamentally change the world. Supplements are disrupted because production is stopped, retail stores close, causing consumers to change their behavior, which had previously gone offline shopping. Not just shopping, when a pandemic, the way of thinking becomes different. Consumers around the world are looking for products and brands through new ways and new habits are formed. Online transactions focus more on basic products to make ends meet. The fact that Covid-19's anti-virus has not been found raises concerns about disrupted health and the Government's regulation to work and stay at home also raises concerns about disrupted businesses. Differences from habits and interests or preferences that are different for each person, provide different responses to the problems faced and solutions for the future. The habit of shopping offline has a tendency to continue for complementary products while food products are more directed towards offline. The rest eating habits at home can be continued because it provides more hygiene guarantees. The new habit of holding online meetings with distant relatives or colleagues will be increasingly considered given the many more positive things that can be obtained. Likewise with work problems, working from home is more interesting to consider because it is more efficient and effective and the results can be more productive. This new consumer behavior is adjusted to provide satisfaction for many parties, with the assistance of institutions or governments that oversee the security of supply and demand and maintain the stability of both.

Extent of Awareness on Halal Food Among Muslim Students Consumers of The University of Southern Mindanao

Being Muslim residents of a non-Muslim country like the Philippines, awareness of the fundamental beliefs in Islam down to its most basic tenets are often times a challenging issue. This study focused on the extent of student awareness on halal products. Using quantitative research design the researchers surveyed 120 student consumers, the paper finds that with an overall mean score of 3.42, indicates that they are aware of the importance of adhering to the Islamic teachings of halal foods and agreed, with 2.85 total mean score, that the teachings of Islam on matters concerning halal is not limited only to food and drinks but to include all mu’amalat (day-to-day dealings of men with their fellows). Logistic Regression Analysis results show that with all participants’ demographic profile tested only secular and Islamic education is found to have statistical significant and are positively correlated with halal awareness. This study concludes that despite living in non-Muslim majority country where values and etiquettes is defined by dominant un-Islamic cultures and traditions in the country, Muslim are still well-guided and aware of their fundamental beliefs in Islam.

The Thrombolytic and Cytotoxic Effects of Nigella sativa (L.) Seeds: The Prophetic Medicine

The Water-Soluble Extract (WSE) is a crude bioactive phytoconstituent of Nigella sativa (L.) seeds discovered recently. The current findings report about the thrombolytic and cytotoxic effects of WSE using human blood clot lysis and brine shrimp lethality (BSL) bioassay. The thrombolytic effect of WSE (1,666.67 µg/mL) was determined via the clot and lysate weight measurements compared to streptokinase (STK) of 30,000 IU/mL and normal saline (NS) while the cytotoxicity of WSE (44.14-2,000 µg/mL) against vincristine sulfate (VCS;3.125-100 µg/mL). WSE has shown extremely statistically significant (p<0.0001) clot lysis (90.00%) compared to NS (3.76%) whilst it was also significantly different (p<0.0063) to STK (72.41%) exhibiting LC50 of 1,795.90 µg/mL vs. VCS (39.25 µg/mL) in a dose-dependent manner. The current results suggested WSE has a potent thrombolytic effect with mild dose-dependent cytotoxicity towards brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia salina). It also suggested WSE might have enzymatic roles on thrombin, fibrin, and plasmin of blood. This pharmacological action of WSE is might be due to its antioxidant property, short-chain fatty acids and/or amino acids. Further studies are highly recommended on the enzymatic role(s) and bioactive phytoconstituents of WSE.

The ameliorative effect of vinpocetine on liver fibrosis and bone changes in the bile-duct ligated rat

Vinpocetine is a drug that is widely used to treat vascular cognitive disorders in the old age. The drug has been shown to protect against hepatocellular damage caused by carbon tetrachloride in rats. In this study, vinpocetine was investigated for its ability to improve cholestatic hepatic injury and bone changes associated with bile duct ligation in rats. Rats with biliary obstruction induced by double ligation and section of the common bile duct were randomly and blindly assigned to receive either vinpocetine (2.1, 4.2, 8.4 mg/kg) or saline once a day orally, starting one day after surgery and continued for one month thereafter. At the end of the treatment period, rats were killed and analyzed for blood biochemistry, liver and bone histopathology. Compared to their sham-treated counterparts, bile duct-ligated (BDL) rats exhibited markedly elevated serum activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphate (ALP) as well markedly raised serum bilirubin level. Histopathological examination of BDL rats revealed focal necrosis, degenerated hepatocytes, bile duct hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltrates. Histochemical staining using Feulgen and Periodic acid-Schiff’s (PAS) staining showed depletion of liver glycogen and markedly decreased deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content in hepatocytes. Reduced osteocyte cellularity and few areas of regenerating bone were observed in BDL rats. The administration of vinpocetine to BDL rats resulted in dose-dependent decrease in serum ALT, AST, ALP activities by 33.6-64.4%, 17.5-43.9% and 26.5%-39.2%, respectively. Serum bilirubin decreased by 19% after 8.4 mg/kg of vinpocetine. The drug also resulted in amelioration of the pathological changes in the liver, increased glycogen and DNA content of hepatocytes and improved bone cellularity and increased bone regeneration dose-dependently. These findings suggest a beneficial effect for vinpocetine on liver damage and bone changes caused by biliary obstruction in rats.

Mycotoxins in Children’s Food: Problem and Halal Management

Mycotoxins are ubiquitous compounds found in the natural life cycle of food- producing plants. They have a range of diverse chemical and physical properties and toxicological effects on man and animal. Mycotoxins are considered the most important contaminants of the food chain due to their chronic adverse effects on health and the economy. Mycotoxins are known as the 21th century “Great Masquerader” due to its complex natural history involving different tissues and resembling different diseases at each stage in its evolution. Mycotoxins can induce a variety of clinical symptoms including epistaxis, conjunctivitis, coughing, apnea, wheezing, vomiting and nausea. Some mycotoxins induce acute pulmonary hemorrhage, bone marrow failure and pneumonia. Knowledge about these symptoms enables the clinician to ask questions for possible exposure to the main classes of mycotoxins to protect children from sources of such exposure. These sources may include food, clothes, furniture and indoor air at home. Early childhood exposure to mycotoxins may be critical determinants of later health effects. Exposure in utero and through early infancy may additionally be important. Several well-known diseases such as neural tube defects, liver and esophageal cancers are associated with the consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated food. Knowledge of previous short or long term exposure to mycotoxins may help paediatricians to more accurately diagnose and provide treatment options to children and their families. The current review discusses the problems associated with the occurrence of different common mycotoxins in children’s food and the possible halal strategies to counteract these problems.

Seasonal variations affect the physical and chemical parameters of inland waters: a case study of Warri River in Nigeria

The Niger-Delta area in Nigeria is rich with rivers, swamps and creeks that are often subject to various forms of pollution. The effect of seasonal variations on the physical and chemical conditions of Warri River was studied in 2015. Temperature and pH values across all seasons fell within the optimum range formost aquatic organisms. Meanwhile, total dissolved solids exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit, especially during the dry season; indicating possible pollution from inorganic salts, organic matter and other dissolved materials in the water. The low dissolved oxygen value recorded was expected due to the high levels of dissolved solids recorded in the river. Lastly, phosphate, nitrate and sulphate concentrations recorded were below the WHO permissible limits. The chemical and biological parameters recorded indicate that the Warri River poses minimal threat to human and animal life.

Pesticide knowledge and safety practices in farm workers from Tubah Sub-Division, North West Region, Cameroon

This study aimed to evaluate the safety measures practiced by farmers with use of pesticides in Tubah Sub-Division. The data gathered would be useful for drafting policies related to use of pesticides to reduce its effects on human health and the environment. This survey was carried out in November 2016 in Tubah Sub-Division, Mezam Division of the North West region of Cameroon. A structured questionnaire was administered to 120 homesteads of the study area. The results revealed that 94.2% of the farmers were untrained in pesticide safety measures, 30.8% did not observe any safety interval before consuming freshly treated crops and 25.8% did not read instructions on pesticide labels before handling. Fifty five percent of the farmers did not use any protective equipment, 79.2% practiced careless pesticide disposal, 13.3% stored pesticides in stores and 7.5% stored pesticides inside their houses. Eighty percent of the families stored their crops via hanging in the house and smoking the crops, while 10.8% stored their crops in sealed bins. Water washing followed by removing the outer cover was applied as a crop cleaning procedure prior to cooking or consumption. Major symptoms such as headache, wheezing, dizziness and skin problems were observed in the homesteads. Some environmental changes observed after application of pesticides were damage of non-target plants and disappearance of insects. It could be concluded that in Bambili, farmers lacked proper knowledge regarding safe handling and use of pesticides and the adverse effects of improper pesticide use to human health and the environment.

Halal as a Distinct Competitive Edge for Islamic Higher Education in the Millennial Generation

Increasing demand for halal products worldwide is one of the most prominent indicators of rising awareness of the Islamic halal concept. Thanks to increasing awareness of the benefits of halal, the concept has become a global trend in the Millennium era. Muslims are required to master the foundations of the concept of halal from the al-Qur’an and hadith, as well as its implementation in Maqasid Shariah and sciences. Mastery of halal concepts by the millennial generation can improve the competitiveness of the nation. Therefore, Islamic higher education can be seen as a significant platform for increasing halal knowledge and awareness in the millennium generation. Halal trends knowledge can provide a competitive edge in preparing the millennial generation for the increasing demands of the halal market. Purpose - This study aims to determine the implementation of halal as a distinct competitive advantage in Islamic higher education in preparing the millennial generation at The State Islamic Institute of Surakarta, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach - The research used quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed method). Quantitative data was collected by giving out questionnaires to final semester students. Qualitative data was obtained from interviews with campus program planners. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics before being interpreted. Findings - The results showed that 72.9% of students had studied the halal concept, 83.3% of students were able to identify halal products from MUI labels, and 45.8% understood the concepts of the Maqasid Shariah. Institutional development in halal understanding and awareness is ongoing through establishment of the halal study center and halal research center in collaboration with various parties.