Tales Told by God: Stylistic Peculiarities of Qrua’nic Narratives.

Abstract The religious seminaries (Madaris) 1 of Pakistan have been a hot topic of discussion in the national and international media. These Madaris are reminiscent of the ancient education system of Islam. They attracted people’s attention during the last two decades and especially after the 11th September 2001 incident of New York. Another aspect of interest was their role in the Islamic insurgence (Jihad) waged in various parts of the world particularly in Afghanistan and Kashmir. These institutions impart orthodox education based on centuries old syllabus called Dars-i Nizami. The administrators are disinclined to any slight change in the contents of the syllabus thus bringing them to an open conflict with the modem education system and western culture. The Madaris have been divided on the basis of religious sects i. e. Shia, Sunni and Ahl-i-Hadith. Of them Sunnis are further splintered into many sub-sects such as Deobandis, Brelvis, etc. But their adherence to the primitive education, Jihad and abhorrence for the western civilization is almost the same. Despite repeated reference to these Madaris, there are many misconceptions or disinformation about them In the present paper, an attempt has been made to remove these misconceptions and present a true picture. Besides, historical perspective, vital statistics, curricula and problems and prospects have discussed in the paper in hand

Maternal Inflammatory Markers in the Diagnosis of Chorioamnionitis and Prediction of Neonatal Sepsis in Preterm Pre-Labour Rupture of Membranes: A Systematic Review

Background: There is no consensus on the potential role of inflammatory markers in identifying chorioamnionitis in women with Preterm Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes (PPROM) or in predicting Early Onset Neonatal Sepsis (EONS) in their neonates. Objectives: To perform a quantitative review on the accuracy of maternal C reactive protein (CRP), Procalcitonin (PCT) and Interleukin 6 (IL6) in the diagnosis of Histological Chorioamnionitis and/or Funisitis (HCA/Funisitis) and their role in the prediction of EONS in PPROM. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to October 2015, for studies where these markers were assessed against a reference standard of HCA/Funisitis or outcome of EONS in PPROM. Two reviewers independently performed screening, data extraction and quality assessments. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2(QUADAS-2) and the Quality in Prognostic Studies (QUIPS) tools were used to assess methodological quality. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) models were used in the diagnostic review. In the prognostic review, unadjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis. Results: The diagnostic review included 14 studies reporting 361 episodes (47.4%) of HCA/Funisitis in 761 participants, median prevalence 41% (IQR 36-53). The pooled indices for CRP at the commonest cut-off of 20mg/L (5 studies, 252 participants) were sensitivity 59% (95% CI 48-69), specificity 83% (95% CI 74-89), Likelihood Ratio positive (LR+) 3.45(95% CI 2.24-5.30) and Likelihood Ratio negative (LR-) 0.50(95% CI0.38-0.64 ). The sensitivity, LR+ and LR- for CRP at all cut-offs (11 studies, 570 participants) and at a selected specificity of 80% were 55%, 2.75 and 0.56 respectively. Indices for IL6 at a specificity of 80% were sensitivity 62%, LR+ 3.1 and LR- 0.48. No pooled indices were derived for PCT as included studies were few. The prognostic review included 7 studies with 332 participants and 97 episodes of EONS, median prevalence 26% (IQR 26-34). The pooled unadjusted OR for studies evaluating CRP at the commonest cut-off of 10mg/L (4 studies, 161participants) was 2.79 (95%CI 1.33-v 5.88, p 0.007). No pooled estimates were obtained for PCT and IL6 as included studies were few. Included studies were mainly prospective cohort design but were of poor quality. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to support use of CRP, PCT or IL6 in maternal blood for the diagnosis of HCA/Funisitis in PPROM and prediction of EONS in PPROM. Recommendations: We do not recommend the routine use of maternal CRP, PCT or IL6 singly in