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Studies the treatment of wood‐processing waste using different impregnants as a tool for improving its water‐resistance properties, in order to achieve a reduction in the damage to building elements prepared from the treated wood waste when exposed to weather of relatively high moisture content. Applies different variables such as type of impregnant (synthetic resins or oils), concentration of impregnant, time of impregnation and thermal treatment. Obtains results which show that, generally, using a different concentration of synthetic resins (UF and novolac), or dry oils (motor oil and linseed oil) improved the water‐resistance property of wood waste, and that thermal treatment increases the improvement percentage as a result of impregnation. Also indicates that the optimum improvement in water resistance is attained when using 50 per cent linseed oil as the impregnant for an impregnation time of ten minutes, followed by hardening for three hours at 120°C.

Describes the novel utilization of waste newsprint paper as inexpensive agro‐fibers for production of lightweight building panels. Thermal gravimetric analysis of treated news paper fibers was studied as a method for testing fire retardancy of agro‐fibers in light building panels. The activation energy of degradation stages was evaluated by applying the Coats and Redfern method of analysis. Results showed that the treatment of newsprint waste with 6 per cent sodium silicate also improved fire retardancy in addition to improving the compressive strength of the produced panels, with the reduction in the bulk density to ∼28.6 per cent compared with gypsum panel. Such treatment gives the produced panels a relatively low water absorption property compared with those produced by other treatments.

The purpose of this paper is to check the geranium oil and anise oil effect to inhibit inflammation in brain cerebral cortex and hippocampus areas in depression.

Depression defined as psychiatric disease and chronic mild stress (CMS) model a well-known animal model of depression that represented major symptoms occurred in human depression. Geranium oil and anise oil selected for such a study to check their anti-inflammatory effect in brain tissues in depressed animal model.

The brain cerebral cortex and hippocampus neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and interleukin (IL)-10 significantly decreased (p < 0.001) while brain cerebral cortex and hippocampus IL-1ß, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Ki-67 levels significantly increased (p < 0.001) in CMS rats compared to control. The oral intake of venlafaxine drug, anise oil and geranium oil significantly increased (p < 0.001) serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, GABA and IL-10 while significantly decreased (p < 0.001) IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α and Ki-67 levels to approach normal levels in brain cerebral cortex and hippocampus areas compared with CMS rats.

Antidepressants used in depression treatment but these drugs are either too expensive or had side effects. Folklore and complementary medicine used in different diseases treatment due to cheap and available source. Geranium oil and anise oil had anti-inflammatory effect in brain cerebral cortex and hippocampus areas in CMS rats.

The populations of the Middle East have experienced particularly rapid socio‐economic change over the past 40 years, due largely to the consolidation of the nation‐state after the break‐up of the Ottoman Empire at the close of WWI. The basic social, political and cultural rights of the pastoral populations (the Bedouin) of this region have been largely ignored, however, in part due to their remoteness and inaccessibility, but also because of the very fact of their mobility and physical marginality. With a few exceptions ‐ such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia ‐ cultural differences between the mobile Bedouin and the settled urban and agrarian populations have translated over time into development of discriminated minorities. The Bedouin way of life has come to be regarded as backward and primitive; in some places their very authenticity as part of the nation‐state has been questioned as they fail to ‘Modernise’ at the same pace as surrounding populations. Thus in Lebanon the majority of Bedouin are ‘stateless’ without papers and live beyond the ‘boundaries’ of government services. Their mobile way of life is largely a thing of the past, but their sense of tribal belonging remains strong. Their desire for nationality papers reflects a wish to end their marginalisation and statelessness and be able to access government services.

This paper aims to formulate a conceptual framework that will facilitate the actualization of maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in product design and consumption within Islamic financial institutions (IFIs).

This paper relies on the classical and contemporary literature on maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and Islamic finance and adopts a qualitative content analysis method and an inductive approach to outline the constituent elements that formulate the framework.

This study determines six vital constituents of maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, namely, parameters of maqāṣid, particular objectives, appropriate means, micro provisions, level of need and legal maxims to develop a conceptual framework of actualizing maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in Islamic finance. The framework covers the following three stages: identification of maqāṣid, operationalization of maqāṣid in product design and consumption based on maqāṣid.

This paper proposes a conceptual framework without investigating the practice of any particular industry or products. Further research would focus on formulating a practical framework based on a focus group discussion with industry experts, elaborating the parameters of maqāṣid, scrutinizing the maqāṣid available in the literature by the parameters of maqāṣid and assessing the IFIs’ products and services using the proposed framework.

This paper provides insights into the importance of maqāṣid elements and the effects of overlooking them on IFIs and customers’ product consumption. Furthermore, a major implication of the proposed framework is to learn how to use the maqāṣid approach as the baseline for designing new financial products.

The novelty of this paper lies in its pioneering attempt of harmonizing all essential maqāṣid elements and using them as constituents to formulate a comprehensive framework that actualizes maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in the Islamic finance industry.