The Impact of SMART Media Technologies (SMT) on the Spiritual Experience of Hajj Pilgrims

Over the last three decades, information and communication technologies have advanced rapidly and continue to do so. Nowadays, the popularity and spread of socalled Smart Media Technologies (SMT) is not only transforming the lives of tourists around the world in general, but is impacting on the experience of pilgrims on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in particular. Indeed, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage the use of SMT in the religious tourism industry. Specifically, the availability of SMT services such as Hajj Apps, E-bracelets for pilgrims, free WIFI and mobile charging services in Grand Mosques (in both Makkah and Madinah), dedicated social media websites, and the ability of pilgrims to take advantage of smartphone activities are facilitating and enhancing their technological and social experience of the Hajj. However, the introduction of ‘high-tech’ into the Hajj is arguably impacting on the nature of the pilgrims’ experience, challenging its fundamental spirituality by transforming it into something more akin to a ‘cyber experience’, an experience which competes with and jeopardises the principles of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj with its focus on worship, simplicity and nonostentatious behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the spiritual experience of pilgrims may be influenced by the availability and use of various SMT services. The findings suggest ways in which these technological services both enhance and impact negatively on the pilgrim’s spiritual experience

SMART Media Technologies impact on the Spiritual Experience of Hajj Pilgrims

Over the last two decades, information and communication technologies have advanced rapidly and continue to do so. Currently, the popularity and spread of SMART Media Technologies (SMT) is not only transforming the lives of tourists around the world in general, but is impacting on the experience of pilgrims on the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in particular,(Brdesee et al, 2013). Indeed, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of initiatives to encourage the use of SMT in the religious tourism industry, (Majid, 2016). Specifically, the availability of SMT services such as Hajj Apps, E-bracelets for pilgrims, free WIFI and mobile charging services in Grand Mosques (in both Mecca and Madinah), dedicated social media websites, and the ability of pilgrims to take advantage of SMART phone activities are facilitating and enhancing their technological and social experience of the Hajj (Naar, 2015; also BBC, 2016). However, arguably the introduction of ‘high-tech’ into the Hajj is arguably impacting on the nature of the pilgrims’ experience, challenging its fundamental spirituality by transforming it into something more akin to a ‘cyber experience’, an experience which competes with and jeopardies the principles of the Islamic religious journey of the Hajj with its focus on worship, simplicity and no ostentatious behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the spiritual experience of pilgrims may be influenced by the availability and use of various SMT services. The findings suggest ways in which these technological services both enhance and impact negatively on the pilgrim’s spiritual experience

A Molecular Rotor that Measures Dynamic Changes of Lipid Bilayer Viscosity Caused by Oxidative Stress

Oxidation of cellular structures is typically an undesirable process that can be a hallmark of certain diseases. On the other hand, photooxidation is a necessary step of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a cancer treatment causing cell death upon light irradiation. Here, the effect of photooxidation on the microscopic viscosity of model lipid bilayers constructed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine has been studied. A molecular rotor has been employed that displays a viscosity-dependent fluorescence lifetime as a quantitative probe of the bilayer's viscosity. Thus, spatially-resolved viscosity maps of lipid photooxidation in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) were obtained, testing the effect of the positioning of the oxidant relative to the rotor in the bilayer. It was found that PDT has a strong impact on viscoelastic properties of lipid bilayers, which ‘travels’ through the bilayer to areas that have not been irradiated directly. A dramatic difference in viscoelastic properties of oxidized GUVs by Type I (electron transfer) and Type II (singlet oxygen-based) photosensitisers was also detected

Effect of pre-harvest calcium chloride and ethanol spray on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during storage

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) are highly perishable due to postharvest fungal decay and softening. The effects of pre-harvest calcium chloride (CC) (at 1 or 2 %) and ethanol (at 10 or 20 %) spray at 30 and 7 days before harvest on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during cold storage at 0 °C ± 1 plus 1 day of shelf life at 20 °C were evaluated. Pre-harvest spray of CC and ethanol at both low and high concentrations significantly decreased berry decay percentage during storage compared to control. The combination between CC and ethanol also decreased decay compared to control but was less effective than each one alone. In this respect, there were no significant differences between low and high concentration of CC and ethanol. In all treatments, decay was recorded after 30 days of storage and significantly increased to reach 26.3 % after 50 days. CC spray alone, at both concentrations, increased weight loss percentage compared to control and most other treatments. However ethanol spray especially at 20 % decreased weight loss compared to other treatments except for 10 % ethanol spray. The combination between CC and ethanol, however, increased weight loss compared to control except for, 1 % CC plus 20 % ethanol and 2 % CC plus 10 % ethanol. Weight loss percentage increased during storage to reach 2.30 % after 50 days of storage. However, the overall quality characteristics of berries as firmness, TSS, acidity, TSS/acid ratio, pH, vitamin C, total phenols and soluble tannins were not negatively affected by both CC and ethanol spray treatments. Also, both CC and ethanol spray caused neither foliar damage on the vines nor significant changes in berry quality. It is concluded that pre-harvest spray of 1 % CC or 20 % ethanol could be suggested as practical alternatives to synthetic fungicides and SO2 to decrease postharvest decay and improve quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes.

A novel computational approach to approximate fuzzy interpolation polynomials

This paper build a structure of fuzzy neural network, which is well sufficient to gain a fuzzy interpolation polynomial of the form yp=anxnp+⋯+a1xp+a0 where aj is crisp number (for j=0,…,n), which interpolates the fuzzy data (xj,yj)(forj=0,…,n). Thus, a gradient descent algorithm is constructed to train the neural network in such a way that the unknown coefficients of fuzzy polynomial are estimated by the neural network. The numeral experimentations portray that the present interpolation methodology is reliable and efficient

Assessment of patients’ knowledge of tuberculosis and its impact on self-management ability

Purpose: To assess the knowledge of patients of tuberculosis (TB) and its relationship with patients’ self-management in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study is based a prospective cross-sectional design. It included a sample of 176 cases with an active or latent diagnosis of TB. A survey was conducted in some hospitals, including King Abdul-Aziz University from November 2016 to January 2017. The collected data were statistically analyzed. Results: The survey showed that 70 % of the patients had inadequate information on TB and its treatment, while only 4 % showed awareness of the prevalence of TB. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the educational level of patients and their knowledge of TB. Patients’ educational level substantially contributed to their understanding of health education. Conclusion: The findings suggest that active educational campaigns need to be initiated to enhance the patients’ awareness and knowledge of TB

Does Sickle Cell Disease Protect Against Diabetes Mellitus? : Cross-sectional study

Objectives: The co-existence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and sickle cell disease (SCD) is rare. This study aimed to explore whether SCD patients have the same DM prevalence as the general population in a country with a high prevalence of DM. Methods: This cross-sectional study included all SCD adult patients admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, between 2003 and 2010 (n = 2,204). A random sample (n = 520) was taken to establish the prevalence of DM. Laboratory records were examined to determine the presence of DM. Results: There were 376 SCD patients with complete records; of these, 24 (6.4%) had DM. The age- and sex-standardised prevalence of DM was 8.3%. Conclusion: While the prevalence of DM in SCD patients in Bahrain was high, it was lower than expected in this population. SCD may have a protective effect towards DM development. However, the impact of these two conditions on vascular diseases suggest a need for screening and aggressive treatment in this population

Pre-harvest fruit drop, bunch weight and fruit quality of ‘Rothana’ and ‘Ghur’ date palm cultivars as affected by some plant growth regulators

Pre-harvest fruit drop is a serious problem of some date palm cultivars. During 2010 and 2011 seasons, the effect of plant growth regulators 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) (50 and 100 ppm), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (100 and 150 ppm), gibberellic acid (GA3) (100 and 150 ppm) and benzyladenine (BA) (100 and 150 ppm) applications, at 40 and 70 days after pollination, on pre-harvest fruit drop and quality of ‘Rothana’ and ‘Ghur’ dates were studied. In both cultivars, the application of growth regulators at both rates significantly decreased fruit drop. In this respect, 2,4-D and GA3 were the most effective treatments followed by BA, while NAA was the least effective. The reduction in fruit drop resulted in a higher bunch weight in the treated fruit than the control. The high rate of BA was more effective than the low rate in decreasing fruit drop of ‘Ghur’ cultivar. In ‘Rothana’ cultivar, bunch weight was higher than the control with both 2,4-D rates; whereas, with GA3 and BA, only the high rate was effective; while in ‘Ghur’ cultivar, bunch weight of all growth regulators treatments was higher than the control. The rutab percentage was lower in NAA treatments than for all the other treatments, except for control in ‘Ghur’ cultivar. Fruit and flesh weight of ‘Rothana’ cultivar were higher at the high rate of 2,4-D, the low rate of GA3 and BA treatments than in the control. There were no consistent effects for growth regulators on the physical and chemical quality characteristics of fruit, possibly due to the large variations of the fruit load among the treatments. It was concluded that under hot arid conditions, the application of growth regulators of especially 2,4-D (50 ppm) and GA3 (150 ppm) at both 40 and 70 days from pollination is recommended to reduce pre-harvest drop, and improve fruit quality of both ‘Rothana’ and ‘Ghur’ date palm cultivars.Keywords: Date palm, plant growth regulators, yield, quality, fruit drop, Phoenix dactylifera

The Effect of Symptoms on the Survival Time of Coronavirus Patients in the Sudanese Population

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread worldwide, resulting in substantial rates of illness and death. Gaining insight into the various factors that impact the duration of survival among individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 is of utmost importance to inform clinical practices and public health strategies This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the acuteness of symptoms and the survival time of coronavirus patients in Sudan. The Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were used to determine the symptom pattern. The results of COVID-19 and Cox regression were utilized to determine the most critical symptoms affecting coronavirus patients. The log-rank test revealed that there are differences in the pattern of age and symptoms among coronavirus patients. Cox regression revealed that symptoms affect on the survival time of coronavirus patients. The Cox proportional Hazard Model shows that the hazard of age at any time increases by 116.5%, diarrhea increases by 9%, headache increases by 62.0%, fatigability increases by 13.3%, and other symptoms increase by 47.3%. This study differs from prior studies in several ways. No current study in Sudan has used survival analysis to discover the most relevant symptoms affecting survival time