The Impact of COVID-19 on Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage to the Holy City of Karbala

Religious tourism and pilgrimage around the world have changed dramatically in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, thousands of sacred placed closed their doors; religious leaders appealed to their followers not to perform their spiritual or pilgrimage journeys for their own and others safety. The holy city of Karbala, like any other sacred place is affected by the pandemic; every year, the holy city of Karbala witnesses the convergence of millions of pilgrims, being among the most important pilgrims for Shia Muslims. Of particular importance for these pilgrims is Ashura, which marks the day that Hussain bin Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed in the Battle of Karbala and subsequently, Arbaeen (Arba’een), or the forty days of mourning, that follow. The religious tourism sector in Iraq has been witnessing a continuous decline since demonstrations against the government began last October 2019, but the spread of Coronavirus in the world has had a severe impact on the tourism industry in Iraq and in Karbala in particular. The country closed its borders with Iran and other neighbouring countries, and prevented gatherings, including religious events, to avoid the outbreak of the coronavirus. Under the direction of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, religious cities have stopped receiving tourists and pilgrims from inside and outside the country. Karbala has experienced a significant decline in the number of visitors for the past number of months, a decline never witnessed before. The tourism industry is seriously impacted as a result; hotels, restaurants & local shops are suffering the most

Controlled delivery of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents from un-cemented prosthesis

The prevalence of joint replacement procedures has increased by more than 119% in the last decade and as a result the demand for a prosthesis is very likely to increase. Uncemented prosthesis is the first-choice treatment option for patients under 68, due to its long-term and more stable fixation. The two major limitations that lead to the failure of joint replacement surgery are a prosthetic joint infection and aseptic loosening. To counter these limitations this study aimed to develop a novel composite system with dual functionality for prophylaxis from postsurgical inflammation and infection. The system is versatile safe to use in in-vitro

Nanoparticle-based model of anti-inflammatory drug releasing LbL coatings for uncemented prosthesis aseptic loosening prevention

Introduction: The only treatment for aseptic loosening is the replacement of the prosthesis through revision surgery. A preventive approach, achieved through anti-inflammatory drugs released from the device, has shown to be a viable strategy; however, the performance of these devices is not yet satisfactory thus further improvements are necessary.Methods: We used titanium nanoparticles as a model for implant surfaces and developed a coating containing dexamethasone (DEX) using layer-by-layer deposition.Results: The amount of deposited drug depended on the number of layers and the release was sustained for months. The efficiency of the released DEX in reducing inflammation markers (tumor necrosis factor alpha and IL-6) produced by human monocytes and macrophages was similar to the pure drug at the same concentration without negative impacts on the viability and morphology of these cells.Conclusion: These coatings were not inferior to medical grade titanium (the standard material used in uncemented devices) regarding their ability to sustain osteoblasts and fibroblasts growth

PMMA bone cement containing long releasing silica-based chlorhexidine nanocarriers

Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) are still an extremely concerning eventuality after joint replacement surgery; growing antibiotic resistance is also limiting the prophylactic and treatment options. Chlorhexidine (a widely used topical non-antibiotic antimicrobial compound) coatings on silica nanoparticles capable of prolonged drug release have been successfully developed and characterised. Such nanocarriers were incorporated into commercial formulation PMMA bone cement (Cemex), without adversely affecting the mechanical performance. Moreover, the bone cement containing the developed nanocarriers showed superior antimicrobial activity against different bacterial species encountered in PJI, including clinical isolates already resistant to gentamicin. Cytocompatibility tests also showed non inferior performance of the bone cements containing chlorhexidine releasing silica nanocarriers to the equivalent commercial formulation

Sunlight induced synthesis of silver nanoparticles on cellulose for the preparation of antimicrobial textiles

Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to heath with the use of silver nanoparticles as a possible approach; however, the synthetic routes of such nanomaterials are not environmentally friendly because of the chemicals required. In this work we approach both problems with a single solution that employs sunlight in the visible spectrum to prepare nanosilver on the surface of cotton fabrics soaked in a solution of silver nitrate. Photoactivation leads to the activation of aldehyde groups providing reducing ability to cellulose and enabling the formation of elemental silver without the use of any chemical reducing agents. Concentrations of silver nitrate solution of 30 g/L reached the saturation of the content of elemental silver on fabric at 52.8 mg/dm2. SEM images showed that silver particles were evenly distributed in fabric in the form of spherical particles 100–600 nm in diameter. The materials exhibited antimicrobial properties against E. coli and S. aureus retaining such properties after repeated washings. Moreover, no adverse effects were observed on fibroblast cells exposed to the prepared textiles

Can Sustainable Tourism Indicators Assist in the management of Sacred Sites

This paper brings together some thoughts on the breadth and range of research being undertaken in the area of Religious Tourism, and puts that alongside the concept of Sustainable Tourism, blending the two to investigate how Indicator models could be used to broaden the research agenda for Religious Tourism

Polymer colloids as drug delivery systems for the treatment of arthritis

The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which are themain causes of disability and pain among older people. Current treatment of arthritis mainly consists of oral and intra-articular medications. Despite the efficacy of the intraarticular injections over the oral treatment, it is still limited by the rapid clearance of the injected drug. Therefore, a rational design of drug delivery systems (DDSs) able to delivery drugs in controlled manner and for required period of time to the arthritis joint is a key in developing safe and effective formulations for OA and RA. In this paper various colloidal systems like nanoparticles, liposomes, cationic carriers, hydrogels, and emulsion-based carriers were presented and discussed in light of their use and efficacy as delivery systems to transport therapeutics for arthritis treatment. Factors influencing the delivery efficacy such as size, charge, structure, drug uptake, retention and its release profile alongside with cytocompatibility and safety were addressed. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of the different colloidal systems were emphasised