Floristic Diversity And Dynamics In The Farasan Islands, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

The current work establishes the first intensive ecological study of Farasan Archipelago concerning the mechanisms and processes of vegetation diversity and composition. The floristic survey was carried out on 20 islands which vary in areas from few square meters to about 381 km2 to analyze the floristic diversity and composition. The analysis identified a total of 191 species belonging to 129 genera and 53 families, with 38 species belonging to the Monocotyledoneae and 153 species to the Dicotyledoneae

حكـم استحـداث الضرائـب المعاصـرة (ضريبة القيمة المضافة أنموذجا) The Ruling of Creating Contemporary Taxes (Value Added Tax as a Model)

ملخص تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى الوصول إلى الحكم الفقهي في استحداث ضرائب جديدة، وقد ركز البحث على نموذج منها هو ضريبة القيمة المضافة، وذلك في ضوء الآثار الاقتصادية، والاجتماعية التي تنجم عن تطبيقها، ومدى انسجامها مع المقاصد الشرعية، التي تهدف إلى تحقيق العدل، والإحسان، ورفع الحرج. وللوصول إلى هذا الهدف، تبدأ الدراسة بالتعريف بالضرائب بشكل عام، ومن ثم ضريبة القيمة المضافة: (وهي ضريبة غير مباشرة تفرض على بيع السلع، أو استيراد كل السلع والخدمات إلا ما استثني بنص قانوني ، وذلك في كل مرحلة من مراحل التداول، ويتحملها المستهلك النهائي)، ثم بيان خصائصها، وآثارها، يلي ذلك عرض آراء الفقهاء حول هذه الضريبة، وأدلتهم، والرأي الراجح. وتخلص الدراسة إلى أن الإسلام يقدم درء المفاسد على جلب المصالح، ومن ثم فإن دفع الضرر والضيق والحرج عن الفقراء ومحدودي الدخل، مقدم على جلب المصالح، وبناء على ذلك: فقد ترجح لدى الباحث منع هذه الضريبة، وأنه في حال استجد ما يستدعي فرض تكليف مالي زائد؛ فإن الأولى التدرج في اختيار أنواع الضرائب، فتقدم مثلا ضريبة الدخل عليها؛ لاعتبارات كثيرة، كقربها من العدالة. الكلمات الافتتاحية: ضرائب – معاصرة - القيمة المضافة. The Ruling of Creating Contemporary Taxes (Value Added Tax as a Model) Abstract This study aims to reach the Islamic jurisprudential ruling of creating new taxes, and the research has focused on a model of Value Added Tax “VAT”, considering the economic and social effects that result from its application, and the extent of its compatibility with the Islamic Lawful purposes which aim to achieve justice, and charity and mitigate difficulties. In order to reach this goal, the study begins with the definition of taxes in general, then VAT: (which is an indirect tax imposed on the sale of goods, or the import of all goods and services except for what is excluded by a legal text , at each stage of trading, and it is borne by the final consumer), then clarifying its characteristics and effects, followed by stating the opinions of Islamic jurists about this tax, their evidence, and the most preponderant opinion. The study concludes that Islam gives priority for warding off mischiefs over bringing benefits, therefore preventing harm, distress and difficulties from the poor and low-income persons is better than bringing benefits. Accordingly: the researcher thinks the most preponderant opinion is to prevent this tax, and in the event there is a need to impose an excessive financial charge; it is more adequate to graduate in choosing the types of taxes, for example, the income tax shall take precedence over VAT; for may considerations, such as its proximity to justice. Keywords: Taxes - Contemporary - Value Added

Woodcutting Activities in Tabuk Region (Saudi Arabia): Assessment of Conservation Knowledge

The present study aims to investigate the effect of different social factors on the woodcutting frequency in Tabuk Region. A total of 100 people participated in this study by answering the questionnaire questions. The conservation knowledge of the participants was also assessed through 4 questions (Yes or No). The final score of the conservation knowledge assessment is 4. The present study findings showed that most of people like to cut the wood for heating during winter and fall seasons. The frequency of woodcutting in Tabuk Region was once a month. Among the social factors involved in this study, education showed negative and significant relationship with the number of logging times. However, age had positive relationship with the number of logging times. The most favourbale species to be cut and used for heating and cooking in Tabuk are; Acacia tortilis, Acacia ehrenbergiana, Retama reaetam and Calligonum comosum. For the assessment of the public conservation knowledge, it was found that most of participants had moderate to good conservation knowledge as most of them answered 3 questions correctly out of 4. The conservation knowledge showed to be affected positively by education level and negatively by the number of family members. In conclusion, it was found that there is remarkable woodcutting stress on wild plants in Tabuk Region and immediate and effective actions should be performe

Guidelines for acute management of hyperammonemia in the Middle East region

BACKGROUND: Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening event that can occur at any age. If treated, the early symptoms in all age groups could be reversible. If untreated, hyperammonemia could be toxic and cause irreversible brain damage to the developing brain. OBJECTIVE: There are major challenges that worsen the outcome of hyperammonemic individuals in the Middle East. These include: lack of awareness among emergency department physicians about proper management of hyperammonemia, strained communication between physicians at primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals, and shortage of the medications used in the acute management of hyperammonemia. Therefore, the urge to develop regional guidelines is extremely obvious. METHOD: We searched PubMed and Embase databases to include published materials from 2011 to 2014 that were not covered by the European guidelines, which was published in 2012. We followed the process of a Delphi conference and involved one preliminary meeting and two follow-up meetings with email exchanges between the Middle East Hyperammonemia and Urea Cycle Disorders Scientific Group regarding each draft of the manuscript. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We have developed consensus guidelines based on the highest available level of evidence. The aim of these guidelines is to homogenize and harmonize the treatment protocols used for patients with acute hyperammonemia, and to provide a resource to not only metabolic physicians, but also physicians who may come in contact with individuals with acute hyperammonemia. CONCLUSION: These suggested guidelines aim to ease the challenges faced by physicians dealing with acute hyperammonemia in the region. In addition, guidelines have demonstrated useful collaboration between experts in the region, and provides information that will hopefully improve the outcomes of patients with acute hyperammonemia

Botanical Insecticides and their Potential as Anti-Insect/Pests: Are they Successful against Insects and Pests?

In low-income countries, subsistence and transitional farms frequently use botanical insecticides. The shortage or high cost of industrial pesticides also prompts their use. Botanical insecticides are also prescribed by agricultural and development programs and certain development organizations. However, since insecticidal proof of their effectiveness and protection might not be sufficient or usable, this may be called into question. While insecticidal botanicals have been extensively studied, there has yet to be a fusion that focuses especially on the domestic synthesis of biopesticides that work infield and storage effectively. In this chapter, we look at the effectiveness of botanicals (neem, garlic, and essential oil) that are used as insecticides. In addition, this chapter also focuses on research carried out on the use of these essential oils as insecticides. Processes that use variable amounts of ingredients and concentrations and ratios of active ingredients can have varying impacts on the efficacy of plant-based biological insecticides. Finally, using home-made insecticides would reduce the losses that occur during food production and enable us to use environment-friendly pest management methods

Guidelines for acute management of hyperammonemia in the Middle East region

BACKGROUND: Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening event that can occur at any age. If treated, the early symptoms in all age groups could be reversible. If untreated, hyperammonemia could be toxic and cause irreversible brain damage to the developing brain. OBJECTIVE: There are major challenges that worsen the outcome of hyperammonemic individuals in the Middle East. These include: lack of awareness among emergency department physicians about proper management of hyperammonemia, strained communication between physicians at primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals, and shortage of the medications used in the acute management of hyperammonemia. Therefore, the urge to develop regional guidelines is extremely obvious. METHOD: We searched PubMed and Embase databases to include published materials from 2011 to 2014 that were not covered by the European guidelines, which was published in 2012. We followed the process of a Delphi conference and involved one preliminary meeting and two follow-up meetings with email exchanges between the Middle East Hyperammonemia and Urea Cycle Disorders Scientific Group regarding each draft of the manuscript. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We have developed consensus guidelines based on the highest available level of evidence. The aim of these guidelines is to homogenize and harmonize the treatment protocols used for patients with acute hyperammonemia, and to provide a resource to not only metabolic physicians, but also physicians who may come in contact with individuals with acute hyperammonemia. CONCLUSION: These suggested guidelines aim to ease the challenges faced by physicians dealing with acute hyperammonemia in the region. In addition, guidelines have demonstrated useful collaboration between experts in the region, and provides information that will hopefully improve the outcomes of patients with acute hyperammonemia

A Combined Use of Rhizobacteria and Moringa Leaf Extract Mitigates the Adverse Effects of Drought Stress in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Less nutrient availability and drought stress are some serious concerns of agriculture. Both biotic and abiotic stress factors have the potential to limit crop productivity. However, several organic extracts obtained from moringa leaves may induce immunity in plants under nutritional and drought stress for increasing their survival. Additionally, some rhizobacterial strains have the ability to enhance root growth for better nutrient and water uptake in stress conditions. To cover the knowledge gap on the interactive effects of beneficial rhizobacteria and moringa leaf extracts (MLEs), this study was conducted. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the effectiveness of sole and combined use of rhizobacteria and MLEs against nutritional and drought stress in wheat. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) (10(8) CFU ml(-1)) was inoculated to wheat plants with and without foliar-applied MLEs at two different concentrations (MLE 1 = 1:15 v/v and MLE 2 = 1:30 v/v) twice at 25 and 35 days after seed sowing (50 ml per plant) after the establishment of drought stress. Results revealed that Pa + MLE 2 significantly increased fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), lengths of roots and shoot and photosynthetic contents of wheat. A significant enhancement in total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins, calcium, potassium, phosphate, and nitrate contents validated the efficacious effect of Pa + MLE 2 over control-treated plants. Significant decrease in sodium, proline, glycine betaine, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxide (POD) concentrations in wheat cultivated under drought stress conditions also represents the imperative role of Pa + MLE 2 over control. In conclusion, Pa + MLE 2 can alleviate nutritional stress and drought effects in wheat. More research in this field is required to proclaim Pa + MLE 2 as the most effective amendment against drought stress in distinct agroecological zones, different soil types, and contrasting wheat cultivars worldwide.Peer reviewe

Operating Room Technician, Nurses, and Paramedic with the Support of Healthcare Administration in Management of Disasters

The literature offers significant insights into the various aspects of disaster preparedness among operating room nurses in the event of earthquake disasters. These findings can be utilized by nursing managers, paramedics, and operating room staff in order to develop effective strategies and provide support in areas such as improving knowledge and educational level, enhancing skills, strengthening plans and managerial structures, enhancing equipment preparedness, and explaining resilience strategies in order to improve the disaster preparedness of operating room nurses and the disaster response teams of medical organizations

Congruence patterns of aquatic communities in a tropical river basin, Malaysia

The loss of aquatic biodiversity in tropical streams of SE Asia is evident due to increasing anthropogenic activities. Therefore, there is a necessity for immediate and feasible conservation plans. Effective conservation planning depends on successful application of surrogate groups. However, progress of this approach is hindered by the paucity of relevant reports based on cross-taxon congruence analysis. In this study, we investigated congruence patterns among aquatic groups (Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Odonata and fish) in six rivers located in the Kerian River Basin (KRB), Malaysia. Species richness was significantly correlated among aquatic groups (except for Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera where r = 0.040 and P = 0.202). The strongest relationship in species richness was reported between Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera. The Mantel's r coefficient of similarity matrices (based on the Bray-Curtis distance measure) showed a positive correlation between the matrices of Ephemeroptera-Trichoptera and Plecoptera-Trichoptera. However, a negative relationship was reported between Odonata-fish matrices. The relationships between average Trichoptera-Odonata distance to the centroid (i.e. beta diversity) among the aquatic groups were also investigated. The strongest relationship in the average to the centroids was reported between Ephemeroptera and Odonata (R2 = 0.424, P < 0.05). However, the weakest relationship was reported between Trichoptera and fish with R2 value of 0.024. It is concluded that richness of Plecoptera, Odonata and fish showed correlations patterns, and these can be used as surrogates for each other with some restrictions