Visitors of the Holy Mosque in Makkah: Between Influence and Impact in the Mamluk Era from 648 to 923 AH (1250 to 1517 AD)

The Holy Mosque in Makkah is one of the most significant landmarks for Muslims around the world, attracting millions of visitors every year. This research aims to investigate the impact of the neighbors of the Holy Mosque on the general conditions of Makkah during the Mamluk era. The study focuses on the scientific and cultural impact, economic recovery, assistance provided, and support during crises of the Holy Mosques neighbors. The research methodology involves examining historical sources that address the topic of neighborhood during the Mamluk era. The Mamluk era is an essential period in the history of Makkah, characterized by significant achievements in science, literature, and architecture. During this period, neighboring scholars and jurists played an active role in the revival of scientific and cultural life in Makkah. Some jobs within the holy mosque were even assigned to these knowledgeable neighbors. The findings indicate that the neighbors of the Holy Mosque had a significant impact on the scientific and cultural revival in Makkah during the Mamluk era. The positive influence of the sciences and the knowledge they provided in various fields improved the social, scientific, and cultural conditions of Makkah. This research highlights the importance of the impact of the Holy Mosques neighbors on the general conditions of Makkah during the Mamluk era. Furthermore, the research recommends recognizing the significant impact of the Holy Mosques neighbors on the general conditions of Makkah during the Mamluk era

Discrete least squares meshless method for modeling 2D crack problems

In this paper, Discrete Least Squares meshless method (DLSM) is developed to analyze cracked structuresin an elastostatic problem. DLSMis a new really meshless method that does not use any mesh in computation. The method is based on the minimization of the least squares functional with respect to the nodal parameters. The least squares functional are formed as the weighted summation of the residual of the differential equation and its boundaryconditions. In thismethod, the domain of problem is discretized bysome nodesthat are used to produce Moving Least Squares shape functions. This type of discretization eliminates the Finite Element Method shortcomings. In this study, diffraction method was used to produce continuous shape functions around the crack. In diffraction method, the domain of influence wrap around the crack tip and it results in continuous derivatives of shape functions. Finally, the DLSM high efficiency and accuracy is presented by comparing the analytical results with numerical ones

In Pursuit of Sustainable Strategic Long-term Planning Throughout Meta-postmodernism as New Perspective of Stylistic Design

During the different period of architectural design, designers attempt to achieve high level of life quality for all users. Architecture and urban planner want to provide a style of design which not only achieves different function for different users with respect to their ethnicity, ability, age, sex, capability, position, and life style but also improve friendly environment throughout responsive legislation based on long-term planning. Although, the styles are considered some indicators, it is ignored the other important characteristics. Therefore, the existing styles never achieve standard level of satisfaction of different people. The goal of the research is to introduce meta-postmodern style as supplement stylistic approach. The style tries to consider all important indicators that create a strategic long-term planning for different generations. Various characteristics of new style can be applied to improve the quality of human life and provide a health, livable and sustainable planning for all users

Association of ABCB1 and SLC22A16 gene polymorphisms with incidence of doxorubicin-induced febrile neutropenia: A survey of iranian breast cancer patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Doxorubicin-based chemotherapy is used to treat breast cancer patients; however, neutropenia is a common hematologic side effect and can be life-threatening. The ABCB1 and SLC22A16 genes encode proteins that are essential for doxorubicin transport. In this study, we explored the effect of 2 common polymorphisms in ABCB1 (rs10276036 C/T) and SLC22A16 (rs12210538 A/G) on the development of grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia in Iranian breast cancer patients. Our results showed no significant association between these polymorphisms and grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia; however, allele C of ABCB1 (rs10276036 C/T) (p = 0.315, OR = 1.500, 95 CI = 0.679-3.312) and allele A of SLC22A16 (rs12210538 A/G) (p = 0.110, OR = 2.984, 95 CI = 0.743-11.988) tended to have a greater association with grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia, whereas allele T of ABCB1 (rs10276036) (p = 0.130, OR = 0.515, 95 CI = 0.217-1.223) and allele G of SLC22A16 (rs12210538) (p = 0.548, OR = 0.786, 95 CI = 0.358-1.726) tended to protect against this condition. In addition to breast cancer, a statistically significant association was also observed between the development of grade 3/4 febrile neutropenia and other clinical manifestations such as stage IIIC cancer (p = 0.037) and other diseases (p = 0.026). Our results indicate that evaluation of the risk of grade 3/4 neutropenia development and consideration of molecular and clinical findings may be of value when screening for high-risk breast cancer patients. © 2016 Faraji et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

PVDF membrane for oil-in-water separation via cross-flow ultrafiltration process

The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of ultrafiltration polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-titanium dioxide (TiO2) membrane for oil-in-water separator. PVDF polymeric matrix membrane is excellent in term of chemical and thermal stabilities, which make it very promising to be used as a membrane matrix for water separation. However, poor hydrophilic property of the PVDF has led to the severe fouling during operation. Thus, current work was performed to investigate the effect of incorporation of two additives i.e. polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) in PVDF-TiO2 membrane, which fabricated using dry/wet phase inversion technique. Membranes characterizations were performed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle and UV-vis spectrophotometer. Accordingly, modified PVDF membrane possessed good hydrophilicity property when the additives were added into PVDF-TiO2 membrane matrix. In term of filtration performance, the experimental results showed that oil rejection using PVDF-TiO2/PVP membrane were ~99.7%, which met the requirement for discharge. On the other hand, PVDF-TiO2/PEG membrane was shown more enhancement in terms of permeate flux by given over 64 (L/m2h) at pressure of 2 bar gauge

Optometrists show rudimentary understanding of evidence-based practice but are ready to embrace it: can barriers be overcome?

Evidence-based practice (EBP) involves integration of the best available evidence from research, the patient's preferences or circumstances, the clinical environment and the health practitioner's expertise. There have been several qualitative studies of EBP in health-care but none has focused on the profession of optometry. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess optometrists' perceptions of EBP in optometry

Phase I/II trial evaluating carbon ion radiotherapy for the treatment of recurrent rectal cancer: the PANDORA-01 trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Treatment standard for patients with rectal cancer depends on the initial staging and includes surgical resection, radiotherapy as well as chemotherapy. For stage II and III tumors, radiochemotherapy should be performed in addition to surgery, preferentially as preoperative radiochemotherapy or as short-course hypofractionated radiation. Advances in surgical approaches, especially the establishment of the total mesorectal excision (TME) in combination with sophisticated radiation and chemotherapy have reduced local recurrence rates to only few percent. However, due to the high incidence of rectal cancer, still a high absolute number of patients present with recurrent rectal carcinomas, and effective treatment is therefore needed.</p> <p>Carbon ions offer physical and biological advantages. Due to their inverted dose profile and the high local dose deposition within the Bragg peak precise dose application and sparing of normal tissue is possible. Moreover, in comparison to photons, carbon ions offer an increase relative biological effectiveness (RBE), which can be calculated between 2 and 5 depending on the cell line as well as the endpoint analyzed.</p> <p>Japanese data on the treatment of patients with recurrent rectal cancer previously not treated with radiation therapy have shown local control rates of carbon ion treatment superior to those of surgery. Therefore, this treatment concept should also be evaluated for recurrences after radiotherapy, when dose application using conventional photons is limited. Moreover, these patients are likely to benefit from the enhanced biological efficacy of carbon ions.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>In the current Phase I/II-PANDORA-01-Study the recommended dose of carbon ion radiotherapy for recurrent rectal cancer will be determined in the Phase I part, and feasibilty and progression-free survival will be assessed in the Phase II part of the study.</p> <p>Within the Phase I part, increasing doses from 12 × 3 Gy E to 18 × 3 Gy E will be applied.</p> <p>The primary endpoint in the Phase I part is toxicity, the primary endpoint in the Phase II part is progression-free survival.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>With conventional photon irradiation treatment of recurrent rectal cancer is limited, and the clinical effect is only moderate. With carbon ions, an improved outcome can be expected due to the physical and biological characteristics of the carbon ion beam. However, the optimal dose applicable in this clincial situation as re-irradiation still has to be determined. This, as well as efficacy, is to be evaluated in the present Phase I/II trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01528683">NCT01528683</a></p

The Effects of Sociolinguistics Factors on Learning English: A Case Study

There are some factors like educational, psychological, administrative, sociolinguistics and etc. which affect on the learning of a second language. We probed age, gender and parents’ jobs as three sociolinguistics factors in relation to learn English as second language by Iranian students. The authors tried to know whether the three mentioned factors have influence on learning English or not. To answer this question, a statistical population of all secondary school students in Shiraz, one of the cities in Iran, was selected for this field research. First, five secondary school were selected by cluster sampling method from all the existed secondary schools in Shiraz. And then, Ninety girls and ninety boys were chosen to participate in this investigation. A questionnaire of fifteen-items was designed to collect data. The researchers applied Split- half reliability and obtained a reliability coefficient of 0.9. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t-test and Pearson Product Moment correlation statistics applied for the data analysis. The result showed that in spite of previous researches, gender and age have no meaningful significant effect on the use of English by Iranian students. On the other hand, this field study came to conclusion that fathers or mothers’ occupations have an important role in the students’ use of learning English at school. So, we can infer from the conclusion that families with lower social and occupational status should compensate this shortage with different and exciting motivations for their children to learn English better at school

Gender and Demand Strategies: A Sociolinguistic Stud

The investigation on the impact of gender as a sociolinguistics factor on the use of different strategies for demands or requests by men and women is the aim of this research. Six strategies reviewed in this study: Direct Request, Conventional Indirect Request, Hints, Alerters, Supportive Moves, and Internal Modifiers. To discover the role of gender on the use of these strategies in demands, 80 students of Jahrom University, Iran participated in this study. They divided into two 40 groups according to their gender. A questionnaire of six-items was designed to collect data. Each of the items in the questionnaire explained different situations. T-test and Chi-squared test applied for the data analysis. The result revealed that men use the strategies of direct request, conventional indirect Request, hints and alerters in their requests more than women. On the other hand, women use the strategies of supportive moves and internal modifiers in their demands more than men. The result also showed that female students paid more attention to the way of their demands than male students especially in formal social contexts and act more conservative. This can be related to this fact that women try to observe in social face in their speech acts

Latent Semantic Analysis and Machine Translation

Computer-based translation systems are not rivals to human translators, but they are aids to enable them to increase productivity in technical translation. Machine translation aims to undertake the whole translation process, but whose input must invariably be revised. Latent Semantic Analysis and Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis are two newly developed computational models which their application in machine translation will solve some of the problems facing machines in accounting for the way human knowledge is comprehended