Seawater desalination of arid regions:comparing the policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia

Problems with clean water in coastal areas alongside an increase in population and community economic activities have diversified community activities.Coastal settlements bordering the high seas are characterized as arid areas with a lack of clean water.Here,the use of the range groundwater supply against seawater intrusion means that the water consumed by the community tastes salty and brackish.The availability of abundant seawater,processed through desalination technology,can be used to meet the daily clean water needs of coastal communities.Sustainable development goal(SDG)6 Water and Sanitation is concerned with ensuring that everyone has access to clean water and sanitation.In this regard,desalination technology is considered viable to achieve the SDGs in the environmental sector.Some countries have focused on using desalination technology to achieve target 6.4 by 2030.This goal aims to improve the efficiency of water use to reduce the number of people experiencing clean water scarcity by ensuring a sustainable supply of fresh water.The objective of this study is to examine the application of seawater desalination technology for clean water in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA)and Indonesia,and identify the implications of desalination policies in these countries.Comparative studies were conducted using secondary data and literature studies on transforming seawater into clean water with technology.KSA applies seawater desalination technology to meet water needs.However,in Indonesia,policymaking has not holistically examined the potential of using seawater desalination technology for clean water.Until now,unlike in the KSA,Indonesia has not addressed the importance of the use of desalination technology in state policy.

Impact of Migrant Populations on Tuberculosis Rates in Saudi Arabia: Assessing How Migration Patterns Affect TB Incidence and Control Measures: A Narrative Review

This research focuses on the effects of migration on the TB infection rate and its prevention in Saudi Arabia, which has a large number of expatriates from TB-affected countries. Despite, based on the current global statistics of TB occurrence, it is evident that the national incidence of TB has reduced from 10.55 per 100,000 in 2015 to 8.36 per 100,000 in 2019;despite this, there are still some difficulties because migrants bring new strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Hindrances, including language barriers and perceived immigration status, hinder patients from seeking medical attention or doctors from diagnosing diseases. Each patient and each cultural group need special attention to public health, enhancing living circumstances, and health care support. Community participation, inclusion of TB control programs into functional healthcare facilities, and the functioning of TB programs need to be stressed to address TB issues. Considering the focus on social, economic, and cultural approaches, the country can make severe advancements in TB control and population protection. This holistic analysis is critical for a long-term effective strategy to combat TB in the Kingdom.

Fuzzy Based Decision Making Approach for Evaluating the Severity of COVID-19 Pandemic in Cities of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11,2020 stating that it is a worldwide danger and requires imminent preventive strategies to minimise the loss of lives.COVID-19 has now affected millions across 211 countries in the world and the numbers continue to rise.The information discharged by the WHO till June 15,2020 reports 8,063,990 cases of COVID-19.As the world thinks about the lethal malady for which there is yet no immunization or a predefined course of drug,the nations are relentlessly working at the most ideal preventive systems to contain the infection.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA)is additionally combating with the COVID-19 danger as the cases announced till June 15,2020 reached the count of 132,048 with 1,011 deaths.According to the report released by the KSA on June 14,2020,more than 4,000 cases of COVID-19 pandemic had been registered in the country.Tending to the impending requirement for successful preventive instruments to stem the fatalities caused by the disease,our examination expects to assess the severity of COVID-19 pandemic in cities of KSA.In addition,computational model for evaluating the severity of COVID-19 with the perspective of social influence factor is necessary for controlling the disease.Furthermore,a quantitative evaluation of severity associated with specific regions and cities of KSA would be a more effective reference for the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia.Further,this paper has taken the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)technique for quantitatively assessing the severity of COVID-19 pandemic in cities of KSA.The discoveries and the proposed structure would be a practical,expeditious and exceptionally precise evaluation system for assessing the severity of the pandemic in the cities of KSA.Hence these urban zones clearly emerge as the COVID-19 hotspots.The cities require suggestive measures of health organizations that must be introduced on a war footing basis to counter the pandemic.The analysis tabulated in our study will assist in mapping the rules and building a systematic structure that is immediate need in the cities with high severity levels due to the pandemic.

Colistin Use and Its Resistance in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Narrative Review

Antibiotic resistance is steadily increasing all over the world and has become a major public health challenge. To this end, colistin, an old bactericidal antibiotic of polymyxins family, has been recently re-introduced as only available last-resort antibiotic arsenal for treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR)-Gram-negative bacteria. However, the continual and extensive use of colistin has led to the emergence and rapid spreading of its bacterial resistance and non-susceptibility that is currently experiencing a critical healthcare issue with extensive global concern. Both transferable and intrinsic mechanisms of bacterial resistance to colistin have been documented in several countries and, therefore, comprehensive epidemiological data and reports are urgently needed to better understand the current status of this important antibiotic to properly optimize its clinical significance. In consistency, the present narrative review highlights both clinical use and reported bacterial resistance of colistin in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Ranking of E-Health Barriers Faced by Saudi Arabian Citizens, Healthcare Professionals and IT Specialists in Saudi Arabia

Many boundaries are hindering successful utilisation of e-health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We have previously proposed an integrated framework of knowledge management and knowledge discovery to overcome barriers of e-health in KSA. Our proposed framework facilitates diabetes self-management for diabetic citizens in the Kingdom. In this paper, we will investigate and rank the barriers of e-health in KSA from the prospective of three stakeholders. We designed a questionnaire which constituted of items related to eight different e-health barriers and its associated sub-barriers. Citizens participated in 51 items related to six barriers. Healthcare professionals answered 83 items related to eight barriers. IT specialists participated in 74 items related to six barriers. Within each group of respondents, we compared the mean scores for each factor and sub-factor. The highest possible score for the mean was 5.00 and the lowest was 0.00 where the higher the mean score was the more the barrier constituted an obstacle for e-health in KSA. Citizens ranked the connectivity of information system as the top barrier with the mean of 4.0 whereas the least barrier was the cultural barriers with the mean score of 3.1. Healthcare professionals ranked the connectivity of information systems as the top barriers with the mean score of 3.5 whereas the least barrier was the technical expertise and computer skills with the mean score of 2.2. The top ranked barrier from the perspective of IT specialists was the medication safety with the mean score of 3.5 and the least ranked barrier was security and privacy with the mean score of 2.2. The results showed consistency with the literature review. Our proposed framework will contribute to the successful implementation of e-health initiatives and assist citizens in KSA to self- manage diabetes.

Knowledge of Diabetes Characteristics by Students at University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

This is a study of university students’ awareness of diabetes mellitus, and the extent of their knowledge about it. The research is a quantitative design based on a survey of students (N = 700) at the University of Tabuk in the Saudi province of Tabuk. The findings were that the students’ knowledge of diabetes indicators was encouraging, and that the faculty’s periodic diabetes awareness programs should be continued to ensure that new students can recognise diabetes characteristics. In assessing variables for knowledge of the disease in relation to the demographics of people on the Tabuk University campus, marital status and weight were significant indicators. The conclusion was that awareness programs should be continued to avoid complacency and to combat the disease.

The Relationship between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Resistin Levels in Saudi Diabetic Patients

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the adipokine resistin in Saudi diabetic patients and those at high risk to develop atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Methodology: One hundred and sixty seven subjects were recruited for the cross-sectional study at King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia. Blood samples were analyzed for biochemical parameters. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and resistin levels were measured for all the participants. Result: Fifty six type-1, 55 type-2 diabetic patients and 56 healthy controls were recruited. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in the control group was 44.21 ± 41.80 μg/ml compared to 50.67 ± 35.60 μg/ml in the diabetic group (P = 0.427) with no significant different between type-2 diabetes mellitus and type-1 diabetes mellitus (P = 0.628). Resistin level in the control group was 14.00 ± 7.39μg/ml compared to 20.21 ± 16.94 μg/ml in the diabetic group (P ≤ 0.01), no significant difference between type-2 diabetes mellitus and type-1 diabetes mellitus (P = 0.817). Resistin in those taking vitamin D supplementation was 21.34 ± 18.27 μg/ml;and in those not taking vitamin D supplementation, it was 17.4 ± 11.19 μg/ml;(P = 0.237). There was significant negative correlation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and resistin in type-2 diabetes mellitus (P ≤ 0.043) and no significant correlation was found between vitamin 25 (OH) D and resistin level in type-1 diabetes mellitus (P = 0.538). Blood urea and creatinine showed significant positive correlation with vitamin 25 (OH) D in one hand and resistin level on the other hand. Discussion and Conclusions: Several in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that the vitamin 25 (OH) D have numerous important functions in the body. The circulating vitamin 25 (OH) D and resistin levels were associated with general inflammation in renal diseases. This study showed significant negative correlation between resistin level and vitamin 25 (OH) D in type 2 diabetes mellitus reflecting their roles in glucose homeostasis. The positive correlation of resistin and vitamin D with urea may reflect their involvement in kidney dysfunction. The level of serum resistin showed slight increase in diabetic patients compared to control group and it was higher in type-2 diabetes mellitus. More efforts are needed to explore the physiological mechanism of vitamin 25 (OH) D and resistin action in metabolic disorders.

Is the Trade-led Growth Hypothesis Valid for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?Evidence from an ARDL Approach

This study examines the trade-led growth(TLG)hypothesis for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Using time-series annual data for the period 1985-2019,the ARDL approach and Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality test are applied to accomplish the study.The ARDL estimation reveals that trade openness positively causes economic growth in both the long and short run,and the TLG hypothesis is found valid for the Kingdom.The Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality test results have evidenced several unidirectional causalities.Of them,trade openness causes economic growth and supports the ARDL finding and hence the TLG hypothesis for the Kingdom.Moreover,trade openness causes gross fixed capital formation,and the labor force stimulates both economic growth and trade volume.The findings recommend that the Kingdom may increase its trade to reap further benefits and enhance its income growth.

沙特阿拉伯王国的大国外交战略

沙特王国自建国伊始,为了寻求和维护自身安全,在不同的历史时期,对英、美、中、俄等大国采取了一种与之交好的务实态度。沙特石油的发现和大量开采带来的财富剧增、沙特的特殊宗教地位、哈里发制度的废除和埃及纳塞尔主义的失败,确保了沙特的伊斯兰世界大国和盟主地位。沙特面对海湾这个中东地区的次地区安全复合体中的两伊威胁,联合小国组成海合会,以在海湾次地区形成力量平衡,达到某种程度的均势局面,维护自身的次地区大国地位。沙特在这三个层次分别采用了自由主义、建构主义和现实主义为基础的外交理念,这与其涵盖君主制与瓦哈比主义的国家核心信念、优越的宗教使命感和实用的灵活性行动原则的政治文化不无关系。

沙特阿拉伯王国的政治现代化

沙特王国的政治现代化历程包含民族国家的构建、现代政治体制的构建、政治结构的分化与政治参与的扩大、法治体系的嬗变和世俗化变革四个方面。沙特王国的宗教、石油以及大国对其产生了重要影响。其鲜明特色体现在"内源的"政治现代化道路、鲜明的瓦哈比主义伊斯兰特征、渐进式的适度变革模式、二元性的政治结构模式等方面。

费萨尔改革与沙特阿拉伯王国现代化

20世纪沙特阿拉伯经历了从传统游牧国家向石油工业国家的转变。伊本?沙特旨在开辟财源和强化王室统治的措施客观上促进了沙特王国经济和社会的进步。通过自上而下的费萨尔改革,国家资本主义成为占主导地位的经济形态,劳动力自由化程度提高,知识分子精英茁壮成长,国家政治机构逐步健全。费萨尔改革是一次全面的经济、社会及政治改革,它标志着沙特王国现代化的发展进入了实质性的阶段。石油能源所提供的物质保障以及维护伊斯兰君主制的目标是沙特王国现代化模式的重要特点。

沙特阿拉伯王国的高等教育简析

沙特阿拉伯王国建国后，随着石油财富的飞速增长，国家对高等教育十分重视，高等学校的发展从无到有．创办了多种类型的高校，表现出了鲜明的特色，也面临着“外源”现代化国家不可避免的种种问题。沙特的高等教育为国家培养了大量人才．前景应该是广阔的。

浅谈瓦哈比教与现代沙特王国政权的互动

当今沙特王国的政权很有特色,也为世人所瞩目。它无论是建立还是建设过程都与其所信奉的宗教有密切的联系。现代沙特以瓦哈比教立国,而瓦哈比教又以现代沙特王国为其生存保障。瓦哈比教规范了现代沙特社会的外在特征,为现代沙特王国的稳定提供了保障。面对今天沙特王国的社会变革,瓦哈比教欲在现代化的社会中继续生存、发展,必须适时的调整,接受现代意识。

沙特外交政策转向中的家族政治动因

自2015年萨勒曼国王上台以来,沙特一改往日居中调停的稳健外交形象,在中东地区发动了一系列外交和军事攻势。与此同时,沙特王室家族内部的政治争斗迭起。作为绝对君主制国家,沙特对外政策的制定受到内外多重因素的影响。萨勒曼政权对外政策制定与王室政治的关系突出表现为,沙特家族内部的权力博弈导致执政者倾向于通过采取进攻性对外政策来转移内部压力并攫取更多权力。从历史来看,这种压力转移式集权策略并非毫无限制,而是受制于多重因素,特别是内部分裂程度与外界反应强弱的影响。

Data-Fusion for Epidemiological Analysis of Covid-19 Variants in UAE

Since December 2019,a new pandemic has appeared causing a considerable negative global impact.The SARS-CoV-2 first emerged from China and transformed to a global pandemic within a short time.The virus was further observed to be spreading rapidly and mutating at a fast pace,with over 5,775 distinct variations of the virus observed globally(at the time of submitting this paper).Extensive research has been ongoing worldwide in order to get a better understanding of its behaviour,influence and more importantly,ways for reducing its impact.Data analytics has been playing a pivotal role in this research to obtain valuable insights into understanding and fighting against the spread of infection.However,this is time and resource intensive,making it difficult to observe and quickly identify the impact of mutations.Factors such as the spread or virulence could explain the three months delay in revealing the new virus variant in the UK.This paper presents an extensive correlation analysis of the effect caused by the different SARS-CoV-2 strains,and their influence on the population across diverse factors,such as propagation and fatality rates,during the peak of the pandemic,with a focus on two major countries in the Middle East,the United Arab Emirate(UAE)and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA).This research aims to investigate the epidemiological behaviour of the Coronavirus’genomic variants over time in the UAE,compared with the KSA,where correlation analysis is carried out for a number of cases,deaths and their statistical deviations.The results of the analysis highlight very interesting insights into the epidemiological impact of the Covid-19 genomic behaviour in both countries,which could lead to important actions taken to minimize the impact on wider public health,possibly saving lives,and the economy.For instance,our method identifies a potential correlation between a spike in the number of deaths per case of 5.5 observed in the UAE by March 24th,with the emergence of new genomic variants of the Coronavirus(G0_c,G0_e1 and G0_e2).Our proposed methodology can be instrumental in identifying and classifying new variations of the virus earlier,and possibly predicting foreseeable mutations through pattern analysis,hence creating proactive measures to control its spread,such as the recent case of the new virus variant,recently discovered in the UK.

全产业链锻造之路——沙特阿美多元化转型及其对沙特经济的影响

“沙特阿美”是沙特境内最大的且颇具全球影响力的企业,2015年进入转型期。综合宏观经济、政治情况和企业财务、战略信息披露情况来看,转型的核心是围绕原有石油产业,向上游推进本地化,向下游延长价值链,以适应能源行业变革,并助推沙特经济多元化发展。在区域国家层面,沙特阿美的企业转型将对沙特经济产生深远影响,有望为沙特经济的现代化发展提供可循范式。

Seismic Analysis of a Ten-Storey Reinforced Concrete Building in Jazan Area, KSA

Jazan area is located in the most active seismic zone region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where there is a complicated geological structures and tectonics. This project reviews the seismic activities occurred in Jazan area together with reviewing the Saudi Building (Seismic) Code (SBC-301-2007) [1]. A multi-story reinforced concrete building, in Jazan city, was seismically analyzed using the Equivalent Lateral Force Procedure with the aid of STAAD PRO software. The building, which was Ordinary Reinforced Concrete Moment Resisting Frame (ORCMRF), was analyzed in compliance with the provisions of (SBC-301-2007) [1]. The most important parameters governing the analysis of this frame were dead load, live load and seismic loads. Seismic loads were computed as pairs of accelerations versus times. The damping ratio was taken as 0.05 (5% of the critical damping). The ground accelerations versus time periods were calculated using SBC-301-2007 together with parameters necessary to be used as input data for the program to calculate the seismic parameters, i.e., reactions, displacements, base shear, bending moments, shearing forces, drifts. The obtained results show effects of earthquake ground motions on building studied herein are so greater for the higher increases of the values of outputs resulting from seismic loads comparing to that due to static load only. Finally, the results obtained, clearly, show the importance of taking the Saudi seismic code provisions into account when analyzing and designing multi-story buildings in Jazan area.

Climate change and epidemiology of human parasitoses in Saudi Arabia:A review

Climate change is an emerging global problem.It has hazardous effects that vary across different geographic regions and populations.It is anticipated to have significant effects in Saudi Arabia.The present work reviews the future of human parasitoses in Saudi Arabia in response to the expected climate change.The key projections are increased precipitations,flash floods,unstable temperatures,sea-level rise and shoreline retreat.Such environmental changes could strongly influence the epidemiology of fly-borne,mosquito-borne,snail-borne and water-borne human parasitoses in the country.

Data Mining for Small and Medium Enterprises: A Conceptual Model for Adaptation

The following paper explored data mining issues in Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs), firstly exploring the relationship between data mining and economic development. With SME’s contributing most employment prospects and output within any emerging economy such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Adopting technology will improve SME’s potential for effective decision making and efficient operations. Hence, it is important that SMEs have access to data mining techniques and implement the most suited into their business to improve their business intelligence (BI). The paper is aimed to critically review the existing literature on data mining in the field of SME to provide a theoretical underpinning for any future work. It has been found data mining to be complicated and fragmented with a multitude of options available for businesses from quite basic systems implemented within Excel or Access to more sophisticated cloud-based systems. For any business, data mining is trade-off between the need for data analysis, and intelligence against the cost and resource-use of the system put in place. Multiple challenges have been identified to data mining, most notably the resource-intensive nature of systems (both in terms of labor and capital) and the security issues of data collection, analysis and storage;with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) a key focus for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia businesses. With these challenges the paper suggests that any SME starts small with an internal data mining exercise to digitalize and analyze their customer data, scaling up over time as the business grows and acquires the resources needed to properly manage any system.

The Genetic Variant c.553G>T in the Lipoprotein A5 Effects on Lipid Profile Parameters Levels

Abnormal levels of plasma lipid have been linked to atherosclerosis, strokes and heart conditions. Variations in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels are considered as risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). Furthermore, triglycerides are a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, measurement of plasma lipid levels is an important mortality predictor. Several factors were associated with irregularity in plasma lipids such as genetic alterations. Recent researches have linked single nucleotides polymorphism (SNP) in ApoA5 gene with these deviations. In this study, we reported the effects of the genetic variant c.553G>T in ApoA5 on the levels of plasma lipids. To explore these effects, a case-control study including 280 male and female subjects (44 of them were assigned as CAD cases while the remaining subjects were categorized as control) was established. All patients in the study were recruited from the western region in KSA. The results have detected minor variations in LDL, HDL and cholesterol levels between CAD patients carrying T allele and CAD patients carrying the WT allele. However, there were no significant effects due to these variations. TG levels in the wild type carriers reached up to 291 mg/dl while T allele carriers, the cases, presented lower levels of TG (170 mg/dl and 71 mg/dl). Although, T allele showed no effects on plasma lipids with the exception of TG levels. We suggest by this study that T allele in this SNP might be considered as a valuable tool in the diagnosis of CAD.