19,161 research outputs found
The water resources structures on the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim routes to Makka and Medinah
No full textAI-Hajj in Arabic means the pilgrimage to MAKKA. This was
an ancient rite which was recognised a long time before the
rise of Islam. According to the holy Quran and Islamic
tradi tion, AI-Haj j goes back to the time of the prophet
Ibrahim. Thus MAKKA was a focus for worship but it was also
a commercial centre and a way station/stopping place on the
ancient trade caravan road between south western -Arabia and
Bilad AI-Sham,' now Syria. In part the inhabitants of MAKKA
practised this trade because their environment was not
suitable for other alternative economic activities.
The importance of MAKKA, as a ritual place increased after
the rise of Islam because it became Qibla-Kiblah -
the direction to which muslims turn in praying towards AIKa'aba.
Yathrib - later to become Medinah - is the second holy city.
In fact it was not a ritual place, but like MAKKA it was a
stopping place on the ancient trade caravan road. The
inhabitants of Medinah practised agriculture because their
environment was more suitable than that at MAKKA; water was
available and the land was fertile so that in addition to
trade, they also practised agriculture.
The importance of Medinah as a holy place only developed
after AI-Hijra - the immigration of the prophet Mohammad,
peace be upon him, to it and his establishing of Islam at
that site. Medinah became the capital of the Islamic state
both religiously and politically. Islam then spread from
Medinah over the Arabian Peninsular to the world beyond.
The consequence of the conquest of Iraq, Bilad AI-Sham,
Egypt, the north coast of Africa and Persia was that the
majority of the population of these countries accepted and
adopted Islam as their religious faith. As a result of this
the populations of these countries came annually to make AlHajj and in doing so developed several additional pilgrim
caravan routes. However, it is the Syrian and Egyptian
pilgrim routes - Tareeq AI-Hajj AI-Shami and Wal Masri which
are the objects of this work. In both these cases the
pilgrim caravan routes were previously ancient trade caravan
routes which travelled through Arabia, particularly through
the western province of Al Hijaz.
The geographical location of Arabia, the cross roads of
three continents, Asia, Africa, and Europe, made important
the pre-Islamic routes which ran through it. Of course the
function of this network at that time was commercial but
after the rise of Islam the function of this network of
routes became to transport the pilgrims. The geological and
topographical features, as well as climatic conditions, in
Arabia played a great role in determining the ancient routes
in Arabia. The availability of water was a very important
consideration on these routes and was influenced by
environmental conditions. Since the rainfall is
insufficient, the resulting absence or shortage of water on
the pilgrim caravan routes made the caliphs pay great
concern to providing the pilgrim routes with the most
essential facilities, particularly water supplies and
storage. Ever since the earliest Islamic times, they
provided for the travellers Al birak, water tanks; Ahwadh cisterns; Qanawat - channels; and abyar - wells, in order to
make AI-Hajj journey more comfortable. The pilgrim caravans
in general, and the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim caravan
routes in particular, passed through several stages of
development since their origin in early Islamic times and
these evolutionary stages can be seen until the beginning of
this century. Because the object of this thesis is to
document the remains of the water resource structures, an
extensive survey and investigation has been completed on the
Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim caravan routes. The field work
has been conducted in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the
north western region where the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim
routes cross the country. The field work mainly aimed at
ascertaining the location of all the way stations and their
names and surveying each station in order to record the
surviving remains of water resource structures. The field
work covered a large area of about 8, OOOkm transect and
extended from MACCA in the south through Medinah to the
North as far as Halat I Ammar on the north at the border
between Saudi Arabia and Jordan. From N.W. to S .Wit
stretched from Haql on the Gulf of AI-' Aqaba as far as
MAKKA. These routes consist of the major, or principal
caravan routes as well as a number of traverse routes which
allow travellers a choice of transit as well as connecting
routes. There are large way stations as well as small minor
way stations. As part of this dissertation, almost all the
stopping places have been identified and documented by mapping and photography
Mulla Sadra and the mind-body problem: A critical assessment of Sadra’s approach to the dichotomy of soul and spirit
No full textAbstract
The presence of some ambiguity about the two terms of soul and spirit, which up until now has not been considered, has been investigated in this research. This ambiguity has created problems in different fields of study such as philosophy, psychology and commentaries of religious texts. This is because the two words are usually used synonymously.
The main aim of this research is to investigate whether the human being has an independent spirit in addition to the body and the soul or not. In other words it is attempting to establish if man is a tripartite existence made of body, soul and spirit.
In order to attain this aim the ideas of various philosophers are discussed on different subjects regarding the soul with particular attention to the philosophical system introduced in the seventeenth century AD by the Muslim philosopher, Sadr al-din Shirazi. This consisted of two other philosophical systems in Islamic philosophy, peripatetic (mashā‟) and illuminative („ishrāq) combined with mystical and religious teachings. His idea about the soul was set as the basis for the arguments regarding the soul and the ideas of other philosophers were compared to it.
This research explores the principles that form Sadra‟s beliefs about the soul. One of Sadra‟s principles, the fundamentality of existence, is explained. This principle aims to prove the reality of the external world and the soul as one of these realities. The topics of motion and time and the views of philosophers about these are cited. In addition, another Sadra‟s important principles, trans-substantial motion, is mentioned and explained and it is suggested that the difference between Sadra‟s and other philosophers‟ ideas about the soul lies in accepting or rejecting motion in substance. According to Sadra, the soul which is material at the beginning of its creation moves towards immateriality by trans-substantial motion.
Then philosophers‟ ideas about the soul are mentioned as well as their disagreements regarding different issues such as immateriality, motion, origination of the soul etc. In addition, the problem that Sadra‟s philosophical system faces in regard to the soul is discussed in particular since it is the main aim of this research.
It is concluded that Sadra‟s idea is more complete than the other ideas regarding the soul. The existence of the soul found a better justification in this idea. The problem of dualism of the soul and body with which other philosophers were faced has been resolved. Meanwhile the problem of this philosophical idea which sees the soul to be the same as the spirit was investigated and it was stated that this problem has caused many diversities of opinion between philosophers in subjects related to the soul. The propounded solution for all the cases was to accept the dichotomy of the soul and spirit. Religious texts have been classified, analysed and used to support this idea and by using different evidences it was confirmed that the soul and the spirit are two independent substances and that the human being is a tripartite existence
Proceedings of Cardiff Institute for Tissue Engineering & Repair Annual Scientific Meeting (CITER ASM 2021)
No full textCITER ASM 2021
The abstracts appearing in this book comprise the proceedings of the CITER ASM 2021, held between the 13th and 14th of September 2021. The posters presented reflect the authors’ opinions and are published as presented and without change (formatting and minor editing expected). Their inclusion in this publication does not necessarily constitute endorsement by the editors, CITER, or the Cardiff University.
Please use the following format to cite material from these Proceedings:
Author, AB, Author, XY, and Author, DE (2021), Title of paper, Proc. Cardiff Institute for Tissue Engineering & Repair Annual Scientific Meeting (CITER ASM 2021), M Al-Amri, R Weiser (Eds), pp. a–b, Cardiff, UK, 13-14 Sept. 2021, ISSN 2634-100X
Proceedings reference number: ISSN 2634-100X
Published by Cardiff University
For information, contact: CITER, Cardiff University, Redwood Building, King Edward VII Avenue, CF10 3NB.
Email: [email protected]
Optimal solution of the nearest correlation matrix problem by minimization of the maximum norm
No full textThe nearest correlation matrix problem is to find a valid (positive semidefinite) correlation matrix, R(m,m), that is nearest to a given invalid (negative semidefinite) or pseudo-correlation matrix, Q(m,m); m larger than 2. In the literature on this problem, 'nearest' is invariably defined in the sense of the least Frobenius norm. Research works of Rebonato and Jaeckel (1999), Higham (2002), Anjos et al. (2003), Grubisic and Pietersz (2004), Pietersz, and Groenen (2004), etc. use Frobenius norm explicitly or implicitly. However, it is not necessary to define 'nearest' in this conventional sense. The thrust of this paper is to define 'nearest' in the sense of the least maximum norm (LMN) of the deviation matrix (R-Q), and to obtain R nearest to Q. The LMN provides the overall minimum range of deviation of the elements of R from those of Q. We also append a computer program (source codes in FORTRAN) to find the LMN R from a given Q. Presently we use the random walk search method for optimization. However, we suggest that more efficient methods based on the Genetic algorithms may replace the random walk algorithm of optimization.Nearest correlation matrix problem; Frobenius norm; maximum norm; LMN correlation matrix; positive semidefinite; negative semidefinite; positive definite; random walk algorithm; Genetic algorithm; computer program; source codes; FORTRAN; simulation
A Proposal for Future Modifications on Clinical TNM Staging System of Retinoblastoma Based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual, 7 th and 8 th Editions
No full textTHE EPISTEMOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF TAFSIR IQTISADI (THE STUDY OF AT-TAFSIR AL-IQTISADI LI AL-QUR’AN AL-KARIM BY RAFIQ YUNUS AL-MASRI
No full textThis article discusses the epistemological structure of At-TafsÄ«r al-Iqtiá¹£ÄdÄ« li al-Qur\u27Än al-KarÄ«m by RafÄ«q YÅ«nus al-Maá¹£rÄ«. The author of this tafseer is an economist, a researcher at the Center for Islamic Economic Studies University of Malik \u27Abdul\u27 AzÄ«z, and is active in Al-Jam\u27iyah Ad-Dauliyah li Al-IqtisÄd London. The author\u27s background makes this book very interesting to study because not many economists have written tafsir studies. This article is a literature study employing a descriptive-analysis method and a historical-philosophical approach. This study shows that the interpretation of At-TafsÄ«r al-Iqtiá¹£ÄdÄ« li al-Qur\u27Än al-KarÄ«m was written in a tartib mushafi model, and predominantly used tafsÄ«r bi ar-ra\u27yi with the nuances of the tafsÄ«r iqtiá¹£ÄdÄ«. The nuances of the iqtiá¹£ÄdÄ« interpretation come from tafsÄ«r Ê»ilmÄ«, which shows scientific theories from the Qur’an. Through the tafsÄ«r iqtiá¹£ÄdÄ«, RafÄ«q YÅ«nus al-Maá¹£rÄ« attempted to show that the Qur’an can be interpreted using an economic approach and argued that the Qur’an provides the existence of economic theories. Among these theories are Musykilah an-Nadirah an-Nisbiyah (relative scarcity), at-Tafá¸Ä«l az-ZamanÄ« (time preference), and Ta’dzÄ«m al-manÄfi’ (profit maximisation)
Generalized hydrodynamics of reaction-diffusion systems and dissipative structures
No full textGeneralized hydrodynamics (GH) are derived and used to describe a reaction-diffusion system. The derived GH equations are hyperbolic and are shown to be more general and more suitable than the conventional parabolic reaction-diffusion equations, especially in small geometries. These equations are applied to the study of dissipative structures in glycolysis and are solved numerically using the finite-element method. The solution exhibits a multitude of wave and Turing patterns. The time evolution of the calortropy production for the obtained pattern seems to correlate with the increasing complexity of the system.AlGhoul M, 1996, PHYSICA D, V97, P531, DOI 10.1016-0167-2789(96)00008-5; AlGhoul M, 1996, J PHYS CHEM-US, V100, P18900, DOI 10.1021-jp960865s; Al-Ghoul M, 2001, J PHYS CHEM A, V105, P8053, DOI 10.1021-jp011158o; AlGhoul M, 1996, PHYSICA D, V90, P119, DOI 10.1016-0167-2789(95)00231-6; DAWSON SP, 1994, J CHEM PHYS, V100, P5211, DOI 10.1063-1.467185; DAWSON SP, 1993, J CHEM PHYS, V98, P1514; DEWEL G, 1983, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V80, P6429, DOI 10.1073-pnas.80.20.6429; ELKHOURY J, 2002, THESIS U FRANCOPHONI; Eu B. C., 1998, NONEQUILIBRIUM STAT; Eu B.C., 2002, GEN THERMODYNAMICS; Glansdorff P., 1971, THERMODYNAMIC THEORY; Goldbeter A., 1996, BIOCH OSCILLATIONS C; Hairer E., 1996, SOLVING ORDINARY DIF; HODGKIN AL, 1952, J PHYSIOL-LONDON, V117, P500; Kapral R., 1994, CHEM WAVES PATTERNS; KAPRAL R, 1991, PHYS REV LETT, V66, P2539, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.66.2539; Kindzelskii AL, 2002, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V99, P9207, DOI 10.1073-pnas.132630999; Lucquin B., 1998, INTRO SCI COMPUTING; Muller I., 1993, EXTENDED THERMODYNAM; Murray J. D., 1989, MATH BIOL; Nicolis G, 1977, SELF ORG NONEQUILIBR; Nicolis Gregoire, 1989, EXPLORING COMPLEXITY; Petty HR, 2000, PHYS REV LETT, V84, P2754, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.84.2754; Petty HR, 2000, J PHYS CHEM B, V104, P10952, DOI 10.1021-jp00255lh; Prigogine I., 1961, THERMODYNAMICS IRREV; RICHTER PH, 1981, PROG THEOR PHYS, V66, P385, DOI 10.1143-PTP.66.385; SAAD Y, 2003, PARMS V 1 0; SAAD Y, 1999, PSPARSLIB V 3 0; Scott S. K., 1994, OSCILLATIONS WAVES C; Segel L.A., 1984, MODELLING DYNAMIC PH; Winfree A T, 1980, GEOMETRY BIOL TIME; WOOD PM, 1985, J CHEM PHYS, V82, P1924, DOI 10.1063-1.44837613
Approximation Algorithms for Generalized Path Scheduling
No full textScheduling problems where the machines can be represented as the edges of a network and each job needs to be processed by a sequence of machines that form a path in this network have been the subject of many research articles (e.g. flow shop is the special case where the network as well as the sequence of machines for each job is a simple path). In this paper we consider one such problem, called Generalized Path Scheduling (GPS) problem, which can be defined as follows. Given a set of non-preemptive jobs J and identical machines M ( |J| = n and |M| = m ). The machines are ordered on a path. Each job j = {P_j = {l_j, r_j}, p_j} is defined by its processing time p_j and a sub-path P_j from machine with index l_j to r_j (l_j, r_j ∈ M, and l_j ≤ r_j) specifying the order of machines it must go through. We assume each machine has a queue of infinite size where jobs can sit in the queue to resolve conflicts. Two objective functions, makespan and total completion time, are considered. Machines can be identical or unrelated. In the latter case, this problem generalizes the classical Flow shop problem (in which all jobs have to go through all machines from 1 to m in that order).
Generalized Path Scheduling has been studied (e.g. see [Ronald Koch et al., 2009; Zachary Friggstad et al., 2019]). In this paper, we present several improved approximation algorithms for both objectives. For the case of number of machines being sub-logarithmic in the number of jobs we present a PTAS for both makespan and total completion time. The PTAS holds even on unrelated machines setting and therefore, generalizes the result of Hall [Leslie A. Hall, 1998] for the classic problem of Flow shop. For the case of identical machines, we present an O((log m)/(log log m))-approximation algorithms for both objectives, which improve the previous best result of [Zachary Friggstad et al., 2019]. We also show that the GPS problem is NP-complete for both makespan and total completion time objectives
Disinfection By-Products of Chlorine Dioxide (Chlorite, Chlorate, and Trihalomethanes): Occurence in Drinking Water in Qatar
No full textThe occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) of chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) in drinking water, namely: chlorite, chlorate, and THMs as well as the concentration of ClO₂ were investigated. Two hundred ninety four drinking water samples were collected during the time period from March to August 2014. The water samples were collected from seven desalination plants (DPs), four resevoirs and eight mosques distributed in South and North Qatar. The ClO₂ level was ranged from 0.38 to less than 0.02 mg/L, with mean value of 0.17, 0.12, and 0.04 mg/L in the desalination plants (DPs), the reservoirs (R), and the mosques (M), respectively. The chlorite level was varied from 12.78-436.36 ppb with median values varied from 12.78 to 230.76, from 77.43 to 325.25, and from 84.73 to 436.36 ppb in the DPs, the reservoirs, and the mosques, respectively. While chlorate was varied from 10.66 ppb to 282.71 ppb with mean values varied from 35.58 to 282.72 ppb, from 11.02 to 200.69, and from 10.66 to 150.38 ppb in the DPs, R, and M respectively. However, the average value of THMs was 4.90 ppb, while maximum value reached 76.97. Lower disinfectant residual was observed in few samples, however this could be attributed to the normal decomposition reaction of ClO₂ with organic and inorganic compounds, including biofilms, pipe materials, corrosion products, formation of slime or may due to the fact the water in distribution system experience water aging problem. Significant differences were observed in the concentration level of chlorite, chlorate and THMs between DPs, reservoirs and the mosques. However, the concentrations of all DBPs fell wihtin the range of the regulatory limit set by GSO 149/2009, WHO and KAHRAMAA (KM). It is recommended to slightly increase the average ClO₂ dosage at the DPs. Such slight increase would provide safer margin at the customer point of use in case of any microbial activities. Consideration must be given to the overall demand and should account for seasonal variations, temperature, and application points. As well as a monitoring approach is recommended for the drinking water safety assessment. Re-conducting the study to include other DPs of ClO₂ is recommended
Safety and Efficacy of Intravitreal Chemotherapy (Melphalan) to Treat Vitreous Seeds in Retinoblastoma
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