Bryoerythrophyllum duellii Blockeel newly recorded from Southwest Asia (Saudi Arabia), with support from molecular data

Some species of mosquitoes such as Culex pipiens complex are survive at different habitat conditions. They are considered of medically important vectors for some diseases, which causes a huge financial and medical problems to humans. From this point of view, species identification is the first step in the control of Culex pipiens complex. Previously identification of Culex pipiens complex is mainly done on the basis of a wide variety of morphological and biological characteristics. This can be difficult because diagnostic morphological features are often varied so little between species. So that in the present work, Culex species identification is performed by using DNA sequencing assay based on the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase-I (COX-I) gene. 56 mosquitoes specimens were collected from different infected areas in Baljurashi province, Al Baha, Saudi Arabia and grown for several generations in lab. COX-I gene amplification was carried out using the universal primers LCO1490 and HCO2198. Only 35 mosquito specimens had good amplified COXI target gene sequenced. These DNA sequences were compared with available sequences using basic alignment search tool in NCBI-Nucleotide database. Most of the examined specimens have high matching result in gene-bank with LC102132. However specimens T6, 8, 9, 15, 21, 45 & 51 have high similarity with JQ958371 Culex pipiens strain cf-3 and also specimen T35 has high similarity with KJ500032 Culex pipiens isolate 2AF. In conclusion, Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial COX-I gene can be used as molecular tool for identification of Culex species.

First Confirmed Cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Infection in the United States, Updated Information on the Epidemiology of MERS-CoV Infection, and Guidance for the Public, Clinicians, and Public Health Authorities—May 2014

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (English: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Arabic: مملكة عربية سعودية), known as Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia, Taiwan translated as Saudi-Arabia), referred to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is located in southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, east near the Persian Gulf, west of the Red Sea, which borders with Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar, and other countries. Saudi Arabia is a veritable "oil kingdom," oil reserves and production rank first in the world, making it one of the world's wealthiest countries. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of desalinated water, and desalination accounts for about 21% of the world total. Saudi Arabia to implement liberal economic policies. Mecca is the birthplace of the founder of Islam Mohammed, a Muslim pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the only Arab state in the two pillars of the United States in the Middle East and as the master of the Islamic alliance has to be of concern to us. Especially in the current era, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is faced with the increasingly prominent double-edged sword effects such as religion, oil wealth, emerging middle class and excellent power influence, and its political modernization trend has to be reflected.

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula, yet its genetic diversity and population structure has been little studied. This project has used analysis of forensic DNA markers, typed both conventionally (by capillary electrophoresis, CE) and by massively parallel sequencing (MPS), to characterise its genetic diversity. Ychromosomal haplotypes based on 27 STRs (short tandem repeats) were generated in 597 unrelated Saudi males, classified into five geographical sub-regions. This showed marked population structure with low diversity in the Central and Northern regions, and high diversity in the East and West. Haplogroup J1 was very predominant and showed signals of recent expansion. Comparing geographically-matched males recruited in the UK with those recruited in Saudi Arabia showed significant haplotype differences, pointing to social structure. Variation in 21 autosomal STRs was also investigated. As in the Y chromosome study, this revealed population structure, but with a different geographical pattern. Heterozygote deficiency was observed at nearly all loci, probably as a consequence of high levels of consanguineous marriage. MPS analysis (via the Verogen ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit) of 27 autosomal STRs and 91 identity-informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (iiSNPs) revealed sequence variation that reduced both the STR-based and iiSNP-based random match probabilities. As with the autosomal CE data, evidence of consanguinity was apparent from both marker types. A global comparison showed that the Saudi sample was typical of Middle Eastern populations, with higher inbreeding than is seen in most European, African and Central/South Asian populations. Y-STR and X-STR sequence data from the same experiments revealed sequence variation in both types of markers. A population-level comparison of the Saudi Arabian X-STRs with a global sample demonstrated affinity with other Middle Eastern populations. This study has revealed population structure and the influence of consanguinity in Saudi Arabia, and provides valuable reference datasets for forensic analysis.

Background: Obesity in Saudi Arabia is a serious problem; 30% of men and 44% of women are obese, and these levels are anticipated to rise. Fortunately, obesity is amenable to surgical intervention. However, we do not know if Saudi Arabia has enough bariatric surgery services. The literature has already determined the number of bariatric surgeons and the number of bariatric surgeries annually in Saudi Arabia but has not investigated whether these services are sufficient for the size of the Saudi population. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if Saudi Arabia needs more bariatric services. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted by an email survey of 31 bariatric surgeons in Saudi Arabia. Likert scale based questionnaire was used to obtain opinions about the need for more bariatric surgeons. Results: This study found that Saudi Arabia does need more bariatric surgery services. Totally, 55% of the respondents agreed that Saudi Arabia needs more bariatric surgery services, 65% agreed that Saudi Arabia’s need for such services will increase in the next 10 years, 54% mentioned they had a long waiting list for bariatric surgery. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Saudi Arabia needs more bariatric surgery services. Therefore, hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the government should invest more in bariatric services.

Reseda sect. Glaucoreseda is a monophyletic group composed of five endemic tetraploid species with a disjunct distribution in the high mountains and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. It was previously suggested that range shifts induced by Quaternary glaciations played an important role in the speciation of the group. We studied the evolution of R. sect. Glaucoreseda in order to infer historical range dynamics and speciation processes, and to understand current distributional patterns. Phylogeographic analyses were performed using nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid trnL–F and rps16 sequences. Cloning of additive ITS sequences was carried out to elucidate the origin of intra–individual polymorphisms. A dated phylogeny based on ITS and cpDNA (rbcL, matK, trnL–F) sequences was used to estimate divergence times of R. sect. Glaucoreseda. Time estimates using Penalized Likelihood analyses indicate a late Pleistocene diversification of R. sect. Glaucoreseda. Incomplete lineage sorting of ancestral polymorphisms due to recent divergence, rather than rampant hybridisation, is suggested as the main cause of the phylogenetic incongruence detected between nuclear and plastid datasets. Our results support the vicariance hypothesis for population disjunctions in the Iberian Peninsula, in which an ancestral, widespread species could have undergone differentiation by Quaternary interglacial fragmentation. In contrast, long–distance dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar may have been involved in the colonisation of North African plateaus by R. battandieri.

ESG ratings have emerged as a critical instrument for investors to evaluate the long-term risks and ethical dimensions of companies. These ratings quantify companies' performance in environmental, social, and governance aspects. Nevertheless, variations in ESG ratings persist across nations owing to distinct regulatory regimes and rating agency methodologies.Despite extensive scholarly attention to the influence of global ESG factors, Asian ratings have been barely scrutinized. The research aims to assess the influence of ESG ratings on the financial performance of companies in Asia, with particular focus on South-West Asia (Turkey, Israel, and Saudi Arabia) and South-East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, andMalaysia). The study, which gathered data from 276 firms over a five-year period (2018–2022), employed STATA software to conduct panel data regressions, with return on assets, return on equity, and price-to-book value serving as dependent variables. First, the results of hypothesis testing show that ESG ratings have a positive effect on financial performance inSouth-West Asia, but not in South-East Asia where they have a negative effect. Second, in South-West Asia, one of the environmental, social, or governance (ESG) factors has a more notable influence and results in positive financial ratios, while in South-East Asia, there is no influence from the ESG factors. The study found that ESG ratings have varying effectson financial performance in South-West and South-East Asia, which may be attributed to differences in the historical and cultural development of ESG issues. This study will aid in the development of ESG rating practices for Asian countries.

Chapter 1 - An introduction to water resources in the Arabian Peninsula

Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen is a perennial plant species in the family Araliaceae, and its roots and rhizome are precious materials for the production of traditional Chinese medicine. From April to June, 2018, new disease symptoms were detected on the mature leaves of 2- and 3-year-old Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) in Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, and the disease incidence was about 10%-15% among the analyzed fields (3.6 ha, 23°49'46.99″ N, 104°06'12.99″ E, 1,631 m elevation). The diseased leaves had dark brown necrotic lesions (0.9-2.5 × 1.0-3.5 cm) and curled downward. As the disease progressed, the necrosis gradually spread along the vein to other leaf parts, eventually covering the whole leaf. In the late disease stage, the whole leaf was decayed and yellowed. For pathogen isolation, infected leaves (n=20) were surface sterilized in 1% sodium hypochlorite and washed with sterilized distilled water for 3 mins before being cut into smaller pieces (~1cm2), then placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28°C under aseptic conditions for 3 days. The hypha around leaf discs were transferred onto the new PDA. A total of 20 colonies (SQ1~20) were obtained and purified by single spore culture for morphological characterization and molecular biological identification. The colonies of all isolates were nearly round, grayish white at the initial stage, and then turned to grayish brown. In addition, microscopic examination (100× magnification) of 20 isolates revealed dark, septate, and sparsely branched conidiophores as well as dark brown conidia with short conical beaks at their tip. Additionally, conidia (solitary or in short chains) were typically oval or club-shaped and had 0-2 longitudinal septa and 2-4 transverse septa (20-35 × 8-12 μm) (n = 50). Moreover, the conidia had a smooth or verrucose surface. Their morphological characteristics were similar to those descriptions given for members of section Alternaria by Lawrence et al. (2016). In order to further identify pathogenic species, genomic DNA was extracted from the colonies (SQ1~20) using a modified cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method (Loganathan et al. 2014). The sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal DNA (rDNA ITS) and partial RNA polymerase II second subunit gene (RPB2) were amplified by PCR using fungal universal primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990) and fRPB2-5F/fRPB2-7cR (Liu et al. 1999), respectively. The DNA sequencing shows that ITS sequences from 20 isolates were totally same, and so did the RPB2 sequences (supplementary material). BLASTN analysis of NCBI database indicated that the RPB2 and ITS sequences have the highest nucleotide homology to A. Alternata ITS (MW008974) and RPB2 (LC132700), respectively. These two gene sequences were submitted to GenBank [Accession numbers ON075466 (ITS) and OP572232 (RPB2)]. Phylogenetic trees based on the combined ITS and RPB2 sequences were constructed by maximum parsimony method. The referenced ITS and RPB2 sequences of Alternaria were from three published articles (Rama et al. 2020; Sun et al. 2021; Wee et al. 2006). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this isolate was clustered with A. alternata. Therefore, the morphology-based preliminary identification was verified by the phylogenetic analysis, and the isolate from diseased P. notoginseng leaves was A. alternata. To confirm its pathogenicity, the fungal isolate was assessed with 40 1-year-old healthy P. notoginseng plants in a greenhouse. Among them, the leaves of 20 of P. notoginseng plants were wounded using a sterile needle (seven or eight wounds per leaf) and then inoculated with 1mL conidial suspension (1 × 106 conidia/mL) prepared from 7-day-old fungal cultures grown on PDA medium. The inoculated plants were covered with plastic bags at 25°C for 24 h to maintain humidity, and then transferred to the greenhouse maintained at 28°C with a 16-h day/8-h night cycle and continuous misting. The other 20 control plants were only wounded and sprayed with sterile water. Typical necrotic lesions were detected on all of the inoculated P. notoginseng leaves cultivated in the greenhouse for 1 week post-inoculation. As the disease continued to develop, the necrotic lesions enlarged, and the infected leaves turned yellow and withered. These symptoms were similar to those observed on the naturally infected P. notoginseng. In contrast, the mock-inoculated control plants remained healthy. Furthermore, the fungus re-isolated from the infected P. notoginseng leaves in the pot experiment had similar morphological characteristics as the original strain. In addition, its genomic DNA was extracted for PCR analysis of ITS and RPB2 sequences, and the following DNA sequencing shows that the two DNA sequences were same as those of isolates SQ1~20, which confirmed that the re-isolated fungus was A. alternata. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of A. alternata causing a P. notoginseng leaf disease in China.

A statistical approach for identification of dust-AOD hotspots climatology and clustering of dust regimes over Southwest Asia and the Arabian Sea

In the present study, a molecular phylogeny of the Rondeletia L. complex (Rubiaceae, Rondeletieae) was constructed with the following main objectives: (1) to evaluate the sections of Rondeletia proposed by Fernández Zequeira; (2) to test if Stevensia Poit. belongs to the Rondeletieae s. str.; (3) to check if ITS data from Rondeletieae support previous phylogenetic results from trnL-F data regarding circumscription of Rondeletieae; and (4) to verify if Hodgkinsonia F. Muell. belongs to Guettardeae or elsewhere. Two analyses were performed, one with ITS sequences from 46 taxa in the Rondeletieae–Guettardeae complex, and the other with combined ITS, rps16, and trnL-F sequences of 21 taxa. Representatives of nine of the 10 sections of Rondeletia recognized by Fernández Zequeira were included in the ITS analysis. Five of her sections could be tested for monophyly. Support was only found for Rondeletia sect. Leoninae M. Fernández Zeq., while representatives from section Chamaebuxifoliae M. Fernández Zeq., section Hypoleucae Standl., and section Nipenses M. Fernández Zeq. together form a well-supported clade that could be distinguished also based on morphology. The latter clade is sister to Stevensia, which is thus placed within Rondeletia s. str. In addition, ITS sequence data confirm the separation of Rovaeanthus Borhidi from Rogiera Planch. Support is low for inclusion of Blepharidium Standl., Mazaea Krug & Urb., Phyllomelia Griseb., Rachicallis DC., part of Rogiera, and Suberanthus Borhidi & M. Fernández Zeq. in Rondeletieae. Rachicallis, Mazaea, and Phyllomelia form a clade with strong support. The tribe Rondeletieae s. str. was found to be monophyletic in all trees, although with low support; however, a re-delimitation of the tribe is proposed here based on this study and previous phylogenetic analyses. The monophyly for the tribe Guettardeae is weakly supported, with the inclusion of Arachnothryx Planch. (including Cuatrecasasiodendron Steyerm.), Gonzalagunia Ruiz & Pav., Hodgkinsonia, and Timonius DC. Although it was recently the subject of a molecular phylogenetic study, the tribe Guettardeae is still in need of a wide-ranging survey in order to confirm its monophyly and delimit its taxonomic boundaries. Because Cuatrecasasiodendron was found within the Arachnothryx clade, the two genera are here synonymized as Arachnothryx, and in turn positioned within the tribe Guettardeae. In addition, based on herbarium and field studies, the two species described under Cuatrecasasiodendron (C. spectabile Steyerm. and C. colombianum Standl. & Steyerm.) are treated as synonyms to the new combination Arachnothryx spectabilis (Steyerm.) Rova, Delprete & B. Bremer, which is proposed here.

More than 16 million patients are presenting for care in emergency departments (ED) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) annually and this number is increasing. It is therefore essential that EDs utilise a systemic way to prioritise patients’ care based on clinical urgency. Despite the increase in demand for ED services, a formalised triage system is not common practice in most of the public EDs in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this thesis aimed to develop a national triage system for the KSA; this was achieved in three stages. This thesis explores and describes current triage practice in public EDs in Saudi Arabia and investigates the support that is provided for the implementation of ED triage, including triage policy and procedures and education programmes. In addition, this thesis developed a national standardised 5-level triage system that is clinically and culturally appropriate for Saudi public EDs. To achieve these aims, 3 studies were conducted separately. The first and second studies focused on current triage practice, while the third study was concerned with the future of triage in public EDs in the KSA. The first study was a quantitative comparative descriptive study that utilised previously validated simulation scenarios. This study explored current triage practice in public EDs in the KSA. Further, it described and compared the concordance and accuracy in triage decisions among 105 ED nurses and physicians working in Saudi public EDs. The second study was a qualitative document analysis. It explored current triage policy and procedure as well as educations programmes that currently support ED triage practice in both public and non-public EDs in Saudi Arabia. Triage policy and procedures as well as educations programme documents were collected from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and three non-public hospitals. The findings of Studies 1 and 2 illustrate that triage is not well organised or practiced in public EDs in Saudi Arabia. More than 50 per cent of the study participants believed that formal triage does not exist in their EDs. The findings also showed lack of agreement between triage policies and procedures in regard to the clinician responsible for triage, the qualification of the triage clinician, the triage scale used and the education preparation for the triage role. Against international recommendations, the MOH triage policy recommended a three-level triage scale. Moreover, agreement in triage ratings among the ED clinicians was only fair (unweighted kappa = .25). The third study employed a two-stage modified Delphi methodology. The aim of this study was to develop a Saudi national triage system that is clinically and culturally appropriate for public EDs. A panel of 31 ED nurses and physicians participated. Consensus was reached on a five-level triage scale. In addition, the panel members agreed on a list of clinical descriptors to be used with the new triage system. Moreover, the panel members identified a list of potential barriers and cultural issues that may influence the implementation of the new triage system. In conclusion, current triage practice in public EDs in the KSA is ad hoc, and implementation is reliant on local interest. In light of the limited reliability and validity of the three-level triage system recommended by the MOH triage policy, it seems that public EDs do not adhere well to the policy. This study developed a five-level triage system to replace the current system.

Saudi Arabia has long been an important country because of the pilgrimage to Mecca, leadership in Muslim institutions, oil wealth, rapid economic and social change, and its controversial role in both opposing and fostering Islamic radicalism. In early 2015 King Salman's succession to the throne initiated a series of changes, particularly in foreign and military affairs, that have increased Saudi Arabia's importance. Understanding current affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country that has historically been inhospitable to critical research, is therefore vital. The work under review here, Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change, is a good source of information and analysis for the general public and for specialists.In the introduction (chapter 1) the three editors pose two questions: Why were there no mass mobilizations or protests in Saudi Arabia during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings such as those experienced in other Arab countries? Why have so many analysts erred in their evaluations of Saudi politics? The answer to the first question may be found by reading many of the book's essays. In the view of the editors, the chief answer to the second question is that before the year 2000 few foreign scholars were able to conduct fieldwork in Saudi Arabia. The chief value of this book then resides in recent research conducted chiefly by foreign and some Saudi scholars, as epitomized in the fifteen chapters contained in this volume. The three editors also argue that an analysis of Saudi politics and society based solely on any one factor, such as oil, is inherently flawed, given the complex and dynamic nature of change currently underway in the kingdom. The introduction provides a rapid overview of developments in Saudi society and government, concentrating on the importance of the kingdom for the world, domestic and international challenges to the status quo, material and symbolic resources mobilized by the ruling family to meet these challenges, and contextualization of Saudi strengths and resources showing their strengths and weaknesses.The first theme treated in the book concerns oil, more specifically the role, impact, and effects of oil and the wealth it produces for Saudi Arabia. Oil plays a significant part throughout modern Saudi history and in all parts of this book. However, chapters by F. Gregory Gause, Toby C. Jones, Giacomo Luciani, Bernard Haykel, and Steffen Hertog most directly relate to this topic.Oil wealth is widely presumed to play a key role in determining political events. However, F. Gregory Gause, in his perceptive and timely analysis of this presumption in chapter 2, shows that periods of low oil prices do not automatically lead to political unrest and stress. Indeed, periods of high oil prices and high governmental revenues have often coincided with political mobilization, unrest, and violence, as in 1979–80, 1990–91, and 2003. The key determinants leading to such events were external crises in the Middle East or domestic non-oil factors. The Saudi rulers also were able to use saved investments, domestic borrowing, and tactics designed to raise world oil prices, thereby averting grave threats to the regime from low oil prices.Toby Jones in chapter 3 similarly argues that the benefits of oil wealth are sometimes overrated. Saudi Arabia has remained entirely dependent on oil revenues rather than using wealth to diversify the economy. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2009, was meant to re-emphasize the earlier role played by science and scientists in the centralizing of the state, the creation of its institutions, and the development of a political narrative emphasizing progress and development. Here, Jones discusses agriculture as a case study in the use of science by government, a process described at greater length in his book, Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia (Harvard University Press, 2010).In chapter 5 Giacomo Luciani examines the often-volatile price of oil on the world market and consequent challenges to long-term planning and economic investment. After 1985 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (opec) as a whole and Saudi Arabia in particular have not been able to play the role of price maker, leading the author to note that “statistically, our ability to model or project prices into the future is essentially nil” (74). Volatility has been increasing, as seen in dramatic swings in oil prices in 2007–9, and, one might add, more recently in 2015–16. Political-military upheavals also increase volatility, though Saudi Arabia has in the past increased marginal production of petroleum during such periods, as in 1990–91. Luciani argues for several changes in oil pricing policy that Saudi Arabia should, in his view, undertake; many of these proposed changes relate to the growing importance of China, Japan, and India in world oil consumption. The author predicts that barring such changes the international oil market as presently constituted will collapse.A very different analysis of oil's impact may be found in chapter 7, where Bernard Haykel first briefly discusses opinions and writings about oil among popular poets (Bandar bin Surur), among the ulama (ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Baz), among Arab nationalists (ʿAbd Allah al-Turayqi), and among the royal family and technocratic bureaucrats. A particularly effective discussion involves the religious-legal claims of the state to ownership of mineral resources (134–35). Even more valuable is Haykel's analysis of al-Qaʿida's radical views on oil wealth that should lead to Saudi oil wealth being shared by all Muslims, and al-Qaʿida's changing opinions on the advisability of attacking oil facilities.In chapter 6 Steffen Hertog describes the regional impact of central government oil revenues, pointing out the key role of this money in the Saudi political economy and in the creation of an integrated business elite. The Najd in the central part of the country has received a higher proportion of spending than its population would warrant. Hertog argues that the most disadvantaged regions are neither the oil-rich east nor the cosmopolitan Hijaz in the west, but rather the southern regions close to Yemen. Government employment, promotions to high office, population growth, registration of private companies, real estate loans—in all these matters government most promotes the Najd, then the Hijaz, and last the southern regions. This argument expands upon and revises the earlier work of Kiren Chaudhry, The Price of Wealth (Cornell University Press, 1997).The second theme of the book is the role of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Chapters by David Commins, Nabil Mouline, Stéphane Lacroix, Saud Al-Sarhan, and Thomas Hegghammer discuss various aspects of Islam in the kingdom.In chapter 8 David Commins addresses the terminology used to describe the strand of Islam begun by Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century, often labeled Wahhabism. Foreign defenders of this approach first labeled it as a variety of Hanbali Sunnism that followed medieval thinkers like Ibn Taymiyya. After the third Saudi state led by King ʿAbd al-ʿAziz conquered the Hijaz in the mid-1920s some supporters in Egypt, including the influential Rashid Rida, argued that so-called Wahhabism was a variety of Salafism, seeking to return Islam to the practices of early Muslims. By the 1970s establishment Saudi clerics used the term Salafism to describe themselves, though they rejected the liberal strand of Salafism. Identification with Salafism became a tool used by Saudi religious figures against the pretensions of the Muslim Brotherhood and various Muslim radicals.Nabil Mouline's chapter argues that the Saudi political authorities sought to gain ascendancy over the Wahhabi ulama by the creation in 1971 of the Committee of Senior Scholars and a raft of similar groups designed to curb and organize the clerical power. However, the ulama expanded their own organizations, bureaucratized them, and adapted themselves to the new challenges of the 1990s. Mouline examines the powers, working arrangements, and political importance of the Committee of Senior Scholars. In this regard his chapter could be usefully supplemented by reading Muhammad al-Atawneh, Wahhabi Islam Facing the Challenges of Modernity: Dar al-Ifta in the Modern Saudi State (E. J. Brill, 2010), though both works need to be revised to include recent changes.One aspect of Islam in Saudi Arabia that has gained a great deal of attention since the 2003 attacks on New York City by al-Qaʿida Saudi recruits is radical terrorism. Stéphane Lacroix in chapter 9 looks at the opposite of this phenomenon: urban Islamist networks, particularly in educational institutions, that implicitly mobilized support for the regime from the 1960s onward. Employing social movement theory, Lacroix discusses the Islamic networks' effective opposition to al-Qaʿida in the Arabian Peninsula in 2003–5, thereby denying al-Qaʿida support from most Saudi religious youths. The Islamic networks played a dominant part in the 2005 municipal elections as well.In chapter 10 Saud al-Sarhan adopts a more familiar point of view, by analyzing the ideas and actions of three jihadi-salafist radicals—Humud ibn ʿAbd ʿAllah al-ʿUqla al-Shuʿaybi, Nasir ibn Hamad al-Fahd, and ʿAli ibn Khudayr al-Khudayr—for the years 1997–2003. These three opposed the monarchy, the official ulama, the alliance of Saudi Arabia with the United States, and the prevalent Saudi interpretation of the obligation to wage jihad (holy war), but their influence waned after 2003.Chapter 11 contains an informative essay on the causes of the weakness of violent radicalism in Saudi Arabia written by Thomas Hegghammer. In his view, “transnational Islamist militancy” is divided into those favoring “foreign fighter activism” such as ʿAbd Allah ʿAzzam and those espousing “anti-Western terrorism” such as Usama bin Ladin (207). Saudis generally favored classical jihadist theory and practice, thus participation in anti-Russian fighting in Chechnya and post-2003 Iraq was far more popular than al-Qaʿida's attacks against the United States or its terrorism inside Saudi Arabia itself in 2003–5.The third theme of the book, social change, is treated in two chapters dealing with Bedouins and genealogy (chapters 12 and 13, both written by Abdulaziz H. Al Fahad), and two chapters dealing with Saudi women (chapter 14 by Madawi Al-Rasheed, chapter 15 by Amélie Le Renard).Abdulaziz Al Fahad looks carefully in chapter 12 at the lament of the Najdi Bedouin poet Bandar bin Surur for the ending of nomadic lifestyles as a means to show one of the crucial aspects of modern Saudi rule—a centralization of political power that represented the settled inhabitants (hadar) at the expense of the nomadic tribes. The Saudi government ended tribal raiding, so Bedouins like Bandar bin Surur had to pursue other careers—in his case, becoming a truck driver and itinerant poet who celebrated the heroism, hospitality, and anti-hadar values of his ancestors, but who despised the new social order. Along the same lines, Al Fahad in chapter 13 discusses the flood of genealogical writings that starting in the 1980s seemed to show “a reaction against the decline of traditional modes of social and political organization, the atomization of society, the homogenizing powers of the modern state, and the failure of civil society to take root” (265–66). Both tribal and town identities were diminished; instead, the author argues that the Saudi state insisted on direct power over individuals, as seen, for example, in a national system of allocating male names or in the state selecting tribal leaders. In response, family associations emerged as private kin groups filling a void in civil society. The author supplements the pioneering work of Hamad al-Jasir on genealogy with his own ample research on the topic.Madawi Al-Rasheed in chapter 14 begins her incisive discussion of contemporary changes in the role of Saudi women by outlining the masculine state's subordination and exclusion of women from the public sphere through rulings by the ulama, regulation of women's attire, revival of polygamy, channeling of women to certain limited occupations, and in many other ways. However, in the 2000s there took place especially for female elites an “increased visibility of women [as] a product of modernizing authoritarian rule, economic liberalization, and, finally, the war on terror” (302). The author's analysis is presented at greater length in her book, A Most Masculine State: Gender, Politics, and Religion in Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2013).Amélie Le Renard discusses the importance of shopping malls in Riyadh for young Saudi women, who thereby gain access to urban public spaces despite strict gender segregation. The author discloses the negative practical consequences of religiously inspired social rigidity, while also pointing to recent changes in education and employment that have opened some new opportunities for middle-class women to interact with each other in a consumption-oriented milieu. Her analysis is more fully presented in her book, A Society of Young Women: Opportunities of Place, Power, and Reform in Saudi Arabia (Stanford University Press, 2014).This excellent collection of essays is highly informative and well worth reading. However, it does contain a few weaknesses. More contributions from Saudi scholars would have been beneficial. Some authors invoke theoretical frameworks in which they situate their work, but many do not. A dominant question among scholars who study Saudi Arabia is whether the kingdom is so exceptional that it cannot be usefully compared to other countries, though some researchers reject this exceptionalist narrative. In this book Gause, Jones, Lacroix, Le Renard, and the three editors in their introduction might be put in the anti-exceptionalist category. A more explicit discussion of this topic by the other contributors would have been welcome.One problem found in most of the chapters is that they end their coverage in the decade of the 2000s and thereby do not cover recent developments in Saudi Arabia, even though the book has a copyright date of 2015. This problem is somewhat alleviated by the introduction as well as a brief afterword written by Bernard Haykel, in which he discusses the Saudi ban on the Muslim Brotherhood enacted in 2014, the addition of women to the Majlis al-Shura, the spread of social media, and rising expectations among young people because of great wealth that accrued to the state when oil prices were high. The reader who wishes to pursue in greater depth the topics discussed in this book is encouraged to take a close look at the thorough bibliographical coverage presented in J. E. Peterson, “The Arabian Peninsula in Modern Times: A Historiographical Survey of Recent Publications,” Journal of Arabian Studies 4, no. 2 (December 2014): 244–74.

The Saudi Arabia’s “Fundamentalists” the position runs counter in the basic religious doctrine with, and People's Republic of China ’s “Communist” and “Socialism” the idea, also can affect the Saudi Arabian imperial family’s benefit and the stability. However the Saudi Arabia actually purchases the missile to the People’s Republic of China, and established diplomatic relations in 1990 . The Transformation in Diplomatic Relations between Saudi-Arabia and China was really worth studying and the discussion truly. Because in 1973 the petroleum crisis took Saudi Arabia the huge economic interest, enable Saudi Arabia’s government to have the abundant financial resource to foster the talent, but caused in this border to have the social structure change, because the group accepted the higher education or overseas abroad study return to homeland, dominated the political power to Saudi Arabian’s Government and the traditional royal court to be discontented, finally urged Saudi Arabian’s King to implement the reform as well as the cabinet carries on the reorganization, in addition, also enabled the sand country tradition political power abandonment passing the country to have to “the communism” first impressions ares most lasting the hostility, and after suffered US ‘s Parliament to go back a promise to sell the Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter plane, originated the policy using the disperser arms sale to purchase missiles form People’s Republic of China. In the international environment aspect, the Saudi Arabia after the excavating petroleum, is admires the US military force to protect its petroleum benefit, but because US's Israel's policy, causes the Saudi Arabia to the American confidence vacillation, however, this time People’s Republic of China actually unceasingly (the People’s Republic of China using the United Nations Security Council), the economy (purchases petrified industry and wheat), the military (sells the missiles), the psychology (using religious relations), at that time Saudi Arabia is in order to maintain the Saudi Arabian leader regime stably, strengthens own national defense military force, by the consolidated this country in under the Islam world leading positions consideration, urges Saudi Arabia choose People’s Republic of China to purchases missiles, and establishes both sides official foreign relations.

This thesis examines healthy ageing conceptualizations and their perceived influences in older Saudi women living in Saudi Arabia. To date, no research has examined the question of how older people themselves understand the concept of healthy ageing in Saudi Arabia. The focus is on women because of cultural reasons and gender may influence concepts of healthy ageing and how ageing is experienced. Two pieces of research are reported in this thesis: a systematic review and a qualitative empirical study. The systematic review critically summarized evidence from studies that examined ageing experiences relevant to Arabic-Muslim cultures. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) flow diagram methodology was used and found few studies addressing ageing in the Saudi population, and fifteen articles investigating ageing among Arabic Muslim cultures. The review underscored the different sociodemographic associations of health status, family network, religion, and social activity with wellbeing in old age. In order to address the research gaps, a subjective understanding of the elements that affect healthy ageing concepts in older Saudi women must be considered. This thesis empirically examines older Saudi women’s perspectives of healthy ageing, and perceived influences on healthy ageing in Saudi Arabia. It aims to achieve its objective by seeking answers to the following research questions: How do older Saudi women experience ageing in everyday life? How do they understand the concepts of ageing? How do they view their ideal life in old age? How do they prepare for healthy ageing? What are the factors that are positively related to the healthy ageing? What are the barriers to healthy ageing? Qualitative in-depth interviews with seventeen Saudi women aged 60 years and over were done. Data collection concluded when the categories were saturated, then iterative/thematic analysis was done. The study showed that the standard household living arrangements across Saudi Arabia indicates co-habitation between older parents and children. Also, all the women in this study were dependent housewives, financially supported by their families. Almost half of the participants were illiterate. The study informants mainly rated their health status as good or better although they had multiple chronic diseases. Analysis of the data resulted in rich and interconnected themes, including: old age and respect, interpersonal relationships, religious faith and spirituality, health functioning, supportive environment, financial security, and the ageing process. Healthy ageing perspectives in older women in Saudi Arabia include multidimensional measures that are interconnected prominently with religion/spirituality and family connection. This research found the pathway to healthy ageing among the study population was similar to Western cultures; however, these western approaches were unable to explain cultural and religious differences. This study will be useful for Saudi governments as it has the potential to provide knowledge to develop targeted strategies to promote healthy ageing in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, it may have important implications for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers as they focus on improving quality of life for an ageing population in Saudi Arabia.