Search Results (2,781)

Hydrogen production is increasingly vital for global decarbonization but remains a water- and energy-intensive process, especially in arid regions. Despite growing attention to its climate benefits, limited research has addressed the environmental impacts of water sourcing. This study employs a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate three water supply strategies for hydrogen production: (1) seawater desalination without brine treatment (BT), (2) desalination with partial BT, and (3) freshwater purification. Scenarios are modeled for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, and Spain, representing diverse electricity mixes and water stress conditions. Both electrolysis and steam methane reforming (SMR) are evaluated as hydrogen production methods. Results show that desalination scenarios contribute substantially to human health and ecosystem impacts due to high energy use and brine discharge. Although partial BT aims to reduce direct marine discharge impacts, its substantial energy demand can offset these benefits by increasing other environmental burdens, such as marine eutrophication, especially in regions reliant on carbon-intensive electricity grids. Freshwater scenarios offer lower environmental impact overall but raise water availability concerns. Across all regions, feedwater for SMR shows nearly 50% lower impacts than for electrolysis. This study focuses solely on the environmental impacts associated with water sourcing and treatment for hydrogen production, excluding the downstream impacts of the hydrogen generation process itself. This study highlights the trade-offs between water sourcing, brine treatment, and freshwater purification for hydrogen production, offering insights for optimizing sustainable hydrogen systems in water-stressed regions. Full article

This study aimed to microencapsulate Boesenbergia rotunda (fingerroot) extract using maltodextrin (MD) and gum arabic (GA) as wall materials via spray-drying to improve powder physicochemical properties and protect bioactive compounds. MD and GA were employed as wall materials in varying ratios (MD:GA of 1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 2:1, 1:2) to evaluate their effects on the physicochemical properties of the resulting microcapsules. Spray-dried microcapsules were evaluated for morphology, flowability, particle size distribution, moisture content, hygroscopicity, solubility, encapsulation efficiency, major bioactive compound retention, and thermal stability. The extract encapsulation using MD:GA at 1:1 ratio (MD1GA1) demonstrated a favorable balance, with high solubility (98.70%), low moisture content (8.69%), low hygroscopicity (5.08%), and uniform particle morphology, despite its moderate EE (75.06%). SEM images revealed spherical particles with fewer surface indentations in MD-rich formulations. Microencapsulation effectively retained pinostrobin and pinocembrin in all formulations with pinostrobin consistently retained at a higher value, indicating its higher stability. The balanced profile of physical and functional properties of fingerroot extract with MD1GA1 microcapsule makes it a promising candidate for food and nutraceutical applications. Full article

Due to globalization, companies are exposed to a culturally diversified workforce; therefore, great emphasis is placed on identifying the most effective leadership style that would be able to manage such a workforce. Although numerous studies have attempted to identify successful leadership styles in different cultural settings, none have focused on the perceptions of top managers who work in multinational corporations (MNCs) in culturally diversified surroundings. Thus, our research attempts to identify the most preferred leadership style and characteristics from the perspective of top managers in MNCs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 13 leadership characteristics analyzed in this study were generated from the 21 characteristics found by Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research. The participants, top managers in MNCs, needed to evaluate leadership styles by considering leadership characteristics. To ensure the objectiveness of the study, we analyzed their answers by applying the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The results indicated that the most preferred leadership characteristics were visionary, inspirational, collaborative team-oriented, and performance-oriented. Moreover, the transformational leadership style emerged as the most preferred leadership style. The study’s findings show that top managers believe that employees in MNCs in the UAE seek a leader with a vision who will inspire, motivate, and help them fulfill their true potential. Full article

Acaricide usage has led to the growing problem of resistance in ticks. A heavy tick burden and the presence of ticks on animals throughout the year, despite the monthly application of acaricides, in farms in the United Arab Emirates formed the motivation for this study. The objectives of this research were as follows: (a) to assess the acaricide resistance status of the most prevalent tick Hyalomma spp. to widely used acaricides Cypermethrin and Deltamethrin; (b) to identify the association of farm management practices and farm-level risk factors with the failure of tick treatment (acaracide resistance). A total of 1600 ticks were collected from 20 farms located in three different regions of Abu Dhabi Emirate including Al Ain (n = 10), Al Dhafra (n = 5), and Abu Dhabi (n = 5). The ticks were subjected to an in vitro bioassay adult immersion test (AIT) modified with a discriminating dose (AIT-DD) against commercial preparations of Cypermethrin and Deltamethrin. A questionnaire was designed to collect metadata and information on farm management and the farm-level risk factors associated with routine farm practices relating to the treatment and control of tick and blood parasite infections in camels and small ruminant populations. Hyalomma anatolicum and Hyalomma dromedarii were identified among the collected ticks, with H. anatolicum being the most prevalent tick species (70%) in the present study. The test results of the in vitro bioassay revealed varied emerging resistance to both of the acaricides in the majority of the three regions; fully susceptible tick isolates with zero resistance to Deltamethrin were recorded in one farm at Al Ain and two farms in the Abu Dhabi region. A questionnaire analysis showed that the failure of tick treatment in farms varied with the presence or absence of vegetation areas, types of animal breeds, and management practices. This study reports the emergence of resistance in ticks to Cypermethrin and Deltamethrin across the Abu Dhabi Emirate, indicating a strict warning for the cautious use of acaricides. There is also a need to improve awareness about sound tick management and control practices among farm owners through a multidisciplinary approach adopting integrated pest management strategies that engage farmers, veterinarians, and policy makers. Full article

Objectives: The objective of this manuscript is to translate, adapt, and validate an Arabic version of the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey—Revised (DEPS-R) questionnaire to assess disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) in adolescents with T1D in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the study sought to estimate the prevalence of DEBs and analyze its associations with glycemic control and diabetes-related complications. Methods: A cross-cultural validation study was conducted following the COSMIN guidelines. The DEPS-R questionnaire was translated into Arabic through forward and backward translation involving expert panels, including psychiatrists, diabetologists, and linguists. A sample of 409 people with type 1 diabetes (PwT1D) (58.4% females) aged 12–20 years was recruited from outpatient diabetes clinics in the five main regions of Saudi Arabia. Participants completed the Arabic DEPS-R and the validated Arabic version of the SCOFF questionnaire. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected, and statistical analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and internal consistency tests, were conducted. Results: The Arabic DEPS-R exhibits strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.829) and high test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.861), with a CFA supporting a three-factor structure, namely body weight perception, disordered eating behaviors (DEBs), and bulimic tendencies. Notably, higher DEPS-R scores are significantly linked to elevated HbA1c levels, increased BMI, and more frequent insulin use. Alarmingly, 52.8% of participants show high-risk DEB, which is directly associated with poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 8.1%) and a heightened risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Conclusions: The Arabic DEPS-R is a valid and reliable tool for screening DEBs among Saudi adolescents with T1D. Findings underscore the necessity for early identification and intervention to mitigate the impact of EDs on diabetes management and overall health outcomes. Full article

Humor creation is presented as a modality in human communication involving “double framing”, in which a scenario, understanding, or agreed-upon reality is presented and is suddenly revealed to be something else by being recontextualized during the humorous presentation. This analysis utilizes Ba Theory, as articulated in the philosophy of Kitaro Nishida and Shimizu. Ba is a cognitive space for developing relationships, both interpersonal and in relationships to shared environments. A state of Ba arises in social interaction, requiring the need for pragmemic triggers to initiate creation and sustaining of a Ba state. The creation of humor requires that participants be in a state of Ba with each other, sharing the knowledge and understanding of the frames to which they are exposed. Examples are provided from Japanese, Chinese, German, Persian, Arabic, and English humor creation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Social worry may appear in preadolescence, causing it to persist in the future, such that adolescents become more avoidant of situations in which they are evaluated by others. Many previous studies have shown that approximately 4% of preadolescent children suffer from high levels of social worry, which may lead to other problems in the future. It is important to take necessary precautions to explore this worry and take the necessary measures to address it. This study aimed to do so by extracting the psychometric properties of the Social Worries Questionnaire (SWQ) for preadolescence in Arab countries. Methods: The sample consisted of 269 children aged 8–12 years. The SWQ, Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS), Child Abuse Self-Reporting Scale (CASRS-12), and Arabic version of the Children’s Depression Inventory (AVCDI) were administered via various social media. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis was used, and the one-factor model showed that the scale consists of 14 items. The results also indicated evidence of discriminant validity, and that the internal consistency was acceptable. For reliability, the test–retest results showed that the value was appropriate. Conclusions: This scale could be valuable in detecting worry in preadolescent children and providing them with therapeutic and psychological services. Full article

Introduction: Nutrition literacy has garnered growing research attention worldwide, yet only a few instruments have been developed to specifically measure this construct among adolescents. Accordingly, the present research sought to examine the validity and reliability of the Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) within a group of Lebanese adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2022 to March 2023, targeting a nationally representative sample. Results: Fit indices of the three-factor structure were good. Internal reliability was adequate for the following three subscales: Functional Nutrition Literacy (FNL) (ω = 0.88/α = 0.88), Interactive Nutrition Literacy (INL) (ω = 0.87/α = 0.86) and Critical Nutrition Literacy (CNL) (ω = 0.89/α = 0.89). Invariance was established across genders at configural, metric, and scalar levels. A significantly higher mean FNL and INL scores were found in males compared to females, with no significant difference between the two genders in terms of CNL. Higher FNL, but not CNL and INL scores were significantly associated with lower child food security. Conclusions: The Arabic ANLS has exhibited robust psychometric reliability, validity, and cost-effectiveness as a tool for assessing nutrition literacy. By utilizing the Arabic version of the ANLS, we can more efficiently and accurately assess the nutritional literacy of adolescents. Full article

Cystinosis is a rare systemic disease characterized by the accumulation of cystine in tissues, leading to multi-organ damage. Infantile nephropathic cystinosis is the dominant and severe form of cystinosis with critical renal manifestations that require kidney transplantation at an early age if left untreated. Cysteamine, the lifelong cystine-depleting therapy, is the mainstay treatment of nephropathic cystinosis. Cysteamine prevents cystine crystal formation and delays disease progression. While the initially introduced cysteamine consists of an immediate-release (IR) formulation, a delayed-release (DR) formulation has been developed with a simplified dosing regimen (Q12H instead of Q6H) and an improved quality of life while maintaining comparable efficacy. Due to the rare incidence of the disease and lack of international guidelines, diagnosis and treatment initiation are oftentimes delayed, leading to a poor prognosis. Pediatric and adult nephrologists from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar, in addition to one international expert from Amsterdam, convened to share their clinical experience, reflecting on the challenges encountered and therapeutic approaches followed in the management of nephropathic cystinosis in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Experts completed a multiple-choice questionnaire and engaged in structured discussions, where they shed light on gaps and limitations with regard to diagnostic tests and criteria to ensure early diagnosis and timely treatment initiation. Based on available literature, experts suggested an algorithm to help guide nephropathic cystinosis management in the GCC. It is highly recommended for patients who do not tolerate IR-cysteamine and do not adhere to IR-cysteamine treatment to switch to DR-cysteamine. Given the systemic nature of the disease, a multi-disciplinary approach is required for optimal disease management. Full article

Segregative phase separation technology demonstrates substantial potential for precise molecular fractionation in food and biomaterial applications. The investigation elucidates the causal relationship between viscosity variations and phase separation dynamics, which govern molecular fractionation in GA/HPMC composite systems. By conducting a comparative analysis of two GA subtypes (CGA and SGA) and three HPMC grades with controlled viscosity gradients, we utilized gel permeation chromatography-multi-angle laser light scattering (GPC-MALLS) coupled with rheological characterization to elucidate the critical relationship between continuous phase viscosity and fractionation efficiency. Notably, increasing HPMC viscosity significantly intensified phase separation, resulting in selective enrichment of arabinogalactan-protein complexes: from 6.3% to 8.5% in CGA/HPMC systems and from 27.3% to 36.5% in SGA/HPMC systems. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that elevated HPMC viscosity enhances thermodynamic incompatibility while slowing interfacial mass transfer, synergistically driving component redistribution. These findings establish a quantitative viscosity–fractionation relationship, offering theoretical insights for optimizing GA/HPMC systems in emulsion stabilization, microencapsulation, and functional biopolymer purification via viscosity-mediated phase engineering. Full article

Social network platforms have a big impact on the development of companies by influencing clients’ behaviors and sentiments, which directly affect corporate reputations. Analyzing this feedback has become an essential component of business intelligence, supporting the improvement of long-term marketing strategies on a larger scale. The implementation of powerful sentiment analysis models requires a comprehensive and in-depth examination of each stage of the process. In this study, we present a new comparative approach for several feature extraction techniques, including TF-IDF, Word2Vec, FastText, and BERT embeddings. These methods are applied to three multilingual datasets collected from hotel review platforms in the tourism sector in English, French, and Arabic languages. Those datasets were preprocessed through cleaning, normalization, labeling, and balancing before being trained on various machine learning and deep learning algorithms. The effectiveness of each feature extraction method was evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, F1-score, precision, recall, ROC AUC curve, and a new metric that measures the execution time for generating word representations. Our extensive experiments demonstrate significant and excellent results, achieving accuracy rates of approximately 99% for the English dataset, 94% for the Arabic dataset, and 89% for the French dataset. These findings confirm the important impact of vectorization techniques on the performance of sentiment analysis models. They also highlight the important relationship between balanced datasets, effective feature extraction methods, and the choice of classification algorithms. So, this study aims to simplify the selection of feature extraction methods and appropriate classifiers for each language, thereby contributing to advancements in sentiment analysis. Full article

Public service innovation research often focuses on the private or general public sectors, leaving the distinct challenges government entities face unexplored. An empirical study was carried out to bridge this gap using survey results from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government entities. This study built on that research by further analyzing the relationships among these challenges through a social network approach, visualizing and analyzing the connections between them by utilizing betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality as key metrics. Based on this analysis, the challenges were classified into different categories; 8 out of 22 challenges were identified as critical due to their high values in both metrics. Addressing these critical challenges is expected to create a cascading impact, helping to resolve many others. Targeted strategies are proposed, and leveraging open innovation is highlighted as an effective and versatile solution to address and mitigate these challenges. This study is one of the few to adopt a social network analysis perspective to visualize and analyze the relationships among challenges, enabling the identification of critical ones. This research offers novel and valuable insights that could assist decision-makers in UAE government entities and countries with similar contexts with actionable strategies to advance public service innovation. Full article

Objectives: Previous literature has already discussed the effects of age and sex on the diagnosis and treatment of malocclusion problems. However, this effect varies among different ethnic groups. These differences have not yet been investigated in many populations, such as Arab orthodontic patients and residents of Israel. Therefore, it is crucial to understand such variations in specific populations for better diagnosis and treatment. The main aim of this study is to provide novel knowledge concerning skeletal classes I and II among a cohort of Arab patients who are citizens of Israel. We used parameters obtained from lateral cephalograms to understand the variations among different sex and age subgroups. We also examined the correlations and performed principal component analysis (PCA). Methods: This study was based on the coded records of 394 Arab patients diagnosed with skeletal Class I occlusion (SCIO) or skeletal Class II malocclusion (SCIIMO), according to the individualized ANB (Calculated_ANB) of Panagiotidis and Witt. Results: Among patients with SCIO, males had a significantly more horizontal growth pattern (PFH/AFH) and anterior mandible rotation (ML-NSL) than females. Regarding patients with SCIIMO, female adults had more hyperdivergent jaw bases than adolescents (ML-NL) and a more posteriorly rotated mandible (ML-NSL). Spearman’s analysis revealed many significant correlations, like Calculated_ANB, ANB angle, and Wits appraisal. The PCA results showed a remarkable ability to explain 88.6% of the sample variance using four principal components. Conclusions: This research revealed new information regarding Arab orthodontic patients diagnosed with skeletal class I or II. The results demonstrate the differences between the two classes. In addition, this study demonstrated the variation and correlation of cephalometric parameters among different sex and age subgroups in skeletal class I and II Arab patients, especially considering Calculated_ANB. Therefore, this study highlights the need to consider these differences when diagnosing patients and to distinguish the differences across different sex and age subgroups in the diagnosis and treatment process. Furthermore, the PCA results showed the importance of ML-NSL, SN-Pg, PFH/AFH ratio, and NL-ML in explaining the data variance. Full article

The article is aimed at building on the existing studies devoted to the last stage of the assimilation policy directed at the Muslim population in Communist Bulgaria during the second half of the 1980s. The 40th anniversary of the forced change of the given Turkish–Arabic and Persian names of this population is an occasion to revisit this dark period of the recent past. This study focuses on the short- and long-term consequences of the political measures, which became known as the ‘Revival process’ (1984/1985–1989). For the first time, the author presents new written sources, including analytical and field reports commissioned by the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party and prepared by Bulgarian scholars during the second half of the 1980s, as well as later collected biographical data related to Muslims affected by the events, derived through an (auto)ethnographic method of research among Turks, Crimean Tatars and Muslim Roma. Full article

The article provides an analysis of the geographic origins of Karaites in four areas where Karaite congregations were commonly found after the Middle Ages, namely, Arabic Middle East (territories of modern Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Egypt), Constantinople/Istanbul and its area, the Crimean Peninsula, and Eastern European territories belonging today to Lithuania and Ukraine. It combines available historical, onomastic, and linguistic data revealing the migrations of Karaites to and inside these regions. For the first two regions, no ambiguity exists about the roots of local Karaites. Their ancestors were Jews who adopted the Karaite version of Judaism. For the Crimean communities, various factors favor the hypothesis about the territories of the Byzantine Empire (which later became Ottoman), and more specifically, Constantinople and its area are the only major source for their development. The Karaite communities in such historical Eastern European provinces as Lithuania (properly speaking), Volhynia, and Red Ruthenia were created after migrations from Crimea to these territories. The article also discusses medieval, cultural, and potentially genetic links between Karaites and Rabbanite Jews in the areas in question. It also addresses one phonological feature, the sibilant confusion, shared by the Galician–Volhynian dialect of the Karaim language and the Lithuanian dialect of Yiddish. Full article