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Item 24-epibrasinolide modulates the vase life of lisianthus cut flowers by modulating acc oxidase enzyme activity and physiological responses(MDPI AG, 2021-05) Darvish, Mohammad; Shirzad, Habib; Asghari, Mohammadreza; Noruzi, Parviz; Alirezalu, Abolfazl; Pateiro, Mirian; Takshe, Aseel A.; Lorenzo, José ManuelEthylene is the most important factor playing roles in senescence and deterioration of harvested crops including cut flowers. Brassinosteroids (BRs), as natural phytohormones, have been reported to differently modulate ethylene production and related senescence processes in different crops. This study was carried out to determine the effects of different levels of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) on ACC oxidase enzyme activity, the final enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis pathway, vase life, and senescence rate in lisianthus cut flowers. Harvested flowers were treated with EBL (at 0, 3, 6, and 9 µmol/L) and kept at 25◦C for 15 days. The ACC oxidase activity, water absorption, malondialdehyde (MDA) production and vase solution absorption rates, chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, and the vase life of the flowers were evaluated during and at the end of storage. EBL at 3 µmol/L significantly (p ≤ 0.01) enhanced the flower vase life by decreasing the ACC oxidase activity, MDA production and senescence rates, and enhancing chlorophyll and anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation, relative water content, and vase solution absorption rates. By increasing the concentration, EBL negatively affected the flower vase life and postharvest quality probably via enhancing the ACC oxidase enzyme activity and subsequent ethylene production. EBL at 6 and 9 µmol/L and in a concentration dependent manner, enhanced the ACC oxidase activity and MDA production rate and decreased chlorophyll and anthocyanin accumulation and water absorption rate. The results indicate that the effects of brassinosteroids on ethylene production and physiology of lisianthus cut flowers is highly dose dependent. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Item A review of the environmental implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates(Elsevier B.V., 2022-08) Alalawi, Shaikha; Issa, Sahar T.; Takshe, Aseel A.; ElBarazi, IffatThis paper reviews the environmental implications associated with the COVID-19 pandemic at the individual and community levels in the UAE. The positive effects emanating from the pandemic include improved air quality and reduced contamination of public spaces with pollutants. On the other hand, far-reaching negative effects include poor disposal of medical plastic waste and facemasks and the rise in unhygienic health practices amongst residents of UAE. The long-term ecological implications of the pandemic are still not well understood. The findings shed the light on the importance of addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through preventative policies and strategies for better environmental health and readiness for future crises. Future research could assess the long-term environmental conse-quences of the pandemic on the UAE. © 2022Item Analysis of the United Arab Emirates' contribution to the sustainable development goals with a focus on global health and climate change(Emerald Publishing, 2023) Alkhaldi, Mohammed; Moonesar, Immanuel Azaad; Issa, Sahar T.; Ghach, Wissam; Okasha, Ahmad; Albada, Marina; Chelli, Sabrina; Takshe, Aseel A.Purpose: The world is confronted by various current development challenges, including global health security and climate change. The rapid growth of these challenges warned all nations regardless of their development or geographical position. As an emerging international power, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was among these nations and is viewed as a proactive key actor. Design/methodology/approach: This review was conducted as a thematic synthesis from 27 studies, reports and publications along with authors' insights. Using MS Word and Excel programs, three stages of data exploration, extraction and synthesis and analysis were applied. Data gathering, analysis and thematization and compilation. Findings: The UAE is giving significant attention to global health and climate change. Over the past 20 years, multipolicies, strategies and bodies were developed to lead the national, regional and global SDGs. Global health and climate change became the most two notable priorities on the government agenda and its strategic thinking is that both priorities can no longer be overlooked. Nationally, the UAE has made significant economic, scientific, social and health growth. Building a resilient and world-class healthcare system was one of six national priorities of the achieved UAE National Agenda 2021. Globally, UAE has proved its global health leadership by ensuring lasting and collective multilateral partnerships and collaborations that led to remarkable achievements in global health and climate change. Examples on the global scale: partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to target billions of people of the world's population and ensure they get Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) without financial hardship, the partnership between UAE and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) to fight diseases and put an end to polio. Additionally, the state's role in the COVID-19 global efforts such as vaccine development, supply chain and distribution targeted low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The UAE has shown a constant commitment to climate change mitigation and building a sustainable ecosystem by hosting global organizations, leading initiatives, supporting countries and is now organizing the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) this year. Great opportunities can be exploited to promote the country's contributions through further investment in cooperation, research and technology for better knowledge, sound policies, and innovative solutions for all regional and global health and climate change challenges. Originality/value: This review is a fresh evidence-synthesizing attempt to document the role of the UAE. This role is well placed to play an additional major role with all partners to address these pressing challenges by boosting its role, especially in the Middle East region and advancing a new regional-oriented revolutionary expanded developmental plan that centered on low-resource countries empowerment, multilateralism, intersectionality and lasting collaborations. © 2023, Mohammed Alkhaldi, Immanuel Azaad Moonesar, Sahar T. Issa, Wissam Ghach, Ahmad Okasha, Marina Albada, Sabrina Chelli and Aseel A. Takshe.Item Antifungal activity of some indigenous lactic acid bacteria isolated from soft wheat(Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, 2018) Djaaboub, Serra; Abdallah, Moussaoui; Meddah, Boumedien; Makhloufi, Souad; Gouri, Saif; El Khatib, RamiThe objective of this study was to find an alternative to chemical control of pathogenic fungi in wheat, using microorganisms that are safe and that can be isolated from the same biotopes of the pathogens. Lactic acid bacteria isolated from soft wheat grains were screened for their antifungal activity against Fusarium graminearum Schwab, Aspergillus flavus Link and Aspergillus parasiticus Speare, using two techniques (overlay and co-culture) on De Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar. The overlay method showed that out of forty-six lactic acid bacteria, five isolates showed an inhibition of radial growth range from 1% to 73.89%. According to the co-culture method, the most efficient biological agent for wheat mold growth isolate was LAB001 with an average rate of inhibition of 31.18% against A. flavus, 42.26% against A. parasiticus and 55.53% against F. graminearum. Lactic acid bacteria LAB001 was identified as Enterococcus faecium with 99.6% of similarity. E. faecium LAB001 can be considered as promising isolate for the biocontrol of pathogenic molds in small grain cereals. © 2018 Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology. All rights reserved.Item Application of machine learning risk prediction mathematical model in the diagnosis of Escherichia coli infection in patients with septic shock by cardiovascular color doppler ultrasound(Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Shen, Hualiang; Hu, Yinfeng; Liu, Xiatian; Jiang, Zhenzhen; Ye, Hongwei; Takshe, Aseel A.; Al Dulaimi, Saeed Hameed Kurdithis study was to explore the diagnosis of septic shock patients with Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection based on cardiovascular color Doppler ultrasound (CCDUS) images under the machine learning risk prediction mathematical model (risk prediction model). 120 septic shock patients with Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection, admitted to xxx hospital were selected as research subjects, and they were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, including 76 males and 44 females, with an average age of (45.47 ± 11.35) years old. The prediction model, random forest mathematical model (RF model), and feature combination were trained and applied in the CCDUS. The error rate, F1-score, and area under the curve (AUC) were compared. It was found that the prediction effect of the risk prediction model was better (P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn based on the risk prediction model, and it was found that the AUC was 0.924, and the best cutoff value was 0.247. The consistency test between the predicted death result and the actual result showed that Kappa = 0.824, which was higher than 0.75. The pathogenic microorganisms of the patients were mainly Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) in 32 cases (53.33%). There were 19 cases whose pathogenic bacteria was E. coli, and 11 cases (57.9%) of which were acquired in the intensive care unit (ICU). The patient mortality rate was 41.67%. Finally, the acute physiology and chronic health II (APACH II) score and D-dimer of the patients were substituted into the Logistic regression model. The effect of the risk prediction model was better than the RF model and feature combination; the measurement results based on the risk prediction model had good consistency; the D-dimer and APACH II score were independent factors for death of the septic shock. © 2021 The Author(s)Item Application of PET/CT image under convolutional neural network model in postoperative pneumonia virus infection monitoring of patients with non-small cell lung cancer(Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Wei, Jing; Zhu, Ronghua; Zhang, Huai; Li, Pingwei; Okasha, Ahmad; Muttar, Ahmed K.H.It was to study the adoption of positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT) based on the convolutional neural networks (CNN) model in the monitoring of postoperative pneumonia virus infection in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 120 patients with NSCLC were set as the research object. CNN model was constructed and applied to PET-CT images to identify lesions and screen tumor markers for detection. Then, the patients were randomly divided into group A (CT), group B (PET-CT), group C (PET-CT based on artificial neural network model), and group D (PET-CT diagnosis based on CNN model), 30 cases in each group, and infection surveillance was conducted. The result showed that the accuracy (Acc), sensitivity (Sen), and specificity (Spe) of PET-CT image recognition based on the CNN model were 99.31%, 100%, and 98.31%, respectively. The proportion of serum neutrophils, white blood cell count, and PCT content in group D three days after operation were significantly lower than those in groups B, C, and A (P < 0.05). The proportions of patients with surgical wound infection and lung infection in group D were 6.54% and 15.38% respectively, which were significantly lower than those in groups B, C, and A (P < 0.05). The complication rates of patients in groups A, B, C, and D were 32.4%, 30.2%, 28.75, and 8.7%, respectively. The complication rate of patients in group D was significantly lower than that of the other three groups (P < 0.05). In short, PET-CT images based on the CNN model had high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in monitoring postoperative pneumonia virus infection in NSCLC patients. Applying it to the patient's virus infection monitoring can effectively prevent the patient's lung and surgical wound infection and improve the patient's postoperative recovery effect. © 2021 The Author(s)Item Assessing climate change indicators in the United Arab Emirates(Inderscience Publishers, 2022) Kamkar, Fatma; Khawatmi, Layla; Arif, Aysha; Hamed, Hamed; Issa, Sahar T.; El Khatib, Rami; Takshe, Aseel A.; Karkain, Rashed M.Anthropogenic and natural activities have led to a global phenomenon known as climate change, which evidence shows, is worsening. Climatic changes can sometimes be observed at a regional level by assessing certain indicators such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity. This study aims to explore climate indicators in the United Arab Emirates that play a possible role in climate change. To gain insight into the longer-term changes, we looked at regional changes by analysing trends of mean monthly temperature, maximum monthly temperature, minimum monthly temperature, mean monthly humidity, and rainfall quantities per year over the period of 2003 to 2019. The trend analysis showed an increasing trend in the maximum monthly temperature, minimum monthly temperature, mean monthly temperature, and mean monthly humidity, but a decreasing trend in rainfall quantities, which may suggest climate change at a regional level. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.Item Awareness and preparedness of human monkeypox outbreak among university student: Time to worry or one to ignore?(Elsevier Ltd, 2022-10) Jairoun, Ammar Abdulrahman; Al-Hemyari, Sabaa Saleh; Abdulla, Naseem Mohammed; El-Dahiyat, Faris; Shahwan, Moyad; Hassan, Nageeb; Jairoun, Obaida; Alyousef, Nuha Ghazi; Sharif, Safia; Jaber, Ammar Ali SalehBackground: The growing number of human monkeypox cases worldwide illustrates the importance of early detection, prevention, management and quick action from healthcare authorities. The WHO confirmed a hundred of Monkeypox cases worldwide and disclosed Monkdypox as a worldwide emergency situation Objectives: To assess the knowledge about human monkeypox’ source, signs/symptoms, transmission, prevention and treatment among Al Ain university students in the UAE. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to assess Al Ain University students’ knowledge of Human Monkeypox. A validated questionnaire was distributed to students between lectures. The respondents’ knowledge of human Monkeypox was assessed by 21 questions that examined the participants’ knowledge of Monkeypox as follows: 5 items examined knowledge of the source, definition, and incubation time; 2items assessed the mechanism of transmission of human Monkeypox, 7 items assessed the signs and symptoms; 7 items assessed the preventative measures; and 6 items assessed the treatment modalities. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the factors influencing respondents’ knowledge of human Monkeypox among university students. Results: A total of five hundred and fifty-eight (558) students participated in the study. The average knowledge score was 70.1%, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 68.9 − 71.3. Of the total participants, 111 (19.9%) had poor knowledge about human Monkeypox, 320 (57.3%) had moderate knowledge, and 127 (22.8%) had good knowledge. The results of the statistical modelling showed that Old age (OR 0.681; 95% CI 1.005–1.016), female gender (OR 1.26; 95% CI 0.813 –0.961), participants from medical colleges (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.13 –1.32) having a history of human chickenpox infection (OR 2.6; 95% CI 2.3–2.9) and receiving information on human Monkeypox during education (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.05–1.2) were strong determinants for good knowledge about human Monkeypox. Conclusion: knowledge of Monkeypox among the participants is relatively low, particularly regarding the epidemiology, symptoms and treatments. Therefore, increasing knowledge of Monkeypox will be key to enhancing the capacity to respond to human monkeypox cases and to relay pertinent data to a disease surveillance system. © 2022 The Author(s)Item Barriers to the implementation of occupational health and safety regulations in Lebanon(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2023) Ayoub, Narimane; Issa, Sahar T.; Nassif, Hana; Kosremelli Asmar, MichèleThis study aims to explore the barriers that prevent the implementation of occupational health and safety regulations in Lebanon. A qualitative approach was adopted including a document analysis of the available legal documents pertaining to occupational health and safety at the national level and ten in-depth interviews with professionals in the field of occupational health and safety in Lebanon. Our findings show that the implementation of the occupational health and safety regulations in Lebanon is hindered by several barriers including the lack of a holistic legal framework, lack of promotion of a health and safety culture at work, insufficient number of labor inspectors, insufficient training for labor inspectors, lack of necessary tools and equipment, lack of an adequate documentation system, hierarchy within the Ministry of Labor, weak compliance, and the influence of the informal sector. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Community Awareness and Performance regarding the Safe Use of Disinfectants and Household Cleaners during the Spread of COVID-19 in Lebanon(Horizon Research Publishing, 2023-12) Ghach, Wissam; Ibrahim, Sara Abou; Merhi, Areej; Buhamdan, Vanessa; Ghannam, Nermeen Bou; Salhab, RinaTo reduce the spread and transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the application of disinfectants and household cleaning products became a common practice worldwide during the pandemic. However, the literature revealed that these practices were associated with limited knowledge of chemical safety and resulted in several health hazards. This pilot study aims to assess the awareness and the performance of the Lebanese community regarding the safe use of household disinfectants and cleaners during the COVID-19 spread. This cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the extent, to which the public community in Lebanon safely handles disinfectants and household cleaning products. An Awareness-Performance questionnaire was adapted from the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and Arabic-translated [1]. 922 respondents (aged ≥ 18 years old) participated electronically, and their data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive analysis and the Chi-Square test for significant differences (p < 0.05) among the studied variables. The study population showed lower percentages of awareness than performance regarding the safe usage of disinfectants and household cleaners. The highest percentages with significant differences (p < 0.05) were detected among females, university graduates, younger people, and participants who had not been previously diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus. Consequently, the study recommends additional investigations and awareness initiatives to be implemented in Lebanon. © The Author(s) 2023.Item Critical care nurses' reasons for working or not working overtime(American Association of Critical Care Nurses, 2018) Lobo, Vanessa M.; Ploeg, Jenny; Fisher, Anita L.; Peachey, Gladys; Akhtar-Danesh, NooriBACKGROUND Around the world, registered nurses are working increasing amounts of overtime. This is particularly true in critical care environments, which experience unpredictable fluctuations in patient volume and acuity, combined with a need for more specialized nurses. OBJECTIVE To explore critical care nurses' reasons for working or not working overtime. METHODS A semistructured interview guide was used to interview 28 frontline nurses from 11 critical care units in Ontario, Canada. Analysis was guided by Thorne's interpretive description methodology. RESULTS Participants' reasons for working overtime included (1) financial gain (96% of participants); (2) helping and being with colleagues (68%); (3) continuity for nurses and patients (39%); and (4) accelerated career development (39%). Their reasons for not working overtime were (1) feeling tired and tired of being at work (50%); (2) having established plans (71%); and (3) not receiving enough notice (61%). CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study provide important variations and extension of existing literature on the topic, and appear to be the first reported in Canadian critical care units. Additional research is required to understand administrative decision-making processes that lead to the use of overtime. © 2018 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.Item Data mining in the time of COVID-19(PalArch Foundation, 2020-12-11) Okasha, Ahmad; Kamalov, Firuz; Hamidi, Samer; Roberts, Claire; Abdulnasir, SafaHealthcare organizations, like other organizations, are facing a major global challenge. In a recent Mckinsey survey (From “wartime” to “peacetime”: Five stages for healthcare institutions in the battle against COVID-19, 2020), many consumers indicated that the COVID 19 pandemic has the most significant challenge on their economic and social lives in the last 100 years. Being patient centric rather than reactive is one of the ways to succeed in this uncertain environment. Being patient centric means to identify the needs of patients and design specific programs to address their needs whether they are financial, personal, or clinical. COVID-19 accelerated utilizing data and online applications. Many healthcare organizations have access to consumer related data. Data mining capabilities provide health care organizations with the ability to extract hidden predictive information from large databases. The paper surveyed hospital Chief Information Officers (CIO), health information managers, and healthcare managers to find out measure awareness of data mining applications in healthcare and to determine the use and reason for data mining applications in healthcare. The results indicate that many healthcare organizations are aware of descriptive and simple data mining tools. For more sophisticated data mining tools, most healthcare organization managers in the Middle East as expected are not aware of them. When it comes to using data mining as an application for disease diagnoses, marketing, and education simulation, many healthcare managers indicate that they are already using data mining in these areas. © 2020 Ahmad Okash, Firuz Kamalov, Samer Hamidi, Claire Roberts, Safa AbdulnasirItem Development and Usability Assessment of a Mobile App (Demensia KITA) to Support Dementia Caregivers in Malaysia: A Study Protocol(MDPI, 2022-10) Rashid, Nurul Syaireen A.; Chen, Xin Wee; Mohamad Marzuki, Muhamad Fadhil; Takshe, Aseel A.; Okasha, Ahmad; Maarof, Faridah; Yunus, Raudah MohdThe impact of dementia on caregivers is complex and multi-dimensional. In low- and middle-income settings, caregivers are often left without adequate support, despite their multiple needs. These include health information, caregiving skills, social and emotional support, and access to local resources—all of which can be partially fulfilled by technology. In recent years, mobile apps have emerged and proven useful for caregivers. We found a few existing apps suitable for Malaysian users in terms of affordability and cultural and linguistic compatibility. Our study aims to design a mobile app that suits dementia caregivers in Malaysia and consists of three phases. Phase I is content development that employs Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Nominal Group Technique (NGT) involving field experts. Phase II comprises a mobile app (Demensia KITA) designed in collaboration with a software developer specializing in mobile health apps. Phase III entails testing the usability of the app using the Malay version of the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (M-MAUQ). This study protocol elaborates on the rigorous steps of designing a mobile app and testing its usability, along with anticipated challenges. Our protocol will provide insight for future researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers and pave the way for better use of digital technology in the field of aging and caregiving. © 2022 by the authors.Item Development and Validation of a Tool to Improve Community Pharmacists’ Surveillance Role in the Safe Dispensing of Herbal Supplements(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-07-04) Jairoun, Ammar Abdulrahman; Al Hemyari, Sabaa Saleh; Abdulla, Naseem Mohammed; Shahwan, Moyad; Jairoun, Maimona; Godman, Brian; El-Dahiyat, Faris; Kurdi, AmanjBackground: There has been an appreciable increase in the use of herbal supplements, including immune boosters, during the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are concerns with falsified herbal supplements. Objectives: Developed a new questionnaire that can potentially help community pharmacists identify the extent of falsified herbal supplements. Methods: A 9-month cross sectional study was conducted among 500 community pharmacies across United Arab Emirates. A new 5-factor, 24-itmes scale was developed based on current labelling requirements across countries and piloted. This included seven items on identified uses and contraindication, seven items on hazard identification, four items on product identity, three items on packaging and product insert and three items on product handling and storage. The face and content validity of the scale was assessed via the content validity index (CVI). Its construct validity was tested using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) via principally component analysis (PCA). The model was subsequently confirmed through partial confirmatory factor analysis (PCFA). Its reliability was assessed via test-retest reliability, internal consistency, item internal consistency (IIC), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: The CVI of the finalized questionnaire was 0.843. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.891, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity indicated significance (p-value < 0.001). Confirmation of the subsequent 5-domains was achieved through PCFA using maximum likelihood analysis with oblimin rotation. The PCFA obtained values was 0.962 for NFI, 0.977 for CFI, and 0.987 for the Tucker Lewis Index. All values were greater than 0.95, and the RMSEA value was 0.03 (i.e., less than 0.06). Consequently, the model had a good fit. All domains demonstrated Cronbach’s alpha coefficients above 0.70, with 0.940 for the full instrument. Meanwhile, all items met the IIC correlation standard of ≥0.40. The instrument presented good ICC statistics of 0.940 (0.928–0.950) as well as statistical significance (p < 0.001). Community pharmacists with more than 10 experience years were more likely to identify falsified herbal supplements compared to those with 1–10 years experience (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study developed and validated a new instrument to identify safe herbal supplements, which should enhance the role of the community pharmacists in the safe and effective treatment of suitable patients with herbal supplements. Copyright © 2022 Jairoun, Al Hemyari, Abdulla, Shahwan, Jairoun, Godman, El-Dahiyat and Kurdi.Item Development and Validation of the Soft Skills Questionnaire for Nurses(SAGE Publications Inc., 2023) Aridi, Mona; Ahmad, Manal; Ghach, Wissam; Charifeh, Samiha; Alwan, NisreenIntroduction: Skills challenge has been given great attention for its impact on employees’ performance. Various approaches have been put forward to design professional development programs that help in preparing nurses to work in the field and ongoing training programs to keep them up to each new method and technique at the interpersonal improvement level. Objective: To develop and validate a questionnaire that tests the communication and management skills, emotional intelligence, and confidentiality of nurses in Lebanon. Methods: The questionnaire, consisting of 25 statements, was generated and developed by experts in the field of nursing, soft skills, and questionnaire development. The items of the questionnaire were assessed using face, content, and construct validity and data validation was examined through psychometric properties at the final stage of the validation. Internal consistency and reliability were assessed through Cronbach alpha ((Formula presented.)). Further analyses were carried out to decide on the number of factors to be extracted using Oblimin Rotation method. All statistical tests were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0). Results: Nineteen items of the 25-item scale had an I-CVI of 1.00 and the remaining six items had an I-CVI of 0.87. The S-CVI/UA was 0.76 and the S-CVI/Ave was 0.97, which meant that the items were good for the underlying construct. For the psychometric measures, the results were quite accepted and satisfactory. The Kaiser–Meyer–Oklin measure of sampling adequacy and the significance for the Bartlett's test for the whole questionnaire were quite acceptable with 0.680 and 0.000, respectively. Furthermore, the Cronbach alpha (α) value was 0.824 indicating a high internal consistency between the items of the questionnaire. While obtaining exploratory factor analysis for each section, results showed that Oblimin Rotation method should be applied to the last section in which three items were eliminated to maintain a simple factor structure. Conclusion: This study shows that the 25-item Soft Skills Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the level of communication of nurses, their emotional intelligence, confidentiality, and management. © The Author(s) 2023.Item Eco-anxiety: A Q method analysis towards eco-anxiety attitudes in the United Arab Emirates(Routledge, 2022) Takshe, Aseel A.; Hashi, Zahra; Mohammed, Marwa; Astari, AnnisaHumans are witnessing extreme events such as droughts, floods, heat waves, wildfires, and emergence of novel diseases causing unprecedented changes to our planet. These rapid changes coupled with a transparent world that enjoys access to information mean that today’s population is more aware and attentive about the progress of climate change. The purpose of this study is to discover attitudes towards new gained consciousness and the term Eco-anxiety. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines eco-anxiety as a ‘chronic fear of environmental doom’. To investigate this phenomenon, we use Q-methodology to analyse discourses on the topic. Thirty-nine people from four different stakeholder groups were surveyed. Five distinct discourses were generated covering the connection between environmental awareness and psychological well-being, coming to terms with emotional response to climate change, importance of climate change, awareness about eco-anxiety leading to a more positive outlook, and disbelief that eco-anxiety and climate change can affect mental well-being. © 2022 GAPS.Item Effectiveness of pesticide labels (pictograms and color codes): a cross-sectional study of farmers’ understanding and practices in Lebanon(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2023) Abou Ibrahim, Sara; Naji, Reem; Zeineldeen, Hanaa; Ghach, WissamThis study aims to assess the effectiveness of the pesticide labels (pictograms and color codes) and the technical sign-related practices among the farming community in Lebanon. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and October 2022 among 104 farmers from three Lebanese provinces. An Arabic survey (score-based questionnaire) was conducted to evaluate the farmers’ levels of understanding the pesticide labels (pictograms and color codes) and relevant practices to pesticide labels. Spearman correlation and One-Way ANOVA were applied to determine the statistical correlation between farmers’ understanding and practice levels and their significant differences in gender, age, provinces, educational level, and attendance of training programs. Results: It was found that the majority of the participants showed moderate levels of understanding (71.2%) and practices (75%). Spearman’s correlation analysis concluded a weak correlation between the understanding and performance levels (p < 0.05). Comparative analyses showed higher levels of label pictograms’ understanding and label-related practices with a significant difference (p < 0.05) among younger and well-educational farmers. However, training programs significantly enhanced the farmers’ practices only. Incidence of irritations-to-poisoning symptoms was self-reported as consequences of misinterpretations and misuse of pesticides. Conclusion: The study findings highlighted the limited effectiveness of pictograms and color codes in Lebanon and thereby highlighted the necessity of training programs addressing the knowledge of technical signs among farmers. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Effects of radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma under continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model and comparison on the fungal and pathogen infection indexes before and after nutritional supplementation(Elsevier B.V., 2021-07) Li, Yi; Li, Xuan; Issa, Sahar; Omar, Khairi MohamedThe study aimed to explore the effects of radiotherapy on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients before and after nutritional supplementation, and the correlation between nutritional supplementation and infections, using continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model. Specifically, 398 NPC patients were selected based on information and health data. They all accepted radiation therapy, and enteral nutrition was provided through nasal feeding during the radiotherapy. Then, nutritional indicators, and infections were compared before and after nutritional supplementation. The results showed that, the radio-sensitivity coefficient and the age of tumor cells affected radiotherapy effects. After nutritional supplementation, the patient's Hemoglobin (Hb) was 139.26 ± 12.87 g/L, the serum albumin (ALB) was 45.65 ± 3.84 g/ L, the Lymphocyte (LYM) was 1.96 ± 0.68 (×109/L), and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.12 ± 2.63 (kg/m2). Among them, Hb, LYM, and BMI were notably different from those before treatment (P < 0.05). After nutritional supplementation, the infection rates of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida, and actinomycetes were reduced to 26.09%, 17.39%, 9.78%, 5.43%, and 1.09%, respectively, showing notable differences (P < 0.05); the infection rates of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, pyogenic chain Coccus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus viridans were reduced to 15.27%, 12.21%, 3.82%, 6.11%, 0.76%, and 0.76%, respectively, showing notable differences (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the continuous-discrete mixed mathematical model can simulate the effects of radiotherapy on NPC patients. Nutritional supplementation during radiotherapy can reduce the infection rates, thus improving the prognosis of NPC patients. © 2021 The Author(s)Item Establishment of differential model of recovery treatment for children with minor brain injury and mental disorder syndrome(American Institute of Mathematical Sciences, 2021) Zhang, Wei; Ma, Ai; Takshe, Aseel; Muwafak, Bishr MuhamedThe paper established a differential equation model for 194 children with ADHD in outpatient clinics from September 2019 to August 2020 and compiled a children's clinical diagnostic interview scale based on the fourth edition of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The CDIS standard divides it into three phenotypes: attention deficit predominant (ADHD-I), hyperactivity-impulsive predominance (ADHD-HI) and mixed (ADHD-C). The results of the study showed that the distribution of subtypes in the study cases: ADHD-I accounted for 45.9% (89 cases), ADHD-HI accounted for 7.7% (15 cases), ADHD-C accounted for 46.4% (90 cases); ADHD-C: ADHD-I is 1:1. CDIS scale total score: 194 cases of attention deficit symptoms were (7.2 ± 1.4) points, and hyperactivity-impulsive symptoms were (5.4 ± 2.2) points. The frequency of attention deficit symptoms in 194 cases was (79.5 ± 2.9) %, and the frequency of hyperactivity-impulsive symptoms was (59.8 ± 3.5) %. Therefore, it can be concluded that DSM-IV defines three phenotypes in this sample. The proportion of ADHD-HI is low, and the proportion of ADHD-I and ADHD-C is similar; age influences the phenotype distribution. ©2021 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.Item Evaluation of awareness and performance towards COVID-related disinfectant use among the university communities in Lebanon(BioMed Central Ltd, 2023-12) Ghach, Wissam; Safwan, Jihan; Kerek, Racha; Alwan, NisreenBackground: The fast spread of COVID-19 reinforced the daily use of disinfectants around the world. However, the awareness gap of disinfectant use could lead to health risks during the prevention of the pandemic. This study aims to assess the level of awareness and performance towards COVID-related disinfectant use among various university communities (student, staff, and faculty) in Lebanon. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2021 and June 2022 among 925 participants (males and females aged between 18 and 64 years old) from academic settings in Lebanese universities using convenience sampling. An online validated survey (score-based questionnaire) of personal disinfectants’ utilization was conducted to evaluate the awareness and performance levels using SPSS (version 21). Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to check significant differences in awareness and performance levels among gender, age, provinces, educational level, university status, and field of study. Friedman test was used to test for significant differences in performance level questions pre-and post-COVID-19. The Spearman correlation test was used to determine the correlation between the awareness and performance of the respondents regarding the use of disinfectants. Results: It was found that the majority of the respondents showed a weak level of awareness (70.8%) while their performance (61.9%) was moderate. Spearman’s correlation analysis concluded a weak correlation between the awareness and performance levels (p < 0.01). The Mann–Whitney test indicated that there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in awareness and performance levels between males and females. Another notable variable was the educational level of the respondents (p < 0.05) with postgraduate degrees holders recording higher mean scores of awareness than the ones with undergraduate and high school degrees as per Kruskal–Wallis test. Significant differences were shown in awareness scores among the age groups and in performance scores among the field of study (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The study findings highlighted the necessity of awareness campaigns and training programs addressing the technical handling of disinfectants among the communities in Lebanon. Lebanese governmental authorities (Ministry of Public Health, MoPH, and Ministry of Education and Higher Education, MEHE), and the healthcare professionals and public health researchers in Lebanon may utilize this new evidence to initiate public health interventions as a part of the United Nations (UN) sustainability goal of wellbeing (Sustainable Development Goal 3, SDG 3). © 2023, BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
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