The planning and urban design of liveable public open spaces in Oman : case study of Muscat

Public open space has performed a considerable role in society since the first human settlements. Since the 1960s the understanding of liveable public open space has grown dramatically as exhibiting good quality and being well-used by the public. There is evidence of the social, economic and environmental benefits of public open spaces in any city. Planning and urban design practice are the mechanisms behind providing liveable public open space which entices and encourages the public to choose to spend more of their spare time in them. This thesis is concerned with liveability in contemporary public open spaces in Middle Eastern cities, where historically public open spaces were developed based on Islamic religion and Sharī‘ah, which provided norms for the production of the built environment and social engagement with this. As a focus for the exploration of contemporary public open space in Middle Eastern cities, this study examines the design of squares and plazas in particular. Squares and plazas were introduced by colonisation and reinforced by modernity, being later emphasised by globalisation. Nevertheless, squares and plazas in the Middle East have not been as successful as the traditional local open spaces, nor as the Western versions. This research has attempted to evaluate the liveability in public open spaces in Muscat through detailed case studies of two squares and two plazas in three ways, including evaluating: the physical quality, users’ perception and professional perception. In order to achieve this, a mixed methods strategy was designed based on the theoretical perspective of social constructionism. These methods included: desk-top study of documents; three built environment assessment tools, applied by professionals; behavioural mapping and observation; a survey of open space users; and semi-structured interviews with professional involved in the provision of public open space and community representatives in Oman. The empirical work showed that though public open spaces are viewed as beautification elements of the city structure, there are major weaknesses in meeting users’ requirements, engaging users and in considering local climate in those spaces. Although the planning and urban design system in Oman has been adopted from the West, it is not established adequately in different plan sequences and strategies to govern the provision process and control the quality of the spaces; in addition, there is lack of clarity and coordination in institutional responsibilities over the provision and management of public open space. It is concluded that providing more liveable public open space in Oman would require improvements to the planning and urban design systems, as well as learning from traditional practice in the production and management of open space in the Middle East

Factors associated with adherence to Mediterranean diet among Saudi non-diabetic patients attending primary health care centers: A cross-sectional study

الملخص: أهداف البحث: للتحقيق في العوامل المسؤولة ودرجة الالتزام بحمية البحر الأبيض المتوسط بين المرضى غير المصابين بالسكري من مراجعي مراكز الرعاية الصحية الأولية. طرق البحث: أُجريت دراسة مستعرضة في مراكز الرعاية الصحية الأولية بجدة، بواسطة استبانة مصدقة ذاتية الاستخدام، تقوم بتقييم مستويات الالتزام لـ ١٤ جانبا غذائيا متعلقا بحمية البحر الأبيض المتوسط. تمكِّن الاستبانة من حساب درجة التزام (٠- ١٤)، في حين تم افتراض التزام غير كافي للنتائج ≥٧. وقد شملت عوامل الالتزام الخصائص الديموغرافية الاجتماعية العامة والتاريخ المَرَضي ونمط الحياة وعوامل الخطورة القلبية الوعائية مثل مؤشر كتلة الجسم ونسبة الخصر إلى الورك وضغط الدم والصيام ومستوى الجلوكوز في الدم بعد الأكل بساعة واحدة. النتائج: من بين المشاركين الـ ٢٦٥ (٥٠.٦٪ ذكورا)، سُجِّل عدم الالتزام الكافي في ٧٤.٣٪. وكانت درجات الالتزام أعلى في المشاركين المتزوجين (٦.٨٦ ± ١.٧٤مقابل ٦.٢٤ ± ١.٧٩) والممارسين للنشاط البدني المنتظم (٦.٧٩ ± ١.٩٠مقابل ٦.٣٠ ± ١.٦٣) بالمقارنة مع نظرائهم، على التوالي. علاوة على ذلك، فقد ازداد الالتزام بالحمية المتوسطية مع التقدم في العمر (معامل انحدار غير معياري=٠.٠٢ ومعامل ارتباط= ٠.١٣٣). ومن المثير للاهتمام، أنه لم ترتبط درجات الالتزام بعوامل الخطورة الرئيسة المتعلقة بالقلب والأوعية الدموية، فيما عدا الارتفاع البيّن في ضغط الدم الانبساطي بين المشاركين الملتزمين مقارنة بقرنائهم قليلي الالتزام (٧٧.٩٦± ١٢.٢٠مقابل ٧٤.٠١± ١٢.٢٤، على التوالي). الاستنتاجات: كان لواحد من أصل ٤ مرضى غير مصابين بداء السكري من الذين راجعوا مراكز الرعاية الصحية الأولية، التزام جيد بحمية البحر الأبيض المتوسط دون ارتباط يُذكر بعوامل الخطورة القلبية الوعائية. يُوصى بإجراء المزيد من الدراسات للتحقيق في الوعي والمعرفة حول النظام الغذائي المتوسطي بين السكان السعوديين، ومن بعدها يمكن تفصيل برامج التوعية وفقًا لذلك. Abstract: Objectives: To investigate the degree and factors responsible for adherence to a Mediterranean diet among non-diabetic patients attending primary health care centres (PHCCs). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah PHCCs using a validated self-administered questionnaire which assessed adherence levels to 14 dietary aspects related to the Mediterranean diet. The questionnaire enabled calculation of an adherence score (0–14), where inadequate adherence was assumed for scores ≤7. Factors of adherence included general socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors such as body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, and fasting and 1-h postprandial blood glucose levels. Results: Of the 265 participants (50.6% males), inadequate adherence was reported in 74.3%. Adherence scores were higher in married participants than in unmarried ones (6.68 ± 1.74 vs. 6.24 ± 1.79, p = 0.04), as well as in those who engaged in regular physical activity vs. those who did not (6.79 ± 1.90 vs. 6.30 ± 1.63, p = 0.02). Furthermore, Mediterranean diet adherence increased with age (B = 0.02, r = 0.133; p < 0.001). Interestingly, adherence scores were not associated with major cardiovascular risk factors except for a significantly higher diastolic blood pressure in participants with adequate as opposed to low adherence (77.96 ± 12.20 vs. 74.01 ± 12.24, respectively, p = 0.022). Conclusion: One out of 4 non-diabetic patients attending PHCCs exhibited good adherence to a Mediterranean diet without considerable association with cardiovascular risk factors. Further studies are recommended to investigate awareness and knowledge regarding the Mediterranean diet among Saudi populations. Subsequently, awareness programs could be tailored accordingly. الكلمات المفتاحية: حمية البحر الأبيض المتوسط, غير السكري, الالتزام, المملكة العربية السعودية, القلب والأوعية الدموية, Keywords: Adherence, Cardiovascular, KSA, Mediterranean diet, Non-diabete

Intelligent Techniques for Detecting Network Attacks: Review and Research Directions

The significant growth in the use of the Internet and the rapid development of network technologies are associated with an increased risk of network attacks. Network attacks refer to all types of unauthorized access to a network including any attempts to damage and disrupt the network, often leading to serious consequences. Network attack detection is an active area of research in the community of cybersecurity. In the literature, there are various descriptions of network attack detection systems involving various intelligent-based techniques including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models. However, although such techniques have proved useful within specific domains, no technique has proved useful in mitigating all kinds of network attacks. This is because some intelligent-based approaches lack essential capabilities that render them reliable systems that are able to confront different types of network attacks. This was the main motivation behind this research, which evaluates contemporary intelligent-based research directions to address the gap that still exists in the field. The main components of any intelligent-based system are the training datasets, the algorithms, and the evaluation metrics; these were the main benchmark criteria used to assess the intelligent-based systems included in this research article. This research provides a rich source of references for scholars seeking to determine their scope of research in this field. Furthermore, although the paper does present a set of suggestions about future inductive directions, it leaves the reader free to derive additional insights about how to develop intelligent-based systems to counter current and future network attacks

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population