The Middle Eastern Biodiversity Network: Generating and sharing knowledge for ecosystem management and conservation

Despite prevailing arid conditions, the diversity of terrestrial and freshwater biota in the Middle East is amazingly high and marine biodiversity is among the highest on Earth. Th roughout the Region, threats to the environment are moderate to severe. Despite the outstanding economic and ecological importance of biological diversity, the capacity in biodiversity-related research and academic education is inadequate. The "Middle Eastern Biodiversity Network" (MEBN), founded in 2006 by six universities and research institutes in Iran, Jordan, Germany, Lebanon and Yemen was designed to fi ll this gap. An integrated approach is taken to upgrade biodiversity research and education in order to improve regional ecosystem conservation and management capacities. A wide range of activities are carried out in the framework of the Network, including capacity building in biological collection management and professional natural history curatorship, developing university curricula in biodiversity, conducting scientifi c research, organising workshops and conferences on Middle Eastern biodiversity, and translating the results of biodiversity research into conservation and sustainable development. Keywords: Middle Eastern biodiversity, nature museums, biodiversity research, biodiversity education, biodiversity conservation, biodiversity network

Optimization of Hybrid Power Systems Performance Based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System

Hybrid Power Systems (HPSs) is a promising solution for the shortages of electricity in several situations. However, HPSs are still facing several problems. These problems are the cost of electrical kilowatt-hour and repetitive breaking in the utility grid with existence varying loads. Besides the problem of non-optimal utilization of available renewable energy resources and the problems associated with the operation of large generators along small loads, which are the high cost of generation and the minimize in lifetime of the generator. This paper presents study and analyze the load profile and power system generation for a selected case. A fuzzy control system based on ANFIS has been proposed to optimize the performance of the HPS. The proposed system has ten ANFIS models, which linked to the outputs of the proposed control system. All models have been trained to achieve the minimum root mean square error (RMSE). The proposed system has been built and simulated using MATLAB

The continuous intention to use e-learning, from two different perspectives

During the recent vast growth of digitalization, e-learning methods have become the most influential phenomenon at higher educational institutions. E-learning adoption has proved able to shift educational circumstances from the traditional face-to-face teaching environment to a flexible and sharable type of education. An online survey was conducted, consisting of 30 teachers and 342 students in one of the universities in the United Arab Emirates. The results show that teachers’ and students’ perceived technology self-efficacy (TSE), ease of use (PEOU), and usefulness (PU) are the main factors directly affecting the continuous intention to use technology. Instructors’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and perceived organizational support (POS) positively affect the intention to use the technology, whereas students’ controlled motivation (CTRLM) has a greater influence on their intention to use the technology, due to the type of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that they have and which they can develop throughout the process of learning. The findings support the given hypotheses. In addition, they provide empirical evidence of a relationship between perceived organizational support and perceived pedagogical content knowledge. In fact, they are considered the key factors that support the use of technology continuously

Management of oesophageal foreign bodies

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the management of foreign bodies in the oesophagus and to determine the association with socioeconomic status.MethodsThis cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in the Department of Ear, Nose and Throat and head and neck surgery of Bahawal Victoria Hospital affiliated with Quaid-i-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur, Pakistan, between December 2012 and May 2013. The medical records of 34 consecutive cases of foreign body ingestion were searched, and the data were recorded on a questionnaire prepared for this purpose.ResultsThe average age of the patients was 10.38 years; 29 cases (85.2%) were in children under 12 years. There were 18 females (52.9%) and 16 males (47.1%). Thirty patients (88%) presented with a history of dysphagia, and 25 (73.6%) had vomiting. The site of impaction was the post-cricoid region in 22 patients (66%), the lower oesophagus in 5 (15%), the mid-oesophagus in 4 (13%), the posterior pharyngeal wall in 1 (3%) and the pyriform fossa in 1 patient (3%). Coins were the most common foreign body (61.8%). Socioeconomic analysis showed that 18 patients (52.9%) were in the low socioeconomic class, 12 (35.3%) in the middle class and 4 (11.8%) in the upper class.ConclusionThe presence of a foreign body in the oesophagus is a serious condition, and early removal is recommended. Foreign body lodgement is commoner among poor families

The acceptance of social media video for knowledge acquisition, sharing and application: A comparative study among YouYube users and TikTok users’ for medical purposes

YouTube and TikTok have gained increasing recognition as social network sites to support online knowledge acquisition, sharing, and application via social media platforms in the medical field. This study examines which aspect of TikTok and YouTube stimulates doctors, nurses, and any other YouTube and TikTok in the medical setting, to rely on them as sources of knowledge acquisition and sharing to keep their medical repertoire updated. A hybrid model is designed to investigate users’ acceptance of YouTube and TikTok as social media platforms. The model focuses on four main external factors: Content richness, innovativeness, satisfaction, and enjoyment. These factors are connected with two TAM constructs which are perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The results have shown that both YouTube and TikTok are affected by PEOU, PU, personal innovativeness, flow theory, and content richness. Both social media networks provide up-to-date sources described as useful, enjoyable, and relevant. Nevertheless, the comparative results have shown that YouTube has deeply influenced users’ medical perception and knowledge compared to TikTok. It is created for the very mere purpose of socialization and self-expression. In contrast, YouTube is used for educational and non-educational purposes due to the type of uploaded content and time management. Therefore, TikTok developers and influencers should initiate highly specialized videos and create content that raises awareness of medical field issues

Rheumatoid Arthritis and some Demographical and Clinical Parameters

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a heterogeneous, symmetrical chronic autoimmune inflammation of body joints, it infects the population with a ratio reaching 1% of the population's world, and it can lead to bone erosion and deformities, and finally damage. Smoking is one of the important factors that increase the risk of RA infections by aiding in citrullinated protein production, CRP increases in RA patients and binds with the severity of the disease. The aim of the study is to evaluate the CRP and smoking effects on RA patients. 150 blood samples were taken; 100 for RA patients and 50 for healthy control, the patients were taken from the Baghdad Teaching Hospital / Rheumatologically Consulting Clinic in the period from November 2021 to February 2022. The ages of patients range from 22 to 72 years old, and 26 to 62 years old was the age range of the healthy controls. 2ml of venous blood was taken in a gel tube for the CRP test by agglutination method. The result of the current study shows a highly significant differences between the RA patients and control groups in family history and CRP. While, it shows a non-significant difference for smoking. The conclusion of the current study was that CRP and family history associate with rheumatoid arthritis, and the smoking is not associate with RA disease

Factors that affect e-learning platforms after the spread of COVID-19 : post acceptance study

The fear of vaccines has led to population rejection due to various reasons. Students have had their own inquiries towards the effectiveness of the vaccination, which leads to vaccination hesitancy. Vaccination hesitancy can affect students’ perception, hence, acceptance of e-learning platforms. Therefore, this research attempts to explore the post-acceptance of e-learning platforms based on a conceptual model that has various variables. Each variable contributes differently to the post-acceptance of the e-learning platform. The research investigates the moderating role of vaccination fear on the post-acceptance of e-learning platforms among students. Thus, the study aims at exploring students’ perceptions about their post-acceptance of e-learning platforms where vaccination fear functions as a moderator. The current study depends on an online questionnaire that is composed of 29 items. The total number of respondents is 630. The collected data was implemented to test the study model and the proposed constructs and hypotheses depending on the Smart PLS Software. Fear of vaccination has a significant impact on the acceptance of e-learning platforms, and it is a strong mediator in the conceptual model. The findings indicate a positive effect of the fear of vaccination as a mediator in the variables: perceived ease of use and usefulness, perceived daily routine, perceived critical mass and perceived self-efficiency. The implication gives a deep insight to take effective steps in reducing the level of fear of vaccination, supporting the vaccination confidence among educators, teachers and students who will, in turn, affect the society as a whole

A conceptual framework for determining metaverse adoption in higher institutions of gulf area : an empirical study using hybrid SEM-ANN approach

The metaverse is a kind of imagined world with immersive digital spaces that increase, allowing a more interactive environment in educational settings. The metaverse is an expansion of the synchronous communication that embraces an effective number of users to share different experiences. The study aims to investigate the students' perceptions towards metaverse system for educational purposes in the Gulf area. The conceptual model comprises the adoption properties, namely trialability, observability, compatibility, and complexity, users' satisfaction, personal innovativeness, and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) constructs. The novelty of the paper lies in its conceptual model that correlates both personal-based characteristics and technology-based features. In addition, the novel approach of hybrid analysis will be used in the current study to perform deep-learning-based analysis of structural equation modelling (SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Moreover, the importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) is used in the current study to evaluate the involved factors for their importance and performance. The study identified Perceived Usefulness (PU) to be an essential predictor of the factor of Users’ Intention to Use the Metaverse System (MS). The fact was discovered during ANN and IPMA analysis. Furthermore, this study is practically significant, as it helped the concerned authorities in educational sector in understanding the significance of each factor and allowed them to make efforts and plans according to the order of significance of factors. Another important implication of the study is methodological in nature. It validates that deep ANN architecture can offer deep insight into non-linear relationships shared by various factors of a theoretical model

Ex vivo mass cytometry analysis reveals a profound myeloid proinflammatory signature in psoriatic arthritis synovial fluid

Objectives A number of immune populations have been implicated in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) pathogenesis. This study used mass cytometry (CyTOF) combined with transcriptomic analysis to generate a high-dimensional dataset of matched PsA synovial fluid (SF) and blood leucocytes, with the aim of identifying cytokine production ex vivo in unstimulated lymphoid and myeloid cells. Methods Fresh SF and paired blood were either fixed or incubated with protein transport inhibitors for 6 h. Samples were stained with two CyTOF panels: a phenotyping panel and an intracellular panel, including antibodies to both T cell and myeloid cell secreted proteins. Transcriptomic analysis by gene array of key expanded cell populations and single-cell RNA-seq, and ELISA and LEGENDplex analysis of PsA SF were also performed. Results We observed marked changes in the myeloid compartment of PsA SF relative to blood, with expansion of intermediate monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cell populations. Classical monocytes, intermediate monocytes and macrophages spontaneously produced significant levels of the proinflammatory mediators osteopontin and CCL2 in the absence of any in vitro stimulation. By contrast minimal spontaneous cytokine production by T cells was detected. Gene expression analysis showed the genes for osteopontin and CCL2 to be amongst those most highly upregulated by PsA monocytes/macrophages; and both proteins were elevated in PsA SF. Conclusions Using multiomic analyses we have generated a comprehensive cellular map of PsA SF and blood to reveal key expanded myeloid proinflammatory modules in PsA of potential pathogenic and therapeutic importance. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest

Ex vivo mass cytometry analysis reveals a profound myeloid proinflammatory signature in psoriatic arthritis synovial fluid

Objectives: A number of immune populations have been implicated in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) pathogenesis. This study used mass cytometry (CyTOF) combined with transcriptomic analysis to generate a high-dimensional dataset of matched PsA synovial fluid (SF) and blood leucocytes, with the aim of identifying cytokine production ex vivo in unstimulated lymphoid and myeloid cells. Methods: Fresh SF and paired blood were either fixed or incubated with protein transport inhibitors for 6 hours. Samples were stained with two CyTOF panels: a phenotyping panel and an intracellular panel, including antibodies to both T cell and myeloid cell secreted proteins. Transcriptomic analysis by gene array of key expanded cell populations, single-cell RNA-seq, ELISA and LEGENDplex analysis of PsA SF were also performed. Results: We observed marked changes in the myeloid compartment of PsA SF relative to blood, with expansion of intermediate monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cell populations. Classical monocytes, intermediate monocytes and macrophages spontaneously produced significant levels of the proinflammatory mediators osteopontin and CCL2 in the absence of any in vitro stimulation. By contrast minimal spontaneous cytokine production by T cells was detected. Gene expression analysis showed the genes for osteopontin and CCL2 to be among those most highly upregulated by PsA monocytes/macrophages in SF; and both proteins were elevated in PsA SF. Conclusions: Using multiomic analyses, we have generated a comprehensive cellular map of PsA SF and blood to reveal key expanded myeloid proinflammatory modules in PsA of potential pathogenic and therapeutic importance