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A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was shown to be sensitive and reliable for detection of potato mop-top virus (PMTV) RNA sequences in the flesh of infected potato tubers, and in the roots and leaves of soil-bait plants. This assay was compared with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay incorporating PMTV specific monoclonal antibodies (TAS-ELISA). The tests were devised to improve the efficiency of detection of viruliferous Spongospora subterranea in agricultural soils, and of PMTV in potato tubers. RT-PCR detected PMTV RNA sequences in the roots and leaves of bait plants after three weeks growth in viruliferous soil, three weeks before the bait plants themselves developed symptoms, and two weeks before virus was detected by TAS-ELISA. Both RT-PCR and TAS-ELISA detected PMTV in the tubers of primary-infected potatoes. RT-PCR and TAS-ELISA were shown to be more sensitive and reliable than conventional bait-tests and sap inoculation methods for the detection and diagnosis of PMTV. PMTV was detected by ELISA in primary zoospores from four out of six isolates of S. subterranea f. sp. subterranea. One virus-free isolate (N) of S. subterranea was used to acquire PMTV from potato roots and to transmit the virus to healthy plants. A mono-fungal culture of S. subterranea (isolate N) was derived by infecting tomato plant roots with a single cystosorus. The culture was used successfully to acquire PMTV from the roots of infected Nicotiana debneyi plants that had been manually inoculated with virus isolates, and subsequently to transmit the virus to test plants. These experiments confirm that S. subterranea is a vector of PMTV. Two PMTV isolates that had been maintained by manual inoculation for 19 and 21 passages were also acquired and transmitted by the fungus culture. A mono-fungal S. subterranea was unable to acquire and transmit PMTV-T which had ˜700 nucleotides deletion in the coat protein/ read-through (CP/RT) domain, while PMTV-S with a full-length CP/RT gene was efficiently acquired and transmitted by the same fungus culture. Sequence analysis of the 673 nucleotides of the 5'-end of RT gene of PMTV-S indicated that the difference of ˜700bp in RT gene of PMTV-T relative to that of PMTV-S occurs in 3'-half of the gene and is associated with loss of transmission by the fungus vector, S. subterranea.

Saudi Arabia has developed an ambitious vision, Vision 2030, where the healthcare industry is one of the significant focus areas, making the healthcare industry more efficient and effective is crucial to attracting the private sector and making this vision a reality. Therefore, improving healthcare organisations' performance and competitiveness is necessary to achieve this sector's vision. In such a continuous improvement journey, suggestion systems can be considered an essential continuous improvement tool that identifies the industry's shortfalls and allows for potential future opportunities. It was found that the classical suggestion systems' development process is subject to human behaviour that might discourage overall participation. Thus, interactive and straightforward systems will encourage productive participation. Furthermore, a study showed that employee creativity and positive engagement remain crucial in successful suggestion system implementation. Therefore, simplicity is considered the critical success factor in any suggestion system development and implementation process. The goal of this study is to develop an assessment framework for Saudi healthcare suggestion systems. A thorough review of the literature highlighted eighteen variables that act as drivers for the suggestion system's success. To account for a technology evaluation parameter, we adopted Nielson's definition of usability. He defines usability as a phenomenon that consists of five major factors: learnability, efficiency, memorability, error recovery, and satisfaction. A further understanding of the relationships between the suggestion system drivers and the adopted technical evaluation parameter's definition are investigated. A questionnaire on the eighteen variables was conducted, and 138 responses were collected. Based on a series of scientific analyses, the researcher identified three significant latent factors affecting the usability of a healthcare suggestion system: the Personal factor, System and Institutional factor, and Social Support factor. A maturity model with three levels of maturity was developed. The first level was defined as Low level, the second level was defined as a Medium level, and the third level was the High one. An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was performed to prioritise variables within each construct and among the three latent factors. AHP showed that the most critical factor is the Personal factor, followed by the System and Institutional factor, and then the Social Support factor. The first latent factor, the Personal one, includes the following suggestion system success variables: Reward, Ease of Use, Clear Scope, Autonomy, Trust, anonymity, Problem Solving, and Feedback. Under the second latent factor, System and Institutional, the success variables are Resources, Supervisor Support, Training, Publicity, Colleague Support, Compliance, and Equality. While the Social Support factor listed variables are Social Media and Social Networking. In order to test the developed model, two Saudi healthcare facilities were investigated. Furthermore, the developed model was found useful not only in assessing the current state of their suggestion systems but also in identifying the potential improvement opportunities. Having a prioritised list ensures that organisations can focus on improving factors that have a higher impact on the overall usability of the system.

High-quality physical environments can promote health and well-being. A healthcare facility with an environment that is user centered, welcoming, and accessible, while also supporting staff and patient privacy and security has been found to enhance medical outcomes, and patient and staff comfort and well-being, which in turn have a positive effect on medical outcomes. The use of Evidence Based Designhas been shown to be of benefit to add value through design to a building . A comprehensive review of relevant literature was used to develop an understanding of the factors perceived to add value to a healthcare facility. Data were derived from two instruments an expert survey and a group AHP pairwise comparison survey. The findings of the first instrument resulted in validation of the factors, both directly and indirectly related to design, proposed in the literature and added insight into some culturally specific perceptions of factors which add value to a healthcare facility. The second instrument was a pairwise comparison of the six main design criteria and 25 related sub-factors to gain a multi-user perspective of their priority in adding value. The results from the first expert survey of the factors found in the literature and the AHP pairwise comparison survey were synthesized to develop a proposed framework to add value to healthcare facilities through building design . The framework was developed with consideration of factors indirectly impacted by design in addition to the design factors themselves. The proposed framework has six main criteria of Risk and Safety, Accessibility and Way-finding, Functionality, Cultural factors , Aesthetics, Comfort and Well-being and Cost with 25 sub-factors directly related to design of varied priority ranking found to add value to a healthcare facility within the Saudi Cultural context and presented in order of priority weighting . These were then related to their impact on the factors which add value to a healthcare facility which have been shown to be indirectly related to the healthcare facility design. Findings suggest that while perceptions of factors that add value are mostly in agreement with those found in other studies, that there are some culturally specific factors that need to be considered in order to design facilities that provide the greatest value, including patient rooms of a size and design that allow for a caretaker to be present and to accommodate for a large number of visitors, In addition, there is a need to consider the direction for the prayer and the need for signage to indicate it in the room layout. They also suggest that added value through design can have a positive effect on medical outcomes and the satisfaction and well-being of staff and patients.

Due to the rapid growth and development which occurred during the last century the United Arab Emirates witnessed dramatic changes after oil discovery and the economic boom. This affected the building and construction sector that formed the urban fabric of the country. The four fundamental architectural heritage elements of the UAE are the mashrabiya, the wind tower, the courtyard and the broken entrance, these essential architectural heritage elements were efficiently implemented in traditional buildings. In the context of the contemporary; preservation challenges are experienced particularly when foreign architectural design is seen to be increasing dominating the cityscape and the architectural heritage elements are being misused neglecting their functionalities. This research aims to analyze and compare the efficiency of architectural heritage elements in the contemporary buildings and seeks to gather thorough rationale and logical interpretation in heritage elements. In order to investigate these four architectural heritage elements further, 'case study 'methodology has been used to inspect the performance of four local contemporary buildings and a comparison technique ( Comparative Analysis ) was conducted to better understand the outcomes of the analysis. The case study research is being preferable as a strategy due to the exploratory nature of the research and it essentially responds to research questions that seek explanation rather than experimentation. This research diverse from the usual traditional and contemporary comparison of heritage elements and focuses on comparing their reliability and functionality when addressed in contemporary buildings. It asserts that preservation must be in mind as a pre-requisite towards interpretation of heritage elements and ensures that currently more advanced technologies can be fully exploited to embrace traditional elements to achieve development requirements.

The green building and sustainability revolution from the early 21st century provided a significant improvement in building performance and reduced their carbon footprint. When building and operational costs are compared, personnel cost accounts for 85% of the operational cost of any organisation. Major green building guidelines across the world discuss human comfort and health aspects but don't focus on human productivity in the office or other building typology. This gap presented an excellent opportunity to develop a model that establishes the relationship between indoor environmental quality and occupant productivity in office buildings. The study was conducted in Doha, Qatar using experiment and survey using 90 sensors in 15 zones in an office building for a period of nine month. Occupant productivity was captured using online survey with nine questions. Occupant response was analysed against various indoor environmental quality parameters using Response Surface Methodology to outline various relationships. Research study achieved its aim and objectives and produced eight innovative equations that represent the relationship between various indoor environmental factors and occupant productivity. Results also indicate that outside temperature and humidity have an indirect impact on occupant productivity; while temperature, relative humidity and light levels have the most significant impact on productivity. Lux levels have an indirect effect on an occupant's perception of temperature, and outdoor relative humidity has an indirect effect on thermal comfort. Indoor environmental quality factors have direct impact on occupant productivity. This study's unique focus and research design can be used to extend occupant productivity studies in different types of buildings in different climatic regions. It has provided a substantial contribution to the knowledge gap that existed between indoor environmental quality and occupant productivity. Future researchers can use this study to investigate occupant productivity and indoor environment further.

This thesis research study is of a major manufacturing corporate located in UAE that has been suffering from a business dilemma represented by a dramatic financial decline and a significant deterioration in social and environmental business-related elements. The fundamental cause for this serious business failure is the absence of a corporate sustainability strategy as occurs in numerous examples in developing countries. Based on this thesis‘ aim, objectives, hypotheses and questions, the action research (AR) study has adopted a mixed methods research strategy as the most appropriate method for this case study. It incorporates both a quantitative and a qualitative research type in sequential order through a questionnaire survey of change agent employees followed by semi-structured interviews with senior managers of the firm under scrutiny. The research study‘s findings prove the study‘s hypotheses and answer the research questions. This AR study has contributed to the body of knowledge through actionable knowledge presented in developed a ‗‗green‘ strategy for the adoption of triple bottom line corporate sustainability (TBLCS) that should guarantee incorporate economic prosperity, social responsibility and environmental stewardship, and meet stakeholders‘ ever growing demands and interest in ‗green‘ business. The developed green strategy has five drivers: green transformational iii leadership (GTL), green organisational culture, employees‘ engagement, learning organisation, and dedicated corporate social responsibility (CSR). The actionable knowledge has further demonstrated a feasible and practical mechanism for adopting and executing a TBLCS strategy through the proposed business ‗green‘ model and a dedicated actionable roadmap that should guarantee the corporate a successful strategic transformational shift to a sustainable green business.