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Education is identified as very critical to the achievement of the goals that were specified as strategic to Qatar’s socio-economic progress and development. At the core of the country’s policy plans is the need to develop human capacity as is highlighted in the Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030. Not surprisingly, education has been identified as a strategic key to achieving the goals outlined in the QNV 2030. The present exploratory study employed a quantitative research design in order to investigate the factors that are likely to influence the educational aspirations of Qatari students. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Attribution Theory (AT), this study sought to examine students’ aspirations for post-secondary education in Qatar. Data for this study were collected using the Qatar Education Study (QES) survey, which is a nationally representative survey involving K-12 students in the State of Qatar. The analysis of this study’s data revealed that personal and household characteristics play an important role in shaping post-secondary educational aspirations of student participants, including age, nationality, education and employment status, as well as parental influence. Based on the study’s results, statistically significant associations were observed between personal and household variables and students’ aspirations for higher education. This study concludes with relevant recommendations and proposes future studies to explore the potential impact of individual aptitude and contextual factors on student future academic plans.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. Despite decades of research in NEC, no reliable biomarkers can accurately diagnose NEC or predict patient prognosis. The recent emergence of multi-omics could potentially shift NEC biomarker discovery, particularly when evaluated using systems biology techniques. Furthermore, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in analyzing this big data could enable novel interpretations of NEC subtypes, disease progression, and potential therapeutic targets, allowing for integration with personalized medicine approaches. In this review, we evaluate studies using omics technologies and machine learning in the diagnosis of NEC. Future implications and challenges inherent to the field are also discussed.

NEC remains one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants. Animal models of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) have been crucial in improving our understanding of this devastating disease and identifying biochemical pathways with therapeutic potential. The pathogenesis of NEC remains incompletely understood, with no specific entity that unifies all infants that develop NEC. Therefore, investigators rely on animal models to manipulate variables and provide a means to test interventions, making them valuable tools to enhance our understanding and prevent and treat NEC. The advancements in molecular analytic tools, genetic manipulation, and imaging modalities and the emergence of scientific collaborations have given rise to unique perspectives and disease correlates, creating novel pathways of investigation. A critical review and understanding of the current phenotypic considerations of the highly relevant animal models of NEC are crucial to developing novel therapeutic and preventative strategies for NEC.

The study adopted a sequential mixed-methods approach to investigate student teachers' learner agency in a teamwork setting at Qatar University. In the qualitative phase, a total of 10 student teachers enrolled in a course adopting a STEAM pedagogical approach participated in in-depth interviews. Qualitative analysis identified seven sources for practicing learner agency in teams. Using this data, the Learner Agency in Teamwork Settings survey was constructed. The survey was distributed to 108 student teachers taking the same course, which utilized an inquiry, problem solving, and digital-based learning design. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, four factors emerged, including: interest and motivation, teamwork self-efficacy, socio-cultural support, and team support. The findings have important educational implications for promoting student teachers' agency in similar educational contexts.

This study investigated the readiness of teachers towards implementing project-based learning (PjBL), mandated by a top-down policy at the national level, in Qatari government primary schools. With multiple qualitative data, the study reported a lack of readiness among teachers at the initial stage of change. Despite good intentions, the change message was not successfully communicated to the change recipients, i.e., teachers. Teachers' lack of understanding of PjBL served as a major reason for difficulties encountered, including their low confidence in implementing PjBL and their inability to recognize the appropriateness or acknowledge its potential benefits. Nevertheless, teachers from a supportive school environment reported positive attitudes and perceptions of valence. Accordingly, system support and effective professional development are crucial for teacher readiness to implement PjBL.

Introduction The cornerstone in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is lifestyle modification including a healthy diet, typically one in which carbohydrate provides 45%–60% of total energy intake (E%). Nevertheless, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of trials with low carbohydrate diets (which are increased in protein and/or fat) for T2D have found improved glycaemic control in the first months relative to comparator diets with higher carbohydrate content. Studies lasting ≥1 year are inconclusive, which could be due to decreased long-term dietary adherence. We hypothesise that glucometabolic benefits can be achieved following 12 months of carbohydrate-restricted dieting, by maximising dietary adherence through delivery of meal kits, containing fresh, high-quality ingredients for breakfast, dinner and snacks, combined with nutrition education and counselling.Methods and analysis This protocol describes a 12-month investigator-initiated randomised controlled, open-label, superiority trial with two parallel groups that will examine the effect of a carbohydrate-reduced high-protein (CRHP) diet compared with a conventional diabetes (CD) diet on glucometabolic control (change in glycated haemoglobin being the primary outcome) in 100 individuals with T2D and body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2. Participants will be randomised 1:1 to receive either the CRHP or the CD diet (comprised 30/50 E% from carbohydrate, 30/17 E% from protein and 40/33 E% from fat, respectively) for 12 months delivered as meal kits, containing foods covering more than two-thirds of the participants’ estimated daily energy requirements for weight maintenance. Adherence to the allocated diets will be reinforced by monthly sessions of nutrition education and counselling from registered clinical dietitians.Ethics and dissemination The trial has been approved by the National Committee on Health Research Ethics of the Capital Region of Denmark. The trial will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results will be submitted for publication in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.Trial registration number NCT05330247.Protocol version The trial protocol was approved on 9 March 2022 (study number: H-21057605). The latest version of the protocol, described in this manuscript, was approved on 23 June 2023.

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease characterized by an early onset of recurrent fever and serositis episodes. FMF is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene which encodes the pyrin protein, an IL-1β mediated inflammation regulator. Recent findings have identified a plethora of molecules and pathways involved in the regulation of inflammation and innate immunity, hence increasing our understanding of the etiology and inflammatory nature of FMF. Cytokines, in particular, have been found to play a key role in the pathogenesis and treatment of the disease. Indeed, various studies associated cytokines’ genetic variations and expression with susceptibility to and severity of the disease, which was further supported by the positive response of patients, both children and adults, to targeted cytokine blocking therapies. These studies highlighted the potential use of cytokines as biomarkers and target in resistant/intolerant patients and contributed to improving the early detection of FMF in children, thus enhancing their quality of life and providing alternative treatment for severe cases. The aim of this review is to provide the latest updates on the pivotal role of cytokines in FMF and to discuss the efficacy and safety of anti-cytokine biologics by primarily focusing on pediatric FMF cases.

Summary: Enteroids are in vitro models to study gastrointestinal pathologies and test personalized therapeutics; however, the inherent complexity of enteroids often renders standard gene editing approaches ineffective. Here, we introduce a refined lentiviral transfection protocol, ensuring sufficient lentiviral engagement with enteroids while considering spatiotemporal growth variability throughout the extracellular matrix. Additionally, we highlight a selection process for transduced cells, introduce a protocol to accurately measure transduction efficiency, and explore methodologies to gauge effects of gene knockdown on biological processes. : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

Tissue engineering approaches hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine, especially in the context of pediatric applications, where ideal grafts need to restore the function of the targeted tissue and consider growth. In the present study, we aimed to develop a protocol to engineer autologous phalangeal grafts of relevant size for children suffering from symbrachydactyly. This condition results in hands with short fingers and missing bones. A previously-described, developmentally-inspired strategy based on endochondral ossification (ECO)—the main pathway leading to bone and bone marrow development—and adipose derived-stromal cells (ASCs) as the source of chondroprogenitor was used. First, we demonstrated that pediatric ASCs associated with collagen sponges can generate hypertrophic cartilage tissues (HCTs) in vitro that remodel into bone tissue in vivo via ECO. Second, we developed and optimized an in vitro protocol to generate HCTs in the shape of small phalangeal bones (108–390 mm 3 ) using freshly isolated adult cells from the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose tissue, associated with two commercially available large collagen scaffolds (Zimmer Plug ® and Optimaix 3D ® ). We showed that after 12 weeks of in vivo implantation in an immunocompromised mouse model such upscaled grafts remodeled into bone organs (including bone marrow tissues) retaining the defined shape and size. Finally, we replicated similar outcome (albeit with a slight reduction in cartilage and bone formation) by using minimally expanded pediatric ASCs (3 × 10 6 cells per grafts) in the same in vitro and in vivo settings, thereby validating the compatibility of our pediatric phalanx engineering strategy with a clinically relevant scenario. Taken together, these results represent a proof of concept of an autologous approach to generate osteogenic phalangeal grafts of pertinent clinical size, using ASCs in children born with symbrachydactyly, despite a limited amount of tissue available from pediatric patients.

This study investigated the roles of eleven discipline-specific facilitators in a multi-tiered professional learning programme implemented in a higher education context. The study also examined the factors supporting and hindering their emerging roles, as they facilitated professional learning opportunities to other faculty in their colleges, while also being supported by programme coordinators. Using a phenomenological approach, data were generated from multiple qualitative sources, mainly portfolio entries and interviews conducted with the eleven facilitators at the end of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the programme. Data analysis revealed the emerging facilitation roles, as well as the intricacies of the factors that were either supports or constraints to the different facilitators. Implications for the role that facilitation played in transforming teaching and learning in a centralised context are discussed. Specifically, this study delineated the need for both bottom-up approaches supported by top-down structures, which can enhance teaching and learning pedagogies and practices. This mix of bottom-up agency and top-down authority was shown to better support discipline-specific facilitators and faculty participants alike.

Contribution: This article contributes to the literature surrounding first-year engineering students' academic well-being by proposing a conceptual framework guiding an understanding of supportive sources that foster students' academic well-being. A survey was designed and tested accordingly, and four factors that contribute to students' academic well-being were identified to inspire the improvement of a future course and curriculum design. Background: Prior research has pointed out that students' academic well-being has a significant impact on their persistence in their current study, learning experience, academic achievement, and competence development. However, limited studies have explored first-year engineering students' academic well-being and supportive factors in the field of engineering higher education. To support engineering students to become agentic professionals, it is meaningful to pay close attention to their academic well-being and help them to become purposeful learners at an early stage of their professional development. Research Question: (1) How can an instrument be developed and validated to characterize the sources of students' academic well-being in a project-based learning approaches (PBL) context? (2) What sources could foster students' academic well-being in a PBL context? Are there significant differences in age, gender, and discipline as a function of sources of academic well-being? Methodology: With the guidance of the conceptual framework with the domains of internal and external sources, a survey was designed based on a literature review and conducted in a PBL environment. The survey's content validity, construct validity, and reliability were tested using expert review, a pilot study, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and Cronbach's alpha. Findings: Supportive sources fostering students' academic well-being were reported in the factors of personal values, agentic action, interactions within the learning environment, and external support. Comparisons between gender, age, and discipline verified the different impacts of the four factors on fostering academic well-being.

The study explored the emerging role identities of eleven faculty who served as discipline-specific facilitators in a multi-tiered PD program, as well as the affordances and constraints which contributed to the (mis)alignment between the role identity of facilitator and their other roles as faculty. Taking the collective as the unit-of-analysis, we showed that variations occurred in the salience of facilitators' self-perceptions, beliefs, goals, and action possibilities. These variations occurred within and across their multiple roles including learner, teacher, researcher, middle leader, and peer roles, and were triggered mainly by the (1) in/compatibility of facilitators' pedagogical beliefs with PD goals and activities, (2) un/confidence in the facilitator role, and (3) absence/presence of institutional support. We suggest that the PD program provides a useful model for professional learning in Higher Education contexts, and that facilitators' role identities are important tools worthy of further support and exploration.

While leadership development is acknowledged as essential for institutional growth in the higher education sector, it remains poorly understood and under researched both empirically and theoretically. Although knowledge in this area is growing in western contexts, there is little published data from the Arabic speaking world. This article addresses this gap by reporting on a Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funded research project which aimed to explore academic middle leaders' experiences of leadership and leadership development in Qatar. Drawing on semi structured interviews with 17 academic middle leaders, an integrated systems model for understanding leadership development in Qatar is proposed, based on three inter-related systems: intrapersonal, relational, and institutional. This model has clear implications for future leadership development policy and practice, which it is argued needs to acknowledge the nuanced and complex leadership behaviours and interactions that are required to run academic departments successfully.

Using social constructivist theories of adult learning and complexity thinking perspectives, a long-term, multi-tiered professional development (PD) programme was designed, implemented and evaluated at Qatar University. This qualitative study explored the systems of influence on 24 university teachers' professional agency for learning and leading sustainable change throughout their participation in the programme. Within the context of educational change, university teachers' professional agency refers to their ability to exercise control, take stances, make choices and exert influence in ways that impact their learning and leading sustainable change. Using multiple sources of data, participants reported supports and constraints to their professional agency within multiple systems. These systems of influence included factors within the personal, PD programme, department/college, and university systems. Findings revealed variations in university teachers' willingness and capacity to examine previously held beliefs, design innovative pedagogies, and become change agents. The findings underscore the notion of emergence as an explicit characteristic of learning and leading change within and across complex systems. Future iterations of the programme, and similarly constructed programmes in higher education contexts, should consider the systems of influence on university teachers' professional agency for learning and make concerted efforts to support their ability to lead sustainable change.

Background and Aims: Approximately 1 in 4 patients with ulcerative colitis experiences a severe exacerbation of disease requiring hospitalization, termed acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC). These episodes pose a major burden on patients with ulcerative colitis and early prediction of their outcomes based on clinical data is crucial to optimize therapy. Methods: A systematic review was performed using Embase and Medline for articles between 2000 and 2023. Studies obtained from the databases were uploaded on Covidence for screening by 2 independent reviewers. Quality appraisal for each study was done using the Critical Appraisals Skills Program depending on study design. Results: A total of 48 eligible studies were included in the review. The key predictors of ASUC identified in this review included clinical, endoscopic, and radiographic biomarkers, which were summarized. The main outcomes assessed in the studies were intravenous corticosteroid failure, need for rescue therapy, and need for colectomy. Score-based predictions and some novel markers were also included in the results. Conclusion: Utilization of evidence-based predictors of outcome in ASUC could serve as a powerful tool in customizing therapeutic measures and a step forward toward personalized patient care. Despite promising candidates, there remains a significant opportunity to identify and test additional clinical and laboratory-based predictors, especially early in the hospitalization and as the clinical practice and medical therapies evolve.

Food labels and storytelling are marketing tools used by the food industry to highlight and communicate important product characteristics to consumers. By using these tools, food companies can influence consumers’ attitudes toward the product and potentially the likelihood of purchase. In the present study, we investigated how storytelling about an innovative and sustainable organic beef production system influenced participants’ preference and acceptance of a veal steak product and, further, if some information characteristics were more important than others for consumer satisfaction. Without being aware that the samples were identical, participants (n = 224) tasted two veal steak samples: one steak sample was presented with information about the production system, and the other without information. Results showed that when the steak sample was presented with product information, compared to without information, it received significantly higher hedonic ratings (overall liking, liking of flavor, and liking of texture). This was likewise reflected in a greater preference for the steak sample when presented with product information. Furthermore, product information was found to positively impact the participants’ satisfaction with the steak sample regardless of their preference. Overall, our results suggest that the use of storytelling about the innovative and sustainable product system for veal steaks can positively influence consumers’ attitudes toward the product.

Several researchers have studied how impact loads from impact hazards affect reinforced concrete (RC) slabs. There is relatively little research on impact loading effects on pre-stressed structures. The usage of fibers in structural elements intrigued researchers. In this paper, impact-loaded post-tensioned (PT) slabs with and without Forta-Ferro fibers were compared to post-tensioned slabs with plain concrete and conventional shear reinforcement. Forta-Ferro is a lightweight, low-cost fiber, and hence its effects on slab structural response under impact load deserve to be explored. Post-tensioned slabs’ impact resistance and energy absorption were tested using real-world situations of rapid and severe loads. Four identical 3.3 by 1.5 m concrete slabs were utilized in the experiment. The experiment involved dropping a 600 kg iron ball from 8 m onto each slab’s center of gravity. The slabs’ responses were investigated. The four slab configurations were tested for displacement, energy absorption, and cracking. Forta-Ferro fiber reinforcement is understudied, making this study significant. The study’s findings may help us comprehend fiber-reinforced concrete PT slabs’ impact resistance and structural performance. Engineers and designers of impact-prone buildings like slabs and bridges will benefit from the findings. The study also suggests adding Forta-Ferro fibers to post-tensioned slabs to improve durability and resilience against unanticipated impact hazards.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), an inflammatory disease of the intestine, is a common gastrointestinal emergency among preterm infants. Intestinal barrier dysfunction, hyperactivation of the premature immune system, and dysbiosis are thought to play major roles in the disease. Human milk (HM) is protective, but the mechanisms underpinning formula feeding as a risk factor in the development of NEC are incompletely understood. Hyaluronic acid 35 kDa (HA35), a bioactive glycosaminoglycan of HM, accelerates intestinal development in murine pups during homeostasis. In addition, HA35 prevents inflammation-induced tissue damage in pups subjected to murine NEC, incorporating Paneth cell dysfunction and dysbiosis. We hypothesized HA35 treatment would reduce histological injury and mortality in a secondary mouse model of NEC incorporating formula feeding. NEC-like injury was induced in 14-day mice by dithizone-induced disruption of Paneth cells and oral gavage of rodent milk substitute. Mortality and histological injury, serum and tissue cytokine levels, stool bacterial sequencing, and bulk RNA-Seq comparisons were analyzed. HA35 significantly reduced the severity of illness in this model, with a trend toward reduced mortality, while RNA-Seq analysis demonstrated HA35 upregulated genes associated with goblet cell function and innate immunity. Activation of these critical protective and reparative mechanisms of the small intestine likely play a role in the reduced pathology and enhanced survival trends of HA-treated pups subjected to intestinal inflammation in this secondary model of NEC, providing potentially interesting translational targets for the human preterm disease.

Increasing evidence suggests that prolonged antibiotic therapy in preterm infants is associated with increased mortality and morbidities, such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating gastrointestinal pathology characterized by intestinal inflammation and necrosis. While a clinical correlation exists between antibiotic use and the development of NEC, the potential causality of antibiotics in NEC development has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we tested the effects of systemic standard-of-care antibiotic therapy for ten days on intestinal development in neonatal mice. Systemic antibiotic treatment impaired the intestinal development by reducing intestinal cell proliferation, villi height, crypt depth, and goblet and Paneth cell numbers. Oral bacterial challenge in pups who received antibiotics resulted in NEC-like intestinal injury in more than half the pups, likely due to a reduction in mucous-producing cells affecting microbial-epithelial interactions. These data support a novel mechanism that could explain why preterm infants exposed to prolonged antibiotics after birth have a higher incidence of NEC and other gastrointestinal disorders.