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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the adoption of quarantine measures aimed at restricting the movement of people to prevent the spread of the disease. The paper examines the pre- and post-quarantine social activities amidst the pandemic in the United Arab Emirates as indicated by nocturnal lighting or illumination. Lighting, for the purpose of this study, refers to artificial light in dwellings, office towers, roads, and so on, to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. The authors employed a methodology using geographical information systems (GIS) technology to capture and analyze spatial and geographic data. For this purpose, night-time satellite images and analogue maps were used to create the spatial database of the GIS for the study area. Using GIS advanced analytical functionality (Zonal Statistics for each emirate), visibility analysis was implemented. The output from this analysis are a series of maps reflecting the change in light emission in the emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain) during February 2020 (pre-quarantine) and April 2020 (post-quarantine). The findings demonstrate a decrease in lighting during the post-quarantine period in Dubai and Ajman and an increase in the remaining emirates. Furthermore, the increase in the overall light emission in Abu Dhabi is attributed to an increase in lighting on the offshore oil fields (see Map). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small ruminants and camels are important livestock species in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although Brucella infection can limit their productivity. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of Brucella infection and its associated risk factors in small ruminants and camels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Additionally, seropositive animals were tested for the DNA of Brucella . Multispecies competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) and multispecies indirect (i-ELISA) were used to test 3,086 animals from 2022 to 2023. Brucella cell surface 31 kDa protein (bcsp31) gene-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) was used to detect Brucella DNA. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between seroprevalence and potential risk factors. The overall seroprevalences of Brucella infection were 1.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2%-2.2%) and 5.8% (95% CI, 5.0%-6.7%) based on serial and parallel testing, respectively. The DNA of Brucella was detected in 13 of the 51 seropositive animals. The overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection was associated with the region, type of animal holding, species, and age of the animals. In conclusion, this study documented Brucella infection in small ruminants and camels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, warranting necessary intervention strategies to eliminate Brucella infections in livestock populations., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Background: The role of parents in supporting early intervention for young children with disabilities is critical. Indeed, models of family centered care (FCC), which emphasis strong partnerships between health professionals and families in disability health services delivery are now widely associated with best practice. While FCC is consistently argued to be an appropriate model for disability service delivery, its utilization is limited primarily to Western countries such as Australia and the United States. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have prioritized early childhood development and are thus in search of best practices for delivery of early intervention for children and their families., Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the appropriateness of the FCC model in disability service delivery in the UAE. This study was conducted from the perspectives of health professionals who are involved in disability diagnosis, referral and ongoing support for families and children with disabilities., Method: A total of 150 health professionals were recruited from health facilities, rehabilitation centers and schools in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The 27-item Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) was used for data collection. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to confirm applicability of the model to this context. Multivariate analysis of variance and moderation analysis were also conducted, to ascertain the relationship between participants' satisfaction levels with their ability to diagnose, refer and provide on-going support and their likelihood of practicing key components of FCC., Result: Computation of confirmatory factor analysis provided support for applicability of the MPOC-SP in the UAE context. Further inspection showed moderate to large correlations between the four components of FCC measured by MPOC-SP, providing further support for utilization of FCC in disability health service delivery in the UAE., Conclusion: The study concludes with a call to policymakers in the UAE to consider developing disability health policy based on key components of FCC. This could be supplemented by development of training modules on FCC to upskill health professionals involved in disability diagnosis and rehabilitation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Opoku et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Technology has been incorporated into the educational systems of many countries as a teaching and learning tool. Contemporary discourse has focused on how to prepare teachers to utilise technology in their teaching practice. Although most pre-service elementary school teachers in the United Arab Emirates are women, studies have not yet investigated their acceptance of or preparedness to use technology in the classroom. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate whether the training provided to pre-service special education teachers equips them with sufficient skills to support students with disabilities. The present study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical lens to examine the factors that impact female pre-service special education teachers' intention to incorporate assistive technology (AT) in teaching students with disabilities. A survey based on TAM was used to collect data from 138 participants and test four study hypotheses. Regarding data analysis, SPSS and AMOS version 28 software were used to conduct exploratory factor, confirmatory factor and path analyses. Two of the four hypotheses were supported. The results provide support for the four-factor TAM structure, with two predictors - perceived ease of use and computer self-efficacy - supporting pre-service teachers' intention to use AT to teach students with disabilities in the classroom. Teacher educators and policymakers should consider the TAM construct when preparing pre-service teachers to effectively support all students. Specifically, teacher development and stakeholder engagement with AT resources are needed to optimise the learning of children with disabilities., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: The Fontan procedure is the final stage of a three-stage palliation process in patients born with a univentricular heart as part of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) or other pathologies with a univentricular heart. As essential as this procedure has proven to be for such cases, the Fontan physiology diminishes cardiac output and expands systemic venous pressure, which then leads to venous congestion that can be complicated by protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). This retrospective study aimed to identify the predictors of such complications in all patients who underwent completion of the Fontan procedure at our center (Sheikh Khalifa Medical City/SKMC) in the past eight years., Methods: This study examined the medical records of patients who underwent completion of Fontan repair at our center since the inauguration of the cardiac surgery program of SKMC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - 01 Jan 2012 to 31 Dec 2020. Exclusion criteria included the absence of any of the undermentioned data in patient files. Patients were divided into two groups: those who developed PLE and those who did not. For each group, the following data were collected: demographics data (current age and age at completion of Fontan), clinical and laboratory data (oxygen saturation, serum albumin), echocardiographic data (classification of original cardiac diagnosis, degree of atrio-ventricular valve regurgitation, ventricular functions), hemodynamic data (mean pressures of superior vena cava and pulmonary arteries before Fontan completion), operative data (type of initial palliation, type of Fontan, presence of fenestrations and its size) and the need for any cardiac intervention prior to Fontan completion, such as atrio-ventricular valve repair, peripheral pulmonary stenting and arch balloon dilatation., Results: Of the 48 included patients,13 (25%) developed PLE. Multivariate regression analysis proved that the best predictors of PLE were superior vena cava mean pressure ( P  = 0.012) and the degree of atrio-ventricular valve regurgitation ( P  = 0.013). An oxygen saturation <83% prior to Fontan completion was 92% sensitive in predicting PLE after Fontan completion., Conclusion: This is a single-center study of the predictors of PLE after Fontan procedure and, as expected from similar studies, SVC pressure higher than 11 mmHg and moderate-to-severe atrio-ventricular valve regurgitation were predictors of Fontan failure. The higher prevalence of PLE in our cohort, as well as lower cut-offs of SVC pressure that can predict complications, may be related to the predominance of hypoplastic left heart in the operated patients, which has been the main referral center for cardiac surgeries in UAE in the last decade., (Copyright ©2023 The Author(s).)

The ravaging effect of COVID-19 has been felt in all spheres of life. While countries are easing their restrictions, the remnants of COVID on education remain, with most universities formally embracing online teaching. Faculty have had to deal with this sudden and enduring transition to online teaching. Although some developments have been made with online education, enormous challenges are simultaneously reported in the literature. This mixed-method study aims to assess the essence of a faculty's bionetwork of lived experience after the sudden shift to online teaching due to the pandemic. Affordance theory was used as a theoretical lens to study the benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with online education during and post-COVID. The study data comes from faculty members at one institution ( n  = 170) and follow-up interviews with a smaller subset of participants from the same pool ( n  = 10). Path analysis and mediation analysis revealed significant differences between the participants based on nationality and gender. While the findings supported two hypotheses, the third hypothesis was not supported. Overall, the findings showed both convergence and divergence between the qualitative and quantitative data. The study incorporates recommendations for online teaching, faculty well-being, and further research based on the results., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 UAE University.)

Background: There is a high estimated prevalence of obesity and poor eating habits among children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the extent of parental and teachers' awareness of the dietary needs and nutritional requirements of children with disabilities has been understudied. This study aims to explore the predictors and mediators of nutritional knowledge and practices among parents and teachers of children with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using Nutbeam's hierarchical health literacy model as a framework to test three hypotheses., Methods: A total of 149 parents and teachers were recruited from rehabilitation centres in two of the seven Emirates in the UAE. The revised Food and Nutritional Literacy Scale (FNLIT) was used for data collection. The revised scale was validated and its reliability was assessed using SPSS and AMOS version 28 to compute exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis), respectively., Results: The results confirmed a four-factor structure for FNLIT, and all three hypotheses were supported by the study findings. We confirmed a relationship between understanding and practical nutritional skills (Hypothesis I), and found that two practical nutritional skills, functional and interactive, combined to predict the understanding of nutritional needs of children with disabilities (Hypothesis II). Hypothesis III was partially supported in that participant type mediated the relationship between functional, interactive, and understanding factors. The convergent and discriminant validities of the scale were confirmed, and path analysis showed the ability of practical skills to predict knowledge., Conclusion: The study concludes on the need for public education on nutritional needs as well as developing the capacity of teachers and parents to implement appropriate eating programmes for children with disabilities., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Most researchers agree that verbally gifted learners should be provided with differentiated curriculum experiences that will allow them to reach their full potential. However, research is scarce in the field. The present study examined the impact of a reading enrichment program on fourth-grade students' critical reading abilities. The program was based on the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM). The sample consisted of forty fourth-grade verbally gifted students from a school in Dubai, who were randomly assigned to either an experimental instruction condition or a traditional instruction condition and completed pre and post-tests of language arts. A pre-and post-experimental design was used. The overall results indicated the efficacy of the differentiated enrichment program in enhancing Emirati gifted learners' critical reading abilities. The study also provides a framework for better provision and teacher training planning regarding gifted education in the UAE.