Self-immolation in the Arab world: A systematic review.

Self-immolation is the act of setting fire to oneself. Recent spikes in self-immolation events have been noticed in the Arab world, specifically in the aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011. We aimed to examine the literature assessing the characteristics and patterns of suicide by self-immolation in the Arab world. We registered our systematic review in Prospero. We searched PubMed, Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, and Scopus databases from inception until 9 July 2022, along with other sources, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We collected relevant articles tackling suicide by self-immolation in the Arab world via title and abstract screening followed by full-text screening. We then conducted a narrative synthesis of the results. Out of 326 records from databases and 17 additional records identified through other sources, 31 articles (27 quantitative and 4 qualitative) were included. The studies came from Iraq (n = 16), Tunisia (n = 6), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (n = 3), Jordan (n = 2), Libya (n = 2), Bahrain (n = 1), and Egypt (n = 1). The quantitative studies had a sample size ranging from 22 to 600 self-inflicted burn victims. Studies showed that self-immolators were mostly married women with low educational level and low socioeconomic status. Self-immolation was more likely to happen at home, usually following marital conflicts. Kerosene was the accelerant used the most. Depression was the most comorbid mental health diagnosis. Studies highlighted that self-immolation was being increasignly used as a form of protest. Self-immolation is not uncommon in the Arab world. Specific interventions directed at the population at risk are warranted.

The Post-COVID Classroom: Lessons from a Pandemic

In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia cases with unknown etiology was reported in Wuhan, China. It had then quickly spread to other provinces with more and more patients having fever and cough symptoms. Within a few weeks, a novel coronavirus was identified by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and named as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The World Health Organization called the illness associated with this infection as "coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) and on 11 March 2020, it was declared a pandemic, as the virus spread across the globe, reaching 217 countries and territories with 17 million confirmed cases and over 668 deaths. By April 2020, the number of students staying at home due to lockdown measures implemented by their educational institutions reached 1.598 billion in 194 countries. Such lockdown has forced these institutions to switch to online pedagogy. In developing countries, and among them the Arab world, this has exposed inequalities and challenges, such as uneven distribution of internet connectivity between urban and rural areas, with some poor areas not able to afford even the price of the hardware. Students and teachers were not well trained and equipped for online and virtual education. And schooling and campus social life was missed and the student's psychology under these circumstances may have changed human behavior, which needs to be studied further by social scientists. As for academic conferences, these were postponed, cancelled or carried out online using various platforms. There is no doubt that online learning has saved the educational sector from disaster. However, after the pandemic, the style of educational pedagogy will be changed, and will not be business as usual. This chapter presents an overview of the effect of the pandemic on higher education, starting with an introduction that includes a description of the higher education sector pre-COVID-19 and a background on COVID-19. The immediate measures taken by higher-education institutions and the immediate challenges they faced will be presented, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on various educational fields and the different stakeholders. Finally, the challenges of recovery beyond the pandemic are addressed and recommendations for future trends and possibilities for the Arab world are considered, for a more sustainable future. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Higher Education in the Arab World: New Priorities in the Post COVID-19 Era

This book presents selected case studies from the Arab world on the universities responses to the pandemic. This book will look in detail at the priorities of the higher education sector in the post-COVID-19 era and the changes that must be adopted by universities and governments. These changes will allow the higher education sector to emerge from the crisis and build short- and long-term resilience. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has induced sudden changes worldwide by setting a global lockdown that has impacted all industries and sectors, affecting our daily lives and forcing us to adapt to a new normal. This book is the first major account of how the pandemic has shaken universities and higher education institutions in the Arab world today and tomorrow. Crucially, it examines the responses of universities to COVID-19, highlights their current position, and addresses the negative and positive outcomes. Has this crisis become an adversity or an opportunity for higher education institutions? What are the pillars that will ensure the success of the Arab higher education sector post COVID-19? © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Bolstering Economic Growth in the Arab Region Through Commercialization of Research Outcomes

Despite the prevailing socio-political and diverse economic situation Arab countries have sustained over three long decades, the Arab region is currently experiencing pronounced economic growth largely attributed to the huge reservoirs of natural resources disbursed across the region. In contrast, many countries around the world, that would exhibit close resemblances to the economic dynamics of the Arab region, have had immense developments, crossing economic boundaries, and attaining competitive edges industrially and economically at the world stage. In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, Arab countries are left with little option but to delve into their own higher education research and development strategies to slowly unpack and replicate viable forms of technology into their local economies. In this chapter, we address current barriers, challenges and difficulties that have impacted severely the current adverse situations while exploring solutions and potential opportunities that are direly needed to transform the rather primitive, less competitive and outdated industrial paradigms into industrial pursuits that would leverage core industries to catalyze real economic growth. In so doing, we address industrial venues harnessing ongoing endeavors around the academic sector in ways that would veer academic outcomes in a direction that would invigorate serious world-class industrial formations. Along the way, we shall be addressing notions like innovation and entrepreneurship, intellectual property (IP) management, and start-up evolutions leading ultimately to spinoffs and thereon to small and medium enterprises (SMEs);the primary levers for job creation and real economic growth under any productively functional economy. Meanwhile, we explore the various contributions, if any, which have taken place in the Arab region as a result of ongoing endeavors of researchers to bolster economic growth and incentivize viable paths towards contriving real industrial models. This is considering a multitude of research pursuits around Arab universities and within indigenous research centers, a great many of which were receiving funding through local funding agencies or via international sponsors to carry the research wheel forward. Based on that, we draw conclusions, offer recommendations, and suggest policies that are commensurate with the United Nations 2030 Strategic Development Goals, which have become the benchmarks against which various world economies would fare. We also assess the impact of research endeavors, which have taken place in the Arab region, and whether they have, in fact, contributed to the evolution of livable industrial pursuits for the Arab world. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

E-Learning Quality Requirements for the Post COVID-19 Era in the Arab World

This study analyses the challenges that face the higher education sector in the Arab World in light of the overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2019 both on national and institutional levels. It takes into consideration the internal/on-campus challenges, which include the infrastructure, staff skills and attitudes, facilities, learning resources and applications, as well as smart solutions, in addition to off-campus challenges such as technology infrastructure, the culture of Arab families, students' attitudes, and the labor market and employers' appreciation of online learning. The study also investigates the different approaches and modes of e-learning that vary from complete distance to the blended and technology supported modes. A survey was conducted in a few Arab countries from the Gulf Council countries (GCC), North Africa and East Mediterranean countries, targeting faculty members at public and private universities, where 354 faculty members and administrative staff (including leadership) responded. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis were conducted. In addition, a review of 27 academic articles were on the students' voices regarding used tools and e-learning environment was carried out. This chapter then argues the quality of e-learning, including accreditation systems and their recognition by formal higher education sectors, as declared by the ministries of education and higher education in the selected countries. Then a proposed framework for the e-learning quality requirements in the Arab World is provided to help higher education institutions satisfy quality parameters towards reliable intended learning outcomes. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Rheumatology research output in the Arab world: Despite the challenges

Background: Rheumatology is a field of daily advancements in terms of diagnostics, pathophysiology, and management. Such advancements are the result of basic sciences, translational, and clinical research. Physical and financial support, which are provided by individuals and organizations, are vital for any form of research. The political and financial instability in the Arab world has affected the process of healthcare advancement and the research output. Material(s) and Method(s): This review looked into the number of rheumatological clinical publications that individual Arab countries produced from 2017 till 2021 which were cited by PubMed/MEDLINE. Publications that included authors from multiple countries were excluded. Publications were then sorted according to type;randomized controlled trial (RCT), cohort, cross-sectional, systematic review, narrative review, and case report. Publications were also sorted according to the Arab world regions;North and East Africa (NEA), Middle East (ME), and Arabian Peninsula (AP). Result(s): Egypt had the highest number of publication among NEA countries, and all Arab countries in general, with 261 publications including 23 RCTs. Saudi Arabia had the highest number of publications among AP countries with 81 publications. However, no individual AP country published a RCT. Lebanon had the highest number of publications among ME countries, but the majority of publications were reviews and case reports. Notably, the number of publications increased in certain countries during the COVID-19 era. Conclusion(s): Despite the political instability and lack of funds, the Arab world is still able to produce clinical rheumatological publications. The impact of such publications on the daily practice of Rheumatology remains questionable.

A systematic review of artificial intelligence in education in the arab world

"In recent years, many technological innovations that have contributed to the success of the educational process, and artificial intelligence is one of these recent innovations. Artificial intelligence has become one of the technological tools used in education and demonstrated a successful emergency strategy during the pandemic of Covid-19. This study aimed to focus on the role artificial intelligence played in education in Arabs world during the last five years. This study conducted a comprehensive survey of the research published in three databases (Google Scholar, ERIC, and IEEE) to reach the goal of this study. The total number were found in three databases was 436 and 29 of them are related to ""Artificial Intelligence and Learning and Teaching and Arab world"", the s of these studies were checked according to adopted methodology. The methodology was applied to select the studies is where these studies applied, the specialization of the researcher, and the research methodology followed. Moreover, the goals of the selected papers, the results, and similarities and differences among these studies were discussed. Recommendations and future studies also discussed."

Investigation of COVID-19 Misinformation in Arabic on Twitter: Content Analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been occurring concurrently with an infodemic of misinformation about the virus. Spreading primarily on social media, there has been a significant academic effort to understand the English side of this infodemic. However, much less attention has been paid to the Arabic side. Objective: There is an urgent need to examine the scale of Arabic COVID-19 disinformation. This study empirically examines how Arabic speakers use specific hashtags on Twitter to express antivaccine and antipandemic views to uncover trends in their social media usage. By exploring this topic, we aim to fill a gap in the literature that can help understand conspiracies in Arabic around COVID-19. Methods: This study used content analysis to understand how 13 popular Arabic hashtags were used in antivaccine communities. We used Twitter Academic API v2 to search for the hashtags from the beginning of August 1, 2006, until October 10, 2021. After downloading a large data set from Twitter, we identified major categories or topics in the sample data set using emergent coding. Emergent coding was chosen because of its ability to inductively identify the themes that repeatedly emerged from the data set. Then, after revising the coding scheme, we coded the rest of the tweets and examined the results. In the second attempt and with a modified codebook, an acceptable intercoder agreement was reached (Krippendorff α≥.774). Results: In total, we found 476,048 tweets, mostly posted in 2021. First, the topic of infringing on civil liberties (n=483, 41.1%) covers ways that governments have allegedly infringed on civil liberties during the pandemic and unfair restrictions that have been imposed on unvaccinated individuals. Users here focus on topics concerning their civil liberties and freedoms, claiming that governments violated such rights following the pandemic. Notably, users denounce government efforts to force them to take any of the COVID-19 vaccines for different reasons. This was followed by vaccine-related conspiracies (n=476, 40.5%), including a Deep State dictating pandemic policies, mistrusting vaccine efficacy, and discussing unproven treatments. Although users tweeted about a range of different conspiracy theories, mistrusting the vaccine's efficacy, false or exaggerated claims about vaccine risks and vaccine-related diseases, and governments and pharmaceutical companies profiting from vaccines and intentionally risking the general public health appeared the most. Finally, calls for action (n=149, 12.6%) encourage individuals to participate in civil demonstrations. These calls range from protesting to encouraging other users to take action about the vaccine mandate. For each of these categories, we also attempted to trace the logic behind the different categories by exploring different types of conspiracy theories for each category. Conclusions: Based on our findings, we were able to identify 3 prominent topics that were prevalent amongst Arabic speakers on Twitter. These categories focused on violations of civil liberties by governments, conspiracy theories about the vaccines, and calls for action. Our findings also highlight the need for more research to better understand the impact of COVID-19 disinformation on the Arab world.

Researching Leadership Styles in Higher Education in the Arab World Using Bolman and Deal's Four-Frame Framework: A Literature Review

The growing challenges that the higher education sector in the Arab world has been facing in the past few years, including the seismic changes imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, call for "a new level of excellence"from the leaders of Arab higher education institutions. Bolman and Deal (2017) believe that the increasing complexity and needs of modern management put pressure on organizations and leaders to adopt a multi-layered framework to improve performance and results. They suggest that leaders should look at and approach organizational issues from four perspectives or lenses, which they called "Frames". The four frames are: Structural (the Rational side of organization), Human Resources (the People side of organization), Political (the Conflict side of organization), and Symbolic (the Cultural side of organization). This paper is the result of a literature review that examined the use of the Bolman and Deal's Four-Frame Leadership Framework to assess the leadership styles in the educational sector. The findings show that there is a considerable and growing body of work in the western world using the four-frame framework to assess the leadership styles in the higher education sector and evaluate their impact on organizational effectiveness. The results also show that leaders are increasingly adopting a multi-framed approach. However, in the Arab world, the literature review indicates that the research in this area needs to be further developed as the number of publications remain very limited. It also indicates that the researched leaders don't usually use a multi-layered approach to their management but rather prefer one or two frames. The importance of this paper is that it establishes the need for more research in this area in the higher education sector in the Arab world. © 2021 IEEE.

Safety and Efficacy of Azacitidine with Venetoclax for Newly Diagnosed Intensive Chemotherapy Ineligible, and Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Arab Population: A Single-Center, Retrospective Study

Background: Venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents is a new standard of care for newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 75 years or older, or unfit for intensive chemotherapy. As precision therapy in AML expanded with the addition of venetoclax among others in the therapeutic armamentarium of AML, efficacy and safety reports in ethnic minorities are limited, with a background of well recognized inter-ethnic differences in drug response. Phase III data from VIALE-A, as well as VIALE-C, was limited for the Arab population as no site opened in the Arab world. We herein report our experience on the use of venetoclax with azacitidine in patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory AML in the Arab population. Methods: Retrospective-single center review on the use of Azacitidine with venetoclax in older patients (aged ≥60 years) with newly diagnosed AML, not eligible for intensive chemotherapy;secondary AML and relapsed or refractory AML. All patients self-identified of Arabic ethnicity. Patients who received previous BCL2-inhibitor therapy were excluded. Patients who received at least one dose of treatment (Azacitidine ≥3 days, >14 days of venetoclax) were included in the intention to treat analysis. Patients typically received azacitidine 75 mg/m2 intravenously for 7 days with oral venetoclax 400 mg daily for induction, with appropriate dose adjustment for concomitant use of azoles. This is followed by the same regimen in consolidation, with adjustment according to response and side effects at the treating physician's discretion. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The secondary endpoints include response rate, safety, and relapse-free survival. Results: Between July 2019, and July 2021, we identified 19 patients;13 (68%) had newly diagnosed AML (ND-AML), and 6 (32%) had relapsed or refractory AML (R/R AML). The median age was 70 years (17-82). In the ND-AML, most patients had an adverse ELN 2017 AML (69%) with 23% having either intermediate or adverse AML (Negative for CBF, NPM1, FLT3-ITD and biCEBPA, but missing NGS data for adverse mutations Tp53/ASXL1 and RUNX1). Only one patient was classified as intermediate-risk AML. The overall response rate in the ND-AML was 77%, with 46% achieving complete remission (CR), and 23% CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) [Table]. One patient achieved PR after the first cycle (blast 7% by morphology and 1.5% by flow cytometry) and did not have a subsequent bone marrow evaluation, however had a full count recovery. Among the responders in the ND-AML cohort, 4 deaths were noted. One death was related to COVID-19 associated pneumonia, one due to graft failure (at day 42 post Haplo-SCT), one due to septic shock, and one was related to relapse disease. The overall survival and relapse-free survival for ND-AML were 5.6 months for both [Figure]. In the R/R AML, 66% had prior HMA exposure, and all patients did receive high-intensity chemotherapy. The median number of prior treatments was 3 (1-5). the response rate was 80% (4/5), with 60% achieving CR. All patients are still alive with a median follow-up of 7.6 months. One patient had progressive disease. One patient is early to evaluate and was not included in the response analysis [Table]. The 30-day mortality was zero in both ND-AML and R/R AML cohorts. Conclusions: In a majority of adverse risk ND-AML, and in heavily pretreated R/R AML, the response rate and overall survival is comparable to what has been previously reported. Our data support the use of this regimen in older patients with newly diagnosed AML, patients with relapsed or refractory disease, and those with adverse-risk features. This analysis is limited by the small number of patients, and by the lack of ELN 2017 favorable-risk AML. Future prospective and randomized studies are needed to clarify activity and safety in the Arab population, as well as in the high-risk AML subset. [Formula presented] Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

One-year Review of COVID-19 in the Arab World.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected almost every country worldwide, including all 22 Arab countries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to follow the prevalence of COVID-19 in all Arab countries. In this review, we aimed to assess the 12-month prevalence of COVID-19 in Arab countries and to compare these findings with other significantly affected countries. World Health Organization, Worldometer, and Ministries of Health websites were used to search for COVID-19 data in all Arab countries. The period covered started from February 2020 to February 2021. In all Arab countries, the median age of the population was 26.25 years. As of March 01, 2021, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in all Arab countries was 4,259,756. Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates had the highest reported number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per million population. The total number of COVID-19 deaths was 72,950, with predominance in Lebanon, followed by Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, and Iraq. In comparison with the topmost affected countries, and based on both the highest number of confirmed and deaths per million population, Arab countries ranked second last before India, with 9,646 and 165 cases, respectively. Among the Arab countries, Qatar, Bahrain, and Lebanon showed the highest number of recovered, confirmed, and death cases per million populations, respectively. The number of confirmed and death cases among all Arab countries triggered significant worries about morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, respectively. However, the younger population in Arab countries may have contributed to fewer COVID-19 deaths in comparison with the topmost affected countries.

Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in the Arab world: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Arab region is highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments have already started to act against the disease. However, only a few countries provided COVID-19 vaccination. Compliance with vaccination is a major topic affecting proper coverage. Thus, we aim to explore vaccine acceptance among Arab populations, and compare it with the global numbers. METHODS: An internet-based survey using social media platforms was conducted, targeting adults who were able to read and understand Arabic, had access to the internet, and from all 22 Arab league countries. Due to the response rate variation between participants, the countries were grouped into four categories based on their income: Low income, Lower-middle income, Upper-middle income, and High-income economies. Data about demographics, previous COVID-19 infection, and vaccine acceptance tendency were collected and analyzed using Chi-squared (χ2) test and Logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 870 participants completed the survey. 59.3% of the participants were male, 53.3% were between 25 and 44 years, and 69.9% were Arabs who live inside of their home country. The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 62.4%. A significant higher tendency toward vaccination was identified in males (65.4%, P = 0.04) and people living outside their home countries (67.9%, P = 0.02). However, age group, level of education, and previous COVID-19 infection were all factors with insignificant effect. Citizens of High-income countries were more likely to accept the vaccine (70.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Less than two-thirds of Arabs are compliant with COVID-19 vaccination. This proportion is relatively lower than the global rate. It is important to develop strategies to promote vaccine acceptance and reach the ideal coverage needed to achieve efficient immunization.

The Arab region's contribution to global COVID-19 research: Bibliometric and visualization analysis.

BACKGROUND: At the global level and in the Arab world, particularly in low-income countries, COVID-19 remains a major public health issue. As demonstrated by an incredible number of COVID-19-related publications, the research science community responded rapidly. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the growing contribution of the Arab world to global research on COVID-19. METHODS: For the period between December 2019 and March 2021, the search for publications was conducted via the Scopus database using terms linked to COVID-19. VOSviewer 1.6.16 software was applied to generate a network map to assess hot topics in this area and determine the collaboration patterns between different countries. Furthermore, the research output of Arab countries was adjusted in relation to population size and gross domestic product (GDP). RESULTS: A total of 143,975 publications reflecting the global overall COVID-19 research output were retrieved. By restricting analysis to the publications published by the Arab countries, the research production was 6131 documents, representing 4.26% of the global research output regarding COVID-19. Of all these publications, 3990 (65.08%) were original journal articles, 980 (15.98%) were review articles, 514 (8.38%) were letters and 647 (10.55%) were others, such as editorials or notes. The highest number of COVID-19 publications was published by Saudi Arabia (n = 2186, 35.65%), followed by Egypt (n = 1281, 20.78%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), (n = 719, 11.73%). After standardization by population size and GDP, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon had the highest publication productivity. The collaborations were mostly with researchers from the United States (n = 968), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 661). The main research lines identified in COVID-19 from the Arab world are related to: public health and epidemiology; immunological and pharmaceutical research; signs, symptoms and clinical diagnosis; and virus detection. CONCLUSIONS: A novel analysis of the latest Arab COVID-19-related studies is discussed in the current study and how these findings are connected to global production. Continuing and improving future collaboration between developing and developed countries will also help to facilitate the sharing of responsibilities for COVID-19 in research results and the implementation of policies for COVID-19.

A review of the prevalence of COVID-19 in the Arab world.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly spreading disease worldwide. It is a real test for all health authorities including Arab countries. In this review, we aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the Arab world. In addition, to compare the findings of this study with other top affected countries. METHODOLOGY: We searched for official websites from the Ministries of Health and other official sources in all 22 Arab countries. Medline, Science Direct and Google Scholar websites were also used to search for COVID-19, 2019 novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirus. The time period was from 1 January 2020 to 31 May 2020. RESULTS: As of May 31, 2020, COVID-19 has caused 290,428 confirmed cases, 3,696 deaths and 157,886 cured cases in all Arab countries. In terms of confirmed cases, Saudi Arabia followed by Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Egypt have the highest reported cases. However, the total number of deaths was dominant in Egypt, followed by Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and UAE. In comparison to other non-Arab countries and confirmed cases, Arab countries come fourth after USA, Brazil and Russia. In terms of death, the Arab world is not listed as the top ten affected countries as only scored eight deaths per million have been recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Most Arab countries took some serious early steps to minimize the outbreak of COVID-19. At the moment, controlling the source of infection, the route of transmission and taking care of infected patients are the main challenges for health authorities in all Arab countries.