Prevalence and Severity of Asthma, Rhinitis and Eczema in Pre-School Children in the United Arab Emirates

Very few studies have been carried out on asthma and allergies in pre-schoolchildren. This is the first study of pre-school children with asthma and allergies in the United Arab Emirates. We studied 4,000 pre-schoolchildren from the United Arab Emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Al-Ain. The ages of the study group were between 1-5 years, and were 2,000 boys and 2,000 girls; they were randomly selected from kindergartens and nurseries. We used the standardised International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The mean (SD) age, height, weight and BMI were 3.3 (1.4) years, 92.0 (1.3) cm, 17.3 (5.2) kg, and 23.4 (9.3). The prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, “asthma” , “dry night cough”, and “exercise-induced asthma” were 40.4%, 43.8%, 37.6%, 26.5%, 36.1, and 37.6%, respectively. Boys had a significantly higher prevalence of wheeze ever and current wheeze than girls. Girls had a significantly higher prevalence of speech limitation than boys. The prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, “itchy watery eyes” and “hay fever” were 42%, 40.5%, 39.1% and 46.9%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, and “itchy watery eyes” than girls. The prevalence rates of “rash ever”, “current rash” and “eczema ever” were 38.9%, 33.7% and 58.0%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of rash ever, current rash, and eczema ever than girls. Children who were exposed to parental smoking have significantly higher prevalence rates of asthma, wheezing, and cough than those whom were not exposed. Children who breastfed more than 10 months had a significantly lower prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, and “asthma”, than those whom breastfed less than 10 months. The prevalence rates of asthma, rhinitis and eczema were very high. Breastfeeding was found to be protective for asthma. The study can be used as a baseline intervention project to reduce incidents of asthma and allergies in these children and to establish atopic march in order to implement strategies to improve the respiratory health and allergies in these children. Keywords: asthma, wheeze, night cough, rhinitis, eczema, pre-school children, paediatric asthma

Effective Planning and Achieving the Comprehensive Development: Al Ain University as a Model

This study aimed to identify the role of effective planning in achieving sustainable development in Al Ain University, through illustrating the relation that links the integrative theoretical framework of each of the effective planning and sustainable development. The researchers applied the descriptive survey method to investigate the non-quantitative variables and analyze them through the questionnaire into measurable quantitative variables. The study population and sample comprised all the academic leaders in Al Ain University, to whom the researchers delivered (150) copies of the questionnaire. The study relied on secondary resources such as related books, studies, magazines, and periodicals. The primary resource was constructing a questionnaire related to the study subject, and based on the theoretical framework of the study as well as the previous studies. Two statistical software were used to process the obtained data namely, SPSS and AMOS, by applying the field study on the sample to analyze the correlational and causal relationships among the study variables. The results showed that there is a medium level of strategic planning in Al Ain University as seen by its Academics and that the university achieves a medium level of sustainable development as seen by the academic leaders. The results further showed statistically significant effects at (α≥0.05) level for the dimensions of effective planning in achieving sustainable development as a whole. The correlation coefficient (R) was (0.70), which is a statistically significant value that indicated a statistically significant correlation between the independent and dependent variables. Received: 11 May 2021 / Accepted: 24 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of the Effect of Cultural Background in the IELTS Listening Test

This study examined the effect of culturally-specific items on the performance of Arab candidates on the IELTS Listening Test. Using an online survey and focus-group discussions with 16 IELTS teachers and 32 IELTS candidates at Al Ain University in Abu Dhabi/the United Arab Emirates, the current study showed that the independent variable, i.e. ‘culture’, has a negative impact on the candidates’ performance. The results revealed that the most culturally-loaded section of the IELTS Listening Test is Section 1, followed by Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4, respectively. The results also demonstrated that the culturally-specific items included in the Listening Test had a negative effect on the candidates’ answers who were not aware of certain cultural aspects referenced in the test. The study concluded with some recommendations that aim to improve the cultural awareness of Arab candidates.

Camel-related Major Vascular Injuries: A 20-years’ Experience

Background: Majority of animal-related injuries in United Arab Emirates are caused by camels. We aimed to study the anatomy, biomechanism and outcome of major camel-related human vascular injuries and correlate them to the camel anatomy and behavior.Methods: We retrospectively studied all patients who were admitted to Al-Ain Hospital with camel-related major vascular injury during January 2001 to January 2020. A special protocol was designed to collect the data. An adult 7-year-old male camel skull was prepared and web-based video clips of camel bites to humans were analysed to have an in-depth understanding of the biomechanism of injury.Results: Seven patients were studied, all were males having a median age of 26 years. Five out of six bite injuries (83%) occured during the camel rutting season. The injuries were severe and life threatening. Four involved the carotid artery, one the femoral artery and vein, one the external iliac vein and one the aorta which was due to a fall from a camel. Although the standard of surgical care was high, the outcome was poor. Six patients were admitted to the ICU for a median of 5 days. One patient died, one was vegetative, and one had arm paralysis. The elongated jaws of the camel having its biting component at the front, and the strong masseter muscles at the back increases the strength of its bite grip. Each bite causes four small elliptical wounds of the canine teeth which resembles two stab wounds of 8 cm long, penetrating deeply and injuring major vessels. Aggressive camels bite repeatedly to kill their victims.Conclusions: Camel-related vascular injuries have a poor clinical outcome. Although the basis of their surgical management is similar to other vascular injuries, their poor outcome is related to the aggressiveness of the attacking camel, the anatomy of its jaw, and its intention to kill. Neck wounds of camel bites can be closed primarily after debridement. Studying these unusual injuries gives an insight into the “one globe one health approach” in which humans interacts with the animals and the environment around them. It important to understand the camel behavior for injury prevention.

A study to investigate the impact of social research toward research productivity

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between demographic diversity and research productivity. The paper attempts to identify the influence of gender diversity, college diversity, and diversity in collaboration on the research productivity of faculty members. The paper is based on data collected from the Deanship of Scientific Research and the Office of Documentation, Al Ain University (AAU). The findings of the study showed significant differences in college diversity. Faculty members of the English instruction colleges dominated the leadership in research productivity. The independent variables appeared to predict 23% of the variation in research productivity. AAU faculty members should increase internal and external collaborations and network in scientific research. Similarly, AAU also should support and promote research collaboration and networking among faculty members through a comprehensive strategic plan and guidance for internal and external collaborations.

‘Every day is a challenge’: Expatriate acculturation in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a very small population of national citizens, so it relies on foreign workers who bring a range of cultures with them, resulting in a unique multi-cultural context. Unlike Western countries, such as the UK, Canada and Australia, workers are unable to permanently migrate to the UAE, so instead they hold temporary, expatriate status. This exploratory study focuses on the experiences of internationally qualified, expatriate nurses in hospitals in Al Ain, gathered by qualitative interviews. Twenty-one registered nurses participated in this study. The nurses faced challenges associated with language requirements and differing cultural expectations, and displayed limited acculturation, which compromised their ability to provide appropriate care for patients. The temporary nature of the work, cultural expectations, language difficulties and potential improvements are discussed. The findings have important implications for organizations that employ large groups of staff from overseas in all sectors. This article contributes to knowledge of expatriates’ challenges in the UAE and highlights the difficulties of working in a diverse environment, leading to a range of actions being recommended for managers.

Exploring Visitor Perceptions towards Urban Park Design and Levels of Enclosure: A Case Study from the UAE

As cities transition towards urbanization and sustainability, designing attractive green spaces and urban parks is an important issue to planners and urban designers. One factor believed to have some impact on a park’s attractiveness is level of enclosure. Despite the importance of such a factor in identifying types of park visitors and frequency of visits, a limited amount of research has attempted to statistically model impacts of level enclosure on a park’s attractiveness. To address this gap, this article explores impacts of multiple physical characteristics, including levels of enclosure, on park attractiveness and user behavior. Activities in two parks in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were studied using field observations, photography, interviews, and statistical analysis. Field observations were utilized to model people’s attitude while using parks. Logistic regression was employed to the field observations to investigate associations between different factors and park attractiveness. Results indicated levels of enclosure had a direct influence on park users. Gender, age, and ethnicity were also found statistically significant determinates of park visitor attitudes and park choice. Traces of territorial behaviors and social conflicts were also observed.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on road traffic collision injury patterns and severity in Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates

Background The COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns restricted human and traffic mobility impacting the patterns and severity of road traffic collisions (RTCs). We aimed to study the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on incidence, patterns, severity of the injury, and outcomes of hospitalized RTCs trauma patients in Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates. Methods We compared the data of two cohorts of patients which were collected over two periods; the Pandemic period (28 March 2020 to 27 March 2021) and the pre-pandemic period (28 March 2019 to 27 March 2020). All RTCs trauma patients who were hospitalized in the two major trauma centers (Al-Ain and Tawam Hospitals) of Al-Ain City were studied. Results Overall, the incidence of hospitalized RTC trauma patients significantly reduced by 33.5% during the Pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period. The mechanism of injury was significantly different between the two periods (p < 0.0001, Fisher’s Exact test). MVCs were less during the Pandemic (60.5% compared with 72%), while motorcycle injuries were more (23.3% compared with 11.2%). The mortality of hospitalized RTC patients was significantly higher during the Pandemic (4.4% compared with 2.3%, p = 0.045, Fisher’s Exact test). Logistic regression showed that the significant factors that predicted mortality were the low GCS (p < 0.0001), admission to the ICU (p < 0.0001), and the high ISS (p = 0.045). COVID-19 Pandemic had a very strong trend (p = 0.058) for increased mortality. Conclusions Our study has shown that the numbers of hospitalized RTC trauma patients reduced by 33.5% during the COVID-19 Pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period in our setting. This was attributed to the reduced motor vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle injuries while motorcycle injuries increased. Mortality was significantly higher during the Pandemic, which was attributed to increased ISS and reduced GCS.

Comparative Study on Degradability Characteristics of Evaporitic and Carbonate Rocks from Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

The slake durability index (SDI) test is a well know and extensively used to measure the degradability behaviour of rocks especially for weak rocks like mudstone, shale, evaporites, carbonates, etc. The degradability of rocks plays a critical role in engineering design process either on or in the rock mass for safe and sustainable structures. Evaporitic and carbonate rocks are vulnerable to physical, chemical and mechanical weathering, break down, as result of wetting-drying processes during the SDI test. Evaporites and carbonates are outcropped at the surface and subsurface of the Al Ain city, which is located on the south-eastern of Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at various level, and it is one of the rapid growing cities in the UAE. However, the detailed comparative data on the slaking behaviour of evaporites and carbonates are not available presently in the study area. Therefore, this paper provides a comparative study on the degradability characteristics of evaporitic and carbonate rocks in the city of Al Ain as well as comprehensive data for the study area. 142 rock blocks (∼ 40×40×40 cm3 in size), which represent evaporitic (48 blocks) and carbonate (94 blocks) rocks were collected from various accessible either surfaces outcrops or excavated areas from the study area. 48 and 94 slake durability test samples of evaporites and carbonates were prepared and slake durability tests were performed according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Furthermore, their compositional and textural characteristics were examined using polarized-light microscope, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The degradability data for evaporite and carbonate rocks designate medium to very low and extremely high to very high values based on the classification after multiple cycling, Id1 to Id4, processes, respectively. The weight loss values from the first to the fourth cycles (Id1–Id4) of evaporite and carbonate samples are approximately 24–95 and 0.68-4.22 wt%. Obviously, evaporites are highly vulnerable compare to carbonates because of their differences in chemical and mineralogical structures and their reactions to the slaking fluid of distilled water. Hydration-dehydration effects on the evaporitic rocks may occur within short time compare to the carbonate rocks due to their natural occurrences. Thus, this study provide comparable and details information for the degradability characteristics of evaporitic and carbonate rocks, and likely improve the understanding of the durability of both rock types in the study area and elsewhere. Especially, such a reliable and inclusive information will compromise a practical guideline for engineers and decision makers to overcome difficulties on durability problems associated with evaporites and carbonates in the study area and elsewhere.