Exploring the Energy Saving Potential in Private, Public and Non-Motorized Transport for Ten Swedish Cities

Transport energy conservation research in urban transport systems dates back principally to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) “Arab Oil Embargo” (1973–1974) and the Iranian revolution (1979), when global oil supplies became threatened and costs rose steeply. Two subsequent Gulf Wars (1991 and 2003) highlighted the dangerous geo-political dimensions of Middle-Eastern oil. In latter times, the urgency to reduce global CO2 output to avoid catastrophic climate change has achieved great prominence. How to reduce passenger transport energy use therefore remains an important goal, which this paper pursues in ten Swedish cities, based on five scenarios: (1) increasing the relatively low public transport (PT) seat occupancy in each Swedish city to average European levels (buses 35%, light rail 48%, metro 60% and suburban rail 35%); (2) doubling existing PT seat occupancy in each Swedish city; (3) increasing existing car occupancy in each Swedish city by 10%; (4) decreasing existing energy use per car vehicle kilometer by 15%; (5) increasing existing modal split for daily trips by non-motorized modes to 50% in each city. A sixth “best-case scenario” is also explored by simultaneously combining scenarios 2 to 5. The data used in the paper come from systematic empirical research on each of the ten Swedish cities. When applied individually, scenario 2 is the most successful for reducing passenger transport energy use, scenarios 1 and 4 are next in magnitude and produce approximately equal energy savings, followed by scenario 5, with scenario 3 being the least successful. The best-case, combined scenario could save 1183 million liters of gasoline equivalent in the ten cities, representing almost a 60% saving over their existing 2015 total private passenger transport energy use and equivalent to the combined 2015 total annual private transport energy use of Stockholm, Malmö and Jönköping. Such findings also have important positive implications for the de-carbonization of cities. The policy implications of these findings and the strategies for increasing public transport, walking and cycling, boosting car occupancy and decreasing vehicular fuel consumption in Swedish cities are discussed.

Assessing the Effect of Instructor’s Emotional Intelligence (EI) on the Students’ Satisfaction Index (SSI): Meta-Analysis of University Students

The present study aims to examine the relationship of instructors’ emotional intelligence (EI) with the satisfaction index of their corresponding students. For this purpose, data were collected from 650 full-time students and 6 male instructors from a major Middle Eastern University. Emotional intelligence of the instructors was measured with the help of average of students’ responses with the weightage of each assessing parameter, i.e., self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management which also reflected the students’ satisfaction index (SSI). Moreover, authenticity of the data was confirmed with the help of Cronbach’s alpha, and the analysis of data was carried out using descriptive statistics, correlation, and box plots. The students’ satisfaction index is calculated by correlating various parameters such as comfort, skill, learning, and motivation in order to identify the most critical parameter. For identifying the most critical parameter, box plots are used. Final results reveal a strong correlation of instructor’s EI with student satisfaction index (r = 0.951, p < 0.005 , F >> Fcritical). Findings of the study can be beneficial to highlight the importance of students’ satisfaction index (SSI) which is correlated with instructor’s EI.

The evolution of the Gulf Coopera-tion Council approaches to security issues after the Arab Spring

The painful consequences of political, economic and social shocks provoked by the Arab Spring forced the political elites of the Middle Eastern states to revisit traditional approaches to maintaining stability and security in the region. This inevitably aff ected the activities of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which was from the outset established in order to enhance cooperation between the countries of the region primarily in the fi eld of security. This paper attempts to identify the key milestones, factors and trends that have shaped the GCC decision-making process in the security sphere over the past 10 years since the beginning of the Arab Spring. The author shows that the Arab Awakening has encouraged the GCC member-states to deepen military-political integration, aimed at strengthening their defense capabilities, as well as their abilities to respond to external and internal challenges. The author notes that the GCC countries still view Iran as the main source of all these threats; moreover, con-sidering substantial strengthening of Iran’s infl uence in the Middle East their position has even hardened. Tehran is accused of meddling in the internal aff airs of the GCC member-states, supporting illegal Shiite groups operating on their territory, and instigating religious discord. In this context, it is quite natural that the Iran’s nuclear programme is of particular concern to the GCC. At the same time, the author emphasizes, that although the GCC member-states declare common approach towards Iran, their practical actions can vary signifi cantly. In particular, it was Qatar which opposed an excessively hard-line approach towards Iran. This fact, as well as accusations against Doha of supporting terrorist and extremist groups, led to two crises that shook the GCC in the 2010s. However, the fact that these crises have been eventually settled shows that security issues still press regional actors towards strengthening the capacities of the GCC. Especially since military threats have been compounded by a new threat — of the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The author concludes that this new threat, which has already incited the GCC to promote cooperation in a health sector, will also strengthen the member-states’ focus on various nonmilitary challenges including epidemiological and environmental ones.

Institutional changes, inequality and long-run economic development: Theory and empirics

This paper reviews theoretical and empirical literature on long-run economic development, institutional dynamics, and their interplay. Special attention is given to papers that explore the reasons why pro-growth reforms and institutional changes may be blocked. Among these reasons, over the past years the literature has increasingly focused on inequality in the distribution of wealth and political power as a key factor. This review is structured around two major theoretical approaches that illuminate the reasons behind the transition from stagnation to growth and cross-country income divergence: the unified growth theory (UGT), and the theory of endogenous institutional change. Using the empirical evidence on divergence between European and Middle Eastern economies, as well as the divergence within Europe, the paper demonstrates the value of these approaches in explaining the observed patterns of cross-country long-run development. The paper concludes with outlining several promising directions for future research.

Dynamic Regulation of the Nexus Between Stress Granules, Roquin, and Regnase-1 Underlies the Molecular Pathogenesis of Warfare Vesicants

The use of chemical warfare agents is prohibited but they have been used in recent Middle Eastern conflicts. Their accidental exposure (e.g. arsenical lewisite) is also known and causes extensive painful cutaneous injury. However, their molecular pathogenesis is not understood. Here, we demonstrate that a nexus of stress granules (SGs), integrated stress, and RNA binding proteins (RBPs) Roquin and Reganse-1 play a key role. Lewisite and its prototype phenylarsine oxide (PAO) induce SG assembly in skin keratinocytes soon after exposure, which associate with various RBPs and translation-related proteins. SG disassembly was detected several hours after exposure. The dynamics of SG assembly-disassembly associates with the chemical insult and cell damage. Enhanced Roquin and Regnase-1 expression occurs when Roquin was recruited to SGs and Regnase-1 to the ribosome while in the disassembling SGs their expression is decreased with consequent induction of inflammatory mediators. SG-targeted protein translational control is regulated by the phosphorylation-dependent activation of eukaryotic initiation factors 2α (eIF2α). Treatment with integrated stress response inhibitor (ISRIB), which blocks eIF2α phosphorylation, impacted SG assembly dynamics. Topical application of ISRIB attenuated the inflammation and tissue disruption in PAO-challenged mice. Thus, the dynamic regulation of these pathways provides underpinning to cutaneous injury and identify translational therapeutic approach for these and similar debilitating chemicals.

Refugee posttraumatic growth: A grounded theory study

In response to the unprecedented refugee crisis around the world, a growing body of research has focused on psychological distress among individuals and families forced to flee their homelands. Less attention has been directed toward understanding resilience, adaptation, and growth among this population. This grounded theory study explored the posttraumatic growth experiences of Middle Eastern and Afghan refugees resettled in the United States. The principal researcher conducted 23 interviews with seven couples and 16 individuals aged 25 to 67 years, from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. This study aimed to explore how refugees understand, process, overcome, and grow from the trauma and adversity they have experienced. Findings were used to delineate a model of the process through which refugees experience posttraumatic growth. The overarching theme of moving forward had five specific growth themes: increased awareness of context; tolerating uncertainty; spiritual/religious attunement; consideration of others; and integrating into society. Findings shed light on the complex process of growth and adaptation in the aftermath of war and forced migration. The model can serve as a tool for clinicians to facilitate more empowering posttraumatic narratives with refugee clients rooted in growth experiences.

Performance of organic farming in developing countries: a case of organic tomato value chain in Lebanon

The future of food value chains has increasingly been reliant on the wider adoption of sustainable farming practices that include organic agriculture. Organic farming in developed countries is standardized and occupies a niche in agro-food systems. However, such a standard model, when transferred to developing countries, faces difficulty in implementation. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the expansion of organic agriculture in Lebanon, a Middle Eastern context, and analyzes the economic performance of organic tomato among smallholder farmers. Accordingly, the study was able to determine the production costs, map the organic value chain and assess the profitability of organic tomato by comparing it with the conventional tomato in the same value chain. The study finds organic farming being increasingly expensive primarily due to the inherently high cost of production in Lebanon and the inefficient organization of the organic value chain. As a result, we suggest a blended approach of organic farming with other models, in particular agro-tourism, as a local solution to the sustainability of organic farming in developing countries with limited resources (land and labor) and characterized by long marketing channels. In countries such as Lebanon, a country endowed with rich cultural heritage and natural and beautiful landscapes, the agro-tourism model can harness organic farming and tourism activities. We also propose the adoption of local collective guarantee systems for organic production as a way to alleviate the costs of third-party auditing in Lebanon.

How Does LC/MS Compare to UV in Coffee Authentication and Determination of Antioxidant Effects? Brazilian and Middle Eastern Coffee as Case Studies

Coffee is a popular beverage owing to its unique flavor and diverse health benefits. The current study aimed at investigating the antioxidant activity, in relation to the phytochemical composition, of authenticated Brazilian green and roasted Coffea arabica and C. robusta, along with 15 commercial specimens collected from the Middle East. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI–HRMS) and UV spectrometry were employed for profiling and fingerprinting, respectively. With the aid of global natural product social molecular networking (GNPS), a total of 88 peaks were annotated as belonging to different chemical classes, of which 11 metabolites are reported for the first time in coffee seeds. Moreover, chemometric tools showed comparable results between both platforms, with more advantages for UV in the annotation of roasting products, suggesting that UV can serve as a discriminative tool. Additionally, antioxidant assays coupled with the UHPLC-ESI–HRMS dataset using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) demonstrated that caffeoylquinic acid and caffeine were potential antioxidant markers in unroasted coffee versus dicaffeoyl quinolactone and melanoidins in roasted coffee. The study presents a multiplex metabolomics approach to the quality control of coffee, one of the most consumed beverages.

Prevalence of Frailty in the Middle East: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

(1) We aimed to systematically search available data on the prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling elders in Middle Eastern countries. The results from available studies are cumulated to provide comprehensive evidence for the prevalence of frailty. (2) Methods: A meta-analysis was done. A literature search was carried out using PRISMA guidelines in PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS websites for studies up to 2020. Inclusion criteria entailed all primary studies conducted in Middle Eastern countries on frailty in community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years and older. (3) Results: A total of 10 studies were selected for this study. Random-effects meta-analysis of nine studies indicated there was a pooled prevalence rate of 0.3924 with a standard error of 0.037. This pooled prevalence point estimate of 0.3924 was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The Egger’s regression test and the trim-fill method for detecting publication bias did not detect any evidence of publication bias in the sample of included studies. The Egger’s regression test was not statistically significant. The trim-fill method indicated zero studies were missing on either side; (4) Conclusions: The study’s findings indicate that the prevalence of frailty is higher in Middle Eastern nations. Despite indications that many of these nations’ populations are rapidly ageing, we presently lack information on the incidence of frailty in these populations; this information is essential to health, policymakers, and social care planning.