Founder mutations are disease-causing variants that occur frequently in geographically or culturally isolated groups whose shared ancestor(s) carried the pathogenic variant. While some disease alleles may vanish from the genetic pool due to natural selection, variants with weaker effects may survive for a long time, thereby enhancing the prevalence of some rare diseases. These are predominantly autosomal recessive diseases but can also be autosomal dominant traits with late-onset or mild phenotypes. Cultural practices, such as endogamy and consanguinity, in these isolated groups lead to higher prevalence of such rare diseases compared to the rest of the population and worldwide. In this Perspective, we define population isolates and the underlying genetic mechanisms for accumulating founder mutations. We also discuss the current and potential scientific, clinical and public-health implications of studying founder mutations in population isolates around the world, with a particular focus on the Arab population.

UNASSIGNED: Scarlet fever is an infectious disease caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. However, there is limited data regarding the disease in the Arab World, including the United Arab Emirates.
UNASSIGNED: To analyse a scarlet fever outbreak in United Arab Emirates.
UNASSIGNED: This retrospective cross-sectional study included scarlet fever cases diagnosed at the Kanad Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates in 2022 and 2023. Data were retrieved from the hospital records and analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Chi-Square, Mann-Whitney, and Monte Carlo tests were applied.
UNASSIGNED: Two hundred and twenty-two cases (13.5% in 2022 and 86.5% in 2023) were confirmed (P<0.001). Majority (67.1%) of the patients were aged 3-6 years, with a mean age of 4.56 ± 1.99 years. Rash, fever and sore throat were observed in 100%, 99.1%, and 82.0% of cases, respectively. The majority (85.1%) were managed as outpatients and 77.0% responded to oral penicillin. Patients\' age was not significantly associated with nonresponse to penicillin and in-hospital admission. The outbreak had winter and summer peaks, with the highest incidence occurring during January and February 2023.
UNASSIGNED: This study serves as a valuable reference for other studies, which should include antimicrobial susceptibility testing and the prevailing genetic variance of Streptococcus pyogenes.
تحليل وصفي لفاشية الحمى القرمزية في الإمارات العربية المتحدة.
إيمان خليفة صبح، ثياجاراج أديمولام كوماراسامي، زهراء خليفة صبح.
UNASSIGNED: ان الحُمَّى القرمزية مرض مُعدٍ تسببه المكورات العقدية المقيحة. ولكن توجد بيانات محدودة عن هذا المرض في العالم العربي، ومنه الإمارات العربية المتحدة.
UNASSIGNED: هدفت هذه الدراسة الى تحليل فاشية الحُمَّى القرمزية في الإمارات العربية المتحدة.
UNASSIGNED: شملت هذه الدراسة المقطعية الاسترجاعية حالات الحمى القرمزية التي شُخِّصت في مستشفى كند في مدينة العين بالإمارات العربية المتحدة في عامَي 2022 و2023. واستُُرجعت البيانات من سجلات المستشفى، وحُلِّلت ببرنامج SPSS، الإصدار 23.0. وطُبِّقت اختبارات مربع كاي، ومان ويتني، ومونت كارلو.
UNASSIGNED: رُصدت 222 حالة مؤكدة (13.5٪ منها في عام 2022 و86.5٪ في عام 2023) (القيمة الاحتمالية: P<0.001). وتراوحت أعمار غالبية المرضى (67.1٪) بين 3 و6 سنوات، وبلغ متوسط أعمارهم 4.56 ± 1.99 سنوات. ولُوحظت أعراض الطفح الجلدي والحمى والتهاب الحلق في 100٪ و99.1٪ و82.0٪ من الحالات على الترتيب. وقُدِّم العلاج لغالبية المرضى (85.1٪) في العيادات الخارجية، واستجاب 77.0٪ منهم للبنسلين الفموي. ولم ترتبط أعمار المرضى ارتباطًا ملحوظًا بعدم الاستجابة للبنسلين والحاجة إلى دخول المستشفى. وبلغت الفاشية ذروتها في الشتاء وفي الصيف، وحدثت أعلى معدلات الإصابة خلال شهرَي يناير/ كانون الثاني وفبراير/ شباط 2023.
UNASSIGNED: تعد هذه الدراسة مرجع قيِّم لدراسات أخرى، وهي الدراسات التي ينبغي أن تشمل اختبارات بشأن الحساسية لمضادات الميكروبات والتباين الجيني السائد للمكورات العقدية المقيحة.
Analyse rétrospective d’une flambée de scarlatine aux Émirats arabes unis.
UNASSIGNED: La scarlatine est une maladie infectieuse causée par Streptococcus pyogenes. Cependant, il existe peu de données à ce sujet dans le monde arabe, et notamment aux Émirats arabes unis.
UNASSIGNED: Analyser une flambée de scarlatine survenue aux Émirats arabes unis.
UNASSIGNED: La présente étude transversale rétrospective a inclus des cas de scarlatine diagnostiqués à l\'hôpital Kanad, à Al Ain, aux Émirats arabes unis en 2022 et 2023. Les données ont été extraites des dossiers d\'hôpital et analysées à l\'aide du logiciel SPSS version 23.0. Les tests de khi carré, de Mann-Whitney et de Monte-Carlo ont été appliqués.
UNASSIGNED: Deux cent vingt-deux cas (13,5 % en 2022 et 86,5 % en 2023) ont été confirmés (p<0,001). La majorité des patients (61,7 %) étaient âgés entre trois et six ans, l\'âge moyen étant de 4,56 ± 1,99 ans. Des éruptions cutanées, de la fièvre et des maux de gorge ont été observés dans 100 %, 99,1 % et 82 % des cas respectivement. La majorité des personnes touchées (85,1 %) ont été prises en charge en ambulatoire et 77,0 % ont répondu à la pénicilline par voie orale. L\'âge des patients n\'était pas significativement associé à la non-réponse à la pénicilline et à l\'hospitalisation. La flambée a connu des pics en hiver et en été, l\'incidence la plus élevée s\'étant produite en janvier et février 2023.
UNASSIGNED: Cette étude sert de référence précieuse pour d\'autres études, qui devraient inclure des tests de sensibilité aux antimicrobiens et la variance génétique prévalente de Streptococcus pyogenes.

UNASSIGNED: Twenty-two Arab countries share a common language, history, and culture. Nevertheless, governmental policies, healthcare systems, and resources differ from one Arab country to another. We have been following Coronavirus (COVID-19) from the beginning in each Arab country. In the present study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the Arab world and to compare these findings with other significantly affected countries.
UNASSIGNED: Websites of the World Health Organization, World COVID-vaccinations tracker, Worldometer, and Ministries of Health were used to extract COVID-19 data in all Arab countries between the period January 2020 to December 2022.
UNASSIGNED: All Arab countries had 14,218,042 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, 13,384,924 total recovered cases and 173,544 total related deaths. The trend demonstrated that the third quarter of 2021 recorded the highest death toll and the first quarter of 2022 recorded the highest number of confirmed and recovered cases. Compared to the top 15 affected countries, the Arab world ranked last as it had the lowest overall incidence per million population (PMP) of 31,609. The data on total deaths PMP showed that India had the lowest number of deaths with only 377 cases followed by the Arab world with 386 cases.
UNASSIGNED: Although the number of confirmed, death, and recovered cases of COVID-19 have greatly reduced in the last quarter of 2022 in most Arab countries, many Arab countries still need to re-campaign about COVID-19 vaccines and raise awareness programs about boosters. COVID-19 has had a relatively smaller impact on Arab countries than on other countries that have been significantly affected.

Academic Entitlement (AE) is the expectation by students to receive high grades or preferential treatment without significant effort. Exploring AE from faculty perspective has not been investigated in Arab colleges of pharmacy. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perceptions towards student AE among pharmacy faculty in the Arab World. A cross-sectional, self-administered, anonymous, electronic survey was sent to pharmacy faculty across pharmacy colleges in Arab countries. The survey collected demographic data, an AE measure including 17 items reflecting seven AE components, and faculty perceptions and perceived reasons for AE. A total of 345 responses were collected. The AE level was moderate (46.05 ±7.29), and the highest scores among its components were for customer service expectation (62%) and responsibility avoidance (59%). In multiple linear regression, AE showed positive significant association with faculty in clinical pharmacy departments and those having fewer years of experience. Most common complaints heard by faculty from students were requests to turn in assignments late (90%), while the most common communication issues faculty faced with students were unprofessional verbal communication (58%) and unprofessional messages on social media (57%). Poor admission criteria (40%) and existence of multiple private colleges of pharmacy (37%) were the most common perceived reasons for AE by participating faculty. This study reveals moderate AE experienced by pharmacy faculty in the Arab World, as well as common complaints, communication issues, and AE reasons. In collaboration with other stakeholders, faculty play an important role in indicating expectations from students regarding AE, and research is warranted to check if such interventions reduce AE among pharmacy students.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the productivity, performance, and impact of medical research in the Arab world countries.
METHODS: We carried out a bibliometric analysis using Clarivate Analytics databases from January 2017 to March 2023. We reported research productivity, national and international research collaboration patterns, impact of Arab medical research output compared to the global average, top medical journals publishing Arab-affiliated research, and performance of the most productive Arab institutions.
RESULTS: The Arab world contributed 2.72% to global medical research publication, with a citation impact of 11.98 compared to the global impact of 12.02. Qatar, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia led medical research publications per million population among Arab countries, ranking 26th, 36th, and 37th globally. Medical research publications increased by 87% annually from 2017-2022, with 70% of research originating from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. National collaborations accounted for 15% of Arab world publications, while international collaborations represented 66%. The median impact factor across the top 20 medical journals with Arab-affiliated authors was 5.14, with 50% being quartile one journals. The top 10 Arab-origin medical journals had a median impact factor of 3.13. Approximately 80% of the top 20 Arab institutions were academic, with a median publication count of 3,162.5 and a median citation impact of 14.5.
CONCLUSIONS: The study provides insights into the state of medical research in the Arab countries, indicating room for improvement in the region\'s medical research.

UNASSIGNED: Twenty-two Arab countries comprise the League of Arab States. While united in Arab identity, diversities among these countries exist at many levels. Conducting and publishing research in the Arabic speaking countries is an essential pillar for improving the status of the nursing profession.
UNASSIGNED: The purpose of this study is to assess the current status, trends, challenges, and opportunities of nursing research in Arab countries.
UNASSIGNED: An integrative review was conducted using (1) Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office Database Journals Directory (IMEMR), (2) the Iraqi Academic Scientific Journals Database (IASJD), (3) Ulrichsweb (UW), (4) The Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research/Middle Eastern Journals (GFMER), (5) the Nursing Journal Directory (NJD), (6) the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and (7) Google Scholar. Journals and articles that met inclusion criteria were accessed, retrieved, reviewed, and subjected to content analysis by three authors, two of which were fluent in English, French, and Arabic languages. A third author fluent in all three languages confirmed the findings.
UNASSIGNED: Nursing research in Arabic-speaking countries has evolved over the past decades but is still lacking compared to global nursing research. Moreover, it was found to be largely situated within academic institutions and linked to tenure and promotion requirements.
UNASSIGNED: Nursing journals in Arabic-speaking countries do not adequately represent that overall region and are limited in access.

The period described in this chapter reflects activity prior to the establishment of surgical centers in Europe in the twelfth century. It is a kind of prologue to the reintroduction of high-quality surgical practice. Religious squabbles within Christianity led to European medicine and surgery, the principles of which were written in Greek, being transported eastwards into the region newly dominated by Islam. There the works were translated into Arabic and during three to four hundred years, the works were not only retained but were enriched by contributions from within Arab culture. This evolution naturally enough came to affect what happened next. However, one thing is clear and was even commented on as early as by Albucasis. The surgeon\'s respect and distinction within society had depreciated during the sojourn of medical science in the Islamic world, with physicians being regarded as distinctly superior beings. With regard to specific details related to opening the head there was broad consistency between the various authors all of whom seem to have been greatly influenced by Paul of Ægina. Thus, there is no mention of the crown trepan. Opening the skull was performed with the non-perforating trepans making small holes which were connected with chisels or lenticulars. The indication to do this was separation of the dura from the bone. Whether or not the sutures should be avoided when trepanning is not a topic mentioned in these writings. There was also no recommendation for prophylactic trepanation.

OBJECTIVE: Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) use and Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking (WTS) are reported to be a growing strain of tobacco epidemic among youth in the Arab world. Therefore, we aimed to: (1) estimate the regional prevalence of ENDS use among youth in 7 Arab countries and, (2) to explore the bidirectional relationship between ENDS use and WTS among Arab adolescents.
METHODS: We analyzed data from the World Health Organization Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS 2014-2018) of 18,536 schoolchildren aged 12-16 from Iraq, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, and Yemen. The weighted prevalence was calculated to generate nationally representative estimates. Adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were conducted to assess the association between ENDS use and WTS.
RESULTS: The pooled weighted prevalence of ENDS use was 9.5%. Higher odds of ENDS use were significantly associated with WTS (AOR: 5.26, 95%CI: 4.28-6.46), smoking conventional cigarettes (AOR: 1.54, 95%CI: 1.23-1.94) and first tobacco use prior to the age of 12 (AOR: 1.40, 95%CI: 1.14-1.72). Females and children who were taught in school the dangers of tobacco had less odds of using ENDS.
CONCLUSIONS: WTS was associated with increased odds of ENDS use by >5 folds, and vice versa. Tobacco consumption at age younger than 12 years was associated with higher odds of ENDS use, but less odds of WTS. Females and those who were taught in school the dangers of tobacco were less likely to report ENDS use.

UNASSIGNED: To conduct a systematic review to identify the impact of diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals within the Arab world.
UNASSIGNED: A PRISMA-guided systematic search for HRQoL studies in Arab populations was conducted in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and EBSCO. Relevant studies were critically appraised using the STROBE statement checklist.
UNASSIGNED: A total of five studies were included. Three studies originated from Saudi Arabia, one from Jordan and one from Tunisia. The studies consistently demonstrated lower (poorer) HRQoL in patients with DFU, and worse HRQoL compared with both patients with diabetes and no DFU, and with healthy subjects.
UNASSIGNED: This review confirmed the negative impact of DFU on HRQoL in individuals with diabetes. It also highlights the scarcity of HRQoL studies from the Arab world. However, given that all studies included were conducted between 2013-2019, this could reflect a growing interest in DFU and HRQoL in the Arab world, and could potentially indicate that more studies will follow. In light of this, there is a need for a renewed focus on the completion of a high-quality standardised approach to research in this region.

The present research aimed to examine bullying among diverse Arab nationalities residing in Qatar across two separate studies. Study 1 examined how Arabic-speaking adolescents and adults describe and perceive bullying, participants (N = 36) from different Arab nationalities (i.e., Egyptians, Qataris, Syrians, and other Arabs) were presented with three tasks in a focus group where they were asked questions about how they describe and perceive three scenarios without reference to the term \"bullying\". Findings indicated that (1) the majority of participants referred to the intention to cause harm and the imbalance of power in their descriptions, and (2) differences in describing the behaviours in the scenarios were notable when comparing Egyptians with the three other nationalities. Overall, participants frequently chose different Arabic terms (e.g., Ta\'adi (تعدي)) in their descriptions of the scenarios. Interestingly, the term Tanammor (تنمُّر), which has been used in previous studies as the Arabic term for bullying, was chosen the least by the current sample. Study 2 examined how Arab-speaking students (N = 117) describe bullying behaviour in seven scenarios using Arabic and English terms. The procedure was administered in English in the international schools, and Arabic in the independent schools. English-speaking students often used the term \"bullying\", whereas Arabic-speaking students often used behavioural descriptions (e.g., the term \"solok sayea\" (سلوك سيء) which translates to \"bad behaviour\"). These findings are discussed in relation to the definition and perspective of bullying among Arabic speakers. There is a need for further investigations to introduce a novel term for bullying within the Arabic language while considering cultural values, norms, and beliefs. This has the potential to promote heightened awareness and comprehension, enabling the formulation of customised intervention approaches, policies, and educational initiatives intended to prevent and alleviate bullying behaviours.