The cultural background of web users is argued to play a key role in the way they interact with and perceive the usability and usefulness of websites. The objective of this case study is to identify Arab users’ preferences and expectations of the design of Arabic websites in order to examine whether these preferences are consistent with their cultural-specific attributes as described and predic...

Background: Molecular genetic factors regulating hemoglobin F (Hb F) expression are important modifiers of the severity of sickle cell anemia (SS). Methods: The prevalence of XmnI polymorphic site, the Gg:Ag ratio and the Hb F level were determined using PCR-RFLP procedure, HPLC and alkaline denaturation method, respectively, in various haplotypes of 52 patients with SS, 18 patients with sickle...

The concept of food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) has been promoted by several international organizations. However, there are no FBDG for the countries in the Arab region. As the Arab Gulf countries share similar a socioeconomic and nutrition situation, an attempt was made to develop FBDG for these countries. This paper summarizes the steps taken to develope such guidelines by the Arab Cente...

In March 1998, the political leadership of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel was looking for ways to commemorate al-Nakba (“The Disaster,” in Arabic), referring to the war of 1948, during which about 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted and hundreds of Palestinian villages were destroyed. This leadership, organized in the Follow-Up Committee (FUC), nominated a Nakba and Steadfastness Commit...

With many drugs coming to market and post-marketing surveillance limited to industry, there is a need for an integrated common approach to pharmacovigilance (PV) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR)/Arab region. The first meeting of the EMR/Arab countries for PV involved ten of the 22 states and revealed how these countries are learning from and working with each other in order to achieve ...

The conclusion of the Trade Related Aspects Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPS), in the context of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations (1994,) ushered in an unprecedented interest in the protection of intellectual property (IP) particularly concerning the impact of new global IP rules on developing countries. However, developments relating to protection of IP in Arab countries have, in ...

An article in this journal in 2016 demonstrated that smoking prevalence among Arab men in Israel is greater than among their Jewish counterparts born in Israel, while the reverse is true among Arab and Jewish Israeli women. This is reflected in lung cancer mortality rates. In the U.S., smoking prevalence in the mid-1960s was 20% higher in African American men than in white men, but has since de...

Since the 1950s, Arab countries have made progress in some health related aspects such as: infant mortality, life expectancy, and access to health care. Infectious diseases and nutritional disorders have decreased in prevalence because of significant advances in immunization and the overall improvement in hygiene. Arab scholars working in the field of biomedical sciences are giving more attenti...

Mindfulness is defined as nonjudgmental acceptance and paying attention in specific way to current thoughts and emotions. The concept of mindfulness is directly inspired by the Buddhist tradition, but it is not considered a religious practice. It is also not constrained to the Buddhist tradition. Mindfulness-based interventions were derived from the concept of mindfulness and were reported to b...

Arab growth has been both unsustainable in the long run as well as characterized by high short run volatility, especially in the period affected by the massive oil price shocks since 1985. This paper seeks to explain these two devastating features of the region’s growth. Our analysis corroborates the view, most notably articulated in the work of Dani Rodrik, that this phenomenon is not just a f...