Purpose: The world is confronted by various current development challenges, including global health security and climate change. The rapid growth of these challenges warned all nations regardless of their development or geographical position. As an emerging international power, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was among these nations and is viewed as a proactive key actor.Design/methodology/approach: This review was conducted as a thematic synthesis from 27 studies, reports and publications along with authors' insights. Using MS Word and Excel programs, three stages of data exploration, extraction and synthesis and analysis were applied. Data gathering, analysis and thematization and compilation.Findings: The UAE is giving significant attention to global health and climate change. Over the past 20 years, multipolicies, strategies and bodies were developed to lead the national, regional and global SDGs. Global health and climate change became the most two notable priorities on the government agenda and its strategic thinking is that both priorities can no longer be overlooked. Nationally, the UAE has made significant economic, scientific, social and health growth. Building a resilient and world-class healthcare system was one of six national priorities of the achieved UAE National Agenda 2021. Globally, UAE has proved its global health leadership by ensuring lasting and collective multilateral partnerships and collaborations that led to remarkable achievements in global health and climate change. Examples on the global scale: partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to target billions of people of the world's population and ensure they get Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) without financial hardship, the partnership between UAE and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish the Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) to fight diseases and put an end to polio. Additionally, the state's role in the COVID-19 global efforts such as vaccine development, supply chain and distribution targeted low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The UAE has shown a constant commitment to climate change mitigation and building a sustainable ecosystem by hosting global organizations, leading initiatives, supporting countries and is now organizing the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) this year. Great opportunities can be exploited to promote the country's contributions through further investment in cooperation, research and technology for better knowledge, sound policies, and innovative solutions for all regional and global health and climate change challenges. Originality/value: This review is a fresh evidence-synthesizing attempt to document the role of the UAE. This role is well placed to play an additional major role with all partners to address these pressing challenges by boosting its role, especially in the Middle East region and advancing a new regional-oriented revolutionary expanded developmental plan that centered on low-resource countries empowerment, multilateralism, intersectionality and lasting collaborations.

Ethylene is the most important factor playing roles in senescence and deterioration of harvested crops including cut flowers. Brassinosteroids (BRs), as natural phytohormones, have been reported to differently modulate ethylene production and related senescence processes in different crops. This study was carried out to determine the effects of different levels of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) on ACC oxidase enzyme activity, the final enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis pathway, vase life, and senescence rate in lisianthus cut flowers. Harvested flowers were treated with EBL (at 0, 3, 6, and 9 µmol/L) and kept at 25 °C for 15 days. The ACC oxidase activity, water absorption, malondialdehyde (MDA) production and vase solution absorption rates, chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, and the vase life of the flowers were evaluated during and at the end of storage. EBL at 3 µmol/L significantly (p ≤ 0.01) enhanced the flower vase life by decreasing the ACC oxidase activity, MDA production and senescence rates, and enhancing chlorophyll and anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation, relative water content, and vase solution absorption rates. By increasing the concentration, EBL negatively affected the flower vase life and postharvest quality probably via enhancing the ACC oxidase enzyme activity and subsequent ethylene production. EBL at 6 and 9 µmol/L and in a concentration dependent manner, enhanced the ACC oxidase activity and MDA production rate and decreased chlorophyll and anthocyanin accumulation and water absorption rate. The results indicate that the effects of brassinosteroids on ethylene production and physiology of lisianthus cut flowers is highly dose dependent.

The impact of dementia on caregivers is complex and multi-dimensional. In low- and middle-income settings, caregivers are often left without adequate support, despite their multiple needs. These include health information, caregiving skills, social and emotional support, and access to local resources—all of which can be partially fulfilled by technology. In recent years, mobile apps have emerged and proven useful for caregivers. We found a few existing apps suitable for Malaysian users in terms of affordability and cultural and linguistic compatibility. Our study aims to design a mobile app that suits dementia caregivers in Malaysia and consists of three phases. Phase I is content development that employs Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Nominal Group Technique (NGT) involving field experts. Phase II comprises a mobile app (Demensia KITA) designed in collaboration with a software developer specializing in mobile health apps. Phase III entails testing the usability of the app using the Malay version of the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (M-MAUQ). This study protocol elaborates on the rigorous steps of designing a mobile app and testing its usability, along with anticipated challenges. Our protocol will provide insight for future researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers and pave the way for better use of digital technology in the field of aging and caregiving.

Numerous high-tech advancements have established a healthy environment, reduced consumer consumption of non-renewable resources, and reduced the total ecological impact on the environment. Despite this technology, many people still do not have sustainable behavior ingrained in them. Environmental sustainability is threatened by human behaviors, and environmental choices made by individuals are correlated with pro-environmental behaviors. This research focuses on the relationship between people and the environment, the difficulties that have arisen as a result, and the factors that influence university students' pro-environmental behaviors. It explores the factors influencing university students in the United Arab Emirates to have positive environmental attitudes and behaviors using the Q methodology. The results elucidate several discourses, including connections between knowledge and attitude, the importance of formal and informal education, and necessary economic policies and incentives. The results of this research are consistent with those of other recent studies that place more emphasis on attitude than motivation when it comes to changing behavior towards the environment.

The adoption of Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) has grown around the world. This is also the case in the Middle East and Gulf region and specifically to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The perception of RAS has been studied in the USA, Europe, and Canada. However, there is limited research on the perception of RAS in the UAE. The study aims to examine the perception of RAS among healthcare experts in the UAE and potential challenges. This qualitative study is based on interviewing healthcare experts in the UAE. Most of the study participants were clinicians and surgeons. In the UAE, RAS is adopted in general surgery, urology, brain surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology. Our findings show that healthcare experts have positive perceptions of RAS. The cost and lack of RAS training program are considered as challenges to adopting RAS in healthcare practices. More research is encouraged to examine perception variations with surgical practices in the UAE, Gulf and the Middle East.