Sanar Muhyaddin

Aim: The current study was planned to assess the statistical correlation between seroprevalence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and important inflammatory markers: tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) within Iraqi women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: The current case-control study investigated the association between HCMV infection, inflammatory mediators (TNF-α and IL-18), and biochemical profiles in Iraqi women, a cohort of 168. The study population was grouped into four categories: (1) obese with PCOS and (2) non-obese PCOS patients, (3) an obese non-PCOS group, and (4) healthy controls. Results: In the current study, a marked increase in the concentrations of both TNF-α and IL-18 among women with PCOS compared to controls. This effect was found to be significant regardless of body mass index (BMI). These data support the proposition that inflammation is a key factor in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. Moreover, HCMV seropositivity and PCOS incidence were found to be statistically strongly correlated. Our findings also define the relation of obesity and its role in developing inflammatory responses and underscore the interaction between adiposity and systemic inflammation. Conclusions: This research paper concludes that a sophisticated interaction occurs between chronic latent viral infection and metabolic dysfunction in PCOS patients. The remarkable increase of both TNF-α and IL-18, mainly in individuals with obesity, highlights the profound inflammatory basis of PCOS. Accordingly, investigating the causal pathways is crucial, and therefore, a strategic approach to optimize patient outcomes could be assimilating viral screening into clinical management protocols.

Within the South-Western food industry of Nigeria, the overall impact, associated challenges, and implementation of Big Data Analytics (BDA) have remained underexplored. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the extent of BDA adoption, identify key barriers and enablers, assess the operational impacts of BDA adoption, and propose a structured framework to guide effective integration. The study adopted a deductive, mono-quantitative method. Data were collected from 151 participants through a stratified sampling technique using an online survey questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including Chi-Square, Likelihood Ratio, and Fisher-Freeman-Halton Exact tests, using SPSS version 26 and Excel as analytical tools. While awareness and appreciation of BDA’s strategic benefits are growing, significant challenges such as high implementation costs, a shortage of skilled personnel, regulatory uncertainties, and technological limitations persist. Nevertheless, organisations that have embraced BDA report notable improvements in operational efficiency, strategic decision-making, customer satisfaction, and competitive advantage. This study proposes a practical BDA adoption framework designed to address the identified barriers and enhance successful implementation and offers several recommendations. The research helps bridge the knowledge gap on BDA adoption in emerging economies and offers actionable insights for business leaders, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to drive innovation and sustainability in Nigeria’s food industry.

Quantum computing threatens the security foundations of global financial systems, exposing long-lived data and signed digital assets to “harvest-now, decrypt-later” attacks. While the timeline for cryptographically relevant quantum computers remains uncertain, regulatory signals from the USA, UK, EU, Canada, and Australia converge: financial institutions and payment infrastructures must begin migrating to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) now to preserve confidentiality, integrity, and systemic stability. This paper maps emerging standards and roadmaps, contrasting binding requirements like the EU’s DORA crypto-agility provisions with non-binding guidance from NIST, ENISA, and ETSI. Despite a shared intent to secure high-risk use cases by 2030–2031 and complete migration by 2035, divergences in enforcement and milestones create uncertainty for cross-border banks and financial market infrastructures. In parallel, technical adoption is advancing: major browsers, cryptographic libraries (OpenSSL/BoringSSL), and CDNs (e.g., AWS CloudFront) have deployed hybrid PQC key exchange in TLS 1.3, proving confidentiality defenses are viable at internet scale. The paper synthesizes historical transition lessons, sector-specific regulatory drivers, and operational constraints in payment infrastructures to derive a new, principle-based migration: crypto-agility, risk-prioritized scoping, hybrid deployment, vendor and supply-chain alignment, independent testing, and proactive supervisory engagement. Acting now reduces long-tail exposure and ensures readiness for imminent compliance and interoperability deadlines.

This study explores how digital and traditional marketing tools influence higher education students’ career decision-making, satisfaction, and career commitment during students’ educational trajectories in Iraq’s rapidly expanding university sector. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a survey of 622 students was analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), followed by 24 semi-structured interviews with marketing and recruitment professionals. The quantitative findings show that students’ first-choice preferences, demographic factors, and engagement with LinkedIn, WeChat, blogs, and university webpages significantly shaped their career choices and satisfaction levels. Qualitative insights reveal that authenticity, transparent communication, and alignment between institutional messaging and lived experiences were key to sustaining trust. Traditional channels such as brochures and fairs remained important for credibility, supporting a hybrid marketing approach. The study contributes to management theory and practice in universities by linking digital communication strategies to student engagement and institutional performance. It also highlights the need for inclusive, transparent, and culturally adaptive marketing that reflects local and global contexts. These findings provide actionable guidance for higher education administrators seeking to build sustainable student trust, enhance recruitment effectiveness, and strengthen institutional reputation in competitive and resource-constrained systems.

The COVID-19 epidemic has drastically changed worldwide food trends. Emerging research indicates that COVID-19 infection and immunization may change food choices, particularly via taste variations, with major consequences for nutrition and food security. This research aims to assess the effect of COVID-19 infection and immunization on self-reported changes in eating habits and taste-related characteristics across Iraqi individuals. Out of 400 participants in a cross-sectional survey, 100 (50 vaccinated and 50 uninfected) completed the study. The study gathered self-reported data on individual variations in food preferences, whether they were increased, decreased, or remained the same, as well as reasons for these changes, such as psychological and taste-related factors. Variations in food preferences across groups were compared using statistical techniques, namely chi-squared tests. After controlling demographics and health characteristics, the association between vaccination status and taste-related changes has been examined using a logistic regression strategy. The majority of the participants were women (78%) below the age of 30 (84%), with 78% getting a history of COVID-19 infection. Taste-related factors were reported as the key driver for changes in eating habits in 29% of instances. Vaccinated participants were significantly more inclined to ascribe dietary changes to taste variations than were uninfected persons (50% vs. 12.9%, χ² = 14.72, p = 0.005). COVID-19 vaccination is substantially linked with taste-related changes in eating behaviours. These findings highlight the requirement of personalized food assistance during recovery after a pandemic and underline the need for more inquiry into the long-term health impacts of these dietary modifications.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue aplicar las técnicas multicriterio para la reducción de vocabularios cognitivos para la evaluación de cafés. Se aplicaron las técnicas multicriterio Análisis de Procesos Jerárquicos (APJ) y TOPSIS con cafeticultores expertos para la selección de emociones y recuerdos basados en los vocabularios EsSense25 y MemVOC. Se obtuvo un total de siete emociones (cuatro positivas y tres negativas) y siete recuerdos (cuatro positivos y tres negativos) vía APJ, y con la técnica TOPSIS se obtuvo un total de cuatro emociones (dos positivas y dos negativas) y 11 recuerdos (ocho positivos y tres negativos). Se concluye que el uso de las técnicas multicriterio permite hacer una reducción importante de los vocabularios originales EsSense25 y MemVOC. Estos vocabularios reducidos pueden usarse en otras técnicas sensoriales con la finalidad de generar los perfiles cognitivos en menor tiempo y en contextos de laboratorio de evaluación sensorial como vía remota.

Objectives: The study aimed to assess the change in consumer behaviour in Gibraltar due to COVID-19. The study also intended to evaluate the use and impact of media on consumer behaviour. Consumers' online behaviour during the pandemic was also assessed in the study. Methods: Quantitative research involving 226 customers from Gibraltar was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Results: Consumers displayed anxiety and stress due to COVID-19, which ultimately influenced their purchase decisions. However, customers in Gibraltar did not display the stockpiling tendencies. Social media, TV, and word of mouth were the most used communication channels for consumers in Gibraltar. Media worsened the fears related to COVID-19 amongst the consumers in Gibraltar. Consumers resorted to online shopping during the pandemic and experienced an unusual online shopping experience. Conclusions: The study concluded that consumers in Gibraltar experienced a change in their behaviour because of COVID-19. Marketers are advised to adopt an agile response strategy, focus on customer engagement and experience, support customers' mental health and deploy a crisis management strategy to deal effectively with the crisis.

This paper reviews the future trends, the present situation and the prospects facing the application of Industry 4.0 technologies (e.g., Drones, texting technologies, GPS, etc.) in Iraq’s agricultural sector in general and small agribusiness industries in particular. Iraq struggles with chronic structural and emerging challenges that have hindered its food production over the years. In 2019, Iraq’s population had increased to around 39 million people, compared to 23.5 million Iraqis in 2000. This shift amounts to a 66% increase in population in 20 years. Food supply, whether locally produced or imported, has been struggling to catch up with the population growth, and Iraq has become increasingly dependent on food imports to meet domestic demand. Between 1985 and 2017, food imports increased from USD 2 billion to USD 11 billion, growing from 19 to 21% of total imports. Iraq’s economy has been highly dependent on the oil sector; with declining oil prices, politicians and international communities have emphasised that modern and smart agriculture that applies Industry 4.0 technology can increase productivity and be a source of job creation, income generation and self-reliance. Nonetheless, evidence obtained via this exploratory study using unstructured interviews (3 out 33) via an interpretive approach and conducting thematic analysis of the interviews with farmers and agri-entrepreneurs indicate that there is a long journey ahead before Iraq can rely on agriculture and new technologies, instead of oil, for its economy and to improve its food system. Moreover, Iraq’s political turmoil and uncertainty, the cyclical conflict and wars, and the corruption and mismanagement of state resources exacerbate this problem. Indeed, farmers face many challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure and security, the dominance of state-owned enterprises, and financing issues, with many farm owners struggling to access finance since there is no clear banking or credit system. On top of that issue, the diminishing of tacit knowledge among the farmers and the labour shortage issue in the agricultural sector hinders application of smart technology, as the majority of workers remaining in the market are unskilled labour. This study contributed to the literature on the application of smart technologies in agriculture and its socioeconomic effects. The exploratory nature of this study identifies areas for future research. Additionally, the arguments presented in this research highlight the challenges farmers and agri-entrepreneurs face in adopting new technologies and the tactics that they use to survive in a hostile environment like Iraq. It will also offer suggestions to help policymakers and international communities focus on intervention to help farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in Iraq to improve their performance.