Background/Objectives: Bacillus spp. are often isolated from airborne microbiota. Five Bacillus strains (AD12–16) isolated from dust during a sandstorm in Kuwait were characterized for their potential to produce antimicrobial compounds, biosurfactants and siderophores by genotypic and phenotypic approaches. Methods: Whole-genome sequencing was performed, and biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were predicted using antiSMASH. Antimicrobial activities were determined by agar-well diffusion assays. Siderophore and biosurfactant production were determined by Arnow’s and drop-collapse assays, respectively. The active metabolites were separated, fractionated, and analyzed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and LC–MS/MS. Results: Genome mining identified many BGCs associated with known secondary metabolites such as bacillibactin and bacilysin, as well as a number of unassigned clusters. The isolates exhibited distinct antimicrobial profiles, with Bacillus subtilis AD16 displaying the highest antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Biosurfactant- and siderophore-associated activities varied among the isolates. Active fractions demonstrated bactericidal activity, while LC–MS/MS analysis revealed molecular features tentatively assigned to siderophore- and lipopeptide-associated metabolite classes based on accurate mass and MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Conclusions: The combination of unassigned BGCs, antimicrobial activity, and incompletely characterized molecular features highlights unexplored biosynthetic potential in sandstorm-derived Bacillus. Further purification and structural characterization are required to establish the identities and biological functions of the active metabolites.

This study explores the strategic communication practices employed by Kuwaiti activists in transforming the traditional private gathering space of the Diwaniyya (sic) into a public sphere through the Monday Diwaniyyas movement, a grassroots initiative aimed at restoring democracy in Kuwait. Drawing on Habermas's public sphere and the Cultural-Economic Model (CEM) frameworks, this study examines how activists constructed their collective identity as a "Constitutional Movement" and strategically employed diverse communication channels to advance their message. The analysis is based on data collected through personal interviews, media content, academic literature, books, and historical documents. The findings reveal the activists' dynamic process of meaning-making and underscore the effectiveness of their communication strategies including public petitions, media engagement, and organized gatherings in shaping public opinion and influencing government policy. These efforts were further supported by their practice of public sphere freedoms within the traditional Kuwaiti Diwaniyya setting. This research underscores the applicability of Habermas's public sphere and CEM in analyzing activism as a form of strategic communication within a culturally complex context, contributing to a broader understanding of strategic communication in Arab-Islamic cultures through the Diwaniyya, which was transformed into a site of public sphere practice for the movement.

BACKGROUND:The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the top health concerns. Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that commonly causes severe infections. However, this research exposed its antibiotic-producing potential. METHODS:Rifampicin-resistant mutants of E. coli C91 were generated to activate cryptic BGCs. Mutants (C91-R1, R2 and R3) were tested for antimicrobial production using agar-well diffusion assays. Metabolite profiling was performed by LC-MS/MS. Siderophore production was tested by construction of a Δycao deletion mutant. Growth of this mutant was assessed under iron-limited conditions versus iron-rich conditions using dipyridyl. qRT-PCR was used to analyze gene expression entB, mcmA and mchF. Genome mining was performed using antiSMASH and BAGEL4. RESULTS:Compared to the wild type, Mutant C91-R1(S531L) displayed clear antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. LC-MS/MS revealed unique metabolites, including a novel peak at m/z 410.5, specific to the mutant C91-R1. A reduction in siderophore production of 61% was demonstrated in the Δycao mutant, and downregulation of entB, mcmA and mchF. Conclusions: Genome mining predicted non-ribosomal peptide, thiopeptide and polyketide BGCs. E. coli C91 offers antibiotic-producing potential that can be activated through ribosome-engineering-type approaches. Moreover, E. coli C91-R1 has unique metabolites and is considered as a promising candidate for novel antibiotic discovery.

Background/Objective: This study addresses a significant knowledge gap in the literature concerning antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in arid soils by employing metagenomic approaches to characterise their diversity, using Kuwait as a model environment. Methods: Soil samples were collected from two agriculturally managed sites (K1 and K3) and one coastal unmanaged site (K2), representing distinct ecological conditions. Results: Taxonomic profiling revealed notable variation in microbial communities at both the phylum and genus levels. Alpha diversity analyses based on the Chao1 and Shannon indices indicated that agricultural soils exhibited greater microbial richness and diversity than the coastal soil. Beta diversity analysis further demonstrated substantial differences in microbial community composition among the sites. Consistent with previous soil microbiome studies, ARGs such as tetA, aac(3)-Ib, sul1, qep, muxB, mexW, mexB, and macB were detected across the sites. However, the identification of distinct clinically relevant resistance genes, including ugd, blaOXA-18, blaCMY-19, blaMOX-7, blaFOX-7, blaLRA-12, and novA, suggests the influence of site-specific or extreme selective pressures. Conclusions: Several of the detected ARGs appear to be rare or previously unreported in soil environments. Although the sample size is too small to support broad generalisations, the detection of ugd in soil is particularly noteworthy, suggesting that soils may serve as reservoirs of polymyxin resistance, potentially undermining the effectiveness of polymyxin antibiotics.

PurposeThis study aims to explore the influence of Islamic value orientations on public relations conducts on Instagram accounts of five Islamic banks in Kuwait. It specifically looks at the influence of orientations on public relations functions as well as message delivery styles and communication appeals meant for communication in the Instagram accounts.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts Grunig and Hunt's Four Models of Public Relations to evaluate how the posts fulfill various public relations functions. It also uses Kent and Taylor's dialogic theory to assess public engagement with these religious posts. The study uses content analysis and personal interviews as methods of data collection.FindingsThe content analysis of 1,226 religious Instagram posts and personal interviews from five Kuwaiti Islamic banks indicated that the banks primarily used Instagram for community relations, followed by informational, marketing and interactive functions. The posts reflected an orientation toward seven key Islamic values, with a focus on spirituality and worship, followed by fatalism and communal kinship. Communication delivery styles in the posts varied, with the most common citing of Koranic verses and Hadith (sayings and deeds of Prophet Mohammed), followed by references to human activities. The most frequent appeals included financial and religious rewards, informational content and social messages. Posts incorporating interactive features or offering financial rewards were most effective for audience engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to Instagram content from five Kuwaiti Islamic banks, which may not fully represent the practices of Islamic financial institutions in other countries or across different social media platforms. Future research could expand the sample to include multiple nations, additional platforms and longitudinal data to strengthen generalizability and theoretical development.Practical implicationsThe findings offer valuable insights for public relations practitioners in Islamic financial institutions to align communication strategies with Islamic values while enhancing audience engagement. By integrating interactive and faith-based content, practitioners can strengthen community trust, improve brand reputation and apply the proposed Islamic public relations theory (IPRT) as a practical framework for ethical and effective communication.Social implicationsThis study highlights the role of Islamic banks in promoting social cohesion, moral values and community engagement through faith-driven communication. By integrating Islamic principles into digital media strategies, banks can foster stronger relationships with the public, encourage ethical financial behavior and contribute to the broader social and spiritual development of Muslim communities.Originality/valueThis study develops an IPRT that can replace Western public relations theories to provide practical guidelines for public relations professionals as well as educators at university level in the Muslim world.

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide, especially with the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. This makes it more challenging to treat patients infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with more costs on the health system. This review article describes extended-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics as the most used antibacterial agents, and how bacteria developed beta-lactamases (ESBLs) to resist these antibiotics. The review focuses more on the problem of ESBLs in Kuwait to uncover which ESBLs are present and what ESBL gene mutations have been found in this country. The literature review, surprisingly, revealed a limited number of studies in Kuwait on ESBL gene mutations, published over the last 25 years. The results showed that Kuwait has an alarming number of bacterial strains with ESBL gene mutations. These studies reported different mutations in different bacterial strains isolated from different types of specimens, which were collected from different hospitals in Kuwait. The data from these studies were scattered and not linked or analysed together to highlight the big picture of the problem of ESBLs in Kuwait. This review article highlights that the amount of research on ESBLs in Kuwait is not up to the expectations of a country like Kuwait, which has high-standard research facilities. Bearing in mind that the geographic area of Kuwait is relatively small, the authors of this paper think that there might be more β-lactam bacteria spreading in Kuwait, which need to be explored, and that more research and more collaboration are needed among researchers in Kuwait to address this risky situation.

The responses of 1,443 individuals to a questionnaire were used to test a cognitive-decision mediation model that predicts the expression of an opinion. Fear of Social Isolation and opinion congruence predicted a media surveillance motive that was mediated by attention, interpersonal discussions, and elaboration. In turn, perceived familiarity with an issue was mediated mainly by attention, opinion perspective diversity by discussions, and structural knowledge by elaboration. Also, information instrumentality (the perceived usefulness of information) mediated perceived familiarity and opinion perspective diversity, whereas presenting counter-arguments was mediated by structural knowledge. Finally, information instrumentality was the strongest predictor of opinion expression, followed by counter-arguing and cognitive rehearsal.

Through critical analysis of 413 religious Instagram posts from five Kuwaiti Islamic banks, this study employed the cultural-economic model (CEM) to highlight the public relations functions, Islamic value orientations, communication delivery styles, and message appeals in Instagram posts. The study found banks used Instagram primarily for social responsibility, community engagement, interactive, and religious propagation functions. The posts reflected an orientation toward seven key Islamic values: respect for religious authority, affinity with the past, fatalism, communal kinship, attachment to eternal life, spirituality and worship, and finally morality and idealism. The communication delivery styles observed in the posts varied, incorporating Qur'anic verses, Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohammed), as well as references to narratives, lived experiences, and various forms of action. The research identified a wide range of appeals, including religious rewards, social and moral appeals, nostalgia, fear, guilt, and testimonials. These findings offer foundational insights for the development of an Islamic Public Relations Theory (IPRT), contributing to the scholarly discourse and providing practical implications for public relations practitioners in an Arab context.

The Third Person Effect ( tpe ) hypothesis postulates that individuals are likely to estimate that negative news media will have greater effects on others than on themselves. This study uses tpe to explore whether an individual’s religious predispositions and use of religious media influences the impact of negative news coverage on their perceptions of Islam. Furthermore, it tests whether religious predispositions, an individual’s use of religious media, and tpe influence a person’s support for censorship of negative media coverage of Islam. The researchers constructed two different scenarios in which differential estimates were used to evaluate the effect of tpe . The first scenario involved participants comparing the impact of negative news of Islam on others in society (close others) with the impact on themselves. In the second scenario, they compared the impact of negative news of Islam on Westerners (distant others) with the impact on themselves. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire administered to 652 Kuwaiti respondents. Results indicate that respondents perceive themselves to be less influenced by negative coverage of Islam than others in their society and Westerners. Religious predisposition and the “individual” use of religious media predicted a tpe contrast between the respondents and Westerners. Finally, religious predispositions, religious media use, and tpe contrasts between the respondents and Westerners predicted support for media censorship.

This study explores the political branding of a powerless small state, the state of Kuwait during the reign of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem, from 1950 to 1965. The study uses models developed by Anholt for a strategic perspective on nation branding and by Bolin and Miazhevich for tactical communication in nation branding. This study explores the use of strategic communication in an Islamic-Arabic culture to brand Kuwait as a sovereign nation. At the strategic level, it employs the components of strategy, substance, and symbolic action, and at the tactical level, it uses the components of agents, audience analysis, temporal orientation and media to examine symbolic action. Using those models and following a qualitative historical analysis, the study identifies and analyzes the efforts of Sheikh Al-Salem to transform Kuwait from a Sheikhdom to Statehood in the 1950s. Those efforts helped to deter Iraq's threat to the Kuwaiti sovereignty as well as establish a self-governing, constitutional monarchy in the 1960s. The study concludes by evaluating the effectiveness of Sheikh Al-Salem's efforts as measured by tangible outcomes.

Background: Microorganisms are a known source of antibiotics. The study aimed to identify and screen antibiotic-producing microbes isolated from seawater. Method: Three of the fifty (50) bacteria isolated from seawater showed positive for antibiotic activity. The antimicrobial activity of Pseudomonas guguanensis (KD1) was screened against the ESKAPE pathogens using agar-well diffusion assays. P. guguanensis (KD1) was selected for the fermentation and extraction of antimicrobial compounds using solvent extraction assays. Results: P. guguanensis (KD1) produced the highest antibacterial activity after 36 h of cultivation, inhibiting S. aureus, E. faecium, A. baumannii and E. cloacae. According to sensitization assay, K. pneumoniae was impermeable to all the cell-free supernatants of P. guguanensis (KD1). Using agar-well diffusion assays, ethyl acetate extracts from the supernatant recorded zones of inhibition against S. aureus, E. faecium, and E. cloacae, producing zones of 20.1 ± 0.432, 17.8 ± 0.121 and 16 ± 0.162 mm, respectively. Acetonitrile extract from the supernatant inhibited A. baumannii and S. aureus, forming zones of inhibition 18.2 ± 0.323 mm and 18 ± 0.234. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration recorded for the ethyl acetate extract and acetonitrile extract ranged from 1.56 to 6.25 mg/mL and 12.5–25 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusions: P. guguanensis (KD1) offers a potential source of antibiotics for infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Background: Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli is one of the major opportunistic pathogens that cause hospital-acquired infections worldwide. These infections include catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTIs), ventilator-associated pneumonia, surgical wound infections, and bacteraemia. Objectives: To understand the mechanisms of resistance and prevent its spread, we studied E. coli C91 (ST38), a clinical outbreak strain that was extensively drug-resistant. The strain was isolated from an intensive care unit (ICU) in one of Kuwait's largest hospitals from a patient with UTI. Methods: This study used whole-genome sequencing (Illumina, MiSeq) to identify the strain's multi-locus sequence type, resistance genes (ResFinder), and virulence factors. This study also measured the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of a panel of antibiotics against this isolate. Results: The analysis showed that E. coli C-91 was identified as O99 H30 ST38 and was resistant to all antibiotics tested, including colistin (MIC > 32 mg/L). It also showed intermediate resistance to imipenem and meropenem (MIC = 8 mg/L). Genome analysis revealed various acquired resistance genes, including mcr-1, blaCTX-M-14, blaCTX-M-15, and blaOXA1. However, we did not detect blaNDM or blaVIM. There were also several point mutations resulting in amino acid changes in chromosomal genes: gyrA, parC, pmrB, and ampC promoter. Additionally, we detected several multidrug efflux pumps, including the multidrug efflux pump mdf(A). Eleven prophage regions were identified, and PHAGE_Entero_SfI_NC was detected to contain ISEc46 and ethidium multidrug resistance protein E (emrE), a small multidrug resistance (SMR) protein family. Finally, there was an abundance of virulence factors in this isolate, including fimbriae, biofilm, and capsule formation genes. Conclusions: This isolate has a diverse portfolio of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes and belongs to ST38 O99 H30, posing a serious challenge to treating infected patients in clinical settings.

The study of an Arabic newspaper published by the British during World War II shows how photographs played an important role in the propaganda campaign to gain Arab support in the Middle East. While the newspaper purported to cover the war, in actuality, the content contained mostly cultural photographs that contributed to the Allies' implementation of psychological warfare, particularly emphasizing Arab identity, lifestyle in England, development in the Arab World, and the solid Arab-Allies relationship. The results of this study demonstrate how photographs played an important role in the propaganda machine, which, in this case, was intended to positively impress Arabs and Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula and turn them against the Axis.

This paper describes the main factors that helped facilitate the transformation of Kuwait from an Emirate 'Emarah' (a non-state) to an internationally recognised state during the rule of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem from 1950 to 1965. It identifies the soft power actions and public relations communication strategies that facilitated the transformation of Kuwait from Sheikhdom to statehood. Sheikh Al-Salem's strategies set the foundations for Kuwait to become recognised and respected in international affairs, not only in the Middle East but also globally. Data were collected and reviewed from the academic literature, from public records, legal documents, letters, press releases and newspaper and magazine articles as well as songs and TV interviews. The evidence shows that Sheikh Al-Salem's use of soft power actions and public relations techniques were influential in facilitating the formation of the new state and made Kuwait an important player in the international arena while maintaining Arab nationalism and Islamic values.

Two-way communication and transparency are two elements of the strategic approach to internal communications. This study examined the relationship between these elements and their influence on employees’ sense-making and sense-giving in Kuwait during the COVID 19 pandemic. The research used a mixed-method approach incorporating interviews, survey data, and a review of organizational communications. The sample included six Kuwaiti organizations representing the private, government, and nonprofit sectors. The statistical software package SPSS was used to calculate ratios and rates, confidence intervals, tests of statistical difference (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests), the Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regressions. The study found a positive association between the strategic approaches of two-way communication and transparency and employees’ sense-making and sense-giving behaviors. Gender, nationality, and years of employment also influenced communication and transparency. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of internal crisis communication in a Kuwaiti context. This study’s findings shed light on the importance of employees’ internal communications as organizations address and engage during a crisis. Received: 12 January 2024 / Accepted: xx April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

The uncertainty of the COVID-19 virus outbreak triggered chaos, panic and fear worldwide. During the outbreak, many humorous posts tweeted and retweeted addressed the virus with a laugh. Humour is a way to escape reality, but at the same time it may have negative outcomes. In Kuwait, many such posts spread on social media, especially Twitter. They reduced panic, educated the public or made people ignore the seriousness of the pandemic. This study investigates the negative implications of using humorous text, images and video messages on Twitter. A qualitative discourse analysis of 907 humorous texts, images and videos posted on Twitter during the crisis revealed that humorous posts may foster negative attitudes concerning sectarianism, tribalism, racism, sexism and hatred. Interestingly, humorous posts in less emotionally charged categories, such as sports, family and children, also include many negative connotations and denotations. This study is unique in addressing an understudied area; humour on social media in the Arab and Gulf region. Its findings show that humorous posts can produce negative outcomes and cause fear and hatred in society. There may be a need for self-censorship and moral behaviour to prevent social tension. The notion that jokes are only jokes and people should not be offended may have unforeseen negative repercussions.

This paper addresses an important era of women's activism in Kuwait. In the 1950s, when the government recognized women's rights for education, the wave to obtain other civil rights clashed with culture, tradition and religion which became serious obstacles facing women in their struggle for basic rights. This historical study focuses on the establishment of two women's organizations - the Arab Women's Development Society in December 1962 and the Kuwait Women's Cultural and Social Society in February 1963. To sway the negative image of women in a patriarchal society, women used activism as a public relations tool to achieve their social, civil and political rights. The study uses cultural-economic model (CEM) to illustrate how activism and public relations were articulated as synonymous to foster women's rights in Kuwait. Archived documents and content analysis of media content published in the 1960s reveal that activism played a vital role as a public relations strategy and that social activism was more effective than political activism. The study highlights the implications of culture within the context of both public relations and activism.

Adopting the Tools of Liberalism and Clash of Civilizations theories of international relations, and the vertical-horizontal media typology, this study examines the perceptions of 25,800 Arabs as expressed in a survey exploring their perceptions of violence against the United States, American citizens as “good,” President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East, increasing economic relations with the United States, welcoming American foreign aid, and finally favoring diplomatic relationships with Israel. This study also looks at religiosity, the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid, and the media sources influencing those perceptions. The findings suggest that religious activities and duties relating to Allah positively influence those perceptions while religion as ideology and politics negatively influence them. If the U.S. intentions in providing aid to Arabs are perceived to be benevolent and charitable, civic organizations and ordinary people are beneficiaries of aid, the United States is more likely to be seen in a positive light than if aid is perceived to benefit Arab governments. Of vertical media, newspapers have the strongest effects while TV and radio have little or none. Horizontal media have a mid-range effects. The study discusses the results in relation to implications for policy makers.

The study examined the historical movement of Kuwait cinema from its inception and the challenges of the industry in Kuwait.The researchers used multiple methods, of historical qualitative method, documents, and interviews to answer two research questions.The study found that the cinema industry in Kuwait barely existed due to the lack of government funding and cinema infrastructure basis.Further, the future of Kuwaiti cinema relays upon the youth population through the usage of new digital media technologies such as social media platforms to create an alternative cinematic movement for Kuwait.The conclusion and implication are provided at the end to revive the Kuwaiti cinema.

The new technologies of broadcasting, sports coverage, sports casters, and sports analysis, especially in Europe, have attracted many local sports players and fans to enjoy and imitate famed European players. The globalization of football (soccer) has affected sports culture in Kuwait. In-depth interviews with 17 interviewees including sports academics, experts, practitioners, coaches, sports players, fans, and sports reporters revealed that the English Premier League not only entertained the fans in Kuwait but also affected their popular culture behavior and local football league performance and attendance. The English Premier League also affected fandom lifestyle and expenditure through expensive sports subscriptions or even traveling to Europe to attend football matches.