Measuring Students' Perceptions of Educational Environment in the PBL Program of Sharjah Medical College.

Background: Students' perception of their educational environment has a significant impact on their behavior and academic progress. The recent worldwide usage of innovative problem-based learning (PBL) medical programs requires major changes in medical schools and their environments. Therefore, measuring students' perceptions of the complex PBL environment has become a critical necessity as a determinant of students' academic success and as a part of attaining the quality standards of education.

IMS study of climate, altitude, temperature and vasomotor symptoms in the United Arab Emirates.

Objective: To examine the relationships between temperature, season (summer versus winter), lifestyle, health, mood, beliefs, and experience of hot flushes and night sweats (HFNS), amongst mid-aged women living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: The UAE climate is hyper-arid, being a hot desert climate, with warm winters and hot summers. A total of 372 peri- and postmenopausal women, aged from 45 to 55 years, from urban UAE regions were included.

Ischaemic stroke as the first presentation of occult squamous cell cancer.

A 39 years old female presented with sudden onset of left sided weakness and CT scan brain confirmed an ischaemic stroke. Extensive investigations looking for the underlying cause were un-rewarding. She presented few days later with confusion and fever and was found to have multiple new cerebral infarcts, disseminated intravascular coagulation, rectal mass and liver metastases.

Antioxidant effect of garlic (Allium sativum) and black seeds (Nigella sativa) in healthy postmenopausal women.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the antioxidant effects of garlic extract and crude black seeds' consumption on blood oxidant/antioxidant levels in healthy postmenopausal women.

Methods: In total, 30 healthy postmenopausal women (mean age = 50.31 ± 4.

Effect of low lead exposure on gestational age, birth weight and premature rupture of the membrane.

Objective: To find out the effect of prenatal exposure to low lead from cosmetics on gestational age, premature rupture of the membrane and birth weight.

Methods: The study was carried out in the mountainous Aseer region, Southwest of Saudi Arabia where the air is thought to be clean and free of lead pollution due to the absence of petroleum smelting and other heavy industries. The region is famous as a holiday resort for tourists from Arabia and the gulf countries.

Acceptability and use of iron and iron-alloy cooking pots: implications for anaemia control programmes.

Objective: To evaluate the acceptability of iron and iron-alloy cooking pots prior to an intervention trial and to investigate factors affecting retention and use.

Design: Pre-trial research was conducted on five types of iron and iron-alloy pots using focus group discussions and a laboratory evaluation of Fe transfer during cooking was undertaken. Usage and retention during the subsequent intervention trial were investigated using focus group discussions and market monitoring.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of stainless steel cooking pots in reducing iron-deficiency anaemia in food aid-dependent populations.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of stainless steel (Fe alloy) cooking pots in reducing Fe-deficiency anaemia in food aid-dependent populations.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional surveys. Between December 2001 and January 2003, three surveys among children aged 6-59 months and their mothers were conducted in 110 households randomly selected from each camp.

Excess dietary iodine intake in long-term African refugees.

Objective: To assess the iodine status of long-term refugees dependent on international food aid and humanitarian assistance.

Design: A series of cross-sectional two-stage cluster or systematic random sample surveys which assessed urinary iodine excretion and the prevalence of visible goitre. Salt samples were also collected and tested for iodine content by titration.

Iron and vitamin A deficiency in long-term African refugees.

Five cross-sectional surveys were conducted in African refugee camps to assess the level of iron deficiency anemia and vitamin A deficiency in populations dependent on long-term international food aid and humanitarian assistance. The prevalence of anemia in children [hemoglobin (Hb) <110 g/L] was high, with >60% affected in 3 of 5 camps. Iron deficiency [serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) >8.

Intracranial tuberculoma.

Six patients with cerebral tuberculoma seen over a 2 year period are reported. Their clinical presentations, the result of investigations including radiological findings and their response to medical treatment are discussed and correlated with other reports in the literature. Eighty five percent of the patients were above the age of 30 years.

An unusual association between oral sarcoma and bulbar palsy.

A 90 year old male presented with symptoms and signs of right lower cranial nerves palsy. A small mass was found on the right side at the back of his mouth. Light microscopy and histoimmunochemical studies of the biopsy of the mass showed an alveolar soft part sarcoma arising from the right myohyoid muscle.

Intracranial tuberculoma.

Six patients with cerebral tuberculoma seen over a 2 year period are reported. Their clinical presentations, the result of investigations including radiological findings and their response to medical treatment are discussed and correlated with other reports in the literature. Eighty five percent of the patients were above the age of 30 years.

An unusual association between oral sarcoma and bulbar palsy.

A 90 year old male presented with symptoms and signs of right lower cranial nerves palsy. A small mass was found on the right side at the back of his mouth. Light microscopy and histoimmunochemical studies of the biopsy of the mass showed an alveolar soft part sarcoma arising from the right myohyoid muscle.

Effect of physical constraints on the mechanisms of membrane fusion: bolaform lipid vesicles as model systems.

Bolaform lipid vesicles were used to study the effect of physical constraints on membrane fusion. In these vesicles the membrane is organized in a single monolayer, because of the presence of covalent bonds in its middle plane. Therefore, the formation of fusion intermediates is subject to higher energy barriers and greater geometrical constraints than is usual in bilayer membranes.

Calcium-induced interaction and fusion of archaeobacterial lipid vesicles: a fluorescence study.

The lipids extracted from the membrane of the thermophilic archaeobacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus have an unusual bipolar structure. Each molecule is formed by two isoprenoid chains (with up to four cyclopentane groups per chain) ether-linked at both ends to glycerol or nonitol groups. These groups can be variably substituted, mainly with complex sugars.

Molecular packing parameters of bipolar lipids.

The bipolar lipid fractions extracted from the thermophilic archaeobacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus have different chemical structures and geometrical shapes. The conditions which lead to the formation of vesicles were investigated in order to study the self-assembly of these molecules. Such conditions are fulfilled when an appropriate mixture of two different molecular species (both bipolar or bipolar and monopolar) is used.

Monopolar-bipolar lipid interactions in model membrane systems.

1H-NMR, dynamic light scattering and negative staining electron microscopy have been used to study the formation and physico-chemical properties of aqueous dispersions of mixtures of monopolar lipids extracted from Sulfolobus solfataricus. This microorganism is a thermophilic archaeobacterium growing optimally at about 85 degrees C and pH 3. The two hydrolytic fractions of the membrane complex lipids that have been studied are: the symmetric lipid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) and the asymmetric lipid glycerol dialkyl nonitol tetraether (GDNT).