research-compendium-en-2007-2008

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network (AUST Network)

Research, Information and Training Council (RIT Council)

ANNUAL RESEARCH COMPENDIUM 2007/2008

Volume 4 Ajman, United Arab Emirates February 2009

Supervision:

Dr. Ahmed M. Ankit Vice President External Relations and Cultural Affairs Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Revision:

Research and Working Team chaired by Dr. Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, AUST Network

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network Contact:

Prof. Dr. Omer A. Attef General Secretary, Research, Information and Training Council Ajman University of Science and Technology Network PO Box: 346, Ajman, UAE Tel.: +971-6-7056213 Fax: +971-6-7438888 Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

AUST Network - RIT Council

4th Annual Research Compendium: 2007/2008 1

The Exalted Said:

" O my Lord ! increase me in knowledge."

020.114



Message From His Excellency,

The President of AUST Network

In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most compassionate. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon

our Prophet Muhammad, his Family and his Companions. Dear AUST Network Scholars and Researchers, For the fourth consecutive year, the Research, Information and Training Council (RITC) has carried on its fine tradition of releasing the Annual Research Compendium, an effort that is expected to secure and guarantee both the documentation and promotion of the research activities of the University Network's affiliates. Those affiliates -whom I take pleasure in addressing as esteemed and honored scholars and researchers- are truly the pride of Ajman University of Science and Technology Network. I also take this opportunity to thank and praise the chairman and members of the RITC as well as the Research and Action Groups in question and applaud their far-reaching achievements. An objective observer of the research activities within the University Network would note and be impressed by the abundance of first-class scholarly abilities capable of turning out research products of the highest quality in record time and at minimum expense. The same tendency has been reflected in the ceaseless activity of this institution's affiliates in their respective Research and Action Groups, which we consider to be an effective work mechanism combining, as it does, research at its different stages with action. That is because research per se is insufficient and its products and results would forever remain hidden away in office drawers unless and until it is subjected to active practice and application in accordance with action and



implementation plans and timetables designating responsibilities and tasks. Hence, the University Network's vision has innovated the Research and Action Groups mechanism to discharge all the responsibilities and tasks of research and the practical application of its results on the ground. In this context, we witness this year the formation of a large number of Research and Action Groups engaged with the Reform and Development Project, which is a process aimed at creating a qualitative forward leap in the development of this institution to ensure its permanence and future success in fulfilling its mission in the best possible manner. Addressing each and every one of you individually as a researcher and an activator through your membership of a Research and Action Group, I would like to emphasize the importance of possessing the standard capability required for quality assurance in the implementation of the five domains of tutoring, research, training, expertise and practice. It is expected of you as a teacher and tutor to excel your counterparts in parallel and competing institutions. It is also expected of you to be a researcher in accordance with the requirements of the concept of the Research and Action Groups and in line with the approach of the University Network and its advanced concept of research, a product of the Euro-Arab Research Network, which we have had the honor of chairing since its constitution. Furthermore, you are expected to be a trainer in the framework of research to acquire the necessary solidity and uniqueness, a trainer at the University Network's three dimensions of education, information and investment, and a trainer in the aforementioned five domains. At the level of expertise, you are a member of the community of this institution (Ajman University Network) which was launched two decades ago as a university college, the nucleus and successful experimental phase of the present educational monument. With Allah's blessing of this expansion, the Network has since become a house of expertise and its teacher an expert in his or her field, an expert at the horizontal level of the six reference authorities



on which the University Network depends. The expectation is that you act as an expert who can overstep boundaries and break the barriers between the academic and business communities. Your distinguished performance –dear researcher and activator- is a source of pride for us, whether you are in dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, business administration, law, education, information technology, environment and water, or university requirements. Everywhere I go, my dream is always to break this barrier, and this dream has now come true, thanks be to Allah. If and when you have mastered the full range of the above capabilities, then practice is automatically fulfilled as it should be. That is, as a researcher and activator, and as a member of a group entrusted with research, action and activation, you have satisfied- for us- a yearning and realized an aspiration which seemed one day to be no more than mere theoretical talk encouraged by some who had confidence in this institution while discouraged by the doubters. But the dream has been fulfilled, with Allah’s blessing and protection and with your efforts and the efforts of those who have left us to join other institutions but have continued to retain and nurture a strong mutual bond of affection as well as the efforts of some who departed this world- may Allah bless them with mercy and forgiveness. We are also proud of the strong response given by the researchers from Ajman University Network to the call of the National Commission for Scientific Research at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for financing long-term research projects aimed at community development, a cause of great importance. In this respect, we would like to express our thanks and gratitude to all those responsible for this worthy project, headed by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In support of this effort, Ajman University Network has submitted sixty-seven research projects of an intellectual, applied and scientific nature to enter the competition



together with the projects of parallel institutions for the research and scholarship awards for the current year (2009). We continue to have great confidence and trust in the abilities of our scholars and experts, who will always receive our full support. May Allah bless you all and grant you success and guidance.

Dr. Saeed Abdullah Salman President, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Honorary President, Association of Arab Private Institutions for Higher Education

President, Euro-Arab Research Network



Preface

One of the major challenges facing institutions of higher education in the Arab world is scientific research. While the majority of Arab universities focus on teaching and neglect scientific research or consider it as a luxury -unlike the West which sees it as a key factor to solve problems in their communities- Ajman University of Science and Technology has established and promoted a culture of scientific research since its inception in 1988. H.E. Dr. Saeed Abdullah Salman, President of Ajman University of Science and Technology, was fully aware of this fact, hence building the foundations of his vision on solid pillars of a quasi sacred character, with research as one of the five fundamental standards for faculty members, namely: teaching, research, training, expertise and practice. It is no wonder that research is the second after teaching. For us, the role of a faculty member does not end once the lecture is over, but then begins. He searches here and there and spares no effort to use all available sources of information and learning to further deepen knowledge relevant to his specialization and use rapid technological innovation in producing ideas and interpreting them into theoretical and field research projects that benefit students and community members. Using his special methodology in field scientific research adapted to Western research methods so that they are viable and marketable, the teacher then fulfills his duty of enlightenment and becomes a model to follow for his outstanding and creative students. The channels for marketing research projects of AUST faculty members are numerous. They include a booklet containing the most distinguished annual projects of faculty members; national, regional and international scientific symposia and conferences in



which faculty members take part - they exceeded 700 in the last two decades- the quarterly, annual and periodic works published by AUST, the latest of which was the book "Water Sources in the United Arab Emirates". This book is the fruit of 15 years of field research that yielded the first reference on water in the State and the region. Furthermore, the University has partnerships with a number of international institutions such as UNESCO, through the UNESCO Chair of Water and WHO through the project of the Tenth International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), the World Intellectual Property Organization through field projects, the Quranic Miraculousness Chair and others. Looking at the research synopses provided by this booklet, you will find that we publish only researches with high standards of scientific research and exclude the poor ones. Such approach will help us produce a panel of researchers, creators, and real scientists that enlighten the wise and elite houses in the Arab world. We are fully aware that the financial support of scientific research is a key element for success in promoting an environment of scientific research and innovation. We have been, therefore, mobilizing significant financial resources to support scientific research and distinguished researchers in Ajman University, including both teachers and students. We create opportunities for them to participate in regional and international competitions, in most of which we have been winning. By the end of this semester, we received congratulatory messages on the awards that our researchers have won. These are Dr. Raghad Hashem from the College of Dentistry who won the award of the best scientific research in the Arab world and Prof. Mohammed Redwan Al Daya from the College of Education and Basic Sciences who was granted the Scientific Progress Prize in arts. Besides, our students won 5 awards for their research projects in interior design, architecture and others.



Such examples give us more confidence to strongly believe that these efforts, though scattered and modest, will certainly eliminate the idleness that has been veiling our minds, and record some golden lines in our history.

Dr. Ahmed M. Ankit Vice President

External Relations and Cultural Affairs Ajman University of Science and Technology Network



Table of Contents College Of Engineering: 19 - ELECTROSTATIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

ACTUATORS FOR MEMS AD/DA CONVERTERS: Amir J. Majid 21

- THOUGHTS ON COST EFFECTIVE ELECTRONICS LABS IN UAE UNIVERSITIES: Amir J. Majid 22

- A NEW PERFORMANCE MEASURE OF THE NORMALIZED LMS ADAPTIVE FILTER: Eweda Eweda 23

- MODELING OF A PRECISE MOS SENSOR ARRAY SYSTEM FOR 2D DETECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS: Ali Abouelnor, Ossama Abouelnor, Esam Yousry and M. Marzouk 24

- PHYSICAL MODELLING OF A HIGHLY SENSITIVE LINEAR MOS SENSOR FOR 2D DETECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS: Ali Abouelnor, Ossama Abouelnor, Esam Yousry and M. Marzouk 25

- EFFECTS OF CIRCUIT ELEMENTS AND HARMONIC OSCILLATION POWER ON FUNDAMENTAL PM NOISE POWER OF FET OSCILLATOR: Ali Abouelnor and Ossama Abouelnor 26

- PERFORMANCE LIMITS OF SIMULATION MODELS FOR NOISE CHARACTERIZATION OF MM-WAVE DEVICES: Ali Abouelnor 27

- INVESTIGATION OF ATMOSPHERIC GASES ATTENUATION IN UAE: Kifah Al-Ansari 28

- CORRELATION BETWEEN GROUND REFRACTIVITY AND REFRACTIVITY GRADIENT AND THEIR STATISTICAL AND WORST MONTH DISTRIBUTIONS IN ABU DHABI: Kifah Al Ansari and Kamel, R. A. 29

- VARIABLE STRUCTURE CONTROLLER WITH PRESCRIBED TRANSIENT RESPONSE TO CONTROL THE POSITION OF THE INDUCTION MOTOR DRIVES: Kasim Rashid and Hasan Zidan 30



- A NEW BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING OF HANDWRITTEN SIGNATURES USING LOW-FREQUENCY BAND DCT COEFFICIENTS: A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaji, and A. Tawfik 31

- NEW BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING TECHNIQUE FOR DUAL WATERMARKS USING LOW-FREQUENCY BAND DCT COEFFICIENTS: A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaj, and A. Tawfik 32

- A NOVEL BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING TECHNIQUE FOR COLOUR RGB IMAGES IN THE DCT DOMAIN USING GREEN CHANNEL: A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaj, and A. Tawfik 33

- A VISION FOR TRAINING DESIGN PROGRAM AT AJMAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NETWORK (TRAINING AS A WAY OF TEACHING IN DESIGN EDUCATION): Abdulmounim T. Ali 34

- HOME, DWELLINGS AND THE QUALITY OF THE URBAN SPACES: Bouzid Boudiaf and Sahar Makky 36

- ROOF POND COOLING OF BUILDINGS IN HOT ARID CLIMATES: Sahar N. Kharrufa and Yahyah Adil 38

- EVALUATION OF BASEMENT'S THERMAL PERFORMANCE IN IRAQ FOR SUMMER USE: Sahar N. Kharrufa 39

- THE USE OF COLOR PSYCHOLOGY TO TREAT THE INTERIOR SPACES IN COMPLEX BUILDINGS (APPLICATION: AJMAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY): Gamal Elsamanoudy 40

- THE IMPORTANCE TO TEACH "SUSTAINABILITY" TO TOMORROW'S INTERIOR DESIGNERS: Naglaa Sami Abdelaziz 42

- SANA’A IN THE CONTEXT OF ARABIC / ISLAMIC URBANIZATIONS: Sabah Mushatat and Bouzid Boudiaf 44

- UNDERSTANDING URBAN SYSTEMS AND SPRAWL IN THE U.A.E, CASE STUDIES FROM AJMAN, SHARJAH, DUBAI AND ABU DHABI: Ali Taileb, Ali Arbaoui and Bouzid Boudiaf 45

College Of Pharmacy And Health Sciences: 47 - CURRENT LEVELS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN THE

PHYSICIAN AND PHARMACIST: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN 49



LIBYA AND UAE: Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem and Sulieman I. Sharif

- CHANGES OF SOME HEALTH INDICATORS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY IN THREE-COMMUNITY PHARMACIES IN SHARJAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Abduelmula R Abduelkarem and Mike A Sackville 51

- ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN PHARMACEUTICAL ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE UAE: Suleiman I. Sharif and Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem 53

- APPLYING FINDRISK DIABETES RISK SCORE IN PARTS OF UAE: Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem, Cherine S. Lezzar, Dana T. Jijakli and Rania B. Khani 55

- STRATEGIES OTHER THAN MEDICATIONS TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF OBESITY-DRIVEN EPIDEMIC OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN OIL-PRODUCING ARAB COUNTRIES: Abduelmula R Abduelkarem,Hawa El-Shareif and Ahmed M Tawati 56

- INTERPRETATION OF MEDICATION PICTOGRAMS BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN UAE: Suleiman I. Sharif, Alya Al Sahi, Enas Mohammed, Randa Omar and Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem 58

- QUICK OTC DRUG REVIEW: Abduelmula R. AbduelKarem, Aisha Al Shamsi, Lina Bashar, Yara Malek and Noha Kamel 60

- IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONSOLIDATION MECHANISMS OF EMCOMPRESS®: Adi I. Arida, Moawia M. Al-Tabakha, Basem F. Dababneh, Fuad H. Al-Jawad and Mai S. Khanfar 61

- A REVIEW ON THE APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCRITICAL FLUID TECHNOLOGY: Moawia M. A. Al-Tabakha 62

- RECENT CHALLENGES IN INSULIN DELIVERY SYSTEMS: A REVIEW: MM Al-Tabakha and Al Arida 63

- PROPOSAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTION PREDICTION MODEL: Muaed J. Alomar, Anas A. Hourani and Syed A. Sulaiman 64

- EVALUATION OF THE LACK OF ESSENTIAL INFORMATION IN MEDICAL LITERATURE: Muaed J. Alomar, Anas A. Hourani, Syed A. Sulaiman and Claire C. Strauch 65

- ANTDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF ELAEGNUS COMMUTATA: Abdulrahim Abu Jayyab

67



Abdulrahim Abu Jayyab

- ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab 68

- NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY GLUTAMIC ACID “A THERAPEUTIC VALUE IN CORRECTING HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA AND IMPROVING CARDIAC PERFORMANCE": Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab 69

- NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY OF GLUTATHIONE: Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab 71

- NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY OF SLEEP AND DEPRESSION: Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab 73

- NEW THERAPEUTICAL POTENTIAL IN HISTAMINERGIC RECEPTORS: Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab 75

- POLYMERIC MEMBRANE ELECTRODE FOR POTENTIO-METRIC DETERMINATION OF ATENOLOL IN TABLETS AND BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS: Abdalla Shalaby, Abdulkareem I. Abdulraheem, Magda El-Maamly, Yaser Elshabrawy and Maha El-Tohamy 77

- KHAT (CATHA EDULIS): HEALTH ASPECTS OF KHAT CHEWING: A REVIEW: N.A.G.M. Hassan, A.A. Gunaid and I.M. Murray-Lyon 78

- SPUTUM EOSINOPHIL MARKERS IN MONITORING ASTHMATIC PATIENT IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Taki A. Almosawi, Tarik S. Al-Zubaidy and Peter H. Howorth 79

- HARMFUL INGREDIENTS IN COSMETICS: Adel Saeed Wasfe 80

College of Information Technology: 81

- OBJECT-ORIENTED INTELLIGENT DATABASE SYSTEM FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS SELECTION: M. Ayman Al-Ahmar 83

- OFF-LINE ARABIC HANDWRITTEN WORD SEGMENTATION USING ROTATIONAL INVARIANT SEGMENTS FEATURES (RISF): Shubair A. Abdulla, Amer Al-Nassiri and Rosalina Abdul Salam 84

College of Dentistry: 85 - THE RELATIONSHIP OF CARIES WITH ORAL HYGIENE

STATUS AND EXTRA–ORAL RISK FACTORS: Mohammed 87



Mustahsen ur Rehman, Noha Mahmood and Betul ur Rehman

- RELATION OF STRESS RELATED HABITS WITH TMJ: Raed Al Ani 88

- NISWAR DIPPING EFFECTS ON ORAL HEALTH: Raed Al Ani 89 - CONGENITAL MISSING TEETH: PROSTHETIC

REHABILITATION FOLLOWING ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT: , Qasrawi O, Abdel-Hak J, Akilli E, Arici V, Gultekin Ba andKarabuda C 90

- DENTIN BONDING AGENTS: WHICH, HOW AND WHEN; AN UPDATE FOR RESTORATIVE DENTIST: Abdul-Haq A. Suliman 92

- NEW TRENDS IN CARIES DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENTS: Abdul-Haq A. Suliman 93

- NICKEL–TITANIUM ROTARY INSTRUMENTS: OPTIONS FOR OPTIMAL ROOT CANAL TREATMENT: Abdul Rahman Mohammed Saleh 95

- LYSIS OF DYSPLASTIC BUT NOT NORMAL ORAL KERATINOCYTES AND TISSUE-ENGINEERED EPITHELIA WITH CONDITIONALLY REPLICATING ADENOVIRUSES: Kamis Gaballah 96

- TISSUE ENGINEERING OF ORAL DYSPLASIA: Kamis Gaballah 97

- A COMPARISON OF STANDARDS OF PRE-OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT IN CERVICAL NODE METASTASIS IN ORAL CANCER FOR AN INDIAN POPULATION: Sam Thomas 98

- DO PREOPERATIVE BLEEDING TIME TEST PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF POST SURGICAL BLEEDING? Sam Thomas 99

- EFFICACY OF BIOADHESIVE PATCHES IN THE TREATMENT OF RECURRENT APHTHOUS STOMATITIS: Abu Baker El-Mahdi, W. A. Coulter, A. D. Woolfson and P.-J. Lamey 100

- MEDICAL EMERGENCIES IN ABU DHABI DENTAL CLINICS – 2006-2007: Abu baker El-Mahdi and Shaikha M. Al Marzouqi 101

- SHADE SATISFACTION AMONG PATIENTS WITH FIXED DENTAL PROSTHESIS: Ahmad Judeh, Mohammed Rayyan, Yousef Khader and Bashar Al-Zu’bi 102



- FACIAL SOFT TISSUE VALUES IN PERSIAN ADULTS WITH NORMAL OCCLUSION AND WELL-BALANCED FACES: Amjad Al Taki, Fatma Oguz and Eyas Abuhijleh 104

College of Education and Basic Sciences 105 - THE MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR STUDENT TEACHER

AS APPROACH TO DEVELOP THE MATHEMATICAL TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD WITH RESPECT TO THE RELATED STANDARDS: Ibrahim H. Al Astal 107

- E-PORTFOLIOS: USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE AND ASSESS EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY OUTCOMES: Zuhrieh Shana 108

- A PILOT STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MULTIMEDIA CD-ROM VIS-À-VIS TRADITIONAL PRINT-BASED TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING 4TH GRADE CHILDREN: Zuhrieh Shana 109

- SOLUTIONS OF INTEGRO-FRACTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS IN 2L AND C - SPACES: S. B. Hadid and S. M. Momani 110

- SOME RESULTS ON INTEGRO-FRACTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS: Samir B. Hadid 111

- THE SITUATION OF THE LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERS IN THE SCHOOLS OF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND TO WHAT EXTENT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS: LRC LIBRARIANS POINTS OF VIEW: Yaseen Abdo Al-Maqtari 113

- RANDOMNESS TEST FOR BINARY STREAM CIPHER SEQUENCE BASED ON FREQUENCY OF SLIDE DOOR SECTORS: Mustafa A Salman, Hasan L Nasir and Ali M Kadhim 115

- THE EXPERIENCE OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN MAURITANIA: THE CONTEXT, THE FACTS AND THE FUTURE VISION: Mohamed Abdelhaye and Mohamed Mokhtar Assad 116

- SCIENTISTS AND PHILOSOPHERS IN ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION: Yusuf Mahmud 118

- EVOLUTION THEORY: SCIENCE OR PHILOSOPHY: Yusuf Mahmud

119



Mahmud

College of Business Administration: 121 - TELEWORKING IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE): AN

EMPIRICAL STUDY OF INFLUENCING FACTORS, ACILITATORS, AND INHIBITORS: Mohamed G. Aboelmaged and Abdallah M. Elamin 123

College of Law: 125 - THE PROTECTION OF POSSESSION: COMPARATIVE

RESEARCH IN LOW AND ISLAMIC DOCTRINE: Abdulah Al Saeedi 127

Institute of Environment, Water and Energy 129 - FACTORS CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTION OF TRACE

ELEMENTS IN GROUNDWATER OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Zeinelabidin S. Rizk 131

- INORGANIC CHEMICALS IN DOMESTIC WATER OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Zeinelabidin S. Rizk 133

- GROUNDWATER POLLUTION OF THE QUATERNARY AQUIFER IN NORTHERN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Eslam Al Hogaraty, Zeinelabidin S. Rizkand Hassan K. Garamoon 134

- ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES IN AL- KHATIM AREA, ABU DHABI EMIRATE, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Hassan K. Garamoon 135

- SOLAR ENERGY IN THE GULF REGION: Riadh H.AL-Dabbagh 136



The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in their articles and for the validity of the results herewith published which do not necessarily

reflect the opinion of AUST Network.



College of Engineering



ELECTROSTATIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS ACTUATORS FOR MEMS AD/DA CONVERTERS

Amir J. Majid

Department of Electrical Engineering College of Engineering,

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

International Journal of Engineering; Volume (2), Issue (1), Feb. 29th, 2008

MEMS Analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters are proposed using electrostatic field and electromagnetic fields actuators. For the former, parallel deformable plates supported by springs are used with bias applied voltage which determines the amount of static displacement needed for equilibrium condition. For the latter, coil winding(s) are embedded in a rotating plate, which is exposed to a constant field of a permanent magnet, causing the plate to deflect according to the currents in the windings. In the analog-to-digital arrangement, different spring displacements are tapped off either the spring in case of electrostatic or the moving plate in case of electromagnetic actuators, corresponding to the binary decoded currents. At these off tapping points, logic high signal levels are applied at these locations so that when a certain analog voltage is applied on the moving plate of the capacitor, the spring is displaced to one of these locations, enabling different binary voltages to all switches up to that level. Similar result occurs when an analog voltage is applied on the winding. The digital binary voltages are fed to a priority encoder to obtain the digital value. In digital-to-analog arrangement, the input binary voltage is decoded to different spring locations which correspond to resistances making up a potentiometer circuit for the output analog voltage. Similarly; for the electromagnetic actuator, a number of different length coil windings are embedded within the moving plate, causing different deflections corresponding to one bit of the binary input.



THOUGHTS ON COST EFFECTIVE ELECTRONICS LABS IN UAE UNIVERSITIES

Amir J. Majid


Ajman University of Science and Technology Network Forum on Electronic Engineering Education, American University

of Sharjah, March 22, 2008 The constant evolution of electrical/computer engineering curriculum has made the problem of utilizing and integrating lab equipments a major concern. Lab equipments cannot be repeatedly replaced or updated due to their costs, lab space and personnel training. Basic and general electronics courses are being moved down to freshman/sophomore level, which means that students need to conduct many lab sessions in short time. There is also the compatibility concern of lab equipments usage among UAE universities. On the other hand, objectives and outcomes need to be continuously observed in terms of lab equipments integration and utilization, lab loading, compatibility and objectives and outcomes.



A NEW PERFORMANCE MEASURE OF THE NORMALIZED LMS ADAPTIVE FILTER

Eweda Eweda



Proceeding of the IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing and Communications, pp. 652-655

Dubai, UAE, November 2007, The paper provides a new performance measure of the Normalized LMS algorithm. The performance measure is based on the time evolution of the component of the weight deviation vector in the direction of the regressor, which is the only component that contributes to the excess estimation error at the output of the adaptive filter. The proposed measure gives a better insight on the performance of the adaptive filter than the conventional measure which is based on the whole weight deviation vector. The proposed measure enables a rigorous establishment of the algorithm convergence under weak assumptions. The assumptions do not include restrictions on the dependence between successive regressors, the dependence among the regressor elements, the length of the adaptive filter, the distributions of the filter input and the noise. It also enables the analysis over a wide range of the algorithm step size.



MODELING OF A PRECISE MOS SENSOR ARRAY SYSTEM FOR 2D DETECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS

Ali Abouelnor, Ossama Abouelnor,

Esam Yousry and M. Marzouk Department of Electrical Engineering

College of Engineering, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Proceeding of the 2006 IEEE International Conference on Information Acquisition, p. 732, 2006, Shandong, China

A highly sensitive linear MOS sensor system for two-dimensional detection of magnetic fields is suggested and its characteristics is systematically investigated. First, the effects of device geometric parameters and biasing conditions on the sensor sensitivity are accurately determined using an efficient physical simulator which couples the magnetic field equations and the carrier transport equations. From the simulation results, an enhanced equivalent circuit model for MOS magnetic sensor is proposed and finally the performance of an integrated smart structure which is able to fully detect the magnetic field variations in two-dimensions is analyzed.



PHYSICAL MODELLING OF A HIGHLY SENSITIVE LINEAR MOS SENSOR FOR 2D DETECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS

Ali Abouelnor, Ossama Abouelnor,

Esam Yousry and M. Marzouk Department of Electrical Engineering


Smart Sensors, Actuators and MEMS III, Proc. of SPIE

Vol. 6589, p. 65891P-1, 2007, Spain In the present work, a rigorous two-dimensional physical simulator is developed to characterize the operation and to optimize the structure of a highly sensitive linear 2D MOSFET magnetic sensor. The magnetic field equation and the carrier transport equations are efficiently coupled and accurately solved to determine the effects of external applied magnetic field on the electrical characteristics of the MOSFET based sensor. The accuracy of the present simulator is tested for different device and circuit parameters to allow the use of it as an efficient CAD tool to fully characterize smart two-directions MOSFET magnetic sensor.



EFFECTS OF CIRCUIT ELEMENTS AND HARMONIC OSCILLATION POWER ON FUNDAMENTAL PM NOISE

POWER OF FET OSCILLATOR

Ali Abouelnor and Ossama Abouelnor Department of Electrical Engineering


Noise and Fluctuations in Circuits, Devices, and Materials, Proc.

of SPIE Vol. 6600, p, 66001W-1, 2007, Italy Analytical expressions for the PM noise in FET oscillators are derived in terms of the FET equivalent circuit elements and the passive circuitry. Efficient methods to reduce the PM noise in fundamental and in harmonic mode are suggested and implements. The effects of the different FET equivalent circuit parameters on large-signal, small-signal, and noise behaviour of FET oscillators are thoroughly investigated. Finally, the effects of harmonic signal on both fundamental and harmonic output noise are determined.



PERFORMANCE LIMITS OF SIMULATION MODELS FOR NOISE CHARACTERIZATION OF MM-WAVE DEVICES

Ali Abouelnor


Ajman University of Science and Technology Network Noise and Fluctuations in Circuits, Devices, and Materials, Proc.

of SPIE Vol. 6600, p, 66001R-1, 2007, Italy Based on Boltzmann transport equation, the drift-diffusion, hydrodynamic, and Monte-Carlo physical models are accurately developed. The model equations are self-consistently solved with Poisson equation, and with Schrödinger equation when quantization effects take place, in one and two-dimensions to characterize the operation and optimize the structure of mm-wave devices. The effects of the devices dimensions, biasing conditions and operating frequencies on the accuracy of the obtained model (simulator) results are thoroughly investigated. Based on physical understanding of the models, the simulation results are analyzed and conclusions are drawn to fully determine the limits at which a certain device simulator can be accurately and efficiently used to characterize the noise behaviour of mm-wave devices.



INVESTIGATION OF ATMOSPHERIC GASES ATTENUATION IN UAE

Kifah Al-Ansari



4th IEEE GCC Conference and Exhibition Guide Book, Manama Kingdom of Bahrain 12th -14th Nov., 2007, p. 71

This paper presents the first results of atmospheric gases attenuation statistics in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) for a period of 14 years (1990-2003). Six sites have been considered for this study using meteorological surface data (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Al-Ain, Ras Al-Khaimah and Al-Fujairah). Upper air (radiosondes) data were available at one site only, Abu Dhabi airport, which has been considered for gases attenuation calculations using Line-by-Line method. Hourly averages of slant path gases attenuation are obtained. Cumulative distributions are provided as well.



CORRELATION BETWEEN GROUND REFRACTIVITY AND REFRACTIVITY GRADIENT AND THEIR STATISTICAL AND

WORST MONTH DISTRIBUTIONS IN ABU DHABI

Kifah Al Ansari and Kamel, R. A. Department of Electrical Engineering


IEEE, Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters,

Vol. 7, Issue 1, July-2008, pp. 233-235

Information based on 14 years of radio sounding data has been used to investigate the correlation between ground refractivity and refractivity gradient in Abu Dhabi city. The results of this analysis, which includes as well the statistical and worst month distributions of both parameters, are presented in this letter.



VARIABLE STRUCTURE CONTROLLER WITH PRESCRIBED TRANSIENT RESPONSE TO CONTROL THE POSITION OF

THE INDUCTION MOTOR DRIVES

Kasim Rashid and Hasan Zidan Department of Electrical Engineering


A book published by: Springer-Verlag London Limited 2007

This work demonstrates the efficacy of variable structure controllers with prescribed transient response to control the position of the induction motor drives. Based on the function augmented sliding hyper plane, it can be guarantee that the position tracking error converges within a realistic specified time interval. Better-quality performance for variable structure controllers is exhibited over fixed gain PID-controllers. Robustness of variable structure controller against parameter variations and external disturbances is established. Finally, the control algorithm has been validated by both simulation and experimental testing.



A NEW BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING OF HANDWRITTEN SIGNATURES USING LOW-FREQUENCY BAND DCT

COEFFICIENTS

A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaji, and A. Tawfik Department of Electrical Engineering


In proceeding of the IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing and Communications (ICSPC 2007), Dubai, United

Arab Emirates, November 2007 This paper deals with a new blind technique for robust image watermarking in the DCT domain. The technique is based on embedding watermark information in eight low-frequency band coefficients of the DCT sub-blocks. Single watermark has been embedded multi-times in the host image. The embedding process is based on changing the selected DCT-coefficients of the host image to odd or even values depending on the binary watermark’s bit value. The proposed blind watermarking embedding has shown to be strongly robust against several attacks.



NEW BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING TECHNIQUE FOR DUAL WATERMARKS USING LOW-FREQUENCY BAND DCT

COEFFICIENTS

A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaj, and A. Tawfik Department of Electrical Engineering


In proceeding of the 14th IEEE International Conference on

Electronics, Circuits and Systems, Marrakech, Morocco, December 2007

This paper deals with a new blind robust watermarking technique for embedding two watermarks into a host image. The technique is based on embedding watermark information in sixteen low-frequency band coefficients of the DCT sub-blocks. The Embedding process is based on changing the selected DCT-coefficients of the host image to odd or even values depending on the binary watermark’s bit value. The proposed blind watermarking embedding has shown to be strongly robust against several attacks.



A NOVEL BLIND IMAGE WATERMARKING TECHNIQUE FOR COLOUR RGB IMAGES IN THE DCT DOMAIN

USING GREEN CHANNEL

A. Al-Gindy, H. Al-Ahmad, R. Qahwaj, and A. Tawfik Department of Electrical Engineering


Mosharaka International Conference on Communications,

Computers and Applications (MIC-CCA 2008), Amman, Jordan, 8-10 August 2008

This paper presents a new algorithm for colour digital image watermarking. The 24 bits/pixel RGB images are used and the watermark is placed on the green channel of the RGB image. The green channel is chosen after an analytical investigation process was carried out using some popular measurement metrics. The analysis and embedding processes have been carried out using the discrete cosine transform DCT. The new watermarking method has shown to be resistant to JPEG compression, cropping, scaling, low-pass, median and removal attack. This algorithm produces more than 65 dB of average PSNR.



A VISION FOR TRAINING DESIGN PROGRAM AT AJMAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NETWORK

(TRAINING AS A WAY OF TEACHING IN DESIGN EDUCATION)

Abdulmounim T. Ali

Dept. of Architectural Engineering and Interior Design College of Engineering,


Designing / Design Education / Design Train CONCRESS/ Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp 26-41, June 2008

This study looks into the training program, which is an integral part of the Interior Design Program at Ajman University of Science and Technology Network (AUST). The Department of Interior Design has established training cooperation with many local offices and a number of design related companies and organizations. The training program is implemented in two parts, each with duration of 8 weeks. The 16 weeks training is considered as 4 Cr.Hrs. of a total of 134 hours of the program. The aim of the training is to expose the student to work environment and practice what is learnt in class and design studios. During training, the students will be able to:

• Apply theoretical knowledge to solve real design problems.

• Enhance active factors to give a hand in helping and improvement the aesthetic qualities of the environmental aspects.

• Improve their practical skills. • Help them to develop his artistic abilities in design, and to

gain aesthetic design experiences in factual life serving community needs.

• Develop a strong foundation and help the students to achieve their full potential, and to develop a self-motive approach to perform work in a team.

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network places strong emphasis on quality assurance and quality control.



The same applies to the Department of Interior Design. The quality of the training program is assessed from different aspects. Evaluation and recommendations based on the assessment. The main goal of the assessment is to modify/ update the program on a continual basis to ensure that the graduates of this program are of high quality and have achieved the desire objectives. For this, feedbacks are sought from the sites companies, training advisors, academic advisors, training student’s surveys, and Alumni. Developments/actions are taken following, the recommendations from evaluation. This study highlights the importance of training program in preparing students for a successfully professional practice.



HOME, DWELLINGS AND THE QUALITY OF THE URBAN SPACES

Bouzid Boudiaf and Sahar Makky



1st Housing Conference: Towards Sustainable Housing Development; Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme and UN

Habitat; 13-15 October 2008; Armed Forces Officers Club; Abu Dhabi; U.A.E.

In 1997, the Algerian population reached 30 millions, a figure which is expected to rise by another 5 millions by the year 2010. More than 50% of the population is living in cities (Algiers alone represents almost 20% of the urban population), which represents more than 100% increase in city dwellers in a period of less than 20 years. The impact of this rapid urban development is that large areas of almost all the Algerian cities, situated in the North of the country, look the same. So do Algerian cities look Algerian and if they do what makes them look that way ? As a result, the city of today differs from its past in several respects : size and scale, street layout, land use patterns, architectural style and type of housing. Traditional urban form and building which would have provided information about regional and national identity have been largely replaced by forms characterizing the international and universal buildings and spaces. These changes have altered the city’s form and have given rise to questions about the impact of these changes on the image of the city in terms of size and cultural values. This paper is concerned with the broad area of research into the meaning of the home and its relationship to the physical form of housing in Algiers. It focuses on the ways in which the physical form of housing mediates and structures gender relations. This will be illuminated by elements of the urban development and particularly of housing, and an explanation of its relationship to changing ideologies and architectural norms. Typically, house design symbolizes accepted notions of the appropriate function



of the home and preferred familial relations, such notions are in themselves profoundly important in structuring gender relations. Our aim in this paper is to explore other dimension of gender inequality in the perception of the home, namely that which is structured in and reflected by the physical form of housing; the assumptions about the use of domestic space and the sharing of domestic labors that are embodied in the internal and external design of housing, and the way this is responding to changing economic and social conditions. Before developing these aspects, let us see the evolution of the city from the physical point of view.



ROOF POND COOLING OF BUILDINGS IN HOT ARID CLIMATES

Sahar N. Kharrufa and Yahyah Adil



Building and Environment, Elsevier Volume 43, January 2008

The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These are conditions which encourage the use of evaporative cooling. A building with one space in it was used to test the effect of a roof pond which was ventilated mechanically for summer cooling. Thermal measurements were taken for the room in normal conditions without a pond, with a lone pond and no mechanical ventilation, and then finally with mechanically forced ventilation. The results showed a marked improvement in the space temperature with a significant reduction during the peak time outside temperatures at three O’clock reaching 6.0 degrees centigrade between the room without the pond and with a ventilated one and 6.5 degrees at 18:00 during peak inside temperatures. The study also showed that improvements would be better in real life conditions where exterior wall area is less than the test room.



EVALUATION OF BASEMENT'S THERMAL PERFORMANCE IN IRAQ FOR SUMMER USE

Sahar N. Kharrufa



Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, November 14, 2008

The main environmental problem for people living in Iraq is the long hot dry summer. Basements were used in the past by the people to solve part of the problem. Recently older solutions have been bypassed in favor of air conditioning. The consequent electric loads are very high. In this paper the basement is evaluated thermally for summer use and tested for cooling loads. Climate factors were measured outside a building, inside it and in the basement. The measurements lasted from early spring to late autumn. The basement was by far the best of the measured spaces thermally. For most of the summer they were only slightly off reasonable thermal comfort readings for sedentary activities. However it did peak at around 35oC for two weeks. Calculations show that a relatively small cooling load would improve the interior to a comfortable temperature. By comparison a cooling load several times more would be required to reach similar conditions in an above ground space



THE USE OF COLOR PSYCHOLOGY TO TREAT THE INTERIOR SPACES IN COMPLEX BUILDINGS

(APPLICATION: AJMAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY)

Gamal Elsamanoudy



International Scientific Conference for the centennial of the Faculty of Fine Arts, 19 - 22 October 2008, Cairo, Egypt

The God givens are numerous from the magnificent nature riche in color, efficient in the human joy and relax. We even may state that all color theory, beauty and design, is based and have been defined on it, which make us conclude the importance of color as main universe element. From above we can consider the color as one of the most important element in arts and design. In fact, the design decisions are related to the color choice as a major factor to success the interior design projects. The research study has focused on the use of the previous studies done to be implemented on a real experience of the physiological and psychological effects on human. The research try to get benefits to solve it’s critical design problem, usually found in the public buildings complexes as malls, hospitals and universities(case-study) which used to be designed in a lake understanding of the circulations and the reactions of users within the interior spaces. The case-study philosophy is to find out the design problems based on two main points; First, a full description of the building, its activities, circulations. Second, a study of the psychological color effects as a guide to locations and directions since the color is more perceived than the sign. The applicant solutions on the case-study (college of pharmacy building- Ajman University) were; the choice of a color scheme



to be used and arranged within the interior spaces to identify directions and locations through perceiving the color scheme. Second, an evaluation of the case-study experience, a survey questionnaire has been done (students-staff-employees). The result of this survey has described the effects of the color psychology on solving the similarity of the interior spaces. The high percentage was accepting and supporting the new solution. The color experience has added positive changes on the building and his users, which proves the success of the case-study experience. The research instructions were; - Any public complex buildings should have an approved color

schemes for its interiors. - A detailed study for the psychological and physiological color

effects on human for his health and wellbeing - The importance of the relations between the circulation and

the color psychology and there impact on the productivity. - The application of color theory in the interior design projects

needs further studies. - Produce several courses for the interior design departments.



THE IMPORTANCE TO TEACH "SUSTAINABILITY" TO TOMORROW'S INTERIOR DESIGNERS

Naglaa Sami Abdelaziz



International Scientific Conference for the centennial of the Faculty of Fine Arts, 19 - 22 October 2008, Cairo, Egypt

The natural resources became rare, and in decreasing levels over the time. Sustainability means the use of resources without any depletion; a method of use of materials that is capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment. The interior designer has to find solution for creating an environment, where the entire life-cycle of the buildings and its components is considered, as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance, which is the "green/sustainable design". Interior Designer must learn to love natural things and care for it; they must care, conserve and protect. The integration of these important studies, will involve all the interiors elements, from the structure materials to the interior materials, as well as the furniture, furnishings and equipments. Our interior space can have profound effects on us without our realizing. The art of design is to use the space to its best advantage using light, colors and texture to keep feelings, creative image and good energy. A sustainable design should create interiors that

1. Are healthier for people and enhance productivity; 2. Can be built at market rate and cost much less to

operate; 3. Use less fossil fuels thus conserving energy, generating

less global pollution and saving on operational costs by requiring less maintenance;

4. Use less water; 5. Manage waste at the highest productive level; 6. Reduce impacts on both developed and undeveloped land;



7. Minimize the use of materials and use materials with the lowest environmental impacts.

Courses were created to give the next generation of interior architect, the tools they need to respect the earth. Those components are intended to stimulate ideas to enable instructors to integrate "sustainable/green design issues into the programs of Interior Design. The research reaches at the end a proposal of a course “Sustainability for Interior Design” as a result of the study.



SANA’A IN THE CONTEXT OF ARABIC / ISLAMIC URBANIZATIONS

Sabah Mushatat and Bouzid Boudiaf



International Forum on Islamic Architecture and Design, Sharjah University, College of Engineering,

08-10th April 2008, Sharjah, U.A.E. Sana’a is one of the oldest urban settlements in the world. Sana’a is characterized by its vernacular architecture built in a form of towers and developed in harmony with the environment from the ecological and urban morphological points of views. These characteristics shaped and strengthened the identity of Sana’a and lead it to resist to the different intrusions, so the modernization of its architectural vocabulary is deeply rooted in its socio – cultural and physical contexts. In the same time, Sana’a had interacted positively with different and antagonists ideological and political developments and from it emerged some concepts illustrating the Arabic and Islamic cities. Our aim in this paper is the presentation of the development of Sana’a in a chronological way and through this development we will explore its main architectural components and features and we will end up by comparing it to the other Arabic and Islamic cities. This paper will be based on the perceptual approach, so the photos and sketches will be used as the main tools for the description and the analysis of Sana’a. The comparative analysis of Sana’a to the other Arabic and Islamic cities (Ghardaia, Aleppo and Fez) will be based on the different archeological and historical researches done on each city separately.



UNDERSTANDING URBAN SYSTEMS AND SPRAWL IN THE U.A.E, CASE STUDIES FROM AJMAN, SHARJAH, DUBAI AND

ABU DHABI

Ali Taileb, Ali Arbaoui and Bouzid Boudiaf Dept. of Architectural Engineering and Interior Design


Instant Cities: Emergent Trends in Architecture and Urbanism in the Arab World, The Center for the Study of Architecture in the

Arab Region, School of Architecture and Design, American University of Sharjah, 01st-03rd rd April 2008, Sharjah; U.A.E.

The twentieth-century can be called the ‘era of urbanization’ in most parts of the world. World population, currently about 5.3 billion, is expected to at least double during the present century. According to the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), 90 percent of this increase will be experienced in urban agglomerations. In 1990, just 15 percent of the world’s people were urban, today the figure is closer to 50 percent and by 2025 it is likely to be at least 60 percent. In the UAE, the population has nearly quadrupled over the past 25 years, from around 1.04 million at the beginning of 1980 to nearly 4.041 million at the end of 2003. Cities in the gulf are expanding at an unprecedented speed, In GCC countries, like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain; “new cities” such as: King Abdullah the Economic City in Saudi Arabia, the Silk City project in Kuwait, the Financial Harbor in the capital Manama Bahrain are flourishing at an explosive rate. The United Arab Emirates are not an exception; this growth has affected many cities such as Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This abnormal growth is mainly caused by urban expansion that destabilizes the balance between natural resources and the morphological characteristics of each region. Today typical sprawling housing developments, shopping centers, highways and other developments emerged from design principles that did not originate from any sense of the environmental context or to humankind's relation to it.



The main objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the issue of urban sprawl that affects cities in the U.A.E; this is achieved through an examination of case studies of Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The study shows that land availability, socio-economic factors and weak planning were the catalyst of flourishing sprawl in the U.A.E. Zoning and separation of activities dictates that people must move daily from home to work and back again, which increases the consumption of energy and resources and effectively doubles the need for built up “dormitory towns” and working centers. In the case of Abu Dhabi, we will see how that the natural boundaries (sea) can affect the urban expansion (Sprawl).



College of Pharmacy and

Health Sciences



CURRENT LEVELS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PHYSICIAN AND PHARMACIST:

A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN LIBYA AND UAE

Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem 1 and Sulieman I. Sharif 2

1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of

Science and Technology Network, 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of

Pharmacy, University of Sharjah Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2008;1(2):142-151

The aim of the study was to investigate the current levels of interaction between physicians and community pharmacists, and to elicit the opinions and attitudes of physicians about pharmacists’ willingness to perform additional services. A questionnaire-based interview survey was conducted with a total of 230 doctors practicing in the primary care sector in Libya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The questionnaire consisted of four sections and covered the frequency of contact between physicians and pharmacists to discuss patients’ drug therapy, the level of physicians’ satisfaction with the services offered by community pharmacists to patients and doctors, physicians’ opinions of the pharmacist performing extra selected services, and the importance of selected counselling activities when the pharmacist dispenses a prescribed medication. Eighty nine percent (89%; n=100) of doctors in Libya and sixty-six doctors (66%; n=130) in the UAE agreed to participate and completed a questionnaire during the interview. Doctors and community pharmacists included in this study may remain physically isolated from one another in both countries, since almost 70% in Libya and 60% in the UAE either ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ discussed patients’ drug therapy with the pharmacist. Furthermore, it would appear that there is some scepticism about the appropriateness of pharmacists being involved in monitoring blood pressure and providing a therapeutic



substitute. Many doctors are also unwilling to delegate some of their traditional roles to pharmacists. Further work is needed to gauge the level of satisfaction of both patients and doctors with the services provided by community pharmacists. This is principally required to examine the capability of community pharmacists to play a role in the management of chronic diseases in both countries.



CHANGES OF SOME HEALTH INDICATORS IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY IN

THREE-COMMUNITY PHARMACIES IN SHARJAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abduelmula R Abduelkarem1 and Mike A Sackville2

1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, AUST Network, UAE

2Pharmacy Practice Department, Sunderland School of Pharmacy, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK

Libyan Journal of Medicine 2008; AOP: 080918; 4: 1-10

Aim: to examine changes in some health indicators in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, namely: reported self-care activity, health related quality of life, and patient opinion of the services provided by three community pharmacies in Sharjah, UAE. Method: A prospective study was conducted over a 24-month period. The same patients were used at different stages of the study. Patients under investigation received reminders packages during the first 3-months of the study. No reminders were sent after 3-months time of the study. Result: All patients included in this study were considered to have poor diet behaviour and poor exercise behaviour at baseline. At 3-months, more than 27% of patients were considered to have acceptable diet, exercise, foot care and self-testing behaviour. However, results at six months and 24-months show that mean scores had almost returned to baseline levels. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to test differences between means from baseline to 3-months, baseline to 6-months, baseline to 24-months, 3-months to 6-months, 3-months to 24-months; and 6-months to 24-months. There were a significant 5.86 (P=0.001), 5.25 (P<0.001), and 3.81 (P=0.02) mean difference between the initial and final scores for general health, vitality and role physical scales respectively. The 25% increase in the patient’s perception of the ability of the pharmacist to assist in decreasing blood glucose level was significant (p < 0.001).



Conclusion: Our study found that an ongoing reminder packages is needed to support continued progress in self-care activities and to achieve lasting changes in the behaviour of those people under investigation. This response, in addition to the significant changes in patients response about pharmacists’ abilities demonstrate that implementation of such a strategy through community pharmacy could help in improving patient’s views of the quality of services received from their community pharmacy and patient’s quality of life, which will improve patient’s drug therapy and reduce diabetes complications.



ANALYSIS OF WRITTEN PHARMACEUTICAL ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE UAE

Suleiman I. Sharif1 and Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem2

1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of

Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, 2Department of Clinical Pharmacy,

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal 2008; 16(3-4): 252-257

Background: Pharmaceutical advertisements for the promotion of drugs have been shown to influence the prescribing trends of physicians. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that all types of advertisement including those in leading medical journals contain information that are either biased or misleading. In UAE there is a central drug control department but once a drug is registered no prior approval of drug advertisement is required. The accuracy and reliability of published information are trusted as the publisher responsibility. Objectives: To assess the accuracy and reliability of information in promotional pharmaceutical brochures, leaflets and posters. Methods: Sixty six written pharmaceutical advertisements encompassing 71 drug brands were collected from pharmacies, clinics and hospitals in Dubai and Sharjah Emirates. Contents were classified as direct-to-physician and direct-to-consumer information and verified using BNF and a textbook of pharmacotherapeutics. Results: Ninety-seven percent of the advertisements were in English with 99% mentioning condition for which targeted drug is used. Risk factors were mentioned in 11% and condition prevalence rate in 20% of advertisements. Mechanism of action was mentioned in 47%, incomplete information in 64%, clear misleading information in only 5%, success estimates of treatment in 50% and reliability was noted in only 3% of advertisements.



Conclusions: Health authorities should subject all pharmaceutical advertisements to more strict regulations and material for publication should be critically revised before approval. Physicians should also be cautious about the reliability of information in all drug advertisements and should follow principles of evidence-based medicine in assessing the validity of information on targeted drugs.



APPLYING FINDRISK DIABETES RISK SCORE IN PARTS OF UAE

Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem1, Cherine S. Lezzar2, Dana T.

Jijakli2 and Rania B. Khani2 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy,


2Practice Pharmacists, UAE

Accepted for publication: International Journal of Excellence in Healthcare, 2008

Purpose: To identify primary and secondary school teachers at risk for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in some areas of the UAE. Methodology: The Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISK) was used to assess the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus within the next 10 years among schoolteachers with one or more risk factor. A total of 222 participants were approached. They were selected from primary and secondary schools in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman. Findings: Of the 222 participants, 136 (61%) were females from different nationalities. Family history was positive in almost 56%. Based on the FINDRISK, sixty-nine (31%) of volunteers was at either moderate or high/very high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Among participants at risk, body mass index (BMI) was > 25 Kg/m2 in 91% and the waist circumference was high in almost 73%. Risk factors scoring methods including FINDRISK are easy, useful, and non-invasive tools of which pharmacists can use, since they are in a regular point of contact with high-risk individuals to develop diabetes. Moreover, teachers have a great influence on their students’ behavior; consequently intervention may not only protect teachers but also the school age children and adolescents.



STRATEGIES OTHER THAN MEDICATIONS TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF OBESITY-DRIVEN EPIDEMIC OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN OIL-PRODUCING ARAB COUNTRIES

Abduelmula R Abduelkarem1,

Hawa El-Shareif2 and Ahmed M Tawati3

1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Science, AUST Network, UAE

2Endocrine Department, Tripoli Medical Center (Al-fateh University for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine),

Tripoli, Libya 3Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Fateh

University for Medical Sciences, Tripoli, Libya

Accepted for publication: International Journal of Excellence in Healthcare, 2008

Diabetes, have emerged as a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, in the Arab countries in recent years. Causing an increase in both direct health care costs and indirect costs from lost productivity due to illness or death. Propelling the upsurge in cases of diabetes is the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, which linked, with adoption of a Western lifestyle such as eating high calorie foods, and physical inactivity. Such lifestyle changes are also affecting children in these countries. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the UAE It has long been recognized that drugs represent only part of the management protocol of type 2 diabetes and that other interventions, such as therapeutic health education, the modification of diet, and promotion of exercise and home glucose self-monitoring remain cornerstones of diabetes management.

The enormous and growing economic and social costs of diabetes make a compelling case for prevention. Clinical trials now provide evidence that Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented by lifestyle interventions involving moderate-intensity physical activity such as walking for 30



minutes daily on most of the days of the week and structured diet that result in modest and sustained weight loss.



INTERPRETATION OF MEDICATION PICTOGRAMS BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN UAE

Suleiman I. Sharif1, Alya Al Sahi1, Enas Mohammed1,

Randa Omar1 and Abduelmula R. Abduelkarem2 1Department of Pharmacology,

College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, 2Department of Clinical Pharmacy,


Accepted for publication:

International Journal of Excellence in Healthcare, 2008 Purpose: to assess the ability of 20 internationally available (USP) pictograms to convey there intended messages in 170 first and second year English speaking students of the colleges of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Methodology: Twenty internationally available United States Pharmacopoeal Convention Inc. USP pictograms were used throughout this study period. These were mounted on A4 papers in black and white. Participants were instructed to study the pictograms and write the relevant interpretation in the space provided underneath each pictogram. They were also asked to answer two questions relating to whether they think inclusion of pictograms in medication instructional leaflets is important and whether they are helpful for illiterate, elderly or all individuals. Findings: The respondents were all first and second year medical, pharmacy and dental English-speaking students. Their mean age was 19±2 (range17-21) years and the majority 128 (75%) was females. Most of the students investigated (143, 84%) reported that augmenting written /verbal instructions with pictograms is important and also a majority (138, 81%) suggested that all patients should be targeted regardless of their age or education level. Correct interpretation of individual pictograms ranged from 16% to 95%. Only 8 (40%) of the 20 USP pictograms included in the present study achieved the 85% criterion of the American National Standards Institute.



Research limitations: No attempts were taken to investigate the effect of colour on interpretation of pictograms. Moreover the study was carried out on university students, no elderly or illiterate individuals were included in the study. Conclusion: Incorrect interpretation of pictograms suggests poor design and cultural sensitivity. It is concluded that medication pictograms should be carefully designed and pre-tested in a particular community before implementation and their culture relevance should be considered.



QUICK OTC DRUG REVIEW

Abduelmula R. AbduelKarem1, Aisha Al Shamsi2, Lina Bashar2, Yara Malek2 and Noha Kamel2

1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of

Science and Technology Network 2Practice Pharmacists, UAE

DUPHAT, The 9th Dubai International Pharmaceuticals and

Technologies Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, March 2008. (Winner of DUPHAT 10th Merit Prize Trophy)

This Book registered at:

Bureau of Intellectual Classification, Abu Dhabi, 2008 The aim of our work was to establish a Quick OTC Drug Review for over the counter medicines. Following the example of many countries who established similar works and to the fact that the majority of healthcare personnel to whom questionnaire were distributed and agreed with the idea of establishing such review overall structure intends to provide a beneficial input for the healthcare system as a whole in the UAE including; physicians, pharmacists, nurses and even patients. Furthermore, the quick review for OTC medicines is anticipated to provide the platform and the support for the recent law issued by the Ministry of Health that prohibits the sale of OTC medicines in places other than pharmacies. The review is unique in the UAE and we hope that the proposed review for OTC medicine will raise awareness regarding the borderline between OTC and POM and that the public will accept this anticipated change in the near future.



IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONSOLIDATION MECHANISMS OF EMCOMPRESS®

Adi I. Arida 1, Moawia M. Al-Tabakha 2, Basem F.

Dababneh 3, Fuad H. Al-Jawad 1 and Mai S. Khanfar 1 1Faculty of Pharmacy, Philadelphia University, Jordan

2College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, UAE

3Applied Science Department, Zarqa College, Al-Balqa' Applied University, Jordan

Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2008;

Volume 1(2): 111-125 This work is an attempt to elucidate the consolidation mechanisms of the powder Emcompress® under compression. Consolidation mechanisms play an important role in the forces of attraction between different particles, and this has extensively earned the interest of scientists due to the many newly and continuous findings in this area. Emcompress® is a directly compressible excipient that undergoes extensive fragmentation under compression as demonstrated by large increase in its specific surface area under pressure, which is measured by gas adsorption technique, or other ones. Its different physical properties have been compared to that when adding povidone powder to it which is known to be used as a plastisizing material that decreases fragmentation of powder. After the attempt to extract the pure forces which are responsible for the consolidation mechanisms of Emcompress®, many forces were involved in such consolidation. It was also noted that there is an indirectly proportional qualitative relationship between the specific surface area of Emcompress® and its average pore radius. It has been shown that Emcompress® consolidates only by weak distance forces and mechanical interlocking.



A REVIEW ON THE APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCRITICAL FLUID TECHNOLOGY

Moawia M. A. Al-Tabakha


Arab Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2008; 3(6): 25-34

There have been increased interests in exploiting the supercritical fluids (SCFs) technology during the recent years. With many advances and increased scholarly works in the possible applications of SCFs, it became important to review and discuss these works collectively. This will facilitate for the current and future researches to be directed and optimized. The supercritical fluid CO2 (SCCO2) remains the main agent in use as it offers many advantages including mainly the operation at relatively low temperature and the fact that toxic residues are not a problem after the completion of its use. While the SCF already found some applications in food industry represented by the commercial production of decaffeinated coffee, the commercial production of biopharmaceutical drug delivery systems have yet to start. Probably, particle formation and particle coating or encapsulation will be first to be introduced. In forensic evidence the technology may also contributes by the extraction of habit forming drugs from the hair of addicts. Environmentally the technology could be used in fate studies of materials such as pesticides. In chromatography the SCCO2 has shown to speed the analysis time and improve separation of enantiomers. The technology has also shown to be capable of sterilizing of heat sensitive materials without damage including proteins. The use of SCCO2 is however limited by the fact that optimization works are necessary including the requirement for co-processing materials and the operation at temperature and pressure greatly moved from the its critical points or the requirement for fluctuation of these operation parameters as the case in sterilization.



RECENT CHALLENGES IN INSULIN DELIVERY SYSTEMS: A REVIEW

MM Al-Tabakha1 and Al Arida2

1 Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network,

United Arab Emirates 2 Faculty of Pharmacy, Philadelphia University, Jordan

Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 70(3):278-86, (2008) Relatively, a large percentage of world population is affected by diabetes mellitus, out of which approximately 5-10% with type 1 diabetes while the remaining 90% with type 2. Insulin administration is essential for type 1 patients while it is required at later stage by the patients of type 2. Current insulin delivery systems are available as transdermal injections which may be considered as invasive. Several non-invasive approaches for insulin delivery are being pursued by pharmaceutical companies to reduce the pain, and hypoglycemic incidences associated with injections in order to improve patient compliance. While any new insulin delivery system requires health authorities' approval, to provide long term safety profile and insuring patients' acceptance. The inhalation delivery system Exubera® has already become clinically available in the United States and Europe for patients with diabetes as non-invasive delivery system.



PROPOSAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTION PREDICTION MODEL

Muaed J. Alomar1, Anas A. Hourani2 and Syed A. Sulaiman2

1Department of Clinical pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology

Network, UAE 2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Sians Malaysia (USM), Penang State, Malaysia

American Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology 2008; 3 (2): 182-189

Information technology, which uses the computer for data processing and decision-making, has invaded all kinds of sciences. Health informatics is one of these important areas. The Objective of this study is to develop a mathematical model that calculates the percentage of ADR occurrence using the data available from primary literature for a specific medication. A mathematical model was developed to calculate the percentage of adverse drug reaction occurrence for a specific patient, using specific patient factors. The expected effect is that these different patient factors will produce different adverse drug reactions in different percentages. The adverse drug reaction prediction model is developed using Microsoft access, forms are built and ready for the data to be collected and utilized from primary literature. Pharmacists and other medical specialists should give information technology more concern in order to develop a comprehensive decision support systems able to predict medication errors before they actually happen.



EVALUATION OF THE LACK OF ESSENTIAL INFORMATION IN MEDICAL LITERATURE

Muaed J. Alomar1, Anas A. Hourani2, Syed A. Sulaiman2

and Claire C. Strauch2 1Department of Clinical pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and

Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, UAE

2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Sians Malaysia (USM), Penang State, Malaysia

American Journal of

Pharmacology and Toxicology 2008; 3 (2): 190-197 Primary literature is a basic tool for medical knowledge and for future research. Every researcher relies at some point on the information available in published literature. Also, primary literature is utilized to develop guidelines for the medical use of medications in all kinds of diseases, accuracy is a must in this regard. To evaluate essential information regarding patients, drugs and diseases omitted from efficacy literature on antihypertensive drug safety. Data on antihypertensive adverse drug reactions we retrospectively collected from 219 medical articles using search engines IDIS Iowa Drug Information Services, ScienceDirect, Medscape, Pubmed, Ebscohost, Inside web, Proquest, Emerald and Medline. The data for the study was collected from primary literature carried out on antihypertensive medications in previous years. All of the available information regarding patients (patient’s factors) and drugs was collected in order to evaluate the percentage of the omitted data. 219 primary journal articles were collected, 640 medications from these articles were analyzed. Some of the 640 medications are the same but in different articles. Out of 640 medications collected, 15718 data entries were used which represent patient’s factors and drug factors, age, gender, type of job, renal conditions, alcohol consumption, use of other medications, other diseases, drug dose, drug frequency, dosage form. All these factors were evaluated for the effect on developing adverse drug reactions. The omitted data



was classified into four different categories. Age, gender, race, smoking, health status, medication use and any other information related to the patients is basic information which needs to be available in all literature, not just to be mentioned in the methodology and sampling, but to be specified carefully and fully in the results.



ANTDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF ELAEGNUS COMMUTATA

Abdulrahim Abu Jayyab Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,


Arab Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2008;

Vol 3, No 7, 21-25 The administration of decoction and ethanolic extract of Elaeagnus Commutata to alloxan treated mice produced a reduction of blood sugar levels. Acute, subacute toxicity and general pharmacology were also studied. Although a good numbers of drugs have been developed to control diabetes mellitus none of them is completely satisfactory. Ethan botanic field survey of our rejoin has shown that a large number of herbal drugs are used for the treatment of diabetics in folk medicine of this rejoin. Some of these drugs have certain effectiveness in treating mild and moderately chronic diabetes cases. Elaeagnus Commutata is widely used in Arabic traditional medicine as diuretic, digestive, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, analgesic, and tranquilizer. It is also used in the treatment of disturbance of menstruation. As no experimental study has been carried out in the past to evaluate its antdiabetic’s activity. These finding suggest that Elaeagnus Commutata has significant antidiabetic activity without any significant adverse effect. The only undesirable effect observed was its atropine – like action. Further studies are in progress to determine whether the atropine like activity and the antidiabetics activity are shown in the same compounds/fractions or are of different origin.



ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,


Published Online in the Natural Health Web, February 2008

Available at: http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/topics/subtopics/naturopaths.html

http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/AbuJayyab1.html The antimicrobial properties of plants have been investigated by a number of researchers world wide, especially in Latin America. In Argentina, a research tested 122 known plant species used for therapeutic treatments. It was documented that among the compounds extracted from these plants, twelve inhibited the growth of Staphylococus aureus, ten inhibited Escherichia coli, and four inhibited Aspergillus niger and also reported that the most potent compound was one extracted from Tabebuia impetiginosa. The antimicrobial properties of compounds obtained from Parthenum argentatum against Candida albicans, Torulopsis, Hansemula, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected. In Conclusion, Plant extracts have great potential as antimicrobial compounds against microorganisms and various studies reported that they can be used in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by resistant microbes. In addition, these studies suggested that the synergistic effect from the association of antibiotic with plant extracts against resistant bacteria leads to new choices for the treatment of infectious diseases. This effect enables the use of the respective antibiotic when it is no longer effective by itself during therapeutic treatment.

http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/topics/subtopics/naturopaths.html

http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/AbuJayyab1.html



NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY GLUTAMIC ACID “A THERAPEUTIC VALUE IN CORRECTING

HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA AND IMPROVING CARDIAC PERFORMANCE"

Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of

Science and Technology Network Published Online in the Natural Health Web, January 2007


http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Abu-Jayyab1.html The nature of the dietary protein has shown to have a significant effect on plasma cholesterol levels in both rabbits and humans and.It was demonstrated that hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis could be produced in rabbits by feeding diet devoid of cholesterol, i.e. containing casein or other protein from animal sources, whereas the plasma cholesterol remained low when dietary protein requirement was supplied by soy protein isolated or by other plant proteins. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that dietary amino acid composition can influence the level of plasma cholesterol. The results of our previous study indicated that the hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia could be produced by feeding some pure L-essential amino acids to rabbits and rats. There is also a relation between cholesterol level and the ratio of non-essential amino acids to essential amino acids in plasma, while plasma levels of essential amino acids have been found to be elevated in hyperlipidaemic patients. It has shown that hypercholesterolemic diets cause significant changes in plasma free amino acid concentrations in human subjects. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that long- term feeding of pure L-essential amino acids caused a significant increase in plasma lipids along with plasma γGT activity of young rats. Furthermore, the results indicate that Glu induces reductions in plasma lipids which may indicate an interaction


http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Abu-Jayyab1.html



between the essential and non-essential amino acids. Therefore, it is suggested that there is a balance between essential and non-essential acids, which participate in the regulation of lipoprotein, cholesterol and triglycerides biosynthesis and may be related to atherosclerosis. Thus, Glu causes reductions in plasma cholesterol levels, with its ability to protect the myocardium against insulting stimuli that precipitate ischemia and arrhythmias suggest that Glu has a therapeutic value in correcting hypercholesterolemia and improving cardiac performance



NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY OF GLUTATHIONE

Abdulrahim Abu-Jayyab Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,


Published Online in the Natural Health Web, Sptember, 2007


http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Jayyab 7.html http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/AbuJayyab1.html

Glutathione is actually a tripeptide made up the amino acids gamma-glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. The primary biological function of glutathione is to act as a non-enzymatic reducing agent to help keep cysteine thiol side chains in a reduced state on the surface of proteins. Glutathione is also used to prevent oxidative stress in most cells and helps to trap free radicals that can damage DNA and RNA. There is a direct correlation with the speed of aging and the reduction of glutathione concentrations in intracellular fluids. As individuals grow older, glutathione levels drop, and the ability to detoxify free radicals decreases. A deficiency of gluthione is first noticed in the nervous system with a lack of co-ordination, tremors, mental disorders, and body balance, all caused by lesions in the brain. Glutathione is an orphan drug for the treatment of AIDS-associated cachexia. It is thought that this disorder is due, in part, to oxidatively-stressed and damaged enterocytes. There is some evidence that although orally administered glutathione may not be absorbed into the blood from the small intestine to any significant extent, that it may be absorbed into the enterocytes where it may help repair damaged cells. Glutathione in one form or another is the subject of some medicinal chemistry research and some clinical trials. For example, an aerosolized form of glutathione is being studied in AIDS and cystic fibrosis patients. Glutathione, the principal antioxidant of the deep lung, appears to be diminished in those with AIDS.


http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Jayyab

http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/AbuJayyab1.html



Prodrugs of gamma-L-glutamyl-L-cysteine are being evaluated as anticataract agents. The marketed glutathione dietary supplement products are obtained from yeast fermentation, as is the orphan drug. L-Cysteine and N-acetylcysteine are precursors of glutathione and are also available as dietary supplements in the protection of the liver and the kidney form the toxic agents and as antioxidant agents



NUTRITIONAL PHARMACOLOGY OF SLEEP AND DEPRESSION



Science and Technology Network Published Online in the Natural Health Web and Self growth.com

the online Encyclopedia, May 2008 Available at:

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Nutritional_Pharmacology_of_Sleep_Depression.html

The purpose of this review is to study the influence of consumption of food and other nutrients such as vitamins on Serotonin levels in the brain. The literature revealed that nutrients may change the levels of serotonin and may interference with the uptake of amino acid tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin, into the brain. Serotonin levels can be altered through consumption of food, vitamins, sunlight or through exercise and these elements may affect serotonin-receptor activity. Since, feeling happy is partly regulated through serotonin-receptors in the brain and Serotonin is a neurotransmitter not just regulating feelings of happiness, but also the ability to fall asleep, and partly influences cognitive abilities, pain, fear and appetite. Therefore, the purpose of using nutritional supplements is not only for physiological enhancement but also for disease prevention, drug-nutrient interactions; and therapeutic implications. In conclusion I am currently working on interdisciplinary course that includes pharmacology and nutrition, Nutritional Pharmacology, which is considered as a new area. The new course, should explore the impact of nutrition on health. This includes diet, lifestyle, and the pharmacological actions of nutritional supplements and other elements. There is much controversy in this area of pharmacology, and this course will cover many of these issues and their clinical applications. Therefore, this new discipline will not only cover the

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Nutritional_Pharmacology_of_Slee



physiological effects of diet on the body but it also covers the pharmacological actions of the diet on the different tissues and organs and the therapeutic applications of nutritional pharmacology. Thus, Nutritional issues of concern to pharmacists, including the popular use of nutritional supplements for physiological enhancement and disease prevention, drug-nutrient interactions, therapeutic implications for nutritional pharmacology, and product availability. Such products should be under control and we must be sure of their value in the prevention and cure of diseases and avoid many clinical complications, so we grantee these products will be dispensed by expertise subjects.



NEW THERAPEUTICAL POTENTIAL IN HISTAMINERGIC RECEPTORS



Science and Technology Network

The Jordan International Pharmaceutical Conference, 2008: “Towards Excellence in Pharmaceutical Education” Amman,

Jordan, 15-17 October, 2008 Histamine release has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory reactions. Also, this autacoid plays an important pathophysiologic role in the mediation of type 1 hypersensitivity reactions such as urticaria, hay fever and seasonal rhinitis angioneurotic edema, which is treated with H1-receptor antagonists. The second major pathophysiological role is the stimulation of gastric acid secretion, which is treated with H2-receptor antagonists. Really histamine has more pathophysiologic roles, histamine H3 receptors are involved in arousal disorders (eg attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD) and conditions associated with reduced cognition (eg Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Because of its ability to modulate other neurotransmitters in the CNS such as serotonin, Noradrenalin, Ach and other neurotransmitters, H3 receptor are being investigated for the treatment of numerous neurological conditions, including

a) obesity (because of the histamine/Anorexgenic system interaction)movement disorders (because of H3 receptor-modulation of dopamine and GABA in the basal ganglia),

b) Schizophrenia ADHD H3-receptor Antagonists. Abbott's H3 histamine receptor antagonist, ABT-239, a candidate treatment of cognitive disorders, ADHD, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. Indeed, it has been found that about half the patients classified as suffering from schizophrenia have low histamine levels

c) H3 receptor ligands could be useful in modulating wakefulness (because of effects on noradrenaline,



glutamate and histamine blood. Indeed, this receptor is a target for treating sleep disorders.

d) Pathophysiologic roles of histamine H4 receptors are involved in asthma and allergy, inhibiting the H4 receptor, asthma and allergy may be treated.

Interestingly, patients with multiple sclerosis are deficient in histamine; in MS, the myelin of the CNS and spinal cord is destroyed. Histamine, which stimulates repair by increasing the production of myelin, is greatly reduced in MS patients. Various histamine patches and replacement therapies have been developed due to this information. Further, Research has shown that histamine is released as part of the human orgasm from mast cells in the genitals. If this response is lacking this may be a sign of histapenia (histamine deficiency). In such cases, may take diet supplements with folic acid and niacin (which used in conjunction can increase blood histamine levels and histamine release), or L-histidine. Conversely, men with high histamine levels may suffer from premature ejaculations. Indeed, Studies have shown that histamine deficiency leads to poor folic acid status. In conclusion, it is thought of interest to direct the attention of researchers on the following points. - Relationship between the histaminergic receptors and cardio

vascular disease - Epileptic and histaminergic receptors histaminergic receptors - Sexual performance problems and histaminergic receptors - Obesity and histaminergic receptors - Learning problem and attention and histaminergic receptors - Asthma and H4 receptors - The results of the new studies suggest a dramatic alteration

in the distribution of histamine receptors in colon cancer. These findings raise the perspective of targeted pharmacological studies with selective histamine receptor antagonists or agonists in the therapy of colorectal tumours

- Histamine Receptors and multiple sclerosis - Histamine Receptors and Sexual performance



POLYMERIC MEMBRANE ELECTRODE FOR POTENTIOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF ATENOLOL IN

TABLETS AND BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS

Abdalla Shalaby1, Abdulkareem I. Abdulraheem 2, Magda El-Maamly1, Yaser Elshabrawy3

and Maha El-Tohamy1 1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy

Zagazig University, Zagazig. Egypt 2College of Health Sciences, Public Authority for Applied

Education and Training- Kuwait 3Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharm. Chemistry, College of Pharmacy and Health sciences, Ajman University of Science

and Technology Network, UAE

Asian. J. Chem., 20, (5), (2008), 3817-3827 A PVC membrane electrode of atenolol and phosphomolybdic acid association complex was constructed. The basic electrode's performance characteristics were evaluated. The prepared electrode exhibits a Nernstain response (30.8 ± 0.1 mV per decade) over the concentration range of atenolol 1x10-2-1x10-6M of solutions of pH 3-8. Common organic and inorganic cations showed negligible interference. Direct potentiometric determination of 1x10-2-1x10-6M aqueous atenolol using this membrane electrode system showed an average recovery of 99.03 with mean standard deviation ± 0.7. The electrode gave a good stability reproducibility and fast response. These characteristics of the electrode enable it to be used successfully for the determination of atenolol in pure form, pharmaceutical preparations and in biological fluids.



KHAT (CATHA EDULIS): HEALTH ASPECTS OF KHAT CHEWING: A REVIEW

N.A.G.M. Hassan1, A.A. Gunaid2 and I.M. Murray-Lyon3 1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of

Pharmacy and Health sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, UAE

2Department of Internal Medicine, Al-Thawra Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sana’a,

Sana’a, Yemen 3Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, United Kingdom

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2007

Catha edulis Forsk leaves (khat) are chewed daily by a high proportion of the adult population in Yemen for the mild stimulant effect. Cathinone is believed to be the main active ingredient in fresh khat leaves and is structurally related and pharmacologically similar to amphetamine. The habit of khat chewing is widespread with a deep-rooted sociocultural tradition in Yemen and as such poses a public health problem. The objective of this literature review was to examine studies on khat, particularly human studies, with special reference to its effect on the central nervous system, cardiovascular, digestive and genitourinary systems, oral–dental tissues, diabetes mellitus and cancer.



SPUTUM EOSINOPHIL MARKERS IN MONITORING ASTHMATIC PATIENT IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Taki A. Almosawi1, Tarik S. Al-Zubaidy2 and

Peter H. Howorth3 1 Dept. of Medicine, Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE

2 College of Pharmacy and Health sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

3 Dept. of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK

Accepted for publication:

Saudi Med J 2008; Vol. 29, June 2008 (www.smj.org.sa)

Asthma is a common disease all over the world affecting 6% of adults and 12% of children with an increasing prevalence especially in developed countries. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as in other Gulf regions, asthma constitutes one of the major public health problems affecting more than 13% of the adult population, and up to 40% of children making it the most common problem in pediatric practice. Air way inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. Yet, physicians evaluate the severity of asthma and select the line of therapy according to subjective indices reported by patients. These indices many not accurately reflect the extent of underlying inflammation due to differences in perception. Thus, it would be extremely useful for clinicians to have a reliable, objective method on which to base their clinical decisions in monitoring the response of asthmatic patients to therapy.

http://www.smj.org.sa



HARMFUL INGREDIENTS IN COSMETICS

Adel Saeed Wasfe College of Pharmacy and Health sciences,


Seminar at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Al-Fujairah) on 5/5/1008

Most cosmetics contain a combination of at least some of the following ingredients- water, emulsifier, preservative, thickner, colour, fragrance and pH stabilizer. During the 20th century the popularity of cosmetics increased rapidly. Cosmetics are used by girls at an increasingly young age. The social consequences of younger and younger beautification has had much attention in the media over the last few years. There is a growing awareness and preference for cosmetics that are without any toxic ingredients, especially those derived from petroleum products, SLS, and parabens. Numerous published reports have raised concern over the safety of a few surfactants. SLS and chemicals which cause a number of skin issues including dermatitis, allergy and asmah.



College of Information

Technology



OBJECT-ORIENTED INTELLIGENT DATABASE SYSTEM FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS SELECTION

M. Ayman Al-Ahmar

College of Information Technology Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

International Review of Mechanical Engineering

Vol. 2, No. 2, Pages: 241-247, March 2008 The continuing growth of composite materials industry has produced an increasing need for more computerization in this field. The object-oriented model, applied to an intelligent database system, seems to be the most suitable and promising modeling method for computerization of data and knowledge related to selection of composite materials. In this study, an object-oriented intelligent database system for composite materials selection is developed. The system combines the database and expert systems technologies to provide a decision support tool that aids design engineers in selecting the proper composite material. Interactions with the system are supported through a friendly graphical user interface. The modeling developed provided a considerably flexible and extendable system.



OFF-LINE ARABIC HANDWRITTEN WORD SEGMENTATION USING ROTATIONAL INVARIANT SEGMENTS FEATURES

(RISF)

Shubair A. Abdulla1, Amer Al-Nassiri2 and Rosalina Abdul Salam3

1 Faculty of Education & Basic Sciences, AUST Network, UAE 2 College of Information Technology, AUST Network, UAE

3 School of Computer Sciences University SaMalaysia, Pulau Pinang – Malaysia,

International Arab Journal of Information

Technology 2008; Vol 5, No. 2, pp 200-207 This paper describes a new segmentation algorithm for handwritten Arabic characters using Rotational Invariant Segments Features (RISF). The algorithm evaluates a large set of curved segments or strokes through the image of the input Arabic word or subword using a dynamic feature extraction technique then nominates a small “optimal” subset of cuts for segmentation. All the directions of stroke are converted to two main segments: '+' and '-' (RISF). A list of Nominated Segmentation Points (NSPs) are prepared from the '+' Segments and evaluated according to special conditions to locate the Final Segmentation Points (FSPs). The RISF algorithm was tested by using our new designed database and the IFN/ENIT database. It has achieved a high segmentation rate of 95.66% on our database and 90.58% on IFN/ENIT handwritten Arabic databases.



College of Dentistry



THE RELATIONSHIP OF CARIES WITH ORAL HYGIENE STATUS AND EXTRA–ORAL RISK FACTORS

Mohammed Mustahsen ur Rehman1,

Noha Mahmood1 and Betul ur Rehman2 1College of Dentistry,

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, 2Department of Periodontology, College of Dentistry,

University of Sharjah

J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2008; 20(1) 103-8 http://www.ayubmed.edu.pk/JAMC/PAST/20-1/Mustehsen.pdf

Background: Dental caries is a lifetime disease, with highest priority risk group between 11–14 years of age group. Environmental factors such as culture, socioeconomic status, life style and dietary pattern can have a greater impact on caries-resistance or development. The present study was performed to evaluate the relationship between dental caries, oral hygiene status and risk factors among students. Methods: Oral examination was performed in 242 adolescent between 11 and 14 years to check decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index and simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) score. A questionnaire was distributed togather data concerning external modifying risk factors such as socioeconomic status, oral hygiene practices and snacking habits. Results: Average DMFT was found, 3.27 and OHI-S score was fair in majority of students. DMFT in 67.77% of students fell between 0 and 3. The prevalence of caries is significantly higher in female students as compared to their male counterparts. The major component of the DMFT was the untreated decay (D) in both genders. Half of the students claimed to be familiar with the benefits of fluoride and use toothbrush before bedtime. 16.1% of the subjects were aware of a bad breath problem. Conclusion: Caries experience was significantly inversely related to socio-economic status whereas strongly correlated with frequency of sugar intake and frequency of snacking in between meals. No relationship was found between OHI-S and DMFT.

http://www.ayubmed.edu.pk/JAMC/PAST/20-1/Mustehsen.pdf



RELATION OF STRESS RELATED HABITS WITH TMJ

Raed Al Ani College of Dentistry


Presented as a poster at ADEEC, March 2008, Dubai, UAE In this study random sample of Ajman university of science and technology students were selected, the age group was (18-25), from both male and female group. A questionnaire were distributed among them and collected after one day. The process of data collection last for 3 months. Methods: The sample was selected randomly to be involved in this study. They are all students of Ajman University of Science and Technology AL-Ain campus. The age group is (18-25). 175 male and 326 female was involved in this study. In conclusion there are some findings which differ than other studies like sex distribution in male were more than female.



NISWAR DIPPING EFFECTS ON ORAL HEALTH

Raed Al Ani College of Dentistry


Poster presented in AEEDEC 2008; Dubai, UAE The study has been done on Pakistanis patients attending AUST network dental clinics in Al-Ain campus to evaluate Niswar dipping habit among them and it's effect on oral health. Questionnaires were distributed to all male and female dental students in Ajman University (Al-Ain campus) to be filled for any Pakistani patient came to the dental clinic under staff supervision. The questionnaires were filled by the dental students because of the difficulty in communication with Pakistani patients and most of them can't read or write in English or in Arabic. Patient's approval in participating in the study has been taken, and all of them signed on the patient's consent form. A clinical examination of the oral cavity has been done also to the patients to fill the second section of the questionnaire related to the oral health of them. Photographic pictures had been taken to some of these patients who use Niswar by different kinds of digital cameras. A sample of Niswar I bought it from the Souk had been sent to Central Food and Environmental Control Laboratory in Ajman Municipality and to Al Hoty-Stanger Laboratories for examination of its components, and to determine its PH. Value and nicotine contents.



CONGENITAL MISSING TEETH: PROSTHETIC REHABILITATION FOLLOWING

ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT

Qasrawi O1, Abdel-Hak J2, Akilli E2, Arici V2, Gultekin Ba2, and Karabuda C2,

1 College of Dentistry Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

2 Istanbul University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Implantology, Department of Orthodontics

Istanbul, Turkey

European Association for Osseointegration

17th Annual Scientific Meeting –Poland: 18-20 September 2008 Introduction: Missing teeth in anterior part of the maxilla cause functional,aesthetical and psychological problems. Especially in adolescents, apart from conventional methods (removable partial dentures, maryl and bridges, fixed dentures), osseointegrated implants developed by Branemark et al. may be used for treatment of missing teeth. On account of function and aesthetics, implant application is reliable and predictable method. It is significant to apply implants after active bone growth period in adolescents. Case: 18 year old female patient was evaluated in the study. She had her maxillary lateral teeth congenitally missing.In the orthodontic treatment, distalization of canines,and mesialization of the central incisors to their proper anatomical location were; In order to gain space for implant application.We placed two implants (3.3mm, 12 and 10mm Strauman dental implant, standart plus) in the missing teeth space. After three month we exposed implants and healing aboutments were placed. Healing abutment remained in the mouth for two weeks, then we cemented temporary crowns to obtain pink esthetics. We took an open tray impression. Aproximately two weeks later final Zirconium-Ceramic restorations were cemented after the all prostehic expectations were satisfied.



Conclusion: When restoring the congenital missing teeth in anterior maxilla,flap design should preserve papilla.Implant should be positioned 1-2mm palatinally from the line that goes through vestibular borders of central and canine incissors and should be in 2-3mm apical to the adjacent cemento-enamel junction.



DENTIN BONDING AGENTS: WHICH, HOW AND WHEN; AN UPDATE FOR RESTORATIVE DENTIST

Abdul-Haq A. Suliman

Restorative Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Presented at the 5th International scientific Meeting, Faculty of

Dentistry, University of Aleppo, Syria, 24-26 April 2007 Current restorative techniques are capable of producing lifelike function and appearance while maximizing both preservation and resistance to further destruction of tooth structure. Adhesive procedures, however, are typically associated with high technique-sensitivity due to complexity of interaction between contemporary materials and enamel and dentin substrates. This presentation will review the current knowledge regarding dentin bonding agents which are used by the restorative dentist. Adhesive restorative dentistry goes back to the mid fifties. Since then, adhesive materials and techniques had changed dramatically at a rapid pace. The classification of dentin bonding agent will be presented with emphasis on the currently used systems. Bonding to enamel is relatively straight forward technique when it is compared to bonding to dentin, which is due to the more complex structure of this tissue, dentin bonding is generally seen as the more demanding situation. Clinical considerations will be presented to assist the restorative dentist in selection and application of these materials. Criteria for an ideal bonding agent, Steps in forming good adhesion, performance factors of dentin bonding agents and the variable dentin bonding agents currently used will also be presented.



NEW TRENDS IN CARIES DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENTS

Abdul-Haq A. Suliman Restorative Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Presented at the meeting of the Department of Private Medical

Practice, MOH, Ajman Medical Zone in association with Innovative Medical Environment / AUST Network,

and AKMG Emirates, Ajman UAE June 2008 Caries and periodontal disease are the two primary diseases facing dentisrtry. Caries, by far, has been the greater challenge. Both periodontitis and caries basically are caused by an imbalance in the bacterial populations of what are natural and normally healthy biofilms. The complexities of the disease we know as caries are the multiple factors that are associated with the evolution of a healthy bacterial biofilm population to one that is pathological. Diagnostic and treatment philosophies are shifting to a medical model, based on evidence that caries is a disease. The hardest part has been making the change from a surgical model to a medical model of caries management and treatment. Caries is an infectious and transmissible disease, and the primary infection often can come from family members or caregivers. Even once all these factors are understood, it is still a significant challenge for many patients to be able to modify their risk factors to create an oral environment that will lead to a re-establishment of a healthy bacterial population within the oral biofilm. The surgical excision of demineralized and infected tooth structure does nothing to change the primary caries infection. The pathological biofilm is still present, and unless it is addressed, the patient is going to return in a year or two with further cavities. Treating caries with a focus on risk assessment and management has been shown to be more effective compared to simple restoration of cavities. The ideal in helping our patients prevent damage to their teeth from a caries infection would be to diagnose the presence of a



pathological biofilm before it has done damage to the teeth. Our current diagnostic model relies primarily on the detection of the signs and symptoms of a caries infection. The ideal would be to screen patients to test their biofilm for the presence of an imbalance in the bacterial flora. Second, we need to effectively educate the patient on the potential consequences of a positive result. Finally, we have to offer patients an effective treatment and management program that they can take home with them. The current diagnosis model of visual, probe, and radiographic examination is qualitative, subject to operator interpretation and consequently can provide varied diagnoses from dentist examining the same patient. Recent advances in caries diagnosis and an understanding of the caries process, and bonding principles, which allow early intervention, will be dealt with in this presentation.



NICKEL–TITANIUM ROTARY INSTRUMENTS: OPTIONS FOR OPTIMAL ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

Abdul Rahman Mohammed Saleh

College of Dentistry Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

One Day CME Programme, Department of Private Medical

Practice, Ministry of Health, Ajman Medical Zone in association with Innovative Medical Environment/ AUST Network and AKMG

Emirates-Ajman and UAQ on 25th June, 2008 The introduction of nickel–titanium (NiTi) as material for endodontic instruments more than 20 years ago opened many new perspectives. Many dentists and scientists see a benefit in using NiTi files. Initial problems such as frequent fractures and the uncertainty of the best way to use them have been solved. Other challenges such as enhancing the cutting ability or optimizing the speed, torque, and fatigue are currently being addressed. Some clinicians are skeptical because they see this approach as too mechanical. Nevertheless, the combination of anatomic, biologic, and pathophysiologic knowledge with the use of NiTi instruments is a large step forward in optimizing the quality of root canal treatment worldwide. New designs are constantly appearing, and the clinician should ensure that considerable experience with whichever system is chosen and the practitioners considering changing their endodontic technique are advised to attend hands-on practical courses on extracted teeth or simulated resin block before using these in clinical practice.



LYSIS OF DYSPLASTIC BUT NOT NORMAL ORAL KERATINOCYTES AND TISSUE-ENGINEERED EPITHELIA WITH CONDITIONALLY REPLICATING ADENOVIRUSES

Kamis Gaballah


Cancer Research. 2007 Aug 1; 67(15):7284-7294

There is no effective medical treatment for oral precancer, and surgery to remove these lesions is imprecise because abnormal mucosa extends beyond the visible lesion. Development of vectors for tumor-selective viral replication has been a significant advance, and viral lysis is well suited to destruction of oral precancerous mucosa. To facilitate evaluation of new treatments, we engineered dysplastic oral epithelium using keratinocytes isolated from dysplastic lesions. We show that these model systems recapitulate the key characteristics of the clinical lesions closely, and that topical delivery of the conditionally replicating adenovirus (CRAd) dl922-947 can lyse tissue-engineered epithelia that show mild, moderate, or severe dysplasia, but normal oral epithelia are very resistant to this treatment. The lytic effect is determined by various factors, including the grade and proliferation index of the dysplastic epithelia. The presence of suprabasal cycling cells, expression of the coxsackie adenovirus receptor (CAR), the transcription cofactor p300, and other aberrations that affect the regulation of the cell cycle or apoptosis and promote viral replication may also be important. The ability of dl922-947 to destroy engineered oral dysplasia was significantly greater than that observed using wild-type adenovirus, d/1520, or viruses modified to bypass cell entry dependent on the presence of CAR. Evidence of infection in clinical dysplastic lesions was also shown ex vivo using tissue explants. We conclude that dl922-947 may provide an efficient molecular cytotoxic to dissolve oral dysplastic lesions.



TISSUE ENGINEERING OF ORAL DYSPLASIA

Kamis Gaballah College of Dentistry


Journal of Pathology 2008 Jul; 215(3): 280-289 Keratinocytes and fibroblasts isolated from dysplastic oral lesions were combined to provide a renewable source of epithelia. A dysplasia-scoring index was devised to compare the architectural and cytological features and used together with robust immunophenotyping to show that the engineered epithelia showed most of the characteristics of the clinical lesions. The strains of dysplastic oral keratinocytes with an extended or immortal lifespan provided a reproducible resource of epithelia showing mild (DOK), moderate (POE9n) or severe (D20) dysplasia when maintained under defined conditions. The dysplasia score was influenced by growth conditions, with KGF polarizing proliferation to the basal layer and reducing the severity of dysplasia. When compared to the normal counterparts, dysplasia-associated fibroblasts expressed MMP9, secreted more HGF, increased the dysplasia score for epithelia generated with mortal dysplastic keratinocytes and induced morphological changes in normal keratinocytes, highlighting the role of the microenvironment in determining the phenotype of dysplastic epithelia.



A COMPARISON OF STANDARDS OF PRE-OPERATIVE ASSESSMENT IN CERVICAL NODE METASTASIS IN ORAL

CANCER FOR AN INDIAN POPULATION

Sam Thomas College of Dentistry

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network Presented at: 8th Asia Congress on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

2008, Bangkok, Thailand Purpose: Cervical node metastasis in oral cancer is an indicator of advanced disease. It is therefore important to evaluate neck node involvement as a predictor of progression and treatment planning. Methods: 11 patients undergoing neck dissection simultaneously with the resection of primary intraoral squamous cell carcinoma formed the basis of the present study. A pre-operative assessment of neck by clinical examination, ultrasonography and computed tomography scan was done, which was then compared to the histopathological assessment. The histopathological examination formed the reference. Results: The percentage of sensitivity by clinical examination was 46%. The percentage of sensitivity by ultrasonogram was 69%. The percentage of sensitivity by computed tomography was 85%. These were against the histopathological examination. Conclusion: The study reported an error of almost 50% for the clinical examination alone. The margin of error decreases when combining ultrasonography or CT scan in the examination. However, in the existing economic condition in India, even the use of CT scan can be prohibitive. Nevertheless, it is advised to combine other diagnostic modalities during the clinical examination of cervical metastasis.



DO PREOPERATIVE BLEEDING TIME TEST PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF POST SURGICAL BLEEDING?

Sam Thomas


Presented at: 8th Asia Congress on Oral and Maxillofacial

Surgery 2008, Bangkok, Thailand Purpose: To determine whether cutaneous BT is related to bleeding out come measures after tooth extraction or not. Methods: This was a prospective clinical pilot study of 30 subjects. Cutaneous BT was evaluated before tooth extraction. After extraction, an oral BT was determined. Subjects were contacted 3-7 hours after extraction to assess further post operative bleeding. Results: The mean cutaneous BT was 2.3 minutes (range 1.5-3.5). The mean oral BT was 9.1 (range 7-12). Cutaneous BT did not correlate with oral BT or any of acquired measures of prospective bleeding. However, the time necessary for extraction correlated with extraction site bleeding 3-7 hours after surgery. Conclusion: There is not a relation ship between cutaneous and oral post extraction BT. The use of BT test as a screening procedure is unwarranted for prediction of prolonged bleeding after tooth extraction or minor surgical procedures.



EFFICACY OF BIOADHESIVE PATCHES IN THE TREATMENT OF RECURRENT APHTHOUS

STOMATITIS

Abu Baker El-Mahdi1, W. A. Coulter2, A. D. Woolfson2 and P.-J. Lamey2


2 School of Clinical Dentistry, The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland

Presented at Sudanese dental conference

Sudan: Khartoum (2007) Available at:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119218217/c1#c1

This study evaluated the efficacy of bioadhesive patches, made of a pharmaceutical grade cellulose derivative, in the control of pain and as an aid to healing of aphthous ulceration. Patients kept a twice daily ulcer diary to record their pain level on a visual analogue scale. The sensitivity of the test ulcer was assessed by a challenge with pure orange juice as a stimulant before and after application of the patch by the patient. A significant reduction in stimulated pain was recorded following application of the patches to the ulcers (P<0.01). The patches were found to adhere longer to large ulcers in the early stages of ulceration, when they achieved their maximum protective and pain-attenuating effects. The ulcer size was recorded daily by the patient and patients claimed a reduction in healing time following patch therapy.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119218217/c1#c1



MEDICAL EMERGENCIES IN ABU DHABI DENTAL CLINICS – 2006-2007

Abu baker El-Mahdi and Shaikha M. Al Marzouqi


Presented at Sudanese dental conference

Sudan: Khartoum (2007) Objectives: This study aimed to identify the availability of emergency drugs and equipments and to determine the prevalence of medical emergencies, which have been occurred in Abu Dhabi dental clinics during the period 2006-2007. Methods: The study was designed as a type of questionnaire distributed to all governmental and private dental clinics in Abu Dhabi including lists of emergency drugs and equipment and medical emergencies, which have been occurred during 2006-2007. Results: there was 67% response rate. The results showed that Dextrose 73% Oxygen 67% and Epinephrine 62% were the most common emergency drugs available in the dental clinics of Abu Dhabi city. Fainting 83% and hypoglycemia 33% were the most common emergencies occurred. Conclusion: taking proper medical history before treatment is the key to minimize complication in dental practice. Dental office should be well prepared with essential and life saving drugs and equipments. Regular or sudden official checks up visits are needed to keep the dental clinics with minimum requirement for emergency.



SHADE SATISFACTION AMONG PATIENTS WITH FIXED DENTAL PROSTHESIS

Ahmad Judeh1, Mohammed Rayyan2, Yousef Khader2 and Bashar Al-Zu’bi2


2 Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid-Jordan.

Dental News XIV, Number 3, 2007

Statement of problem: providing patients with a natural-looking smile is an important goal for the dental professional. However, obtaining an accurate shade match for restorations can be a difficult and frustrating experience. Purpose of the study: to evaluate patients’ satisfaction regarding shade selected for their existing fixed prosthesis and to compare the patient’s perception and satisfaction with that of the dentist. Materials and Methods: a total of 136 patients who had at least one fixed restoration were selected in a convenient sample from patients visiting the Department of Restorative Dentistry at Jordan University for Science and Technology. This study investigated patients’ assessment of how accurately the shade of their crown or fixed bridge matched the adjacent natural dentition by having them rate their satisfaction about the color of the restoration on a scale. The examiners also rated their satisfaction about the color of the restorations in the same manner to make the comparison. Results: the average of patients stated their restoration as being good of total study sample ranged from 70% to 76%, those being satisfactory ranged from 16% to 22%, while those rated their restorations being poor were 8 %. There was a strong clear correlation between patient and dentist opinion regarding shade satisfaction with (P-value=0.000). Conclusion: the process of shade selection is an art in which the dentist and patient should collaborate. Patients with metal-free restorations proved its esthetic superiority. No correlation was



found between satisfaction with the shade match and the patient gender.



FACIAL SOFT TISSUE VALUES IN PERSIAN ADULTS WITH NORMAL OCCLUSION AND WELL-BALANCED FACES

Amjad Al Taki, Fatma Oguz and Eyas Abuhijleh


The Angle Orthodontist 2008; Vol. 79, No. 3, pp. 491–494

Objective: To determine the mean soft tissue facial profile for Persian adults as determined by the Holdaway analysis. Materials and Methods: Lateral cephalometric radiographs for 62 Persian adults with normal occlusion were used. Results: Persian adults have the same values of Holdaway soft tissue norms except for the skeletal profile convexity, H angle, basic upper lip thickness, and soft tissue chin thickness, which were increased in Persians in relation to Holdaway norms. When comparing men with women, the nose prominence (P<0.001), basic upper lip thickness (P<0.001), upper lip thickness (P<0.001), inferior sulcus to H line (P<0.001), and soft tissue chin thickness (P<0.01) were significantly increased in Persian men compared with Persian women. Conclusions: Persian adults differ from Holdaway's soft tissue norms in an increased skeletal profile convexity, H angle, basic upper lip thickness, and soft tissue chin thickness. These are recommended for use when formulating a treatment plan for this ethnic group.



College of Education and

Basic Sciences



THE MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR STUDENT TEACHER AS APPROACH TO DEVELOP THE MATHEMATICAL TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD WITH

RESPECT TO THE RELATED STANDARDS

Ibrahim H. Al Astal College of Education and Basic Sciences


Paper presented at International Conference on Teacher Education in the Muslim World, ICTEM 2008

International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14th -16th July 2008

This study aimed to develop mathematics teacher preparation program in the Muslim World with respect to the student teacher mathematical knowledge, which is important to deal with the reform needs in mathematics curriculum. The content analysis approach was used to analyze the national document of mathematics curriculum in UAE and to identify the mathematical knowledge included in these curriculum and compared it with the standards of the mathematical knowledge which must be included in the mathematics teacher preparation program. The researcher also analyzed the mathematics teacher preparation programs in UAE University and Ajman University of Science and Technology Network to evaluate these programs with respect to the mathematical knowledge that is needed to the student teachers. The result of this study has shown a gap between mathematics teacher preparation programs and the mathematical knowledge standards. With regard to this result the study has suggested a framework to re-develop the mathematics teacher preparation programs to enhance the mathematical knowledge for pre-service elementary school teacher in the Muslim World.



E-PORTFOLIOS: USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE AND ASSESS EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY OUTCOMES

Zuhrieh Shana

Department of Educational Technology, College of Education and Basic Sciences

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network Learning And Teaching In Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives:

Volume 5 number 1 (January 2008) (Available at: http://www.zu.ac.ae/lthe/archive.html)

The shift from paper portfolios to e-portfolios has arrived in educational institutions worldwide. This study investigates e-portfolio systems as a means of improving performance-centered assessment, enriching students’ learning experiences and documenting the students’ progress and achievements. The current study reveals the experience of implementing a course-level framework for e-portfolios and an approach taken in initiating student electronic portfolios in the Department of Educational Technology (DET) at Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, UAE. Data was obtained in several ways, including Likert scale responses and interviews with the participants; students’ journals and final reports; notes from the Practicum site supervisor and the DET lab technician; and analysis of the electronic portfolio product. The work and responses of the Practicum students were compared for three consecutive Practicum classes. Analysis of the results showed that developing formative and summative portfolios fluctuated extensively between the three Practicum classes of DET graduates, as did the outcomes. In spite of this fact, the findings suggested that the use of e-portfolios could serve as an influential learning and assessment tool when driven by a clear understanding of the desired outcome and the specific skills to be assessed, and when sufficiently mentored, peer-reviewed, and based on sensible principles.

http://www.zu.ac.ae/lthe/archive.html



A PILOT STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MULTIMEDIA CD-ROM VIS-À-VIS TRADITIONAL PRINT-

BASED TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING 4TH GRADE CHILDREN

Zuhrieh Shana Department of Educational Technology, College of Education and Basic Sciences


International Journal on E-Learning (IJEL) Volume 8, No. 3 (2009)

Available at: http://www.aace.org/newpubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=Author.ViewPape

r&paper_id=26162&CFID=4481823&CFTOKEN=48280264 The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of effectiveness of multimedia technology in teaching, in comparison to the traditional print-based teaching methods. Multimedia CD has been designed to teach the second semester unit of Science and Islamic studies for the 4th graders. The unit’s content is the same in the print-based teaching method as in the multimedia CD; the teachers are the same, but the form of delivery is different. The sample population consisted of 80 students grouped between pilot classes (multimedia CD-ROM) and control classes (PRINT-based traditional methods). The study was divided into three categories: 1) students knowledge and skills 2) students’ attitudes, and 3) teachers’ feedback. The result from the first instrument has shown that there was no numerical difference between the two groups of students in the Science Unit while there was significant difference between the two groups of students in the Islamic Studies. The second and third instruments focused on the participants' descriptions of their experiences as learners and teachers using CD-ROM technology to teach and learn Science and Islamic Studies. The results showed that the students seem to enjoy the experience of learning from the CD-ROM more than the instructors. Data derived from this study can provide a solid foundation that can help shape course delivery, redesign and develop guidelines.

http://www.aace.org/newpubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=Author.ViewPape



SOLUTIONS OF INTEGRO-FRACTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS IN 2L AND C - SPACES

S. B. Hadid and S. M. Momani College of Education and Basic Sciences


The 6th International Conference on Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, May 22-26, 2008, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of 2L solution of the integro– differential equations with non-integer order:

∫+=t

t

dssxtstKtxtftx0

))(),(,())(,()()(α , 10 , ≤<ℜ∈ αα

with the initial condition 00

)1( )( xtx =−α ,

have been obtained. More over, we shall proved that under certain conditions on ))(,( txtf and ))(),(,( sxtstK , there exist a unique solution in the space of continuous functions C. Our method is by using the Contraction Mapping Principle.



SOME RESULTS ON INTEGRO-FRACTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Samir B. Hadid

College of Education and Basic Sciences Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

International conference on Recent Trend in Mathematical

Science, Bahrain University 10-12 Nov. 2008 Consider the non-homogeneous differential equations with fractional derivative:

10 , ,),()()( ≤<ℜ∈= ααα xtftx …(1.1) with the initial condition:

00)1( )( xtx =−α , …(1.2)

where ℜ is the set of real numbers, and 0x is a real constant.

In previous work we show that:

1. By applying Schuder’s fixed-point theorem, we obtain a local existence solution of (1.1) and (1.2).

2. By applying Tychonov’s fixed-point theorem, we obtain an existence solution of (1.1) and (1.2).

3. By applying Arzela-Ascoll’s theorem, we obtain an existence and uniqueness solution of (1.1) and (1.2).

4. There exists a Maximal (minimal) solution of (1.1) and (1.2).

5. We obtain an estimate of the solution of (1.1) and (1.2) by means of the maximal solution.

6. We give sufficient conditions for the existence of a bounded non-oscillatory solution of (1.1) and (1.2).

7. There exists a Liapunov stable solution of (1.1) and (1.2). 8. There exists a unique solution of (1.1) and (1.2) in the

space of continuous functions C and in 2L space. In this work, we generalize the previous results concerning FDE (1.1) and (1.2) to the integro-fractional differential equations (IFDE) of the type:



∫+=t

t

dssxtstKtxtftx0

))(),(,())(,()()(α , 10 , ≤<ℜ∈ αα (1.3)

with the initial condition: 00

)1( )( xtx =−α , (1.4)

where ℜ is the set of real numbers, ],[ 00 attJ += ,

],[ nnJCf ℜℜ×∈ , and ],[ nnJJCK ℜℜ××∈ , where nℜ denotes

the real n -dimensional Euclidean space, and 0x is a real

constant.



THE SITUATION OF THE LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERS IN THE SCHOOLS OF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND TO

WHAT EXTENT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS:

LRC LIBRARIANS POINTS OF VIEW

Yaseen Abdo Al-Maqtari College of Education and Basic Sciences


The Academic Journal of Faculty of Education, Asyout University, Volume 1, January 2008

The aim of the study was to discover the situation of the learning resource centers in the Schools of United Arab Emirates and the extent that they have achieved their goals in the developing the learning process. The study investigated the view points of learning resource centers librarians. Thirty six subjects from different schools in Abu Dabhai area participated in the study. The researcher used a questionnaire as the main tool of the study. The study revealed a variety of important findings. First, the librarians in the learning resource centers were from different fields and educational backgrounds among which only a few were educational technology specialists. Second, it was found the availability of large educational equipment and materials, however, they were not the same in all LRCs. Such equipment and materials differ from a center to another which negatively influence the achievement of the educational goals of these centers. In terms of training, the study revealed that the LRC librarians lack for special training in the use the available equipments and the ability to produce educational materials. The study also revealed the importance of improving the learning resource centers through:

• Supplying all the learning resource centers with modern equipment.

• Supplying the learning resource centers with the new educational programs

• The maintenance of available personal computers in the LRCs



• Not giving the librarians of learning resource centers a lot of teaching duties and on-calls

• Sparing the librarians of learning resource centers do carry out their own tasks

• Increase the stuff number in the learning resource centers • Developing the skills of LRC librarians in producing

educational programs and the use of equipments The study recommends the importance of on-going development of the Learning Resource Centers taking into considerations the view points of LRC librarians which they were based on actual needs. Further investigation of other related factors of this issue is also recommended.



RANDOMNESS TEST FOR BINARY STREAM CIPHER SEQUENCE BASED ON FREQUENCY

OF SLIDE DOOR SECTORS

Mustafa A Salman 1, Hasan L Nasir2 and Ali M Kadhim2 1College of Education and Basic Sciences

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network 2University of Technology – Baghdad – Iraq

International Conference on Security, Privacy, and

Confidentiality Issues in Cyber Law (SPCI 2008) - Cairo Randomness of a binary sequence produced from stream cipher systems is very essential in determining the security level of the system and then the validity of the design of such systems. Rueppel studied the relation between randomness of a binary sequence and the linear complexity profiles of such sequence. Carter also studied the Randomness of a binary sequence in association to the jumps of linear complexity profiles of the sequence. Salman et al. presented Randomness test of binary sequence based on frequency of linear complexity profile of the sequence. Niederreiter studied the probabilistic theory of linear complexity profile. In this paper, a Randomness Test based on Frequency of Slide Door Sectors for a binary sequence produced from stream cipher systems, is presented. The test has been implemented on binary sequences produced from known stream cipher systems and shown be very reliable.



THE EXPERIENCE OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN MAURITANIA: THE CONTEXT, THE FACTS

AND THE FUTURE VISION

Mohamed Abdelhaye and Mohamed Mokhtar Assad College of Education and Basic Sciences


A book (Under Press) Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies, November 2008 (104 pages)

A sensitive change to a democratic way has happened in our world after the end of the cold war. For the previous period many studies have been conducted on the problematic of democracy in the Arab countries. In the same way, the authors beliefs are that practically it is more useful to limit the study each democratic experience to its geographical area rather than to generalize it to all the Arab countries. Our study deals with the Mauretanian experience. Mauretania went through after the third “coup d’etat’’ of the third of august 2005. In this research we define democratic change as being a procedural and practical system which in legal structures weakens to a more powerful legal institutional system. We dealt with the following:

1. The impact of past change on the recent situation. 2. Investigate the complex circumstances leading directly to

this change. 3. Look in through the actual change from 3rd of august

2005 to 6th of august 2006 a. The promises and the results b. What was the promises after it’s failure

The researchers followed the historical methodology linked to the country political fact and what it went on the complex structures it went through. It has been done to this broad guideline:

1. The social context which gave rise to central power and the change it witnessed

2. Seventies reforms, Sahara war and the transitional period



3. The future of democratically changes, commitments, achievement and promises.

The analysis shows how the changes occurred after the 3rd of August 2005, what were the promises and what have been realized after 19 months and its link to 19 April 2007 when the military power gave the authority to an elected civilian president. It all deals with the failure from that date to 6th of August 2008, the time of putting in jail the president by the same military junta. The research concludes that the current situation doesn’t give away to any comfort either for the military or the civilian authority.

1. The military leaders realized that staying in power after 3 decades is no longer possible but the do not trust the civilians.

2. Political forces which call for change are full of differences. They have to convince the military leaders that they have responsibility to get the country out of crisis. They have to work on finding alternative political program and the experienced people to implant this program. They have to create a public opinion against waste and finally work with international community to put pressure on tribe oligarchies which control the country.



SCIENTISTS AND PHILOSOPHERS IN ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

Yusuf Mahmud

College of Education and Basic Sciences Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

International Conference On History of Science in Islamic

Civilization, Sharjah University, March 27-29, 2008 In this study, we distinguish between two categories of intellectuals who existed within Islamic Civilization, and who had clear landmarks for a long period of time. The first category consist of those who dealt with the literature of Greek philosophers, and in particular that of Aristotle, in a critical fashion and followed an inductive logic in their reasoning, while the other category of intellectuals were following a deductive Aristotelian approach and were imitating Aristotle in every bit of idea concerning physical phenomena. We call the first category. Like Jabir bin Hayyan, abu Bakr al-Razi, al-Hasan ibn al-Haitham, al-Biruni, the scientists and the other category, like al-Farabi, ibn Sina (Avicenna), the is. The evidence for this differentiation is extracted from a wide survey of the writings of those intellectuals and their opinions regarding natural phenomena. In addition, we are guided by quotations of Muslim scientists like Ibrahim bin Sinan bin Thabit, al- Hasn bin al-Haitham and a dialogue between ibn Sina and al-Biruni, and the writings of the well known historian of scienc, George Sarton.



EVOLUTION THEORY: SCIENCE OR PHILOSOPHY?

Yusuf Mahmud College of Education and Basic Sciences


AUST Network Journal, Vol 13, No 2, 2008 Evolution theory - which belongs in reality to the scientific domain – is one of the most influential theories on human life. This influence includes the domain of philosophy of existence and includes all aspects of human life, such as: culture and social relations (both domestic and international). Example on the negative influence on human relations and political attitude is very clear in the fascist Nazis in Germany in the thirties of the twentieth century. Concerning its influence on philosophy of existence and religions it suffice to point to the societal reactions that occurred in some states of the united states related to teaching evolution in public schools. As for Muslims, the influence of the theory of evolution is great on the basis of the Islamic belief, namely the very existence of Allah (God) due to the fact that evolution in its essence means the random accidental existence of life. It is the purpose of this piece of work to authentically investigate the question as whether it belongs to the domain of science or that of philosophy. We arrive to the conclusion that it is more of a philosophical paradigm and secular religion than science.



College of Business

Administration



TELEWORKING IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE): AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF INFLUENCING FACTORS,

FACILITATORS, AND INHIBITORS

Mohamed G. Aboelmaged1 and Abdallah M. Elamin2 1College of Business Administartion, Ajman University of Science

and Technology Network 2King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral (KFUPM)

Int. Journal of Business Science and Applied Management,

Volume 4, Issue 1, 2009 This research constitutes an empirical study of influencing factors, facilitators, and inhibitors to the choice of teleworking mode in the UAE context. The research reveals that gender, marital status, nationality, residence location, and work profession are relevant, whereas educational level, Internet use, number of children, age, and years of experience are irrelevant influencing factors for the choice of teleworking mode. Furthermore, the research identifies six distinct facilitators and seven distinct inhibitors. The perceived importance of most identified facilitators and inhibitors to the choice of teleworking mode in the UAE context are found almost similar among the respondents. An exception, however, is made to the association between choice of teleworking mode and individual freedom, travel overload, cost reduction, and union resistance. The study outlines the limitations of the present research and suggests some practical implications and recommendations for managers.



College of Law



THE PROTECTION OF POSSESSION: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH IN LAW AND ISLAMIC DOCTRINE

Abdulah Al Saeedi

College of Law, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Symposium of the Emirates Jurists Society, Sharjah, May 2007

This research concentrates on the various appearances of possession’s protection under the Shari’a viewpoint and the doctrine in order to prepare comparative research because this question. This research was divided into four themes: First theme included a definition and comparison between the possession and other similar idioms like the prescription and “hand on”. This was studied in relation with the property right and its sorts with aim to clarify the legislative relation between them. Second theme: intended to treat the proceeding of “repel violation” in the positive law and Islamic doctrine which includes a definition of this proceeding in comparative way and analyzing its conditions in islamic doctrine and under the practical law. Third theme, concentrated on the “proceeding of return” in positive law and doctrine, which is defined under the law and Shari’a. The subject of litige is trated the return of rights under the jurist’s opinion with this respect. This theme also demonstrated on the condition of this proceeding in comparative way with the positive law and doctrine several practical application. Fourth theme: The proceeding of “stopping the new acts” (there are acts which has influencies on the possession was treated. When the possessor initiates proceeding against the third parties when it has been completed able to violate the possession) than this theme showed the conditions of aforesaid proceeding under the comparative way and the results of these conditions following the different jurist’s opinion.



At the end this research, the final results were discussed and refered to the legal and sharit references or professors on the basis of their capacity and ability to invent or create the sharite and legal decisions against such active subject.



Institute of Environment,

Water and Energy



FACTORS CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN GROUNDWATER OF THE

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Zeinelabidin S. Rizk Institute of Environment, Water and Energy,


International Journal of Scientific Research, Vol. 18, 2008, pp. 13-38

This study investigated the distribution of trace elements in groundwater of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identified natural and anthropogenic factors contributing to their anomalous concentrations in some areas. The measured trace elements were the alkaline earth metals barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr); transition metals cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn); heavy metals cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn); and non-metals boron (B), bromine (Br) and fluorine (F). The studied aquifers were limestone, alluvial gravel and sand dune. Results indicated that the levels of alkaline earth metals, transition metals and non-metals were strongly dependant on the geology, hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of the investigated aquifers, whereas the levels of heavy metals were more responsive to human activities. The low Sr content in the northern limestone aquifer was related to active groundwater recharge, whereas high Sr in sand dune and gravel aquifers was attributed to dissolution of evaporite minerals such as celestite (SrSO4). The high Ba concentration in gravel aquifers was due to weathering of ultra-mafic minerals, while high Ba in the northern limestone aquifer was a result of salt-water intrusion. The concentration of transition metals (Cr, Fe and Mn) generally increases in the direction of groundwater flow. The rocks forming gravel aquifers had high Cr and Fe, but their low concentrations in groundwater were related to their oxidation and subsequent precipitation, since these aquifers were unconfined and well oxygenated. Heavy metals were high in areas of urban development and intensive farming, and low where these



activities were minimal or absent. Cd concentration was high (0.015-0.181 mg/L) in gravel aquifers under agricultural areas, and 15 mg/L of Zn was measured in the aquifer close to a fertilizer factory near Al Ain City. Non-metals exhibited a wide variation in their concentrations. The B levels suggest that groundwater in the UAE is permissible for irrigating sensitive crops, good for semi-tolerant crops and excellent for salttolerant crops. The high fluoride (F-) levels in the eastern limestone and sand dune aquifers were related to the dissolution of fluoride minerals.



INORGANIC CHEMICALS IN DOMESTIC WATER OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Zeinelabidin S. Rizk

Institute of Environment, Water and Energy, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network

Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008,

Environ. Geochem. Health, The concentration of selected inorganic chemicals was determined for 396 samples of bottled water, desalinated water, and groundwater used for drinking and domestic purposes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The objective of this study was to compare the concentrations of inorganic chemicals in different domestic water types used in the UAE with the World Health Organization (WHO) limits for drinking water. Results of the present study revealed a wide variation in the concentrations of major, minor, and trace inorganic chemicals in domestic water of the UAE. For example, the bottled water sold for drinking is depleted in major ions and the total dissolved solids (TDS) in some brands do not exceed 100 mg/l. On the other hand, some of the domestic water used may contain as much as 3,000 mg/l TDS, which is above the WHO recommended limit for drinking water (500–1,500 mg/l TDS). Similarly, while bottled water is almost free of trace ions and minor constituents, some natural groundwater may have concentrations higher than the WHO recommended limits for drinking water. The cause of this variation is related to the different water sources and the large number of companies producing and distributing drinking and domestic water. Moreover, it is clear that the current controls on domestic water quality in some areas, namely conformance of pH and electrical conductivity measurements with prescribed ranges of values, are currently inadequate. These two parameters are not enough to judge if water is suitable for drinking or not and some consumers may receive domestic water of uncertain quality.



GROUNDWATER POLLUTION OF THE QUATERNARY AQUIFER IN NORTHERN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Eslam Al Hogaraty, Zeinelabidin S. Rizk and

Hassan K. Garamoon Institute of Environment, Water and Energy,


Water Air Soil Pollut (2008) 190:323–341 DOI 10.1007/s11270-007-9584-9

(Published online: 30 January 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007)

Natural conditions and human activities have caused serious quality degradation of the Quaternary aquifer in the north of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aquifer within Ajman City is unconfined, receiving limited recharge (12 542 m3/day) from the east and large pollutants flux (4 800 m3/day) from land surface. Field survey and laboratory analyses revealed anomalies in groundwater salinity (TDS), total hardness (TH), dissolved oxygen (DO), cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+), anions (HCO3

-, SO4

2-, Cl- and NO3-) and trace elements (Fe, Pb, Cd and Cr),

which can be correlated to point and non-point pollution sources. Concentrations of trace elements are more responsive to anthropogenic sources than natural ones. High Fe and Pb levels were measured close to the untreated sewage disposal site, while high Cd and Cr contents were observed near hospitals and clinics. Iso-concentration maps of salinity and major ions, in addition to hydrochemical profiles were used to define the seawater-groundwater interface in Ajman City. The potentiometric surface map of the Quaternary aquifer within the study area shows that groundwater flows from the east towards the Arabian Gulf in the west. The proposed landfill site is suitable because it lies within a topographic low, receiving groundwater flow from all directions.



ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES IN AL- KHATIM AREA, ABU DHABI EMIRATE,

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Hassan K. Garamoon Institute of Environment, Water and Energy,


International Journal of Scientific Research, (2008), Vol. 18, pp. 1-12

The studied area is located in the northwestern part of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Farming is the main economic activity in this area and is solely based on the mining of fresh groundwater from the Quaternary aquifer. Hydrogeological and geophysical techniques were used to evaluate the potentiality of the Quaternary aquifer. The hydrogeological study involved aquifer characterization and estimation of its hydraulic parameters. Two dimensional (2D) earth resistivity imaging method was used to study the aquifer’s hydrogeological setting along two profiles where no drilling information was available. The results indicated the presence of two aquifers. The shallow aquifer is composed of Quaternary sand with clay intercalations and a thickness varying from 50 to 100 meters (m). Depth to the water table in this aquifer ranged from 5 to 15 m. The true resistivity of the saturated zone varied from less than 1.5 Ohm meter (Ωm) to 50 Ωm, reflecting the change of groundwater salinity with depth or horizontal variations in clay content. The Quaternary sand aquifer overlies a deep limestone aquifer which was not tapped by any of the investigated water wells. The total dissolved solids (TDS) in groundwater of the Al-Khatim area ranged from 6,511 mg/ℓ to 17,740 mg/ℓ and according to the classification proposed by Todd (1980), the groundwater within the study area ranges from brackish to saline.



SOLAR ENERGY IN THE GULF REGION

Riadh H.AL-Dabbagh Institute of Environment, Water and Energy,


AUST Network Journal: Vol. 13, Issue 2, (2008) Our world nowadays witnesses an increasing demand on energy due primarily to world growing population and also upgraded living standards. The second half of the present century, however, saw a tremendous consumption of both oil and gas accompanied with a spiking increase in their prices, being the main sources of energy in the world these days. Yet, the increasing consumption of such energy results in environment pollution. While oil reserves are limited, other alternative sources of energy cause many problems. Although water energy is considered to be a clean and renewable source of energy, especially if it is generated through the use of giant dams constructed specifically for irrigation, the quantity of such an energy remains rather limited as it meets only a an inconsiderable part of the increasing demand for energy. Added to this, the energy generated from oceans, ebb and flow and waves is expected to increase in future, yet it remains restricted as well. Among other sources, the atomic energy nowadays has been developing remarkably, though in varying degrees, in different countries. The basic problems facing this type of energy are the technology used, the degrees of pollution due to radiations emitted and atomic waste storage—all liable to negatively affect the future of this energy. Taking all this into due consideration, many countries, especially third world ones, tend to make use of solar energy. Arab Gulf countries come to the fore in this regard with a huge solar energy amounting to about 637 x1810 calories a year, i.e. (637 million calories), in an average of 402.3 calories/cm2 a day. Such an energy is distributed as such: 439 calories/cm2 a day in the Middle Region, 394 calories/cm2 in the North Region, and 362 in the Southern Region.

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