Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference Proceedings Volume 2014 Issue 1

1.Introduction: According to unique position and varied climate, terrain, and flora and fauna, the Sudanese have developed a unique traditional culture. Their unique indigenous knowledge of herbs led to the development of numerous general health and preventative remedies. Some are useful and some, although widely accepted due to custom and tradition, proved harmful. Identification of medicinal plants with significa Read More

In many non-excitable cells such as glial cells, oocytes or beta-cells, fast transmission and integration of information are encoded in the variations of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. These variations range from a single calcium peak (wave) to a repetitive pattern (oscillations). Intracellular Ca2+ oscillations are made of highly spatially and timely controlled cytoplasmic waves of Ca2+ fueled by two main Ca2+ sources: the e Read More

Objective: Information that is present in our DNA is transferred to RNA, which is in turn transcribed into proteins. This is a central principle of molecular biology. Over the years, there have been many attempts to document the thousands of places where transcribed RNA does not match the DNA template it was created from. This behavior is called RNA Editing, and is generally thought to be mainly an A->I change, that is, Read More

Background and Introduction—According to the Food and Agricultural Organization that more than one-third of the population of the world is affected each year by food-borne diseases caused by chemical and biological hazards. Foodsafety has been identified as high priority in the Qatar National Food Security Master Plan. Campylobacter spp. are among the leading causes of foodborne illness and capable of triggering se Read More

Bicuspid Aortic Valve in Qatar N Mohammed, S Mohammed, M Yacoub, S Helmy, CS Carr, AM Alkhulaifi Objective Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV) is the commonest congenital cardiac anomaly with about 1% of the population being affected and can be divided into different phenotypes. The majority of BAV patients will require valve replacement surgery in their lifetime. We aimed to assess the BAV patients in Qatar in terms of demog Read More

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated ubiquitously by all mammalian cells and at small concentrations they act as physiological mediators of cellular response to various stimuli. Excessive ROS damages DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids triggering various diseases. Cellular redox homeostasis is thus, balanced by endogenous and exogenous antioxidant defense systems. Natural antioxidants have made a significant Read More

Limiting factor of PE application in healthcare is high susceptibility of polyethylene towards bacterial growth. For this reason, antibacterial treatment of PE foils using appropriate antibacterial agents was used in this work. Benzalkonium chloride and bronopol were selected due to their satisfactory antibacterial effect confirmed by applications in medical and cosmetic industry. These antibacterial agents were immobilized onto PE sur Read More

Objectives: Cancer cachexia is a syndrome characterized by weight loss resulting from a reduction of lean body mass and adipose mass. Although often associated with pre-terminal patients bearing disseminated disease, cachexia may be present in the early stages of tumor growth before any signs or symptoms of malignancy. Studies show that weight loss in cachexia is not caused by malnutrition or starvation but, rather, by inf Read More

The Arabic Symbol Dictionary research project aims to develop a lexicon with symbols that are culturally appropriate for Qataris and the Arab world. This project focuses on symbol use for those who cannot communicate verbally such as those with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disability and Aphasia. Symbols can be used to communicate wants and needs, provide a method for dialogue with others as well as acti Read More