Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2013 Issue 1

In recent years, the field of applied nonlinear dynamics has attracted scientists and engineers across many different disciplines to develop innovative ideas and methods to study complex behavior exhibited by relatively simple tools. In this study, we have investigated some of these tools together with some its applications. Among these applications, here we have chosen one of our resent research work in heart rate com Read More

Recently, new bioimaging techniques have been proposed to visualize the interaction of several proteins within individual cells. Such techniques could provide the key to understanding complex biological systems such as the protein interactions involved in cancer. Currently, there is a strong urge for sophisticated analytical methods to extract molecular signatures of diseases (such as cancer) in order to not only understand th Read More

Biomimetic nanofibers are essential to produce scaffolds for tissue engineering. The success of this strategy critically depends on the ability of the nanofibers to attract, interact and instruct the appropriate types of cells. This can be achieved through decorating the surface of the nanofibers with customised biomimetic peptides those holding cell-signalling motifs, which could assist nanofibers to engraft characteristics of extra Read More

Abstract: Prevalence of obesity and co-morbidities is increasing alarmingly in recent years with over 1 billion adults globally being classified as overweight. Importantly, this also applies to the population in Qatar where about 70% of the total population are expected to be overweight and nearly 20% diabetic by 2015. The profound increase in obesity has a severe socio-economic burden for public health systems worldwide Read More

The anti‐diabetic and insulin‐sensitizing effects of adiponectin, a hormone secreted by adipose tissue, are mediated by its molecular interactions with the plasma membrane receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2. Adiponectin occurs in several molecular forms and each of these forms has a specific signaling outcome that also depends on the relative abundance of the two receptors. The complex interactions between adiponectin an Read More

Abstract Diabetes is widely prevalent in the Middle East. Its incidence and prevalence are on the rise in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) nations. In Qatar, the World Health Organization estimates that diabetes accounts directly for 7% of total deaths, while cardiovascular diseases account for 23% [1], both of which are related to lifestyle factors. Risk factors for diabetes are fairly well established. But it is worrisome that they ar Read More

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an attractive source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). However, the number of HSCs in UCB is limited, and attempts to amplify them in vitro remain inefficient. Several publications have documented amplification of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) on endothelial or mesenchymal cells, but the lack of homogeneity in culture conditions and HSC definition impairs direct comparison of the Read More

It is common nowadays to implement principles of continuum mechanics to describe the behavior of advance engineering materials. Continuum mechanics take into account the mapping of material pointsXdescribed in reference (undeformed) configuration into x described in current (deformed) configuration due to action of physical factors e.g. force or heat. The gradient of this mapping is denoted by F. It is common Read More

Remote monitoring of patient vital signs either in hospital or in home provides ease to both patient and hospital staff. It results in less visits of patient to hospital, lesser likelihood of measurements errors, while recording vital sign information. Moreover, due to the rapid ageing in our society, continuous monitoring of the critical patient in home health care is also increasing. Recent progresses in biomaterials, biosensor Read More

Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon, but its impact on Qatar is unique. It is reported that Qatar's elderly population is estimated to reach 21% by 2050 and studies have shown that aging has the strongest impact on long-term care expenditures. Moreover, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Qatar and the mortality rate is ever-increasing. Qatar now has a public health service providing free or very lo Read More

Plant oils, marine and animal fats are major components of the human diet and they are economically important for many exporting countries. Triacylglycerols (TAG) are the major fat components in human diet. Food consumed by Muslims must be HALAL. Food products with a HALAL designation do not only relate to meat, but also include canned, processed and frozen foods, organic foods, bakery products, pastry and Read More

Background: Lead (Pb2+) is ubiquitously distributed in the environment and shows significant health effects in humans. In 1999 the WHO published a preliminary study on lead poisoning in the State of Qatar based on a survey conducted during 1995-96. Water, Food and Blood samples were collected. 19% of the 200 blood samples collected exceeded a critical lead content of 10ug/dl, while the highest level was reported in th Read More

Purpose. To formulate and evaluate sustained-release hard gelatin capsules (HGC) filled with Metformin hydrochloride (MH) dispersed in semisolid matrices able to increase MH bioavailability and address the shortcomings in the currently marketed sustained-release tablets. Methods. Gelucire® 50/13 and various proportions of high molecular weight hydrophilic polymers, hydrophobic oily semisolid excipients, and muco-adhesive Read More

The adverse health outcomes, road traffic injuries [RTI's] and deaths, that result from motor vehcile crashes [MVC's] in Qatar have been measured and evaluated. Improvements in this field have been noted; citing improvements in numerous ways using a variety of tools. Deaths are most commonly used with measures of non-fatal outcomes of MVC's rare. The number of MVC's causing injury, number of traffic violations an Read More

Background: Shisha: a re-emerging type of tobacco use contains harmful substances. Around 21% of 7 to 9th Graders students (29%: boys and 15.4%: girls) smoke any forms of tobacco in Qatar (GYTS, 2007). The prevalence of shisha use at young ages is alarming and calls for immediate intervention. To date, and despite the increasing prevalence of shisha use among youth, and its documented health hazards, no interven Read More

Qatar has a high burden of chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Low serum vitamin D levels have been implicated in the development and progression of a range of these chronic conditions. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency in the general population of Qatar has still not been investigated. The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review o Read More

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common form of vertigo seen in emergency departments. Typically these patients complain of the room spinning associated with certain head movements, nausea and vomiting. This condition can be diagnosed by taking a good history and performing a Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre. BPPV can be successfully treated by physical manoeuvres such as Epley, modified Epley, Semont Read More

The most occurring cancer among women in the world is the breast cancer. It is still unknown what are the reasons one woman develops the breast cancer and another does not develop it. Advances in diagnostics and treatment options, increased understanding of breast cancer types, and, most recently, exploration in the role of genetic mutations in cancer development all have contributed to the reduction of fatalities. Read More

Current methods to derive induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from human dermal fibroblasts by viral infection rely on complex protocols. One major factor contributing to the time required to derive lines is the ability of researchers to identify fully reprogrammed unique candidate clones from a mixed cell population containing transformed or partially reprogrammed cells and fibroblasts at an early time point post i Read More

Dates form an important product of Qatari agriculture and further constitute an icon of the identity and heritage of the Arab world. Along many Arab countries, Qatar is engaging active research into studying the biology of dates with the view of improving the quality of the fruit both for commercial reasons as well as impact on the human health. As part of a major initiative of date biology research project at WCMC-Q, w Read More

Deep tissue fungal infections cause over 30% mortality and add over $2.6 billion to healthcare costs in the United States alone [1,2]. In Qatar, fungal infections occur in up to 16% of all patience's suffering from continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis [3]. Implanted medical devices such as artificial joints, catheters and artificial heart valves are associated with elevated rates of fungal bloodstream infections. One of the pr Read More

The metabolic syndrome is a clustered syndrome characterized by five major abnormalities: cardiovascular risk factors, including elevated blood pressure, dyslipidemia, impaired glycemic control, and abdominal obesity. Although, this syndrome is reaching an epidemic spread in parallel to obesity, the incidence of the metabolic syndrome is expected to continue to rise, enabling the exercise prescription to contribute to opti Read More

Human Enterovirus (HEV) infections, speci?cally Coxsackievirus B(CVB), demonstrate ß-cell tropism and are associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous studies have shown that Coxsackie-Adenovirus receptors (CAR) and Decay Accelerating Factor (DAF) are both required to initiate CVB infection in human and rodent models, but this has not been examined in Human Islets-Clusters (HICS), which are derived from human i Read More

One reason why developmental delays and specific language disabilities are grossly under-identified outside of the U.S. is the absence of locally developed norm-referenced assessment tools for its multilingual and multicultural population (Ooi & Wong, 2012). As a result, there is a paucity of both quantitative and qualitative data on assessing developmental and language delays in different languages and cultural environment Read More