Vol. 18 Issue 1
S. Almomin and N. Al- Awadhi
Biotechnology has received significant recognition in Kuwait as the science of the future. The scientific research in this field is shaped by the need to solve national problems mostly in areas of health, environment and food security. The annual expenditure on biotechnological research is in excess of US $5 million among the research institutions in the country.
The objective of this review is to present the current scientific achievements and progress in biotechnology in the State of Kuwait.
Jonathan H. Skerman, Amal A. Daylami, Adel E. Ghuloom, Zahra M. A. Alsammak, M.A. Moh'd Yakub, A. Jalil Kooheji
A future physician must no longer view the anaesthetist as only the figure at the head of the operating theatre table, but rather as a physician involved in the care of the surgical patient through the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods.
Methods: These concepts rather than the pharmacology are vital for all physicians regardless of speciality, and thus are stressed. Accordingly, technical skills include airway management and intravenous access. The clerkship should expand these concepts, while encouraging students to explore areas of interest.
Discussion: Specific information that should be covered in a clinical Perioperative Medicine course includes history and preoperative evaluation, laboratory testing, cardiovascular pharmacology, assessment and management of ventilation and management of subsequent pain. At the Arabian Gulf University in the 2-week Anaesthesia Clerkship, the students are taught to assess ventilation, both with physical diagnosis and with monitors. They are required to perform bag-mask ventilation along with endotracheal intubation with both the Miller and Macintosh laryngoscope blades. In the 1 month elective course, enhanced airway instruction includes additional experience with difficult intubations and mask ventilation, fiber optic intubation, laryngeal mask insertion, light wand intubation, and percutaneous cricothyrotomy. The teaching of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is also within the domain of the perioperative physician. It is important that all physicians know the basics of resuscitation and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
G.A. Alhadrami, A.A. Nigm and M.B. Aboul-Ela
Thirty four male lambs were used (20 pure bred local and 14 crossbreds resulting from breeding local ewes with Chios rams). Lambs of each group were weaned either early at 8 weeks or late at 12 weeks of age. Following weaning, lambs were fed for 8 weeks ad libitum before slaughter. Diet consisted of Rhodes grass hay and pelleted concentrates.
Genotypes of lamb affected significantly initial body weight (P< 0.021), roughage intake (P< 0.049) and Longissimus dorsi area (P<0.030). Crosses of Local x Chios excelled the pure locals in growth performance and carcass traits. Crossbreds had higher average daily gain (187 Vs. 163 g/d), better feed efficiency (3.80 Vs. 4.03 kg DM/Kg BW gain) and heavier carcasses and saleable parts (10.2 Vs. 8.8 kg); differences, however, were insignificant.
Age at weaning affected significantly DM intake (P < 0.009), body length (P<0.001) and fat thickness over the 9th rib (P< 0.05). Late weaned lambs scored higher estimates, while early weaned lambs showed better average daily gain, total weight gain, feed conversion ratio and less fat in meat. However, differences were not significant. Results indicated that crossing sheep with Chios and use of early weaning would be beneficial in increasing meat productivity of slaughter lambs under intensive production system in the UAE.
Hussein E. Osman and Atallah Abo Hassan
Phenotypic characterization of a Jojoba population of 5165 plants established in western Saudi Arabia revealed that 52.8% of the population were males, 46.4% were females and 0.8% were of unknown sex 54 months from planting. Among the male plants, 34.9% were early flowering and 65.7% were late flowering whereas among females 46.9 % and 53.10% were recorded as early and late flowering respectively. Among the male plants, 19.8% were abundant pollen producers and only 0.22% had a prostrate growth habit. Among the female plants, 5.13% had a cluster bearing habit (i.e. fruits/node), 14.23% had fruits at every node and 9.12) had a high number of fruits per plant. Plant heights in the range 70-185 cm, crown diameters in the range of 65-200 cm, internode lengths in the range of 14-5.1 cm, seed yield per plant in the range of 0-1418g, oil or wax content in the range of 34.9-56.4% and protein content in the range of 9.5 to 49.5% were recorded in the course of three years of the study. These ranges are comparable to those reported in other parts of the world. Plant height, crown diameter and internode length were negatively correlated (P = 0.01) to one another. Wax content was negatively correlated (P ≤ 0.05) to plant height. The coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.111) indicated a low contribution of these traits in the total variability associated with seed yield, indicating the importance of directly selecting high yielding plants in yield improvement programs. Thus it is concluded that jojoba can be introduced as a commercial crop in Al-Medinah area. Additional work will be needed to select improved jojoba types for future plantations in Saudi Arabia
S.Dadzie, F. Abou-Seedo and T. Al-Shallal
Histological and histochemical studies of oocyte development in the silver pomfret, Pampus argenteus (Euphrasen), collected from the Kuwait waters of the Arabian Gulf, showed that the process of development is divided into four phases:
(i) primary growth phase,
(ii) secondary growth phase,
(iii) oocyte maturation phase and
(iv) oocyte atresia phase.
The first two phases break into a series of sub-phases referred to as stages. Germ cells (oogonia) proliferate through mitotic divisions and are transformed into oocytes. Growth of the oocytes as a result of synthesis of vitelline substances eventually results in maturation. Lipid inclusions which appear in the primary growth phase oocytes are probably transient since they disappear before the oocytes enter the secondary growth phase. Three types of inclusions are formed during vitellogenesis. Lipid yolk accumulates first in the secondary oocytes as lipid vesicles, followed by protein yolk in the form of discrete protein yolk granules. The third type of inclusion is carbohydrate which is present in the zona radiata. While the protein yolk granules maintain their structural integrity through to maturation and coalesce only thereafter, the lipid yolk vesicles continually coalesce, forming a large lipid globule which migrates centripetally.
Jasem M. Al-Awadhi, Ali Al-Dousari and Abdullah Al-Enezi
Sand dunes represent the most significant aeolian land features in Kuwait. In this study, field and laboratory work were undertaken to describe Kuwait dunes, presented as crescent-shaped dunes, in terms of morphology, sedimentology and mineralogy. The annual rate of movement of most dunes of Kuwait exceeds 20 m/yr.
Marei Hussain Al-Qahtani
Data analysis and reconnaissance surveys showed that from an ecological and geomorphological point of view, the research area could be divided horizontally into two distinct plant communities (mountainous plant community and semi-desert plant community) and vertically into five plant habitat types, namely the toe-slope habitat, foot-slope habitat, mid-slope habitat, shoulder slope habitat and summit slope habitat. The recognised communities and habitat types varied in their environmental features (topography, soil conditions and the degree of animal impacts) and consequently in their vegetation composition. Although the vegetation density in this area is low (2.71/100 m2), it is considered relatively high compared with other areas in Saudi Arabia. However, great diversities in density and distribution of vegetation were found between slope segments, and also generally between the south-west and north-east parts of the research area. The floristic composition and distribution of main plant groups were found to reflect the condition of soil and the topographical variety in Assir Mountains.