Vol. 35 Issue 1/2/3/4

Mahmood Alraisi
The Aral Sea basin is situated at the northern part of the Republic of Karakalpakstan (an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan) and decants into the Syr Darya River. The southern part is located in the Republic of Uzbekistan territories and decants into the Amu Darya River. The two rivers irrigate most of the territories of Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan,Kazakhstan, Karkyistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) beside the northern parts of Afghanistan. The Aral Sea has faced acute environmental, economic and humanitarian crises for many decades due to an agrarian reform project during Soviet Union era. The gradual drying of the Aral Sea led to an environmental disaster affecting millions living in the Aral Sea basin area and its surroundings, particularly in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. This research addresses the Aral Sea ecological disaster’s consequences and socio-economic situation, in addition to the Aral Sea disaster impact on population and environment. The aim of this research paper is to create awareness of the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea basin, finding solutions from the international community, cooperation among the Central Asian Countries regarding the issue, and water security in the region.

Shahida Khan, Ghazi Damanhouri, Tahir Jameel, Ashraf Ali, Ahmad Makki, Sarah Khan, Ibtehal AlansarI, Saeed Halawani, Fatma Zahrani, Mohammad Alkazmi and Ibrahim Ghita
Sickle cell disease is characterized by a chain of polymerization reactions in the deoxygenated phase, manifesting in debilitating conditions like inflammation, painful vaso-occlusive crisis and disruption of the bodily defense systems. This vaso-occlusion accompanied by cell adhesion and ischemia-reperfusion injury is linked to a vicious pathway resulting in oxidative stress and an enhanced free radical generation. In children with sickle cell disease, the antioxidant defense system is continuously challenged, resulting in a compromised immunity, and a host of complications. An early, easy, and rapid technique to assess the oxidative stress would help in early therapeutic interventions. As prevalence of sickle cell disease is high in Saudi Arabia, the need for early interventions in children with the problem is of dire necessity. Currently hydroxyurea is the only drug of choice administered. We therefore utilized the free oxygen radical transference (FORT), and free oxygen radical defense (FORD) measurements in children with sickle cell disease on hydroxyurea therapy and compared them with patients not taking the drug. Though patients of both the groups exhibited oxidative stress, the values of free radical transference were considerably higher in the group which did not undertake any treatment as compared to those on hydroxyurea therapy. No appreciable changes were noticed in the FORD values representing the antioxidant capacity. Our results show that the technique is feasible for quick measurements of oxidative stress, and intervention with hydroxyurea therapy benefits in decreasing it. Its incorporation in screening practices would help understand the disease stage better. Abbreviations- SCD-sickle cell disease, FORT- free oxygen radical transference, FORD- free oxygen radical defense

Ibraheem Abdullah Alzahrani
The current study sought to determine the effectiveness of an innovative approach in learning “Augmented Reality Technology” (ART) in improving the abilities of students with learning difficulties which called “learning disabilities” (Dyscalculia). The researcher adopted an experimental approach with two groups; a control group of students who learned using traditional approaches and an experimental group using ART. The study sample consisted of all of students with learning disabilities from grade 4 in Balragosh Elementary School during the first semester of 1437-1438 AH. The researcher used (ARUSMA) application, as an ART. To measuring the attitude scale, the researcher used Arithmetic Average, standard deviation, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, (ANCOVA) and T-Test. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences between the modified averages of the experimental and controlling group in the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05) in the post-measurement in the levels (Remembering, Understanding and Analysis) for the favour of the experimental group. The result also shows that there are a statistically significant differences to the post-achievement of the study sample for the favour of the experimental group. According to these results, the researcher suggested to make use of this technique in teaching students in other courses and to implementing it with other levels and providing decision-makers with recommendations and suggestions.

Lee Seong Wei, Wendy Wee, Julius Yong Fu Siong and Desy Fitrya Syamsumir
This study was carried out to characterize antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities of Piper betle leaf extract as well as its chemical composition. The main objective of the present study is to reveal the potential of P. betle leaf to be used as a medicinal drug. Antimicrobial property of P. betle leaf extract revealed by using two fold microdilution method whereas antioxidant activity of the extract was determined with α, α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. The anticancer property of the plant extract was revealed through Colorimetric MTT (tetrazolium) assay against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7). Chemical compounds of the plant extract were screening and identified by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The result of the present study showed that the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the plant extract against the tested bacterial isolates ranged from 7.81 to 31.25 mg/l in which the plant extract was found inhibited the growth of all the tested bacterial isolates namely A. hydrophila, E. tarda, E. coli, Flavobacterium sp., Klebsiella sp., P. aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., V. alginolyticus, V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus. The value IC50 of the plant extract against DPPH and MCF-7 cells was 4.41 ± 0.03 ppt and 19.4 ± 0.3 μg/ml, respectively. A total of 25 chemical compounds was successfully identified where Benzoic acid 40.44 % and Phytol 14.52 % were the major compounds.The findings of the present study indicated that the plant extract medicinal values are promising.

Leila Ait Abderrahim, Khaled Taibi, Anas M. Alomery and Nawel Ait Abderrahim
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has led scientists to search into nature for novel therapeutic molecules with less or no side effects. This study aims to determine the antibacterial activity of methanol extract of the leaves and stems of two plants species widely used in traditional medicine in the Mediterranean basin; Rosmarinus officinalis and Nerium oleander. The antibacterial activity was evaluated through determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by the agar dilution method on four microbial strains; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. Results showed that extracts of the different parts of both species revealed inhibitory activity against all the tested strains with lower MICs exhibited by R. officinalis. P. aeruginosa was shown to be the most sensitive bacteria to N. oleander extracts and S. aureus the most resistant to them. However, E. coli was relatively the most resistant bacteria to R. officinalis extracts whereas B. cereus was the most sensitive to them. It should be noted that Gram-positive bacteria were the most sensitive to R. officinalis extracts while Gram-negative bacteria were more sensitive to N. oleander extracts. Taking all together, both plant species proved to be effective antibacterial agents and consequently, they may constitute a potential natural resource for new substances with antibacterial activity as alternative of the usual drugs to avoid microbial resistance.

Badreddin Manla Al Dakhil
Arabian Gulf region considered one of the most areas vulnerable to the negative effects of fluctuations climatic and tsunami in urban, environmental and economic areas, costal relief operate to reduce these impacts, costal relief for Bahrain characterized by existence coastal plains, low-rise and along to the coast find some of Dohat, bays and meandering which are considered as factors helping the flow of tidal waves and tsunamis. The urban, industrial and petroleum areas and water desalination stations, these areas spread along the coast plain lacking of the physical manifestations of the resistance to the flow of tidal waves and tsunamis, which could lead to catastrophic events on infrastructure, construction and petroleum in case the flow of the waves high or tsunami tidal mid-rise, leading to instability in the region on a large scale. It was found that about a quarter of Bahrain will be affected by tidal waves and tsunami medium height (5 m), especially in the north-western parts of the island of Bahrain and the islands of Muharraq and Sitra. We have accomplished morphological maps that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the coastal relief of Bahrain in the face of the flow of tidal waves and tsunamis.

Isa Ahmed Ghanim, Abdul Aziz Mohamed Abdul Kareem, Ahmed Ali Salih and Asadullah Al Ajmi
This study was conducted during the period April 2009 to March 2010 in the Northern Governorate, Kingdom of Bahrain, to study the effect of treated sewage water on major alfalfa pests (aphids, leafhopper and plant bugs) and their natural enemies. The study was conducted on six farms, three irrigated by groundwater in the villages of Karranah, Jannusan and Jasra and three irrigated with treated sewage effluent in the villages of Dumistan, Elsahala and Abu Saiba. Insect samples were collected every ten days from five replicates using the standard sweeping net procedure to estimate the numbers of the above insects and their natural enemies. Pitfall traps were used to collect soft dwelling natural enemies. The results showed that irrigating alfalfa with treated sewage water led to a significant increase in population density of aphids and that the groundwater used for irrigation has led to a significant increase in the number of leafhoppers and plant bugs. As for natural enemies, Geocorissp, Dereaocorispallns were significantly increased in alfalfa plants irrigated by ground water, while Coccinella beetles significantly increased in numbers in alfalfa irrigated with treated sewage water Damselbug, aphids lions, ground beetle, tiger beetles, earwigs were not significantly affected by the type of water used. Regarding the seasonal activity of insects, leafhoppers, aphids,and plant bugs, results showed that the highest density of aphids was occurred during the second and third week of December and first week of January, leafhoppers in the second week of December and third week of February, and Plant bug in the second week of October. The activity of seasonal natural enemies had registered the highest density of Geocorissp during the first and third weeks of August. Coccinella beetles showed highest density during the second week of March, while Damselbugs highest density was noted in the fourth week of December and the first week of January. Aphid lions were most active during the fourth week of December and second week of February, whereas the predator Dereaocoris pallens was active during the third week of May and first week of July and ground beetles active during the first weekof May and the fourth week of July through first week of August. Cutting of alfalfa fields more frequent in activity period is a suggested tactic for the management of this pest, as IPM programs designed by the seasonal activity of the pest.