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In this paper, the effect of seawater on concrete mix was studied. Seawater was fetched from the Red Sea near Port Sudan. Forty eight concrete cubes were prepared using constant water/cement ratio. The first two groups were both mixed with fresh water then cured in fresh water and seawater, respectively. The third and fourth groups were both mixed with seawater but cured in seawater and fresh water, respectively. All four groups were tested for permeability after seven days. Likewise, they were tested after 7, 28 and 90 days for compression strength. Twelve beams and a dozen cylinders were prepared in the same manner and tested after 28 days for both flexural and tension strengths. Slight increase in compressive strength was noticed in specimens mixed with fresh water and cured in seawater at 7 and 90 days, while no vital change was observed at age 28 days. Neither tension strength nor durability were affected with sea water. Nonetheless, flexural strength decreased for those specimens mixed with seawater and cured in fresh water.

In the experiment we evaluated the influence of propolis extract in nutrition of chickens on stability of meat in the most valuable parts of carcass that were stored by freezing at -18 °C. A total of 300 chicks in one day old which were divided into 3 groups (n = 100). The hybrid combination of tested chickens was Hubbard JV. Propolis extract was added to experimental groups at a dose of 600 mg kg -1 (group E1) and 800 mg kg -1 (group E2). Fattening lasted 42 days. Oxidative stability of breast and thigh muscles was evaluated from the 1 st day to 6 th month of storage in regular month intervals. In the breast muscle, values of malondialdehyde (MDA) were from 0.212 to 0.313 mg kg -1 in control group, from 0.186 to 0.264 mg kg -1 in E1 group and from 0.175 to 0.259 mg kg -1 in E2 group. In the thigh muscle, MDA values were from 0.255 to 0.339 mg kg -1 (control group), from 0.196 to 0.279 mg kg -1 (E1 group) and from 0.194 to 0.268 mg kg -1 (E2 group). Application of propolis extract in Hubbard JV chickens nutrition has significant influence (P ≤0.05) on decreasing of oxidative processes in breast and thigh muscles during the whole period of storage.Keywords: chickens, nutrition, feed supplements, propolis, chicken meat, oxidative stability, malondialdehyde

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Background: Medical research is becoming an essential part of medical students’ curricula in several medical colleges around Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess medical students' attitudes towards conducting medical research and identify their motives.   Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted between December 2021 and April 2022 and used the Student Attitude Towards Research (SAR) scale and the students’ perceived influential factors toward participating in research activities questionnaire. A 5-Likert scale was used to assess the level of students’ agreement from ‘strongly disagree=1’, ‘disagree=2’, ‘neutral=3’, ‘agree=4’, to ‘strongly agree=5’. Demographic information such as gender, year of study, and previously published research was collected. The survey was distributed among medical students in the college of medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Jeddah and Riyadh campuses, Saudi Arabia. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical values and report any differences. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.   Results: A total of 500 responses were collected from the students (67.2% males and 32.8% females). Most students agreed with the following statements ‘Research is important for identifying and investigating problems in a subject matter’ (N=399, 79.8%) and ‘I am much interested in participating in research activities at the undergraduate level’ (N=318, 63.6%). There was a significant difference among students in responses to following statement: ‘I am always getting the chance to discuss about the scientific/academic research in my class) (P=0.022). Female students agreed more than male students that ‘faculty have adequate skills to handle research methodology’ (3.93±1.01 vs. 3.7±1.06, P=0.014). Furthermore, a significant difference was found in the following statement: ‘faculty members use research findings as a part of their teaching material’ (P <.001). The students agreed that their college has adequate infrastructure to organize research programs (N=321, 64.2%, P=0.005). The top four influential factors towards conducting medical research were ‘to facilitate entry into competitive residency programs’ (4.248) followed by ‘having an interest in specific research field or medical topic’ (4.226) and ‘to improve curriculum vitae (CV)’ (4.202) then ‘it is a necessary competency for future clinical work’ (4.164). A 5-Likert scale was used to calculate the average of the students’ responses where 5 indicates ‘strongly agree’ and 1 indicate ‘strongly disagree’.   Conclusion: The students showed a positive attitude towards conducting medical research at the undergraduate level. The influential factors highlighted how students conduct research to advance their careers and explore their interest in a specific field or medical topic. This study is important for decision-makers, residency program directors, and research center directors to reconsider published research & research activities as a prerequisite for acceptance into competitive programs. Future studies ought to investigate if medical students pursue research activities after college, their attitudes, and influential factors as well as to investigate the research skills they have and how they acquired them.