Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown as promising biomarkers for various diseases. We investigated the predictive potential of circulating endothelium-enriched miR-126 in type 2 diabetes patients (T2D) without chronic complications and T2D patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD). The expression levels of circulating miR-126, determined by quantitative real time PCR, were decrease in peripheral blood of T2D patients and T2D with CAD compared with healthy controls. MiR-126 strongly associated with T2D and CAD, negatively correlated with LDL in CAD patients and differentiated between T2D patients, T2D patients with CAD and healthy subjects. Circulating miR-126 may serve as a biomarker for predicting patients with T2D and diabetic CAD.

Abstract:The Rod and Frame test measures an individual's subjective assessment of visual vertical and horizontal in the presence of a surrounding tilted frame. Attention has focused upon the effects of the surrounding frame upon spatial accuracy (Spatial Frame Effect). We have investigated if the tilted frame also affects the time that subjects take to make the alignment (Temporal Frame Effect). Results: 125 subjects performed a computerised Rod and Frame test to investigate the effects of a tilted frame on subjective visual vertical and horizontal. In addition the program recorded the time taken to make each alignment. For most subjects the mean Spatial Frame Effect was small (vertical 1.62, SD 0.93; horizontal 1.9, SD 1.43). The mean time taken to make alignments in the presence of a tilted frame was longer than when the frame was not tilted (vertical, +3.4s, SD 4.4; horizontal, +3.2s, SD 4.5). Differences in the times taken when the rod and frame were presented congruently and incongruently could be fully accounted for by the differences in steps needed to move the rod to its final alignment. No relationship was found between the spatial accuracy and the time to make the alignment and there was no relationship between the Spatial and Temporal Frame Effects. Conclusions: This study suggests that the Spatial, and Temporal, Frame Effects provide information about different aspects of the process of resolving conflicting visual information when making judgments on alignment. In everyday functions such as the maintenance of balance or susceptibility to motion sickness, the increased time taken may be as important as spatial accuracy.

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Previous mechanical Rod and Frame Test (RFT) studies suggested gender and menstrual cycle effects on visual vertical perception with evidence from other studies on spatial tests showing large gender effects in their original form and a decreased gender difference effect on the computerised versions. We investigated whether gender and menstrual cycle effects on visual dependence can be maintained on a computerised version of the RFT (CRFT) in 30 males, 30 females in the follicular phase and 22 females in the midluteal phase. No difference was found between the errors of the male and female groups in the presence of an untilted frame (0°, Frame 0°) . With a tilted frame (Frame± 18°) presentation, males and females in the follicular phase had significantly smaller errors than females in the midluteal phase. These results confirm findings of a male advantage on the RFT and also indicate that menstrual cycle phase does affect gender differences in visual dependence on the CRFT; thus, caution with RFT results is recommended when female subjects are involved.

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The Trail-Making Test (TMT) is used in different neuropsychological test batteries. It consists of two parts: TMT-Part A, which tests visual scanning and psychomotor speed, and TMT-Part B, which assesses more complex cognitive processes. TMT normative data have been established in many non-Arab countries either using the original English version or a version developed with the native language. The aim of this study was to compare TMT performance between the English TMT and a constructed Arabic TMT in young Arabic-English bilingual college students from three Arabian Gulf states. Scores from 83 participants who took the English TMT and 52 who took the Arabic TMT were included. Arabic TMT (both parts) scores were significantly poorer compared with English TMT scores. Arabic TMT scores were also poorer than were other norms for this age group and education level, but they were better than those reported from another study using the Arabic TMT. Moreover, there were nonsignificant differences in performance between participants from these three countries; however, these findings are inconclusive as sample sizes were small. These findings suggest that Arabic TMT norms cannot be unified for all Arabic countries, and separate Arabic TMT norms including all age groups and education levels must be established for each Arabic country.

The aim of this case study was to evaluate whether there had been educational changes and if so, in which phases of implementation and institutionalization in three African higher education institutions. The changes were evaluated from the point-of-view of trainees in the field of e-learning and library services during the project conducted in 2013-2015. Written texts and visual material were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The enthusiasm and mutual pedagogical understanding of the academic and support service staff were the key factors promoting the changes in the integration of e-learning and modern library services into everyday practices in these higher education institutions. The provision of suitable training and pedagogic skills to the academics and the support service staff made it possible dovetail these concepts to suit their home institution and provide them with a common language and value base that supported student learning.

Background Amongst all other educational institutions, medical schools suffered the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical education requires a great deal of interaction between instructors and students, and in the final years, patients as well. In response to the pandemic, the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences at the Arabian Gulf University has applied virtual teaching/learning since March 2020 as an alternative to face-to-face teaching. The college used Moodle and Zoom as online methods for education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual medical education by comparing students’ performance in final exams in face-to-face and virtual settings. Methods Following the college's ethical approval, this longitudinal study was performed on 183 medical students. Those students experienced 2 different successive methods of teaching/learning; Unit V as face-to-face followed by Unit VI as virtual settings. Students' performance in the final exams of both units was analyzed and compared. Results There was no significant difference in student performance between Units V and VI. Students' performance in the physiology part was equally effective in both units, while the difficulty index of both exams was insignificantly different. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that students’ performance in final exams could serve as an objective parameter when comparing different educational settings. Our results also support the idea that, in certain aspects, virtual is equal to face-to-face medical education strategies.