Brain type natriuretic peptide (BNP)—A marker of new millennium in diagnosis of congestive heart failure

The burden of disease in patients with congestive heart failure is high. The future of BNP looks promising as it may be a better diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of CHF in developing countries in new millennium. Natriuretic peptide hormones, a family of vasoactive peptides with many favourable physiological properties, have emerged as important contenders for development of diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents in cardiovascular disease. Measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide has become as an easy-to-perform bedside test. The clinical and diagnostic significance of the measurement of plasma Nt-proBNP in the diseases of the cardiovascular system with particular emphasis on the assessment of patients with heart failure and their effects on predicting survival rate. The plasma levels of Nt-proBrain Natriuretic peptide responds more vigorously after myocardial infarction than those of other natriuretic peptides. This article is an attempt to give a short overview on the utility of BNP-blood levels for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure     

Library Anxiety among Undergraduate Students: A Comparative Study on Egypt and Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study of library anxiety among a group of Arab students in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The paper also investigated the factors that affect the students' level of anxiety while using academic libraries. The study tried to compare the difference in the level of anxiety in the two countries using a scale (LLPB) developed by the researchers which fit the culture in the Arab region. The study adopted a mixed methods approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with several students in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to determine the main factors that lead to having a level of anxiety in the libraries. In the second stage, a questionnaire was sent to students to measure what factors have a greater impact on the level of anxiety. The data showed that Egyptian students are more anxious about using the libraries than the Saudi students. The results also indicated that there is a need to train students on how to use the libraries and also change students' perception regarding the library to reduce the level of anxiety. This study was conducted in Egypt and Saudi Arabia the level of library anxiety and the factors that may affect the students may vary in other countries.     

An exploration of Naquib al-Attas’ theory of Islamic education as ta’dīb as an ‘indigenous’ educational philosophy

Abstract

This paper explores the ‘indigenous’ philosophy of education of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, a Malay-Muslim scholar who’s theoretical work culminated in the establishment of a counter-colonial higher education institution. Through presenting al-Attas’ life and philosophy and by exploring the arguments of his critics, I aim to shed light on the challenges and paradoxes faced by indigenous academics working at the interface of philosophy and education.     

Establishment of engineering laboratories for undergraduate and postgraduate studies

The importance of the laboratories for the study of engineering problems is manifold. At the undergraduate level it provides an opportunity for the students to get an impression of the basic principles of engineering. At the postgraduate level it becomes an instrument for advanced level study and for the solutions to real-life engineering problems. Level of emphasis by an individual engineering institution on basic engineering, interdisciplinary aspects of engineering and relevance to international, national and local industrial trends effects the policy to establish the engineering laboratories. However, a core facility, for the teaching of the most basic principals of relevant field of engineering should be a common feature of all the laboratories associated with individual subject area. In this research paper an approach for establishing engineering laboratories is presented. It discusses the relation between the syllabus of appropriate level of study and the equipment required in the laboratory, physical planning for the laboratory, sequential and parallel approaches for establishing the laboratories, the functional capacity of laboratories, the organizational flexibility of the laboratories, the cost factor and the recurring expenditure. It suggests ways of utilizing the laboratory for effective teaching and research through optimal use of the above factors.     

A competence-based industrial learning approach for factories of the future

Manufacturing industry can improve its competitiveness through innovation and technological excellence, and appropriate Industrial Learning can help to achieve this goal through allowing the manufacturing workforce to acquire new skills related to the advanced developments in information and communication technologies. This raises the need for new Industrial Learning tools and methods from the viewpoint of learning content, learning processes, and delivery mechanisms. In this paper, we present a generic competence-based approach for Industrial Learning developed in the framework of ActionPlanT project. The approach is composed of (i) an Industrial Learning model which serves to represent and understand competence-based learning, and (ii) a methodology which implements through a number of steps the Industrial Learning actions defined using the Industrial Learning model in industrial organisations. Both the model and the methodology are presented in details. A metrics-based method for evaluating the implementation of the learning actions defined using the approach is also described.     

Current Initiatives for E-Journal Archives and Perpetual Access at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

The article discusses the need for initiatives to be undertaken by the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Library administration to acquire archives of and perpetual access to its subscribed electronic journals. It also reports the findings of a survey conducted to ascertain the publishers' positions on archiving services and the right to permanently access licensed materials paid for during the period of a license agreement. The findings are expected to help the library to plan for securing the right over a three-year period to ongoing access to the back files of journals from fifteen commercial and society publisher platforms.