Language barriers in medical education and attitudes towards Arabization of medicine: student and staff perspectives

Students and staff perspectives on language barriers in medical education in Egypt and their attitude towards Arabization of the medical curriculum were explored in a questionnaire survey of 400 medical students and 150 staff members. Many students [56.3%] did not consider learning medicine in English an obstacle, and 44.5% of staff considered it an obstacle only in the 1st year of medical school. Many other barriers to learning other than language were mentioned. However, 44.8% of students translated English terms to Arabic to facilitate studying and 70.6% of students in their clinical study years would prefer to learn patient history-taking in Arabic. While Arabization in general was strongly declined, teaching in Arabic language was suggested as appropriate in some specialties

Performance of two casuarina species inoculated with pure culture of frankia strain under field conditions

A field trial was conducted for two different Casuarina species, C. cunninghamiana and C. Hybrid [C. Glauca X C. Cunninghamiana] to evaluate their performance in response to inoculation with Frankia strain HFPCgI4. Biomass productivity [expressed as plant dry weight], plant volume, N concentration [%], total nitrogen content and nodule dry weight were measured in inoculated and uninoculated plants. Inoculation increased markedly the performance of the tested Casuarina species. Meanwhile, there were differences between the inoculated Casuarina species in the measured parameters. Differences were also observed in the proportion of N derived from nitrogen fixation and in the total N content of these species. The amount of fixed nitrogen was highly correlated with the total nitrogen content. However, the correlation between the amount of fixed N2 and plant volume, plant dry weight and nodule dry weight did not always show positive correlation. An increment in the measured parameters was observed when low level of phosphorus [2.6 mg/kg soil] was applied as a fertilizer. From the data obtained, inoculation proved to be the best for higher ability of nitrogen fixation as well as a good performance under field conditions. Casuarina hybrid showed a higher ability for nitrogen fixation

Auditory dysfunction in Behcet's disease: a fact or a fiction?

Six neuro-behcet's patients were studied. Three of them had symptoms of auditory disturbances. CT scans and auditory examination including auditory brainstem responses [ABR] were done for each patient. Auditory dysfunction, as an unusual feature of this disease was proved to be a fact. The site of the lesion was shown to be multiple. Each case is discussed separately

Electroencephalographic mapping in dialysis encephalopathy

Dialysis encephalopathy not only represents a form of metabolic encephalopathy in uremic patients, but also constitutes a definite neurologic disorder entity. Conventional EEG abnormalities in this syndrome are certainly not specific while brain mapping of the EEG can permit the topographic display of brain electrical activity. From the results of this study, we can suggest that some of the symptoms and BEAM changes represent a form of seizure disorder, while the rest may point to an ischemic vascular insult. Also BEAM techniques in monitoring renal patients can the phase of clinical testing

place of intravenous digital subtraction angiography in cerebral stroke

Intravenous digital subtraction angiography [IVDSA] was performed in 50 patients with cerebral stroke. Optimal visualization of the extra-cranial vessels was found in [84.8%] while that of the intracranial vessels was [56.2%]. The cause of suboptimal visualization of the vascular tree were discussed. Complication of IVDSA was [12%] in our study. Positive angiographic findings was found in 23 [48%]. The indications of IVDSA in ischemic stroke patients were discussed

Brain stem evoked response in Bell's palsy

A series of 25 patients with idiopathic facial paralysis was studied to determine if concomitant auditory dysfunction could be identified in those patients or not. Auditory brain stem evoked potentials [ABEPs] were obtained from the patients in the first week from the onset of facial weakness. Significant ABEPs abnormalities [greater than 2.5 SDs] were observed in 48% of the presented series. In each case, the PBEP deviation suggested prolonged brain stem conduction time. Thus, the results supported the concept that Bell's palsy is merely the overt sign of what may be a diffuse pathologic condition. The results supported the concept that Bell's palsy is merely the overt sign of what may be a diffuse pathologic condition which can affect the periphery as well as brain stem

Total count of microorganisms contaminating water supply system of Ismailia City, Egypt

The effeciency of water purification in the French and the British systems of Ismailia city was evaluated concerning the contaminating microorganisms. Counting of microbial contaminants was based on the phenotypic characters of the colony type. Colony-types of eubacteria, eumycetes, Micromospores and Streptomyces enumerat rated in the crude water and the different steps of purification. Total counts of microflora in both systems were higher than the counts in canal water. Meanwhile, microbial isolates were higher in the French system than that of the British one. The increased counts in tap water, compared with canal water, were recorded in winter for bacteria and in spring for fungi. These data showed variations in the microbial total counts according to: plant system, steps of purification, chlorination season and type of microbes