The Experience of Quality in Higher Education in the United Arab Emirates: In Times of Rapid Change and Complexities

In less than five decades, from offering formal education only in a few schools to a small tribal community to providing a selection of three public and approximately 100 private higher education institutions to the citizens of seven emirates creates a unique context in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an evolution that corresponds with its remarkable economic growth. Quality assurance of diverse higher educational institutions requires complex schemes to ensure their fitness for purpose, while perhaps development and enhancement aspects need time to mature. The quality of the education is especially important because the UAE yearns for the diversified and knowledge-based economy; one that is led by its own citizens whose contribution to the workforce is currently less than 10%. This chapter highlights contextual complexities in the UAE that might have direct and/or indirect impacts on the quality experiences in the higher education sector, with proposed recommendations

RNA delivery by extracellular vesicles in mammalian cells and its applications.

The term 'extracellular vesicles' refers to a heterogeneous population of vesicular bodies of cellular origin that derive either from the endosomal compartment (exosomes) or as a result of shedding from the plasma membrane (microvesicles, oncosomes and apoptotic bodies). Extracellular vesicles carry a variety of cargo, including RNAs, proteins, lipids and DNA, which can be taken up by other cells, both in the direct vicinity of the source cell and at distant sites in the body via biofluids, and elicit a variety of phenotypic responses. Owing to their unique biology and roles in cell-cell communication, extracellular vesicles have attracted strong interest, which is further enhanced by their potential clinical utility. Because extracellular vesicles derive their cargo from the contents of the cells that produce them, they are attractive sources of biomarkers for a variety of diseases. Furthermore, studies demonstrating phenotypic effects of specific extracellular vesicle-associated cargo on target cells have stoked interest in extracellular vesicles as therapeutic vehicles. There is particularly strong evidence that the RNA cargo of extracellular vesicles can alter recipient cell gene expression and function. During the past decade, extracellular vesicles and their RNA cargo have become better defined, but many aspects of extracellular vesicle biology remain to be elucidated. These include selective cargo loading resulting in substantial differences between the composition of extracellular vesicles and source cells; heterogeneity in extracellular vesicle size and composition; and undefined mechanisms for the uptake of extracellular vesicles into recipient cells and the fates of their cargo. Further progress in unravelling the basic mechanisms of extracellular vesicle biogenesis, transport, and cargo delivery and function is needed for successful clinical implementation. This Review focuses on the current state of knowledge pertaining to packaging, transport and function of RNAs in extracellular vesicles and outlines the progress made thus far towards their clinical applications

Whole Genome Pathway Analysis Identifies an Association of Cadmium Response Gene Loss with Copy Number Variation in Mutant p53 Bearing Uterine Endometrial Carcinomas

Massive chromosomal aberrations are a signature of advanced cancer, although the factors promoting the pervasive incidence of these copy number alterations (CNAs) are poorly understood. Gatekeeper mutations, such as p53, contribute to aneuploidy, yet p53 mutant tumors do not always display CNAs. Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma (UCEC) offers a unique system to begin to evaluate why some cancers acquire high CNAs while others evolve another route to oncogenesis, since about half of p53 mutant UCEC tumors have a relatively flat CNA landscape and half have 20-90% of their genome altered in copy number.We extracted copy number information from 68 UCEC genomes mutant in p53 by the GISTIC2 algorithm. GO term pathway analysis, via GOrilla, was used to identify suppressed pathways. Genes within these pathways were mapped for focal or wide distribution. Deletion hotspots were evaluated for temporal incidence.Multiple pathways contributed to the development of pervasive CNAs, including developmental, metabolic, immunological, cell adhesion and cadmium response pathways. Surprisingly, cadmium response pathway genes are predicted as the earliest loss events within these tumors: in particular, the metallothionein genes involved in heavy metal sequestration. Loss of cadmium response genes were associated with copy number changes and poorer prognosis, contrasting with 'copy number flat' tumors which instead exhibited substantive mutation.Metallothioneins are lost early in the development of high CNA endometrial cancer, providing a potential mechanism and biological rationale for increased incidence of endometrial cancer with cadmium exposure. Developmental and metabolic pathways are altered later in tumor progression