Examination of Saudi Students’ Social Network and Language Development: A Social Network Analysis of Saudi International Students and the Input Hypothesis

The number of Saudi international students pursuing higher education in the United States has risen significantly over the past decade. Research indicates that people’s social networks are an important source of language input. In this study, our main focus was the language input that Saudi students receive while studying in the United States. This study analyzed the social networks of 20 Saudi students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs at four Midwestern universities. The aim of this analysis was to understand the choices that Saudi learners of English establish beyond the regular classroom, to explain and even predict the development of learners’ oral communication skills. The sample included 76 people across the 20 social networks, only 19 of whom were native speakers of English. The Saudi students in this study spent an average of 672 hours in weekly interactions with friends within their social networks. The interaction time was divided as follows: 150 hours spent talking to native speakers of English, 101 hours with non-native speakers of English, and 421 hours with Arabic speakers. The analysis of the social networks highlighted Saudi students’ interactional forms. Research findings are discussed based on the Social Network Analysis and on Krashens’s i+1 Input Hypothesis

Genetic variability of camel (Camelus dromedarius) populations in Saudi Arabia based on microsatellites analysis

The genetic diversity and population genetic structure of dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) are poorly documented in Saudi Arabia. The present study was conducted to address some of these genetics using four Saudi Arabian camel populations namely; Magaheem (MG), Maghateer (MJ), Sofr (SO) and Shual (SH). Genomic DNA was extracted from the hair roots of 160 camels, 40 individuals from each population. Sixteen microsatellite markers were used to genotype these 160 camels. Out of these 16 markers, only microsatellite VOLP67 did not produce any polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons. There were 139 alleles generated by the 15 microsatellites loci with a mean of 9.27 alleles per locus. Four of the microsatellites loci studied in MG, eight in MJ and six in both SO and SH were found to be deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The fixation genetic indices (Fst) among the four populations were very low, ranging from 0.006 (between SH and SO) to 0.017 (between MG and MJ), indicating low population differentiation among the four Saudi camel populations. No significant heterozygote excess or bottleneck in most nearest past was detected in the four camel populations as indicated by sign, standardized differences and Wilcoxon tests, along with the normal L shaped distribution of mode-shift test. The present study showed that the microsatellite markers are powerful tools in breeding programs, although there is a need for applying more microsatellites in order to be able to discriminate fairly between camel populations of Saudi Arabia.Keywords: Camels, Camelus dromedarius, microsatellite markers, Saudi Arabia, genetic variabilit

Changes in the composition and fatty acid profile of Najdi ewes’ milk before and after weaning

This trial aimed to study the changes in the yield, composition, and fatty acid (FA) profile of ewes’ milk during suckling and milking periods. Nineteen multiparous Najdi ewes were kept under identical management and feeding conditions during a 12-week trial that was divided into two periods. Milk samples were collected on each sampling day from the total yield during the suckling (3rd, 6th, and 9th week) and milking (12th week) periods. The milk yield and the total solids, fat, protein, and lactose contents of the milk remained constant throughout the suckling weeks, but the protein content increased and milk yield and lactose content decreased after weaning. There were no differences in milk saturated FA (SFA), unsaturated FA (UFA), and monounsaturated FA (MUFA) contents during the suckling and milking periods, whereas the polyunsaturated FA content increased during the milking period. There were no differences in the individual milk SFA during the weeks of suckling, but the contents of caproic acid (C6:0), caprylic acid (C8:0), margaric acid (C17:0), and stearic acid (C18:0) decreased. However, myristic acid (C14:0), lauric acid (C12:0), and isomers of pentadecanoic (C15:0) acid increased during the milking period. The percentage of vaccenic acid (C18:1△11t), rumenic acid (C18:2△9c,11t; conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)), ω-3 FA group, and the atherogenicity index did not differ during the suckling period, but increased after weaning in the 12th week of lactation. This study demonstrated that weaning lambs in Najdi ewes is probably a factor that strongly affects milk traits by changing yield, composition, and FA profile.Keywords: CLA, dairy ewes, milk fat, milk yield, stage of lactatio

Trombocitni pokazatelji u jednogrbe deve (Camelus dromedarius)

This communication describes platelet indices including platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (PCT) and platelet distribution width (PDW), along with parallel red blood cell parameters, in samples from 27 dromedary camels of both sexes. The overall mean values of the platelet parameters were: PLT 319.71 ± 38.6 (x109/L); MPV 5.51 ± 0.08 fL; PCT 0.14 ± 0.02% and PDW 19.50 ± 0.62%. A highly significant correlation was found between PLT and PCT (P≤0.001) in male, female and all camels and a significant correlation between MPV and PDW (P<0.05) in male and all camels. The correlation between platelet parameters and parallel red blood cell parameters, namely: hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and red cell distribution width (RDW), revealed no significant correlation between RBC and PLT, PCT and HCT or MPV and MCV. However, a highly significant correlation was found between PCT and RDW in all camels (P≤0.005).This is the first report of MPV, PCT, PDW and RWD in dromedaries.Opisani su najčešći trombocitni pokazatelji: broj trombocita (PLT), srednji volumen trombocita (MPV), trombokrit (PCT) i širina krivulje raspodjele po volumenu (PDW), kao i pokazatelji crvenih krvnih stanica u 27 jednogrbih deva oba spola. Prosječne srednje vrijednosti trombocitnih pokazatelja bile su za broj trombocita (PLT) 319,71 ± 38,6×109/L); za srednji volumen trombocita (MPV) 5,51 ± 0,08 fL, trombokrit (PCT) 0,14 ± 0,02% i širinu krivulje raspodjela (PDW) 19,50 ± 0,62%. Značajna korelacija bila je ustanovljena između broja trombocita i trombokrita (P≤0,001) u mužjaka i ženki te općenito u svih pretraženih deva. Također je bila ustanovljena značajna korelacija između srednjega volumena trombocita i širene raspodjele trombocita (P<0,05). Nije ustanovljena korelacija između trombocitnih pokazatelja i pokazatelja crvenih krvnih stanica, tj. usporedbom hematokrita, srednjega volumena crvenih krvnih stanica i raspodjele po volumenu crvenih stanica nije bila ustanovljena značajna korelacija između broja crvenih krvnih stanica te broja trombocita, trombokrita i hematokrita ili srednjega volumena trombocita i srednjega volumena crvenih krvnih stanica. Međutim, značajna korelacija ustanovljena je između trombokrita i krivulje raspodjele po volumenu eritrocita u svih pretraženih deva (P≤0,005). Ovo je prvo izvješće o srednjem volumen trombocita, trombokritu, raspodjeli po volumenu trombocita te raspodjeli po volumenu crvenih krvnih stanica u jednogrbih deva

Genetic diversity of Ardi goat based on microsatellite analysis

The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic variability of Ardi goats found in the central regions of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia using 14 microsatellite markers. Allelic richness was considerably high in this population indicating high genetic polymorphism as expected heterozygozity was 0.675. Furthermore, the population showed deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in seven loci. Mean polymorphic information content value was found to be 0.553. Inbreeding coefficient was 0.183 suggesting moderate level of inbreeding. There was also no-significant heterozygote excess on basis of different models of infinite allele. These tests along with the mode-shift test of Ardi goat indicated no bottleneck recently. Thus, it can be recommended that the Ardi genetic variability should be maintained for its unique genetic resources, and there is a scope for further improvement in productivity through an appropriate management and breeding program. In general, results of this study can be used to establish a base of national conservation strategy of Ardi goat population in Saudi Arabia.Key words: Ardi goat, genetic diversity, microsatellite markers, inbreeding, bottleneck

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever in Saudi Arabia: molecular detection from camel and other domestic livestock

AbstractObjectiveTo detect Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) DNA in clinical specimens from camel, goats, cattle and sheep in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.MethodsA total of 367 clinical samples including blood, milk, faeces and urine were collected from different livestock and subjected to PCR amplification using primers which amplify transposon-like region and transposase gene.ResultsPositive amplification from both regions was obtained from camel, goats and cattle but not from sheep. A percentage of 10.8% samples yielded positive PCR amplification from both blood and milk, where 15 of 139 blood and 16 of 148 milk samples were positive. Faeces and urine showed higher percentages of positive samples reaching 40.8% and 23.8% respectively.ConclusionsThe preferred route of shedding in camel appeared to be the faeces followed by urine, while that of goats appeared to be the faeces and that of the cattle appeared to be the milk