In Quest of Educational Quality in the UAE

Quality assurance started as a corporate-related process in the 1960s but later became a highly sought-after objective in educational and academic contexts. The growing interest in quality assurance has been the result of government and business expectations, as well as competition in the higher education marketplace. One such growing market for quality assurance is the United Arab Emirates, where public formal education has only existed since the 1970s. This chapter focuses on the quest for what can be considered as the Holy Grail within the context of each of the previous chapters in this edited book, namely, quality education. The chapter offers a synopsis of the fast-paced developments and ongoing activities in quality assurance in education in the United Arab Emirates. Federal and emirate-based initiatives will be presented and discussed while reflecting on lessons learned and offering recommendations whenever possible

Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets

In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated