Abstract: This study explored students’ preferences based on their learning styles regarding instructional formats. Thirty eight students enrolled in a blended graduate course offered in the United Arab Emirates participated. The researchers created different instructional formats to provide students with opportunities to choose their preferred formats. Data collection included a questionnaire and statistics generated by the learning management system. The data collected revealed some inconsistencies between the students’ stated preferences and the ways in which they accessed some of the material. It appears that the students’ preferred learning styles match the formats they used. When students accessed assignment guidelines online their choice of text and an alternative format was almost the same. This study furthers the discussions on student preferences regarding instructional formats and their learning style, especially in the Gulf region where few studies of this nature have been conducted.

Abstract: The library is indispensable in both formal & informal ways of knowledge seeking. This paper explored what a library is and its role in education and human development in general. It investigates the availability of library, staff and information resource in various organizations and institutions in Bauchi State. The paper went further to investigate the status of these libraries. The study revealed that 90% percent of organizations in Bauchi State do not have library talk less of staff and other information resources. Similarly, 85% of local government areas of Bauchi State have no library also. Whereas, 75% of the secondary schools do not have functional library, like wise 35% of the higher institutions were operating without information resources in their libraries. The study recommends urgent need for government and other stakeholders to recognize the need for functional library.

Abstract: Polluted water inhabitant fishes accumulate metals in their body tissues;mainly accumulation depends upon different factors, like way of uptake, temperature, time of exposure etc. Different metals show different affinities to fish tissues for accumulation. Liver and kidney have relatively high metal accumulation as compare to muscles.The present study was carried out to determine the bioaccumulation of heavy metals into different organs of fish collected from four sampling stations of river Jhelum. Three metals Cu, Pb and Mn were examined by using Shimadzu AA 6200 atomic absorption spectrophotometry and the results were as ug/g dry wt. Seasonal variations regarding metal accumulation in kidney, liver and muscles of edible fishes from river Jhelum was also observed. We observed that seasonal variations affect the bioaccumulation of metals in body tissues. Cu, Pb and Mn were higher in summer season as compared to winter season in kidney of fishes. But in the case of liver concentration had opposite affects and had highest concentrations of these metals during winter. While in muscles Cu was significantly (P<0.01) higher in summer,Pb was non significantly higher in summer and Mn was non significantly higher in winter in the case of muscles.

Abstract: Sickle cell disease is one of the commonest reasons for hospital admissions in Bahrain and it considered one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality. However, HRQoL in SCD patients is not well studied in this part of the world. SF 36 questionnaire was administered to a total of 1886 participants, through manual and online methods in SMC and health centers outpatient’s clinics, general society, and through SCD society, out of which 168 were excluded. Of the participants, 420 (24.4%) had SCD, 607 (35.3%) had chronic disease and 691 (40.2%) were disease free. SCD respondents scored significantly lower than the other two groups in HRQoL in all domains of SF-36, with the following means in role-physical 34.1 (SD 36.1), role-emotional 40.6 (SD 41.0), and general health 44.7 (SD 17.7) affected mostly P ≤ 0.001.Adults with SCD in Bahrain showed significant impairment in all domains of HRQoL when compared to the general population. We would recommend conducting further researches to evaluate the factors that may influence the HRQoL in SCD patients.