| 1. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Saif-Ul-Allah, Muhammad Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Computationally Inexpensive 1D-CNN for the Prediction of Noisy Data of NOx Emissions From 500 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Energy Research. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 2296-598X. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coal-fired power plants have been used to meet the energy requirements in countries where coal reserves are abundant and are the key source of NOx emissions. Owing to the serious environmental and health concerns associated with NOx emissions, much work has been carried out to reduce NOx emissions. Sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have been employed during the past few decades, such as least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM), artificial neural networks (ANN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit (GRU), to develop the NOx prediction model. Several studies have investigated deep neural networks (DNN) models for accurate NOx emission prediction. However, there is a need to investigate a DNN-based NOx prediction model that is accurate and computationally inexpensive. Recently, a new AI technique, convolutional neural network (CNN), has been introduced and proven superior for image class prediction accuracy. According to the best of the author's knowledge, not much work has been done on the utilization of CNN on NOx emissions from coal-fired power plants. Therefore, this study investigated the prediction performance and computational time of one-dimensional CNN (1D-CNN) on NOx emissions data from a 500 MW coal-fired power plant. The variations of hyperparameters of LSTM, GRU, and 1D-CNN were investigated, and the performance metrics such as RMSE and computational time were recorded to obtain optimal hyperparameters. The obtained optimal values of hyperparameters of LSTM, GRU, and 1D-CNN were then employed for models' development, and consequently, the models were tested on test data. The 1D-CNN NOx emission model improved the training efficiency in terms of RMSE by 70.6% and 60.1% compared to LSTM and GRU, respectively. Furthermore, the testing efficiency for 1D-CNN improved by 10.2% and 15.7% compared to LSTM and GRU, respectively. Moreover, 1D-CNN (26 s) reduced the training time by 83.8% and 50% compared to LSTM (160 s) and GRU (52 s), respectively. Results reveal that 1D-CNN is more accurate, more stable, and computationally inexpensive compared to LSTM and GRU on NOx emission data from the 500 MW power plant.
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| 4. |
- Ahmad, Shafqat, et al.
(författare)
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Physical activity, smoking, and genetic predisposition to obesity in people from Pakistan : the PROMIS study
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Medical Genetics. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2350. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Multiple genetic variants have been reliably associated with obesity-related traits in Europeans, but little is known about their associations and interactions with lifestyle factors in South Asians.Methods: In 16,157 Pakistani adults (8232 controls; 7925 diagnosed with myocardial infarction [MI]) enrolled in the PROMIS Study, we tested whether: a) BMI-associated loci, individually or in aggregate (as a genetic risk score - GRS), are associated with BMI; b) physical activity and smoking modify the association of these loci with BMI. Analyses were adjusted for age, age(2), sex, MI (yes/no), and population substructure.Results: Of 95 SNPs studied here, 73 showed directionally consistent effects on BMI as reported in Europeans. Each additional BMI-raising allele of the GRS was associated with 0.04 (SE = 0.01) kg/m(2) higher BMI (P = 4.5 x 10(-14)). We observed nominal evidence of interactions of CLIP1 rs11583200 (P-interaction = 0.014), CADM2 rs13078960 (P-interaction = 0.037) and GALNT10 rs7715256 (P-interaction = 0.048) with physical activity, and PTBP2 rs11165643 (P-interaction = 0.045), HIP1 rs1167827 (P-interaction = 0.015), C6orf106 rs205262 (P-interaction = 0.032) and GRID1 rs7899106 (P-interaction = 0.043) with smoking on BMI.Conclusions: Most BMI-associated loci have directionally consistent effects on BMI in Pakistanis and Europeans. There were suggestive interactions of established BMI-related SNPs with smoking or physical activity.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Ahmed, Dooraid N., et al.
(författare)
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Waste foundry sand/MgFe-layered double hydroxides composite material for efficient removal of Congo red dye from aqueous solution
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - USA : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 10, s. 1-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We aimed to obtain magnesium/iron (Mg/Fe)-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanoparticles-immobilized on waste foundry sand-a byproduct of the metal casting industry. XRD and FT-IR tests were applied to characterize the prepared sorbent. The results revealed that a new peak reflected LDHs nanoparticles. In addition, SEM-EDS mapping confirmed that the coating process was appropriate. Sorption tests for the interaction of this sorbent with an aqueous solution contaminated with Congo red dye revealed the efficacy of this material where the maximum adsorption capacity reached approximately 9127.08 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models helped to describe the sorption measurements, indicating that the physical and chemical forces governed the removal process.
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| 7. |
- Ahmed, Faisal, et al.
(författare)
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An Evolutionary Belief Rule-Based Clinical Decision Support System to Predict COVID-19 Severity under Uncertainty
- 2021
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Ingår i: Applied Sciences. - Basel, Switzerland : MDPI. - 2076-3417. ; 11:13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accurate and rapid identification of the severe and non-severe COVID-19 patients is necessary for reducing the risk of overloading the hospitals, effective hospital resource utilization, and minimizing the mortality rate in the pandemic. A conjunctive belief rule-based clinical decision support system is proposed in this paper to identify critical and non-critical COVID-19 patients in hospitals using only three blood test markers. The experts’ knowledge of COVID-19 is encoded in the form of belief rules in the proposed method. To fine-tune the initial belief rules provided by COVID-19 experts using the real patient’s data, a modified differential evolution algorithm that can solve the constraint optimization problem of the belief rule base is also proposed in this paper. Several experiments are performed using 485 COVID-19 patients’ data to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system. Experimental result shows that, after optimization, the conjunctive belief rule-based system achieved the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.954, 0.923, and 0.959, respectively, while for disjunctive belief rule base, they are 0.927, 0.769, and 0.948. Moreover, with a 98.85% AUC value, our proposed method shows superior performance than the four traditional machine learning algorithms: LR, SVM, DT, and ANN. All these results validate the effectiveness of our proposed method. The proposed system will help the hospital authorities to identify severe and non-severe COVID-19 patients and adopt optimal treatment plans in pandemic situations.
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| 8. |
- Ahmed, Faisal, et al.
(författare)
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Comparative Performance of Tree Based Machine Learning Classifiers in Product Backorder Prediction
- 2023. - 1
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Ingår i: Intelligent Computing & Optimization. - Cham : Springer. ; , s. 572-584
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early prediction of whether a product will go to backorder or not is necessary for optimal management of inventory that can reduce the losses in sales, establish a good relationship between the supplier and customer and maximize the revenues. In this study, we have investigated the performance and effectiveness of tree based machine learning algorithms to predict the backorder of a product. The research methodology consists of preprocessing of data, feature selection using statistical hypothesis test, imbalanced learning using the random undersampling method and performance evaluating and comparing of four tree based machine learning algorithms including decision tree, random forest, adaptive boosting and gradient boosting in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, f1-score, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the precision and recall curve. Three main findings of this study are (1) random forest model without feature selection and with random undersampling method achieved the highest performance in terms of all performance measure metrics, (2) feature selection cannot contribute to the performance enhancement of the tree based classifiers, and (3) random undersampling method significantly improves performance of tree based classifiers in product backorder prediction.
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| 9. |
- Ahmed, Faisal, et al.
(författare)
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Machine Learning-Based Tomato Leaf Disease Diagnosis Using Radiomics Features
- 2023
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Trends in Computational and Cognitive Engineering - TCCE 2022. - : Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. - 9789811994821 - 9789811994838 ; , s. 25-35
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tomato leaves can be infected with various infectious viruses and fungal diseases that drastically reduce tomato production and incur a great economic loss. Therefore, tomato leaf disease detection and identification are crucial for maintaining the global demand for tomatoes for a large population. This paper proposes a machine learning-based technique to identify diseases on tomato leaves and classify them into three diseases (Septoria, Yellow Curl Leaf, and Late Blight) and one healthy class. The proposed method extracts radiomics-based features from tomato leaf images and identifies the disease with a gradient boosting classifier. The dataset used in this study consists of 4000 tomato leaf disease images collected from the Plant Village dataset. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of our proposed method for tomato leaf disease detection and classification.
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| 10. |
- Ahmed, Mohammad Faisal, et al.
(författare)
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Joint Transmit and Reflective Beamformer Design for Secure Estimation in IRS-Aided WSNs
- 2022
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Ingår i: IEEE Signal Processing Letters. - Piscataway, NJ, United States : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 1070-9908 .- 1558-2361. ; 29, s. 692-696
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to eavesdropping as the sensor nodes (SNs) communicate over an open radio channel. Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) technology can be leveraged for physical layer security in WSNs. In this paper, we propose a joint transmit and reflective beamformer (JTRB) design for secure parameter estimation at the fusion center (FC) in the presence of an eavesdropper (ED) in a WSN. We develop a semidefinite relaxation (SDR)-based iterative algorithm, which alternately yields the transmit beamformer at each SN and the corresponding reflection phases at the IRS, to achieve the minimum mean-squared error (MSE) parameter estimate at the FC, subject to transmit power and ED signal-to-noise ratio constraints. Our simulation results demonstrate robust MSE and security performance of the proposed IRS-based JTRB technique.
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| 11. |
- Ahmed, Mohammad Faisal, et al.
(författare)
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Privacy-Preserving Distributed Beamformer Design Techniques for Correlated Parameter Estimation
- 2023
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Ingår i: IEEE Sensors Journal. - : IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC. - 1530-437X .- 1558-1748. ; 23:21, s. 26728-26739
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Privacy-preserving distributed beamforming designs are conceived for temporally correlated vector parameter estimation in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based wireless sensor network (WSN). The temporal correlation inherent in the parameter vector is exploited by the rate distortion theory-based bit allocation framework used for the optimal quantization of the sensor measurements. The proposed distributed beamforming designs are derived via fusion of the dual consensus alternating direction method of multiplier (DC-ADMM) technique with a pertinent privacy-preserving framework. This makes it possible for each sensor node (SN) to design its transmit precoders in a distributed fashion, which minimizes the susceptibility of vital information to malicious eavesdropper (Ev) nodes, while simultaneously avoiding the significant communication overhead required by a centralized approach for the transmission of the state information to the fusion center (FC). The Bayesian Cramer-Rao bound (BCRB) is derived for benchmarking the estimation performance of the proposed transmit beamformer and receiver combiner designs, while our simulation results illustrate the performance and explicitly demonstrate the trade-off between the privacy and estimation performance.
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| 12. |
- Ahmed, Sheik, et al.
(författare)
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Thalassemia Patients from Baluchistan in Pakistan Are Infected with Multiple Hepatitis B or C Virus Strains
- 2021
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Ingår i: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - : American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - 0002-9637 .- 1476-1645. ; 104:4, s. 1569-1576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are an estimated 2,000 children with 6-thalassemia in the province Baluchistan of Pakistan. These children are at high risk of acquiring transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) due to their need of regular blood transfusions for survival. Therefore, we investigated the frequencies of TTIs among these multi-transfused patients in a region where the WHO guidelines for blood safety are not always followed. Sera from 400 children (mean age 7.7 +/- 4.70 years) treated at two thalassemia centers in Baluchistan were investigated for TTIs. Eleven (2.8%) were hepatitis B surface antigen positive, and 72 (18.3%) had anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV), two of which were infected with both viruses. Only 22% of the children had been reached by the program for universal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination which started in 2004. Half (51%) of the HCV infected had also been HBV infected. The HBV- and HCV-infected patients were older and had received more blood transfusions than the uninfected patients (P < 0.001). Molecular characterization of the viral strains revealed the presence of several genetically different strains in at least three HBV- and seven HCV-infected children. This is the first study to demonstrate infections with multiple HBV or HCV strains simultaneously infecting thalassemia patients. These may become the source for new emerging recombinant viruses of unknown virulence. The high prevalence of anti-HCV-positive children, and the presence of HBV infections among children who should have been vaccinated, highlights an urgent need for improvements of blood safety in this region of Pakistan.
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| 13. |
- Bang, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Identification and management of poor response to growth-promoting therapy in children with short stature
- 2012
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Ingår i: Clinical Endocrinology. - : Blackwell Publishing / Society for Endocrinology. - 0300-0664 .- 1365-2265. ; 77:2, s. 169-181
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Growth hormone (GH) is widely prescribed for children with short stature across a range of growth disorders. Recombinant human (rh) insulin-like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1) therapy is approved for severe primary IGF-I deficiency a state of severe GH resistance. Evidence is increasing for an unacceptably high rate of poor or unsatisfactory response to growth-promoting therapy (i.e. not leading to significant catch up growth) in terms of change in height standard deviation score (SDS) and height velocity (HV) in many approved indications. Consequently, there is a need to define poor response and to prevent or correct it by optimizing treatment regimens within accepted guidelines. Recognition of a poor response is an indication for action by the treating physician, either to modify the therapy or to review the primary diagnosis leading either to discontinuation or change of therapy. This review discusses the optimal investigation of the child who is a candidate for GH or IGF-1 therapy so that a diagnosis-based choice of therapy and dosage can be made. The relevant parameters in the evaluation of growth response are described together with the definitions of poor response. Prevention of poor response is addressed by discussion of strategy for first-year management with GH and IGF-1. Adherence to therapy is reviewed as is the recommended action following the identification of the poorly responding patient. The awareness, recognition and management of poor response to growth-promoting therapy will lead to better patient care, greater cost-effectiveness and increased opportunities for clinical benefit.
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| 14. |
- El Zaher, Haidi Abd, et al.
(författare)
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Role of the triad of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and white blood cell count in the prediction of anastomotic leak following colorectal resections
- 2022
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Ingår i: World Journal of Surgical Oncology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1477-7819. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program expedites patient recovery after major surgery. This study aimed to investigate the role of the triad of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cells (WBC) trajectories as a predictive biomarker for the anastomotic leak (AL) after colorectal surgery. Method: Patients who had colorectal anastomosis were prospectively included. Postoperative clinical and laboratory parameters and outcomes were collected and analyzed. The 5-day trajectories of PCT, CRP, and WBC were evaluated. Based on the trajectory of the three biomarkers, we compared patients with and without AL as detected during the first 30 days after surgery using the area under receiver operator characteristic curves (AUC) for logistic estimation. Results: This study included 205 patients, of whom 56% were men and 43.9% were women with a mean age of 56.4 ± 13.1 years. Twenty-two patients (10.7%) had AL; 77.3% underwent surgery, and 22.7% were treated with drainage and antibiotics. Procalcitonin was the best predictor for AL compared to CRP and WBC at three days postoperatively (AUC: 0.84, 0.76, 0.66, respectively). On day 5, a cutoff value of 4.93 ng/mL for PCT had the highest sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value. The predictive power of PCT was substantially improved when combined with either CRP or WBC, or both (AUC: 0.92, 0.92, 0.93, respectively). Conclusion: The 5-day trajectories of combined CRP, PCT, and WBC had a better predictive power for AL than the isolated daily measurements. Combining the three parameters may be a reliable predictor of early patient discharge, which would be highly beneficial to ERAS programs.
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| 15. |
- Elewa, Ahmed M., et al.
(författare)
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Comparison between erector spinae plane block and paravertebral block regarding postoperative analgesic consumption following breast surgery : a randomized controlled study
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMC Anesthesiology. - : BMC. - 1471-2253 .- 1471-2253. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Pain control following breast surgery is of utmost importance in order to reduce the chance of chronic pain development, and facilitate early rehabilitation. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a recently developed regional anaesthesia procedure successfully used for different types of surgical procedures including thoracic and abdominal surgeries. Methods: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 90 patients who were scheduled for modified radical mastectomy (MRM). Patients were randomly categorized into groups I (women who underwent ESPB), II (women who underwent paravertebral block (PVB), and III (women who underwent general anaesthesia). Results: The ESPB (4.9 +/- 1.2 mg) and PVB (5.8 +/- 1.3 mg) groups had significantly lower total morphine consumption than the control group had (16.4 +/- 3.1 mg; p < 0.001). Notably, patients in the ESPB group had insignificantly lower morphine consumption than those in the PVB group had (p= 0.076). Moreover, patients in the ESPB and PVB groups had a significantly longer time to first required anaesthesia than those in the control group (7.9 +/- 1.2 versus 7.5 +/- 0.9 versus 2 +/- 1.2 h, respectively; p<0.001).The postoperative visual analog scale scores were lower in the ESPB and PVB groups than in the control group on the first 24 h after the procedure (p< 0.001). Conclusion: ESPB and PVB provide effective postoperative analgesia for women undergoing MRM. The ESPB appears to be as effective as the PVB.
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| 16. |
- Elewa, Ahmed M., et al.
(författare)
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Erector spinae plane block versus paravertebral block in analgesic outcomes following breast surgery
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMC Anesthesiology. - : BMC. - 1471-2253. ; 23:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This article represents the response to the inquiries adopted by Dr. Raghuraman M Sethuraman, M.D., regarding our recently published study which compared the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) versus paravertebral block (PVB) regarding postoperative analgesic consumption following breast surgeries (Elewa et al, BMC Anesthesiol 22: 1-9, 2022). We would like to introduce our appreciation and gratitude to the author for his interest in our work, despite being inaccurate in some of his comments.
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| 17. |
- Faisal, Nadimul Haque, et al.
(författare)
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Application of Thermal Spray Coatings in Electrolysers for Hydrogen Production : Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities
- 2022
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Ingår i: ChemNanoMat. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 2199-692X. ; 8:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thermal spray coatings have the advantage of providing thick and functional coatings from a range of engineering materials. The associated coating processes provide good control of coating thickness, morphology, microstructure, pore size and porosity, and residual strain in the coatings through selection of suitable process parameters for any coating material of interest. This review consolidates scarce literature on thermally sprayed components which are critical and vital constituents (e. g., catalysts (anode/cathode), solid electrolyte, and transport layer, including corrosion-prone parts such as bipolar plates) of the water splitting electrolysis process for hydrogen production. The research shows that there is a gap in thermally sprayed feedstock material selection strategy as well as in addressing modelling needs that can be crucial to advancing applications exploiting their catalytic and corrosion-resistant properties to split water for hydrogen production. Due to readily scalable production enabled by thermal spray techniques, this manufacturing route bears potential to dominate the sustainable electrolyser technologies in the future. While the well-established thermal spray coating variants may have certain limitations in the manner they are currently practiced, deployment of both conventional and novel thermal spray approaches (suspension, solution, hybrid) is clearly promising for targeted development of electrolysers.
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| 18. |
- Faisal, Nadimul Haque, et al.
(författare)
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Thermal Spray Coatings for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption and Interference Shielding : A Review and Future Challenges
- 2022
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Ingår i: Advanced Engineering Materials. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1438-1656 .- 1527-2648.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This review aims to consolidate scattered literature on thermally sprayed coatings with nonionizing electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption and shielding over specific wavelengths potentially useful in diverse applications (e.g., microwave to millimeter wave, solar selective, photocatalytic, interference shielding, thermal barrier-heat/emissivity). Materials EM properties such as electric permittivity, magnetic permeability, electrical conductivity, and dielectric loss are critical due to which a material can respond to absorbed, reflected, transmitted, or may excite surface electromagnetic waves at frequencies typical of electromagnetic radiations. Thermal spraying is a standard industrial practice used for depositing coatings where the sprayed layer is formed by successive impact of fully or partially molten droplets/particles of a material exposed to high or moderate temperatures and velocities. However, as an emerging novel application of an existing thermal spray techniques, some special considerations are warranted for targeted development involving relevant characterization. Key potential research areas of development relating to material selection and coating fabrication strategies and their impact on existing practices in the field are identified. The study shows a research gap in the feedstock materials design and doping, and their complex selection covered by thermally sprayed coatings that can be critical to advancing applications exploiting their electromagnetic properties.
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| 19. |
- Gaballa, Ahmed, et al.
(författare)
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Revisiting the Role of gamma delta T Cells in Anti-CMV Immune Response after Transplantation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Viruses. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4915. ; 13:6, s. 1031-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gamma delta (gamma delta) T cells form an unconventional subset of T lymphocytes that express a T cell receptor (TCR) consisting of gamma and delta chains. Unlike conventional alpha beta T cells, gamma delta T cells share the immune signature of both the innate and the adaptive immunity. These features allow gamma delta T cells to act in front-line defense against infections and tumors, rendering them an attractive target for immunotherapy. The role of gamma delta T cells in the immune response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been the focus of intense research for several years, particularly in the context of transplantation, as CMV reactivation remains a major cause of transplant-related morbidity and mortality. Therefore, a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie CMV immune responses could enable the design of novel gamma delta T cell-based therapeutic approaches. In this regard, the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and single-cell TCR sequencing have allowed in-depth characterization of CMV-induced TCR repertoire changes. In this review, we try to shed light on recent findings addressing the adaptive role of gamma delta T cells in CMV immunosurveillance and revisit CMV-induced TCR reshaping in the era of NGS. Finally, we will demonstrate the favorable and unfavorable effects of CMV reactive gamma delta T cells post-transplantation.
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| 20. |
- Ghareeb, Waleed M., et al.
(författare)
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Deep Neural Network for the Prediction of KRAS Genotype in Rectal Cancer
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of the American College of Surgeons. - 1879-1190. ; 235:3, s. 482-493
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: KRAS mutation can alter the treatment plan after resection of colorectal cancer. Despite its importance, the KRAS status of several patients remains unchecked because of the high cost and limited resources. This study developed a deep neural network (DNN) to predict the KRAS genotype using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained histopathological images. STUDY DESIGN: Three DNNs were created (KRAS_Mob, KRAS_Shuff, and KRAS_Ince) using the structural backbone of the MobileNet, ShuffleNet, and Inception networks, respectively. The Cancer Genome Atlas was screened to extract 49,684 image tiles that were used for deep learning and internal validation. An independent cohort of 43,032 image tiles was used for external validation. The performance was compared with humans, and a virtual cost-saving analysis was done. RESULTS: The KRAS_Mob network (area under the receiver operating curve [AUC] 0.8, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.89) was the best-performing model for predicting the KRAS genotype, followed by the KRAS_Shuff (AUC 0.73, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.84) and KRAS_Ince (AUC 0.71, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.82) networks. Combing the KRAS_Mob and KRAS_Shuff networks as a double prediction approach showed improved performance. KRAS_Mob network accuracy surpassed that of two independent pathologists (AUC 0.79 [95% CI 0.64 to 0.93], 0.51 [95% CI 0.34 to 0.69], and 0.51 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.69]; p < 0.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSION: The DNN has the potential to predict the KRAS genotype directly from H&E-stained histopathological slide images. As an algorithmic screening method to prioritize patients for laboratory confirmation, such a model might possibly reduce the number of patients screened, resulting in significant test-related time and economic savings.
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| 21. |
- Hossain, Mohammad Shahadat, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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A Belief Rule Based Expert System to Assess Tuberculosis under Uncertainty
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of medical systems. - : Springer. - 0148-5598 .- 1573-689X. ; 41:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The primary diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB) is usually carried out by looking at the various signs and symptoms of a patient. However, these signs and symptoms cannot be measured with 100\% certainty since they are associated with various types of uncertainties such as vagueness, imprecision, randomness, ignorance and incompleteness. Consequently, traditional primary diagnosis, based on these signs and symptoms, which is carried out by the physicians, cannot deliver reliable results. Therefore, this article presents the design, development and applications of a Belief Rule Based Expert System (BRBES) with the ability to handle various types of uncertainties to diagnose TB. The knowledge base of this system is constructed by taking experts' suggestions and by analyzing historical data of TB patients. The experiments, carried out, by taking the data of 100 patients demonstrate that the BRBES's generated results are more reliable than that of human expert as well as fuzzy rule based expert system.
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| 22. |
- Iddris, Faisal, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Examining the Research Paradigms of Business Education Lecturers in Ghanaian Public Universities
- 2018
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Ingår i: The Ghana Journal of Higher Education. - Accra : National Council for Tertiary Education. - 2343-6948. ; 4, s. 38-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Public universities in Ghana are increasingly being urged annually by the National Council for Tertiary Education – a regulatory agency in Ghana – to publish their research outputs for national development. This paper examines research outputs from four public universities in Ghana that offer business programmes –Business, Management, and Accounting. The study sought to find out the number of publications made by lecturers in four universities from 1961 to 2017 and the types of method mostly used by business lecturers to conduct research. Scopus Electronic Database was used to extract business articles published in four universities from 1961 to 2017. A total of 7,195 publications from four selected universities (University of Ghana (UG), University of Cape Coast (UCC), University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)) were generated. Systematic literature review was used for the study. Business education lecturers from of Cape Coast had the highest number of articles (100) in the Scopus database. Conversely, University of Education, Winneba had the lowest number of articles (16). It was realized that most business lecturers (71%) in the four universities preferred Quantitative research methodology. The paper urges policy makers in Ghanaian public universities to put equal premium on quantitative, qualitative and case study driven research, as a way of generating novelty in research findings.
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| 23. |
- Iddris, Faisal, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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The Perception of Ghanaian Students on Teaching and Learning at The College of Technology Education, University of Education Winneba
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Educational Leadership (IJEL). - Winneba : University of Education, Winneba. - 2472-744X. ; 6:1, s. 163-171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of students on approaches to teaching, and how this is influenced by different dimensions of teaching and learning environments. A quantitative research approach was employed in this study. The questionnaire instruments were modelled on the revised version of the Enhanced Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) developed in United Kingdom. The data was gathered for the first time from 245 Organisational Behaviour students of the Kumasi Campus of University of Education, Winneba in May, 2015. Analysis of the data was done by using Maximum likelihood varimax rotation in factor analysis. The results indicate that approaches to learning may be represented by deep approach, surface. approach, feedback, assessment and support from students and staff. The findings of this study corroborate the applicability of the Enhanced Teaching and Learning (ETL) instruments in Ghana and has set the stage for further research in the area.
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| 24. |
- Kodra, Yllka, et al.
(författare)
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Recommendations for Improving the Quality of Rare Disease Registries
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 15:8
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rare diseases (RD) patient registries are powerful instruments that help develop clinical research, facilitate the planning of appropriate clinical trials, improve patient care, and support healthcare management. They constitute a key information system that supports the activities of European Reference Networks (ERNs) on rare diseases. A rapid proliferation of RD registries has occurred during the last years and there is a need to develop guidance for the minimum requirements, recommendations and standards necessary to maintain a high-quality registry. In response to these heterogeneities, in the framework of RD-Connect, a European platform connecting databases, registries, biobanks and clinical bioinformatics for rare disease research, we report on a list of recommendations, developed by a group of experts, including members of patient organizations, to be used as a framework for improving the quality of RD registries. This list includes aspects of governance, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data and information, infrastructure, documentation, training, and quality audit. The list is intended to be used by established as well as new RD registries. Further work includes the development of a toolkit to enable continuous assessment and improvement of their organizational and data quality.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Pajecki, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Estimating passenger car equivalent of heavy vehicles at roundabout entry using micro-traffic simulation
- 2019
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Built Environment. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-3362. ; 5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) is a unit used to represent the impact of a large vehicle on a road by expressing it as the number of equivalent passenger vehicles. This paper focuses on estimating the PCE of various sized heavy vehicles in roundabouts with respect to different entry flow rates. A single-lane roundabout was tested under predefined mixed traffic and demand scenarios in VISSIM micro-simulation environments. The individual and group behavior of four separate heavy-vehicle types were tested: single-unit trucks, buses, small semitrailers, and large semitrailers. The obtained PCE values were found to be on average lower than those suggested in the United States guidelines for roundabouts. The estimated PCE values for heavy vehicles in mixed traffic conditions are 1.30 for single unit trucks, 1.40 for small semitrailers, 1.60 for buses, and 1.70 for large semitrailers. Additional factors such as varying inflow (balanced, unbalanced, and congested traffic) show direct influences on the PCE values. The PCE value under these conditions ranged from 1.25 to 1.75 for smaller vehicles (single-unit trucks, buses, and small semitrailers) and 1.45–2.10 for larger heavy vehicles (large semitrailers). A general equation was developed based on the data to relate vehicle proportions and heavy-vehicle reduction factors that would be useful for professionals to analyze the operational performance of roundabouts with better accuracy.
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| 27. |
- Rajput, Kunwar Pritiraj, et al.
(författare)
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Robust Decentralized and Distributed Estimation of a Correlated Parameter Vector in MIMO-OFDM Wireless Sensor Networks
- 2021
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Communications. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 0090-6778 .- 1558-0857. ; 69:10, s. 6894-6908
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An optimal precoder design is conceived for the decentralized estimation of an unknown spatially as well as temporally correlated parameter vector in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based wireless sensor network (WSN). Furthermore, exploiting the temporal correlation present in the parameter vector, a rate-distortion theory based framework is developed for the optimal quantization of the sensor observations so that the resultant distortion is minimized for a given bit-budget. Subsequently, optimal precoders are also developed that minimize the sum-MSE (SMSE) for the scenario of transmitting quantized observations. In order to reduce the computational complexity of the decentralized framework, distributed precoder design algorithms are also developed which design precoders using the consensus based alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), wherein each SN determines its precoders without any central coordination by the fusion center. Finally, new robust MIMO precoder designs are proposed for practical scenarios operating in the face of channel state information (CSI) uncertainty. Our simulation results demonstrate the improved performance of the proposed schemes and corroborate our analytical formulations.
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| 28. |
- Rajput, Kunwar Pritiraj, et al.
(författare)
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Robust Finite-Resolution Transceivers for Decentralized Estimation in Energy-Harvesting-Aided IoT Networks
- 2023
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Ingår i: IEEE Sensors Journal. - : IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC. - 1530-437X .- 1558-1748. ; 23:22, s. 28191-28204
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article develops novel approaches for designing robust transceivers and energy covariance in an IoT network (IoTNe) powered by energy harvesting (EH). Our goal is to minimize the mean square error (mse) at the fusion center (FC) while considering the uncertainty of channel state information (CSI). The proposed designs incorporate both Gaussian and bounded CSI uncertainty models to model the uncertainty in CSI. Furthermore, two different optimal bit allocation schemes have been proposed for quantizing the measurements from each sensor node (SeN). However, solving the resulting mse optimization problems with constraints on individual SeN power and total bit rate proves to be challenging due to their nonconvex nature under both CSI uncertainty models. To address this challenge, we develop a block coordinate descent (BCD)-based iterative framework. This framework leverages the block convexity of the optimization objective and provides efficient solutions for both uncertainty paradigms considered. By making use of this analytical tractability, we obtain improved performance compared with the uncertainty-agnostic scheme that disregards CSI uncertainty. We validate our approach through numerical simulations, which not only support our analytical findings but also demonstrate the superior performance achieved with our method that accounts for CSI uncertainty.
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| 29. |
- Rasheed, Safia, et al.
(författare)
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Isatin-3-thiosemicarbazone as Chromogenic Sensor for the Selective Detection of Fluoride Anion
- 2020
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Ingår i: Heterocyclic Communications. - Germany : Walter de Gruyter. - 0793-0283 .- 2191-0197. ; 26:1, s. 123-129
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we describe the anion recognition ability of isatin-3-thiosemicarbazone 2, which contains two different anion recognition units i.e. isatin NH and the thiourea moiety. Both have the ability to act as proton donors. Most importantly, a significant colour change of 2 was observed (from light yellow to reddish orange) in organic medium only after the addition of the F– anion. No such colour change could be observed for any other anions including Cl–, Br–, I–, H2PO4−,NO2−,PF4−etc. The UV-Vis spectroscopic studies also indicate the potential of this compound for selective detection of fluoride anions. 1H-NMR titrations clearly indicate the formation of the 2.F– anionic complex. The Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations are also performed to get further insights on the formation of 2.F– complex.
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| 30. |
- Sid Ahmed, Mazen A., et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and microbiological and genetic characteristics of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa over three years in Qatar
- 2022
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Ingår i: Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE. - : Norsk förening for epidemiologi. - 2732-494X .- 2732-494X. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global priority with significant clinical and economic consequences. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the major pathogens associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In healthcare settings, the evaluation of prevalence, microbiological characteristics, as well as mechanisms of resistance is of paramount importance to overcome associated challenges.METHODS: Consecutive clinical specimens of P. aeruginosa were collected prospectively from 5 acute-care and specialized hospitals between October 2014 and September 2017, including microbiological, clinical characteristics and outcomes. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test were performed using the BD Phoenix identification and susceptibility testing system, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test strips. Overall, 78 selected MDR P. aeruginosa isolates were processed for whole-genome sequencing (WGS).RESULTS: The overall prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa isolates was 5.9% (525 of 8,892) and showed a decreasing trend; 95% of cases were hospital acquired and 44.8% were from respiratory samples. MDR P. aeruginosa demonstrated >86% resistance to cefepime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam but 97.5% susceptibility to colistin. WGS revealed 29 different sequence types: 20.5% ST235, 10.3% ST357, 7.7% ST389, and 7.7% ST1284. ST233 was associated with bloodstream infections and increased 30-day mortality. All ST389 isolates were obtained from patients with cystic fibrosis. Encoded exotoxin genes were detected in 96.2% of isolates.CONCLUSIONS: MDR P. aeruginosa isolated from clinical specimens from Qatar has significant resistance to most agents, with a decreasing trend that should be explored further. Genomic analysis revealed the dominance of 5 main clonal clusters associated with mortality and bloodstream infections. Microbiological and genomic monitoring of MDR P. aeruginosa has enhanced our understanding of AMR in Qatar.
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| 31. |
- Sid Ahmed, Mazen, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Association of blaVIM-2, blaPDC-35, blaOXA-10, blaOXA-488 and blaVEB-9 β-Lactamase Genes with Resistance to Ceftazidime-Avibactam and Ceftolozane-Tazobactam in Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- 2022
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Ingår i: Antibiotics. - : MDPI. - 2079-6382. ; 11:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam are approved for the treatment of complicated Gram-negative bacterial infections including multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Resistance to both agents has been reported, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully explored. This study aimed to correlate β-lactamases with phenotypic resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam and/or ceftolozane-tazobactam in MDR-P. aeruginosa from Qatar. A total of 525 MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from clinical specimens between 2014 and 2017. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility were performed by the BD PhoenixTM system and gradient MIC test strips. Of the 75 sequenced MDR isolates, 35 (47%) were considered as having difficult-to-treat resistance, and 42 were resistant to ceftazidime-avibactam (37, 49.3%), and/or ceftolozane-tazobactam (40, 53.3%). They belonged to 12 sequence types, with ST235 being predominant (38%). Most isolates (97.6%) carried one or more β-lactamase genes, with blaOXA-488 (19%) and blaVEB-9 (45.2%) being predominant. A strong association was detected between class B β-lactamase genes and both ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam resistance, while class A genes were associated with ceftolozane-tazobactam resistance. Co-resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam correlated with the presence of blaVEB-9, blaPDC-35, blaVIM-2, blaOXA-10 and blaOXA-488. MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates resistant to both combination drugs were associated with class B β-lactamases (blaVIM-2) and class D β-lactamases (blaOXA-10), while ceftolozane-tazobactam resistance was associated with class A (blaVEB-9), class C (blaVPDC-35), and class D β-lactamases (blaOXA-488).
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| 32. |
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| 33. |
- Sid Ahmed, Mazen, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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β-lactamase-mediated resistance in MDR-Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Qatar
- 2020
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Ingår i: Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2047-2994. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The distribution of β-lactam resistance genes in P. aeruginosa is often closely related to the distribution of certain high-risk international clones. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to identify the predominant sequence types (ST) and β-lactamase genes in clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant (MDR)-P. aeruginosa from Qatar METHODS: Microbiological identification and susceptibility tests were performed by automated BD Phoenix™ system and manual Liofilchem MIC Test Strips.RESULTS: Among 75 MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates; the largest proportions of susceptibility were to ceftazidime-avibactam (n = 36, 48%), followed by ceftolozane-tazobactam (30, 40%), ceftazidime (n = 21, 28%) and aztreonam (n = 16, 21.3%). All isolates possessed Class C and/or Class D β-lactamases (n = 72, 96% each), while metallo-β-lactamases were detected in 20 (26.7%) isolates. Eight (40%) metallo-β-lactamase producers were susceptible to aztreonam and did not produce any concomitant extended-spectrum β-lactamases. High risk ST235 (n = 16, 21.3%), ST357 (n = 8, 10.7%), ST389 and ST1284 (6, 8% each) were most frequent. Nearly all ST235 isolates (15/16; 93.8%) were resistant to all tested β-lactams.CONCLUSION: MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates from Qatar are highly resistant to antipseudomonal β-lactams. High-risk STs are predominant in Qatar and their associated MDR phenotypes are a cause for considerable concern.
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| 34. |
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| 35. |
- Ullah, Junaid, et al.
(författare)
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Pericardial fluid proteomic label-free quantification of differentially expressed proteins in ischemic heart disease patients with systolic dysfunction by nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: RSC Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2046-2069. ; 11:1, s. 320-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) is common in patients with pre-existing ischemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction. An untargeted proteomic approach is used to improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with LVSD and to find out potential proteomic signatures in pericardial fluid. The pericardial fluid of IHD (n = 45) patients was grouped into two categories according to the left ventricular ejection fraction, LVEF ≥45 (n = 33) and LVEF <45 (n = 12), and analyzed by using nano-liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (nano-LC-MS/MS) technique. The nano-LC-MS/MS analysis resulted in the identification of 709 pericardial fluid (PF) proteins in both normal and impaired systolic functional groups (LVEF ≥45 vs. LVEF <45). Sixteen proteins were found to be differentially expressed (p < 0.05, fold change >2) including 12 down-regulated and 4 up-regulated in the impaired systolic functional group (LVEF <45) compared to the normal group (LVEF ≥45). Among the differentially expressed proteins the inflammatory marker albumin, atherosclerosis marker apolipoprotein A-IV and hedgehog-interacting protein marker of angiogenesis were predominantly associated with the impaired LVEF <45 group. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is up-regulated in LVSD reflecting the underlying molecular and pathophysiological processes.
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| 36. |
- Younas, Umer, et al.
(författare)
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Antioxidant and Organic Dye Removal Potential of Cu-Ni Bimetallic Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Gazania rigens Extract
- 2021
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Ingår i: Water. - : MDPI. - 2073-4441. ; 13:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Copper-nickel bimetallic nanoparticles (Cu-Ni BNPs) were fabricated using an eco-friendly green method of synthesis. An extract of synthesized Gazania rigens was used for the synthesis of BNPs followed by characterization employing different techniques including UV/Vis spectrophotometer, FTIR, XRD, and SEM. Spectrophotometric studies (UV-Vis and FTIR) confirmed the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles. The SEM studies indicated that the particle size ranged from 50 to 100 nm. Analysis of the BNPs by the XRD technique confirmed the presence of both Cu and Ni crystal structure. The synthesized nanoparticles were then tested for their catalytic potential for photoreduction of methylene blue dye in an aqueous medium and DPPH radical scavenging in a methanol medium. The BNPs were found to be efficient in the reduction of methylene blue dye as well as the scavenging of DPPH free radicals such that the MB dye was completely degraded in just 17 min at the maximum absorption of 660 nm. Therefore, it is concluded that Cu-Ni BNPs can be successfully synthesized using Gazania rigens extract with suitable size and potent catalytic and radical scavenging activities.
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