Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0116
Bayan Holozadah, S. Pokharel
This study used method of Time-Driven Activity-Based costing (TDABC) approach to examined cost reduction in healthcare sector, Knee Arthroplasty Department in Al-Emadi Hospital as case-study for delivering a primary knee arthroplasty consultation. The purpose of the study is to propose an optimization model that tends to determine significant and insignificant resources and cost uncertainties in a particular healthcare service. Then compare results of optimization model with current costing methods used in healthcare. Eight-steps of TDABC method are applied to obtain Capacity Cost Rate (CCR) of each human resource involved in care-delivery cycle. Data was collected from interviewing staff and patients, financial reports, and human resource reports. Multiple linear regression (MLR) model is used to test strength of relationship between time and cost variable. Optimization model applied to decrease uncertainties by using Least Square method. Optimized model showed that human resources are not fully utilized which leads to error in costing model. Seven human resources out of eight are significant to model. Accuracy of optimized model is equal to 3%, with RMSE equal to 6. Total cost of the optimized model equal $177,492.45 which is better simulate actual cost $180,048. The research value is about building a new statistical model using MLR analysis to predict behavior and data trend of main healthcare segmentation: Human Resource. Also, propose a generic optimization model that can be used for specific healthcare service costing.
{"title":"A Framework for Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing for Orthopedic Procedure","authors":"Bayan Holozadah, S. Pokharel","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0116","url":null,"abstract":"This study used method of Time-Driven Activity-Based costing (TDABC) approach to examined cost reduction in healthcare sector, Knee Arthroplasty Department in Al-Emadi Hospital as case-study for delivering a primary knee arthroplasty consultation. The purpose of the study is to propose an optimization model that tends to determine significant and insignificant resources and cost uncertainties in a particular healthcare service. Then compare results of optimization model with current costing methods used in healthcare. Eight-steps of TDABC method are applied to obtain Capacity Cost Rate (CCR) of each human resource involved in care-delivery cycle. Data was collected from interviewing staff and patients, financial reports, and human resource reports. Multiple linear regression (MLR) model is used to test strength of relationship between time and cost variable. Optimization model applied to decrease uncertainties by using Least Square method. Optimized model showed that human resources are not fully utilized which leads to error in costing model. Seven human resources out of eight are significant to model. Accuracy of optimized model is equal to 3%, with RMSE equal to 6. Total cost of the optimized model equal $177,492.45 which is better simulate actual cost $180,048. The research value is about building a new statistical model using MLR analysis to predict behavior and data trend of main healthcare segmentation: Human Resource. Also, propose a generic optimization model that can be used for specific healthcare service costing.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77712365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0121
Noora Shams, Hanin N. AlHiraky, Nabila Moulana, Maissa Riahihi, Kaltham Alsowaidi, Khawlah Albukhati, Susu M. Zughair, Nahla O. Eltai
Background: The surge in the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial infections with limited treatment options and the decrease in the development of new antibiotics are challenges that lead to the reuse of colistin to treat infections caused by MDR pathogens. This study aimed to determine economical, simple, and reliable colistin susceptibility testing methods as an alternative to the time and effort-consuming microdilution technique and identify the colistin resistance's genetic determinants to find if it affects the testing method. Material and Methods: Seven colistin susceptibility testing methods, namely, Disk diffusion, E-test, ComASPTM SensiTest, broth disk elution, colistin agar test, CHROMagarTM COL-APSE, and BD Phoenix ID/AST, were compared to the gold standard broth microdilution. Data of the 63 studied isolates were analyzed using very major error (VME), major error (ME), categorical agreement (CA), sensitivity, specificity, Kappa, positive and negative predictive values. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on all isolates to determine if the genetic resistant factors affect the accuracy of the specific colistin susceptibility testing method. Results: Our results revealed that disk diffusion is still an ineffective method for measuring colistin susceptibility with the highest ME (31.75%), the lowest Kappa 0 (0%), and CA (68.25%) values. In contrast, the highest sensitivity, specificity, CA, kappa value, positive and negative predictive values were reported on Phoenix, ComASPTM sensitest, and E-test methods compared with the microbroth dilution reference method. Our study did not ensure any relation between the type of colistin resistance genetic determinant (chromosomal/plasmid-mediated) and the performance of the specific colistin susceptibility test Conclusions: Phoenix, E-test, and CompASPT SensiTest methods have remained superior in reproducibility, sturdiness, simplicity of use with a performance similar to the current recommended BMD procedure. These methods can be an alternative to the current laborious, impractical broth microdilution technique, especially in microbiology laboratories with a large workload.
{"title":"Comparison of Available Methods for Investigating The in vitro Activity of Colistin Against Different Gram-Negative Bacilli","authors":"Noora Shams, Hanin N. AlHiraky, Nabila Moulana, Maissa Riahihi, Kaltham Alsowaidi, Khawlah Albukhati, Susu M. Zughair, Nahla O. Eltai","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0121","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The surge in the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial infections with limited treatment options and the decrease in the development of new antibiotics are challenges that lead to the reuse of colistin to treat infections caused by MDR pathogens. This study aimed to determine economical, simple, and reliable colistin susceptibility testing methods as an alternative to the time and effort-consuming microdilution technique and identify the colistin resistance's genetic determinants to find if it affects the testing method. Material and Methods: Seven colistin susceptibility testing methods, namely, Disk diffusion, E-test, ComASPTM SensiTest, broth disk elution, colistin agar test, CHROMagarTM COL-APSE, and BD Phoenix ID/AST, were compared to the gold standard broth microdilution. Data of the 63 studied isolates were analyzed using very major error (VME), major error (ME), categorical agreement (CA), sensitivity, specificity, Kappa, positive and negative predictive values. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on all isolates to determine if the genetic resistant factors affect the accuracy of the specific colistin susceptibility testing method. Results: Our results revealed that disk diffusion is still an ineffective method for measuring colistin susceptibility with the highest ME (31.75%), the lowest Kappa 0 (0%), and CA (68.25%) values. In contrast, the highest sensitivity, specificity, CA, kappa value, positive and negative predictive values were reported on Phoenix, ComASPTM sensitest, and E-test methods compared with the microbroth dilution reference method. Our study did not ensure any relation between the type of colistin resistance genetic determinant (chromosomal/plasmid-mediated) and the performance of the specific colistin susceptibility test Conclusions: Phoenix, E-test, and CompASPT SensiTest methods have remained superior in reproducibility, sturdiness, simplicity of use with a performance similar to the current recommended BMD procedure. These methods can be an alternative to the current laborious, impractical broth microdilution technique, especially in microbiology laboratories with a large workload.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91121842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0125
Usra Elshaikh, Rayan Sheik, Raghad Saeed, Tawanda Chivese, D. Hassan
Background: Older adults are very unlikely to seek mental health help. There are multiple factors that contribute to a person’s final decision to seek formal help. The aim of this study is to systematically review and summarize quantitative literature on the barriers and facilitators that influence older adult’s mental health help-seeking behaviors. Methods : Four databases including PubMed-Medline, EMBASE, ProQuest central, and Scopus were searched to identify barriers and/or facilitators to mental health help-seeking behaviors. Studies were included if they satisfied the following criteria: Articles that were quantitative studies published during the period between 2015-2021, that address barriers and/or facilitators to mental health help seeking among older adults aged 65 years old or older and examining depression, anxiety, and psychological distress disorders. Help-seeking was defined as receiving a consultation from health professionals such as a general practitioner, clinical psychologist, councilor, or social worker. Study quality and risk of bias was assessed using The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Results: Five cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. These studies were from Australia, United States, and Malaysia, and were carried out during the period 2015-2021. Two studies examined both facilitators and barriers while three studies examined barriers only. Neither of the studies examined facilitators only. The prevalence of seeking mental health help among elderly people ranged between 77% to 82%. Cost, stigma, and beliefs of the effectiveness of mental health counseling, were the most reported key barriers. Main reported facilitators included prior positive experience with mental health services, high level of education, and a high-income level. Conclusion: The findings reported in this systematic review can be used in future research and practical implications to assess the barriers and facilitators among older adults.
{"title":"Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Help-seeking among Older Adults: A Systematic Review","authors":"Usra Elshaikh, Rayan Sheik, Raghad Saeed, Tawanda Chivese, D. Hassan","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0125","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Older adults are very unlikely to seek mental health help. There are multiple factors that contribute to a person’s final decision to seek formal help. The aim of this study is to systematically review and summarize quantitative literature on the barriers and facilitators that influence older adult’s mental health help-seeking behaviors. Methods : Four databases including PubMed-Medline, EMBASE, ProQuest central, and Scopus were searched to identify barriers and/or facilitators to mental health help-seeking behaviors. Studies were included if they satisfied the following criteria: Articles that were quantitative studies published during the period between 2015-2021, that address barriers and/or facilitators to mental health help seeking among older adults aged 65 years old or older and examining depression, anxiety, and psychological distress disorders. Help-seeking was defined as receiving a consultation from health professionals such as a general practitioner, clinical psychologist, councilor, or social worker. Study quality and risk of bias was assessed using The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Results: Five cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. These studies were from Australia, United States, and Malaysia, and were carried out during the period 2015-2021. Two studies examined both facilitators and barriers while three studies examined barriers only. Neither of the studies examined facilitators only. The prevalence of seeking mental health help among elderly people ranged between 77% to 82%. Cost, stigma, and beliefs of the effectiveness of mental health counseling, were the most reported key barriers. Main reported facilitators included prior positive experience with mental health services, high level of education, and a high-income level. Conclusion: The findings reported in this systematic review can be used in future research and practical implications to assess the barriers and facilitators among older adults.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89952934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Urban pollution has different forms; one of them is air pollution by natural sources such as dust storms or by anthropogenic sources such as traffic, whereas both are considered among the most risky environmental problems especially when it reaches soil surface and is transported to plants and enters food chain. The current study aims to evaluate the heavy metals in dust, deposited on the leaves of the Sidr trees by roadsides as a first step in assessing the use of this plant as a bio-monitor of environmental pollution. The Sidr tree was chosen to evaluate the impact of pollution because it is very common in the region and among evergreen trees in the streets, gardens and residential areas of Doha. The study was carried out close to Qatar University campus in Doha city (traffic intersections and near construction activities) as well as from a farm (located far away from traffic) as a control sample. The concentrations of ten traffic-related metals namely iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), and mercury (Hg) were determined in the deposited dust on leaves using ICP-OES. In our preliminary findings, we found that the distribution of trace metals in leaf dust samples from our study is similar to those reported in an earlier study done in southwestern Iran.
{"title":"Preliminary Investigation of Heavy Metals in Deposited Dust on Roadside Sidr Leaves","authors":"Noora Al-Naimi, Hamood Al-Saadi, Ahmed Abou Elezz, Maryam Al-Adba, Hassan Hassan","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0032","url":null,"abstract":"Urban pollution has different forms; one of them is air pollution by natural sources such as dust storms or by anthropogenic sources such as traffic, whereas both are considered among the most risky environmental problems especially when it reaches soil surface and is transported to plants and enters food chain. The current study aims to evaluate the heavy metals in dust, deposited on the leaves of the Sidr trees by roadsides as a first step in assessing the use of this plant as a bio-monitor of environmental pollution. The Sidr tree was chosen to evaluate the impact of pollution because it is very common in the region and among evergreen trees in the streets, gardens and residential areas of Doha. The study was carried out close to Qatar University campus in Doha city (traffic intersections and near construction activities) as well as from a farm (located far away from traffic) as a control sample. The concentrations of ten traffic-related metals namely iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), and mercury (Hg) were determined in the deposited dust on leaves using ICP-OES. In our preliminary findings, we found that the distribution of trace metals in leaf dust samples from our study is similar to those reported in an earlier study done in southwestern Iran.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87371148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0128
Fatimatulzahraa Al-saedi, N. Riyaz, Hagar Morsy, Raghad Abuznad, Alaa Elsafi Ahmed, Aeshah Alruwaili, Muna Ibrahim, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Haseena Onthath, Muni Raj Maurya, K. K. Sadasivuni, P. Kasák
Exhaled breath is the biological medium that carries relevant medical information and can be used to analyse biomarkers characteristic for detecting abnormal health status. Thus, by systematically analysing the interaction mechanism of the coronavirus with the human cell and its effect on the biological activity, it is possible to indentify the compounds whose proportion in the exhale breath is affected. One such biomarkers are hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO), which represents oxidative stress in the body. The present study represents the colorimetry based quantification of H2O2 and NO using KMnO4 and m-cresol purple dye, respectively. The dyes exhibited 0.01 ppm limit of detection (LOD) for H2O2 and LOD of 0.02 ppm was estimated for NO. Moreover, dyes apprehended high degree of selectivity towards other bio-compounds present in the breath. The colorimetry sensor is best suited for quantifying oxidative stress in the body, which is one of the indicator of coronavirus infection. Thus, the sensor offers rapid point-of-detection for predicting COVID-19 infection in human body.
{"title":"Colorimetry-Based Detection of Biomarkers in Exhaled Breath for Predicting COVID-19 Disease","authors":"Fatimatulzahraa Al-saedi, N. Riyaz, Hagar Morsy, Raghad Abuznad, Alaa Elsafi Ahmed, Aeshah Alruwaili, Muna Ibrahim, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Haseena Onthath, Muni Raj Maurya, K. K. Sadasivuni, P. Kasák","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0128","url":null,"abstract":"Exhaled breath is the biological medium that carries relevant medical information and can be used to analyse biomarkers characteristic for detecting abnormal health status. Thus, by systematically analysing the interaction mechanism of the coronavirus with the human cell and its effect on the biological activity, it is possible to indentify the compounds whose proportion in the exhale breath is affected. One such biomarkers are hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO), which represents oxidative stress in the body. The present study represents the colorimetry based quantification of H2O2 and NO using KMnO4 and m-cresol purple dye, respectively. The dyes exhibited 0.01 ppm limit of detection (LOD) for H2O2 and LOD of 0.02 ppm was estimated for NO. Moreover, dyes apprehended high degree of selectivity towards other bio-compounds present in the breath. The colorimetry sensor is best suited for quantifying oxidative stress in the body, which is one of the indicator of coronavirus infection. Thus, the sensor offers rapid point-of-detection for predicting COVID-19 infection in human body.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"99 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87720395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0038
Haw-Lih Su, Rajeesha Rajan, Y. Hijji, Mohammad Ibrahim Ahmad Ibrahim, Mohammed Alsafran
NMR spectroscopy has been the most important tool for organic chemistry research, providing detailed structure information. While 1H and 13C NMR spectra were frequently measured, 15N NMR spectra were relatively rare, even though nitrogen is commonly observed in organic molecules. This is due to the low gyromagnetic ratio and nature abundance. Usually 15N NMR spectra are observed when the sample is in very high concentration or the nitrogen is enriched with 15N isotope. HMBC is one of the 2D NMR techniques, measuring the through-bond correlations inside a molecule. 1H-15N HMBC actually collects a series of measurements of 1H NMR spectra with 15N information. Therefore, HMBC could get stronger signals than 15N signals and provide the opportunity for the indirect measurement of 15N signals.
{"title":"Detecting Organic Nitrogen with 1H-15N HMBC Spectra","authors":"Haw-Lih Su, Rajeesha Rajan, Y. Hijji, Mohammad Ibrahim Ahmad Ibrahim, Mohammed Alsafran","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0038","url":null,"abstract":"NMR spectroscopy has been the most important tool for organic chemistry research, providing detailed structure information. While 1H and 13C NMR spectra were frequently measured, 15N NMR spectra were relatively rare, even though nitrogen is commonly observed in organic molecules. This is due to the low gyromagnetic ratio and nature abundance. Usually 15N NMR spectra are observed when the sample is in very high concentration or the nitrogen is enriched with 15N isotope. HMBC is one of the 2D NMR techniques, measuring the through-bond correlations inside a molecule. 1H-15N HMBC actually collects a series of measurements of 1H NMR spectra with 15N information. Therefore, HMBC could get stronger signals than 15N signals and provide the opportunity for the indirect measurement of 15N signals.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85708707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0100
Ayman Al-Kababji, F. Bensaali, S. Dakua
Introduction: Almost two million people worldwide die annually due to hepatic-related diseases. Half of these diseases are attributed to cirrhosis and the other half are related to hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The liver is also a metastasis hub from adjacent organs. This research aims to create an accurate high-quality delineation of the human liver and prepare them to be 3D printed for medical analysis to help aid medical practitioners in pre-procedural planning. Materials and Methods: Convolutional neural networks (ConvNets) are used to perform the liver tissues delineation. A famous ConvNet, named U-net, is used as the basis benchmark architecture that is also known for its great outcomes in the medical segmentation field. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CT) scans are used from the famous Medical Segmentation Decathlon Challenge (Task 8: Hepatic Vessel), abbreviated as MSDC-T8. It contains 443 CT scans, which is considered the largest dataset that contains both the tumors and vessels ground-truth segmentation. Some researchers also generated the liver masks for this dataset, making it a complete dataset that contains all the relevant tissues’ ground-truth masks. Results: Currently, the liver delineation has been successfully done with very high DICE = 98.12% (higher than the state-of-the-art results DICE = 97.61%), where a comparison between two famous schedulers namely, ReduceLRonPlateau and OneCycleLR has been conducted. Moreover, the 3D liver volume creation has also been completed and built via the marching cube algorithm. Conclusions/Future Directions: The developed ConvNet can segment livers with high confidence. The tumor(s) and vessels tissues segmentation are also under investigation now. Moreover, newly devised self-organized neural networks (Self-ONN) look promising and will be investigated soon. Lastly, a GUI will be built so that the medical practitioner can just insert the CT volume and get the 3D liver volume with all the segmented tissues.
{"title":"Segmenting Liver Volume for Surgical Analysis","authors":"Ayman Al-Kababji, F. Bensaali, S. Dakua","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0100","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Almost two million people worldwide die annually due to hepatic-related diseases. Half of these diseases are attributed to cirrhosis and the other half are related to hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The liver is also a metastasis hub from adjacent organs. This research aims to create an accurate high-quality delineation of the human liver and prepare them to be 3D printed for medical analysis to help aid medical practitioners in pre-procedural planning. Materials and Methods: Convolutional neural networks (ConvNets) are used to perform the liver tissues delineation. A famous ConvNet, named U-net, is used as the basis benchmark architecture that is also known for its great outcomes in the medical segmentation field. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CT) scans are used from the famous Medical Segmentation Decathlon Challenge (Task 8: Hepatic Vessel), abbreviated as MSDC-T8. It contains 443 CT scans, which is considered the largest dataset that contains both the tumors and vessels ground-truth segmentation. Some researchers also generated the liver masks for this dataset, making it a complete dataset that contains all the relevant tissues’ ground-truth masks. Results: Currently, the liver delineation has been successfully done with very high DICE = 98.12% (higher than the state-of-the-art results DICE = 97.61%), where a comparison between two famous schedulers namely, ReduceLRonPlateau and OneCycleLR has been conducted. Moreover, the 3D liver volume creation has also been completed and built via the marching cube algorithm. Conclusions/Future Directions: The developed ConvNet can segment livers with high confidence. The tumor(s) and vessels tissues segmentation are also under investigation now. Moreover, newly devised self-organized neural networks (Self-ONN) look promising and will be investigated soon. Lastly, a GUI will be built so that the medical practitioner can just insert the CT volume and get the 3D liver volume with all the segmented tissues.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76628510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0105
Hadeel Kheraldine, I. Gupta, F. Cyprian, S. Vranić, A. Al Moustafa
Introduction: Both Dasatinib (DA), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is used for targeted cancer therapy, and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitor that is an immune checkpoint therapy, play a vital role in the management of several types of solid tumors, including breast. Nevertheless, the combined outcome of DA and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in human carcinomas has not been explored yet. Materials and methods: We herein compared the individual impact of DA and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors (BMS-202) with their combination on two human HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines, SKBR3 and ZR75. Results: Our data revealed that the combination of DA and BMS-202 significantly inhibits cell proliferation in both cell lines as compared to mono treatment and/or untreated cells. Moreover, we observed that combination treatment prevents the progression of “epithelial-mesenchymal transition” (EMT), which is a hallmark of cell invasion and cancer progression. Our data reveal that DA and BMS-202 together dramatically inhibit cell invasion of SKBR3 and ZR75 cells; this is accompanied by the up-regulation of E-cadherin and its restoration along with b-catenin on the cell membrane and its undercoat, respectively, in addition to the downregulation of vimentin, which are major markers of EMT. Additionally, we found that the synergistic treatment of DA and BMS-202 inhibits colony formation of both cell lines in comparison with their matched control. Conclusion: Our findings implicate that, in comparison to monotreatment, combination of DA and BMS-202 could have a significant impact on the management of HER2-positive breast cancer via HER2 inactivation and specifically b-catenin signaling pathways.
{"title":"The Combination of Dasatinib and PD L1 inhibitor prevents the progression of epithelial mesenchymal transition and dramatically blocks cell invasion of HER2 positive breast cancer cells","authors":"Hadeel Kheraldine, I. Gupta, F. Cyprian, S. Vranić, A. Al Moustafa","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0105","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Both Dasatinib (DA), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is used for targeted cancer therapy, and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitor that is an immune checkpoint therapy, play a vital role in the management of several types of solid tumors, including breast. Nevertheless, the combined outcome of DA and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in human carcinomas has not been explored yet. Materials and methods: We herein compared the individual impact of DA and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors (BMS-202) with their combination on two human HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines, SKBR3 and ZR75. Results: Our data revealed that the combination of DA and BMS-202 significantly inhibits cell proliferation in both cell lines as compared to mono treatment and/or untreated cells. Moreover, we observed that combination treatment prevents the progression of “epithelial-mesenchymal transition” (EMT), which is a hallmark of cell invasion and cancer progression. Our data reveal that DA and BMS-202 together dramatically inhibit cell invasion of SKBR3 and ZR75 cells; this is accompanied by the up-regulation of E-cadherin and its restoration along with b-catenin on the cell membrane and its undercoat, respectively, in addition to the downregulation of vimentin, which are major markers of EMT. Additionally, we found that the synergistic treatment of DA and BMS-202 inhibits colony formation of both cell lines in comparison with their matched control. Conclusion: Our findings implicate that, in comparison to monotreatment, combination of DA and BMS-202 could have a significant impact on the management of HER2-positive breast cancer via HER2 inactivation and specifically b-catenin signaling pathways.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"193 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79715346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0179
أسماء حسين ملكاوي, الشاذلي بية الشطي, أفراح فرحان العتيبي, المهدي لحمامد
تتمتع دولة قطر بإمكانيات إضافية في مجال القوة الناعمة، باعتبارها من الدول التي تستقطب أعدادًا كبيرة من المهاجرين، يمكنهم الإسهام في تعزيز جهودها في صنع صورة الدولة. تهدف الدراسة إلى فهم تصورات المقيمين تجاه الدولة والثقافة والمجتمع القطري، اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج الكيفي وجمعت بيانات من عينة قصدية قوامها (111) مقيمًا من مختلف الجنسيات. أجري تحليل موضوعاتي باستخدام MAXQDA. وخلصت الدراسة إلى أن لدولة قطر ميزات ثقافية إيجابية وبعضها سلبية، إلا أن تصورات المقيمين في مجملها إيجابية تُجاهها، وتَخضع لشروط؛ الخبرة الشخصية، والأطر المرجعية الثقافية. وتبعًا للمقيمين، فإن قطر سوف تواجه تحديات ثقافية أبرزها يرتبط باستحقاقات تتعارض مع الثقافة المحلية والمعتقدات الدينية، وأخرى ذات طابع حقوقي.
{"title":"الصورة المعيارية للمجتمع القطري: دراسة في تصورات المقيمين","authors":"أسماء حسين ملكاوي, الشاذلي بية الشطي, أفراح فرحان العتيبي, المهدي لحمامد","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0179","url":null,"abstract":"تتمتع دولة قطر بإمكانيات إضافية في مجال القوة الناعمة، باعتبارها من الدول التي تستقطب أعدادًا كبيرة من المهاجرين، يمكنهم الإسهام في تعزيز جهودها في صنع صورة الدولة. تهدف الدراسة إلى فهم تصورات المقيمين تجاه الدولة والثقافة والمجتمع القطري، اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج الكيفي وجمعت بيانات من عينة قصدية قوامها (111) مقيمًا من مختلف الجنسيات. أجري تحليل موضوعاتي باستخدام MAXQDA. وخلصت الدراسة إلى أن لدولة قطر ميزات ثقافية إيجابية وبعضها سلبية، إلا أن تصورات المقيمين في مجملها إيجابية تُجاهها، وتَخضع لشروط؛ الخبرة الشخصية، والأطر المرجعية الثقافية. وتبعًا للمقيمين، فإن قطر سوف تواجه تحديات ثقافية أبرزها يرتبط باستحقاقات تتعارض مع الثقافة المحلية والمعتقدات الدينية، وأخرى ذات طابع حقوقي.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"120 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80651716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-20DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0165
Norah Mohammed Z. Al-Dossari, M. Haouari, Mohamed Kharbeche
Multiple resource planning is a very crucial undertaking for most organizations. Apart from reducing operational complexity, multiple resource planning facilitates efficient allocation of resources, which reduces costs by minimizing the cost of tardiness and the cost for additional capacity. The current research investigates multiple resource loading problems (MRLP). MRLPs are very prevalent in today’s organizational environments and are particularly critical for organizations that handle concurrent, time-intensive, and multiple-resource projects. Using data obtained from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (ADLSA), a MRLP is proposed. The problem utilizes data regarding staff, time, equipment, and finance to ensure efficient resource allocation among competing projects. In particular, the research proposes a novel model and solution approach for the MRLP. Computational experiments are then performed on the model. The results show that the model performs well, even for higher instances. The positive results attest to the effectiveness of the proposed MRLP problem.
{"title":"Optimization Models for Multiple Resource Planning","authors":"Norah Mohammed Z. Al-Dossari, M. Haouari, Mohamed Kharbeche","doi":"10.29117/quarfe.2021.0165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29117/quarfe.2021.0165","url":null,"abstract":"Multiple resource planning is a very crucial undertaking for most organizations. Apart from reducing operational complexity, multiple resource planning facilitates efficient allocation of resources, which reduces costs by minimizing the cost of tardiness and the cost for additional capacity. The current research investigates multiple resource loading problems (MRLP). MRLPs are very prevalent in today’s organizational environments and are particularly critical for organizations that handle concurrent, time-intensive, and multiple-resource projects. Using data obtained from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (ADLSA), a MRLP is proposed. The problem utilizes data regarding staff, time, equipment, and finance to ensure efficient resource allocation among competing projects. In particular, the research proposes a novel model and solution approach for the MRLP. Computational experiments are then performed on the model. The results show that the model performs well, even for higher instances. The positive results attest to the effectiveness of the proposed MRLP problem.","PeriodicalId":9295,"journal":{"name":"Building Resilience at Universities: Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78742425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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