NH 2 /AHMP, was successfully synthesized by post-modifying Uio-66-NH 2 with 6-amino-4-hydroxy-2-m... more NH 2 /AHMP, was successfully synthesized by post-modifying Uio-66-NH 2 with 6-amino-4-hydroxy-2-mercaptopyrimidine based on the Schiff-base reaction and applied to remove Hg 2+ from aqueous solution. The Uio-66-NH 2 /AHMP was characterized by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunner Emmet Teller (BET). The characterization results shown that sulfur/nitrogen/oxygencontaining groups were successfully introduced on the zirconium-based MOF, and that the pore structure of Uio-66-NH 2 /AHMP mainly contains mesopores. Subsequently, the adsorption and regeneration performance of composite Uio-66-NH 2 /AHMP were investigated by batch experiments, the effect of solution pH, sorbent dose, reaction time, initial Hg 2+ concentration, and coexisting metal ions on the removal performance of Hg 2+ were evaluated. The pH value of solution determined the charge distribution on the adsorbent surface and the form of Hg 2+ in aqueous solution based on experimental results and zeta potential analysis. The obtained equilibrium time and maximum adsorption capacity were 60 min and 232.5 mg/g at pH 6, 298 K, respectively. The adsorption process of Hg 2+ was consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and the Langmuir model. The results of regeneration studies shown that the removal efficiency of 79.2 % could be obtained after four adsorption-desorption cycles. Besides, Uio-66-NH 2 /AHMP exhibited excellent adsorption selectivity for Hg 2+. XPS analysis indicated that the removal process was dominated by chelation between Hg 2+ and nitrogen/sulfur/ oxygen-containing groups. This work indicates that the Uio-66-NH 2 /AHMP has a good application prospect in the removal of Hg 2+ from aqueous solution.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Tactical Capacity Planning (TCP) is becoming a crucial part of logistics in the current environme... more Tactical Capacity Planning (TCP) is becoming a crucial part of logistics in the current environment of demanddriven economics. This paper proposes an innovative approach in the TCP setting, consisting of using the collected historical data of the geographical position and the volume of the orders to plan the capacity requirements for the next day. To this end, the clustering of the city to microzones is introduced using Kmeans clustering. Then, four different methods (Gaussian Process regression, ARIMA model, Neural Network regression, and Long Short Term Memory network) are used to forecast the next day order volume for each of the clusters. Finally, the Variable Cost and Size Bin Packing problem solved with the predicted demand to outline the usage of a heterogeneous fleet required to serve the next time period. Through experiments on the real data, we conclude, that the proposed algorithm is satisfying the decision safety framework with completely unknown demand and could also be used for other demand forecast applications.
Histone acetylation may affect the tumorigenesis and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Howeve... more Histone acetylation may affect the tumorigenesis and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, there is still a lack of studies exploring the effect of acetylation-related genes on the prognosis of CRC. To explore the role of acetylation-related genes in CRC prognosis using bioinformatics strategies, the expression data and survival information of CRC patients were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus. The Molecular Signatures Database was used to select acetylation-related genes. Univariate and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analyses were used to screen prognostic genes. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted for survival analysis. Cibersort and pRRophetics were used to analyze immune infiltration and predict drug sensitivity, respectively. By implementing independent prognostic factors, a nomogram model was constructed. The result showed that a total of 48 prognostic genes which screened from the acetylation-related gene set were mainly enriched in ABC transporters and acetylation/deacetylation-related pathways. Three gene signatures (SDR16C5, MEAF6, and SOX4) were further defined, and a prognostic model was constructed that showed high sensitivity and specificity for predicting CRC prognosis in both training and validation cohorts. Patients with different prognostic risks also presented differential expression of gene signatures, infiltration of activated CD4 memory T cells, and drug sensitivity to bicalutamide, gefitinib, Lenalidomide, and imatinib. The nomogram suggested the potential of a risk score-based model in predicting 1-and 2-year survival in patients with CRC. In conclusion, we proposed three gene signatures from an acetylation-related gene set as potential targets for epigenetic therapy and constructed a prognostic model for CRC.
A novel modified chitosan Schiff base@Fe 2 O 3-NiFe 2 O 4 (CsSB@Fe/NiFe) was prepared and charact... more A novel modified chitosan Schiff base@Fe 2 O 3-NiFe 2 O 4 (CsSB@Fe/NiFe) was prepared and characterized using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDX, TGA, DSC and VSM. FT-IR and XRD results confirm that the nanoparticles of Fe/NiFe distributed throughout the surface of CS-OH and successfully prepared CsSB@Fe/NiFe. SEM image shows that the Fe/NiFe nanoparticles were assembled in the surface and inside of CS-OH. Coercivity (H c) of CsSB@Fe/NiFe is ≈ 110 Oe, indicated that it was kind of soft-magnetic materials with saturation magnetization (M s) of 6.45 emu/g. In addition, CsSB@Fe/NiFe was further explored as an new sorbent for the removal of Pb(II) ion from aqueous solution and the influence of various important parameters such as solution pH, contact time, dosage of adsorbent and initial Pb(II) concentration were studied and optimized. Optimum conditions for Pb(II) removal were found to be pH 5, adsorbent dosage 0.05 g, initial Pb(II) concentration of 75 ppm and contact time of 120 min. The maximum Pb(II) removal percentage was found to be 97%. Also, CsSB@Fe/NiFe shows about 88% Pb (II) removal after five adsorption-desorption cycles. The results suggested that the sorption of Pb(II) onto CsSB@Fe/NiFe was feasible and spontaneous.
The dysregulated expression of the transcription factor (TF) Sry-related HMG box 9 (SOX9) has bee... more The dysregulated expression of the transcription factor (TF) Sry-related HMG box 9 (SOX9) has been extensively correlated with various biological effects, including the initiation and progression of cancer. Differential expression of SOX9 has been positively correlated with cancer cell growth, invasion, migration, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Studies showed that expression of SOX9 affects the expression of various miRNAs and vice versa, resulting in the development of cancer drug resistance. However, modulating the expression of SOX9 reverses drug resistance by modulating the expression of miRNAs. Therefore, in this review, we summarize current research focusing on SOX9 as a cancer therapeutic target and a prognostic biomarker of cancer drug resistance.
Background In patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the use of postoperative radiothe... more Background In patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the use of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) has been controversial since 1998, because of one meta-analysis showing a deleterious effect on survival in patients with pN0 and pN1, but with an unclear effect in patients with pN2 NSCLC. Because many changes have occurred in the management of patients with NSCLC, the role of three-dimensional (3D) conformal PORT warrants further investigation in patients with stage IIIAN2 NSCLC. The aim of this study was to establish whether PORT should be part of their standard treatment. Methods Lung ART is an open-label, randomised, phase 3, superiority trial comparing mediastinal PORT to no PORT in patients with NSCLC with complete resection, nodal exploration, and cytologically or histologically proven N2 involvement. Previous neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy was allowed. Patients aged 18 years or older, with an WHO performance status of 0-2, were recruited from 64 hospitals and cancer centres in five countries (France, UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium). Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the PORT or no PORT (control) groups via a web randomisation system, and minimisation factors were the institution, administration of chemotherapy, number of mediastinal lymph node stations involved, histology, and use of pre-treatment PET scan. Patients received PORT at a dose of 54 Gy in 27 or 30 daily fractions, on five consecutive days a week. Three dimensional conformal radiotherapy was mandatory, and intensity-modulated radiotherapy was permitted in centres with expertise. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival, analysed by intention to treat at 3 years; patients from the PORT group who did not receive radiotherapy and patients from the control group with no follow-up were excluded from the safety analyses. This trial is now closed. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00410683.
Background Inflammation is a long-established hallmark of liver fibrosis and carcinogenesis. Eosi... more Background Inflammation is a long-established hallmark of liver fibrosis and carcinogenesis. Eosinophils are emerging as crucial components of the inflammatory process influencing cancer development. The role of blood eosinophils in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving systemic treatment is an unexplored field. Objective The objective of this study was to analyse the prognostic role of the baseline eosinophil count in patients with sorafenib-treated hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients and Methods A training cohort of 92 patients with advanced-or intermediate-stage sorafenib-treated hepatocellular carcinoma and two validation cohorts of 65 and 180 patients were analysed. Overall survival and progression-free survival in relation to baseline eosinophil counts were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results A negative prognostic impact of low baseline eosinophil counts (< 50*10 9 /L) was demonstrated in all cohorts (training cohort: hazard ratio = 50.1, 95% confidence interval 11.6-216.5, p < 0.0001 for low vs high eosinophil counts; first validation cohort: hazard ratio = 4.55, 95% confidence interval 1.24-16.65, p = 0.022; second validation cohort: hazard ratio = 3.21, 95% confidence interval 1.83-5.64, p < 0.0001). Moreover, low eosinophil counts had a negative prognostic role in patients progressing on or intolerant to sorafenib who received second-line regorafenib, but not capecitabine or best supportive care. Conclusions Our analysis identified baseline blood eosinophil counts as a new prognostic factor in patients with sorafenibtreated hepatocellular carcinoma. Concerning second-line therapies, eosinophil counts were associated with survival outcomes only in regorafenib-treated patients, suggesting a possible predictive role in this setting.
The aim of this paper is to present an automatic plagiarism detection system to identify plagiari... more The aim of this paper is to present an automatic plagiarism detection system to identify plagiarized passages of documents. Our plagiarism detection system uses both syntactic and semantic similarities to identify plagiarized passages. Our proposed method is a novel contribution because of its usage of part-of-speech tag n-grams (POSNG) which are able to show syntactic similarities between source and suspicious sentences. Each source document is indexed according to part-of-speech (POS) tag n-grams by a search engine in order to access rapidly to sentences that are possible plagiarism candidates. Even though our plagiarism detection system obtains very good results just using POS tag n-grams, its performance is further improved with the usage of semantic similarities. The semantic relatedness between words is measured with the word embedding technique called Word2Vec and the longest common subsequence approach is used to measure the semantic similarity between source and suspicious sentences. There are several types of plagiarism such as verbatim, paraphrasing, sourcecode, and cross-lingual. The high obfuscation paraphrasing is a type of plagiarism and its detection is one of the most difficult plagiarism detection tasks. Our proposed method, which is based on POS tag n-grams, improves the detection performance of the high obfuscation paraphrasing type and is the main contribution of this paper. For this study, we use the large dataset called PAN-PC-11 which is created for the evaluation of automatic plagiarism detection algorithms. Our experiments are conducted with the four types of paraphrasing in PAN-PC-11 which are none, low, high and simulated obfuscation paraphrasing types. We defined various threshold and parameter settings in order to assess the diversity of our results. We compared the performance of our method with the plagiarism detectors in the 3rd International Competition on Plagiarism Detection (PAN11). According to the experimental results, the proposed method achieved the best performance in terms of plagdet measure in the types of high and low obfuscation paraphrasing and produced competitive results in the other paraphrasing types.
Development and testing of automated driving functions is complex and costly. Experts accord that... more Development and testing of automated driving functions is complex and costly. Experts accord that it is necessary to cover most of the process by simulation. While tools and standards are evolving to satisfy this need, it is still challenging to generate appropriate driving scenarios for the simulation. In this paper we present a method for processing real driving data in order to generate maneuver-based scenarios for resimulation. We propose an automatic extraction of sequential, parametrized maneuvers-expressed in a high level format such as OpenSCENARIO. This enables to intuitively vary maneuver parameters and automatically generate whole sets of new discrete test scenarios, providing a link between simulation and real driving tests. The application of the method shows promising results in respect to the creation of meaningful scenarios with little loss in precision at reproducing the original driving tests.
Phosphate removal from water relies mainly on the effective adsorbent. Iron-loaded magnetic algin... more Phosphate removal from water relies mainly on the effective adsorbent. Iron-loaded magnetic alginate-chitosan double-gel interpenetrated porous beads (M-IACBs) were prepared from waterworks iron sludge, magnetic nanoparticles, sodium alginate, and chitosan where magnetic nanoparticles were also synthesized from iron sludge. The interpenetrating network constructed by sodium alginate and chitosan improves the stability of the beads, while iron sludge acts as the main functional body for phosphate adsorption. M-IACBs with uniform size (~ 2 mm) and strong saturation magnetization intensity (~ 15.0 emu/g) maintain good stability in the pH range of 4-8. They have good selectivity for phosphate in the presence of competing ions. The phosphate adsorption by the beads followed the Langmuir model, indicating that the adsorption was dominated by monolayer adsorption, and the fitting yielded a maximum phosphate adsorption capacity of 18.5 mg/g. The pseudo-second-order model better agrees with the experimental data. The adsorption properties of iron sludge and beads were compared. Granulation was found to enhance the availability of the adsorbent but slow down the adsorption kinetics. The adsorption mechanisms of phosphate are ligand exchange and electrostatic attraction. This study provides a reference pathway for phosphate removal and resource utilization of iron sludge in waterworks.
The most challenging way for manufacturing a highquality hollow product is plastic rotomolding. I... more The most challenging way for manufacturing a highquality hollow product is plastic rotomolding. In industry, there has a growing awareness of improving the quality of a rotomolded product. To carry out, the study used the Six Sigma methodology to improve the qualitative rotomolded product in the "Pixel Polyplast" industry. The key goal is to utilize Six Sigma to identify severe flaws and remove underlying causes using the DMAIC approach-define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. To raise qualitative of rotomolded goods, the suggested six sigma techniques effectively combine tools such as statistical process control charts, pareto charts, histograms, run charts, and so on. The research brings out that the six sigma approaches can lower the frequency of rejection. It is observed that the rotomolded product's quality has considerably increased as an outcome, the higher SIGMA level. This result in higher customer satisfaction due to improved service quality, decreased operational costs, and enhanced productivity.
We present a case-study in using specialized, physics-based software for high-fidelity environmen... more We present a case-study in using specialized, physics-based software for high-fidelity environment and electro-optical sensor modeling in order to produce simulated sensor data that can be used to train a multi-spectral perception system for unmanned ground vehicle navigation. This case-study used the Virtual Autonomous Navigation Environment (VANE) to simulate filtered, multi-spectral imaging sensors. The VANE utilizes ray-tracing and hyperspectral material properties to capture the sensor-environment interaction. In this study we focus on a digital scene of the ERDC test track in Vicksburg, MS that has extremely detailed representation of the vegetation and ground texture. The scene model is used to generate imagery that simulates the output of specialized terrain perception hardware developed by Southwest Research Institute, which consists of stereo pair of 3-channel cameras. The perception system utilizes stereo processing, the multi-spectral responses, and image texture features in order to create a 3-dimensional world model suitable for offroad vehicle navigation, providing depth information and an estimated terrain class label for every pixel by utilizing machine learning. While the process of training the perception system generally involves hand-labeling data collected through manned missions, the ability to generate data for certain environments and lighting conditions represents an enabling technology for deployment in new theaters. We demonstrate an initial capability to simulate data and train the perception system and present the results compared to the system trained with real-world data from the same location.
An immense test space is pushing the development and testing of automated driving functions from ... more An immense test space is pushing the development and testing of automated driving functions from real to virtual environments. The virtual world is provided by interconnected simulation models representing sensors, vehicle dynamics, and both static and dynamic environment. For the virtual validation of automated driving, special attention must be paid to the simulation's credibility, which can be impaired by inappropriate or inaccurate simulation models and tools. Therefore, in this work a method is proposed to assess the credibility of simulation-based testing for automated driving. The approach allows a qualitative and relatively quantitative comparisons between scenarios as well as between different simulation setups. Therefore, several uni-and multivariate metrics are applied towards a scoring of similarity of the behavior between simulation and real test drive. This is achieved by using ground truth data in form of simulation scenarios from real world measurement data. In this way, the virtual automated vehicle encounters the same conditions and surroundings than its counterpart in the real world for evaluating their similarity. The practical applicability of the proposed credibility assessment approach is demonstrated in a case study, in which the credibility of an exemplary simulation-based test bench is inferred. Automated driving, software-in-the-loop, scenario-based approach, virtual testing, virtual development, virtual validation, computer simulation, automotive engineering, intelligent vehicles, automated vehicles.
Support for systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the social sciences is an innovative service ... more Support for systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the social sciences is an innovative service that makes advanced use of the expert skills of reference librarians and subject specialists. This column provides a deep look into the launch of one systematic review service to provide a model that is adaptable for other academic and special libraries.-Editor There is a growing need for academic libraries to support systematic review research. Currently the library literature does not represent needs outside of the health sciences. This article is a descriptive narrative of a systematic review service development and launch. The described service model supports the needs of several disciplines including social sciences, agriculture, physical sciences, and other disciplines. Primary foci of the article include direction from library administration, service development and launch, and plans for assessment and evaluation. A systematic review includes conducting a systematic and exhaustive search, assessing quality, and synthesizing evidence. 1 Librarian involvement in systematic reviews has been documented in the library literature and referenced by authoritative organizations like Cochrane Review Group and the Campbell Collaboration. 2 In some disciplines there is an increased interest in systematic reviews and meta-analyses as research methods, and this is evident in literature output discoverable in subject databases. Since both systematic reviews and meta-analyses are typically designated in article titles, it is fairly easy to track their prominence and growing interest as a research method over the last five years. According to searches for "systematic review*" OR "meta-analys*" conducted in CAB Abstracts, PsycINFO, Education Source, and Sociological Abstracts, each disciplinary database saw a jump in published systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the last five years (see figure 1). At the University of Minnesota, subject liaison librarians experienced an uptick in the number of requests from faculty and students for assistance with the search methodology required for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Some of the librarians had previously received training on this level of research synthesis while others felt ill equipped. It became clear that serving research synthesis needs should be formalized as a service and that library staff needed training specific to supporting systematic reviews.
Depression is a risk factor for Alzheimer's (AD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Therefore, de... more Depression is a risk factor for Alzheimer's (AD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Therefore, depression treatment restricts its deteriorating effects on mood, memory and CV system. Fluoxetine is the most widely used antidepressant drug, it has neuroprotective effect through its antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties. The current study investigated for the first-time the cross link between depression, AD and CVD besides, role of fluoxetine in mitigating such disorders. Depression was induced in rats by social isolation (SI) for 12 weeks, AlCL3 (70 mg/kg/day, i.p.) was used to induce AD which was administered either in SI or normal control (NC) grouped rats starting at 8th week till the end of the experiment, fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day, p.o) treatment also was started at 8th week. SI and AD showed a statistically significant deteriorated effect on behavioral, neurochemical and histopathological analysis which was exaggerated when two disorder combined than each alone. Fluoxetine treatment showed protective effect against SI, AD and prevents exacerbation of CVD. Fluoxetine improved animals' behavior, increased brain monoamines, BDNF besides increased antioxidant defense mechanism of SOD, TAC contents and increased protein expression of Nrf2/HO-1 with significant decrease of AChE activity, β-amyloid, Tau protein, MDA, TNF-α, IL1β contents as well as decreased protein expression of NF-kB, TLR4, NLRP3 and caspase1. It also showed cardioprotective effects as it improved lipid profile with pronounced decrease of cardiac enzymes of CK-MB, troponin and MEF2. In conclusion, fluoxetine represents as a promising drug against central and peripheral disorders through its anti-inflammatory/antioxidant effects via targeting antioxidant Nrf2/HO-1 and hindering TLR4/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathways.
A realistic data basis is crucial for the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and t... more A realistic data basis is crucial for the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and traffic research. Traffic cameras at urban intersections provide a way to efficiently obtain information about complex traffic behavior, with the trajectories of road users being particularly relevant. For this purpose, the established Deep Neural Network Mask R-CNN is trained with a self-generated dataset to segment vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians frame-by-frame achieving an Average Precision of 94.07 % for vehicles. For the tracking of objects, the trackingalgorithm SORT was found to be a suitable method. In order to minimize the perspective error of the vehicle position due to the lateral camera perspective, a novel method is presented that estimates ground planes for vehicles based on segmentation. The estimated trajectories are evaluated with data from real measurement runs with an reference vehicle over the intersection area, resulting in an average accuracy of 0.57 m. The generated data can be used in traffic simulation software and to create fully defined scenarios for virtual vehicle testing. Furthermore we provide an open-source implementation of the proposed work at https://github.com/jul095/TrafficMonitoring.
Autonomous overtaking behavior of Autonomous Virtual Vehicle (AVV) is simulated with Eon Studio w... more Autonomous overtaking behavior of Autonomous Virtual Vehicle (AVV) is simulated with Eon Studio which is a three-dimensional (3D) interactive simulation software. In this paper, a method of transforming the overtaking safety distance to the size of the front car hierarchical envelop box is proposed. Base on this technology, AVV autonomous overtaking without collision motion simulation is realized by using Collision node. Furthermore, the simulation result was applied to the Autonomous Virtual Vehicle Vision Perception Behavior System (AVV-VPB System), which improved the reality of virtual traffic environment.
Autonomous agent path planning is a main problem in the fields of machine learning and artificial... more Autonomous agent path planning is a main problem in the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Reactive execution is often used in order to provide best decisions for the agent's reactions. Although this problem is important in the stationary environment, most interesting environments are time varying. This paper is based on our previous work focusing on combining the potential field model with reinforcement learning to solve the stationary path planning problem. In this work we deal with the case of dynamic environment. In the dynamic environment, the motion of the obstacles provides for different problems and challenges, which our proposed algorithm in this paper encounters and addresses.
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