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2. Online marketing campaigns’ aesthetics: Measuring the direct effect on customers’ decision-making

Author

Abdullah AlSokkar, Jassim Ahmad Al-Gasawneh, Mohammed Otair, Mahmoud Alghizzawi, Deemah Alarabiat, and Dalia Al Eisawi

Subjects
Customers Willingness to Participate, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Online Marketing Campaign, User Experience (UX), Visual Aesthetics, Marketing. Distribution of products, HF5410-5417.5
Abstract

This research aims to investigate the direct and formal effect of visual aesthetics on customers’ willingness to participate in an online marketing campaign, given that visual aesthetics is considered a salient design characteristic that customers tend to refer to when expressing their experience with the online retailer environment. This research study incorporates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to propose and estimate this direct effect through structural aesthetics TAM model. In order to validate the proposed model, an online survey with interactive experience was constructed utilizing an open-source platform and was primarily sent to scholars specializing in HCI, informatics, user experience, and digital marketing research in the United Kingdom. The data were obtained from 360 participants, and Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modeling using SmartPLS 4 was employed to evaluate the proposed model. The empirical evaluation demonstrated and confirmed the authenticity and novelty of significant direct and formal effects of customers’ perceived visual aesthetics on their willingness to participate in an online marketing campaign (β = 0.462, t = 10.847, p < 0.001), and their usage attitude (β = 0.789, t = 39.622, p < 0.001). These findings highlight the importance of visual aesthetics in online marketing campaign design, suggesting that concise, well-organized, and visually appealing user interfaces is more likely to engage customers than a complex, cluttered one.

Published
2024
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3. First molecular diagnosis of the human pathogen Rickettsia raoultii and other spotted fever group rickettsiae in Sudanese ixodid ticks from domestic ruminants

Author

Nagwa Eisawi, Jabbar Ahmed, Mohammed A. Bakheit, Dina A. Hassan, Mohammed O. Hussien, and Abdel Rahim M. El Hussein

Subjects
gltA, Khartoum State, ompA, SFG rickettsiae, ticks, Veterinary medicine, SF600-1100
Abstract

Abstract Background Rickettsial infections are often neglected and poorly recognized by physicians in many tropical and subtropical regions. Despite a number of recent reports describing rickettsial diseases in new locations and the discovery of new rickettsiae, medical science and research have largely neglected the diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment of rickettsial infections in subtropical and tropical areas; thus, much remains to be discovered. This study aimed to detect and characterize spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in ixodid ticks infesting domestic ruminants in Khartoum State. Methods Polymerase chain reaction targeting both genes that encode for citrate synthase (gltA) and outer membrane protein (ompA) was performed for the presence of SFG rickettsia followed by sequence and phylogenetic analysis. Results Of the 202 ticks examined for the presence of SFG rickettsia, gltA gene was detected in 4 samples (2%). Furthermore, gltA‐positive samples were used to amplify the ompA gene, in which only two samples yielded positive results. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the positive samples revealed four different species of SFG rickettsiae: Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia rhipicephali, Rickettsia massiliae and Rickettsia raoultii. Conclusions These results indicated the presence of SFG rickettsia in Sudanese ticks. This also indicates that humans have an opportunity to acquire these infections. It is important to keep in mind the need for careful consideration of rickettsial infections in individuals with a fever of unknown origin.

Published
2024
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5. Depositional environment and hydrocarbon exploration potential based on sedimentary facies and architectural analysis of the Upper Cretaceous Shendi Formation in Musawwarat-Naga area, Shendi-Atbara Basin, Sudan/Ambiente deposicional y potencial de exploración de hidrocarburos con base en el análisis de facies sedimentarias y análisis arquitectónico de la formación Shendi del Cretácico Superior en el área de Musawwarat-Naga, cuenca Shendi-Atbara, Sudán

Author

Babkir, Mohamed Diaeldin Babkir Hassan, Nton, Matthew E., and Eisawi, Ali A.M.

Published
2023
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7. Variation in the rates of biomass removal by soil macro-fauna in different land uses at Rashad, South Kordofan, Sudan

Author

Khalid A E Eisawi, Indra Prasad Subedi, Emad Yasin, Christine Yode, and Hong He

Subjects
Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract

One of the main implications of reducing biodiversity is the loss or decline of ecosystem function. We have previously seen in the Rashad location that agricultural practices have a lower effect on ant biodiversity. However, how they affect the environmental services, they provide is unclear. The main objective of this study was to evaluate whether the conversion of native areas into agricultural systems affects the removal of biomass carried out by ants, an important ecosystem function linked to decomposition and predation. We sampled three transects from (the Rashad district). Each sampling plot consisted of a grid of 12 pitfall traps filled with sardine baits (simulating animal organisms) and bananas (as attractive vegetable resources). In addition, grass seeds (Sorghum bicolor) were applied in both natural (Campo, Kubos, and forest) and agricultural settings (soy monoculture, pastures, and organic agriculture). The Results showed that ant’s removal was highest in sardine with an average of 87.3g (σ ± 23.8), followed by banana (average of 70.5g, σ ± 31.5) and lowest in the seed (mean of 7.8g, σ ± 7.3) (highest p = 0.017). Only the soy monoculture regions showed the lowest levels of sardine removed, indicating an effect associated with the kind of land use. Because little biomass is eliminated in both natural and agricultural settings, no effect of the seeds bait has been observed. As for the banana bait, the data suggested a redundancy effect with another group of macro-fauna). Our results suggest that there is a redundancy effect with another group of macrofauna. However, macrofauna biomass (excluding ants) does not explain this biomass removal. In addition, it detected no impact of ant species composition on removed biomass. The reduction of sardine and banana biomass was correlated with ant richness, indicating that the effects on ecosystem function depend on the particularities of each evaluated role (such as resource type), the type of land use, and the ant richness in the study area.

Published
2022
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8. The Effects of Pitfall Trap Spacing on Ant Richness (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Abundance, and Composition in Dinder National Park, Sudan

Author

Khalid A. E. Eisawi, Tayyab Shaheen, and Hong He

Subjects
Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract

Ants play an important role in Sudanese biodiversity and environmental impact assessments, Although baiting is easy and cheap to implement, several considerations, such as the spacing among bait, can affect the estimation of the abundance and richness of ants species. In this study, we evaluated the effects of bait spacing on abundance and the number of ant species. We also demonstrate which distance between baits showed the best relationship between costs and the number of ant species sampled. We sampled 30 transects of 100 m with bait spacing ranging (2.5; 3.3; 5; 6.7; 10 and 20 m), spread over 1 km² into three different type of ecosystems (Wooded grass land, Riverine ecosystem and Maya ecosystem), at DNP located in Sudan. The bait spacing did not affect the ant diversity estimative. Regardless bait spacing, the number of species collected every five baits was around 8, and the average abundance was approximately 50 individuals. However, the number of species per bait was higher in transects with a larger gap between baits. Transects with bait spans of 20 and 10 m captured 50% more species per bait than transects with baits 2.5 and 3.4 m apart. Our study suggest that the most efficient sampling design using only baits in the park would be, to place 450 baits every 10 m and 20 m.

Published
2022
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9. Organisational absorptive capacity and its potential role in achieving business intelligence systems efficiency in strategic managerial levels

Author

Al-Eisawi, Dalia and Serrano, A.

Subjects
Grounded theory methodology, Partial least squares, Structural equation modelling, Enterprise information systems, Decision support systems
Abstract

The available organisational capabilities engaged in the process of creating data processing intelligence inside organisations are still required to be limited, given the current outstanding competitive environments that deal with the global increase of available data and information production required to be transformed consistently into knowledge. This study investigates the relationship between Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) (i.e., the ability of organisations to gather, absorb, and strategically influence new external information), and Business Intelligence (BI), which are systems that convert data into valuable information, and then into knowledge throughout strong human consideration. The insight of the current study is to offer a detailed exploration from the standpoint of the two perceptions. ACAP is required to be a dynamic capability for generating strategic data transformation setting in an organisation. Similarly, ACAP is proposed to play a significant role in enriching the process of knowledge creation embraced inside contemporary organisational Information Systems (IS) environments. The research uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. By offering a rich indication in presenting a rigours approach of systematic qualitative methods, Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) coding techniques were used to analyse data collected using semistructured interviews form (22) senior managers. The extracted grounded measures assisted in considering ACAP main dimensions treated as potential organisational dynamic capabilities and shaped as a grounded relational model. Drawing on the qualitative analysis results, the ACAP extracted measures were quantitatively validated for their possible effects on BI System efficiency. The quantitative methods used surveys conducted on a sample of (150) participants and analysed using Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study targeted the telecommunication industry taking the country Jordan as a case example. The findings indicate that ACAP dimensions are anticipated to influence the efficiency of BI systems inside organisations. The contribution of this study adds significantly to the existing body of literature by primarily providing a novel integration of the concept of ACAP, offering a relational model through which researchers can more fully leverage the measures of ACAP within organisations. Accordingly, the core contribution of the research provided a more comprehensive framework that serves managers and strategic professionals to assist them in classifying their ACAP measures before attempting to purchase state of the art BI systems with a high amount of expenditures. The extracted categories can be treated as guides to IS researchers, and senior managers in exploring the rich facets of ACAP proposed to offer foundations for shaping where and how to further potential organisational assets can be leveraged.

Published
2019

10. First molecular diagnosis of the human pathogen Rickettsia raoultii and other spotted fever group rickettsiae in Sudanese ixodid ticks from domestic ruminants.

Author

Eisawi, Nagwa, Ahmed, Jabbar, Bakheit, Mohammed A., Hassan, Dina A., Hussien, Mohammed O., and El Hussein, Abdel Rahim M.

Subjects
RICKETTSIAL diseases, CITRATE synthase, POLYMERASE chain reaction, MEDICAL sciences, RICKETTSIA
Abstract

Background: Rickettsial infections are often neglected and poorly recognized by physicians in many tropical and subtropical regions. Despite a number of recent reports describing rickettsial diseases in new locations and the discovery of new rickettsiae, medical science and research have largely neglected the diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment of rickettsial infections in subtropical and tropical areas; thus, much remains to be discovered. This study aimed to detect and characterize spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in ixodid ticks infesting domestic ruminants in Khartoum State. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction targeting both genes that encode for citrate synthase (gltA) and outer membrane protein (ompA) was performed for the presence of SFG rickettsia followed by sequence and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Of the 202 ticks examined for the presence of SFG rickettsia, gltA gene was detected in 4 samples (2%). Furthermore, gltA‐positive samples were used to amplify the ompA gene, in which only two samples yielded positive results. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the positive samples revealed four different species of SFG rickettsiae: Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia rhipicephali, Rickettsia massiliae and Rickettsia raoultii. Conclusions: These results indicated the presence of SFG rickettsia in Sudanese ticks. This also indicates that humans have an opportunity to acquire these infections. It is important to keep in mind the need for careful consideration of rickettsial infections in individuals with a fever of unknown origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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13. Plant extracts to manage the parasitic weed branched broomrape (Phelipanche ramosa).

Author

EISAWI, Ezzudeen, CALABRESE, Generosa Jenny, BOARI, Angela, and VURRO, Maurizio

Subjects
*SUSTAINABLE agriculture, *PLANT metabolites, *GERMINATION, *METABOLITES, *PLANT extracts
Abstract

Summary. Some weeds have parasitic lifestyles, causing severe problems in agriculture. These plants include Phelipanche ramosa (L.) Pomel (branched broomrape). Green house and nursery trials were carried out to assess control of P. ramosa using organic extracts from 14 plant species. The parameters recorded were counts of living and dead tubercles of P. ramosa and fresh weights of living tubercles. Organic extract of Olea europea reduced lengths of germ tubes during P. ramosa seed germination, and extracts of Bidens bipinnata and Dittrichia viscosa reduced production and development of the parasite’s tubercles, with very encouraging results in reducing seed germination rates. This research provides knowledge insights on the potential use of plant secondary metabolites to limit spread of P. ramosa, addressing an increasing challenge for organic crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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14. A Design Framework for Novice Using Grounded Theory Methodology and Coding in Qualitative Research: Organisational Absorptive Capacity and Knowledge Management

Author

Dalia Al-Eisawi

Subjects
Social sciences (General), H1-99
Abstract

Grounded theory methodology (GTM) is an extensive research methodology that is immensely active in numerous social science research fields. It is by far one of the most popular techniques applied in qualitative research. The challenge in using such methods might appear in their complexity. Several steps of coding and analysis in GTM can be fuzzy and multifaceted for novice researchers specialised in Information Systems (IS) fields, knowledge management, and broad applications of IS. The current study suggests a design framework for novices in qualitative research that presents GTM as a set of techniques characterised graphically, allowing the extraction of grounded results and a set of pragmatic analysed data classifications rather than only concentrating on implementing a grounded “theory”. Hence, the research stresses using the term “grounded techniques”, permitting the creation of grounded categories to strengthen qualitative research results' rigour. The proposed framework meticulously exemplifies how an organised set of phases in a research design can enlighten the novice researcher while conducting a study in knowledge absorptive capacity using a comprehensive GTM process to enforce the understanding of GTM techniques.

Published
2022
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15. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) increase predation of Belenois solilucis (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) eggs in organic agriculture production systems: a multiple-site field study at Rashad, Sudan

Author

Khalid Eisawi, Indra Prasad Subedi, Christine Dakélé Yodé, and Hong He

Subjects
Biodiversity, Biological control, Disturbance, Land use, Population, Zoology, QL1-991, Ecology, QH540-549.5, Natural history (General), QH1-278.5
Abstract

Organic farming is becoming more popular as there is a greater demand for pesticide-free food. Pest control in organic agricultural production requires a set of skills, including the identification of effective predators and land-use practices. Predation by selected Coleopteran, Dipteran, and Hemipteran insects and Araneae is well established, whereas the predatory role of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has received little attention in the Rashad district, Sudan. This study was carried out to assess the predation rates of Belenois solilucis eggs and the impact of the land use type around the properties on these rates. An experimente involving predation tests on Belenois solilucis eggs and fauna sampling were conducted in 18 areas of organic agriculture in the Rashad district. The study showed that ants can reduce the eggs population by 26.8% per day. At the same time, other predator taxa, primarily Coleoptera, from Coccinellidae and Staphylinidae families, removed only 13% of the eggs. Ant species with the most significant recruiting power were Axinidris acholli, Tapinoma carininotum, and Technomyrmex moerens. Ant genera such as Linepithema, Dorymyrmex, and Camponotus ants were also frequently observed. The proportion of the planted area within a 500-meter radius, in addition to the interaction of other landscape categories, had a minor influence on predation, but only when the predators were not ants. The landscape does not affect predation by predators in general, including ants, or on ant predation in particular.

Published
2022
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16. Impact of land-use changes on ant communities and the retention of ecosystem services in Rashad District, Southern Kordofan, Sudan

Author

Khalid A.E. Eisawi, Indra P. Subedi, Tayyab Shaheen, and Hong He

Subjects
biodiversity, disturbance, richness, savanna, Rashad District, Sudan, Science, Science (General), Q1-390, Social Sciences, Social sciences (General), H1-99
Abstract

The ecological consequences of biodiversity loss are usually the reduction of ecosystem functions. These responses, however, differ depending on the type of land-use change and the ecological setting. We investigated the impact of land-use type and ecosystem functions on the ant assemblage of Rashad District, Sudan. We analysed the effects of three different land uses (soy monoculture, pasture and organic production of vegetables) on the ant community by assessing ant composition in 176 different locations. The collection sites were conventional soy monoculture, pastures, organic agriculture, and native vegetation such as Campo, Kubos, and forests. We recorded 264 ant species on the soil surface of the Rashad District, where 342 to 354 species were thought to exist. Pastures and organic agriculture areas have 61% and 56% of the native myrmecofauna, respectively, while conventional soy monoculture areas are home to only 17% of native ant species. Forest areas present a unique community, and soy monoculture areas have the strongest pattern of biotic homogenisation. We also detected that rare species (of low frequency) were the chief promoters of richness in the Rashad District, and the most threatened with local extinction, due to their low density and low occurrence in agrosystems. Overall, we found that agricultural expansion reduces ant diversity, particularly in soybean crops, and can affect ecosystem functions. To mitigate the reduction in the ant assemblage, we recommend the conservation of multiple natural habitats. Significance: • Agricultural land conversion and climate change play a major role in shaping tropical landscapes, but the direct and indirect links to biodiversity and species community composition remain poorly understood. • Ant richness is correlated with biomass, demonstrating that the effects on ecosystem function are dependent on the particularities of each assessed function (such as resource type), the types of land uses, and the abundance of ants in the region. • Land-use effects on ant diversity were strongly scale dependent. • The highest ant diversity occurred in soy monoculture areas.

Published
2022
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19. Modelling service excellence : the case of the UK banking sector

Author

Al-Eisawi, D. D.

Subjects
332.1068, retail banking, service excellence, UK, service quality, Bank management, Banks and banking -- Customer services
Abstract

Assessing performance, quality, and excellence in services are critical topics in the literature. As such, this thesis evaluates aspects related to conceptualisations and measurement models across different disciplinary perspectives. This thesis develops, and validates a multiple-item scale for Modelling service excellence in the UK retail banking sector, according to the perceptions of customers. The scale development method follows Churchill’s (1979) well founded process, and is informed by Anderson and Gerbing’s (1988), and Rossiter’s (2002) guidelines. The model estimates whether the hypothesised antecedents are considered valid for identifying banks which provide excellent services. The findings reveal that reputation, rates, innovation, and technology significantly determine service excellence. This thesis was undertaken in a critical timing, between 2007 and 2012. During that time, the economy and particularly, the banking sector faced a major credit crunch and crisis of confidence in the sector per se. The crisis caused banks to rethink their competitive positioning by re-assessing their strengths (Akdag et al. 2011). Hence, initiating a differentiation between quality and excellence in services was essential. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature by offering an integrated solution to assessing service excellence, from concept definition and differentiation, to scale development and validation. A new definition of services excellence is introduced and components of services excellence are identified. Hence, distinguishing between service quality and service excellence. Furthermore, the relationship between service excellence and its determinants is explored. Based on an updated set of antecedents and corresponding items, the measurement model provided in this thesis is considered as one of the best available options, realised by testing the postulated hypothesis and the alternative model testing.

Published
2013

20. Vigabatrin with hormonal treatment versus hormonal treatment alone (ICISS) for infantile spasms: 18-month outcomes of an open-label, randomised controlled trial

Author

Abdel Aziz, Maysara, Acharya, Triloknath, Adcock, Carolyn, Jones, Robert, Howells, Rachel, Marsh, Ben, Adejare, Kemi, Adiga, Rashmi, Wheater, Mary, Ahmed, Mansoor, Sawal, Mohammad, Goel, Chhavi, Ahmed, MAS, Alber, Michael, Wolff, Markus, Ruf, Susanne, Al-Kharusi, Asya, Al-Moasseb, Hassan, Arora, Ruchi, Beach, Richard, Atkinson, Patricia, Ayonrinde, Kunle, Bala, Pronab, Bamford, Nicola, Barakat, Nagi, Basheer, Nigel, Baxter, Peter, Mordekar, Santosh, Rittey, Chris, Borggraefe, Ingo, Borusiak, Peter, Cagnoli, Sabine, Brown, Richard, Calvert, Sophie, Cameron, Duncan, Chaniyil, Ramesh, Chinthapalli, Ravi, Chow, Gabriel, Whitehouse, William, Clarke, Vinodhini, Cooper, Chris, Datta, Alexane, D'Costa, Selwyn, de Goede, Christian, Basu, Helen, Deekollu, David, Della Marina, Adela, Dison, Penelope, Dunkley, Colin, Eaton, Megan, Ellison, Julie, Pugh, Robert, Fallon, Penny, Faza, Hani, Choonara, Imti, Morton, Richard, Ratnayaka, Mal, Ferrie, Colin, Freeman, Amanda, Warriner, Stephen, Garcia, Maria, Ghazavi, Malihe, Gibbon, Frances, Gibbs, John, Ginbey, Des, Guarino, Iolanda, Gupta, Rajesh, Hanlon, Mary, Harris, Siân, Munyard, Paul, Hemingway, Cheryl, Eltze, Christin, Kaliakatsos, Marios, Murugan, Velayutham, Robinson, Robert, Tan, Jeen, Hindley, Daniel, Hughes, Adrian, Hussain, Akmal, Boden, Greg, Hussain, Munir, Hussain, Nahin, Dabydeen, Lyvia, Irwin, Kate, Jacobs, Julia, Jauhari, Praveen, Minchom, Philip, Jones, Simon, Karenfort, Michael, Keimer, Reinhard, Kennedy, Colin, Kirkham, Fenella, Whitney, Andrea, Kirkpatrick, Martin, Jollands, Alice, Kneen, Rachel, Iyer, Anand, McTague, Amy, Spinty, Stefan, Kumar, Ramesh, Kurlemann, Gerhard, Lee, Matthew, Jurges, Eman, Levy, Robert, Lewis, Helen, Lewis, Hilary, Lloyd Evans, Andrew, Loh, Ne-Ron, Osborne, John, O'Callaghan, Finbar, Maddicks, Hilary, Luecke, Thomas, Lux, Andrew, Majumdar, Anirban, Vijayakumar, Kayal, MacKay, Mark, Freeman, Jeremy, Hayman, Michael, Kornberg, Andrew, Leventer, Rick, Ryan, Monique, Ware, Tyson, Mancais, Penny, Marinaki, Katina, Massarano, Albert, Mathew, Satheesh, McLellan, Ailsa, Melville, Colin, Mewasingh, Leena, Muhle, Hiltrud, Nagmeldin, Eisawi, Natarajan, Jeyashree, Nelapatla, Suresh, Gondwe, Jailosi, Newton, Richard, Hughes, Imelda, Martland, Tim, McCullagh, Gary, Vassallo, Grace, Nirmal, Stephen, Nolan, Melinda, Davis, Suzanne, Patel, Rakesh, Sharpe, Cynthia, Olabi, Anas, O'Neill, Kevin, Gould, Jim, Panzer, Axel, Theophil, Manuela, Parepalli, Srinivas, Hinde, Frank, Smith, Martin, Parker, Alasdair, Chitre, Manali, Philip, Sunny, Gupta, Rajat, Wassmer, Evangeline, Pike, Mike, McShane, Tony, Prakash, Nandhini, Padmakumar, Beena, Pridmore, Clair, Prietsch, Viola, Krieg, Peter, Quinlivan, Ros, Quinn, Michael, Collinson, Andrew, Rajalingam, Usha, Rakshi, Karl, Rao, Tekki, Ravi, Asha, Rifkin, Rob, Roper, Helen, Rowlandson, Piers, Sadleir, Lynette, Sahi, Sanjay, Saraswatula, Arun, O'Sullivan, Siobhan, Saravanan, Kethar, Scammell, Alastair, Rao, Sudhakar, Schmitt, Bernhard, Schubert-Bast, Susanne, Scott, David J, Scott, Fraser, Pye, Matthew, Shah, Ayaz, Stephen, Elma, Shah, Shambhu, Butterfill, Andrew, Shute, Pauline, Singh, Rajeeva, Allogoa, Brigid, Singh, Ravinder, Sinha, Gyanranjan, Sivakumar, Puthuval, Smith, Robert, Sriskandan, Sivaranjini, Steinert, Martin, Strassburg, Michael, Strozzi, Susi, Subramanian, Geeta, Tandy, Andrew, O'Callaghan, Finbar J K, Edwards, Stuart W, Alber, Fabienne Dietrich, Cortina Borja, Mario, Hancock, Eleanor, Johnson, Anthony L, Kennedy, Colin R, Likeman, Marcus, Lux, Andrew L, Mackay, Mark T, Mallick, Andrew A, Newton, Richard W, Pressler, Ronit, Rating, Dietz, Verity, Christopher M, and Osborne, John P

Published
2018
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22. Plasmodium vivax cerebral malaria in an adult patient in Sudan

Author

Maowia M. Mukhtar, Omer A. Eisawi, Seth A. Amanfo, Elwaleed M. Elamin, Zeinab S. Imam, Faiza M. Osman, and Manasik E. Hamed

Subjects
Plasmodium vivax, Cerebral malaria, Sudan, Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine, RC955-962, Infectious and parasitic diseases, RC109-216
Abstract

Abstract Background Plasmodium vivax infection is rising in sub-Saharan Africa, where Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for more than 90% of malaria cases. While P. vivax is identified as a major cause of severe and cerebral malaria in South east Asia, the Pacific and South America, most of the severe and cerebral cases in Africa were attributed to P. falciparum. Cases of severe malaria due to P. vivax are emerging in Africa. A few severe P. vivax cases were reported in Eastern Sudan and they were underestimated due to the lack of accurate diagnosis, low parasitaemia and seldom use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). Case presentation A 60-year-old Sudanese male presented to the Al Kuwaiti hospital in the Sudan capital Khartoum. On admission, the patient was complaining of fever (measured temperature was 38 °C), sweating, chills, vomiting and confusion in the past 2 days prior to his admission. He rapidly deteriorated into a coma state within 48 h of the admission, with significant neck stiffness. He was admitted to the intensive care unit and was suspected of meningitis. Lumbar puncture was not performed since the patient was suffering from spinal cord disc. Brain CT scan was unremarkable. Several biochemical, haematological tests, and blood film for malaria were performed. The results of the laboratory tests were within the normal range except of mild elevation of the total white blood cell count and a significant decrease in the platelets count. Malaria parasites were seen in the blood film with high parasitaemia (quantified as 3 +++). The patient was diagnosed as P. vivax cerebral malaria based on the positive blood film and the amplification of P. vivax specific 499 bp amplicon using Plasmodium multi-species multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The patient was treated with quinine 10 mg/kg body weight for 10 days followed by primaquine 15 mg/days PO for 2 weeks. The symptoms subsided within 48 h and the patients was cured and released from the hospital. Conclusions Plasmodium vivax is an emerging cause of cerebral malaria in adults in Sudan and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cerebral malaria for proper management of patients.

Published
2019
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24. Ammonium Bifluoride‐Etched MXene Modified Electrode for the All−Vanadium Redox Flow Battery.

Author

Pahlevaninezhad, Maedeh, Sadri, Rad, Momodu, Damilola, Eisawi, Karamullah, Pahlevani, Majid, Naguib, Michael, and Roberts, Edward P. L.

Subjects
FLOW batteries, ELECTRODE performance, VANADIUM redox battery, NEGATIVE electrode, ELECTRIC conductivity, SOLID state batteries
Abstract

The development of electrodes with high performance and long‐term stability is crucial for commercial application of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). This study compared the performance of VRFB with thermal‐treated and MXene‐modified carbon paper. To prepare the MXene, a modified‐etching process with ammonium−bifluoride (NH4HF2) led to a mild and efficient conversion of the MAX‐phase to MXene compared to etching process with hydrofluoric‐acid (HF). Electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction studies revealed that the etching process with NH4HF2 led to MXene nanostructures with a large interlayer spacing. The results show that at a current density of 60 mA cm−2, the energy efficiency increased by 25.5 % when using a NH4HF2 ‐etched MXene‐modified negative electrode, by 12.5 % with a thermal‐treated MXene‐modified electrode, and by 4 % with an HF‐etched MXene‐modified electrode, in comparison to the pristine electrode. The maximum power density of the battery was increased by more than 40 %. In long‐term cycling experiments the MXene modified electrode exhibited excellent stability over 1000 cycles of charge‐discharge, with 0.05 % discharge capacity decay per cycle, amongst the lowest values reported to date and four times lower than for thermally‐treated electrode. The superior performance was linked to the improved electrical conductivity and wettability, higher interlayer spacing, and lower charge transfer resistance for the V2+/V3+ redox reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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25. Preoperative risk factors for conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy: a validated risk score derived from a prospective U.K. database of 8820 patients

Author

Fenwick, Stephen, Elmasry, Mohamed, Nunes, Quentin, Kennedy, David, Khan, Raja B., Khan, Muhammad A.S., Magee, Conor J., Jones, Steven M., Mason, Denise, Parappally, Ciny P., Mathur, Pawan, Saunders, Michael, Jamel, Sara, Haque, Samer U.l., Zafar, Sara, Shiwani, Muhammad H., Samuel, Nehemiah, Dar, Farooq, Jackson, Andrew, Lovett, Bryony, Dindyal, Shiva, Winter, Hannah, Rahman, Saquib, Wheatley, Kevin, Nieto, Tom, Ayaani, Soofiyah, Youssef, Haney, Nijjar, Rajwinder S., Watkin, Helen, Naumann, David, Emeshi, Sophie, Sarmah, Piyush B., Lee, Kathryn, Joji, Nikita, Heath, Jonathan, Teasdale, Rebecca L., Weerasinghe, Chamindri, Needham, Paul J., Welbourn, Hannah, Forster, Luke, Finch, David, Blazeby, Jane M., Robb, William, McNair, Angus G.K., Hrycaiczuk, Alex, Charalabopoulos, Alexandros, Kadirkamanathan, Sritharan, Tang, Cheuk-Bong, Jayanthi, Naga V.G., Noor, Nigel, Dobbins, Brian, Cockbain, Andrew J., Nilsen-Nunn, April, de Siqueira, Jonathan, Pellen, Mike, Cowley, Jonathan B., Ho, Wei-Min, Miu, Victor, White, Timothy J., Hodgkins, Kathryn A., Kinghorn, Alison, Tutton, Matthew G., Al-Abed, Yahya A., Menzies, Donald, Ahmad, Anwar, Reed, Joanna, Khan, Shabuddin, Monk, David, Vitone, Louis J., Murtaza, Ghulam, Joel, Abraham, Brennan, Stephen, Shier, David, Zhang, Catherine, Yoganathan, Thusidaran, Robinson, Steven J., McCallum, Iain J.D., Jones, Michael J., Elsayed, Mohammed, Tuck, Liz, Wayman, John, Carney, Kate, Aroori, Somaiah, Hosie, Kenneth B., Kimble, Adam, Bunting, David M., Fawole, Adeshina S., Basheer, Mohammed, Dave, Rajiv V., Sarveswaran, Janahan, Jones, Elinor, Kendal, Chris, Tilston, Michael P., Gough, Martin, Wallace, Tom, Singh, Shailendra, Downing, Justine, Mockford, Katherine A., Issa, Eyad, Shah, Nayab, Chauhan, Neal, Wilson, Timothy R., Forouzanfar, Amir, Wild, Jonathan R.L., Nofal, Emma, Bunnell, Catherine, Madbak, Khaliel, Rao, Sudhindra T.V., Devoto, Laurence, Siddiqi, Najaf, Khawaja, Zechan, Hewes, James C., Gould, Laura, Chambers, Alice, Rodriguez, Daniel U., Sen, Gourab, Robinson, Stuart, Bartlett, Francis, Rae, David M., Stevenson, Thomas E.J., Sarvananthan, Kas, Dwerryhouse, Simon J., Higgs, Simon M., Old, Oliver J., Hardy, Thomas J., Shah, Reena, Hornby, Steve T., Keogh, Ken, Frank, Lucinda, Al-Akash, Musallam, Upchurch, Emma A., Frame, Richard J., Hughes, Michael, Jelley, Clare, Weaver, Simon, Roy, Sudipta, Sillo, Toritseju O., Galanopoulos, Giorgios, Cuming, Tamzin, Cunha, Pedro, Tayeh, Salim, Kaptanis, Sarantos, Heshaishi, Mohamed, Eisawi, Abdalla, Abayomi, Michael, Ngu, Wee S., Fleming, Katie, Bajwa, Dalvir S., Chitre, Vivek, Aryal, Kamal, Ferris, Paul, Silva, Michael, Lammy, Simon, Mohamed, Sarah, Khawaja, Amir, Hussain, Adnan, Ghazanfar, Mudassar A., Bellini, Maria I., Ebdewi, Hamdi, Elshaer, Mohamed, Gravante, Gianpiero, Drake, Benjamin, Ogedegbe, Arikoge, Mukherjee, Dipankar, Arhi, Chanpreet, Giwa, Lola, Iqbal, Nusrat, Watson, Nicholas F., Aggarwal, Smeer K., Orchard, Philippa, Villatoro, Eduardo, Willson, Peter D., Mok, Kam W.J., Woodman, Thomas, Deguara, Jean, Garcea, Giuseppe, Babu, Benoy I., Dennison, Alistair R., Malde, Deep, Lloyd, David, Slavin, John P., Jones, Robert P., Ballance, Laura, Gerakopoulos, Stratos, Jambulingam, Periyathambi, Mansour, Sami, Sakai, Naomi, Acharya, Vikas, Sadat, Mohammed M., Karim, Lawen, Larkin, David, Amin, Khalid, Khan, Amarah, Law, Jennifer, Jamdar, Saurabh, Smith, Stella R., Sampat, Keerthika, O'shea, Kathryn M., Manu, Mangta, Asprou, Fotini M., Malik, Nabeela S., Chang, Jessica, Johnstone, Marianne, Lewis, Michael, Roberts, Geoffrey P., Karavadra, Babu, Photi, Evangelos, Hewes, James, Rodriguez, Dan, O'Reilly, Derek A., Rate, Anthony J., Sekhar, Hema, Henderson, Lucy T., Starmer, Benjamin Z., Coe, Peter O., Tolofari, Sotonye, Barrie, Jenifer, Bashir, Gareth, Sloane, Jake, Madanipour, Suroosh, Halkias, Constantine, Trevatt, Alexander E.J., Borowski, David W., Hornsby, Jane, Courtney, Michael J., Virupaksha, Suvi, Seymour, Keith, Robinson, Sarah, Hawkins, Helen, Bawa, Sadiq, Gallagher, Paul V., Reid, Alistair, Wood, Peter, Finch, Jonathan G., Finch, J.Guy, Parmar, Jitesh, Stirland, Euan, Gardner-Thorpe, James, Al-Muhktar, Ahmed, Peterson, Mark, Majeed, Ali, Bajwa, Farrukh M., Martin, Jack, Choy, Alfred, Tsang, Andrew, Pore, Naresh, Andrew, David R., Al-Khyatt, Waleed, Santosh Bhandari, Christopher Taylor, Chambers, Adam, Subramanium, Dhivya, Toh, Simon K.C., Carter, Nicholas C., Mercer, Stuart J., Knight, Benjamin, Vijay, Vardhini, Alagaratnam, Swethan, Sinha, Sidhartha, Khan, Shahab, El-Hasani, Shamsi S., Hussain, Abdulzahra A., Bhattacharya, Vish, Kansal, Nisheeth, Fasih, Tani, Jackson, Claire, Siddiqui, Midhat N., Chishti, Imran A., Fordham, Imogen J., Siddiqui, Zohaib, Bausbacher, Harald, Geogloma, Ileana, Gurung, Kabita, Tsavellas, George, Basynat, Pradeep, Shrestha, Ashish K., Basu, Sanjoy, Chhabra, Alok, Harilingam, Mohan, Rabie, Mohamed, Akhtar, Mansoor, Kumar, Pradeep, Jafferbhoy, Sadaf F., Hussain, Najam, Raza, Soulat, Haque, Manzarul, Alam, Imran, Aseem, Rabiya, Patel, Shakira, Asad, Mehek, Booth, Michael I., Ball, William R., Wood, Christopher P.J., Pinho-Gomes, Ana C., Kausar, Ambareen, Obeidallah, Mohammed, Varghase, Joseph, Lodhia, Joshil, Bradley, Donal, Rengifo, Carla, Lindsay, David, Gopalswamy, Sivakumar, Finlay, Ian, Wardle, Stacy, Bullen, Naomi, Iftikhar, Syed Y., Awan, Altaf, Ahmed, Javed, Leeder, Paul, Fusai, Guiseppe, Bond-Smith, Giles, Psica, Alicja, Puri, Yogesh, Hou, David, Noble, Fergus, Szentpali, Karoly, Broadhurst, Jack, Date, Ravindra, Hossack, Martin R., Goh, Yan L., Turner, Paul, Shetty, Vinutha, Riera, Manel, Macano, Christina A.W., Sukha, Anisha, Preston, Shaun R., Hoban, Jennifer R., Puntis, Daniel J., Williams, Sophie V., Krysztopik, Richard, Kynaston, James, Batt, Jeremy, Doe, Matthew, Goscimski, Andrzej, Jones, Gareth H., Hall, Claire, Carty, Nick, Ahmed, Jamil, Panteleimonitis, Sofoklis, Gunasekera, Rohan T., Sheel, Andrea R.G., Lennon, Hannah, Hindley, Caroline, Reddy, Marcus, Kenny, Ross, Elkheir, Natalie, McGlone, Emma R., Rajaganeshan, Rajasundaram, Hancorn, Kate, Hargreaves, Anita, Prasad, Raj, Longbotham, David A., Vijayanand, Dhakshinamoorthy, Wijetunga, Imeshi, Ziprin, Paul, Nicolay, Christopher R., Yeldham, Geoffrey, Read, Edward, Gossage, James A., Rolph, Rachel C., Ebied, Husam, Phull, Manraj, Khan, Mohammad A., Popplewell, Matthew, Kyriakidis, Dimitrios, Hussain, Anwar, Henley, Natasha, Packer, Jessica R., Derbyshire, Laura, Porter, Jonathan, Appleton, Shaun, Farouk, Marwan, Basra, Melvinder, Jennings, Neil A., Ali, Shahda, Kanakala, Venkatesh, Ali, Haythem, Lane, Risha, Dickson-Lowe, Richard, Zarsadias, Prizzi, Mirza, Darius, Puig, Sonia, Al Amari, Khalid, Vijayan, Deepak, Sutcliffe, Robert, Marudanayagam, Ravi, Hamady, Zayed, Prasad, Abheesh R., Patel, Abhilasha, Durkin, Damien, Kaur, Parminder, Bowen, Laura, Byrne, James P., Pearson, Katherine L., Delisle, Theo G., Davies, James, Tomlinson, Mark A., Johnpulle, Michelle A., Slawinski, Corinna, Macdonald, Andrew, Nicholson, James, Newton, Katy, Mbuvi, James, Farooq, Ansar, Mothe, Bhavani S., Zafrani, Zakhi, Brett, Daniel, Francombe, James, Spreadborough, Philip, Barnes, James, Cheung, Melanie, Al-Bahrani, Ahmed Z., Preziosi, Giuseppe, Urbonas, Tomas, Alberts, Justin, Mallik, Mekhlola, Patel, Krashna, Segaran, Ashvina, Doulias, Triantafyllos, Sufi, Pratik A., Yao, Caroline, Pollock, Sarah, Manzelli, Antonio, Wajed, Saj, Kourkulos, Michail, Pezzuto, Roberto, Wadley, Martin, Hamilton, Emma, Jaunoo, Shameen, Padwick, Robert, Sayegh, Mazin, Newton, Richard C., Hebbar, Madhusoodhana, Farag, Sameh F., Hebbar, Madhu, Spearman, John, Hamdan, Mohammed F., D'Costa, Conrad, Blane, Christine, Giles, Mathew, Peter, Mark B., Hirst, Natalie A., Hossain, Tanvir, Pannu, Arslan, El-Dhuwaib, Yesar, Morrison, Tamsin E.M., Taylor, Greg W., Thompson, Ronald L.E., McCune, Ken, Loughlin, Paula, Lawther, Roger, Byrnes, Colman K., Simpson, Duncan J., Mawhinney, Abi, Warren, Conor, McKay, Damian, McIlmunn, Colin, Martin, Serena, MacArtney, Matthew, Diamond, Tom, Davey, Phil, Jones, Claire, Clements, Joshua M., Digney, Ruairi, Chan, Wei M., McCain, Stephen, Gull, Sadaf, Janeczko, Adam, Dorrian, Emmet, Harris, Andrew, Dawson, Suzanne, Johnston, Dorothy, McAree, Barry, Ghareeb, Essam, Thomas, George, Connelly, Martin, McKenzie, Stephen, Cieplucha, Krzysztos, Spence, Gary, Campbell, William, Hooks, Gareth, Bradley, Neil, Hill, Arnold D.K., Cassidy, John T., Boland, Michael, Burke, Paul, Nally, Deirdre M., Khogali, Elmoataz, Shabo, Wael, Iskandar, Edrin, McEntee, Gerry P., O'Neill, Maeve A., Peirce, Colin, Lyons, Emma M., O'Sullivan, Adrian W., Thakkar, Rohan, Carroll, Paul, Ivanovski, Ivan, Balfe, Paul, Lee, Matthew, Winter, Des C., Kelly, Michael E., Hoti, Emir, Maguire, Donal, Karunakaran, Priyadarssini, Geoghegan, Justin G., Martin, Sean T., Cross, Keith S., Cooke, Fiachra, Zeeshan, Saquib, Murphy, James O., Mealy, Ken, Mohan, Helen M., Nedujchelyn, Yuwaraja, Ullah, Muhammad F., Ahmed, Irfan, Giovinazzo, Francesco, Milburn, James, Prince, Sarah, Brooke, Eleanor, Buchan, Joanna, Khalil, Ahmed M., Vaughan, Elizabeth M., Ramage, Michael I., Aldridge, Roland C., Gibson, Simon, Nicholson, Gary A., Vass, David G., Grant, Alan J., Holroyd, David J., Jones, Angharad, Sutton, Cherith M.L.R., O'Dwyer, Patrick, Nilsson, Frida, Weber, Beatrix, Williamson, Tracey K., Lalla, Kushik, Bryant, Alice, Carter, Ross, Forrest, Craig R., Hunter, David I., Nassar, Ahmad H., Orizu, Mavis N., Knight, Katrina, Qandeel, Haitham, Suttie, Stuart, Belding, Rowena, McClarey, Andrew, Boyd, Alan T., Guthrie, Graeme J.K., Lim, Pei J., Luhmann, Andreas, Watson, Angus J.M., Richards, Colin H., Nicol, Laura, Madurska, Marta, Harrison, Ewen, Boyce, Kathryn M., Roebuck, Amanda, Ferguson, Graeme, Pati, Pradeep, Wilson, Michael S.J., Dalgaty, Faith, Fothergill, Laura, Driscoll, Peter J., Mozolowski, Kirsty L., Banwell, Victoria, Bennett, Stephen P., Rogers, Paul N., Skelly, Brendan L., Rutherford, Claire L., Mirza, Ahmed K., Lazim, Taha, Lim, Henry C.C., Duke, Diana, Ahmed, Talat, Beasley, William D., Wilkinson, Marc D., Maharaj, Geta, Malcolm, Cathy, Brown, Timothy H., Shingler, Guy M., Mowbray, Nicholas, Radwan, Rami, Morcous, Paul, Wood, Simon, Kadhim, Abbas, Stewart, Duncan J., Baker, Andrew L., Tanner, Nicola, Shenoy, Hrishikesh, Sutcliffe, Robert P., Hollyman, Marianne, Hodson, James, Bonney, Glenn, Vohra, Ravi S., and Griffiths, Ewen A.

Published
2016
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26. Quaternary alluvial paleosols of the Atbara River, eastern Sudan: description and paleoenvironments.

Author

MOHAMMEDNOOR, M., BIBI, F., EISAWI, A., TSUKAMOTO, S., and BUSSERT, R.

Subjects
PALEOPEDOLOGY, FOSSIL vertebrates, MAMMAL communities, CLIMATE change, ANALYTICAL geochemistry, GRASSLANDS
Abstract

Quaternary climatic changes in the Nile Basin and their effects on the evolution of African mammals and vegetation are poorly understood, particularly for the last 1 Ma. Pleistocene (~230 to <17 ka) alluvial sediments exposed along the middle stretches of the Atbara River in eastern Sudan are rich in fossil vertebrates and are ideal for paleoenvironmental reconstruction during this time interval. We performed petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical analyses on the middle Atbara paleosols to reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleolandscape. We describe Aridisols/Calcisols characterized by calcretes and containing gypsum and halite, and Vertisols with pedogenic slickensides and a relatively large amount of smectite. The paleosols indicate that the study area transitioned from an arid to semi-arid climate during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)7/6, to a more humid climate during MIS5, and then a return to more arid conditions during MIS2. The studied paleosols likely supported a range of grassland and wooded grassland savanna habitats. Our study confirms that the Atbara River Valley provided favorable living conditions for Pleistocene large mammal communities including Homo, potentially facilitating dispersals out of Africa through the Nile corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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27. Wet‐Chemical Etching and Delamination of MoAlB into MBene and Its Outstanding Photocatalytic Performance.

Author

Bury, Dominika, Jakubczak, Michał, Purbayanto, Muhammad Abiyyu Kenichi, Rybak, Miłosz, Birowska, Magdalena, Wójcik, Anna, Moszczyńska, Dorota, Eisawi, Karamullah, Prenger, Kaitlyn, Presser, Volker, Naguib, Michael, and Jastrzębska, Agnieszka Maria

Subjects
BAND gaps, ETCHING, PHOTOCATALYSTS, METHYLENE blue, ENVIRONMENTAL remediation, REACTIVE oxygen species, BORON
Abstract

MBenes are post‐MXene materials that contain boron in their structure instead of carbon and nitrogen. This unique composition offers an opportunity to explore the role of boron in the performance of 2D materials. However, wet‐chemical etching and delamination of the starting MoAlB phase are challenging due to the persistent bonding of aluminum atoms with their neighboring elements. Herein, it is overcome by processing MoAlB for 24, 48, and 72 h with an aqueous HCl/H2O2 solution. The time‐wise etching and delamination delivers individual single‐to‐few layered 48‐MBene flakes. The theoretical‐to‐experimental XRD analysis revealed the best‐delaminated 48‐MBene having Mo2B2 orthorhombic lattice arrangement. The presence of Mo oxide allows direct 1.2 eV and indirect 0.2 eV optical band gaps and outstanding photocatalytic activity in decomposing methylene blue as a model organic contaminant. The 48‐MBene photocatalyst achieves about 90% of MB decomposition under ultraviolet and simulated white light irradiation with three times faster kinetics outperforming even hybridized MXenes. In addition, 48‐MBene appeared best suited to utilize the full spectrum of visible light into reactive oxygen species. Conversely, 24‐MBene and 72‐MBene shows incomplete delamination or oxidation, hampering their photocatalytic activity. The obtained results open an experimental pathway to apply MBenes in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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30. Refinement effect of Zirconium and Samarium on Al-4Mg cast alloy

Author

K Eisawi, Mahmoud Tash, Waleed Khalifa, and Iman El-Mahallawi

Subjects
thermal analysis, grain refining, microstructure, Sm and Zr, Al–Mg Alloy, Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials, TA401-492, Chemical technology, TP1-1185
Abstract

This study aims at investigating the modification response of cast Al-4%Mg alloy to Zirconium or Samarium additions at high and low levels. Thermal analysis was used to evaluate the influence of Zirconium and Samarium. The solidification data represented the four main reaction peaks during solidification and had shown that both Zr and Sm play a role in refinement with a depression in solidification temperature. Moreover, Sm acts as a modifier as it had noticeable effect on retarding the recalescence temperature. Microstructure Examination was implemented by optical microscopy, image analysis software and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with the aid of image analysis and Energy Dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results revealed the formation of new intermetallic phases such as agglomerates of Al _38.76 MgZr _7.04 Ti _0.52 Fe _0.07 and Chinese script shapes of Al _25.28 MgFe _2.77 Sm _1.48 . Accordingly, a noticeable grain size reduction is found with respect to the level of addition of Zr and Sm where Sm showed more refinement effect.

Published
2021
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32. Artificial Neural Networks Model for Predicting Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Based on VDR Gene FokI Polymorphism, Lipid Profile and Demographic Data

Author

Ma’mon M. Hatmal, Salim M. Abderrahman, Wajeha Nimer, Zaynab Al-Eisawi, Hamzeh J. Al-Ameer, Mohammad A. I. Al-Hatamleh, Rohimah Mohamud, and Walhan Alshaer

Subjects
T2DM, diabetes, diabetic Jordanians, FokI polymorphism, VDR gene, FNN, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a multifactorial disease associated with many genetic polymorphisms; among them is the FokI polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. In this case-control study, samples from 82 T2DM patients and 82 healthy controls were examined to investigate the association of the FokI polymorphism and lipid profile with T2DM in the Jordanian population. DNA was extracted from blood and genotyped for the FokI polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Lipid profile and fasting blood sugar were also measured. There were significant differences in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels between T2DM and control samples. Frequencies of the FokI polymorphism (CC, CT and TT) were determined in T2DM and control samples and were not significantly different. Furthermore, there was no significant association between the FokI polymorphism and T2DM or lipid profile. A feed-forward neural network (FNN) was used as a computational platform to predict the persons with diabetes based on the FokI polymorphism, lipid profile, gender and age. The accuracy of prediction reached 88% when all parameters were included, 81% when the FokI polymorphism was excluded, and 72% when lipids were only included. This is the first study investigating the association of the VDR gene FokI polymorphism with T2DM in the Jordanian population, and it showed negative association. Diabetes was predicted with high accuracy based on medical data using an FNN. This highlights the great value of incorporating neural network tools into large medical databases and the ability to predict patient susceptibility to diabetes.

Published
2020
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34. Toward MBenes Battery Electrode Materials: Layered Molybdenum Borides for Li‐Ion Batteries.

Author

Majed, Ahmad, Torkamanzadeh, Mohammad, Nwaokorie, Chukwudi F., Eisawi, Karamullah, Dun, Chaochao, Buck, Audrey, Urban, Jeffrey J., Montemore, Matthew M., Presser, Volker, and Naguib, Michael

Subjects
ELECTRIC batteries, LITHIUM-ion batteries, BORIDES, MOLYBDENUM, ELECTRODE potential, SURFACE reactions
Abstract

Lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs) are crucial in our shift toward sustainable technologies. In this work, the potential of layered boride materials (MoAlB and Mo2AlB2) as novel, high‐performance electrode materials for LIBs and SIBs, is explored. It is discovered that Mo2AlB2 shows a higher specific capacity than MoAlB when used as an electrode material for LIBs, with a specific capacity of 593 mAh g−1 achieved after 500 cycles at 200 mA g−1. It is also found that surface redox reactions are responsible for Li storage in Mo2AlB2, instead of intercalation or conversion. Moreover, the sodium hydroxide treatment of MoAlB leads to a porous morphology and higher specific capacities exceeding that of pristine MoAlB. When tested in SIBs, Mo2AlB2 exhibits a specific capacity of 150 mAh g−1 at 20 mA g−1. These findings suggest that layered borides have potential as electrode materials for both LIBs and SIBs, and highlight the importance of surface redox reactions in Li storage mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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42. Cost‐effectiveness of emergency versus delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute gallbladder pathology

Author

Sutton, A. J., Vohra, R. S., Hollyman, M., Marriott, P. J., Buja, A., Alderson, D., Pasquali, S., Griffiths, E. A., Vohra, R. S., Spreadborough, P., Hollyman, M., Marriott, P. J., Kirkham, A., Pasquali, S., Alderson, D., Griffiths, E. A., Fenwick, S., Elmasry, M., Nunes, Q. M., Kennedy, D., Khan, R. B., Khan, M. A. S., Magee, C. J., Jones, S. M., Mason, D., Parappally, C. P., Mathur, P., Saunders, M., Jamel, S., Ul Haque, S., Zafar, S., Shiwani, M. H., Samuel, N., Dar, F., Jackson, A., Lovett, B., Dindyal, S., Winter, H., Fletcher, T., Rahman, S., Wheatley, K., Nieto, T., Ayaani, S., Youssef, H., Nijjar, R. S., Watkin, H., Naumann, D., Emesih, S., Sarmah, P. B., Lee, K., Joji, N., Heath, J., Teasdale, R. L., Weerasinghe, C., Needham, P. J., Welbourn, H., Forster, L., Finch, D., Blazeby, J. M., Robb, W., McNair, A. G. K., Hrycaiczuk, A., Charalabopoulos, A., Kadirkamanathan, S., Tang, C.‐B., Jayanthi, N. V. G., Noor, N., Dobbins, B., Cockbain, A. J., Nilsen‐Nunn, A., de Siqueira, J., Pellen, M., Cowley, J. B., Ho, W.‐M., Miu, V., White, T. J., Hodgkins, K. A., Kinghorn, A., Tutton, M. G., Al‐Abed, Y. A., Menzies, D., Ahmad, A., Reed, J., Khan, S., Monk, D., Vitone, L. J., Murtaza, G., Joel, A., Brennan, S., Shier, D., Zhang, C., Yoganathan, T., Robinson, S. J., McCallum, I. J. D., Jones, M. J., Elsayed, M., Tuck, E., Wayman, J., Carney, K., Aroori, S., Hosie, K. B., Kimble, A., Bunting, D.M., Fawole, A. S., Basheer, M., Dave, R. V., Sarveswaran, J., Jones, E., Kendal, C., Tilston, M. P., Gough, M., Wallace, T., Singh, S., Downing, J., Mockford, K. A., Issa, E., Shah, N., Chauhan, N., Wilson, T. R., Forouzanfar, A., Wild, J. R. L., Nofal, E., Bunnell, C., Madbak, K., Rao, S. T. V., Devoto, L., Siddiqi, N., Khawaja, Z., Hewes, J. C., Gould, L., Chambers, A., Rodriguez, D. U., Sen, G., Robinson, S., Carney, K., Bartlett, F., Rae, D. M., Stevenson, T. E. J., Sarvananthan, K., Dwerryhouse, S. J., Higgs, S. M., Old, O. J., Hardy, T. J., Shah, R., Hornby, S. T., Keogh, K., Frank, L., Al‐Akash, M., Upchurch, E. A., Frame, R. J., Hughes, M., Jelley, C., Weaver, S., Roy, S., Sillo, T. O., Galanopoulos, G., Cuming, T., Cunha, P., Tayeh, S., Kaptanis, S., Heshaishi, M., Eisawi, A., Abayomi, M., Ngu, W. S., Fleming, K., Bajwa, D. S., Chitre, V., Aryal, K., Ferris, P., Silva, M., Lammy, S., Mohamed, S., Khawaja, A., Hussain, A., Ghazanfar, M. A., Bellini, M. I., Ebdewi, H., Elshaer, M., Gravante, G., Drake, B., Ogedegbe, A., Mukherjee, D., Arhi, C., Iqbal, L. G. N., Watson, N. F., Aggarwal, S. K., Orchard, P., Villatoro, E., Willson, P. D., Mok, J., Woodman, T., Deguara, J., Garcea, G., Babu, B. I., Dennison, A. R., Malde, D., Lloyd, D., Satheesan, S., Al‐Taan, O., Boddy, A., Slavin, J. P., Jones, R. P., Ballance, L., Gerakopoulos, S., Jambulingam, P., Mansour, S., Sakai, N., Acharya, V., Sadat, M. M., Karim, L., Larkin, D., Amin, K., Khan, A., Law, J., Jamdar, S., Smith, S. R., Sampat, K., Oʼshea, K. M., Manu, M., Asprou, F. M., Malik, N. S., Chang, J., Johnstone, M., Lewis, M., Roberts, G. P., Karavadra, B., Photi, E., Hewes, J., Gould, L., Chambers, A., Rodriguez, D., OʼReilly, D. A., Rate, A. J., Sekhar, H., Henderson, L. T., Starmer, B. Z., Coe, P. O., Tolofari, S., Barrie, J., Bashir, G., Sloane, J., Madanipour, S., Halkias, C., Trevatt, A. E. J., Borowski, D. W., Hornsby, J., Courtney, M. J., Virupaksha, S., Seymour, K., Robinson, S., Hawkins, H., Bawa, S., Gallagher, P. V., Reid, A., Wood, P., Finch, J. G., Parmar, J., Stirland, E., Gardner‐Thorpe, J., Al‐Muhktar, A., Peterson, M., Majeed, A., Bajwa, F. M., Martin, J., Choy, A., Tsang, A., Pore, N., Andrew, D. R., Al‐Khyatt, W., Taylor, C., Bhandari, S., Chambers, A., Subramanium, D., Toh, S. K. C., Carter, N. C., Tate, S., Pearce, B., Wainwright, D., Mercer, S. J., Knight, B., Vijay, V., Alagaratnam, S., Sinha, S., Khan, S., El‐Hasani, S. S., Hussain, A. 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R., Hall, C., Carty, N., Ahmed, J., Panteleimonitis, S., Gunasekera, R. T., Sheel, A. R. G., Lennon, H., Hindley, C., Reddy, M., Kenny, R., Elkheir, N., McGlone, E. R., Rajaganeshan, R., Hancorn, K., Hargreaves, A., Prasad, R., Longbotham, D. A., Vijayanand, D., Wijetunga, I., Ziprin, P., Nicolay, C. R., Yeldham, G., Read, E., Gossage, J. A., Rolph, R. C., Ebied, H., Phull, M., Khan, M. A., Popplewell, M., Kyriakidis, D., Hussain, A., Henley, N., Packer, J. R., Derbyshire, L., Porter, J., Appleton, S., Farouk, M., Basra, M., Jennings, N. A., Ali, S., Kanakala, V., Ali, H., Lane, R., Dickson‐Lowe, R., Zarsadias, P., Mirza, D., Puig, S., Al Amari, K., Vijayan, D., Sutcliffe, R., Marudanayagam, R., Hamady, Z., Prasad, A. R., Patel, A., Durkin, D., Kaur, P., Bowen, L., Byrne, J. P., Pearson, K. L., Delisle, T. G., Davies, J., Tomlinson, M. A., Johnpulle, M. A., Slawinski, C., Macdonald, A., Nicholson, J., Newton, K., Mbuvi, J., Farooq, A., Mothe, B. 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R., OʼDwyer, P., Nilsson, F., Weber, B., Williamson, T. K., Lalla, K., Bryant, A., Carter, C. R., Forrest, C. R., Hunter, D. I., Nassar, A. H., Orizu, M. N., Knight, K., Qandeel, H., Suttie, S., Belding, R., McClarey, A., Boyd, A. T., Guthrie, G. J. K., Lim, P. J., Luhmann, A., Watson, A. J. M., Richards, C. H., Nicol, L., Madurska, M., Harrison, E., Boyce, K. M., Roebuck, A., Ferguson, G., Pati, P., Wilson, M. S. J., Dalgaty, F., Fothergill, L., Driscoll, P. J., Mozolowski, K. L., Banwell, V., Bennett, S. P., Rogers, P. N., Skelly, B. L., Rutherford, C. L., Mirza, A. K., Lazim, T., Lim, H. C. C., Duke, D., Ahmed, T., Beasley, W. D., Wilkinson, M. D., Maharaj, G., Malcolm, C., Brown, T. H., Shingler, G. M., Mowbray, N., Radwan, R., Morcous, P., Wood, S., Kadhim, A., Stewart, D. J., Baker, A. L., Tanner, N., Shenoy, H., Hafiz, S., De Marchi, J. A., Singh‐Ranger, D., Hisham, E., Ainley, P., OʼNeill, S., Terrace, J., Napetti, S., Hopwood, B., Rhys, T., Downing, J., Kanavati, O., Coats, M., Aleksandrov, D., Kallaway, C., Yahya, S., Weber, B., Templeton, A., Trotter, M., Lo, C., Dhillon, A., Heywood, N., Aawsaj, Y., Hamdan, A., Reece‐Bolton, O., McGuigan, A., Shahin, Y., Ali, A., Luther, A., Nicholson, J. A., Rajendran, I., Boal, M., and Ritchie, J.

Published
2017
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43. Biochemical effects and safety of Gum arabic (Acacia Senegal) supplementation in patients with sickle cell anemia

Author

Imad Fdl-Elmula, and Amal Mahmoud Saeed, Mustafa Khidir Mustafa Elnimeiri, Haydar Awad Abdelrazig, Omer Ali Eisawi, and Lamis AbdelGadir Kaddam

Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty, food.ingredient, Bilirubin, Renal function, Gastroenterology, 03 medical and health sciences, chemistry.chemical_compound, 0302 clinical medicine, food, Gum arabic, Internal medicine, medicine, Urea, Creatinine, business.industry, Liver enzyme, Albumin, Hematology, medicine.disease, Sickle cell anemia, chemistry, 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis, Uric acid, Original Article, business, 030215 immunology
Abstract

Background Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a hereditary chronic hemolytic anemia with several clinical consequences. Intravascular sickling of red blood cells leads to multi-organ dysfunction. Moreover, several biochemical abnormalities have been associated with SCA. Gum arabic (GA) is an edible dried gummy exudate obtained from Acacia Senegal tree. GA showed antioxidant and cytoprotective activities and demonstrated protection against hepatic, renal, and cardiac toxicities in experimental rats. We hypothesized that regular intake of GA improves renal and liver functions in patients with SCA. Methods Forty-seven patients (5-42 yr) carrying hemoglobin SS were recruited. The patients received 30 g/day GA for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected before administering GA and then after 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Liver enzymes, total protein, albumin, electrolytes, urea, creatinine, and uric acid were determined in the serum. The study was approved by the Al Neelain University Institutional Review Board and Research Ethics Committee Ministry of Health. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02467257). Results GA significantly decreased direct bilirubin level [statistical significance (P-value)=0.04]. It also significantly decreased serum alanine transaminase level after 4 weeks, which was sustained till the 8th week. GA, however, had no effect on serum aspartate transaminase level. In terms of renal function, GA decreased serum urea level but the effect was not sustained after the first month. Conclusion GA may alter the disease severity in SCA as demonstrated by its ability to decrease direct bilirubin and urea levels in the serum.

Published
2019

44. The efficacy of betulinic acid in triple-negative breast cancer

Author

Daniel Weber, Mixia Zhang, Pengwei Zhuang, Yanjun Zhang, Janelle Wheat, Geoffrey Currie, and Zaynab Al-Eisawi

Subjects
Medicine (General), R5-920
Abstract

Purpose: The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer remains a daunting challenge with the standard-of-care treatments eventually failing due to acquired drug resistance, toxic side effects and the presence of a deregulated immune response. New treatments for overcoming these drawbacks include the use of plant extracts. Study design: In this study, the efficacy of betulinic acid, a naturally abundant phytochemical exhibiting anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activity, has been evaluated for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines. Furthermore, the ability of betulinic acid to inhibit angiogenesis was also determined. Results: Here, we report that betulinic acid was able to inhibit the inflammatory response, inhibit angiogenesis and cause cell cycle arrest ultimately causing apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Our findings support that the identification of naturally occurring anti-tumour compounds may provide a chemotherapeutic approach for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Conclusion: Overall, our results provide a molecular basis for the ability of betulinic acid to mediate apoptosis, suppress inflammation and inhibit angiogenesis in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines.

Published
2014
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46. Climate and geological change as drivers of Mauritiinae palm biogeography

Author

Phillip E. Jardine, Sonia Salamanca, Hannah Banks, Nicolas Chazot, Shalini Parmar, Vandana Prasad, Rob Langelaan, Hernando Dueñas, Lucky O. Enuenwemba, Christine D. Bacon, Wim Star, Huasheng Huang, Rosemery Rocha da Silveira, Angelo Plata, Andrés Pardo-Trujillo, Jun Ying Lim, Giovanni Bogota-Angel, Ali A.M. Eisawi, Carina Hoorn, Robert J. Morley, Obianuju P. Umeji, and Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics (IBED, FNWI)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Palynology, 0303 health sciences, Ecology, biology, Range (biology), Biogeography, Mauritia, Arecaceae, biology.organism_classification, medicine.disease_cause, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Geography, Taxon, Physical Geography, Pollen, medicine, Lepidocaryum, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 030304 developmental biology
Abstract

Aim: Forest composition and distribution are determined by a myriad of factors, including climate. As models of tropical rain forest, palms are often used as indicator taxa, particularly the Mauritiinae. We question, what characterizes the Mauritiinae pollen in the global fossil record? And when did the Mauritiinae become endemic to South America?. Location: Global tropics.Taxon: Mauritiinae palms (Arecaceae: Lepidocaryeae).Methods: Pollen trait data from extinct and extant Mauritiinae pollen were generated from light-, scanning-, and transmission electron microscopy. Statistical morphometric analysis was used to define species and their relationships to other Mauritiinae. We also compiled a comprehensive pollen database for extinct and extant Mauritiinae and mapped their global geographical distribution from Late Cretaceous to present, using GBIF and fossil data. Results: Our morphometric analysis identified 18 species (11 extinct and seven extant), all exhibiting exine indentations, a synapomorphy of the subtribe. The fossil taxa and early divergent extant Lepidocaryum are all monosulcate, whereas the extant Mauritia and Mauritiella species are all monoulcerate. Paleobiogeographical maps of fossil Mauritiinae pollen occurrences suggest the taxon originated in equatorial Africa during the Cretaceous, and expanded their range to South America, and to India in the Paleocene. Range retraction started in the early Eocene with extirpation from India, and reduction in diversity in Africa culminating at the Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT). In contrast, in South America, the distribution is maintained, and since the Neogene Mauritiinae palms are mostly restricted to swampy, lowland habitats.Main conclusions: Morphometric analysis shows that since their origin Mauritiinae pollen are relatively species poor, and Mauritiidites resembles Lepidocaryum. We also conclude that the biogeographical history of the Mauriitinae and, by extension, tropical forests was strongly affected by global climatic cooling events. In particular, the climate change at the EOT was a fundamental determinant of current tropical forest distribution.

Published
2021

49. Paleoclimate reconstruction using Pleistocene paleosols along the middle Atbara River in Eastern Sudan

Author

Mohammednoor, M., Bussert , Robert, Tsukamoto , S., Richter , M., El Bedri , O., Kraatz , B., Salih , K., Müller , J., Eisawi , A., and Bibi , F.

Abstract

Along the middle Atbara River, Pleistocene alluvial sediments dated to ~200 to 20 ka are exposed in eastern Sudan over a length of about 200 km with a maximum thickness of 50 m. The Atbara River today has its headwaters in the northern Ethiopian Plateau and is the last major tributary of the Nile before it flows through the Sahara. Previous studies and our fieldwork since 2018 have resulted in extensive finds of fossil terrestrial mammals - including hominins - and archaeological stone tools in these Pleistocene sediments. Intercalated within the alluvial sedimentary sequences are paleosols distinguished by various pedogenic features such as calcretes, root structures and pedogenic slickensides. These paleosols are especially interesting archives of the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment during the deposition of these sedimentary sequences. To study the paleosols, mineralogical, petrographical and geochemical investigations were carried out. Field investigations as well as mineralogical analyses show that mainly paleosols like aridisols (desert soils) and vertisols (swelling clay soils) are present. Aridisols are characterized by calcic layers and calcareous nodules and root structures (calcic horizon Bk) and contain minerals such as calcite, ferrodolomite and gypsum. Clay minerals (argillic horizon Bt) such as smectite, illite, illite/smectite, chlorite and other easily weatherable minerals (e. g., feldspars) are also common. Vertisols have a blocky appearance with peds (cracks) and pedogenic slickenside structures due to the shrinking and swelling of smectitic clays (argillic horizon Bt). Aridisols reflect arid to semiarid climates, while vertisols occur in regions with subhumid to semi-arid climates. The mineralogy (abundant plagioclase and chlorite) of both paleosols indicates basaltic source rocks, which are widespread in the study area. The δ13CVPDB isotopic values of the pedogenic carbonates show that the vegetation varied between grassland, wooded grassland and woodland/bushland/thicket/shrubland, which can occur in both aridisols and vertisols. The δ18OVPDB values mainly reflect a slightly increased evaporation/precipitation ratio and thus a semi-arid climate during the Mid-Late Pleistocene, similar to conditions today.

Published
2021
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50. Artificial Neural Networks Model for Predicting Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Based on VDR Gene FokI Polymorphism, Lipid Profile and Demographic Data

Author

Walhan Alshaer, Salim M. Abderrahman, Zaynab Al-Eisawi, Ma'mon M. Hatmal, Wajeha Nimer, Rohimah Mohamud, Hamzeh J Al-Ameer, and Mohammad A. I. Al-Hatamleh

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, medicine.medical_specialty, endocrine system diseases, neural network, T2DM, Biology, Calcitriol receptor, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, law.invention, lipids, 03 medical and health sciences, chemistry.chemical_compound, 0302 clinical medicine, law, Diabetes mellitus, Internal medicine, medicine, FokI polymorphism, 030212 general & internal medicine, lcsh:QH301-705.5, Polymerase chain reaction, General Immunology and Microbiology, medicine.diagnostic_test, Triglyceride, diabetes, VDR gene, Cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, nutritional and metabolic diseases, medicine.disease, 030104 developmental biology, Endocrinology, chemistry, lcsh:Biology (General), diabetic Jordanians, FNN, medical databases, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Lipid profile, Lipoprotein
Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a multifactorial disease associated with many genetic polymorphisms, among them is the FokI polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. In this case-control study, samples from 82 T2DM patients and 82 healthy controls were examined to investigate the association of the FokI polymorphism and lipid profile with T2DM in the Jordanian population. DNA was extracted from blood and genotyped for the FokI polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Lipid profile and fasting blood sugar were also measured. There were significant differences in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels between T2DM and control samples. Frequencies of the FokI polymorphism (CC, CT and TT) were determined in T2DM and control samples and were not significantly different. Furthermore, there was no significant association between the FokI polymorphism and T2DM or lipid profile. A feed-forward neural network (FNN) was used as a computational platform to predict the persons with diabetes based on the FokI polymorphism, lipid profile, gender and age. The accuracy of prediction reached 88% when all parameters were included, 81% when the FokI polymorphism was excluded, and 72% when lipids were only included. This is the first study investigating the association of the VDR gene FokI polymorphism with T2DM in the Jordanian population, and it showed negative association. Diabetes was predicted with high accuracy based on medical data using an FNN. This highlights the great value of incorporating neural network tools into large medical databases and the ability to predict patient susceptibility to diabetes.

Published
2020

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