31 results on '"Khalaf B"'
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2. Synthesis, characterization, and biodegradation studies of new cellulose-based polymers
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Tabaght, F. E., Azzaoui, K., Idrissi, A. El, Jodeh, S., Khalaf, B., Rhazi, L., Bellaouchi, R., Asehraou, A., Hammouti, B., and Sabbahi, R.
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- 2023
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3. Synthesis of Bio-Based and Eco-Friendly Nanomaterials for Medical and BioMedical Applications
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Sadiku, Emmanuel Rotimi, Agboola, O., Ibrahim, Idowu David, Babu Reddy, Abbavaram, Bandla, M., Mabalane, P. N., Kupolati, Williams Kehinde, Tippabattini, J., Varaprasad, K., Areo, K. A., Uwa, C. A., Eze, Azunna Agwo, Agwuncha, Stephen Chinenyeze, Oboirien, B. O., Adesola, T. A., Nkuna, C., Aderibigbe, I. A., Owonubi, S. J., Fasiku, Victoria Oluwaseun, Aderibigbe, B. A., Ojijo, V. O., Desai, D., Dunne, R., Selatile, K., Makgatho, G., Lethabane, M. L., Ogunbiyi, O. F., Adesina, O. T., Biotidara, O. F., Sellamuthu, Periyar Selvam, Nambiar, Reshma B., Babu, Anand, Dludlu, M. K., Adeboje, A. O., Adeyeye, O. A., Sanni, S., Ndamase, Abongile S., Molelekwa, G. F., Kumar, K. Raj, Jayaramudu, J., Daramola, Oluyemi O., Mochane, Mokgaotsa Jonas, Mokhane, T. C., Iheaturu, Nnamdi C., Adedoja, O., Hamam, Yskandar, Khalaf, B., Thakur, Vijay Kumar, Series Editor, and Gnanasekaran, Dhorali, editor
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- 2019
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4. Rheological and Electrical Study of a Composite Material Based on an Epoxy Polymer Containing Cyclotriphosphazene
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Dagdag, O., primary, El Gouri, M., additional, El Mansouri, A., additional, Outzourhit, A., additional, El Harfi, A., additional, Cherkaoui, O., additional, El Bachiri, A., additional, Hamed, O., additional, Jodeh, S., additional, Hanbali, G., additional, and Khalaf, B., additional
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- 2020
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5. P652: High-yield diagnostic testing of FGF14 repeat expansion in cerebellar ataxia across the North American population
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Megan Forrest, Megan Delfeld, Alexander Gary, April Franco, Sanjukta Tawde, Malia Triebold, Widad Abou-Chaar, Vikram Shakkottai, Sharan Srinivasan, Khalaf Bushara, Bernard Brais, David Pellerin, Christopher Gomez, and Soma Das
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Genetics ,QH426-470 ,Medicine - Published
- 2024
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6. Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer Enhancement in Double Pipe Heat Exchanger
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khalaf, B S, primary and Falih, A H, additional
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- 2018
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7. Deep learning in distributed denial-of-service attacks detection method for Internet of Things networks
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Aswad Firas Mohammed, Ahmed Ali Mohammed Saleh, Alhammadi Nafea Ali Majeed, Khalaf Bashar Ahmad, and Mostafa Salama A.
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distributed denial-of-service attacks ,internet of things ,deep learning ,classification ,cnn ,bilstm ,rnn ,lstm. ,Science ,Electronic computers. Computer science ,QA75.5-76.95 - Abstract
With the rapid growth of informatics systems’ technology in this modern age, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become more valuable and vital to everyday life in many ways. IoT applications are now more popular than they used to be due to the availability of many gadgets that work as IoT enablers, including smartwatches, smartphones, security cameras, and smart sensors. However, the insecure nature of IoT devices has led to several difficulties, one of which is distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. IoT systems have several security limitations due to their disreputability characteristics, like dynamic communication between IoT devices. The dynamic communications resulted from the limited resources of these devices, such as their data storage and processing units. Recently, many attempts have been made to develop intelligent models to protect IoT networks against DDoS attacks. The main ongoing research issue is developing a model capable of protecting the network from DDoS attacks that is sensitive to various classes of DDoS and can recognize legitimate traffic to avoid false alarms. Subsequently, this study proposes combining three deep learning algorithms, namely recurrent neural network (RNN), long short-term memory (LSTM)-RNN, and convolutional neural network (CNN), to build a bidirectional CNN-BiLSTM DDoS detection model. The RNN, CNN, LSTM, and CNN-BiLSTM are implemented and tested to determine the most effective model against DDoS attacks that can accurately detect and distinguish DDoS from legitimate traffic. The intrusion detection evaluation dataset (CICIDS2017) is used to provide more realistic detection. The CICIDS2017 dataset includes benign and up-to-date examples of typical attacks, closely matching real-world data of Packet Capture. The four models are tested and assessed using Confusion Metrix against four commonly used criteria: accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measure. The performance of the models is quite effective as they obtain an accuracy rate of around 99.00%, except for the CNN model, which achieves an accuracy of 98.82%. The CNN-BiLSTM achieves the best accuracy of 99.76% and precision of 98.90%.
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- 2023
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8. Salp swarm and gray wolf optimizer for improving the efficiency of power supply network in radial distribution systems
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Salman Ihsan, Saffer Khalid Mohammed, Safi Hayder H., Mostafa Salama A., and Khalaf Bashar Ahmad
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distributed generators ,radial distribution systems ,real power losses ,gray wolf optimizer ,metaheuristic optimization ,salp swarm algorithm ,ieee standard case ,Science ,Electronic computers. Computer science ,QA75.5-76.95 - Abstract
The efficiency of distribution networks is hugely affected by active and reactive power flows in distribution electric power systems. Currently, distributed generators (DGs) of energy are extensively applied to minimize power loss and improve voltage deviancies on power distribution systems. The best position and volume of DGs produce better power outcomes. This work prepares a new hybrid SSA–GWO metaheuristic optimization algorithm that combines the salp swarm algorithm (SSA) and the gray wolf optimizer (GWO) algorithm. The SSA–GWO algorithm ensures generating the best size and site of one and multi-DGs on the radial distribution network to decrease real power losses (RPL) (kW) on lines and resolve voltage deviancies. Our novel algorithm is executed on IEEE 123-bus radial distribution test systems. The results confirm the success of the suggested hybrid SSA–GWO algorithm compared with implementing the SSA and GWO individually. Through the proposed SSA–GWO algorithm, the study decreases the RPL and improves the voltage profile on distribution networks with multiple DGs units.
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- 2023
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9. Post-chemotherapy Gastric Obstruction in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Endoscopic Dilation Can Fix It!
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Khalaf Ben Abdallah, Asma Ben Mohamed, Manel Yacoubi, Amal Khsiba, Amel Dougaz, Emna Chelbi, and Lamine Hamzaoui
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diffuse large b-cell lymphoma ,chemotherapy ,stenosis ,Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology ,RC799-869 - Abstract
Treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is based on immunochemotherapy with overall good outcomes. Complications related to the treatment or the disease itself can occur during follow-up. We herein report a case of a 37-year-old male who was diagnosed with stage IV gastric DLBCL. Subsequently, he underwent R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, oncovin, and prednisone) chemotherapy. After six cycles of treatment, complete remission has been achieved. But afterwards, the patient presented with a symptomatic gastric obstruction related to a tight stenosis in the antro-fundic junction. Endoscopic dilation was performed and multiple macrobiopsies within the stenosis were taken. Pathological examination concluded to the fibrous character of the stricture. In cases of post-chemotherapy obstruction in gastric DLBCL, endoscopic treatment should be attempted carefully in patients with no evidence of active lymphoma. Diagnosis of fibrosis can avoid surgery and its morbidity.
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- 2022
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10. Nth Composite Iterative Scheme via Weak Contractions with Application
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Tariq Qawasmeh, Anwar Bataihah, Khalaf Bataihah, Ahmad Qazza, and Raed Hatamleh
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Mathematics ,QA1-939 - Abstract
The main goal of this study is to formulate an effective iterative scheme, namely, an nth− composite iterative scheme for approximating the fixed point of a self-map T:U⟶U with weak contraction property. We show that the nth− composite iterative scheme is faster than the scheme obtained by Sintunavarat–Pitea’s iterative scheme. We present some examples using the MATLAB simulator to illustrate our results. Finally, we approximate the solution of some integral equations using our scheme and the Sintunavarat–Pitea scheme.
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- 2023
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11. Benign peritoneal cystic mesothelioma mimicking peritoneal tuberculosis
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Chayma Soltani, Khalaf Ben Abdallah, and Yasser Bouchallouf
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Medicine ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Abstract In immunodeficient patients with repetitive peritoneal aggression, cystic mesothelioma should be considered as a differential diagnosis to peritoneal tuberculosis that must be ruled out in endemic countries.
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- 2022
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12. Tree-based machine learning algorithms in the Internet of Things environment for multivariate flood status prediction
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Aswad Firas Mohammed, Kareem Ali Noori, Khudhur Ahmed Mahmood, Khalaf Bashar Ahmed, and Mostafa Salama A.
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flood prediction ,internet of things ,multivariate classification ,machine learning ,explainable artificial intelligence ,Science ,Electronic computers. Computer science ,QA75.5-76.95 - Abstract
Floods are one of the most common natural disasters in the world that affect all aspects of life, including human beings, agriculture, industry, and education. Research for developing models of flood predictions has been ongoing for the past few years. These models are proposed and built-in proportion for risk reduction, policy proposition, loss of human lives, and property damages associated with floods. However, flood status prediction is a complex process and demands extensive analyses on the factors leading to the occurrence of flooding. Consequently, this research proposes an Internet of Things-based flood status prediction (IoT-FSP) model that is used to facilitate the prediction of the rivers flood situation. The IoT-FSP model applies the Internet of Things architecture to facilitate the flood data acquisition process and three machine learning (ML) algorithms, which are Decision Tree (DT), Decision Jungle, and Random Forest, for the flood prediction process. The IoT-FSP model is implemented in MATLAB and Simulink as development platforms. The results show that the IoT-FSP model successfully performs the data acquisition and prediction tasks and achieves an average accuracy of 85.72% for the three-fold cross-validation results. The research finding shows that the DT scores the highest accuracy of 93.22%, precision of 92.85, and recall of 92.81 among the three ML algorithms. The ability of the ML algorithm to handle multivariate outputs of 13 different flood textual statuses provides the means of manifesting explainable artificial intelligence and enables the IoT-FSP model to act as an early warning and flood monitoring system.
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- 2021
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13. Some Properties of Operations on $\Alpha O(X)$
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Khalaf, B., primary and Ibrahim, Hariwan Zikri, primary
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- 2016
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14. Corrigendum: Assessment of cerebral and cerebellar white matter microstructure in spinocerebellar ataxias 1, 2, 3, and 6 using diffusion MRI
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Young Woo Park, James M. Joers, Bin Guo, Diane Hutter, Khalaf Bushara, Isaac M. Adanyeguh, Lynn E. Eberly, Gülin Öz, and Christophe Lenglet
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SCA1 ,SCA2 ,SCA3 ,SCA6 ,diffusion MRI ,Spinocerebeflar ataxias ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Published
- 2022
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15. A non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism in SIRT6 predicts neurological severity in Friedreich ataxia
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Layne N. Rodden, Christian Rummey, Yi Na Dong, Sarah Lagedrost, Sean Regner, Alicia Brocht, Khalaf Bushara, Martin B. Delatycki, Christopher M. Gomez, Katherine Mathews, Sarah Murray, Susan Perlman, Bernard Ravina, S. H. Subramony, George Wilmot, Theresa Zesiewicz, Alessandra Bolotta, Alain Domissy, Christine Jespersen, Baohu Ji, Elisabetta Soragni, Joel M. Gottesfeld, and David R. Lynch
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ataxia ,mitochondrion ,modifier ,clinical trial ,mRNA profiling ,SIRT6 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Introduction: Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a recessive neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive ataxia, dyscoordination, and loss of vision. The variable length of the pathogenic GAA triplet repeat expansion in the FXN gene in part explains the interindividual variability in the severity of disease. The GAA repeat expansion leads to epigenetic silencing of FXN; therefore, variability in properties of epigenetic effector proteins could also regulate the severity of FRDA.Methods: In an exploratory analysis, DNA from 88 individuals with FRDA was analyzed to determine if any of five non-synonymous SNPs in HDACs/SIRTs predicted FRDA disease severity. Results suggested the need for a full analysis at the rs352493 locus in SIRT6 (p.Asn46Ser). In a cohort of 569 subjects with FRDA, disease features were compared between subjects homozygous for the common thymine SIRT6 variant (TT) and those with the less common cytosine variant on one allele and thymine on the other (CT). The biochemical properties of both variants of SIRT6 were analyzed and compared.Results: Linear regression in the exploratory cohort suggested that an SNP (rs352493) in SIRT6 correlated with neurological severity in FRDA. The follow-up analysis in a larger cohort agreed with the initial result that the genotype of SIRT6 at the locus rs352493 predicted the severity of disease features of FRDA. Those in the CT SIRT6 group performed better on measures of neurological and visual function over time than those in the more common TT SIRT6 group. The Asn to Ser amino acid change resulting from the SNP in SIRT6 did not alter the expression or enzymatic activity of SIRT6 or frataxin, but iPSC-derived neurons from people with FRDA in the CT SIRT6 group showed whole transcriptome differences compared to those in the TT SIRT6 group.Conclusion: People with FRDA in the CT SIRT6 group have less severe neurological and visual dysfunction than those in the TT SIRT6 group. Biochemical analyses indicate that the benefit conferred by T to C SNP in SIRT6 does not come from altered expression or enzymatic activity of SIRT6 or frataxin but is associated with changes in the transcriptome.
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- 2022
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16. Scoliosis in Friedreich's ataxia: longitudinal characterization in a large heterogeneous cohort
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Christian Rummey, John M. Flynn, Louise A. Corben, Martin B. Delatycki, George Wilmot, Sub H. Subramony, Khalaf Bushara, Antoine Duquette, Christopher M. Gomez, J. Chad Hoyle, Richard Roxburgh, Lauren Seeberger, Grace Yoon, Katherine D. Mathews, Theresa Zesiewicz, Susan Perlman, and David R. Lynch
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Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to characterize the incidence and progression of scoliosis in the natural history of Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) and document the factors leading to the requirement for corrective surgery. Methods Data on the prevalence of scoliosis and scoliosis surgery from up to 17 years of follow‐up collected during a large natural history study in FRDA (1116 patients at 4928 visits) were summarized descriptively and subjected to time to event analyses. Results Well over 90% of early or typical FRDA patients (as determined by age of onset) developed intermediate to severe scoliosis, while patients with a later onset (>14 years) had no or much lower prevalence of scoliosis. Diagnosis of scoliosis occurs during the onset of ataxia and in rare cases even prior to that. Major progression follows throughout the growth phase and puberty, leading to the need for surgical intervention in more than 50% of individuals in the most severe subgroup. The youngest patients appear to delay surgery until the end of the growth period, leading to further progression before surgical intervention. Age of onset of FRDA before or after reaching 15 years sharply separated severe and relatively mild incidence and progression of scoliosis. Interpretation Scoliosis is an important comorbidity of FRDA. Our comprehensive documentation of scoliosis progression in this natural history study provides a baseline for comparison as novel treatments become available.
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- 2021
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17. Case Report: Portal cavernoma related to multiple liver hydatidosis: A rare case of fatal cataclysmic haemorrhage. [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
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Alia Zouaghi, Nawel Bellil, Khalaf Ben Abdallah, Dhafer Hadded, Haithem Zaafouri, Mona Cherif, and Anis Ben Maamer
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Clinical presentation of liver hydatidosis can vary from asymptomatic forms to lethal complications. We report herein a rare case of a 27-year-old male from a rural Tunisian region who presented with large-abundance haematemesis, haemodynamic instability, and marked biological data of hypersplenism. Endoscopy showed bleeding esophageal varicose veins that were ligated. Abdominal ultrasound concluded the presence of three type CE2 hydatic liver cysts causing portal cavernoma with signs of portal hypertension. Despite resuscitation, the patient died of massive rebleeding leading to haemorrhagic shock. Hepatic hydatid cyst should be considered as an indirect cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in endemic countries. Early abdominal ultrasound in varicose haemorrhage is essential in orienting the diagnosis.
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- 2021
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18. Assessment of Cerebral and Cerebellar White Matter Microstructure in Spinocerebellar Ataxias 1, 2, 3, and 6 Using Diffusion MRI
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Young Woo Park, James M. Joers, Bin Guo, Diane Hutter, Khalaf Bushara, Isaac M. Adanyeguh, Lynn E. Eberly, Gülin Öz, and Christophe Lenglet
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SCA1 ,SCA2 ,SCA3 ,SCA6 ,diffusion MRI ,Spinocerebeflar ataxias ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Development of imaging biomarkers for rare neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is important to non-invasively track progression of disease pathology and monitor response to interventions. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) has been shown to identify cross-sectional degeneration of white matter (WM) microstructure and connectivity between healthy controls and patients with SCAs, using various analysis methods. In this paper, we present dMRI data in SCAs type 1, 2, 3, and 6 and matched controls, including longitudinal acquisitions at 12–24-month intervals in a subset of the cohort, with up to 5 visits. The SCA1 cohort also contained 3 premanifest patients at baseline, with 2 showing ataxia symptoms at the time of the follow-up scans. We focused on two aspects: first, multimodal evaluation of the dMRI data in a cross-sectional approach, and second, longitudinal trends in dMRI data in SCAs. Three different pipelines were used to perform cross-sectional analyses in WM: region of interest (ROI), tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), and fixel-based analysis (FBA). We further analyzed longitudinal changes in dMRI metrics throughout the brain using ROI-based analysis. Both ROI and TBSS analyses identified higher mean (MD), axial (AD), and radial (RD) diffusivity and lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the cerebellum for all SCAs compared to controls, as well as some cerebral alterations in SCA1, 2, and 3. FBA showed lower fiber density (FD) and fiber crossing (FC) regions similar to those identified by ROI and TBSS analyses. FBA also highlighted corticospinal tract (CST) abnormalities, which was not detected by the other two pipelines. Longitudinal ROI-based analysis showed significant increase in AD in the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) for patients with SCA1, suggesting that the MCP may be a good candidate region to monitor disease progression. The patient who remained symptom-free throughout the study displayed no microstructural abnormalities. On the other hand, the two patients who were at the premanifest stage at baseline, and showed ataxia symptoms in their follow-up visits, displayed AD values in the MCP that were already in the range of symptomatic patients with SCA1 at their baseline visit, demonstrating that microstructural abnormalities are detectable prior to the onset of ataxia.
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- 2020
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19. Correction: Pulse-Field capillary electrophoresis of repeat-primed PCR amplicons for analysis of large repeats in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 10.
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Vera Hashem, Anjana Tiwari, Brittani Bewick, Helio A G Teive, Mariana Moscovich, Birgitt Schüle, Khalaf Bushara, Matt Bower, Astrid Rasmussen, Yu-Chih Tsai, Tyson Clark, Karen McFarland, and Tetsuo Ashizawa
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228789.].
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- 2020
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20. Pulse-Field capillary electrophoresis of repeat-primed PCR amplicons for analysis of large repeats in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 10.
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Vera Hashem, Anjana Tiwari, Brittani Bewick, Helio A G Teive, Mariana Moscovich, Birgitt Schüele, Khalaf Bushara, Matt Bower, Astrid Rasmussen, Yu-Chih Tsai, Tyson Clark, Karen McFarland, and Tetsuo Ashizawa
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Large expansions of microsatellite DNA cause several neurological diseases. In Spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10), the repeat interruptions change disease phenotype; an (ATTCC)n or a (ATCCT)n/(ATCCC)n interruption within the (ATTCT)n repeat is associated with the robust phenotype of ataxia and epilepsy while mostly pure (ATTCT)n may have reduced penetrance. Large repeat expansions of SCA10, and many other microsatellite expansions, can exceed 10,000 base pairs (bp) in size. Conventional next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are ineffective in determining internal sequence contents or size of these expanded repeats. Using repeat primed PCR (RP-PCR) in conjunction with a high-sensitivity pulsed-field capillary electrophoresis fragment analyzer (FEMTO-Pulse, Agilent, Santa Clara, CA) (RP-FEMTO hereafter), we successfully determined sequence content of large expansion repeats in genomic DNA of SCA10 patients and transformed yeast artificial chromosomes containing SCA10 repeats. This RP-FEMTO is a simple and economical methodology which could complement emerging NGS for very long sequence reads such as Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) and nanopore sequencing technologies.
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- 2020
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21. Postural Tremor and Ataxia Progression in Spinocerebellar Ataxias
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Shi-Rui Gan, Jie Wang, Karla P. Figueroa, Stefan M. Pulst, Darya Tomishon, Danielle Lee, Susan Perlman, George Wilmot, Christopher M. Gomez, Jeremy Schmahmann, Henry Paulson, Vikramq G. Shakkottai, Sarah H. Ying, Theresa Zesiewicz, Khalaf Bushara, Michael D. Geschwind, Guangbin Xia, S. H. Subramony, Tetsuo Ashizawa, and Sheng-Han Kuo
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Diseases of the musculoskeletal system ,RC925-935 ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Background: Postural tremor can sometimes occur in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). However, the prevalence and clinical characteristics of postural tremor in SCAs are poorly understood, and whether SCA patients with postural tremor have different ataxia progression is not known.Methods: We studied postural tremor in 315 patients with SCA1, 2, 3, and 6 recruited from the Clinical Research Consortium for Spinocerebellar Ataxias (CRC-SCA), which consists of 12 participating centers in the United States, and we evaluated ataxia progression in these patients from January 2010 to August 2012.Results: Among 315 SCA patients, postural tremor was most common in SCA2 patients (SCA1, 5.8%; SCA2, 27.5%; SCA3, 12.4%; SCA6, 16.9%; p = 0.007). SCA3 patients with postural tremor had longer CAG repeat expansions than SCA3 patients without postural tremor (73.67 ± 3.12 vs. 70.42 ± 3.96, p = 0.003). Interestingly, SCA1 and SCA6 patients with postural tremor had a slower rate of ataxia progression (SCA1, β = –0.91, p < 0.001; SCA6, β = –1.28, p = 0.025), while SCA2 patients with postural tremor had a faster rate of ataxia progression (β = 1.54, p = 0.034). We also found that the presence of postural tremor in SCA2 patients could be influenced by repeat expansions of ATXN1 (β = –1.53, p = 0.037) and ATXN3 (β = 0.57, p = 0.018), whereas postural tremor in SCA3 was associated with repeat lengths in TBP (β = 0.63, p = 0.041) and PPP2R2B (β = –0.40, p = 0.032).Discussion: Postural tremor could be a clinical feature of SCAs, and the presence of postural tremor could be associated with different rates of ataxia progression. Genetic interactions between ataxia genes might influence the brain circuitry and thus affect the clinical presentation of postural tremor.
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- 2017
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22. Vascular Risk Factors and Clinical Progression in Spinocerebellar Ataxias
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Raymond Y. Lo, Karla P. Figueroa, Stefan M. Pulst, Chi-Ying Lin, Susan Perlman, George Wilmot, Christopher M. Gomez, Jeremy Schmahmann, Henry Paulson, Vikram G. Shakkottai, Sarah H. Ying, Theresa Zesiewicz, Khalaf Bushara, Michael Geschwind, Guangbin Xia, S S. Subramony, Tetsuo Ashizawa, and Sheng-Han Kuo
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Diseases of the musculoskeletal system ,RC925-935 ,Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system ,RC346-429 - Abstract
Background: The contributions of vascular risk factors to spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) are not known.Methods: We studied 319 participants with SCA 1, 2, 3, and 6 and repeatedly measured clinical severity using the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) for 2 years. Vascular risk factors were summarized by CHA2DS2-VASc scores as the vascular risk factor index. We employed regression models to study the effects of vascular risk factors on ataxia onset and progression after adjusting for age, sex, and pathological CAG repeats. Our secondary analyses took hyperlipidemia into account.Results: Nearly 60% of SCA participants were at low vascular risks with CHA2DS2-VASc = 0, and 31% scored 2 or greater. Higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores were not associated with either earlier onset or faster progression of ataxia. These findings were not altered after accounting for hyperlipidemia. Discussion: Vascular risks are not common in SCAs and are not associated with earlier onset or faster ataxia progression.
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- 2015
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23. The impact of ESG on firm value: The moderating role of cash holdings.
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Ahmed O and Abu Khalaf B
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This paper examines whether Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance has an impact on companies' market value and cash holdings. Drawing from 27 European Union countries, a comprehensive sample of 1144 companies was collected from LSEG Data & Analytics over an 11-year period (2013-2023). This research applied panel regression (fixed and random effect techniques) to investigate the relationships; based on the significant result of a Hausman test, the fixed effect regression has been analyzed. The results show that the more efficient and effective the ESG performance, the higher the company value. In addition, cash holdings affect the market value positively, which indicates that as companies hold high cash reserves, their market value increases. The main recommendation provided to different board members in the EU region is to follow the ESG principles and guidelines and to hold more cash since this should substantially raise the company's value. Our results are robust since the Tobit regression provided results similar to those of the fixed effect technique., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2025 The Authors.)
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- 2025
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24. Nucleoporin Nup358 Downregulation Tunes the Neuronal Excitability in Mouse Cortical Neurons.
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Martínez-Rojas VA, Pischedda F, Romero-Maldonado I, Khalaf B, Piccoli G, Macchi P, and Musio C
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Nucleoporins (NUPs) are proteins that comprise the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). The NPC spans the nuclear envelope of a cell and provides a channel through which RNA and proteins move between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and vice versa. NUP and NPC disruptions have a great impact on the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Although the downregulation of Nup358 leads to a reduction in the scaffold protein ankyrin-G at the axon initial segment (AIS) of mature neurons, the function of Nup358 in the cytoplasm of neurons remains elusive. To investigate whether Nup358 plays any role in neuronal activity, we downregulated Nup358 in non-pathological mouse cortical neurons and measured their active and passive bioelectrical properties. We identified that Nup358 downregulation is able to produce significant modifications of cell-membrane excitability via voltage-gated sodium channel kinetics. Our findings suggest that Nup358 contributes to neuronal excitability through a functional stabilization of the electrical properties of the neuronal membrane. Hypotheses will be discussed regarding the alteration of this active regulation as putatively occurring in the pathophysiology of NDDs.
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- 2023
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25. Cellulose-Based Hectocycle Nanopolymers: Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Adsorption of Difenoconazole from Aqueous Medium.
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Khalaf B, Hamed O, Jodeh S, Bol R, Hanbali G, Safi Z, Dagdag O, Berisha A, and Samhan S
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- Adsorption, Dioxolanes metabolism, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Molecular Docking Simulation, Thermodynamics, Triazoles metabolism, Water Pollutants, Chemical metabolism, Cellulose chemistry, Dioxolanes isolation & purification, Nanoparticles chemistry, Polymers chemistry, Polymers metabolism, Triazoles isolation & purification, Water Pollutants, Chemical isolation & purification, Water Purification methods
- Abstract
The goal of this work was to develop polymer-based heterocycle for water purification from toxic pesticides such as difenoconazole. The polymer chosen for this purpose was cellulose nanocrystalline (CNC); two cellulose based heterocycles were prepared by crosslinking with 2,6-pyridine dicarbonyl dichloride (Cell-X), and derivatizing with 2-furan carbonyl chloride (Cell-D). The synthesized cellulose-based heterocycles were characterized by SEM, proton NMR, TGA and FT-IR spectroscopy. To optimize adsorption conditions, the effect of various variable such as time, adsorbent dose, pH, temperature, and difenoconazole initial concentration were evaluated. Results showed that, the maximum difenoconazole removal percentage was about 94.7%, and 96.6% for Cell-X and Cell-D, respectively. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies on the adsorption process showed that the adsorption of difenoconazole by the two polymers is a pseudo-second order and follows the Langmuir isotherm model. The obtained values of ∆G ° and ∆H suggest that the adsorption process is spontaneous at room temperature. The results showed that Cell-X could be a promising adsorbent on a commercial scale for difenoconazole. The several adsorption sites present in Cell-X in addition to the semi crown ether structure explains the high efficiency it has for difenoconazole, and could be used for other toxic pesticides. Monte Carlo (MC) and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulation were performed on a model of Cell-X and difenoconazole, and the results showed strong interaction.
- Published
- 2021
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26. Novel, Environment-Friendly Cellulose-Based Derivatives for Tetraconazole Removal from Aqueous Solution.
- Author
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Khalaf B, Hamed O, Jodeh S, Hanbali G, Bol R, Dagdag O, and Samhan S
- Abstract
In this study, cellulose-based derivatives with heterocyclic moieties were synthesized by reacting cellulose with furan-2-carbonyl chloride (Cell-F) and pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichloride (Cell-P). The derivatives were evaluated as adsorbents for the pesticide tetraconazole from aqueous solution. The prepared adsorbents were characterized by SEM, TGA, IR, and H
1 NMR instruments. To maximize the adsorption efficiency of tetraconazole, the optimum conditions of contact time, pH, temperature, adsorbent dose, and initial concentration of adsorbate were determined. The highest removal percentage of tetraconazole from water was 98.51% and 95% using Cell-F and Cell-P, respectively. Underivatized nanocellulose was also evaluated as an adsorbent for tetraconazole for comparison purpose, and it showed a removal efficiency of about 91.73%. The best equilibrium adsorption isotherm model of each process was investigated based on the experimental and calculated R2 values of Freundlich and Langmuir models. The adsorption kinetics were also investigated using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle-diffusion adsorption kinetic models. The Van't Hoff plot was also studied for each adsorption to determine the changes in adsorption enthalpy (∆ H ), Gibbs free energy (∆ G ), and entropy (∆ S ). The obtained results showed that adsorption by Cell-F and Cell-P follow the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the mechanism follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic adsorption model. The obtained negative values of the thermodynamic parameter ∆ G (-4.693, -4.792, -5.549 kJ) for nanocellulose, Cell-F, and Cell-P, respectively, indicate a spontaneous adsorption process. Cell-F and Cell-P could be promising absorbents on a commercial scale for tetraconazole and other pesticides.- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
27. The utility of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in post-transplant cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis: a case report and review of the literature.
- Author
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Ibrahim M, Bhyravabhotla K, Khalaf B, Van Meter K, Saba NS, Safah H, and Socola F
- Subjects
- Adult, Child, Cyclophosphamide adverse effects, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Cystitis chemically induced, Cystitis therapy, Graft vs Host Disease drug therapy, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation adverse effects, Hyperbaric Oxygenation
- Abstract
Background: To date, there are only a few case reports of cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) in adult or pediatric allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) patients treated successfully with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). In all the reported cases, Cy was used as a part of the conditioning regimen, rather than post-transplant for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. More recently, the risk of HC in allogeneic SCT is further increased by the widespread use of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) as a highly effective strategy for GVHD prophylaxis. This is the first case reported of PTCy-induced HC successfully treated with HBO to the best of our knowledge., Case Presentation: In this article, we present a 58-year-old Caucasian male case of allogeneic SCT complicated by severe HC following PTCy, which was successfully treated with HBO, eliminating the need for cystectomy., Conclusion: HBO can be a safe, noninvasive, alternative treatment modality for PTCy-induced HC developing in allogeneic SCT patients.
- Published
- 2021
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28. Spectrum of MEFV Variants and Genotypes among Clinically Diagnosed FMF Patients from Southern Lebanon.
- Author
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El Roz A, Ghssein G, Khalaf B, Fardoun T, and Ibrahim JN
- Abstract
Background: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive auto-inflammatory disease characterized by pathogenic variants in the MEFV gene, with allele frequencies greatly varying between countries, populations and ethnic groups. Materials and methods: In order to analyze the spectrum of MEFV variants and genotypes among clinically diagnosed FMF patients from South Lebanon, data were collected from 332 participants and 23 MEFV variants were screened using a Real-Time PCR Kit. Results: The mean age at symptom onset was 17.31 ± 13.82 years. The most prevalent symptoms were abdominal pain, fever and myalgia. MEFV molecular analysis showed that 111 patients (63.79%) were heterozygous, 16 (9.20%) were homozygous, and 47 (27.01%) carried two variants or more. E148Q was the most encountered variant among heterozygous subjects. E148Q/M694V was the most frequent in the compound heterozygous/complex genotype group, while M694I was the most common among homozygous patients. Regarding allele frequencies, M694V was the most common variant (20.7%), followed by E148Q (17.1%), V726A (15.7%) and M694I (13.2%). Conclusion: The high percentage of heterozygous patients clinically diagnosed as FMF highlights the pseudo-dominant transmission of the disease in Lebanon and emphasizes the importance of molecular testing for a more accurate diagnosis and better management and treatment of FMF.
- Published
- 2020
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29. Enhanced Ibuprofen Adsorption and Desorption on Synthesized Functionalized Magnetic Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes from Aqueous Solution.
- Author
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Hanbali G, Jodeh S, Hamed O, Bol R, Khalaf B, Qdemat A, and Samhan S
- Abstract
In recent years, concerns have been raised about the occurrence of active raw materials and pharmaceutical ingredients that may be present in water, including wastewater, in the pharmaceutical industry. Wastewater treatment methods are not enough to completely remove active pharmaceuticals and other waste; thus, this study aims to assess the use of a multiwall carbon nanotube after derivatization and magnetization as a new and renewable absorbent for removing ibuprofen from an aqueous medium. The adsorbents were prepared by first oxidizing a multiwall carbon nanotube and then deriving the oxidized product with hydroxyl amine (m-MWCNT-HA), hydrazine (m-MWCNT-HYD), and amino acid (m-MWCNT-CYS). Adsorbents were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Batch adsorption studies were conducted to study the effects of pH, temperature, time, and initial concentration of the adsorbate. Adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamics studies were also conducted. The results show that the optimal pH for nearly complete removal of Ibu in a short time at room temperature was 4 for three adsorbents. The adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model with pseudo-second-order kinetics. The percentage of removal of ibuprofen reached up to 98.4%, 93%, and 61.5% for m-MWCNT-CYS, m-MWCNT-HYD, and m-MWCNT-HA respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the grafted MWCNTs presented in this work comprise the first example in the literature of oxidized MWCNT modified with such functionalities and applied for ibuprofen removal.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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30. Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of rotavirus and adenovirus among Lebanese hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis.
- Author
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Zaraket R, Salami A, Bahmad M, El Roz A, Khalaf B, Ghssein G, and Bahmad HF
- Abstract
Background: Acute gastroenteritis is a very common infectious disease facing all age groups worldwide, especially the pediatric population. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites are all possible causes of infectious gastroenteritis; however, viruses have become more frequently identified with the advances in the ability to diagnose viral infections, particularly rotavirus and adenovirus. We aimed in our study to compare between the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of rotavirus and adenovirus among children with viral gastroenteritis in Lebanon., Materials and Methods: A 12-months retrospective study was performed between January 1
st and December 31st , 2018 including 308 children aged 1 month to 12 years, who were admitted to three tertiary healthcare centers in South Lebanon. Medical data were retrieved from patients' files, including clinical and laboratory information., Results: Rotavirus was found in stool of 204 patients (66.23 %), followed by adenovirus in 78 cases (25.32 %), and mixed group (rotavirus and adenovirus) in 26 cases (8.44%). The highest prevalence of rotavirus in our present study was seen among children between 12 and 23 months old, whereas patients infected with adenovirus were mainly aged between 24-35 months or 4-11 months. Majority of patients in the adenovirus and mixed groups had high-grade fever compared to the rotavirus group. Laboratory findings presented significantly higher average of white blood cells (WBCs), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the mixed group compared to the two other groups. Monthly distribution of rotavirus and adenovirus infection revealed a biennial pattern of rotavirus incidence during January and July-August while frequency of adenovirus infection was highest during July-August., Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of viral diarrhea among the pediatric age group in our region, particularly rotavirus and adenovirus, along with the associated non-specific signs and symptoms, we highly recommend that medical laboratories be equipped for virus detection. Also, vaccination against rotavirus should be considered as a prevention strategy., (© 2020 The Author(s).)- Published
- 2020
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31. Ankyrin-G induces nucleoporin Nup358 to associate with the axon initial segment of neurons.
- Author
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Khalaf B, Roncador A, Pischedda F, Casini A, Thomas S, Piccoli G, Kiebler M, and Macchi P
- Subjects
- Animals, Ankyrins genetics, Blotting, Western, HeLa Cells, Humans, Immunoprecipitation, Mice, Molecular Chaperones genetics, Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins genetics, Protein Isoforms genetics, Protein Isoforms metabolism, Ankyrins metabolism, Axons metabolism, Embryo, Mammalian metabolism, Molecular Chaperones metabolism, Neurons metabolism, Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins metabolism
- Abstract
Nup358 (also known as RanBP2) is a member of the large nucleoporin family that constitutes the nuclear pore complex. Depending on the cell type and the physiological state, Nup358 interacts with specific partner proteins and influences distinct mechanisms independent of its role in nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, we provide evidence that Nup358 associates selectively with the axon initial segment (AIS) of mature neurons, mediated by the AIS scaffold protein ankyrin-G (AnkG, also known as Ank3). The N-terminus of Nup358 is demonstrated to be sufficient for its localization at the AIS. Further, we show that Nup358 is expressed as two isoforms, one full-length and another shorter form of Nup358. These isoforms differ in their subcellular distribution in neurons and expression level during neuronal development. Overall, the present study highlights an unprecedented localization of Nup358 within the AIS and suggests its involvement in neuronal function.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2019. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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