bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chemical Characterization of Indoor and Outdoor PM2.5, PM10 and VOCs in a Public Building in Doha City, Qatar
Authors: Sadoun Eman T. , Fthenou Eleni , Kakosimos Konstantinos , Saraga Dikaia , Maggos Thomas 
Published: July 2019

It is a fact that people spend 60-90% of their lifetime indoors; nevertheless, in case of Middle Eastern countries this percentage can reach 100%, especially during summer and dust storms periods. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is of great importance for peoples’ health, especially for vulnerable population groups. To the best of our knowledge, recent air quality studies in areas with hot and arid climate such as Qatar (or Middle East Area in general), are limited. Especially for the indoor environment, there is lack of indoor sources identification and consequently there are insufficient mitigation actions. This study aimed to assess the IAQ in an air-tight public building during warm season. For this scope, a monitoring campaign of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for both indoor/outdoor measurements was performed at the Supreme Council of Health building in Doha, Qatar. The duration of the campaign was from 22/4/2015 to 21/6/2015. Chemical analysis for organic/elemental carbon (OC/EC), ions (NO3
− , SO4
2 − , Cl− , Br − , NH4
+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and elements (Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cd, Zn, Fe, Al) was conducted on the collected particle mass. Results showed that OC and EC outdoor values were higher (by 3-4 times) than the indoor ones for both PM fractions. Outdoor average OC value was 12.7 and 16.3 μgm− 3 for PM2.5 and PM10 respectively. Among the elements analyzed, Zn dominated in indoor samples followed by Mn, Ba, Pb while outdoors, Sr and Mn were the most abundant species. Concerning ions, indoor to outdoor ratio (I/O), was in all cases lower than unity implying the prevalence of outdoor sources emissions. Finally, I/O was close to unity for VOCs except for xylene and dlimonene, which were significantly higher indoors implying the existence of internal emission sources.
Modeling the Impact of Weather Conditions on the Generation Output of PV-DGs
Authors: Bayram Islam Safak , Mohsenian-Rad Hamed 
Published: July 2019

Photovoltaic distributed generation (PV-DG) systems are one of the fastest-growing types of renewable energy resources being integrated worldwide onto distribution networks. As the price of solar cells continues to decrease, residential and utility-scale PV installations are becoming popular energy options in the United States and other Western countries. Similarly, in line with the National Vision 2030, Qatar is aiming to embrace solar technology by 20% to meet its growing demand and reduce carbon emissions. The short-term goal for KAHRAMAA Utility in Qatar is to reach 10 MW solar generation in the next years. Qatar resides in the Arabian Peninsula and is blessed with abundant solar resources. For instance, the Global Horizontal Irradiance for Qatar is measured as 2140 kWh/m2/year in 2012, which is one of the highest in the world. However, local weather conditions significantly degrade the performance of the PV output. Some of the major issues include: (1) the temperature on PV panels is significantly higher than the ambient temperature. This affects the performance of the power electronics devices that are attached to the PV panels, such as inverters, and also the PV output due to the stress on the materials; (2) Qatar is prone to frequent foggy weather during the Winter. Thus often leads to sudden drops in the PV outputs; (3) PV panels often need cleaning in Qatar due to soiling; and (4) during winter months, the humidity increases significantly in Qatar, and the scheduling of anti-dust cleaning as well as considering the impact of late cleaning become more important. The above region-specific issues further emphasize the challenges in integrating PV-DGs in Qatar and the potential need for modeling the impacts of weather conditions on the generation out of PV-DGs on the distribution network. The main goals are to devise probability distribution functions for overloading of transformers and cables and failures of different system components. The outcome of this work will be used to (1) quantify the costs of poor power quality on customer premises and system elements; (2) compute the electric system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and the system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI); and (3) create rare event techniques to simulate the adverse impacts of PV integration. Moreover, the developed model can be used to find the relationship between the energy storage size, which are likely to assist PV integration at the distribution network, and the unexpected weather events.
Metagenomic Approach to Explore Microbial Communities in the Rhizosphere of Date Palm
Authors: Kharbotly Ali El , El Badawy Noha , Torres Maria , Mattat Imene , Al-Malki Ameena , Hassanein Mohammed 
Published: July 2019

Microbial communities in the date palm rhizoshere can play a vital role in the development of the palm and its health. Using the metagenomic as a tool can help in exploring these microbial communities in searching for microorganisms with potential for agricultural practices.Samples (roots and soil) were collected for metagenomic analysis from 12 date palms (khalas cv) growing at Roudat Alfars Research Farm of the Ministry of Environment. Sampling were done for the second time three month after fertilization of the palms. DNA was extracted and PCR were carried out for the variable regoins v1-v3 of the 16S rRNA gene. The amplified fragment were sequences using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) in two directing. Assembly of the reads and analysis were done Using mothur software Version 1.36.1.Results showed the presence of 13 bacterial phyla. Fertilizer has positive effect on increasing the presence of most of these phyla. A strong presence of cyanobacteria were observed followed by Proteobacteria then Actinobacteria in most samples. Cyanobacteria showed dramatic increased (in some samples more than 60 %) after fertilization. Cyanobacteria is known of their potential for atmospheric nitrogen fixation to ammonia (NH3), nitrite (NO2) or nitrates (NO3). Such process can act as an additional source of nitrogen for date palms.Also the analysis reviles the presence of Arthrobacter which is one of the main components of the soil microbes. It has the potential to reduce hexavalent chromium level in contaminated soil as well as degrades the 4-chlrophenol. Further investigation is needed to assess their potential as biodegradation agent.The following step is to isolate and characterize these bacteria as well repeating the metagenomics analysis after one year to determine the persistence of these microbial communities in the date palm orchard.
Using ICTs and Internet-Based Technologies to Total Health Coverage in Remote Areas in Algeria: Towards the Development of a Telemedicine Project
Authors: Guemide Boutkhil , Salima Maouche , Benachaiba Chellali , Bedri Ibtissam 
Published: July 2019

In Algeria, there is about seventy percent of the population that lives in remote areas and the desert. These areas are cut from health services, and the people do not have access to modern health services existing in Northern Algeria. The limited health care budget-delivered to these desert areas, and the shortage of doctors (health care specialists) jeopardize the improvement of health care system in the desert areas in Southern Algeria. Recently, although the Centre du Development des Technologies Avancées (CDTA) was granted the right to develop the feasibility of telemedicine in the country, the project centered in the city of Ouarlga, 600 km South of Algiers, giving only medical consultation and diagnostic to pediatrics. However, this initial project does not cover all the Southern remote and desert areas in the country. Also, it does not provide universal health care coverage to all the people living there. The paper discusses the challenges faced by the local authorities to develop health care system coverage in the South of Algeria. Also, it introduces how ICTs and internet-based technologies can integrated into health care system to help people with delivering most of the modern health services while living the desert areas. It proposes a telemedicine project which is based on WINDOWS NET, Adruino, and other ICT applications to develop an eHealth strategy in the country.KeywordsICT applications, internet-based technologies, Health care system, Arduino, desert areas.
Eeg Profile & Yield in Evaluation of First Non-Febrile Seizures in Children-First Observational Study in Qatar
Authors: Khair Abdulhafeez Mohamed 
Published: July 2019

IntroductionSeizures are among the most common neurological disorders in the pediatric age group. Up to 10% of children might experience at least one episode suggestive of seizure activity in their life. It is thought that 5% of all medical attendances to emergency department are related to seizures. Whether the first non-febrile seizure is the kick start of long term epilepsy is always a question that physicians & families encounter. Ordering Electroencephalogram (EEG) for children with first non-febrile seizure is a subject of continuous debate.ObjectivesTo collect demographic background data for children (1 month to 14 years) who presented with the first non-febrile seizure, To determine the prevalence & pattern of EEG abnormalities in Children (1 month to 14 years) with first non-febrile seizure, To estimate the possible yield of EEG in first non-febrile seizure as possible predictor of seizure recurrence or future epilepsy, and To collect possible evidence sufficient to make a recommendation for the use versus abandoning use of routine EEG in children with first episode of non-febrile seizure.MethodsIn a retrospective observational study around (400) children who were admitted with first non-febrile seizure to the Pediatric Emergency Centers (PECs) and their seizure were defined using the international league against epilepsy (ILAE) between January 2012 to December 2013 were studied. EEG was requested for 76 patients. Their EEG were reviewed and interpreted by pediatric neurology consultants. Patients’ demographic data and EEG records are then analyzed.Results & ConclusionEpileptic seizure should be diagnosed clinically and EEG is just a helpful tool. Utility of EEG is debatable in childhood first non-febrile seizure. EEG is helpful but interpretation should be individualized. EEG alone is not very good predictors of seizure recurrence or overall prognosis. Larger scale studies with longer follow up are needed.Learning pointsThis is the first epidemiological study in Qatar in regard to children with epilepsy. It has given almost matching results in regard to background factors & yield of diagnosis in this small country with unique population constituents. This study however has formed the first step towards establishing pediatric epilepsy database project in Qatar. Recruiting of more patients & follow up studies are the future visions of this study.
Trends in New 75% Oral Anticoagulant Use in Qatar: A 5-Year Experience
Authors: Elewa Hazem Fathy , Alhaddad Amani Faisal , Al-Rawi Safa Farooq 
Published: July 2019

IntroductionWarfarin has been the cornerstone oral anticoagulant for more than 60 years. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been introduced to the market since 2008. In Qatar, dabigatran was introduced in 2011 followed by rivaroxaban in 2014 and both DOACs are currently used along with warfarin for the treatment and prophylaxis of different thromboembolic diseases. Despite the perceived advantages of the DOACs and their proven efficacy and safety in randomized controlled studies, their use is not as well-established as it has been expected likely due to the lack of antidote and their high cost. Little is known about the prescription pattern of oral anticoagulants and the extent to which DOACs replaced warfarin in Qatar.AimIn this study, we aim to explore the trends in oral anticoagulant use in Qatar over the past 5 years and to what extent did DOACs replace warfarin. We also aimed to determine the appropriateness of DOACs use based on the dose and the indication.MethodsFrom electronic medical records, we collected all anticoagulant prescriptions dispensed as in- or out-patient from 2011 to 2015 in all Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals. Prescriptions were stratified by the year, the medication prescribed and the dose. For every calendar year, we calculated the number and percentage of patients using each one of the anticoagulants prescribed. We also compared the clinical and demographics characteristics of patients prescribed warfarin versus those prescribed DOACs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS.ResultsThe attached table shows the change over the years in the number of patients prescribed warfarin versus those receiving DOACs. Overall, the percentage of patients receiving DOACs increased gradually from approximately 0.5% in 2011 to 20% in 2015. About 40% of patients receiving DOACs were previous warfarin users. DOACs were appropriately used in more 80% of the patients. Year/ Drug Warfarin Number (%) Dabigatran Number (%) Rivaroxaban Number (%) 2011 2078 (99.47%) 11 (0.53%) 2012 2364 (97.52%) 60 (2.48%) 2013 2567 (90.04%) 285 (9.06%) 2014 2823 (83.3%) 320 (9.44%) 246 (7.26%) 2015 2065 (80.54%) 196 (7.64%) 303 (11.82%).ConclusionDOACs have been gradually replacing warfarin in Qatar in a trend that is similar to other countries as well. However, warfarin use remains essential in more than 75% of patients requiring oral anticoagulant. It is important to continue educating healthcare providers to ensure appropriate use of these novel agents.
Putative Relation Between Autism Spectrum Disease & Hereditary Multiple Exostosis Investigated by Whole Genome Sequencing & Comparative Genome Analyses in a Family with ASD and HME with EXT-1 Mutations
Authors: Kambouris Marios , Fadda Abeer , Al-Sarraj Yasser , Ahram Dina , Tomei Sara , Wang Ena , El-Shanti Hatem 
Published: July 2019

A family with two male children affected with ASD and HME as well as an unaffected female child, was studied to identify the Genetic basis of ASD in the family and the possible relation between ASD & HME.Irie et al., [PNAS, 109: 5052–5056, 2012] reported that Heparan Sulfate deficient mice due to inactivating EXT-1 mutations exhibit Autism-like socio-communicative deficits and stereotypies suggesting a relation between MHE and ASD. The father and both male children are clinically affected by HME and carry the known pathogenic EXT-1 c.C1018T/p.R340C dominant mutation. Both male children are also affected by ASD; the father is not. The mother and the female child are not affected either by HME or ASD and do not carry the EXT-1 mutation.Whole-Genome SNP genotyping and CNV analyses did not detect aneuploidy or deletion/duplication defects as possible ASD causes. WGNGS for all members, comparative genome analyses and data mining were as follows: [Only exonic variants considered, prioritized according to increasing population frequency (0–1%), damaging effects according to mutation prediction models and will be presented in table format].1. The two ASD events are unrelated and are due to de-novo variants. Trio analyses identified 72 de-novo variants in the first affected child and 56 in the second. Twelve were in common2. The two ASD events are due to heterozygous variants inherited from both parents which in synergy exceed a disease onset threshold in the affected offspring. Eighty father-to-son and 69 mother-to-son heterozygous variants shared between the affected males were identified.4. The HME unaffected parent [mother] contributed heterozygous variants in the Heparan Sulfate biosynthesis pathway that in synergy with the EXT-1 mutation could be the genetic causes of ASD in the family.WGNGS and comparative genome analyses were utilized to decipher the possible relationship between HME and ASD in this unique family with members affected by both disorders.
A Novel Spatial-Domain Denoising Scheme for DoFP Polarimetric Image Sensors
Authors: Zhao Xiaojin , Wang Xiao , Lu Xin , Pan Xiaofang , Bermak Amine 
Published: July 2019

SummaryIn this paper, we present a novel spatial-domain denoising algorithm and directly apply it to the mosaicked Stokes sub-images generated by the division-of-focal-plane (DoFP) polarimetric image sensors. Compared to the previous implementations with the generated raw polarization images directly interpolated and demosaicked, the proposed method not only leads to significant noise reduction, but also effectively decreases the interpolated pixels' mean square error (MSE) after the interpolation process. In addition, regarding the sequence of the proposed denoising and interpolation, the polarization image quality and the interpolation MSE can be further improved by conducting the denoising before the interpolation, which has been validated by our intensive simulation results.MotivationPolarimetric image sensors enable a wide range of applications that are infeasible with traditional intensity/color image sensors, such as microscopy for tumor margin detection, 3-D shape reconstruction from a single image, material classification, and cancer diagnosis. By mimicking the mature Bayer-pattern-based color imaging, polarizers with different orientations are first scaled-down to micron level then mosaicked to have the full Stokes sub-images generated simultaneously in one single frame, namely division of focal plane (DoFP) (Fig. 1). However, this single-frame solution is at the expense of temporal noise and spatial resolution loss. As shown in Fig. 2, the temporal noise issue can be well-addressed by averaging multiple image frames of same micro-polarizer, which is not feasible in the aforesaid single-frame-based DoFP. In addition, interpolation algorithms are necessary to compensate the spatial resolution loss. In this paper, we propose a non-local-mean-based spatial-domain noise reduction scheme to denoise the DoFP polarization images and minimize the mean-square-error (MSE) caused by the interpolation process. Moreover, the exploration is extended to the sequence of the denoising and the interpolation as well.ResultsWe compared the overall MSE of the two different sequences for different test polarization images, and it is indicated by the intensive simulation results that denoising before the interpolation can bring lower MSE [Fig. 3 (A)]. In addition, as shown in Fig. 3 (B), we compared the MSE of traditional single-frame solution, 4-frame-averaging and the proposed implementation with spatial-domain denoising, and it is indicated the proposed scheme can achieve an MSE reduction effect similar to 4-frame-averaging by spatial-domain denoising.AcknowledgmentsThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61504087), the Kongque Technology Innovation Foundation of Shenzhen (Grant No. KQCX20120807153227588), the Fundamental Research Foundation of Shenzhen (Grant No. JCYJ20140418095735624, and JCYJ20150324141711677).
Utility of Depression Screening Among Pregnant Women in Qatar
Authors: Nasir Madeeha , Altemus Margaret 
Published: July 2019

Major depression during pregnancy is associated with significant morbidity for the mother and her offspring, so screening for depression is recommended during pregnancy. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is widely use for screening during pregnancy, but has not been evaluated for this use in any Gulf Arab countries.We administered the EPDS to a multiethnic group of 768 women who were 8-16 weeks pregnant, and attending prenatal clinics in Doha, Qatar. The EPDS was administered in Arabic, English or Urdu, and the MINI diagnostic interview was administered in the same language to all subjects at the same time to determine DSM-V diagnoses. Women who had major depression at conception were excluded from the study. The EPDS was also administered to subjects again in the second and third trimester, but the MINI diagnostic interview was administered selectively, to all women scoring over 9 on the EPDS.The mean EPDS scores decreased from first to second trimester and were similar to studies of pregnant women from other countries. Rates of major depression were 9.4% in the first trimester, 3.6% in the second trimester and 2.5% in the third trimester, with a combined prevalence during pregnancy of 14.3% for major and 13.3% for minor depression. In our sample, among women with an EPDS score of 12 or greater only 8% had major depression in the first trimester, but 34% had major depression in the second and third trimesters. Urdu speaking women had lower EPDS scores in the first and second trimesters but similar rates of major depression compared to Arabic and English speaking women, suggesting that Urdu speakers may be less likely to endorse depression symptoms on the EPDS.In summary, screening for depression using the EPDS with follow up clinical interviews is likely to be very low yield in the first trimester.However, despite low rates of major depression in the second and third trimesters, high scores on the EPDS do identify a group a women with high risk of major depression, who would benefit from a clinical evaluation and treatment if major depression is confirmed.
A Genome Wide Association Search for Type 2 Diabetes Genes in Arabic Populations
Authors: Chikri Mohamed , Elachhab Younes , Yengo Loic , Leloire Audry , Vaxilaire Martine , Froguel Philippe 
Published: July 2019

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition that emerged as serious medical, social and economic problem worldwide. Qatar was ranked by the IDF among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest prevalence of T2D that exceeds 20%. The causes of T2D are multiple but the contribution of genetic is well recognized. So far, large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 80 susceptibility loci. However, these investigations were carried out mainly on European populations. The main goal of the present study was to conduct a T2D-GWAS analysis in Arab population. A case-control study using 870 T2D cases versus 666 controls was performed to compare allele frequencies across the genome of Moroccan samples. The Illumina Human Core Beadchip was used to genotype 298,930 SNP in these samples. Genotype calls were assigned using the GenCall algorithm as implemented in Illumina GenomeStudio (version 2010.3; Illumina Inc.). Stringent Quality Control (QC) criteria for filtering SNPs and samples for analyses were applied. All statistical analyses were performed using PLINK version 1.07 (http://pngu.mgh.harvard.edu/ ∼ purcell/plink/). Associations of SNPs with T2D were tested using logistic regression (-logistic command in PLINK), assuming an additive genetic model, and with either no adjustment or adjusting on the five first principal components. Correcting for potential confounders was a necessity since the large inflation factor (Genomic Control; GC = 1.176) was detectable in the unadjusted analysis. Increasing the number of PC to adjust for 10 corrected and decreased the genomic control under 1.07 (GC = 1.06). Imputation of non-observed genotypes is possible using linkage disequilibrium at genetic loci and a database of haplotypes from diverse populations (reference panel). This approach was implemented in all Moroccan samples and led to impute up to 30,071,165 variants (SNP + short INDELS). We selected the best SNP candidates for replication using the following criteria: P-value of association below 10–5, Quality of imputation I2 ≥ 0.7 and Minor Allele frequency ≥ 5%. These three criteria led to a shortlist of 154 variants. Some of these variants were redundant because of linkage disequilibrium (r2>0.6). When two variants were in LD we selected the one showing the strongest association. By focusing on independent signals, we selected a list of 26 SNPs for further replication genotyping study. Replication study was performed in additional 1500 Moroccans T2D cases and controls using the Fluidigm genotyping platform and following the vendor instructions protocol. In this replication analysis, only 2 of the 26 SNPs (7.7%) showed nominal evidence of replication with a P-value adjusted