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Impact Of Admission Hyperglycemia On In-Hospital Arrhythmia In Medical Critical Illness, Ebrahim Elsayed Tawfik, Afaf Abdel Hafez, Tarek El-Sayed Gouda, Rehab Shaheen Bahram Shaheen

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background Admission hyperglycemia is frequently encountered in critically ill patients, even in the absence of pre-existing diabetes. Acute stress hyperglycemia triggers autonomic activation, oxidative stress, and electrophysiological disturbances that may predispose to cardiac arrhythmias. Aim of work The present study aimed to explore the frequency and type of arrhythmic events among critically ill patients with admission hyperglycemia in medical intensive care units (MICU). Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 354 critically ill ICU patients . They were divided into group A with admission hyperglycemia (>180 mg/dL) and group B with admission normoglycemia (≤180 mg/dL). All patients were subjected …

Effect Of Graft Steatosis On The Early Outcome Of Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Kareem Maher Shams Eldeen Hassan, Ahmed Mahmoud Abdelrafee, Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim Elsabbagh, Mohamed Abd Elwahab Ali

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background

Hepatic steatosis in donor grafts represents a growing challenge in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) due to the rising prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The impact of varying degrees of graft steatosis on recipient and donor outcomes remains incompletely defined.

Aim

To evaluate the effect of different degrees of graft steatosis on early postoperative outcomes in both recipients and donors following LDLT.

Methods

This retrospective study analyzed 169 LDLT cases performed at Mansoura University between January 2014 and June 2024. Donors aged 18-45 years with BMI≥5% on liver biopsy were included. Grafts were stratified by steatosis degree:20% (n=4). Primary outcome …

Red Cell Distribution Width As A Prognostic Factor And Its Comparison With Lactate In Patients With Sepsis: An Observational Prospective Cohort Study, Ahmed Taha Gad, Ghada Fathy El-Rahmawy, Naglaa Abd El-Latif El-Negeery, Eiad Ahmed Ramzy

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a straightforward and cost-effective parameter that is utilized in laboratory hematology to differentiate anemias. It is indicative of the grade of heterogeneity in erythrocyte volume. This study purpose examine the correlation among the risk of adverse results in patients with sepsis and RDW, as well as to equivalence the mortality discriminative capacity of RDW and lactate levels.

Methods: This observational prospective cohort study was done on 67 sepstic patients aged ≥ 21 years old, both sexes. Patients were owed into two groups according to RDW levels: Group A (n=35): normal RDW …

Hypoalbuminemia As A Predictive Factor For Acute Kidney Injury In Pediatric Patients Running Title: Hypoalbuminemia In Aki Pediatrics, Kareem El-Saeed El-Maasrany, Ayman Hammad, Hosam Zaghloul, Ahmed Elhusseiny

Mansoura Medical Journal

Aim: Hypoalbuminemia is a well-known risk factor for illness and death, but its role as a particular predictor of acute kidney injury (AKI) is still not fully understood. This study intended to evaluate the role of hypoalbuminemia as a predictive factor for AKI outcome among pediatric patients, regarding hospital stay, kidney replacement therapy and mortality rate.

Subjects and Methods: This prospective observational cohort was conducted on 70 children with AKI divided into two groups: group I (35 AKI children combined with hypoalbuminemia) and group II (35 AKI children without hypoalbuminemia). All participants were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination …

Fascia Transversalis Block With Different Volumes Of Local Anesthetic And Its Impact On Postoperative Pain In Major Abdominal Surgery: Prospective Randomized Study, Eman Eltabey Lotfi Taman, Mostafa Mohamed Ali Saied, Khaled Mohy Eldeen El Bahrawy, Abdelrahman Mamdouh El Naggar

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background Effective postoperative analgesia remains crucial in abdominal surgery to reduce physiological stress, improve respiratory function, and enhance recovery. The transversalis fascia plane block (TFPB) has recently emerged as an advantageous technique targeting the T12–L1 nerves responsible for somatic and visceral abdominal innervation. Objective To investigate the analgesic efficacy of different volumes of local anesthetic administered in TFPB and compare their effect on postoperative pain, visceral discomfort, and opioid requirements. Methods Eighty-one adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery under general anesthesia were randomized into 3 groups: control (systemic analgesia only), lowvolume TFPB (20 mL total), and high-volume TFPB (25 mL …

Laparoscopic Versus Open Redo Anti-Reflux Surgery, Mohamed Barkok, Mohammed Said, Ahmed Shehta, Abdel-Raouf El-Geidie

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common. Laparoscopic fundoplication became the gold standard for GERD surgery after medical treatment failed. If a previous anti-reflux surgery fails, redo surgery requires a thorough review to determine the cause and a skilled surgical team. Choosing the optimal approach during the redo surgeries, whether open or laparoscopic hasn’t been previously illustrated.

Aim

To compare the outcomes of laparoscopic versus open redo anti-reflux surgeries.

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Patients and methods

This study included 28 patients who underwent redo anti-reflux surgery. The patients were divided according to the approach into laparoscopic (n = 11) and open (n = …

Comparative Study Between Microbotox (Mesobotox) Versus Microneedling With Platelets Rich Plasma In The Treatment Of Atrophic Post-Acne Scars, Eman Ibrahim Abd Elmabood Maghraby, Abeer Mohamed Abdelaziz Elkholy, Noura Abdel Moneim Mohamed Elseessy

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting the pilosebaceous units and ranks as the eighth most prevalent disease worldwide. Acne scarring is a common consequence of acne vulgaris that occurs in some patients. Different treatment modalities have been tried for treating them such as chemical peels, laser-assisted resurfacing, dermabrasion and microneedling (MN). Both Microbotox and Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) are effective, minimally invasive treatments for improving atrophic post-acne scars, often used with microneedling.

Aim: to Compare the efficacy and safety of microbotox injection versus microneedling combined with platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of atrophic post-acne scars.

Subjects and …

Evaluation Of The Role Of Serum Lactate As A Predictor Of Intestinal Ischemia And Exploration In Adhesive Intestinal Obstruction In Pediatrics, Ahmed F. Sanad, Adham Elsaied, Ahmed Shehta, Ahmad Elhattab

Mansoura Medical Journal

Background: Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is a common surgical Problem in children. It sometimes occurs when there are adhesions between bowel loops, it can be treated with conservative management through nasogastric tube (NGT) decompression and upper gastrointestinal contrast study or managed with surgical intervention if conservative management fails. Methods: Our study is a prospective cohort one that included 51 patients diagnosed with ASBO. They were divided into two groups based on whether they were managed conservatively (Group A) or underwent exploration (Group B), Group B was further subdivided into 2 groups: Group B1, including explored cases without resection anastomosis …

Breaking Down Seagrass Fragmentation In A Marine Heatwave Impacted World Heritage Area, Michael D. Taylor, Simone Strydom, Matthew W. Fraser, Ana M.M. Sequeira, Gary A. Kendrick

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Marine heatwaves, and other extreme climatic events, are driving mass mortality of habitat-forming species and substantial ecological change worldwide. However, habitat fragmentation is rarely considered despite its role in structuring seascapes and potential to exacerbate the negative impacts of habitat loss. Here, we quantify fragmentation of globally significant seagrass meadows within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area before and after an unprecedented marine heatwave impacting the Western Australian coastline over the austral summer of 2010/11. We use a spatial pattern index to quantify seagrass fragmentation from satellite-derived habitat maps (2002, 2010, 2014 and 2016), assess potential predictors of fragmentation and …

An Intuitionistic Fuzzy Hypergraph Model Enhanced ‎By Forest-Of-Walks Dynamics For Medical Image ‎Segmentation, Brinthaguru Thangaraj, Karthick Palanisamy

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The process of accurately segmenting Urolithiasis and pulmonary nodules from medical images presents significant difficulties because of three main factors which include nonuniform intensity distribution and the presence of weak object borders and the uncertainty caused by anatomical structure overlaps. The study introduces F-Zinhger as a solution to these problems through its application of the Forest of Walks technology. The method uses superpixels as fundamental elements which form a multi-scale hypergraph that establishes hyperedges through three criteria: intensity similarity, spatial proximity, and Z-intuitionistic fuzzy hesitation to capture complex contextual connections. The system incorporates a random walk-based label propagation system. The …

Reliability-Oriented Spatiotemporal Machine Learning For High-Impact Power Outage Event Prediction, Marwa Gamal

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Power outages have become an increasing concern for modern power systems due to their impact on infrastructure reliability, economic activities, and public safety. The growing frequency of extreme weather events and the rising demand for electricity have made it more difficult to anticipate high-impact outage events. One of the main challenges in this context is the complex interaction between temporal patterns and geographic variations, which traditional methods often fail to capture effectively. This study develops a machine learning framework that combines temporal characteristics with geographic information to improve the prediction of high-impact power outages. Temporal features such as seasonal patterns, …

Construction-Phase Leed Compliance In Egypt: Development Of A Rule-Based Expert System For Contractor Decision Support, Mohamed R. Ahmed, Atef A. Ragab, Sameh Y. Mahfouz

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This study develops a rule-based expert system implemented in Python to support contractors in achieving LEED BD+C: New Construction v4 certification during the construction phase in Egypt. The research identifies and validates construction-phase obstacles affecting LEED compliance through a structured questionnaire targeting building contractors in Egypt. The questionnaire process was conducted in two stages: a pilot survey was used to screen and refine the initially identified obstacles, while the main survey was used to validate the practical relevance of the retained obstacles within the Egyptian construction context. In parallel, the study analyzes construction-phase prerequisites and credits relevant to contractors through …

Managing Multi-Drug Resistance: An Evolutionary Game Theory And Optimal Control Approach, Shukhrat Nasrulloev

Theses and Dissertations

Multi-drug resistance is an evolutionary process in which treatment eliminates sensitive cells, allowing resistant clones to dominate. This thesis investigates this process using a framework integrating population dynamics, evolutionary game theory, and optimal control theory. We develop a two-population logistic growth model describing competition between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant cells under treatment, construct dose-dependent payoff matrices and replicator dynamics to characterize evolutionary competition, and derive a critical drug level D_crit = (r_S - rR)/(dS - d_R) at which resistant cells gain a fitness advantage. An optimal control problem is formulated via Pontryagin's Maximum Principle to identify schedules …

Cover Crop Effects On Soil Porewater Nutrients And Hydrothermal Properties, Md Mahadi Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Adoption of winter cover crops in the U.S. Midwest may reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching from soils, potentially shrinking the hypoxic zone by limiting nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico. To evaluate the impact of selected winter cover crops on soil porewater N and P concentration, a field study was conducted at the Illinois State University Research Farm (ISURF) and the Western Illinois University Research Farm (WIURF). The experimental design was a block experiment with four replications.  Cover crop treatments included a winter fallow, wild pennycress (WPC), golden pennycress (GPC), cereal rye (CR), annual ryegrass (AR), and …

Interactive Effects Of Bti Larviciding And Predation On Culex Pipiens And Its Ephemeral Pond Communities, Jaclyn S. Everly

Theses and Dissertations

Populations of adult vector mosquitoes can be controlled by reducing larval mosquito abundances in aquatic habitats. This can be achieved via predation by introduced or naturally-occurring enemies (i.e., biocontrol or conservation control) or by applying pesticides to larval mosquito habitats (i.e., larviciding). The larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) is commonly applied to ephemeral ponds to control populations of Culex pipiens mosquitoes that vector West Nile virus. However, there is concern that Bti may directly or indirectly harm non-target organisms such as dragonfly and damselfly naiads, which provide a natural source of mosquito biocontrol. Bti or predators may also induce positive …

The Effect Of Sex On The Signal Transmission Of Duetting Bay Wrens, Rachel C. Schinzler

Theses and Dissertations

During communication, senders send signals for their benefit to elicit a behavioral response from a receiver. Acoustic signals are efficient for long-distance signaling; however, they are influenced by environmental features, such as foliage density, humidity, temperature, and time of day. Individuals can overcome these challenges by using signals with a trajectory of peak frequency, frequencies, volumes, and timing best suited to signal transmission in their environment. Signal transmission has been studied at the species level; however, not much is known about sex differences within the same species. Duetting species provide a useful system for examining sex-specific challenges in transmission, as …

Interaction Of The Gram-Positive Human Pathogen Staphylococcus Aureus With Host Lipids, Sharanya Paul

Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent pathogen that is known to incorporate straight-chain unsaturated fatty acids (SCUFAs) into its lipids in addition to the normally biosynthesized branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) and straight-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Furthermore, it has recently been shown that the incorporation of oleic acid into S. aureus lipids significantly enhanced the growth of the organism at low temperatures due to the greater fluidity imparted to the membrane. Together with others in the Wilkinson and Dahl laboratory, I have shown that low-temperature growth is enhanced by various SCUFAs, including the human antimicrobial fatty acids sapienic acid, linoleic acid, and …

Predicting Tilt In Esports: A Psychophysiological Approach To Understanding Player Emotional Regulation, Nathan Rhea

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Emotional regulation and stress management are important to both casual and competitive esports players. When players become dysregulated, they experience a phenomenon known as “tilt” within the gaming community, where they often lose control of their emotions and their performance declines. This study aimed to investigate whether a psychophysiological variable in heart rate variability could predict tilt in college-age esports players. Additionally, the relationship between heart rate variability and emotions predicted by the Tiltometer system with gameplay performance and winning or losing was tested.

This study used a quantitative correlational research design. Participants for this study were college-age players (N=23) …

A Metabolite-Dependent Mechanism By Which Bifidobacterium Animalis Subsp. Lactis Promotes Bacteroides Colonization, Khashayar Shahin, Liang Wang, Zihan He, Bomin Lv, Arya Van Alin, Richard Lo-Man, Hao Wu, Philippe Sansonetti, Jean Marc Collard

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Prokaryote-prokaryote symbiotic relationships influence interactions within microbial communities, affecting colonization, survival, and organization. Unlike competition, consortium species facilitate growth via metabolite cross-feeding. This study explored interactions between two early human gut colonizers: partially aerotolerant Bifidobacterium spp. and strict anaerobic Bacteroides spp., using omics techniques. Promotion of Bacteroides spp. growth by Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis was demonstrated through co-culture experiments in anaerobic conditions. Metabolomic analysis revealed over 150 unique metabolites present in B. animalis subsp. lactis supernatants are absent in other Bifidobacterium species, including 3-hydroxycapric acid, D-alanyl-D-alanine, 2-isopropylmalic acid, and D-glucose 2-phosphate. These compounds served as nutritional substrates, including carbon and …

Limited Site-Specific Blue Carbon Recovery Following Tropical Seagrass Restoration In Thailand, Ratchanee Kaewsrikhaw, Milica Stankovic, Pere Masqué, Mathew A. Vanderklift, Tipamat Upanoi, Anchana Prathep

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Seagrass restoration is gaining popularity as a nature-based method for climate change mitigation, owing to its effectiveness in capturing and storing organic carbon (Corg). However, demonstrating blue carbon additionality — defined as a measurable increase in carbon stocks directly attributable to restoration activities — remains challenging. This research assessed sedimentary Corg stocks and carbon accumulation rates in restored tropical seagrass meadows throughout Thailand. Despite successful restoration at multiple sites, sediment analysis showed little Corg accumulation, low Corg and organic matter content, with non-significant differences among restored seagrass areas, patchy natural meadows, and nearby bare sand areas. Limited sediment accumulation was …

Sulphur Metabolism As A Key Factor In The Evolution Of Environmental Adaptation Of Acidihalobacter, Eva Vergara, Himel Nahreen Khaleque, Gonzalo Neira, Elizabeth L.J. Watkin, Jorge H. Valdés, David S. Holmes

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study compares predicted sulphur metabolism genes across four Acidihalobacter type strains and two metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), revealing genomic differences that appear to correspond to ecological specialization. Phylog-enomic analysis separates the species into two clades: clade I includes Acidihalobacter ferrooxydans from a geothermal region in Italy and the two MAGs derived from deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean, while clade II comprises Acidihalo-bacter aeolianus and Acidihalobacter prosperus from a geothermal region in Italy and Acidihalobacter yilgarnensis from a saline and acidic drainage in Australia. Variations in sulphide/quinone oxidoreductases (SQRs) across the species, in particular in Ah. ferrooxydans and Ah. …

Shedding Light On Cellular Glycolysis Pathway Kinetics: Combining Kinetic, Mechanistic Modelling Approaches With Label Free Microspectroscopic Imaging. (Spectralomics), Nitin Patil

Doctoral

Cellular metabolism and its intricate biochemical mechanisms which allow the conversion of nutrients into energy to sustain life are well understood, leading to numerous breakthroughs in science and technology, human health and wellbeing. From an industrial perspective the pathway kinetics are significant for monitoring cellular bioprocesses, screening desired metabolite phenotypes in drug discovery processes, etc.

An initial review of glycolysis pathway kinetics highlighted the lack of sophisticated approaches to monitor the metabolic pathway kinetics as a function of time in a non-destructive, non-invasive, label-free manner. Fluxomics, a metabolomics based approach providing high-throughput insights, can be considered a gold standard approach, …

Test-Retest Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Reproducibility In Head And Neck Cancer Using A 15-T Mr-Linac, Brigid A Mcdonald, Dina El-Habashy, Renjie He, Sam Mulder, Sarah Mirbahaeddin, Abdallah S R Mohamed, Sara Ahmed, Yao Ding, Jihong Wang, Stephen Y Lai, Alex Dresner, John Christodouleas, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose

To evaluate the reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using a 1.5-T MR-linac (MRI-guided linear accelerator) system.

Materials and Methods

In this retrospective study, conducted between February 2021 and January 2024, patients with HNSCC lesions underwent echo-planar imaging diffusion-weighted MRI on a 1.5-T MR-linac system at two time points before the start of radiation therapy. Mean and median ADC values and volumes were measured for each lesion. Absolute and percent reproducibility coefficients (RCs) were calculated. Linear regression analyses and F tests were performed to determine whether the lesion volume or …

Semi-Supervised Learning For Annotation And Representation Of Single-Cell Rna Sequencing And Spatial Transcriptomics Data, Haoran Liu

Dissertations

Semi-supervised learning has emerged as a powerful paradigm for analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics (ST) data, where full annotation is often costly or impractical. scRNA-seq technologies measure the expression of thousands of genes across tens of thousands of cells, whereas ST additionally captures the spatial coordinates of gene expression within intact tissue sections. Annotation is a key step in both scRNA-seq and ST analysis pipelines, aiming to identify cell types, spatial domains, and latent biological structures. However, most existing annotation approaches rely on separate clustering methods that are typically fully unsupervised and fail to leverage side information …

Computational Methods For Single-Cell And Multi-Omic Data Integration And Regulatory Network Inference, Jianlan Ren

Dissertations

Single-cell and multi-omic technologies have transformed the dissection of cellular heterogeneity and regulatory dynamics in health and disease. However, the high dimensionality, technical variability, and biological complexity of these datasets present significant challenges for integration, annotation, and interpretation. In this dissertation, a suite of computational approaches is introduced to address key problems in single-cell and multi-omic data analysis through model-based innovations and applied statistical frameworks.

First, a constrained deep learning framework for single-cell data integration, label transfer, and clustering is proposed. By incorporating biologically motivated constraints into the training process, robust performance is achieved across simulated and benchmark datasets spanning …

Construction And Data-Driven Analysis Of A Stochastic, Individual-Based Opioid Epidemiology Network Model, Leigh Bennett Pearcy, Owen Queen, Vincent Jodoin, Suzanne Lenhart, Christopher Strickland

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

While substance use epidemiology has been an active area of mathematical research in recent years, the social and mental processes that are involved in the development of substance use disorders have presented challenges to advancing the epidemiological theory and how they differ from the contraction of pathogenic disease. Such distinction is especially pertinent in the context of the current United States opioid epidemic and its intersection with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as both prescription drugs and social influence play major roles in the development of opioid use disorder. In this paper, we construct a stochastic network model capturing how individual …

Cesium-137 Accumulation In Marine Fish And Associated Dose Exposure: A Global Review, N.A.A. Kamarulzaman, M.S.M. Sanusi, H.N. Idris

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Marine Science

Establishing baseline data for natural radiation exposure and radioactivity levels is essential for radiological health and safety programs, particularly during the implementation and development of nuclear power initiatives. This review evaluates gamma radiation exposure and anthropogenic cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) levels in the world’s oceans and marine fish, analyzing their radioecological impact. Data from 30 peer-reviewed publications indicate that ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in seawater range from 0.07 Bq kg^–1 to 6.4 kBq kg^–1, with fish values between 0.01–3.50 kBq kg^–1. Regression models developed from these studies predict the correlation between ¹³⁷Cs levels in …

Molecular Docking And Antibacterial Activity Of Sesterterpenoids From Hyrtios Erectus, Hajer S. Alorfi, Nawal A. Albalawi

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Marine Science

The search for new antibiotics remains urgent due to the continuous evolution of microbes and their resistance to currently available antibiotics. The organic extract of a specimen of the Red Sea sponge Hyrtios erectus collected off Jeddah coast was subjected to sequential chromatographic fractionation. Three sesterterpenoids (1–3) along with an indole alkaloid (4) were isolated from H. erectus. Structure elucidation of the isolated was accomplished using NMR, UV, and IR spectroscopy along with MS spectrometry. The antibacterial activity of the isolated sesterterpenoids (1–3) was assessed against a set of Gram-positive and negative …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Sustainable Ports Strategies And Initiatives In The Arabian Gulf Ports – Lessons For Saudi Arabia And Uae, Osayd Helal, Jane Haider, Jean-Paul Skeete, Sehwa Lim

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Marine Science

This systematic review provides a comprehensive evaluation of sustainability strategies in Arabian Gulf ports, focusing on the interplay between technological advancements, green initiatives, and regulatory challenges. While Industry 4.0 technologies—such as automation, artificial intelligence, and electrification—have been integrated to enhance operational efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, the extent to which these innovations align with regional policy frameworks and geopolitical constraints remains insufficiently analysed.

To address this gap, this review synthesises insights from 25 peer-reviewed studies, employing a comparative framework to assess the adoption of sustainability practices in Arabian Gulf ports, focusing on their approaches toward sustainable port development. It is …

Speeding Up Interval Estimation For R2-Based Mediation Effect Of High-Dimensional Mediators Via Cross-Fitting, Zhichao Xu, Chunlin Li, Sunyi Chi, Tianzhong Yang, Peng Wei

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mediation analysis is a useful tool in investigating how molecular phenotypes such as gene expression mediate the effect of exposure on health outcomes. However, commonly used mean-based total mediation effect measures may suffer from cancellation of component-wise mediation effects in opposite directions in the presence of high-dimensional omics mediators. To overcome this limitation, we recently proposed a variance-based R-squared total mediation effect measure that relies on the computationally intensive nonparametric bootstrap for confidence interval estimation. In the work described herein, we formulated a more efficient two-stage, cross-fitted estimation procedure for the R2 measure. To avoid potential bias, we performed …