Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference Proceedings Volume 2014 Issue 1

The main two challenges hindering the deployment of solar cells in large scale are the high cost and low efficiency. One of the strategies to reduce the cost is by using thin film materials with enhanced solar cell conversion efficiency. However, thin film materials suffer from weak absorption and the presence of defects, which act as recombination canters for charge carriers. Various studies were conducted to improve absorption Read More

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Improving materials properties is one of the biggest scientific issues of all the times. When it becomes impossible to further manipulate the raw material, one feasible way to push its properties beyond the theoretical limits is to modify the properties of the surface. That is where advanced surface coatings come in. From a manufacturing point of view, tools for machining are of particular interest. Th Read More

The development of artificial photosynthesis is one of the greatest scientific challenges of our times, not only to protect the environment but also to ensure global economic security. To mimic the natural photosynthesis process, a complete understanding of the natural photosynthesis process at the molecular level is essential to enable the production of inexpensive, lightweight, and high-energy-density fuels. Artificial photosynthe Read More

Disinfection of drinking water is one of the extreme public health activities in Qatar. Chlorination, ozonation, ultra-violet, chloramination, and others are the most important treatment processes used and they can cause the formation of toxic by-products. The existence of bromide (Br-), for example, in water sources might cause in formation of brominated toxic by-products. Up-to-date drinking water treatment methodologi Read More

Many hydrocarbon reservoirs - in Qatar and worldwide - are constituted of dolomite. For this reason, the origin of this Ca-Mg carbonate mineral has been extensively studied by generations of geologists, with the goal of exploiting gas and oil from rock reservoirs in the most efficient way. However, despite more than two centuries of research, several fundamental questions regarding the origin of sedimentary dolomite re Read More

Management of production from gas reservoirs can be a challenging process. The challenge gets bigger when the reservoir is characterized by having a small pore size, such as the tight carbonate reservoirs which are prominent in this part of the world. In such conditions, condensate blockage becomes a real threat to productivity. Carbon dioxide can be injected into the reservoir to combat this threat. We built a reserv Read More

Qatar and the region are experiencing transformative growth over relatively very short periods of time, due primarily to hydrocarbon based energy resources. As the country pushes to meet growing global demand for its finite fossil fuel reserves, it is looking also to capitalize on renewable energy sources including solar power generation. However, the high ambient humidity, high annual average surface temperature, high Read More

Power monitoring is needed in most electrical systems, and is crucial for ensuring reliability in everything from industrial and telecom applications, to automotive and consumer electronics. Power monitoring of integrated circuits (ICs) is also essential, as today ICs exist in most electrical and electronic systems, in a vast range of applications. Many ICs have functional blocks across the chip that are used for different purposes. Read More

Solution combustion synthesis (SCS) is a widely used technique for synthesizing variety of high purity oxide nanoparticles. Two basic modes for combustion synthesis are the self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) and Volume Combustion Synthesis (VCS). The first method is based on the reaction that is locally ignited by an external source (laser, tungsten coil etc) which ends up with an exothermic redox reaction in Read More

Spent Pot Lining (SPL) is produced in thousands of tons annually as a waste from the aluminum industry. SPL is classified into two types, 1st and 2nd Cut SPL. The 1st cut, which is the material under investigation in this study, is a contaminated graphite/ceramics material (50 - 60% of graphite) that is used in lining the electrolytic cell within which aluminum is produced by the reduction of molten Al2O3. 1st Cut SPL is considered Read More

THE USE OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS IN AGRICULTUTE A TOOL FOR A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SUPPLY IN THE ARAB WORLD In this paper some ideas of how to apply the technological advancement of the wireless sensor networks (WSN) in agriculture as a tool for food security is discussed. This will include some examples where the technology can be applied, what changes can this technology brings to the traditional farmin Read More

This paper describes our investigation into the effects of adding aromatic compounds to synthetic aviation fuels on the performance of these fuels. The work was done as an undergraduate research (UREP) project and was an extension to our group's previous studies which were aimed at characterizing blends of conventional and synthetic aviation fuels [1] and identifying optimum paraffinic building blocks for SPK [2]. Aro Read More

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a newly found imaging modality. It utilizes superparamagnetic materials as tracers in the blood stream to obtain very high resolutions. MPI promises to have high sensitivity, high spatial resolution and no radiation compared to other imaging modalities. Most commercially available MRI tracers (used for MPI for now) are all non-harmful when compared to Iodine (used for CT scan) and Gadolini Read More

Recent rapid development in Qatar has brought awareness and recognition of the importance to catalogue, describe and preserve its biodiversity. Traditional methods of using morphological characteristics for species identification, although important, requires years of experience and is in need of complete specimens before identity is certain. Recent worldwide endeavor of DNA barcoding by using a segment of the mitocho Read More

Objectives: Hereditary Hearing Loss (HHL) is a common genetic disorder accounting for at least 60% of prelingual deafness in children. The long tradition of consanguinity, which is widespread among populations of Arabian Peninsula, increases the prevalence of HHL. It is one of the most frequent causes for school failure in Qatar. GJB2 gene plays a worldwide major role in HHL recessive forms while in Qatar it has a minor Read More

More than 30 years ago people have learned that exercise promotes oxidative damage in human tissues. Since then, our knowledge on exercise-induced free radical production and their effect has advanced markedly. In the beginning research has mainly focused on detrimental effects of exercise-induced free radical production (e.g. oxidation of macromolecules); however today a new era of redox biology exist that center Read More

Traditional risk factors often fail to correlate with event incidence, thus there is a need for novel risk assessment in order to predict events and guide therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Peripheral endothelial dysfunction (PED) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can both predict cardiovascular events, yet the prevalence of PED and OSA in pati Read More

Background: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common cardiac malformation affecting 1-2% people worldwide. Despite its high prevalence, the pathogenesis of BAV is largely undetermined, although gene mutations leading to alterations in cell migration and signal transduction, in conjunction with non-genetic factors such as blood flow during valvulogenesis, may contribute to its formation prenatally. Objective: The Read More

Hematological Malignancies (e.g., leukemia and lymphoma) are among the top 5 causes of cancer death in the Middle Eastern Countries, including Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The monoclonal antibody rituximab, directed at the CD20 antigen, has become an essential drug for the treatment of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). Although transient B cells depletion frequently occurs after rituximab treatment, it usually resolves aft Read More

Noncoding RNAs such as ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), transfer RNAs (tRNA) micro RNAs (miRNA), small interfering RNAs (siRNA) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are the dominant products of eukaryotic transcription and collectively represent more than 95% of total RNA of the cell. In addition to contributing as the core components of the translational machinery (rRNAs and tRNAs), these noncoding RNAs have been shown to b Read More

In Egypt, β-thalassemia is the most common hereditary hemolytic anemia. Cardiac dysfunction, secondary to iron overload with formation of oxygen free radicals, is the most common cause of death in β-thalassemia patients. This study was designed to determine whether the allelic genotype of apolipoprotein E (Apo E), which exhibits antioxidant properties, could represent a genetic risk factor for the development of Read More

Environment Gene Interaction in Parkinson's disease (EGI-PD) Mohamed M. Salama1, Thomas W. Rösler2, Ali Shalash3, Abdelhaleem Tantawy4, , Günter U. Höglinger2,5 1Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt 2Department for Translational Neurodegeneration, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany 3. Department of Neurology, Faculty of Read More

Objective: We hypothesized that nebulized magnesium sulfate added to combined bronchodilator and systemic steroid therapy would shorten time to discharge without undue risk. Study design: Patients aged 2 to 14 y with moderate and severe asthma (PRAM severity score >4) admitted to infirmary care were randomized double-blind to 800 mg nebulized isotonic magnesium sulfate or normal saline placebo via Aeroneb Pro Read More

OBJECTIVE: Differentiation capacity of human preadipocytes exhibits depot specific variation and is influenced by local cytokine production. The effect of obesity-induced insulin resistance on preadipocyte differentiation and its relation to proinflammatory cytokine release was investigated. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Differentiation of preadipocytes obtained from subcutaneous & omental tissue biopsies isolated fro Read More

Previous studies have shown that low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) can prevent orthodontically induced teeth root resorption (OITRR) in human. Also, stem cells have been used to treat different types of bone defects. Severe OITRR is still untreatable problem in orthodontics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of local injection of osteogenically induced gingival stem cells (OIGSCs) and LIPUS on periodontal Read More

Cdc25C is a member of the dual specific protein phosphatase family capable of dephosphorylating both phospho-Tyr and phospho-Ser/Thr residues. In vertebrates, there are three isoforms of the Cdc25 enzyme (Cdc25A, Cdc25B and Cdc25C). The N-terminal (regulatory domain) region of these three enzymes is highly divergent (~20-25% identity) while the C-terminal (catalytic domain) region is more conserved (~60% identity). Read More

Abstract Nanobiotechnology has been recently widely applied in multidisciplinary fields including pharmaceutical applications. The last decade has witnessed an increase research interests focused on the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles from fungi as a natural sources and as bionanofactories. However, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of great importance particularly in medical therapy applications and can be Read More

Worldwide 1.24 million deaths occur annually due to road traffic injuries. Additionally, 20-50 million are injured or disabled. Similarly, within the Gulf Cooperation Council countries injury and mortality due to road traffic injury are high. In the State of Qatar, for example, the road traffic fatality rate for the year 2010 is estimated to be 14 per 100,000. Young adult males are disproportionately affected. Road safety risk factor laws na Read More

One of the key objectives of the surveillance of communicable disease (CDs) is the identification of areas for research and healthcare system improvement. In a recent paper published in Qatar Medical Journal (http://dx.doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2014.9) is shown the delay in diagnosis of CDs of cases reported at The Cuban Hospital (TCH) during 2012 and 2013. Examples of delay in diagnosis was for tuberculosis 61.7 days, acute Read More

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been classified into three different classes I, II, III. Betaretrovirus-like sequences, including HERV-K, belong to the class II and contains ten groups, termed HML1-10. It has been reported that an HML-10 sequence, termed HERV-K(C4), is inserted within the gene coding for the human complement C4 in an antisense orientation (Tassabehij et al. 1994). The expression of the HERV-K( Read More

Abstract Introduction Bleeding is a common complication after cardiac surgery. However, lower gastrointestinal bleeding is not usually associated with this type of surgery. Case presentation A 50-year-old man with a history of aortic regurgitation underwent elective mechanical valve replacement under cardiopulmonary bypass. He experienced a complicated intraoperative course involving unexplained cardiac arrest f Read More

Introduction: Intractable bleeding is one of common adverse events after cardiac surgeries. Recombinant activated factor VII (rVIIa) showed efficiency in controlling postoperative intractable bleeding (1). Its usage after cardiac surgeries should be more investigated. Patients and methods: - All patients received rVIIa post cardiac surgeries over a period of two years were included in a retrospective descriptive study. All patie Read More

Background: Small RNAs play an essential role in fundamental biological processes such as differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and homeostasis. Evidence suggests that small RNAs may also play function in Cancer progression. The conventional in-vitro two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell culture models are not sufficient to explain the exact mechanism behind tumor invasion and metastasis. The objective of this study is to Read More

Background and Objective: In the Middle East and North Africa, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection distribution appears to present a wide range of prevalence. The scale and nature of HCV infection exposure in Yemen is poorly known. The objective of this study was to establish the national population-level HCV prevalence in Yemen and to characterize the epidemiology of this infection in the Yemeni population. Methods: We Read More

Background It is widely perceived that little is known about the epidemiology of HIV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The primary objective of this study was to assess the status of the HIV epidemic among PWID in MENA by describing HIV prevalence and incidence. Secondary objectives were to describe the risk behavior environment and the HIV epidemic potential am Read More

Background: Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the leading chronic diseases in Qatar as well as worldwide. However, the risk factors for DM in Qatar and their prevalence are not well understood. We conducted a case-control study with the specific aim of estimating, based on data from outpatients with DM in Qatar (cases) and inpatient/outpatient controls, the association between demographic/lifestyle factors and DM. W Read More

Background: Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is well-established in the management of infected surgical wounds. However, it is a relatively new modality of treatment for the protection of clean surgical sites. This study was aimed at developing guidelines for the use of negative pressure incision management to prevent surgical wound complications after heart surgery. Methods: In this prospective study, we inclu Read More

Background: a 30 year old gentleman was referred to our in thoracic surgery clinic with an incidental finding of an abnormal shadow around the apical region of the heart on the chest radiograph. He was asymptomatic and non smoker and he had no chronic medical illness in the past. He had no specific findings on physical examination. Echocardiogram revealed rounded cyst in the pericardium around the hear apex measurin Read More

Rational: Heart failure is a common, costly, and frequently fatal disease. One in three cases of heart failure is due to dilated cardiomyopathy. NHE1 expression and activity are increased in this cardiac defect. We have previously shown that elevated activity of NHE1 in the cardiomyocytes induced cardiac hypertrophy in transgenic mice. However, it protected the myocardium following ischemia/reperfusion. This overexpression of a Read More

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions as a storehouse for intracellular calcium. STIM1, a calcium sensor, localizes mostly to the ER membrane. Following Ca2+ store depletion, STIM1 forms puncta that localize to the cortical ER and bind Orai1, a plasma membrane Ca2+ channel, to allow Ca2+ influx. This is the predominant pathway for Ca2+ influx in non-excitable cells and is referred to as Store-Operated Calcium Entry ( Read More

Background: Breakdown of blood-retinal barrier (BRB) and subsequent hyperpermeability is a cardinal feature of early diabetic retinopathy (DR) and leading cause of blindness. Fatty acid metabolism is implicated in several biological functions via multiple signaling pathways including the synthesis of bioactive metabolites. Our previous studies established 12/15-lipoxygenase (12/15-LOX)-derived 12- and 15- hydroxyeicosat Read More

Neuroblastoma is a solid malignant embryonic tumor. It is usually diagnosed in the infancy and rarely found after the age of 10 years. In the current treatment options, CDDP and TOPO are included. Methods: Neuroblastoma (SH SY-5Y) cell death was investigated after treatment with CDDP and TOPO (0.1nM-1μM) using Trypan Blue Cytotoxicity Test and Total Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Detection Kit (FACS). These data a Read More

Biocompatible Graphene Oxide with Anchored Zwitterionic Moiety - Synthesis, Characterization and Application Markéta Ilčíková1, Zuzana Kroneková2, Anna Záhoranová2 and Peter Kasák1* 1 Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, P.O.Box 2713 Doha, Qatar 2 Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, Bratislava, Slovakia *Corresponding author: peter.kasak@qu.edu.qa The nove Read More

One goal in the field of soft tissue biomechanics is to understand and to model the properties of collagen-fibers in biological tissues such as blood vessels, brain tissues, and skin which undergo growth and remodeling processes. Experimental studies of Bhole et al.\ [1] suggest that the mechanical properties of fibers in biological tissues depend not only on the current state of the deformation but also on the deformation Read More

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness among working diabetic patients worldwide. The current therapeutic strategies are limited by several side effects. Thus, it is important to investigate novel approaches for therapeutic intervention. Early inflammatory response and late neovascularization (NV) are cardinal clinical signs of the DR. We have previously demonstrated the involvement of bioactive lipids especi Read More

General consensus exists that biomedical research is a key determinant of innovation, health, and economic wellbeing. However, the answer to the question how do we determine and quantify the value and the impact of research is apparently simple, while a thoughtful and analytical answer quickly becomes very probing and difficult to address. Qatar has dedicated itself to transitioning from a resource-based to a knowledge- Read More

Nonlinear continuum mechanics is commonly used to study the response of highly de- formable materials. Nowadays, the proposed material models often include internal ma- terial variables in order to capture realistic engineering behavior. The theoretical back- ground is mature and its implementation in the frame of nite element method is well established. Solely, these material constitutive models are expressed in ter Read More

Background Islet cell death is a common feature of type 1 diabetes (T1D), including after islet cell transplantation, as well as of type 2 diabetes (T2D). As of today, we lack tools to quantitatively detect islet cell loss prior to the clinical onset of diabetes, or to predict the progression of established diabetes. Our preliminary data demonstrates that a signature of 20 different non-coding (nc) RNAs (including microRNAs) ref Read More

Over the last two decades the prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic levels worldwide. Secondary major health risks, such as hypertension, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, can be summarized as the metabolic syndrome and are highly associated with obesity. In cases in which energy intake e.g. through high caloric food intake exceeds energy expenditure the overall energy homeostasi Read More

Background: Polycythemia Vera (PV), Essential Thrombocytosis (ET) & Primary Myelofibrosis (PMF) are Philadelphia negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) characterized by overproduction of one or more myeloid cell lineages. MPNs are associated with the presence JAK2 V617F mutation in 95% of PV & 50% of ET & PMF patients. Several molecular methods such as RQ-PCR, HRM & Sequencing are currently used t Read More