Mostafa Ali

Using BIM technology is well established in construction projects, especially in industrial projects where a maze of pipes and modules have to be installed in congested work areas under tight time schedule . BIM offers potential benefits (e.g. visualization, collaboration, alignment ...etc.) that can be key for complex project success; however, these benefits have not been fully implemented in industrial projects. The authors worked last two years closely with a construction company -which specialized in oil and gas projectstrying to discover ways to maximize utilization of knowledge embedded in BIM models. Though the partner company has used BIM for long time, we noticed many obstacles that hinder reaping the full benefits of BIM for construction planning and control. These obstacles are related to the ability to extend a model by adding new attributes and to link the model to data from external sources (e.g. cost or schedule control information systems). This paper discusses these...

High Level Architecture (HLA) is a distributed simulation framework that offers integration, reusability, and flexibility. Nonetheless, it has been criticized for its complexity and overwhelming services. Consequently, it has been rarely used on a day-to-day basis in industrial world. A very steep learning curve is one of the main challenge that faces a new user of HLA distributed simulation. The user has to be familiar with different HLA services (e.g. objects and time management) beside a programming language to develop a basic simulation. In order to overcome this challenge, we developed a tool with friendly graphical user interface that encapsulates all HLA services. This tool allows a new user to explore services as described in the standards without the need for programming language. In addition, the interface can be used by an experienced simulator to debug existing federation quickly and efficiently.

3D Visualization provides a mean for communicating different construction activities to diverse audiences. The scope, level of detail, and time resolution of the 3D visualization process are determined based on the targeted audiences. Developing the 3D visualization requires obtaining and merging heterogeneous data from different sources (such as BIM model and CPM schedule). The data merging process is usually carried out on ad hoc basis for a specific visualization case which limits the reusability of the process. This paper discusses a framework for automatic merging of heterogeneous data to create a visualization. The paper describes developing an ontology which captures concepts related to the visualization process. Then, heterogeneous data sources that are commonly used in construction are fed into the ontology which can be queried to produce different visualization scenarios. The potential of this approach has been demonstrated by providing multiple visualization scenarios tha...

Constructability means finding ways to construct effectively. It minimises disputes, cost overrun, and schedule delays. However, constructability program adoption in construction projects differs from one corporation to another, and the level of implementation (measured in two levels: corporate and project level) extends from highly sophisticated to none at all. Despite its benefits, many construction companies are reluctant to fully implement it due to many barriers (e.g. complacency with status quo and lack of expertise for design firms). In order to improve the effectiveness of constructability programs in construction projects, identification and mitigation of constructability program barriers using gap analysis techniques should be done. This paper illustrates research done with a partner company to measure degree of implementation of constructability in the company. We used CII constructability evaluation matrix to evaluate the degree of implementation of constructability prog...

To compare the anti-hypertensive effects of both remifentanil and esmolol infusion. This prospective comparative study was conducted on 20 patients (10 patients in each group), in the Neurosurgical Theater of Kasr Elaini Hospital, Cairo, Egypt from 2006 to 2008. The patients were divided into 2 equal groups. In group one, remifentanil was used as a bolus of one ug/kg intravenous (iv) in 30-60 seconds, followed by infusion at a rate of 0.25-0.5 ug/kg/min until the systolic blood pressure was <140 mm Hg. In group 2, esmolol was given as a 500 ug/kg iv bolus in 30 seconds followed by continued infusion of 100-300 ug/kg/min until systolic blood pressure was <140 mm Hg. Infusion was continued until the patients left the post anesthesia care unit (PACU). The onset time of decreasing blood pressure was shorter in group 2 (40+/-0.01 seconds) than group one (52.5+/-4.47 seconds). The PACU and hospital stay were comparable between both groups. Remifentanil can be used to control blood pressure during emergence of anesthesia after craniotomy for brain tumors. It has higher rapid recovery score than esmolol and other narcotics. In addition, it can be used when esmolol is contraindicated such as in cardiac patients, asthmatics, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or during pregnancy. Also, it decreases the need for postoperative analgesia and allows sedation if the infusion is continued as surgical patients are admitted to the ICU.

To compare awake craniotomy using conscious sedation technique versus conventional general anesthesia (GA) for excision of low-grade glioma encroaching on eloquent brain. This prospective study included 40 patients ASA classification 1 and 2, aged 23-55 years, harboring low-grade glioma encroaching on eloquent brain. The study was carried out in the Neurosurgical Theatre in Kasr El-Aini Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, from January 2007 to November 2008. Twenty patients (group 1) received GA with endotracheal intubation and controlled ventilation. In group 2, awake craniotomy was carried out using local anesthetic infiltration, and intravenous injection of propofol and fentanyl. Forty patients completed the study. In the awake group, none of the patients received GA, 2 patients developed intraoperative agitation, 5 patients were over-sedated, and none of the awake patients developed intraoperative nausea or vomiting. Four patients in the GA group developed post-operative nausea and vomiting ...

Obese individuals present with an increased inflammatory tone as compared to healthy, normal-weight individuals, which is associated with insulin resistance. One factor hypothesized to contribute to increased inflammation in obese and diabetic states is elevated blood endotoxin levels, a condition known as metabolic endotoxemia. In non-obese and insulin sensitive individuals, circulating endotoxin concentrations fluctuate over the course of the day with elevations in the post-prandial state that return to baseline levels in the post-absorptive state. Evidence suggests that high-fat feeding alters these fluctuations causing endotoxin levels to remain high throughout the day. The effects of alterations in endotoxin levels on glucose metabolism are not clearly understood. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of both short-term and long-term increases in endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of a low magnitude on the glucose tolerance and insulin signaling in a human primar...

... Mohamed A. Abd Raboh1, Hesham M. Mostafa2, Mostafa AM Ali2 and Amr M. Hassaan3 1Faculty of Engineering, Al Azhar University, 2Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, 3Higher Technological Institute, Tenth of Ramadan City, 1,3Egypt 2K.SA 1. Introduction ...

Vitiligo is a chronic disorder of depigmentation that has different treatment modalities, but patients' nonadherence is common. This study aimed to assess the influence of patients' medication beliefs on patients' adherence to topical, oral medications, and phototherapy in vitiligo. Between September 2015 and February 2016, 260 patients with vitiligo were asked to fill in the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) to assess their beliefs about therapy for vitiligo. Their adherence to the therapy was examined using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). The MMAS-8 scale and BMQ had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.78 and 0.66, respectively). Using Morisky's recommended cutoff point, 71% of patients were categorized as low or nonadherent to the scheduled therapy. Patients who perceived specific necessity of dermatological medicines significantly adhered to their therapy (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.09, 1.38; p = 0.001) whereas patients who had specific concerns about the adverse effects exhibited significant low adherence (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.56, 0.76; p < 0.001). Positive beliefs about the necessity of medications in vitiligo do not necessarily reflect high adherence. Patients' adherence behavior is a multidimensional and dynamic process. The prolonged course of treatment, its cost, and unsatisfactory outcomes influenced the patients' adherence.

The aim of this study was to compare both the efficacy and safety profile of the WHO-recommended, dual therapy (doxycycline-rifampin) to a quinolone-based, triple therapy (doxycycline-rifampin-levofloxacin) for treating acute/subacute brucellosis. We studied 107 consecutive, naïve patients with acute/subacute brucellosis admitted to Assiut University Hospital. Patients were randomly allocated to receive the dual therapy of doxycycline-rifampin (group-A) or to receive the triple therapy of doxycycline-rifampin-levofloxacin (group-B). Acute/subacute brucellosis was diagnosed based on the presence of: (1) contact with animals or fresh animal products, (2) suggestive clinical manifestations of less than one-year duration, and (3) positive antibody titer (1:160) by standard tube agglutination test. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding their demographic data. Fever was the most frequent manifestation (96.3%). Epigastric pain was the most frequent adverse effect of treatment (12.1%). Group-A patients had a significantly higher relapse rate compared to group-B patients (22.6% versus 9.3%, p-value=0.01). The rate of treatment adverse effects was higher among group-B patients, although not reaching statistical significance (20.4% versus 11.3%, p-value=0.059). Adding levofloxacin to the dual therapy for acute/subacute brucellosis (doxycycline-rifampin) may increase its efficacy in terms of lowering the relapse rate of the disease. Further, larger scale studies are needed before considering modifying the standard, dual therapy for brucellosis.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of polypharmacy and high doses of amoxicillin/clavulanate on warfarin response in hospitalized patients. Prospective cross-sectional observational study on 120 patients started from July 2013 to January 2014. Potentially interacting drugs were classified according to their tendency of increasing INR or bleeding risk. 87.5% patients prescribed high dose amoxicillin/clavulanate (10-12 g daily) compared with 28.9% patients prescribed normal dose (up to 3.6 g daily) had INR values ≥4 during hospital stay (p = <.001). Increased number of potentially interacting drugs that are known to increase INR was a significant predictor of having INR values ≥4 (OR, 2.5 [95% CI, 1.3-4.7]) and increased number of potentially interacting drugs that are known to increase bleeding risk was a significant predictor of experiencing bleeding episodes (OR, 3.1 [95% CI, 1.3-7.3]). High doses of amoxicillin/clavulanate were associated with a higher risk of over anticoagulation when combined with warfarin than normal doses. Increased risk of having INRs ≥4 and bleeding events was associated with the increased numbers of potentially interacting drugs prescribed indicating that polypharmacy is a problem of concern. Frequent monitoring of warfarin therapy along with patient's medications is necessary to avoid complications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Surges and waves induced by cyclones and other severe storms can cause devastating damage of property and loss of life in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Bio-shield in wetlands can reduce the energy of storm surges and cyclones. To study the effectiveness of emerged and submerged coastal bio-shield in storm surge protection, a laboratory experiment was carried out in a 22 m long, 0.75 m wide and 0.75 m deep wave flume in the Hydraulics and River Engineering Laboratory of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Experiments were carried out for investigating the performance of the bio-shields in submerged as well as emerged conditions. Bio-shields were represented by cylindrical bamboo sticks as rigid bio-shield and polyethylene as flexible bio-shield whose diameter was 6 mm. There were a total of 51 experimental runs covering 3 different wave periods of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 seconds. Time-series of water surface elevations for vegetated (with bio-shield) and non-vegetated...

Braiding is one of the major and complex river patterns of large rivers. Several morphological features (bars and channels) experience major changes in area, shape and spatial distribution to respond the changes of discharge and sediment load during the flood which makes the river network more difficult to understand. Here, a 2D depth-averaged morphodynamic model named as Delft3D was used to understand a braided river network, Brahmaputra-Jamuna. Special emphasis was given on braided bar. This study indicates that through this physics-based nonlinear morphodynamic model Delft3D several bar developing phenomena can be reproduced. Furthermore, several morphological phenomena of the river (e.g. Active braided index, Active channel width) which are difficult to investigate during high flood, can be analyzed through this model. The study also indicates that, the braided bar development process are dependent on that particular morphological phenomena . Hence, the numerical models can be u...

Braiding is one of the major river patterns of large rivers (Chalov, 2000). To respond the pulsation of discharge and sediment load during the flood, the morphological features (bars and channels) of braided rivers experience major changes in area, shape and spatial distribution; making the river network complex (Welber et al., 2011). Strong nonlinearities, unsteadiness; time scales difficulties, gravitational effects on sediment transport, partially transporting cross sections, secondary flows and finite length effects add to the complexity to understand the braided network (Repetto, 1997). Ashmore (1982, 1991) indentifies several unit processes leading the generation and development of a braided network. These unit processes simultaneously determines the overall morphology of a braided river at the same time together with the other local factor (soil condition, sediment transport rate, slope etc) affect the floodplain (river bank erosion or accretion). Bar development process is o...

Brahmaputra river basin is one of the largest basins among Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river system carrying enormous volume of water through Bangladesh. The response of this basin due to variable climate changes is one of the key issues to be investigated due to its socio-economic and environmental vulnerability. A semi-distributed hydrological model of the Brahmaputra River Basin (BRB) has been setup using Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). It has been calibrated and validated for the streamflow measured at the Bahadurabad station for the periods of 1981 to 2010 and satisfactory goodness-of-ft statistics were found. Synthetic approach of climate change modeling has been applied to assess the changes in water availability due to future potential changes in temperature and precipitation in BRB. Twenty hypothetical climate change scenarios (perturbed temperatures and precipitation: precipitation from -20% to +20% at 10% interval and temperature change of 0◦C to 4◦C at 2◦C interva...

Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) is one of the largest basins among Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river system carrying enormous volume of water through Bangladesh. The response of this basin due to variable climate changes is one of the key issues to be investigated due to its socio-economic and environmental vulnerability. A semi-distributed hydrological model of the BRB has been developed using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). It has been calibrated and validated for the streamflow measured at the Bahadurabad station for the climate normal period (1981 to 2010). The calibrated model has been used to assess the impact of climate change on water availability of BRB by applying different climate change scenarios of selected General Circulation Models (GCM). The selection of GCM was based on the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios of eight Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) GCMs for the 21st century. The high resolution spatial distribution of te...

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), including the AmpC type, are important mechanisms of resistance among Enterobacteriaeceae. CTX-M type extended-spectrum β- lactamases, of which there are now over 90 variants, are distributed globally, yet appear to vary in regional distribution. AmpC β-lactamases hydrolyze third generation cephalosporins, but are resistant to inhibition by clavulanate or other β-lactamase inhibitors in vitro. Fecal carriage and rates of colonization by bacteria harboring these resistance mechanisms have been reported in patients with community-acquired infections and in healthy members of their households. Expression of these ESBLs compromises the efficacy of current antibacterial therapies, potentially increasing the seriousness of hospital- and community-acquired Escherichia coli (E. coli) infections.To investigate the occurrence of ESBL-producing E. coli in human fecal flora isolated from two pediatric populations residing in the Libyan cities Zleiten and ...

There is little information regarding the isolation of antimicrobial-resistant potentially pathogenic bacteria from water and carpets of mosques worldwide. The objective of the present investigation is to determine the bacteriological quality of water and carpets of mosques in Elkhomes city in Libya. Potentially pathogenic bacteria were isolated from water samples (n=44) and dust samples from carpets (n=50) of 50 mosques in Elkhomes city, Libya, using standard bacteriological procedures. Susceptibility of isolated bacteria to antimicrobial agents was determined by the disc-diffusion method. Of the water samples examined, 12 (27.3%) were positive for Escherichia coli, 10 (22.7%) for Klebsiella spp., and 15 (34.1%) for other enteric bacteria. Of the dust samples of carpets examined, 6 (12%) were positive for E. coli, 33 (66%) for Klebsiella spp., and 30 (60%) for Staphylococcus spp. Multidrug resistance (MDR, resistance to three or more antimicrobial groups) was found among 48.7% (19/...

ABSTRACT Numerical issues for the friction-dominated steady-state Saint-Venant equations with a shock-capturing upwind finite-element scheme are studied using nonuniform-flow test cases and Fourier analysis. The friction-dominated case is a common phenomenon in open channel flow modeling when the depth becomes small compared with the discretization length. In the nonuniform-flow test cases, abrupt slope changes and abrupt roughness changes are introduced, and in the Fourier analysis, a periodic bed perturbation is used. Nondimensional parameter groups identified are as follows: the upwinding coefficient, the number of elements per wavelength, the average-flow Froude number, and the numerical friction number. The results show that errors in both depth and discharge variables are observed whenever there is any perturbation in the bed topography or bed roughness. These errors increase with increasing Froude number and increasing numerical friction number. A combined friction parameter is introduced for practical application. The combined friction parameter can be used to specify minimum depths or to guide mesh refinement. The analysis framework developed can also be used for other numerical schemes.

... ALI MOSTAFA, MD*; EMAD EBEID, MD**; TAREK MANSOUR, MD***; MANAL AMIN, MD**; IMAN SIDHOM, MD**; ASHRAF KHAIRY, MD** and HOSSAM EL ZOMOR, M.Sc.** Department of Pediatrics*, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Pediatric Oncology** and Virology ...

ABSTRACT Many meta-heuristics methods are applied to guide the exploration and exploitation of the search space for large scale optimization problems. These problems have attracted much attention from researchers who proposed developed a variety of techniques for locating the optimal solutions. Cultural Algorithm has been recently adopted to solve global numerical optimization problems. In this paper, a modified version of Cultural Algorithm (CA) that uses four knowledge sources in order to incorporate the information obtained from the objective function as well as constraint violation into knowledge structure in the belief space is proposed. The archived knowledge in the proposed approach will be used to enhance the way the belief space influences future generations of problem solvers. The first step is to use the four knowledge sources to guide the direction of the search to more promising solutions. The search is balanced between exploration and exploitation by dynamically adjusting the number of evaluations available for each type of knowledge source based on whether is primarily exploratory or exploitative. The second step selects one local search method to find the nearest solutions to those proposed by the knowledge sources. The proposed work is employed to solve seven global optimization problems in 50 and 100 dimensions, and an engineering application problem. Simulation results show how the approach speeds up the convergence process with very competitive results on such complex benchmarks when compared to other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Abstract Robustness is a key concern when developing a successful commercial evolutionary tool. In this paper we investigate the performance of Cultural Algorithms over the complete range of system complexities, from fixed to chaotic. In order to apply the ...

Cultural Algorithms employ a basic set of knowledge sources, each related to knowledge observed in various animal species. These knowledge sources are then combined to direct the decisions of the individual agents in solving optimization problems using an influence function ...

Our previous work on real-valued function and Engineering Optimization problems had shown that cultural learning emerged as the result of a more focused meta-level interaction or swarming of knowledge sources, “Knowledge Swarms” in the belief space. These meta-level ...

Abstract— Abstract— Cultural Algorithms employ a basic set of knowledge sources, each related to knowledge observed in various social species. These knowledge sources are then combined to direct the decisions of the individual agents in solving optimization problems. While ...

Abstract—Recently there has been increased interest in socially motivated approaches to problem solving. These approaches include particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, and Cultural Algorithms. Each of these approaches is derived from a social system that ...

ABSTRACT In this research we present a configurable novel framework based on an enhanced heterogeneous hierarchical social fabric influence function embedded in Cultural Algorithms, as a powerful vehicle for the solution of complex problems. We motivate the discussion by investigating the extent to which these emergent phenomena are also visible within novel hybrid complex composition environments whose properties and complexity can be blurred and controlled easily, for the sake of overcoming any shortcomings of existing test functions that some of the current algorithms take advantage of during the optimization process. This environmental complexity induces an increase in the complexity of social roles within our system. We demonstrate how the well-configured hierarchical social fabric enhances Cultural Algorithms performance relative to other evolutionary algorithms from the literature.

This study addresses the interactions of coffee storage proteins with coffee-specific phenolic compounds. Protein profiles of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (var. robusta) were compared. Major phenolic compounds were extracted and analyzed with appropriate methods. The polyphenol-protein interactions during protein extraction have been addressed by different analytical setups [reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays], with focus directed toward identification of covalent adduct formation. The results indicate that C. arabica proteins are more susceptible to these interactions and the polyphenol oxidase activity seems to be a crucial factor for the formation of these addition products. A tentative allocation of the modification type and site in the protein has been attempted. Thus, the first available in silico modeling of modified coffee proteins is reported. The extent of these modifications may contribute to the structure and function of "coffee melanoidins" and are discussed in the context of coffee flavor formation.

ABSTRACT This paper presents a new method to solve complex engineering optimization problems. This method is based on intermingling Cultural Algorithms with Tabu search meta-heuristic. The proposed approach uses a specified set of knowledge sources to update agent’s information, as well as employs the diffusion factor to propagate the best solutions in the social network. This approach avoids premature convergence through seeking the best neighboring solutions using Tabu search in case of stagnation, which uses the best solution found so far using social Cultural Algorithms. The Algorithm is validated on a set of structural engineering benchmarks from literature. The obtained results are compared with those generated from other state-of-the-art algorithms in the optimization field. These outcomes are discussed to demonstrate that the technique improves performance in terms of the found optima and convergence speed at less function evaluations.

Skeletal muscle mitochondria play a specific role in many disease pathologies. As such, the measurement of oxygen consumption as an indicator of mitochondrial function in this tissue has become more prevalent. Although many technologies and assays exist that measure mitochondrial respiratory pathways in a variety of cells, tissue and species, there is currently a void in the literature in regards to the compilation of these assays using isolated mitochondria from mouse skeletal muscle for use in microplate based technologies. Importantly, the use of microplate based respirometric assays is growing among mitochondrial biologists as it allows for high throughput measurements using minimal quantities of isolated mitochondria. Therefore, a collection of microplate based respirometric assays were developed that are able to assess mechanistic changes/adaptations in oxygen consumption in a commonly used animal model. The methods presented herein provide step-by-step instructions to perform...

Dysfunctional skeletal muscle mitochondria play a role in altered metabolism observed with aging, obesity and Type II diabetes. Mitochondrial respirometric assays from isolated mitochondrial preparations allow for the assessment of mitochondrial function, as well as determination of the mechanism(s) of action of drugs and proteins that modulate metabolism. Current isolation procedures often require large quantities of tissue to yield high quality mitochondria necessary for respirometric assays. The methods presented herein describe how high quality purified mitochondria (~ 450 µg) can be isolated from minimal quantities (~75-100 mg) of mouse skeletal muscle for use in high throughput respiratory measurements. We determined that our isolation method yields 92.5± 2.0% intact mitochondria by measuring citrate synthase activity spectrophotometrically. In addition, Western blot analysis in isolated mitochondria resulted in the faint expression of the cytosolic protein, GAPDH, and the robust expression of the mitochondrial protein, COXIV. The absence of a prominent GAPDH band in the isolated mitochondria is indicative of little contamination from non-mitochondrial sources during the isolation procedure. Most importantly, the measurement of O2 consumption rate with micro-plate based technology and determining the respiratory control ratio (RCR) for coupled respirometric assays shows highly coupled (RCR; >6 for all assays) and functional mitochondria. In conclusion, the addition of a separate mincing step and significantly reducing motor driven homogenization speed of a previously reported method has allowed the isolation of high quality and purified mitochondria from smaller quantities of mouse skeletal muscle that results in highly coupled mitochondria that respire with high function during microplate based respirometirc assays.

... 2 S / O 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Input Traffic (Nprn) Fig. 4. Overall delay (D) and throughput (A) vs. input traffic (Np,,,) characteristics while varying the number of active users in the system. 14 N-20 12 ARC scheme 10 - LPG 31 SNR=1OdB >1 XF 8 Zi6 z ...