Estimation of woody plant species diversity during a dry season in a savanna environment using the spectral and textural information derived from WorldView-2 imagery

Abstract: Remote sensing techniques are useful in the monitoring of woody plant species diversity in different environments including in savanna vegetation types. However, the performance of satellite imagery in assessing woody plant species diversity in dry seasons has been understudied. This study aimed to assess the performance of multiple Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrices (GLCM) derived from individual bands of WorldView-2 satellite imagery to quantify woody plant species diversity in a savanna environment during the dry season. Woody plant species were counted in 220 plots (20 m radius) and subsequently converted to a continuous scale of the Shannon species diversity index. The index regressed against the GLCMs using the all-possible-subsets regression approach that builds competing models to choose from. Entropy GLCM yielded the best overall accuracy (adjusted R2: 0.41−0.46; Root Mean Square Error (RMSE): 0.60−0.58) in estimating species diversity. The effect of the number of predicting bands on species diversity estimation was also explored. Accuracy generally increased when three–five bands were used in models but stabilised or gradually decreased as more than five bands were used. Despite the peak accuracies achieved with three–five bands, performances still fared well for models that used fewer bands, showing the relevance of few bands for species diversity estimation. We also assessed the effect of GLCM window size (3×3, 5×5 and 7×7) on species diversity estimation and generally found inconsistent conclusions. These findings demonstrate the capability of GLCMs combined with high spatial resolution imagery in estimating woody plants species diversity in a savanna environment during the dry period. It is important to test the performance of species diversity estimation of similar environmental set-ups using widely available moderate-resolution imagery

CHALLENGES OF THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY: EXPLORING THE CASE OF QATAR

Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and National Vision 2030 constituted the turning point in Qatar’s transition towards knowledge society. Articles 22-49 of Qatar’s Permanent Constitution together with the 4 pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the importance of knowledge acquisition, production and dissemination, and promotion of human socioeconomic development. Qatar has remarkably invested in education, human capital, R&D, and ICT. Institutions such as Qatar Foundation (QF) and its entities like Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), in addition to Qatar University and ictQatar are in the heart of Qatar’s knowledge society construction. Moreover, Qatar has capitalized in importing existing organizational capacity, faculty and staff, and accumulated reputation of a number of eminent global higher education institutions such as Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, and Weill Cornell Medical College. Despite many years of substantial investments in human capital, ICT and the relevant infrastructures, Qatar’s transition toward knowledge society is facing serious challenges. These challenges relate to reform and development of education and training to make knowledge as a principal driver of growth, diversification of the economy to ensure endurance of adequate revenues to fund projects, resolve the expatriate and workforce issues to ensure excellence and efficiency, efficient management of growth and uncontrolled expansion to avoid duplication of works and waste of recourses, good governance across government and private sectors and projects to cope with modernization, balancing between modernization and preservation of traditions in responding to the convergent impacts of globalization, balancing the needs of current generation and the needs of future generations, and sustain the environment. The aim of this paper is threefold: Outline the main features of Qatar society, highlight the status quo of Qatar knowledge society and explore the major challenges for it

Abstracts from the 3rd International Genomic Medicine Conference (3rd IGMC 2015)

Table of contents O1 Regulation of genes by telomere length over long distances Jerry W. Shay O2 The microtubule destabilizer KIF2A regulates the postnatal establishment of neuronal circuits in addition to prenatal cell survival, cell migration, and axon elongation, and its loss leading to malformation of cortical development and severe epilepsy Noriko Homma, Ruyun Zhou, Muhammad Imran Naseer, Adeel G. Chaudhary, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Nobutaka Hirokawa O3 Integration of metagenomics and metabolomics in gut microbiome research Maryam Goudarzi, Albert J. Fornace Jr. O4 A unique integrated system to discern pathogenesis of central nervous system tumors Saleh Baeesa, Deema Hussain, Mohammed Bangash, Fahad Alghamdi, Hans-Juergen Schulten, Angel Carracedo, Ishaq Khan, Hanadi Qashqari, Nawal Madkhali, Mohamad Saka, Kulvinder S. Saini, Awatif Jamal, Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Adel Abuzenadah, Adeel Chaudhary, Mohammed Al Qahtani, Ghazi Damanhouri O5 RPL27A is a target of miR-595 and deficiency contributes to ribosomal dysgenesis Heba Alkhatabi O6 Next generation DNA sequencing panels for haemostatic and platelet disorders and for Fanconi anaemia in routine diagnostic service Anne Goodeve, Laura Crookes, Nikolas Niksic, Nicholas Beauchamp O7 Targeted sequencing panels and their utilization in personalized medicine Adel M. Abuzenadah O8 International biobanking in the era of precision medicine Jim Vaught O9 Biobank and biodata for clinical and forensic applications Bruce Budowle, Mourad Assidi, Abdelbaset Buhmeida O10 Tissue microarray technique: a powerful adjunct tool for molecular profiling of solid tumors Jaudah Al-Maghrabi O11 The CEGMR biobanking unit: achievements, challenges and future plans Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mourad Assidi, Leena Merdad O12 Phylomedicine of tumors Sudhir Kumar, Sayaka Miura, Karen Gomez O13 Clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics for colorectal cancer treatment Angel Carracedo, Mahmood Rasool O14 From association to causality: translation of GWAS findings for genomic medicine Ahmed Rebai O15 E-GRASP: an interactive database and web application for efficient analysis of disease-associated genetic information Sajjad Karim, Hend F Nour Eldin, Heba Abusamra, Elham M Alhathli, Nada Salem, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani, Sudhir Kumar O16 The supercomputer facility “AZIZ” at KAU: utility and future prospects Hossam Faheem O17 New research into the causes of male infertility Ashok Agarwa O18 The Klinefelter syndrome: recent progress in pathophysiology and management Eberhard Nieschlag, Joachim Wistuba, Oliver S. Damm, Mohd A. Beg, Taha A. Abdel-Meguid, Hisham A. Mosli, Osama S. Bajouh, Adel M. Abuzenadah, Mohammed H. Al-Qahtani O19 A new look to reproductive medicine in the era of genomics Serdar Coskun P1 Wnt signalling receptors expression in Saudi breast cancer patients Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Ashraf Dallol, Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Sahar Hakamy, Wejdan Al-Qahtani, Asia Al-Harbi, Shireen Hussain, Mourad Assidi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Adel Abuzenadah P2 Analysis of oxidative stress interactome during spermatogenesis: a systems biology approach to reproduction Burak Ozkosem, Rick DuBois P3 Interleukin-18 gene variants are strongly associated with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss. Safia S Messaoudi, Maryam T Dandana, Touhami Mahjoub, Wassim Y Almawi P4 Effect of environmental factors on gene-gene and gene-environment reactions: model and theoretical study applied to environmental interventions using genotype S. Abdalla, M. Nabil Al-Aama P5 Genomics and transcriptomic analysis of imatinib resistance in gastrointestinal stromal tumor Asmaa Elzawahry, Tsuyoshi Takahashi, Sachiyo Mimaki, Eisaku Furukawa, Rie Nakatsuka, Isao Kurosaka, Takahiko Nishigaki, Hiromi Nakamura, Satoshi Serada, Tetsuji Naka, Seiichi Hirota, Tatsuhiro Shibata, Katsuya Tsuchihara, Toshirou Nishida, Mamoru Kato P6 In-Silico analysis of putative HCV epitopes against Pakistani human leukocyte antigen background: an approach towards development of future vaccines for Pakistani population Sajid Mehmood, Naeem Mahmood Ashraf, Awais Asif, Muhammad Bilal, Malik Siddique Mehmood, Aadil Hussain P7 Inhibition of AChE and BuChE with the natural compounds of Bacopa monerri for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: a bioinformatics approach Qazi Mohammad Sajid Jamal, Mughees Uddin Siddiqui, Mohammad A. Alzohairy, Mohammad A. Al Karaawi P8 Her2 expression in urothelial cell carcinoma of the bladder in Saudi Arabia Taoufik Nedjadi, Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Mourad Assidi, Heba Al-Khattabi, Adel Al-Ammari, Ahmed Al-Sayyad, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P9 Association of angiotensinogen single nucleotide polymorphisms with Preeclampsia in patients from North Africa Hédia Zitouni, Nozha Raguema, Marwa Ben Ali, Wided Malah, Raja Lfalah, Wassim Almawi, Touhami Mahjoub P10 Systems biology analysis reveals relations between normal skin, benign nevi and malignant melanoma Mohammed Elanbari, Andrey Ptitsyn P11 The apoptotic effect of thymoquinone in Jurkat cells Sana Mahjoub, Rabeb El Ghali, Bechir Achour, Nidhal Ben Amor, Mourad Assidi, Brahim N'siri, Hamid Morjani P12 Sonic hedgehog contributes in bladder cancer invasion in Saudi Arabia Taoufik Nedjadi, Adel Al-Ammari, Ahmed Al-Sayyad, Nada Salem, Esam Azhar, Jaudah Al-Maghrabi P13 Association of Interleukin 18 gene promoter polymorphisms - 607A/C and -137 G/C with colorectal cancer onset in a sample of Tunisian population Vera Chayeb, Maryam Dendena, Hedia Zitouni, Khedija Zouari-Limayem, Touhami Mahjoub P14 Pathological expression of interleukin-6, -11, leukemia inhibitory factor and their receptors in tubal gestation with and without tubal cytomegalovirus infection Bassem Refaat, Ahmed M Ashshi, Sarah A Batwa P15 Phenotypic and genetic profiling of avian pathogenic and human diarrhegenic Escherichia coli in Egypt Hazem Ramadan, Amal Awad, Ahmed Ateya P16 Cancer-targeting dual gene virotherapy as a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma Adel Galal Ahmed El-Shemi, Ahmad Ashshi, Mohammed Basalamah, Youjin Na, Chae-Ok YUN P17 Cancer dual gene therapy with oncolytic adenoviruses expressing TRAIL and IL-12 transgenes markedly eradicated human hepatocellular carcinoma both in vitro and in vivo Adel Galal Ahmed El-Shemi, Ahmad Ashshi, Mohammed Basalamah, Youjin Na, Chae-Ok Yun P18 Therapy with paricalcitol attenuates tumor growth and augments tumoricidal and anti-oncogenic effects of 5-fluorouracil on animal model of colon cancer Adel Galal El-Shemi, Bassem Refaat, Osama Kensara, Amr Abdelfattah P19 The effects of Rubus idaeus extract on normal human lymphocytes and cancer cell line Batol Imran Dheeb, Mohammed M. F. Al-Halbosiy, Rghad Kadhim Al lihabi, Basim Mohammed Khashman P20 Etanercept, a TNF-alpha inhibitor, alleviates mechanical hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain in a rat model of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain Djouhri, Laiche, Chaudhary Adeel, Nedjadi, Taoufik P21 Sleeping beauty mutagenesis system identified genes and neuronal transcription factor network involved in pediatric solid tumour (medulloblastoma) Hani Al-Afghani, Maria Łastowska, Haya H Al-Balool, Harsh Sheth, Emma Mercer, Jonathan M Coxhead, Chris PF Redfern, Heiko Peters, Alastair D Burt, Mauro Santibanez-Koref, Chris M Bacon, Louis Chesler, Alistair G Rust, David J Adams, Daniel Williamson, Steven C Clifford, Michael S Jackson P22 Involvement of interleukin-1 in vitiligo pathogenesis Mala Singh, Mohmmad Shoab Mansuri, Shahnawaz D. Jadeja, Hima Patel, Yogesh S. Marfatia, Rasheedunnisa Begum P23 Cytogenetics abnormalities in 12,884 referred population for chromosomal analysis and the role of FISH in refining the diagnosis (cytogenetic experience 2004-2013) Amal M Mohamed, Alaa K Kamel, Nivin A Helmy, Sayda A Hammad, Hesham F Kayed, Marwa I Shehab, Assad El Gerzawy, Maha M. Ead, Ola M Ead, Mona Mekkawy, Innas Mazen, Mona El-Ruby P24 Analysis of binding properties of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 through in silico method S. M. A. Shahid, Qazi Mohammad Sajid Jamal, J. M. Arif, Mohtashim Lohani P25 Relationship of genetics markers cis and trans to the β-S globin gene with fetal hemoglobin expression in Tunisian sickle cell patients Moumni Imen, Chaouch Leila, Ouragini Houyem, Douzi Kais, Chaouachi Dorra Mellouli Fethi, Bejaoui Mohamed, Abbes Salem P26 Analysis of estrogen receptor alpha gene polymorphisms in breast cancer: link to genetic predisposition in Sudanese women Areeg Faggad, Amanuel T Gebreslasie, Hani Y Zaki, Badreldin E Abdalla P27 KCNQI gene polymorphism and its association with CVD and T2DM in the Saudi population Maha S AlShammari, Rhaya Al-Ali, Nader Al-Balawi , Mansour Al-Enazi, Ali Al-Muraikhi, Fadi Busaleh, Ali Al-Sahwan, Francis Borgio, Abdulazeez Sayyed, Amein Al-Ali, Sadananda Acharya P28 Clinical, neuroimaging and cytogenetic study of a patient with microcephaly capillary malformation syndrome Maha S. Zaki, Hala T. El-Bassyouni, Marwa I. Shehab P29 Altered expression of CD200R1 on dendritic cells of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: in silico investigations and clinical evaluations Mohammed F. Elshal, Kaleemuddin M., Alia M. Aldahlawi, Omar Saadah, J. Philip McCoy P30 Development of real time PCR diagnostic protocol specific for the Saudi Arabian H1N1 viral strains Adel E El-Tarras, Nabil S Awad, Abdulla A Alharthi, Mohamed M M Ibrahim P31 Identification of novel genetic variations affecting Osteoarthritis patients Haneen S Alsehli, Ashraf Dallol, Abdullah M Gari, Mohammed M Abbas, Roaa A Kadam, Mazen M. Gari, Mohmmed H Alkaff, Adel M Abuzenadah, Mamdooh A Gari P32 An integrated database of GWAS SNVs and their evolutionary properties Heba Abusamra, Sajjad Karim, Hend F Nour eldin, Elham M Alhathli, Nada Salem, Sudhir Kumar, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P33 Familial hypercholesterolemia in Saudi Arabia: prime time for a national registry and genetic analysis Fatima A. Moradi, Omran M. Rashidi, Zuhier A. Awan P34 Comparative genomics and network-based analyses of early hepatocellular carcinoma Ibrahim Hamza Kaya, Olfat Al-Harazi, Dilek Colak P35 A TALEN-based oncolytic viral vector approach to knock out ABCB1 gene mediated chemoresistance in cancer stem cells Nabila A Alkousi, Takis Athanasopoulos P36 Cartilage differentiation and gene expression of synovial fluid mesenchymal stem cells derived from osteoarthritis patients Afnan O Bahmaid, Etimad A Alhwait, Mamdooh A Gari, Haneen S Alsehli, Mohammed M Abbas, Mohammed H Alkaf, Roaa Kadam, Ashraf Dallol, Gauthaman Kalamegam P37 E-GRASP: Adding an evolutionary component to the genome-wide repository of associations (GRASP) resource Hend F Nour Eldin, Sajjad Karim, Heba Abusamra, Elham Alhathli, Nada Salem, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani, Sudhir Kumar P38 Screening of AGL gene mutation in Saudi family with glycogen storage disease Type III Salma N Alsayed, Fawziah H Aljohani, Samaher M Habeeb, Rawan A Almashali, Sulman Basit, Samia M Ahmed P39 High throughput proteomic data suggest modulation of cAMP dependent protein kinase A and mitochondrial function in infertile patients with varicocele Rakesh Sharma, Ashok Agarwal, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Luna Samanta, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Adel M. Abuzenadah, Edmund S. Sabanegh, Mourad Assidi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P40 Significant protein profile alterations in men with primary and secondary infertility Ashok Agarwal, Rakesh Sharma, Luna Samanta, Damayanthi Durairajanayagam, Mourad Assidi, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Adel M. Abuzenadah, Edmund S. Sabanegh P41 Spermatozoa maturation in infertile patients involves compromised expression of heat shock proteins Luna Samanta, Ashok Agarwal, Rakesh Sharma, Zhihong Cui, Mourad Assidi, Adel M. Abuzenadah, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P42 Array comparative genomic hybridization approach to search genomic answers for spontaneous recurrent abortion in Saudi Arabia Alaa A Alboogmi, Nuha A Alansari, Maha M Al-Quaiti, Fai T Ashgan, Afnan Bandah, Hasan S Jamal, Abdullraheem Rozi, Zeenat Mirza, Adel M Abuzenadah, Sajjad Karim, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P43 Global gene expression profiling of Saudi kidney cancer patients Sajjad Karim, Hans-Juergen Schulten, Ahmad J Al Sayyad, Hasan MA Farsi, Jaudah A Al-Maghrabi, Zeenat Mirza, Reem Alotibi, Alaa Al-Ahmadi, Nuha A Alansari, Alaa A Albogmi, Maha M Al-Quaiti, Fai T Ashgan, Afnan Bandah, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P44 Downregulated StAR gene and male reproductive dysfunction caused by nifedipine and ethosuximide Rasha A Ebiya, Samia M Darwish, Metwally M. Montaser P45 Clustering based gene expression feature selection method: A computational approach to enrich the classifier efficiency of differentially expressed genes Heba Abusamra, Vladimir B. Bajic P46 Prognostic significance of Osteopontin expression profile in colorectal carcinoma Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Wafaey Gomaa, Mehenaz Hanbazazh, Mahmoud Al-Ahwal, Asia Al-Harbi, Wejdan Al-Qahtani, Saher Hakamy, Ghali Baba, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P47 High Glypican-3 expression pattern predicts longer disease-specific survival in colorectal carcinoma Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Abdullah Al-Harbi, Mahmoud Al-Ahwal, Asia Al-Harbi, Wejdan Al-Qahtani, Sahar Hakamy, Ghalia Baba, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P48 An evolutionary re-assessment of GWAS single nucleotide variants implicated in the Cholesterol traits Elham M Alhathli, Sajjad Karim, Nada Salem, Hend Nour Eldin, Heba Abusamra, Sudhir Kumar, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P49 Derivation and characterization of human Wharton’s jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) in vitro for future therapeutic applications Aisha A Alyamani, Gauthaman Kalamegam, Etimad A Alhwait, Mamdooh A Gari, Mohammed M Abbas, Mohammed H Alkaf, Haneen S Alsehli, Roaa A Kadam, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P50 Attitudes of healthcare students toward biomedical research in the post-genomic era Rawan Gadi, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mourad Assidi , Adeel Chaudhary, Leena Merdad P51 Evaluation of the immunomodulatory effects of thymoquinone on human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) from osteoarthritic patients Saadiah M Alfakeeh, Etimad A Alhwait, Mamdooh A Gari, Mohammed M Abbas, Mohammed H Alkaf, Haneen S Alsehli, Roaa Kadam, Gauthaman Kalamegam P52 Implication of IL-10 and IL-28 polymorphism with successful anti-HCV therapy and viral clearance Rubi Ghazala, Shilu Mathew, M.Haroon Hamed, Mourad Assidi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Ishtiaq Qadri P53 Selection of flavonoids against obesity protein (FTO) using in silico and in vitro approaches Shilu Mathew, Lobna Mira, Manal Shaabad, Shireen Hussain, Mourad Assidi, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P54 Computational selection and in vitro validation of flavonoids as new antidepressant agents Shilu Mathew, Manal Shaabad, Lobna Mira, Shireen Hussain, Mourad Assidi, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P55 In Silico prediction and prioritization of aging candidate genes associated with progressive telomere shortening Ahmed Rebai, Mourad Assidi, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Ashraf Dallol, Jerry W Shay P56 Identification of new cancer testis antigen genes in diverse types of malignant human tumour cells Mikhlid H Almutairi P57 More comprehensive forensic genetic marker analyses for accurate human remains identification using massively parallel sequencing (MPS) Angie Ambers, Jennifer Churchill, Jonathan King, Monika Stoljarova, Harrell Gill-King, Mourad Assidi, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Muhammad Al-Qatani, Bruce Budowle P58 Flow cytometry approach towards treatment men infertility in Saudi Arabia Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Farid Ahmed, Ashraf Dallol, Mourad Assidi, Taha Abo Almagd, Sahar Hakamy, Ashok Agarwal, Muhammad Al-Qahtani, Adel Abuzenadah P59 Tissue microarray based validation of CyclinD1 expression in renal cell carcinoma of Saudi kidney patients Sajjad Karim, Hans-Juergen Schulten, Ahmad J Al Sayyad, Hasan MA Farsi, Jaudah A Al-Maghrabi, Abdelbaset Buhmaida, Zeenat Mirza, Reem Alotibi, Alaa Al-Ahmadi, Nuha A Alansari, Alaa A Albogmi, Maha M Al-Quaiti, Fai T Ashgan, Afnan Bandah, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P60 Assessment of gold nanoparticles in molecular diagnostics and DNA damage studies Rukhsana Satar, Mahmood Rasool, Waseem Ahmad, Nazia Nazam, Mohamad I Lone, Muhammad I Naseer, Mohammad S Jamal, Syed K Zaidi, Peter N Pushparaj, Mohammad A Jafri, Shakeel A Ansari, Mohammed H Alqahtani P61 Surfing the biospecimen management and processing workflow at CEGMR Biobank Hanan Bashier, Abrar Al Qahtani, Shilu Mathew, Amal M. Nour, Heba Alkhatabi, Adel M. Abu Zenadah, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mourad Assidi, Muhammed Al Qahtani P62 Autism Spectrum Disorder: knowledge, attitude and awareness in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Muhammad Faheem, Shilu Mathew, Shiny Mathew, Peter Natesan Pushparaj, Mohammad H. Al-Qahtani P63 Simultaneous genetic screening of the coagulation pathway genes using the Thromboscan targeted sequencing panel Hani A. Alhadrami, Ashraf Dallol, Adel Abuzenadah P64 Genome wide array comparative genomic hybridization analysis in patients with syndromic congenital heart defects Ibtessam R. Hussein, Adeel G. Chaudhary, Rima S Bader, Randa Bassiouni, Maha Alquaiti, Fai Ashgan, Hans Schulten, Mohamed Nabil Alama, Mohammad H. Al Qahtani P65 Toxocogenetic evaluation of 1, 2-Dichloroethane in bone marrow, blood and cells of immune system using conventional, molecular and flowcytometric approaches Mohammad I Lone, Nazia Nizam, Waseem Ahmad, Mohammad A Jafri, Mahmood Rasool, Shakeel A Ansari, Muhammed H Al-Qahtani P66 Molecular cytogenetic diagnosis of sexual development disorders in newborn: A case of ambiguous genitalia Eradah Alshihri, Muhammad Abu-Elmagd, Lina Alharbi, Mourad Assidi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani P67 Identification of disease specific gene expression clusters and pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma using In Silico methodologies Shilu Mathew, Peter Pushparaj Natesan, Muhammed Al Qahtani P68 Human Wharton’s Jelly stem cell conditioned medium inhibits primary ovarian cancer cells in vitro: Identification of probable targets and mechanisms using systems biology Gauthaman Kalamegam, Peter Natesan Pushparaj, Fazal Khan, Roaa Kadam, Farid Ahmed, Mourad Assidi, Khalid Hussain Wali Sait, Nisreen Anfinan, Mohammed Al Qahtani P69 Mutation spectrum of ASPM (Abnormal Spindle-like, Microcephaly-associated) gene in Saudi Arabian population Muhammad I Naseer, Adeel G Chaudhary, Mohammad S Jamal, Shilu Mathew, Lobna S Mira, Peter N Pushparaj, Shakeel A Ansari, Mahmood Rasool, Mohammed H AlQahtani P70 Identification and characterization of novel genes and mutations of primary microcephaly in Saudi Arabian population Muhammad I Naseer, Adeel G Chaudhary, Shilu Mathew, Lobna S Mira, Mohammad S Jamal, Sameera Sogaty, Randa I Bassiouni, Mahmood Rasool, Mohammed H AlQahtani P71 Molecular genetic analysis of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch Syndrome) in Saudi Arabian population Mahmood Rasool, Shakeel A Ansari, Mohammad S Jamal, Peter N Pushparaj, Abdulrahman MS Sibiani, Waseem Ahmad, Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mohammad A Jafri, Mohiuddin K Warsi, Muhammad I Naseer, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani P72 Function predication of hypothetical proteins from genome database of chlamydia trachomatis Rubi, Kundan Kumar, Ahmad AT Naqvi, Faizan Ahmad, Md

Weaning from mechanical ventilation in intensive care units across 50 countries (WEAN SAFE): a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study

International audienceBackground: Current management practices and outcomes in weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, management, timings, risk for failure, and outcomes of weaning in patients requiring at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: WEAN SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study done in 481 intensive care units in 50 countries. Eligible participants were older than 16 years, admitted to a participating intensive care unit, and receiving mechanical ventilation for 2 calendar days or longer. We defined weaning initiation as the first attempt to separate a patient from the ventilator, successful weaning as no reintubation or death within 7 days of extubation, and weaning eligibility criteria based on positive end-expiratory pressure, fractional concentration of oxygen in inspired air, and vasopressors. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients successfully weaned at 90 days. Key secondary outcomes included weaning duration, timing of weaning events, factors associated with weaning delay and weaning failure, and hospital outcomes. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03255109. Findings: Between Oct 4, 2017, and June 25, 2018, 10 232 patients were screened for eligibility, of whom 5869 were enrolled. 4523 (77·1%) patients underwent at least one separation attempt and 3817 (65·0%) patients were successfully weaned from ventilation at day 90. 237 (4·0%) patients were transferred before any separation attempt, 153 (2·6%) were transferred after at least one separation attempt and not successfully weaned, and 1662 (28·3%) died while invasively ventilated. The median time from fulfilling weaning eligibility criteria to first separation attempt was 1 day (IQR 0–4), and 1013 (22·4%) patients had a delay in initiating first separation of 5 or more days. Of the 4523 (77·1%) patients with separation attempts, 2927 (64·7%) had a short wean (≤1 day), 457 (10·1%) had intermediate weaning (2–6 days), 433 (9·6%) required prolonged weaning (≥7 days), and 706 (15·6%) had weaning failure. Higher sedation scores were independently associated with delayed initiation of weaning. Delayed initiation of weaning and higher sedation scores were independently associated with weaning failure. 1742 (31·8%) of 5479 patients died in the intensive care unit and 2095 (38·3%) of 5465 patients died in hospital. Interpretation: In critically ill patients receiving at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation, only 65% were weaned at 90 days. A better understanding of factors that delay the weaning process, such as delays in weaning initiation or excessive sedation levels, might improve weaning success rates. Funding: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Respiratory Society