Statistical modelling for the Covid-19 mortality rate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

We introduce a new model called the length-biased exponential distribution which become a fascinating new model in a number of research domains in recent years. By adding an extra shape parameter, a new generalised form that is coupled to the length-biased exponential distribution addressed in this work may be constructed, enhancing its utility. The new distribution is known as the new extension length-biased exponential distribution (NELBE). Its density function, as well as its survival and hazard rate curves, are all shown graphically. The study presented the quantile function, linear representations, and some other properties. We displayed and graphed the shapes of the distribution functions. When it came time to calculate the distribution parameters, we employed a total of six distinct estimating strategies. In order to compare and draw conclusions about the performance of the different estimators, a thorough numerical analysis was done. Here, two real data set on COVID-19 mortality rate was examined to show how adaptable and practical the suggested distribution is

Novel blood test to predict neoplastic activity in healthy patients and metastatic recurrence after primary tumor resection

We reported that single oncosuppressor-mutated (SOM) cells turn malignant when exposed to cancer patients’ sera. We tested the possibility to incorporate this discovery into a biological platform able to detect cancer in healthy individuals and to predict metastases after tumor resection. Blood was drawn prior to tumor resection and within a year after surgery. Blood samples from healthy individuals or metastatic patients were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. Patients at risk for cancer were included in the screening cohort. Once treated, cells were injected into nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice to monitor tumor growth. All samples of sera coming from metastatic patients transformed SOM cells into malignant cells. Four samples from screened patients transformed SOM cells. Further clinical tests done on these patients showed the presence of early cancerous lesions despite normal tumor markers. Based on the xenotransplants size, we were able to predict metastasis in three patients before diagnostic tests confirmed the presence of the metastatic lesions. These data show that this serum-based platform has potentials to be used for cancer screening and for identification of patients at risks to develop metastases regardless of the Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) stage or tumor markers level

A bat-inspired testing strategy for generating constraints pairwise test suite

Indubitably, exhaustive testing is impractical in real world. Several sampling strategies have been introduced to minimize test data systematically. Complementing existing interaction based sampling strategies, pairwise testing has been extensively exploited resulting into many prototypes strategy implementations. Recently, the growing interests of adopting optimization algorithms as a backbone search engine for the new and upcoming search based software testing is increasing for newly developed test suite generation methods. This paper proposes an enhancement design and implementation of BTS strategy for constraints pairwise test generation based on the bat-inspired algorithm (BA). The benchmarking results of BTS show that it outperforms the generated test suite of the existing tools and strategies even in the presence of constraints

Investigation of Alkali-Activated Slag-Based Composite Incorporating Dehydrated Cement Powder and Red Mud

Recycled construction cementitious materials (RCCM) and red mud (RM) could be considered a type of discarded material with potential cementitious properties. Generally, landfilling and stacking are utilized to dispose of this type of solid waste, which can be detrimental to the environment and sustainability of the construction sector. Accordingly, a productive process for making eco-efficient alkali-activated slag-based samples with the inclusion of RCCM and red mud is studied in this paper. Dehydrated cement powder (DCP) is attained through the high-temperature treatment of RCCM, and red mud can be obtained from the alumina industry. Subsequently, DCP and RM are utilized as a partial substitute for granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) in alkali-activated mixtures. Two different batches were designed; the first batch had only DCP at a dosage of 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% as a partial substitute for GBFS, and the second batch had both DCP and RM at 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% as a partial substitute for GBFS. Different strength and durability characteristics were assessed. The findings show that when both dehydrated cement powder and red mud are utilized in high quantities, the strength and durability of the specimens were enhanced, with compressive strength improving by 42.2% at 28 days. Such improvement was obtained when 7.5% each of DCP and RM were added. The results revealed that DCP and RM have a negative effect on workability, whilst they had a positive impact on the drying shrinkage as well as the mechanical strength. X-ray diffraction and micro-structural analysis showed that when the amount of DCP and RM is increased, a smaller number of reactive products forms, and the microstructure was denser than in the case of the samples made with DCP alone. It was also confirmed that when DCP and RM are used at optimized dosages, they can be a potential sustainable binder substitute; thus, valorizing wastes and inhibiting their negative environmental footprint

Mechanical performance and feasibility analysis of green concrete prepared with local natural zeolite and waste PET plastic fibers as cement replacements

Green concrete is a sustainable composite material having natural and waste materials replacing carbon dioxide gas-producing cement, and aggregates in the concrete. Thus, it significantly contributes in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improves the economic viability of a country as well. Literature suggests that research on the development of green concrete is evolving with widely-available natural and waste materials. Considering the need for the development of green concrete, the current research is conducted. It was hypothesized that the mechanical performance of green concrete prepared by substituting cement with Natural Zeolite (NZ) and waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) fibers will yield stronger, cost-effective, and environmentally green concrete for the construction industry. The microstructure, morphology, and surface properties of the locally extracted NZ were characterized using X-ray Diffraction, SEM and BET, respectively. The influence of quantity, shape, orientations, and surface of NZ and PET fibers along with varying curing times, i.e., 28, 90, and 180 days were considered for experimentation. The main findings of this study are that two optimum proportions for the concrete mixtures are obtained: the first one was 10 % NZ while the other one was 2.5 % PET, and 15 % NZ, and 1.0 % PET. These optimum mixing ratios were found to enhance the compressive strength of concrete, reduce the production cost, and reuse waste PET bottles effectively, which are key points of this study. Furthermore, the workability of the fresh concrete was improved with higher proportions of PET rather than NZ. Finally, the findings of the current research highlight a pragmatic remedial solution for saving energy, turning non-decomposable waste into useful materials for green concrete, and simultaneously contributing to a cleaner environment

Blood Group and Response to Bariatric Surgery in Morbidly Obese Patients: A Retrospective Study in Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To explore the relationship between the blood group of patients and their response to bariatric surgery and to identify predictors of better outcomes. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity between 2014 and 2020 at King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: This study included 1434 individuals. The mean change in BMI (pre- versus post-BMI) differed statistically significantly between blood groups (p ≤ 0.01). The greatest drop in body weight was seen in individuals with the AB-negative blood type (56.0 (21.4) kg), which corresponds to the greatest percentage of reduction from baseline (47.7% (14.8)). The mean BMI of the patients decreased by 34.7% (9.2) from a mean pre-operation BMI of 45.5 (8.4) kg/m2 to 29.7 (6.1) kg/m2 (p ≤ 0.001). After laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, male patients and those with the B-negative blood type are more likely to see a greater BMI reduction (pre-operation compared to post-operation) (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: For morbidly obese patients, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy demonstrated promising weight loss outcomes. Blood groups may be able to predict the success rate of bariatric surgery in morbidly obese patients

Lipid droplet localization of ARFGAP1 is distinct from other endogenous Golgi and ER markers.

<p>Indirect immunofluorescence of COPB1 in HepG2 cells, ARF1 in McA-RH7777 cells, TMED7 and CANX in HepG2 cells before (4 right panels) and 4 hours after addition of 0.5 mM oleate. Enlarged regions of interest are shown in the 4 left panels. Bars  = 7µm.</p

ARFGAP1 relocates from the Golgi apparatus to lipid droplets upon addition of oleate.

<p>HepG2 cells were fixed and processed for indirect immunofluorescence before (-OA) and 4 hours after addition of 0.5 mM oleate and stained to reveal endogenous ARFGAP1 (green) and lipid droplets (red) using a rabbit polyclonal to ARFGAP1 and Bodipy 558/568 C₁₂, respectively. Bars  = 5µm.</p

Quantification of ARFGAP1 associated with lipid droplets

<p>. Endogenous ARFGAP1 as revealed by indirect immunofluorescence was quantified before (-OA) and 4 hours after addition of oleate (+OA) in HepG2 and McA-RH7777 cells expressed as % cells with ARFGAP1 staining (as revealed through indirect immunofluorescence) or % Bodipy-stained droplets associated with ARFGAP1 per cell. On the right, total area of Bodipy-stained lipid droplets per µm² per cell.</p