AUB ScholarWorks (American Univ. of Beirut)
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AUTOMATIC AND ADAPTIVE EXTRACTION OF ACTION KNOWLEDGE FROM PRODUCT REVIEWS
Get PDFRecommending products based on user experience and feedback was proved to be an e↵ective marketing strategy. Product reviews are a promising source of knowl- edge in the product recommendation process. Much of the research done was mining textual data from reviews to extract sentiments, satisfaction level, and ratings. Lit- tle work was invested for extracting action knowledge and other semantics that can help with the recommendation process. Annotating action knowledge from customer reviews was done manually using the contribution of human annotators to read, an- notate, and extract the tags and labels stated or deduced from content. How can we automate the extraction of action knowledge entities from unstructured product reviews, whether stated or predicted from context, in order to replace manual an- notation tools? Moreover, How to automatically integrate product reviews in the recommendation process through representative knowledge graphs constructed from the predicted entities? How can human intervention help in the adaptation of ML models and to what incremental level of updating can the framework reach from the human-in-the-loop mechanism? This work proposes a framework to automate ac- tion knowledge extraction from customer reviews through machine learning models that will be incrementally improved through ‘Human-in-the-loop‘ technique. This framework semantically annotates the actions expressed in product reviews, captures other related entities, links these entities to form a knowledge graph that serves the development of action-aware recommendation apps. The system is adapted and incrementally updated throughout continually retraining the models with approved correct data. To validate the solution proposed, an experimental evaluation protocol is applied to train the models with updated sets of approved annotations. The ex- periment revealed an improvement in the performance of the predictive models. In addition, the datasets collected by human annotators and used for model retraining were improved in terms of reducing the gap between classes of the models. The contribution of our work is to introduce a full consolidated automatic framework, joining multiple components, to construct an end-to-end prototype that generates the input of action-aware recommendation app. This automatic framework is pro- posed to automate the action knowledge extraction from product reviews and the construction of knowledge graphs used in recommendation systems, in an adaptive manner
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor in North Africa and the middle east: updates in presentation and management from an 11-year retrospective cohort
Get PDFObjectives: This study described the epidemiological, clinical, and survival profiles of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in North Africa and the Middle East (AfME). Methods: This regional, multicenter, observational, retrospective study collected 11-year data on demographics, medical history, disease characteristics, current treatment approaches of GIST, the safety of the most common tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), second cancers, and survival status. Results: Data of 201 eligible patients were analyzed: mean age was 56.9 ± 12.6 years; 111 (55.2%) patients were men, 21 (10.4%) patients had previous personal malignancy. The most common clinical presentation of GIST was dysphagia [92 (45.8%) patients]. The stomach was the most common primary site in 120 (60.7%) patients, 171 (85.1%) patients had localized disease at diagnosis. 198 (98.5%) GIST cases were CD117/CD34-positive. Imatinib was used in the neoadjuvant (18/21 patients), adjuvant (85/89 patients), and first-line metastatic treatment (28/33 patients) settings. The most common non-hematological toxicity associated with TKIs was vomiting in 32/85 (37.6%) patients. Overall, 100 (49.8%) patients (95%CI: 42.8–56.7%) were alive and disease-free while 30 (14.9%) patients were alive with active disease. Conclusion: Presentation of GIST in our AfME population is consistent with global reports, being more frequent in patients >50 years old and having the stomach as the most common primary site. Unlike what is usually reported, though, we did have more patients with lymphatic spread of the disease. Despite the global trend and advances in the treatment of GIST according to molecular profile, this is still far to happen in our population given the lack of access to molecular profiles and the high associated cost. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Multi de Bruijn Sequences and the Cross-Join Method
Get PDFWe show a method to construct binary multi de Bruijn sequences using the cross-join method. We extend the proof given by Alhakim for ordinary de Bruijn sequences to the case of multi de Bruijn sequences. In particular, we establish that all multi de Bruijn sequences can be obtained by cross-joining an ordinary de Bruijn sequence concatenated with itself an appropriate number of times. We implemented the generation of all multi de Bruijn sequences of type (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.) We experimentally confirm that some multi de Bruijn sequences can be generated by Galois Nonlinear Feedback Shift Registers (NLFSRs). It is supposed that all multi de Bruijn sequences can be generated using Galois NLFSRs. © 2023 by the authors
Erythropoiesis in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and beta-thalassemia
Get PDFThe hematologic disorders myelodysplastic syndromes and beta-thalassemia are characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis and anemia, often managed with regular blood transfusions. Erythropoiesis, the process by which sufficient numbers of functional erythrocytes are produced from hematopoietic stem cells, is highly regulated, and defects can negatively affect the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of erythroid precursors. Treatments that directly target the underlying mechanisms of ineffective erythropoiesis are limited, and management of anemia with regular blood transfusions imposes a significant burden on patients, caregivers, and health care systems. There is therefore a strong unmet need for treatments that can restore effective erythropoiesis. Novel therapies are beginning to address this need by targeting a variety of mechanisms underlying erythropoiesis. Herein, we provide an overview of the role of ineffective erythropoiesis in myelodysplastic syndromes and beta-thalassemia, discuss unmet needs in targeting ineffective erythropoiesis, and describe current management strategies and emerging treatments for these disorders. © 2022 The Author
Cancer Research in Vulnerable Populations: A Call for Collaboration and Sustainability From MENAT Countries
Get PDFPURPOSE: Cancer is a major burden across Middle East, North Africa, Türkiye (MENAT). Many MENAT countries experience multiple conflicts that compound vulnerabilities, but little research investigates the linkages between vulnerability and cancer research. This study examines the current level and the potential for cancer research among vulnerable populations in the MENAT region, aiming to provide direction toward developing a research agenda on the region's vulnerable populations. METHODS: Expert-driven meetings were arranged among the 10 authors. After obtaining institutional review board approval, a self-administered online survey questionnaire was circulated to more than 500 cancer practitioners working in 22 MENAT countries. RESULTS: Two hundred sixteen cancer practitioners across the MENAT region responded. Fifty percent of the respondents identified clinical research in vulnerable patients with cancer as a significant issue; 21.8% reported previous research experience that included vulnerable populations, and 60% reported encountering vulnerable populations in their daily clinical practice. The main barriers to conducting research were lack of funding (60%), protected time (42%), and research training (35%). More than half of the respondents believed that wars/conflicts constituted an important source of vulnerability. The most vulnerable cancer populations were the elderly, palliative/terminally ill, those with concomitant mental health-related issues, those with other chronic illnesses, and socioeconomically deprived patients. CONCLUSION: Results support that a major effort is needed to improve cancer research among vulnerable cancer populations in the MENAT region. We call for interdisciplinary research that accounts for the region's unique, compounding, and cumulative forms of vulnerability. This cancer research agenda on different vulnerable populations must balance sociobehavioral studies that explore sociopolitical barriers to quality care and clinical studies that gauge and refine treatment protocols. Building a research agenda through collaboration and solidarity with international partners is prime time
Heroism and Being-towards-Death: On Sacrificial Martyrdom in Contemporary Shiʿism
Get PDFThis paper examines the philosophy of martyrdom, heroism, and death, with reference to Islam in general and Shiʿism in particular. This paper will be divided into two parts; the first will highlight the etymological and philosophical significance of the Arabic term martyrdom (istishhād) and its interrelation with the notion of testimony (shahāda), allowing for the clarification of the complexity of the existential privation of death and the communality of heroic martyrdom. The second part will move beyond the observation of Qurʾanic canonical sources by traversing traditional Shiʿi references and narratives, allowing for a reflection on the articulation of the ontology of martyrdom, such as its temporal horizon and mortality. Consequently, the state of affairs surrounding the phenomenon of heroic martyrdom embodies testimonies of both love and hate, of belongingness and enmity, and of devotion and hostility. Yet, the identification of such heroism is, in practice, coupled with a tacit sense of a Heideggerian ‘fall’ due to its inseparability from the pull of religious, social, and communal violence and aggression. Thus, in both theory and practice, a phenomenology of heroic martyrdom and death takes into account the ideological and societal contexts of the use of violence and the concrete rituals in its mediation of aggression. © 2023 by the author
Twitter-based Economic Policy Uncertainty Index for Lebanon
Get PDFThis paper presents a novel approach to construct a weekly and monthly Twitter-based Economic Policy Uncertainty (TEPU) index for Lebanon, covering the period from January 1, 2011, till January 18, 2023. We have developed a unique and distinctive methodology that was specifically designed to overcome the challenges posed by the unavailability and lack of reliability of data in Lebanon. Our methodology enabled us to create a reliable and effective TEPU index for Lebanon. In this paper, we created and employed Python scripts that interact with the official Twitter API to fetch and transform tweets into actionable data. This curated data was the basis for generating a TEPU index for Lebanon.
Moreover, we employed two scaling methods to construct our TEPU index. The first was proposed by Baker et al., (2021), and the second was also proposed by Baker et al., (2021) as a variant of their main index and adopted by Lee et al., (2023) as their primary scaling method. We showed that despite some notable differences, the two TEPU indexes shared many common points, such as the general trend of economic policy uncertainty over time in Lebanon. We concluded that our TEPU index using the first scaling method was more reliable than the index using the second scaling method since the latter index tends to be inaccurate when outliers are present.
Finally, we conducted an event analysis to demonstrate how our TEPU index links to significant political and economic events that occurred in Lebanon throughout our sample period. We observed that our TEPU index significantly spikes during major political and economic events that occurred in Lebanon, effectively tracking the evolution of economic policy uncertainty
Why did not the Arab League Succeed in Implementing a Deep Integration?
Get PDFAssociate Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo UniversityAssociate Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo UniversityDuring the last League of Arab States (LAS) summit in Amman in 2017, Arab leaders agreed on the fact that they will mandate the Economic and Social Council to prepare an action plan to boost intra-Arab trade, implement a customs union and promote a dynamic private sector in order to create more job opportunities. This statement is relatively similar to the announcement in 1945 when the Arab League was founded to improve coordination among its member states at the political, economic and social levels. Yet, until now, it has received criticism for failing to promote Arab-Arab cooperation in a context of disunity and poor governance. While this was partially the case at the political level, it was more obvious at the economic level. Indeed, the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA) was declared within the Social and Economic Council of the Arab League as an executive program to promote trade and development in 1998. Yet, intra-Arab trade, investment and persons’ mobility remain significantly low when compared to other regions as a result of shallow integration. The latter implies tariff reductions at the border, but not ‘deep’ integration with changes behind the border, such as common competition rules or common products standards. Hence, the Arab League led to a shallow integration characterized by the following: stunted intra-trade in goods and services, low levels of investments in high added-value sectors and weak mobility of labor.During the last League of Arab States (LAS) summit in Amman in 2017, Arab leaders agreed on the fact that they will mandate the Economic and Social Council to prepare an action plan to boost intra-Arab trade, implement a customs union and promote a dynamic private sector in order to create more job opportunities. This statement is relatively similar to the announcement in 1945 when the Arab League was founded to improve coordination among its member states at the political, economic and social levels. Yet, until now, it has received criticism for failing to promote Arab-Arab cooperation in a context of disunity and poor governance. While this was partially the case at the political level, it was more obvious at the economic level. Indeed, the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA) was declared within the Social and Economic Council of the Arab League as an executive program to promote trade and development in 1998. Yet, intra-Arab trade, investment and persons’ mobility remain significantly low when compared to other regions as a result of shallow integration. The latter implies tariff reductions at the border, but not ‘deep’ integration with changes behind the border, such as common competition rules or common products standards. Hence, the Arab League led to a shallow integration characterized by the following: stunted intra-trade in goods and services, low levels of investments in high added-value sectors and weak mobility of labor
Identification of small molecule antivirals against HTLV-1 by targeting the hDLG1-Tax-1 protein-protein interaction
Get PDFHuman T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is the first pathogenic retrovirus discovered in human. Although HTLV-1-induced diseases are well-characterized and linked to the encoded Tax-1 oncoprotein, there is currently no strategy to target Tax-1 functions with small molecules. Here, we analyzed the binding of Tax-1 to the human homolog of the drosophila discs large tumor suppressor (hDLG1/SAP97), a multi-domain scaffolding protein involved in Tax-1-transformation ability. We have solved the structures of the PDZ binding motif (PBM) of Tax-1 in complex with the PDZ1 and PDZ2 domains of hDLG1 and assessed the binding of 10 million molecules by virtual screening. Among the 19 experimentally confirmed compounds, one systematically inhibited the Tax-1-hDLG1 interaction in different biophysical and cellular assays, as well as HTLV-1 cell-to-cell transmission in a T-cell model. Thus, our work demonstrates that interactions involving Tax-1 PDZ-domains are amenable to small-molecule inhibition, which provides a framework for the design of targeted therapies for HTLV-1-induced diseases. © 2023 Elsevier B.V
The Neuroprotective Effects of Edaravone in an Experimental Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury
No full textTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a form of acquired brain injury that poses a significant threat to
public health. Mild to severe TBI is rapidly being classified as a chronic disease, given that
evidence indicates that complications associated with TBI can persist for many years postinjury.
At present, there is no effective pharmacological treatment that has been approved for the
treatment of TBI. Edaravone (EDA) is a neuroprotective repurposed drug used to slow down
motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients. As a free radical scavenger,
EDA has been shown to inhibit oxidative stress and improve memory and learning performances
in various animal models of neurodegeneration. Previously, it has been demonstrated that EDA
exerts anti-inflammatory effects in animal models of transient focal ischemia. In this study, we
tested an experimental model of open-head controlled cortical impact (CCI) mouse model to
evaluate the molecular mechanisms of the neuroprotective role of EDA at a chronic 30-day
timepoint post-injury. A battery of behavioral tests were conducted to investigate the effect of
EDA on behavioral outcomes. On the molecular level, immunofluorescence staining was
performed to assess neuroinflammation, neuronal apoptosis, and axonal integrity. Previous
studies state that the protective effect of EDA is mainly mediated through the nuclear factor
erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) signaling pathway.
Therefore, RT-qPCR was done to study the expression levels of Nrf2 and its downstream
antioxidant genes. In summary, we demonstrated that EDA indeed exerted neuroprotective
effects on TBI-induced oxidative stress and neuroinflammation; this finding was mainly
correlated with the Nrf2 pathway at a 30-day timepoint