Publications by authors named "Ali Omrani"

Article Synopsis
  • ST1193 is a high-risk bacterial clone found to carry genes for both CTX-type extended-spectrum β-lactamases and NDM-type carbapenemases, making it a significant concern in the Gulf region.
  • Two separate multidrug-resistant isolates of ST1193 were identified using advanced techniques like MALDI-TOF MS and were shown to be resistant to carbapenem antibiotics through susceptibility testing.
  • The study highlights the worry of antibiotic resistance, as the plasmids carrying the NDM-5 carbapenemase genes can transfer between bacteria, complicating treatment options and increasing challenges for infection control efforts.
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  • COVID-19 poses a higher mortality risk for individuals with diabetes, severe obesity, and cardiovascular disease, potentially due to chronic inflammation linked to type 2 diabetes.
  • This study involved 350 patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized for moderate-severe COVID-19, comparing the effects of pioglitazone against a placebo over 28 days, focusing on severe clinical outcomes and inflammation levels.
  • Although pioglitazone reduced certain inflammatory markers, it did not significantly improve outcomes, as more patients treated with it required ICU care and showed no notable difference in CRP reduction compared to those on placebo.
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The emergence of large language models (LLMs) has sparked considerable interest in their potential application in psychological research, mainly as a model of the human psyche or as a general text-analysis tool. However, the trend of using LLMs without sufficient attention to their limitations and risks, which we rhetorically refer to as "GPTology", can be detrimental given the easy access to models such as ChatGPT. Beyond existing general guidelines, we investigate the current limitations, ethical implications, and potential of LLMs specifically for psychological research, and show their concrete impact in various empirical studies.

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Black carbon (BC) is a component of fine particulate matter (PM) that is a key contributor to adverse human health effects and climate forcing. To date, BC mass concentrations and possible sources in Kazakhstan have not been studied. Thus, understanding the temporal variations of BC for a large developing region with a complex climate is useful.

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Antimicrobial resistance is a global healthcare threat with significant clinical and economic consequences peaking at secondary and tertiary care hospitals where multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR GNB) lead to poor outcomes. A prospective study was conducted between January and December 2019 for all invasive bloodstream infections (BSIs) secondary to MDR GNB in Qatar identified during routine microbiological service to examine their clinical, microbiological, and genomic characteristics. Out of 3238 episodes of GNB BSIs, the prevalence of MDR GNB was 13% (429/3238).

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected individuals with hematological malignancies due to their weakened immune systems, resulting in higher mortality rates and severe outcomes.
  • Data from the EPICOVIDEHA registry, which compiles COVID-19 cases from these patients worldwide, was collected from 2020 to 2022, including 8,767 cases from 152 centers across 41 countries.
  • Findings show a significant drop in critical infections and overall mortality rates, but hospitalization (especially in ICU) remains a serious risk factor; vaccination is linked to better survival outcomes, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and support for these patients.
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  • The study investigates the impact of inappropriate antibiotic use on patients with hematological malignancies and bloodstream infections, highlighting its role in increasing mortality and resistance issues.
  • A total of 1166 episodes of febrile neutropenia were analyzed, revealing that 81% of isolated microorganisms were gram-negative, with a significant portion resistant to standard treatments.
  • The findings indicate high mortality rates (23%) and emphasize the importance of current resistance patterns and risk factors like age and septic shock in making antimicrobial treatment decisions.
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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an overall improvement in patient mortality. However, haematological malignancy patients continue to experience significant impacts from COVID-19, including high rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality. In comparison to other haematological malignancy patients, individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) generally have better prognosis.

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Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of switching from intravenous (IV) to oral antimicrobial therapy in patients with Enterobacterales bacteraemia, after completion of 3-5 days of microbiologically active IV therapy.

Methods: A multicentre, open-label, randomized trial of adults with monomicrobial Enterobacterales bacteraemia caused by a strain susceptible to ≥1 oral beta-lactam, quinolone, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Inclusion criteria included completion of 3-5 days of microbiologically active IV therapy, being afebrile and haemodynamically stable for ≥48 hours, and absence of an uncontrolled source of infection.

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Background: Bronchial asthma affects about 20% of Qatar's population. The impact of asthma on COVID-19 outcomes is controversial. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of asthma on COVID-19 outcomes and the predictors of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality in a cohort of asthma patients infected by COVID-19.

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Technological innovations have become a key driver of societal advancements. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of machine learning (ML), which has developed algorithmic models that shape our decisions, behaviors, and outcomes. These tools have widespread use, in part, because they can synthesize massive amounts of data to make seemingly objective recommendations.

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The emergence of carbapenem-resistant, hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae is a new threat to health care. We studied the molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in Qatar using whole-genome sequence data. We also characterized the prevalence and genetic basis of hypervirulent phenotypes and established the virulence potential using a Galleria mellonella model.

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Given its centrality in scholarly and popular discourse, morality should be expected to figure prominently in everyday talk. We test this expectation by examining the frequency of moral content in three contexts, using three methods: (a) Participants' subjective frequency estimates (N = 581); (b) Human content analysis of unobtrusively recorded in-person interactions (N = 542 participants; n = 50,961 observations); and (c) Computational content analysis of Facebook posts (N = 3822 participants; n = 111,886 observations). In their self-reports, participants estimated that 21.

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Monitoring aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in dairy products and milk-based foods is very important. The main purpose of this research was to investigate and determine the amount and human health risk assessment of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in the most famous and widely used brands of infant dried powder milk (IDPM) consumed in Iran. For this study, 45 imported IDPM (IM-IDPM) samples and 45 domestically produced IDPM (DO-IDPM) samples (a total of 90 samples) were selected randomly.

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Introduction: The BNT162b2 mRNA-based vaccine has shown high efficacy in preventing COVID-19 infection but there are limited data on the types and persistence of the humoral and T cell responses to such a vaccine.

Methods: Here, we dissect the vaccine-induced humoral and cellular responses in a cohort of six healthy recipients of two doses of this vaccine.

Results And Discussion: Overall, there was heterogeneity in the spike-specific humoral and cellular responses among vaccinated individuals.

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Early diagnosis is a fundamental component of global tuberculosis control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of post-bronchoscopy sputum (PBS) testing as part of a tuberculosis diagnostic work-up. All new residents in the State of Qatar undergo a tuberculosis (TB) screening program.

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Background: The outcome of patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 is unknown and there are no specific treatment guidelines. Methods: We describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022. Results: Acute leukaemia and lymphoma were the most frequent HM (35.

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Aim: This rapid systematic review aimed to collect the evidence published over the last decade on the effect of empirical antifungal therapy and its early initiation on survival rates.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, Scopus, and Embase, in addition to a hand search and experts' suggestions.

Results: Fourteen cohort studies and two randomized clinical trials reporting the survival outcome of empirical antifungal therapy were included in this review.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study noted that only 16.2% of the patients were vaccinated with two or more doses prior to COVID-19 diagnosis, and vaccination status was linked to lower mortality rates.
  • * Key risk factors for increased mortality included older age, active malignancy, severe COVID-19 symptoms, and ICU admission, with additional findings showing no significant difference in survival rates between NHL and CLL patients.
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Objectives: To estimate the real-world effectiveness of sotrovimab against severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19 in Qatar at a time in which most SARS-CoV-2 incidences occurred due to the BA.2 Omicron subvariant.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study among all individuals eligible for sotrovimab treatment per United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines in the resident population of Qatar.

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We retrospectively investigated the clinical outcomes of favipiravir in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients who between 23 May 2020 and 18 July 2020 received ≥ 24 h of favipiravir were assigned to the favipiravir group, while those who did not formed the non-favipiravir group. The primary outcome was 28-day clinical improvement, defined as two-category improvement from baseline on an 8-point ordinal scale.

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Background: Treatment options for patients with critical Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are limited. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with remdesivir therapy in patients with COVID-19 who require non-invasive (NIV) ventilation or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

Methods: Data were retrospectively extracted for adults with COVID-19 confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) between August 1, 2020 and January 28, 2021 who received ≥ 48 hours of remdesivir therapy while on NIV or IMV.

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