Publications by authors named "Moussa Omar"

Necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) is a life-threatening illness that can seriously harm a person. Over the last years the incidence of NSTI has increased. A rapid and thorough debridement is crucial to let patients survive.

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The bowmouth guitarfish () is among the most endangered of marine vertebrates, and evidence of severe declines and localized extinctions has been reported. Yet its life history and ecology suffer from a lack of scientific attention due to the scarcity and unpredictable movements of the species. By collecting opportunistic records from 2015 to 2023 during diving activities, this study describes for the first time the occurrence of a predictable aggregation of in the Gulf of Tadjoura (Djibouti).

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 Prior studies have revealed grading discrepancies in evaluation of personal statements and letters of recommendation based on candidate's race and gender. Fatigue and the end-of-day phenomenon can negatively impact task performance but have not been studied in the residency selection process. Our primary objective is to determine whether factors related to interview time and day as well as candidate's and interviewer's gender have a significant effect on residency interview scores.

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Aberrant cell-cycle progression is characteristic of melanoma, and CDK4/6 inhibitors, such as palbociclib, are currently being tested for efficacy in this disease. Despite the promising nature of CDK4/6 inhibitors, their use as single agents in melanoma has shown limited clinical benefit. Herein, we discovered that treatment of tumor cells with palbociclib induces the phosphorylation of the mRNA translation initiation factor eIF4E.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess a new risk stratification system for reducing surgical complications among residents and to determine if it could enable earlier cataract surgery training.
  • A retrospective analysis involving 530 cataract cases was conducted, examining factors like preoperative visual acuity and complications, using statistical models to analyze relationships between risk scores and outcomes.
  • Findings revealed that while higher risk scores predicted prolonged corneal edema and postoperative complications, they did not correlate with intraoperative complications, allowing for safe introduction of cataract surgery at earlier training levels.
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Rising ocean temperatures are pushing reef-building corals beyond their temperature optima ( ), resulting in reduced physiological performances and increased risk of bleaching. Identifying refugia with thermally resistant corals and understanding their thermal adaptation strategy is therefore urgent to guide conservation actions. The Gulf of Aqaba (GoA, northern Red Sea) is considered a climate refuge, hosting corals that may originate from populations selected for thermal resistance in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura (GoT, entrance to the Red Sea and 2000 km south of the GoA).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers collected 834 samples from various surfaces over multiple days; only two samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, one from a bathroom sink handle and another from an asymptomatic staff member.
  • * The findings suggest that despite the high prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.S., healthcare personnel at the clinic had a low likelihood of coming into contact with viral RNA on surfaces during their daily activities.
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Hemoglobinopathies are genetic disorders that lead to abnormal structure of the hemoglobin molecule. Sickle cell disease, the most common inherited blood disorder, is characterized by defective oxygen transport. Almost every part of the eye can be affected by sickle cell disease; however, proliferative sickle cell retinopathy is the primary cause of vision loss, either from vitreous hemorrhage or retinal detachment.

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Purpose: Central retinal vein occlusions (CRVO) are relatively common; however, they are rare in young, otherwise healthy individuals. We report a case of CRVO associated with creatine supplementation and dehydration in a 25-year-old man.

Observations: A 25-year-old man developed a non-ischemic CRVO in the right eye.

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Purpose: To describe findings of multimodal imaging in non-proliferative and proliferative stages of MacTel 2 in a pediatric patient, and results of aflibercept use for treating neovascularization secondary to MacTel 2.

Methods: Retrospective case report.

Results: An 11-year-old girl with no history of systemic disease.

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Purpose: To assess the efficacy of customized slab segmentation in eliminating projection artifacts in swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) images of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD).

Methods: Prospective case series including different stages of BVMD. We analyzed SS-OCTA images for flow signals in the outer retina and coregistered B-scan images for distortion of the segmentation slabs defining the outer retina.

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Background: The aims of this study were to provide real-life data about the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of anti-VEGF injections and to evaluate the safety of the modifications in the injection protocol imposed during the ongoing pandemic on the anatomical and functional outcome of patients.

Methods: All patients attending Tanta University hospital for receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF injections were screened. Patients who were previously deferred according to a modified protocol implemented in the hospital in response to the pandemic or who demonstrated deviation from it were included for further analysis.

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Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that originates in the pigment-producing cells of the body known as melanocytes. Most genetic aberrations in melanoma result in hyperactivation of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways. We and others have shown that a specific protein synthesis pathway known as the MNK1/2-eIF4E axis is often dysregulated in cancer.

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The Gulf of Tadjoura (Djibouti) is an important site where the whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828) aggregates seasonally. Because of the proximity to the port of Djibouti that is located along one of the busiest shipping areas in the world, whale sharks are potentially exposed to relatively high levels of trace elements and organochlorines. To assess their contamination status, concentrations of 15 trace elements, DDTs and PCBs were concurrently assessed for the first time in skin biopsies of 20 whale sharks.

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Background: Flow cytometric crossmatching is currently the method of choice for most transplantation programs before kidney transplantation. In July of 2017, our program implemented the virtual crossmatch, without a prospective physical crossmatch, for the majority of patients in the setting of a new kidney allocation system implemented by the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Study Design: A retrospective review was conducted to determine whether virtual crossmatching could reduce cold ischemia time (CIT).

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Within Djibouti (Gulf of Aden), the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) and milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus) are important components of the artisanal fishery and they are caught to be exported or sold for local consumption. However, little scientific information exists on the contamination load of these species in this area of the world. With global populations of elasmobranchs in decline, understanding the extent of contaminant exposure is critical to future conservation as well as to assess the health risks for consumers of these species.

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Background: Angiotensin II type-1 receptor antibody (AT1RAb) has been reported to cause antibody mediated rejection (AMR) in kidney transplant recipients possibly by contraction of renal arteries. We here report 2 kidney transplant recipients with elevated AT1RAbs and negative HLA donor specific antibodies (DSA) and anti-major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) Abs who received therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) treatment followed by IVIG. CASE 1: Thirty-eight-year-old patient received second kidney transplant for end stage renal disease (ESRD) with chronic rejection.

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The Gulf of Tadjoura is located in the Horn of Africa and is widely recognized as an important site where the zooplanktivorous whale sharks seasonally aggregate from October to February. The surface zooplankton community (0-3m) was weekly sampled from November 2016 to February 2017 in two sites during the whale shark aggregation period. A total of 12 phyla were identified.

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Objecives: Elevated panel reactive antibody levels have been traditionally associated with increased acute rejection rate and decreased long-term graft survival after kidney transplant. In this study, our objective was to determine patient and allograft outcomes in sensitized kidney transplant recipients with advanced HLA antibody detection and stringent protein sequence epitope analyses.

Materials And Methods: This was a subanalysis of a prospective, risk-stratified randomized controlled trial that compared interleukin 2 receptor antagonist to rabbit antithymocyte globulin induction in 200 kidney transplant recipients, examining outcomes based on panel reactive antibody levels of < 20% (low) versus ≥ 20% (high, sensitized).

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The transcription factor FOXO3 is a well-established tumor suppressor whose activity, stability, and localization are regulated by phosphorylation and acetylation. Previous data by our laboratory demonstrated amplified thromboxane-A2 signaling was associated with poor prognoses in bladder cancer patients and overexpression of the thromboxane-A2 isoform-β receptor (TPβ), but not TPα, induced malignant transformation of immortalized bladder cells in vivo. Here, we describe a mechanism of TP mediated modulation of FOXO3 activity and localization by phosphorylation and deacetylation in a bladder cancer cell model.

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Background: A higher degree of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching at the A, B, and DR loci has been associated with improved long-term survival after pediatric heart transplantation in multiple International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation registry reports. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of HLA matching at the C and DQ loci with pediatric graft survival.

Methods: The United Network of Organ Sharing database was queried for isolated heart transplants that occurred from 1988 to 2012 with a recipient age of 17 or younger and at least 1 postoperative follow-up encounter.

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Background: The effect of donor-recipient human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching on outcomes remains relatively unexplored in pediatric patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of donor-recipient HLA matching on graft survival in pediatric heart transplantation.

Methods And Results: The UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) database was queried for heart transplants occurring between October 31, 1987, and December 31, 2012, in a recipient aged ≤17 years with ≥1 postoperative follow-up visit.

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