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The attitude of teachers about the use of technology is critical. As a result, when teachers have a constructive outlook toward a new type of assistive technology, they are more likely to make meaningful efforts to successfully integrate it into the teaching-learning process. The way assistive technology is used in the teaching and learning environment is heavily influenced by a special education teacher’s attitude. Therefore, the study explored the availability of assistive technology and explored the attitudes of professional of special education towards the use of assistive technologies in special needs centers of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Questionnaires were distributed and 100 responses were received from special education professionals. No statistically significant differences were observed in the attitudes of special education teachers and therapists with respect to their experiences, profession, gender, academic qualification, or locality. Assistive technologies were mostly used in different areas of special education including computer access, spelling, learning, recreation, environmental control, vision and hearing, writing, communication, mathematics, mobility, and positioning and seating. There is a constructive impact on the learning process of the children with special needs considering the expertise of specialist teachers and therapists on assistive technology linked to positive educational outcomes of students with special needs.

Quantum computing has gained attention in recent years due to the significant progress in quantum computing technology. Today many companies like IBM, Google and Microsoft have developed quantum computers and simulators for research and commercial use. The development of quantum techniques and algorithms is essential to exploit the full power of quantum computers. In this paper we propose a simple visual technique (we call Q-Map) for quantum realisation of classical Boolean logic circuits. The proposed method utilises concepts from Boolean algebra to produce a quantum circuit with minimal number of quantum gates., 14 pages

Being a developed and promising approach, nanotechnology has attracted a lot of attention in biomedical and pharmaceutical therapy applications. Among nanostructured materials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are effectively used as nanocarriers for drug delivery systems. MSNs can be tailored-designed by different synthetic techniques. Their morphological characteristics dictate the type of application of such materials. Recently, polymer-based materials have been employed to functionalize the MSNs surface. These modified nanocarriers are loaded with the drug and can unload their “cargo” upon exposure to either endogenous or exogenous types of stimuli. In this study, different targeting concepts, including passive, active, vascular, nuclear, and multistage targeting, are discussed.Other Information Published in: Emergent Materials License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42247-020-00109-x

Some viral outbreaks have plagued the world since antiquity, including the most recent COVID-19 pandemic. The continuous spread and emergence of new viral diseases have urged the discovery of novel treatment options that can overcome the limitations of currently marketed antiviral drugs. Chalcones are natural open chain flavonoids that are found in various plants and can be synthesised in labs. Several studies have shown that these small organic molecules exert a number of pharmacological activities, including antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer. The purpose of this review is to provide a summary of the antiviral activities of chalcones and their derivatives on a set of human viral infections and their potential for targeting the most recent COVID-19 disease. Accordingly, we herein review chalcones activities on the following human viruses: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, human immunodeficiency, influenza, human rhinovirus, herpes simplex, dengue, human cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B and C, Rift Valley fever and Venezuelan equine encephalitis. We hope that this review will pave the way for the design and development of potentially potent and broad-spectrum chalcone based antiviral drugs. Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. Our lab is supported by grants from Qatar University: # QUCG-CPH-20/21-4, QUHI-CMED-19/20-1, QUCG-CMED-20/21-2. Scopus

The present study describes the synthesis of a series of 22 chalcone analogs. These compounds were evaluated as potential human MAO-A and MAO-B inhibitors. The compounds showed varied selectivity against the two isoforms. The IC50 values were found to be in the micromolar to submicromolar range. The Ki values of compound 16 were determined to be 0.047 and 0.020 μM for the inhibition of MAO-A and MAO-B, respectively. Dialysis of enzyme-inhibitor mixtures indicated a reversible competitive mode of inhibition. Most of the synthesized chalcone analogs showed a better selectivity toward MAO-B. However, introducing of 2,4,6-trimethoxy substituents on ring B shifted the selectivity toward MAO-A. In addition, we investigated the molecular mechanism of MAO-B inhibition by selected chalcone analogs. Our results revealed that these selected chalcone analogs increased dopamine levels in the rat hepatoma (H4IIE) cells and decreased the relative mRNA expression of the MAO-B enzyme.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of mainly the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, which leads to motor dysfunction. Although, most of the drugs are currently used for symptomatic treatment, there are at least three FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of PD that have been suggested preclinically to have neuroprotective effects. Among these drugs are monoamine oxidase (MAO) type B inhibitors such as selegiline and rasagiline, and non-ergot derivative dopamine agonist, pramipexole. In this review article, we focused on the potential uses of non-selective reversible MAO inhibitor, 2,3,6-trimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, from flue-cured tobacco leaves extract and two β- carboline alkaloids (harman and norharman) as potent, reversible and non-selective MAO inhibitors for the treatment of PD. In addition, we discussed the potential uses of farnesol as a potent inhibitor of MAO-B and farnesylacetone as a less potent selective MAO-B inhibitor. Furthermore, adducts of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline have shown to have competitive inhibitory effects for both MAO-A and MAO-B. These inhibitors have potential neuroprotective effects, which might be mediated at least through nerve growth factor, neurotrophin 3, brain derived neurotrophic factor, and glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor. We suggest here the neuroprotective implication of extracted MAO inhibitors from smoke tobacco; however, it is important to note that there are several existing compounds in tobacco smoke that have toxic effects in the brain, these include and not limited to the induction of neuropathological features observed in individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Germination and/or fermentation processes for Egyptian breeds of mung seeds were carried out with three Lactobacillus strains namely, L. reuteri, L. case, and L. heleviticus. Results revealed increase in protein content, nitrogen solubility and in vitro digestibility for all treated mung meals. Treated mung proteins contained most of the essential amino acids in concentrations comparable to those recommended by the FAO/WHO, with the exception of the sulphur-containing amino acids. Trypsin inhibitor units (TIU) and phytate content of untreated MB were 6.98 TIU/mg dry sample and 5.61 mg phytate/g dry sample, respectively. Fermentation treatments were effective in decreasing the phytate content as well as reducing trypsin inhibitor activity, while L. casei was the most efficient probiotic culture in reducing those antinutritional factors. The combined treatment of germination and lactic fermentation utilizing Lactobacillus species is recommended process for enhancing the nutritional quality of legume protein.Keywords: Mung bean, protein extract, Lactobacillus, fermentation, germination, nutritive value

The widespread use of medicinal plants for health purposes has increased dramatically due to their great importance to public health. In this study, the levels of phenolic, flavonoid, β-carotene and lycopene compounds of Anastatica hierochuntica and Hyphaene thebaica were determined. The plant extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activities using various antioxidant methodologies: (i) scavenging of free radicals using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, (ii) metal ion chelating capacity, and (iii) scavenging of superoxide anion radical. The antimicrobial activity of both plant extracts was evaluated against a panel of microorganisms using the agar disc diffusion method. The total phenolic content (51.97 and 64.9 mg/g dry weight in A. hierochuntica and H. thebaica, respectively) was significantly (p < 0.05) different. The antioxidant activity increased with an increase in concentration. The plant extracts were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. Also, the antimicrobial activity of H. thebaica was higher than that of A. hierochuntica methanolic extracts. This study reveals that the consumption of these plants would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.El extensivo uso de plantas medicinales con fines médicos ha aumentado dramáticamente debido en gran parte a la importancia que tienen en la salud pública. En este estudio, los niveles de compuestos fenólicos, flavonoides, β-caroteno y licopeno de Anastatica hierochuntica y Hyphaene thebaica fueron determinados. Los extractos de plantas fueron evaluados mediante su actividad antioxidante usando varias metodologías: (i) captación de radicales libres usando 2,2-difenil- 1-picrilhidrazina, (ii) capacidad quelatante de iones metálicos, y (iii) captación de radicales superóxidos. La actividad antimicrobiana de ambos extractos de planta fue evaluada mediante un panel de microorganismos usando el método de difusión en disco de agar. El contenido total de fenoles (51.97 y 64.9 mg/g peso seco en A. hierochuntica y H. thebaica, respectivamente) fue significativamente diferente (p < 0.05). La actividad antioxidante incremento con un aumento de la concentración. Los extractos de planta fueron más activos contra bacterias Gram-positiva que contra bacterias Gram-negativas. También, la actividad antimicrobiana de los extractos metanólicos de H. thebaica fue mayor que la de los extractos metanólicos de A. hierochuntica. Este estudio revela que el consumo de estas plantas podría ejercer algunos efectos beneficiosos a causa de sus actividades antioxidantes y microbianas.

BACKGROUND. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), resistance to single-agent targeted therapy may be overcome by co-targeting of compensatory signaling pathways. METHODS. A targeted drug screen with 120 combinations was used on 9 HNSCC cell lines. RESULTS. Multiple novel drug combinations demonstrated synergistic growth inhibition. Combining the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor, BMS754807, with either the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-family inhibitor, BMS599626, or the Src-family kinase inhibitor, dasatinib, resulted in substantial synergy and growth inhibition. Depending on the cell line, these combinations induced synergistic or additive apoptosis; when synergistic apoptosis was observed, AKT phosphorylation was inhibited to a greater extent than either drug alone. Conversely, when additive apoptosis occurred, AKT phosphorylation was not reduced by the drug combination. CONCLUSION. Combined IGF-1R/HER family and IGF-1R/Src family inhibition may have therapeutic potential in HNSCC. AKT may be a node of convergence between IGF-1R signaling and pathways that compensate for IGF-1R inhibition.

Khalil, A., Abdallah, S., Al-hilo, K., & Iroadu, E. (2012). Investigating Financial Literacy among Emiratis. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 6(12), 3663-3669., Financial literacy is one of the key factors needed in making informed financial decisions. As businesses continue to be more profit driven, more financial and economic intrigues arise that continue to put individuals at the risk of spending more and more without considering the short term and long term effects. We con- ducted a study to assess financial literacy and financial decision mak- ing among Emiratis. Our results show that financial literacy is lack- ing among Emiratis. Also, almost half of respondents owe loans to other peoples and 1/5 of them have bank loans. We expect that the outcome of this research will be useful for designing educational programs and policies to promote financial planning and security among Emiratis.

The benefits of CAPTCHA are now well-established and all major websites use it for registering new users. In this paper we introduce a novel CAPTCHA tecnique that is based on matching images. To avoid maintaining a data base of images, the images are. To avoid maintaining a data base of images, the images are created by the computer with random patterns that are simple for human users to match and extremely challenging for CAPTCHA breaker software to solve.With the proliferation of Web services, it is imperative to minimize spamming and security risks. Spammers use software to automate the process of creating fake online accounts to be used later as a source of spam and illegal activities or simply to waste the resources of the website. In order to mitigate this risk, CAPTCHA was introduced with the main purpose of identifying whether the end-user is a human or a computer (i.e computer program)., With the proliferation of Web services, it is imperative to minimize spamming and security risks. Spammers use software to automate the process of creating fake online accounts to be used later as a source of spam and illegal activities or simply to waste the resources of the website. In order to mitigate this risk, CAPTCHA was introduced with the main purpose of identifying whether the end-user is a human or a computer (i.e computer program).

The explosion in the number of cell phones has made them the most ubiquitous communication devices [27]. Consequently, cell phone interruptions have sparked problems that affect not only the owner, but people in the surrounding environment as well [12]. The problems, which have already been studied extensively, are many in number and can be serious in nature [6, 20, 31]. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee., The proliferation of cell phones has led to an ever increasing number of inappropriate interruptions. Context-aware telephony applications, in which callers are provided with context information about the receivers, has been proposed as a solution for this problem. This approach, however, raises many privacy issues that may render it infeasible. In this paper, we report on an in-situ study of user privacy preferences and patterns of sharing different types of context information with different social relations. We found that participants disclosed their context information generously, suggesting that context-aware telephony is not only feasible, but also desirable. Our data shows a distinct sharing pattern across social relations and different types of context information. We discuss the implications of the results for designers of context-aware telephony in particular and context- aware applications in general.

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Khalil, A., & Connelly, K. (2005, September). Improving cell phone awareness by using calendar information. In IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 588-600). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg., The many benefits that cell phones provide are at times overshadowed by the problems they create, as when one person’s cell phone disrupts a group activity, such as a class, meeting or movie. Cell phone interruption is only highlighted by the ever increasing number of mobile devices we carry. Many tools and techniques have been proposed in order to minimize interruption caused by mobile devices. In the current study, we use calendar information to infer users’ activity and to automatically configure cell phones accordingly. Our in-situ experiment uses PDAs that run a cell phone simulator to examine the feasibility and design factors of such a solution. Our results show that both structured activities and appropriate cell phone configuration can be predicted with high accuracy using the calendar information

Khalil, A., & Connelly, K. (2005, July). Context-aware Configuration: A study on improving cell phone awareness. In International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Modeling and Using Context (pp. 197-209). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg., As the number of mobile devices we carry grows, the job of manag- ing those devices throughout the day becomes cumbersome. This is especially true for cell phones. Despite the many benefits they provide, cell phones create problems that arise from a mismatch between the user’s context and the cell phone’s behavior. In large part, the mismatch occurs because owners do not remember to frequently update their cell phone configuration according to the current context. It is desirable for mobile devices to automatically configure themselves based on the context of the environment and user preferences

Khalil, A., & Connelly, K. (2004). Examining the Use of Surveys in Measuring Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing., The study, which examined 24 surveys, concluded that surveys are unlikely to accurately reflect the consumers’ true privacy preferences and concerns. Even though the privacy issues pertaining to the consumer market are somewhat different than those related to ubiquitous computing, the two domains share many common problems that are inherent in using surveys in general. Consolvo et al.

Siek, K. A., Khalil, A., Liu, Y., Connelly, K. H., Kay, H., & Edmonds, N. (2004). A comparative study of web language support for mobile web browsers., The surg of ubiquitous devices and WiFi in the last few years have given the general public access to information via the world wide web from anywhere at anytime. Mobile web access challenges de- velopers to create web pages that are usable and familiar to the user without unduly burdening the information appliance’s limited sy- stem resources. The best way to achieve these goals is to follow the readily available standards geared towards effective presentation of information in a wide variety of information appliances. This paper reports on a comprehensive comparison of six popular mobile web browsers and the language functionality they support

Connelly, K., Jagatic, T., & Khalil, A. (2004). The Internet hunt revisited: Personal information accessible via the web. Proceedings of www., In June 1993, Rick Gates posted an unusual Internet Hunt[4] to his monthly contest in usenet (alt.internet.services): he presented a simple email address and asked his contest participants to find out what they could about the owner of the email address.

Connelly, K., & Khalil, A. (2003, October). Towards Automatic Device Configuration in Smart Environments. In Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2003)., As the number of mobile devices we carry grows, the job of managing those devices throughout the day becomes cumbersome. In addition, the ability to use mobile devices in unethical ways without being detected is becoming widespread [13-14]. It is desirable for mobile devices to automatically configure themselves based on the context of the environment and user preferences for both convenience and security purposes. Having the cell phone switch the ringer off and turn on the vibrate notification in a movie theatre is convenient to the user; while having the video phone disable its video capabilities in a locker room is necessary for others’ privacy. We present a preliminary architecture for automatic device configuration in smart environments

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the deadliest malignancies in the world. Despite improved treatment, CRC incidence and mortality rates have been increasing lately. Current conventional therapies are associated with severe side effects that affect patients' quality of life. Drug resistance, severe pain, hair loss, and blood abnormalities are the most common side effects. Therefore, novel, and safe alternatives are required to control metastasis and prevent CRC with minimum or no side effects. Recently, natural products became an attractive target as a safe resource for anticancer agents. Flavonoids are a group of biologically active compounds naturally found in a wide range of human dietary. Additionally, flavonoids from natural and synthetic sources, showed significant therapeutic effects against CRC. Elaeagnus Angustifolia (EA) is a natural resource for flavonoids traditionally used to treat different illnesses. Another resource for flavonoids is synthetic chalcone analogs. Previous work from our team explored the effect of EA and chalcone compounds against various types of cancer. In this study, we sought to particularly illustrate the impact of the EA flower’s aqueous extract and the nitrogen-based-synthetically designed chalcone analogs (DK13 and DK14) and their underlying mechanisms of action on CRC using in vitro (the human CRC cell lines [𝐻𝐶𝑇-116 and LoVo]) and in vivo (the Drosophila melanogaster Ras mutant fly lines) model systems. Our results showed that EA extract inhibits cell proliferation and alters cell cycle progression of both CRC cell lines as compared to the control group. Moreover, EA extract significantly reduces colony formation and cell invasive ability of HCT-116 and LoVo cell lines; a phenotype accompanied by a significant upregulation of E-cadherin and a downregulation of vimentin and β-catenin, which are important epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers. Also, and as detected in our in vivo model, EA-treated Ras85D mutant fly lines exhibited a significantly increased survival rate as compared to their control. Furthermore, molecular pathway analysis in vitro revealed a significant suppression in total and phosphorylated EGFR and AKT expression in EAtreated cells as compared to controls, suggesting the EGFR-RAS and PI3K-AKT pathways as key molecular pathway targeted by EA to control ongoing oncogenic events. Along this, our data related to DK13 and DK14 also revealed that these compounds inhibit cell proliferation and deregulate cell-cycle progression in both cell lines. Additionally, DK13 and DK14 significantly reduce cell invasion and colony formation of both cell lines compared to the action of conventional anticancer 5'fluorouracil (5-FU) and DMSO-treated control. This was translated into a significant increase in the survival rates of D. melanogaster Ras85D mutant fly lines as compared to their controls. Moreover, the molecular pathway analysis of chalcone- treated cells revealed an inhibitory effect of DK13 and DK14 on the expression patterns of both AKT and mTOR, highlighting RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways as key molecular pathway targeted by DK13 and DK14 to control ongoing oncogenic events. Collectively, our study findings demonstrate an apparent anticancer effect of EA extract and chalcone compounds on CRC, presenting EA, Dk13, and Dk14 as promising chemotherapeutic agents.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy, as well as a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men globally. Despite the initial response to hormonal targeted therapy, the majority of patients ultimately progress to a lethal form of the disease, castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which currently lacks curative therapeutic options and is associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discover and develop novel treatment modalities for CRPC. Chalcones, also known as 1,3-diphenyl-2-propen-1-ones, are among the highly attractive scaffolds being investigated for their antitumor activities. A library of 26 cyclic (tetralone-based) and acyclic chalcone analogs, in which ring B was either substituted with nitrogen mustard or replaced by pyrrole or pyridine heterocyclic rings, were designed, synthesized and evaluated as potential therapies for CRPC. The design was guided by in-silico ADMET prediction in which analogs with favorable drug-likeness properties were prioritized. The new compounds were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction, purified and characterized by extensive structural elucidation studies. The compounds in vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated against two androgen receptor (AR)-negative prostate cancer cell lines (PC3 and DU145). Among the tested compounds, pyridine containing analogs (13, 15 and 16) showed potent antiproliferative activities at low micromolar levels with IC50 values ranging between 4.32-6.47 µM against PC3 and DU145 cell lines. Detailed biological studies of the lead molecule 16 revealed that it can significantly induce apoptosis through upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2. In addition, compound 16 potently inhibited colony formation and reduced cell migration of AR-negative PCa cell lines (PC3 and DU145). The molecular pathway analysis showed that the anticancer activity of compound 16 is associated with blocking of ERK1/2 and Akt activities. Furthermore, compound 16 inhibited angiogenesis in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model as compared to control. Structure-activity relationship study on pyridine-based chalcones revealed that the cytotoxicity could dramatically improve via changing the methoxylation pattern by more than 2-folds (IC50 << 2.5 μM). These results indicate that pyridine-based chalcones could serve as promising lead molecules for the treatment of CRPC; thus, further in vitro and in vivo studies are warranted.

Although carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have been implicated in biomedical applications, they are still considered as a potential hazard. Conversely, mesoporous silica nanoparticles are generally considered as a suitable and biocompatible material for in-vivo use. In this study, we sought to discover a novel strategy leads as a potential approach to overcome CNFs toxicity. We fabricated conventional CNFs and novel CNFs coated with a mesoporous silica layer (MCNFs). They were synthesized by preparing polyacrylonitrile fibers via electrospinning, followed by carbonization at 800 C in an inert atmosphere. A soft templating strategy was applied to coat CNFs with a mesoporous silica layer. The obtained nanofibers were then characterized by various analytical techniques. Subsequently, we used avian embryos at 3 days and its chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) at 6 days of incubation to evaluate the impact of synthesized CNFs and MCNFs on the early stage of embryogenesis and angiogenesis. We confirmed our embryogenesis data using Drosophila melanogaster. Furthermore, we analyzed the outcome of the effect of CNFs and MCNFs on normal embryonic fibroblast cells. Our data show that mesoporous coating of CNFs resulted in significantly reducing both, embryotoxicity and angiogenesis of the CAM. Additionally, we elucidate key regulator genes of embryotoxicity induced by CNFs and MCNFs; thus, RT-PCR analysis was