A FACILE SYNTHESIS AND REACTIONS OF AMINO SELENOLO[2,3-b]PYRIDINE CARBOXYLATE

 Incorporating selenium metal bonded to the pyridine nucleus was achieved by the reaction of selenium metal with 2-chloropyridine carbonitrile 1 in the presence of sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The resulting non isolated selanyl sodium salt was subjected to react with various α-halogenated carbonyl compounds to afford the selenyl pyridine derivatives 3a-f  which compounds 3a-d underwent Thorpe-Ziegler cyclization to give 1-amino-2-substitutedselenolo[2,3-b]pyridine compounds 4a-d, while the other compounds 3e,f failed to be cyclized. Basic hydrolysis of amino selenolo[2,3-b]pyridine carboxylate 4a followed by decarboxylation furnished the corresponding amino selenolopyridine compound 6 which was used as a versatile precursor for synthesis of other heterocyclic compound 7-16. All the newly synthesized compounds were established by elemental and spectral analysis (IR, 1H NMR) in addition to mass spectra for some of them hoping these compounds afforded high biological activity

Comparison between the Accuracy of Endoanal Ultrasonography and Body Coil MRI in Preoperative Assessment of Internal Opening of Perianal Fistula Complex

Abstract Background and Aim: Surgery for anal fistula is a commonly performed practice. Integral part of fistula surgery is identification of the internal opening if high recurrence rate is to be diminished. In this study, accuracy of endoanal ultrasound versus body coil M.R.I in detection of the internal fistula opening was evaluated by comparing both modalities with the intra operative findings as a standard reference

Serum Amyloid A Level in Egyptian Children with Familial Mediterranean Fever

Background and Objectives. SAA is an acute-phase reactant detected during an FMF attack or other inflammatory conditions. High SAA levels may increase the risk of amyloidosis. The aim of the study is to measure the serum amyloid A (SAA) level in a group of Egyptian children with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and study its various correlates, if any. Methods. The study enrolled seventy-one children with FMF. Results. SAA level was high in 78.9% of the studied patients with a mean of 81.62±31.6 mg/L, and CRP was positive in 31% of patients. There was no significant releation between SAA level and any demographic or clinical manifestation. High SAA was more frequent in V726A allele (16.9%) followed by M694V allele (12.3%). Elevated SAA levels were more frequent in patients on low colchicine doses. Forty-five percent (45%) of patients have low adherence to colchicine therapy. Interpretation and Conclusion. High SAA levels were detected two weeks after last FMF attack in a large percentage of Egyptian FMF children. This indicates that subclinical inflammation continues during attack-free periods, and SAA could be used as a marker of it

An overview of the public health challenges in diagnosing and controlling human foodborne pathogens

Pathogens found in food are believed to be the leading cause of foodborne illnesses; and they are considered a serious problem with global ramifications. During the last few decades, a lot of attention has been paid to determining the microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses and developing new methods to identify them. Foodborne pathogen identification technologies have evolved rapidly over the last few decades, with the newer technologies focusing on immunoassays, genome-wide approaches, biosensors, and mass spectrometry as the primary methods of identification. Bacteriophages (phages), probiotics and prebiotics were known to have the ability to combat bacterial diseases since the turn of the 20th century. A primary focus of phage use was the development of medical therapies; however, its use quickly expanded to other applications in biotechnology and industry. A similar argument can be made with regards to the food safety industry, as diseases directly endanger the health of customers. Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to bacteriophages, probiotics and prebiotics most likely due to the exhaustion of traditional antibiotics. Reviewing a variety of current quick identification techniques is the purpose of this study. Using these techniques, we are able to quickly identify foodborne pathogenic bacteria, which forms the basis for future research advances. A review of recent studies on the use of phages, probiotics and prebiotics as a means of combating significant foodborne diseases is also presented. Furthermore, we discussed the advantages of using phages as well as the challenges they face, especially given their prevalent application in food safety

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

A case-based reasoning approach for estimating the costs of pump station projects

The effective estimation of costs is crucial to the success of construction projects. Cost estimates are used to evaluate, approve and/or fund projects. Organizations use some form of classification system to identify the various types of estimates that may be prepared during the lifecycle of a project. This research presents a parametric-cost model for pump station projects. Fourteen factors have been identified as important to the influence of the cost of pump station projects. A data set that consists of forty-four pump station projects (fifteen water and twenty-nine waste water) are collected to build a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) library and to test its performance. The results obtained from the CBR tool are processed and adopted to improve the accuracy of the results. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the development of the effectiveness of the tool

Factors

Selection of the best sub-contractor is a vital process in construction projects. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration when selecting sub-contractors. Improper selection of sub-contractors might lead to many problems during work progress. These include bad quality of work, and delay in project duration. This process is controlled by many factors. Forty six factors are collected from previous studies that influence sub-contractor selection. This paper identifies the most important factors that influence the selection of sub-contractors. A questionnaire was distributed to experts in the construction domain to determine the importance of factors that are taken into consideration by the main contractor to select the most suitable sub-contractor. A survey was carried out which was conducted with 29 experts in the construction field to determine the score of each factor. Statistical analysis is carried out on the feedback of the respondents of the survey. By using SPSS software, the frequency of the results of the questionnaire was determined. Examples of crosstabs between some of the most important factors are presented to provide a comparison between two factors. The mean score of each factor was determined and the p-value was calculated using the SPSS software, the significance of each factor used in the questionnaire is determined. Any factor that has a p-value less than 0.05 is considered a significant one