State budget formulation process and good governance framework in the context of Egypt

Budget formulation process is the phase where the decisions are made regarding the allocation of resources. This process should reflect the objectives of the government, which consequently should mirror the priorities of citizens. Post January 2011 Revolution, Egypt witnessed economic, social and political challenges that affected the overall government performance. Due to the intrinsic role of the State budget at political, social and economic levels, specific attention was directed to its efficiency and effectiveness. Consequently, it is normal to question its ability to achieve the stated objectives, especially with the increasing demands of transparency, accountability and social justice. This attention paves the way for introducing reform initiatives for public financial management system in Egypt. Therefore, as a step to understand the foundation of the State budget process in Egypt, this research assesses the budget formulation process in Egypt within the framework of good governance in both the executive and legislative authorities against international standards. Also this research examines the significant factors affecting the process and the extent to which the legal and political contexts in Egypt help improve budget formulation process. Hence, this study provides a roadmap for the government, containing the prerequisites for enhancing budget formulation process in Egypt. In light of these prerequisites, the government should focus on the institutional aspects that include; moving to program-based budget, adopting fiscal decentralization, merging preparation of the recurrent and investment budget under one authority and applying monitoring and evaluation system. Nevertheless, concentrating on the institutional aspects should be inline with other legal and political ones

Prevalence And Antibiotic Resistance Pattern Of Linezolid And Vancomycin Resistant Gram-Positve Cocci Isolated From Surgical Site Infections

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Gram-positive cocci isolated from surgical site infections. Out of 320 bacterial isolates, 268 (83.75%) were identified as Staphylococcus spp. and 52 (16.25%) were identified as Enterococcus spp. Among staphylococci, 71.64% were coagulase-positive and 28.36% were coagulase-negative. The antimicrobial resistance of all isolates was tested with a disc diffusion method. The majority (69%) of coagulase-positive staphylococci were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while 31% were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). All staphylococci were found to be susceptible to vancomycin and only two isolates were found to be resistant to linezolid. On the other hand, high level (28%) of resistance to vancomycin was observed in enterococci and no enterococcal isolates exhibited resistance towards linezolid. Results revealed that all investigated isolates were resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline. High prevalence of erythromycin and ciprofloxacin resistance was observed in 91 and 77% of isolates, respectively, while only 18 and 28% of the isolates were resistant to amikacin and clindamycin, respectively

New norfloxacin/nitric oxide donor hybrids: Synthesis and nitric oxide release measurement using a modified Griess colorimetric method

Oximes and nitrate esters are considered as important nitric oxide (NO) donors with diverse biological activities. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of new oxime and nitrate ester derivatives of norfloxacin as potential NO donor hybrids with expected synergistic antimicrobial activity. The release of NO from those hybrids was measured by a modified Griess method in which p-nitroaniline was employed instead of sulfanilamide. The increased electrophilicity of the intermediate 4-nitroaniline diazonium salt accelerated the coupling process and shortened the overall assessment time. The improved detection limits and enhanced sensitivity would pave the way for the future application of this method in nitrite determination in biological or non-biological systems

Synthesis and preliminary biological screening of certain 5-aralkyl pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids as anticonvulsants

Synthesis of a series of 5-aralkyl pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives namely, 1-acetyl-4-hydroxy-5-benzyl or 5-(4-alkoxy-benzyl)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids (3a-e), 1-H-4-hydroxy-5-benzyl or 5-(4-alkoxy-benzyl)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids (4a-e), 1-acetyl-5-benzyl or 5-(4-alkoxy-benzyl)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids (8a-e), 1-H-5-benzyl or 5-(4-alkoxy-benzyl)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids (9a-e) have been accomplished. The structures of the new compounds were assigned from IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and elemental analyses. Compounds 3a-e, 4a-e, 8a-e and 9a-e were biologically screened for their anticonvulsant potential using the subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole seizures (scPTZ) assay and Gabapentin as reference standard. The 1-H-4-hydroxy-5-benzyl or 5-(4-alkoxy-benzyl)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acids (4a-e) showed the highest anticonvulsant activity. Compound 4b was found to be the most potent one which exhibited 100% protection

Unveiling the interplay between NSAID-induced dysbiosis and autoimmune liver disease in children: insights into the hidden gateway to autism spectrum disorders. Evidence from ex vivo, in vivo, and clinical studies

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a diverse group of neuropsychiatric conditions, and recent evidence has suggested a connection between ASD and microbial dysbiosis. Immune and gastrointestinal dysfunction are associated with dysbiosis, and there are indications that modulating the microbiota could improve ASD-related behaviors. Additionally, recent findings highlighted the significant impact of microbiota on the development of autoimmune liver diseases, and the occurrence of autoimmune liver disease in children with ASD is noteworthy. In the present study, we conducted both an in vivo study and a clinical study to explore the relationship between indomethacin-induced dysbiosis, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), and the development of ASD. Our results revealed that indomethacin administration induced intestinal dysbiosis and bacterial translocation, confirmed by microbiological analysis showing positive bacterial translocation in blood cultures. Furthermore, indomethacin administration led to disturbed intestinal permeability, evidenced by the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasomes pathway and elevation of downstream biomarkers (TLR4, IL18, caspase 1). The histological analysis supported these findings, showing widened intestinal tight junctions, decreased mucosal thickness, inflammatory cell infiltrates, and collagen deposition. Additionally, the disturbance of intestinal permeability was associated with immune activation in liver tissue and the development of AIH, as indicated by altered liver function, elevated ASMA and ANA in serum, and histological markers of autoimmune hepatitis. These results indicate that NSAID-induced intestinal dysbiosis and AIH are robust triggers for ASD existence. These findings were further confirmed by conducting a clinical study that involved children with ASD, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), and a history of NSAID intake. Children exposed to NSAIDs in early life and complicated by dysbiosis and AIH exhibited elevated serum levels of NLRP3, IL18, liver enzymes, ASMA, ANA, JAK1, and IL6. Further, the correlation analysis demonstrated a positive relationship between the measured parameters and the severity of ASD. Our findings suggest a potential link between NSAIDs, dysbiosis-induced AIH, and the development of ASD. The identified markers hold promise as indicators for early diagnosis and prognosis of ASD. This research highlights the importance of maintaining healthy gut microbiota and supports the necessity for further investigation into the role of dysbiosis and AIH in the etiology of ASD

Eucalyptus-derived essential oils alleviate microbes and modulate inflammation by suppressing superoxide and elastase release

The Eucalyptus tree, belonging to the myrtle family, grows all over the world for its pharmaceutical and industrial benefits. In this article, we present a comparative analysis of the chemical composition of the hydrodistilled oils obtained from three different Eucalyptus species growing in Egypt viz. E. citriodora, E. camaldulensis, and E. ficifolia. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometric guided analysis resulted in the identification of a total of 20 metabolites in E. citriodora oil with citronellal (54.9%) and citronellol (25.4%) being the most dominant components. β-cymene (12.7%) and 1,8-cineole (11.7%) were the major volatile constituents identified in E. camaldulensis oil, while trans-β-ocimene (22.4%), 1,8-cineole (13.5%), and L-trans-pinocarveol (12.5%) were the dominating components in the oil of E. ficifolia. The essential oils of the studied species were evaluated for their in vitro anti-inflammatory, antiviral including anti-SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2), antibacterial, and antifungal activities. E. citriodora oil displayed the highest inhibitory activity on the release of the superoxide radical (32%) and elastase enzyme (31%) in human neutrophils, while E. ficifolia oil had enhancing effects on elastase. The latter showed significant antiviral effects against hepatitis A, herpes simplex, and coxsackie viruses with IC50 values at 2.1, 2.5, and 5.6 μg/mL, respectively. Moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities were observed for Eucalyptus oils with Staphylococcus aureus being the most susceptible bacterial strain. E. ficifolia oil, similarly, displayed the best antibacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value at ca. 25 μg/mL (for S. aureus). On the contrary, E. camaldulensis oil was the most active against Candida albicans with an MIC value at 45 μg/mL. In silico studies were performed with a number of macromolecular drug targets for confirming the biological activities of the identified compounds and for interpreting their ADME (absorption-distribution-metabolism-elimination) parameters