(E)-1-(1,3-Benzodioxol-5-yl)-4,4-di­methyl­pent-1-en-3-one

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C14H16O3, all non-H atoms except for one methyl C atom lie on a crystallographic mirror plane. The conformation with respect to the C=C bond [1.3465 (12) Å] is trans. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked via C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into C(5) chains propagating along [100]

RETENTION OF ZN, PB, CU AND CD METAL IONS ONTO SEWAGE IRRIGATED SOIL

The sorption isotherm and kinetic of Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+ , and Cd2+ ions onto sewage irrigated soil (El-Gebal El Aasfar-Qalubia) was examined as a function of the retention time and initial ion concentration using batch equilibrium sorption experiments. Results show that the Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd metal ions onto the soil is relatively rapid and sorption reaches equilibrium at about 240 minutes. Kinetics of the sorption process on the soil is well characterized by the pseudo-second order reaction rate. Langmuir, Freundlich and D–R isotherm models are fitted for the sorption of Cu2+, Pb2, Zn2+, and Cd2+ ions onto the soil. The constants of all models were calculated for each metal ion and compared. It indicated clear differences between the sorption characteristics of Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, and Cd2+ ions on the sewage irrigated soil

Diabetes mellitus in Egypt: glycaemic control and microvascular and neuropathic complications

We performed a cross-sectional, population-based survey of persons 20 years of age and older living in Cairo and surrounding rural villages. The purpose was to describe glycaemic control and the prevalence of microvascular and neuropathic complications among Egyptians with diagnosed diabetes, previously undiagnosed diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and normal glucose tolerance. A total of 6052 households were surveyed. The response rate was 76 % for the household survey and 72 % for the medical examination. Among people with previously diagnosed diabetes, mean haemoglobin A 1c was 9.0 %. Forty-two per cent had retinopathy, 21 % albuminuria, and 22 % neuropathy. Legal blindness was prevalent (5 %) but clinical nephropathy (7 %) and foot ulcers (1 %) were uncommon in persons with diagnosed diabetes. Among people with diagnosed diabetes, microvascular and neuropathic complications were associated with hyperglycaemia. Retinopathy was also associated with duration of diabetes; albuminuria with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia; and neuropathy with age, female sex, and hypercholesterolaemia. Albuminuria was as common in people with previously undiagnosed diabetes (22 %) as those with diagnosed disease (21 %). Mean haemoglobin A 1c was lower (7.8 %) and retinopathy (16 %) and neuropathy (14 %) were less prevalent in people with previously undiagnosed disease. Ocular conditions, blindness, and neuropathy were prevalent in the non-diabetic population. The microvascular and neuropathic complications of diabetes are a major clinical and public health problem in Egypt. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34940/1/696_ftp.pd

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic

In vitro activity of dihydropyrazole derivatives against Candida species

Profound insights for efficient antifungal agents are required for the increased hazardous fungal infections caused by yeast, such as Candida species. In this study, we investigate the efficacy of different benzodioxolpyrazoline derivatives against two Candida species. All compounds exhibited potent in vitro antifungal activity against both species. Compound 5 showed the best inhibition zone in comparison to positive controls for Candida albicans. For Candida parapsilosis, all the tested compounds were active while the positive controls were inactive. These compounds provide good starting models for the development of new antimicrobial agents which could be useful especially for the treatment of candidiasis

Response of Green Bean to Fertilization with Potassium and Magnesium

Abstract: Two field experiments were carried out during the two successive growing seasons of 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 in the experimental farm of EL-Bousialy Protected Cultivation Site, El-Behaira governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of different levels of potassium (48, 72 and 96 kg K 2 O /fed.) and magnesium (0, 3 and 6 kg MgO/fed.) on the growth, yield and quality of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cv. Paulista. With respect to the effect of potassium application, plant growth characters, i.e., plant height, number of leaves and branches, fresh and dry weight and total chlorophyll, as well as green pod yield (early, local, exportable and total green pod yield) and pod quality, i.e., pod length, thickness, fibers content, TSS%, total protein percentage, were increased by increasing the level of K fertilizer from 48 up to 96 kg K 2 O/fed. Respecting the effect of Mg application, the results clear that the vegetative growth of snap bean plants and green pod yield as well as pod quality were improved by increasing the level of Mg fertilizer from 0 to 6 kg MgO / fed. Respecting the effect of the interaction treatments, result clear that all vegetative growth parameters, green pod yield and its components were significantly affected by the interaction between potassium and magnesium application. The highest values were recorded with the highest levels of potassium and magnesium. As for pod quality, pod length, thickness and fiber were not significantly affected by the interaction treatments. However, TSS and total protein contents were significantly increased with increasing the levels of potassium and magnesium application up to the highest levels

New Adenosine Derivatives from Aizoon canariense L.: In Vitro Anticholinesterase, Antimicrobial, and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Its Extracts

Aizoaceae is a large succulent family characterized by many psychoactive species. Aizoon canariense L., a wild neglected plant traditionally used in gastrointestinal ailments, has been the subject of a limited number of phytochemical and biological studies. Therefore, herein, we investigated the in vitro cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and anticholinesteraseactivity of the aerial parts of A. canariense L. and analyzed the phytochemical compositions of the lipoidal and alkaloidal fractions. Petroleum ether extract showed the presence of behenic and tricosylic acid, while an in-depth investigation of the alkaloidal fraction revealed the identification of new adenine based alkaloids (1–5), which were isolated and identified for the first time from Aizoon canariense L. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. The alkaloidal extract showed a powerful cytotoxic effect (IC50 14–28 μg/mL), with the best effect against colon carcinoma, followed by liver and breast carcinomas. The alkaloidal extract also had a potent effect against Candida albicans and Escherichia coli, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values of 312.5 and 625 µg/mL. The in vitro anticholinesterase activity was potent, with IC50 < 200 ng/mL for the tested extracts compared with 27.29 ± 0.49 ng/mL for tacrine

Analysis of Stiripentol Enantiomers on Several Chiral Stationary Phases : A Comparative Study

A comparative study was developed for the separation of stiripentol enantiomers on several chiral stationary phases which were CyclobondI 2000 , S,S Whelk O1 , R,R Whelk O1 , Chiralcel OB , Chiralcel OF , Chiralcel OB-H and Chiralpak AD-RH . The best separation was achieved on Chiralpak AD-RH chiral column where a simple, rapid and validated method for the determination of stiripentol enantiomers was developed. Stiripentol was separated and quantitated on Chiralpak AD-RH chiral column using a mixture of water/acetonitrile (30/70 v/v) as a mobile phase (t 1 , t 2 = 5.626, 6.891, α = 1.22, R = 2.53) at 25 °C and a flow rate of 1 mL min −1 s . The UV-detector was set at 254 nm. The applied HPLC method allowed the separation and quantification of stiripentol enantiomers with good linearity (r > 0.999) in the studied range. The relative standard deviations (% RSD) were 0.723 and 0.692 for the stiripentol enantiomers with accuracy of 98.40 and 98.53. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of stiripentol were found to be 10 and 30 µg mL −1 , respectively. The method was validated through the parameters of linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness. The HPLC method was applied for the quantitative determination of stiripentol in pharmaceutical formulations

Discovery of 4-benzyloxy and 4-(2-phenylethoxy) chalcone fibrate hybrids as novel PPAR\u3b1 agonists with anti-hyperlipidemic and antioxidant activities: Design, synthesis and in vitro/in vivo biological evaluation

In the current work, a series of novel 4-benzyloxy and 4-(2-phenylethoxy) chalcone fibrate hybrids (10a-o) and (11a-e) were synthesized and evaluated as new PPAR\u3b1 agonists in order to find new agents with higher activity and fewer side effects. The 2-propanoic acid derivative 10a and the 2-butanoic acid congener 10i showed the best overall PPAR\u3b1 agonistic activity showing Emax% values of 50.80 and 90.55%, respectively, and EC50 values of 8.9 and 25.0 \u3bcM, respectively, compared to fenofibric acid with Emax = 100% and EC50 = 23.22 \u3bcM, respectively. These two compounds also stimulated carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A gene transcription in HepG2 cells and PPAR\u3b1 protein expression. Molecular docking simulations were performed for the newly synthesized compounds to study their predicted binding pattern and energies in PPAR\u3b1 active site to rationalize their promising activity. In vivo, compounds 10a and 10i elicited a significant hypolipidemic activity improving the lipid profile in triton WR-1339-induced hyperlipidemic rats, including serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and VLDL levels. Compound 10i possessed better anti-hyperlipidemic activity than 10a. At a dose of 200 mg/kg, it demonstrated significantly lower TC, TG, LDL and VLDL levels than that of fenofibrate at the same dose with similar HDL levels. Compounds 10i and 10a possessed atherogenic indices (CRR, AC, AI, CRI-II) like that of fenofibrate. Additionally, a promising antioxidant activity indicated by the increased tissue reduced glutathione and plasma total antioxidant capacity with decreased plasma malondialdehyde levels was demonstrated by compounds 10a and 10i. No histopathological alterations were recorded in the hepatic tissue of compound 10i (200 mg/kg)