Irregular Egyptian migration of unaccompanied minors to Italy: a journey of death or salvation?

The irregular migration of Egyptian unaccompanied minors to Italy is a recent development within the migration flow between the two countries. The alarming rate of increase since 2007 of Egyptian boys under the age of 18 arriving in Italy unaccompanied and the lack of information explaining this phenomenon necessitated research in the field. The study reviews the reasons behind this type of migration, recent policy developments in both countries, the problems experienced by the social workers and managers of the boys in Italy, and the dilemmas facing the boys because of this migration. The study relied mainly on primary sources for its findings. Literature on unaccompanied minors in other parts of the world and studies on irregular Egyptian migration to Italy provided the background context. The main objective was to provide an analysis of this recent and largely undocumented phenomenon. The study reviews the official policies on both sides of the Mediterranean from the perspectives of both policy makers and implementers. In addition, the study looks into push/pull factors that encourage the irregular migration of both adults and minors alike. In relation to the Egyptian minors themselves, the study focuses on how they perceive their circumstances; why and how they ended up in their circumstances in Italy; what hurdles they faced and how they managed to overcome them; and last, what both the Egyptian and Italian governments have been doing to manage this phenomenon

Application of the Health Belief Model -Based Educational Intervention on Hand Hygiene Performance of Intensive Care Units' Nurses

Background: Practicing hand hygiene is a simple yet effective way to prevent infections. Cleaning hands can prevent the spread of germs, including those resistant to antibiotics and are becoming difficult, if not impossible, to treat. On average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should.Aim of the study: This study aimed to apply the health belief model based educational intervention on hand hygiene performance among nurses working in adults and pediatric intensive care units.Materials and methods: A quasi experimental research design was used in this study. The study was conducted at pediatric and adult intensive care unit; at Tanta University Hospital. All available nurses 262who are working in the previously mentioned settings as the following: 118 nurses working in pediatric intensive care unit nurse and 144nurse working in adult intensive care unit. Tools of the study: Four tools were used to collect the data Tool I: Nurses' knowledge regarding Hand Hygiene Structured Questionnaire: it consisted of two parts: Part1: Socio demographic data of the nurses Part II: Nurses' Knowledge Regarding Hand Hygiene Performance. Tool II: Assessment of Nurses Barriers of Hand Hygiene Performance Questionnaire, Tool III: Hand Hygiene Perception Survey and Tool IV: Hand Hygiene Performance Observational Checklist. Result; the mean score of total hand hygiene performance using soap and water of nurses working in pediatric ICUs were 8. 85±1.02 and 10.10±1.84, while among adult ICUs nurses were 8.37±1.75and10.20±0.80 pre and post the educational intervention respectively. There was a significant difference of both groups in the; five Health Belief Model Construct in addition to nurses’ identified barriers of hand hygiene pre and post the intervention.Conclusion and recommendations: Total hand hygiene performance level and HBM construct regarding hand hygiene performance were higher among nurses working in pediatric and adult ICUs nurses post than pre application of the HBM educational intervention. Also, higher mean scores of the barriers of hand hygiene performance among all nurses in both ICUs pre compared to post intervention. Periodic and refreshment educational intervention related to hand hygiene is recommended for adult and pediatric ICUs nurses to improve their hand hygiene performance and further study for barriers in other ICUs is recommended. Keywords: Health Belief Model -Based Educational intervention, Hand Hygiene Performanc

Simple approach to thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidines as new scaffolds of antimicrobial activities

6-(4-Chlorophenyl)-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno[3,2-d][1,3]oxazin]-4(1H)-one (1) was synthesized and used as a starting material for the synthesis of a novel series of spiro compounds having biologically active sulfonamide (2a-e) and 3-(4-acetylphenyl)-6-(4-chlorophenyl)-1H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine-4(3H)-one (3). Compound 2a was used as a key intermediate for the synthesis of sulfonyl carbothioamide derivatives (4a-c). Also, compound 3 was used as an intermediate for the synthesis of 3H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin]-3-yl]phenyl}-2-imino-4-(substituted phenyl and/or thienyl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives (5a-e), 3H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin]-3-yl]phenyl}-2-oxo-4-(substituted phenyl and/or thienyl)-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives (6a-e), and 4-[(2Z)-3-substituted-arylprop-2-enoyl]phenyl-1H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives (7a-e). Cyclocondensation of 7a-e with hydrazine hydrate produced 6-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-[4-(5-substituted aryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)phenyl]-1H-spiro[cyclohexane-1,2-thieno-[3,2-d]pyrimidin]-4(3H)-ones (8a-e), but with hydroxylamine hydrochloride afforded the corresponding isoxazoline derivatives (9a-e). Also, cyclocondensation by thiourea afforded 2-thioxo-1,2-dihydropyrimidin-4-yl)-phenyl-spiro-{cyclohexanethieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin}-4-one derivatives (10a-e). The new compounds were investigated for antimicrobial activity. Compounds 2c, 8b, c, 9b and 10b were the most potent ones against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Compound 8c exhibited higher antifungal activity towards the examined fungi with MIC of 1–2 µmol mL–1 compared to ketoconazole (MIC 2–3 µmol mL–1)

Intervention Study to Upgrade Patient Safety Practices in Pediatric Intensive Care Units of Cairo University Children Hospital

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization calls patient safety “an endemic concern.†Keeping patients safe is viewed as a global public health problem and a human rights issue. An environment where safety culture prevails is considered the biggest obstacle to improve patient safety. Proactive efforts to identify, prevent, and eliminate errors have the potential to significantly improve safety. Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is high-hazard and -risk environments. AIM: The aim of this study is to enhance compliance to patient safety practices within the general PICUs in Cairo University Children’s Hospital. METHODS: This is a pretest-posttest interventional study. A tailored intervention after the baseline assessment was designed and implemented followed by reassessment. All physicians and nurses present in the general PICUs who were available and consented participated in the study. A questionnaire for knowledge and attitude and a checklist for practice assessment of the participants were used. RESULTS: The median age of the participants was 30 years and interquartile range (28–40). There was a statistically significant difference between those who received patient safety training and those who did not in patient safety knowledge. The median knowledge score increased significantly after the intervention. Regarding the attitude of the studied personnel toward their perception of patient safety culture’s dimensions before and after the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in some dimensions and a statistically significant improvement in some others. CONCLUSION: The strategies based on patient safety awareness-raising among health-care providers together with commitment and enthusiasm among senior leadership in the hospital can potentially improve compliance with practice and consequently lead to better patient safety

Synthesis and evaluation of antitumor activity of new 4-substituted thieno[3,2-d]-pyrimidine and thienotriazolopyrimidine derivatives

3-Methyl-6-phenyl-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydro-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(1H)-one (2), on treatment with phosphorous oxychoride, affored 4-chloro-3-methyl-6-phenyl -thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine-2(3H)-thione (3). A series of novel 6-phenyl-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives 4-9 bearing different functional groups were synthesized via treatment of compound 3 with different reagents. On the other hand, compound 2 was used to synthesize ethyl-[(3-methyl-6-phenyl-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydro-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)-oxy]acetate (10), 2-hydrazinyl-3-methyl-6-phenyl-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one (11), 3-methyl-2-(methyl-sulfanyl)-6-phenyl-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one (12) and N-(phenyl)/4-chlorophenyl or methoxy-phenyl)-2-[(3-methyl-4-oxo-6-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-2-yl)-sulfanyl]-acetamide (13a-c). In addition, compound 12 was used to synthesize thieno[1,2,4]triazolopyrimidine derivatives 14 and 15 and 3-methyl-2-(methyl-sulfonyl)-6-phenyl-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one (16) through the reaction with the respective reagents. Moreover, the reaction of 16 with 4-phenylenediamine gave 2-[(4-aminophenyl)-amino]-3-methyl-6-phenyl-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one (17), which reacted with methanesulfonyl chloride to afford N-{4-[(3-methyl-4-oxo-6-phenyl-3H,4H-thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-2-yl)-amino]phenyl}-methanesulfonamide (18). The majority of the newly synthesized compounds displayed potent anticancer activity, comparable to that of doxorubicin, on three human cancer cell lines, including the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa) and colonic carcinoma cell line (HCT-116). Compounds 18, 13b and 10 were nearly as active as doxorubicin whereas compounds 6, 7b and 15 exhibited marked growth inhibition, but still lower than doxorubicin

Evaluating the Amount of Tooth Movement and Root Resorption during Canine Retraction with Friction versus Frictionless Mechanics Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography

BACKGROUND: The current study was carried out to compare the amount of tooth movement during canine retraction comparing two different retraction mechanics; friction mechanics represented by a NiTi closed coil spring versus frictionless mechanics represented by T - loop, and their effect on root resorption using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).METHOD: Ten patients were selected in a split-mouth study design that had a malocclusion that necessitates the extraction of maxillary first premolars and retraction of maxillary canines. The right maxillary canines were retracted using T - loops fabricated from 0.017 X 0.025 TMA wires. The left maxillary canines received NiTi coil spring with 150 gm of retraction force. Pre retraction and post retraction Cone Beam Computed Tomography were taken to evaluate the amount of tooth movement and root resorption using three-dimensional planes.RESULTS: T - loop side showed statistically significant higher mean anteroposterior measurement than NiTi coil spring side, indicating a lower amount of canine movement pre and post a canine retraction. Concerning the root resorption, there was no statistically significant change in the mean measurements of canine root length post retraction.CONCLUSION: The NiTi coil spring side showed more distal movement more than the T-loop side. Both retraction mechanics with controlled retraction force, do not cause root resorption

Synthesis of thiophene and N-substituted thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives as potent antitumor and antibacterial agents

This paper describes the synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridine compounds (DHPs) endowed with good muscle relaxant activity and stability to light. Six new condensed DHPs were synthesized by the microwave irradiation method. A long-chain ester moiety [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] and various substituents on the phenyl ring were demonstrated to affect the muscle relaxant activity occurring in isolated rabbit gastric fundus smooth muscle strips. Forced photodegradation conditions were applied to the molecules according to the ICH rules. The degradation profile of the drugs was monitored by spectrophotometry coupled with the multivariate curve resolution technique. Formation of the oxidized pyridine derivative was observed for all the studied DHPs, except for one compound, which showed very fast degradation and formation of a second photoproduct. Pharmacological tests on the molecules showed a good muscle relaxing effect, with a mechanism similar to that of nifedipine, however, proving to be more stable to light

Effect of Low Level Laser Therapy on Gingival Inflammation in Patients undergoing Fixed Orthodontic Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) with non-LLLT as an adjunct to mechanical debridement in patients who develop gingival inflammation during fixed orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty subjects undergoing comprehensive fixed orthodontic treatment were randomly allocated. Split mouth design was applied for each patient, where the four quadrants were randomly allocated to receive full mouth debridement. The test group (quadrant) received three laser sessions (days 1, 3, and 5) besides debridement while the control group (quadrant) received debridement only. Both bleeding index (BI) and plaque index (PI) were measured after 1 and 3 months, while the total colony forming units (CFU) were measured after 2 and 6 weeks. RESULTS: Clinical assessments (BI and PI) showed a statistically significant decrease at the first follow-up (after 1 month) and a slight increase in the second (after 3 months) that did not reach the base line. While, the total CFU showed a significant decrease in both follow-ups. CONCLUSION: Laser showed superior results in the treatment of gingival inflammation induced by fixed orthodontic appliances other than debridement only

One-Pot Microwave Synthesis of Pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline and its C- and S-Glycosides with Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Activities

An efficient one-pot synthesis of 2-thioxopyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline 3a,b has been accomplished from a three-component reaction of 6-aminothiouracil, cyclohexanone and aromatic aldehyde under microwave irradiation. Compound 3a,b was used as a key intermediate for the synthesis of S- and C-nucleoside analogs of types, 5-(4-fluorophenyl / 4-anisyl)-2-S-(β-D-ribofuranosyl / arabinofuranosyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-3H-pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-4-one (6a–d) and 5-(4-fluorophenyl / 4-anisyl)-2-S-(β-D-gluco / galactopyranosyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-3H-pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-4-one (8a–d). Also. the 2-hydrazino compounds 9a,b were used for the synthesis of 3-(glycosyl)-6-(4-substituted phenyl)-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro[1,2,4]triazolo[4\u27,3\u27:1,2]pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-5-(1H)-one (11a–d and 13a–d). The title compounds were investigated for anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. Compounds 11a exhibited the comparable anti-inflammatory activity (83.4 %) to the standard drug Indomethacin (85.2 %). 5-(4-Fluorophenyl)-2-S-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-3H-pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-4-one 6a and 3-(ribosyl)-5-(4-fluorophenyl)-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro[1,2,4]triazolo[4\u27,3\u27:1,2]pyrimido[4,5-b]quinolin-5-one (13a) exhibited the maximum cytotoxic effect against the three human cancer cell lines with inhibitory effects higher than the reference doxorubicin. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Facile heterocyclic synthesis and antimicrobial activity of polysubstituted and condensed pyrazolopyranopyrimidine and pyrazolopyranotriazine derivatives

Reaction of 6-amino-3-methyl-4-(substituted phenyl)-1,4-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole-5-carbonitrile (1) with triethylorthoformate followed by treatment with hydrazine hydrate, formic acid, acetic acid, phenylisocyanate, ammonium thiocyanate and formamide afforded the corresponding pyranopyrimidine derivatives 2–6. Cyclocondensation of 1 with cyclohexanone afforded pyrazolopyranoquinoline 7. One-pot process of diazotation and de-diazochlorination of 1 afforded pyrazolopyranotriazine derivative 8, which upon treatment with secondary amines afforded 9 and 10a-c. Condensation of 2 with aromatic aldehyde gave the corresponding Schiff bases 11a,b, the oxidative cyclization of the hydrazone with appropriate oxidant afforded 11-(4-fluorophenyl))-2-(4-substitutedphenyl)-10-methyl-8,11-dihydropyrazolo-[4\u27,3\u27:5,6]pyrano[3,2-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidines (12a,b). Structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectral data and elemental analysis. All synthesized compounds were evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activities compared to norfloxacin and fluconazole as standard drugs. Compounds 9, 10c, 12a and 15 were found to be the most potent antibacterial agents, with activity equal to that of norfloxacin. On the other hand, compound 5 exhibited higher antifungal activity compared to fluconazole