Foster care in Egypt: A study of policies, laws, and practice.

Foster care in Egypt is regulated by Ministry of Social Solidarity according to detailed procedures of the child law no 126 for the year 1996 and its amendments of the year 2008. The system combines features of western foster care as well as adoption with the guidelines of Islamic Kafalah system. Children who are deprived from parental care for any reason are eligible to enter the foster care system. This qualitative study analyses the child law against the UN guidelines on alternative care to identify legislative and procedural gaps. It also analyses the current field practices of how placement of children with foster families take place against what is actually mentioned in the child law to identify challenges and opportunities for the enhancement of the service. The study has shown significant discrepancies between practice and national and international legislation

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

Evaluation of knowledge, experiences, and fear toward prescribing and dispensing corticosteroids among Egyptian healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study

Background: Corticosteroids (CS) are essential drugs in the treatment of several medical conditions. Assuming different roles, physicians and pharmacists play a primary role in prescribing and dispensing these medications to optimize patients' clinical management. The data on assessing knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals toward CS is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess and compare knowledge, experience, and fears towards CS among Egyptian physicians and pharmacists. Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administrated, validated online questionnaire was used to collect the data from Egyptian healthcare professionals. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with multiple choice questions: sociodemographic (7 questions), knowledge about CS (13 questions), experience with CS prescription/dispensing (5 questions), and fears and preferences toward CS prescription/dispensing (13 questions). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 600 responses were analyzed in this study. The study sample was almost two-half of healthcare providers: 303 (50.5%) pharmacists and 297 (49.5%) physicians. Pharmacists had marginally higher knowledge scores as compared to those recorded for physicians (11.29 versus 10.16, respectively; P = 0.047). Physicians had more experience choosing corticosteroids in treatment plans based on their experience (51.8% vs 38.5%) and guideline recommendations (72.8% vs 50.9%) than pharmacists. However, pharmacists had more experience dealing with corticosteroid use based on patients' preferences (19.5% vs 4.9%) and showed a broader scope of experiencing side effects of corticosteroids with their patients. The two professions demonstrated high levels of fear, with pharmacists acknowledging significantly lower concerns about CS than physicians (3.72 versus 4.0, respectively; P = 0.003). Conclusion: Discrepancies exist among healthcare professionals in knowledge and experience, favoring better scientific knowledge of pharmacists related to corticosteroids. Based on these findings, the interprofessional collaborative efforts would provide comprehensive, patient-centered care that maximizes the benefits of CS while minimizing their risks

Synthesis of functionaly substituted pyridine and thiophene derivatives

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Food Security and COVID-19 in Africa: Implications and Recommendations

Before the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Africa, a large percentage of Africans were already affected by poverty and food insecurity. The pandemic wreaked havoc on their already unfavorable situation. The direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 included but not limited to illness and deaths of food systems' workers, interruption of food supply chains, unemployment, depreciation of currency value, and disruption of social protection programs. COVID-19 will lead to further economic fallout. Thus, the situation needs careful observation and timely intervention to safeguard the vulnerable African communities. Although Africa has sought ways to lessen the dire impact of the pandemic on food security, short-term solutions should include and enhance social and economic relief initiatives such as monetary intervention and social safety net. Considering a balance between health benefits of COVID-19 restrictions and their economic implications, the African countries, at the regional level, must preserve open and efficient social protection programs and cross-border supply and distribution networks for agricultural inputs. Africa's medium- and long-term strategies for improving food security should include improving and diversifying its agricultural productivity and production of key food commodities. This will reduce Africa's dependence on importation of these key commodities, and will help the continent address underlying economic vulnerabilities and better manage food, pandemic, and/or health-related crises affecting food security in the long term

Consensus evidence-based clinical practice recommendations for the diagnosis and treat-to-target management of osteoporosis in chronic kidney disease stages G4-G5D and post-transplantation: An initiative of Egyptian Academy of Bone Health

The aim of this study was to reach a consensus on an updated version of the recommendations for the diagnosis and Treat-to-Target management of osteoporosis that is effective and safe for individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) G4-G5D/kidney transplant. Delphi process was implemented (3 rounds) to establish a consensus on 10 clinical domains: (1) study targets, (2) risk factors, (3) diagnosis, (4) case stratification, (5) treatment targets, (6) investigations, (7) medical management, (8) monitoring, (9) management of special groups, (10) fracture liaison service. After each round, statements were retired, modified, or added in view of the experts' suggestions, and the percent agreement was calculated. Statements receiving rates of 7-9 by more than 75% of experts' votes were considered as achieving consensus. The surveys were sent to an expert panel ( = 26), of whom 23 participated in the three rounds (2 were international experts and 21 were national). Most of the participants were rheumatologists (87%), followed by nephrologists (8.7%), and geriatric physicians (4.3%). Eighteen recommendations, categorized into 10 domains, were obtained. Agreement with the recommendations (rank 7-9) ranged from 80 to 100%. Consensus was reached on the wording of all 10 clinical domains identified by the scientific committee. An algorithm for the management of osteoporosis in CKD has been suggested. A panel of international and national experts established a consensus regarding the management of osteoporosis in CKD patients. The developed recommendations provide a comprehensive approach to assessing and managing osteoporosis for all healthcare professionals involved in its management. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2022 by The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.