Pediatric pulmonary services in Saudi Arabia

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the available pediatric pulmonary services, in terms of workforce, resources, and distribution across Saudi Arabia. This would help in proper utilization of resources and direct future planning. Methods: A cross-sectional survey among pediatric pulmonologists registered in the Saudi Thoracic Society. Results: Among 43 practicing pediatric pulmonologist in Saudi Arabia, 29 have responded to the survey (response rate of 67.4%). The majority of practicing pediatric pulmonologists were young graduates with less than 5 years′ experience (44.8%) and were North American training programs graduates (69%). The majority of the respondents (51%) were located in Riyadh, 27% in Jeddah, 14% in the Eastern region and 3% in Madinah and Al-Majma′a. Most of the respondents had access to basic diagnostic tools required in the subspecialty, a majority of them (85%) lack dedicated pediatric pulmonary function laboratories. Nearly, 80% of the hospitals performed less than 50 flexible bronchoscopies/year. Conclusion: Pediatric pulmonology is a growing subspecialty in Saudi Arabia with well-trained and experienced physicians. Our study represents an overview of the available pediatric pulmonology services in Saudi Arabia, which would help in future planning and better utilization of the available resources

In Situ Coating of Polydopamine-AgNPs on Polyester Fabrics Producing Antibacterial and Antioxidant Properties

Nanoparticles are increasingly utilized as coating materials to improve the properties of polyester textiles. In this work, polyester textiles were successfully fabricated, with hydrazide groups serving as ligands for the entrapment of sliver ions and subsequent reduction to AgNPs. Polydopamine (PDA) was used in this work to impart antibacterial and antioxidant properties to the polyester textiles through its phenolic hydroxyl groups, which can convert silver ions into AgNPs. Moreover, glucose was used as a reducing agent to create AgNPs-loaded polyester hydrazide. ATR-FTIR, SEM, EDX, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile strength were used to characterize the pristine polyester, the polyester hydrazide, the PDA-coated AgNP-loaded polyester hydrazide and the AgNP-loaded polyester hydrazide. A broth test was also used to investigate the textile’s antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, the composite nanocoating with PDA-AgNPs demonstrated good tensile strength and antioxidant and antibacterial characteristics, implying the practicality of PDA-AgNPs coating polyester for biomedical textile applications

Sequestration of Toxic Metal Ions from Industrial Effluent Using the Novel Chelating Resin Tamarind Triazine Amino Propanoic Acid (TTAPA)

Due to higher levels of industrial activity, the concentrations of toxic substances in natural water bodies are increasing. One of the most dangerous groups of toxic compounds is heavy metals, with even trace amounts of most heavy metals being harmful to aquatic life. This is why purifying water has become an urgent priority. In this context, ion-exchange resins have become more widely used in water treatment processes. However, to reduce the costs and improve the sustainability of this strategy, natural resins are favored over synthetic versions. Therefore, in the present study, a natural tamarind-based chelating resin was developed. The tamarind triazine amino propanoic acid (TTAPA) resin was synthesized and characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, and physicochemical analysis of the moisture content, total ion-exchange capacity, bulk volume, bulk density, and percentage nitrogen content. The biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand of the industrial effluent before and after treatment were also analyzed. The batch analysis was used to determine the distribution coefficient and percentage removal of the metal ions Fe(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II). The removal efficiency of the prepared TTAPA resin was highest for Fe(II), followed by Cu(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) in order. The chelating ion-exchange resin also had a metal ion recovery of more than 95%, thus demonstrating great promise for the sequestration of heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater. The proposed TTAPA resin is biodegradable, non-toxic, cost-effective, reproducible, and eco-friendly

Design, synthesis and antimicrobial activity of heteroannulated chromeno[3′,2′:5,6]pyrido[2,3-<i>d</i>][1,3]thiazolo[3,2-<i>a</i>]pyrimidines

The current research is directed to construct a novel category of linear annulated chromeno[3`,2`:5,6]pyrido[2,3-d][1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidines. The chemical reactivity of the recently synthesized aldehyde 1 was examined toward a diversity cyclic methylene ketones, cyclic enamines and cyclic enols. Friedländer condensation of aldehyde 1 with 1,3-cyclohexanediones gave the multi-linear chromenopyrido- pyrimidothiazoloquinolines 2 and 3. Also, treating aldehyde 1 with some pyrazolones furnished annulated chromenopyridopyrazolopyridothiazolopyrimidines 4-6. Further, 1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-dione and barbituric acid condensed with aldehyde 1 giving chromenopyridothiazolopyridothiazolopyrimidine 7 and chromenopyridopyrimido-thiazolopyridopyrimidine 8, respectively. Moreover, reacting aldehyde 1 with cyclic enamines (6-amino-2-thiouracil and 6-amino-1,3-dimethyluracil) and cyclic enols (4-hydroxycoumarin and 1-ethyl-4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one) furnished polyfused heterocycles 9-12, respectively. During in vitro investigation of the antimicrobial efficiency, the synthesized compounds showed considerable activity against yeast and fungal strains, as well as moderate to high activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Polyfused compounds 4-6 showed significant efficiency against all types of tested microorganisms.</p

Novel annulated chromeno[3',2':5,6]pyrido[2,3-<i>d</i>][1,3,4]thiadiazolo[3,2-<i>a</i>] pyrimidines and chromeno[3'',2'':5',6']pyrido[2',3':4,5]pyrimido[2,1-<i>b</i>][1,3,4] thiadiazines: Synthetic approaches and antimicrobial efficiency

The current study includes synthetic approaches for some linear heterocyclic compounds containing chromone moiety. Chromenopyridopyrimidine bearing amino-thione functions 4 was efficiently synthesized starting from 6,8-dimethylchromone-3-carbonitrile (1). The novel chromenopyridothiadiazolopyrimidines were synthesized through condensation of the key precursor 4 with some mono-electrophilic reagents. In addition, heteroannulated chromenopyridopyrimidothiadiazines were synthesized through condensation of compound 4 with some α-halogenated carbonyl reagents. The synthesized products were examined for their antimicrobial efficiency appearing remarkable activity against the inspected microorganisms especially compounds 7, 12 and 14. The synthesized products were inferred using analytical and spectral data.</p