Increasing safety and productivity on Egyptian building sites

Safety and productivity in construction industry of Egypt still suffers from ignorance. This low consideration of safety importance caused escalation of accident rate in construction projects. The paperaims to identify the safety factors most related to productivity, and determine their relative importance as perceived by the target audience. The questionnaire was implemented directly; included 4 specific answers (agree, strongly agree, disagree, and strongly disagree) and consists of 47 questions divided into 7 groups: inspection, monitoring, training, etc. These questions were selected from the previous questionnaires and the questions inspired by the topic of this research. The questionnaire was distributed to 67 target audiences of different categories, including Consultants, Site engineers, Site managers and Workers. The duration of their experience ranges from 0 to more than 15 years, as well as their scientific degrees from Ph.D., Masters, and Bachelor. The following factors are the most important factors of safety and productivity. “Working 7 days per week will increase productivity”, ” increase productivity , Rework will decrease safety , Incentives based on productivity decreases safety , “Compressed schedules affect negatively safety . The results indicated that worker problems are the most important among the groups of productive factors followed by personal protective equipment , supervisors and subcontractors , monitoring , communication skills . The target audience is advised to work strategically to protect workers by continuing to identify, assess and mitigate hazardous conditions and activities in work sites to achieve the highest levels of safety and productivity

An Overview of QT Dispersion Finding in Cardiac Patients,Review Article

Background: QT duration represents the time of the whole summated electric cardiac ventricular activity involving stepwise depolarization followed by repolarization. There has been a long history of using the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify ventricular repolarization problems. The 1960s were a turning point for precise mathematical methodologies. It has been customary in clinical practice to use only the QT interval and the polarity and shape of the T wave when evaluating cardiac repolarization using an electrocardiogram (ECG). This terminology, such as "non-specific ST segment and T wave variations are widely used. An earlier theory on interlead disparities in QTI length was resurrected in a 1990 report by the group led by Professor John Campbell. The "QT dispersion" range of durations was proposed as a measure of ventricular recovery time spatial dispersion. Objective: Determine the relevance of QTd in prediction of myocardial and its severity. Conclusion: For cardiac patients, QTd is an easy-to-use, rapid, affordable, and helpful tool for helping with study interpretation, clinical management, and therapeutic orientation

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE INCORPORATION OF IRON AS A NETWORK FORMER IN LITHIUM LEAD BORATE GLASSES

Mossbauer spectroscopy was used to study the iron- containing borate glasses, polyalkaline borate glasses and also the effect of iron oxidation on the structure and electric properties lithium lead borate glasses. Investigation of the time effect of heat treatment on 25Li2O-10PbO-65B203 based glass with addition of Fe2O3 up to 10mol%was performed. For 1mol% iron oxide up to 3mol% at different heat treatment (10, 20, 40, 70and 150 minutes) show quadruple doublet belongs to Fe2+and Fe3+as well as it become well resolved as the time of heat treatment increasing. In this case the iron enters the glass network as a modifier to form FeO6 groups and Pb ions as a network former. At higher amount up to 10 mole % Mossbauer Spectra exhibit a superposition of quadruple doublet and sextet which referable to F2O3, and there are a transition from supper paramagnetic to ferromagnetic behavior. The iron ion exists in glass sample mainly in octahedral coordination rather than in tetrahedral coordination

The Sonographic Measurement of the Inferior Vena Cava Diameter versus the Central Venous Pressure in Assessing Fluid Responsiveness in Patients after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Background: Fluid status assessment and management post coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a clinical challenge. The study aimed to establish whether central venous pressure (CVP) and ultrasound measures of respiratory variability of inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter might predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients after CABG. Methods: This comparative study included 200 consecutive adult patients who underwent elective CABG. We recorded the following parameters: heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), central venous pressure (CVP), inferior vena cava maximum (IVCmax), and minimum (IVCmin) diameters, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and velocity-time integral in the left ventricular outflow tract (VTI-LVOT). Results: The age of the patients ranged from 45 to 71 years, and 147 were males (73.5%). Patients were grouped into fluid responders (n= 135), defined as stroke volume variation (SVV) of 15% or greater following fluid bolus administration, and fluid non-responders (n= 65), defined SVV of less than 15% following fluid bolus administration. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding their CVP, maximum and minimum IVC diameters, inferior vena cava distensibility index (IVC-DI), and other markers of fluid responsiveness (p-value 0.47, 0.34, 0.59, and 0.64, respectively). There was a significant difference in SVV between fluid responders (18.33±2.767) and non-responders (10.95±1.940) (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: Neither CVP nor sonographic measures of IVC diameter respiratory variability provided an accurate method to distinguish between fluid responders and non-responders in the early postoperative period after CABG

Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study of Two Lyophilized Orally Disintegrating Tablets Formulations of Vinpocetine in Human Volunteers

Vinpocetine is a poorly water soluble drug, commonly used in treatment of various cerebral insufficiency conditions. The aim of this work was to formulate vinpocetine in the form of orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) and enhance its solubility and dissolution rate. This objective was addressed using lyophilization technique of either solid dispersion using polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) or inclusion complex with 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (2HP-β-CD). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the solid state of the prepared solid complex. Tablets were prepared by direct compression using 23 factorial design to evaluate the effect of formulation variables (Ac-di-sol concentration 5 or 10%, the ratio of soluble polymer 1:1 or 1:3 and binder type 6% w/w Avicel PH102 or 6% w/w carboxymethyl cellulose) on release characteristics. Results showed that lyophilized ODTs disintegrated within few seconds and had significantly faster dissolution rate (70-100 % in 5 minutes) compared to the commercial oral tablet (Cavinton®). This was achieved at high content of PEG 4000 or 2 HP-β-CD in presence of 10 % w/w Ac-Di-Sol and 6 % w/w Avicel PH102. The extent of per oral absorption of vinpocetine was determined in healthy human volunteers using randomized crossover design. The relative bioavailability of selected solid dispersion and inclusion complex formulations were found to be 171.98 % and 196.06 % respectively. The study indicated that complexation of vinpocetine with 2-HP-βCD or dispersion in PEG 4000 followed by lyophilization are two successful strategies for enhancing the bioavailability of the drug from ODTs

Searching for anti-hyperglycemic phytomolecules of Tecoma stans

Tecoma stans plant is well postulated to decrease blood glucose level, but its mode of action and the molecules responsible are still controversial. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of leaves methanol extract of Tecoma stans and some of its fractions on starch tolerance in healthy rats, in vitro inhibition of α-amylase, and their effects of sub-chronic administration of glucose, lipid pattern, kidney and liver functions and antioxidant status in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. In starch tolerance experiment, both ethyl acetate and crude flavonoids fractions decreased glycemic peak values in healthy rats to extent similar to that of acarbose. In STZ sub-chronic experiment all preparations of Tecoma stans significantly decreased fasting glucose with variable degrees. The results indicated that the crude methanol extract had the most antidiabetic potential followed by the methylene chloride rich alkaloid fraction while the crude flavonoids fraction achieved the lowest effect. All Tecoma stans different preparations have positive effects on serum lipid pattern, kidney and liver function parameters, in addition to the antioxidant parameters (MDA and GSH) in liver tissues. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the alkaloids synergistically act as antidiabetic agent with other bioactive compounds of Tecoma stans especially flavonoids as hypoglycemic agents and the ethyl acetate fraction had the most powerful effects

Mental illness stigma as a moderator in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslims from 16 Arab countries

Background: Determining the potential barriers responsible for delaying access to care, and elucidating pathways to early intervention should be a priority, especially in Arab countries where mental health resources are limited. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between religiosity, stigma and help-seeking in an Arab Muslim cultural background. Hence, we propose in the present study to test the moderating role of stigma toward mental illness in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslim community people living in different Arab countries. Method: The current survey is part of a large-scale multinational collaborative project (StIgma of Mental Problems in Arab CounTries [The IMPACT Project]). We carried-out a web-based cross-sectional, and multi-country study between June and November 2021. The final sample comprised 9782 Arab Muslim participants (mean age 29.67 ± 10.80 years, 77.1% females). Results: Bivariate analyses showed that less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and higher religiosity levels were significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction religiosity by mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes (Beta =.005; p \u3c.001); at low and moderate levels of stigma, higher religiosity was significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Conclusion: Our findings preliminarily suggest that mental illness stigma is a modifiable individual factor that seems to strengthen the direct positive effect of religiosity on help-seeking attitudes. This provides potential insights on possible anti-stigma interventions that might help overcome reluctance to counseling in highly religious Arab Muslim communities

Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals

BackgroundThere is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses\u27 causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking.MethodsWe carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public.ResultsMore than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p \u3c .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p \u3c .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p \u3c .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants.ConclusionInterventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020