Spectrophotometric and Thermal Studies of the Reaction of Iodine with Nickel(II) Acetylacetonate

The reaction of iodine (acceptor) and nickel(II) acetylacetonate (donor) was studied photometrically in different solvents such as chloroform, dichloromethane and carbon tetrachloride at room temperature. The results indicate the formation of a 1: 1 charge-transfer complex in each solvent and the iodine complex is formulated as the triiodide species [Ni(acac)2]2I+.I3-, based on the characteristic electronic absorptions of the I3- ion at 361 and 285 nm, as well as on the far infrared absorption bands characteristic of the I3- ion with C2v symmetry. These bands are observed at 132, 101 and 84 cm-1 and are assigned to na(I-I), ns(I-I) and d(I3-), respectively. The values of the equilibrium constant (K), absorptivity (e) and oscillator strength (f) of the iodine complex are shown to be strongly dependent on the type of solvent used. The important role played by the solvent is suggested to be mainly due to the interaction of the ionic complex with the solvent. The proposed structure of the new solid triiodide charge-transfer complex reported in this study is further supported by thermal and mid-infrared measurements. (South African Journal of Chemistry: 2003 56: 10-14

Evaluating Teaching Performance in View of Learning and Innovation Skills among Saudi University Instructors

This novel study evaluated Saudi university instructors’ teaching performance at King Khalid University, College of Education, in view of learning and innovation skills from their students’ perspectives in postgraduate programs. The study adopted descriptive analytical method. A checklist of appropriate teaching performance was prepared in view of learning and innovation skills. Based on the checklist, an electronic questionnaire was prepared and distributed on line in the form of a five-point rating scale. The participants consisted of (136) male and female students, enrolled in master and doctoral programs in six majors. The study tool was applied during the academic year 2018/209AD. The results revealed that Saudi university instructors’ level of teaching performance was high with a rate of (78.8%), and there was no statistically significant difference at (0.05) between the level of teaching performance and the competence level, specified educationally at (80%) in overall performance. The results also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences at (0.05) within the instructors’ teaching performance degree in the light of learning and innovation skills regarding the demographic variables of the participants. Briefly, many applications are suggested for the university beneficiaries

Evaluation of Teaching Performance in the Light of Life and Professional Skills Among Faculty Members at the College of Education, King Khalid University

The research aimed to evaluate the teaching performance in the light of the life and professional skills of the faculty members from the point of view of their students in postgraduate programs at the College of Education at King Khalid University. To achieve this goal, the descriptive analytical approach was used. A list of appropriate teaching performance of faculty members was prepared in the light of life and profession skills. In light of this list, an electronic questionnaire was prepared in the form of a five-point rating scale to evaluate this teaching performance from the point of view of their students. The final research sample consisted of (136) male and female students enrolled in masters and doctoral programs in six majors. The study tool was applied during the academic year 1439/1440 AH. The results of the research revealed that the level of teaching performance in the light of life skills and the profession as a whole among the faculty members was at a high level with a rate of (78.8%), and there was no statistically significant difference at the level of (0.05) between this level and the level of competence specified educationally at (80%). The results also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences at the level (0.05) between the degree of teaching performance of faculty members in the light of life and profession skills according to the demographic variables of the sample (program type, specialization, gender, years of experience, academic level). The research ended with a set of recommendations and proposals closely related to the results of the research

The Relative Contribution to Impulsive Behavior and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation in Predicting Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder among University Students

The current research aimed to investigate the relative contribution of Impulsive Behavior (IB) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation (DER) in predicting symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) among university students. The sample of the study consisted of 426 students (169 males, 257 females); their ages were from 16.56 to 24.63 years (Mage=21.23 ± 1.24); they selected from King Khalid University. The descriptive approach was used. The following tools were used: BPD List-23 (adaptive by Teleb, 2020), S-UPPS-P scale (adaptive by: Teleb, 2020), and DERQ-16 items (translated by the first author in this research). The study reached the following results: both of IB and DER can predict symptoms of BPD among university students. In addition to, both explain 29.6% of the total variance in BPD

One-stage lingual augmented urethroplasty in repair of distal penile hypospadias

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the outcome of augmentation of shallow urethral plate by lingual graft in repair of distal penile hypospadias.Patients and methodsBetween June 2008 and May 2011, the procedure was performed on 23 patients with mean age 2.3 years (range 1–3). All patients had distal penile hypospadias; 11 sub coronal and 12 coronal. The urethral plate was less than 8mm in all patients and 3 of them had history of previous hypospadias surgery. All procedures were carried out under general anesthesia using 4× magnifying loupe. After penile degloving and dorsal incision of the urethral plate, the lingual graft was harvested and sutured to the edges of the incised urethral plate from the hypospadias opening to the tip of the penis. The neourethra was closed and an intervening flap was fixed over the neourethra as a barrier against fistula formation.ResultsSuccess rate was 87% as 20/23 patients were cured without any permanent complication throughout the follow up period. None of patients suffered meatal stenosis or required regular urethral dilatation. Three patients developed urethrocutaneous fistula, of which two closed spontaneously and one required surgical repair 6 months later. Two patients had failed procedures and delayed re-intervention was performed due to complete loss of the graft in one of them and repair disruption following infection in the other. Two patients had post-operative pain in the graft harvesting site which disappeared within days.ConclusionThe one-stage lingual augmented urethral plate urethroplasty offers promising outcomes for repair of distal penile hypospadias with narrow urethral plate

The Perceived Quality of University Climate Among King Khalid University Students in the Light of Some Demographic Variables

The current research aimed to identify the level of perceived quality of university climate among students at King Khalid University, and to explore the differences in perceived quality of university climate among students according to the variables: age group, gender, academic qualification, academic specialization, and participation in university activities. To achieve these aims; The descriptive method was used, and the researchers prepared and applied a perceived quality of university climate scale. The sample of the research consisted of (134) students (32 males and 102 females), their ages were between (18 – 45) years, they belonging to various programs at College of Education in King Khalid University. The research reached the following results: there was a moderate level of perceived quality of university climate scale and its sub-dimensions among King Khalid University students, and there were significant statistically differences in perceived university climate quality among students according to the variables: age group for adults, gender for males, participation in university activities for participants, and academic qualification for masters compared to bachelors, while there werent significant statistically differences in the level of perceived quality of university climate according to the variables of academic specialization and academic qualification (doctoral verse Master’s, and doctoral verse Bachelor’s)

Molecular hybridization design and synthesis of novel spirooxindole-based MDM2 inhibitors endowed with BCL2 signaling attenuation:A step towards the next generation p53 activators

Despite the achieved progress in developing efficient MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction inhibitors (MDM2 inhibitors), the acquired resistance of tumor cells to such p53 activators posed an argument about the druggability of the pathway. Combination studies disclosed that concomitant inhibition of MDM2 and BCL2 functions can sensitize the tumor cells and synergistically induce apoptosis. Herein, we employed a rapid combinatorial approach to generate a novel series of hybrid spirooxindole-based MDM2 inhibitors (5a-s) endowed with BCL2 signaling attenuation. The adducts were designed to mimic the thematic features of the chemically stable potent spiro[3H-indole-3,2′-pyrrolidin]-2(1H)-ones MDM2 inhibitors while installing a pyrrole ring on the core via a carbonyl spacer inspired by the natural product marinopyrrole A that efficiently inhibits BCL2 family functions by various mechanisms. NCI 60 cell-line panel screening revealed their promising broad-spectrum antiproliferative activities. The NCI-selected derivatives were screened for cytotoxic activities against normal fibroblasts, MDA-MB 231, HepG-2, and Caco-2 cells via MTT assay, subjected to mechanistic apoptosis studies for assessment of p53, BCL2, p21, and caspase 3/7 status, then evaluated for potential MDM2 inhibition utilizing MST assay. The most balanced potent and safe derivatives; 5i and 5q were more active than 5-fluorouracil, exhibited low μM range MDM2 binding (KD =1.32 and 1.72 μM, respectively), induced apoptosis-dependent anticancer activities up to 50%, activated p53 by 47-63%, downregulated the BCL2 gene to 59.8%, and reduced its protein level (13.75%) in the treated cancer cells. Further downstream p53 signaling studies revealed > 2 folds p21 upregulation and > 3 folds caspase 3/7 activation. Docking simulations displayed that the active MDM2 inhibitors resided well into the p53 binding sites of MDM2, and shared key interactions with the co-crystalized inhibitor posed by the indolinone scaffold (5i, 5p, and 5q), the halogen substituents (5r), or the installed spiro ring (5s). Finally, in silico ADMET profiling predicted acceptable drug-like properties with full accordance to Lipinski's, Veber's, and Muegge's bioavailability parameters for 5i and a single violation for 5q

Design, Synthesis, Chemical and Biochemical Insights Into Novel Hybrid Spirooxindole-Based p53-MDM2 Inhibitors With Potential Bcl2 Signaling Attenuation

The tumor resistance to p53 activators posed a clinical challenge. Combination studies disclosed that concomitant administration of Bcl2 inhibitors can sensitize the tumor cells and induce apoptosis. In this study, we utilized a rapid synthetic route to synthesize two novel hybrid spirooxindole-based p53-MDM2 inhibitors endowed with Bcl2 signaling attenuation. The adducts mimic the thematic features of the chemically stable potent spiro [3H-indole-3,2′-pyrrolidin]-2(1H)-ones p53-MDM2 inhibitors, while installing a pyrrole ring via a carbonyl spacer inspired by the natural marine or synthetic products that efficiently inhibit Bcl2 family functions. A chemical insight into the two synthesized spirooxindoles including single crystal x-ray diffraction analysis unambiguously confirmed their structures. The synthesized spirooxindoles 2a and 2b were preliminarily tested for cytotoxic activities against normal cells, MDA-MB 231, HepG-2, and Caco-2 via MTT assay. 2b was superior to 5-fluorouracil. Mechanistically, 2b induced apoptosis-dependent anticancer effect (43%) higher than that of 5-fluorouracil (34.95%) in three studied cancer cell lines, activated p53 (47%), downregulated the Bcl2 gene (1.25-fold), and upregulated p21 (2-fold) in the treated cancer cells. Docking simulations declared the possible binding modes of the synthesized compounds within MDM2

Burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in the Middle Eastern and North African pediatric population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) is the most common cause of severe childhood diarrhea worldwide. Objectives were to estimate the burden of RVGE among children less than five years old in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) and Turkey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive literature search was conducted in major databases on the epidemiology and burden of rotavirus among children less than five years old between 1999 and 2009. Data from each country was extracted and compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The search identified 43 studies. RVGE was identified in 16-61% of all cases of acute gastroenteritis, with a peak in the winter. RVGE-related hospitalization rates ranged from 14% to 45%, compared to 14%-28% for non-RVGE. Annually, RVGE caused up to 112 fatalities per 100,000 in certain countries in the region. Hospitalization costs ranged from $1.8 to$4.6 million annually, depending on the country. The most recent literature available showed that G1P[8] was the most prevalent genotype combination in 8 countries (range 23%-56%). G2P[4] was most prevalent in 4 countries (26%-48%). G9P[8] and G4P[8] were also frequently detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>RVGE is a common disease associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. Given the variety and diverse rotavirus types in the region, use of a vaccine with broad and consistent serotype coverage would be important to help decrease the burden of RVGE in the Middle East and North Africa.</p