A Suggested Proposal for Developing the Dimensions of Administrative Transparency and Intellectual Capital Management of Academic Leaders in the Faculties of Preparing Kindergarten Teachers in the Light of some Developed Countries Experiences\u27

The current research aimed at presenting a suggested proposal for developing the dimensions of administrative transparency and intellectual capital management for academic leaders in the faculties of preparing kindergarten teachers in the light of some developed countries experiences\u27. The research utilized the descriptive approach to suit its nature and objectives. For data collection a questionnaire was used- prepared by the researcher- directed to a sample of faculty members and their assistants. The research sample consisted of (60) faculty members and their assistants in the faculties of preparing kindergarten teachers in Universities of (Cairo- Mansours-Minia), in order to diagnose the reality of developing the dimensions of administrative transparency and intellectual capital management for academic leaders in the faculties of preparing kindergarten teachers in the light of some developed countries experiences\u27. The research revealed a set of results; the most significant of which are that the administrative transparency and intellectual capital management has been achieved among academic leaders in the faculties of preparing kindergarten teachers in the light of some developed countries experiences\u27 to moderate degree except for the statements in the axis of administrative transparency which related to (activating the complaints and suggestions boxes), which was achieved below the minimum confidence interval levels, this mainly indicated that it was not achieved. Whereas the statements of (announcing the decisions that govern the faculty\u27s work to achieve the university\u27s goals and publishing real information about the faculty) were achieved to a high degree, which indicated that they were significantly achieved among the Heads of the Departments. In addition to some statements in the axis of intellectual capital management as; (building social networks based on trust, values, and ethics as a stimulator for creativity and innovation) which was achieved significantly among the Heads of the Departments. The research concluded with a suggested proposal for developing the dimensions of administrative transparency and intellectual capital management for academic leaders in the faculties of preparing kindergarten teachers in the light of some developed countries experiences\u27, in addition to providing a set of future studies and research

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

Safety and Feasibility of Simultaneous Ipsilateral Proximal Carotid Artery Stenting and Cerebral Aneurysm Coiling

Coexistence of cerebral aneurysm and carotid artery disease may be encountered in clinical practice. Theoretical increase in aneurysmal blood flow may increase risk of rupture if carotid artery disease is treated first. If aneurysm coiling is performed first, stroke risk may increase while repeatedly crossing the diseased artery. It is controversial which disease to treat first, and whether it is safe to treat both simultaneously via endovascular procedures. We document the safety and feasibility of such an approach. Review of collected neurointerventional database at our institution was performed for patients who underwent both carotid artery stenting (CAS) and aneurysm coil embolization (ACE) simultaneously. All patients underwent carotid stenting followed by aneurysm coiling in the same setting. Demographic, clinical data, and outcome measures including success rate and periprocedural complications were collected. Five hundred and ninety aneurysms coiling were screened for patients who underwent combined CAS and ACE. Ten patients were identified. Mean age was 67.7 years (range 51–89). The success rate for stenting and coiling was 100% with no immediate complications. The coiling procedure time was extended by an average of 45 min for performing both procedures jointly. No stroke, TIAs, or aneurysmal rebleeding was found on their most recent follow up. Our case series demonstrates that it is safe and feasible to perform CAS and ACE simultaneously as one procedure which may avoid unwanted risk of treating either disease at two separate time sessions

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

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

Decline in subarachnoid haemorrhage volumes associated with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, decreased volumes of stroke admissions and mechanical thrombectomy were reported. The study\u27s objective was to examine whether subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) hospitalisations and ruptured aneurysm coiling interventions demonstrated similar declines. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective, observational study across 6 continents, 37 countries and 140 comprehensive stroke centres. Patients with the diagnosis of SAH, aneurysmal SAH, ruptured aneurysm coiling interventions and COVID-19 were identified by prospective aneurysm databases or by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes. The 3-month cumulative volume, monthly volumes for SAH hospitalisations and ruptured aneurysm coiling procedures were compared for the period before (1 year and immediately before) and during the pandemic, defined as 1 March-31 May 2020. The prior 1-year control period (1 March-31 May 2019) was obtained to account for seasonal variation. FINDINGS: There was a significant decline in SAH hospitalisations, with 2044 admissions in the 3 months immediately before and 1585 admissions during the pandemic, representing a relative decline of 22.5% (95% CI -24.3% to -20.7%, p\u3c0.0001). Embolisation of ruptured aneurysms declined with 1170-1035 procedures, respectively, representing an 11.5% (95%CI -13.5% to -9.8%, p=0.002) relative drop. Subgroup analysis was noted for aneurysmal SAH hospitalisation decline from 834 to 626 hospitalisations, a 24.9% relative decline (95% CI -28.0% to -22.1%, p\u3c0.0001). A relative increase in ruptured aneurysm coiling was noted in low coiling volume hospitals of 41.1% (95% CI 32.3% to 50.6%, p=0.008) despite a decrease in SAH admissions in this tertile. INTERPRETATION: There was a relative decrease in the volume of SAH hospitalisations, aneurysmal SAH hospitalisations and ruptured aneurysm embolisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings in SAH are consistent with a decrease in other emergencies, such as stroke and myocardial infarction

Effect of exercise on left ventricular mass index by echocardiography in mild and moderate hypertension: A meta-analysis

Background: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is considered to be a significant manifestation of increased blood pressure, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Exercise training is recommended for reducing blood pressure in mild and moderate hypertensive patients. Methods: We conducted a search for interventional studies evaluating the effect of exercise on LV mass index (LVMI) in hypertensive patients. Studies were searched using different databases from 1990 to 2015. The primary end points were change in LVMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Of 122 studies, eight studies were found to be eligible for this meta-analysis. Results: The produced effect size was found to be large for LVMI (3.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7–5.5) and DBP (2.8, 95% CI: 1.6–3.9) with significant heterogeneity, while moderate (0.56, 95% CI: 0.35–0.77) for SBP without significant heterogeneity. The estimated predictive intervals for LVMI (95% CI: −3.2–10.3) and DBP (95% CI: −1.3–6.8) showed a positive but not significant difference in the intervention and control groups. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a significant reduction in LVMI and DBP in hypertensive patients after exercise training. A moderate reduction in the SBP of these patients was also depicted after exercise. Our study supports the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for regular exercise in hypertension

ESBL E coli and P. aeruginosa resistance to ceftolozane-tazobactam in a patient with a liver abscess. the search for an omnipotent antibiotic goes on!

© 2018 Bentham Science Publishers. Multi drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Extended-Spectrum-lactamase (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae are becoming an increasing difficult clinical problem. Immediate resistance to some of the new antimicrobials such as ceftolozane/tazobactam is unusual and is due to a variety of mechanisms such as hyper-production of inactivating enzymes and gene mutation. In addition, previous antimicrobial administration is a well-recognized risk factor to develop resistance. We present a patient with a liver abscess where the organism was resistant to ceftolozane/tazobactam resulting in a poor clinical outcome

Ethyl 5-methyl-7-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylate

In the title compound, C15H14N4O2, the triazolopyrimidine ring system is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.02 Å) and the phenyl ring is inclined to its mean plane by 42.45 (9)°. The carboxyl group is inclined to the triazolopyrimidine ring mean plane by 57.8 (3)°. In the molecule, there is a short C—H...O contact involving the carbonyl O atom and an H atom of the adjacent methyl substituent. In the crystal, neighbouring molecules are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along [010]. There are also weak π–π interactions present involving the pyridine and phenyl rings of neighbouring chains [intercentroid distance = 3.8580 (16) Å]