Synthesis and antitumor activity of some 2, 3-disubstituted quinazolin-4(3H)-ones and 4, 6- disubstituted- 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydroquinazolin-2H-ones.

The synthesis of some new 3-substituted quinazolin-4(3H)-ones and 3,4-dihydro-quinazolin-2(1H)-one derivatives and their biological evaluation as antitumor agents using the National Cancer Institute (NCI), disease oriented antitumor screening protocol are investigated. Compounds 2-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-oxo-ethylthio]-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)quinazolin-4(3H)-one (3b), and 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-oxo-ethylthio]quinazolin-4(3H)-one (3d), are broad-spectrum antitumors showing effectiveness toward numerous cell lines that belong to different tumor subpanels, Compounds 3b, 3d are the most active members in this study. Those two quinazoline analogues could be considered as useful templates for future development to obtain more potent antitumor agent(s).

Testing clinical surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis in Egypt post-eradication of poliomyelitis.

Objective: To assess the knowledge of polio detection and notification by front-line clinicians in Egypt.

Methods: This study examines clinicians' knowledge and awareness of polio detection and notification using a multiple-choice questionnaire (maximum score=43) in three large health care centres in central Cairo (n=52).

Results: The results reveal a significant variation of knowledge amongst doctors, with junior and senior house officers scoring an average of 30.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of certain substituted furochromone, benzofuran and flavone derivatives.

Synthesis of furochromone, 2-phenylchromone (flavone) and benzofuran derivatives substituted with thiosemicarbazide or thiazolidin-4-one moieties were accomplished. All the newly synthesized compounds were tested for their anticonvulsant activity in both subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole induced seizures (scPTZ) and maximal electric shock induced seizures (MES) tests using valproic acid and phenytoin respectively as reference standards. The most active compounds in scPTZ model were 1c, 2b, 5a and 7e showing 100% protection at 300 mg/kg upon intraperitoneal administration.

Sentinel surveillance for patients with acute hepatitis in Egypt, 2001-04.

Viral hepatitis is a major problem in Egypt. To define the epidemiology of the disease, sentinel surveillance was established in 5 hospitals in diverse areas of the country in 2001. Data were completed for patients meeting the case definition for viral hepatitis.

Studies on West Nile virus infection in Egypt.

We conducted a prospective cohort study to determine prevalence and incidence of West Nile virus (WNV) in Egypt. Cohorts were established in Upper (UE), Middle (ME), and Lower (LE) Egypt. Additionally, a cross-sectional serosurvey was performed in the North (NS) and South (SS) Sinai.

Genome-wide analysis reveals novel genes essential for heme homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Heme is a cofactor in proteins that function in almost all sub-cellular compartments and in many diverse biological processes. Heme is produced by a conserved biosynthetic pathway that is highly regulated to prevent the accumulation of heme--a cytotoxic, hydrophobic tetrapyrrole. Caenorhabditis elegans and related parasitic nematodes do not synthesize heme, but instead require environmental heme to grow and develop.

Chemical and antioxidant investigations: Norfolk pine needles (Araucaria excelsa).

Chemical investigations from a foliar extract of Araucaria excelsa (Lamb.) (Araucariaceae) resulted in the identification of seven phenolic metabolites including one flavananol, one flavananol 3-O-glycoside, four C-glycoside flavonoids, and one phenolic acid. Structures were elucidated by spectral determination including: UV, NMR and MS analysis.

HIV prevalence and risk behaviors of male injection drug users in Cairo, Egypt.

Objective: To measure HIV prevalence and related risk behaviors among male injection drug users (IDUs) in Cairo, Egypt in the context of the first survey wave of an integrated biological and behavioral surveillance system.

Design And Methods: Given the hidden nature of injection drug use, we used the peer-referral methodology of respondent-driven sampling in a cross-sectional study to recruit a sample of male IDUs in Cairo between May and August 2006. Behavioral data were collected through face-to-face interviews and serum was obtained for HIV antibody testing.

Zoonotic transmission of avian influenza virus (H5N1), Egypt, 2006-2009.

During March 2006-March 2009, a total of 6,355 suspected cases of avian influenza (H5N1) were reported to the Ministry of Health in Egypt. Sixty-three (1%) patients had confirmed infections; 24 (38%) died. Risk factors for death included female sex, age > or = 15 years, and receiving the first dose of oseltamivir >2 days after illness onset.

Antigenic and genetic diversity of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses isolated in Egypt.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus (H5N1) has diverged antigenically and genetically since its initial detection in Asia in 1997. Viruses belonging to clade 2.2 in particular have been reported in numerous countries with the majority occurring in Egypt.

Synthesis, anti-inflammatory and ulcerogenicity studies of some substituted pyrimido[1,6-a]azepine derivatives.

New series of pyrimido[1,6-a]azepines were prepared through reaction of the key amino compound 4 with various reagents to give a variety of 3-N-substituted amino derivatives 5-13. The synthesized compounds included the Mannich bases 5a-c, the formimidic acid ester 6, the phenylformamidines 7a-c, the benzylidine amino derivatives 8a-c, the acetic acid derivatives 9, 10a-c and 11, the carbamoylformates 12a,b and the amides 13a,b. All compounds were screened for their anti-inflammatory activity using the carrageenan-induced paw oedema in rats using diclofenac sodium as reference drug.

The Alveolate Perkinsus marinus: biological insights from EST gene discovery.

Background: Perkinsus marinus, a protozoan parasite of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, has devastated natural and farmed oyster populations along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It is classified as a member of the Perkinsozoa, a recently established phylum considered close to the ancestor of ciliates, dinoflagellates, and apicomplexans, and a key taxon for understanding unique adaptations (e.g.

Imatinib resistance associated with BCR-ABL upregulation is dependent on HIF-1alpha-induced metabolic reprograming.

As chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) progresses from the chronic phase to blast crisis, the levels of BCR-ABL increase. In addition, blast-transformed leukemic cells display enhanced resistance to imatinib in the absence of BCR-ABL-resistance mutations. In this study, we show that when BCR-ABL-transformed cell lines were selected for imatinib resistance in vitro, the cells that grew out displayed a higher BCR-ABL expression comparable to the increase seen in accelerated forms of the disease.

Case-control study to evaluate risk factors for acute hepatitis B virus infection in Egypt.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health problem in Egypt. To better define risk factors associated with HBV transmission, we conducted a case-control study among patients admitted with acute hepatitis to an infectious disease hospital in Cairo. A total of 60 cases and 120 controls were interviewed about various exposures within 6 months prior to admission.

Promising therapy for Alzheimer's disease targeting angiotensinconverting enzyme and the cyclooxygense-2 isoform.

Deposition of β-amyloid in brain is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that is often associated with inflammatory response. Much evidence also points to a link between the renin-angiotensin system, hypertension and dementia. Accordingly, the potential use of anti-inflammatory and antihypertensives might be beneficial agents in AD therapy.

Arginine methylation of Aubergine mediates Tudor binding and germ plasm localization.

Piwi proteins such as Drosophila Aubergine (Aub) and mouse Miwi are essential for germline development and for primordial germ cell (PGC) specification. They bind piRNAs and contain symmetrically dimethylated arginines (sDMAs), catalyzed by dPRMT5. PGC specification in Drosophila requires maternal inheritance of cytoplasmic factors, including Aub, dPRMT5, and Tudor (Tud), that are concentrated in the germ plasm at the posterior end of the oocyte.

Cost-benefit analysis of a rotavirus immunization program in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Background: The availability of rotavirus vaccines makes the implementation of a national immunization program an important decision requiring economic considerations.

Methods: A cost-benefit analysis of a national rotavirus immunization program in Egypt, from the perspective of the Ministry of Health and Population, and a cost-effectiveness analysis, from a societal perspective, were conducted.

Results: For a birth cohort of 1.

Identification of immediate response genes dominantly expressed in juvenile resistant and susceptible Biomphalaria glabrata snails upon exposure to Schistosoma mansoni.

Resistance or susceptibility of the snail host Biomphalaria glabrata to Schistosoma mansoni is determined by the genetics of both the snail and parasite. Although Mendelian genetics governs adult resistance to infection, juvenile resistance and susceptibility are complex traits. In this study, suppression subtractive hybridization was used to construct forward and reverse cDNA libraries to identify genes involved in the immediate response of juvenile resistant (BS-90), non-susceptible (LAC2) snails, and susceptible (NMRI) snails after early exposure to S.

The genome of the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosoma mansoni is responsible for the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis that affects 210 million people in 76 countries. Here we present analysis of the 363 megabase nuclear genome of the blood fluke. It encodes at least 11,809 genes, with an unusual intron size distribution, and new families of micro-exon genes that undergo frequent alternative splicing.

Shedding of vaccine viruses with increased antigenic and genetic divergence after vaccination of newborns with monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine.

For the final stages in the eradication of poliovirus type 1 (P1), the World Health Organization advocates the selective use of monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine (mOPV1). To compare the immunogenicity of mOPV1 with that of trivalent OPV (tOPV) in infants, a study was performed in Egypt in 2005. Newborns were vaccinated with mOPV1 or tOPV immediately after birth and were challenged with mOPV1 after 1 month.

Community transmission of hepatitis B virus in Egypt: results from a case-control study in Greater Cairo.

Background: To identify current risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in Greater Cairo.

Methods: A 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted in two 'fever' hospitals in Cairo. Acute hepatitis B cases were patients with acute hepatitis, positive HBs antigen, and high anti-HBc IgM titres.

A randomized controlled trial [corrected] administration of tetanus toxoid (TT) versus tetanus and reduced diphtheria (Td) in pregnant women.

Introduction: The present study was designed as a randomized clinical trial to compare the immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and efficacy of tetanus toxoid (TT) and the combined tetanus and reduced diphtheria (Td) in pregnant women in four rural communities in Egypt. The pregnant women in each four villages received either TT or Td randomly. Both TT and Td vaccines are manufactured by the Egyptian Company for Biological Products & Vaccines (VACSERA) in Egypt.

Genomic organization and expression profile of the mucin-associated surface protein (masp) family of the human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi.

A novel large multigene family was recently identified in the human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease, and corresponds to approximately 6% of the parasite diploid genome. The predicted gene products, mucin-associated surface proteins (MASPs), are characterized by highly conserved N- and C-terminal domains and a strikingly variable and repetitive central region. We report here an analysis of the genomic organization and expression profile of masp genes.

Association of comorbid depression, anxiety, and stress disorders with Type 2 diabetes in Bahrain, a country with a very high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.

This study examined the association of depression, anxiety, and stress with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Bahrain, an island-country with a very high prevalence of T2DM. This was a cross-sectional study involving administering Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS)-21 structured depression, anxiety, and stress scale to 143 T2DM patients and 132 healthy controls. Higher proportion of T2DM patients were found in the mild-moderate and severe- extremely severe depression (p=0.

Extraskeletal neuroectodermal tumour of the vagina: a single case report and review.

Unlabelled: A case report and review of an extraskeletal neuroectodermal tumour of the vagina.

Background: Ewing's sarcoma (ES) and primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) account for approximately 6-10% of primary malignant bone tumours and, following osteosarcoma, are the second most common group of bone sarcomas in children. Ewing's sarcoma rarely affects the genitourinary tract.