Three novel pyrazolo-[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolopyrimidine derivatives (1, 2, and 3) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro biological activity. All three compounds exhibited different levels of cytotoxicity against cervical and breast cancer cell lines. However, compound 1 showed the best antiproliferative activity against all tested tumor cell lines, including HCC1937 and HeLa cells, which express high levels of wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Western blot analyses demonstrated that compound 1 inhibited the activation of EGFR, protein kinase B (Akt), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 in breast and cervical cancer cells at concentrations of 7 and 11 µM, respectively. The results from docking experiments with EGFR suggested the binding of compound 1 at the ATP binding site of EGFR. Furthermore, the crystal structure of compound 3 (7-(4-bromophenyl)-9-(pyridin-4-yl)-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine) was determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. Our work represents a promising starting point for the development of a new series of compounds targeting EGFR.

The side product of the cyclocondensation reaction between ethyl benzimidazole-2-carboxylate and the nitrile imine of the corresponding hydrazonyl chloride, C₂₀H₁₁BrClN₅O, crystallized in two crystal forms. Form (1) is a co-crystal of the target compound (without any chlorine substituent) and a side product containing a Cl atom in position 2 of the bromophenyl group, C₂₀H₁₂BrN₅O·0.143C₂₀H₁₁BrClN₅O. (2) contains the pure side product. The slightly different conformation of the ring systems leads to a different packing of (1) and (2), but both crystal structures are dominated by π–π interactions.

Adequate nutritional support for neonates who are sick is challenging due to the difficulty of feeding during their illness and instability. Although feeding through the gastrointestinal tract is the preferred route, there are specific conditions where Parenteral Nutrition (PN) as an adjunctive or sole therapy is necessary. There is a relationship between PN practices and morbidity and mortality in early neonatal life among hospitalized neonates. This study aims to evaluate the short-term impact of Parental Nutrition (PN) practices on the nutritional status of neonates in the two central Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Gaza city. This prospective observational cross-sectional, supported by in-depth interviews, included 50 neonates receiving PN support in two NICUs in Gaza between May 2019 and December 2020. Two data collection questionnaires were adapted from the international Audit Tool. Blood samples were analyzed for pre-albumin as a marker for malnutrition, and SPSS was used to analyze the obtained data. The study highlighted a lack of compliance with national and international guidelines. In 62% of the studied neonates, the daily calories were less than half their recommended energy requirements. There was a significant change in the mean body weight between birth weight and weight after the first and second weeks of PN initiation (p < 0.005). The mortality rate was 16% of the studied neonates. The results showed that neonates who were weaned and discharged home had statistically significantly higher pre-albumin between the 5th and 10th days of PN initiation (p value 0.032) and between the 10th and 15th days of PN initiation (t = 21.894, p value 0.00) compared to neonates who died. This study highlighted the impact of a lack of compliance with national and international standards on the outcome of neonates. There is a need to improve the quality and safety of PN practices at NUS in Gaza City.

Stunting is a major public health problem in low- and middle-income countries because of its association with increased risk of mortality during childhood. To investigate whether zinc deficiency and insulin-like growth factor I are associated with the prevalence of stunting among school-aged children, a cross-sectional study was conducted in which 141 pupils from the first grade were recruited through a multistage cluster sampling technique. The blood sample was drawn from the pupils to analyze zinc, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), hemoglobin (HG), albumin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were measured whereas height for age Z-score was computed to assess stunting. The study revealed that the prevalence of stunting among the study population is 34% out of which 27.7% and 6.4% exhibit mild and moderate stunting, respectively. The prevalence of zinc deficiency is almost 5% among the pupils. There is a positive association between serum zinc and IGF-1 (p = 0.013), and the results of the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) illustrate that as the serum zinc level increases by one unit, the IGF-1 level increases by 0.61 cm. In addition, the final model of the MLR analysis shows a negative correlation between being female and height. By investigating the direction of the association between age and IGF-1 and height, it was clear that a positive correlation exists (b = 0.20, 0.03), respectively. This study shows a higher rate of stunting among first-grade children in the Gaza Strip and might be attributed to many factors such as gender, age, household size, and IGF-1.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and even death. This study assessed the blood levels of immune-inflammatory and other biomarkers in severe COVID-19 diabetic patients and identified possible predictive biomarkers for disease severity. The cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Gaza from 15 February 2022 to 15 July 2022. The study patients were in three Groups (each group 14 patients): ICU severe COVID-19 diabetic patients (Group 1), non-hospitalized non-diabetic patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 (Group 2) and non-COVID-19 diabetic patients (Group 3). The evaluated blood biomarkers and statistically analyzed were CRP, LDH, PCT, Ang-II, IL-6, ferritin, ESR (immune-inflammatory biomarkers), D-dimer (coagulative biomarker), CK-MB and cTn I (cardiac biomarkers), AST, ALT (liver biomarkers), HbA1c, RBC, HGB, WBC and LYM (hematologic biomarkers). ICU diabetic patients (Group 1) had the highest average age. Group 1 patients had significantly more elevated CRP, LDH, PCT, AngII, Ferritin, IL-6 and ESR, D-dimer and CK-MB levels than the other two groups at P< 0.05. Group 2 patients showed higher levels than Group 3 patients. Haematological biomarkers, except WBC, were higher among patients in Group 3 than in the other two groups. There was no significant difference between the three patient groups regarding AST and ALT levels. The study results showed a high association between LDH, PCT, Ang II, ferritin, IL-6, CK-MB, cTn I, D-dimer and LYM levels and the severity of COVID-19 in diabetic patients. These findings support the notion that DM can lead to the rapid progression of COVID-19 and make it more prone to an inflammatory cytokine storm and cardiac and coagulation problems, which could lead to various organ failures and a bad prognosis of COVID-19.