Background Pleural mesothelioma represents 92% of all malignant mesotheliomas. There is no MPM curative treatment. Multimodality treatment is commonly used including chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiotherapy. Because of MPM poor prognosis (OS 8-14 months), maintaining quality of life of patients became more important in MPM treatment. Aim of the Work To investigate the quality of life (QOL) of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and to determine the factors that correlate with their QOL comparing different therapies. Patients and Methods This is a prospective, observational multi-center study conducted between November 2018 and November 2019. 55 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed MPM were enrolled in Ain Shams University Hospital, El-Nasr Hospital in Helwan and Ismailia Oncology Hospital. The study was approved by the ethical committee at the faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University. Results In our study we evaluated quality of life of MPM patients using EORTC questionnaires (QLQ-C30 & QLQ-LC-13), and correlated the score with different chemotherapy types and other factors. Conclusion Our study found correlation between QLQ baseline scores and both weight loss & chest pain, and no correlation of QLQ scores change with types of chemotherapy. Median Progression-free survival was 6.5 months and correlated with disease stage and chemotherapy used.

Background: Nurses affected emotionally and exposed to psychological problems symptoms during of the COVID-19. Most nurses caring of patients with COVID-19 had overwhelming feelings of anxiety, stress and depression. Aim of the Study: Was to evaluate the effect of psycho educational intervention program on psychological problems among nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. Research design : A Quasi-experimental research design was utilized. Research Setting : This study conducted at Benha teaching hospital. Sample: A purposive sample of 50 nurses, working in quarantine for patients with COVID-19. Data Collection Tools: Three tools were used, Tool I: Socio demographic data& occupational data questionnaire of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 which divided into two parts: Part one: Socio-demographic data. Part two : Occupational data. Tool II: A Structure questionnaire about nurses’ psychological problems and challenges during caring for patients with covid-19: divided into: A-Nurses’ psychological problems. B-Nurses' Challenges. Tool III: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS. Results : More than two thirds of the studied nurses faced challenges during caring for patients with Covid-19. There was highly significant statistical positive correlation between nurses’ depression, anxiety and stress pre and post implementation of psycho educational intervention program and the challenges facing them during caring for patients with Covid-19. Conclusion : The psycho-educational program had a positive effect on reducing the psychological problems (Depression, Anxiety and Stress) among nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. Recommendation : Effective mental health protection strategies to prevent burnout and

This paper focuses on the impact of yttrium nitrate salt (Y3+ ions) on the microstructural, mechanical, optical, and dielectric characteristics of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films. Simple solution casting technique was used to synthesize yttrium nitrate salt-doped PVA of different weight percent. These films are characterized using various methods such as differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, stress–strain, UV–visible spectroscopy, and dielectric measurements. The thermal study reveals the reduction in the glass transition temperature Tg by a rise of Y3+ ions in the PVA matrix. The degree of crystallinity $${X}_{c}$$ and X-ray diffraction results support the increase of the crystallinity of PVA due to the doping effect. The mechanical characteristics of PVA: Y3+ ions’ films like Young's modulus are reduced, but the percentage elongation at break is raised, by the increase of Y3+ ions content. UV–Vis spectroscopy has been used for the optical characteristics of the studied films, demonstrating the transmittance of UV–Vis films is decreasing with the rise of Y3 + ions content in the composites. The bandgap Eg of Y3+/PVA films is significantly reduced with the addition of Y3 + ions. The changes in optical characteristics of PVA are ascribed to the interaction of Y3+ ions with the PVA matrix. Also, the dielectric constant measurement of the studied polymeric composites examined and revealed a highly attractive dielectric constant for the dielectric media. With the increase in the incident frequency, both the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the studied films is decreased exponentially. At the same time, the AC electrical conductivity is improved with increasing the Y3+ ions content. Y3+/PVA films have unique properties to be used in a different field such as electronic, optoelectronic, and device fabrication.

Composite samples of polyvinyl chloride/polystyrene (PVC/PS) blend filled with copper chloride (CuCl2) were synthesized by the solution casting technique. The XRD and SEM analyses implied the presence of CuCl2 crystallites in PVC/PS polymeric blend. The FTIR spectra depicted the compatibility of the blend components and the formation of interactions between the functional groups of PVC/PS matrix and the Cu2+ ions. In the UV region, the UV/Vis. spectrum of PVC/PS showed the CUT-OFF range that was largely increased after the filler addition. Further, the optical parameters were determined. The dielectric and alternating current electrical conductivity spectra of polymer composites had been investigated at room temperature in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz. The effect of prepared composite samples on the antifungal properties of Aspergillus avenaceus and Aspergillus terreus is scrutinized and has been tested by the agar disk diffusion technique. Further, the fungal biomass, catalase activity, and protein content were investigated. Moreover, SEM revealed that blend surfaces with 8% CuCl2 displayed a noticeable diminishing in fungal hyphal net framework, reduced density and inhibition on hyphal growth. The results indicated that composite samples with the highest CuCl2 concentration are more toxic to both fungal species. The multifunctional properties of these prepared samples depict their suitability as a base matrix for composite solid polymer electrolytes, dielectric substrate for the optoelectronic/microelectronic devices. Also, it can be utilized as a promising material for excellent UV/Vis. optical limiting and UV-protector and a novel antifungal agent to control the pathogenic fungi.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) doped polyvinyl alcohol/ Polyethylene glycol (PVA/PEG) films were prepared by solution casting technique and exposed to 100 kGy gamma radiation. The structural modifications in the samples before and after irradiation were studied using X-ray diffraction XRD, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopyFTIR anddifferential scanning calorimetry DSC. The free volume holes Vf determined from the o-Ps lifetime τ3measured by the positron annihilation spectroscopy (PALS) is found to decrease from (84.52 to 67.24A3) and from (85.67 to 78.21 A3) for nonirradiated and irradiated samples respectively with increasing the nanoscale RGO fillercontentto the polymer matrix. The resulting decrease of the free volume holes size due to this incorporation could be explained byboth the formation of hydrogen-bonding and crosslinking between RGO and PVA/PEG blend as confirmed byXRD and FTIR measurements. This also caused a decrease in the concentration of free volumes Fr for both nonirradiated and irradiated samples. The increased D.C. electrical conductivity with increasing RGOvolume fraction(0–0.265) suggests a conductivity chain formation through the nanoparticle aggregation. The deduced Ln σis found to be positively correlated with the probability of free annihilation of positrons I2, trapped at crystalline-amorphous interfaces. The D.C. conductivity results could be successfully fitted using the model suggested by Miyamoto and Shibayama. The critical free volumes for the charge carriers’ transport has been deduced to be 80.34 and 82.16A3 for nonirradiated and irradiated samples respectively.