Life Sciences Commons^™

Integrative Genomic Insights Into Coral Resilience: Adaptive And Acclimatory Responses To Seasonal Environmental Shifts, Tasnim Ghanim

Theses and Dissertations

Coral reefs, critical to marine biodiversity and coastal protection, face escalating threats from climate change-related phenomena such as ocean warming. This warming is leading to widespread thermal stress that contributes to coral bleaching and infectious disease in corals, leading to the disruption of marine ecosystems and the economies that depend on them. Focusing on the brain coral Platygyra daedalea, known for its thermal resilience in the Persian Arabian Gulf—a region that exemplifies the extreme stressors of climate change—our study aims to dissect the genetic, transcriptomic, and microbiological underpinnings of coral survival in high-temperature environments predicted for the end of …

Applicability Of Using Bio-Receptive Concrete For Building Facades In Egypt, Gina Roupheil

Theses and Dissertations

The significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions caused by the construction industry is detrimental to our planet. This is rapidly increasing with the urbanization of cities that is gradually taking its toll on the available green spaces, which help in balancing such emissions. Recently, researchers have been trying to make use of bio-receptivity to create biomaterial systems that could be spread on building envelopes and support the growth of small plant species and microorganisms to establish on. Out of those materials, comes the concrete as a promising material for bio-colonization.

Within this context, this study aims at investigating the applicability …

Exploring A Gene Panel For Parkinson’S Disease In An Egyptian Cohort, Asmaa Saeed Gabr

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is a highly heterogeneous disorder characterized by diverse neuropathological features, clinical presentations and progression patterns. In Egypt, Parkinson’s disease incidence rates lie outside the range reported elsewhere. The genetic background to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease has been postulated for a long time. However, Parkinson’s disease has never been systematically investigated in Egypt. This study aimed to explore genetic variants and interactions that are associated with the familial and sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease in an Egyptian cohort. This includes examining variants in PD-related genes, exploring the role of specific genes like MAPT and adjacent genomic regions, and …

Nutrient Optimization For Vegetable Production Under Decoupled Aquaponics Using Brackish Water, Salma Walid Hany Ahmed Abdelfattah

Theses and Dissertations

As the world moves to more sustainable agriculture methods in the agribusiness industry, decoupled aquaponics is recognized as one of the newest techniques currently being utilized to achieve more local food security. As the topic is still freshly new within the industry, a finite number of publications and studies have been made that address the topic hands-on with its many variables. Subsequently, in this paper, an experiment was conducted to assess the most optimized production conditions of both lacinato kale (Brassica oleracea var.palmifolia) and Swiss chard Bright Light (Beta vulgaris ssp. Cicla var. flavescens) plants through the utilization of a …

Cytotoxic Activity Of Salvia Officinalis Extract Mediated By The Inhibition Of Jak2 In Breast Cancer, Salma Alawadi Dawood

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of invasive cancer in women in their forties and fifties. Recent evidence suggests that JAK2/STAT3 signaling is constitutively active in breast cancer. Previous studies suggest that plant extracts, including Salvia Officinalis, have strong cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells. The differential expression of miRNAs is also strongly linked to cancer development.

Aim: In the current study, we hypothesize that S. Officinalis extract suppresses JAK2 expression and has strong anticancer potential in MCF7 breast cancer cell lines.

Methods: GC-MS analysis showed the presence of flavonoids in dried leaf of …

Association Of Gut Microbiota Composition With Alzheimer’S-Like Disease In A Rat Model, Hana Heiba

Theses and Dissertations

With many countries turning ‘grey’ and facing an issue with aging populations, the risk of developing one form of neurodegenerative disease is increasing. Dementia, being the most common syndrome resulting from neurodegeneration, severely affects memory and cognitive functions. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, with an estimated 615,000 new cases will be added to the existing 5.7 million by 2030 (Alkasir et al., 2017).

In the current study, we establish a sporadic AD-like rat model by injecting STZ intracerebrally. Stool samples were collected at two time points; after three weeks for the acute stage, and 3 months …

Atomistic Assessment Of Drug-Phospholipid Interactions Consequent To Cancer Treatment: A Study Of Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity, Yara Elsayed Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Despite being one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents developed to date, Anthracyclines are notorious for their cardiotoxicity. Their clinical use is frequently limited both in dosage and in prescription due to the severe cardiac damage they cause. The mechanism of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is not yet fully understood. However, it is hypothesized that interactions with the myocardial membrane play an important role in imparting cardiotoxicity. In this study, we use molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations to study the anthracycline drug molecules and the interactions that they have with the myocardial membrane. We construct a myocardial membrane model …

Lignin Nanoparticles Comparative Study For Their Emulsifying, Antibacterial And Antioxidant Properties, Matta Asaad Mesak Ebaid

Theses and Dissertations

Converting lignin, the second most natural abundant polymer on earth, into lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) form has potential applications. LNPs’ emulsifying, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of three different lignins, softwood kraft lignoboost (LB), hardwood birch (BB) and alkali protobind 1000 (PB) were evaluated in a comparative study at different pH and concentrations. Lower ionic strength of 5 millimole (mM) citric acid (CA) and pH of 7 were found to be the most optimum conditions for emulsion formation. Comparison among the two homogenization techniques revealed that microfluidizer is favored in case of BB- and PB-LNPs based emulsions, while ultrasonication is optimum in …

Policy Evaluation Of The Role Of Extracurricular Activities On Students' Character Building And Academic Excellence: A Case Study Of Cairo's Schools, Nanis Yousry

Theses and Dissertations

The Education policies have usually been given the highest priority globally. This research reflects that the Egyptian educational system currently faces a bottleneck in applying its policies due to significant budgetary constraints. This is seen in public schools, unlike international ones. The research compares and contrasts three educational systems (public, community and international) with the purpose of examining the impact of policy processes on education. This thesis aims to explore how far the existence of extracurricular activities, as a component that complements academic education, is capable of supporting students to acquire the 21st century life skills and fulfill some of …

Development Of Enhanced Food Packaging Systems Based On Blends Of Bio-Based And Biodegradable Polymers Exhibiting Antimicrobial Properties, Aishat Agboluaje

Theses and Dissertations

Food packaging is one of the important aspects of food processing, which contributes greatly to decreasing post-harvest food losses. While ensuring that foods are adequately packaged, it is also important to consider the impact of these food packaging materials on the environment. Accordingly, this research work was aimed at investigating the potential of bio-based and biodegradable blends of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan loaded with antimicrobial agents such as turmeric, clove, and cinnamon for use in food packaging applications. The methodology involved creating PVA/chitosan films with varying compositions via solvent casting method and selecting the best composition exhibiting the highest …

Mirnas Levels In A Streptozocin Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Nada Moustafa

Theses and Dissertations

Dementia entails a progressive decrease in cognitive functions, with 50%-75% of cases attributed to Alzheimer’s disease (AD); an aging-associated condition characterized by the build-up of tangled phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) protein and beta-amyloid (Aβ) depositions. Sporadic AD (sAD) is multifactorial in nature, resulting from a combination of environmental and genetic predisposing factors. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading risk factor for dementia, and deregulation of brain glucose metabolism is associated with early cognitive affection in sAD. Thus, the diabetogenic agent Streptozotocin (STZ) is used to experimentally create an AD model in animals (STZ-induced sAD), in which abnormalities in cerebral …

Characterization Of Testis-Derived Mesenchymal Cells And The Hunt For Universal Stemness Markers, Myret Ghabriel

Theses and Dissertations

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells residing in multiple tissues with the capacity for self-renewal and differentiation into various cell types. Due to the myriad sources of MSCs the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) proposed certain criteria for their characterization. Here, we isolate adult MSCs from mouse testes and demonstrate that these testis-derived MSCs (tMSCs) follow some of the ISCT’s criteria. tMSCs expressed the MSCs surface markers CD44, CD73, and CD29 and lacked the expression of the hematopoietic cell marker CD45. Moreover, the cells displayed the capacity for self-renewal and in vitro differentiation into adipocytes. Since the isolation …

Repurposing Metformin And Antifolates For The Treatment Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Sherouk Mohamed Tawfik

Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most prevalent types of cancers worldwide, continues to maintain high levels of resistance to standard therapy. As clinical data revealed poor response rates, the need for developing new methods has increased to improve the overall wellbeing of patients with HCC. Due to its safety, wide availability and previously reported anti-cancer effects, metformin (MET) serves to be a possible therapeutic agent when combined with other well-known anti-cancer agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential anti-cancer effects of MET, an anti-diabetic agent, when combined with two antifolate drugs: trimethoprim (TMP) or methotrexate …

Selective Gsk3Β Inhibition Mediates An Nrf2-Independent Anti-Inflammatory Microglial Response, Mohamed H. Yousef

Theses and Dissertations

Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) is associated with the proinflammatory phenotype of microglia and has been shown to act in concert with Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). . GSK3 is also a suppressor of Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), the principal regulator of redox homeostasis. Agreeing with the oxidative paradigm of aging, Nrf2 is often deregulated in parainflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we aimed to explore a multimodal disease-modifying utility of GSK3 inhibition, beyond neuronal proteopathologies, Furthermore, we aimed to underscore the difference in therapeutic value between the two GSK3 paralogs by isoform-selective chemical inhibition.

The …

A Predictive Model For Geographical Location Using Microbiome Composition And Covid-19 Based Analysis, Ahmed Adel Aboushanab

Theses and Dissertations

The human microbiome is a main contributor for the health and welfare of the human body. It is affected by many factors like diet and hygiene. These factors differ between different populations. Testing the population-microbiome differences using healthy samples from different countries is the first objective of this study. This data was then used in training and testing machine learning models (Random Forest and L2-logistic Regression Classifiers) for the prediction of the geographical location based on the microbiome data. Random Forest Classifier had the highest accuracy. Feature importance analysis showed that the data for Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes improved the …

Optimization Of In-Vitro Tissue Culture And Transformation System For Sweet Sorghum Cultivars Using Immature Inflorescence, Logayn Abushal

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sweet sorghum is a multi-purpose crop that can be used for human food, animal feed, and bio-fuel production. This crop is drought-tolerant and can therefore be grown in arid and semi-arid regions especially in marginal areas in Egypt. Nevertheless, production of Sweet sorghum cannot coup with the increasing demand in consumption as a food, and fuel due to a lag in scientific research regarding its genetic improvement. Therefore, genetic improvement of Sweet sorghum is innately required so that new traits of economic importance could be introduced; however, this can only be achieved through the establishment of a robust in-vitro …

Identifying Micrornas Panel Associated With Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Serum Of Chronic Hepatitis C Patients, Areeg Dabbish

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will reduce morbidity and mortality rates of this poorly diagnosed widely-spread disease. Dysregulation in microRNA (miRNAs) expression is associated with HCC progression. Objective: Is to identify a panel of differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) to enhance HCC early prediction in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients. Methodology: Candidate miRNAs were selected using bioinformatic analysis of microarray and RNA-sequencing datasets, resulting in nine DE- miRNAs (miR-142, miR-150, miR-183, miR-199a, miR-215, miR-217, miR-224, miR-424 and miR-3607). Their expressions were validated in the serum of 44 healthy individuals, 62 non-cirrhotic HCV patients, 67 cirrhotic-HCV and 72 HCV-associated …

Anti-Angiogenic Effects Of Chemotherapeutic Agents And Their Enhancement With Ot-515 And S-Nach, Shimaa Adel Heikal

Theses and Dissertations

Chemotherapeutic agents have been used for the treatment of numerous types of tumors with great success. Cisplatin and Doxorubicin are among the well-known chemotherapeutic drugs that showed efficacy against various types of cancers. However, cell resistance and major side effects like chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) are limiting factors in using these compounds. Using a combination or adjuvant compounds with anti-angiogenic effects is one of the strategies suggested to decrease resistance or ameliorate chemotherapeutic toxicity. The present study investigated the anti-angiogenic effects of Cisplatin and Doxorubicin alone and combined with Sulfated non-anticoagulant heparin (S-NACH), a low molecular weight heparin LMWH that …

Insights Into Halophilic Microbial Adaptation: Analysis Of Integrons And Associated Genomic Structures And Characterization Of A Nitrilase In Hypersaline Environments, Sarah Sonbol

Theses and Dissertations

Hypersaline environments are extreme habitats that can be exploited as biotechnological resources. Here, we characterized a nitrilase (NitraS-ATII) isolated from Atlantis II Deep brine pool. It showed higher thermal stability and heavy metal tolerance compared to a closely related nitrilase.

We also studied integrons in halophiles and hypersaline environments. Integrons are genetic platforms in which an integron integrase (IntI) mediates the excision and integration of gene cassettes at specific recombination sites. In order to search for integrons in halophiles and hypersaline metagenomes, we used a PCR-based approach, in addition to different bioinformatics tools, mainly IntegronFinder.

We found that integrons and …

Comparative Metabolites Profiling And Fingerprinting Via A Multiplex Approach Of Uv And Lc/Ms Of Coffee Seeds In The Middle East And In Relation To Their Antioxidant Effects, Enas Elhawary

Theses and Dissertations

Coffee is a worldwide beverage of increasing consumption owing to its unique flavor and several health benefits. The current research aimed at investigating multiple bioactive compounds in coffee belonging to the two major species of Coffea, including C. arabica and C. canephora or C. Robusta, either green or roasted, along with 15 commercial specimens collected from the Middle East. Two platforms were employed, including ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS) and UV for profiling and fingerprinting, respectively. Identification of the UPLC/MS dataset was aided by using the global natural product social molecular networking (GNPS). A total of 91 …

Formulation Of Coffee Extract As Polymeric Nanoparticles And Studying Their Potential Biological Activities, Nouran Sharaf

Theses and Dissertations

Coffee extract was prepared and optimized (by solvent extraction) and subsequently entrapped into PLGA nanoparticles using single emulsion-solvent evaporation method (using Design Expert software). Dynamic Light Scattering, Scanning Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy and Folin Ciocalteau assay were used to characterize the NPs and to aid in selecting the optimum formulation conditions. The optimized NPs were in-vitro evaluated for their antimicrobial (by agar-well diffusion method), antioxidant (by DPPH assay) and anticancer (by MTT assay) activities. Finally, the release rate study was conducted for the NP sample showing the highly promising results.

The succeeded NP sample, in terms of the most …

Faculty Perspectives On Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Integration: A Descriptive Study From The American University In Cairo, Sondos Mohamed Moshtohry

Theses and Dissertations

The interdisciplinary approach and the science of the brain are successfully wedded. Globally, neuroscience is expanding and offering substantial advances and versatile applications within various domains affirming the worthiness of its investments; however, nationally, a similar engagement with the field is not evident. This study proposes the integrative research cloud model as a framework for interdisciplinary engagement. The American University in Cairo (AUC) is known for its forward-looking strategy and belief in interdisciplinarity that is why it was chosen as the setting for this study. Accordingly, the opinions and perspectives of its faculty from the different schools and departments on …

Herbal Extracts As Neuroprotective Agents In An In-Vitro Model Of Aluminum Neurotoxicity, Nada Ezzelarab

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Aluminum toxicity due to environmental or industrial exposure, medical applications, or from cooking utensils is a serious medical problem. The current study aims to investigate three herbal extracts: pomegranate peel extract, Achillea fragrantissima extract, and papaya fruit extract to combat this neurotoxicity.

Methods: Chemical characterization of the three extracts were evaluated using HPLC MS while their neuroprotective activity was assayed using MTT assay on SHSY5Y cells and nitric oxide levels.

Results: Using HPLC-MS chromatography, we have identified twenty-one compounds in the hydro-alcoholic Achillea fragrantissima, seventeen were determined in the pomegranate peel, eleven were assessed in the Carica papaya …

Autophagic Reprogramming Of Macrophages Polarization, Mayada Mahmoud Zaki Mohamed Mazher

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Macroautophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process among eukaryotes. Autophagosome is a piece of double-membrane machinery that fuses with lysosomes to form autolysosomes. Autolysosome degrades organelles and organizes the pathogen engulfment during phagocytosis in innate immunity. Macrophages are highly dynamic immune cells that orchestrate the host-pathogen interaction. Interestingly, autophagy is implicated in disease pathophysiologies such as Crohn’s disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this work aimed to study the interplay between autophagy and macrophage polarization (activation) through two approaches, first to construct the genetic regulatory network and pathway analysis. And to predict the target proteins that mediate the interplay …

Evaluation Of The Anticancer Potential Of Alchemilla Vulgaris Extract Against Human Neuroblastoma Cells, Yomna Moqidem

Theses and Dissertations

Neuroblastoma is one of the most challenging pediatric tumors that present heterogeneity in prognosis and survival despite intensive treatment protocols. Therefore, there is an urge to develop novel and more potent anticancer drugs. Medicinal plants have recently gained worldwide attention due to their variable activities, wide availability, and cost-efficiency. Accordingly, this study attempted to identify novel plant extracts that could show potential anticancer properties against neuroblastoma. In this study, Alchemilla vulgaris (A.vulgaris) ethyl acetate extract was prepared and evaluated for its anticancer potential against SH-SY5Y Human neuroblastoma cell line. The Phenolic content of the prepared extract was characterized …

Deep Learning For Multi-Tissue Cancer Classification Of Gene Expressions, Tarek Khorshed

Theses and Dissertations

We contribute in saving the lives of cancer patients through early detection and diagnosis, since one of the major challenges in cancer treatment is that patients are diagnosed at very late stages when appropriate medical interventions become less effective and full curative treatment is no longer achievable. Cancer classification using gene expressions is extremely challenging given the complexity and high dimensionality of the data. Current classification methods typically rely on samples collected from a single tissue type and perform a prerequisite of gene feature selection to avoid processing the full set of genes. These methods fall short in taking advantage …

Mining Selected Metagenomes/Metatranscriptomes For Biosynthetic Gene Clusters And Antimicrobial Resistance Genes, Ahmed Yamany

Theses and Dissertations

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the serious global challenges in the current century. The fact that resistance genes transfer between bacteria, coupled with the fact that the world is connected through complex dynamics. Studying microbial behavior and understanding the different factors coffering microbial resistance to a broad spectrum of the available drug classes, parallel with a comprehensive analysis of the natural microbial products as the primary source of the novel antibiotics, might shed some light on solutions for this problem. Microbial environments harbor a wide range of secondary metabolites (SM) with different functional groups. SMs are not directly involved in …

Egyptian Women’S Agriculture Contribution; Assessment Of The Gender Gap For Sustainable Development, Noha El Khorazaty

Theses and Dissertations

Women’s contribution to the agriculture sector in developing countries is undeniable, yet they do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. Sustainable development entails inclusive and effective management of natural resources, this entails gender equity in agriculture. Bridging the gender gap in agriculture far exceeds the benefits of the individual. According to the latest estimates bridging the yield gap in agricultural productivity could possibly decrease the numbers of undernourished people in the world by around 100 – 140 million people. Sustainable agriculture development and gender equity necessitate policy interventions targeting the gender …

Nanoencapsulation Of Jania Rubens’ Phytochemicals: Antioxidant Properties For Food Applications, Yasmin R. Maghraby

Theses and Dissertations

The development of natural antioxidants that can mitigate oxidation reactions in food products is on the rise. Several antioxidants have been developed from natural terrestrial plants, with less emphasis on marine seaweeds.Rancidity is a major degradative reaction limiting the shelf-life and deteriorating the quality of lipid containing food products. The goal of this study is to evaluate the ability of Jania rubens algal extract encapsulated by chitosan-tripolyphosphate in retarding lipid oxidation reactions in vegetable oils as a food model system. Phytochemicals were extracted from the seaweeds’ matrices by means of an organic solvent. The antioxidant efficacy of the Jania rubens …

Mir-590-3p Suppresses Cellular Migration And Clonogenicity And Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition In The Hepg2 Cell Line By Targeting Mdm2 And Setd7, Alaa Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

MiRNAs signature is dysregulated in various types of cancer, and several miRNAs have a dual regulatory role either as tumor suppressors or oncogenes depending on the tissue context. MiR-590-3p has been previously identified to regulate different cancers, yet its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still elusive with contradictory findings. In our study, the expression levels of miR-590-3p, as well as its function in HCC, were examined in two different HCC cell lines: HepG2 and SNU449 that represent an early and advanced stage of HCC, respectively. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction analysis revealed that miR-590-3p is downregulated in HCC and its …