Life Sciences Commons^™

The Prevalence Of Streptococcus Pyogenes And Its Emm Gene Types Among School Children In Ai Ain, Uae, Fatima Hammad Ali Al Shamisi

Theses

Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group a streptococcus (GAS), causes a wide variety of diseases in children and adults, and it frequently infects the pharynx and skin; pharyngitis and tonsillitis are one of the commonest diseases caused by this pathogen. GAS evaded by many virulence factors, however, the most significant part is the M protein, which plays a major role in its pathogenicity. Over 225 M protein types have been identified so far by the emm typing technique. Identification and emm typing of GAS is an essential part of epidemiological and pathogenic studies of streptococcal diseases, as different regions of …

The Biological Function Of Hammerhead Rana Ribozyme In Human Genome, Ibtehal M. A. Awad

Theses

Hammerhead RNA [HHR] sequence originally found in viroids is also detected in many species. HHR are often found in introns of different genes ranging from prokaryotes to

eukaryotes. HHR can form specific tertiary structure that make specific region susceptible to cleavage. However, the role of the HHR is not clear in other life forms. This study aims to

Investigate the role of HHR in the intron 6 of (RECK) gene. Our study shows that when blocking the HHR sequence in the intron6, the production of RECK protein declines which may be due to the effect of HHR in splicing and …

Microarray Analysis Of Arabidopsis Wrky33 Mutants In Response To The Necrotrophic Fungus Botrytis Cinerea, Shamma Saeed Salem Al Shamsi

Theses

Plants are exposed to many environmental stresses that affect their growth and development. These stresses include biotic stresses (via organisms) and abiotic stresses (via environment). Plants respond to these stresses by transcriptional reprogramming and different signaling pathways. Arabidopsis thaliana has shown great sensitivity to the biotic stress Botrytis cinerea. The WRKY33 gene plays an important role in plant defense mechanism against this pathogen. The overall goal is to identify common regulated genes of wrky33 mutant and 35S:WRKY33 over expressing transgenic lines in response to B. cinerea; ultimately to improve plant stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. The specific aims are to: (1) …

Identification And Characterization Of The Anticancer Potential Of Indigenous Medicinal Plants Of The Arabian Peninsula, Sameera Omar Mohammed Saeed Balhamar

Theses

Indigenous plant species historically used for their medicinal properties are a tremendous source for bringing newer and safer drugs to the market. A concerted effort is needed to characterize their medicinal potential and identify new molecules that could be exploited in modern medicine. The current study was undertaken to study the anticancer properties of several indigenous plants that are used by the local population of the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for various medicinal purposes. Towards this end, we acquired different plant extracts from five plants, namely Boswellia sacra (BS), Cleome droserifolia (CD), Teucrium muscatensis (TM), Orchadenus arabicus (OA), and Acredocarpus …

Safaa Ahmed Hamdan Alghasyah Aldhanhani, Safaa Ahmed Hamdan Alghasyah Aldhanhani

Theses

Sudan grass (Sorghum x drummondii) is commonly grown for the production of animal fodder in the UAE. Cyperus conglomeratus (locally termed 'Thenda') is a sedge native to the UAE, and one of the very few plants that colonize soils of shifting desert dunes. The native plant is grazed by camels, and may thus have a potential for animal feed production. While Sudan grass is a mycotrophic plant that normally lives in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for facilitation of nutrient uptake, C. conglomeratus is a non-host to these root symbionts. In the deseli sedges rhizosheaths comprising of dense …

Comparative Study Of Nutrient Uptake Between Sorghum X Drummond Ii And Cyperus Conglomeratus, A Desert Sedge Native To The Uae, Safaa Alm1ed Alghasyah Aldhanhani

Theses

Sudan grass (Sorghum x drummondii) is commonly grown for the production of animal fodder in the UAE. Cyperus conglomeratus (locally termed ‘Thenda’) is a sedge native to the UAE, and one of the very few plants that colonize soils of shifting desert dunes. The native plant is grazed by camels, and may thus have a potential for animal feed production. While Sudan grass is a mycotrophic plant that normally lives in symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for facilitation of nutrient uptake, C. conglomeratus is a non-host to these root symbionts. In the desert sedges rhizosheaths comprising of dense coats of …

Effect Of Substrates, Iba And Types Of Cuttings On Rooting, Salim Mohammed Ai Makhmari

Theses

Tamarix aphylla L. (Locally known as Athel) was selected for the present investigation. It is native to Middle East (which include UAE), North Africa and south Asia. The tree is drought, heat and salt tolerant. It has some traditional uses. The research leading to standardize the propagation of Tamarix aphylla L. is very rare and therefore it is not widely exploited in the urban landscaping. The present study was aimed to standardize the methodology and substrate for rapid propagation of Tamarix aphylla L. tree. The parameters studied were morphological growth parameters, chemical content, biochemical constituents and antioxidant enzymes activities in …

Examining The Growth And Performance Of The Effect Of Uv-B Radiation On United Arab Emirates Date Palm Tree (Phoenix Dactylifera), Saeedallah Abdulwali Niazwali

Theses

The stratospheric ozone depletion and elevated solar UV-B radiation have a negative effect on living life forms. UV radiation is one of the unsafe components that cause hindrance to both flora and fauna on the earth. This will have important implications for ecosystem processes and food production. The present study has been designed with primary objective of the effect of UV-B radiation on five numbers of most cultivated Emirates varieties (i.e., BARHI, FRDWT, NBTSF, FRDRD and KHD). After 4 and 8 hrs/day UVB treatment the Shoot, Root and total Plant length, Total plant fresh weight, Shoot and Root fresh and …

Effects Of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes On Gene And Protein Expression In Sinoatrial Node Of Rat Heart, Zannatul Ferdous

Theses

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine disorders and its global prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients. In addition to defects in contraction, the diabetic heart also frequently suffers from disturbances to the electrical conduction system. This study investigates the effects of diabetes on the sinoatrial node (SAN) of the rat heart. Previous in vivo and in vitro experiments have demonstrated reduced heart rate, longer SAN action potential duration, prolonged pacemaker cycle length and Sino-atrial conduction time in streptozotocin (STZ) - induced diabetic rat …

Biological Efficiency Of Recycling Organic Waste With Edible Fungi, Yusra Matar Al Shamsi

Theses

Mushrooms has been known as important cultivars for their nutritional and medicinal values, the species Pleurotus sajor caju and Calocybe indica were selected in this investigation for being used in previous studies to be grown on different lignocellulosic materials. Cultivating mushrooms on plant wastes is value-added way to produce a source of human food and is an efficient way to recycle those residues. Date palm leaf waste, date palm bunch waste and mowed turf grass waste were used as mushroom growing substrates. Date palm is the most important plant grown in the UAE and it produce tons of wastes every …

In Vitro Re Generation And Marker Assisted Evaluation Of Genetic Fidelity In Endangered Tree Species Moringa Peregrina (Forsk) Fiori, Salama Mohammed Al Dhaberi

Theses

Moringa peregrina is a native plant in the United Arab Emirates; it is called “Shua”.It is an endangered species with important nutritive and medicinal properties. It shows high adaptability to the arid condition with short germination time after irrigation. Unmanaged grazing and slow regeneration rate after browsing leads to the endangerment of the species causing erosion in biodiversity. One way to protect these rare species is by multiplying the planting material through tissue culture system and re-introducing at the habitat. Micro propagation is an in vitro method used for plant clonal multiplication under controlled condition. This technique allows conserving the …

Anti-Breast Cancer Effect Of Rhus Coriaria Extract, Khawlah Najib Athamneh

Theses

Plants have been shown to be an excellent source of new drugs, including anticancer agents. Rhus coriaria, commonly known as sumac, a plant that is known to possess different therapeutic values including anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activities. Here, we investigated the anti-cancer effect of R. coriaria on triple negative MDA-MB-231 cell line. We demonstrated that Rhus coriaria ethanolic extract (RCE) inhibits the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cell line in a time- and concentration dependent manner. RCE induced senescence and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. Moreover, no proliferative recovery was detected after RCE removal. Annexin V staining and PARP cleavage analysis revealed …

Anti-Metastatic And Anti-Tumor Growth Effects Of Carnosol On Breast Cancer, Halima Ali Mohammed Salem Al Samri

Theses

Our lab has previously showed that carnosol, a naturally occurring polyphenol, exhibits anti-cancer activity by promoting cell cycle arrest at G2 phase, and induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent apoptosis and beclin-1 independent autophagy in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line (MDA-MB-231). Here, we extended our study by investigating the potential effect of carnosol on migration, invasion and tumor growth of these cells. Our findings demonstrated that carnosol, at non-cytotoxic concentrations, exerted a potent anti-metastatic and anti-tumor growth activity against the highly invasive TNBC cell line, MBA-MB-231. Carnosol inhibited the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, carnosol suppressed …

Anticonvulsant And Procognitive Properties Of Novel Histamine H3 Receptor Antagonists In Male Adult Rats, Ali Kassem Saad

Theses

To determine the potential of histamine H3 receptor (H3R) ligands as new antiepileptic and procognitive drugs, aromatic ether derivatives (1-12) belonging to the nonimidazole class of ligands, with high in-vitro binding affinity at human H3R, were tested for their in-vivo anticonvulsive activity in maximal electroshock (MES)-, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-, and strychnine (STR)-induced seizure models in male adult rats having phenytoin (PHT) and valproic acid (VPA) as the reference antiepileptic drugs, pitolisant (PIT) as the standard H3R antagonist/inverse agonist, and donepezil (DOZ) as a reference procognitive drug. Among the H3R ligands (1-12) tested in the current project, H3R …

A Comparative Study Of Aromatic Pollutants Degradation Using Two Different Peroxidases, Aysha Hamad Muftah Ai Neyadi

Theses

Enzyme based degradation of organic pollutants is a promising new remediation approach due to the promiscuous nature of the technique, the wide range of available enzymes, and the scalability of the process. Oxidoreductases, specifically, peroxidases are the most popular class of enzymes that have been used for the degradation of organic pollutants. It is generously assumed that all peroxidases behave similarly and produce similar degradation products. Our main objective was to test the hypothesis that related peroxidases may act differentially towards the degradation of aromatic pollutants. Therefore, in this study, we have carried out detailed degradation studies on three model …

Screening Of Synthetic Chemical Agents “Chromenes” With Potent Anti-Breast Cancer Activity, Aysha Hamad Zaher Saeed Al Meqbali

Theses

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional therapies cause serious side effects and, at best, merely extend the patient’s lifespan by a few years. Cancer control may therefore benefit from the potential that resides in alternative therapies. There is thus an increasing demand to utilize alternative concepts or approaches to the prevention of cancer. The principal aim of this research is to screen and identify new synthetic compounds “chromenes”, with high efficiency, for breast cancer therapy. In this study, we have screened four newly designed and synthesized chromenes (C1, C15, C28 and C29) for their potential anticancer …