Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Enhancing Vanadium Redox Battery Performance Using Tungsten-Bismuth-Based Oxide Nanostructures As Electrode Modifiers, Taher Al Najjar

Theses and Dissertations

Renewable energy power plants require high efficiency conversion and storage systems that can store high amounts of energy and can be integrated with the electrical grid. Vanadium redox flow batteries are very promising for this application. However, one major drawback of VRFBs is their low power density which means that right now they cannot replace non-renewable energy sources. Different carbon materials are used as electrodes in VRFBs and each carbon material affects the battery’s performance in a different way. Modification of these electrodes can increase the power density of the battery. Some metal oxides like tungsten oxide can enhance vanadium …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Neuroantibody Levels, Prevalence, And Environmental Factors In Patients With Neurological Dysfunction, Jihan Azar

Theses and Dissertations

Nervous system damage comprises a large proportion of diseases worldwide. It is also the most difficult to diagnose. Biomarkers for nervous system damage are needed in order to diagnose these diseases early enough to allow for intervention. In this study, we recruited patients from two Egyptian hospitals with MCI, ET and NMS and health references. Serum autoantibody levels against neural proteins and heavy metals were analyzed and compared. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against neurofilament H (NFH), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) and alpha synuclein (a-SYN) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody against neurofilament light (NFL) were among …

Effect Of Covid-19 On The Wellbeing Of Healthcare Professionals In Public Isolation Hospitals In Egypt, Shaimaa Sabbah

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most vulnerable groups severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), especially the physicians, pharmacists, and nurses who work in public Isolation hospitals. The Egyptian medical syndicate declared the death of more than 600 physicians from February 2020 till January 2022. In the meantime, the Egyptian government has worked on different policies for relieving the negative effects of the pandemic on this vulnerable group; however, easing restrictions, no total lockdown implementation, and monitoring bureaucracy has negatively affected the wellbeing of those HCPs. The study aims to figure out recommended policies to protect HCPs’ …

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 …

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 …

Redesigning Price Setting Under The Universal Health Insurance In Egypt / إعادة تصميم التسعير في ظل التأمين الصحي الشامل في مصر, Ahmed El Agamy, Hebatalla Ahmed Ismail, Hend Hassan, Reem Gouda, Samah El Sayed

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Since the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations Development Programme, Universal Health coverage became the main target for many nations. One of the main challenges facing the governments to achieve universal health coverage is maintaining adequate policies to set fair pricing for the healthcare services. Each country has different strategies to apply fair pricing and this paper is discussing the current pricing methods in Egypt and suggesting three policies to tackle its challenges.

Improving Egypt’S Access To Vaccines And Medicines: Communication During Covid-19 / تحسين إتاحة الوصول إلى اللقاحات والأدوية في مصر: سياسة توعية الجمهور خلال أزمة فيروس كورونا, Alaa Abdel-Rahman, Sarah Attef, Helen Gabrah, Reem El-Sayed, Sarah El-Lithy

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian government has been following protocol as best as possible when it comes to responding to the needs of the health and economic sectors amid difficult times. From lockdown measures to the WHO’s recommended practices in terms of isolation of cases and treatments, Egypt has been lauded as one of the fastest and most effective countries in terms of COVID-19 emergency response. Authorities have implemented several awareness campaigns directed at citizens to inform them about the pandemic, how to prevent infection, what to do if infected and how to act accordingly. Authorities …