Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequent cancer malignancy among men and the third
leading cause of cancer death in the developed world. To date, the exact molecular
mechanism underlying the role of caffeine one of the major coffee constituents on PCa
prognosis is not yet unraveled. Caffeine has many antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti
carcinogenic properties through the modulation of certain inflammatory markers such as
IL-6 and TNF-α.
The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of caffeine on PCa cell lines
viability, namely PC3 and PC3-PSMA and assessing as well their ...
Al Hassanieh, Joelle(Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2022)
Humans are exposed to a notable variety of toxicants including lead as a heavy
metal resulting from occupations and through environmental accumulation as in the
Lebanese coastal and freshwaters. It is well established that lead exposure in the
workplace contributes to worker infertility and decreased reproductive efficiency.
Several reports have reported the detrimental impact toxic effects on human male
reproduction by subsiding libido, spermatogenesis, semen quality, hormonal
production and regulation, and much more. The objectives of this study were to
inspect the effects of ...
Vaccination is a preventive measure to reduce death and morbidity against infectious diseases, and has been applied effectively against most of the viral and bacterial infections around the world. Targeted campaigns against children diseases have been very effective in drastically reducing such diseases thanks to national immunization programs in both developed and developing countries. However, many individuals including parents of various ages are still reluctant to commit to vaccination and some recent fears have been increasing when it comes to vaccination more recently, especially due to ...
Green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has accumulated an ultimate interest over the last decade due to their distinctive properties that make them applicable in various fields of science and technology. Metal nanoparticles that are synthesized by using plants have emerged as nontoxic and ecofriendly. In the current study, the optimal reaction condition for the synthesis of zero valent iron nanoparticles using Malva extract was developed. For the first time, aqueous extract of Malva parviflora was used as a sustainable source of reducing and capping agents to synthesize zero valent iron ...
El Hayek Bou Mansour, Michella(Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2021-12)
Abrupt work schedules, such as nightshifts, are prevalent nowadays and are
known to cause circadian misalignment and sleep disruption which can have adverse
health consequences. Among the well documented pathologies among night workers
are cardiometabolic impairments, the effects of which appear to be more disruptive in
older adults due to their poorer adaptation to night work schedules. The physiological
mechanisms by which night shift work and sleep disruption contribute to increased
cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk are poorly understood. Furthermore, the potential
role of specific CVD ...
Chronic sleep restriction (CSR) has been implicated in higher risk of insulin resistance (IR) and immune-metabolic dysfunction. No studies investigated the effect of CSR on macrophage differentiation in vWAT in relation to leptin synthesis and glucose homeostasis. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing blood glucose levels and vWAT expression of leptin, CD38, and CD163 following CSR.
Adult male C57BL/6 mice were housed under 12:12 L/D cycle (lights on at 0700 hrs) with
free access to food. Following a two-week acclimatization period, animals were divided into 2 groups: 1) control (C, N=8) ...
Several studies have shown a link between pesticide exposure and neurological problems. In the present study, we show the effect of twenty common pesticides (dieldrin, rotenone,
endosulfan, penconazole, trifiuralin, dicofol, chloropropham, hexachlorobenzene,
thiamethoxam, dimethoate, maneb, p,p' -DDE, paraquat, permethrin, chlorfenapyr, propanil, kresoxim-methyl, boscalid, triadimefon, lambda-cyhalothrin) on myelin gene expression (PLP and MBP) in oligodendrocytes. We first studied the toxicology of each chemical to determine the doses to consider by calculating the ration of dead to living ...
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with an estimate diameter of 25 nm have been synthesized and characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Zeta potential measurements. AuNPs were coated with D2B, a monoclonal antibody recognizing an extracellular epitope of the human prostate specific membrane antigen (hPSMA). Binding of D2B to PSMA induces endocytosis of the latter, thereby marking PSMA as a docking site for the delivery of therapeutic agents.
To attain a stabilized and covalent bond between D2B and AuNPs, the sulthydryl group (SH) in a cysteine ...
Sleep restriction is now considered to be a worldwide epidemic, as over 20% of people around the world are sleep deprived. Although sleep deprivation is now an overlooked feature of modern societies, it entails considerable adverse effects on physiological systems, one being energy homeostasis. A corpus of research has demonstrated that leptin, a key hormone that conveys the body's energy status to the brain, decreases after sleep restriction, which may partly account for the associated alteration in body metabolism; however little information is available regarding the underlying ...
Since the first rise of extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBL), ESBLproducing
organisms have posed a remarkable threat to hospitalized patients due to their
activity against cephalosporins, restricting available treatment option. This rapid
emergence of ESBLs has been confronted by limited data regarding both phenotypic
and genotypic profiles. This lack of information requires more exploration. The aim of
this study was, in the first place, to investigate the effect of garlic (A ilium sativum)
ethanolic plant extract against ESBL- producing Escherichia co/i and its effect in
combination ...
Mahmoud, Hala Bassam(Notre Dame University-Louaize, 2021)
Antibiotic resistance and prevalence of hospital (HAI) and community-acquired (CAI) infections are significantly increasing in the world, though very few studies are addressing this topic in Lebanon. Therefore, this meta-analysis aims to identify antibiotic (AB) resistance prevalence among hospital and community acquired infections. Literature databases were searched for antibiotic resistance, HAI, and CAI in Lebanon from 2010 to 2020. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data in Lebanon published between 2010 and 2020, antibiotic resistance in microorganisms responsible for either ...
Eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious and economical foods. Besides their nutritional value, antioxidant, anti‐cancerous, antihypertensive activity, and immunomodulatory effects, chemical and microbial contamination of eggs pose a risk on human health. Chemical contamination is due to the abuse of antibiotics in poultry. Microbial contamination can be through horizontal or vertical transmission. Microbial contamination accompanies a high risk of spread of antibiotic resistance. Microbial contamination can be controlled by choosing the egg source wisely and by storing eggs carefully. A lot of ...
Herein, we describe, a simple method for the synthesis of dendrigraft poly-L-lysine (d-PLL) coated gold nanoparticles in water (AuNPs-d-PLL) as potential vehicles of siRNA delivery to prostate cancer cells, PC3-PSMA. AuNPs-d-PLL with diameters ranging between 50 ̶ 130 nm have been synthesized in aqueous solutions using d-PLL (7 KD) as a capping ligand and L-ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. The size of the resulting AuNPs was found to depend on several parameters, such as the concentrations of gold salt, reducing agent, and d-PLL. The obtained AuNPs-d-PLL were characterized using UV-visible ...
Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a beverage that is highly consumed by certain communities in Lebanon. Several studies have shown the benefits of yerba mate consumption on one's health. Also, Lebanese add to their hot drink some medicinal plants that have been acquired by the society from the Arabian folk medicine. Many studies have been conducted, yet little is known about its effect on the Lebanese health, as they have been consuming it for almost 100 years. Therefore, this study was done to assess the use of yerba mate and medicinal plants. A questionnaire was distributed among 200 local ...
Candida albicans, is usually a harmless fungus in healthy individuals, but life-threatening when found in large quantities or in inappropriate parts of the body. It developed resistance against the antifungal drugs fluconazole and amphotericin B, used in an abusive way, by adopting different mechanisms. Medicinal plants, which offer a wide variety of secondary metabolites, especially saponins, have been reported for their large biological activities. These phytochemicals are composed of a hydrophobic part (aglycone) and a hydrophilic one (glycone), which, based on their aglycone part, are ...
Cement is one of the most fundamentally used material all over the world. Among the many different properties of cement, compressive strength conventionally determined at the age of 28 days remains the most important parameter to assess cement quality. Waiting for 28 days to obtain a test result urges cement manufacturers to set quality parameters higher than the minimum accepted by norms, which means higher
unnecessary manufacturing costs. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of cement mortar when nano silica (Nano-SiO2) is used as supplementary cementitious material (SCMs) and ...
In this study, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized in water and characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Zeta potential analysis. AuNPs were coated with thiol functionalized polyethylene glycol (PEG-SH) and scFvD2B (antibody fragment of D2B mAb) well known to recognize the extracellular epitope of the human prostate specific membrane antigen (hPSMA). In fact, scFvD2B binds PSMA and induces its endocytosis, thereby marking PSMA as a docking site for the delivery of therapeutic agents. AuNPs successful coating was confirmed by DLS ...
One of the clinically major gynecological cancers is endometrial carcinoma that develops
from the lining of the uterus. During the past years, different approaches have been
developed to treat endometrial carcinoma, among which natural herbal medicine has
recently faired as an effective method. The yellow Indian spice known as curcumin has
been extolled for its healing powers and has recently been adopted for investigation by
the scientific community as a potent anti-cancerous agent. Curcumin possesses anticancerous
effects by targeting several important players in cell signaling pathways ...
Purpose: With the rapid increase in respiratory illnesses and pollution, face masks such as clothe masks, N95 masks, and surgical masks are becoming increasingly more common in everyday life. The recent SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has led to the exponential worldwide use of these masks in everyday activities. However, little is known about the effects of these masks on maximal oxygen consumption during exhaustive exercise.
Methods: 11 Athletic individuals and 7 recreational individuals were recruited and took part in the 20 m shuttle run test, also known as the “beep test”, while wearing surgical masks ...
Pollution has long been a burden to humanity, and among the most prominent
types is plastic pollution. Plastics have been an expedient source for human
activity and progress, however its large carbon footprint and harmful effects on
animals, humans and habitats outweighs its advantages. Despite recycling efforts,
plastic’s non bio-degradability continues to harm the environment.
Bioremediation has been the most recent endeavor in managing plastic pollution,
where recently discovered microorganisms have shown the capacity to break
down different types of plastics. This paper highlights all ...