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 ...

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 ...

Known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), neutrophils have been shown to play a regulatory role in healing injuries and resolving infections. Although the immune response (IR) of neutrophils in bacterial and fungal infections is well understood, their impact during sporozoite infection is much less studied. This project investigates the role of neutrophils in recognizing Plasmodium berghei sporozoites in an effort to understand the mechanism of sporozoites’ IR evasion and spread of malaria infection in the blood circulation. Plasmodium berghei GFP-expressing sporozoites were purified from ...

In this thesis, we have restudied a sample chosen by (Lusso & Risaliti, 2016) consisting of a set of 2,153 unique quasars given by two source catalogues: 3XMM-DR5 (Rosen et al., 2016) and DR7 catalogue (Shen et al., 2011). Quasars serve science in two different ways: 1) Understanding accretion physics by studying the physical mechanism occuring between the disk and cloud corona, and 2) they are good cosmological probes in distance estimation reaching redshifts ~ 7 (Mortlock et al., 2011). A physical relation has been observed between the optical-UV disk and the X-ray corona through a log-log ...

The HPG axis interacts with the Sertoli and Leydig cells to ensure the proper functioning of the male reproductive system. Environmental insults, which are becoming increasingly more common, affect the sensitive male reproductive system in harmful ways. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to, analyze a network of the paternally imprinted infertility genes shared between the HPG axis and the Sertoli and Leydig cells. With this network in place, we aimed to develop a cell culture system that would allow the evaluation of the effects of certain environmental contaminants such as mycotoxins on ...

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 ...

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 ...

Chronic moderate alcohol consumption has been implicated in promoting bone health in acyclic (postmenopausal) women via increasing bone mineral density. To our knowledge, no studies investigated the potential effects of ethanol on the bone-specific markers osteocalcin and RANKL which are important in regulating osteoblast - osteoclast activity and bone metabolism. Therefore, the aim of the study was to look into RANKL expression in serum and RANKL and osteocalcin expression in the femoral neck following chronic alcohol consumption of 12% v/v ethanol in water in acyclic C57BL/6 mice. Female ...

Ceratitis capitata or the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) is a highly invasive and destructive pest due to its tolerance of various climatic and environmental conditions as well as broad host range, including hundreds of fruits and vegetables. Medfly has a great economic impact on fruit production, national market and world trade. The population in Lebanon has been on the rise since 2007 due to several factors including optimal climate and host conditions, insecticide resistance, and negligent regulatory and detection measures during fruit harvest and transportation. Medfly infestation in Lebanon ...

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 ...