Basic Science Sector

To prevent engine failure it is essential to change lubricating oil regularly before it loses its protective properties. It is also necessary to monitor the physical and chemical conditions of the oil to reliably determine the optimum oil-change intervals. The present work focuses on studying evolution of the cyanide (CN) and carbon (C2) molecular spectral emission lines in the laser induced breakdown spectra of lubricating oil as a function of its consumption.

This study was conducted to examine the efficacy of fish oil supplementation in male wistar rat colon carcinogenesis.In order to induce colon cancer, the rats were given a weekly subcutaneous injection of 1,2-Dimethyl hydrazine (DMH) at a dose of 20 mg/kg b.w. for five weeks. Afterwards, some of the rats ingested fish oil for either 4 weeks (DMH-FO4 group), or 17 weeks (DMH-FO17 group). The remaining rats continued without any supplementation for the same 4 weeks (DMH4 group), or 17 weeks (DMH17 group). Another two groups of rats did not receive the DMH and were given fish oil (FO17 group) or a normal diet only and considered as the control group (CN group). At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed; and were subsequently subjected to biochemical and molecular biological analyses as well as histopathological examinations. The results showed increased levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and alkaline phoshatase (ALP) activities in the DMH rats compared to the control. The liver and colonic changes that were induced by DMH were significantly improved through fish oil supplementation in the DMH-FO17 group. The molecular analysis revealed that DMH treatment induced the expression alterations of genes p53, p27 and p21 and increased DNA band patterns related to cancer, while both FO17 and DMH-FO17 groups showed much better results. A histopathological examination of the DMH17 group revealed colon adenocarcinoma and several lesions in rat liver tissues. An improvement in the histopathological picture was seen in the livers and colons of groups DMH- FO17. In conclusion, the present results demonstrated the anti-carciongenic effect of herring fish oil against DMH induced colon carcinogenesis in rats. The inhibitory effect ofFO was due to the modulation of elevated biochemical parameters, DNA damage and histopathological lesions caused by DMH.

Rapeseed is one of the most important oilseed crops cultivated in many parts of the world and used as a source of edible oil for human consumption. The present work reports some phytochemical and nutritional potentials of different rapeseed cultivars with a view to exploit their benefits for human nutrition. Five rapeseed cultivars namely; pactol, silvo, topas, serw 4 and serw 6 were analyzed for their phytochemical constituents (such as glutathione, ascorbate, phenolic, flavonoid contents) and some antioxidant enzymes activity (i.e. GPX; guaiacol peroxidase, APX; ascorbate peroxidase, CAT; catalase, SOD; superoxide dismutase) together with their protein profile. Among all cultivars significant variations in glutathione, ascorbate, phenolic and flavonoid contents were observed. The highest DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extract was observed in topas cultivar. Minor variations were noticed in SDS-PAGE protein profile. The results of the study suggest the phytochemical and nutritional potentials of B. napus seeds for human and other animal uses due to their extensive consumption in the world

To study the effect of different concentration of lead in drinking water on nucleic acid contents, nuclease activities and GOT in different tissues. It was attempts to reduce toxic effects of lead on survive of the environment especially human and rats by using pectin and chitin natural compounds in rat diets.

Dispersal ability and field progeny production of augmentative released biological control agents depend on ecological adaptations of the particular species or strains used. Four species of the egg parasitoid genus Trichogramma were compared aiming to select suitable candidates for control of lepidopteran olive pests.

The Pliocene aquifer receives inflow of Miocene and Pleistocene aquifers waters in Wadi El Natrun depression.

In the present study, seeds from local cultivar of fennel were germinated on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) without plant growth regulators. Different types of explants from the growing seedling such as cotyledonal leaves, hypocotyls, epicotyls and roots were cultured on MS medium, contained different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) either alone or with kinetin. Differential responses in the essential oil constituents were observed in the induction and development of callus. The major components of essential oils includes estragole, trans-anethole, limonene and fenchone were studied under different conditions to find out the best methods which could be used to reduce the amount of estragole (not favorite for human consumption) and increase the amount of trans-anethole.

The reaction kinetics of epoxy resin cured with stoichiometric amounts of amine-like structure and loaded with different levels of Cloisite 25A (C25A), has been studied by dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to investigate the effect of the nano-organoclay particles on the kinetic parameters of the cure reaction.

Soleaaegyptiaca was successfully transplanted into Lake Qaroun from the Mediterraneansea to improve the yield of its original strain in the lake and this process continued at different timeintervals. Salinity of the lake increases during summer season due to high evaporation rates andchanges in the inflow regime. The deterioration of water resources in the lake during the summerseason is considered as a serious threat to the aquatic life. Therefore, this study was carried out duringsummer and beginning of autumn seasons where fish are exposed to severe alterations in the aquaticenvironment. Water quality indices of Lake Qaroun showed significant differences and the studiedwater heavy metals (Cu+2, Zn+2, Mn+2 and Pb+2) were in accordance with values of residual heavymetals in tissues, the bioaccumulation process showed also specificity to fish tissues. Histologicalsections in gills, liver and kidneys of S. aegyptiaca collected during June showed much moreimprovement than samples collected during other months. Histopathological alterations and cleardamages were obvious in samples collected during late summer and beginning of autumn (July,August and September) generally in accordance with the results of residual heavy metals in water andtissues. Moreover, the results revealed significant differences in values of growth indices, meat quality,blood parameters and plasma constituents of S. aegyptiaca collected from Lake Qaroun. Generally,the values were deteriorating during late summer and showed much more improvement during Juneand September.

This work was aimed to evaluate a simplified semi-synthetic diet based on combination of starch/agarfor mass rearing of Spodopteralittoralis. Two modified semi-synthetic diets (A & B) proved successful inmaintaining the culture of S. littoralis for five successive generations without apparent adverse effectsthroughout the insect stages. The mean values of tested biological parameters were determined on the rearedinsects fed on either of the modified diets. The results showed a higher larval weight, pupal weight, adultemergence, fertility and development index as compared to the agar-based standard diet of Shorey and Hale(1965). Whereas, percentage pupation, survival, fecundity and sex ratio were non-significantly different in thetested treatments. Moreover, the cost of ingredient reduced by 45.6% and 33.3% per one liter of diets A andB, respectively as compared to the agar-based standard diet. The obtained results provide an economicallyviable diet for mass rearing, thus promising for large-scale production of S. littoralis laboratory culture.

Aspartame is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners in over 90 countries worldwide. It is ahighly intensity sweetener added to a large variety of food, most commonly found in low caloriebeverages, desserts and table top sweeteners added to tea or coffee. The present study examinedwhether the daily oral administration of ASP (40 mg/kg) for 2, 4 and 6 weeks induce oxidative stress inthe liver and kidney of male albino rats. Lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione reduced (GSH) levels aswell as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) enzymes were determined. A significant increase in LPO levels was obtained in the liver tissueafter 4 and 6 weeks of ASP administration while there was a significant decrease in LPO level after 2weeks followed by a significant increase in the renal tissue at the end of the 6 weeks. SOD activitysignificantly decreased in the liver tissue after 2, 4 and 6 weeks of treatment. Also, there was asignificant decrease in SOD activity after 2 and 4 weeks in the renal tissue. CAT activity significantly decreased in the liver tissue after 2 and 4 weeks of ASP administration. Regarding to GSH content, there was a significant decrease in the liver tissue after 2, 4 and 6 weeks which was accompanied by asignificant increase in GST activity after 4 and 6 weeks of ASP administration. In conclusion, ASP may induce an oxidative stress in the liver and kidney of male albino rats.

The present study aimed to investigate the possibility of involved oxidative stress due to the oraladministration of either ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin (under therapeutic level) in the three brain regions, cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum of male albino rats weighing

The impact of rearing silver carp, Hypophthalmichthysmolitrix to the fingerling stage under threedifferent stocking densities was investigated depending on the hematological and biochemical parameters asindicators of general health state of fish. The present study was carried out for 12 weeks to determine the mostoptimum stocking density for rearing silver carp. Fish were cultured in duplicates of cement ponds under stockingdensities of 3, 6 and 9 fish/m3 as T1, T2 and T3 respectively. The ponds were fertilized weekly with organic fertilizerat rate of 50 g/m3. Results of hematological analyses showed significant increase in T1 for values of RBCs count,hemoglobin, hematocrit and mean corpuscle volume (MCV) while the lowest values were recorded in T3 for allthese parameters. Changing the stocking density had non-significant effect on values of WBCs count, meancorpuscle hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscle hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Plasma biochemicalanalyses showed that increasing the stocking density caused significant increase in values of plasma glucose, totalprotein, albumin (A) and globulin (G) associated with significant decrease in values of cholesterol and triglycerides.The highest values of A/G ratio were recorded non-significantly in T1 and T3 while the lowest values were recordedsignificantly in T2. Meanwhile T1 showed a significant decrease in values of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartateaminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and uric acid. Values of creatinine showed non-significantincrease among treatments. The findings suggest that the most optimum condition was detected in T1 (3 fish/m3) wheremost of the studied hematological and biochemical parameters were essentially normal and within the range consistentwith good fish health.

Widespread acceptance of urea was delayed in part due to its greater potential for nitrogen (N) loss via ammonia volatilization.