American University in Cairo

About: American University in Cairo is a education organization based out in Cairo, Egypt. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2472 authors who have published 5339 publications receiving 73741 citations.

Recent Advances in Tannic Acid (Gallotannin) Anticancer Activities and Drug Delivery Systems for Efficacy Improvement; A Comprehensive Review.

Abstract: Tannic acid is a chief gallo-tannin belonging to the hydrolysable tannins extracted from gall nuts and other plant sources. A myriad of pharmaceutical and biological applications in the medical field has been well recognized to tannic acid. Among these effects, potential anticancer activities against several solid malignancies such as liver, breast, lung, pancreatic, colorectal and ovarian cancers have been reported. Tannic acid was found to play a maestro-role in tuning several oncological signaling pathways including JAK/STAT, RAS/RAF/mTOR, TGF-β1/TGF-β1R axis, VEGF/VEGFR and CXCL12/CXCR4 axes. The combinational beneficial effects of tannic acid with other conventional chemotherapeutic drugs have been clearly demonstrated in literature such as a synergistic anticancer effect and enhancement of the chemo-sensitivity in several resistant cases. Yet, clinical applications of tannic acid have been limited owing to its poor lipid solubility, low bioavailability, off-taste, and short half-life. To overcome such obstacles, novel drug delivery systems have been employed to deliver tannic acid with the aim of improving its applications and/or efficacy against cancer cells. Among these drug delivery systems are several types of organic and metallic nanoparticles. In this review, the authors focus on the molecular mechanisms of tannic acid in tuning several neoplastic diseases as well as novel drug delivery systems that can be used for its clinical applications with an attempt to provide a systemic reference to promote the development of tannic acid as a cheap drug and/or drug delivery system in cancer management.

The Myth of Coup-proofing: Risk and Instances of Military Coups d’état in the Middle East and North Africa, 1950–2013

Abstract: This article argues that coup-proofing does not necessarily reduce the general propensity among military officers to stage coups d’etat against authoritarian incumbents. Sophisticated coup-proofing...

Compact Silicon Electro-Optical Modulator Using Hybrid ITO Tri-Coupled Waveguides

Abstract: Silicon based electro-optical modulators are essential for optical communication systems. In this paper, we present a silicon electro-optical modulator, which is based on tri-coupled waveguides. Two of these waveguides are silicon-on-insulator slot waveguides separated by a hybrid Indium Tin Oxide intermediate waveguide. The silicon-on-insulator slot waveguides reaps the advantages of the high mode confinement. The power-splitting mechanism can be electrically tuned through applying external electric field to the intermediate plasmonic waveguide. The tuning mechanism is designed such that it will both change the coupling conditions and introduces additional intrinsic losses at the telecommunication wavelength (1550 nm). The modulator was optimized by three-dimensional full finite difference time domain electromagnetic simulations. Extinction ratio of 6.14 dB and insertion losses of 0.06 dB are realized at 21 μm modulator length; as well as, extinction ratio of 11.43 dB and insertion losses of 1.65 dB are realized at 34 μm modulator length. The proposed silicon electro-optical modulator can potentially play a key role in the next generation of the onchip electronic-photonic integrated circuits.

WiFi implementation of Wireless Networked Control Systems

Abstract: This paper studies a Wireless Networked Control System which utilizes the IEEE 802.11b protocol without modifications to communicate between sensors and actuators in a production line environment. OPNET simulations are used to measure the end-to-end delay from sensor to controller and then from controller to actuator. It is observed that the measured delays, including all types of data processing, encapsulation, decapsulation and propagation, meet real-time control network requirements while guaranteeing correct packet reception. The system is then subjected to noise and several worst-case scenarios are analyzed. Simulations indicate that the system is still able to meet the required end-to-end delays. All results are based on a 95% confidence analysis.