The construction purposes on the carbonate rocks is considered as a major aspect and using of these bedrocks based on their mechanical behavior. Accordingly, the physical and mechanical characterization of Middle Eocene Limestone bedrock in the new urban area at the 15th May City, Egypt was studied to assess the suitability of the carbonate rocks for construction. To achieve this objective, the intact 30 rock core samples from 15 boreholes were selected at different depths. Based on study of the selected samples in thin sections, the limestone in the area was classified as lime- Mudstone, Wackestone and Grainstone. Additionally, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Schmidt Rebound Hammer (Rn) were determined to detect the mechanical properties of the limestone bedrock. The measured parameters (UCS and Rn) are demonstrated a high direct relationship with mudstone and poor direct relationship with dolomite and high negative correlation with Wackestone and Grainstones. Therefore, the Middle Eocene Limestone bedrock is more durable and has medium-strength which made it suitable for constructions. Consequently, the strong confidence on the mechanical parameters open the way for engineers to predict the mechanical parameters which are required to engineering properties of limestone for the urban expansion.

The three major food crops of the world are rice, wheat and maize. These three together supply around 42% of the calories consumed by entire humans. The world population has quadrupled in the last decade. Food demand is expected to increase by almost 60% in the next few decades. So, in near future, the demand for rice will also increase. The impact of the pesticides used for preventing the crops, has its effect also on non-targeted species. The pesticides used in fields reach other destinations, other than the targeted ones. They are carried to aquatic environments, human settlements and other fields. They are even transmitted by wind. The harmful effect of the pesticide can be estimated using physio chemical properties. This article attempts to predict the water partition coefficient of pesticides used for rice blast. For this prediction we use a non-traditional graph theoretic approach, using centrality measures.

Breast cancer is a common cancer and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women\nworldwide. Studies have shown that breast cancer is a heterogeneous tumor with varying response to\ntreatments. The clinical use of doxorubicin in the treatment of cancer is limited by its cardiotoxicity which results in often fatal heart failure and the development of multidrug resistance. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies and targets are underscored. Propolis has been reported to show a broad spectrum of biological activities including anticancer activity. \nIn this study, we investigated the role of propolis on the antitumor effects of DOX on breast\ncancer cells (MDA-MB-231) and its ability to provide protection against DOX-mediated damage on lung fibroblasts (MRC-5). Modifications in cell viability, apoptosis induction, cell cycle progression and P-gp activity of breast cancer cells in vitro were evaluated. \nPropolis combined with doxorubicin inhibited cell growth in a dose dependent manner by inducing cell cycle arrest in the S phase and Caspase-dependent apoptosis. In the presence of propolis, the IC50 of DOX against MDA-MB-231 cells decreased by 10-fold. The increased sensitivity of cancer cells to the combined treatment was explained on the basis of the capacity of propolis to cause a significant increase in doxorubicin intracellular concentration in MDA-MB-231. Very interestingly, Algerian propolis showed its ability to inhibit efficiently P-gp function in comparison with verapamil, reference P-gp modulator, which proves the efficacy of propolis to reverse the resistance to doxorubicin. Our results showed also that propolis could protect normal cells from deleterious effect of doxorubicin by amelioration of cell viability.\nIn conclusion, the obtained results indicate that Algerian propolis potentiated the antitumor effects of DOX on breast cancer cells and could reduce the problem of multidrug resistance. Therefore, Algerian propolis may be an effective agent in a combined treatment with doxorubicin for increased therapeutic efficacy against breast cancer. Clinically, our results are relevant because with this combined therapy it may be possible to counter the problem of cancer cell resistance while reducing the problem of toxicity on normal cells.