Abstract Candida albicans is a commensal fungal pathogen that grows in yeast and hyphal forms in the human gut. C. albicans causes mucosal and cutaneous diseases that can result in significant mortality following systematic infections and it also exhibits drug resistance. Zebrafish have been an excellent model to investigate C. albicans infections because of their transparency and the availability of many transgenic lines. However, there is a limitation in using zebrafish as a model because the fish embryos cannot survive at 37°C therefore it is not suitable for studying Candida infections at physiological relevant human body temperature. In this thesis, the normal embryonic development of Arabian killifish (A. dispar) is investigated, revealing that embryogenesis was divided into 32 stages based on diagnostic patterns of development. A. dispar can also found to tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities. This suggests that A. dispar could be developed as a novel model to investigate host-pathogen interactions. The tolerance of A. dispar to high temperatures may in part be attributable to brown pigment cells with a highly fluorescent character that may have developed to allow the fish to adapt to live within extreme environmental conditions with strong sunlight and a wide range of temperatures (Chapter 3). In terms of Candida infections, this study examined A. dispar as a model to test C. albicans pathogenicity. The survival of A. dispar embryos following Candida infection showed a dose dependent relationship. We also found that A. dispar can survive longer than zebrafish after infection. Furthermore, C. albicans cells were observed to undergo a transition from yeast to hyphae at 37°C. An investigation of the ability of mutant strains of C. albicans with defects in cell wall mannosylation revealed a significant impact on virulence, host mortality, and the fishes’ immune response. The present study found that although the deletion of O- and N-mannan from the cell wall of C. albicans, affected fungal burden (attenuation), and the survival of the infected embryos per se was significantly decreased in the infections of the mutant strains compared to the WT. This data confirms the importance of the mannosylation state of the cell wall in triggering an immune recognition event (Chapter 4). A. dispar is also shown to be suitable for studying the effectiveness of 3 | P a g e antifungals. Fluconazole treatment of infected embryos and eggs promoted greater rates of survival at high doses, alongside a significant reduction of C. albicans CFUs (Chapter 4). When looking at the Candida-host interaction, we directly observed phagocytosed yeast cells within macrophages. Various detection methods were used to follow macrophages and neutrophils including Western blotting, immunostaining and histological staining (Sudan black and FITC-tyramide) allowing the monitoring of the time course of the immune cells. A biphasic response of macrophages was detected by L-plastin Western blotting, suggesting activation of two different type of macrophage: activated macrophage (M1) and alternative macrophage (M2). We also assayed reactive oxygen species (ROS) within infected embryos using a fluorescent probe (H2DCFDA), revealing the accumulation of the fluorescent probe at the sites of infection. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the oxidative and immune response using the H2DCFDA and qPCR were also accomplished within A. dispar embryos after infection with both the WT and mutant strains of Candida albicans (WT, pmr1∆, mnt1-mnt2∆, and och1∆). The results confirmed that the mutant strains did not activate a host oxidative stress response nor immune cell accumulation when compared to WT, suggesting that the immune response is less activated against these mutants. Finally, a new transgenic line of A. dispar fish was developed using Betaactin-DsR-LoxP-GFP. The new transgenic A. dispar is suggested to be an ideal model for real time observation of host-pathogen interactions and for investigation of molecular functions of the immune response. Overall these results improve our understanding of the use of a new transparent fish model to study fungal pathogenesis and demonstrates the potential advantages of using this species in future studies of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens at a physiologically relevant temperature for human infection. Such a model could lead us to investigate in more depth the key interactions between pathogens and their host and permit the screening and development of new antifungal therapies (that might target the pathogens directly or target the host immune system). View full metadata
The aim of this article is to study the dynamical behavior of an eco-epidemiological model. A prey-predator model comprising infectious disease in prey species and stage structure in predator species is suggested and studied. Presumed that the prey species growing logistically in the absence of predator and the ferocity process happened by Lotka-Volterra functional response. The existence, uniqueness, and boundedness of the solution of the model are investigated. The stability constraints of all equilibrium points are determined. The constraints of persistence of the model are established. The local bifurcation near every equilibrium point is analyzed. The global dynamics of the model are investigated numerically and confronted with the obt
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The wide spread of Computer Based Test in the Iraqi universities raised an important concern for some scholars thinking about integrating computers as an academic assessment tool before making big change in the examination systems, that concern is: how the computerized test score is effected in comparison to old paper and pencil . This paper researches whether test scores of Iraqi students varies in the computer, Pencil based tests, sixty-four postgraduate graduates from Iraqi universities. Thirty five female and twenty nine male, all graduated from colleges of science in specializations other than computer science and applying for postgraduate studies in the Iraqi
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Abstract The purpose of this study, teach the art of performing Olympic lifts (snatch and, clean and jerk) using the two methods are instructional (self-learning associated with the model) and (reverse style of partial way). Identify the effectiveness of these methods in learning the art of performance and style of the best Olympic lifting in the learning and retention of novice for Olympic lifts. The research sample consisted of 16 lifters were selected purposively representing specialist center for the care of athletic talent to weightlifting for ages 14 years. The sample was divided into two experimental, Each group (8) eight weightlifters. The experimental group used the style of the first self-learning associated with the m
... Show MoreThe objective of the research is to identify the effect of an instructional design according to the active learning modelsالباحثين in the achievement of the students of the fifth grade, the instructional design was constructed according to the active learning models for the design of education. The research experience was applied for a full academic year (the first & the second term of 2017-2018). The sample consisted of 58 students, 28 students for the experimental group and 30 students for the control group. The experimental design was adopted with partial and post-test, the final achievement test consisted of (50) objectives and essays items on two terms, the validity of the test was verified by the adoption of the Kudoric
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The traffic jams taking place in the cities of the Republic of Iraq in general and the province of Diwaniyah especially, causes return to the large numbers of the modern vehicles that have been imported in the last ten years and the lack of omission for old vehicles in the province, resulting in the accumulation of a large number of vehicles that exceed the capacity of the city's streets, all these reasons combined led to traffic congestion clear at the time of the beginning of work in the morning, So researchers chose local area network of the main roads of the province of Diwaniyah, which is considered the most important in terms of traffic congestion, it was identified fuzzy numbers for
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The aim of this study was to identify the effectiveness of using generative learning model in learning kinetic series on rings and horizontal bar in artistic gymnastics for men ,Also, the two groups were better in learning the two series of movements on the rings and horizontal bar . The experimental method was used to design two parallel groups with pretested and posttest .The sample included third graders at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences - University of Baghdad ,The third class (d) was chosen to represent the control group that applied the curriculum in the college, with (12) students per group. After conducting the tribal tests, the main experiment was carried out for (8) weeks at the rate of two units per week di
... Show MoreIdentify the effect of an educational design according to the repulsive (allosteric) learning model on the achievement of chemistry and lateral thinking. The sample consisted of (59) students from third-grade intermediate students. They were randomly distributed into two groups (experimental and control), and the equivalence was done in (chronological age, previous achievement in chemistry, intelligence, lateral thinking). The (30) students from experimental group were taught according to the instructional design, other 29 students from the (control) group were taught according to the usual method. Two tests done, one of them is an achievement test consisted of (30) items of the type of multiple choice, the other was a lateral think
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Background: One of the unique prosthesis for tooth or teeth replacement is the dental implant. Our attempt is using a biomaterial system that is easily obtained and applicable and has the ability to provoke osteoinductive growth factor to enhance bone formation at the site of application. One of these natural polymers is hyaluronic acid. Material and methods: Sixty machined surface implants from commercially pure titanium rod inserted in thirty NewZealand rabbits. Two implants placed in both tibia of each rabbit. The animals scarified at 1, 2 and 4 weeks after implantation (10 rabbits for each interval). For all of animals the right tibia’s implant was control (uncoated) and the left one was experimental (coated with 0.1ml Hyaluro
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Over the years, the issue of inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools is controversial worldwide. Evidence from research argues that without a positive teachers’ attitude towards the inclusion of students with SEN in mainstream schools, the successful implementation of inclusion is most likely doubtable. The aim of this paper is to understand teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of students with SEN in mainstream schools from different perspectives and from different contexts. The conclusion drawn in this review can be that teachers’ attitude is the most important key towards the appropriate inclusion implementation in mainstream schools. The disparity of teachers’ attitudes towards th
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