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
This study aimed to identidy the role of a professional social worker practice specialist in the field of social care for Corona patients, in light of some demographic variables such as (gender, marital status, economic status,), through a field study at the Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs. A random sample of (50) social workers in the Iraqi Ministry of Social Affairs in various places affiliated with the ministry was chosen. a questionnaire developed by the researcher about the role of the social worker in the field of social care for Corona patients was administered to the study sample to collect the needed data. The results showed that there is a positive statistically significant correlation relationship at the level (0.01) between
... Show MoreIndustrial characteristics calculations concentrated on the physical properties for break down voltage in sf6, cf4 gases and their mixture with different concentrations are presented in our work. Calculations are achieved by using an improved modern code simulated on windows technique. Our results give rise to a compatible agreement with the other experimental published data.
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Vitamins play an important role in the human health, and thus they are the kind of major nutrients in the body. Chemical products perform numerous physiological functions and can jeopardize health jointly in their absence and surplus. Therefore, it is necessary to establish methods for observation vitamin levels in various molds. In this review paper, the most methods of determination used are high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), spectrophotometric and potentiometric techniques by listed the value of : slope, linear range, correlation coefficient, detection limit, the max of wavelength and PH and compared with these methods.
This research takes up address the practical side by taking case studies for construction projects that include the various Iraqi governorates, as it includes conducting a field survey to identify the impact of parametric costs on construction projects and compare them with what was reached during the analysis and the extent of their validity and accuracy, as well as adopting the approach of personal interviews to know the reality of the state of construction projects. The results showed, after comparing field data and its measurement in construction projects for the sectors (public and private), the correlation between the expected and actual cost change was (97.8%), and this means that the data can be adopted in the re
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<p><span>This research deals with the feasibility of a mobile robot to navigate and discover its location at unknown environments, and then constructing maps of these navigated environments for future usage. In this work, we proposed a modified Extended Kalman Filter- Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (EKF-SLAM) technique which was implemented for different unknown environments containing a different number of landmarks. Then, the detectable landmarks will play an important role in controlling the overall navigation process and EKF-SLAM technique’s performance. MATLAB simulation results of the EKF-SLAM technique come with better performance as compared with an odometry approach performance in terms of measuring the
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In the last few years, the Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining remarkable attention in both academic and industrial worlds. The main goal of the IoT is laying on describing everyday objects with different capabilities in an interconnected fashion to the Internet to share resources and to carry out the assigned tasks. Most of the IoT objects are heterogeneous in terms of the amount of energy, processing ability, memory storage, etc. However, one of the most important challenges facing the IoT networks is the energy-efficient task allocation. An efficient task allocation protocol in the IoT network should ensure the fair and efficient distribution of resources for all objects to collaborate dynamically with limited energy. The canonic
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It is certain that marriage has the favor of the continuity of human kind since the Prophet Adam till now. But this important event is threatened by some justifications which lead to its delay or abandonment. In the West, sexual relations, illegal friendships, and disrespect of marriage sacredness lead to this delay. While the reasons behind the delay of marriage in the Arab world refer to high dowries, women go out to work, and the religious and scientific ignorance of the need and importance of marriage. The problem also differs according to the difference between the rural and urban regions. On one hand, we find that early marriage is a necessity in the rural regions; on the other hand, the delay of marriage is a clear and nat
... Show MoreIn the years recently city planning projects have been confirmed sustainable high concentration on planning streets and pedestrian paths being the most prominent component of the urban structure in the city and these me and diverse departments link the city’s sectors and serve as a space for economic, service, and social activities. On the other hand, pedestrian traffic is an essential component of the various means of transportation within the city. Suffer cities in the Middle East and Arab cities in particular are neglecting pedestrian paths in the vital urban environment. Vehicle control mechanisms on roads, and changing the uses of pedestrian paths as result of encroaching on the sidewalks designated for pedestrians. Which leads to a
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The history of the Olympic movement in Iraq is a rich history that reflects the interest of Iraqi governments and society in sports, the social and economic conditions, and international relations, and highlights the intersection of sports and politics and the impact of global events on local sports development. Therefore, providing a valuable insight into the reality of the participation and results achieved by Iraq in the Olympic Games for the period under study helps in giving a broader understanding of Iraq’s position in the global sports community. The research aims to document the important events in the development of the Olympic movement in Iraq for the period (1929-2000) and explore the formation and development of the Iraqi Olym
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