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
One of the most important parameters determining structural members' durability and strength is the fire flame's influence and hazard. Some engineers have advocated using advanced analytical models to predict fire spread impact within a compartment and considering finite element models of structural components to estimate the temperatures within a component using heat transfer analysis. This paper presented a numerical simulation for a reinforced concrete beam’s structural response in a case containing Water Absorbing Polymer Spheres (WAPS) subjected to fire flame effect. The commercial finite element package ABAQUS was considered. The relevant geometrical and material parameters of the reinforced concrete beam model at elevated t
... Show MoreThe study involved preparing a new compound by combining Schiff bases generated from compounds for antipyrine, including lanthanide ions (lanthanum, neodymium, erbium, gadolinium, and dysprosium). The preparation of the ligand from condensation reactions (4-antipyrinecarboxaldehyde with ethylene di-amine) at room temperature, and was characterization using spectroscopic and analytical studies ( FT-IR, UV-visible spectra, 1H-NMR, mass spectrometry, (C.H.N.O), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), in addition to the magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurement of the synthesis complexes, among the results we obtained from the tests, we showed that the ligand behaves with the (triple Valence) lanthanide ions, the multidentate
... Show MoreMS Elias, RGM AL-helfy, Plant Archives, 2019
The forensic evidence important for the sources of legislation after the book of God Almighty and the Sunnah of the purified, including what is agreed upon in the protest, which is the book and the Sunnah and consensus, and what is different in the protest, such as measurement and approval and say companions and interests sent, and that the approval of the evidence that did not agree Accordingly, the terms of the fundamentalists differed and their definition differed with the similarity between each other, and the approval in some schools is an argument is not considered as the Shaafa'is, so it may correspond to measurement with them, but the approval at the tap and those who agree is a hidden measurement is likely to clear measurement,I
... Show MoreShade in house gardens is one of the problems that hinder the growth of lawn and its distribution in the soil, where the types of lawns differ in their durability and adaptation to shade. The research aims to know the resistance of some species of lawn plants to shade and to know the appropriate fertilization procedures that can be followed to reduce the negative effects. The study was conducted in the Amiriya district of Baghdad in a house garden. Three varieties of lawn plants Bermuda, Gazon, and Trifoglio were planted. Five fertilization treatments (contained N and P elements) and the control were used. The sunlight density with the temperature of the study field locations were estimated using the AMT-300 and the vegetation coverage perc
... Show Moremethodology six sigma Help to reduce defects by solving problems effectively, and works Lean to reduce losses through the flow of the manufacturing process and when integrating these two methodologies (Lean and six sigma), the methodology of Lean six sigma will form the entrance to the organizers of the optimization process and increase the quality and reduce lead times and costs . by focusing on the needs of the customer. this process uses statistical tools and techniques to analyze and improve processes.
We have conducted this research in the General Company for Electrical Industries and adopted its product (machine cooling water three taps) as a sample for research. In order to determine t
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to produce samples from Iraqi raw materials like Husyniat Bauxite (raw and burnt) and to study the effect of some additives like white Doekhla kaolin clays and alumina on that material properties were using sodium silica as a binding material. Five mixtures were prepared from Bauxite (raw and burnt) and kaolin clays, with an additive of (40) ml from sodium silica and alumina of (2.5, 5, 7.5,10 wt %) percentage as a binding material. the size grading was through sieving. The formation of all specimens was conducted by a measured gradually semi-dry pressing method under a compression force of (10) Tons and humidity ratio ranging from (5-10) % from mixture weight. Drying all specimens was done and then they were burn
... Show MoreBackground: Benign Prostate Hypertrophy(BPH)is a common urological problem worldwide which is defined as denomatous hyperplasia of the periurethralpart of prostate gland that occurs especially in men over 50 years old and that tend to obstruct urination by constriction the urethra Objectives: The study was aimed to investigate the level of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric Oxide (NO) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) as an antioxidant, besides other factors such as the level of Lipids Profile (Total Chlosterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C), Very Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (VLDL-C), and Triglyceride (TG))in patients suffer from BPH . Methods: In this study ;clinical ,spec
... Show MoreThe purpose of this research is to a treatment the impact of Views outliers to the estimators of a distributed arrival and service to the theory of queues and estimate the distribution parameters depending on the robust estimators, and when he was outliers greatest impact in the process of estimating the both distributions mentioned parameters, it was necessary to use way to test that does these data contain abnormal values or not? it was used the method ( Tukey ) for this purpose and is of the most popular ways to discover the outliers , it shows that there are views abnormal (outliers ) in the estimators of each of the distributional arrival and service, which have a significant impact on the calculation of these estimato
... Show MoreBackground: The immunogenetic predisposition
may be considered as an important factor for the
development of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM)
in association with the HLA antigens.
Objective:This study was designed to investigate
the role of HLA-class II antigens in the etiology of
type T1DM and in prediction of this disease in
siblings, and its effect on expression of glutamic
acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA).
methods:Sixty children who were newly diagnosed
type 1 diabetes (diagnosed less than five months)
were selected. Their age ranged from 3-17 years.
Another 50 healthy siblings were available for this
study, their ages range from 3-16 years. Eighty
apparently healthy control subjects,