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
In this work, the effect of atomic ratio on structural and optical properties of SnO2/In2O3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique under vacuum and annealed at 573K in air has been studied. Atomic ratios from 0 to 100% have been used. X-ray diffraction analysis has been utilized to study the effect of atomic ratios on the phase change using XRD analyzer and the crystalline size and the lattice strain using Williamson-Hall relationship. It has been found that the ratio of 50% has the lowest crystallite size, which corresponds to the highest strain in the lattice. The energy gap has increased as the atomic ratio of indium oxide increased.
The research aims to achieve proof of convergence between optimal costs and standard costs in calculating costs for the economic unit, support efforts aimed at adopting optimal costs in cost accounts and accounting thought in general, and achieve benefit from the theory of convergence between optimal costs and standard costs in the field of achieving actual costs in The economic unit in order to reduce and converge, and this came to address the possibility of adopting the concept of optimal costs in the production costs calculations for the purposes of rationalizing administrative decisions, and rationalizing the preparation of financial statements within management accounting.
The research concluded that
... Show MoreIn order to achieve optimal plant growth and production, essential nutrients must be readily available in adequate quantities and in a balanced proportion to give a good yield, especially broccoli which has health benefits that may not be found in many other plants. For this purpose, this experiment was carried out during the seasons 2019/2020 in the botanical garden of the Department of Biology, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, to study the effects of nitrogen and sulphur and their interaction on eight parameters reflecting the overall traits of vegetative growth, yield, and chlorophyll content of broccoli Brassica oleracea L. (var. italic JASSMINE F1 Hybrid). A factorial design with three replicates was use
... Show MoreThere is no doubt that the achievement of the manuscripts is important in a place as it is based on reviving the heritage of the Islamic nation, as well as engaging in the prophetic hadith and its sciences pride for every Muslim, and this prompted me to achieve a manuscript message that serves this aspect i.e. the science of the prophetic hadith, and in an important subject that needs to stand on Each of the people, as well as the one who cares about the science of hadith and this topic is: Explaining the hadith of the people is partners in three, to the scholar Muhammad bin Ismail, famous for the Prince Al-Sanani, mentioning his methods and evidence, and their degree of health and weakness, and the statement of what is intended of him,
... Show MoreThis research aimed to definite Blending learning (BL) technique, and to know the impact of its use onacademic achievement in Biology course of second class students in secondary special schools in Omdurman Locality and attitudes towards it, to achieve this; researcher adopted the experimental method. The sample was selected of (41) students, chosen from Atabiyah school, were divided into two equals groups: one experimental group reached (26) students studied by using the BL technique, and the second control group (25) students have been taught in the traditional method.
Data has collected by using two tools: achievement test and a questionnaire for measuring the attitudes towards Blend
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Anaemia is a common extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) where anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) are the two most frequent types. The distinction between these two types of anaemia has always been challenging requiring sophisticated techniques. Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) a truncated soluble form of the transferrin receptor is one of the parameters that is influenced by the Iron content and supply to the erythrons and is not affected by inflammatory status and therefore the use of the sTfR/log ferritin (sTfR-F) index can be a reliable indicator of functional iron deficiency.
In this work the strain energy of tetrahedrane and its nitrogen substituted molecules were calculated by isodesmic reaction method according to DFT quantum chemical fashion, the used basis set was 6-31G/B3-LYP, in addition all structures were optimized by RM1 semi-empirical method. From the obtained data we estimate an empirical equation connect between strain energy of the molecule with charge functions represented by dipole moment of the molecule plus accumulated charge density involved within the tetrahedron frame plus the number of nitrogen atoms. The results indicate the charge spreading factors by polarization and processes are the most important factors in decreasing the strain energy.
Kamel, S.H., R.F. Al-Jassani and H.A. Al-Shammari. 2022. Effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrionis Isolates and Biologically Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles on Cellulase Enzyme Activity in Workers' Digestive System of the Termite Microcerotermes diversus Silv. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 40(4): 315-324. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-40.4.315324 The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different bacterial isolates of P. fluorescens and B. t. tenebrionis and silver nanoparticles on the activity of the cellulase enzyme in termites' middle digestive system and its role in glucose release by treating cellulose media with bacterial strains and nanoparticles. Ultraviolet spectroscopy re
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