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 seizure epilepsy is risky because it happens randomly and leads to death in some cases. The standard epileptic seizures monitoring system involves video/EEG (electro-encephalography), which bothers the patient, as EEG electrodes are attached to the patient’s head.
Seriously, helping or alerting the patient before the seizure is one of the issue that attracts the researchers and designers attention. So that there are spectrums of portable seizure detection systems available in markets which are based on non-EEG signal.
The aim of this article is to provide a literature survey for the latest articles that cover many issues in the field of designing portable real-time seizure detection that includes the use of multiple
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In this work chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) for the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been improved by the addition of S. Steel mesh container (SSMC) inside which the catalyst (Fe/Al2O3) was placed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation method used to study nanotubes produced, showed that high yield of two types of (CNTs) obtained, single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNTs) with diameter and length of less than 50nm and several micrometers respectively and nanocoil tubes with a diameter and length of less than 100nm and several micrometers respectively. The chemical analysis of (CNTs) reveals that the main component is carbon (94%) and a little amount of Al (0.32%), Fe (2.22%) the reminder is oxygen. It was also fou
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Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants by utilizing water without using soil which emphasizes the fulfillment of the nutritional needs of plants. This research has introduced smart hydroponic system that enables regular monitoring of every aspect to maintain the pH values, water, temperature, and soil. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge that can systematically represent the current research. The proposed study suggests a systematic literature review of smart hydroponics system to overcome this limitation. This systematic literature review will assist practitioners draw on existing literature and propose new solutions based on available knowledge in the smart hydroponic system. The outcomes of this paper can assist future r
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One of the significant stages in computer vision is image segmentation which is fundamental for different applications, for example, robot control and military target recognition, as well as image analysis of remote sensing applications. Studies have dealt with the process of improving the classification of all types of data, whether text or audio or images, one of the latest studies in which researchers have worked to build a simple, effective, and high-accuracy model capable of classifying emotions from speech data, while several studies dealt with improving textual grouping. In this study, we seek to improve the classification of image division using a novel approach depending on two methods used to segment the images. The first
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Drought is a natural phenomenon in many arid, semi-arid, or wet regions. This showed that no region worldwide is excluded from the occurrence of drought. Extreme droughts were caused by global weather warming and climate change. Therefore, it is essential to review the studies conducted on drought to use the recommendations made by the researchers on drought. The drought was classified into meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and economic-social. In addition, researchers described the severity of the drought by using various indices which required different input data. The indices used by various researchers were the Joint Deficit Index (JDI), Effective Drought Index (EDI), Streamflow Drought Index (SDI), Sta
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Alongside the development of high-speed rail, rail flaw detection is of great importance to ensure railway safety, especially for improving the speed and load of the train. Several conventional inspection methods such as visual, acoustic, and electromagnetic inspection have been introduced in the past. However, these methods have several challenges in terms of detection speed and accuracy. Combined inspection methods have emerged as a promising approach to overcome these limitations. Nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques in conjunction with artificial intelligence approaches have tremendous potential and viability because it is highly possible to improve the detection accuracy which has been proven in various conventional nondestr
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This study included the effect of Aged garlic extract (AgE) and Row garlic extract (RgE)as immune modulators for treating or redusing the infection of boiler by Gomboro. This is made of measuring the stress index and serum antibodies levels against Gomboro virous( GV) estimated by HI,the study also detected the effect of each extract as antioxidents in broiler by estimation of peroxynitrite in serum . 300 chicks infected with Gumboro diseas brought at day ( 21 ) old and divided into three groups , the first group A was given the ( RgE ) at level of 5% with drinking water , the group B was given 5% of ( AgE ) and group C is left as control group and wasn't given anything. &
... Show MoreThe applications of herbal medicine have recently acquired growing interest in range of the prophylaxis and treatment of diseases. Olibanum has been used since ancient eras and several reports studied the pharmacological characteristics of boswellic acid, particularly their effect on the inflammatory response, analgesic properties, and anti-arthritic activity mostly in cell lines, but new approaches include animal models to assess these natural derivatives effects taking into consideration of being safer than synthetic preparations. The impact of olibanum oil on several parameters was studied in rats during this study. These included white blood cell (WBC) count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and C reactive protein (CRP), as well a
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