Preferred Language
Articles
/
6xafM4oBVTCNdQwCP5Hw
The Arabian killifish (Aphanius dispar) as a novel model for mycophysiological studies.
...Show More Authors

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

Publication Date
Tue May 01 2018
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering
Design of an Optimal Integral Backstepping Controller for a Quadcopter
...Show More Authors

In this paper, an Integral Backstepping Controller (IBC) is designed and optimized for full control, of rotational and translational dynamics, of an unmanned Quadcopter (QC). Before designing the controller, a mathematical model for the QC is developed in a form appropriate for the IBC design. Due to the underactuated property of the QC, it is possible to control the QC Cartesian positions (X, Y, and Z) and the yaw angle through ordering the desired values for them. As for the pitch and roll angles, they are generated by the position controllers. Backstepping Controller (BC) is a practical nonlinear control scheme based on Lyapunov design approach, which can, therefore, guarantee the convergence of the position tracking

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF
Crossref (8)
Crossref
Publication Date
Tue Nov 01 2022
Journal Name
Japanese Dental Science Review
Pathogenesis of periodontitis – A potential role for epithelial-mesenchymal transition
...Show More Authors

View Publication
Scopus (30)
Crossref (35)
Scopus Clarivate Crossref
Publication Date
Wed Feb 14 2018
Journal Name
International Journal Of Science And Research (ijsr)
Effect of the Active Thinking Model in the Achievement of Students of the Fifth Grade Applied Science of Physics and Their Pivotal Thinking
...Show More Authors

The aim of the current research is to identify the effect of the active thinking model in the achievement of students of the fifth grade applied science of physics, and their pivotal thinking by verifying the two zero hypotheses, where there is no significant difference at the level of significance (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group who studied physics using the active thinking model and the average scores of the control group students who studied the same material in the usual way in the achievement test, as well as in the pivotal thinking test. The research sample consisted of (77) students of the applied fifth grade students in two divisions (a) and (b), randomly selected (a) to be the experimental group, and (b)

... Show More
Publication Date
Mon Jun 15 2020
Journal Name
Al-academy
The effectiveness of the constructivist learning model in acquiring the Institute of Fine Arts' students of artistic analysis skills: اخلاص عبد القادر طاهر
...Show More Authors

The constructivist learning model is one of the models of constructivist theory in learning, as it generally emphasizes the active role of the learner during learning, in addition to that the intellectual and actual participation in the various activities to help students gain the skills of analyzing artistic works. The current research aims to know the effectiveness of the constructivist learning model in the acquisition of the skills of the Institute of Fine Arts for the skills of (technical work analysis). To achieve the goal, the researcher formulated the following hypothesis: There are no statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group students in the skill test for analyzing artworks befor

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF
Crossref
Publication Date
Tue Nov 01 2022
Journal Name
Optik
Design new D-π-A materials for sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells: Quantum chemical study
...Show More Authors

Within this paper, we developed a new series of organic chromophores based on triphenyleamine (TPA) (AL1, AL-2, AL-11 and AL-22) by engineering the structure of the electron donor (D) unit via replacing a phenyle ring or inserting thiophene as a π-linkage. For the sake of scrutinizing the impact of the TPA donating ability and the spacer upon the photovoltaic, absorptional, energetic, and geometrical characteristic of these sensitizers, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) have been utilized. According to structural characteristics, incorporating the acceptor, π-bridge and TPA does not result in a perfect coplanar conformation in AL-22. We computed EHOMO, ELUMO and bandgap (Eg) energies by performing frequency a

... Show More
View Publication
Scopus (4)
Crossref (4)
Scopus Clarivate Crossref
Publication Date
Sun Mar 01 2009
Journal Name
Al-khwarizmi Engineering Journal
A Proposed Artificial Intelligence Algorithm for Assessing of Risk Priority for Medical Equipment in Iraqi Hospital
...Show More Authors

This paper presents a robust algorithm for the assessment of risk priority for medical equipment based on the calculation of static and dynamic risk factors and Kohnen Self Organization Maps (SOM). Four risk parameters have been calculated for 345 medical devices in two general hospitals in Baghdad. Static risk factor components (equipment function and physical risk) and dynamics risk components (maintenance requirements and risk points) have been calculated. These risk components are used as an input to the unsupervised Kohonen self organization maps. The accuracy of the network was found to be equal to 98% for the proposed system. We conclude that the proposed model gives fast and accurate assessment for risk priority and it works as p

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF
Publication Date
Sat Sep 30 2017
Journal Name
Al-khwarizmi Engineering Journal
A Cognitive Hybrid Tuning Control Algorithm Design for Nonlinear Path-Tracking Controller for Wheeled Mobile Robot
...Show More Authors

Abstract

This research presents a on-line cognitive tuning control algorithm for the nonlinear controller of path-tracking for dynamic wheeled mobile robot to stabilize and follow a continuous reference path with minimum tracking pose error. The goal of the proposed structure of a hybrid (Bees-PSO) algorithm is to find and tune the values of the control gains of the nonlinear (neural and back-stepping method) controllers as a simple on-line with fast tuning techniques in order to obtain the best torques actions of the wheels for the cart mobile robot from the proposed two controllers. Simulation results (Matlab Package 2012a) show that the nonlinear neural controller with hybrid Bees-PSO cognitive algorithm is m

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF
Publication Date
Tue Oct 01 2024
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering
A Comprehensive Review for Integrating Petrophysical Properties, Rock Typing, and Geological Modeling for Enhanced Reservoir Characterization
...Show More Authors

Reservoir characterization is an important component of hydrocarbon exploration and production, which requires the integration of different disciplines for accurate subsurface modeling. This comprehensive research paper delves into the complex interplay of rock materials, rock formation techniques, and geological modeling techniques for improving reservoir quality. The research plays an important role dominated by petrophysical factors such as porosity, shale volume, water content, and permeability—as important indicators of reservoir properties, fluid behavior, and hydrocarbon potential. It examines various rock cataloging techniques, focusing on rock aggregation techniques and self-organizing maps (SOMs) to identify specific and

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF
Crossref (3)
Crossref
Publication Date
Wed Aug 08 2018
Journal Name
Journal Of Al-nahrain University
CALCULATION OF THE PARAMETERS FOR ATMOSPHERICMODEL FOR THE EARTH
...Show More Authors

Publication Date
Mon Oct 01 2018
Journal Name
Journal Of Educational And Psychological Researches
The factors that affecting in the recruitment of a teaching staff for the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in university teaching at the University of Khartoum.
...Show More Authors

This research aimed at identifying the factors that affecting in the recruitment of a teaching staff for the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in university teaching at the University of Khartoum. The descriptive method was followed. The questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection,, which was distributed directly to a sample of (181) respondent of the teaching staff members of the senate at University of Khartoum from those who were attend at the senate meeting No. (409) which was held on 22 August 2016 Of (272). The researcher followed for the distribution the chance method, where each questionnaire was distributed to each of a teaching staff from different faculties at the University of Khartoum, according to his willingness

... Show More
View Publication Preview PDF