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 study aims to indicate the role of the mechanisms and principles of corporate governance in the activation of social responsibility reports, and increase disclosure, to achieve sustainability, legitimacy, and integrity of the business. Through the presentation of the conceptual framework for corporate governance and social responsibility, identify the key dimensions of social responsibility and the statement of the relationship between the mechanisms of governance and social responsibility reports in accordance with these dimensions. To prove the hypothesis research has selected a sample of listed companies in the Iraqi market for securities,
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This paper aims to verify the existence of relationships between product innovation and the reputation of the organization. The study problem is that the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) system is inflexible in terms of marketing procedures and needs innovative, unconventional methods in innovating its products and improving performance. The reputation of the organization. The importance of the study lies in that it is an attempt to raise the interest of SOMO in its approach to the research variables in order to enhance its competitive position in the future and improve the marketing business environment, which contributes to enhancing the reputation of the organization by product innovation. The study sample
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Propranolol is a nonselective-adrenergic blocker used in the treatment of hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, and angina pectoris. A significant problem in propranolol therapy is that it undergoes extensive presystemic metabolism after oral administration leading to reduced bioavailability. In this study, two new propranolol derivatives have been designed, synthesized and characterized. These compounds were formed by acylation of propranolol followed by nucleophilic substitution reaction of acylated propranolol, these derivatives were analyzed for IR, CHN, melting points, and evaluated for their lipophilic properties compared with propranolol. The lower partition coefficient of these two derivatives revealed that the prodrug approach may be
... Show MoreMass transfer was studied using a rotating cylinder electrode with different lengths of legs acting as turbulence promoters. Two types of rotating cylinder ,made of brass, were examined : an enhanced cylinder one, with four rectangular extensions 10 mm long, 10 mm wide, and 1mm thick, and an enhanced cylinder two with four longitudes 30 mm long,10 mm wide, and 1mm thick. The best performance was obtained for enhanced cylinder two at low rotation speeds while enhanced cylinder one was realized at high rotation speeds. The mass transfer enhancement as compared with a normal rotating cylinder electrode, devoid of promoters, is 53% or 58% higher. The enhancement percentage decreased as rotation speeds increased further, since, seemingly, ful
... Show MoreAnger is one of the problems of scientific importance that psychologists and education scientists are interested in, especially societies and educational environments, because if a child’s anger continues to develop into violence, then it becomes an unusual behavior, and an indication of the child's lack of adaptation to his family and his environment (Moses, 2013: 4) &n
... Show MoreBackground. The anterior communicating artery (ACoA) complex consists of the ACoA, the pre-and post-communicating segments of the anterior cerebral artery, and the recurrent artery of Heubner. It is the most common site for anatomical variations in the circle of Willis. Such variations can mimic intracranial aneurysms. Case description. A 30-year-old female presented with recurrent episodes of extreme headache and bilateral tinnitus. A brain computed tomography (CT) scan showed no significant lesions, while her CT-angiography (CTA) showed an enlarged vascular lesion at the ACoA, raising the suspicion for an ACoA aneurysm. A repeated CTA revealed a rare anatomical variation with a pattern of cross dominance in the ACoA complex;
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Forty patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) were tested for the serum levels of total sialic acid(TSA) and the immunoglobulins before and after treatnemnt with six diffrent chemotherapy protocols while significantly
The aim of this research is to find out why some matrix verbs are no longer complemented by the two types of infinitive clauses as it is the case in Elizabethan English . At that time (when Shakespeare was writing ), the same matrix verb triggers the two types of infinitive clauses as its complex transitive complementation .Such free variation is not possible in Present –Day English . In this corpus – based study , it is shown that the choice of the form of the infinitive clause is not free; there are certain syntactic ,sem- antic constraints that dete, - infinitive.
In this research, two drugs were bonded through amide and ester attachment, using lactic acid as aspacer binder, produced di pro drug such as Procain and Ciprofloxacin. Since Procain has ailocail anesthetic action and Ciprofloxacin as antibacterial drug was reacted with lactic acid produced ester compound (1), then the carboxylic acid of lactic acid could reacted with free Procain oil produced amide attachment, the controlled drug release in different pH values at 37C˚was studied to improve their characteristic and to minimize the side effect of the drug could be used in broad spectrum activity as atherapeutic material.This mutual prodrug was used with another biological active drug instead of single action. The prepared prodrug was charac
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