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 present study discusses the names of the Day of Resurrection in Uri Rubin’s translations of the Holy Qur’an. To identify the translation difficulties and complications and to find out the Hebrew equivalence, the study, through the application of a comparative analytical approach, aims at analyzing the linguistic structures of Day of Resurrection names cited in the Holy Qur’an. Heavenly religions are rich with distinct and unique terms that distinguish and reflect their specificity of other religions; something requires a great accuracy in the translation of such terminology. By investigating selected examples of the names of the Day of Resurrection in Arabic and Hebrew, the present study sheds light on the morphological and semant
... Show More In this research study, I tried to trace the epic effect to learn how it was understood and how it was used. Following the descriptive and analytical approach in the research, the first chapter dealt with a presentation of the methodological framework of the problem, the goal, the limits of the research, the importance and the need for it and the definition of terms, as well as the theoretical framework which consisted of two topics, including the impact of the epic theater on the world theater and the second the effect of the epic theater on the Arab theater, This came by tracing the epic impact on the world stage of the Greeks, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Arab theater of the twentieth century.
As for the second
The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmittable with its proliferation among nations. This study aims to design and exploring the efficacy of novel nirmatrelvir derivatives as SARS entry inhibitors by adapting a molecular modeling approach combined with theoretical design. The study focuses on the preparation of these derivatives and understanding their effectiveness, with a special focus on their binding affinity to the S protein, which is pivotal for the virus’s access to the host cell. Considering molecular docking aspects in the scope of a study on nirmatrelvir derivatives and S protein, dynamics simulations with 25 nanoseconds of their binding are explored. The study shows that these derivatives might work as effective antivi
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With the study of synthesizing new organic compounds and exploring biological potency. Aryldiazenyl derivatives (2-5) were carried out by coupling of diazonium salt of 4-aminoacetophenone (1) and miscellaneous active methylene compounds such as: acetylacetone, ethyl cyanoacetate, dimedone or methyl acetoacetate. Moreover substituted 1,2,3-triazole (7-9) were synthesized by the cyclization of 1-(4-azidophenyl) ethanone (6); (which was obtained by coupling of diazonium salt (1) with sodium azid); with acetylacetone, methyl acetoacetate or methyl cyanoacetate, respectively. The structures of the prepared compounds were promoted by IR, H1NMR and UV/Visible spectra. Further, they were examined in vetro for antibacterial activity against five str
... Show MoreThe rapid increase in the number of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia represents one of the major challenges to the health and social care systems. Early detection of AD makes it possible for patients to access appropriate services and to benefit from new treatments and therapies, as and when they become available. The onset of AD starts many years before the clinical symptoms become clear. A biomarker that can measure the brain changes in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in early detection of AD. Damage in the brain due to AD leads to changes in the information processing activity of the brain and the EEG which ca
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AlPO4 catalysts supported with WO3 were prepared by impregnating the catalysts with ammonium metatungstate. The catalysts were checked by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), AFM, and SEM; also, the catalysts analysis was done by X-Ray (EDX). Finally, the N2 adsorption-desorption was used to measure the pore volume and surface area of the catalyst. The prepared catalyst has a surface area of 185.83 m2/g, pore volume of 0.645 cm3/g at a calcination temperature of 500°C for 3 hrs, and particle size of AlPO4 with an average of 35.36 nm. Transesterification of edible oil using WO3/AlPO4 was performed, it was observed that WO3/AlPO4 catalysts give high conversion of edible oil, and this is attributed to the high surface area, smaller particle size, and the
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Shumblan (SH) is one of the most undesirable aquatic plants widespread in the irrigation channels and water bodies. This work focuses on boosting the biogas potential of shumblan by co-digesting it with other types of wastes without employing any chemical or thermal pretreatments as done in previous studies. A maximum biogas recovery of 378 ml/g VS was reached using shumblan with cow manure as inoculum in a ratio of 1:1. The methane content of the biogas was 55%. Based on volatile solid (VS) and C/N ratios, biogas productions of 518, 434, and 580 ml/g VS were obtained when the shumblan was co-digested with food wastes (SH:F), paper wastes (SH:P), and green wastes (SH:G) respectively. No significant changes of methane contents were observ
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This experiment was carried out at the Grdarash field belongs to the Agricultural researches directorate/general Agriculture directorate-Erbil in September (2007)، 27 Arabic lambs aged (5-6 months) With average initial weight (39.178 Kg/lamb) were used. Lambs were divided in to (3) groups (9 lambs/group). Control group was fed on (85% barely، 10% bran and 5% straw)، and second and third groups were fed on various by-product in replacement with barely in loss and block shape respectively.
The total gain of three groups were (392708.32، 634826.52 & 445613.72 ID resp
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Decision-makers in each country work to define a list of internal and external interests, goals and threats to their countries according to the nature of their awareness of these interests, goals and threats.
Hence, Iraq is not an exception to this rule, and the process of evaluating its interests and the objectives of its foreign policy is subject to the pattern of awareness of decision-makers and the influencing forces in defining its basic interests, which often witness some kind of difference in defining them, evaluating their importance and determining the size of the threats they face. And among these interests and threats that have witnessed a difference in the assessment of their
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