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
This study was performd on 50 serum specimens of patients with type 2 diabetes, in addition, 50 normal specimens were investigated as control group. The activity rate of LAP in patients (560.46 10.504) I.U/L and activity rate of LAP in healthy(10.58 4.39)I.U/L.The results of the study reveal that Leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activity of type 2 diabetes patient s serum shows a high signifiacant increase (p < 0.001) compare to healthy subjects. Addition preparation leucine amide as substrate of LAP, identification melting point and spectra by FTIR. K
This paper was aimed to evaluate the polyurethane (PU) and polyurethane/polyvinyl chloride (90 wt. % / 10 wt. %) as organic coating of carbon steel substrate against marine environment (3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution) as a severe corrosion environment . The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and fitting impedance data by ZsimpWin 3.22 software were used to estimate the physical barrier of the samples for different exposure times. Different equivalent electrical circuits were proposed for the physical barrier at different immersion times to get appropriate fitting .Both PU and PU/PVC coatings showed excellent corrosion protection ability for steel .The PU/PVC coating showed better protection and stability than PU coating against
... Show MoreCu (In, Ga) Se2 (CIGS) nano ink were synthesized from molecular precursors of CuCl, In Cl3, GaCl3 and Se metal heated to 240 °C for 1 hour in N2-atmosphere to form CIGS nanocrystal ink, Thin films were deposited onto Au/soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates. This work focused on CIGS nanocrystals, including their synthesis and application as the active light absorber layer in photovoltaic devices (PVs). This approach, using spin-coating deposition of the CIGS light absorber layers (75 mg/ml and 150 nm thickness), without high temperature selenization, has enabled up to 1.398 % power conversion efficiency under AM 1.5 solar illumination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that the structural formation of CIGS chalcopyrite structure. The mo
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Objective: The objective of the present study was to design and optimize oral fast dissolving film (OFDF) of practically insoluble drug lafutidine in order to enhance bioavailability and patient compliance especially for a geriatric and unconscious patient who are suffering from difficulty in swallowing.Methods: The films were prepared by a solvent casting method using low-grade hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC E5), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) as film forming polymers. Polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400), propylene glycol (PG) and glycerin were used as a plasticizer to enhance the film forming properties of the polymer. Tween 80 (1% solution) and poloxamer407 were used as a surfactant, citri
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8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is considered as an indicator of the oxidative stress. Pro inflammatory cytokines are critical parts of the pathophysiological processes to which treatment can be applied. The aim of this study was to evaluate 8-OHdG and pro inflammatory cytokines concentration in colon carcinoma patients. Blood samples were taken before treatment from 50 incident cases with colon cancer (stage III) admitted for health examination at the Nanakali Hospital in Erbil city with 45 healthy samples of controls with age range between 38-69 years for both groups. All studied parameters were estimated by ELISA. Participants at this study were 95 Participants ranged in age from 38 to 69 years, 50 Participants had been newly diagnosed wi
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Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common comorbidities associated with enlarged extremities, occurring in 60 % of patients with acromegaly. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of growth hormone and insulin such as growth factor-1 with obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10), as risk factors for cardiovascular disorder in acromegaly patients. Eighty subjects were included and categorized into two groups: 40 acromegaly patients and 40 of the control group. The results indicated weight excess, hyperglycemia, hypertension, lipid disorder, and elevated levels of interleukins (2, 6, and 10). The correlation of both GH and IGF-1 with each of weight, BMI, systolic blood p
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In this work, two different laser dye solutions were used to host highly-pure silicon nitride nanoparticles as scattering centers to fabricate random gain media. The laser dye was dissolved in three different solvents (ethanol, methanol and acetone) and the final results were obtained for methanol only. The silicon nitride nanoparticles were synthesized by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique with average particle size of 35 nm. The random gain medium was made as a solid rod with high spectral efficiency and low production cost. Optical emission with narrow linewidth was detected at 532-534 nm as 9 mg of silicon nitride nanoparticles were added to the 10 -5 M dye solution. The FWHM of 0.3 and 3.52 nm was determined for Rhodamine B and
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Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the biggest problems facing all countries in the world like bridges in the beach area and marine constructions which lead to study these problems and apply some economical solutions. According to the high cost of repair for these constructions, were studied the effect of using kind of chemical compounds sodium nitrite(NaNO2) and sodium silicate(Na2SiO3) as corrosion inhibitors admixture for steel bars that immersed partially in electrolyte solution (water + sodium chloride in 3% conc.) (Approximately similar to the concentration of salt in sea water). The two inhibitors above added each one to the electrolyte solution at concentrations (0.5%, 1% and 2%) for both
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