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
Background: The primary stability of the dental implant is a crucial factor determining the ability to initiate temporary implant-supported prosthesis and for subsequent successful osseointegration, especially in the maxillary non-molar sites. This study assessed the reliability of the insertion torque of dental implants by relating it to the implant stability quotient values measured by the Osstell device. Material and methods: This study included healthy, non-smoker patients with no history of diabetes or other metabolic, or debilitating diseases that may affect bone healing, having non-restorable fractured teeth and retained roots in the maxillary non-molar sites. Primary dental implant stability was evaluated using a torque ratc
... Show More
Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of rock is the most critical geomechanical property widely used as input parameters for designing fractures, analyzing wellbore stability, drilling programming and carrying out various petroleum engineering projects. The USC regulates rock deformation by measuring its strength and load-bearing capacity. The determination of UCS in the laboratory is a time-consuming and costly process. The current study aims to develop empirical equations to predict UCS using regression analysis by JMP software for the Khasib Formation in the Buzurgan oil fields, in southeastern Iraq using well-log data. The proposed equation accuracy was tested using the coefficient of determination (R²), the average absolute
... Show More
In this paper, the general framework for calculating the stability of equilibria, Hopf bifurcation of a delayed prey-predator system with an SI type of disease in the prey population, is investigated. The impact of the incubation period delay on disease transmission utilizing a nonlinear incidence rate was taken into account. For the purpose of explaining the predation process, a modified Holling type II functional response was used. First, the existence, uniform boundedness, and positivity of the solutions of the considered model system, along with the behavior of equilibria and the existence of Hopf bifurcation, are studied. The critical values of the delay parameter for which stability switches and the nature of the Hopf bifurcat
... Show More
(8)
(3)
In this paper, we made comparison among different parametric ,nonparametric and semiparametric estimators for partial linear regression model users parametric represented by ols and nonparametric methods represented by cubic smoothing spline estimator and Nadaraya-Watson estimator, we study three nonparametric regression models and samples sizes n=40,60,100,variances used σ2=0.5,1,1.5 the results for the first model show that N.W estimator for partial linear regression model(PLM) is the best followed the cubic smoothing spline estimator for (PLM),and the results of the second and the third model show that the best estimator is C.S.S.followed by N.W estimator for (PLM) ,the
... Show More
In this study, a traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) classification system is proposed using a convolutional neural network (CNN) technique with automatically learned features from electromyography (EMG) signals for a non-human primate (NHP) model. A comparison between the proposed classification system and a classical classification method (k-nearest neighbors, kNN) is also presented. Developing such an NHP model with a suitable assessment tool (i.e., classifier) is a crucial step in detecting the effect of TSCI using EMG, which is expected to be essential in the evaluation of the efficacy of new TSCI treatments. Intramuscular EMG data were collected from an agonist/antagonist tail muscle pair for the pre- and post-spinal cord lesi
... Show More
(9)
(9)
Re-use of the byproduct wastes resulting from different municipal and industrial activities in the reclamation of contaminated water is real application for green projects and sustainability concepts. In this direction, the synthesis of composite sorbent from the mixing of waterworks and sewage sludge coated with new nanoparticles named “siderite” (WSSS) is the novelty of this study. These particles can be precipitated from the iron(II) nitrate using waterworks sludge as alkaline agent and source of carbonate. Characterization tests using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping revealed that the coating process was c
(39)
(32)
Background: Corn Syrup is food syrup higher of carbohydrate, depending on grade. The study aimed to assess efficiency of Corn syrup as cytological fixative.
Subjects and methods: This was laboratory based study, it has been conducted at Elrazi University included apparently 30 healthy students have been involved in this study.
Results: Out of 30 smears fixed with 95% alcohol, 76.7% (n=23) shows excellent nuclear stain, 23.3% (n= 7) shows good nuclear stain. 70% (n=21) show excellent cytoplasmic stain, 26.7% (n=8) shows good cytoplasmic stain, 3.3% (n=1) shows poor cytoplasmuc stain.
Out of 30 smears fixed with corn solution, 60
... Show More
(21)
(16)
ABSTRACT : Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases linked with dementia, it is characterized by the deposition of amyloid beta-peptide (Ab) in the brain. The present study aims to innovate a biochemical relationship between AD and interleukin 38 (IL-38) as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, expose novel mechanisms and concepts regarding other biochemical parameters studied previously or recently in AD patients and also examine the biochemical action of memantine (10 mg daily) on AD patients. Sixty (60) diagnosed AD patients participated in the present study and classified into four (4) groups: G3 were composed of (15) newly diagnosed males (52-78) years / without treatment, G4 composed of (15
... Show MoreThis paper introduces a Laplace-based modeling approach for the study of transient converter-grid interactions. The proposed approach is based on the development of two-port admittance models of converters and other components, combined with the use of numerical Laplace transforms. The application of a frequency domain method is aimed at the accurate and straightforward computation of transient system responses while preserving the wideband frequency characteristics of power components, such as those due to the use of high frequency semiconductive switches, electromagnetic interaction between inductive and capacitive components, as well as wave propagation and frequency dependence in transmission systems.
(4)
(2)