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
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In this work the radioactive wastes in the Old Russian
Cemetery Al -Tuwaitha site were classified according to risks for
workers who are involved in the retrieval process. The exposure
assessment results expressed as estimates of radionuclide intakes by
inhalation and ingestion, exposure rates and duration for external
exposure pathways, and committed effective dose equivalents to
individuals from all relevant radionuclides and pathways. Results
showed the presence of natural radionuclides Ra-226, Th-234 and K-
40, as well as the produced radionuclide Cs-137 and Eu-152 in the
cemetery wells. The absorbed doses from the waste were classified to
two categories; exempt waste and low level waste according to
The current study is concerned with the analysis of spatial and temporal to death the elderly population in the city of Baghdad and at the level of administrative units Minor (districts and the areas) depending on the general population census of the province of Baghdad, data for 1997 and data from the Ministry of Health Department of Health and Vital Statistics for 2013.
The study showed differing age and quality of mortality rates at the level of administrative units of the study area, and notes the high mortality rates of elderly people of all age groups in 2013 compared to 1997, and this is due to security conditions after the USA occupation, and the accompanying conditions have affected the increase in mortality rates.
Magnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF) is an advanced finishing method, which improves the quality of surfaces and performance of the products. The finishing technology for flat surfaces by MAF method is very economical in manufacturing fields an electromagnetic inductor was designed and manufactured for flat surface finishing formed in vertical milling machine. Magnetic abrasive powder was also produced under controlled condition. There are various parameters, such as the coil current, working gap, the volume of powder portion and feed rate, that are known to have a large impact on surface quality. This paper describes how Taguchi design of experiments is applied to find out important parameters influencing the surface quality generated during
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to find out the satisfaction functional for faculty members
To Girls College of education at the University of Baghdad, and to find out the differences in this variable according to gender and qualification of education.
The sample was chosen from 60 teachers (males – females), they applied a questionnaire consisting of (30) paragraphs after the verifying of sincerity and persistence for paragraphs.
The main findings of the studies,
The results are indicated that the samples (faculty members) have a good level of satisfaction functional. In addition, results are shown; there are no significant differences of statistically between males and females for the faculty members. However, results are sho
The paper aims to measure and analysis the impact Public Spending on Iraq economy (Kaldor Variables).
(variables of the magic square Kaldor) and them in after 2003.
The paper adopted econometric Methods to test the stationarity of the Variables under consideration. For the period (2005-2016) by using multiple regression and estimation the Impulse response function (IRF), by adopting Eviews 10 program.
The results of Impulse response function for the following five-years after the period under consideration reflexes that public expenditure (PEX) was fluctuating between positive and negative in all the variables of the research and this shows the fragility of the performance of fiscal policy in Iraq.
T
... Show MoreSummary
I wanted to address this topic because of creedal purposes importance,and its r le in regulating lives of individuals and society, and to talk about purposes of Almighty's saying:{It is easy for me},to simplify its meanings for general educated person to obtain the believe of the Creator’s power and his oneness.
Therefore,this research came,whichincludes:an introduction and topics, first :concept of creedal objectives and their divisions,second: creedal purposes in Almighty’s saying:{It is easy for me},and conclusion:in where most important results were included:
... Show More This research deals with the financial reporting for the non-current assets impairment from the viewpoint of international accounting standards, especially IAS 36 "Impairment of assets”. The research problem focused on the non-compliance with the requirements of IAS 36 which would negatively affect the accounting information quality, and its characteristics, especially the relevance of accounting information, that confirms the necessity of having such information for the three sub-characteristics in order to be useful for the decisions of users represented
Is the chemical industries of great importance for the economy of any country, through what is borne by these industries is an important part of the changes contained in the industrial output of transfer and, moreover, that these industries are overlaps and intricacies of sector-wide with the rest of the manufacturing sectors, with agriculture and services , through the offering of these industries produce Production requirements intervention such as chemical fertilizer used in the production of agricultural crops, in addition to the various areas for the use of phosphorus in the food industry, to the extent that it is difficult to find material Food preparation is not included i
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This work aims to investigate the tensile and compression strengths of heat- cured acrylic resin denture base material by adding styrene-butadiene (S- B) to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The most well- known issue in prosthodontic practice is fracture of a denture base. All samples were a blend of (90%, 80%) PMMA and (10%, 20%) S- B powder melted in Oxolane (Tetra hydro furan). These samples were chopped down into specimens of dimensions 100x10x2.5mm to carry out the requirements of tensile tests. The compression strength test specimens were shaped into a cylinder with dimensions of 12.7mm in diameter and 20mm in length. The experimental results show a significant increase in both tensile and compression strengths when compared to cont
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