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 research aims to test the effect of the behavioral factors (intangible) represented by an explanatory variable represented by organizational silence and a responsive variable of quality of Function life. The problem was the negative effects of the organizational silence on the morale of the employees and consequently their performance and the quality of function life. To collect the data and information needed to measure the two variables of research conducted in the health center / Sulaikh by taking a sample of (40) employees to test the hypotheses of research through the survey of their views, using statistical tools non parametric using the program. The most important recommendations were the establishment of training workshops fo
... Show MoreThe purpose of this research is to identify the youth issues in Talk Shows in the Iraqi satellite channels via monitoring a sample of episodes of the Talk Shows episodes which are concerned and analyzed the youth issues in the Iraqi satellite channels, namely, «Hala Shabab Program» at Al-Iraqia satellite Channel and «Shabab wa Banat Program» at Al-Sumaria satellite Channel by recording and re-watching them again. This research is classified as one of descriptive researches. The survey method was adopted in this study.
For this purpose, the researcher prepared an analysis form. The researcher de
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This study dealt with the management strategy as an independent variable and the integrated industrial distribution as a variable. The study aimed at finding the integrated industrial distribution that fits with the management strategy in providing the needs of the firm on the one hand and reducing the cost of management that is reflected in increasing its profits.
The researcher selected the data from (130) decision makers in the corporation and used the questionnaire as a tool for collecting data and used a set of statistical tools and tools suitable for the nature of information and were processed using the data analysis system (SPSS version 24) Based on the analysis of the responses of the sample and the test of correlation and
Public spending represents the government’s financial leverage and has a significant impact on real and monetary economic variables, and one of these effects is the effect of public spending on the exchange rate as an important monetary variable for monetary policy, As we know that public spending in Iraq is financed from oil revenues sold in US dollars, and the Ministry of Finance converts the US dollar into Iraqi dinars to finance the government's need to spend within the requirements and obligations of the state's general budget, And converting the US dollar into Iraqi dinars has an impact on the parallel exchange market, even if there is a contractual exchange rate between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq to
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Due to the importance of the relationship between the phenomenon of inflation and the exchange rate in the formulation of monetary policy in Iraq, the exchange rate plays a strategic role in limiting the inflation caused by the monetary expansion due to government spending, as a point of a view, the inefficiency of interest to achieve the monetary market balance and stability of the general level of prices as an overall goal of monetary policy in Iraq, the exchange rate has emerged as a brake on inflation in Iraq, as the research found that the monetary authority in the period 2003-2018 provided a methodical development in the formulation of monetary policy towards realizing the effects of inf
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Abstract
This study deals with the fluctuations of oil revenues and its effect on the public debt. This can be studied through the indicators of debt sustainability, the financial, and economic indicators which express the risk of debt. The study focuses on clarification of the public debt path and its management both domestic and foreign. The sustainability of debt takes an important role according the macroeconomic variables. This study stresses the relationship between the rental economy in Iraq and the risk of the public debt, it is very important to work high oil prices, and on investigating during high work to establish a fund to support the budget deficit. This will reduce future risks arising from the use of publi
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Objective(s): The study aims at examining the role of technical information used in nursing education, such as "the
Internet, e-mail services, video, audio conferencing and other "in the College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad.
Methodology: A descriptive and analytical study which was using the examination approach was conducted on a
non-probability sample (purposive sample) of (42) members of the faculty of the College of Nursing at the University
of Baghdad. A questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of the study. It was consisted of two parts; the first part
which included the demographic characteristics of faculty members (such as age, sex,
qualification, scientific title, and the scientific department
The aim of this paper is to find out the effects of the strategy of productive thinking upon the student’s achievement for the subject of research methodology in the College of Islamic Sciences. Achieving this objective, the researchers set the null hypotheses: (1) No difference is noticed to be statistically significant at the level of significance (0.05) among the student’s mean scores in the experimental group who were taught by the strategy of productive thinking, and the student’s mean scores in the control group who studied by the traditional method in the achievement test. (2) At level of sig. (0.05), there is no statistically significant difference in the mean of scores of the pre-tests and post ones in the achievement test of
... Show MoreIf the sovereignty of the state is reflected in the taxation of its citizens, this sovereignty can not be completed and completed only if it works on its part to collect its debts, whether voluntary or compulsory, and the debt of the debt arises from the will of the individual and the will of the state alone, The existing management of seizure and collection is based on an unequal relationship between the State and the debtor from which the obligation arises. Naturally, this relationship has obligations and rights on both parties. The researcher used a set of studies and previous research, books and other sources related to the subject of research. This was done through the theoretical and practical aspects, which focused on direct and i
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Design of experiments (DOE) was made by Minitab software for the study of three factors used in the precipitation process of the Sodium Aluminate solution prepared from digestion of α-Al2O3 to determine the optimum conditions to a produce Boehmite which is used in production of ɤ-Al2O3 during drying and calcination processes, the factors are; the temperature of the sodium aluminate solution, concentration of HCl acid added for the precipitation and the pH of the solution at which the precipitation was ended. The design of the experiments leads to 18 experiments.
The results show that the optimum conditions for the precipitation of the sodium aluminate solution which
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