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
In this work, we carried out an experimental study of thedusty
plasma by taking the dust material Fe3O4 with radius of the any grain
0.1μm - 0.5μm. In experiment we use air in the vacuum chamber
system under different low pressure (0.1-1) Torr. The results
illustrated that the present of dust particles in the air plasma did not
effect on Paschen minimum which is 0.5 without dust and with Fe3O4
dusty grains.
The effect of Fe3O4 dust particles on plasma parameters can be
notice in direct current system in glow discharge region. The plasma
parameters which were studied in this work represent plasma
potential, floating potential,electron saturation current, temperatu
The intensification of competition among all companies and at different levels has become necessary for every company need to continue to improve its performance in order to be able to face the competition and stay in the market. To achieve this, we must rely on the company's accounting information more accurate and appropriate and provided in a timely manner, for the purpose of use in planning and decision making.
So there must be information systems that help the administration to continuous development and improvement of the performance of companies in general, and this is what you need Jordanian companies, especially after the accession of Jordan to the field
... 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
Contemporary management is interested in the process of performance assessment because of its significance in the field of planning and controlling the multiactiveties to attain its goals and uncovering digression of virtual performance after comparing it with the plan or equitable performance.
Digression is analyzed to enable management control centers of authority.
Assessment process significance is closely related by setting definite categories to evaluate the economic activity to know the ability to achieves aims.
This study concentrated on the most important categories that used to evaluate company understudy with ather categories suggested to complete assessment process.
This study is in
... Show More
The present study reports the effect of temperature and liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) on the cumene cracking reaction rate and selectivity by using a laboratory continuous flow unit with fixed bed reactor operating at atmospheric pressure. The prepared HX zeolite was made from Iraqi kaolin with good crystallinity .The activity and selectivity of prepared HX-zeolite was compared with standard HY zeolite and HX zeolite catalysts in the temperature range of 673-823K and LHSV of 0.7-2.5 h-1 . It was found that the cumene conversion increases with increasing temperature and decreasing LHSV at 823K and LHSV of 0.7 h-1 the conversions 65.32, 42.88 and 59.42 mol% for HY, HX and prepared HX catalysts respectively and at LHSV of 2.5 h-1 and th
... Show MoreThe particle-hole state densities have been calculated for 232Th in
the case of incident neutron with , 1 Z Z T T T T and 2 Z T T .
The finite well depth, surface effect, isospin and Pauli correction are
considered in the calculation of the state densities and then the
transition rates. The isospin correction function ( ) iso f has been
examined for different exciton configurations and at different
excitation energies up to 100 MeV. The present results are indicated
that the included corrections have more affected on transition rates
behavior for , , and above 30MeV excitation energy
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
... Show More
This study focuses on evaluating the suitability of three interpolation methods in terms of their accuracy at climate data for some provinces of south of Iraq. Two data sets of maximum and minimum temperature in February 2008 from nine meteorological stations located in the south of Iraq using three interpolation methods. ArcGIS is used to produce the spatially distributed temperature data by using IDW, ordinary kriging, and spline. Four statistical methods are applied to analyze the results obtained from three interpolation methods. These methods are RMSE, RMSE as a percentage of the mean, Model efficiency (E) and Bias, which showed that the ordinary krigingis the best for this data from other methods by the results that have b
... Show More
(1)
The variety of clean energy sources has risen, involving many resources, although their fundamental principles remain consistent in terms of energy generation and pollution reduction. The using of hydropower system for energy production also has a dynamic impact in which it utilizes to harness the water for the purpose of energy production. As it is important to overcome the problem of accidents in the highway and rural areas in the case of server rainfall and flood by implementation a smart system that used for energy production. This paper aims to develop a controlled hydropower system installed in the drainage sinks allocated in highway roads used for producing. The proposed system consists of storage unit represented by pipes used for t
... Show More
(2)
(1)
Given the importance that the Iraqi banking system in general and Islamic banks in particular, there must be effective supervisory oversight of these banks, as supervisory oversight has an essential and effective role in the development and evaluation of the performance of banks, through the application of legal controls and rules. Banking aimed at making sure that its financial centers are safe, protecting depositors' funds, and achieving both monetary and economic stability. This research studied and evaluates the mechanisms and tools used by the Central Bank of Iraq in the supervision and supervision of these banks. Therefore, the research aimed to measure the type and direction of the relationship between the requirements of supervis
... Show More