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 compliance is considered
This study aimed to deduce the net atrioventricular compliance which is affected the trans mitral blood flow.
This study focuses on study group of 25 patients (15 males
Background: It is important to achieve good glycemic control to avoid long-term diabetic complications. It has been largely debated about the role of correct way of insulin administration to get the desired glycemic control.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of teaching diabetic patients who are on insulin therapy the correct way of injecting insulin and its effect on glycemic control.
Methods: A non randomized clinical trial with 820 diabetic patients on insulin therapy on whom A1 c estimation was performed before and after three months of teaching them the right injection technique.
Results : Sixty seven patients (8.17%) had A1 c 6.5% before they were enrolled in the study while the majority (753 patents, 91.82%) had A1 c 6.5%
Vocational education is the basis of contemporary educational movement that aims at satisfying human needs. Societies can develop their human resources via setting programs for the working class as an aspect of the comprehensive national development. Vocational education is the main source of technical cadres the Iraqi labor market requires of the vocational preparatory schools to provide after three years of schooling.
The vocational schools of the governorate of Basra have a number of problems that lead to the lack of proficiency of their graduates. This study is an attempt to identify these problems or obstacles
... Show MoreThe purpose of this paper is to identifying the results of the clubs participating in the men's Volleyball Premier League for the period from (1991) to (2022), archive the results of the Iraqi clubs participating in the Iraqi Premier League for men for the period from (1991) to (2022), and diagnosing and analyzing the causes of fluctuation in the participation of some Iraqi clubs in the Premier League for men for the period from (1991) to (2022). The nature of the research necessitated that the researcher use the historical approach or the so-called documentary approach, taking advantage of the historical development that took place for the participation of Iraqi clubs for men in the Premier League from (1991) until 2022), the last league h
... Show MoreThe research studied and analyzed the hybrid parallel-series systems of asymmetrical components by applying different experiments of simulations used to estimate the reliability function of those systems through the use of the maximum likelihood method as well as the Bayes standard method via both symmetrical and asymmetrical loss functions following Rayleigh distribution and Informative Prior distribution. The simulation experiments included different sizes of samples and default parameters which were then compared with one another depending on Square Error averages. Following that was the application of Bayes standard method by the Entropy Loss function that proved successful throughout the experimental side in finding the reliability fun
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The tax is one of the elements of the general revenues of the state and contributes to covering its expenses. Taxes are imposed in most countries of the world. The tax proceeds depend on a set of factors that contribute either positively or negatively to the tax share by increasing or decreasing it. Therefore, the research aims to demonstrate the role of the tax examiner's procedures in achieving the validity of the taxable base and its reflection on the tax proceeds, as well as reviewing the tax examiner's procedures related to the tax return process. Examination and tax audit of the financial statements, as well as presenting the financial statements to an independent and i
... Show MoreThe light-based life in the universe, including the human derived concepts and meanings of the fear of darkness and evil, comfort and goodness of light, became constitute bilateral haunted man to this day in various concepts of life.Therefore reflect the light form artistic aesthetic in visual arts such arts Fine Photography and the other until the emergence of art cinema, as the use of lighting in cinema has produced high-energy in the composition of its values expressive and symbolic, where it became dark and light are the space visually moving the vehicles media kit for many within the work structure artwork. The research is divided into five chapters, the first chapter (the methodological framework) that included an introduction the
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Central banks seek to control and supervise credit and follow it up effectively due to the high credit risks surrounding it that may lead to damage to banks, and may even lead to damage to the reputation and confidence of the banking system as a whole.
The main role of supervisory control is to control credit by controlling it from excessive expansion during periods of economic inflation or its revitalization and improvement and expansion of credit transactions in cases of economic recession, or when central banks desire to support the national economy or support a sector of various
... Show MoreThe most important issue that 21-century in knowledge organization try successfully to face and solve is the determination of the ways and the processes through which they can measure and assess the intellectual capital (IC). In spite of the importance of the human capital in the knowledge organization, The accounting as an information systems, does not give a great deal of consideration to the human capital, and does not treat investment in it as an original factor, but it shows it on the base of salaries and payrolls that is appears in the financial statements as a revenue expenditure. As a result of that the financial statement are not a true expression of the actual status and then some of the decisions taken under the present circum
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