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The Arabian killifish (Aphanius dispar) as a novel model for mycophysiological studies.
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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

Publication Date
Fri Jul 31 2020
Journal Name
Lark Journal For Philosophy, Linguistics And Social Sciences
Identity crisis of Arab-American in Laila Halaby's Novel once in a promise Land
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This study aims at describing the identity crisis of Diaspora people (Arab -American) in "Laila Halaby's" novel "Once in A promise Land". Halaby tackles the issues of racism, exclusion, and instability of identity that affect the Arab American community after the terrorist event of eleventh of September. She sheds light on the experiences of her significant characters Salwa and Jassim in America, clarifying how this event weakened their social position and turns their presence in America questionable. "Halaby" describes the bitterness of her characters who are induced into a dream of belonging to a land that transcends their original culture and religious values as well as their language. "Halaby" explains the subsistence in America involvi

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Publication Date
Wed Mar 15 2023
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
In vitro assessment of bracket adhesion post enamel conditioning with a novel etchant paste
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Background: 37% phosphoric acid (PA) is the traditional enamel etching technique prior to bracket ‎adhesion, yet it has been implicated in numerous enamel injuries. The purpose of the current study was to create a calcium phosphate (CaP) etching paste in a ‎‎simplified capsule ‎formula that can underpin clinically ‎adequate bracket bond strength ‎without jeopardizing the ‎integrity of enamel upon ‎the debracketing procedure. Materials and Methods: micro-sized hydroxyapatite (HA) powder was mixed with 40% PA solution to prepare ‎experimental acidic CaP paste. Sixty human premolars were ‎assigned into two groups of 30 each. ‎Enamel conditioning was accomplished using 37% PA-gel‎ for control group and CaP paste for e

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Publication Date
Tue Oct 01 2024
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering Science And Technology
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SHEET PILES AS A SEEPAGE CUTTER OFF: AL-KIFIL REGULATOR AS A CASE STUDY
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Sheet piles are necessary with hydraulic structures as seepage cut-off to reduce the seepage. In this research, the computational work methodology was followed by building a numerical model using Geo-Studio program to check the efficiency of using concrete sheet piles as a cut-off or reducer for seepage with time if the sheet piles facing the drawdown technique. Al-Kifil regulator was chosen as a case study, an accurate model was built with a help of observed reading of the measuring devices, which was satisfactory and helped in checking the sheet piles efficiency. Through the study, three scenarios were adopted (with and without) drawdown technique, it was found that at the short time there's no effect of the drawdown technique on

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Scopus
Publication Date
Fri Dec 09 2022
Journal Name
Molecules
Palm Raceme as a Promising Biomass Precursor for Activated Carbon to Promote Lipase Activity with the Aid of Eutectic Solvents
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This study concerns the role of activated carbon (AC) from palm raceme as a support material for the enhancement of lipase-catalyzed reactions in an aqueous solution, with deep eutectic solvent (DES) as a co-solvent. The effects of carbonization temperature, impregnation ratio, and carbonization time on lipase activity were studied. The activities of Amano lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (AML) and lipase from the porcine pancreas (PPL) were used to investigate the optimum conditions for AC preparation. The results showed that AC has more interaction with PPL and effectively provides greater enzymatic activity compared with AML. The optimum treatment conditions of AC samples that yield the highest enzymatic activity were 0.5 (NaOH (

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Crossref (5)
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Publication Date
Thu Dec 01 2011
Journal Name
International Review Of Physics (e-journal) (irephy)
Red shift band enhancement of the nanostructure ZnO100-xAlx thin films as a function of Al concentration for optoelectronic applications
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Publication Date
Tue Jan 31 2017
Journal Name
Journal Of Engineering
Determine an Equation to Calculate the Annual Maintenance Cost for Public Hospitals (Al Sader City Hospital as a Case Study)
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Maintenance of  hospital buildings and its management are regarded as an important subject which needs attention because hospital buildings are service institutions which are very important to a society, requiring the search for the best procedure to develop maintenance in hospitals. The research is aimed to determine an equation to estimate the annual maintenance cost for public hospital. To achieve this aim, Al-Sader City Hospital maintenance system in Al-Najaf province has been studied with its main elements through survey of data, records and reports relating to maintenance during the years of the study 2008-2014 and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat points in the current system through Swat analysi

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Publication Date
Mon Jan 13 2020
Journal Name
Journal Of Accounting And Financial Studies ( Jafs )
Analyzing the net profitability of total investments using a constructed mathematical model: An applied research at Iraqi Middle East Bank for investment for the financial years 2008-2010
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The trading banks in Iraq invest their funds according to regulations imposed by the Central Bank in Iraq in different financial fields like stock exchanges, acquire stocks as assets that could be sold at any time as well as make loans and contributing in corporations establishment also magnitude foreign capital through direct contacts with foreign exchange markets.

We can summarize the problem of this paper as shortage in mathematical models that used in studying and analyzing these investments and according to this problem we used (a constructed mathematical model ) consists of three major indicators: profitability of total investment assets which is divided into three sub-indicators: owners equity risk indicator, debits risk i

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Publication Date
Tue Mar 24 2020
Journal Name
Mintage Journal Of Pharmaceutical & Medical Sciences
CD44 AS A TUMOR MARKER DIAGNOSTIC, THE ROLE IN CANCER PROGRESSION
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Publication Date
Wed Oct 09 2019
Journal Name
Journal Of The College Of Education For Women
Silence as a Means of Communication in Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker
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Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker(1959) clearly portrays a lack of communication among the characters of the play which refers to the condition of modern man. This failure of communication led Harold Pinter to use a lot of pauses and silences in all the plays he wrote instead of words. Samuel Beckett preceded Pinter in doing so in his plays and one way to express the bewilderment of modern man during the 20th century is through the use of no language in the dramatic works. Language is no more important to modern man; instead, he uses silence to express his feelings. Silence is more powerful than the words themselves. That’s why long and short pauses can be seen throughout all Pinter’s plays.

In this play, th

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Publication Date
Sun Jun 30 2019
Journal Name
Journal Of The College Of Education For Women
Physical Identity in the Marshes Chabaish District as a Case Study
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The marshes form large areas in southern Iraq, which are large water bodies, covered by reeds and papyrus plants. The marshes are characterized by distinctive physical elements, which have given them a unique and unique identity that can be clearly distinguished by the physical pattern. The physical environment derives its identity through a group Of inputs that interact with each other and represent both cultural and social inputs of the most important inputs that affect the formation of identity, and in the physical environment of the Marshlands many of the symbols that are associated with the collective memory of individuals, these symbols have value in the community Thus, the preservation of these symbols and inherited from one gener

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