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
Millions of pilgrims and visitors from numerous parts of the world flock to Karbala (one of the most prominent ideological and religious places in central Iraq) each year to visit the holy shrines in Karbala due to their sanctity. Many improvements have been made to the Two Holy Shrines (THS), the Shrines of Imam Husayn and Imam Abbas, and the area between them (ATHS), due to the high temperatures in this region and to improve pedestrian thermal comfort. Studies on improving outdoor thermal comfort in Karbala are scarce. Hence, this research aims to look into historical and current architectural changes and how they affect thermal comfort. On the hottest summer day, the ENVI-met software program was used to simulate the building des
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The research aims at the possibility of measuring the technical and scale efficiency (SE) of the departments of the College of Administration and Economics at the University of Baghdad for a period lasting 8 years, from the academic year 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 using the method of Applied Data Analysis with an input and output orientation to maintain the distinguished competitive position and try to identify weaknesses in performance and address them. Nevertheless, the research problem lies in diagnosing the most acceptable specializations in the labor market and determining the reasons for students’ reluctance to enter some departments. Furthermore, the (Win4DEAp) program was used to measure technical and scale efficiency (SE) and rely on
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The aim of this research is to demonstrate the nature of the interactive relationship between the dimensions of the requirements of economic intelligence Represented by(Administrative and regulatory requirements, human requirements, and technical requirements) The strategic success of banks is represented by (Customer satisfaction, customer confidence, quality of service, growth) In three of the Iraqi banks own bank(Middle East Iraqi Investment, Al Ahli Iraqi, Gulf Commercial), The questionnaire was adopted as a tool for collecting data and information Of the sample (85) Who are they(Director of the Commissioner, M. Director Plenipotentiary, Director of Department, Director of Section, M. Section Manager, Division Officer, Unit Officer),
... Show MoreMishrif Formation is the main reservoir in oil-fields (North Rumaila, South Rumaila, Majnoon, Zubair and West Qurna) which located at Basrah southern Iraq. The Inductively coupled plasma-Mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was used for the water chemistry analysis and Scanning Electron Microprobe (SEM) for the purpose of mineralogy diagnosis. A weak acidic water of salinity six-time greater than seawater plays a role in generating the formation pressure and controlling the fluid flow. The potentiometric subsurface maps were modeled and the direction of super-pressure sites that are of a great importance in the oil exploration were marked to pay attention during future drilling.
This research worked on identifying the effect of increasing the volume of indebtedness by companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange on the trading volume of those companies, and this research included some theoretical concepts related to both debt financing and trading volume, and it represents the research community of the joint-stock companies listed in The Iraq Stock Exchange (the banking sector). As for the research sample, it was deliberately chosen represented by companies with continuous trading without stopping, which reached 10 joint-stock companies, and the period of research was extended during the period 2011-2015, and a set of indicators and financial methods were used In measuring research v
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The research synthesis variables of competitive advantage and the mechanism achieved by focusing on knowledge abilities and strategic of the administrative leadership, and governments and the developed countries took the racing frantically and my destiny to invest more money and resources to development of wealth and human knowledge is so choice investment winner always and who Aaikhyee never, because God Almighty give humans the abilities of all other creatures and that these abilities varying from person to person, there is the problem of search provoking questions about the essence of what it's about research and both sides theoretical and field, the objective of this research
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The objective of the study was to identify the effectiveness of a training program based on the employment of the educational portal in the development of the skills of the administrative body in the basic education schools in Dhofar Governorate. To achieve the goal, a training program was designed that includes the skills of the educational portal to be met by the administrative body and measuring its effectiveness. A questionnaire to identify training needs, and a notecard to evaluate performance. The study sample consisted of (70) individuals of the administrative staff. The researchers used the descriptive-analytical method to identify the training needs, design and build the training program and the experimental method for applying
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