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 aim of the research is to know the level of time management application and its impact on the performance of the job, a survey search in the general company for communication and information technology and provide recommendations that help employees to optimize the use of time and improve performance, which is an important element in controlling the various functions of the company. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the questionnaire was based on two main variables and distributed to a random sample of (44) employees in the company out of (308) employees, thus the proportion of the sample (14%). After collecting the samples from the sample, there are (6) incomplete forms that have been retri
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To achieve the goals, the researcher followed the design of equal and independent groups of partial control and post-test . The research has chosen the Institute of Fine Arts in the area Almansour area as deliberate sample where three sections of students have been chosen and the number of students is (69) students. The researcher conducted equivalence in the variables (age, and IQ , and the overall rate for grade III). in diagnostic phase, (21) concepts of alternative image out of (46) concepts have been identified in addition to the goals of formulation of acquisition concepts according to the three processes (definition, discrimination and application). Achievement test has been
... Show MoreThis study aimed to examine the effects of electronic training to improve the skills of designing electronic courses for teachers of Arabic language in the colleges of education in Iraq. The descriptive approach is applied and the sample included 145 teachers of Arabic who were selected randomly from the colleges of education in Iraq. Moreover, the results reflected that e-training is effective in improving the skills related to designing online educational courses for teachers of Arabic in the colleges of education in Iraq. Besides, there was no difference between the mean of the respondents' responses to the total score of the tool on the role of electronic training to develop the skills related to electronic courses designing for teacher
... Show Moreيعد علم التدريب الرياضي الحديث عملية تربوية علمية مبنية على اسس صحيحة هدفها وصول اللاعبين الى التكامل في الاداء الفني وهذا يتم عن طريق التأثير المنظم والدقيق بواسطة استعمال التمارين البدنية التي تحدث تغيرات خاصة في عمل اعضاء واجهزة جسم الرياضي والتي بدورها تؤدي الى رفع كفاءة الاعضاء والاجهزة لتحقيق الانجازات الرياضية العالية ولقد استعملت الباحثتان اسلوب حديث من اساليب التدريب الرياضي من اجل تطوير تحم
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The tourism industry has undergone exponential transformation, reshaped by online travel agencies (OTAs), shifting consumer preferences, and technological advancements. Established OTAs like TripAdvisor and Travelocity face pressures to adapt their strategies to capitalize on these disruptive landscape changes. This research involves a comparative analysis examining the key challenges confronting TripAdvisor and Travelocity, with a focus on opportunities to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing personalization and the traveler experience. The study utilizes publicly available data on the companies and academic literature on AI innovation diffusion. Findings reveal that while TripAdvisor has actively developed AI-based trip plan
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is study the partical distribution function g(r12,r1) for Carbon ion cases (C+2,C+3,C+4) in the position space using Hartree-Fock's Wave function, and the partitioning technique for each shell which is represented by Carbon Ions [C+2 (1s22s2)], [C+3 (1s22s)] and [C+4 (1s2)]. A comparision has been made among the three Carbon ions for each shell. A computer programs (MATHCAD ver. 2001i) has been used texcute the results.
For the first time in Iraq, two species of monogenetic tretamtodes of the genus Dactylogyrus were recorded from gills of Alburnus caeruleus from Tigris river at Al-Zaafaraniya, south of Baghdad during June 1995. The first species, Dactylogyrus sphyrna is characterized by having the seventh pair of marginal hooklets almost twice as large as other marginal hooklets, powerful inner and outer processes of median hooks especially the inner one which is expanded terminally, one connecting bar and long spirally twisted copulatory organ. The second species, Daclytogyrus phoxini differs from the first one by having marginal hooklets of the same size, inner and outer processes of median hooks are not powerful, two connecting bars
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The study aims to reveal the level of inclusion of citizenship values in the English language textbooks (We Can) series for elementary education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To achieve this objective, the "content analysis" methodology was used. A content analysis card was designed to include (6) main areas of citizenship values, it consisted of (28) sub-indicators of citizenship values that were supposed to be included in the English language textbook series (We Can) for elementary education. The study sample consisted of all the English language textbooks (We Can) series for elementary education, which consisted of (6) textbooks, two for each class. The results of the study indicated that there is a
... Show Moreتحتل أدوات السياسة المالية (الإنفاقية والإيرادية) مكانة مهمة بين أدوات السياسات الاقتصادية الأخرى لما تتمتع به من تأثيرات اقتصادية واجتماعية على مجمل النشاط الاقتصادي .
وفي بحثنا هذا سنركز على الآثار الاجتماعية لأدوات السياسة المالية (الإنفاق العام والإيراد العام) لما للتنمية الاجتماعية من أهمية متزايدة في عالمنا اليوم خاصة فيما يتعلق بمقوماتها غير المادية المتمثلة في خدما
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