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
لقد كان حرص المؤلف على إصدار هذا الكتاب نابعا ً من قناعة تامة بأن مجال التقويم والقياس بحاجة إلى كتاب علمي حديث يتناول عرض أدوات الاختبار والقياس والمتمثلة بالصدق والثبات ويتسم بالوضوح في التعبير عن المفاهيم والمصطلحات والأنواع لكل منها ليكون وسيلة مبسطة بأيدي الأساتذة والباحثين وطلبتي الدراسات العليا الماجستير والدكتوراه لإستخراج صدق وثبات الاختبارات والمقاييس بطرق إحصائية متقدمة من خلال إستخدام البرنا
... Show MoreThe current study deals with the performance of constructed wetland (CW) incorporating a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The whole unit is referred to as CW-MFC. This technique involves two treatments; the first is an aerobic treatment which occurs in the upper layer of the system (cathode section) and the second is anaerobic biological treatment in the lower layer of the system (anode section). Two types of electrode material were tested; stainless steel and graphite. Three configurations for electrodes arrangement CW-MFC were used. In the first unit of CW-MFC, the anode was graphite plate (GPa) and cathode was also graphite plate (GPc), in the second CW-MFC unit, the anode was stainless steel
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The present work establishes and validates HILIC strategies simple, accurate, exact and precise in pure form and inpharmaceutical dosage for separating and determining theophylline. These methods are developed on HILIC theophyllineseparation in columns ZIC2 and ZIC3. The eluent was prepared by mixing buffer (20% sodium acetate-40 mM, pH 5.5), 80%acetonitrile. The flow rate is 0.8 mL/min, with gradient elution and UV detection at 270 nm. In the ZIC2 and ZIC3 columns oftheophylline determining, the concentration range was 0.01-4μg.ml-1. The lower limit of detection and quantification fortheophylline were determined as 0.130, 0.190 μg.ml-1 and accuracy were 99.70%, 99.58% on ZIC2 and ZIC3, respectively. TheHILIC methods developed and validat
... Show MoreAn optimization study was conducted to determine the optimal operating pressure for the oil and gas separation vessels in the West Qurna 1 oil field. The ASPEN HYSYS software was employed as an effective tool to analyze the optimal pressure for the second and third-stage separators while maintaining a constant operating pressure for the first stage. The analysis involved 10 cases for each separation stage, revealing that the operating pressure of 3.0 Kg/cm2 and 0.7 Kg/cm2 for the second and third stages, respectively, yielded the optimum oil recovery to the flow tank. These pressure set points were selected based on serval factors including API gravity, oil formation volume factor, and gas-oil ratio from the flow tank. To impro
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The Arabic calligraphy, in the early days of Islam, was used for the purpose of decorating the walls of mosques from inside and outside. Hence, this decorative art must be actively involved in enriching the designs of Islamic fabrics and costumes because it has a highly qualified and aesthetically pleasing look and expresses the originality of the Arab spirit. The research is divided into two section: the first section included the following topics: First "A historical overview of the art of decoration in Islamic Arab thought". Second "linear formations of decorative designs, and the subject of intellectual aesthetic taste of the art of decorating. This section tackles two subsections: first "the beauty of thought between the function an
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Recent research looking for acknowledgment of strategically influence of Robinson and self question at progressing the reading comprehension for students of sixth class .
To achieve research goal so the researcher mentally chose primary sixth class at the school (Tashti the primary) that followed education directorate of province (Jamjamal)/Suliymania for the scholastic year 2012-2013 as application field for their experiment of boys' number reached to (95) (female and male)students in reality (32) of the first experimental group and (31) student (female and male) from controlled group, the researcher rewarded between of three variable groups (timing period, intelligence ,Kurdish language degr
... Show MoreCharge transfer complex formation method has been applied for the spectrophotometric determination of erythromycin ethylsuccinate, in bulk sample and dosage form. The method was accurate, simple, rapid, inexpensive and sensitive depending on the formed charge- transfer complex between cited drug and, 2,3- Dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p- benzoquinone (DDQ) as a chromogenic reagent. The formed complex shows absorbance maxima at 587 nm against reagent blank. The calibration graph is linear in the ranges of (10 - 110) μg.mL-1 with detection limit of 0.351μg.mL-1. The results show the absence of interferences from the excipients on the determination of the drug. Therefore the proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of eryth
... Show MorePostcolonial reading for any text aroused a great controversy that deserves to be studied it give more dimensions with the awareness that it can be interpreted in numerous ways. Postcolonialism is a challenging field as it covers variety of political, psychological, cultural, and economical activities often called ‘postcolonial’. The concept of culture worked effectively in shaping and mapping postcolonial struggles, which have so profoundly reshaped our world. Man's sense of cultural displacement is the core of this project. Man's quest for cultural adaptation forms a kind of equilibrium and compromise to the vision of human liberation. It is very important to minimize disadvantages and to internalize the logic of Western colonization.
... Show MoreThe behavior of AC conductivity (σac), loss tangent (tan δ), and relative permittivity (ε′) for composites of PVC-P/graphite electrode waste (GEW) was investigated, and a qualitative explanation was provided as a function of PVC-P weight fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25) wt. percent, temperature (30-90) °C, and frequency (100Hz-2MHz). The behaviors of the composites' ac. conductivity and impedance as a frequency function and temperature have been examined. The permittivity was shown to rise with increasing temperature (Tg). The relative permittivity increased as the GEW filler concentration increased and was highest in the low-frequency range; nevertheless decreased as the frequency increased.
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