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 current study examined the use of Sansevieria plant leaves extract as an environmentally acceptable, inexpensive, and safe green approach for creating titanium dioxide nanoparticles (NPs). Batch studies have been used to test the particles' capacity to bind to the azo dye congo red (CR), which has been adsorbed from its aqueous solution. The effects of many factors, including the weight of TiO2 NPs, the contact duration to reach equilibrium, the concentration of CR, temperature, and pH, have been investigated. Both the Freundlich and Langmuir models were used to analyze experimental results. According to the high values of the Freundlich model's correlation coefficient R2, it is discovered that th
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In this study, the flexural performance of a new composite beam–slab system filled with concrete material was investigated, where this system was mainly prepared from lightweight cold-formed steel sections of a beam and a deck slab for carrying heavy floor loads as another concept of a conventional composite system with a lower cost impact. For this purpose, seven samples of a profile steel sheet–dry board deck slab (PSSDB/PDS) carried by a steel cold-formed C-purlins beam (CB) were prepared and named “composite CBPDS specimen”, which were tested under a static bending load. Specifically, the effects of the profile steel sheet (PSS) direction (parallel or perpendicular to the span of the specimen) using different C-purlins c
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Background: A great dental and biomedical interest had been paid to silver nanoparticles because of their antimicrobial activity. Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of a newly developed Nano-silver fluoride that was synthesized from moringa oleifera leaf extract against S. mutants. Material and method: The green synthesis method was used to prepare Nano-silver fluoride from moringa oleifera leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were evaluated using brain heart infusion plates, while the cytotoxicity was evaluated by the hemolytic activity. Results: Nano-silver fluoride had a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect (MIC was 60 ppm and MBC was 120 pp
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This research aims to predict the value of the maximum daily loss that the fixed-return securities portfolio may suffer in Qatar National Bank - Syria, and for this purpose data were collected for risk factors that affect the value of the portfolio represented by the time structure of interest rates in the United States of America over the extended period Between 2017 and 2018, in addition to data related to the composition of the bonds portfolio of Qatar National Bank of Syria in 2017, And then employing Monte Carlo simulation models to predict the maximum loss that may be exposed to this portfolio in the future. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation showed the possibility of decreasing the value at risk in the future due to the dec
... Show MoreThe organizational integration forms a necessity according to McKinsey model, especially for service organizations. In the context of various service sector developments, importance adoption of compact mechanisms by these organizations to upgrade their services has increased and senior management must be more aware of environmental, competitive and developmental requirements. It gets more important when it shows in an organization seeking at excellence of making services within its policies and strategies. Subject organizational integration dimensions (strategy, structure, systems, style, staff, shared values, and skills) are effective components in directing behaviors of employees and organization. This motivated both researcher
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With the great development in the field of the Internet, the talk about the new media and its implications began, And its interactive services have made the future of media material sometimes participating in it and manufacturing it at other times,
the public is seeking information and choosing the appropriate ones, as well as exchanging messages with the sender after what the role of the receiver is just receiving information only.
This study aims to demonstrate the effects of using digital media in various forms and types to construct the value system of Iraqi society through the identification of the following aims:
Identify the most popular digital media for the Iraqi public in their daily lives on the Internet.
Identify
The aim of this research is to construct a three-dimensional maritime transport model to transport nonhomogeneous goods (k) and different transport modes (v) from their sources (i) to their destinations (j), while limiting the optimum quantities v ijk x to be transported at the lowest possible cost v ijk c and time v ijk t using the heuristic algorithm, Transport problems have been widely studied in computer science and process research and are one of the main problems of transport problems that are usually used to reduce the cost or times of transport of goods with a number of sources and a number of destinations and by means of transport to meet the conditions of supply and demand. Transport models are a key tool in logistics an
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In this research we built a mathematical model of the transportation problem for data of General Company for Grain Under the environment of variable demand ,and situations of incapableness to determining the supply required quantities as a result of economic and commercial reasons, also restrict flow of grain amounts was specified to a known level by the decision makers to ensure that the stock of reserves for emergency situations that face the company from decrease, or non-arrival of the amount of grain to silos , also it took the capabilities of the tanker into consideration and the grain have been restricted to avoid shortages and lack of processing capability, Function has been adopted
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