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
In the current study, a novel approach for separating ethanol-water mixture by microbubble distillation technology was investigated. Traditional distillation processes require large amounts of energy to raise the liquid to its boiling point to effect removal of volatile components. The concept of microbubble distillation by comparison is to heat the gas phase rather than the liquid phase to achieve separation. The removal of ethanol from the thermally sensitive fermentation broths was taken as a case of study. Consequently the results were then compared with those which could be obtained under equilibrium conditions expected in an “ideal” distillation unit. Microbubble distillation has achieved vapour compositions higher than th
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Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical process of treating polluted water where sacrificial anode corrodes to produce active coagulant (usually aluminum or iron cations) into solution. Accompanying electrolytic reactions evolve gas (usually as hydrogen bubbles). The present study investigates the removal of phenol from water by this method. A glass tank with 1 liter volume and two electrodes were used to perform the experiments. The electrode connected to a D.C. power supply. The effect of various factors on the removal of phenol (initial phenol concentration, electrode size, electrodes gab, current density, pH and treatment time) were studied. The results indicated that the removal efficiency decreased as initial phenol concentration
... Show MoreChildhood is characterized by ahigh privacy in the life of the child overall educational institutions in the world. Based on this specificity, modern education begins with a holistic vision of the child through all developmental aspects (moral, religious, emotional, social, linguistic, physical, health, and mental). This integration could be achieved through taking into consideration the needs and rights of children and developing curricula that consider these needs and capacities to provide opportunities for developing and supporting the developmental aspects of the child. The contemporary technological developments in the field of computer and the Internet have brought with it new forms, ideas, and problems for children in recent years
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Abstract
Personality is one of the most important elements that should be developed in university student. Thus, we have to develop the positive traits and neutralize the negative traits of students as well as we have to pay attention to the level of student achievement at the same time, the researcher designed a scale to measure the traits of study sample. The research come out with a number of recommendations and proposals, the most important of which Enhancing the positive characteristics of university students in order to reach them to the level of mature personality with mental health. Enhancing the positive role of the high level of achievement by motivating the stude
... Show MoreThe levels of shooting in basketball not very good appears un healthy phenomenon for age stages especially youth players on Iraq and therefore there is lower level in skills especially shooting that seems the players represent their players not good levels which cause difficult in choosing players for youth national team. The research sample were youth teams in Baghdad for season 2012-2013 their birth 1996 and the number teams (7) and after getting results and treat it statically the important ones were : there is a large number of failure attempts on success ones in basic shooting in basketball for youth teams in Baghdad teams (2012-2013) season and basic shooting have effective participation (positive relation) in youth teams ranking in B
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The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which represents a global public health crisis. Based on recent published studies, this review discusses current evidence related to the transmission, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, management and prevention of COVID-19. It is hoped that this review article will provide a benefit for the public to well understand and deal with this new virus, and give a reference for future researches.
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Theoretical calculation of the electronic current at N 3 contact with TiO 2 solar cell devices ARTICLES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN Theoretical studies of electronic transition characteristics of senstizer molecule dye N3-SnO 2 semiconductor interface AIP Conference. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362813854_Theoretical_calculation_of_the_electronic_current_at_N_3_contact_with_TiO_2_solar_cell_devices_ARTICLES_YOU_MAY_BE_INTERESTED_IN_Theoretical_studies_of_electronic_transition_characteristics_of_senstiz [accessed May 01 2023].
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إن النجاح في أداء المتطلبات الفنية والخططية في أي من الألعاب ألرياضيه يستوجب امتلاك العناصر الاساسيه المتعلقة بطبيعة الاداء ونوع الفعالية الرياضية الممارسة , لذا فان اغلب الألعاب الرياضية تعتمد على مكونات ألقدره التوافقيه والادراكيه الحسيه بوصفها احد العناصر الاساسيه في المستويات العليا لما توفره من قاعدة اقتران للصفات البدنيه والحر كيه وقدرات أجهزة الجسم الوظيفية , وفقا للأسس المعتمدة في بناء مهاراته, وع
... Show MoreThe division partitioning technique has been used to analyze the four electron systems into six-pairs electronic wave functions for ( for the Beryllium atom in its excited state (1s2 2s 3s ) and like ions ( B+1 ,C+2 ) using Hartree-Fock wave functions . The aim of this work is to study atomic scattering form factor f(s) for and nuclear magnetic shielding constant. The results are obtained numerically by using the computer software (Mathcad).