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
Abstract In this paper the effect of light exposure duration on Anthracene solution in chloroform is studied. It is found that: the Anthracene solution change its color when it is exposed to light, and that its relative quantum efficiency, Φ, decreases as the light exposure duration, t, increases and this govern by following empirical equation:- Φ = 0.7918-0.0762 In (t)
The total and individual multipole moments of magnetic electron scattering form factors in 41Ca have been investigated using a widely successful model which is the nuclear shell model configurations keeping in mind of 1f7/2 subshell as an L-S shell and Millinar, Baymann, Zamick as L-S shell (F7MBZ) to give the model space wave vector. Also, harmonic oscillator wave functions have been used as wave function of a single particle in 1f7/2 shell. Nucleus 40Ca as core closed and Core polarization effects have been used as a corrective with first order correction concept to basic computation of L-S shell and the excitement energy has been implemented with 2ћω. The
... Show More
(1)
One of the most important intellectual issues, which receive attention is the issue of modernity, it has occupied the scholars of all time. However, modern poetry used to have special care in Iraq and in the Arab countries .. it is not strange that the concept of modernity is linked to history .. or having history as the most important dimension of its dimensions .. because Arab poetry is historical and it is moving into an area of the past that is still active in terms of language and literary image .. When some poets found that changing and modernizing poetry became a necessity of evolution, and one of the fundamentals of modernization, the cultural impact did not respond to the desire of poets, and their impulse in modern poetry
... Show More
Background: Irrigation has a central role in endodontic treatment. Several irrigating solutions have the antimicrobial activity and actively kill bacteria and yeasts when introduced in direct contact with the microorganisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effectiveness of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) root and leaf extracts as possible irrigant solutions, used during endodontic treatments, and both were compared to Sodium hypochlorite, Propolis and Ethyl alcohol. Materials and Method: Forty seven human extracted single rooted teeth were selected. The teeth were decoronated using a diamond disk to have a length of 15 mm ±1 mm and they were instrumented using the hybrid technique. All roots were sterilized
... Show MoreThe present study tackles the complex issue of the urgent need for Environmental Auditing (EA) in Iraq in the absence of laws that support environmental management and in the light of the high rates of cancerous diseases in Iraq, which coincided significantly with the increase in oil production, according to the numbers indicated in the Iraqi Ministry of Health. The study aimed to investigate the mediating role of Management Systems (MS) related to the role of EA supporting sustainability reports concerning the reduction of the negative effects of gas emissions from oil companies. We adopted the descriptive approach which relies on studying relationships through a questionnaire that was distributed to a group of workers at Doura Refinery in
... Show More
(6)
(4)
(3)
The absorption spectrum for three types of metal ions in different concentrations has been studying experimentally and theoretically. The examination model is by Gaius model in order to find the best fitting curve and the equation controlled with this behavior. The three metal ions are (Copper chloride Cu+2, Iron chloride Fe+3, and Cobalt chloride Co+2) with different concentrations (10-4, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7) gm/m3. The spectroscopic study included UV-visible and fluorescence spectrum for all different concentrations sample. The results refer to several peaks that appear from the absorption spectrum in the high concentration of all metal ions solution.
... Show More
The main purpose of the research is to diagnose the importance of the role that strategic memory plays with its three variables (content, structure, and processes) in helping the human resource department to use the COSO model with its five components (culture and governance, strategy and objectives, performance, communications and information, and feedback) in auditing activities and tasks Her own. As the research problem emphasized the existence of a lack of cognitive perception, of the importance of strategic memory, and the investment of its components in the rationalization of the application of the COSO model. and therefore it can be emphasized that the importance of the research is to provide treatments for problems relate
... Show More
Power-electronic converters are essential elements for the effective interconnection of renewable energy sources to the power grid, as well as to include energy storage units, vehicle charging stations, microgrids, etc. Converter models that provide an accurate representation of their wideband operation and interconnection with other active and passive grid components and systems are necessary for reliable steady state and transient analyses during normal or abnormal grid operating conditions. This paper introduces two Laplace domain-based approaches to model buck and boost DC-DC converters for electromagnetic transient studies. The first approach is an analytical one, where the converter is represented by a two-port admittance model via mo
... Show More
(2)
(1)