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
Au XIXe siècle, avec l’excès de la passion, le roman français commence à avoir de nouvelles figures. Il tend à être un reflet de la pensée et de la passion. Stendhal et Balzac révèlent ainsi le conflit de l’âme et donnent à leur héros l’impression que tout est permis.
Ces protagonistes doivent, d’une part, subir des fluctuations psychologiques, et d’autre part, ces héros doivent être capables de faire face aux rancunes et aux conflits destructeurs. Les personnages stendhaliens et balzaciens finissent par croire que leur combat ne portera pas ses fruits, parce que toute passion déséquilibrée mènera, soit à la fol
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This study aims to identify the degree to which the first cycle teachers use different feedback patterns in the E-learning system, to identify the differences in the degree of use according to specialization, teaching experience, and in-service training in the field of classroom assessment as well as the interaction between them. The study sample consisted of (350) female teachers of the first cycle in the governmental schools in Muscat Governorate for the academic year 2020/2021. The study used a questionnaire containing four different feedback patterns: reinforcement, informative, corrective, and interpretive feedback. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were verified in terms of validity
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Since the railway transport sector is very important in many countries of the world, we have tried through this research to study the production function of this sector and to indicate the level of productivity under which it operates.
It was found through the estimation and analysis of the production function Kub - Duglas that the railway transport sector in Iraq suffers from a decline in the level of productivity, which was reflected in the deterioration of the level of services provided for the transport of passengers and goods. This led to the loss of the sector of importance in supporting the national economy and the reluctance of most passengers an
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Volumetric chemical adsorption was done in a volumetric apparatus using hydrogen gas at room temperature on eleven platinum catalyst, commercial catalysts (RG-412,RG-402 ,RG-432, RG-451, RG-482, and PS-10) and prepared platinum catalysts with 0.1, 0.2 , 0.45 , and 0.55% by weight of Pt supported with Y-alumina. The results show that the metal crystallite area increases with increasing platinum content. The dispersion and particle size of metal crystallite located between 48.2-96.1% and 3.85-12.72 nm, respectively. For bimetallic catalysts, the hydrogen intake decrease in the following order : Re < Sn < Ir.
KA Hadi, AH Asma’a, IJONS, 2018 - Cited by 1
Horizontal wells have revolutionized hydrocarbon production by enhancing recovery efficiency and reducing environmental impact. This paper presents an enhanced Black Oil Model simulator, written in Visual Basic, for three-dimensional two-phase (oil and water) flow through porous media. Unlike most existing tools, this simulator is customized for horizontal well modeling and calibrated using extensive historical data from the South Rumaila Oilfield, Iraq. The simulator first achieves a strong match with historical pressure data (1954–2004) using vertical wells, with an average deviation of less than 5% from observed pressures, and is then applied to forecast the performance of hypothetical horizontal wells (2008–2011). The result
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The novel is the revelation of the attitudes of every age. And the writers do not know the winner of their stroke to express these events، The research has been working on a descriptive-analytical approach based on the American Comparative School، Al-Shahez's novel explores the work of the nobly and the film by Hamoun by Dariush Mehrjui By relying on the main characters of these two narratives, they depict a picture of Egypt and Iran From the symbolic lines of these works. In fact, the authors of this research have tried to initiate the introduction and analysis of these two works In fact, the authors of this research have tried to initiate the introduction and analysis of these two works.
The results of the research show that
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Background: Dyslipidemia is defined as an abnormally high level of various lipids in the blood. It is considered a major risk for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Genetic susceptibility can have a significant influence on the development and progression of dyslipidemia. ApoB-100 R3500Q mutation and ApoE variants are among those genetic risks for dyslipidemia. This study aims to assess the possible contribution of ApoB and ApoE variants on lipid profile among a group of early-onset ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients in comparison to a group of controls. Methods: Forty patients with dyslipidemia and early-onset IHD without chronic conditions likely to cause derangement of lipid levels were recruited to this case-control study
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