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
Introduction The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) is being developed to enhance the localisation of radiopharmaceutical uptake in targeted tissues during surgical procedures such as sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Purpose To assess the capability of the HGC, a lymph-node-contrast (LNC) phantom was constructed for an evaluative study simulating medical scenarios of varying radioactivity concentration and SLN size. Materials and methods The phantom was constructed using two methyl methacrylate PMMA plates (8 mm thick). The SLNs were simulated by drilling circular wells of diameters ranging between 10 mm and 2.5 mm (16 wells in total) in one plate. These simulated SLNs were placed underneath scattering material with thicknesses ranging between 5 mm
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In this work, of New Ligand [(E)-5-hydroxy-4-(3-(4-methoxy phenyl) acryl amido) naphthalene -1- sulfonic acid] (ANS) was prepared by reflexing reaction of 4-amino-5-hydroxy naphthalene sulfonic acid with para methoxy cinnamic acid, this produced and described chemical was employed as ligand to prepare tri and di-organotin complexes by condensation reaction with the salts of organotin chloride (phenyl, butyl, and methyl tin chloride). Specialized methods, including elemental analysis, (tin and proton) magnetic resonance, and infrared spectra, were used to identify the complexes. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and CUPRAC (Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity) are both commonly used methods for measuring antioxidant capacity in v
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This study aims at suggesting flow as a strategy for training female EFL student-teachers in the teaching training course and finding out the effect of this strategy on their performance and their flow state. The training course syllabuses will be constructed according to the flow nine factors and the teaching skills. The measurement tools are the student-teacher performance checklist that has already been used by the department of English language and SHORT Flow State Scale (S FSS-2). The study population is represented with the (60) female student-teachers/ fourth stage/ evening studies at theEnglish department /college of education for women/the University of Baghdad. The study is used the experimental design in that (30) of the student-
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YouTube is not just a platform that individuals share, upload, comment on videos; teachers and educators can utilize it to the best maximum so that students can have benefits. This study aims at investigating how active and influential YouTube can be in the educational process and how it is beneficial for language teachers to enhance the skills of students. The study demonstrates different theoretical frameworks that tackle the employment of technology to enhance the learning/teaching process. It relies on the strategies of Berk (2009) for using multimedia media, video clips in particular to develop the abilities of teachers for using technology in classrooms. To achieve the objective of the study, the researchers develop a questionnair
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This current study aimed to explore the mediation effects of mother's mental health symptoms between marital adjustment and child development aspects. (666) participants of mothers and their children were the sample of the study. The researchers used the marital adjustment scale prepared by Manson, Morse, Lerner, Arthur, as well as, a package of tests for some aspects of growth Kindergarten children prepared by Kenawi and Mohamed (1999). In addition, theyemployed a list of modified symptoms (Symptom Checklist-90- Revised (SCL) -90-, prepared by Derogatis, Lipman and Lipogun & Cov (1976), The results of the current study showed there is a statistically significant relationship between marital adjustment and the symptoms of mental diso
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The standard formulation of Wave Intensity Analysis (WIA) assumes that the flow velocity (U) in the conduit is <;<; the velocity of propagation of waves (c) in the system, and Mach number, M=U/c, is negligible. However, in the large conduit arteries, U is relatively high due to ventricular contraction and c is relatively low due to the large compliance; thus M is > 0, and may not be ignored. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify experimentally the relationship between M and the reflection coefficient in vitro. Combinations of flexible tubes, of 2 m in length with isotropic and uniform circular cross sectional area along their longitudinal axes, were used to present mother and daughter tubes to produce a range of reflection coeffic
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Husain as a king of Iraq.
This paper deals with the British communication with faisel . then Winston Churchill's speech in British common house .then fodlowed by arriving faisal to Iraq after that the referend um faisel .
The his claims of British maneuver lastly coronation on faisal & his inauguration as a king of Iraq.