Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases affecting man with up to 90% of the global population affected. Its severe form can lead to the tooth loss in 10-15% of the population worldwide. The disease is caused by a dysbiosis of the local microbiota and one organism that contributes to this alteration in the bacterial population is Prophyromonas gingivalis. This organism possesses a range of virulence factors that appear to contribute to its growth and survival at a periodontal site amongst which is its ability to invade oral epithelial cells. Such an invasion strategy provides a means of evasion of host defence mechanisms, persistence at a site and the opportunity for dissemination to other sites in the mouth. However, previous studies have demonstrated that invasion of the mammalian cells in a population by P. gingivalis is heterogenous, with some cells becoming heavily invaded while others harbour no or only a few bacteria. An understanding of this heterogeneity may throw light on the mechanisms involved and we hypothesised that the phase of the host cell cycle may explain this phenomenon. In an attempt to study the factors influencing P. gingivalis invasion and the cell response to that invasion, a standard antibiotic protection assay was employed and an oral keratinocyte cell line, H357. The results showed that P. gingivalis NCTC 11834 invasion was significantly increased with increasing time of exposure to the cells and the cell density. This may reflect an increased host cell surface area available for bacterial attachment. No effect on invasion of P. gingivalis invasion was observed by the bacterial growth phase, H357 cell passage number or whether cells were pre-incubated with P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide. Epithelial cells did, however, respond to the presence of P. gingivalis in a number of ways. For example, the mRNA expression of endothelin-1 and urokinase receptor were upregulated with increasing P. gingivalis infection time, suggesting that these proteins could act as inflammatory mediators and possibly as useful markers of the severity of periodontal disease or in the diagnosis and treatment of periodontitis. iii Secondly, in an attempt to investigate the reason for the observed heterogeneous P. gingivalis invasion of H357 cell populations, the effect of cell cycle phase on P. gingivalis invasion was investigated. H357 cells were synchronized by serum starvation. On re-introduction of serum, characterisation of cell cycle phase distribution was performed by flow cytometry following staining with propidium idodide (PI) or by immunofluorescence using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), which specifically identifies cells in S-phase. The effect of cell cycle phases on P. gingivalis invasion was measured using the antibiotic protection assay, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry and these were correlated with gene and surface expression of the urokinase receptor and the α5-integrin subunit, which is thought to mediate P. gingivalis invasion. Results showed that the percentage invasion was enhanced with increasing serum re-introduction time, and positively correlated with the number of cells in S-phase. In addition, flow cytometry data showed that the highest association of fluorescent P. gingivalis was with PI positive S-phase cells. Moreover, BrdU positive S-phase cells were 3 times more likely to be invaded and contained 10 times more P. gingivalis than cells in other phases. Also, α5-integrin was more highly expressed in cells in S-phase than other phases, which could explain the mechanism underlying this enhanced invasion. Data presented here have suggested that P. gingivalis targeting of cells in S- phase could, in vivo, allow preferential invasion of the junctional epithelial cells which turns over rapidly. The data presented in this thesis suggest that P. gingivalis invasion is greatly dependent on several factors attributed to the host, the bacteria itself, and to the environment which the bacteria reside in. The invasion occurs within a population of host cells in a heterogeneous fashion, and is dependent on the cell cycle phase, specifically S-phase. This novel finding, in addition to the previously reported mechanisms of P. gingivalis invasion, increases our understanding of this virulence trait and suggests that such a strategy is a highly organised process which the bacteria can follow to ensure its survival within the host. Furthermore, knowledge of these mechanisms could provide novel approaches to treatment of periodontal diseases.
Endophytic bacteria produced analogous secondary metabolites of their hosts. Similarly, the ability to generate antioxidants is not an exception. Dragon scales (Pyrrosia piloselloides), an epiphytic plant of the Polypodiaceae family, are frequently overlooked. This research aims to isolate antioxidant-producing bacteria from dragon-scale fern leaves. The antioxidant activities were tested after the extraction procedure using ethanolic extract. Bacteria were characterized and selected as candidates for antioxidant production by screening for the production of total phenolic compounds. Antioxidant levels were determined utilizing the ABTS, FRAP, and DPPH techniques. The preliminary findings of the entire phenolic compound test rev
... Show MoreBackground: The bond strength of the root canal sealers to dentin seems to be a very important property for maintaining the integrity and the seal of root canal filling. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength of four different obturation systems using push-out test. Materials and methods: Forty straight palatal roots of the maxillary first molars teeth were used in this study, these roots were instrumented using crown down technique and ProTaper system, instrumentation were done with copious irrigation of 2.5% sodium hypochlorite and 17% buffered solution of EDTA was used as final irrigant followed by distilled water, roots were randomly divided into four groups according to the obturation system (ten teeth for each g
... Show MorePulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) has become an increasingly important technique for metals production and metal oxides nanoparticles (NPs) and others. This technique has its many advantages compared with other conventional techniques (physical and chemical). This work was devoted for production of zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles via PLAL technique from a solid zirconium target immersed in a wet environment in order to study the effect of this environment on the optical properties and structure of ZrO2 nanoparticles. The solutions which used for this purpose is distilled water (D.W). The produces NPs were characterized by mean of many tests such as UV-visible (UV-Vis.), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Z-Potential. The UV-Vis.
... Show MoreThe ability to produce load-bearing masonry units adopting ACI 211.1 mix design using (1:3.2:2.5) as (cement: fine aggregate: coarse aggregate) with slump range (25-50mm) which can conform (dimension, absorption, and compressive strength) within IQS 1077/1987 requirements type A was our main goal of the study. The ability to use low cement content (300 kg/m3) to handle our market price products since the most consumption in wall construction for low-cost buildings was encouraging. The use of (10 and 20%) of LECA as partial volume replacement of coarse aggregate to reduce the huge weight of masonry blocks can also be recommended. The types of production of the load-bearing masonry units were A and B for (
... Show MoreThe paper presents mainly the dynamic response of an angle ply composite laminated plates subjected to thermo-mechanical loading. The response are analyzed by analytically using Newmark direct integration method with Navier solution, numerically by ANSYS. The experimental investigation is to fabricate the laminates and to find mechanical and thermal properties of glass-polyester such as longitudinal, transverse young modulus, shear modulus, longitudinal and transverse thermal expansion. Present of temperature could increase dynamic response of plate also depending on lamination angle, type of mechanical load and the value of temperature.
Several attempts have been made to modify the quasi-Newton condition in order to obtain rapid convergence with complete properties (symmetric and positive definite) of the inverse of Hessian matrix (second derivative of the objective function). There are many unconstrained optimization methods that do not generate positive definiteness of the inverse of Hessian matrix. One of those methods is the symmetric rank 1( H-version) update (SR1 update), where this update satisfies the quasi-Newton condition and the symmetric property of inverse of Hessian matrix, but does not preserve the positive definite property of the inverse of Hessian matrix where the initial inverse of Hessian matrix is positive definiteness. The positive definite prope
... Show MoreCoffee bean contains bioactive compounds including caffeine and chlorogenic acid (CGA) that have a stimulant effect and are used for combating fatigue and drowsiness, and enhancing alertness. However, when the coffee bean was processed in the form of green coffee bean (GCB) extract, it has an unpleasant flavour and limitations instability, activity, and bioavailability. This study aimed to produce microcapsules of the GCB (Coffea canephora) ethanolic extract containing considerable amounts of the bioactive compounds for nutraceutical supplements. The GCB ethanolic extract was microencapsulated by spray drying using a whey protein concentrate (WPC) biopolimer. The particle size (PSA), morphology (SEM), and physicochemical charact
... Show MoreThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Abstract This study examines the working capital management
This research utilized natural asphalt (NA) deposits from sulfur springs in western Iraq. Laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of an asphalt mixture incorporating NA and verify its suitability for local pavement applications. To achieve this, a combination of two types of NA, namely soft SNA and hard HNA, was blended to create a binder known as Type HSNA. The resulting HSNA exhibited a penetration grade that adhered to Iraqi specifications. Various percentages of NA (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80%) were added to petroleum asphalt. The findings revealed enhanced physical properties of HSNA, which also satisfied the requirements outlined in the Iraqi specifications for asphalt cement.
Consequently, HS
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