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.
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This study was conducted to investigate phytoplasma causing a virescence disease on Arabic jasmine Jasminum sambac based on microscopy and molecular approaches. Samples were collected from symptomatic Arabic jasmine plants grown in nurseries in Baghdad-Iraq. Specimens from infected plants were prepared and Dienes stained for light microscopy examination. Phytoplasma were detected in infected plants by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using P1/P7 and SecAfor1/SecArev3 Candidatus Phytoplasma specific primer sets. Light microscopy test showed symptomatic Arabic jasmine plants were phytoplasms infected when phloem tissues were stained with a dark blue color. PCR test confirmed the symptomatic plants were phytoplasms infected when SecAfor1/Sec
... Show MoreThis study showed the spreading of head lice in pupils of primary schools of Al-Nassirya city. The results showed that the percentage of males infected with lice was (5.4 %) and (9 %) for females. Also was obtained difference at age groups which we found maximum percentage of infection at age between (8 – 11) year. The highest infection for the hair tall at medium tall for both sex which the ratio (35.2 %) while for both sex with ratio (25 %) for girls. While the highest percentage for straight hair was (14.8 %) for girls
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The research addressed the ecological impact of the industrial product as one of the basic aesthetic elements in urban design. The research discussed the nature of the overall ecosystems of the industrial product in urban spaces, and the type of impact they have on each other. The discussion of impacts started from the identification of cognitive and non-cognitive viewpoints in the vision of ecological aesthetics, passing through the inputs of cognitive systems that see that the ecosystem made of the urban space with the existence of the industrial product as one of its constituents, are in fact systems based on functional symmetry between urban space design and the design of the industrial prod
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Nanofluids are proven to be efficient agents for wettability alteration in subsurface applications including enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Nanofluids can also be used for CO2-storage applications where the CO2-wet rocks can be rendered strongly water-wet, however no attention has been given to this aspect in the past. Thus in this work we presents contact angle (θ) measurements for CO2/brine/calcite system as function of pressure (0.1 MPa, 5 MPa, 10 MPa, 15 MPa, and 20 MPa), temperature (23 °C, 50 °C and 70 °C), and salinity (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% NaCl) before and after nano-treatment to address the wettability alteration efficiency. Moreover, the effect of treatment pressure and temperature, treatment fluid concentration (SiO2 wt%) and
... Show MoreIn this work, a method for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of zinc which was precipitated into deionized water that is in a commercial distribution systems PVC pipe, is proposed using UV-VIS Spectrophotometer. The method based on the reaction between the analytes Zn2+ and 2-carboxy-2-hyroxy-5-sulfoformazylbenze (Zincon) at an absorption maximum of 620nm at pH 9-10. This ligand is selective reagent. Since the complex is colored (blue), its stoichiometry can be established using visible spectrometry to measure the absorbance of solutions of known composition. The stoichiometry of the complex was determined by Job’s method and molar ratio method and found to be 1:2 (M: L). A series of synthetic solution containing different
... Show MoreNeuro-ophthalmic disorders are often documented individually for each illness, with little data available on their overall incidence and pattern. The overall incidence of neuro-ophthalmic illnesses in Iraq is still not recorded. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical, demographic, and etiological features of patients seeking consultation at an Iraqi neuro-ophthalmology clinic. A prospective cross-sectional observational research was conducted at the Janna Ophthalmic Center in Baghdad, Iraq. The center serves a diverse patient population from various governorates. All newly diagnosed patients with neuro-ophthalmic disorders who visited the neuro-ophthalmological clinic, regardless of gender or age group, were included. The neuro-ophthalmo
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The gas sensing properties of Co3O4 and Co3O4:Y nano structures were investigated. The films were synthesized using the hydrothermal method on a seeded layer. The XRD, SEM analysis and gas sensing properties were investigated for Co3O4 and Co3O4:Y thin films. XRD analysis shows that all films are polycrystalline in nature, having a cubic structure, and the crystallite size is (11.7)nm for cobalt oxide and (9.3)nm for the Co3O4:10%Y. The SEM analysis of thin films obviously indicates that Co3O4 possesses a nanosphere-like structure and a flower-like structure for Co3O4:Y.
The sen
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sensor sampling rate (SSR) may be an effective and crucial field in networked control systems. Changing sensor sampling period after designing the networked control system is a critical matter for the stability of the system. In this article, a wireless networked control system with multi-rate sensor sampling is proposed to control the temperature of a multi-zone greenhouse. Here, a behavior based Mamdany fuzzy system is used in three approaches, first is to design the fuzzy temperature controller, second is to design a fuzzy gain selector and third is to design a fuzzy error handler. The main approach of the control system design is to control the input gain of the fuzzy temperature controller depending on the cur
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