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.
The global trend towards the use of fair value accounting is increasing, so the current study aimed to maximize the impact of fair value application on achieving relevance and representation faithfulness of accounting information in accordance with the common conceptual framework. To achieve the objective of this study, the researcher has determined in the theoretical framework the relationship of fair value with the characteristics of relevance and representation faithfulness of accounting information and the extent of achieving these characteristics, as well as conducting a field study by preparing a questionnaire distributed to a sample of academics (50) and auditors (50) with a total number of selected participants (100) of acad
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive airflow limitation that is preventable but not curable. It is associated with persistent symptoms that cause a considerable burden on individual productivity at work, and daily activities, and reduced quality of life, also burdening the healthcare system and society. Objectives: The study aims to measure the burden of COPD on patients in terms of daily activities and work productivity. It also seeks to investigate some inflammatory biomarkers' levels and their correlation with selected outcomes. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on 120 stable COPD patients who were diagnosed and treated according to the GOLD guidelines at Kirkuk General Hospital's
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Nuclear medicine is important for both diagnosis and treatment. The most common treatment for diseases is radiation therapy used against cancer. The radiation intensity of the treatment is often less than its ability to cause damage, so radiation must be carefully controlled. The interactions of alpha particle with matter were studied and the stopping powers of alpha particle with ovary tissue were calculated using Beth-Bloch equation, Zeigler’s formula and SRIM Software also the range and Liner Energy Transfer (LET) and ovary thickness as well as dose and dose equivalent for this particle were calculated by using Matlab language for (0.01-200) MeV alpha energy.
As modern radiotherapy technology advances, radiation dose and dose distribution have improved significantly. As part of a natural evolution, there has recently been renewed interest in therapy, particularly in the use of heavy charged particles, because these types of radiation serve theoretical advantages in all biological and physical aspects. The interactions of alpha particle with matter were studied and the stopping powers of alpha particle with Breast Tissue were calculated by using Beth-Bloch equation, Zeigler's formula and SRIM software, also the Range and Liner Energy Transfer (LET) and Breast Thickness As well as Dose and Dose equivalent for this particle were calculated by using Mat lab language for (0.01-200) MeV alpha ene
... Show MoreThe research aims to identify the effect of the training program that is based on integrating futuristic thinking skills with classroom interaction patterns on mathematics teachers in order to provide their students with creative solution skills. The research sample consisted of 31teachers (15 teachers for the experimental group and 16 for the control groups). The researcher developed a measure for the academic self-efficacy consisting of (39) items. Its validity, reliability, coefficient of difficulty and discriminatory power were estimated. To analyze the findings, the researcher adopted the Mann-Whitney (U) test and the effect size, and the findings were as follows: There is a statistically significant difference at the significance leve
... Show MoreLeft bundle branch block (LBBB) is a common finding in electrocardiography, there are many causes of LBBB.
The aim of this study is to discuss the true prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with LBBB and associated risk factors in the form of hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Patients with LBBB were admitted to the Iraqi heart center for cardiac disea
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Iron slag is a byproduct generated in huge quantities from recycled remnants of iron and steel factories; therefore, the possibility of using this waste in the removal of benzaldehyde from contaminated water offers an excellent topic in sustainability field. Results reveal that the removal efficiency was equal to 85% for the interaction of slag and water contaminated with benzaldehyde at the best operational conditions of 0.3 g/100 mL, 6, 180 min, and 250 rpm for the sorbent dosage, initial pH, agitation time, and speed, respectively with 300 mg/L initial concentration. The maximum uptake capacity of iron slag was 118.25 mg/g which was calculated by the Langmuir model. Physical sorption may be the major mechanism for the removal of
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The kaizen is considered as one of the most important modern techniques which has been adopted by various economics entities especially manufacturing firms and its beginnings return to the middle of the earlier century that has been used by companies like Toshiba, Matsushita Electric, and Toyota. Which realized that these modern techniques would make a total change in the competitive environment and started qualifying and its staff in such away that enables them to go along with this unique environment. The continuous improvement (Kaizen) depends on the small continuous improvements in the product and the production operations during the production stage. Consequently, the research problem is represented in the improperly of the budg
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