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 current study aims to investigate the effect of the interaction between the use of the improve strategy in teaching mathematics and the level of academic achievement on the acquisition of algebraic concepts and habits of mind among tenth-grade students in Oman. The study adopted the experimental method, based on a quasi-experimental design with two groups: experimental and control groups and pre-post-measurement. The study sample consisted of (28) 10th-grade students as an experimental group and 26 of 10th-grade students as a control group in Al-Tufail bin Amr School in South Al Batinah. The differences in the pretest and posttest gains were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, ANCOVA, t-test, effect size (eta-square), and two-wa
... Show MorePluripotent stem cells (PSC) possess unlimited proliferation, self-renewal, and a differentiation capacity spanning all germ layers. Appropriate culture conditions are important for the maintenance of self-renewal, pluripotency, proliferation, differentiation, and epigenetic states. Oxygen concentrations vary across different human tissues depending on precise cell location and proximity to vascularisation. The bulk of PSC culture-based research is performed in a physiologically hyperoxic, air oxygen (21% O2) environment, with numerous reports now detailing the impact of a physiologic normoxia (physoxia), low oxygen culture in the maintenance of stemness, survival, morphology, proliferation, differentiation potential, and epigenetic
... Show MoreBackground: Klebsiella pneumoniae were considered as normal flora of skin, and intestine. It can cause damage to human lungs; the danger of this bacterium is related to exposure to the hospital surroundings. materials and methods: the detection of Klebsiella pneumoniae on morphological and biochemical tests and then assured with VITEK 2 system. Resistance to antibiotics was determined by Kirby-Baeur method. And genotyping of IMP-1 in isolates was done by PCR technique, then biofilm formation was identified by Micro titer plate method. Results: The present study included a collecting of 50 specimens from different clinical specimens, (blood 40%, urine 30%, sputum 20%, wound infection 10%); 10 isolates were identified as K
... Show MoreFunctional yogurts enriched with plant-based bioactive compounds have emerged as promising dietary strategies to enhance human health. Objective: This study investigated the fortification of yogurt with Rhamnus alaternus fruit powder and its impact on quality characteristics, sensory attributes, and antioxidant activity. Methods: The current study involved preparing a powder from the fruit of the R. alternus plant, which underwent chemical and antioxidant analysis. Fresh buffalo milk was used to prepare yogurt, and products were fortified with the R. alternus powder. Results: R. alternus powder demonstrated significant improvements in taste, flavor, texture, color, and overall acceptability compared to the control. Conclusion: R. alternus p
... Show MoreAn experiment was carried out by using post in kalar horticulture Station/Sulaimania province on soil taked from once region sields during growing season of 2008-2009. The objective was to study adding increasing levels of urea fertilizer which is (0.0, 0.20, 0.40, 0.80) gm/Pot and superphosphate fertilizer which is (0.0, 0.24, 0.48) gm/pot in some chemical properties of grain for wheat IPA 95. This experiment was carried out by completely randomized design (CR D) with three replications. Results in dictated of clear increase in all the studied characteristics (concentration for each nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and carbohydrate percentage with increasing levels of fertilizers).
Abstract
The grey system model GM(1,1) is the model of the prediction of the time series and the basis of the grey theory. This research presents the methods for estimating parameters of the grey model GM(1,1) is the accumulative method (ACC), the exponential method (EXP), modified exponential method (Mod EXP) and the Particle Swarm Optimization method (PSO). These methods were compared based on the Mean square error (MSE) and the Mean Absolute percentage error (MAPE) as a basis comparator and the simulation method was adopted for the best of the four methods, The best method was obtained and then applied to real data. This data represents the consumption rate of two types of oils a he
... Show MoreBackground:
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease believed to be the result of autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system, characterised by inflammation, demyelination, and axonal transection, affecting primarily young adults. Disease modifying therapies have become widely used, and the rapid development of these drugs highlighted the need to update our knowledge on their short- and long-term safety profile.
Objective:
The study aim is to evaluate the impact of disease-modifying treatments on thyroid functions and thyroid autoantibodies with subsequent effects on the outcome of the disease.
Materials and Methods:
A retro prospective study
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