Off-grid electrification planning increasingly recognizes the importance of productive use of electricity (PUE) to promote community value creation and (financial) project sustainability. To ensure a sustainable and efficient integration in the community and energy system, PUE assets must carefully be evaluated to match both the community needs and the residential electricity demand patterns. We propose a novel methodology interlinking qualitative interviews, statistical analysis, and energy system modelling to optimize decision-making for PUE integration in off-grid energy systems in rural Madagascar by aligning relevant PUE effectively with anticipated residential electricity demand patterns based on socio-economic determinants of the community. We find that a possible contribution of the PUE to reducing the electricity costs depends signifi-cantly on three factors: 1. the residential electricity consumption patterns that are influenced by the socio-economic composition of the community, 2. the degree of flexibility of i) PUE assets and ii) operational preferences of the PUE user, and 3. the capacity of community members to finance and operate PUE assets. Our study demonstrates that significant cost reductions for PUE-integrated off-grid energy systems can be achieved by applying our proposed methodology. When matching PUE and residential consumption patterns, the integration of PUE assets in residential community energy system can reduce the financial risk of operators, provided the PUE enterprise operates reliably and sustainably. We highlight that the consideration of local value chains and co-creation approaches are essential to ensure the energy system is addressing the community’s needs, creates value for the community, enhances the project´s financial sustainability, and is achieving the overall objectives of decentralized energy system planning.

Global coverage and scale up of interventions to reduce newborn mortality remains low, though progress has been achieved in improving newborn survival in many low-income settings. An important factor in the success of newborn health interventions, and moving to scale, is appropriate design of community-based programs and strategies for local implementation. We report the results of formative research undertaken to inform the design of a newborn health intervention in Cambodia. Information was gathered on newborn care practices over a period of three months using multiple qualitative methods of data collection in the primary health facility and home setting. Analysis of the data indicated important gaps, both at home and facility level, between recommended newborn care practices and those typical in the study area. The results of this formative research have informed strategies for behavior change and improving referral of sick infants in the subsequent implementation study. Collection and dissemination of data on newborn care practices from settings such as these can contribute to efforts to advance survival, growth and development of newborns for intervention research, and for future newborn health programming.

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture as a pest control strategy. Despite the benefits of pesticides on crop yields, the persistence of chemical residues in soil have an unintended impact on non-targeted microorganisms. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the combined fungicide (difenoconazole, epoxiconazole, and kresoxim-methyl) on fungal and bacterial communities of Phaeozem. In the fungicide-treated soil, the Shannon index of both fungal and bacterial communities was decreased, while Chao1 index did not differ compared to the control soil. Among bacterial taxa, the relative abundance of Athrobacter, Sphingomicrobium, and Sphingomonas increased in fungicide-treated soil due to their ability to utilize fungicides and other toxic compounds. Rhizopus and plant-beneficial Chaetomium were the dominant fungal genera, which increased 2-4 times in the fungicide-treated soil, while the relative abundance of Mortierella and Talaromyces decreased. Fusarium acuminatum was the most abundant phytopathogenic fungus that causes root rot disease of wheat, but applied fungicide treatment decreased their diversity in the soil 2 times, which is consistent on the observed plants.

Objectives: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a significant public health problem. It is estimated around 14,700 women affected by FGM live in Switzerland, primarily among women with a history of migration. Our qualitative research investigated the sexual health of immigrant women living with FGM in Switzerland, describing their own perception of health, reproductive life and sexuality. Methods: We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a group of eight immigrant women of African origin living in Switzerland with Type III FGM (infibulation). Results: Seven of the women were from Somalia and one from Ivory Coast. All of the Somali women were mothers and married (two separated), and the Ivorian woman was a single mother. The women in our study reported a low level of sexual satisfaction and reproductive health. They affirmed their desire to improve, or at least change, their condition. Although they rarely talk with their husbands about sexual subject matter, they would like to include them more and improve dialogue. Conclusions: Specific socio-sexual management is recommended when caring for immigrant women living with FGM in order to respond to their specific health care needs. Multidisciplinary approaches may be able to offer more comprehensive health care, including facilitated communication to improve dialogue between women and health care professionals, and eventually between women and their husbands in discussing sexual matter.

Background: Wheat root rot disease due to soil-borne fungal pathogens leads to tremendous yield losses worth billions of dollars worldwide every year. It is very important to study the relationship between rhizosphere fungal diversity and wheat roots to understand the occurrence and development of wheat root rot disease. Results: A significant difference in fungal diversity was observed between the diseased and healthy groups in the heading stage, but the trend was the opposite in the filling stage. The abundance of most genera with high richness decreased significantly from the heading to the filling stage in the diseased groups; the richness of approximately one-third of all genera remained unchanged, and only a few low-richness genera, such as Fusarium and Ceratobasidium, had a very significant increase from the heading to the filling stage. In the healthy groups, the abundance of most genera increased significantly from the heading to the filling stage; the abundance of some genera did not change markedly, or the abundance of very few genera increased significantly. Physical and chemical soil indicators showed that low soil pH and density, increases in ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen contributed to the occurrence of wheat root rot disease. Conclusions: Our results revealed that in the early stages of disease, highly diverse rhizosphere fungi and a complex community structure can easily cause wheat root rot disease. The existence of pathogenic fungi is a necessary condition for wheat root rot disease, but the richness of pathogenic fungi is not necessarily important. The increases in ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen contributed to the occurrence of wheat root rot disease. Low soil pH and soil density are beneficial to the occurrence of wheat root rot disease.

Histone post-translational modification is one of the main mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, which plays a crucial role in the control of gene expression and various biological processes. However, whether or not it affects fungal virulence is not clear in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In this study, we identified and cloned the histone methyltransferase Defective in methylation 5 (Dim5) in S. sclerotiorum, which encodes a protein containing a typical SET domain. SsDim5 was found to be dynamically expressed during infection. Knockout experiment demonstrated that deletion of SsDim5 reduced the virulence in Ssdim5-1/Ssdim5-2 mutant strains, accompanied by a significant decrease in H3K9 trimethylation levels. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed the downregulation of genes associated with mycotoxins biosynthesis in SsDim5 deletion mutants. Additionally, the absence of SsDim5 affected the fungus's response to oxidative and osmotic, as well as cellular integrity. Together, our results indicate that the H3K9 methyltransferase SsDim5 is essential for H3K9 trimethylation, which regulating fungal virulence to host plants through impacting on mycotoxins biosynthesis, and the response to environmental stresses in S. sclerotiorum.

Dental anxiety (DA) negatively affects patients’ oral and overall health. This study explored attitudes and clinical practices of licensed Ohio general dentists who treat patients with DA. Methods: An anonymous self-administered mail survey was sent to 500 general dentists licensed and practicing in Ohio. Responses to 21 pre-coded questions were analyzed. Frequencies were examined; cross-tabs, Chi-Square, and Fischer’s Exact Test were calculated for statements according to dentists’ gender. Alpha was set at p = 0.05. Results: Nearly all respondents treated anxious patients; males were more likely to find it challenging than females. Dentists were most familiar with distraction, although half found nitrous oxide to be an effective tool. Female dentists were more likely than males to be familiar with anxiolytics and find them effective. Conclusion: Overall, Ohio general dentists are most familiar with using distraction and nitrous oxide during appointments for anxious patients. Gender differences exist in attitudes towards anxiolytic use for patients with DA. Practice Implications: By identifying techniques that are comfortable for patient and practitioner, oral health disparities associated with DA may be reduced.

The pollution of the bays in Abidjan is a major concern for the Ivorian policy makers. In fact, the pollution of the bays induce high costs to the society while impacting population health dramatically. As a result, pollution reduction management of production activities has been undertaken in the Cocody Bay area. To our knowledge, no study has yet proposed a model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these pollution management strategies. A cost-effectiveness model, based on Monte Carlo simulation, was developed to assess the economic and environmental impacts of various scenarios characterized by a set of production practices, both in the short term and in the long term. The authors discuss the steps and input parameters of the model presented. The proposed model may serve as the basis for identifying an optimal production scenario defined as the scenario with the best incremental cost-effectiveness ratio considering a willingness to pay (WTP) threshold. The WTP, to be estimated based on the gross domestic product of Côte d’Ivoire, represents the opportunity costs associated with selecting the optimal scenario. The current framework can also be applied to other settings facing similar challenge.

The over use of pharmaceutical compounds, essentially antibiotics, led to an increase of their concentrations in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the white-rot fungus Coriolopsis gallica (high-laccase-producing fungus) was investigated for the biodegradation of ampicillin (AMP) under different cultivation conditions. The biotransformation of the antibiotic was confirmed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the antibacterial activity was evaluated via the bacterial growth inhibition agar well diffusion method using Escherichia coli as an ampicillin-sensitive test strain. The results showed that AMP (50 mg L-1) was totally removed by C. gallica after 6 days of incubation in a liquid medium. The antibiotic removal rate was maximal with a fungal culture aged 9 days. Such a culture achieved the removal of a higher concentration of up to 500 mg L-1 of ampicillin in 3 days. This higher antibiotic removal rate was concomitant with the maximal laccase production in culture supernatant. In addition, four consecutive doses of 500 mg L-1 of ampicillin were transformed by the same fungal culture in 24 days. After that, the fungus was unable to remove the antibiotic. The measurement of ligninolytic enzyme activity showed that laccase of C. gallica might participate in the biotransformation of AMP.

(1) Background: As part of the Scottish Governments five-year recovery plan to address the backlog in NHS care following the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies in Scotland are planned to provide a Hospital Discharge Medicines Supply and Medicines Reconciliation Service. We aimed to qualitatively explore patients’ experience of this new service; (2) Method: Adult patients (≥18yrs age) who consented to participate in the Community Pharmacy Hospital Dis-charge and Medicines Reconciliation Service were invited for interview within 21 days of dis-charge from hospital. Qualitative, one-to-one, semi-structured, patient interviews were conducted by telephone and audio-recorded using Microsoft Teams®. The interview audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and underwent thematic analysis; (3) Results: 12 patients were inter-viewed, evenly split by sex and with a median age of 62 years (range; 36 to 88 years). Analysis generated main five themes; Patient Engagement, Stakeholder Communication, Practical Factors, Human Factors, and Comparative Experiences. Many of these were interdependent; (4) Con-clusions: Patients appreciated that the service ensured a quicker discharge from hospital. Good stakeholder communication, practical factors (including choice, location, and the realities of ob-taining their medication from the community pharmacy), and a pre-existing and trusted rela-tionship in their usual community pharmacy were the key factors that regulated the patient ex-perience. In the main, patients were positive about the introduction of this new service. However, a lack of previous relationship or trust with a community pharmacy, and previous experiences with medication supply problems were factors which had the potential to negatively impact on patient experiences.

Interrelationships between traditional dental variables are becoming more evident in far reaching aspects of life such as psychosocial interaction, self-esteem, overall health and even occupational performance. This study compares quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women (PMW) with poor oral health (POH) with QoL in PMW with good oral health. 200 randomly recruited PMW received a dental evaluation and completed Utian Quality of Life Survey. The participants were divided into POH and healthy groups based on dental exam. Mean scores were calculated for each QoL item, domain and the overall summary score. For each of the four parameters for periodontitis diagnosis, periodontitis patients’ QoL outcomes were compared to those of healthy patients using T-test with threshold of significance at p<0.05. QoL in all fields measured were significantly poorer in the POH compared to the healthy patients, occupational (19.95±5.35vs. 27.56±6.13), health (18.02±8.23 vs. 26.59 ±6.45), emotional (15.68±10.22vs. 21.15±9.15), sexual (6.2±5.98vs. 10.02±5.35), and total score (60.21±25.85 vs. 84.26±22.35). This study finds that PMW with POH, report significantly poorer quality of life. Clinicians caring for PMW should be aware of that oral health impacts QoL and make appropriate referral decisions for patients’ dental care. Keywords: Quality of Life, Oral Health, Post-menopause, Women

This review resumes published data on fungal diversity in and within monuments (e.g., religious and secular monuments, museums, and statues), covering a multidisciplinary investigation into the complex interactions between fungi and cultural heritage structures. Fungi represent remarkable adversaries to monuments, potentially compromising their structural integrity and aesthetic value. Based on a bibliographic search of manuscripts published, the knowledge of fungal communities colonizing monuments was comprehensively assessed. This work first describes the diverse fungal species implicated in the degradation of monument materials (e.g., stone, metal, and glass). It elucidates the factors governing fungal colonization and proliferation in and within these structures (e.g., environmental conditions, construction materials, and human interventions). Finally, the efficacy of preservation and restoration techniques to mitigate fungal threats and safeguard our cultural heritage is also discussed. This synthesis highlights the pivotal role of mycological research in heritage conservation, and a platform for future studies to address critical knowledge gaps is provided. Understanding fungal diversity in and within monuments is critical to preserving these invaluable cultural treasures, as it informs targeted conservation strategies and ensures their longevity in the face of fungal challenges.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015 TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of the production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015, TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors effecting rice production in Cambodia. Four-years dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of entire 25 provinces between 2012-2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technically fertilizers application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4% implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency by given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production technique and amount of agricultural supporting staffs are being as the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring into more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staffs and rural farmers.

Fungi are ubiquitous and metabolically versatile. Their dispersion has important scientific, environmental, health, and economic implications. They can be dispersed through the air by the aerosolization of near surfaces or transported from distant sources. Here, we tested the contribution of local (scale of meters) versus regional (kilometers) sources by analyzing airborne fungal community by ITS sequencing around a copper mine in the North of Chile. The mine was the regional source, whereas soil and vegetal detritus were the local sources at each point. The airborne community was highly homogeneous in ca. 2,000 km2, impeding the detection of regional or local contributions. Ascomycota was the dominant phylum in the three communities. Soil and vegetal detritus communities had lower alpha-diversity, but some taxa had abundance patterns related to the distance to the mine and altitude. On the contrary, the air was compositionally even and unrelated to environmental or spatial factors, except for altitude. The presence of plant pathogens in the air suggests that other distant sources contribute to this region's airborne fungal community and reinforces the complexity of tracking the sources of air microbial communities in a real world where several natural and human activities coexist.

The mystery phenomenon of fungal bioluminescence has always captivated human curiosity, although more attempts need to be made, particularly to bring the new species to the surface. In this study, we devoted considerable space to the taxonomy of these fungi while discussing their biogeography, evolution, bioluminescence mechanism, and potential ecological roles. We provide a detailed explanation of how these fungi produce light, including the role of the enzyme luciferase and luciferin. We also discussed their applications. Here, we presented an updated list of 122 bioluminescent fungi identified from five distinct evolutionary lineages viz. Armillaria, Eoscyphella, Lucentipes, Mycenoid, and Omphalotus worldwide, mainly in tropical and subtropical areas. The bioluminescent fungi descended from the last common ancestor of the mycenoid and the marasmioid clades of Agaricales, which have been maintained for at least 160 million years of evolution. We highlighted the need for further research to understand the ecological role of bioluminescent fungi. Applying bioluminescent fungi in various areas (e.g., environmental and medicinal) demonstrates their validity.

The concept of a Social License to Operate (SLO) has become increasingly important in the sustainability literature in recent years. Having its origins in the business discourse of the mining industry with respect to limiting opposition to mining projects, the notion of a social contract above and beyond legal requirements has since become applied across a number of different industries. Despite the concepts adoption confusion exists over the practices and outcomes of SLO, and particularly the nature of engagement. Given this situation it is surprising that not more attention to the role of marketing, and social marketing in particular, in operationalizing the concept. The paper discusses the potential of social marketing to contribute to SLO. Economic, political and social relations are complex in SLO and exchange is intricate in such relational environments. A community-based social marketing orientation is proposed as a means to improve exchange relations and enhance engagement. Seven models of SLO related social marketing models are discussed with community-based social marketing and adaptive co-marketing models being regarded as the most positive for the achievement of an SLO. Potential barriers to adoption of these approaches are noted.

Presently, Jordan confronts a double substantial challenge of enhancing energy security and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most encouraging avenues to attain the objectives of sustainable development, energy security, and environmental conservation is to enhance the integration of renewable energy into the generation of electricity. In pursuit of this goal, the Jordanian government intends to expand investments in the green energy sector, with solar and wind energy poised to play a key role in satisfying energy demands and cultivating an environmental sustainability. This paper aims to examine the distinctive dynamics, challenges, obstacles, and potential solutions corresponding to the establishment of community solar and wind farms in Jordan suburban areas. It aims to highlight the opportunities and barriers influencing the track of sustainable energy adoption in the country. Through a comprehensive analysis of the Jordanian context, the goal is to extract insights that can guide policies and practices. Additionally, the findings may serve as a valuable benchmark for other regions confronting similar challenges on their pursuit for a sustainable energy future.

We present an open-source Star Tracker (ST) for Attitude Determination. Our implementation makes use of open source software of common usage in astronomy running on a Raspberry Pi 2 platform. The developed platform is open and available for parties interested in further development. Evaluation of the system showed that the ST is suitable for Cubesats of 2U or larger. The ST platform is capable of solving the Lost-In-Space (LIS) problem. Currently, the average accuracy reached of the algorithm is close to 5 seconds of arc with an average processing time of 75 seconds. However, a average accuracy of about 3 minutes of arc can be reached with 35 seconds in average processing time. We also describe the evaluation procedure, the found conclusions of this procedure, in particular the section of the algorithm where most of the processing time is spent and other possible source of errors not included in this study.

To assess the community health workers’ (CHWs) knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) in type-2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension (HTN) management. We thus also sought to assess the potential health system barriers for incorporating CHWs in T2D and HTN management. Mixed-method study comprised (1) a survey among 153 active CHWs to assess their KAP of T2D and HTN, and (2) semi-structured interviews with key informants to understand challenges of the health system and proposed solutions in incorporating CHWs in T2D and HTN management. The majority of CHWs correctly answered general knowledge questions on NCDs, risk factors, and prevention; however, only one-quarter correctly answered questions on smoking, family history, or tobacco use as risk factors. Most respondents appeared to have positive attitudes and have been practicing some activities related to T2D and HTN. Both financial and non-financial resource constraints were cited as challenges of the health system; therefore, re-structuring the role definition of CHWs and task of responsibilities, and assessment the need and workload have been proposed as ways forwards to effectively incorporate CHWs in T2D and HTN care. CHWs in Cambodia have shown their potential in T2D and HTN management; however, a well-designed strategy including technical training, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and strong supporting structure are important to maximize their potential in the health system.

Biochemical signaling is the key mechanism to coordinate a living organism in all aspects of its life. It is still enigmatic how exactly cells and organisms deal with environmental signals and irritations precisely because of the limited number of signaling proteins and a multitude of transitions inside and outside the cell. Many components of signaling pathways are functionally pleiotropic, which means they have several functions. A single stimulus often activates multiple effectors, a distinct effector can be activated by numerous stimuli and signals triggered by different stimuli are often transduced via shared network components. This very compact and concise review sheds light on the most important molecular mechanisms of cellular signaling in fungi.

Immunology is a branch of medicine that studies the immune system and its pathology. There are known scientific informations, that in medical immunology specific tests performed in the laboratory for diagnosis. In addition good to mention that allergies include medical diagnostic methods such as blood tests. Also there are used for detection the presence and the levels of IgE antibodies. These antibodies are produced by the human immune system in contact with certain allergens. Examples of allergens include for example pollen, house dust, some herbs or molds, some animals and certain foods. If a person has an allergy, their immune system overreacts to an allergen by producing antibodies, called Immunoglobulin E (IgE). Currently within the present describtion aim to discuss some aspects reffering to fungal allergen and mold allergy diagnosis, in a briefly following steps of our purposed shortly review.

The intestinal microbial community of aquatic animals is closely related to the environment and thus affects the health of aquatic animals. Here we investigated annual variation of intestinal bacteria community structures of Ruditapes philippinarum cultured using two different methods, bottom sown and raft hanging. Bacterial diversity of seawater and sediment in different seasons was examined as well. Correlation between R. philippinarum intestinal bacteria community structures and environmental factors was analyzed. The results showed that in the two aquculture areas where R. philippinarum was differentially cultured, bacteria community structure of seawater and sediment both altered with seasons. However, neither seasonal changes nor difference in culture methods could significantly affect the intestinal bacteria community structures of R. philippinarum. Additionally, in terms of the alpha diversity of intestinal bacteria communities, there was no significant difference in R. philippinarum cultured using the two methods. For benthic cultured clams, alpha diversity of the intestinal bacterial communities was often higher than that of the environmental bacterial communities. For raft hanging cultured calms, Alpha diversity of the intestinal bacterial communities was normally comparable with that of the environmental counterparts. Beta diversity analysis showed that the intestinal bacterial community structure of R. philippinarum was mainly determined by both deterministic and stochastic processes. Correlation analysis showed that the intestinal bacterial community structures of R. philippinarum were determined by a variety of environmental factors. For clams collected from the benthic culture area, the intestinal bacterial structure was more correlated with the physicochemical properties of sediment in comparing with those of seawater. For clams collected from the raft-culture area, the intestinal bacterial structure was mainly determined by the phsicochemical characteristics of seawater. This study helps us to better understand the bacterial community structure in complex aquaculture ecosystems, providing a reference for healthy shellfish aquaculture and ecosystem protection in aquaculture area.

Organic fertilizer application in agricultural land is known to improve soil microbial processes, fertility, and yield. In particular, stable changes in soil chemical composition through multi-year fertilization of organic fertilizers are thought to cause changes in the microbial community. Here, the effects of oil cake amendments (OC) on soil bacterial diversity, community profile and enzyme activity were evaluated and compared to those amended with chemical fertilizer (NPK). The comparison of diversity indices between OC and NPK amended soils shows that application of oil cake has increased microbial diversity potentially with an increase in the number of different microbial groups. The ordination plot distinguished and clustered both treatments showing differential effects of soils chemical factors on the microbial communities of each treatment. Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Bacteriodetes were significantly abundant in OC amended soil than in the NPK received soil, indicating alterations in community structure, composition, and diversity con-current to the changes in pH, Ca and Mg contents of the soil. These shifts in bacterial community structure and composition could also be observed from the phylum to the genus level in both NPK and OC amended soils partially explained by differences in soil chemical factors. The OC soil compared to the NPK amended soil also contain significantly higher abundance of predicted genes corresponding to enzymes related to biogeochemical cycling, decomposition and plant growth promotion. Collectively, these results support the use of an unconventional organic fertilizer positively altering bacterial populations in jujube orchards. The application of oil cake-based organic fertilizer improved microbial diversity and enhanced potential ecosystem functions related to bio-geochemical cycles, mineralization and plant growth promotion.

Saprotrophic fungi are key in global carbon cycling, capable of decomposing lignocellulose in wood. This study, for the first time, explores the influence of oxygen (O2) and temperature on methane (CH4) production by two fungi, Laetiporus sulphureus and Pleurotus sapidus. We examined CH4 formation under varying O2 levels (0 to 98%) and temperatures (17, 27, and 40 °C) when the fungi grew on pine wood, beech wood, and grass under sterile conditions. Our findings reveal a strong dependency of fungal CH4 production on O2 mixing ratios. Methane formation was highest when O2 levels exceeded 5%, whilst no CH4 formation was observed after complete O2 consumption by the fungi. Reintroducing O2 immediately resumed fungal CH4 production. When CH4 formation was normalized to O2 consumption (CH4_norm) a different pattern between species was observed. L. sulphureus showed higher CH4_norm rates with higher O2 levels, whereas P. sapidus showed elevated rates between 0-5% O2. Temperature also significantly influenced CH4 and CH4_norm rates, with the highest production at 27 °C, and comparatively lower rates at 17 and 40 °C. These results demonstrate that O2 levels and temperature are critical in controlling fungal CH4 emissions, a consideration necessary for future CH4 source predictions.

Fungi critically impact the health and function of global ecosystems and economies. In Canada, fungal researchers often work within silos defined by sub-discipline and institutional type, complicating the collaborations necessary to understand the impacts fungi have on the environment, economy, and plant and animal health. Here, we announce the establishment of the Canadian Fungal Research Network (CanFunNet, https://fungalresearch.ca) whose mission is to strengthen and promote fungal research in Canada by facilitating dialogue among scientists. We summarize the challenges and opportunities for Canadian fungal research that were discussed at CanFunNet’s inaugural meeting in 2019, and identify four priorities for our community: 1) increasing collaboration among scientists; 2) studying diversity in the context of ecological disturbance; 3) preserving culture collections in the absence of sustained funding; and 4) leveraging diverse expertise to attract trainees. We have gathered additional information to support our recommendations, including a survey identifying underrepresentation of fungal-related courses at Canadian universities, a list of Canadian fungaria and culture collections, and a case study of a human fungal pathogen outbreak. We anticipate that these discussions will help prioritize fungal research in Canada, and we welcome all researchers to join this nationwide effort to enhance knowledge dissemination and funding advocacy.

Objective: To estimate for the first time the burden of serious fungal infections in Romania; Methods: Data derived from the World Health Organization (WHO), National Institute of Statistics, Romanian public health agencies and non-profit health organizations and published annual reports on local epidemiology were used in the present study. When no data was available, specific at-risk populations were used to calculate frequencies of serious fungal diseases, using previously published epidemiological parameters. All data refer to the year 2016; 3) Results: The estimated number of serious fungal infections in Romanian population was 435,930 in 2016. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis accounts for up to 80% of total cases (more than 350,000 women annually). Concerning the HIV related infections, among 14349 infected persons, Pneumocystis pneumonia occurred in about 10% of late presenters (30 cases in 2016), while cryptococcal meningitis is rarely diagnosed (less than 20 cases). Annually, the total number of oesophageal candidiasis and oral thrush cases in HIV-positive patients may be as high as 1229 and 3066, respectively. In immunocompromised and cancer patient population, the annual incidence of candidaemia is 295, and at least 158 invasive aspergillosis cases and 4 mucormycosis cases occur yearly. With 4,966 critical care beds and approximately 200,000 abdominal surgeries performed, the estimated annual incidence of candidaemia and Candida peritonitis is 689 and 344, respectively. The annual incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis is still high in Romania (12,747 cases). Thus, the prevalence of post-TB chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is estimated to be 8.98/100,000 (1768 cases). The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in adults is 6% and 6.5%, respectively. Therefore, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis prevalence is estimated at 29,387 and severe asthma with fungal sensitisation at 38,731 cases annually. 4) Conclusions: Not being on the list of reportable diseases, the number of patients presenting with severe mycoses in Romania can only be roughly estimated. Based on local reports and prevalence estimation, we consider that at least 2.2% of Romanians suffer a serious form of fungal disease.

In this study, a commercial sodium butyrate protected by a new buffer salt solution (NSB) was tested to determine whether it can be used as an antibiotic alternative in broiler production. 192 1-day-old broilers were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments: soybean meal diet (CON), antibiotic diet (ANT, basal diet + 100 mg/kg aureomycin), and NSB (basal diet + 800 mg/kg NSB). The growth performance, serum anti-inflammatory cytokines, intestinal morphology, gut barrier function, antioxidative parameters, SCFAs content, and cecal microbiota were analyzed. The result showed that NSB significantly improved ADFI, ADG (p < 0.01), and decreased FCR (p < 0.01). Serum anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was up-regulated (p < 0.01), and pro-inflammatory TNF-α was down-regulated (p < 0.05) by NSB supplementation. H&E results showed that VH and VH: CD ratio significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the jejunum and ileum in the NSB group. Furthermore, ZO-1 (p < 0.01), claudin-1 (p < 0.01), and occludin (p < 0.05) in the jejunum and claudin-1 (p < 0.01) and mucin-2 (p < 0.05) in the ileum significantly up-regulated in the NSB group, respectively. Additionally, SOD (p < 0.05) and T-AOC/MDA ratio (p < 0.01) in the jejunum and SOD in the ileum were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the NSB group. The MDA level also significantly increased (p < 0.01) in the ANT group in the jejunum. Propionic acid (p < 0.05) and butyric acid (p < 0.01) content significantly increased in the NSB group in the jejunum and ileum segments. The 16S rRNA sequencing results showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in alpha and beta diversity among the groups. LEFSe analysis also indicated that Peptostreptococcaceae, Colidextribacter, Firmicutes, Oscillospira, and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae, which promote SCFA production (p < 0.05), were identified as dominant taxon-enriched bacterial genera in the NSB group. The Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Colidextribacter with ADFI, ADG, VH, claudin-1 (p < 0.05), and unclassified_f__Peptostreptococcaceae with ADFI, IL-10, and ZO-1 were positively correlated (p < 0.05). Furthermore, ADFI and ADG with IL-10, claudin-1, SOD, T-AOC, and butyric acid (p < 0.05), and similarly, ADG with VH (p < 0.05) showed a positive correlation. In conclusion, NSB enhanced the growth performance by improving jejunum and ileum morphology, serum anti-inflammatory cytokines, regulating intestinal barrier function and antioxidant capacity, SCFAs content, and cecum microbiota, showing its potential use as an alternative to antibiotics in poultry nutrition.

Effectively responding to children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in Mozambique requires a community-based care approach grounded in sound nursing research that is evidence-based. The Community Assessment, Intervention, and Empowerment Model (MAIEC) is a nursing theoretical model that bases clinical decision-making for community health nurses using communities as a unit of care. We used the MAIEC to identify a community-based nursing diagnosis to address children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in Mozambique. Objectives: (1) To conduct a descriptive study of children’s nutritional status and eating behaviors in a school community in Mavalane, Mozambique, and (2) to identify a community-based nursing diagnosis using the MAIEC clinical decision-making matrix in the same school community. Method: A cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted to assess the nutritional status of children using anthropometric data, including brachial perimeter and the tricipital skinfold, and standard deviation for the relation of weight-height, in a sample of 227 children. To assess community management of the problem and identify a community-based nursing diagnosis, we surveyed 176 parents/guardians and 49 education professionals, using a questionnaire based on the MAIEC clinical decision matrix as a reference. Results: Malnutrition was identified in more than half of the children (51.3%). We also identified a community-based nursing diagnosis of impaired community management related to the promotion of child health and healthy eating as evident by lack of community leadership, participation, and processing among more than 70% of the community members (parents/guardians and education professionals). Conclusion: A nursing diagnosis and diagnostic criteria for nutritional status and community management were identified. The need to intervene using a multidisciplinary public health approach is imperative, with the school community as the unit of care. In addition, reliable anthropometric data were used to complement the nursing diagnosis and guide future public health interventions.

By this contribution we would like to briefly highlight the problems in conceiving the “Hydrogen Bond” (HB) as a real short-range, directional, electrostatic, attractive interaction and to reframe its nature through the non-approximated view of condensed matter offered by a Quantum Electro-Dynamic (QED) perspective. We focus our attention on water, as the paramount case to show the effectiveness of this 40-years’ old theoretical background, which depicts water as a two-fluid system (where one of the two phases is coherent). The HB emerge to be the result of the electromagnetic field gradient in the coherent phase of water, whose vacuum level is lower than the non-coherent (gas-like) fraction. Thus, the HB can be properly looked at, i.e. no more as a “dipolar force” among molecules, but as the phenomenological effect of their collective thermodynamic tendency to occupy a lower ground-state, compatibly with temperature and pressure. This perspective allows to account for many “anomalous” behaviours of water and to understand why the calculated energy associated to HB should change when considering two molecules (water-dimer), or the liquid state, or the several kinds of ice. The emergence of a condensed, liquid, phase at room temperature is indeed the consequence of the boson condensation as described in the framework of spontaneous symmetry breakings (SSB). The switch from a still semi-classical Quantum Mechanical (QM) in the 1st quantization to a Quantum Field Theory (QFT) view embedded in the 2nd quantization is advocated for a more realistic and authentic description of water, condensed matter and living systems.

Data4HumanRights training materials have been developed as open-source and tailored to limited resource settings where community data collectors often live and work. An overview of how the training material was developed together with community data collectors in Nigeria and Kenya is provided. The paper gives insights into the fundamental principles (i.e., inclusiveness, adaptive, limited resources, gender- and incentive-sensitive) and the structure of the open-access training materials. This resulted in 28 modules designed to be delivered in a face-to-face format in less than one day by a local trainer. To maximize adaptivity, the training modules can be mixed and matched (e.g., as individual modules or a learning path of several modules around a specific training need). The individual modules cover a range of methods and tools that are useful to human rights work, for example, documenting evictions, performing rapid needs assessments after acute crises, community profiling, and monitoring community development indicators. The training materials contain instructions for the facilitator(s) of the training and all necessary training materials to conduct the training. To maximize inclusivity, the training covers basic to advanced topics. Most training modules address basic training topics that can be optimally followed with a mobile phone (to avoid using a computer and printing handouts). The training was developed and implemented with local community groups in Nigeria and Kenya. The material is free to use, adapt, and translate into different contexts and languages.

The rhizosphere fungal community can play an important role in determining plant growth and health. In this study, using high-throughput sequencing, we investigated the fungal diversity and community composition in the roots and rhizosphere soil of 21 potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars. The samples were collected at three different sampling points. Furthermore, we assessed the differences in both diversity and composition of pathogen and saprotroph communities. In soil and roots, the fungal richness and relative abundance of pathogens and saprotrophs were mainly affected by sampling time. However, root fungal communities were also significantly affected by cultivar. The most substantial effect of cultivar was on root pathogen diversity. Moreover, the occurrence of most pathogens strongly varied among cultivars. Soil fungal community composition was primarily determined by sampling time; whereas in roots, the primary determinant was cultivar. Our results demonstrate changes in fungal communities over the potato growing season, as well as highlight the importance of potato cultivar on root fungal communities, and emphasise their importance in plant breeding.

Health and social needs exist along a dynamic continuum. Recognizing that health status is inextricably impacted by social determinants of health, community paramedicine has opportunities and a responsibility to reduce inequities. The objective of this scoping review was to investigate peer-reviewed and grey literature to explore how community paramedicine supports community needs along a health and social continuum. We conducted a scoping review of English language literature using the JBI Scoping Review methodology. We searched CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and organisational websites. 30 peer-reviewed and 13 grey literature articles met inclusion criteria. The findings describe the ways community paramedicine models evolved from minimising system pressures on emergency health services to addressing health and social needs. A key recommendation across the literature was the need to meaningfully engage communities early in program development to understand how best to implement and co-design integrated service models addressing specific community needs, though there was a lack of evidence to guide this approach. There is a notable lack of evidence pertaining to optimising technologies in program design and implementation. Results highlight opportunities to determine best practices for conducting holistic community needs assessments that include equitable stakeholder engagement and enhancing education to prepare paramedics for expanded roles. Community paramedicine provides opportunities to better meet the needs of structurally marginalised communities. There is a social responsibility and opportunity to engage communities to co-design service delivery, advance paramedic education, and enhance interprofessional collaboration to better support community needs and generate upstream solutions for individuals and communities.

Orchids are often a mystery because of their close and complex relationships with various microorganisms in the natural environment. Orchids rely on microorganisms to obtain nutrients, affecting their seed germination, protocorm, and adult plant growth. Currently, the majority of relevant research is concentrated on isolating and identifying environmental microorganisms that support orchid development and growth. With the development of metagenomic technology, our understanding of orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF) and root-associated bacteria (RAB) has been expanded. New research results and discoveries have emerged, which require a comprehensive assessment to provide a reference for studying microorganisms related to orchids. Therefore, we present a comprehensive summary, identifying significant inadequacies of present methodologies while providing ideas for further research.

Eukaryotic plasma membrane (PM) transporters face critical challenges that are not widely present in prokaryotes. The two most important issues are proper subcellular traffic and targeting to the PM, and regulated endocytosis in response to physiological, developmental or stress signals. Sorting of transporters from their site of synthesis, the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER), to the PM has been long thought, but not formally shown, to occur via the conventional Golgi-dependent vesicular secretory pathway. Endocytosis of specific eukaryotic transporters has been studied more systematically and shown to involve ubiquitination, internalization, and sorting to early endosomes, followed by turnover in the MVB/lysosomes/vacuole system. In specific cases internalized transporters have been shown to recycle back to the PM. However, the mechanisms of transporter forward trafficking and turnover have been overturned recently through systematic work in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In this review we present evidence that shows that transporter traffic to the PM takes place through Golgi-bypass and transporter endocytosis operates via a mechanism that is distinct from that of recycling membrane cargoes essential for fungal growth. We discuss these findings in relation to adaptation to challenges imposed by cell polarity in fungi as well as in other eukaryotes and provide a rationale why transporters and possibly other housekeeping membrane proteins ‘avoid’ routes of polar trafficking.

Candida glabrata has thoroughly adapted to successfully colonize human mucosal membranes and survive in vivo pressures prior to and during antifungal treatment. Out of all the medically relevant Candida species, C. glabrata has emerged as a leading cause of azole, echinocandin, and multidrug (MDR: azole + echinocandin) adaptive resistance. Neither mechanism of resistance is intrinsic to C. glabrata, since stable genetic resistance depends on mutation of drug target genes, FKS1 and FKS2 (echinocandin resistance), and a transcription factor, PDR1, which controls expression of major drug transporters, such as CDR1 (azole resistance). However, another hallmark of C. glabrata is the ability to withstand drug pressure both in vitro and in vivo prior to stable ‘genetic escape’. Additionally, these resistance events can arise within individual patients, which underscores the importance of understanding how this fungus is adapting to its environment and to drug exposure in vivo. Here, we explore the evolution of echinocandin resistance as a multistep model that includes general cell stress, drug adaptation (tolerance), and genetic escape. The extensive genetic diversity reported in C. glabrata will be highlighted.

This paper investigates the theoretical foundation for developing renewable geothermal resources locally. For this reason, we pay attention to the role of communities in geothermal development. This study presents arguments for a framework that approaches the geothermal resources as an endogenous factor of community development. To analyse it, we create a model that explains the local economic characters of the geothermal exploitation beyond its geological conditions. It aims to conceptualise a community based geothermal development standard referring to the endogeneity principle. Geothermal energy is given attention since the characteristics of this resource determine its use locally. We argue that the role of communities in geothermal exploitation is pivotal in the process of green growth for further expansion of geothermal energy use.

Tooth decay, also known as caries, is a significant medical problem that harms teeth. Treatment is based on the removal of the carious material and then filling the cavity left in the tooth, most commonly with amalgam or composite resin. The consequences of filling failure include repeating the filling, or performing another treatment, such as a root canal, or extraction. Dental amalgam contains mercury, and there is a global effort to reduce its use. However, no consensus has been reached using randomized clinical trials, regarding whether amalgam or composite resin materials are more durable, and which is the best restorative material. To determine which material is superior, we performed a retrospective cohort study using a large database where members of the 58 dental clinics with 440 dental units were treated. The number of failures of the amalgam compared to composite resin restorations between 2014 and 2021 were compared. Our data included information from over 650,000 patients. Between 2014 - 2021, 260,905 patients were treated. 19,692 out of 113,281 first amalgam restorations failed (17.49%), whereas significantly fewer composite restorations failed (11.98%) 65,943 out of 555,671. This study indicates that composite is superior to amalgam and therefore it is reasonable to cease using mercury containing amalgam.

Foliar fungal diseases in tomatoes include early blight (Alternaria linariae), Septoria leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici), and late blight (Phytophthora infestans) which is oomycetes. These are one of the significant production constraints in tomatoes. We describe the etiology, host range, distribution, symptoms, and disease cycle to understand the biology followed by management practices emphasizing the resistance breeding approach for these diseases. In crop improvement efforts, we provide an analytical review, including conventional and molecular methods for improving this disease resistance. Modern breeding tools, including genomics, genetic transformation, and genome editing, can be used to improve these traits. There is a good possibility of using these tools in the future to improve these traits.

Walker Glacier near the northern coast of Ellesmere Island in the High Canadian Arctic (terrestrial margin of the ‘Last Ice Area’) is undergoing rapid ice attrition in response to climate change. We applied culture and molecular methods to investigate fungal diversity in sediments at the terminus of this glacier. Analysis of the mycoflora composition showed that the Walker Glacier isolates separated into two clusters: the surface of the glacier ice and the glacier foreland. The recently exposed soils of the foreland had a lower fungal diversity and different species from those on the ice, with the exception of five species that occurred in both habitats. This loss of glacial ice in the Arctic is therefore resulting in the loss of habitats for cold-dwelling fungal species. Fungal diversity is a potentially rich biological resource of glacial ecosystems, with unique taxa. The rapid loss of these glacial habitats underscores the urgency for more detailed surveys of fungal diversity in the High Arctic, and the need for further isolation of strains as well as cryopreservation of environmental microbiome samples for future research and conservation.

Key genes needed for maintenance and growth for the two pathogens, Fusarium graminearum and Magnaporthe oryzae, were identified. These are genes that are induced in response to maintenance requirements (stress) and growth requirements. The processes involved are synthesizing arginine, synthesis of DNA-bases, nitric oxide synthesis needing arginine, autophagy, DNA synthesis, and DNA repair. A simplified regulatory network for these key genes for both organisms was constructed as a hypothesis for the work, and procedures previously developed to use sets of downloaded transcriptomic data were used to test hypotheses concerning what time under the course of infection of plants the key genes are expressed. The analysis shows that the transcription efforts (costs) to maintain the fungal cells (maintenance) are high before infection and during early infection. During the following biotrophic stage, maintenance activities drop, followed by a dramatic increase in the necrotrophic stage transition. Finally, in the necrotrophic stage, maintenance is again lower despite the high growth rate that can also cause stress. All identified genes' expressions behaved almost similar with an increased expression in the biotrophy-necrotrophy transition for both fungi except the DNA repair genes PARP/PARG that was not responding or absent (PARG) in the mainly clonal M. oryzae. This PARG expression pattern might indicate that M. oryzae is more subject to evolution by point mutations than F. graminearum, where sexual reproduction is frequent. The potential consequences of this in the development and the accelerated breakage of host species resistance in a Red Queen dynamics scenario are discussed. The analysis demonstrates the possibility of using large transcriptome datasets and co-regulations between key genes to test hypotheses. This technique's advantages complement molecular techniques that employ knockouts and over-expression of target genes to suggest that genes' roles are discussed.

The western Himalayan region is a biodiversity hotspot. Although many of the flora and fauna are documented, there are very few studies of the fungal diversity. Here, we present the statistical analyses of the specimen collections from the past 150 years of data in the fungarium of the Forest Research Institute. We found that the host tree species, pine, oak, deodar, and spruce, had very high Shannon diversity (SD) and species richness (SR), while Dalbergia and Rhododendron showed moderate to low SD, SR; Sal, although found at lower altitudes has high SD, SR. Among the fungal families, the highest SD, SR was found in Polyporaceae. Hymenochaetaceae, Peniophoraceae, Coleosporiaceae, and Stereaceae also showed SD with moderate SR. Fomitopsidaceae, Cronartiaceae, Ganodermataceae, and Thelephoraceae have low species diversity and species. Thelesporaceae are distributed above 2000 m altitude, and Ganodermateceae and Hymenochaetaceae have broader ranges, namely 0 - 3500 m and 0 - 5000 m, respectively. The Polyporaceae show diverse variations in species distribution, occurring between 0 and 4500 m; Colesporaceae and Cronartiaceae around 2000 m; and, Stereaceae, Meruliaceae, Peniophoraceae, and Fomitopsidaceae occur between 1700 and 1800 m, with all Stereaceae and Fomitopsidaceae having different distribution ranges up to 5000 m. We found that areas with relatively low rainfall had lower species richness, and vice versa, and high solar radiation also negatively impacted fungal density and SR. Similar studies must be undertaken in other parts of the Himalayas, and the importance of fungi in ethnobotanical needs to be understood for ensuring sustainable use.

The functioning of forest ecosystems depends on the taxonomic and ecological diversity of soil fungi. Urbanization is increasing worldwide and is regarded a major driver of environmental change altering local species assemblages in urban forest. We investigated whether the degree of urbanization and local forest characteristics affect the soil fungal community in 20 beech forests located along a rural–urban gradient in the city of Basel and its suburbs (Switzerland). We analyzed their soil fungal communities by DNA metabarcoding of the rDNA ITS2 region and related these data to local forest vegetation characteristics and soil properties. The number of fungal OTUs in the 20 forests examined ranged from 170 to 303. Richness, diversity and evenness of fungal OTUs were all significantly affected by the degree of urbanization, but in different ways. OTU richness was highest in forests in areas with a low degree of urbanization and lowest in forests in rural areas. In contrast, the diversity of OTUs increased with increasing degree of urbanization. Different fungal phyla and fungal guilds showed distinct patterns in their relative abundance along the rural-urban gradient. The degree of urbanization reduced the relative abundance of symbiotrophic fungi, but increased that of saprotrophic and pathotrophic fungi. Our results show that urbanization alters soil fungal community, which in turn can lead to changes in forest ecosystems.

Fungal endophytes have been found in all plants surveyed to date, yet for many fungi the function of endophytism is still unknown. The Foraging Ascomycete Hypothesis (FAH) proposes that saprotrophic fungi utilize an endophytic stage in leaves to modify dispersal. Under this hypothesis, leaves can provide food and water during time of environmental scarcity and they can transport the fungi to other substrates upon dehiscence. If the FAH is accurate, then some endophytes should have the ability to colonize saprobic substrates directly from a leaf-endophyte stage, though this has been little studied. To assess this ability, twelve surface-sterilized leaves of a tropical tree (Nectandra lineatifolia Mez) were placed directly on wood and incubated for six weeks. Fungi from the wood were subsequently cultured and identified by ITS sequences or morphology. 477 fungal isolates comprising 26 OTUs were cultured from the wood, the majority of which belong to saprotrophic genera (70.8% of OTUs, 82.3% of isolates). The mean OTU richness per leaf was 5.67. The term viaphyte (literally, “by way of plant”) is introduced and defined as fungi that colonize living leaves as endophytes and use the leaves to transfer to another substrate, such as wood, when the leaves dehisce. These results strengthen the Foraging Ascomycete Hypothesis and expose the possibility that viaphytism plays a significant role in the dispersal of fungal saprotrophs.

(+)-epi-Epoformin (1), is a fungal cyclohexene epoxide isolated together with diplopimarane and sphaeropsidins A and C, a nor-ent-pimarane and two pimaranes, from the culture filtrates of Diplodia quercivora, a fungal pathogen for cork oak in Sardinia, Italy. Compound 1 possesses a plethora of biological activities including: antifungal, zootoxic and phytotoxic activity. The last activity and the peculiar structural feature of 1 suggested to carry out a structure activity relationship study, preparing eight key hemisynthetic derivatives and their phytotoxicity was assayed. The complete spectroscopic characterization and the activity in the etiolated wheat coleoptile bioassay of all the compounds is reported. Most of the compounds inhibited growth and some of them had comparable or higher activity than the natural product and the reference herbicide Logran. As regards the structure-activity relationship, the carbonyl proved to be essential for their activity of 1, as well as the conjugated double bond, while the epoxide could be altered with no significant loss.

We aimed to estimate for the first time the burden of fungal infections in Uruguay. Data on population characteristics and underlying conditions were extracted from the National Statistics Institute, the World Bank, national registries and published articles. When no data existed, risk populations were used to estimate frequencies extrapolating from the literature. Population structure: total 3,444,006; 73% adults; 35% women younger than 50 years. Size of populations at risk: HIV infected 12,000; acute myeloid leukemia 126; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation 30; solid organ transplants 134; COPD 272,006 (19.7% of older than 40); asthma in adults 223,431 (prevalence 9%); cystic fibrosis in adults 48; tuberculosis 613 (incidence 26.2%), lung cancer 1,400 (ASR incidence 27.4). Annual incidence estimations per 100,000: 22.4 invasive aspergillosis, 16.4 candidaemia, 3.7 Candida peritonitis, 1.62 Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, 0.75 cryptococcosis, severe asthma with fungal sensitisation 217, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis 165, recurrent Candida vaginitis 6,323, oral candidiasis 74.5 and oesophageal candidiasis 25.7. Although some under and overestimations could have been made, we expect that at least 127,525 people suffer from serious fungal infections each year. Sporothrichosis, histoplasmosis, paracoccidioidomycosis and dermatophytosis are known to be frequent but no data are available to make accurate estimations. Given the magnitude of the burden of fungal infections in Uruguay, efforts should be made to improve surveillance, strengthen laboratory diagnosis and warrant access to first line antifungals.

Cereals and cassava-based foods serve as major dietary sources for several households in Nigeria. However, these foods are highly prone to contamination by moulds and aflatoxins owing to poor storage and vending practices. We therefore studied the fungal diversity of maize, cassava-based flour (pupuru) and rice vended in markets from Ondo state, Nigeria, and assessed the aflatoxin levels of these using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Fungi were detected in 93 (88 %) of the 106 food samples. Molecular analysis of 65 representative isolates revealed 26 species belonging to 5 genera: Aspergillus (80.9 %), Penicillium (15.4 %) and Talaromyces (1.9 %) in the Ascomycota; Syncephalastrum (1.2 %) and Lichtheimia (0.6%) in Mucoromycota. Aspergillus flavus was the predominant species in the food samples. Aflatoxins were found in 98 % of the 42 representative food samples and about one half (49.8 %) exceeded the 10 μg/kg threshold adopted in Nigeria for total aflatoxins. Integrated mitigation options, including at post-harvest stages, are suggested to ensure consumer safety.

Microbial communities play a key role in sustainable agriculture. However, we still need more in-formation, to understand the complex response of the microbial community to long-term organic farming, which aims to reduce synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use in order to produce sustainably and improve soil quality. We have assessed the long-term effect of two organic cropping systems and a conventional system on the microbial soil community structure using high-throughput se-quencing analysis. We analyzed the link between these communities and changes in soil properties and crop yield. Results showed that the crop yield was similar among the three cropping systems. Soil properties, such as total organic carbon, nitrogen, ammonium, magnesium and boron, influ-enced changes in the bacterial community structure. A linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) showed different bacteria and fungi as key microorganism of each of the three different cropping systems, in addition, our results reflected that fungal community were more sensitive than bacteria to cropping system. This research provides an insight about changes occurred in soils, especially in microbial communities considering the effect of that changes in crop yield which were remained stable among the different cropping systems.

Background: The presence of fungal species on the surface skin and hair is a known finding in many mammalian species and humans are no exception. Superficial fungal infections are sometimes a chronic and recurring condition that affects approximately 10-20% of the world’s population. However, most species that are isolated from humans tend to occur as co-existing flora. This study was conducted to determine the diversity of fungal species isolated from the hair and nails of workers in the central region of Saudi Arabia where there are not many observational studies on the mycological species. Materials and Methods: Male workers from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were recruited for this study and samples were obtained from their nails and hair for mycological analysis which was done using Saboraud’s agar and sterile wet soil. Fungal isolates were examined microscopically. Results: Twenty four hair samples yielded a total of 26 species from 19 fungal genera. Chaetomiumglobosum was the most commonly isolated fungal species followed by Emericellanidulans, Cochliobolusneergaardii, and Penicilliumoxalicum. Three fungal species were isolated from nail samples, namely, Alternariaalternata, Aureobasidiumpullulans, and Penicilliumchrysogenum. Most of the isolated fungal species (17 of the 26 or 65.38% of the isolated fungal species) have not been thoroughly characterised nor morphologically classified. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the presence of previously undescribed fungal species that contribute to the normal flora of the skin and its appendages and may have a role in their pathogenies.

Community is a veritable ingredient for social change and development in a society. The potentials of individuals and groups in the community are a great source or resource for promoting unity, development and patriotism. The general objective of this study is to examine the influence of diversity in community composition, on the operation of community policing style in Nigeria. The study adopted qualitative research approach to collect and analyze data. In-depth interview is the instrument of data collection while content analysis is the method of data analysis. The study took place in Kwara State, North central Nigeria. Twenty community leaders and youth groups heads were purposefully selected through snowball sampling method. Where this great resource or human capital is adequately galvanized by the leaders and community heads, the community becomes formidable and capable of solving her social problems together. However, these benefits of community are hampered by other socio-cultural and economic variables in its members. Community on its own cannot achieve much until members are mobilized to support and partner with government in any developmental projects.

Application of toxic antibacterial agents is considered necessary to control prevalent fresh water microorganisms in evaporative cooling water systems, but these agents can adversely affect the environment and human health. Alternatively, natural antibacterial water chemistry has been applied in industrial cooling water systems for over 10 years with excellent results. The tower water chemistry method concentrates natural salts in highly-softened water to produce elevated pH and dissolved solids, with low calcium and magnesium. This practice conserves water while generating only a small volume of non-toxic natural salt concentrate for cost efficient separation and disposal if required. This review presents a novel perspective of natural antimicrobial chemistry for inhibiting parasitic microbiome functional relationships within the bio-triad of Legionella outbreaks, "Trojan Protozoans" and biofilms. The review further examines practical application and function of polyvalent metal ions in the inhibition of biofilms. Reducing global dependence on toxic antibacterial agents discharged to the environment is an emerging concern due to their impact on the natural microbiome, plants, animals and humans. Discharge of antibacterial agents also contributes to development of pathogen resistance. Use of natural antibacterial chemistry can play a key role in managing the cooling water environment in a more ecologically sustainable manner.

B-1 cells, a subtype of B lymphocytes, are found in lymphoid tissues and peritoneal and pleural cavities. They play diverse roles, releasing cytokines, generating antibodies, regulating the immune response, engaging in phagocytosis, and moving to inflammatory sites. However, their physiology remains partially understood, especially in stressful conditions like sleep restriction. This study aimed to investigate murine B-1 cell activation and differentiation under sleep restriction. Male C57BL/6J mice underwent an 18-hour sleep restriction for 21 days, followed by Candida albicans or Paracoccidioides brasiliensis infection. Purified peritoneal B-1 cells were evaluated for activation markers, microbicidal molecules, cytokine gene expression, Toll-like receptors, and commitment factors. Results showed that sleep restriction minimally influenced activation marker expression in B-1 cells across infection models. However, under sleep restriction, microbicidal molecule production increased in P. brasiliensis (NO) and C. albicans (ROS) infections. Gene expression revealed elevated TLR-2 and cytokines (IL-12, IL-6, TNF-α) in sleep-restricted animals. Lineage commitment analysis indicated myeloid polarization in sleep-restricted B-1 cells for all infection models. These findings underscore the impact of sleep restriction on B-1 cell activation and differentiation, with outcomes varying based on infection type. This study highlights the importance of investigating immunological changes resulting from sleep restriction.

Background: Condoms have proven to be an effective contraceptive barrier method of family planning and have played a vital role in preventing sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. However, existing evidence shows that utilization of condoms still remains low, especially among youth and adolescents. We aimed to determine the prevalence of condom use and associated factors among the students of Gulu university in Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of Gulu University between June and December 2023. The students were accessed from their respective faculties and chosen using a simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a pretested self-administered structured questionnaire. Condom use was defined as use of either male or female condom in the last sexual encounter in the previous six months. Results: A total of 404 participants, with a median age of 23 years (interquartile range (21.5-24) years) were enrolled in the study, 54.2%(n=219) of whom were male. Overall, 81.4%(n=329) of the participants were in senior classes (year 2,3,4, and 5) and 18.6%(n=75) were in their first year of study. The prevalence of condom use was 53.7%(n=217). Prevalence of condom use was 50.2%(n=109) among male and 49.8%(n=108) among female students. Year of study (senior class)(aPR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.59, 3.54), having a sexual partner (aPR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.89, 2.94), having a sexual partner within campus (aPR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.69, 2.45), experience of condom bursting (aPR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.08, 1.61), having sex in absence of condoms (aPR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.44, 0.70), alcohol use (aPR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.45) were independently associated with condom use. Conclusion: Just over half of undergraduate students of Gulu university used condoms during sexual encounters. There should be heighten campaigns on condom use to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

We report here a giant microfossil resembling the conidium of an ascomycete fungus (cf. Alternaria alternata). The specimen is preserved in stromatolitic black chert of the Gunflint Iron Formation (Paleoproterozoic Eon, Orosirian Period, ca. 1.9-2.0 Ga) of southern Ontario, Canada, and the rock that provided the thin section may have been collected by Elso Barghoorn as part of the original discovery of the Gunflint microbiota. The large size of the fossil sets it apart from other, tiny by comparison, Gunflint microfossils. The fossil is 200 microns in length and has cross walls. Individual cells are 30-46 microns in greatest dimension. The apical ‘spore’ is cap-shaped, and has partly separated from the rest of the structure. Cloulicaria gunflintensis gen. nov. sp. nov. may provide early evidence for eukaryotes (fungi) in the fossil record, and may also represent the earliest evidence for asexual reproduction in a eukaryote by means of mitospores.

Plant diseases and pests reduce crop yields, accounting for global crop losses of 30% to 50%. In conventional agricultural production systems, these losses are typically controlled by applying chemical pesticides. However, public pressure is mounting to curtail agrochemical use. In this context, employing beneficial endophytic microorganisms is an increasingly attractive alternative to the use of conventional chemical pesticides in agriculture. A multitude of fungal endophytes are naturally present in plants, producing enzymes, small peptides and secondary metabolites due to their bioactivity, can protect hosts from pathogens, pests and abiotic stresses. The use of beneficial endophytic microorganisms in agriculture is an increasingly attractive alternative to conventional pesticides. The aim of this study was to characterize fungal endophytes isolated from apparently healthy, feral wine grapes in eastern Canada that have grown without agrochemical inputs for decades. Host plants ranged from unknown seedlings to long-lost cultivars not widely propagated since the 1800s. HPLC-MS was used to identify unique endophyte-derived chemical compounds in the host plants, while dual-culture competition assays showed a range in endophytes’ ability to suppress the mycelial growth of Botrytis, which is typically controlled in viticulture with pesticides. Twelve of the most promising fungal endophytes isolated were identified using multilocus sequencing and morphology, while DNA barcoding was employed to identify some of their host vines. These fungal endophyte isolates, which consisted of both known and putative novel strains, belonged to seven genera in six families and five orders of Ascomycota. Exploring the fungal endophytes in these specimens may yield clues to the vines’ survival and lead to the discovery of novel biocontrol agents.

India ranks among the top ten nations in the world for grape production. Fungal pathogens inflict damage to crop plants in turn making cultivators bear huge economical losses. With an output of 1.21 million tons (about 2% of 57.40 million tons produced globally). 1.2% of the nation’s total fruit cropland is covered by grapes. But due to fungal diseases the effect of the yield produced ranges from 5-80% depending on the severity of diseases which will affect the yield of grape vineyard. In precision agriculture, new sensing technologies and artificial intelligence could be used to automatically identify grapevine and disease pest symptoms. Traditional manual disease-monitoring methods are inefficient, labor-intensive, and ineffective. Timely effective and precise evaluation of grape diseases is admitted as a critical step in the field management. In this paper, we are explaining about different optical sensing methods applied for RGB, Multispectral and Thermal cameras. Section-wise we will be describing environmental set up for image-aquation, data-preprocessing, different modelling methods, evaluation matrix, result, and reviewer’s comment.

Introduction: Silver nanoparticles have been extensively investigated in dental and orthopedic materials. However, the impregnation of bone graft with silver nanoparticles has been poorly investigated. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antibiofilm activity of a bovine bone impregnated with silver nanoparticles. Methods: Bone scaffolds from cancellous bovine femur were used for the tests and impregnated with silver nanoparticles (50nm) by physical adsorption. Silver nitrate minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration were performed Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Escherichia coli. Disc diffusion tests for silver nanoparticles susceptibility and quantification of biofilm production on plate and bone with sessile cell count were also performed. Results: All pathogens were susceptible to silver with low minimal inhibitory concentration (0.25 – 4 mg/L). The scaffold impregnated with silver nanoparticles presented a significant reduction in the biofilm cells for all microorganisms with a reduction of more than 3 logs in colony forming units count. Conclusion: Bone scaffolds impregnated with silver nanoparticles can significantly reduce biofilm, and it can be a strategical material to be used as an implant for different approaches.

Hydrogel antibacterial agent is an ideal antibacterial material because of it could diffuses antibacterial molecules into the decayed area by providing a suitable microenvironment and the hydrogel acts as a protective barrier on the decay interface. The biocompatibility and biodegradation make the removal process easily which were widely used in medical fields. However, there have been few reports on its application for controlling postharvest diseases in fruit. In this study, the Chitosan-Ag (CS-Ag) complex hydrogels were prepared using the physical crosslinking method, which used for controlling postharvest diseases in grape. The prepared hydrogels were stable for a long period at room temperature. The structure and surface morphology of CS-Ag composite hydrogels were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM, and XRD. The inhibitory effects of CS-Ag hydrogel on disease in grape caused by P. expansum, A. niger and B. cinerea were investigated both in vivo and in vitro. The remarkable antibacterial activity of CS-Ag hydrogels was mainly due to the synergistic antibacterial and antioxidant effects of CS and Ag. Preservation test showed that the CS-Ag hydrogel had positive fresh-keeping effect. This revealed CS-Ag hydrogels plays a critical role in controlling fungal disease in grape.

In this study, we aimed to develop a deep learning model for identifying bacterial keratitis (BK) and fungal keratitis (FK) by using slit-lamp images. We retrospectively collected slit-lamp images of patients with culture-proven microbial keratitis between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2019, from two medical centers in Taiwan. We constructed a deep learning algorithm, consisting of a segmentation model for cropping cornea images and a classification model that applies convolutional neural networks to differentiate between FK and BK. The model performance was evaluated and presented as the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curves. A gradient-weighted class activation mapping technique was used to plot the heatmap of the model. By using 1330 images from 580 patients, the deep learning algorithm achieved an average diagnostic accuracy of 80.00%. The diagnostic accuracy for BK ranged from 79.59% to 95.91% and that for FK ranged from 26.31% to 63.15%. DenseNet169 showed the best model performance, with an AUC of 0.78 for both BK and FK. The heat maps revealed that the model was able to identify the corneal infiltrations. The model showed better diagnostic accuracy than the previously reported diagnostic performance of both general ophthalmologists and corneal specialists.

As a part of our ongoing research on endophytic fungi, we have isolated a sesterterpene mycotoxin, fusaproliferin (FUS), from Fusarium solani strain associated with the plant Aglaonema hookerianum Schott. FUS showed rapid and sub-micromolar IC₅₀ against pancreatic cancer cell lines. Time dependent survival analysis and microscopy imaging showed rapid morphological changes in cancer cell lines 4 hours after incubation with FUS. This provides a new chemical scaffold that can be further developed to obtain more potent synthetic agents against pancreatic cancer.

Understanding ecological interactions is a key in managing phytopathology. Although entomologists rely mostly on both traditional molecular methods and morphological characteristics to identify pests, next-generation sequencing is becoming the go-to avenue for scientists studying fungal and oomycete phytopathogens. These organisms sometimes infect plants together with insects. There are many relationships yet to be discovered and much to learn about how these organisms interact with one another. Considering the growing number of exotic insect introductions in Canada, a high-throughput strategy for screening those insects is already implemented by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). However, no plan is deployed to investigate the phytopathogenic fungal and oomycete species interacting with insects. Metagenomics analysis was performed on the preservation fluids from CFIA’s insect traps across Canada. Using the Ion Torrent PGM technology and fusion primers for multiplexing and indexing, community profiling was conducted on the different semiochemicals used in the insect traps and the various areas where these traps were placed. Internal transcribed spacer 1 (fungi and oomycetes) and adenosine triphosphate synthase subunit 9-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 9 spacer amplicons were generated. Although direct links between organisms could not be established, moderately phytopathogenic fungi (e.g., Leptographium spp. and Meria laricis) and oomycetes (mainly Peronospora spp. and Pythium spp.) unique to every type of semiochemical were discovered. The entomopathogenic yeast Candida michaelii was also detected. This project demonstrated our ability to screen for unwanted species faster and at a higher scale and throughput than traditional pathogen diagnostic techniques. Additionally, minimal modifications to this approach would allow it to be used in other phytopathology fields.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of community policing on maintaining community safety and security by measuring the rate of crime prevention. Specifically, it sought to find out how the city administration of Addis Ababa demonstrated and promoted understanding of the community policing effort, information sharing, and community members' opinions regarding community policing in relation to local security procedures. Law enforcement initiatives to improve quality of life and reduce crime are also included. In order to be successful, community policing requires concrete actions and projects, and given the pervasive mistrust in today's public, both police departments and individual officers must take the lead. The findings demonstrated the influence of community policing, information sharing, and their results on local security practices as well as community policing among community members. According to one suggestion, the police should make sure that they interact positively with the community and that people are aware of their involvement in community policing. This way, people will be happy to provide the police with information that could help prevent crime. The public should be encouraged to maintain good connections with the police, as they can enhance community policing. Because it were obvious that doing so will improve society's peace and security, this study showed the need for additional efforts to further cement relationships of collaboration between the police and the community.

From the existing millions of fungal species only a few cause disease. In this study, we investigated invasive fungal infections in the head and neck over a 19-year period (2005 to 2024) at a large academic healthcare system. Among 413 cases, 336 were noninvasive, and 77 were invasive. The highest incidence of invasive infections occurred in the sinonasal cavities, with a 15-fold difference compared to other sites. Most infections affected adults over 40 years old. The most common organisms were Mucorales (51%), hyaline molds (29%), and Candida (11%). Risk factors included malignancy, transplant, diabetes, and illicit drug use. Mortality was high in patients with malignancy and/or transplant. Infections affecting the mandible were usually a complication of osteoradionecrosis and were associated with coinfection of Candida and Actinomyces. At other sites, infections were rare and were usually the result of penetrating injuries or immunosuppression. Treatment typically involved a combination of antifungals and surgical procedures.

Glucosinolates, the main secondary metabolites accumulated in cruciferous flora, have a major impact on fortifying plant immunity against diverse pathogens. Although Botrytis cinerea exhibits varying sensitivity to these compounds, current research has yet to fully understand the intricate mechanisms governing its response to glucosinolates. Different species of the genus Botrytis were exposed to glucosinolate-breakdown products revealing that B. fabae, B. deweyae and B. convoluta, species lacking the mfsG transporter gene (Bcin06g00026), were more sensitive to glucosin-olate-breakdown products than Botrytis species containing that gene such as B. cinerea, B. pseudo-cinerea and B. byssoidea. This finding was further corroborated by the inability of species lacking the mfsG gene to infect plants with a high concentration of glucosinolate breakdown products. These results challenge established correlations, revealing varying aggressiveness on different plant substrates. Expression analysis highlighted the gene's induction in the presence of isothiocyanate, and bioinformatic investigation identified homologous genes in other Botrytis species. Our study underscored the importance of advanced biotechnology to help understand these proteins and thus offer innovative solutions for agriculture

Seeds play a vital role in the perpetuation of plant species, both in natural environments and agriculture. However, they often face challenges from biotic stresses, such as seedborne pathogenic fungi. The transgenerational transmission of these seedborne fungi, along with their dissemination during seed commercialization, can contribute to the emergence of global epidemic diseases, resulting in substantial economic losses. One such pathogenic fungus is Alternaria brassicicola, responsible for causing black spot disease in Brassicaceae. This necrotrophic seedborne fungus negatively impacts plant development, consequently affecting crop production and seed quality. To gain a deeper understanding of the interaction between seeds and necrotrophic fungi, the Arabidopsis thaliana/Alternaria brassicicola model pathosystem has been extensively studied. Recent transcriptomic and genetic studies revealed a distinctive immune response of seeds against this pathogen, divergent from the immune response described in the plant vegetative phase. In germinating seeds and seedlings, the necrotrophic fungus seems to induce susceptible response [1]. It was observed at the RNA level that to the detriment of jasmonic acid pathway, Alternaria induced the salicylic acid and glucosinolate (GSL) pathways. Genetic evidence identified that seedling necrosis, potentially beneficial to the growth of the necrotrophic agent, is hypersensitive response mediated by GSL pathway. Transmission of necrotrophic fungal from seed to seedling unveils novel regulations of the immune response, that would illustrate a trade-off between seedling establishment and fungal infection. This knowledge is promising to sustainably ensure the sanitary quality of crops.

Fungal-bacterial co-colonization and co-infections are emerging among TB-suspected patients, yet the underlying mechanisms that enable and arise from their interactions are poorly understood. Understanding how environmental microbes such as fungi and bacteria co-evolve and develop traits to evade host immune responses and resist treatment is critical to controlling opportunistic co-infections. Our previous work has demonstrated that fungal-bacterial interactions can have dramatic impacts on fungal pathogenesis and drug resistance. Here, we, therefore, hypothesize that cross-kingdom synergistic interactions between environmental fungi and bacteria may influence both fungal and bacterial virulence, antimicrobial resistance patterns and aetiology. Through this, we aimed to establish the prevalence of fungal–bacterial microbial communities associated with chronic primary or opportunistic pulmonary infections. Concordantly, through surveilling 302 clinical samples from 151 patients, we established the prevalence of TB (0.7%) to be lower than that of fungi (1.3%) and non-TB bacterial (4.6%) mono-aetiologies Figure 2. However, our main observation was the unexpected taxonomic diversity with a striking twist of fungal-bacterial di-kingdom aetiological conformities. Interestingly, the majority of the patients presented with at least a di or mono-kingdom aetiological pairings. Importantly, fungi and non-TB bacteria formerly regarded as atypical opportunists are now frequently isolated as possible aetiology for chronic pulmonary infection. Hence, we revealed many di-kingdom aetiological pairings here but their significance remains a question of further examination. Among which Acremonium spp + K. pneumoniae (n=5), Acremonium spp +Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=4), Acremonium spp + C. albicans + K. pneumoniae (n=3) were among the most dominant aetiological pairings observed. Interestingly, Acremonium spp + K. pneumoniae pairings were also seen to be the most commonly associated with pulmonary TB both during and after treatment. Isolation from the same infection niche as seen here calls for further investigations into any interaction signatures that may exist between these organisms. Taken together, our data suggest that fungal-bacterial co-existence may influence their virulence attributes and antimicrobial resistance patterns, with relevance to patient outcomes. Therefore, our data reveals an array of fungal-bacterial pairings that may influence the prognosis of chronic pulmonary disease. Importantly, suggesting that the diversity of pulmonary infective fungi and bacteria, and their complex population structures may pose challenges to the analysis and interpretation of conventional data. Thus, there is a need to redirect our diagnostic approaches to encompass polymicrobial aetiology in order to enhance our suspicion index for better management of opportunistic fungal-bacterial co-infections.

Objectives. Invasive fungal spondylodiscitis (IFSD) is rare and could be lethal in certain circumstances. Previous literature revealed limited data concerning the outcomes. This study aimed to establish a risk-scoring system. Methods. A total of 53 patients were included in the study from a multi-centered database in Taiwan. All the clinicopathological and laboratory data were retrospectively analyzed. Variables strongly related to 1-year mortality were identified using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to express the performance of our IFSD scoring model. Results. Five strong predictors were included in the IFSD score: predisposing immunocompromised state, the initial presentation of either radiculopathy or myelopathy, initial laboratory findings of WBC > 12.0 or < 0.4 103/uL, hemoglobin < 8 g/dL, and evidence of candidemia. 1-year mortality rates for patients with IFSD Scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0%, 16.7%, 56.3%, 72.7%, and 100%, respectively. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.823. Conclusions. We developed a practical scoring model with easily obtained demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters to predict the probability of 1-year mortality in patients with IFSD. However, more large-scale and international validations would be necessary before this scoring model is commonly used.

Background: The burden of resistant fungal infection is rising in patients with pulmonary disease. Options for antifungal therapy are limited, and the only orally-available antifungals, the triazoles, demonstrate inter and intra-patient variability, non-linear kinetics, toxicity, drug interactions and increasing antifungal resistance. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole has been necessary to ensure their safety and efficacy, but is considered unnecessary for the newest triazole isavuconazole, use of which is increasing. Aims: To characterise isavuconazole susceptibility of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates in a tertiary respiratory referral centre to understand prevalence of isavuconazole antimicrobial resistance. To retrospectively review experience of isavuconazole use in this setting, assessing tolerability and therapeutic drug monitoring. Methods: A retrospective observational analysis of adult patients with respiratory disease in a tertiary hospital setting between Sept 2016 and Aug 2021. Clinical cultures were collected and triazole Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were recorded (based on Clinical &amp; Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI method)). Isavuconazole trough drug levels were carried out as part of the standard of care. Clinical outcomes of treatment were evaluated, along with drug tolerance and TDM. Results: During the study period, isavuconazole susceptibility testing was performed on 26 Aspergillus spp isolates. 80.8% of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates were non-wild type and had isavuconazole MIC &gt; 1mg/L, and 73.0% had MIC above the EUCAST (European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing) epidemiological cut-off (ECOFF) of 2mg/L. There was good correlation between isavuconazole MIC and voriconazole MIC (r =0.7, p=0.0002). 54 patients had isavuconazole therapy over the study period with a median duration of 7.7 months (IQR 0.79 - 16.42). 67% of patients were able to tolerate isavuconazole, despite toxicity with prior azole treatment being the primary indication for use (in 61.8%). Increased age (r=0.29; p=0.03 (95%CI 0.02,0.52)) and gender (r for female sex=-0.31; p=0.027 (95%CI -0.52,0.036) were associated risk factors for development of adverse events (AEs). 127 Isavuconazole TDM levels were performed over the study period with 90% &gt;1mg/L and 72% &gt;2mg/L. Dose change from manufacturer’s dose recommendation, however, was required in 15% of patients to achieve a serum drug concentration above the EUCAST ECOFF or Area of technical uncertainty (ATU) value of 2mg/L. Conclusion: In our study, we show use of Isavuconazole as salvage therapy in chronic pulmonary fungal disease setting with high prevalence of azole resistance. Isavuconazole MICs demonstrated good correlation with voriconazole MICs suggesting the latter could be a useful surrogate marker for isavuconazole susceptibility. Although Isavuconazole achieved excellent serum drug concentrations at standard dose compared to other azole drugs, we highlight the importance of antifungal stewardship and TDM monitoring to optimise therapy in this setting.

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is potentially a useful tool that can be employed to increase the efficacy and decrease the toxicity of antifungal drugs. The aim of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the current use of TDM in clinical practice, and to present the evidence available regarding its use in proactive clinical settings for preventing and managing treatment failure. This review also presents the existing evidence regarding the association of various clinical outcomes with specific thresholds of drug concentrations in everyday practice. Articles concerning the use of TDM of triazoles in the treatment of fungal infections were retrieved through an electronic search using PubMed. In clinical practice, TDM has an increasingly important role in the management of antifungal drugs as a consequence of the improvement in the knowledge of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these drugs. The currently available evidence shows a direct exposure-response relationship for triazoles, though the PK/PD profile is unpredictable. Current guidelines and treatment consensus statements recommend the proactive TDM of voriconazole, posaconazole, and itraconazole to optimize dosage regimens and improve outcomes for adult and pediatric patients.

Membrane-coupled RNA transport is an emerging theme in fungal biology. This review focuses on the RNA cargo and mechanistic details of transport via two inter-related sets of organelles: endosomes and extracellular vesicles for intra- and intercellular RNA transfer. Simultaneous transport and translation of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) on the surface of shuttling endosomes is a conserved process pertinent to highly polarised eukaryotic cells, such as hyphae or neurons. Here we detail the endosomal mRNA transport machinery components and mRNA targets of the core RNA-binding protein Rrm4. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are newly garnering interest as mediators of intercellular communication, especially between pathogenic fungi and their hosts. Landmark studies in plant-fungus interactions indicate EVs as a means of delivering various cargos, most notably small RNAs (sRNAs), for cross-kingdom RNA interference. Recent advances and implications of the nascent field of fungal EVs are discussed and potential links between endosomal and EV-mediated RNA transport are proposed.

The processing of fossil fuels is the major environmental issue today which should be lessen. Biomass is gaining much interest these days as an alternate to energy generation. Lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) is abundant and has been used for a variety of purposes. Among them, the lignin polymer having phenyl-propanoid subunits linked together through C-C bonds or ether linkages, can produce numerous chemicals. It can be depolymerized by microbial activity together with certain enzymes (laccases and peroxidases). Both acetic acid and formic acid production by certain fungi contribute significantly to lignin depolymerization. Natural organic acids production by fungi has many key roles in nature that are strictly dependent upon organic acid producing fungus type. Fungal enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic is beneficial over other physiochemical processes. Laccases, the copper containing proteins oxidize a broad spectrum of inorganic as well as organic compounds but most specifically phenolic compounds by radical catalyzed mechanism. Similarly, lignin peroxidases (LiP), the heme containing proteins perform a vital part in oxidizing a wide variety of aromatic compounds with H₂O_2. Lignin depolymerization yields value-added compounds, the important ones are BTX (Benzene, Xylene and Toluene) and phenols as well as certain polymers like polyurethane and carbon fibers. Thus, this review will provide a concept that biological modifications of lignin using acidophilic microbes can generate certain value added and environment friendly chemicals.

The threat of antimicrobial resistance to society is compounded by a relative lack of new clinically effective licensed therapies reaching patients over the past three decades. This has been particularly problematic within antifungal drug development leading to a rise in fungal infection rates and associated mortality. This paper highlights the potential of an ultrashort peptide, (naphthalene-2-ly)-acetyl-diphenylalanine-dilysine-OH (NapFFKK-OH), encompassing hydrogel-forming and antifungal properties within a single peptide motif, thus overcoming formulation (e.g. solubility, drug loading) issues associated with many current employed highly hydrophobic antifungals. A range of fungal susceptibility (colony counts) and cell cytotoxicity (MTS cell viability, LIVE/DEAD staining® with fluorescent microscopy, haemolysis) assays were employed. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the nanofibrous architecture of our self-assembling peptide, existing as a hydrogel at concentrations of 1% w/v and above. Broad-spectrum activity was demonstrated against a range of fungi clinically relevant to infection (Aspergillus niger, Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida dubliniensis) with greater than 4 log10 CFU/mL reduction at concentrations of 0.5% w/v and above. We hypothesise antifungal activity is due to targeting of anionic components present within fungal cell membranes resulting in membrane disruption and cell lysis. NapFFKK-OH demonstrated reduced toxicity against mammalian cells (NCTC 929, ARPE-19) suggesting increased selectivity for fungal cells. However, further studies relating to safety for systemic administration is required, given the challenges toxicity has presented in the wider context of antimicrobial peptide drug development. Overall this study highlights the promise of NapFFKK-OH hydrogels, particularly as a topical formulation for the treatment of fungal infections relating to the skin and eyes, or as a hydrogel coating for the prevention of biomaterial related infection.

Cambodia faces the challenge of managing excess water during the wet season and insufficient water during the dry season. This harms human life and endangers aquatic and natural resources, agricultural practices, and food security. In order to ensure the well-being of both people and food security, water governance is crucial. However, Cambodia's water governance is hindered by various obstacles, including sectoral and centralized influences, top-down and large-scale strategies, a lack of coordination among relevant agencies, and limited involvement of local communities. This study delves into water governance across different sectors, from centralized to community-based natural resources management to tackle these challenges. Through analyzing literature and case studies of farmer water user communities (FWUC), community fisheries (CFis), and community fish refuges (CFRs) in three Mekong Delta provinces in Cambodia, the study concludes that although water governance has improved, it has resulted in a decline in fishery resources from rivers and water bodies and an increase in water conflicts among farmers and sectors in the face of climate change. To enhance water governance in Cambodia, it is critical to integrate it at the district level. This will promote sustainable water use and management across the country and pave the way for a brighter future.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a prevalent condition affecting women worldwide. This study aimed to develop a rapid qPCR assay for accurate identification of VVC etiological agents and reduced azole susceptibility. One hundred and twenty nine vaginal samples from an outpatient clinic (Bilbao-Spain) were analyzed using culture-based methods and multiplex qPCR targeting fungal species, Candida albicans being the predominant species. Antifungal susceptibility tests revealed reduced azole susceptibility in three (3,48%) isolates. Molecular analysis identified several mutations in genes associated with azole resistance and novel mutations in TAC1 and MRR1 genes were also identified, which could contribute to drug resistance.

Soil salinity is a limiting factor in crop productivity. Inoculating crops with microorganisms adapted to salt stress is an alternative to increasing plant salinity tolerance. Few studies have simultaneously propagated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and dark septate fungi (DSF) using different sources of native inoculum from halophyte plants, and evaluated their effectiveness. This study selected, in alfalfa plants as trap culture, the infectivity of 38 microbial consortia native from rhizospheric soil (19) or roots (19) coming from six halophyte plants, as well as their effectiveness in mitigating salinity stress. Inoculation with soil resulted in 26%-56% colonization by AMF and 12%-32% by DSF. Root inoculation produced 10%-56% and 8%-24% of colonization, respectively. There was no difference in the number of spores of AMF produced with both inoculum types. The effective consortia were selected based on low Na but high P and K shoot concentrations which is relevant for plant nutrition but more for salt stress mitigation. The microbial consortia selection is presented in a more novel and applicable context, which would allow for the production of native microbial inoculants adapted to salinity to diminish the harmful effects of salinity stress in glycophyte plants in the context of sustainable agriculture.

Background. Candida bloodstream infections (CBSIs) have decreased among pediatric populations in the United States, but remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Species distributions and susceptibility patterns of CBSI isolates diverge widely between children and adults. Awareness of these patterns can inform clinical decision-making for empiric or pre-emptive therapy of children at risk for candidemia. Methods. CBSIs occurring from 2006-2016 among patients in a large children’s hospital were analyzed for age specific trends in incidence rate, risk factors for breakthrough-CBSI and death, as well as underlying conditions. Candida species distributions and susceptibility patterns were evaluated in addition to antifungal agent use. Results. The overall incidence rate of CBSI among this complex patient population was 1.97/1,000 patient-days. About half of CBSI episodes occurred in immunocompetent children and 14% in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients. Antifungal resistance was minimal: 96.7% of isolates were fluconazole-, 99% were micafungin-, and all were amphotericin susceptible. Liposomal amphotericin was the most commonly prescribed antifungal agent including for NICU patients. Overall CBSI-associated mortality was 13.7%; there were no deaths associated with CBSI among NICU patients after 2011. Conclusions. Pediatric CBSI characteristics differ substantially from those in adults. Improved management of underlying diseases and antimicrobial stewardship may further decrease morbidity and mortality from CBSI while continuing to maintain low resistance rates among Candida isolates.

With the long-term and large-scale use, herbicides have been well known to influence tritrophic interactions particularly natural enemies of pests in agro-ecosystems. On the other hand, herbivorous insects, especially the generalist pests, have developed antagonistic interaction to different insecticides, toxic plant secondary metabolites and even heavy metals. However, whether exposure to herbicides would affect resistance of insects against insecticides is largely unknown, especially in agricultural pests. Here, we first reported that pre-exposure to two widely used herbicides butachlor and haloxyfop-methyl for 48 h can prime resistance of a generalist agricultural pest Helicoverpa armigera Hübner against insecticide methomyl and fungal toxin aflatoxin B1. In addition, there were no significant differences between control and herbicides-treated caterpillars on weight gain, pupal weight and pupation rates, suggesting that exposure to herbicides induce resistance of H. armigera accompanied with no fitness cost. Moreover, by determining detoxifying enzyme activities and toxicity bioassay with additional inhibitor of cytochrome P450 piperonyl butoxide (PBO), we showed that exposure to herbicides might prime P450-mediated detoxification of H. armigera against insecticide. Based on these results, we propose that exposure to herbicides primes resistance of H. armigera against insecticide by eliciting a clear elevation of predominantly P450 monooxygenase activities in midgut and fat body.

Fungal pathogens pose a major threat to food production worldwide. Traditionally, chemical fungicides have been the primary means of controlling these pathogens, but many of these fungicides have recently come under increased scrutiny due to their negative effects on the health of humans, animals, and the environment. However, the use of fungicides with less of an environmental impact tends to result in the development of resistance in populations of phytopathogenic fungi. Therefore, new environmentally friendly alternatives that provide adequate levels of disease control are needed to replace chemical fungicides—if not completely, at least partially. A number of alternatives to conventional chemical fungicides have been developed, including plant defence elicitors (PDEs), biological control agents (fungi, bacteria and mycoviruses), biofungicides, RNA interference (RNAi) methods, and resistance breeding. This article reviews the conventional and alternative methods available to manage fungal pathogens, discusses their strengths and weaknesses, and identifies potential areas for future research.

This study aimed to select the most effective metabolites for controlling honey bee nosemosis using culture extracts from 342 entomopathogenic fungi of 24 species from 18 genera. The germination inhibitory activity of the fungal culture extract against Nosema ceranae spores was evaluated using an in vitro germination assay method. Among 89 fungal culture extracts showing germination inhibitory activity of approximately 80% or more, 44 culture extracts that maintained their inhibitory activity even at a concentration of 1% were selected. Finally, the honey bee nosemosis inhibitory activity was evaluated using the cultured extracts of 5 fungal isolates having a Nosema inhibitory activity of approximately 60% or more even when the extract was removed after treatment. As a result, the proliferation of Nosema spores was reduced by all fungal culture extract treatments. However, only the treatment of the culture extracts from Paecilomyces marquandii 364 and Pochonia bulbillosa 60 showed a reduction in honey bee mortality due to nosemosis. In particular, the extracts of these two fungal isolates also increased the survival of honey bees.

The beer industry is a major producer of solid waste globally, primarily in the form of brewer’s spent grains (BSG), which due to its low value has historically been diverted to livestock as feed or to landfills as waste. Its high moisture content and chemical composition positions BSG as an ideal candidate for further processing with microbial fermentation, and recent research has focused on filamentous fungi and the ability of some species therein to degrade the predominant recalcitrant cellulolignin components of BSG to produce valuable compounds. Many species have been investigated to biovalorize this waste stream, including those in the genuses Aspergillus, Pennicillium, Rhyzopus, and Trichoderma, which have been used to produce a wide array of highly valuable enzymes and other functional compounds, and to increase the nutritional value of BSG as an animal feed. This review of recent developments in the application of filamentous fungi for the valorization of BSG will discuss the biochemical makeup of BSG, the biological mechanisms underlying fungi’s primacy to this application, and the current applications of fungi in this realm. As the majority of these studies are at lab-scale, the challenges to scale-up and more widespread application and will be discussed as well.

Invasive fungal infections by Candida albicans frequently cause mortality in immunocompromised patients. Neutrophils are particularly important for fungal clearance at the early phase of infections, yet little has been known regarding which surface receptor controls neutrophil phagocytic activities during systemic C. albicans infection. CD137, which is encoded by Tnfrsf9, belongs to the tumor necrosis receptor superfamily and has been shown to regulate neutrophils in Gram-positive bacterial infection. Here, we used genetic and immunological tools to probe the involvement of CD137 signaling in innate defense mechanisms against systemic C. albicans infection. We first found that Tnfrsf9-/- mice were susceptible to C. albicans infection, whereas injection of anti-CD137 agonistic antibody protected the host from infection, suggesting that CD137 signaling is indispensable for innate immunity against C. albicans infection. Priming of isolated neutrophils with anti-CD137 antibody promoted their phagocytic and fungicidal activities through phospholipase C. In addition, injection of anti-CD137 antibody significantly augmented restriction of fungal growth in Tnfrsf9-/- mice that received WT neutrophils. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that CD137 signaling contributes to defense mechanisms against systemic C. albicans infection by promoting rapid fungal clearance whereby harmful immunopathology-induced tissue injuries are minimalized.

In this study, we evaluated the potential of fungal endophytes to control yellow rust in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as endophytes are beneficial microbes and alternate to pesticides for confronting pathogens. The in-vitro efficacy of the fungal endophytes isolated from different desert plants was evaluated and the best four namely Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, Piriformospora indica, Acremonium lolii and Trichoderma viride were selected. Seeds of two susceptible wheat genotypes namely Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 obtained from screening experiment were inoculated by dipping in four endophytic spore suspensions and were sown using randomized complete block design under factorial arrangement. Data concerning about area under disease progress curve, final disease severity percentage, coefficient of infection,1000- grains weight and grain yield were recorded. Results showed that endophyte P. indica showed significant decrease in final disease severity (FDS) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), resultantly 12.2% grain yield gain in rust susceptible wheat genotypes of Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 followed by the endophytes T. viride, C. lindemuthianum and A. lolii with the grain yield gain of 10.6%, 06.2% and 04.2% respectively. In crux, fungal endophytes are valuable microbes which can be employed to induce tolerance against P. striiformis in yellow rust vulnerable areas for better and sustainable wheat production.

Abstract Plant fungal pathogens are frequently found as one of limiting factors for crop production. More than 10,000 species of fungi can cause disease in plants. To control the diseases, many farmers are still rely on the use of chemical fungicides, however most synthetic fungicides can cause acute toxicity, and some cause chronic toxicity as well. Thus, an appropriate technological improvement towards a more effective use of natural resources is required in agriculture to develop environmentally friendly sustainable farming system. This paper highlights the potential of extracts of tropical plants as antifungal agent to control plant fungal diseases. Information and data presented in this paper are mainly derived from selected and related references that previously published in the scientific journals. Many higher plants of tropical origin with fungicidal activities and their potential for fungal disease control of agricultural crops have been studied, however most of the studies have been done under in vitro condition. Some plant extracts showed strong antifungal activities on in vitro as well as in vivo tests, but some plant extracts showed significant antifungal activities on in vitro test, but did not obvious on in vivo tests. A great variation in antifungal activities were shown by plants extracts of different species and plant parts, in one hand, and on the other hand, variation was also observed on the responses of different fungal species to the same plant extract. Since the purpose of the use of plant extract is to control plant fungal diseases, the field trial is needed to ensure the stability of efficacy of certain plant extract. In addition, isolation and identification of active substances in the extracts is needed to assess possible mode of action and side effect of their use.

AbstractBackground: Empowering Communities, Combating HIV/AIDS: The Indispensable Role of Community-Based Strategies in Awareness and PreventionObjective: Highlight the significance of community-based approaches in addressing the ongoing HIV/AIDS pandemic through enhanced awareness, reduced stigma, and effective prevention measures.Method: This article provides a theoretical analysis of community-based HIV/AIDS interventions, drawing upon key strategies and successful examples from diverse settings.Results: Community-based initiatives emerge as critical factors in empowering individuals and communities to take ownership of their health. Through culturally-sensitive education, accessible testing, and comprehensive support services, these initiatives effectively diminish the social stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and promote preventative behaviors. Examples of successful programs illustrate the potential of community-driven approaches to achieve measurable reductions in transmission rates and improved health outcomes.Conclusion: The fight against HIV/AIDS necessitates robust community engagement. Community-based interventions, grounded in local knowledge and addressing specific needs, offer a promising pathway towards fostering health equity, reducing stigma, and ultimately curtailing the spread of the virus. Further research and investment in these initiatives are crucial to ensuring their scalability and sustained impact on global HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.

In the production of grafted vines, losses are caused by fungal pathogens during callus forming or after planting in the soil. To control or reduce natural fungal infections in nurseries, certain applications were conducted in sapling cultivation stage to analyse the efficacy of cyprodinil + fludioxonil, floupyram + tebuconazole active substances and Trichoderma harzianum biological preparation. 1103 Paulsen rootstock and Vitis viniferea L. Sultana cultivars were stored in fungicide suspensions for 60 minutes before and after grafting in the study. After grafting, the seedlings were divided into i) cutting + sawdust ii) cutting + sawdust + soil application groups and transferred to the callus room. Fungicides were applied 1 to 7 days after the callus development to wet the seedling roots 1 to 7 days after they were planted. After nine months in the nursery, the plants were uprooted, classified as diseased or healthy, and analysed for morphological and molecular diagnosis of fungal species, isolation incidence, and seedling quality and yield. After callus development, Fusarium solani was most frequently isolated pathogen in the roots (21.5%), cyprodinil + fludioxonil reduced the Ilyonectria sp. isolation rate in both shoots and roots. Botryosphaeria obtusa and I. liriodendri pathogens were not detected in sick and healthy cyprodinil + fludioxonil-treated saplings. The highest seedling yield was observed with fludioxonil + cyprodinil, cutting + sawdust + soil (78.75%) and cutting + sawdust (70.68%) applications. According to the results of this study, it was found that fungicide applications before and after grafting prevented soil-borne pathogen infections and improved sapling quality.

Plant endophytic fungi and rhizosphere soil fungi are often reported as biocontrol agents against plant pathogens or with plant growth promotion potential. Four treatments were performed in field and greenhouse experiments where cucumber plants were inoculated with Trichoderma harzianum and Fusarium oxysporum in 2022. The roots, stems and leaves of cucumber plants and their rhizosphere soil were collected twice individually from the field and greenhouse for isolation of cucumber endophytic and rhizosphere soil fungi. All 74 genera and 1275 fungal strains were sequenced by rDNA ITS. The PDA media yielded the highest number of genera isolated from cucumber plants, rhizosphere soil and both compared to other media. There were no significant differences among the 4 media for the isolation of cucumber endophytic fungi. The best media for isolating fungi from roots and stems were MRBA and PDA, respectively. PDA and CZA had higher isolation efficiency for the rhizosphere soil fungi than MRBA. The 28 fungal genera had high isolation efficiency, and the endophytic Trichoderma strains were best isolated by MEA. It is suggested that PDA can be used as a basic medium, and different media can be considered for specific fungal genera.

The emergence of pathogenic fungi is a major and rapidly growing problem (7% increase) that affects human and animal health, ecosystems, food security and the economy worldwide. The Dermocystida group in particular has emerged relatively recently and includes species that affect both humans and animals. Within this group, one species in particular, Sphareothecum destruens, also known as the Rosette agent, represents a major risk to global aquatic biodiversity and aquaculture and has caused severe declines in wild fish populations in Europe and large losses in salmon farms in the USA. It is a species that has been associated with a healthy carrier for millions of years but the host has managed in recent decades to invade parts of Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe and North Africa. In order to better understand the emergence of this new disease, we have for the first time synthesised current knowledge on the distribution, detection, prevalence of S. destruens as well as the associated mortality curves, and the potential economic impact in countries where the healthy carrier has been introduced. Finally, we propose solutions and perspectives to manage and mitigate the emergence of this fungus in countries where it has been introduced.

Crop output is directly impacted by plant infections (with fungi as the major pathogen), making accurate diagnosis of these threats crucial. Developing technology and multidisciplinary approaches are turning to genomic analyses in addition to traditional culture methods in diagnosing fungal plant diseases. The metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) method is preferred for genotyping identification of organisms, identification at the species level, illumination of metabolic pathways, and determination of microbiota. Moreover, the data obtained so far show that this new approach shows promise as an emerging new trend in fungal disease detection. Another approach covered by mNGS technologies, known as metabarcoding, enables use of specific markers specific to a genetic region and allows for genotypic identification by facilitating the sequencing of certain regions. Although the core concept of mNGS remains constant across applications, the specific sequencing methods and bioinformatics tools used to analyze the data do differ. In this review, we focus on how mNGS technology, including metabarcoding, is applied in fungal pathogenesis and its promising developments for the future.

Ruminants perhaps appeared about 50 million years ago (Ma). Five ruminant families had been extinct and about 200 species in 6 ruminant families are living today. The first ruminant family probably was small omnivore without functional ruminal microbiota to digest fiber. Subsequently, other ruminant families evolved around 18-23 Ma along with woodlands and grasslands. Probably, ruminants started to consume selective and highly nutritious plant leaves and grasses similar to concentrates. By 5-11 Ma, grasslands expanded and some ruminants used more grass in their diets with comparatively low nutritive values and high fibers. Historically, humans have domesticated 9 ruminant species that are mostly utilizer of low quality forages for human benefits. Thus, the non-functional rumen microbiota to predominantly concentrate fermenting microbiota, followed by predominantly fiber digesting microbiota had evolved for mutual complementary benefits of holobiont over the million years. The core microbiome of ruminant species seems the resultant of hologenome interaction in an evolutionary unit. The inertia and resilience properties of ruminal ecosystem seem to be due to this core microbiota, which makes the ecosystem most stable in response to perturbations because this core microbiota has evolutionary advantages with logically more generalists (i.e., wide metabolic versatile and redundancy). Also, a part of the ruminal microbiome shows highly plasticity, which is likely useful for evolutionary adaptability of holobiont. This review discusses ecological characteristics of ruminal microbial community in evolutionary perspectives. The updated understanding of ecological traits of ruminal microbiome would be helpful to better modulate the ruminal fermentation favorably for human benefits.

Background: Fungi are ubiquitous microorganisms that are easily dispersed through the air. In healthcare environments, indoor air can favor the spread of healthcare-associated fungal infections, compromising mainly immunocompromised hospitalized individuals. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the indoor air contamination in healthcare environments, investigating mainly the presence of potentially pathogenic yeasts. Methods: Indoor air samples were collected from twelve healthcare environments (hospital and medical clinics). After the growth, isolation, and purification of the yeast colonies, the isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction using species-specific primers for yeasts of the genus Candida and sequencing of D1/D2 domains of the large ribosomal subunit (LSU rRNA). Results: Fourteen yeast species were identified, including emerging pathogens. Species of clinical importance such as Candida parapsilosis, Candida orthopsilosis, Candida glabrata, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, and Trichosporon mucoides were present. C. Parapsilosis was the most prevalent species, followed by Rodothorula mucilaginosa. Conclusions: The present study shows that potentially fungal pathogens were present in air samples from healthcare environments, proving the role of indoor air in spreading infections. Thus, monitoring air quality in healthcare environments is a fundamental approach in developing infection control measures, especially those related to invasive fungal infections.

During Sep. 2011, forty-four Leymus chinensis culms with stroma development were collected from Inner Mongolia. Stromata surrounded the flag leaf sheathes, white, at the final stage of development. Perithecium but not asci were observed under microscope. Nine epichloid endophyte strains were obtained from Tongliao subdivision, and sixteen from Horqin. Morphological and phylogenetic properties of these strains were investigated. Morphological properties of these strains were similar among these 27 strains. Colonies could grow to 28.5~41.1 mm/21d at 25℃; phialides 24.1~26.4 μm long, 2.1~2.5 μm at base, tapering to less than 1.0 μm at tip; conidia reniform to elliptical, 4.7~5.5×2.8~3.5 μm, indicating typical properties of Epichloë endophytes. Based on the sequences of tefA and tubB gene fragments, strains isolated from Inner Mongolia formed a distinct subclade in E. bromolica/ E. yangzii clade, with a bootstrap value of 66% and 64% respectively. Considering morphological and phylogenetic properties, we tend to determine strains isolated from Leymus chinensis as a new taxon. The detailed taxonomic position of this taxon needs further investigations on hybridization or genomic sequence.

Fungal keratitis (FK) is a serious ocular infection that often poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. This study aimed to examine the causes, clinical characteristics, outcomes, and prognostic factors of FK in the UK. All culture-positive and culture-negative presumed FK (with complete data) that presented to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, and Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, between 2011 and 2020 were included. A total of 117 patients (n=117 eyes) with FK were included in this study. The mean age was 59.0±19.6 years (range, 4-92 years) and 51.3% patients were female. Fifty-three fungal isolates were identified from 52 (44.4%) culture-positive cases, with Candida spp. (33, 62.3%), Fusarium spp. (9, 17.0%), and Aspergillus spp. (5, 9.4%) being the most common organisms. Ocular surface disease (60, 51.3%), prior corneal surgery (44, 37.6%), and systemic immunosuppression (42, 35.9%) were the three most common risk factors. Hospitalisation for intensive treatment was required for 95 (81.2%) patients, with a duration of 18.9±16.3 days. Sixty-six (56.4%) patients required additional surgical interventions for eradicating the infection. Emergency therapeutic/tectonic keratoplasty was performed in 29 (24.8%) cases, though 13 (44.8%) of them failed at final follow-up. The final corrected-distance-visual-acuity (CDVA) was 1.67±1.08 logMAR. Multivariable logistic regression analyses demonstrated increased age, large infiltrate size (>3mm), and poor presenting CDVA (<1.0 logMAR) as significant negative predictive factors for poor visual outcome (CDVA of <1.0 logMAR) and poor corneal healing (>60 days of healing time or occurrence of corneal perforation requiring emergency keratoplasty; all p<0.05). In conclusion, FK represents a difficult-to-treat ocular infection that often results in poor visual outcome, with a high need for surgical interventions. Innovative treatment strategies are urgently required to tackle this unmet need.

Elevation has been a cornerstone of biodiversity research, and changes in the environmental factors behind it influence biodiversity and community patterns. Exploring the potential reasons behind liverwort community patterns has been a matter of multiplied interest for ecologists. In the present study, we assessed the liverwort plants of the Sygera Mountain from 3100 m to 4500 m decaying wood, tree, soil, and rock using complex field surveys in 2017 and 2019, and investigated the effects of altitude and various climatic factors on the diversity and community composition of the Sygera Mountain. Also, we used including ANOVA, mixed effects modeling, NMDS, ANOSIM, and CCA, which helped to critically assess the liverwort diversity with respect to environmental variables. The results of the study showed a bimodal variation in the richness of liverwort communities with altitude, with peaks occurring at 3500 m and 4100 m. The variation with altitude was significant, with communities at 4100 m and 4300 m being associated with arid environments, and those at 3100 m and 3300 m favoring areas of higher mean annual temperatures and precipitation. Among the climatic factors, the variation in mean diurnal rang, precipitation, and annual temperature was found to be the determinant of liverwort communities. The results suggest that elevation and daily temperature fluctuations play a crucial role in the distribution and community structure formation of mountain liverwort plants. This study deepens our understanding of liverwort ecology and emphasizes the importance of climatic variables in determining plant community composition.

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is the bioprocess where microorganisms are cultivated in the absence of free water under control conditions. Lactic acid can be produced by fermenting grape stalks with Rhizopus oryzae in SSF. During the microorganism growth, the temperature and water content of the solid bed fluctuate, leading to areas of either dry or excessive moisture in the solid substrate. Therefore, it's crucial to control the supply of water to the matrix. In this work, we obtain lactic acid through SSF of grape stalks using Rhizopus oryzae NCIM 1299. The SSF was conducted at a fixed temperature of 35 °C, with three constant relative humidity levels: 50, 65, and 80 %RH. Mathematical models, including the Logistic and First Order Plus Dead Time models for fungal biomass growth and the Luedeking and Piret with Delay Time model for lactic acid production, were adjusted to kinetic curves. Growth kinetic parameters (Xmax, μmax, Tp, T0, Yp/x and td) were determined for all conditions. These kinetic parameters were then correlated with relative humidity using a second-degree polynomial relationship. We observed a decrease in Xmax with increasing %RH, while the value of Yp/x increased at higher %RH. Finally, the optimal variable relative humidity profile was obtained by applying the Dynamic Optimization Technique, resulting in a 15.30% increase in lactic acid production.

Biotic and abiotic factors influence the formation of fungal-algal pairings in lichen symbiosis. It is poorly known which factors determine the specific associations, especially when distantly related fungi are considered. Here, we investigated the effect of different drivers on the association patterns of taxonomically diverse lichenized fungi and their trebouxioid symbiotic partners. In 200 samples collected across three biomes, we found 41 species of lichenized fungi, associating with 16 species of trebouxioid green algae, of which 62% were previously unreported. Species identity of the fungal and algal partner had the greatest effect on the outcome of the symbiosis compared with abiotic factors such as climatic variables and geographic distance. Partner specificity was found to be higher in tropical regions than in temperate and arctic regions. Co-phylogenetic analyses indicated congruent phylogenies of trebouxioid algae and associated fungi, rejecting their random associations. Evolutionary mechanisms contributing most to the observed phylogenetic patterns were ‘loss’ and ‘failure to diverge’ of the algal partners. This study broadens our knowledge of fungi-algae symbiotic patterns in view of Trebouxia-associated fungi.

Sporisorium scitamineum, the basidiomycetous fungus causing sugarcane smut that leads to severe losses in sugarcane quantity and quality, undergoes sexual mating to form dikaryotic hyphae capable of invading the host cane. Therefore, suppressing dikaryotic hyphae formation would potentially be an effective way to prevent host infection by the smut fungus, and the following disease symptom development. The phytohormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA) has been showed to induce plant defense against insects and microbial pathogens. In this study, we verified that exogenous addition of MeJA suppressed dikaryotic hyphae formation under in vitro culture condition, and effective in inhibiting maize smut disease symptom caused by Ustilago maydis. We constructed an Escherichia coli strain expressing plant JMT gene, encoding a jasmonic acid carboxyl methyl transferase that catalyzes conversion from jasmonic acid (JA) to MeJA. By GC-MS we confirmed that the transformed E. coli strain, designated as pJMT strain, was able to produce MeJA in the presence of JA and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM; as methyl donor). Furthermore, the pJMT strain was able to suppress S. scitamineum filamentous growth under in vitro culture condition. It waits to further optimize JMT expression under field condition, in order to utilize the pJMT strain as a biocontrol agent (BCA) of sugarcane smut disease. Overall, our study provides a potentially novel method for controlling crop fungal diseases by boosting phytohormone biosynthesis.

Breakthrough invasive fungal infections (bIFI) cause significant morbidity and mortality. Their diagnosis can be challenging due to reduced sensitivity of conventional culture techniques, serologic tests, and PCR-based assays in patients on antifungal therapy, and their diagnosis can be delayed contributing to poor patient outcomes. In this review, we provide consensus recommendations on behalf of the European Confederation for Medical Mycology (ECMM) for the diagnosis of bIFI caused by invasive yeasts, molds, and endemic mycoses, to guide diagnostic efforts in patients receiving antifungals and support the design of future clinical trials in the field of clinical mycology. The cornerstone of lab-based diagnosis of breakthrough infections for yeast and endemic mycoses remain conventional culture, to accurately identify the causative pathogen and allow for antifungal susceptibility testing. The impact of non-culture-based methods are not well-studied for the definite diagnosis of breakthrough invasive yeast infections. Non-culture-based methods have an important role for the diagnosis of breakthrough invasive mold infections, in particular invasive aspergillosis, and a combination of testing involving conventional culture, antigen-based assays, and PCR-based assays should be considered. Multiple diagnostic modalities, including histopathology, culture, antibody and/or antigen tests and occasionally PCR-based assays may be required to diagnose breakthrough endemic mycoses. A need exists for diagnostic tests that are effective, simple, cheap, and rapid to enable the diagnosis of bIFI in patients taking antifungals.

The present study evaluates mold fungal resistance of newly developed loose-fill thermal insulation materials from wheat straw, corn stalk and water reed. Three different processing methods of raw materials was performed by mechanical crushing (Raw, ≤ 20 mm), thermal-mechanical pulping (TMP) using 4% NaOH and steam explosion pulping (SEP). An admixture of boric acid (8%) and tetraborate (7%) was applied to all processed substrates due to their anti-fungal properties. Additionally, the fourth sample group was prepared from SEPs of all raw species without boric acid and tetraborate (SEP*) as control. Samples from all treatments were separately inoculated by 5 different fungal species and incubated in darkness for 28 days at 28 ℃ and RH &gt;90%. The highest resistance to the colonization of mold fungi was achieved by TMP and SEP processing coupled with addition of boric acid and tetraborate, where molds infest only around 35% to 40% of the inoculated sample area. The lowest mold fungi resistance was detected for Raw and SEP* samples, each ~75% that was affected by rich amount of accessible nutrients, suggesting that boric acid and tetraborate additives alone did not prevent mold fungal growth as effective as in combination with TMP and SEP treatments. Together, the achieved fungal colonization scores after combined fungicide and pulping treatments are acceptable for the application of various renewable materials in future thermal insulation product development.

Commercial formulates of beneficial microbes have been used to enrich the rhizosphere microbiome of tomato plants grown in pots located in a glasshouse. These plants have been subjected to attacks by soil-borne parasites, such as root-knot nematodes (RKNs), and herbivores, such as the miner insect Tuta absoluta. The development of both parasites and the symptoms of their parasitism were restricted in these plants with respect to plants left untreated. A mixture, named in the text as Myco, containing plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), opportunistic biocontrol fungi (BCF), and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was more effective in limiting pest damages than a formulate containing the sole AMF (Ozor). Therefore, Myco-treated plants inoculated with RKNs were taken as a model to further study which biocontrol agent (BCA) was specifically responsible of plant immunization and the molecular pathways exploited to achieve such an immunization. The PGPR contained in Myco were not able to reduce nematode infection, rather, they worsened symptoms on plants, compared with those observed on untreated plants. When plants were treated with suspensions of Bacillus subtilis at concentrations similar to those provided with Myco and then inoculated with RKNs, infection was actually more severe than that on untreated plants. Therefore, it was argued that both BCF and AMFwere the microorganisms that, colonizing roots, synergistically stimulate plant immune system against RKNs. Beneficial fungi lowered the activities of the defense supporting enzymes endochitinases and β-1,3-glucanase to be able to colonize the roots. However, as early as three days after nematode inoculation, these enzyme activities, and the expression of the encoding pathogenesis related genes (PR-2, PR-3) were found to be enhanced in roots with respect to not inoculated plants, thus indicating that plants had been primed against RKNs. Addition of paclobutrazol, which reduced salicylic acid (SA) levels in cells, and of diphenyliodonium chloride, which inhibits superoxides generation, completely abolished the repressive effect of Myco on nematode infection and presumably plant immune reaction. Inhibitors of copper enzymes and of the alternative cyanide-resistant respiration did not significantly alter resistance induction by Myco. When Myco-treated plants were subjected to a moderate water stress and inoculated with nematodes, they retained numbers of developed individuals in the roots similar to those present in regularly watered plants, in contrast to what occurred in roots of untreated stressed plants that hosted very few individuals because of poor nutrient availability.