White-nose syndrome is devastating North American bat populations but we lack basic information on disease mechanisms. Altered blood physiology owing to epidermal invasion by the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans (Gd) has been hypothesized as a cause of disrupted torpor patterns of affected hibernating bats, leading to mortality. Here, we present data on blood electrolyte concentration, haem...

• Following the decades-long warming and drying trend in Alaska, there is mounting evidence that temperature-induced drought stress is associated with disease outbreaks in the boreal forest. Recent evidence of this trend is an outbreak of Cytospora canker disease (fungal pathogen Valsa melanodiscus (anamorph = Cytospora umbrina)) on Alnus species. • For Alnus fruticosa, we examined the effects ...

Background: Fungal infections with high morbidity and mortality in neonatal intensive care unit are usually preceded by colonization. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of fungal colonization, determine the risk factors and health outcome such as any change in the patient's improvement in hospitalized infants of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). <e...

Bacterial cellulose (BC) serves as a molecular glue to facilitate intra- and inter-domain interactions in nature. Biosynthesis of BC-containing biofilms occurs in a variety of Proteobacteria that inhabit diverse ecological niches. The enzymatic and regulatory systems responsible for the polymerization, exportation, and regulation of BC are equally as diverse. Though the magnitude and environmen...

Although the spectrum of fungal pathology has been studied extensively in immunosuppressed patients, little is known about the epidemiology, risk factors, and management of fungal infections in chronic pulmonary diseases like bronchiectasis. In bronchiectasis patients, deteriorated mucociliary clearance-generally due to prior colonization by bacterial pathogens-and thick mucosity propitiate, th...

Background A fungal infection represents a growing problem in children with hematologic malignancies,during chemotherapy induced neutropenia.Fungal colonization is considered a major riskfactor for subsequent fungal infections. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate prevalence of fungal infection among children admitted to hospital between 2005 and 2010 in Tehran, Iran. Materials...

Recent research in cell biology makes it increasingly clear that the classical concept of compartmentation of eukaryotic cells into different organelles performing distinct functions has to be extended by microcompartmentation, i.e., the dynamic interaction of proteins, sugars, and lipids at a suborganellar level, which contributes significantly to a proper physiology. As different membrane com...

Background: Although the citric acid fermentation by Aspergillus niger is one of the most important industrial microbial processes and various aspects of the fermentation appear in a very large number of publications since the 1950s, the effect of the spore inoculum level on fungal morphology is a rather neglected area. The aim of the presented investigations was to quantify the effects of chan...