Diagnosis and treatment of invasive Candida infections – a review article

<p>Candida albicans is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. Invasive candidiasis comprises candidemia and deep-seated candidiasis. Most yeast invasive infections are endogenous with a high mortality. Pathogenesis of candidiasis depends on avoiding host immune responses, as well as the virulence factors of the fungus enabling colonization and invasion of tissues. Adequate source control and antifungal therapy administered within a short time is critical to get a better prognosis. The emergence of drug resistance and the side effects of currently available antifungals are becoming the major problem in the management of Candida spp. infection.</p>

Panax quinquefolium hairy root extracts and their effect in connections with antibiotics against pathogenic bacteria – preliminary study

<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"> </p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US">The aim of the present study was to determine the level of ginsenosides in </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US">extracts from </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US">hairy root A, B, G clones of</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"><em> Panax quinquefolium </em></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US">and their action with antibiotics against clinical bacterial isolates. The content of ginsenosides (the key biologically active compounds) were determined in tested extracts using HPLC. The activity of extracts with antibiotics was established by micro-dilution broth method. Total triterpene saponin content was 14.68, 14.32 and 10.07 mgg</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;">^{<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US">-1</span></span></span>}</span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"> d.w. for root culture clones B, A and G, respectively. Our research indicates that the addition of extracts mainly from B and G clone hairy root cultures to antibiotics allow to reduce the ampicillin and tetracycline effective concentration respectively against </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"><em>Enterococcus faecalis</em></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"> and both </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"><em>Escherichia coli</em></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"> and </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en-US"><em>Acintobacter baumannii</em></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en">.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" align="justify"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span lang="en"><br /></span></span></span></span></p>

Usnea jørgenseniana Bystr. & Leśniewska sp. nova Usnea (subgen. Usnea, Parmeliaceae) in Sweden

<p>Usnea jørgenseniana Bystr. &amp; Leśniewska sp. nova, an epixilic species of bushy Usnea (Parmeliaceae) in Sweden, is similar to U. hirta var. minutissima (Mer.) Bystr., but the similarity to U. hirta is apparent. U. jørgenseniana is not a species from the foveatae Mot. section. The lack of soralia and a very small thallus (0.3–2.0 cm) makes it difficult to locate U. jørgenseniana in the section Comosae Mot. It colonizes exceptionally unfavorable climatic conditions, a coprophilous species. Collected by G. Ohrstedt in 1937. Dozens of specimens from one position.</p>

Assessing accuracy of barley yield forecasting with integration of climate variables and support vector regression

<p>Investigations of the relation between crop yield and climate variables are crucial for agricultural studies and decision making related to crop monitoring. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and support vector regression (SVR) are used to identify and model the impact of climate variables on barley yield. The climate variables of 36 years (1982–2017) are gathered from three provinces of Iran with different climate: Yazd (arid), Zanjan (semi-arid), Gilan (very humid). Air temperature by high correlation coefficient with barley yield was introduced as the dominant climate variable. According to evaluation criteria, SVR provided accurate estimation of crop yield in comparison with MLR. The diversity of climate impressed the estimated yield in which UI, decreasing from Gilan to Yazd provinces, was 47.77%. Support vector machine (SVM) with capturing the nonlinearity of time series, could improve barley yield estimation, with the minimum UI for Yazd province. Also, the minimum correlation coefficient between the observed and simulated yield was found in Gilan province. Based on GMER calculations, SVM forecasts were underestimated in three provinces. All findings show that SVM is able to have high efficiency to model the climate effect on crop yield.</p>

Ecological and biological aspekt new locality of Drosera anglica Huds. near Końskich

<p>The work concerns the occurrence conditions <em>Drosera anglica.</em> (EN) within the site located 10 km from the village of au nord Końskie near the Czarna River. The species is very dispersed but in a few places the density was 5-10 of specimens per 1m². This species grows within a patch which is poor in terms of its flora. No significant expansion of trees or shrubs has been noted. This is related to quite a high level of water. Such conditions are favourable to the development of another species under threat of extinction, <em>Rhynchospora alba. </em>Plant-based patches with participation of sundew are heterogeneous in terms of syntaxonomy. Presence of species has been observed, e.g. from the classes of <em>Phragmitetea </em>and <em>Scheuchzerio-Caricetea nigrae</em>. Soil analyses indicate that the soils under observation are not very acidic, with average content of CaO and ash content which is optimal for this species with the ratio of C:N which indicates a temporary mire. The content of heavy metals is in norm and poses no threat to the surroundings (Pb 64-65 ppm, Cd 2.7-2.9 ppm). Wide ranges in the analysed samples refer to chromium. They do not have an adverse effect on the development of <em>Drosera anglica</em>. A very crucial threat is the consequence of succession, competition and hydrological conditions.</p>

Diagnosis and treatment of mucosa Candida spp. infections – a review article

<p>Candida albicans is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. Non-albicans Candida species play an important role in vulvovaginal candidiasis and invasive infections. Most cases of infections are endogenous. In case of patients with immune disorders this opportunistic pathogen causes both surface, systemic infections, and candidemia. Symptoms depend on the area affected. Candidiasis are treated with antimycotics; these include clotrimazole, nystatin, fluconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B, and echinocandins. The emergence of drug resistance and the side effects of currently available antifungals are becoming a major problem in the management of Candida spp. infection.</p>

Morphophysiological and biochemical response of savory medicinal plant using silicon under salt stress

<p>Salt stress is one of the most important factors limiting the growth and yield of plants around the world. However, silicon can reduce the harmful effects of salt stress on plants. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted in a factorial arrangement on randomized complete block design with three replications in a research greenhouse on the Satureja hortensis medicinal plant. Experimental treatments consisted of two salinity levels (control and 100 mM) and potassium silicate (Si) at three levels (0, 1, and 2 mM). The results showed that salinity reduced shoot dry weight, photosynthetic pigments and potassium content of shoot. However, sodium, proline, MDA, and H2O2 contents in shoot increased. The highest shoot dry weight, photosynthetic pigment content, proline, RWC, and the lowest content of MDA and H2O2 of the shoot were observed with Si application under salt stress and non-salt stress conditions. The highest yield of essential oil was also observed with Si application under salt stress and non-salt stress conditions. Therefore, the use of silicon in salt stress condition not only minimizes the harmful effects of salt stress by increasing the K+/Na+ ratio and improving the morphological and physiological traits of the Satureja hortensis medicinal plant but also improves the essential oil yield of this medicinal plant in salt stress and non-salt stress conditions.</p>

Effects of Forchlorofenuron (CPPU) treatment on fruit properties in the fruit of common guava

<p>The common guava is a small tree from Myrtacaeae family which is cultivated for its fruits. Researches have explored new methods to promote fruit yields and quality of crops. Application of Forchlorofenuron or CPPU (with Molecular Formula: C12H10CIN3O) improves the fruit size as well as its quality, but there has not been an investigation evaluating its effects on common guava fruit under field conditions. This research was performed to study the effects of different doses of CPPU (0, 10, 20 and 40 mg L-1) on common guava fruit size and quality characteristics under field conditions. Analysis of variance and LSD (least significant differences) mean compression indicated that total soluble solids, total acidity, ascorbic acid or vitamin C, fruit firmness, phenolics, 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), polygalacturonase, pectin methyl esterase and ethylene were significantly different in most traits and CPPU-40 produced high means. The principal components (PC) analysis explained 95% of the total variation and the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained 78% and 17% of the total variation, respectively. According to biplot, CPPU-40 had the highest values for all of the measured traits except DPPH, ethylene and polygalacturonase. The most prominent relations by biplot were a strong positive correlation among phenolics, fruit firmness, total acidity, total soluble solids and ascorbic acid as indicated by the small obtuse angles between their vectors. The measured traits were grouped into two clusters and cutoff point verified via Wilks’ lambda statistics. Cluster I consisted of three traits (ascorbic acid or vitamin C, fruit firmness and ethylene) while cluster II included total soluble solids. Findings of this study suggest that CPPU can be used as an effective growth regulator to improve the size and quality of common guava fruit.</p>

Fascinating fructophilic lactic acid bacteria associated with various fructose-rich niches

<p>Fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) are recently described group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that prefer fructose instead of glucose as a carbon source. FLAB have been isolated from fructose-rich niches such as flowers, fruits, fermented fruits, and gastrointestinal tracts of insects whose diet is based on fructose. These bacteria are divided into obligate and facultative fructophilc lactobacilli based on biochemical features. All FLAB are heterofermentative microorganisms, which during fermentation of carbohydrates, in addition to lactic acid, produce also acetic acid, and alcohol as end-products. The fructophilic bacteria, inhabiting the honeybee guts positively impact the health of their hosts, improve their longevity, and are promising probiotic candidates. These symbionts of honeybees play a key role in the production of honey by bees and are present in a large number in fresh honey. The combination of osmolarity with antibacterial, and therapeutic properties of these bacteria make fresh honey optimal alternative for future wound healing.</p>