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Topic Review
Diagnosis of Pulmonary Histoplasmosis
Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis (APH) typically presents with fever, chills, shortness of breath, and resembles community acquired pneumonia. APH can range from a mild self-limiting illness to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Subacute pulmonary histoplasmosis (SPH) has a more insidious onset over at least one month and may develop after a smaller inoculum exposure. Chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis (CPH) is classically seen in older males with underlying lung disease. CPH has a similar presentation to tuberculosis with fever, night sweats, weight loss, cough, and dyspnea over at least three months. H capsulatum may also cause pulmonary nodules, mediastinal adenitis, mediastinal granulomas, and mediastinal fibrosis. Progressive disseminated histoplasmosis is a form of histoplasmosis that result from hematogenous spread and can impact multiple organ symptoms including the respiratory tract and cause severe disease.
  • 873
  • 21 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Oral Cavity and Candida albicans
Candida colonisation of the oral cavity increases in immunocompromised individuals which leads to the development of oral candidiasis. In addition, host factors such as xerostomia, smoking, oral prostheses, dental caries, diabetes and cancer treatment accelerate the disease process. Candida albicans is the primary causative agent of this infection, owing to its ability to form biofilm and hyphae and to produce hydrolytic enzymes and candialysin. 
  • 873
  • 08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Phyto-Beneficial Traits of Rhizosphere Bacteria
Beneficial interactions between plants and some bacterial species have been long recognized, as they proved to exert various growth-promoting and health-protective activities on economically relevant crops. As well, rhizosphere bacteria direct activity against some phytopathogenic fungal species (such as Aspergillus and Fusarium spp.) have been also observed, resulting highly interesting since these pathogens cause major yield losses in cereal crops and are well-known mycotoxin producers.
  • 871
  • 20 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Gut Microbiota Balance on Health–Disease
The gut microbiota is a group of organisms that provides various benefits and imparts resistance to the colonization of new species, maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the host. However, an imbalance in this complex community could lead to recolonization by pathogenic microorganisms, causing inflammatory processes and the evolution of various diseases . This suggests that gut microbiota maintains the homeostasis of the human intestine .
  • 867
  • 16 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Fungal Host Defence
Humans have developed complex immune systems that defend against invading microbes, including fungal pathogens. Many highly specialized cells of the immune system share the ability to store antimicrobial compounds in membrane bound organelles that can be immediately deployed to eradicate or inhibit growth of invading pathogens. These membrane-bound organelles consist of secretory vesicles or granules, which move to the surface of the cell, where they fuse with the plasma membrane to release their contents in the process of degranulation. Lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, mast cells, eosinophils, and basophils all degranulate in fungal host defence. While anti-microbial secretory vesicles are shared among different immune cell types, information about each cell type has emerged independently leading to an uncoordinated and confusing classification of granules and incomplete description of the mechanism by which they are deployed. While there are important differences, there are many similarities in granule morphology, granule content, stimulus for degranulation, granule trafficking, and release of granules against fungal pathogens.
  • 865
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Biofilm-Forming Ability of Phytopathogenic Bacteria
Phytopathogenic bacteria not only affect crop yield and quality but also the environment. Understanding the mechanisms involved in their survival is essential to develop new strategies to control plant disease. One such mechanism is the formation of biofilms; i.e., microbial communities within a three-dimensional structure that offers adaptive advantages, such as protection against unfavorable environmental conditions. Biofilm-producing phytopathogenic bacteria are difficult to manage. They colonize the intercellular spaces and the vascular system of the host plants and cause a wide range of symptoms such as necrosis, wilting, leaf spots, blight, soft rot, and hyperplasia.
  • 865
  • 08 Jun 2023
Topic Review
SARS Coronavirus
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, sometimes shortened to SARS-CoV, is attributed to the naming of the virus that causes the symptom, following the initial outbreak in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China (PRC) in 2002, and secondary cases in Asia and elsewhere in the world. The categorization of the virus behind SARS was heatedly debated and scrutinized between it being paramyxovirus or coronavirus. It was on April 16, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a press release, stating it being identified as coronavirus by a number of laboratories. Samples of the virus were held in laboratories in New York City, San Francisco, Manila, Hong Kong, and Toronto. Laboratories in Germany and Hong Kong claimed it to be paramyxovirus, and the Spike 2 (S2) protein is homogenous to HIV-1 gp41, while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed the finding of coronavirus. On April 12, 2003, scientists working at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia finished mapping the genetic sequence of a coronavirus believed to be linked to SARS. The team was led by Dr. Marco Marra and worked in collaboration with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, using samples from infected patients in Toronto. The map, hailed by the WHO as an important step forward in fighting SARS, is shared with scientists worldwide via the Global Service Centre (GSC) website. Dr. Donald Low of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto described the discovery as having been made with "unprecedented speed". The sequence of the SARS coronavirus has since been confirmed by other independent groups. The SARS coronavirus was one of several viruses identified by WHO as a likely cause of a future epidemic in a new plan developed after the Ebola epidemic for urgent research and development before and during an epidemic toward new diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. The second major mutation SARS-CoV-2 caused COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2019.
  • 864
  • 07 Jul 2025
Topic Review
Phascinating Phages
Treatment of infections caused by bacteria has become more complex due to the increasing number of bacterial strains that are resistant to conventional antimicrobial therapy. A highly promising alternative appears to be bacteriophage (phage) therapy, in which natural predators of bacteria, bacteriophages, play a role. Although these viruses were first discovered in 1917, the development of phage therapy was impacted by the discovery of antibiotics, which spread more quickly and effectively in medical practice.
  • 862
  • 25 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Lipid Droplets in Yeast during Stress and Aging
The baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a valuable tool for aging research, as many aging- and disease-associated pathways such as DNA repair mechanisms, lipostasis, proteostasis, oxidative stress responses, regulated cell death, nutrient signaling, autophagy, and regulation of the cell cycle are evolutionarily conserved to a high degree. Lipid droplets (LDs) are evolutionary conserved structures that were mentioned for the first time by Van Leeuwenhoek in 1674, but their reassessment as autonomous organelles with important key roles in lipid and energy metabolism occurred many years later. LDs originate from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In the first step, neutral lipids are synthesized at the ER and are redirected into the bilayer, leading to an aggregation of the highly motile lipids. Emerging evidence suggests that LDs also fulfil impotant functions during aging and in protein homeostasis.
  • 862
  • 12 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Mycobacteroides abscessus and Its Tigecycline Resistance Mechanisms
Mycobacteroides abscessus (formerly Mycobacterium abscessus) is a clinically important, rapid-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium notoriously known for its multidrug-resistance phenotype. The intrinsic resistance of M. abscessus towards first- and second-generation tetracyclines is mainly due to the over-expression of a tetracycline-degrading enzyme known as MabTetX (MAB_1496c). Tigecycline, a third-generation tetracycline, is a poor substrate for the MabTetX and does not induce the expression of this enzyme. Recent work on tigecycline resistance or reduced susceptibility in M. abscessus revealed the involvement of the gene MAB_3508c which encodes the transcriptional activator WhiB7, as well as mutations in the sigH-rshA genes which control heat shock and oxidative-stress responses. The deletion of whiB7 has been observed to cause a 4-fold decrease in the minimum inhibitory concentration of tigecycline. In the absence of environmental stress, the SigH sigma factor (MAB_3543c) interacts with and is inhibited by the anti-sigma factor RshA (MAB_3542c). The disruption of the SigH-RshA interaction resulting from mutations and the subsequent up-regulation of SigH have been hypothesized to lead to tigecycline resistance in M. abscessus.
  • 861
  • 07 May 2022
Topic Review
Microbiome and Sudden Death
Sudden unexpected death (SUD) is one of the most important and worthy investigation case profiles in emergency medicine and forensic pathology. Sudden unexpected deaths in adults (SUDA) are frequently caused by cardiac events, while infections usually cause those in infants younger than one year (SUDI), and to a lesser extent, in children older than one year (SUDC). Several studies demonstrate that the microbiome influences host immunity, alters susceptibility to viral respiratory infections, and has a vital role in various health, disease, and death outcomes. 
  • 860
  • 23 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Microbiota in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic immune-mediated disease caused by genetic and environmental factors. It is often characterized by the generation of autoantibodies that lead to synovial inflammation and eventual multi-joint destruction. A growing number of studies have shown significant differences in the gut microbiota composition of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared to healthy controls. 
  • 860
  • 15 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Microbiota, Diet and Mucus in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The gastrointestinal tract is optimized to efficiently absorb nutrients and provide a competent barrier against a variety of lumen environmental compounds. Different regulatory mechanisms jointly collaborate to maintain intestinal homeostasis, but alterations in these mechanism lead to a dysfunctional gastrointestinal barrier and are associated to several inflammatory conditions usually found in chronic pathologies such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The gastrointestinal mucus, mostly composed of mucin glycoproteins, covers the epithelium and plays an essential role in digestive and barrier functions. However, its regulation is very dynamic and is still poorly understood. This review presents some aspects concerning the role of mucus in gut health and its alterations in IBD. In addition, the impact of gut microbiota and dietary compounds as environmental factors modulating the mucus layer is addressed. To date, studies have evidenced the impact of the three-way interplay between the microbiome, diet and the mucus layer on the gut barrier, host immune system and IBD. This review emphasizes the need to address current limitations on this topic, especially regarding the design of robust human trials and highlights the potential interest of improving our understanding of the regulation of the intestinal mucus barrier in IBD.
  • 859
  • 21 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Predatory Bacteria
Predatory bacteria, along with the biology of their predatory behavior, have attracted interest in terms of their ecological significance and industrial applications. 
  • 857
  • 06 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Longevity Regulation in Yeast
 Mitochondrial energy metabolism is maintained through oxidative degradation of proline and that this process is important in regulating the longevity of yeast cells. 
  • 856
  • 18 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Importance of the Gut Microbiome
“Microbiome” refers to microorganisms inhabiting multicellular organisms, from animals to plants. The microbiome is made up of bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses. An overview of several species whose gut microbiota have been evaluated.
  • 856
  • 30 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Legume–Rhizobial Symbiotic Interactions Beyond Nitrogen Fixation
Plants often experience unfavorable conditions during their life cycle that impact their growth and sometimes their survival. A temporary phase of such stress, which can result from heavy metals, drought, salinity, or extremes of temperature or pH, can cause mild to enormous damage to the plant depending on its duration and intensity. Besides environmental stress, plants are the target of many microbial pathogens, causing diseases of varying severity. In plants that harbor mutualistic bacteria, stress can affect the symbiotic interaction and its outcome.
  • 856
  • 16 Jun 2023
Topic Review
T2Candida
Invasive candidiasis is a common healthcare-associated infection with high mortality and is difficult to diagnose due to nonspecific symptoms and limitations of culture based diagnostic methods. T2Candida, based on T2 magnetic resonance technology, is FDA approved for the diagnosis of candidemia and can rapidly detect the five most commonly isolated Candida sp. in approximately 5 h directly from whole blood. We discuss the preclinical and clinical studies of T2Candida for the diagnosis of candidemia and review the current literature on its use in deep-seated candidiasis, its role in patient management and prognosis, clinical utility in unique populations and non-blood specimens, and as an antifungal stewardship tool. Lastly, we summarize the strengths and limitations of this promising nonculture-based diagnostic test.
  • 853
  • 09 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Pyogenic Bacterial Meningitis
Pyogenic bacterial meningitis is a life threatening condition that can progress rapidly leading to death. When the disease happens in infants, children, and young adults, it may instill fear due to the contagious and potentially deadly nature of the disease especially in outbreak situation.
  • 852
  • 31 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Sterically Hindered Quaternary Phosphonium Salts (QPSs)
Structure–activity relationships are important for the design of biocides and sanitizers. The most commonly used biocides are nitrogen-containing compounds; the phosphorus-containing ones have been studied to a lesser extent. In the present study, a broad range of sterically hindered quaternary phosphonium salts (QPSs) based on tri-tert-butylphosphine was tested for their activity against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria and fungi (Candida albicans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. gypseum). Additionally, the hemolytic and cytotoxic properties of QPSs were determined using blood and a normal liver cell line, respectively.
  • 852
  • 23 Jan 2022
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