INTRODUCTION Mushroom-shaped choroidal melanoma is known to be associated with breaks in Bruch's membrane and is more likely to develop when Bruch's membrane is diseased. The study's goal is to determine if diseases causing breaks in Bruch's membrane predispose a choroidal melanoma to develop into a mushroom-shaped melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of cases of choroidal m...

The toxicity of two mushroom species found in Finland, Cortinarius speciosissimus and Cortinarius gentilis, on the rat was studied. Dried, homogenized mushroom was given orally by stomach tubing. A dose of 500 mg dried mushroom/kg body weight, was used. It was demonstrated that both species caused renal damage. No damage could be shown in other organs. The renal histopathological changes corres...

Drosophila melanogaster can make appropriate choices among alternative flight options on the basis of the relative salience of competing visual cues. We show that this choice behavior consists of early and late phases; the former requires activation of the dopaminergic system and mushroom bodies, whereas the latter is independent of these activities. Immunohistological analysis showed that mush...

Introduction Linzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a well-known medicinal mushroom. This mushroom originated from China becomes the widely used supplementation worldwide. The active ingredient in the mushroom is mentioned for anti-oxidative, glucose controlling and anti-cancerous proliferative activities (1,2). In nephrology, the advantage of Linzhi on kidney is also mentioned. However, the evidence in...

Melon husks are shells usually discarded in large quantities (tonnage) as agricultural waste materials in different parts of Nasarawa State in Nigeria, thereby polluting the environment. An experiment was therefore conducted to determine the nutritional value and effect of utilizing melon husks meal in broiler diets as feed ingredient with or without wild mushroom (Ganoderma sp) and exogenous e...

We have explored the organization of the axonal lobes in Drosophila mushroom bodies by using a panel of immunohistochemical markers. These markers consist of antibodies to eight proteins expressed preferentially in the mushroom bodies: DAMB, DCO, DRK, FASII, LEO, OAMB, PKA RII, and RUT. Previous to this work, four axonal lobes, two projecting dorsally (alpha and alpha') and two medially (beta a...

The mushroom bodies are bilaterally arranged structures in the protocerebrum of Drosophila and most other insect species. Mutants with altered mushroom body structure have been instrumental not only in establishing their role in distinct behavioral functions but also in identifying the molecular pathways that control mushroom body development. The mushroom body miniature(1) (mbm(1)) mutation re...

BACKGROUND Respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and upper airways symptoms have been ascribed to fungal exposures. Mushroom workers may be at risk of these as a consequence. AIMS To assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in mushroom workers. METHODS A cross-sectional study assessed 4 weeks of respiratory symptoms among mushroom workers divid...

The mushroom bodies are a morphologically diverse sensory integration and learning and memory center in the brains of various invertebrate species, of which those of insects are the best described. Insect mushroom bodies are composed of numerous tiny intrinsic neurons (Kenyon cells) that form calyces with their dendrites and a pedunculus and lobes with their axons. The identities of conserved K...

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene is known to be expressed in plants, and is involved in the differentiation, growth and synthesis of secondary metabolites. However, its expression in fungi remains to be explored. To understand its expression in mushroom fungi, the PAL gene of the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes (Fvpal) was cloned and characterized. The cloned Fvpal consists of 2,175 ...