This contribution, based on a Special Interest Group session held during IMC9, focuses on physiological based models of filamentous fungal colony growth and interactions. Fungi are known to be an important component of ecosystems, in terms of colony dynamics and interactions within and between trophic levels. We outline some of the essential components necessary to develop a fungal ecology: a m...

This contribution, based on a Special Interest Group session held during IMC9, focuses on physiological based models of filamentous fungal colony growth and interactions. Fungi are known to be an important component of ecosystems, in terms of colony dynamics and interactions within and between trophic levels. We outline some of the essential components necessary to develop a fungal ecology: a m...

BACKGROUND The contribution of indoor fungal exposure to childhood asthma is not completely clear. OBJECTIVE To investigate airborne fungal flora within the homes of asthmatic and control children, and to assess the influence of housing characteristics regarding indoor fungi. METHODS Forty-seven atopic asthmatic and 23 nonatopic control children were studied. Allergen sensitivity was determ...

This project was undertaken to find ways to enhance fungus colony maturation, to make viewing of fungal cultures easier, and to reduce disruption of the fungal structures to be observed for identification. Accordingly, a technique using a thin (0.2-mm) agar film that avoids problems inherent in traditional methods of fungal culture and identification was developed. In addition, to accommodate t...

Optimal regimens for the treatment of invasive fungal infections have yet to be defined, and these life-threatening conditions are one of the leading causes of treatment failure in patients with cancer. A substantial body of preclinical work points in the direction of using cytokines as immunomodulators of the multiple deficiencies involved in the progression of fungal infections in neutropenic...

The constant pressure posed by parasites has caused species throughout the animal kingdom to evolve suites of mechanisms to resist infection. Individual barriers and physiological defenses are considered the main barriers against parasites in invertebrate species. However, behavioral traits and other non-immunological defenses can also effectively reduce parasite transmission and infection inte...

OBJECTIVE To determine if gaseous ozone can effectively kill common environmental fungi. DESIGN This study was designed to test the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in viability between fungal conidia treated with ozone and fungal conidia not treated with ozone. A single control group design was utilized. SETTING Academic research laboratory. INTERVENTIONS Freshly p...

The aim of this work was to assess OchratoxinA (OTA) production of different Aspergillus carbonarius isolates, evaluate their growth profile through different growth measurements, and reveal any underlying correlation between them. Ten different isolates of A. carbonarius isolated from Greek vineyards located in different geographical regions were examined in vitro for their OTA production pote...

The interaction of Cryptococcus neoformans with the murine macrophage-like cell line J774.16 was studied in the presence and absence of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the capsular polysaccharide glucuronoxylomannan (GXM). In the absence of MAb 2H1 to GXM, coincubation of J774.16 cells with C. neoformans reduced fungal colony-forming units in only 26.6% of 21 independent experiments. In the pre...