Non-dermatophytic Molds as Agents of Onychomycosis in Izmir,Turkey – A Prospective Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of causative non-dermatophytic filamentous fungi in onychomycosis. Totally 1,222 (1,222 × 3 = 3,666) samples of nail scrapings from 1,146 patients (from 76 patients two specimens: both from finger- and toe-nails) with prediagnosis of onychomycosis sent to the Mycology Laboratory from the Clinic of Dermatology, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey, July 2001–December 2003, were prospectively studied with conventional mycological procedures. The set criteria for the diagnosis of onychomycosis due to non-dermatophytic molds were: (1) Observation of fungal elements in 15% KOH-preparations made from nail scrapings, (2) growth of the same mold in all three consecutive cultures of the specimens taken three times from the same patient with one-week intervals, (3) no growth of a dermatophyte or yeast in three consecutive cultures. As agents of onychomycosis molds were detected in 33 (9%), dermatophytes in 175 (48%), yeasts in 150 (41%), and mixed (two different fungi) in 8 (2%) patients. In cases of mold onychomycosis, 11 (33%) had finger-nail and 22 (67%) toe-nail infection; 25 (76%) were female and 8 (24%) male; and 27 (82%) were above 40 years of age. The agents of mold onychomycosis, in order of frequency, were Aspergillus niger (7), Acremonium spp. (6), Fusarium spp. (6), Ulocladium spp. (4), sterile mycelia (2), Alternaria sp. (1), Aspergillus flavus (1), Aspergillus fumigatus (1), Aspergillus terreus (1), Cladosporium sp. (1), Paecilomyces spp. (1), Scopulariopsis sp. (1) and Trichoderma sp. (1). In conclusion, this study showed that non-dermatophytic molds were responsible for nearly 10% of onychomycoses cases attending the dermatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Izmir, Turkey. Since molds are common contaminants in the laboratory, cultures from consecutively taken nail scrapings should be made and carefully evaluated in order to diagnose a “mold onychomycosis”.     

A Genetic Screen for Vegetative Gene Expression in the Micronucleus of Tetrahymena thermophila

ABSTRACT. The presence of a micronucleus with at least a small portion of the micronuclear genome appears to be indispensable for vegetative viability in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila . A genetic screen was devised to detect evidence of expression of essential genes in the vegetative micronucleus by identification of thermosensitive-lethal mutations expressed in the absence of nuclear reorganization. Although control experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the method for induction and recovery of thermosensitive lethal mutations in micronuclear genes, no expressed mutations were recovered in the absence of nuclear reorganization. This finding complements the existing lack of convincing biochemical evidence for gene expression in the vegetative micronucleus and suggests that the essential function may involve genomic DNA sequences for which thermosensitive mutant alleles are not recoverable, or perhaps a non-genomic component of the organelle.     

A landscape-level assessment of Asian elephant habitat,its population and elephant–human conflict in the Anamalai hill ranges of southern Western Ghats,India

Spatial information at the landscape scale is extremely important for conservation planning, especially in the case of long-ranging vertebrates. The biodiversity-rich Anamalai hill ranges in the Western Ghats of southern India hold a viable population for the long-term conservation of the Asian elephant. Through rapid but extensive field surveys we mapped elephant habitat, corridors, vegetation and land-use patterns, estimated the elephant population density and structure, and assessed elephant–human conflict across this landscape. GIS and remote sensing analyses indicate that elephants are distributed among three blocks over a total area of about 4600 km². Approximately 92% remains contiguous because of four corridors; however, under 4000 km² of this area may be effectively used by elephants. Nine landscape elements were identified, including five natural vegetation types, of which tropical moist deciduous forest is dominant. Population density assessed through the dung count method using line transects covering 275 km of walk across the effective elephant habitat of the landscape yielded a mean density of 1.1 (95% CI = 0.99–1.2) elephant/km². Population structure from direct sighting of elephants showed that adult male elephants constitute just 2.9% and adult females 42.3% of the population with the rest being sub-adults (27.4%), juveniles (16%) and calves (11.4%). Sex ratios show an increasing skew toward females from juvenile (1:1.8) to sub-adult (1:2.4) and adult (1:14.7) indicating higher mortality of sub-adult and adult males that is most likely due to historical poaching for ivory. A rapid questionnaire survey and secondary data on elephant–human conflict from forest department records reveals that villages in and around the forest divisions on the eastern side of landscape experience higher levels of elephant–human conflict than those on the western side; this seems to relate to a greater degree of habitat fragmentation and percentage farmers cultivating annual crops in the east. We provide several recommendations that could help maintain population viability and reduce elephant–human conflict of the Anamalai elephant landscape.     

The use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetrahymena thermophila</Emphasis> mutant cell line for removal of cholesterol from milk

The nonpathogenic ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila converts cholesterol from foodstuffs into provitamin D compounds in high yields. However, prolonged incubation with wild-type strain CU-399 at high densities results in a final deterioration of milk properties, possibly as a result of secreted hydrolases. Here we attempted to solve this problem using MS-1 Tetrahymena strain, a stable mutant with a low rate of hydrolase secretion. Densities of to 2 × 10 ⁶ cells/ml can be incubated for up to 5 h in milk, without any clotting or change in appearance. Moreover, centrifugation of this suspension eliminates most of the cells, and results in an about 75% ± 10 (n = 10) decrease of the initial cholesterol. Sterols are recovered in the cell pellets, which show that Tetrahymena is able to avidly capture them from the medium. Therefore, this mutant strain is optimal for milk cholesterol depletion, avoiding unfavorable sensory alterations.     

Specificity of an Antiserum Produced Against Pseudomicrothorax dubius Trichocysts Prepared by a Rapid Isolation Method

ABSTRACT. A rapid method was developed for the isolation of Pseudomicrothorax dubius ciliary and trichocyst fractions which were characterized by SDS-PAGE followed by combined silver and Coomassie blue staining. Antibodies were prepared against the trichocyst fraction and employed to label Lowicryl thin sections of cells. Trichocysts were strongly labeled, as were the surfaces of the plasma and ciliary membranes. Immunoblots of the trichocyst fraction revealed labeling of major bands at 16–29 kD, characteristic of the trichocyst proteins. On immunoblots of the ciliary fraction, approximately eight bands were labeled, including the major cell surface glycoprotein, the immobilization antigen. Ciliary proteins not located on the membrane surface, such as the tubulins, were not labeled. Absorption of the antiserum against fixed P. dubius cells eliminated the cell surface labeling on Lowicryl sections and on immunoblots of the ciliary fraction. The major trichocyst protein bands were as strongly labeled as with the nonabsorbed antiserum. Labeling of several of the minor, higher molecular weight bands of the trichocyst fraction was eliminated, indicating that they are cell surface contaminants. Of the two major structural components of the trichocyst, the shaft and the arms, the antiserum is shown to react nearly exclusively with the shaft proteins on both Lowicryl sections and immunoblots.     

八种纤毛虫减数分裂基因的分子进化研究

减数分裂是真核生物适应性进化的重要机制,以8种纤毛虫作为实验对象,通过生物信息学方法对其14个减数分裂基因进行了鉴定及分子进化研究。结果表明:(1)不同的纤毛虫种类存在一些特异性的减数分裂基因的丢失与复制现象;(2)减数分裂相关基因在纤毛虫中很保守;(3)纤毛虫减数分裂重要的同源重组过程是在真核生物中不常见的Ⅱ型。本研究表明,纤毛虫减数分裂可能代表了真核生物较原始的减数分裂方式,在进化的过程中很保守,为研究真核生物减数分裂起源与进化提供了重要线索。     

The occurrence and behaviour of phosphate fractions in Izmir Bay, Aegean Sea

The area around Izmir Bay (Turkey) is heavily urbanized and receives, therefore, high concentrations of phosphate originating from industrial and municipal inputs. During the surveys between April 1993 and July 1994, the total phosphate concentrations were highest in the Inner Bay (6.45 M and 5.59 M in the surface and bottom water, respectively) where very dense anthropogenic pollution occurs. The total phosphate value gradually decreased towards the Outer Bay where 0.70 M and 1.18 M were found in the surface and bottom water, respectively. The distribution of dissolved inorganic, dissolved organic and particulate phosphate along the bay reflected some peculiar spatial and temporal patterns. A high percentage of dissolved organic phosphate was observed in the Outer Bay while the particulate phosphate peaked in the Middle Bay where an upwelling mechanism was observed. In the bay, the biological production was strongly correlated with the variations in the dissolved inorganic, organic and particulate phosphate. The high phosphate concentration in particles caused the particulate phosphate formed in the Inner Bay to be transported to the outer parts of the bay because of the short water residence time. On the other hand, Principal Component Analysis showed that about 35% of the variation in all variables measured were related to the total phosphate, total dissolved phosphate, dissolved inorganic phosphate and particulate phosphate together with ammonium and reactive-Fe while about 14% of the variation was related to the dissolved organic phosphate and the number of phytoplankton cells, chl-a, pH and O₂.     

The distribution of protozoa among soil aggregates

Abstract The distribution of 5 groups of protozoan cells among soil aggregates from an arable field soil was investigated, by incubating each aggregate (1–2 mm) in a ring on an agar plate with a prey bacterium and detecting emergent-active forms of each group from respective aggregates. The detection of each protozoan group was especially affected by scattered times of the excystment and the rapid re-encystment owing to food exhaustion. The cumulative number of protozoan-positive rings obtained through observation at short time intervals, therefore, provided us with more reliable results.
It was shown that the distribution of protozoan cells was not even but greatly conglomerative among soil aggregates.     

FLUTAX法显示纤毛虫微管胞器的改良

在参考Arregui等报道的方法的基础上,对紫杉醇荧光染色(FLUTAX)显示纤毛虫细胞微管胞器的流程进行了改进,对其中一些试剂的配方作了调整,改进了多聚赖氨酸涂布玻片、皂苷孵育、多聚甲醛固定和Triton X-100渗透等步骤。     

十种旋唇纲纤毛虫的形态学描述

借助活体观察和蛋白银染色方法对采集于中国山东、广东沿海的潮间带、红树林及淡水生境的10种旋唇纲纤毛虫(拉氏伪小双虫Pseudoamphisiella lacazei、四核伪小双虫Pseudoamphisiella quadrinucleata、中华偏全列虫Apoholosticha sinica、维尔伯特泡毛虫Tunicothrix wilberti、海洋后尾柱虫Metaurostylopsis marina、偏澳大利亚速体虫Notohymena apoaustralis、偏寡毛双眉虫Diophrys apoligothrix、寡毛双眉虫Diophrys oligothrix、盾圆双眉虫Diophrys scutum、张氏拟双眉虫Paradiophrys zhangi)进行了活体形态与纤毛图式水平的分类学研究。其中偏澳大利亚速体虫、偏寡毛双眉虫、张氏拟双眉虫为广东地区新记录种。基于新种群, 对张氏拟双眉虫给出了新定义。研究表明, 中华偏全列虫地理分布较广, 可适应从淡水到不同盐度的咸水生境。首次发现, 寡毛双眉虫可在盐度较低的咸水中生存, 显示出其较强的环境适应能力。     

Analysis of nutrient components of food for Asian elephants in the wild and in captivity

Thirty-seven wild plants as food for Asian elephants in the field in Simao,Yunnan province,China and five cultivated plants as food for captive elephants in the Beijing Zoo were collected and analyzed for their main nutrient components.Protein,fat,fiber,dry material,ash as well as major microelements:calcium,kalium,zincum,sodium in the food were analyzed by standard methodology.No significant differences were found between the wild plants taken in the field and forage provided in captivity.However,the calcium content in the forage is significantly less than the average of those in the wild plants.It is suggested that the increase in calcium intake may contribute to the relief of low plasma calcium diseases of elephants in captivity.     

Analysis of nutrient components of food for Asian elephants in the wild and in captivity

Thirty-seven wild plants as food for Asian elephants in the field in Simao, Yunnan province, China and five cultivated plants as food for captive elephants in the Beijing Zoo were collected and analyzed for their main nutrient components. Protein, fat, fiber, dry material, ash as well as major microelements: calcium, kalium, zincum, sodium in the food were analyzed by standard methodology. No significant differences were found between the wild plants taken in the field and forage provided in captivity. However, the calcium content in the forage is significantly less than the average of those in the wild plants. It is suggested that the increase in calcium intake may contribute to the relief of low plasma calcium diseases of elephants in captivity. Translated from Journal of Beijing Normal University (Natural Science), 2006, 42(2): 184–188 [译自: 北京师范大学学报 (自然科学版)]