Synergistic antifungal effect of thiophene derivative as an inhibitor of fluconazole-resistant Candida spp. biofilms.

Candida species resistant to fluconazole have raised concern in the scientific medical community due to high mortality in patients with invasive disease. In developing countries, such as Brazil, fluconazole is the most commonly used antifungal, and alternative treatments are expensive or not readily available. Furthermore, the occurrence of biofilms is common, coupled with their inherent resistance to antifungal therapies and the host's immune system, these microbial communities have contributed to making infections caused by these yeasts an enormous clinical challenge.

Rapid Molecular Diagnosis of Sporotrichosis Directly from Biological Samples from a Reference Center in Brazil.

The gold standard diagnosis of sporotrichosis is the isolation of sp. in culture media, but this is a time-consuming test that is susceptible to contamination and can be affected by the fungal load. Molecular methods such as nested PCR are gaining more ground in the management of several infections as they are tools for the rapid and accurate identification of microorganisms from pure cultures or directly from biological samples.

Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Neurocryptococcosis Associated with HIV in Northeastern Brazil.

Cryptococcal meningitis is a serious infection of the central nervous system that is predominant in developing countries, caused by fungi of the genus , and which affects immunosuppressed patients, especially those with HIV. Here, we aim to diagnose and characterize the clinical-epidemiological profile of cryptococcosis in patients admitted to two tertiary public hospitals in northeastern Brazil. The study is divided into three moments: (1) the isolation of fungus and diagnosis from biological samples collected between 2017 and 2019, (2) a description of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients, and (3) the experimental tests related to an in vitro susceptibility antifungal profile.

Colonized patients by : Third and largest outbreak in Brazil and impact of biofilm formation.

Objective: To describe the clinical-epidemiological features of patients colonized by in the largest outbreak in Brazil and to show the biofilm formation capacity of yeast strains.

Methods: Clinical yeasts suspected of isolated from urine and surveillance samples were seeded on chromogenic media at 30°C and Sabouraud agar at 42°C. matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectometry was used for reliable identification.

Fungal esophagitis associated with tuberculous pericarditis in an human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient: a case report.

Background: Opportunistic infections are frequent in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus who either do not have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) or use it irregularly. Tuberculosis is the most frequent infectious disease in PLHIV and can predispose patients to severe fungal infections with dire consequences.

Case Presentation: We describe the case of a 35-year-old Brazilian man living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) for 10 years.

Refractory esophagitis caused by : second description of this yeast in Brazil and a literature review.

caused refractory esophagitis in a 36-year-old Brazilian man coinfected with HIV and . A literature review on this rare fungal pathogen is also presented. The diagnosis was made, and pathogen identification was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and sequencing of the region.

Lignin isolated from Caesalpinia pulcherrima leaves has antioxidant, antifungal and immunostimulatory activities.

Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a shrub with worldwide distribution used as an ornamental plant. In this study, we extracted a lignin from the C. pulcherrima leaves and investigated its biological functions.

Enhancement of Bone Healing by Local Administration of Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Sodium Hyaluronate in Rat Tibiae.

It has been reported that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) serve as nucleation sites for the deposition of bone matrix and cell proliferation. Here, we evaluated the effects of multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) on bone repair of rat tibiae. Furthermore, because sodium hyaluronate (HY) accelerates bone restoration, we associated CNTs with HY (HY-MWCNTs) in an attempt to boost bone repair.

Scale/topography of substrates surface resembling extracellular matrix for tissue engineering.

Biomaterial matrices are being developed that mimic the key characteristics of the extracellular matrix, including presenting adhesion sites and displaying growth factors in the context of a viscoelastic hydrogel. This review focuses on two classes of materials: those that are derived from naturally occurring molecules and those that recapitulate key motifs of biomolecules within biologically active synthetic materials. We also discussed some of the most significant biological features of the ECM, and several engineering methods currently being implemented to design and tune synthetic scaffolds to mimic these features.

Human adult stem cells from diverse origins: an overview from multiparametric immunophenotyping to clinical applications.

Stem cells are known for their capacity to self-renew and differentiate into at least one specialized cell type. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated initially from bone marrow but are now known to exist in all vascularized organ or tissue in adults. MSCs are particularly relevant for therapy due to their simplicity of isolation and cultivation.

Altered responsiveness to extracellular ATP enhances acetaminophen hepatotoxicity.

Background: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is secreted from hepatocytes under physiological conditions and plays an important role in liver biology through the activation of P2 receptors. Conversely, higher extracellular ATP concentrations, as observed during necrosis, trigger inflammatory responses that contribute to the progression of liver injury. Impaired calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis is a hallmark of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity, and since ATP induces mobilization of the intracellular Ca2+ stocks, we evaluated if the release of ATP during APAP-induced necrosis could directly contribute to hepatocyte death.

Clinical, epidemiological and mycological report on 65 patients from the Eastern Amazon region with chromoblastomycosis.

Background: Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic fungal infection caused by fungi from the Dematiaceae family. According to several studies, Fonsecaea pedrosoi is the most common of these fungi. The infection is more common in tropical countries, with the Brazilian state of Pará having one of the largest infected populations worldwide.