The diversity and distribution of fungi on residential surfaces.

The predominant hypothesis regarding the composition of microbial assemblages in indoor environments is that fungal assemblages are structured by outdoor air with a moderate contribution by surface growth, whereas indoor bacterial assemblages represent a mixture of bacteria entered from outdoor air, shed by building inhabitants, and grown on surfaces. To test the fungal aspect of this hypothesis, we sampled fungi from three surface types likely to support growth and therefore possible contributors of fungi to indoor air: drains in kitchens and bathrooms, sills beneath condensation-prone windows, and skin of human inhabitants. Sampling was done in replicated units of a university-housing complex without reported mold problems, and sequences were analyzed using both QIIME and the new UPARSE approach to OTU-binning, to the same result.

Fungi at a small scale: spatial zonation of fungal assemblages around single trees.

Biological communities are often structured by environmental factors even at small spatial scales. Fungi are no exception, though the patterns and mechanisms underlying their community structure are usually unknown. Previous work documented zonation in fungi under tree canopies primarily through their fruiting patterns.

Towards a unified paradigm for sequence-based identification of fungi.

The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region is the formal fungal barcode and in most cases the marker of choice for the exploration of fungal diversity in environmental samples. Two problems are particularly acute in the pursuit of satisfactory taxonomic assignment of newly generated ITS sequences: (i) the lack of an inclusive, reliable public reference data set and (ii) the lack of means to refer to fungal species, for which no Latin name is available in a standardized stable way. Here, we report on progress in these regards through further development of the UNITE database (http://unite.

[Empirical antibiotic therapy in intra-abdomial infections: cases and evidence-based therapeutic recommendations].

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are a common problem in visceral medicine. In Germany more than 150 000 patients are treated each year for IAI with courses ranging from uncomplicated disease to severe life-threatening manifestations. IAI represent the second most common cause of septic shock and the second most common cause of infection-related mortality in intensive care.

Compartmentalized microbial composition, oxygen gradients and nitrogen fixation in the gut of Odontotaenius disjunctus.

Coarse woody debris is an important biomass pool in forest ecosystems that numerous groups of insects have evolved to take advantage of. These insects are ecologically important and represent useful natural analogs for biomass to biofuel conversion. Using a range of molecular approaches combined with microelectrode measurements of oxygen, we have characterized the gut microbiome and physiology of Odontotaenius disjunctus, a wood-feeding beetle native to the eastern United States.

Meeting report: fungal its workshop (october 2012).

This report summarizes a meeting held in Boulder, CO USA (19-20 October 2012) on fungal community analyses using ultra-high-throughput sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. The meeting was organized as a two-day workshop, with the primary goal of supporting collaboration among researchers for improving fungal ITS sequence resources and developing recommendations for standard ITS primers for the research community.

An Autoclavable Steerable Cannula Manual Deployment Device: Design and Accuracy Analysis.

Accessing a specific, predefined location identified in medical images is a common interventional task for biopsies and drug or therapy delivery. While conventional surgical needles provide little steerability, concentric tube continuum devices enable steering through curved trajectories. These devices are usually developed as robotic systems.

Neuroprosthetic technology for individuals with spinal cord injury.

Context: Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a loss of function and sensation below the level of the lesion. Neuroprosthetic technology has been developed to help restore motor and autonomic functions as well as to provide sensory feedback.

Findings: This paper provides an overview of neuroprosthetic technology that aims to address the priorities for functional restoration as defined by individuals with SCI.

Functional priorities, assistive technology, and brain-computer interfaces after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often affects a person's ability to perform critical activities of daily living and can negatively affect his or her quality of life. Assistive technology aims to bridge this gap in order to augment function and increase independence. It is critical to involve consumers in the design and evaluation process as new technologies such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are developed.

Nutrient enrichment increased species richness of leaf litter fungal assemblages in a tropical forest.

Microbial communities play a major role in terrestrial ecosystem functioning, but the determinates of their diversity and functional interactions are not well known. In this study, we explored leaf litter fungal diversity in a diverse Panama lowland tropical forest in which a replicated factorial N, P, K and micronutrient fertilization experiment of 40 × 40 m plots had been ongoing for nine years. We extracted DNA from leaf litter samples and used fungal-specific amplification and a 454 pyrosequencing approach to sequence two loci, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) D1 region.

Real-time control of hind limb functional electrical stimulation using feedback from dorsal root ganglia recordings.

Objective: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) approaches often utilize an open-loop controller to drive state transitions. The addition of sensory feedback may allow for closed-loop control that can respond effectively to perturbations and muscle fatigue.

Approach: We evaluated the use of natural sensory nerve signals obtained with penetrating microelectrode arrays in lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRG) as real-time feedback for closed-loop control of FES-generated hind limb stepping in anesthetized cats.

Biosensor-expressing spheroid cultures for imaging of drug-induced effects in three dimensions.

In the past, the majority of antitumor compound-screening approaches had been performed in two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures. Although easy to standardize, this method provides results of limited significance because cells are surrounded by an artificial microenvironment, are not exposed to hypoxia gradients, and lack cell-cell contacts. These nonphysiological conditions directly affect relevant parameters such as the resistance to anticancer drugs.

Attenuated antigen-specific T cell responses in cirrhosis are accompanied by elevated serum interleukin-10 levels and down-regulation of HLA-DR on monocytes.

Background: Advanced liver disease predisposes to bacterial translocation and endotoxaemia which can contribute to elevated circulating levels of IL-10 and down-regulation of MHC class II on antigen-presenting cells. We sought to evaluate antigen-specific T-cell responses toward common viral antigens in order to investigate defects in cellular immunity in cirrhosis.

Methods: Peripheral blood was obtained from 22 cirrhotic patients with systemic inflammation, 13 cirrhotic patients without systemic inflammation and 14 healthy controls.

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is compartmentally regulated in decompensated cirrhosis and indicates immune activation and short-term mortality.

Objective: Patients with decompensated cirrhosis are susceptible to bacterial infections, which are associated with organ failure and a high mortality rate. Reliable biomarkers are needed to identify patients who require intensified treatment. Our objective was to study the regulation and prognostic relevance of elevated concentrations of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Dispersal in microbes: fungi in indoor air are dominated by outdoor air and show dispersal limitation at short distances.

The indoor microbiome is a complex system that is thought to depend on dispersal from the outdoor biome and the occupants' microbiome combined with selective pressures imposed by the occupants' behaviors and the building itself. We set out to determine the pattern of fungal diversity and composition in indoor air on a local scale and to identify processes behind that pattern. We surveyed airborne fungal assemblages within 1-month time periods at two seasons, with high replication, indoors and outdoors, within and across standardized residences at a university housing facility.

A common garden test of host-symbiont specificity supports a dominant role for soil type in determining AMF assemblage structure in Collinsia sparsiflora.

Specialization in plant host-symbiont-soil interactions may help mediate plant adaptation to edaphic stress. Our previous field study showed ecological evidence for host-symbiont specificity between serpentine and non-serpentine adapted ecotypes of Collinsia sparsiflora and arbuscular mycorrrhizal fungi (AMF). To test for adapted plant ecotype-AMF specificity between C.

Mortality after urinary tract infections in patients with advanced cirrhosis - Relevance of acute kidney injury and comorbidities.

Background: Bacterial infections increase mortality four-fold in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. However, specific mortality associated with urinary tract infections (UTI) in cirrhosis is not known.

Methods: Retrospective single-centre analysis of all hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and ascites who underwent first paracentesis between 2006 and 2011 to determine 90-day mortality associated with UTI defined as pyuria with significant bacteriuria using Cox proportional hazard models.

Preparation strategy and illumination of three-dimensional cell cultures in light sheet-based fluorescence microscopy.

A device for selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) of three-dimensional multicellular spheroids, in culture medium under stationary or microfluidic conditions, is described. Cell spheroids are located in a micro-capillary and a light sheet, for illumination, is generated in an optical setup adapted to a conventional inverse microscope. Layers of the sample, of about 10 μm or less in diameter, are, thus, illuminated selectively and imaged by high resolution fluorescence microscopy.

Autoimmune hepatitis in an HIV-infected patient: an intriguing association.

Abnormal levels of liver enzymes are common in HIV-infected patients and may be caused by multiple factors, including co-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and in the majority of cases by antiretroviral drug-related liver injury. This report, however, describes a patient with HIV infection and abnormal liver function tests where further diagnostics revealed concomitant autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The association of immune dysfunction in patients with HIV infection/AIDS and the development of autoimmune diseases is intriguing.

Guidelines for the quantification of HIV and HCV in small volume whole blood samples.

The quantification of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in whole blood provides several advantages over the quantification in plasma samples. The application of small samples of capillary blood allows for application in point-of-care diagnostic testing methods.Here we describe two protocols of extracting viral RNA from small samples of whole blood by hybridization to biotinylated LNA-modified 2'-O-Methyl-RNA or to biotinylated DNA, indirect capturing to streptavidin-coated beads, and subsequent quantification by one-step non-nested qRT-PCR.

Measuring ectomycorrhizal fungal dispersal: macroecological patterns driven by microscopic propagules.

Dispersal plays a prominent role in most conceptual models of community assembly. However, direct measurement of dispersal across a whole community is difficult at ecologically relevant spatial scales. For cryptic organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, the scale and importance of dispersal limitation has become a major point of debate.