mold

Cranioplasty is a reconstructive procedure for the repair of skull defects or deformities. Polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) is a commonly used alloplastic material when autologous bone is unavailable. However, manual shaping of bone cement for frontal and orbital bone defects is challenging and may not lead to cosmetically satisfactory results. Advances in computer-aided 3-dimensional (3D) design and printing technology allow the production of patient-customized implants with improved cosmetic and functional results. A 39-year-old female patient presented with right-sided frontal swelling and headache. Computerized tomography (CT) demonstrated a right frontal calvarial mass extending to the orbital wall. The boundaries of the lesion were marked using a 3D design software. A polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) mold was manufactured with help of a 3D printer. Artificial bone flap was formed by pouring PMMA into the mold. After surgical resection of the calvarial mass, customized PMMA implant was applied with titanium mini plate and screws. The defect was closed properly with good aesthetic results. Production of customized PMMA cranioplasty implants with 3D printed molds is a useful technique and can be preferred for calvarial defects due to skull tumors, bone resorption and traumatic bone loss.

Strobilurin is a group of natural products and their synthetic analogs have been widely used to control and prevent fungal diseases. Strobilurins were firstly isolated in 1977 from the mycelium of Strobilurus tenacellus, a saprobic Basidiomycete fungus causing wood-rotting on forest trees. This group of pesticides was designed to manage fungal pathogens classes such as Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, and Oomycetes. Also, Strobilurin commercialized included derivatives such as are azoxystrobin, kresoxim-methyl, picoxystrobin, fluoxastrobin, oryzastrobin, dimoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin and trifloxystrobin. This group is a part of the larger group of QoI inhibitors, which act to inhibit the respiratory chain at the level of Complex III. Strobilurins group control an unusually wide array of fungal diseases, included water molds, downy mildews, powdery mildews, leaf spotting and rusts. This group are used on cereals, field crops, fruits, tree nuts, vegetables, turfgrasses and ornamentals. Also, Strobilurins found to enhance the plant growth in some cases.

There is a constant rise in cases of rhino-orbital mucormycosis in people with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Generally, Mucormycosis develops in immunosuppression or debilitating diseases. In cases having head and neck involvement, the mold enters the respiratory tract with further involvement of nose and sinuses and there is consecutive progression into orbital and intracranial structures. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is an independent risk factor for both severe COVID-19 and mucormycosis. The clinical examination and direct smears are helpful for early diagnosis of the disease and timely intervention. For the better prevention and management of such opportunistic infections in COVID-19 patients, it is prudent to establish prophylactic treatment protocols along with rational use of corticosteroids. We here report a case of Rhino-orbital Mucormycosis infection caused by Rhizopus oryzae in a COVID-19 patient with Diabetes Mellitus.

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mold sanitation in homes that suffered hurricane-related water damage. After a home is flooded, sanitation of the structure for mold is necessary before the interior of the home can be rebuilt. In this study, homes (n = 6) in Houston, Texas that had been flooded by Hurricane Harvey were sanitized by volunteers. At either 6, 8, 15, 25, 34, or 56 days after the sanitation was completed, a Button™ sampler was used to collect a 48-hour air sample, so that the mold cells in the air could be quantified. Each air sample was then analyzed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays for the 36 molds in the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) panel of indicator molds. Quantifying the 36-ERMI molds in air samples results in “ERMI-like” values. The ERMI-like values in the sanitized homes were inversely correlated (Pearson p - value 0.04) with the log of the number of days after the sanitation was completed, an indication that it takes time after sanitation for the mold levels to stabilize. This pilot study demonstrated that the ERMI-like metric was useful in assessing post-sanitation mold levels in previously flooded homes. 

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary caused white mold disease with a wide distribution worldwide. For the control of the disease, it is fundamental to understand the identification, morphology, and genetic diversity of the fungus. The objective of this study was to collect and characterize S. sclerotiorum isolates from different regions of the country. The characteristics evaluated for the mycelium characterization were: the time required for the fungus to occupy the plate; density of the formed mycelium; coloration of the colonies and mycelia growth rate. Sclerotia assessments were based on the time for the formation of the first sclerotia total number formed per plate, the format of distribution in the plate, and the shape of the sclerotia formed by the isolates. Variability was observed for colony colour, type of growth, the diameter of mycelia growth, sclerotia initiation, and number and pattern of sclerotia formation among the isolates. The evaluated populations presented wide variability for the cultural and morphological characteristics, being predominant in the whitish colonies with fast-growing habitats. The majority of isolates produced a higher number of sclerotia near the margin of the plates and with diverse formats. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to a similar group of publicly available S. sclerotiorum and were dissimilar from the group of S. minor, and S. trifolium and distinctly differ from S. nivalis group. The present study is the first evidence for morphological and genetic diversity study of S. sclerotiorum in Bangladesh. Therefore, this report contributes to more information about the morphological and genetic diversity of S. sclerotiorum and can be useful in implementing effective management strategies for the pathogen which caused white mold disease.

Gray mold disease, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, causes heavy losses in strawberries. The use of chemical fungicides due to the dangers for humans and the environment has caused attention to reduce their consumption and use biological methods. In this research, the effects of zinc oxide, copper, and silver nanoparticles have been synthesized from an aqueous extract of cloves, and the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus casei by the green method was investigated on the gray mold disease of strawberries. The results showed that concentrations of 10% of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized from aqueous extract of cloves can completely control this pathogen on the culture medium and the fruit. Zinc and silver nanoparticles produced by Lactobacillus casei prevented 93.7% and 81% of fungal growth in the culture medium, respectively. Other treatments did not show a good inhibitory effect on the fungus. All treatments were able to prevent 100% to 50% of fungal growth after 96 hours on strawberries. The investigation of the storage characteristics showed the positive effect of the examined nanoparticles on reducing the rate of change of the physicochemical characteristics of the strawberry fruit tissue. Apparent decay was significantly reduced and samples treated with nanoparticles scored higher in sensory evaluation compared to control. Also, investigating the toxicity of nanoparticles in this experiment on the HepG2 cell line showed that Compared to the control, copper and zinc nanoparticles did not have significant toxicity on cells, but silver nanoparticles led to 25% cell death. This research provides promising results in the field of using nanoparticles for pre-harvest and post-harvest control of plant diseases.

Testing the antimicrobial efficiency of plastics with good precision and repeatability remains a challenge in the plastic industry, as commonly used standards can provide unreliable data. In this paper, we show that the “Bacterial Liquid Suspension Test” is a reliable method that allows for the measurement of antimicrobial activity of poor to very potent biocides. We used this technique to discriminate the performance of two Cu-based biocides, either in nanoparticle (NP) or macroparticle (MP) size, at three different loadings (0.02, 0.2 and 2 wt.%) in PP. With this technique, we also tested the antibacterial performance of PP as powders, pellets, and injection molded disks. As anticipated, the technique shows that both the increased loading and the smaller particle size showed higher antimicrobial activity than the larger particle size due to their increased surface area. Also, PP powders showed greater bacterial reduction than pellets and disks. While the PP with 2 wt.% Cu NPs showed the best antimicrobial performance, the detection of Cu at the surface (using SEM-EDX) and in the water leachate (using ICP-MS) were below the LODs, indicating their ability to kill bacteria.

Plant extracts and their constituents have a long history as antifungal agents, but their use in biotechnology as preservatives, due to the increasing resistance of fungi to fungicides, has been rarely reported in Libya. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antifungal activity of ethanol extract and water extract of the wild native plant Artemisia herba-alba against two genera of mold fungi Aspergillus sp. and Rhizopus sp. This mold fungal causes significant damage to crops in the field or during storage. In this study, a hot ethanol extract was prepared using a device Soxhlet, and water extract hot as well as a cold ethanol extract and cold-water extract aqueous extract three concentrations (25% - 50% - 75%) of plant extracts were used on the tested fungi. All extracts showed an effect on the tested fungi. The concentrations of (75% - 50%) of the extracts had an effect on the tested fungi, while most concentrations of 25% of the extracts did not record any effect on the tested fungi. The hot ethanol extract of the Artemisia herba-alba plant was more effective than the other extracts. Aspergillus sp. was recorded with the highest inhibitory zone (0.73 mm).