Case Report. Maxillary sinus infection due to Emericella nidulans

Fungal infections of the maxillary sinus are frequently caused by Aspergillus species, particularly A. fumigatus. In otherwise healthy persons there is an association with overfilling of dental root canals, when zinc-containing filling materials were used. Below, a maxillary sinus aspergilloma is reported in a young immunocompetent female patient caused by Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans.

Mycetoma due to Pseudallescheria boydii and co-isolation of Nocardia abscessus in a patient injured in road accident

We report the case of a patient who developed a mycetoma after experiencing a road accident. From surgical biopsies Pseudallescheria boydii was isolated. Subsequently, after the infection had been treated with itraconazole, a Gram-positive bacterium, identified as the newly described species Nocardia abscessus, was cultured from wound fluids.

Case report. Fungaemia due to Penicillium piceum, a member of the Penicillium marneffei complex

Due to the inability of most Penicillium species to grow at 37 degrees C, systemic non-marneffei infections are very rare in the human host. We describe a case of fungemia due to Penicillium piceum in a female patient, who died a few days after repeated isolation of this fungus from blood cultures. The species is a member of the section Biverticillata of Penicillium, as was confirmed by rDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequence data, and hence may share virulence factors with P. marneffei.

[Scedosporiosis of the brain with fatal outcome after traumatizatio of the foot. case report]

A 33 year old German man suffered from a wound of his foot after an accident. He developed an osteomyelitis. From wound probes Scedosporium apiospermum could be isolated for several times. Some weeks later a cerebral lesion could be diagnosed. The lesion was extirpated and again S. apiospermum could be cultured from the cerebral probes. A few weeks later the patient died and some new cerebral lesions could be diagnosed by CT-scan.

Molecular variability of Pseudallescheria boydii, a neurotropic opportunist

The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) domain data obtained by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis with 18S rDNA and fingerprinting (M13) for clinical and environmental strains of Pseudallescheria boydii (anamorph, Scedosporium apiospermum) were compared to those for related species of Pseudallescheria, Petriella, and Scedosporium. The infraspecific variability of P. boydii was considerable. There were five different lengths in the 18S rDNAs within P. boydii due to the occurrence of introns. In several cases, strains isolated from a single pond or ditch proved to be genetically very different. Nevertheless, some lineages had a regional distribution. The variability found is unlikely to be explained by meiotic recombination alone. Pseudallescheria fusoidea, Pseudallescheria ellipsoidea, and Pseudallescheria angusta were found to be synonyms for P. boydii. Scedosporium prolificans was found amid Petriella species in the ITS tree and showed no infraspecific variability. The type strain of Rhinocladium lesnei proved to be identical to Graphium putredinis. Acladium castellanii, which is morphologically reminiscent of S. apiospermum, was also found to be a separate species, but with an unknown affiliation.

[Risk of exposure of children to indoor air allergens]

The development of allergic sensitization and disease in children depends mainly upon the genetic predisposition, the time and extent of exposure against allergens and upon environmental factors. Allergen avoidance in infancy substantially lowers the frequency of sensitization and allergic manifestations. In Germany mite allergens are the most important indoor allergens followed by cat allergens and fungal allergens. Private houses bear the greatest risk of exposure to mite allergens. Nevertheless in day nurseries there is a considerable amount of dust samples with mite allergen levels greater than 10 micrograms/g dust (18% of mattresses, 15% of soft toys, pillows etc.). Cat allergen levels in day nurseries and schools are similar to those in houses where a cat has never been kept. There is a correlation between the percentage of children who have cats at home and the cat allergen levels in dust. In an own study the mean numbers of fungal particles in dust samples from day nurseries were higher compared with those from private houses. Higher numbers of fungal particles concerned mostly day nurseries with flat roof and moisture problems. We conclude that generally private houses offer the highest risk of exposure to indoor allergens. In addition public places like day nurseries or schools must be taken into consideration as significant allergen sources.

Effect of magnesium on the contractile behavior of actomyosin aggregates isolated from Physarum plasmodia

The dependence on calcium concentration of the contractile behavior of actomyosin isolated from Physarum plasmodia according to Kohama & Kendrick-Jones (1986) was investigated under different magnesium conditions. The inhibitory calcium sensitivity is reduced at magnesium concentrations above or below 1 mM, i.e., contraction of actomyosin aggregates is most effectively inhibited in the presence of 1 mM calcium in combination with physiological magnesium concentrations. In the absence of calcium reactivation optimum is obtained at 8.5 mM Mg2+.