Histoplasmosis in an immunocompetent host: a rare case report

Histoplasmosis, a systemic mycosis caused by Histoplasma capsulatum manifests clinically in immunocompromised patients as acute or chronic pulmonary infection or as a progressive disseminated disease. In immunocompetent hosts, the disease is usually self-limited or presents as flu-like symptoms. It is endemic in North, Central and South America as well as parts of Europe and Africa. We report a case of a 76-year-old diabetic, HIV negative patient who presented with white nodular patches on the tongue and gingiva which were reported as histoplasmosis on histopathology. He also had idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia and thrombocytopenia

Use of natural plant extracts as a novel microbiological quality indicator in raw milk: An alternative for resazurin dye reduction method

In the present study, we propose a novel field-scale analytical tool for rapid screening of microbiological quality in raw milk using aqueous extracts of plant materials, i.e. flowers (e.g. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. and Clitoria ternatea), taproots (e.g. Beta vulgaris) and pricklypears (e.g. Opuntia dillenii). For each plant extract, the colour changes in raw milk were evaluated between 4.5 and 6.5 pH against the resazurin dye as a control. The plant anthocyanin content in each extract was analyzed by the differential pH method using a spectrophotometer. The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis flower extract was opted to further test since it had a pH-sensitive colour change (6.5; maroon to 6.2; light-pink) compared to other plant extracts, which did not indicate a noticeable colour variation with pH. Anthocyanin content of the Hibiscus extract was 0.59 g/mL. The novel method showed high linearity (R-2 = 0.95), 100% accuracy and greater repeatability with an intermediate level of precision. The limit of quantification and detection was 0.46 and 0.15 g/mL, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrated the potential in using water extract of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. flowers as an alternative to the resazurin dye reduction method for rapid and accurate microbiological quality control for raw milk procurement in remote areas

Calculation of the work function with a local basis set

Electronic structure codes usually allow to calculate the work function as a part of the theoretical description of surfaces and processes such as adsorption thereon. This requires a proper calculation of the electrostatic potential in all regions of space, which is apparently straightforward to achieve with plane wave basis sets, but more difficult with local basis sets. To overcome this, a relatively simple scheme is proposed to accurately compute the work function when a local basis set is used, by having some additional basis functions in the vacuum. Tests on various surfaces demonstrate that a very good agreement with experimental and other theoretical data can be achieved.Comment: to appear in Surf. Sci. Let

Hydroxy-PCBs, PBDEs, and HBCDDs in serum from an elderly population of Swedish fishermen's wives and associations with bone density

Lack of human exposure data is frequently reported as a critical gap in risk assessments of environmental pollutants, especially regarding "new" pollutants. The objectives of this study were to assess serum levels of the persistent 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites (OH-PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in a group of Swedish middle-aged and elderly women expected to be relatively highly exposed, and to evaluate the impact of potential determinants (e.g., fish intake, age) for the inter-individual variation, as well as to investigate the association between these pollutants and bone density. No associations were found between bone mineral density or biochemical markers of bone metabolism and the analyzed environmental pollutants. Relatively high levels of CB-153 (median 260 ng/g fat) and Sigma(3)-OH- PCBs (median 1.7 ng/mL serum), and low concentrations of Sigma 6PBDEs (median 3.6 ng/g fat) were determined. Total level of HBCDDs in serum was quantified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (median 0.5 ng/g fat). HBCDD diastereomeric and enantiomeric patterns were determined by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. The dominating stereoisomer was (-)alpha-HBCDD, but 1-3% of gamma-HBCDD was also detected in the serum samples

Milk Coagulation Properties - A Study on Milk Protein Profile of Native and Improved Cattle Breeds Types in Sri Lanka

This study was conducted to assess the variations of milk coagulation properties (MCP) among two native cattle types, e.g., Thamankaduwa White (TW), Lankan cattle (LC) and two improved cattle breeds, e.g., Friesian (FR) and Jersey (JS), in relation to distinctive milk protein compositions. MCP traits, including rennet coagulation time (RCT), curd firmness, meltability and yield, were measured. The milk protein profile of each breed/type was analyzed using capillary zone electrophoresis. Significant differences (

Probiotics and Beneficial Microorganisms in Biopreservation of Plant-Based Foods and Beverages

Maintaining the overall quality and shelf life of plant-based food and beverages is particularly important yet challenging to the food industry. Demand for natural preservation techniques has increased with the rising concerns over food safety and consumer awareness, e.g., health consciousness and food trends such as veganism and the demand for clean, labelled foods. Thus, a technique such as biopreservation has the potential to enhance food safety while fostering the quality, originality and naturalness of food. The application of probiotic microorganisms to foods and beverages provides various health benefits in addition to improved shelf life, stability and microbial safety of the food. The provision of probiotics is known to deliver various health benefits for the host’s gut health. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the importance of biopreservation and the role of probiotics in the food industry. An attempt was made to explore the various possibilities of shelf-life enhancement through the use of probiotic microorganisms as biopreservatives. Noticeable improvements in the shelf life of plant-based foods and beverages were observed due to the antimicrobial effects exerted by probiotics and potential probiotic strains which make them useful alternatives to artificially synthesized chemical preservatives

Superconductivity Near Ferromagnetism in MgCNi3

An unusual quasi-two-dimensional heavy band mass van Hove singularity (vHs) lies very near the Fermi energy in MgCNi3, recently reported to superconduct at 8.5 K. This compound is strongly exchange enhanced and is unstable to ferromagnetism upon hole doping with 12% Mg --> Na or Li. The 1/4-depleted fcc (frustrated) Ni sublattice and lack of Fermi surface nesting argues against competing antiferromagnetic and charge density wave instabilities. We identify an essentially infinite mass along the M-Gamma line, leading to quasi-two-dimensionality of this vHs may promote unconventional p-wave pairing that could coexist with superconductivity.Comment: 4 two-column pages, 4 figure

Ferromagnetism below the Stoner limit in La-doped SrB_6

Spin-polarized band calculations for LaSr_7B_{48} show a weak ferro-magnetic state. This is despite a low density-of-states (DOS) and a low Stoner factor. The reason for the magnetic state is found to be associated with a gain in potential energy in addition to the exchange energy, as a spin-splitting is imposed. An impurity like La DOS is essential for this effect. It makes a correction to the Stoner factor, and provides an explanation of the recently observed weak ferro-magnetism in doped hexaborides.Comment: 6 pages, 2 tables, 1 figur

Direct Minimization Generating Electronic States with Proper Occupation Numbers

We carry out the direct minimization of the energy functional proposed by Mauri, Galli and Car to derive the correct self-consistent ground state with fractional occupation numbers for a system degenerating at the Fermi level. As a consequence, this approach enables us to determine the electronic structure of metallic systems to a high degree of accuracy without the aid of level broadening of the Fermi-distribution function. The efficiency of the method is illustrated by calculating the ground-state energy of C$_2$ and Si$_2$ molecules and the W(110) surface to which a tungsten adatom is adsorbed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure