Fungi in the legislation of the Republic of Serbia

Conservation and protection of fungi have lately been considered as extremely important elements of the environmental conservation, and numerous environmental, scientific, medical, economic, cultural, ethical, and other reasons for such attitude exist today. This paper presents an overview of official regulations on the protection of fungi in the Republic of Serbia from the Act of Protection of 1991 until today. The paper lists and analyses the good and bad provisions of individual legal regulations. It registers the effects of the adopted regulations on the actual efficiency of protection of endangered species of fungi (macrofungi, mushrooms), and considers the impact of chronological development of legislation on the population of fungi in nature, and presents general measures to improve protection of mushrooms in the future. These measures primarily include reliable information and study of fungi as a basis for their effective protection based on scientific knowledge. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. OI-179079

Bioindicative values of microfungi in starch and possible deficiencies of the new Serbian regulation on food hygiene

The results of tests on the presence of yeasts and molds in cornstarch [AD ‘IPOK’ Zrenjanin, 2007-2008, made at the time when previous Regulations were valid] were analyzed in terms of bioindicative values of microfungi as indicators of quality and safety of raw material or final food products. Microbiological analysis was used to detect the presence of a number of microorganisms MMI-0001, and a questionnaire was designed at the Department of Public Health in Zrenjanin town (Republic of Serbia), where the anal­yses were done, regarding the microbiological tests on starch. In order to rationalize the analyses and make them more economical, several areas of product quality control (water, food, raw materials, space) were recommended either to be excluded or regarded as optional. Thus, analysis of presence of microfungi as indicators of product quality was categorized as optional. The results obtained from this research suggest a different conclusion because the bacteria in the samples indicated ˮmicrobiologically“, namely bacteriologically, safe samples of food, while, on the contrary, the presence of some microfungi as distinct xerophilous or xerotolerant microorganisms, indicated that the food was mycologically non-safe. The obtained data are crucial for questioning the decision to exclude the earlier required (mycological) analysis of the samples (in the production of starch, or end products, etc.) and categorize such analyses in new Regulations as optional, depending on the manufacturer’s preference. Bioindicative values of microfungi as indicators of the quality of starch, clearly point to the shortsightedness of the new Regulations on food hygiene and safety, where tests on certain microorganisms (in this case, yeasts and molds) are not legally defined as mandatory, but the Law leaves manufacturers a possibility to choose (or not to choose) the testing and frequency of testing on the presence (absence) of microorganisms, which can be risky, both in the production and marketing of the finial products. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. OI-179079

Schizophyllum commune: The main cause of dying trees of the Banja Luka arbored walks and parks

In the frame of investigation of the main cause of dying trees of the main arbored walks (Mladena Stojanovića Aley and Park), the investigation of the presence and diversity of macrofungi in Banja Luka City were undertaken in the period 2006-2011. Relatively poor generic diversity of lignicolous (pathogenic or potentially pathogenic and saprotrophic) macrofungi with only 16 species representing this group (13 basidiomycets: Schizophyllum commune, Fomes fomentarius, Stereum hirsutum, Coriolus versicolor, Flammulina velutipes, Pseudotrametes gibbosa, Ganoderma applanatum, G. lucidum, G. adspersum, Polyporus squamosus, Meripilus giganteus, Laetiporus sulphureus, Auricu­laria auricula-judae, and 3 ascomycets: Nectria cinnabarina, Xylaria hypoxylon, X. poly­morpha) were recorded. Such a poor qualitative composition of this very important fungal group could be explained by the reduction in the number of plant species in arbored walks and alleys, as well as the reduction in the number of fungi resistant to heavy air pollution caused by nearby (1-5m) fuel combustion in engines. Although only preliminary, our results pointed to the necessity of conservation and protection of the most beautiful features of Banja Luka and its alleys and arbored walks, by undertaking the measures of curing damaged trees and treating them with fungicides in order to wipe out the epiphytia caused in more than 95% of cases (dated May 2011) by Split-gill (Schizophyllum commune), present on dead wood but also on damaged trees of Aesculus hyppocastaneum (127 trees), Tilia cordata (124 trees), Tilia platyphyllos (36 trees), Tilia argentea (40 trees), Acer negundo (20 trees), Platanus acerifolia (2 trees), Robinia pseudoacacia (3 trees), Fraxinus ornus (1 tree), Betula pendula (1 tree), Catalpa sp. (2 trees), etc. Altogether, during the last decade, around 200 trees collapsed or were sanitary cut in Banja Luka arbored walk from the Malta site to the Green bridge, a total length around 5 km. The reason for this was primarily due to Split-gill fungus and the restoration of arbored walks in the streets extremely polluted by engine fuel consumption in the zone of Mladena Stojanovića street. By analyzing the trees along the City of Banja Luka main street it could be concluded that, besides the appearance of suffocation of plants, due to wide asphalt surfaces that are located immediately next to the tree-trunks and heavy air pollution, fungi caused illnesses are the most important cause of the decline of trees. With its great adaptation to arid climate and ability to resist to the air pollution, Schizophyllum commune turned out to be the most aggressive and successful universal fungal invader of trees from old alleys, even threatening immuno­compromised human individuals. However, man and his direct or indirect impacts contrib­ute to the dying of trees much faster than the fungal pathogens in the busiest and most polluted Mladena Stojanovića street

Comparison of two schizophyllum commune strains in production of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and antioxidants from submerged cultivation

In recent years, fungi have been recognized as producers of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, agents important for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to examine the AChE inhibitory, the antioxidative and antibacterial activity of two different Schizophyllum commune strains that originated from Serbia (SRB) and Italy (IT). Submerged cultivation of grown mycelia (M) and fermentation broth (F) of ethanol (EtOH) and polysaccharide (PSH) extracts lasted for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. For AChE activity Ellman method was performed, while for antioxidative activity, sevendifferent assays were conducted: DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, SOA, OH, NO together with total phenolic content. Antimicrobial screen, LC–MS/MS technique and FTIR measurements were performed. Different isolates exhibited different AChE activity, with PSH being the strongest (SRB, M, 28 days IC90 79.73 ± 26.34 µg/mL), while in EtOH extracts, IT stood out (F, 14 days, IC50 0.8 ± 0.6 µg/mL). PSH extracts (7 days) exhibit significant antioxidative activity (AO), opposite to EtOH extracts where 14 and 21days periods stood out. Only tw extracts showed antibacterial activity. Following LC–MS/MS analysis p-hydroxybenzoic and gallic acids were the most abundant phenolics. PSH extracts demonstrated remarkable results, making this study debut and introducing S. commune as a valuable resource of AChE inhibitors

Care of patients with inborn errors of immunity in thirty J Project countries between 2004 and 2021

IntroductionThe J Project (JP) physician education and clinical research collaboration program was started in 2004 and includes by now 32 countries mostly in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE). Until the end of 2021, 344 inborn errors of immunity (IEI)-focused meetings were organized by the JP to raise awareness and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of patients with IEI.ResultsIn this study, meeting profiles and major diagnostic and treatment parameters were studied. JP center leaders reported patients’ data from 30 countries representing a total population of 506 567 565. Two countries reported patients from JP centers (Konya, Turkey and Cairo University, Egypt). Diagnostic criteria were based on the 2020 update of classification by the IUIS Expert Committee on IEI. The number of JP meetings increased from 6 per year in 2004 and 2005 to 44 and 63 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The cumulative number of meetings per country varied from 1 to 59 in various countries reflecting partly but not entirely the population of the respective countries. Altogether, 24,879 patients were reported giving an average prevalence of 4.9. Most of the patients had predominantly antibody deficiency (46,32%) followed by patients with combined immunodeficiencies (14.3%). The percentages of patients with bone marrow failure and phenocopies of IEI were less than 1 each. The number of patients was remarkably higher that those reported to the ESID Registry in 13 countries. Immunoglobulin (IgG) substitution was provided to 7,572 patients (5,693 intravenously) and 1,480 patients received hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT). Searching for basic diagnostic parameters revealed the availability of immunochemistry and flow cytometry in 27 and 28 countries, respectively, and targeted gene sequencing and new generation sequencing was available in 21 and 18 countries. The number of IEI centers and experts in the field were 260 and 690, respectively. We found high correlation between the number of IEI centers and patients treated with intravenous IgG (IVIG) (correlation coefficient, cc, 0,916) and with those who were treated with HSCT (cc, 0,905). Similar correlation was found when the number of experts was compared with those treated with HSCT. However, the number of patients treated with subcutaneous Ig (SCIG) only slightly correlated with the number of experts (cc, 0,489) and no correlation was found between the number of centers and patients on SCIG (cc, 0,174).Conclusions1) this is the first study describing major diagnostic and treatment parameters of IEI care in countries of the JP; 2) the data suggest that the JP had tremendous impact on the development of IEI care in ECE; 3) our data help to define major future targets of JP activity in various countries; 4) we suggest that the number of IEI centers and IEI experts closely correlate to the most important treatment parameters; 5) we propose that specialist education among medical professionals plays pivotal role in increasing levels of diagnostics and adequate care of this vulnerable and still highly neglected patient population; 6) this study also provides the basis for further analysis of more specific aspects of IEI care including genetic diagnostics, disease specific prevalence, newborn screening and professional collaboration in JP countries

Protective intraoperative ventilation with higher versus lower levels of positive end-expiratory pressure in obese patients (PROBESE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) increase the morbidity and mortality of surgery in obese patients. High levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) with lung recruitment maneuvers may improve intraoperative respiratory function, but they can also compromise hemodynamics, and the effects on PPCs are uncertain. We hypothesized that intraoperative mechanical ventilation using high PEEP with periodic recruitment maneuvers, as compared with low PEEP without recruitment maneuvers, prevents PPCs in obese patients. Methods/design The PRotective Ventilation with Higher versus Lower PEEP during General Anesthesia for Surgery in OBESE Patients (PROBESE) study is a multicenter, two-arm, international randomized controlled trial. In total, 2013 obese patients with body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 scheduled for at least 2 h of surgery under general anesthesia and at intermediate to high risk for PPCs will be included. Patients are ventilated intraoperatively with a low tidal volume of 7 ml/kg (predicted body weight) and randomly assigned to PEEP of 12 cmH2O with lung recruitment maneuvers (high PEEP) or PEEP of 4 cmH2O without recruitment maneuvers (low PEEP). The occurrence of PPCs will be recorded as collapsed composite of single adverse pulmonary events and represents the primary endpoint. Discussion To our knowledge, the PROBESE trial is the first multicenter, international randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of two different levels of intraoperative PEEP during protective low tidal volume ventilation on PPCs in obese patients. The results of the PROBESE trial will support anesthesiologists in their decision to choose a certain PEEP level during general anesthesia for surgery in obese patients in an attempt to prevent PPCs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02148692. Registered on 23 May 2014; last updated 7 June 2016. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1929-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Spatial distribution of genets in population of saprotrophic fungi Marasmius rotula on Mt. Stara planina

This study was conducted to determine the size and spatial distribution of mycelial individuals of Marasmius rotula at one locality on Mt. Stara planina in the Republic of Serbia. Total of 12 sporocarps were collected from investigated locality (Vidlič, Stara planina). Sporocarps were distributed in four groups and distances between them were approximately 10-30 meters. Genomic DNA was extracted from each sporocarp and used for inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphism analysis using (GTG)5 and (GACA)4 primers. Both primers showed reproducible band patterns on agarose gels and sporocarps with identical band patterns were considered to belong to the same individual (genet) and were grouped accordingly. Grouping with both primers determined that 12 analyzed sporocarps belong to 4 distinct genets (A, B, C, D). Approximate genet diameters were 2 m for two genets (A, B) and 15 m for one genet (C) while diameter of one genet (D) was not possible to determine since it was represented only by one sporocarp. The results presented here are the first data about size and spatial distribution of genets of M. rotula. To determine whether the obtained genet sizes are general trait of an analyzed species or a special trait appeared as an effect of environmental conditions, more information on the genet distribution of other M. rotula populations is needed. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. III43002 and Grant no. III43007

Lignicolous macrofungi of the Bardača foodplain region

In the frame of biodiversity investigation of the Bardača floodplain (Republic of Srpska, Bosnia), the investigation of the presence and the diversity of macrofungi of the wider Bardača region have been undertaken. The relative poor generic diversity of lignicolous macrofungi with only 21 species (11 families) representing this group has been recorded. Such a poor qualitative and also quantitative composition of this very important fungal group could be explained by heavy devastation of autochthonous plant communities, reducing them to the small number of plant associations of poor generic composition. Consequently, drastic decrease of the diversity of ecological niches as fungal habitats was caused. Even though being preliminary, our results point to the necessity of conservation and protection of recent fungal diversity but, in our opinion, not by making so-called "Red list of endangered species", which, due to the lack of information and very poor evidence on this group of organisms in the region under the consideration, are extremely unreliable and therefore disputable but rather through the very short list of few not endangered species conditionally called "White list of not endangered fungal species", if such species recently exist at all

Phytol may inspire new medicinal foods for the treatment of heart disease

This study aimed to investigate in vitro antibacterial activity of phytol against the selected Gram positive bacteria (Clostridium sporogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Sarcina lutea) involved in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis. The examined natural product has proved to be active against all the tested bacteria, but to a varying degree. Indeed, phytol inhibited E. faecalis growth (MIC 1.56 ± 0.04 μg/mL) more effectively than gentamycin and ampicillin (MIC 5.00 ± 0.06 and 16.00 ± 0.03 μg/mL, respectively). Both its freely presence in nutrition and easy availability support the development of a new phytol based medicinal foods targeting heart disease