Fungal cell wall : An underexploited target for antifungal therapies

Funding: The authors would like to acknowledge support from the University of Aberdeen and Abia State University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Caspofungin induced cell wall changes of Candida species influences macrophage interactions

Acknowledgements We thank Gillian Milne from the University of Aberdeen Microscopy and Histology facility for help with EM, Dr David Stead (Aberdeen Proteomics) for proteomics analysis and Prof. Gordon Brown for Fc:Dectin1. We thank Dr Judith Bain and Prof. Lars Erwig for advice on the macrophage assays. Funding We acknowledge funding from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the Medical Research Council (G0400284).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fungal Cell Wall Proteins and Signaling Pathways Form a Cytoprotective Network to Combat Stresses

Funding: This research was funded by Abia State University and the University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Caspofungin Treatment of Aspergillus fumigatus Results in ChsG-Dependent Upregulation of Chitin Synthesis and the Formation of Chitin-Rich Microcolonies

Date of Acceptance: 23/07/2015 We thank Gillian Milne for help with electron microscopy, Sophie M. Schäfer for pilot experiments, and Emilia Mellado for strains. All authors acknowledge financial support of Gilead Sciences through Ph.D. studentships for L.A.W. and K.K.L. We also acknowledge research grants from the Wellcome Trust (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, and 097377) and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Dissection of the Candida albicans class I chitin synthase promoters

We acknowledge financial support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (10161), Medical Research Council (New Investigator Award to C.A.M.), the European Community FUNGALWALL and SIGNALPATH initiatives and the Wellcome Trust.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cell wall stress induces alternative fungal cytokinesis and septation strategies

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sfp1 and Rtg3 reciprocally modulate carbon source-conditional stress adaptation in the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans

Acknowledgements We thank Aaron Mitchell, Dominique Sanglard and Suzanne Noble for their generosity in providing mutant collections, and Linghuo Jiang for generously providing strains. We also thank Susan Budge for her support and excellent technical assistance. We also thank the qPCR Facility in the Institute of Medical Sciences, and particularly Fiona Saunders for her great advice and help. SLK was supported by a PhD scholarship from the University of Aberdeen. AJPB was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BB/F00513X/1; BB/K017365/1), by the European Research Council (STRIFE Advanced Grant; ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M026663/1). AJPB and CAM were also supported by the Wellcome Trust (088858; 097377), and by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology and the University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Serum osmolarity and haematocrit do not modify the association between the impedance index (Ht2/Z) and total body water in the very old: The Newcastle 85+ Study

Bioelectrical impedance is a non-invasive technique for the assessment of body composition; however, information on its accuracy in the very old (80+ years) is limited. We investigated whether the association between the impedance index and total body water (TBW) was modified by hydration status as assessed by haematocrit and serum osmolarity. This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Newcastle 85+ Cohort Study. Anthropometric measurements [weight, height (Ht)] were taken and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Leg-to-leg bioimpedance was used to measure the impedance value (Z) and to estimate fat mass, fat free mass and TBW. The impedance index (Ht2/Z) was calculated. Blood haematocrit, haemoglobin, glucose, sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine concentrations were measured. Serum osmolarity was calculated using a validated prediction equation. 677 men and women aged 85 years were included. The average BMI of the population was 24.3±4.2kg/m2 and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 32.6% and 9.5%, respectively. The impedance index was significantly associated with TBW in both men (n=274, r=0.76, p<0.001) and women (n=403, r=0.96, p<0.001); in regression models, the impedance index remained associated with TBW after adjustment for height, weight and gender, and further adjustment for serum osmolarity and haematocrit. The impedance index values increased with BMI and the relationship was not modified by hydration status in women (p=0.69) and only marginally in men (p=0.02). The association between the impedance index and TBW was not modified by hydration status, which may support the utilisation of leg-to-leg bioimpedance for the assessment of body composition in the very old

The efficacy of training parents to deliver multiple oppositions intervention to children with speech sound disorders

Optimal outcomes for phonology-based speech sound disorders (SSDs) can be achieved when intervention is delivered at high frequencies, such as 3 x week. However, many speech pathologists (SLPs) in Australia are unable to deliver such frequent services, with intervention typically being delivered weekly. One strategy to overcome this intensity shortfall is to engage parents in completing practice at home. The efficacy of this strategy is unclear. The results of this study showed that combined parent-SLP delivery of multiple oppositions can be used to achieve the recommended dose frequency of intervention. Child outcomes were likely influenced by multiple factors, including dosage, fidelity, and the nature of the child’s SSD. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed