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Voriconazole is a triazole antifungal used to prevent and treat invasive fungal infections after lung transplantation, but it has been associated with an increased risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Despite widespread use, there are no clear guidelines for optimal prophylactic regimens that balance the competing risks and benefits. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all lung transplant recipients at the University of California, San Francisco, who were transplanted between October 1991 and December 2012 (n = 455) to investigate whether voriconazole exposure affected development of SCC, Aspergillus colonization, invasive aspergillosis and all-cause mortality. Voriconazole exposure was associated with a 73% increased risk of developing SCC (hazard ratio [HR] 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-2.88; p = 0.03), with each additional 30-day exposure at the standard dose increasing the risk by 3.0% (HR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.02-1.04; p

Zinc deficiency in cereal crops is a significant issue for human health. Rice, being a staple food crop, could cause severe zinc deficiency. The use of zinc-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) is an ecological tactic to raise bioavailable zinc in the soil that may alleviate yield loss and, subsequently, enhance the nutritional value of rice. In the presented study, treating rice plants with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria S. marcescens FA-4 along with the recommended dose of chemical Zn and half dose of chemical Zn ensued under pot and field conditions at the COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan. The obtained data indicated an augmentation in rice growth, yield, and grain zinc content in response to the S. marcescens FA-4 inoculation with and without the chemical Zn application. The S. marcescens FA-4 significantly enhanced the grain zinc content (21.4-27.7 mg kg-1) under the pot and (18.7-30.1 mg kg-1) under field conditions, with 1.5 to twofold rise in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity in rice compared with the control. The rice plants treated with zinc solubilizing bacteria, followed by zinc treatments gave higher grain yields of 23.4-34.1 g pot-1 and 3.2-3.6 t ha-1 in rice cultivars, Basmati 385 and Super Basmati. The S. marcescens FA-4 with a half dose of chemical Zn also increased the zinc translocation index (1.4 to 1.7) toward grains. Consistency in the performance of zinc solubilizing bacteria occurred in the pot and field conditions. Hence, a conclusion that the use of zinc solubilizing strains is an efficient approach to enhance the zinc content of rice grains and combat the problem of zinc deficiency in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the regional dependant genetic variation among different pathogenic Fusarium solani isolates and a link to persistence cause of shisham dieback in various agro ecological zones. A total of 23 pathogenic representative isolates of Fusarium solani, collected from various agro ecological zones were subjected to analysis of genetic variability in terms of DNA polymorphism using RAPD-PCR. Results were obtained with the help of 10 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers (OPA1-OPA10) to test genetic variability in F. solani isolates. A total of 238 amplified products generated with the primers and 23 isolates of F. solani. The pattern of genetic variability in the isolate was also supported by the analysis of the similarity indices and UPGMA dendrogram. Twenty three isolates of F. solani recovered from different areas showed a significant genetic variation durning RAPD analysis. It seems that the genetic variability among fungal isolates is regional dependent and reason of persistent cause of shisham dieback in Punjab, Pakistan. Current findings showed the variation among pathogenic isolates of F. solani and ravealed that persistent cause of shisham dieback is due to F. solani complex in different shisham growing regions in province Punjab, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]