A total of 662 samples were collected

from 331 trees and cacti from Havana, Cuba. Initial selection of the isolates was carried out by conventional techniques. Isolates were further MG-132 nmr characterised using a combination of AFLP analysis and DNA sequence analysis. Identification by conventional methods yielded 121 C. neoformans and 61 C. gattii isolates. Molecular analyses showed that none of these isolates was C. gattii and only one isolate proved to be C. neoformans var. grubii. A total of 27 different other species were identified. The most prevalent species was C. heveanensis (33%). Sixty-five unidentifiable isolates segregated into ten potentially novel species. Conventional cultivation methods have a low specificity for C. neoformans complex and molecular analyses need to be applied to confirm identification of isolates from environmental sources. Environmental niches responsible for most of human cryptococcal infections in Cuba remain to be identified. “
“Despite several chemotherapeutic and preventative advances, opportunistic fungal infections

remain common unintended consequences of cancer treatment. Currently, cancer patients spend most of their time between treatments at home, where they can inadvertently click here come across potential hazards from environmental and food sources. Therefore, infection prevention measures are of the utmost importance for these patients. Although clinicians closely observe patients throughout their treatment courses in the hospital, the focus of clinical visits is predominantly on cancer

care, and clinicians seldom provide recommendations for prevention of such infections. Herein, we provide practical recommendations for busy clinicians to help them educate patients regarding potential sources of fungal infections outside the hospital. “
“Although silver nanoparticles (SN) have been investigated as an alternative to conventional antifungal drugs in the control of Candida-associated denture stomatitis, the antifungal activity of SN in combination with antifungal drugs against Candida biofilms Chlormezanone remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of SN in combination with nystatin (NYT) or chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata biofilms. The drugs alone or combined with SN were applied on mature Candida biofilms (48 h), and after 24 h of treatment their antibiofilm activities were assessed by total biomass quantification (by crystal violet staining) and colony forming units enumeration. The structure of Candida biofilms was analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The data indicated that SN combined with either NYT or CHG demonstrated synergistic antibiofilm activity, and this activity was dependent on the species and on the drug concentrations used. SEM images showed that some drug combinations were able to disrupt Candida biofilms.