Bleeding Post Constriction Ring Release Surgery Causing Lower Limb Ischemia in an Infant with Undetected Hemophilia B

Bleeding in the immediate postoperative period causing compromised limb circulation is an alarming complication. It is known to occur in coagulation disorders like hemophilia. When such complications happen in a child with no previous history of bleeding problems, one has to have a low threshold for suspecting a coagulation disorder. Repeated diffuse bleeding in the whole of the surgical wound with no specific bleeders must raise the suspicion and appropriate laboratory tests must immediately be ordered. Bleeding in coagulation disorders can stop only with supplementation of the appropriate missing clotting factor. Early diagnosis is important to avoid excess morbidity. We are reporting a 6-month-old child who underwent surgery for constriction ring syndrome in the limbs with Z-plasty and developed impending limb ischemia due to bleeding in the immediate postoperative period. The article emphasizes the need to think of the possibility while encountering recurrent bleeding in the postoperative period.

In vivo AFB1 detoxification by Lactobacillus fermentum LC5/a with chlorophyll and immunopotentiating activity in albino mice

The potential Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) binding Lactobacillus fermentum (LC5/a) was used for in vivo AFB₁ binding and detoxification in presence of chlorophyll (CL) in male Swiss albino mice. Mice were randomly divided into seven groups. The control groups (CL, AFB₁ and LC5/a) received chlorophyll (250 μg/kg b.w), AFB₁ (100 μg/kg b.w) and LC5/a (1 × 10⁸ CFU) for 21 days. The treatment group (AFB₁+LC5/a) received 100 μl of lyophilized bacterial suspension (1 × 10⁸ CFU) 2 h before the AFB₁ dosage (100μg/kg b.w). The chlorophyll mice group (CL + AFB₁) was given single oral dose of CL (250 μg/kg b.w) before AFB₁ dosage and last mice group received the combination of CL + LC5/a before the AFB₁ dosage over a period of 21 days. Ballooning of cytoplasm and necrosis in liver was evident in histopathological examination of AFB₁ mice group, while, marked improvement and nearly normal histology were seen in LC5/a and CL treated mice group. The levels of AST, ALT, GST, and SOD were increased in AFB₁ mice group compared to LC5/a and CL treated mice group. Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-6 (324, 506, 117.25 pg/ml) were observed in AFB₁ treated mice serum compared to LC5/a and CL treated mice (249.54, 322.01 and 82.35 pg/ml). Thus, Lactobacillus fermentum LC5/a has certainly sequestered AFB₁ from gastrointestinal tract besides regulating the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Characterization of Novel Lactobacillus fermentum from Curd Samples of Indigenous Cows from Malnad Region, Karnataka, for their Aflatoxin B1 Binding and Probiotic Properties

Thirty-four isolates of Lactobacillus spp. (LAB) from 34 curd samples were evaluated for their aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) binding and probiotic properties. Upon characterization, four LAB isolates (LC3/a, LC4/c, LC/5a, and LM13/b) were found to be effective in removing AFB₁ from culture media with a capacity of above 75%. Staining reaction, biochemical tests, pattern of sugar utilization, and 16s rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed the identity of all the four isolates as L. fermentum. All of them could tolerate acidic pH, salt, and bile, which promise the use of these probiotic bacterial isolates for human applications. These isolates showed poor hydrophobicity and higher auto-aggregation properties. All L. fermentum isolates were found susceptible to gentamycin, chloramphenicol, cefoperazone, ampicillin, and resistant to ciprofloxacin and vancomycin. Results of hemolytic and DNase activity indicated their nonpathogenic nature. Though all L. fermentum isolates found inhibiting the growth of Salmonella ebony, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, maximum inhibition was obtained with isolate LC5/a. Kinetic studies revealed that all four bacteria required a minimum of 2 h to reach stationary phase of AFB₁ binding. AFB₁ binding ability varied from 66 to 85.2% among these four isolates. Bile (0.4%) was significant (P ≤ 0.05) in reducing the AFB₁ binding property of isolates LC3/a, LC4/c, and LM13/b, while increased AFB₁ binding ability was recorded at acidic pH (2.0). AFB₁ binding properties of isolate LC5/a were found least affected by acidic pH and bile. The findings of our study revealed the higher efficiency of L. fermentum isolate LC5/a in reducing the bioavailability of AFB1 in gut, and additionally, it improves the consumers' health by its various probiotic characters. These beneficial characters, L. fermentum isolates, promise them to use as probiotic formulations alone or in combinations with other beneficial probiotic-bacterial isolates.

Mechanism of inhibition of aflatoxin synthesis by non-aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites primarily produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. paraciticus. Exposure to these mycotoxins through contaminated food and feed may cause oxidative stress and liver toxicity in animals. One of the promising strategies to mitigate aflatoxin accumulation is the biological management during pre-harvest using non-aflatoxigenic A. flavus. The mechanism offered by these strains in mitigating aflatoxin is still unclear. Thus, the aim of the present study is to delineate the mechanism of intraspecific inhibition of aflatoxin production. Among the 18 non-aflatoxigenic strains evaluated, six strains were able to reduce more than 50% of the aflatoxins produced by the native aflatoxigenic strains. The non-aflatoxigenic strains used in this study failed to degrade the aflatoxins. Eventhough, the non-aflatoxigenic strains were not able to inhibit the synthesis of aflatoxins completely. Four non-aflatoxigenic isolates could competitively excluded the aflatoxigenic strain. Furthermore, when non-aflatoxigenic and an aflatoxigenic isolate were separated by 0.4 and 3 μm filters, aflatoxin synthesis was not significantly reduced. However, when the pore size was 8 μm, there was a significant decrease in aflatoxin production. This results suggest the role of physical contact between the hyphae, thigmoregulation, in the inhibition of aflatoxin production. Additionally, to better understand the transcriptional level control of this phenomenon, we analyzed the gene expression profile of aflatoxin biosynthesis genes in the aflatoxigenic strain. The aflatoxin biosynthesis genes were down regulated in the aflatoxigenic strain in contact with non-aflatoxigenic strain group when compared to the control. This is the first evidence of the combined action of competitive exclusion and thigmodownregulation which led to the intraspecific inhibition of aflatoxin production.

Molecular profile of non-aflatoxigenic phenotype in native strains of Aspergillus flavus

Aflatoxins are the most common mycotoxin contaminant reported in food and feed. Aflatoxin B₁, the most toxic among different aflatoxins, is known to cause hepatocellular carcinoma in animals. Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus are the main producers of aflatoxins and are widely distributed in tropical countries. Even though several robust strategies have been in use to control aflatoxin contamination, the control at the pre-harvest level is primitive and incompetent. Therefore, the aim of the study was to isolate and identify the non-aflatoxigenic A. flavus and to delineate the molecular mechanism for the loss of aflatoxin production by the non-aflatoxigenic isolates. Eighteen non-aflatoxigenic strains were isolated from various biological sources using cultural and analytical methods. Among the 18 isolates, 8 isolates produced sclerotia and 17 isolates had type I deletion in norB-cypA region. The isolates were confirmed as A. flavus using gene-specific PCR and sequencing of the ITS region. Later, aflatoxin gene-specific PCR revealed that the defect in one or more genes has led to non-aflatoxigenic phenotype. The strain R9 had maximum defect, and genes avnA and verB had the highest frequency of defect among the non-aflatoxigenic strains. Further, qRT-PCR confirmed that the non-aflatoxigenic strains had high frequency of defect or downregulation in the late pathway genes compared to early pathway genes. Thus, these non-aflatoxigenic strains can be the potential candidates for an effective and proficient strategy for the control of pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination.

Protective effect of bacillopeptidase CFR5 from Bacillus subtilis CFR5 on cerulein-induced pancreatitis

Bacillopeptidase is a serine peptidase, known for its fibrinolytic activity. However, a very little information is known about its in vivo inflammatory and/or anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, to understand whether bacillopeptidase incorporation can regulate pancreatitis or not, the cerulein-induced pancreatitis model was used, and the role of bacillopeptidase on pancreatitis was studied. In this study, 46 kDa protein was purified from Bacillus subtilis and identified as bacillopeptidase CFR5 (BPC) through MS/MS analysis. The nutritional prophylactic group was orally fed with two doses of BPC (100 μg/Kg/BW of rat) 6 h before cerulein administration and analyzed for its effect on intestine and pancreas inflammation, cytokines, and pancreatitis marker gene expression. BPC administration significantly reduced the severity of pancreatitis by decreasing serum amylase, lipase, pancreatic edema and myeloperoxidase activity. The pretreatment with BPC suppressed the pancreatic pro-inflammatory and inflammatory cytokines production including IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13 in both pancreas and serum samples. Moreover, BPC supplementation restored pancreatitis mediated disruption of intestinal barrier integrity by upregulating tight junction proteins (ZO-1, occludin), antimicrobial peptides (DEFB1, CRAMP), MUC-2, TFF3 expression and by enhancing SCFA's production. Pretreatment with BPC suppressed the intestinal inflammation with reduced cytokines production in the colon and ileal region of cerulein-induced pancreatitis. Thus, BPC based pretreatment protocol is a novel intervention to prevent acute pancreatitis.

The interactome of metabolic enzyme carbonic anhydrase IX reveals novel roles in tumor cell migration and invadopodia/MMP14-mediated invasion

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a hypoxia inducible factor 1-induced, cell surface pH regulating enzyme with an established role in tumor progression and clinical outcome. However, the molecular basis of CAIX-mediated tumor progression remains unclear. Here, we have utilized proximity dependent biotinylation (BioID) to map the CAIX ‘interactome’ in breast cancer cells in order to identify physiologically relevant CAIX-associating proteins with potential roles in tumor progression. High confidence proteins identified include metabolic transporters, β1 integrins, integrin-associated protein CD98hc and matrix metalloprotease 14 (MMP14). Biochemical studies validate the association of CAIX with α2β1 integrin, CD98hc and MMP14, and immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrates colocalization of CAIX with α2β1 integrin and MMP14 in F-actin/cofilin-positive lamellipodia/pseudopodia, and with MMP14 to cortactin/Tks5-positive invadopodia. Modulation of CAIX expression and activity results in significant changes in cell migration, collagen degradation and invasion. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that CAIX associates with MMP14 through potential phosphorylation residues within its intracellular domain, and that CAIX enhances MMP14-mediated collagen degradation by directly contributing hydrogen ions required for MMP14 catalytic activity. These findings establish hypoxia-induced CAIX as a novel metabolic component of cellular migration and invasion structures, and provide new mechanistic insights into its role in tumor cell biology.

Natural aflatoxin uptake by sugarcane (Saccharum officinaurum L.) and its persistence in jaggery

The present study focused on aflatoxin (AF) uptake by sugarcanes from contaminated soils, and its persistence in jaggery. Analysis of 25 agricultural soil samples from sugarcane growing fields revealed that 80% were found contaminated with AF ranging from 0.5 to 22 ppb and all samples harbored aflatoxigenic fungi. Forty percent of the juices extracted from sugarcane grown in contaminated soil recorded AF ranging from 1.0 to 9.5 ppb. Conversely, jaggery prepared from those samples was almost free from AF. Further, greenhouse experiment confirms the AF uptake ability of sugarcane plants. Analysis of sugarcane juice and jaggery collected from local vendor showed 21% (0.5 to 6.5 ppb) and 5.6% (0.5-1.0 ppb) of AF contamination, respectively. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strain was evaluated for their ability to grow and produce AF on jaggery medium. At 14th day after inoculation, decreased concentration of AF was recorded in jaggery medium ranging from 0 to 120 mg jaggery/ml, above which AF was absent though the fungal growth was noted. From the results, it could be concluded that sugarcane plants have the ability to uptake AF from contaminated soil, but AF was reduced during jaggery preparation. Also, higher concentration of jaggery was inhibitory to AF production.

Transport via xylem and accumulation of aflatoxin in seeds of groundnut plant

Aflatoxin contamination in groundnut seeds in the absence of any aflatoxigenic fungi leads to a hypothesis that aflatoxins are present naturally in soil and is transferred to seeds through uptake by roots. A survey was conducted on the natural occurrence of aflatoxins in agricultural soils, among nine main groundnut-growing regions of Karnataka state, India. All 71 soil samples collected in this survey were contaminated with aflatoxins esp. AFB1. An in vitro xylem sap experiment proved the ability of groundnut plant roots to absorb AFB1, and transport to aerial plant parts via the xylem. Hydroponics experiment also proved the uptake of AFB1 by the roots and their translocation to shoot. Uptake was affected by the initial concentration of toxin and pH of the medium. Among the 14 varieties screened, GPBD4 and MLT.K.107 (III) recorded highest and least AFB1 uptake, respectively. The above results were validated using a greenhouse experiment. Here, the aflatoxin absorbed by root gradually transferred to shoot that was later found in seeds towards the end of experiment. Thus, the groundnut seeds can also get contaminated with aflatoxin by direct uptake of aflatoxin through conducting tissue in addition to fungal infection. The present study revealed the novel mode of aflatoxin contamination in groundnut seeds without fungal infection.

Extracellular phytase from Aspergillus niger CFR 335: purification and characterization

Phytase, that is extensively used as a feed additive is capable of hydrolyzing phytic acid, an antinutrient found in about 60-80 % of all the plant commodities. This enzyme improves the bioavailability of essential minerals such as Ca(2+), Mg(2+), P, Zn(2+), Fe(3+), that are bound to phytic acid. An extracellular phytase from a local fungal isolate, Aspergillus niger CFR 335 was purified to homogeneity through a three-step column chromatography using DEAE-Sephadex anion exchanger. An active fraction of the enzyme was obtained with NaCl gradient of 2.5 M in DEAE Sephadex column. The enzyme was purified up to 16 fold with a yield of 28.5 %. Substrate specificity studies revealed a highest specific activity of 32.6 ± 3.1 U/mg for sodium phytate with the Km value of 0.08 ± 0.1 mM. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 66 kDa with an optimum temperature of 30 °C and pH 4.5. Up to 80 % of the activity was retained even after storing the enzyme for 6 months at 4 °C.

Mechanism of aflatoxin uptake in roots of intact groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seedlings

Aflatoxins are one of the most potent toxic substances that occur naturally, which enter agricultural soils through the growth of aflatoxigenic fungi in rhizhosphere and nonrhizhosphere soils. Though several reports regarding the uptake of aflatoxin by plants are available, the mechanism of aflatoxin uptake remains unknown. This study characterized the aflatoxin uptake mechanism by in vitro hydroponic experiments under variable conditions. The uptake reached saturation after 48 h of incubation for AFB1 and B2 and 60 h for AFG1 and G2. A linear increase in uptake with increasing aflatoxin concentrations was observed, and it fits both linear and nonlinear regression. AFB1 uptake was directly proportional to transpiration rate, and blocking aquaporin activity using mercuric chloride revealed its involvement in the uptake. None of the metabolic inhibitors used to block active transport had any effect on aflatoxin uptake except for sodium azide. From the present study, it could be concluded that aflatoxin uptake by groundnut roots followed mainly a passive way and is facilitated through aquaporins. The involvement of active component should be studied in detail.

Natural occurrence of aflatoxin in green leafy vegetables

Natural occurrence of aflatoxin (AF) in agricultural soils, green leafy vegetables (GLVs) and persistence in processed foods was investigated. in total 33 soil samples and 81 GLVs which belonged to 9 groups collected from nine vegetable-growing regions were studied. Seventy percent of soils and 69.2% GLVs were contaminated with AF ranging from 0.0 to 88 ppb. Root samples frequently had higher concentration of AFB(1) in comparison with shoot samples. Under greenhouse conditions all the tested plants were found to take up AF. From xylem and phloem sap experiments it was clear that AF was gaining entry into the plant system via water-conducting xylem tissue and was translocated to aerial plant parts, with subsequent entry into the phloem. Of the two cooking methods studied, pressure cooking of GLVs significantly reduced the AF level in comparison with ordinary boiling.

Safety evaluation of Mucor rouxii CFR-G15 biomass containing ω-6 fatty acids in rats

Mucor rouxii CFR-G15 is an oleaginous zygomycetous fungus. The mycelia of the fungus accumulate 35.0±0.8% total lipid of which, 18.55±0.46% is gamma linolenic acid. Acute and subchronic studies were conducted by feeding rats with dry biomass of M. rouxii CFR-G15 to assess the safety of the oils in the fungal mycelium. For acute toxicity studies, adult male rats fed with diet at 0, 5000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000 mg/kg bw for 1 day, and the animals were monitored for 14 days. Rats weighing 35±2.5 g were fed for 13 weeks with a diet incorporating 2500, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 mg/kg (w/w) dry biomass for subchronic toxicity studies. Control consists of the diet without the dry biomass. Dietary feeding of M. rouxii biomass at any level showed no significant changes (p>0.05) in food intake, body weight, organs weight and serum enzymes. Macroscopic and microscopic observations revealed that the vital organs were unaffected by the feed containing the dry biomass. However, triglycerides and cholesterol levels in serum were decreased significantly (p<0.05) in the test rats. The results of this study suggests that feeding fungal mycelia containing oil is safe when fed to rats and also shows positive effects on controlling triglycerides and cholesterol.

Characterization of As (V), As (III) by selective reduction/adsorption on palladium nanoparticles in environmental water samples

Hydrazine (HZ) and sodium borohydride (BH) are commonly used reagents for the production of palladium nanoparticles (PdNP) in aqueous solution and also for the reduction of arsenic from higher oxidation state to lower oxidation state. A methodology based on the quantitative adsorption of reduced arsenic species on PdNP generated in situ by BH and HZ is described to characterize As (V) and As (III) in environmental water samples. It was observed that PdNP obtained by BH gave quantitative recovery of As (V) and (III) and the PdNP obtained by HZ could account for As (III). The reduced palladium particles are collected and dissolved in minimum amount of nitric acid. The quantification of arsenic was carried out using GFAAS. Optimization of the experimental conditions and instrumental parameters were investigated in detail. The proposed procedure was validated by applying it for the determination of the content of total As in Certified Reference Material BND 301-02 (NPL, India). The detection limit of arsenic in environmental water samples was 0.029 microg L(-1) with an enrichment factor of 50. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for 10 replicate measurements of 5 microg mL(-1) was 4.2%. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of sub ppm to ppm levels of arsenic (V), (III) in environmental water samples.

Bioremediation of trace cobalt from simulated spent decontamination solutions of nuclear power reactors using E. coli expressing NiCoT genes

Removal of radioactive cobalt at trace levels (approximately nM) in the presence of large excess (10(6)-fold) of corrosion product ions of complexed Fe, Cr, and Ni in spent chemical decontamination formulations (simulated effluent) of nuclear reactors is currently done by using synthetic organic ion exchangers. A large volume of solid waste is generated due to the nonspecific nature of ion sorption. Our earlier work using various fungi and bacteria, with the aim of nuclear waste volume reduction, realized up to 30% of Co removal with specific capacities calculated up to 1 microg/g in 6-24 h. In the present study using engineered Escherichia coli expressing NiCoT genes from Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 (RP) and Novosphingobium aromaticivorans F-199 (NA), we report a significant increase in the specific capacity for Co removal (12 microg/g) in 1-h exposure to simulated effluent. About 85% of Co removal was achieved in a two-cycle treatment with the cloned bacteria. Expression of NiCoT genes in the E. coli knockout mutant of NiCoT efflux gene (rcnA) was more efficient as compared to expression in wild-type E. coli MC4100, JM109 and BL21 (DE3) hosts. The viability of the E. coli strains in the formulation as well as at different doses of gamma rays exposure and the effect of gamma dose on their cobalt removal capacity are determined. The potential application scheme of the above process of bioremediation of cobalt from nuclear power reactor chemical decontamination effluents is discussed.

Effect of different cultural conditions for phytase production by Aspergillus niger CFR 335 in submerged and solid-state fermentations

The present article deals with the studies on the effect of media ingredients, such as carbon, nitrogen, inorganic phosphates, surfactants, and metal salts, on phytase enzyme production by Aspergillus niger CFR 335 in submerged (SmF) and solid-state fermentations (SSF). The results obtained showed a 1.5-fold higher enzyme yield in the presence of sucrose in both SmF and SSF, while peptone was found to be a favorable nitrogen source for SmF. Sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH(2)PO(4)) favored 34% higher enzyme yield than the control, which was followed by 19% higher activity in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH(2)PO(4)) in SSF at 0.015% w/v. The addition of Tween-20 in SmF showed a maximum yield of 12.6 U/mL while, SDS suppressed the growth of the fungus. None of the surfactants favored the enzyme yield in SSF. Calcium chloride (CaCl(2)) was extensively efficient in stimulating more than 55% higher phytase production in SmF at 0.01% v/v. In SSF, none of the metal salts stimulated phytase production.

Investigation of the role of chelating ligand in the synthesis of ion-imprinted polymeric resins on the selective enrichment of uranium(VI)

Uranyl ion-imprinted polymeric (IIP) resins were prepared by dissolving stoichiometric amounts of uranyl nitrate and selected chelating ligands, viz. salicylaldoxime, catechol, succinicacid, 5,7-dichloroquinoline-8-ol and 4-vinyl pyridine in 2-methoxy ethanol (porogen) and copolymerizing thermally in the presence of 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and ethyleneglycol-dimethacrylate (EGDMA), using 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (initiator). Again, IIP resins were also prepared on similar lines by utilizing ternary [uranium-non-vinylated ligand-vinylated ligand (4-vinyl pyridine)] complexes. Non-imprinted polymeric resins were identically prepared in both cases without the use of uranyl imprint ion. The percent enrichment and retention capacity studies showed significant imprinting effect in all cases. However, ion-imprinted polymeric resins formed with succinic acid (SA) or 5,7-dichloroquinoline-8-ol (DCQ) and 4-vinylpyridine (VP) alone gave quantitative enrichment and various parameters that influence the enrichment and elution were then optimized. The percent enrichment of uranium from synthetic seawater solutions was found to be 25.0+/-0.5 and 83.0+/-0.8 for SA-VP and DCQ-VP systems, respectively. The DCQ-VP-based IIP resins were successfully tested for the recovery of uranium from real seawater samples.

Bioremediation of 60Co from simulated spent decontamination solutions

Bioremediation of 60Co from simulated spent decontamination solutions by utilizing different biomass of (Neurospora crassa, Trichoderma viridae, Mucor recemosus, Rhizopus chinensis, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus niger and, Aspergillus flavus) fungi is reported. Various fungal species were screened to evaluate their potential for removing cobalt from very low concentrations (0.03-0.16 microM) in presence of a high background of iron (9.33 mM) and nickel (0.93 mM) complexed with EDTA (10.3 mM). The different fungal isolates employed in this study showed a pickup of cobalt in the range 8-500 ng/g of dry biomass. The [Fe]/[Co] and [Ni]/[Co] ratios in the solutions before and after exposure to the fungi were also determined. At micromolar level the cobalt pickup by many fungi especially the mutants of N. crassa is seen to be proportional to the initial cobalt concentration taken in the solution. However, R. chinensis exhibits a low but iron concentration dependent cobalt pickup. Prior saturating the fungi with excess of iron during their growth showed the presence of selective cobalt pickup sites. The existence of cobalt specific sorption sites is shown by a model experiment with R. chinensis wherein at a constant cobalt concentration (0.034 microM) and varying iron concentrations so as to yield [Fe/Co]initial ratios in solution of 10, 100, 1000 and 287000 have all yielded a definite Co pickup capacity in the range 8-47 ng/g. The presence of Cr(III)EDTA (3 mM) in solution along with complexed Fe and Ni has not influenced the cobalt removal. The significant feature of this study is that even when cobalt is present in trace level (sub-micromolar) in a matrix of high concentration (millimolar levels) of iron, nickel and chromium, a situation typically encountered in spent decontamination solutions arising from stainless steel based primary systems of nuclear reactors, a number of fungi studied in this work showed a good sensitivity for cobalt pickup.