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We investigate the possibility of preparing left-handed materials in metallic magnetic granular composites. Based on the effective medium approximation, we show that by incorporating metallic magnetic nanoparticles into an appropriate insulating matrix and controlling the directions of magnetization of metallic magnetic compo-

Abstract:Thymol is a natural plant-derived compound that has been widely used in pharmaceutical and food preservation applications. However, the antifungal mechanism for thymol against phytopathogens remains unclear. In this study, we identified the antifungal action of thymol against Fusarium graminearum, an economically important phytopathogen showing severe resistance to traditional chemical fungicides. The sensitivity of thymol on different F. graminearum isolates was screened. The hyphal growth, as well as conidial production and germination, were quantified under thymol treatment. Histochemical, microscopic, and biochemical approaches were applied to investigate thymol-induced cell membrane damage. The average EC 50 value of thymol for 59 F. graminearum isolates was 26.3 µg¨mL´1. Thymol strongly inhibited conidial production and hyphal growth. Thymol-induced cell membrane damage was indicated by propidium iodide (PI) staining, morphological observation, relative conductivity, and glycerol measurement. Thymol induced a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and a remarkable decrease in ergosterol content. Taken together, thymol showed potential antifungal activity against F. graminearum due to the cell membrane damage originating from lipid peroxidation and the disturbance of ergosterol biosynthesis. These results not only shed new light on the antifungal mechanism of thymol, but also imply a promising alternative for the control of Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease caused by F. graminearum.

Strain B-FS01, isolated from rape (Brassica napus) stem infected by Slerotinia sclerotiorum and identified as Bacillus subtilis, exhibited predominantly antagonistic activities against Fusarium moniliforme Sheldon ATCC 38932. Antifungal active compounds (AAC) were isolated and purified from the cultures of strain B-FS01 against ATCC 38932. The HPLC/electron spray ionization/collision-induced dissociation mass spectrum of AAC revealed a cluster of fengycin homologues containing fengycins A, fengycins B and a new type of fengycin. Further toxic assay of AAC in vitro against F. moniliforme indicated that AAC could strongly inhibit the growth of both mycelia and spores. In addition, treatment with AAC significantly modified the maize seed infection by ATCC 38932.

In this research, the antifungal role of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the postharvest pathogens Aspergillus niger and Penicillium italicum growing on fruits and under culture conditions on defined media was investigated. Our results show that H2S, released by sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) effectively reduced the postharvest decay of fruits induced by A. niger and P. italicum. Furthermore, H2S inhibited spore germination, germ tube elongation, mycelial growth, and produced abnormal mycelial contractions when the fungi were grown on defined media in Petri plates. Further studies showed that H2S could cause an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in A. niger. In accordance with this observation we show that enzyme activities and the expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) genes in A. niger treated with H2S were lower than those in control. Moreover, H2S also significantly inhibited the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhizopus oryzae, the human pathogen Candida albicans, and several food-borne bacteria. We also found that short time exposure of H2S showed a microbicidal role rather than just inhibiting the growth of microbes. Taken together, this study suggests the potential value of H2S in reducing postharvest loss and food spoilage caused by microbe propagation.

Aspergillus flavus is a well-known pathogenic fungus for both crops and human beings. The acquisition of resistance to azoles by A. flavus is leading to more failures occurring in the prevention of infection by A. flavus. In this study, we found that thymol, one of the major chemical constituents of the essential oil of Monarda punctate, had efficient fungicidal activity against A. flavus and led to sporular lysis. Further studies indicated that thymol treatment induced the generation of both ROS and NO in spores, whereas NO accumulation was far later than ROS accumulation in response to thymol. By blocking ROS production with the inhibitors of NADPH oxidase, NO generation was also significantly inhibited in the presence of thymol, which indicated that ROS induced NO generation in A. flavus in response to thymol treatment. Moreover, the removal of either ROS or NO attenuated lysis and death of spores exposed to thymol. The addition of SNP (exogenous NO donor) eliminated the protective effects of the inhibitors of NADPH oxidase on thymol-induced lysis and death of spores. Taken together, it could be concluded that ROS is involved in spore death induced by thymol via the induction of NO.

The TOC includes a TEM image of the Sn4P3 nanotops, the brief reaction mechanism, and the electrochemical performance.

The cell-free culture filtrate (CCF) was prepared from a culture of an Aspergillus flavus antagonist, Bacillus subtilis B-FS06. The CCF inhibited the growth and spore germination of A. flavus at a series of concentrations (10, 25, 50%) (v/v). It still retained the activity after treatment at pH values ranging from 2 to 12 for 24 h or at 100°C for 30 min. The antifungal activity, however, was reduced by 30% after treatment at 121°C for 20 min. After purification by anion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography and HPLC, the active compounds revealed six ion peaks: [M-H] m/z = 1006. 78, 1020.71, 1034.74, 1049.54, 1056.78, and 1071.64 by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis. In the presence of the active compounds at 200 lg/g, the growth of A. flavus on peanuts was completely inhibited.