Rapid and reliable fungal identification is crucial to delineate infectious diseases, and to establish appropriate treatment for onychomycosis. Compared to conventional diagnostic methods, molecular techniques are faster and feature higher accuracy in fungal identification. However, in current clinical practice, molecular mycology is not widely available, and its practical applicability is still under discussion. This study summarizes the results of 16,094 consecutive nail specimens with clinical suspicion of onychomycosis. We performed PCR/sequencing on all primary nail specimens for which conventional mycological diagnostics remained inconclusive. In specimens with a positive direct microscopy but negative or contaminated culture, molecular mycology proved superior and specified a fungal agent in 65% (587/898). In 75% (443/587), the identified pathogen was a dermatophyte. Positive cultures for dermatophytes, yeasts and non-dermatophyte molds (NDMs) were concordant with primary-specimen-DNA PCR/sequencing in 83% (10/12), 34% (22/65) and 45% (76/169), respectively. Among NDMs, agreement was high for Fusarium spp. (32/40; 80%), but low for Penicillium spp. (5/25; 20%) and Alternaria spp. (1/20; 5%). This study underlines the improvement in diagnostic yield by fungal primary-specimen-DNA PCR/sequencing in the event of a negative or contaminated culture, as well as its significance for the diagnosis of dermatophyte and non-dermatophyte onychomycosis. Molecular mycology methods like PCR and DNA sequencing should complement conventional diagnostics in cases of equivocal findings, suspected NDM onychomycosis or treatment-resistant nail pathologies.

Actin-Related Protein-Testis1 (ARP-T1)/ACTRT1 gene mutations cause the Bazex-Dupré-Christol Syndrome (BDCS) characterized by follicular atrophoderma, hypotrichosis, and basal cell cancer. Here, we report an ARP-T1 interactome (PXD016557) that includes proteins involved in ciliogenesis, endosomal recycling, and septin ring formation. In agreement, ARP-T1 localizes to the midbody during cytokinesis and the basal body of primary cilia in interphase. Tissue samples from ARP-T1-associated BDCS patients have reduced ciliary length. The severity of the shortened cilia significantly correlates with the ARP-T1 levels, which was further validated by ACTRT1 knockdown in culture cells. Thus, we propose that ARP-T1 participates in the regulation of cilia length and that ARP-T1-associated BDCS is a case of skin cancer with ciliopathy characteristics.

In pipelines, solid compounds including gas hydrates and asphaltenes may form/precipitate and accumulate on the pipe surface, leading to a gradual stenosis of the flowline. As a result, production may become increasingly difficult or possibly interrupted if mitigation efforts are not enacted. Typically, injected chemicals will either inhibit nucleation or dissolve already-formed deposits to restore original flow conditions back to the system; however, this can be a costly option. More recently, management strategies have been proposed where solids are handled in a controlled fashion rather than completely avoided. One such proposed management strategy as suggested for wall deposit formation is the use of coatings. Here, coatings can provide a low surface energy layer on the pipe wall, which restricts liquid and solid accumulation, allowing for a stable slurry flow through a system. This study utilized two material formulations within several experimental setups to probe their interactions with water, gas hydrate, asphaltene, and crude oil. The results serve as part of an ongoing investigation into a surface treatment formulation that can be tested on larger-scale, fully flowing systems, which could be ultimately implemented into real-world production scenarios. The first surface treatment is a water-based polymeric surface that displays repellency to both oil and water phases (omniphobic). Testing of this material consisted of water contact angle measurements and static asphaltene/crude oil deposition quantification at atmospheric conditions, as well as visual confirmation of hydrate deposition prevention at high pressures. Additionally, an experimental superomniphobic surface treatment, which displays elevated resiliency to both water and hydrocarbons, was also examined within the asphaltene/crude oil test as a comparison to the omniphobic surface treatment. Static contact angle results showed that the omniphobic surface treatment had reduced surface interaction with water droplets in air, increasing the low contact angles of corroded surfaces (0-31°) to slightly hydrophobic conditions of 91.5°. Additionally, rocking cells tests indicated that these omniphobic surface treatments may prevent gas hydrate deposition under high-pressure, semi-flowing conditions. Multiple tests found that formed hydrate agglomerants did not deposit for at least 48 and 72 hours. Finally, static deposition tests conducted in crude oil with forced asphaltene precipitation suggested that the omniphobic surface treatment displayed a resistance to both asphaltenes and crude oil when compared to untreated and superomniphobic surfaces.

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