The performance of a new commercially available duplex PCR, which combines pan-dermatophyte PCR with a Trichophyton rubrum-specific PCR, was evaluated. This Dermatophyte PCR kit, which requires one day for laboratory diagnosis, was compared with the conventional methods of microscopy and culture that necessitate up to 4 weeks for final diagnosis of dermatophytosis. We studied 177 nail samples f...

The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) M38-A standard for the susceptibility testing of conidium-forming filamentous fungi does not explicitly address the testing of dermatophytes. This multicenter study, involving six laboratories, investigated the MIC reproducibility of seven antifungal agents tested against 25 dermatophyte isolates (5 blinded pairs of five dermatoph...

BACKGROUND A rapid, accurate screening test for dermatophytosis in cats is desirable in clinical and shelter medicine. In human dermatology, dermoscopy is used to identify dermatophyte-infected hairs by their characteristic comma hair appearance. Similar "comma-like" hairs have been observed in infected cats. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of de...

• Molds are filamentous (fuzzy or dusty appearing) fungi that occur in many feedstuffs, including roughages and concentrates. • Molds can infect dairy cattle, especially during stressful periods when they are immune suppressed, causing a disease referred to as mycosis. • A wide range of different molds produce poisons called mycotoxins that affect animals when they consume contaminated feeds. •...

background dermatophytosis is a cutaneous fungal infection with a worldwide occurrence. in dermatophyte infections, the release of keratinocyte cytokines, in the presence of dermatophyte antigens, causes an acute phase response; subsequently, the acute-phase proteins are produced by hepatocytes. mannose–binding lectin (mbl), an acute-phase protein, also acts as a kind of pattern recognition rec...

In nanoimprint lithography, a surface oxidation process is needed to produce an effective poly(dimethylsiloxane) coating that can be used as an anti-adhesive surface of template molds. However, the conventional photooxidation technique or acidic oxidative treatment cannot be easily applied to polymer molds with nanostructures since surface etching by UV radiation or strong acids significantly d...

BACKGROUND Invasive fungal infections due to less-common molds are an increasing problem, and accurate diagnosis is difficult. METHODS We used our previously established molecular method, which allows species identification of molds in histological tissue sections, to test sequential specimens from 56 patients with invasive fungal infections who were treated at our institution from 1982 to 20...