Prof. Masao Ota.

Masao Ota was a Professor of Dermatology at Tokyo Imperial University. He is known to dermatologists around the world as the researcher who identified Nevus of Ota. He is also known for his research on Hansen's Disease. He was critical of the forced isolation policy and the sterilization law. He dreamt of developing chemotherapeutic measures and dedicated himself to cultivating Mycobacterium leprae. Among his accomplishments, those in the area of medical mycology are particularly remarkable. His discovery of Microsporum ferrugineum, his proposal for Trichophytia pompholyciformis, and his work on Ota-Langeron taxonomy based on the findings on fungus colonies are highly regarded and earned him the Ordre Royale de la Legion D'honneur. His accomplishments in the field of mycology are numerous; he has published a total of 39 research papers mostly in foreign languages. He was a leading world-class medical mycologist of his day. This review introduces some of his accomplishments and some episodes in his life.Furthermore, Masao Ota had a detailed knowledge of art and culture. Under the pseudonym of Kinoshita Mokutaro, he wrote poems, plays, and novels. He was also a painter. Particularly, his paintings in botany during his later years were published in the book "One Hundred Flower Sketches" after his death.Ota said, "The consequence of both science and art is global and humanitarian." He was one of the greatest men of culture in his time.

Application of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for yeasts identification in red smear cheese surfaces.

AIMS: To evaluate and optimize the use of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for yeasts identification in red smear cheese surfaces. METHODS AND RESULTS: The resolution of DHPLC was first evaluated and optimized using a mixture of PCR amplicons of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of 19 yeast reference strains representing 18 species that are common in the cheese microbiota. Sixteen of the 18 yeast species could be resolved by combining runs at temperatures of 57.5 and 59 degrees C. Then, DHPLC was used to investigate the yeast microbiota of pasteurized Maroilles, Munster and Livarot cheese surfaces by comparing their peak profiles with our reference yeast database and by collecting/sequencing of peak fractions. Debaryomyces hansenii and Geotrichum candidum for Munster and Maroilles cheeses, and Candida catenulata, Candida intermedia and G. candidum for Livarot cheese were identified using the reference database and collecting/sequencing of peak fractions. CONCLUSIONS: DHPLC technique was found to have good resolution properties and to be useful for investigating the yeast microbiota of red smear cheese surfaces. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first time that DHPLC is applied to study the yeast microbiota of red smear cheese surfaces.

Direct spectroscopic (FTIR) detection of intraspecific binary contaminations in yeast cultures.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has proved to be a good method to identify and characterize microorganisms. This technique has been proposed as a tool to determine the level of contamination in binary mixtures of strains belonging to different species and even to diverse kingdoms, showing a good linear relationship between spectral outputs and contamination levels. The monitoring of intraspecific contamination is a critical point in both laboratory practice and industrial monitoring, but it is challenged by the difficulty to discriminate between very similar cultures belonging to the same species. In this paper we considered binary intraspecific mixtures of strains belonging to three species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaryomyces hansenii and Rhodotorula minuta). Results showed that contaminated and pure cultures can be discriminated on the basis of their infrared spectra and that different spectral areas respond to the contamination according to the species under test. Moreover, some spectral areas change linearly with the increase of contaminants, giving the possibility of using this procedure for preliminary estimations of the contamination in addition to the even more important opportunity to indicate the presence of contaminants of the same species at low levels in fermentation cultures.

Comparison of potassium hydroxide mount and mycological culture with histopathologic examination using periodic acid-Schiff staining of the nail clippings in the diagnosis of onychomycosis.

BACKGROUND: Onychomycosis is a common problem noticed in clinical practice. Currently available standard laboratory methods show inconsistent sensitivity; hence there is a need for newer methods of detection. AIMS: This study involves comparison of standard laboratory tests in the diagnosis of onychomycosis, namely, potassium hydroxide mount (KOH mount) and mycological culture, with histopathologic examination using periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining of the nail clippings. METHODS: A total of 101 patients with clinically suspected onychomycosis were selected. Nail scrapings and clippings were subjected to KOH mount for direct microscopic examination, culture using Sabouraud's dextrose agar (with and without antibiotics) and histopathologic examination with PAS staining (HP/PAS). Statistical analysis was done by McNemar's test. RESULTS: Direct microscopy with KOH mount, mycological culture, and HP/PAS showed positive results in 54 (53%), 35 (35%), and 76 (75%) patients respectively. Laboratory evidence of fungal infection was obtained in 84 samples by at least one of these three methods. Using this as the denominator, HP/PAS had a sensitivity of 90%, which was significantly higher compared to that of KOH mount (64%) or mycological culture (42%). CONCLUSIONS: Histopathologic diagnosis with PAS staining of nail clippings was the most sensitive among the tests. It was easy to perform, rapid, and gave significantly higher rates of detection of onychomycosis compared to the standard methods, namely KOH mount and mycological culture.

Polyphasic identification of yeasts isolated from bark of cork oak during the manufacturing process of cork stoppers.

A two-step protocol was used for the identification of 52 yeasts isolated from bark of cork oak at initial stages of the manufacturing process of cork stoppers. The first step in the identification was the separation of the isolates into groups by their physiological properties and RFLPs of the ITS-5.8S rRNA gene. The second step was the sequencing of the D1/D2 domains of the 26S rRNA gene of selected isolates representing the different groups. The results revealed a predominance of basidiomycetous yeasts (11 species), while only two species represented the ascomycetous yeasts. Among the basidiomycetous yeasts, members representing the species Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae and Rhodotorula nothofagi, that have been previously isolated from plant material, were the most abundant. Yeasts pertaining to the species Debaryomyces hansenii var. fabryii, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Trichosporon mucoides were isolated in small numbers.

Adolpho Lutz: obra completa / Adolpho Lutz: complete works

O volume contém os livros referentes aos primeiros trabalhos de Adolpho Lutz (1878 e 1883), aos artigos e comunicações sobre a hanseníase, e às contribuições do autor à dermatologia e à micologia. Cada livro vem acompanhado de um prefácio escrito por especialista da área e de uma apresentação histórica que contextualiza o assunto tratado.

Adolpho Lutz: obra completa / Adolpho Lutz: complete works

O volume contém os livros referentes aos primeiros trabalhos de Adolpho Lutz (1878 e 1883), aos artigos e comunicações sobre a hanseníase, e às contribuições do autor à dermatologia e à micologia. Cada livro vem acompanhado de um prefácio escrito por especialista da área e de uma apresentaçäo histórica que contextualiza o assunto tratado.(AU)

Primeiros trabalhos: Alemanha, Suíça e Brasil (1878-1883)

Organizada pelo historiador Jaime Benchimol e pela bióloga e historiadora da ciência Magali Romero Sá, é uma homenagem ao pesquisador e à sua trajetória. Adolpho Lutz foi o precursor das modernas campanhas sanitárias e dos estudos epidemiológicos envolvendo, sobretudo, o cólera, a febre tifóide, a peste bubônica e a febre amarela. Os quatro primeiros volumes da obra - que consistirá, quando completa, numa coleção de 21 livros acondicionados em cinco caixas - trazem: Primeiros Trabalhos: Alemanha, Suíça e Brasil (1878-1885); Hanseníase; Dermatologia e Micologia e ainda um suplemento contendo sumário, glossário e índices. Neles, os organizadores recuperaram o arquivo pessoal do cientista e de sua filha, a bióloga Bertha Lutz.

Associacao entre reatividade a tricofitina, dermatofito isolado e grupo sanguineo ABO nas dermatofitoses / Association between reactivity the trichophytin, isolated dermatofito and blood group ABO in dermatofitoses

As dermatofitoses sao infeccoes causadas por fungos que parasitam a queratina da pele, pelos e unhas. A designacao dermatofito compreende tres generos de fungos: Trichophyton, Microsporum e Epidermophyton, com caracteristicas morfologicas, fisiologicas e antigenicas que os relaciona entre si. Os estudos envolvendo a parede celular dos dermatofitos tem demonstrado que os fungos T. mentagrophytes, T. rubrum e E. floccosum possuem glicoproteinas antigenicamente semelhantes ao isoantigeno A dos eritrocitos humanos, o que tornaria esses individuos mais suscetiveis ao desenvolvimento de dermatofitoses generalizadas e resistentes ao tratamento do que aqueles desprovidos desses antigenos. Neste estudo os autores investigaram uma possivel associacao entre dermatofitose, grupo sanguineo ABO e reatividade a tricofitina atraves de identificacao do grupo sanguineo e do subgrupo A1, avaliacao da resposta imune celular especifica e identificacao do dermatofito envolvido. Assim, 39 pacientes caucasoides com dermatofitose diagnosticados atraves de sinais clinicos e laboratoriais foram submetidos a tipagem sanguinea e ao teste da tricofitina. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o fungo T. rubrum foi isolado de 83% dos pacientes e o teste da tricofitina (reacao de hipersensibilidade tardia - 48 horas) foi positivo em 10%. A presenca de reacao imediata a tricofitina (reacao de hipersensibilidade imediata - 30 minutos) foi verificada em 51% dos pacientes. A distribuicao do grupo sanguineo entre pacientes e o grupo controle foi respectivamente: O=41% x 50%; A= 38,5% x36,0; B= 13,0% x 11,0%; AB= 7,5% x 3,0%; sendo o subgrupo A1: 61,0% x 79,0%. A classificacao da micose em aguda e cronica levando-se em consideracao o tempo em que os pacientes apresentavam as manifestacoes clinicas, revelou que 64% apresentavam lesoes ha pelo menos 1 ano. Desses pacientes, 44% pertenciam ao grupo sanguineo A, sendo 73% do subgrupo A1, e 36% pertenciam ao grupo O. Em conjunto, os resultados obtidos se...

Sistema de grupo sangüíneo ABO e Lewis: um estudo em pacientes com doença de Jorge Lobo / Blood group system ABO and Lewis: a study in patients with Jorge Lobo's disease

A doença de Jorge Lobo é uma micose de evolução crônica, causada pelo Lacazia loboi. Os mecanismos envolvidos na suscetibilidade/resitência do hospedeiro frente ao agente não estão ainda elucidados, dentre eles encontra-se a constituição genética. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar a distribuição dos grupos sangüíneos ABO e Lewis de pacientes com doença de Jorge Lobo em relação à população sadia. Foram analisados 13 pacientes provinientes do estado do Acre, 60 indivíduos saudáveis (grupo controle Lewis) da região de Bauru (SP) e 2673 doadores do Banco de sangue da cidade de Rio Branco (AC) em que determinamos a presença dos antígenos eritrocitários pela reação de aglutinação em tubo através dos soros anti AB, anti A e anti B para o fenótipo ABO e dos soros anti Lewis a e Lewis b para fenotipagem Lewis. As frequências fenotípicas Lewis e ABO nos pacientes e nos controles são respectivamente: Le (a-b+)= 54,0 por cento X 72,0 por cento, Le (a+b-)= 15,0 por cento X 6,0 por cento, Le (a-b-)=31,0 por cento X 22,0 por cento. A = 15,4 por cento X 33,6 por cento, B = 30,8 por cento X 10,8 por cento, O + 53,8 por cento X 52,9 por cento, AB = o x 2,7 por cento. Apesar do nosso estudo não ter encontrado uma possível associação entre grupo sangüíneo e essa patologia, devido a pequena amostra analisada, mais investigações são necessárias para que possamos definir se existe população de alto risco a vir desenvolver a doença.

Optimisation of methodology for enumeration of xerophilic yeasts from foods.

Xerophilic yeasts grow in intermediate moisture foods (aw, 0.65-0.85) such as sugar syrups, fruit concentrates, jams and brines. Non-osmophilic yeasts are enumerated by diluting in 0.1% peptone and then plated onto media such as malt extract or glucose yeast extract agar. In the presence of moulds the yeasts are enumerated in dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar (DRBC). These procedures were demonstrated to be unsatisfactory for the enumeration of xerophilic yeasts in low aw foods. Investigations using pure cultures of xerophilic yeasts as well as naturally contaminated apple juice concentrates and glacé cherries have shown that a reduced aw diluent, in particular 30% w/w glycerol in combination with tryptone 10% glucose yeast extract agar (TGY) optimises the recovery of the yeasts, especially sublethally injured cells. The inclusion of sodium chloride in either the diluents or the culture media was not necessary to optimise the recovery of D. hansenii growing in 20% sodium chloride broths.