Mitsuru Toda

BACKGROUND: Characterizing invasive mold infection (IMI) epidemiology in the context of large flooding events is important for public health planning and clinical decision making. METHODS: We assessed IMI incidence (per 10 000 healthcare encounters) 1 year before and after Hurricane Harvey at 4 hospitals in Houston, Texas. Potential IMI cases were assigned as proven or probable cases using established definitions, and surveillance cases using a novel definition...

Two compounds 1 and 2 were isolated from the culture broth of Lepista luscina . This is the first time that compound 1 was isolated from a natural source. The structure of compound 1 was identified via 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS data. Compounds 1 and 2 along with 8-nitrotryptanthrin ( 4 ) were evaluated for their biological activities using the A549 lung cancer cell line. As a result, 1 and 2 inhibited the expression of Axl and immune checkpoint molecules. In addition, compounds 1 , 2 and 4 were tested for HIF inhibitory activity...

Background: Outbreaks of healthcare-associated mucormycosis (HCM), a life-threatening fungal infection, have been attributed to multiple sources, including contaminated healthcare linens. In 2020, staff at Hospital A in Arkansas alerted public health officials of a potential HCM outbreak. Methods: We collected data on patients at Hospital A who had invasive mucormycosis during January 2017-June 2021 and calculated annual incidence of HCM (defined as mucormycosis diagnosed within ≥7 days after hospital admission)...

Locus coeruleus (LC) overactivity, especially in the right hemisphere, is a recognized pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may be related to inattention. LC activity synchronizes with the kinetics of the pupil diameter and reflects neural activity related to cognitive functions such as attention and arousal. Recent studies highlight the importance of the complexity of the temporal patterns of pupil diameter. Moreover, asymmetrical pupil diameter, which correlates with the severity of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity in ADHD, might be attributed to a left-right imbalance in LC activity...

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis are underdiagnosed fungal diseases that often mimic bacterial or viral pneumonia and can cause disseminated disease and death. These diseases are caused by inhalation of fungal spores that have distinct geographic niches in the environment (e.g., soil or dust), and distribution is highly susceptible to climate changes such as expanding arid regions for coccidioidomycosis, the northward expansion of histoplasmosis, and areas like New York reporting cases of blastomycosis previously thought to be nonendemic...

Outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections, particularly invasive mold infections, have been linked to environmental contamination of laundered healthcare textiles. Contamination may occur at the laundry or healthcare facility. This report highlights underrecognized hazards, control points, and actions that infection preventionists can take to help decrease the potential for patient exposure to contaminated healthcare textiles. Infection preventionists can use the checklists included in this report to assess laundry and healthcare facility management of laundered healthcare textiles...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated fungal infections cause severe illness, but comprehensive data on disease burden are lacking. We analyzed US National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) data to characterize disease burden, temporal trends, and demographic characteristics of persons dying of fungal infections during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Using NVSS's January 2018-December 2021 Multiple Cause of Death Database, we examined numbers and age-adjusted rates (per 100 000 population) of deaths due to fungal infection by fungal pathogen, COVID-19 association, demographic characteristics, and year...

BACKGROUND: Among people affected by Hurricane Harvey, we assessed experiences and perceptions (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, and practices) regarding mold and its impact on health and elicited participants' opinions about how to improve public health messaging about indoor mold after a large flooding event. METHODS: Houston Health Department conducted four focus groups with 31 Houston metropolitan area residents during January to March 2020, using a semi-structured discussion guide and federal communication materials about indoor mold...

BACKGROUND: In the United States, the true geographic distribution of the environmental fungus Histoplasma capsulatum remains poorly understood but appears to have changed since it was first characterized. Histoplasmosis is caused by inhalation of the fungus and can range in severity from asymptomatic to life threatening. Due to limited public health surveillance and under detection of infections, it is challenging to directly use reported case data to characterize spatial risk. METHODS: Using monthly and yearly county-level public health surveillance data and various environmental and socioeconomic characteristics, we use a spatio-temporal occupancy model to estimate latent, or unobserved, presence of H...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Studies performed during the 1940s-1960s continue to serve as the foundation of the epidemiology of histoplasmosis given that many knowledge gaps persist regarding its geographic distribution, prevalence, and burden in the United States. We explore 3 long-standing, frequently cited, and somewhat incomplete epidemiologic beliefs about histoplasmosis: (1) histoplasmosis is the most common endemic mycosis in the United States, (2) histoplasmosis is endemic to the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, and (3) histoplasmosis is associated with bird or bat droppings...

BACKGROUND: Candida auris , a multidrug-resistant yeast, can spread rapidly in ventilator-capable skilled-nursing facilities (vSNFs) and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). In 2018, a laboratory serving LTACHs in southern California began identifying species of Candida that were detected in urine specimens to enhance surveillance of C auris , and C auris was identified in February 2019 in a patient in an Orange County (OC), California, LTACH. Further investigation identified C auris at 3 associated facilities...

In an online poll, 174 infectious disease physicians reported that testing frequencies for coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, and cryptococcosis were similar before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that these physicians remain alert for these fungal infections and were generally not concerned about the possibility of under-detection.

In areas where Histoplasma is endemic in the environment, occupations involving activities exposing workers to soil that contains bird or bat droppings may pose a risk for histoplasmosis. Occupational exposures are frequently implicated in histoplasmosis outbreaks. In this paper, we review the literature on occupationally acquired histoplasmosis. We describe the epidemiology, occupational risk factors, and prevention measures according to the hierarchy of controls.

A common type of fungal disease investigation involves hospital-associated clusters of invasive mold infections (IMIs), which typically occur among immunocompromised patients. Responding to IMI clusters can be challenging for public health and hospital personnel for several reasons such as difficulty of confirming the existence of an outbreak, difficulty of determining source. Although many resources exist to guide patient notification about healthcare incidents (eg, bloodborne exposures, disease outbreaks), IMI clusters involve special considerations related to the complex diseases, uncertain exposures, and differential benefits and risks of notification...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. We examined serum GDNF levels in bipolar disorder (BD) patients and major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and their association with response to lithium therapy. We used a multicenter (six sites), exploratory, cross-sectional case-control design and recruited 448 subjects: 143 BD patients, 116 MDD patients, and 158 healthy controls (HCs). We evaluated the patients' clinical severity using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and responses to lithium therapy using the Alda scale...

BACKGROUND: The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus ( A. fumigatus ) is the leading cause of invasive mold infections, which cause severe disease and death in immunocompromised people. Use of triazole antifungal medications in recent decades has improved patient survival; however, triazole-resistant infections have become common in parts of Europe and are emerging in the United States. Triazoles are also a class of fungicides used in plant agriculture, and certain triazole-resistant A. fumigatus strains found causing disease in humans have been linked to environmental fungicide use...

Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently leads to psychological/social dysfunction if unaddressed. Identifying a reliable biomarker would assist the diagnosis of adult ADHD and ensure that adults with ADHD receive treatment. Pupil diameter can reflect inherent neural activity and deficits of attention or arousal characteristic of ADHD. Furthermore, distinct profiles of the complexity and symmetricity of neural activity are associated with some psychiatric disorders. We hypothesized that analysing the relationship between the size, complexity of temporal patterns, and asymmetricity of pupil diameters will help characterize the nervous systems of adults with ADHD and that an identification method combining these features would ease the diagnosis of adult ADHD...