A rapid, low-cost, portable and reliable method for on-site detection of deoxynivalenol (DON), a representative mycotoxin predominantly occurring in grains, would be helpful to control mycotoxin contamination. Herein, a paper-based microfluidic chip capable of measuring deoxynivalenol (DON-Chip) in foods, feeds and feed ingredients was developed. As discussed herein, the DON-Chip incorporated a colorimetric competitive immunoassay into a paper microfluidic device and used gold nanoparticles as a signal indicator. Furthermore, a novel ratiometric analysis method was used to improve signal resolvability at low concentrations of DON. Detection of DON in aqueous extracts from solid foods, feeds or feed ingredients was successfully validated with a detection range from 0.01-20 ppm (using dilution factors from 10-10.sup.4). Compared with conventional methods, the novel DON-Chip greatly reduces the cost and time of mycotoxin detection in the food and feed industry.

The present invention relates to aqueous compositions comprising cyclodextrins or carbohydrates. The present invention also relates to the use of such compositions in the binding and removal of mycotoxins from foodstuff. The invention also includes compositions that show a broad affinity for mycotoxins.

A flow of air including a fungal spore is directed to a collection cartridge. The fungal spore is trapped within the collection cartridge. The fungal spore is illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light and a camera shutter associated with a camera sensor is opened for a time period. The camera sensor is allowed to collect light emitted from the fungal spore during a first portion of the time period. After the first portion of the time period has elapsed, a first burst of visible light originating from a first position is directed towards the fungal spore during a second portion of the time period. A second burst of visible light originating from a second position is directed towards the fungal spore. After the second portion of the time period has elapsed, the camera shutter is closed to generate an image. The image is analyzed to obtain a shape of the fungal spore.

The present disclosure provides a simple and secure apparatus and a simple and secure method for selectively detecting a tomato pathogenic fungus. The tomato pathogenic fungus detecting apparatus according to the present disclosure is characterized by including an artificial cell wall, a test sample solution inlet provided above the artificial cell wall, and a culture solution storage part provided under the artificial cell wall, wherein a test sample solution contains a 50 mM to 70 mM buffer solution of a citrate salt in the test sample solution inlet, and the test sample solution has a pH of 5 to 5.5.

The present invention relates to a device for detecting a plant pathogen spore in soil or water. The present invention also relates to a method for detection of a plant pathogen spore. The device for detecting a plant pathogen spore in soil or water comprises a support member containing a plant pathogen chemoattractant; a filter having a plurality of pores; a culture medium containing a plant pathogen chemoattractant; and a detection means; wherein the support member is adjacent to the filter and the filter is adjacent to the culture medium.

A method of detecting invasive fungi according to morphology thereof based on contrast staining, including: sterilizing and storing the necessary equipment aseptically; drawing 1 ml of venous blood from a tested subject's elbow vein; dripping one drop of the venous blood, prior to coagulation, into an ampoule containing 0.8 ml of a detection reagent under an aseptic environment; gently shaking the ampoule until the drop of venous blood is evenly distributed; leaving the ampoule to stand for 20 minutes to form a stained solution; sterilizing or disinfecting a microscope slide and a cover slip; dripping one drop of the stained solution on the microscope slide prepared under aseptic condition; observing the sample sequentially with 4×, 10× and 40× objective lenses and a 100× oil-immersion lens; magnifying with a 5 million pixel eyepiece; displaying an image of the sample on computer screen using a high-resolution imaging software for observation and record.

A method for treating copper deficiency in a ruminant subject or a ruminant herd is dexcribed. In some embodiments, the method involves providing a sample from the subject or at least one subject in the herd; measuring an amount of (i) fungal infection in the sample; (ii) expression of tyrosinase (Tyr) in the sample, and/or (iii) expression of tyrosinase-related protein (Tyrp) in the sample; (c) estimating the level of copper deficiency in the subject or herd by correlating the measured amount to a reference; (d) calibrating a predicted effective copper supplementation dose based on the estimated level of coppery deficiency in the subject or herd; and (e) administering the predicted effective copper supplementation dose to the subject or at least one subject in the herd and/or inoculating the subject or at least one subject in the herd with a fungus or fungal isolate.

The present invention belongs to the field of microbial technology, and specifically relates to a strain of Hericium erinaceus HT-3, with a deposit number of CCTCC No: M 2018567. The present invention also relates to a screening method for Hericium erinaceus HT-3. The screening method comprises the steps of purifying the strain of Hericium erinaceus from a tissue block, fermenting and culturing the strain, soak extracting ergothioneine from the mycelium cells in the fermentation broth, detecting the ergothioine content in the fermentation broth. The Hericium erinaceus strain screened according to the present invention has high ergothioneine yield, and the screening method is simple in process, easy to be operated, and low in production cost.

Embodiments provided herein include methods, compositions, and uses of aromatic alcohols to increase the potency of antifungal agents.

A method of verifying the efficacy of a disinfection process is provided. The method includes flowing a liquid disinfectant into an indicator device that has a plurality of indicator microorganisms disposed therein, the indicator microorganisms comprising or capable of producing a detectable enzyme activity; contacting the indicator microorganisms with the liquid disinfectant for a predetermined minimum first period of time at a first temperature; after contacting the indicator microorganisms with the liquid disinfectant for the first period of time at the first temperature, contacting the indicator microorganisms for a second period of time with a detection medium comprising a detection reagent; and during or after the second period of time, detecting a quantity of the detectable enzyme activity that was not inactivated by the contact with the disinfectant. The indicator device is also provided.