Incidence and types of HIV-1 drug resistance mutation among patients failing first-line antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the prevalence and types of drug resistance mutations among patients failing first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: Plasma samples from 112 patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) were collected for virus RNA extract and gene amplification. The mutations related to drug resistance were detected and the incidence was statistically analyzed, and the drug resistance rate against common drugs was also evaluated. RESULTS: 103 cases were successfully amplified, and the main drug resistance mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) region were M184V (50.49%), K103N (28.16%), Y181C (25.24%), and K65R (27.18%), while no drug main resistance mutation was found in the protease (PR) region. The incidence of drug resistance mutations was significantly different among patients with different ages, routes of infection, duration of treatment, initial ART regimens and viral load. The drug resistance rate to the common drugs was assessed, including Efavirenz (EFV, 71.84%), Nevirapine (NVP, 74.76%), Lamivudine (3TC, 66.02%), Zidovudine (AZT, 4.85%), Stavudine (D4T, 16.51%), and Tenofovir (TDF, 21.36%). CONCLUSION: The drug resistance mutations to NRTIs and NNRTIs are complex and highly prevalent, which was the leading cause of first-line ART failure. This study provides significant theoretical support for developing the second-line and third-line therapeutic schemes.

In Vitro Susceptibility of Berberine Combined with Antifungal Agents Against the Yeast Form of Talaromyces marneffei.

Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei can cause fatal disseminated infection in immunocompromised hosts. However, therapeutic strategies for the mycosis are limited. Reports of the other fungi suggest that berberine, a component of traditional herb, inhibitors interact with antifungal agents to improve the treatment outcomes. In the study, we evaluated the in vitro efficacy of berberine in combination with conventional antifungal agents against the pathogenic yeast form of T. marneffei. We demonstrate the synergistic effect of combination of berberine with fluconazole (52.38%), itraconazole (66.67%), voriconazole (71.43%), amphotericin B (71.43%) or caspofungin (52.38%) of T. marneffei strains, respectively. Time-kill curves confirmed the synergistic interaction, and no antagonistic was observed in all of the combinations. In conclusion, berberine could enhance the efficacy of conventional antifungal agents against the yeast form of T. marneffei in vitro. The results indicated berberine might have a potential role in combination therapy for talaromycosis.

[Effect of surfactant on the evaporation of BTEX from static water].

Effect of surfactant on the evaporative loss of benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene from static water was researched and the mechanism of surfactant was studied, so as try to supply theoretical reference for the effect of surfactant on the evaporation of complex pollution in water system. Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMAB) and polyoxyethylene(4) lauryl ether(Brij30) were used in the experiment. The results show when the surfactant concentrations exceeded their critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) and were set above 1 000mg/L, 2 000mg/L and 3 000mg/L respectively, the evaporative loss velocity of ethylbenzene, toluene and benzene began to decrease and their half-lives prolonged consequently. The main reason for the decrease of the evaporative loss velocity of BTEX was surfactant micelles formed and it caused the ratio of the concentration of BTEX at the liquid surface to that at the bulk liquid phase to diminish. Comparing CTMAB and Brij30 with SDBS, the evaporative loss of BTEX from static water decreased more evidently in CTMAB and Brij30 solutions. The positive relation was found between the restraining ability of a surfactant and the octanol-water partition coefficients or Henry's law constants of BTEX.