Susceptibility profile of echinocandins, azoles and amphotericin B against yeast phase of Talaromyces marneffei isolated from HIV-infected patients in Guangdong, China.

Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei) can cause talaromycosis, a fatal systemic mycosis, in patients with AIDS. With the increasing number of talaromycosis cases in Guangdong, China, we aimed to investigate the susceptibility of 189 T. marneffei clinical strains to eight antifungal agents, including three echinocandins (anidulafungin, micafungin, and caspofungin), four azoles (posaconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, and fluconazole), and amphotericin B, with determining minimal inhibition concentrations (MIC) by Sensititre YeastOne™ YO10 assay in the yeast phase. The MICs of anidulafungin, micafungin, caspofungin, posaconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, fluconazole, and amphotericin B were 2 to > 8 µg/ml, >8 µg/ml, 2 to > 8 µg/ml, ≤ 0.008 to 0.06 µg/ml, ≤ 0.015 to 0.03 µg/ml, ≤ 0.008 to 0.06 µg/ml, 1 to 32 µg/ml, and ≤ 0.12 to 1 µg/ml, respectively. The MICs of all echinocandins were very high, while the MICs of posaconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole, as well as amphotericin B were comparatively low. Notably, fluconazole was found to have a higher MIC than other azoles, and exhibited particularly weak activity against some isolates with MICs over 8 µg/ml. Our data in vitro support the use of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole in management of talaromycosis and suggest potential resistance to fluconazole.

[Incidence and influencing factors of continuous positive airway pressure treatment-emergent central sleep apnea in the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome at high altitude].

Objective: To investigate the incidence of treatment-emergent central sleep apnea (TE-CSA), the characteristics of demography and the influencing factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) after initial continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration at high altitude. Methods: Clinical data of 297 patients with OSAS which living in plateau areas (1 000 meters or more above sea level) were retrospectively analyzed in this study from January to December, 2015. All of these patients taken an overnight CPAP titration in the Sleep Medicine Center of First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province. They were classified as with TE-CSA group and non TE-CSA group according to the outcome of CPAP titration. Comparisons of demographic characteristic, parameters of polysomnography in CPAP titration night, lung function test and blood gas analysis were made between the two groups, respectively, and statistical analysis was carried. Results: The incidence of TE-CSA was 16.5% (49/297) after initial CPAP titration at high altitude, which was higher in male patients (18.2% vs 6.8%, P=0.061). The incidence of TE-CSA decreased with the increase of age and body mass index (BMI), and the decrease of resident altitude. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the resident altitude, mixed apnea index (MAI), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) and forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio, functional residual capacity (RV) and total lung capacity (TLC) ratio were the main factors affecting the occurrence of TE-CSA. Among them, the increase of resident altitude and MAI were risk factors [OR=1.16(1.02, 1.32), 1.05(1.01, 1.09)]. The increase of FEV(1)/FVC and RV/TLC were protective factors [OR=0.94(0.89, 0.98), 0.94(0.88, 0.99)]. Conclusion: The incidence of TE-CSA is high at high altitude area, and the increase of resident altitude and MAI are the risk factors for TE-CSA.

Effects of supplemental zinc source and level on antioxidant ability and fat metabolism-related enzymes of broilers.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplemental Zinc (Zn) source and level on antioxidant ability and fat metabolism-related enzymes of broilers. Dietary treatments included the Zn-unsupplemented corn-soybean meal basal diet (control) and basal diets supplemented with 60, 120, or 180 mg Zn/kg as Zn sulfate, Zn amino acid chelate with a weak chelation strength of 6.5 quotient of formation (Qf) (11.93% Zn) (Zn-AA W), Zn proteinate with a moderate chelation strength of 30.7 Qf (13.27% Zn) (Zn-Pro M), or Zn proteinate with an extremely strong chelation strength of 944.0 Qf (18.61% Zn) (Zn-Pro S). The results showed that dietary supplemental Zn increased (P < 0.01) Zn contents in the liver, breast, and thigh muscles of broilers, and up-regulated mRNA expressions of copper and Zn containing superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) and metallothioneins (MT) in the liver (P < 0.01) and thigh muscle (P < 0.05), and also enhanced (P < 0.05) CuZnSOD activities in the breast and thigh muscles, which exerted antioxidant ability and a decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the liver (P < 0.01) and breast and thigh muscles (P < 0.05) of broilers. Furthermore, supplemental Zn increased activities of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in the abdominal fat (P < 0.05), and fatty acid synthetase (FAS) and LPL in the liver (P < 0.01), which were accompanied with up-regulation (P < 0.01) of the mRNA expressions levels of these enzymes in the abdominal fat and liver of broilers. Dietary Zn source, and an interaction between Zn source and level, had no effects on any measurements. It is concluded that dietary Zn supplementation improved Zn status and resulted in promoting antioxidant ability and activities and gene expressions of fat metabolism-related enzymes of broilers regardless of Zn source and level, and the addition of 60 mg Zn/kg to the corn-soybean meal basal diet (a total dietary Zn of approximately 90 mg/kg) was appropriate for improving the above aspects of broilers.

Protective effect of excitatory amino acids on cold-restraint stress-induced gastric ulcers in mice: role of cyclic nucleotides.

Previous studies have shown that excitatory amino acids (EAAs) and their receptors may play important roles in the mammalian enteric system. In this study, we investigated whether EEAs, including L-glutamate (L-Glu) and subtypes N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), kainic acid (KA), and quisqualic acid (QA), reduce cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels and play a role in protecting gastric lesions in cold-restraint stress (CRS) mice. First, we found that dose-dependent administration of four selected EAAs significantly attenuated the increase of cAMP content and exhibited a protective effect on the development of gastric lesions induced by CRS. Second, CRS treatment exhibited a decrease of cGMP content and an increase of cAMP content with marked time-dependent changes, and a high cAMP/cGMP ratio in mice gastric mucosa. Third, pretreatment with 0.25 microg/kg or 0.5 microg/kg dibutyryl cGMP (db-cGMP) exhibited protective effects on CRS-induced gastric lesions, with preventive ratios of 24.61% and 35.32%, respectively. Moreover, db-cGMP at 0.5 microgg/kg significantly attenuated the increase in both cAMP content and the cAMP/cGMP ratio in CRS-treated gastric mucosa. In contrast, db-cAMP exhibited no protective effect, and significantly decreased cGMP content and increased the cAMP/cGMP ratio. These results suggest that EAAs significantly reduce CRS-induced gastric ulcers in mice. The possible mechanism of the antiulcer activity of EAAs may be related to a decrease in the cAMP content in the gastric mucosa of mice. In addition, an increase of the cAMP/cGMP ratio significantly involved in CRS-induced gastric ulcer formation in mice.