Failure of early mycological clearance in HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis

BACKGROUND: Negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures at 2 weeks after antifungal treatment (early mycological clearance [EMC]) should be a treatment goal of cryptococcal meningitis (CM). However, EMC in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients with CM is poorly understood. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records and 1-year follow-up of 141 HIV-negative patients with CM with an initial positive CSF culture for RESULTS: Of 141 patients, 28 (19.9%) had EMC failure. The 1-year mortality rate was 5.7% (8/141). Multivariate analysis showed that non-amphotericin B (AmB)-based regimens, baseline log CONCLUSIONS: EMC failure in HIV-negative CM is attributed to non-AmB-based therapy and is associated with lo

Arylboronic Acids Catalyzed Upgrade of Glucosamines for Deoxyfructosazine and Insights on Reaction Mechanism

Chitin is the most abundant N-containing polysaccharides in nature and D-glucosamine is one of most successful commercial monomer products in current market. Here we reported an arylboronic acids catalyzed upgrade of glucosamines in aqueous solution for deoxyfructosazine which is an important high-value compound in pharmaceutical and food industries, as well as a promising bio-based platform molecule for speciality chemicals and sustainable functional materials. Such direct integration of deoxyfructosazine into development of renewable chemicals/functional materials might be a practical way for utilization of chitin as a renewable nitrogen source. A mechanism focusing on catalytic cycle of arylboronic acid via a boron transfer was also proposed

Imidazole Promoted Efficient Anomerization of β-D-Glucose Pentaacetate in Solid State and Reaction Mechanism

Anomerization of glycosides was rarely performed under basic condition. Here an imidazole promoted anomerization of β-D-glucose pentaacetate in solid state at room temperature was discovered. This unprecedent anomerization in solid state occurred after simple mixing and reaction proceeded continuously to full conversion without stirring or mechanomixing. Current understanding of reaction mechanism involved with inter/intramolecular acyl transfer promoted by two imidazole in concerted manner may promote discovery of more new transformations of glucosides in solid state

Tunable Boc Modification of Lignin and Its Impact on Microbial Degradation Rate

A new type of modified lignin, lignin-p-Boc, was obtained through reaction with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc2O) in aqueous media catalyzed by 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP). Boc modification occurred regardless of type of lignin, was tunable, and proceeded well in recovering lignin at high purity from sodium lignosulfonate (a common byproduct from pulping industry; lignin content: 60%). Lignin-p-BOC was demonstrated as a potential reactive filler in green plastic and as a potential crosslinker in design of bioresorbable composite polymeric implants. Furthermore, the effects of the modification on the breakdown rate of alkali lignin by microbes was investigated, and the results showed that the modification substantially decreases the breakdown rate. The tunable Boc modification process was designed via a system thinking, including availability of raw lignin, economical/green modification, potentiality of drop-in-change to current thermoplastic processing, modification impact on microbial degradability/disposed environment at the end of use life; hence the holistic consideration makes this alternative method for upgrade of technical lignins very practical for future industrial application. Via “in-situ” forming “easily breakable covalent bonds” with existing thermopolymers inside, Lignin-p-BOCs are also promising to play an important role as both excellent binders via “random match” and reductants in transforming linear plastic waste into circular plastics.<br /

Influence of chloride ion concentration on immersion corrosion behaviour of plasma sprayed alumina coatings on AZ31B magnesium alloy

Corrosion attack of aluminium and magnesium based alloys is a major issue worldwide. The corrosion degradation of an uncoated and atmospheric plasma sprayed alumina (APS) coatings on AZ31B magnesium alloy was investigated using immersion corrosion test in NaCl solutions of different chloride ion concentrations viz., 0.01 M, 0.2 M, 0.6 M and 1 M. The corroded surface was characterized by an optical microscope and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the corrosion deterioration of uncoated and coated samples were significantly influenced by chloride ion concentration. The uncoated magnesium and alumina coatings were found to offer a superior corrosion resistance in lower chloride ion concentration NaCl solutions (0.01 M and 0.2 M NaCl). On the other hand the coatings and Mg alloy substrate were found to be highly susceptible to localized damage, and could not provide an effective corrosion protection in solutions containing higher chloride concentrations (0.6 M and 1 M). It was found that the corrosion resistance of the ceramic coatings and base metal gets deteriorated with the increase in the chloride concentrations