In vitro and in vivo evaluation of antifungal combinations against azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus isolates

Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) has become a widespread threat and a major concern for optimal management of patients with invasive aspergillosis (IA). Combination of echinocandins with azoles is an attractive alternative option for the treatment of IA due to azole-resistant Af strains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo combination of caspofungin (CAS) with either voriconazole (VRZ) or posaconazole (PSZ). In vitro interactions were assessed by two methods, and an animal model of IA in Galleria mellonella was used for in vivo evaluation. Assessment of efficacy was based on larvae mortality. Groups of 10 larvae were infected by 3 clinical strains of Af (azole susceptible, AfS; PSZ resistant, AfR1; VRZ and PSZ resistant strain, AfR2). In vitro, combination of CAS and azoles was indifferent against AfS, and AfR2, and a synergy was found for AfR1. When compared to VRZ monotherapy, the combination of VRZ at 4 µg/larva with CAS at 4 µg/larva improved survival of AfR2-infected larvae (p=0.0066). Combination of PSZ at 4µg/larva with CAS at 4 µg/larva improved survival of AfR1-infected larvae compared to CAS (p=0.0002) and PSZ (0.0024) monotherapy. Antagonism was never observed. In conclusion, the combination of caspofungin with azoles is a promising alternative for the treatment of azole resistant strains of Af

Données palynologiques des Argiles de la Slack à Wimereux

International audienceÀ Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais) 500 m au Nord de la Pointe-aux-Oies la falaise côtière rousse est un affleurement de la formation géologique dite Argiles de la Slack, une dizaine de mètres d'alternances sable/argile reposant sur du calcaire du Jurassique terminal. Les cortèges palynologiques ont été étudiés dans les niveaux argileux pour tenter de fixer l'âge du dépôt.POLLENS.– Faible diversité, taxons les plus fréquents: Callialasporites dampieri, Cerebropollenites mesozoicus, Classopollis spp., et des pollens bisaccates tel Cedripites spp. ; sont aussi observés Periporopollenites, Polyporopollenites spp., Tricolporopollenites spp., Trudopollis spp., des formes d'affinités plus incertaines pouvant être attribuées sans certitude à des plantes à fleurs. SPORES.– Deltoidospora spp., Klukisporites spp., Cicatricosisporites spp., Dictyophylllidites harrisii, Appendicisporites jansonii, Gleicheniidites senonicus, Concavissimisporites crassatus, Concavissimisporites verrucatus, Trilobosporites spp. sont les plus fréquentes. FORMES AQUATIQUES.– Parois de tests de foraminifères, prasinophycées marines tels Tasmanites spp., rares algues d'eau douces comme les zygnématacées Tetraporina spp., et Pediastrum spp., une chlorophycée coloniale. La plupart des formes aquatiques préservées sont des kystes de dinoflagellés: Spiniferites ramosus granosus, Hystrichosphaeridium spp., Melitasphaeridium pseudorecurvatum, Eatonicysta ursulae, Wetzeliella sp., Areoligera spp. et divers kystes à affinités douteuses gonyaulacoïdes ou peridinioïdes.Les palynomorphes ont des degrés de maturation thermique contrastés. Certains, spores et pollens surtout, sont de couleur orange à brun foncé, alors que d'autres, des dinokystes principalement, sont jaune pâle voire translucides. Ceci suggère des milieux et/ou des histoires d'enfouissement, et finalement des âges distincts. On peut en effet démêler (1) une association de spores et pollens généralement observée dans le Wealdien, c'est-à-dire du Crétacé inférieur continental, sans marqueur de dépôt marin de cet âge (2) des formes aquatiques, tel le dinokyste E. ursulae connu uniquement du Thanétien supérieur à la base du Lutétien (soit la limite Paléocène/Éocène), et des pollens attribuables à des angiospermes, le tout indiquant un dépôt marin au Tertiaire avec remaniement du matériel du Wealdien.Admettre un repos direct d'Eocène sur le Jurassique représenterait une nouveauté, impliquant notamment dès l'Éocène une érosion complète, localisée au Boulonnais, de la craie du Crétacé supérieur

Diagnosis and management of bruxism: Evaluation of clinical practices in France

International audienc

Données palynologiques des Argiles de la Slack à Wimereux

International audienceÀ Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais) 500 m au Nord de la Pointe-aux-Oies la falaise côtière rousse est un affleurement de la formation géologique dite Argiles de la Slack, une dizaine de mètres d'alternances sable/argile reposant sur du calcaire du Jurassique terminal. Les cortèges palynologiques ont été étudiés dans les niveaux argileux pour tenter de fixer l'âge du dépôt.POLLENS.– Faible diversité, taxons les plus fréquents: Callialasporites dampieri, Cerebropollenites mesozoicus, Classopollis spp., et des pollens bisaccates tel Cedripites spp. ; sont aussi observés Periporopollenites, Polyporopollenites spp., Tricolporopollenites spp., Trudopollis spp., des formes d'affinités plus incertaines pouvant être attribuées sans certitude à des plantes à fleurs. SPORES.– Deltoidospora spp., Klukisporites spp., Cicatricosisporites spp., Dictyophylllidites harrisii, Appendicisporites jansonii, Gleicheniidites senonicus, Concavissimisporites crassatus, Concavissimisporites verrucatus, Trilobosporites spp. sont les plus fréquentes. FORMES AQUATIQUES.– Parois de tests de foraminifères, prasinophycées marines tels Tasmanites spp., rares algues d'eau douces comme les zygnématacées Tetraporina spp., et Pediastrum spp., une chlorophycée coloniale. La plupart des formes aquatiques préservées sont des kystes de dinoflagellés: Spiniferites ramosus granosus, Hystrichosphaeridium spp., Melitasphaeridium pseudorecurvatum, Eatonicysta ursulae, Wetzeliella sp., Areoligera spp. et divers kystes à affinités douteuses gonyaulacoïdes ou peridinioïdes.Les palynomorphes ont des degrés de maturation thermique contrastés. Certains, spores et pollens surtout, sont de couleur orange à brun foncé, alors que d'autres, des dinokystes principalement, sont jaune pâle voire translucides. Ceci suggère des milieux et/ou des histoires d'enfouissement, et finalement des âges distincts. On peut en effet démêler (1) une association de spores et pollens généralement observée dans le Wealdien, c'est-à-dire du Crétacé inférieur continental, sans marqueur de dépôt marin de cet âge (2) des formes aquatiques, tel le dinokyste E. ursulae connu uniquement du Thanétien supérieur à la base du Lutétien (soit la limite Paléocène/Éocène), et des pollens attribuables à des angiospermes, le tout indiquant un dépôt marin au Tertiaire avec remaniement du matériel du Wealdien.Admettre un repos direct d'Eocène sur le Jurassique représenterait une nouveauté, impliquant notamment dès l'Éocène une érosion complète, localisée au Boulonnais, de la craie du Crétacé supérieur

Increased brain glucocorticoid actions following social defeat in rats facilitates the long-term establishment of social subordination

Social rank is frequently established through aggressive encounters between new conspecifics. Despite increasing evidence suggesting that social rank is critical for the well-being of both humans and animals, knowledge about the factors influencing social rank remain scarce. Stress was previously shown to affect the establishment and maintenance of social hierarchies in rats. Likewise, increasing systemic corticosterone levels post-encounter in the emerging subordinate rat facilitates the long-term establishment of social subordination. Here, we investigated whether central corticosterone actions are sufficient to mediate this effect. Our data shows that, indeed, an intracerebroventricular corticosterone injection given to the emerging subordinate rat facilitates the long-term maintenance of the subordinate rank. Next, we attempted to identify a particular brain region in which enhancement of corticosterone actions could be sufficient to exert the facilitation of a long-term maintenance in the emerging subordinate brain. However, post-encounter administration of corticosterone into the basolateral amygdala, medial amygdala, lateral septum and the nucleus accumbens, brain regions selected for their implication in social rank establishment and emotional modulation of memory, did not affect long-term social subordination. Our study highlights the involvement of intracerebral corticosterone actions on the facilitation of long-lasting subordinate behavior, likely by having a modulatory role in the neurobehavioral plasticity engaged in the shaping of social subordination

Prevention of volatile fatty acids production and limitation of odours from winery wastewaters by denitrification

Corresponding author. email:[email protected] audienceThe effect of the addition of nitrate to winery wastewaters to control the formation of VFA in order to prevent odours during storage and treatment was studied in batch bioreactors at different NO3/chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratios and at full scale in natural evaporation ponds (2×7000 m2) by measuring olfactory intensity. In the absence of nitrate, butyric acid (2304 mg L−1), acetic acid (1633 mg L−1), propionic acid (1558 mg L−1), caproic acid (499 mg L−1) and valeric acid (298 mg L−1) were produced from reconstituted winery wastewater. For a ratio of NO3/COD=0.4 g g−1, caproic and valeric acids were not formed. The production of butyric and propionic acids was reduced by 93.3% and 72.5%, respectively, at a ratio of NO3/COD=0.8, and by 97.4% and 100% at a ratio of NO3/COD=1.2 g g−1. Nitrate delayed and decreased butyric acid formation in relation to the oxidoreduction potential. Studies in ponds showed that the addition of concentrated calcium nitrate (NITCAL™) to winery wastewaters (3526 m3) in a ratio of NO3/COD=0.8 inhibited VFA production, with COD elimination (94%) and total nitrate degradation, and no final nitrite accumulation. On the contrary, in ponds not treated with nitrate, malodorous VFA (from propionic to heptanoïc acids) represented up to 60% of the COD. Olfactory intensity measurements in relation to the butanol scale of VFA solutions and the ponds revealed the pervasive role of VFA in the odour of the untreated pond as well as the clear decrease in the intensity and not unpleasant odour of the winery wastewater pond enriched in nitrates. The results obtained at full scale underscored the feasibility and safety of the calcium nitrate treatment as opposed to concentrated nitric aci

Odour control of pounds of food industry wastewaters by controlled denitrification

International audienceThe noxious odours during storage and treatment of food industry wastewaters are a major environmental problem today. Winery wastewaters clearly fall within this framework. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) form the major products resulting from the fermentation of carbon compounds (ethanol and sugars) in winery wastewaters, and are responsible for characteristic foul odours as a result of their low olfactory perception threshold. Natural evaporation in ponds, a rustic and economical technique, well adapted to discharge variations and seasonal production, is a widely used treatment method for winery and distillery wastewaters. The prevention of VFA formation by orienting the degradation of organic matter in wastewater into odourless products through anaerobic respiration with nitrate as the electron acceptor (denitrification) was studied in winery wastewaters to which nitrate had been added in the form of concentrated nitric acid or nitrate salts.The effect of the addition of nitrate to winery wastewaters to control the formation of VFA in order to prevent odours during storage and treatment was studied in batch bioreactors (1 L) at different NO3/COD ratios and at full scale in natural evaporation ponds (2 x 7,000 m2) by measuring olfactory intensity. In the absence of nitrate, butyric acid (2.3 g.L-1), acetic acid (1.63 g L-1), propionic acid (1.56 g L-1), caproic acid (0.5 g L-1) and valeric acid (0.3 g.L-1) were produced from reconstituted winery wastewater. For a ratio of N03/COD = 0.4 g g-1, caproic and valeric acids were not formed. The production of butyric and propionic acids was reduced by 93.3 and 72.5%, respectively, at a ratio of NO3/COD = 0.8, and by 97.4 and 100% at a ratio of NO3/COD = 1.2 g g-1. Nitrate delayed and decreased butyric acid formation in relation to the oxidoreduction potential. Studies in ponds showed that the addition of concentrated calcium nitrate (NITCALTM) to winery wastewaters (3,526 m3) in a ratio of NO3/COD = 0.8 inhibited VFA production, with COD elimination (94%) and total nitrate degradation, and no final nitrite accumulation. On the contrary, in ponds not treated with nitrate, malodorous VFA (from propionic to heptanoïc acids) represented up to 60% of the COD. Olfactory intensity measurements in relation to the butanol scale of VFA solutions and the ponds revealed the pervasive role of VFA in the odour of the untreated pond as well as the clear decrease in the intensity and not unpleasant odour of the winery wastewater pond enriched in nitrates. The results obtained at full scale underscored the feasibility and safety of the calcium nitrate treatment as opposed to concentrated nitric acid

Identification of apolipoprotein A-I in the alpha-globulin fraction of avian plasma

Background: Plasma protein electrophoresis is frequently used in birds as a tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease. Identification of proteins in individual peaks can help improve our understanding of changes in protein concentration in physiologic and pathologic conditions.[br/] Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the presence and identity the protein(s) in the prominent α-globulin peak of orange-winged parrots (Amazona amazonica), black kites (Milvus migrans), and rock pigeons (Columba livia).[br/] Methods: Heparinized plasma samples were obtained from 12 birds of each species. Agarose gel electrophoresis and total protein concentration were determined using standard techniques. One plasma sample from each species was then electrophoresed using high-resolution agarose gels to isolate the α-globulin band. Gel strips were digested in trypsin and peptides were extracted and analyzed using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. De novo sequencing was used to identify the protein based on homology scoring against a protein database.[br/] Results: Electrophoresis verified the presence of a single prominent α-globulin peak, usually in the α1-region, that had a median concentration of 9.4 g/L (range, 2.1–11.7 g/L, 21.6% of total protein) in parrots, 12.2 g/L (10.4–13.2 g/L, 35.9%) in kites, and 10.7 g/L (9.0–11.5 g/L, 40.0%) in pigeons. Mass spectrometry and sequencing analysis unequivocally identified the protein as a mature circulating form of apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) in all 3 species.[br/] Conclusions: Apo A-I accounts for the prominent α-globulin peak and comprises a major proportion of total protein concentration in diverse avian species. As a high-density lipoprotein and negative acute phase protein with a pivotal role in cholesterol homeostasis, further study is warranted to determine the significance of changes in apo A-I concentration in avian electrophoretograms