Optimal staging and evaluation of residual lesions of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are major challenges in the immunocompromised host. Preliminary data have suggested that 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose ...(18FFDG) uptake may be observed in the course of active invasive fungal infections. The aim of this study was to assess the role of positron emission tomography with 18FFDG (18FFDG-PET) in the diagnosis and staging of IFI. A prospective monocentric study evaluating 18FFDG-PET in 30 consecutive adults and children with European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group probable or proven IFI was performed. Twenty males and ten females (median age, 45 years (range 6–75 years)) were enrolled. Twenty-six were immunocompromised, as follows: haematological malignancy (18) with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (16/18), solid tumour (three), solid organ transplantation (two), diabetes mellitus (two) and cystic fibrosis (one). IFIs were acute invasive aspergillosis (ten), chronic disseminated candidiasis (ten), zygomycosis (two), black grains eumycetoma (two), pulmonary Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum histoplasmosis (two), and Phomopsis sp. osteoarthritis, Scedosporium apiospermum and Candida krusei spondylodiscitis, and acute pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in one case each. An increased uptake of 18FFDG was observed in all areas previously identified by computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging to be involved by IFI. In 4/10 chronic disseminated candidiasis cases, 18FFDG-PET revealed small splenic abscesses that were unapparent on the corresponding computed tomography scan. 18FFDG uptake disappeared after 6 months of antifungal therapy in three patients with chronic disseminated candidiasis for whom the 18FFDG-PET was performed to assess the evolution of the disease. 18FFDG-PET could potentially be useful for the initial diagnosis and staging of IFI. Whether or not 18FFDG-PET might be useful for assessing the optimal duration of IFI therapy should now be assessed in a specific prospective study.
We studied the potential use of 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) whole body positron emission tomography (PET)–computed tomography for the diagnosis of device infection and extension of infection. ...Twenty-one patients with suspected device infection were prospectively included and compared with 14 controls free of infection. 18F-FDG uptake on the box and on the leads was visually and quantitatively interpreted (using the maximal standard uptake value). The final diagnosis was obtained either from bacteriological data after device culture (n = 11) or by a 6-month follow-up according to modified Duke's criteria (n = 10). Ten patients finally showed infection on bacteriological study (n = 8) or during follow-up (n = 2). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were, respectively, 80%, 100%, 100% and 84.6% on patient-based analysis (presence or absence of infection). They were 100%, 100%, 100% and 100% for boxes, but only 60%, 100%, 100% and 73% for leads. Quantitative analysis could be useful for boxes but not for leads, for which the presence of a mild hot spot was the best criterion of infection. The four false negatives on leads received antibiotics for longer than the six true positives (20 ± 7.2 vs. 3.2 ± 2.3 days, p <0.01). Although the study was not designed for this purpose, management could have been modified by PET results in six of 21 patients. 18F-FDG PET imaging may be useful for the diagnosis of device infection, and could impact on clinical management. Interpretation of negative cases should be performed with caution if patients have received antibiotics.
Decarboxylative Oxygenation via Photoredox Catalysis Faraggi, Tomer M.; Li, Wei; MacMillan, David W. C.
Israel journal of chemistry,
March 2020, 2020-03-00, 20200301, Letnik:
60, Številka:
3-4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The direct conversion of aliphatic carboxylic acids to their dehomologated carbonyl analogues has been accomplished through photocatalytic decarboxylative oxygenation. This transformation is ...applicable to an array of carboxylic acid motifs, producing ketones, aldehydes, and amides in excellent yields. Preliminary results demonstrate that this methodology is further amenable to aldehyde substrates via in situ oxidation to the corresponding acid and subsequent decarboxylative oxygenation. We have exploited this strategy for the sequential oxidative dehomologation of linear aliphatic chains.
Oxidative decarboxylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids, followed by oxygen trapping of the resultant radical, is harnessed as a strategy for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds. This procedure enables the synthesis of a broad array of carbonyl products, and application to the oxidative degradation of aliphatic chains via sequential oxidation‐decarboxylation has been demonstrated.
Different methods to calculate (90)Y resin microspheres activity for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) were compared. Such comparison is not yet available and is needed in clinical practice ...to optimize patient specific treatment planning. 32 (99m)Tc-macroagregates (MAA) evaluations were performed, followed by 26 treatments. Four methods to calculate (90)Y-activity were applied retrospectively: three based on Body Surface Area and one based on MIRD formalism, partition model (PM). Relationships between calculated activities, lung breakthrough (LB), the activity concentration ratio between lesions and healthy liver (T/N) and tumour involvement were investigated, where lobar and whole liver treatments were analysed separately. Without attenuation correction, overestimation of LB was 65%. In any case, the estimated lungs' doses remained below 30 Gy. Thus, the maximal injectable activity (MIA) is not limited by lungs' irradiation. Moreover, LB was not significantly related to T/N, neither to tumour involvement nor radiochemical purity (RP). Differences in calculated activity with the four methods were extremely large, in particular they were greater between BSA-based and PM activities for lobar treatments (from -85% to 417%) compared to whole liver treatments (from -49% to 61%). Two values of T/N ratio were identified as thresholds: for BSA-based methods, healthy liver doses are much higher than 30 Gy when T/N < 3; for PM, tumour doses are higher than 120 Gy when T/N > 4. As PM accounts for uptake ratio between normal and tumour liver, this method should be employed over BSA-based methods.
Endophytic fungi are an important class of microorganisms, able to interact with a host plant via a mutualistic mechanism without visible symptoms of the fungal colonization. The synergy between ...endophytic fungi and their host plant can promote morphological, physiological and biochemical changes through the expression of bioactive metabolites. This work aims to correlate metabolic changes in the Combretum lanceolatum plant metabolome with its endophytic fungi Diaporthe phaseolorum (Dp) and Trichoderma spirale (Ts), and to discover corresponding metabolite-biomarkers, with the principal focus being on its primary metabolism. The
H-NMR metabolomic analysis of qualitative and quantitative changes was performed through multivariate statistical analysis and the identification of primary metabolites was achieved on the Madison Metabolomics Consortium Database. The presence of Dp significantly impacted the plant's metabolic pathways, improving the biosynthesis of primary metabolites such as threonine, malic acid and N-acetyl-mannosamine, which are precursors of special metabolites involved in plant self-defence. This work represents a valuable contribution to advanced studies on the metabolic profiles of the interaction of plants with endophytes.
Endophytic fungi are an important class of microorganisms, able to interact with a host plant via a mutualistic mechanism without visible symptoms of the fungal colonization. The synergy between ...endophytic fungi and their host plant can promote morphological, physiological and biochemical changes through the expression of bioactive metabolites. This work aims to correlate metabolic changes in the Combretum lanceolatum plant metabolome with its endophytic fungi Diaporthe phaseolorum (Dp) and Trichoderma spirale (Ts), and to discover corresponding metabolite‐biomarkers, with the principal focus being on its primary metabolism. The 1H‐NMR metabolomic analysis of qualitative and quantitative changes was performed through multivariate statistical analysis and the identification of primary metabolites was achieved on the Madison Metabolomics Consortium Database. The presence of Dp significantly impacted the plant's metabolic pathways, improving the biosynthesis of primary metabolites such as threonine, malic acid and N‐acetyl‐mannosamine, which are precursors of special metabolites involved in plant self‐defence. This work represents a valuable contribution to advanced studies on the metabolic profiles of the interaction of plants with endophytes.
We report the evaluation of chalcone derivatives as photosystem II (PSII) and plant growth inhibitors. Chalcone derivatives were evaluated as PSII inhibitors through Chl a fluorescence measurement. ...(E)‐Chalcone (6a) and (E)‐3‐(4‐bromophenyl)‐1‐(4‐fluorophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one (6j) showed the best results, reducing the performance index on absorption basis parameter (PIabs) by 70 %. Additionally, the decrease of TR0/RC and ET0/RC parameters indicates that the chalcone derivatives limited the number of active PSII reaction centers and the amount of trapped energy within them. Compounds 6a and 6j both act as post‐emergent herbicides at 50 μM, reducing the root biomass of the Ipomoea grandifolia weed by 72 % and 83 %, respectively, corroborating the fluorescence results. The selectivity against weeds as compared to valuable crops by compounds 6a and 6j were evaluated employing Zea mays and Phaseolus vulgaris plants. In these, our newly synthesized compounds showed no effects on biomass accumulation of roots and aerial parts when compared to the control, providing valuable evidence for the role of these compounds as selective inhibitors of the growth of undesired weeds.
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