VNI

Clinical isolates of a fungal pathogen from a single region or country often exhibit structural clonality or phylogenetic clustering at the sequence or MLST level; such population structure can persist also in larger samples. In efforts to improve causal understanding of pathogenesis at the molecular level, genome-wide association screening methods initially designed for other kingdoms have been applied to fungi. The example of a Colombian dataset of 28 clinical Cryptococcus neoformans VNI isolates indicates where the output from standard pipelines may need to be analyzed in new ways in order to efficiently extract hypotheses for experiments from fungal genotype-phenotype data...

Cryptococcus neoformans species complexes are recognized as environmental fungi responsible for lethal meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. Despite the vast knowledge about the epidemiology and genetic diversity of this fungus in different regions of the world, more studies are necessary to comprehend the genomic profiles across South America, including Colombia, considered to be the second country with the highest number of Cryptococcosis. Here, we sequenced and analyzed the genomic architecture of 29 Colombian C...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of virtual monoenergetic imaging (VMI) and quantum iterative reconstruction (QIR) on the accuracy of coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) using a virtual noniodine (VNI) reconstruction algorithm on a first-generation, clinical, photon counting detector computed tomography system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Coronary artery calcium scoring was evaluated in an anthropomorphic chest phantom simulating 3 different patient sizes by using 2 extension rings (small: 300 × 200 mm, medium: 350 × 250 mm, large: 400 × 300 mm) and in patients (n = 61; final analyses only in patients with coronary calcifications [n = 34; 65...

A 3-year-old spayed female domestic short-haired cat presented with a head turning to the left, circling to the right, seizures, and opisthotonos for approximately one month. Neurological examination revealed a deficit in the postural reaction of the left limbs and visual abnormalities. Forensic computed tomography revealed a hyperattenuating round mass of 1.3 cm diameter with a hypoattenuating center in the right hemisphere. Histopathology showed multifocal granuloma lesions with the major mass mostly affecting the right basal ganglia...

Flucytosine (5-FC) is an antifungal agent commonly used for treatment of cryptococcosis and several other systemic mycoses. In fungi, cytosine permease and cytosine deaminase are known major players in flucytosine resistance by regulating uptake and deamination of 5-FC, respectively. Cryptococcus species have three paralogs each of cytosine permease ( FCY2, FCY3, and FCY4 ) and cytosine deaminase ( FCY1, FCY5 and FCY6 ). As in other fungi, we found FCY1 and FCY2 to be the primary cytosine deaminase and permease gene, respectively, in C...

BACKGROUND: Safety of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has been established in clinical studies. However, despite prevention efforts the incidence of damage to (peri)-esophageal tissue has not decreased, and the pathophysiology is incompletely understood. OBJECTIVE: Damage to vagal nerve branches may be involved in lesion progression to atrio-esophageal fistula. Using electrogastrography, we assessed the incidence of periesophageal vagal nerve injury (VNI) following atrial fibrillation ablation and its association with procedural parameters and endoscopic results...

Converting CO2 to clean-burning fuel such as natural gas (CH4 ) with high activity and selectivity remains to be a grand challenge due to slow kinetics of multiple electron transfer processes and competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the fabrication of surfactants (C11 H23 COONa, C12 H25 SO4 Na, C16 H33 SO4 Na) intercalated NiAl-layered double hydroxides (NiAl-LDH) is reported, resulting in the formation of LDH-S1 (S1 = C11 H23 COO- ), LDH-S2 (S2 = C12 H25 SO4 - ) and LDH-S3 (S3 = C16 H33 SO4 - ) with curved morphology...

Cryptococcosis, caused predominantly by Cryptococcus neoformans , is a potentially fatal, opportunistic infection that commonly affects the central nervous system of immunocompromised patients. Globally, this mycosis is responsible for almost 20% of AIDS-related deaths, and in countries like Peru, its incidence remains high, mostly due to the annual increase in new cases of HIV infection. This study aimed to establish the genotypic diversity and antifungal susceptibility of C. neoformans isolates causing meningoencephalitis in 25 adults and a 9-year-old girl with HIV and other risk factors from Lima, Peru...

Cryptococcus spp. is a complex species that often causes cryptococcosis, which is one of the most common opportunistic infections in adults living with HIV and has very high morbidity and mortality rates. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal susceptibility profiles and epidemiological characteristics of the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex (CNSC) and the Cryptococcus gattii species complex (CGSC) in Zhejiang Province, China. A total of 177 CNSC and 3 CGSC isolates were collected, and antifungal susceptibility was tested by FUNGUS 3 and verified with an E-test...

Cryptococcus neoformans species complex (CNSC) is a globally distributed human opportunistic yeast pathogen consisting of five major molecular types (VNI, VNII, VNB, VNIII and VNIV) belonging to two species, C. neoformans (VNI, VNII and VNB, collectively called serotype A) and C. deneoformans (VNIV, commonly called serotype D), and their hybrids (VNIII, serotype AD). Over the years, many studies have analyzed the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of CNSC. However, the global population structure and mode of reproduction remain incompletely described...

The study aims to investigate the tail dependence between Chinese stock market and Vietnamese stock market in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using the data on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (VNI) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSEC) representing for Vietnam and China stock markets, the study reveals the tail dependence across three periods including: pre-pandemic, during the chaos of the pandemic, and the period of adaptation to the pandemic. Using the copula method including Normal, Clayton, Plackett, Frank, Student, Symmetrised Joe-Clayton copulas, the research results confirm that there is no dependent relationship between the stock market between the two countries in the pre-pandemic...

Background: The extensive deployment of molecular genotyping methods is the top reliable keyword to characterize the population genetic structure of C. neoformans in the past decade. However, studies involving genotypic analysis of C. neoformans var. grubii from China and Japan are limited. Objectives: We address this challenge to determine the genotype distribution of C. neoformans var. grubii strains from China and Japan. Methods: Genotypic analysis of 52 C...

Neuromeningeal cryptococcosis (NMC) is a life-threatening opportunistic infection in advanced HIV disease patients (AHDP). It is caused by Cryptococcus spp. complexes and mainly occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we performed molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility profiling of Cryptococcus isolates from AHDP in Kinshasa (DRC). Additionally, we investigated a possible association between NMC severity factors and the Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) multilocus sequence typing (MLST) profiles...

Cryptococcosis is a global fungal infection caused by the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii yeast complex. This infection is acquired by inhalation of propagules such as basidiospores or dry yeast, initially causing lung infections with the possibility of progressing to the meninges. This infection mainly affects immunocompromised HIV and transplant patients; however, immunocompetent patients can also be affected. This review proposes to evaluate cryptococcosis focusing on studies of this mycosis in Brazilian territory; moreover, recent advances in the understanding of its virulence mechanism, animal models in research are also assessed...

The effect of substitutional metal dopants in NiO x on the structural and electronic structures is of great interest, particularly for increasing the p-type conductivities as a hole transport layer (HTL) applied in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this paper, experimental fabrications and density functional theory calculations have been carried out on Cd-doped NiO x films to examine the effect of divalent doping on the electronic and geometric structures of NiO x . The results indicate that divalent Cd dopants reduced the formation energy of the Ni vacancy (VNi ) and created more VNi in the films, which enhanced the p-type conductivity of the NiO x films...

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation therapy is proven to produce neuroprotective effects against central nervous system diseases and reduce neurological injury, having a positive effect on the recovery of neurological functions in mouse model of stroke. Objective: This study was aimed at exploring a wider time window for VNS treatment, investigating the long-term behavioral improvement of long-term VNS in mice after pMCAO, and exploring the antiapoptotic properties of VNS and its role in autophagy, all of which may be a permanent deficiency potential mechanism of neuroprotection in hemorrhagic stroke...

Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic infection associated with HIV/AIDS. The present review systematically describes the clinical and biological aspects of cryptococcosis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and estimates its 2020 burden in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched online databases for records of cryptococcosis/Cryptococcus spp. in the DRC. Meta-analysis was then performed to estimate summary statistics and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI)...

BACKGROUND: Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that can cause meningitis in immunocompromised individuals. The objective of this work was to study the relationship between the phenotypes and genotypes of isolates of clinical origin from different cities in Colombia. METHODS: Genome classification of 29 clinical isolates of C. neoformans var. grubii was performed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and genomic sequencing was used to genotype protein-coding genes...

BACKGROUND: Cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) induces oxidative stress and activates autophagy, leading to brain injury and neurologic deficits. Cervical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) increases cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this study, we investigate the effect of VNS-induced CBF increase on neurologic outcomes after cardiac arrest (CA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 male C57Bl/6 mice were subjected to ten minutes of asphyxia CA and randomized to vagus nerve isolation (VNI) or VNS treatment group...

Fungi belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii species complex (CNGSC) are etiological agents of serious and not infrequently fatal infections in both humans and animals. Trees are the main ecological niche and source of potential exposition concerning these pathogens. With regard to epidemiology of cryptococcosis, various surveys were performed worldwide, enabling the establishment of a map of distribution and genetic structure of the arboreal population of the CNGSC. However, there are regions, among them Central and Eastern Europe, in which the data are lacking...