Apoptosis-linked antifungal effect of ambroxol hydrochloride by cystolic calcium concentration disturbance in resistant Candida albicans

Dear Editor,Since the early 1980s,the incidence of fungal infections has significantly increased in immunocompromised individuals(WisplinghofF et al.,2004;Pfaller and Diekema,2007).However,due to the extensive and indiscriminate use of available antifungal agents,an increasing number of antifungal-resistant pathogens have been isolated over the past few decades(Sanglard and Odds,2002).C.albicans,an important opportunistic fxingal pathogen,is becoming increasingly resistant to several antifungal agents,particularly triazole compounds.Drug resistance in C.albicans has emerged as an important public health concern(Sanglard and Odds,2002).Although ambroxol hydrochloride(ABH)has recently been found to display antifungal activity against susceptible C.albicans,its antifungal effect and mechanism against resistant C.albicans have not yet been thoroughly investigated.The aim of this study was to elucidate the antifungal effects(in vitro and in vivo)and mechanisms of ABH against resistant C.albicans.

The effect of capping with natural and modified zeolites on the release of phosphorus and organic contaminants from river sediment

A microcosm system that included river sediment,water and different zeolite capping materials(natural zeolite,surfactant-modified zeolite(SMZ),or aluminum modified zeolite(AMZ))was designed to study the effect of capping on the release of phosphorus and three organic pollutants(phenol,pyridine,and pyrene)from the sediment to the overlying water over the course of three month.For the same amount of the three capping materials,the efficiency of phosphorus inactivation was in the order of SMZ>AMZ>natural zeolite.The inactivation of phosphorus was mainly caused by the covering effect,co-precipitation and adsorption by the capping materials.The different zeolites gave different results for the release of phenol,pyridine,and pyrene from the sediment.When natural zeolite was used as the capping material,there was no effect on the release of pyrene and pyridine,whereas capping the sediment with SMZ or AMZ inhibited the release of pyrene and pyridine but to different extents.However,for controlling the release of phenol from the sediment,aluminum modified zeolite was the most efficient material,whereas no effects were observed when natural zeolite or SMZ were used.The different capabilities of the zeolite materials for controlling the release of different organic pollutants are related to the differences in the electrical properties of these pollutants.

Restoration of hyper-eutrophic water with a modularized and air adjustable constructed submerged plant bed

A modularized and air adjustable constructed submerged plant bed(CSPB)which can be used to restore the eutrophic water is introduced in this paper.This plant bed helps hydrophyte grow under poor conditions such as frequently changed water depth,impaired water transparency,algae bloom and substantial duckweed in summer,which are not naturally suitable for growing hydrophyte.This pilot study in Waihuan River of Tianjin,China,revealed that reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD),Total Nitrogen(TN)and Total Phosphorus(TP)by the use of CSPB could be reached 30%-35%,35%-40%,30%-40%respectively in the growing season(from March to October)and 5%-10%,5%-15%,7%-20%respectively in the winter(from November to February)when the detention time was 6 d.The relationships between the concentration of COD,TN,TP and the detention time fit the first-order kinetic equation well and the coefficients of determination(R^(2))were all above 0.9.The attenuation coefficients k of the kinetic equation were a function of the water temperature.When the water temperature was quite low or quite high,k was not significantly changed with increasing or decreasing water temperature.While when the temperature was in a moderate range,an increase or decrease of water temperature would lead to a rapid increase or decrease in k.