Determination of critical concentrations of moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin for drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the BACTEC MGIT 960 system.

Objectives: To determine critical concentrations of moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin for rapid evaluation of drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Middlebrook 7H9 broth using the automated system BACTEC™ MGIT™ 960.

Methods: In total we studied 152 strains. Critical concentrations of moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin in the BACTEC™ MGIT™ 960 and on Lowenstein-Jensen medium were determined using a panel of 68 strains.

Optimized administration regimen of lopinavir for a myocardial ischaemia reperfusion study in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Pharmacokinetics of drugs may differ between small and large mammals (including humans); therefore, drug testing in animal models must be carefully designed. Sprague-Dawley rats were used in cardiac experiments, during which the lopinavir concentration in serum had to match human therapeutic levels (4-10 μg/mL). Lopinavir was administered as a co-formulated drug of lopinavir and ritonavir.

Analysis of mutations in the gyrA and gyrB genes and their association with the resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and gatifloxacin.

The purpose of the present study was to analyse mutations in the gyrA and gyrB genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and define the possible correlation between these mutations and resistance to levofloxacin (LVX), moxifloxacin (MFX) and gatifloxacin (GAT), based on their MICs. One hundred and forty-two M. tuberculosis clinical isolates were collected from pulmonary tuberculosis patients in the Moscow region.

Detection of progressive myocardial tissue injury by ultrasonic integrated backscatter immediately after coronary reperfusion.

Myocardial reperfusion following ischemia may paradoxically cause additional injury, including microvascular damage and edema. These structural alterations augment tissue echogenicity, which is measurable by ultrasonic integrated backscatter (IB). We sought to characterize alterations in myocardial IB in an ischemic and reperfused region of the rat heart.

The left ventricle responds to acute graded elevation of right ventricular afterload by augmentation of twist magnitude and untwist rate.

Background: The right and left ventricles share the interventricular septum, which mechanically transmits pressure gradients. The aim of this study was to investigate how acute mild or moderate right ventricular (RV) afterload affects left ventricular (LV) function.

Methods: In 14 open-chest pigs (mean weight, 43 ± 4 kg) with preserved pericardium, acute mild (>35 and ≤50 mm Hg) and moderate (>50 and ≤60 mm Hg) RV pressure loading conditions were induced by constriction of the pulmonary artery.