Aspergillus biofilms were prepared from Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus terreus via a 96-well plate-based method, and the combined antifungal activity of tacrolimus with azoles or amphotericin B against Aspergillus biofilms was investigated via a broth microdilution checkerboard technique system. Our results suggest that combinations of tacrolimus with voriconazole or...

In this text we evaluated the in vitro antifungal activities of terbinafine combined with caspofungin, miconazole, ketoconazole, and fluconazole against 17 Pythium insidiosum strains by using the microdilution checkerboard method. Synergistic interactions were observed with terbinafine combined with caspofungin (41.2% of the strains), fluconazole (41.2%), ketoconazole (29.4%), and miconazole (1...

A new method for structural topology optimization using a genetic algorithm is proposed in this paper. This method uses a topology representation by Bézier curves with varying thickness material distribution in a finite element model. Two groups of variables are considered: control points of Bézier curves and thickness values for each curve. This new technique avoids the formation of disconnect...

The in vitro activity of imipenem in combination with fosfomycin against 17 clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from hospitalized patients was investigated by checkerboard and time-kill studies. Of the 17 strains tested, checkerboard studies revealed synergy in 14(82.3%)and indifference in 3(17.6%): the time-kill studies also revealed synergy in 14 of 14 strains at ...

We apply the contractor renormalization (CORE) method to the spin half Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the frustrated checkerboard and pyrochlore lattices. Their ground states are spin-gapped singlets which break lattice symmetry. Their effective Hamiltonians describe fluctuations of orthogonal singlet pairs on tetrahedral blocks, at an emergent low energy scale. We discuss low temperature thermo...

We investigate numerically the dynamics of unstable gravity driven three-dimensional thin liquid films on hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterned substrates. We explore longitudinally striped and checkerboard arrangements. Simulations show that for longitudinal stripes, the thin film can be guided preferentially on the hydrophilic stripes, while fingers develop on adjacent hydrophobic stripes if the ...

This study examined the in vitro effects of polymyxin B, tigecycline, and rifampin combinations on 16 isolates of extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, including four polymyxin-resistant strains. In vitro synergy was demonstrated in 19 (40%) of a possible 48 isolate-antibiotic combinations by time-kill methods, 8 (17%) by checkerboard methods, and only 1 (2%) by Etest methods. The...