Association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and the risk of hospital visits for acute upper respiratory tract infections among adults: a time-series study in Ningbo, China.

OBJECTIVES: Acute upper respiratory tract infections (AURTIs) are prevalent in the general population. However, studies on the association of short-term exposure to air pollution with the risk of hospital visits for AURTIs in adults are limited. This study aimed to explore the short-term exposure to air pollutants among Chinese adults living in Ningbo. METHODS: Quasi-Poisson time serious regressions with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) were applied to explore the association between ambient air pollution and AURTIs cases. Patients ≥ 18 years who visit three hospitals, being representative for urban, urban-rural junction and rural were included in this retrospective study. RESULTS: In total, 104,441 cases with AURTIs were enrolled in hospital during 2015-2019. The main results showed that particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen dioxide (SO2), were positively associated to hospital visits for AURTIs, except for nitrogen dioxide (O3), which was not statistically significant. The largest single-lag effect for PM2.5 at lag 8 days (RR = 1.02, 95%CI: 1.08-1.40), for NO2 at lag 13 days (RR = 1.03, 95%CI: 1.00-1.06) and for SO2 at lag 5 days (RR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.08-1.48), respectively. In the stratified analysis, females, and young adults (18-60 years) were more vulnerable to PM2.5 and SO2 and the effect was greater in rural areas and urban-rural junction. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to ambient air pollution was significantly associated with hospital visits for AURTIs. This study provides epidemiological evidence for policymakers to control better air quality and establish an enhanced system of air pollution alerts.

Pharmacokinetics and Bioequivalence of Two Formulations of Rosuvastatin Following Single-dose Administration in Healthy Chinese Subjects Under Fasted and Fed Conditions.

The main objective of the study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two rosuvastatin calcium tablets in healthy Chinese subjects under fasted and fed conditions. The study was carried out using a randomized, open-label, two-formulation, two-sequence, two-period, single-dose crossover design, with a washout period of 7 days. Both the fasted study and fed study enrolled 28 subjects. In each study period, the subjects were administrated a single oral dose of the test product or reference product of rosuvastatin 10 mg. Blood samples were collected from pre-dose to 72 hours after administration with 16 time points in total. Bioequivalence evaluation was performed using ln-transformed pharmacokinetic parameters of rosuvastatin, including Cmax , AUC0-t , and AUC0-∞ . In the present study, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of test/reference geometric mean ratios (GMRs) of Cmax , AUC0-t , and AUC0-∞ under the fasted and fed conditions were all within the acceptance range of 80%-125%. Additionally, only one subject experienced one adverse event (AE). High-fat meals reduced the Cmax , AUC0-t , and AUC0-∞ , but had no significant effects on the λz, t1/2 , or Tmax of rosuvastatin. In the current study, the test product was bioequivalent to the reference product, and a single dose of rosuvastatin (10 mg) was well-tolerated. Food decreased the systemic exposure of rosuvastatin without the effects on the Tmax or elimination rate.

Pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence study of two ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets in healthy Chinese subjects under fasting and fed conditions: A randomized, open-label, two-formulation, two-sequence, two-period, single-dose crossover study.

OBJECTIVE: The study mainly aimed to determine the bioequivalence of two branded ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets (250 mg) under fasting and fed conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out in 48 healthy Chinese subjects under fasting and fed conditions with a randomized, open-label, two-formulation, two-sequence, two-period, single-dose crossover design. In each period of the study, the subjects were assigned to receive a single oral dose of 250 mg ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. Blood samples were collected from 1 hour before dosing to 36 hours after administration with 16 timepoints in total. The bioequivalence analysis was performed after ln-transformation of the ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetic parameters including Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞. RESULTS: A total of 48 subjects were enrolled in the fasting and fed studies, and 1 of the subjects was excluded before drug administration. In the fasting study, the 90% CIs for the test/reference geometric mean ratios (GMRs) of the ln-transformed data for Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ were 85.41 - 100.97%, 95.40 - 100.27%, and 95.48 - 100.30%, respectively. For the fed study, the 90% CIs for the test/reference GMRs of the ln-transformed data for Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ were 90.15 - 113.75%, 99.10 - 103.77%, and 99.11 - 103.80%, respectively. These values all fell within the standard acceptance range of 80 - 125%. CONCLUSION: In the study, the generic (test) product of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride 250 mg was bioequivalent to the innovator (reference) product after single-, oral-dose administration under fasting and fed conditions.

[Dynamic change of hippocampal volume in children with recurrent febrile seizures].

OBJECTIVE: To study the change and significance of hippocampal volume (HCV) in children with recurrent febrile seizures. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data and examination results of 34 children with recurrent febrile seizures who underwent two magnetic resonance plain scans of the head and the hippocampus from January 1, 2013 to September 30, 2019. According to the follow-up time, they were divided into the first follow-up group and the second follow-up group. According to prognosis, they were divided into a febrile seizure group, a non-febrile group and an epilepsy group. The change in HCV was analyzed and compared. RESULTS: Total HCV was positively correlated with age (rs=0.683, P < 0.05). The second follow-up group had a significantly larger total HCV than the first follow-up group (P < 0.05). For both groups, preschool children (≥ 3 years old) had significantly larger total HCV, left HCV, and right HCV than those at an age of < 3 years (P < 0.05). For both groups, the children with persistent seizures had significantly lower average annual increment (ΔV) of total HCV, left HCV, and right HCV than those without persistent seizures (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in ΔV of total HCV, left HCV, and right HCV among the febrile seizure, non-febrile seizure and epilepsy groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: HCV gradually increases with age in children with recurrent febrile seizures. Persistent seizures may damage the development of the hippocampus.

[The properties of OTFTs and pentacene films deposited onto different insulator layers].

The authors fabricated OTFT devices with different insulator materials. The OTFTs with PMMA as the dielectric layer exhibit better properties, including a mobility of 0.207 cm2 x V1 x s(-1), an on/off current ratio of 4.93 x 10(3), and a threshold voltage of 4.3 V. However, the OTFTs based on oxidized silicon dielectric layer perform not so well, with a mobility of 0.039 cm2 x V(-1) x s(-1), an on/off current ratio of 5.98 x 10(2), and a threshold voltage of 5.4 V. In order to explain the difference in performances, we compared the surface roughness of the oxidized silicon film with that of the PMMA film according to the results of atomic force microscopy, and found that the former had a roughness mean square (RMS) of 1.579 nm and the latter was more smooth with an RMS of 0.216 nm. The quality of the pentacene films deposited onto oxidized silicon and PMMA was also studied by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. From the results of AFM, the authors found that the pentacene film deposited on PMMA had high thin film quality with larger grain size and less crystal grain boundaries. From the results of XRD, the authors found that the pentacene film deposited on PMMA had clear diffraction peak, showing that the pentacene film deposited on PMMA had greater crystallite quality once again. Therefore, OTFTs with PMMA as insulator layers have advantages over those OTFTs with oxidized silicon dielectric layer.