Scientific publications in pharmacology and pharmacy journals from Chinese authors in various parts of North Asia: a 10-year survey of the literature.

The amount and quality of pharmacology and pharmacy research by authors from China was investigated by comparing published articles from 136 international journals (1998 - 2007) by authors from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The number of articles, clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, case reports, impact factors, number of citations and number of articles published in top general medicine journals were compared. The total number of articles increased significantly between 1998 and 2007 (from 324 to 2536 per year). In total, there were 12 021 articles: 7576 from mainland China, 3267 from Taiwan and 1178 from Hong Kong. The accumulated impact factor of the articles from mainland China (16 688.94) was much higher than for those from Taiwan (8726.92) and Hong Kong (3161.22) but, among the three regions, Hong Kong had the highest mean impact factor and the most articles published in top general medicine journals.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Singapore grouper iridovirus by loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

AIMS: The aim of this paper was to develop a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for rapid, sensitive and inexpensive detection of Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) in grouper (GP), Epinephelus sp. METHODS AND RESULTS: A set of six specific primers was designed by targeting the SGIV ORF-014L. With Bst DNA polymerase large fragment, the target DNA can be amplified as early as 20 min at 65 degrees C in a simple water bath. The detection limit is about 0.02 fg (equivalent to 6.3 copies) of plasmid ORF-014L. LAMP products could be judged with three different methods. There were no cross-reactions with seven other aquatic animal viruses indicating high specificity of the LAMP. The LAMP method was applied to detect SGIV in virus-infected GP cells and GP tissues effectively. CONCLUSIONS: The LAMP described in this study is a cheap, sensitive, specific and rapid protocol for the detection of SGIV in cells and in GP tissues. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The developed LAMP method can be simply applied both in field condition and in laboratory operation for specific detection of SGIV infection.