Objective To measure the values of quantitative ultrasound(QUS) of different gestational age preterm infants at birth in Guangzhou area,and compare them with the values of Caucasian preterm infants in order to get insight into the bone development status of preterm infants in Guangzhou area and to evaluate the practicability of QUS.Methods The Omnisense quantitative ultrasound produced by Israel Sunlight company was used to measure the bone speed of sound(SOS) of left tibia of preterm infants born between Jun.2010 and Jun.2012 in Maternity and Children Health Hospital of Huadu District in Guangzhou,and the values of SOS of Caucasian preterm infants was compared.Results There were totally 1039 preterm infants born in Guangzhou area involved in this study,and they were divided into group A,B,C,D by gestational ages:≤ 30 weeks,30 + 1 ～ 32 weeks,32 + 1 ～ 34 weeks,34 + 1 ～ 36 + 6 weeks.The values of SOS of each group at birth were(2892.05 ± 139.17) m/s,(2936.84 ± 137.87) m/s,(2966.65 ± 116.60) m/s and (2988.63 ± 120.74) m/s,separately,and with the increase of gestational age,and there was significant difference of SOS between different gestational age groups(F =15.758,P =0.000).But there was no significant difference of SOS between male and female (F =2.665,P =0.103).Compared with Caucasian preterm infants,the SOS value gap (defined as the Z value) of preterm infants of different gestational age in Guangzhou area was no significant difference(P =0.117),and there was no significant difference between male and female (F =3.494,P =0.062).Conclusions The value of SOS of preterm infants was higher with the increase of maturity of preterm infants.There was no significant difference of SOS between Guangzhou preterm infants and Caucasian preterm infants.And QUS is suitable for clinical evaluation of bone development status of preterm infants.

Toxicologic pathology plays an important role in the safety evaluation of drugs.The results of toxicologic pathology can answer the basic problems of pathological lesions such as location,severity grading,nature and prognosis,etc.Necropsy and gross pathology examination are important aspects of toxicologic pathology assessment.Procedures typically include preparation for the necropsy,euthanasia procedures,identification and recording all gross lesions,collection of tissues listed in the study protocol,determination of organ weight,as well as tissue fixation so as to be ready for the subsequent tissue processing and histopathology examination.All the procedures must be done in a consistent manner and in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs).The present paper briefly introduced the principles of necropsy and gross pathology examination for toxicologic pathology in order to standardize the procedures and to lay foundation for the improvement of the histopathology examination in the field of preclinical safety evaluation of drugs of China.

Computerized system has been played an increasingly important role in preclinical safety evaluation of drugs and has been used directly or indirectly for data acquisition,processing,reporting as well as raw data storage.However,the computerized system has not been widely used in facilities for preclinical safety evaluation of drugs or only some functions of modules of computerized system have been used.Based on the current application status of the computerized system in the facilities for preclinical safety evaluation of drugs in China,this paper briefly introduced the following aspects about validation of computerized system,such as GLP regulatory requirements of validation of the computerized system,validation process of the computerized system,maintenance of validation state of the computerized system,safety precautions of performance of the computerized system,as well as electronic records and electronic signatures with the purpose to provide some references for carrying out and speeding up the validation of computerized system and to further improve the efficiency of the computerized system in facilities for preclinical safety evaluation of drugs in China and to be in line with international practice.

Neurotoxicity is one common adverse effect caused by many drugs or compounds.In the early phase of new drug development,it is necessary to screen for neurotoxicants.Neurotoxicity studies in nonhuman primates (NHP) are used to evaluate the neurotoxicity of small-molecule drugs or vaccines that may affect the nervous system across the blood-brain barrier during preclinical safety assessment.Toxicologic pathological evaluation or neuropathological examination is the "gold standard" for the evaluation of drug neurotoxicity in preclinical drug safety studies.In this paper,the majory factors influencing the quality of neuropathology evaluation in toxicology,including the general strategy of neuropathology evaluation,the optimal timing of evaluation,the specific blood-brain barrier in the nervous system,the method of sampling in the histopathology of nerve tissue,and the interference of artificial artifacts in diagnosis of neuropathology,were detailly analyzed in order to provide a reference for setting guidelines of neurotoxicity risk assessment in China and pathologists and toxicologists engaged in nonclinical neurotoxicity studies.

Examination and assessment of target organ toxicity in toxicologic pathology of preclinical safety evaluation of drugs should combine the results of the gross pathology,histopathology and clinical pathology examination data in a well-considered,stepwise approach.In addition,the nomenclature and diagnostic criteria recommended by INHAND should be used to avoid subjective and inappropriate diagnosis.In this paper,we briefly introduced the basic principles for the examination of organ toxicity in toxicology studies,gross pathology,histopathology,diagnostic approach,procedures,and considerations,international harmonization of diagnostic term and criteria,clinical pathology parameters analysis,results of a well-concerted combination of anatomical and clinical pathology data so as to provide some reference for the examination and assessment of target organ toxicity in toxicologic pathology in the field ofpreclinical safety evaluation of drugs in China.

Objective To analyze the results of detection on influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus in Beijing from May 2009 to December 2009 and to understand the epidemiologic characteristics during the pandemic period. Methods The study was conducted from the May 1 to December 27,2009. A total of 101 852 throat swab samples were detected with the real-time RT-PCR assay by the Beijing Network Laboratory. Data was statistically analyzed. Results 9843 samples showed influenza A (H1N1) 2009 positive, with an overall positive rate as 9.66%. In terms of the positive rates, they were 2.85% from May to June, 3.32% from July to August and 8.35% from September to October. The peak month fell in November (29.67%) and December (24.33%). The positive rates among the following subpopulations were: 8.40% among the suspected cases, 4.75% among close contact cases, 11.46% among the influenza-like illness cases and 7.33% among the cluster cases with fever. Positive cases mainly fell in age groups 5-14 and 15-24. The ratio of male to female was 1.5:1.Conclusion During the pandemic period of influenza A (H1N1) 2009, positive cases gradually increased during May to November but slowly decreasing in December.

Objective:To determine the contents of inorganic arsenic（iAs），monomethylarsonic acid（MMA） and dimethylarsinic acid（DMA） in brain tissues and blood by using hydride generation-cold trap-atomic absorptionspectrometry（HG-CT-AAS）， and to explore the toxic effects of Realgar on central nervous system of rats. Method:The 96 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups：normal control group，0.3，0.9 and 2.7 g·kg^-1 Realgar groups. They then received intragastric administration for 14，28 and 42 days respectively， so a total of 12 groups were formed， with 8 animals in each group. The normal group was given the same dose of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose （CMC-Na） by gavage. The contents of iAs，MMA and DMA in blood and brain tissues were determined by HG-CT-AAS. The novel object recognition test was conducted to observe the learning and memory ability of rats. The changes of hippocampal neuron ultrastructure were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Result:There was no difference in the growth，weight and hippocampal coefficient of the experimental animals. The method of HG-CT-AAS showed a good linearity，precision，accuracy and recovery in content determination of arsenic （at various forms） in rat brain and blood. MMA and DMA were detected in the brain of realgar groups at time-dose-effect relationship. iAs，MMA and DMA were detected in the blood of Realgar groups. The nuclear membrane， mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in hippocampus neurons of rats were gradually damaged with the increase of Rhubarb exposure dose and time. After 14 days of exposure to Realgar，compared with the normal control group，there was no significant difference in the novel object recognition index among Realgar groups. After 28 days of exposure，only 2.7 g·kg^-1 Realgar group showed statistically significant difference with the control group （P<0.05）. After 42 days of exposure， the novel object recognition index of 0.9 and 2.7 g·kg^-1 Realgar groups was significantly lower than that in normal control group（P<0.05）. Conclusion:The metabolites of Realgar in rats are iAs，MMA and DMA. MMA and DMA can be accumulated in the brain tissue through the blood-brain barrier，causing the decline of the ability of learning and memory and leading to damage of hippocampal neurons.

BackgroundSerum cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) test is the most used noninvasive method to detect cryptococcal infection. However, false-negative CrAg test is not uncommon in clinical practice. Then, the aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with false-negative CrAg test among non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) adult patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis and its clinical features.

MethodsOne hundred and fourteen non-HIV adult patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis, proven by biopsy, were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 85 patients were enrolled; 56 were CrAg positive (CrAg+ group) and 29 were negative (CrAg- group). It was a cross-sectional study. Then, baseline characteristics, underlying diseases, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and chest radiological findings were reviewed and analyzed. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variable. Odds ratio (OR) was used to measure correlation. Student's t- test was obtained to analyze continuous variable.

ResultsNo difference in baseline characteristics, underlying diseases, clinical symptoms, and laboratory findings were found between two groups (P > 0.05 in all). Nevertheless, diffuse extent lesion was 82.1% in CrAg+ group and 10.3% in CrAg- group (χ = 40.34, P < 0.001; OR = 39.87).

ConclusionsAmong patients with limited pulmonary involvement, a negative serum CrAg does not preclude the diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis. However, among patients with extensive pulmonary involvement, serum CrAg is a useful diagnostic tool for pulmonary cryptococcosis. Furthermore, we also noticed that the untypical and mild presentations with extensive pulmonary lesion might be the features of pulmonary cryptococcosis, which needs further investigation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cryptococcosis ; immunology ; pathology ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; immunology ; pathology ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and glycemic indices, including plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postload glucose (2h-PG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), remains inconclusive. We aimed to explore the associations between glycemic indices and SUA levels in the general Chinese population. Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional analysis using the first follow-up survey data from The China Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer Cohort Study. A total of 105,922 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 40 years underwent the oral glucose tolerance test and uric acid assessment. The nonlinear relationships between glycemic indices and SUA levels were explored using generalized additive models. Results: A total of 30,941 men and 62,361 women were eligible for the current analysis. Generalized additive models verified the inverted U-shaped association between glycemic indices and SUA levels, but with different inflection points in men and women. The thresholds for FPG, 2h-PG, and HbA1c for men and women were 6.5/8.0 mmol/L, 11.0/14.0 mmol/L, and 6.1/6.5, respectively (SUA levels increased with increasing glycemic indices before the inflection points and then eventually decreased with further increases in the glycemic indices). Conclusion An inverted U-shaped association was observed between major glycemic indices and uric acid levels in both sexes, while the inflection points were reached earlier in men than in women.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Glucose/analysis* ; China/epidemiology* ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/blood* ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Glycated Hemoglobin A/analysis* ; Glycemic Index ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Uric Acid/blood*