BACKGROUND: A reliable and valid assessing tool to detect the problem before the child becomes deviant is very important. AIM: This study aimed to further test the reliability and validity of developmental screening instrument for follow-up of thirty-six months children in Taiwan. Also, the stability and changes in the development of children from six to thirty-six months were investigated. METHODS: A total of 1751 infants were administered the six-month scale, which included levels of Gross and Fine Motor, Language/Communication, and Social ability. At eighteen months, 1267 infants were followed up, and at thirty-six months, 1630 infants were followed up. RESULTS: Item analysis showed the thirty-six months scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.793. By confirmatory factor analysis, the correlations of the four dimensions in this scale were within the range of 0.38 to 0.61. Structural equation modeling showed that the six month scale could directly predict the eighteen months scale, and the gross motor, language, and social dimensions in the thirty-six months scale. The eighteen-month scale was also predictive of the thirty-six months scale. The six, eighteen and thirty-six-month scales all had acceptable reliability and validity, including content, construct and predictive validity. Additionally, the language development at six months was predictive of the language and social development at thirty-six months. The predictive model showed there were correlations between each dimensions at different ages. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the pilot of a large and scientifically robust longitudinal first national birth cohort study in Taiwan, and the findings should provide useful reference for future studies.

A patient who was given metoclopramide for vomiting and diarrhoea developed circulatory collapse with his blood pressure dropping to 50/20 mm Hg. A gastrinoma was diagnosed histologically. The extent of the tumour was defined by octreotide scanning and magnetic resonance imaging. Metoclopramide was again given for colicky abdominal pain and the patient developed circulatory collapse a second time. A laparotomy involving extensive resection of the tumour was performed. The MEN1 mutation was not detected in blood or tumour tissue. Follow-up octreotide scanning did not show any residual tumour. Possible causes for the circulatory collapse are discussed. Our case is probably the first patient with gastrinoma to develop circulatory collapse after being given metoclopramide.

Weighing method was adopted to study the formation time and the amount of soil condensation water in four habitats (mobile sandy land, fixed sandy land, farmland, and Mongolian pine forest land) in Horqin Sandy Land in August 2007. The soil condensation water began to form at 20:00-22:00, increased gradually at 22:00-4:00, and began to evaporate after 4:00. In the four habitats, soil condensation water was mainly formed in 0-9 cm layer, and the amount was the greatest in 0-3 cm layer, accounting for 40% of the total. The soil condensation water also formed in 9-30 cm layer, but in very small amount. There was a greater difference in the mean daily amount of soil condensation water in 0-3 cm layer in the four habitats, with the sequence of fixed sandy land > mobile sandy land > farmland > Mongolian pine forest land, which indicated that the habitat with better vegetation condition was not benefit the formation of soil condensation water. The mean daily amount of soil condensation water in 0-30 cm layer was 0.172 mm in fixed sandy land, 0.128 mm in Mongolian pine forest land, 0.120 mm in mobile sandy land, and 0.110 mm in farmland.

Abstract To evaluate the effects of recombinant porcine interleukin-18 (rpIL-18) on the replication of viruses in host cells and proliferation of lymphocytes, porcine IL-18 (pIL-18) isolated from a domestic big-white porcine breed found in the Henan province (HN) was cloned using a reverse transcriptase-PCR. The cloned HN pIL-18 contained an ORF of 579 base pairs encoding a 192-amino-acid precursor protein. The amino acid sequence of HN pIL-18 was compared with all the other pIL-18 amino acid sequences and varied by at least one amino acid to the consensus of all the others available. HN pIL-18 mature protein gene was inserted into a prokaryotic vector pGEX-4T-1 and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. The expression of glutathione-S-transferase-pIL18 fusion protein was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis. The rpIL-18 induced in vitro proliferation of concanavalin-A-stimulated porcine splenocytes, as revealed by the MTT assay. We studied the antiviral activities of the rpIL-18 on the replication of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and porcine parvovirus (PPV) cultured in two homologous cell lines. The results suggested that rpIL-18 can stimulate the proliferation of lymphocytes and inhibit viral pathogens infecting the porcine population.

Background Nowadays, intensive insulin treatment has been widely used in type 2 diabetics who have poor control of blood glucose, to reduce the risk of chronic complications of diabetes. Recently, some scholars have paid more attention to the pivotal role of inflammation involved in type 2 diabetes and its complications. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), which are two important inflammatory chemokines, have been documented to participate in the onset and development of type 2 diabetes and its complications, such as diabetic nephropathy (DN). Design In the current study, we recruited 30 type 2 diabetics with microalbuminuria to be treated with multiple insulin injections daily for 2 weeks. Random spot urine samples (corrected for creatinine-Cr) were collected for the examination of urinary MCP-1, ICAM-1 and albumin (Alb) levels before and after the intensive insulin therapy. Changes in their levels were observed to test the hypothesis that type 2 diabetes with microalbuminuria is associated with elevated urinary concentrations of MCP-1 and ICAM-1, and intensive insulin therapy can result in a decline of Alb by reducing the inflammatory reaction. Results The urinary MCP-1/Cr and urinary ICAM-1/Cr ratios in type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria were much higher than those in normal controls, and intensive insulin treatment could decrease significantly the urinary MCP-1/Cr, ICAM-1/Cr and Alb/Cr ratios in type 2 diabetics with microalbuminuria. Conclusion Intensive insulin treatment may protect against renal injury in early DN by reducing the urinary MCP-1 and ICAM-1 excretions.

To investigate the pharmacokinetics of clarithromycin citrate salt and the effect of food on the absorption of free base and citrate salt, clarithromycin citrate was prepared and the in vitro intrinsic dissolution profiles of the free base and the salt were examined at pH 5.0 and pH 6.8. The pharmacokinetic profiles of clarithromycin following a single oral administration as the free base and its citrate salt (equivalent to 75 mg clarithromycin) were evaluated in eight beagle dogs. The plasma concentrations of clarithromycin were determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass with positive ion electrospray ionization using the multiple reaction monitoring method. The dissolution rates of clarithromycin and its citrate salt were similar at pH 5.0; however, at pH 6.8 citrate salt significantly enhanced the dissolution rate of clarithromycin. Clarithromycin's relative bioavailability value as expressed by the ratio of total mean area under the curve for clarithromycin citrate to that of clarithromycin was 104.2% and 110.1% under fast and fed conditions, respectively. The clarithromycin plasma area under the curve ratio was 33.4% and 25.7%, respectively, following oral clarithromycin or clarithromycin citrate salt drug coadministration with breakfast compared to fast-state controls (P < 0.05). There was no difference in pharmacokinetic parameters between clarithromycin and clarithromycin citrate salt under fast and fed conditions, but under the fed condition, T(max) was delayed and the C(max) of clarithromycin citrate salt and clarithromycin was decreased relative to the fasted condition, indicating that the consumption of this meal substantially reduced the drug's bioavailability.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between the polymorphisms of GST M1 and GST T1 genes and anti-tuberculous drug induced hepatic injury (ADIH). METHODS: A 1:1 matched case-control study was carried out. One hundred and six patients [age (49 +/- 19) years, 73 men and 33 women] fulfilling the criteria of ADIH during the 3 month follow-up after the initiation of anti-tuberculous therapy were included, while 106 cases [age (49 +/- 19) years, 73 men and 33 women] without any hepatic injury served as the controls. The genotypes of GST M1 and GST T1 genetic polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in patients who received anti-tuberculosis therapy. Using SPSS 11.5 for windows software, univariate and multivariate conditional logistic analyses were conducted for studying the relationship between the polymorphisms and ADIH. RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that the "null" genotype of GST M1 gene occurred in 50 (47.2%) of the cases, more frequent than in the controls [25 (23.6%)], with a crude OR (95%CI) 2.786 (1.513 - 5.130). No significant association was observed between ADIH and GST T1 polymorphism. Among the risk factors analyzed, body mass index and alcohol drinking were significantly associated with ADIH. In the multivariate analysis, a significant association between ADIH and the "null" genotype of GST M1 existed, after adjusting for body mass index and drinking status, adjusted OR (95%CI) being 3.022 (1.540 - 5.926). Again, no significant association was observed between GST T1 polymorphism and ADIH. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that patients carrying GST M1-"null" genotype may be susceptible to ADIH.

AbstractAim:The potential for topical delivery of meloxicam was investigated by examining its pharmacokinetic profiles in plasma and synovial fluid following oral and transdermal administration in Beagle dogs.Methods:The experiment was a two-period, crossover design using 6 Beagle dogs. Meloxicam tablets were administered orally at a dose of 0.31 mg/kg, and meloxicam gel was administered transdermally at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg. Drug concentrations in plasma and synovial fluid were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the Topfit 2.0 program.Results:The pharmacokinetic results showed that AUC(0-t)(23.9+/-8.26 mug.h.mL(-1)) in plasma after oral administration was significantly higher than after transdermal delivery (1.00+/-0.43 mug.h.mL(-1)). In contrast, the ratio of the average concentration in synovial fluid to that in plasma following transdermal administration was higher than that for an oral delivery. The synovial fluid concentration in the treated leg was much higher than that in the untreated leg, whereas the synovial fluid concentration in the untreated leg was similar to the plasma concentration.Conclusions:The high concentration ratio of synovial fluid to plasma indicates direct penetration of meloxicam following topical administration to the target tissue. This finding is further supported by the differences observed in meloxicam concentrations in synovial fluid in the treated and untreated joints at the same time point. Our results suggest that transdermal delivery of meloxicam is a promising method for decreasing its adverse systemic effects.Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 22 June 2009; doi: 10.1038/aps.2009.73.