Integration of Preclinical and Clinical Data with Pharmacokinetic Modeling and Simulation to Evaluate Fexofenadine as a Probe for Hepatobiliary Transport Function

The suitability of fexofenadine as a probe substrate to assess hepatobiliary transport function in humans was evaluated by pharmacokinetic modeling/simulation and in vitro/in situ studies using chemical modulators

Remediation of diesel contaminated sediments by worms (Perinereis sp.) bioturbation

Impacts of bioturbation by worms on remediation of diesel contaminated sediments were studied in a laboratory experiment. The total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were represented by the oil or diesel particles which were detected in seawater as well as in the upper, middle and lower layer of sediments at every three days of experiment. The whole experiment was lasted for 21 days and the TPH in the worms was measured by fluorescence analysis and the components of residual oil in the sediments were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the TPH were declined to 18.37±0.62 and 20.85±1.74 mg/kg in the surface and sub-surface sediments, respectively, which were the worms’ frequently active areas. TPH was found to increase slightly in deeper sediments as well as in the water column because of bioturbation by worms. The feeding behavior of worms led to the accumulation of TPH in the worm’s body and was reached from 0.998±0.171 to 23.764±3.878 mg/kg. Many components of the diesel such as alkanes, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) etc. were removed through bioturbation by worms. In conclusion, the petroleum hydrocarbons in the area where the worms are located will decrease over time

Remediation of diesel contaminated sediments by worms (Perinereis sp.) bioturbation

21-28Impacts of bioturbation by worms on remediation of diesel contaminated sediments were studied in a laboratory experiment. The total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were represented by the oil or diesel particles which were detected in seawater as well as in the upper, middle and lower layer of sediments at every three days of experiment. The whole experiment was lasted for 21 days and the TPH in the worms was measured by fluorescence analysis and the components of residual oil in the sediments were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the TPH were declined to 18.37±0.62 and 20.85±1.74 mg/kg in the surface and sub-surface sediments, respectively, which were the worms’ frequently active areas. TPH was found to increase slightly in deeper sediments as well as in the water column because of bioturbation by worms. The feeding behavior of worms led to the accumulation of TPH in the worm’s body and was reached from 0.998±0.171 to 23.764±3.878 mg/kg. Many components of the diesel such as alkanes, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) etc. were removed through bioturbation by worms. In conclusion, the petroleum hydrocarbons in the area where the worms are located will decrease over time

Predictors of HIV and Syphilis among Men Who Have Sex with Men in a Chinese Metropolitan City: Comparison of Risks among Students and Non-Students

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at a substantial risk of HIV, given rising HIV prevalence in urban China. Adolescent and adult students often take HIV-related risk as part of sexual exploration. We compared the risks of HIV and syphilis infections and risky sexual behaviors between student and non-student among urban MSM.Respondent driven sampling approach was used to recruit men who were self-identified as MSM in Chongqing Metropolitan City in southwestern China in 2009. Each participant completed a computer-assisted self-interview which collected demographic and behavioral data, and provided blood specimens for HIV and syphilis testing. Multivariable logistic regression analyses identified predictors for HIV and syphilis infections while comparing student and non-student MSM.Among 503 MSM participants, 36.4% were students, of whom 84.2% were in college. The adjusted prevalence of HIV infection was 5.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.1%-10.2%) in students and 20.9% (95% CI: 13.7%-27.5%) in non-students; the adjusted prevalence of syphilis was 4.4% (95% CI: 0.7%-9.0%) in students and 7.9% (95% CI: 3.6%-12.9%) in non-students (P = 0.12). Two groups had similar risky sexual behaviors such as number of sexual partners and exchanging sex for money. Multivariate analysis showed that students had lower HIV prevalence than non-students (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-0.8) adjusting for age, ethnicity and other variables.Student MSM have lower HIV and similar syphilis prevalence compared with non-student MSM. However, due to a shorter duration of sexual experience and high prevalence of at-risk sexual behaviors among student MSM, HIV risk might be quite high in students as in non-students

Association of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles and haplotypes with HIV-1 infection in Chongqing, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1) epidemic in Chongqing, China, is increasing rapidly with the dominant subtype of CRF07_BC over the past 3 years. Since human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have shown strong association with susceptibility/resistance to HIV-1 infection from individuals with different ethnic backgrounds, a recent investigation on frequencies of HLA class I and class II alleles in a Chinese cohort also indicated that similar correlation existed in HIV infected individuals from several provinces in China, however, such information is unavailable in Chongqing, southwest China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this population-based study, we performed polymerase chain reaction analysis with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) for intermediate-low-resolution HLA typing in a cohort of 549 HIV-1 infected individuals, another 2475 healthy subjects from the Han nationality in Chongqing, China, were selected as population control. We compared frequencies of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles, haplotypes and genotypes between the two groups, and analyzed their association with HIV-1 susceptibility or resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genetic profile of HLA (A, B, DRB1) alleles of HIV-1 infected individuals from Chongqing Han of China was obtained. Several alleles of HLA-B such as B*46 (P = 0.001, OR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.13-1.68), B*1501G(B62) (P = 0.013, OR = 1.42, 95%CI = 1.08-1.88), B*67 (P = 0.022, OR = 2.76, 95%CI = 1.16-6.57), B*37 (P = 0.014, OR = 1.93, 95%CI = 1.14-3.28) and B*52 (P = 0.038, OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.03-2.61) were observed to have association with susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in this population. In addition, the haplotype analysis revealed that A*11-B*46, A*24-B*54 and A*01-B*37 for 2-locus, and A*11-B*46-DRB1*09, A*02-B*46-DRB1*08, A*11-B*4001G-DRB1*15, A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*04, A*11-B*46-DRB1*08 and A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*12 for 3-locus had significantly overrepresented in HIV-1 infected individuals, whereas A*11-B*1502G, A*11-B*1502G-DRB1*12 and A*33-B*58-DRB1*13 were underrepresented. However, the low-resolution homozygosity of HLA-A, B, DRB1 loci and HLA-Bw4/Bw6 genotypes did not differ significantly between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results may contribute to the database of HLA profiles in HIV-1 infected Chinese population, consequently, the association of certain HLA alleles with susceptibility or resistance to HIV-1 infection would provide with clues in choosing proper preventive strategies against HIV-1 infection and developing effective HIV-1 vaccines in Chinese population, especially for those in southwest China.</p