Search

Here, the mesoporous silica (Sylysia 350) was selected as mesoporous material, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was selected as crystallization inhibitor, and febuxostat (FBT) was selected as model drug, respectively. The FBT-Sylysia-HPMC nanomatrix (FBT@SHN) was prepared. The characteristics of FBT@SHN were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicated that the FBT in FBT@SHN was in amorphous form. The solubility and dissolution of FBT in FBT@SHN were significantly increased. The oral bioavailability of FBT in FBT@SHN was greatly improved 5.8-fold compared with that in FBT suspension. This nanomatrix could be used as a drug delivery platform for improving the oral bioavailability.

Ambient air samples were collected at two different locations between 2011 and 2012 in Zhengzhou, China in order to assess the concentration level, health risks, as well as the sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particulate matter (PM2.5). The mean annual levels of PM2.5 observed at industry site and residential site were 172 ± 121 and 160 ± 72 μg m(-3), respectively, which were about five times the annual value of proposed PM2.5 standard (35 μg m(-3)) in China. The PM2.5 in all daily samples (n = 47) exceeds the proposed PM2.5 standard in China (75 μg m(-3)) at both industrial and residential sites. Seasonal variations of PM2.5 showed a clear trend of winter > autumn > spring > summer at both sites. The total concentrations of 16 PM2.5-associated PAHs ranged from 61 ± 51 to 431 ± 281 and 38 ± 25 to 254 ± 189 ng m(-3), with mean value of 176 ± 233 and 111 ± 146 ng m(-3) at industry and residential sites, respectively. The major species were fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, and the concentration levels of PAHs in PM2.5 were higher in winter than those of other seasons at both sites. The annual mean values of toxicity equivalency concentrations of ∑16PAHs in PM2.5 were 22.8 and 13.5 ng m(-3) in industry and residential area, respectively. In this study, the risk level of adult citizens through inhalation exposure to PAHs was calculated. The average estimates of lifetime inhalation cancer risks were approximately 8.9 × 10(-7) and 6.3 × 10(-7) for industry and residential sites, respectively. The main sources of 16 PAHs from both diagnostic ratios and principle component analysis identified as vehicular emissions and coal combustion.

Background: Hemodialysis patients suffer from poor quality of life and survival. A retrospective cohort study was performed to examine the sex differences in self-reported quality of life and mortality in a Taiwanese hemodialysis cohort., Methods: A total of 816 stable hemodialysis patients were included. Patients completed two questionnaires: the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36, Taiwan Standard Version 1.0) to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, Chinese Version) to assess depressive mood. Mortality outcomes were recorded for a seven-year follow-up period., Results: After adjustment for confounding factors, women had significantly higher BDI scores (P=.003), lower physical functioning (P<.001), bodily pain (P<.001), mental health (P=0007), and physical component scale (PCS) scores (P<.001). There were 284 deaths recorded. In the Cox-proportional hazard model, women had significantly lower mortality than men (P<.001)., Conclusions: Women on hemodialysis had more depression-related symptoms and poor self-reported HRQoL, but better survival than men. The sex difference in psychological and HRQoL issues deserves greater concern because this relates to clinical care and further study.