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Changes in physiological factors may result in large pharmacokinetic variability of vancomycin in pediatric patients, thereby leading to either supratherapeutic or subtherapeutic exposure and potentially affecting clinical outcomes. This study set out to characterize the disposition of vancomycin, quantify the exposure target and establish an optimal dosage regimen among the Southern Chinese pediatric population. Routine therapeutic drug monitoring data of 453 patients were available. We performed a retrospective population pharmacokinetic analysis of hospitalized children prescribed intravenous vancomycin using NONMEM® software. A one‐compartment PPK model of vancomycin with body weight and renal functions as covariates based on a cutoff of 2 years old children was proposed in this study. Both internal and external validation showing acceptable and robust predictive performance of the model to estimate PK parameters. The value of area under the curve over 24 h to minimum inhibitory concentration ratio (AUC0‐24/MIC) ≥ 260 was a significant predictor for therapeutic efficacy. Monte Carlo simulations served as a model‐informed precision dosing approach and suggested that different optimal dose regimens in various scenarios should be considered rather than flat dosing. The evaluation of vancomycin exposure‐efficacy relationship indicated that lower target level of AUC0‐24/MIC may be needed to achieve clinical effectiveness in children, which was used to derive the recommended dosing regimen. Further prospective studies will be needed to corroborate and elucidate these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a computational framework for modeling land parcels and streets. In the real world, parcels and streets are highly coupled with each other since a street network connects all the parcels in a certain area. However, existing works model parcels and streets separately to simplify the problem, resulting in urban layouts with irregular parcels and/or suboptimal streets. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical approach to co‐generate parcels and streets from a user‐specified polygonal land shape, guided by a set of fundamental urban design requirements. At each hierarchical level, new parcels are generated based on binary splitting of existing parcels, and new streets are subsequently generated by leveraging efficient graph search tools to ensure that each new parcel has a street access. At the end, we optimize the geometry of the generated parcels and streets to further improve their geometric quality. Our computational framework outputs an urban layout with a desired number of regular parcels that are reachable via a connected street network, for which users are allowed to control the modeling process both locally and globally. Quantitative comparisons with state‐of‐the‐art approaches show that our framework is able to generate parcels and streets that are superior in some aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to review the studies evaluating the effect of the inflammatory state on voriconazole (VRZ) levels. Methods: The study included randomized clinical trials, cohort studies, and case–control studies that focused on the influence of the inflammatory state on VRZ levels. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, relevant articles published until 2021 were searched in several databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. Results: Twenty studies were included in this review, of which 15 described adult populations, three described paediatric populations, and two included both adult and paediatric populations. Seventeen studies used C‐reactive protein (CRP) as an indicator of inflammation, six described a dose–response relationship for the effect of inflammation represented by CRP on VRZ concentrations, and four examined the effect of CRP on the metabolic rate of VRZ. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the level of inflammation can significantly affect VRZ levels. However, the effect of inflammation on VRZ concentrations in children is controversial and must be analysed along with age. Clinicians dosing VRZ should take into account the patient's inflammatory state. The impact of inflammation on genotype‐based dosing decisions requires further study to explain the high pharmacokinetic variability of VRZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The evidences for use of postoperative antibiotics (POA) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent hepatectomy are controversial. We aimed to explore the relationship between POA and hepatectomy‐related infection in a hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐related HCC population. Methods: We retrospectively collected 934 HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy for curative intent from three tertiary hospitals in China. The incidences of postoperative infection including surgical site infection and remote site infection were recorded and calculated. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore related factors of postoperative infection and POA. And the relationship between infection rates with different durations of POA was investigated. Results: The overall infection rate was 8.2% (77/934), including 6.5% (61/934) of surgical site infection and 2.0% (19/934) of remote site infection. Multivariable analysis revealed that the administration of POA was negatively related with the incidence of postoperative infection significantly (odds ratio = 0.50, 95% confidence interval = 0.30 to 0.83; P = 0.008). Albumin‐bilirubin score, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage and extent of hepatectomy were independently related to the POA. And 3‐day regimen seemed to be the shortest duration of POA to gain the lowest incidence of postoperative infection. Conclusions: Postoperative antibiotic is necessary for HBV‐related HCC patients to prevent postoperative infection, especially for those with higher albumin‐bilirubin score, at BCLC stage B–C, or who underwent major hepatectomy. For HBV‐related HCC patients, postoperative second‐generation cephalosporins, or ceftriaxone for 3 days after surgery might be proper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N2O, CO2, and CH4 are important greenhouse gases (GHGs) in paddy fields, and rice plants play an important role in GHG emissions in paddy fields. However, the relationship between light and rice plant GHG emissions is unclear. In this study, we monitored N2O, CO2, and CH4 emissions of mature aging rice under different light qualities and intensities. The results showed that (i) under natural sunlight, the rice phyllosphere N2O emission rate was 22.94 μg pot-1 h-1, accounting for 60% of the whole rice plant total N2O-N evaporation loss. The CO2 emission rates from the phyllosphere and the root system were 27.82 mg pot-1 h-1 and 8.02 mg pot-1 h-1, respectively. However, no CH4 net emission effects were observed. (ii) Under a constant LED monocolor light intensity (1600 Lux), red, blue, and white light can inhibit N2O and CO2 emissions from the rice phyllosphere, resulting in lower emissions than yellow light. White light can also inhibit N2O and CO2 emissions from rice roots. (iii) Within the range of 0-6000 Lux, increases in light intensity can reduce rice phyllosphere CO2 emissions, but such increases also promote N2O emissions from the rice phyllosphere and the roots. In contrast, natural sunlight can promote rice phyllosphere N2O and CO2 emissions and can inhibit root N2O emissions. The measure of light control may be the key to low-carbon technology for GHG emission reductions in mature paddy ecosystems. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]