Sepsis has been a factor of acute kidney injury (AKI); however, little is known about dialysis-requiring AKI and the risk of severe sepsis after survival to discharge.
We conducted a population-based ...cohort study based on the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 1999 to 2009. We identified patients with AKI requiring dialysis during hospitalization and survived for at least 90 days after discharge, and matched them with those without AKI according to age, sex, and concurrent diabetes. The primary outcome was severe sepsis, defined as sepsis with a diagnosis of acute organ dysfunction. Individuals who recovered enough to survive without acute dialysis were further analyzed.
We identified 2983 individuals (mean age, 62 years; median follow-up, 3.96 years) with dialysis-requiring AKI and 11,932 matched controls. The incidence rate of severe sepsis was 6.84 and 2.32 per 100 person-years among individuals with dialysis-requiring AKI and without AKI in the index hospitalization, respectively. Dialysis-requiring AKI patients had a higher risk of developing de novo severe sepsis than the non-AKI group. In subgroup analysis, even individuals with recovery from dialysis-requiring AKI were at high risk of developing severe sepsis.
AKI is an independent risk factor for severe sepsis. Even patients who recovered from AKI had a high risk of long-term severe sepsis.
Many problems can be characterized by the task of recovering the low-rank and sparse components of a given matrix. Recently, it was discovered that this nondeterministic polynomial-time hard ...(NP-hard) task can be well accomplished, both theoretically and numerically, via heuristically solving a convex relaxation problem where the widely acknowledged nuclear norm and ... norm are utilized to induce low-rank and sparsity. This paper studies the recovery task in the general settings that only a fraction of entries of the matrix can be observed and the observation is corrupted by both impulsive and Gaussian noise. The paper shows that the resulting model falls into the applicable scope of the classical augmented Lagrangian method. Moreover, the separable structure of the new model enables the paper to solve the involved subproblems more efficiently by splitting the augmented Lagrangian function. Hence, some splitting numerical algorithms are developed for solving the new recovery model. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Full text
Available for:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Rocky desertification is a significant threat in the karst regions of southwest China. Studies of soil distribution can contribute to protecting and recovering the fragile karst ecosystem that is ...prevalent in this region. With an underlying aim of being able to assess soil stocks in karstic environments, this study evaluates the use of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) for delineating the soil–rock interface. Using a synthetic model (that recognizes the three-dimensional nature of the subsurface), experiments are performed to assess the impact of measurement errors and measurement configuration on recovery of the interface. The inverted results show that the accuracy of the delineation of the soil–rock interface decreases with the increase of measurement error and dipole spacing. The results also show the importance of reliable estimation of measurement errors. Field-based applications of ERT at five exposed profiles in southwest China are also reported. For the field data, three-dimensional modelling was necessary to account for the exposed face. The field experiments show that ERT can be effective at delineating the interface between soil and bedrock, but resolution can be limited due to the scale of features or lack of contrast between soil and bedrock. The method shows great promise as a means of assessing, in a non-invasive manner, the soil–bedrock interface, and, perhaps, more significantly, quantifying estimates of total soil stocks, as we seek to quantify the vulnerability or resilience of this important landscape to anthropogenic and natural stresses.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Esophageal stricture is a debilitating condition that negatively impacts patients' quality of life after undergoing endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). Despite its significance, this disease remains ...underexplored due to the lack of a stable animal model. Under direct visualization with choledochoscopy, we retrogradely damaged the esophageal mucosal layer through the gastrostomy to create a rat model of esophageal stricture. The development of histological defects in the mucosal layer was assessed over a 2-week period after model induction. Then the models were evaluated using X-ray barium radiography, Hematoxylin-Eosin, Masson's trichrome, Sirius red, and Victoria blue staining, multiphoton microscopic imaging. Additionally, the molecular mechanisms of esophageal stricture were explored by conducting RNA transcriptome sequencing, PCR, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence staining. We successfully established fifteen rat models of esophageal stricture by injuring the mucosal layer. In the model group, the mucosal defect initially occurs and subsequently repaired. The epithelium was absent and was plastically remodeled by collagen during the acute inflammatory phase (Day 1), proliferation phase (Day 7), anaphase of proliferation (Day 10), and plastic remodeling phase (Day 14). We observed increased expression of COL1A1, acta2, FGF, IL-1, and TGF-β1 pathway in the model group. We established a highly repeatable rat model of esophageal stricture, and our results suggest that the mucosal defect of the esophagus is a critical factor in esophageal stricture development, rather than damage to the muscularis layer. We identified Atp4b, cyp1a2, and gstk1 as potential targets for treating esophageal stricture, while the TGF-β pathway was found to play an important role in its development.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Dyslipidemia is one of the main risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). The E3 ubiquitin ligase which is encoded by the ring finger protein 145 (RNF145) gene is very important in the mediation ...of cholesterol synthesis and effectively treats hypercholesterolemia. Thus, the purpose of the present research is to investigate the connection between the polymorphism of the RNF145 gene and cholesterol levels in the populations in Xinjiang, China. A total of 1396 participants (Male: 628, Female: 768) were included in this study for genetic analysis of RNF145 gene, and we used the modified multiple connection detection response (iMLDR) technology to label two SNPs (rs17056583, rs12188266) of RNF145 genotyping. The relationship between the genotypes and the lipid profiles was analyzed with general linear model analysis after adjusting confounding variables. Through the analysis of the two SNPs in RNF145 gene, we discovered that both rs17056583 and rs12188266 were related to total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations (All P < 0.001). In addition, the association of rs17056583 and rs12188266 with lipid profiles concentrations is still statistically significant after multivariate adjustment of sex, age, smoking, obesity, drinking, diabetes, hypertension and lipid profiles. Meanwhile, we also found that rs17056583 was associated with high triglycerides concentrations before and after adjustment (All P < 0.001). Our study shows that both rs17056583 and rs12188266 SNPs of RNP145 gene are related to TC and LDL-C concentrations in Xinjiang population.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
Several biomarkers have been proposed to predict the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI); however, their efficacy varies between different trials. The aim of this study was to ...compare the predictive performance of different candidate biomarkers for AKI.
Methods
In this systematic review, we searched PubMed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for papers published up to August 15, 2022. We selected all studies of adults (> 18 years) that reported the predictive performance of damage biomarkers (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP)), inflammatory biomarker (interleukin-18 (IL-18)), and stress biomarker (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 × insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-7 (TIMP-2 × IGFBP-7)) for the occurrence of AKI. We performed pairwise meta-analyses to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) individually. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves (HSROCs) were used to summarize the pooled test performance, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations criteria were used to appraise the quality of evidence.
Results
We identified 242 published relevant studies from 1,803 screened abstracts, of which 110 studies with 38,725 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Urinary NGAL/creatinine (diagnostic odds ratio DOR 16.2, 95% CI 10.1–25.9), urinary NGAL (DOR 13.8, 95% CI 10.2–18.8), and serum NGAL (DOR 12.6, 95% CI 9.3–17.3) had the best diagnostic accuracy for the risk of AKI. In subgroup analyses, urinary NGAL, urinary NGAL/creatinine, and serum NGAL had better diagnostic accuracy for AKI than urinary IL-18 in non-critically ill patients. However, all of the biomarkers had similar diagnostic accuracy in critically ill patients. In the setting of medical and non-sepsis patients, urinary NGAL had better predictive performance than urinary IL-18, urinary L-FABP, and urinary TIMP-2 × IGFBP-7: 0.3. In the surgical patients, urinary NGAL/creatinine and urinary KIM-1 had the best diagnostic accuracy. The HSROC values of urinary NGAL/creatinine, urinary NGAL, and serum NGAL were 91.4%, 85.2%, and 84.7%, respectively.
Conclusions
Biomarkers containing NGAL had the best predictive accuracy for the occurrence of AKI, regardless of whether or not the values were adjusted by urinary creatinine, and especially in medically treated patients. However, the predictive performance of urinary NGAL was limited in surgical patients, and urinary NGAL/creatinine seemed to be the most accurate biomarkers in these patients. All of the biomarkers had similar predictive performance in critically ill patients.
Trial registration
CRD42020207883
, October 06, 2020.
Bud dormancy is an important biological phenomenon of perennial plants that enables them to survive under harsh environmental circumstances. Grape (Vitis vinifera) is one of the most grown fruit crop ...worldwide; however, underlying mechanisms involved in grape bud dormancy are not yet clear. This work was aimed to explore the underlying molecular mechanism regulating bud dormancy in grape.
We have performed transcriptome and differential transcript expression analyses of "Shine Muscat" grape buds using the Illumina RNA-seq system. Comparisons of transcript expression levels among three stages of dormancy, paradormancy (PD) vs endodormancy (ED), summer buds (SB) vs ED and SB vs PD, resulted in the detection of 8949, 9780 and 3938 differentially expressed transcripts, respectively. Out of approximately 78 million high-quality generated reads, 6096 transcripts were differentially expressed (log2 ratio ≥ 1, FDR ≤ 0.001). Grape reference genome was used for alignment of sequence reads and to measure the expression level of transcripts. Furthermore, findings obtained were then compared using two different databases; Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), to annotate the transcript descriptions and to assign a pathway to each transcript. KEGG analysis revealed that secondary metabolites biosynthesis and plant hormone signaling was found most enriched out of the 127 total pathways. In the comparisons of the PD vs ED and SB vs ED stages of grape buds, the gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) pathways were found to be the most enriched. The ABA and GA pathways were further analyzed to observe the expression pattern of differentially expressed transcripts. Transcripts related to the PP2C family (ABA pathway) were found to be up-regulated in the PD vs ED comparison and down-regulated in the SB vs ED and SB vs PD comparisons. GID1 family transcripts (GA pathway) were up-regulated while DELLA family transcripts were down-regulated during the three dormancy stages. Differentially expressed transcripts (DEGs) related to redox activity were abundant in the GO biological process category. RT-qPCR assay results for 12 selected transcripts validated the data obtained by RNA-seq.
At this stage, taking into account the results obtained so far, it is possible to put forward a hypothesis for the molecular mechanism underlying grape bud dormancy, which may pave the way for ultimate improvements in the grape industry.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common yet possibly fatal complication among critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICU). Although renal replacement therapy (RRT) is an important supportive ...management for severe AKI patients, the optimal timing of RRT initiation for these patients is still unclear.
In this systematic review, we searched all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that directly compared accelerated with standard initiation of RRT from PUBMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cnki.net published prior to July, 20, 2020. We extracted study characteristics and outcomes of being free of dialysis, dialysis dependence and mortality. We rated the certainty of evidence according to Cochrane methods and the GRADE approach.
We identified 56 published relevant studies from 1071 screened abstracts. Ten RCTs with 4753 critically ill AKI patients in intensive care unit (ICU) were included in this meta-analysis. In our study, accelerated and standard RRT group were not associated with all-cause mortality (log odds-ratio OR: - 0.04, 95% confidence intervals CI - 0.16 to 0.07, p = 0.46) and free of dialysis (log OR: - 0.03, 95% CI - 0.14 to 0.09, p = 0.65). In the subgroup analyses, accelerated RRT group was significantly associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality in the surgical ICU and for those who received continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). In addition, patients in these two subgroups had higher chances of being eventually dialysis-free. However, accelerated initiation of RRT augmented the risk of dialysis dependence in the subgroups of patients treated with non-CRRT modality and whose Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score were more than 11.
In this meta-analysis, critically ill patients with severe AKI would benefit from accelerated RRT initiation regarding all-cause mortality and being eventually free of dialysis only if they were surgical ICU patients or if they underwent CRRT treatment. However, the risk of dialysis dependence was increased in the accelerated RRT group when those patients used non-CRRT modality or had high SOFA scores. All the literatures reviewed in this study were highly heterogeneous and potentially subject to biases. Trial registration CRD42020201466, Sep 07, 2020. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=201466 .
Karst is characteristically complex, hydrogeologically, due to a high degree of heterogeneity, which is often typified by specific features, for example, cavities and sinkholes, embedded in a ...landscape with significant spatial variability of weathering. Characterization of such heterogeneity is challenging with conventional hydrogeological methods, however, geophysical tools offer the potential to gain insight into key features that control the hydrological function of a karst aquifer. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is recognized as the most effective technique for mapping karstic features. This method is typically carried out along transects to reveal 2D models of resistivity variability. However, karstic systems are rarely 2D in nature. In this study, ERT is employed in valley and hillslope regions of a karst critical zone observatory (Chenqi watershed, Guizhou province, China), using a quasi-3D approach. The results from the extensive geophysical surveys show that there is a strong association between resistivity anomalies and known karstic features. They highlight the significance of a marlstone layer in channeling spring flow in the catchment and confining deeper groundwater flow, evidenced by, for example, localized artesian conditions in observation wells. Our results highlight the need to analyze and interpret geophysical data in a three-dimensional manner in such highly heterogeneous karstic environments, and the value of combining geological and hydrogeological data with geophysical models to help improve our understanding of the hydrological function of a karst system.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
PDF
