Risk factors of different mortality periods in older patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing urgent-start peritoneal dialysis: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The first six months of therapy represents a high-risk period for peritoneal dialysis (PD) failure. The risk of death in the first six months is higher for older patients treated with urgent-start PD (USPD). However, there are still gaps in research on mortality and risk factors for death in this particular group of patients. We aimed to investigate mortality rates and risk factors for death in older patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving USPD within and after six months of therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the clinical information of older adults aged ≥ 65 years with ESRD who received USPD between 2013 and 2019 in five Chinese hospitals. Patients were followed up to June 30, 2020. The mortality and risk factors for death in the first six months of USPD treatment and beyond were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 379 elderly patients in the study, 130 died over the study period. During the follow-up period, the highest number (45, 34.6%) of deaths occurred within the first six months. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death. The baseline New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III-IV cardiac function [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.457, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.200-5.030, p = 0.014] and higher white blood cell (WBC) count (HR = 1.082, 95% CI: 1.021-1.147, p = 0.008) increased the mortality risk within six months of USPD. The baseline NYHA class III-IV cardiac function (HR = 1.945, 95% CI: 1.149-3.294, p = 0.013), lower WBC count (HR = 0.917, 95% CI: 0.845-0.996, p = 0.040), lower potassium levels (HR = 0.584, 95% CI: 0.429-0.796, p = 0.001), and higher calcium levels (HR = 2.160, 95% CI: 1.025-4.554, p = 0.043) increased the mortality risk after six months of USPD. CONCLUSION: Different risk factors correlated with mortality in older adults with ESRD within and after six months of undergoing USPD, including baseline NYHA class III-IV cardiac function, WBC count, potassium, and calcium levels.

Feasibility of a break-in period of less than 24 hours for urgent start peritoneal dialysis: a multicenter study.

PURPOSE: Urgent start peritoneal dialysis (USPD) is an effective therapeutic method for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, whether it is safe to initiate peritoneal dialysis (PD) within 24 h unclear. We examined the short-term outcomes of a break-in period (BI) of 24 h for patients undergoing USPD. METHODS: This real-world, multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated USPD patients from five centers from January 2013 to August 2020. Patients were divided into BI ≤ 24 h or BI > 24 h groups. The Primary outcomes included incidence of mechanical and infectious complications. The secondary outcome was technique failure. Moreover, we presented a subgroup analysis for patients who did not receive temporary hemodialysis (HD). RESULTS: A total of 871 USPD patients were included: 470 in the BI ≤ 24 h and 401 in the BI > 24 h groups. Mechanical and infectious complications did not differ between the two groups across the follow-up timepoints (2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months) (p > 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that BI ≤ 24 h was not an independent risk factor for mechanical complications, catheter migration, or infectious complications (p > 0.05). A BI ≤ 24 h was not an independent significant risk factor for technique failure by multivariate Cox regression analysis (p > 0.05). The subgroup analysis of patients who did not receive temporary HD returned the same results. CONCLUSION: Initiating PD within 24 h of catheter insertion was not associated with increased mechanical complications, infectious complications, or technique failures.

MoS2-based broadband and highly efficient solar absorbers.

In order to obtain broadband, highly efficient, wide-angle, and polarization-insensitive solar absorbers, we propose a universal configuration consisting of monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and the metal-insulator-metal structure, which gives rise to significant absorption enhancement of the MoS2 layer. Light trapping structures with silver square-, circle-, and crossed-shaped resonators are investigated. The localized surface plasmon resonances among the silver resonators induce prominent interaction between the incident photon and MoS2 layer, contributing to efficient absorption of light energy. Simulation results show that the absorber made of square patches enables the best performance and realizes absorptance higher than 90% from 400 to 666 nm and an average absorptance greater than 91% in the range of 400-700 nm. The average light absorption within the MoS2 layer reaches 74% in the visible spectrum, which is one of the highest levels for the existing MoS2-based absorbers. Meanwhile, the polarization-independent designs exhibit good angle tolerance within 50° incidences. Such a universal structure can also obtain broadband and highly efficient absorption by using other transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, which indicates that the configuration has great applicability in solar energy absorption of 2D materials. The proposed solar absorbers with simple configuration and broadband absorption in wide incident angles have potential in applications such as solar cells, photovoltaic devices, and blackbody materials.

Safety of a 24-h-or-less break-in period in elderly patients undergoing urgent-start peritoneal dialysis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Several elderly patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) had to undergo urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (USPD). This study aimed to determine whether break-in period (BI) within 24 h was feasible in elderly patients undergoing USPD. METHODS: Patients with ESRD who underwent PD at five hospitals were screened. Patients were divided into the BI ≤24 h and >24 h groups. Complications were compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine whether BI ≤24 h was associated with complications. RESULTS: A total of 175 elderly patients were included: BI ≤24 h group, 78; and BI >24 h group, 97. There was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Furthermore, BI ≤24 h was not an independent risk factor for complications (all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Starting PD within 24 h after PD catheter insertion was feasible in elderly ESRD patients.

Constant polarization generation metasurface for arbitrarily polarized light.

State of polarization (SoP) of light is one of the fundamental characteristics of light and has great significance to optical communication, imaging, quantum optics and medical facilities. The generation and maintenance of polarized light have always been research concerns in polarization optics. Polarization-maintaining fibers are frequently used to transmit polarized light without changing its polarization in optical systems, but the high cost and coupling efficiency problems hinder their usage in large-scale light paths. Polarization controllers, which operate arbitrary polarization generation and conversion at the expense of utilizing at least two optical elements such as a half-wave plate and quarter-wave plate, are too bulky for some special applications. Meanwhile, they can only generate desired output polarization of light by transcendentally determining the input polarization, which means that the existing polarization controllers cannot respond in real time. Metasurfaces composed of subwavelength nanoscatterers offer fruitful functionalities to manipulate the amplitude, phase and polarization of light. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a real-time polarization controller realized by combining a depolarizer and polarizer into one monolithic metasurface. Arbitrary polarization states can be transferred to the required polarization with no requirement to determine the incident polarization in advance. Through combining with ordinary optical fibers, the proposed metasurface may also replace polarization-maintaining fibers and optical fiber polarizers in some polarization-dependent applications. This versatile concept may settle the problems of arbitrary polarization conversion once and for all.

Break-in Period ≤24 Hours as an Option for Urgent-start Peritoneal Dialysis in Patients With Diabetes.

Background: The optimal break-in period (BI) of urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (USPD) initiation for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and diabetes is unclear. We aimed to explore the safety and applicability of a BI ≤24 h in patients with ESRD and diabetes. Methods: We used a retrospective cohort design wherein we recruited patients with ESRD and diabetes who underwent USPD at five institutions in China between January 2013 and August 2020. The enrolled patients were grouped according to BI. The primary outcomes were mechanical and infectious complication occurrences, whereas the secondary outcome was technique survival. Results: We enrolled 310 patients with diabetes, of whom 155 and 155 patients were in the BI ≤24 h and BI >24 h groups, respectively. The two groups showed a comparable incidence of infectious and mechanical complications within 6 months after catheter insertion (p>0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that a BI ≤24 h was not an independent risk factor for mechanical or infectious complications. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed no statistically significant between-group differences in technique survival rates (p>0.05). Cox multivariate regression analysis revealed that a BI ≤24 h was not an independent risk factor for technique failure. Conclusion: USPD initiation with a BI ≤24 h may be safe and feasible for patients with ESRD and diabetes.

Risk factors for mortality within 6 mo in patients with diabetes undergoing urgent-start peritoneal dialysis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The risk of early mortality of patients who start dialysis urgently is high; however, in patients with diabetes undergoing urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (USPD), the risk of, and risk factors for, early mortality are unknown. AIM: To identify risk factors for mortality during high-risk periods in patients with diabetes undergoing USPD. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 568 patients with diabetes, aged ≥ 18 years, who underwent USPD at one of five Chinese centers between 2013 and 2019. We divided the follow-up period into two survival phases: The first 6 mo of USPD therapy and the months thereafter. We compared demographic and baseline clinical data of living and deceased patients during each period. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for all-cause mortality according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify risk factors for mortality within the first 6 mo and after 6 mo of USPD. RESULTS: Forty-one patients died within the first 6 mo, accounting for the highest proportion of mortalities (26.62%) during the entire follow-up period. Cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of mortality within 6 mo (26.83%) and after 6 mo (31.86%). The risk of mortality not only within the first 6 mo but also after the first 6 mo was higher for patients with obvious baseline heart failure symptoms than for those with mild or no heart failure symptoms. Independent risk factors for mortality within the first 6 mo were advanced age [hazard ratio (HR: 1.908; 95%CI: 1.400-2.600; P < 0.001), lower baseline serum creatinine level (HR: 0.727; 95%CI: 0.614-0.860; P < 0.001), higher baseline serum phosphorus level (HR: 3.162; 95%CI: 1.848-5.409; P < 0.001), and baseline NYHA class III-IV (HR: 2.148; 95%CI: 1.063-4.340; P = 0.033). Independent risk factors for mortality after 6 mo were advanced age (HR: 1.246; 95%CI: 1.033-1.504; P = 0.022) and baseline NYHA class III-IV (HR: 2.015; 95%CI: 1.298-3.130; P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: To reduce the risk of mortality within the first 6 mo of USPD in patients with diabetes, controlling the serum phosphorus level and improving cardiac function are recommended.

Risk factors for early death in urgent-start peritoneal dialysis patients: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Assess risk factors for early death in patients who underwent urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (USPD). METHODS: Patients who initiated USPD in five peritoneal dialysis centers from 2013 to 2019 were screened in this multicenter retrospective cohort study. Risk factors for all-cause mortality within 3 months were explored. RESULTS: A total of 1265 USPD patients with 43 early deaths were included. Cox regression analyses showed that age older than 60 years (hazard ratio [HR], 3.054; 95% CI [1.597, 5.842]; p = 0.001), albumin less than 30 g/L (HR, 2.234; 95%CI [1.207, 4.136]; p = 0.011), blood glucose greater than 7 mmol/L (HR, 2.766; 95%CI [1.477, 5.180]; p = 0.001), higher estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; HR, 1.121; 95%CI [1.071, 1.172]; p = 0.000), and poor stages of heart failure (class IV compared with class 0-I; HR, 5.165; 95%CI [2.544, 10.486]; p = 0.000) were independent predicting factors for early death. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for early death were older age, hypoproteinemia, hyperglycemia, higher eGFR, and severe heart failure.

Graphene-Based Spatial Light Modulator Using Metal Hot Spots.

Here, we report a graphene-based electric field enhancement structure achieved by several adjacent metal nanoribbons which form the hot spots of the electric field and thus promote the absorption of the single layered graphene below the hot spots. Based on the tunability of the graphene's Fermi level, the absorption rate can be modulated from near 100% to 35% under low electrostatic gating, leading to a 20 dB modulation depth of reflectance. Compared with the existing near infrared spatial light modulators such as optical cavities integrated with graphene and other structures utilizing patterned or highly doped graphene, our design has the advantages of strong optical field enhancement, low power dissipation and high modulation depth. The proposed electro-optic modulator has a promising potential for developing optical communication and exploiting big data interaction systems.