Mechanically Excellent, Notch-Insensitive, and Highly Conductive Double-Network Hydrogel for Flexible Strain Sensor.

A novel double-network conductive hydrogel based on lithium acetate/gelatin/polyacrylamide (PAAM) was synthesized by heating-cooling and subsequent γ-ray radiation-induced polymerization and cross-linking. Owing to the hydrogen bonding interaction between lithium acetate, physical cross-linked gelatin, and chemical cross-linked PAAM, the resultant hydrogel exhibited high tensile strength (1260 kPa), high ionic conductivity (35.2 mS cm-1), notch-insensitivity (tensile strength 415 kPa, elongation at break 872% with transverse notch), and extensive strain monitoring range (0.15-800%) under optimum conditions. The lithium acetate/gelatin/polyacrylamide hydrogel strain sensor attached to the skin can sensitively monitor the subtle movements of the human body. The strain sensor based on the resultant hydrogel with transverse notch can still work for 1200 cycles, due to that the covalent-cross-linked PAAm chain bridges the cracks and stabilizes the deformation, while the physical-cross-linked gelatin was unzipped to make the blunting of notch. The conductive hydrogel with high-sensitivity and high stability is expected to be used as materials for the preparation of flexible strain sensors in the future.

Association of T Cell Subsets and Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio with Long-Term Complications in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND Infection and chronic rejection remain major issues for kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The present study aimed to explore the association of CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio (CD4+/CD8+) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) with long-term infection and chronic renal insufficiency in KTRs. MATERIAL AND METHODS KTRs admitted to a single hospital from June 2014 to December 2021 were divided into infected (164) and non-infected (107) groups based on clinical data. The levels of CD4+/CD8+, PLR, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and C-reactive Protein (CRP) in KTRs with long-term infection, and their correlation with chronic kidney insufficiency, were analyzed. Survival analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors for long-term infection and chronic kidney insufficiency. RESULTS Spearman correlation analysis showed that chronic kidney insufficiency was positively correlated with PLR, and negatively correlated with CRP and CD4+/CD8+ (P<0.05). PLR was positively correlated with CRP, procalcitonin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and NLR, but negatively with CD4+/CD8+. CD4+/CD8+ was correlated with CRP, NLR, and PLR (P<0.05). Survival analysis and survival curves showed that PLR and CD4+/CD8+ were risk factors for long-term infection and chronic kidney insufficiency in KTRs (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS CD4+/CD8+ and PLR were associated with long-term complications, and were risk factors for long-term infection and chronic kidney insufficiency in KTRs.

Hsa_circ_0001162 Inhibition Alleviates High Glucose-Induced Human Podocytes Injury by the miR-149-5p/MMP9 Signaling Pathway.

Emerging evidences suggested that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Accumulating evidence had suggested that the degree of podocyte is a major prognostic determinant of DN progression. However, the function and in-depth mechanisms of hsa_circ_0001162 in podocyte injury of DN remain unclear. Hsa_circ_0001162 expression was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in peripheral blood of DN patients and high glucose-induced podocytes injury model. The cell counting kit 8, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC/PI staining, caspase-3 activity assay Kit, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), RT-qPCR and western blotting were used to evaluate the effect of hsa_circ_0001162 / miR-149-5p / MMP9 axis on high glucose-induced podocyte injury. Mechanistically, dual luciferase reporter was used to confirm the relationship of miR-149-5p and hsa_circ_0001162 or MMP9. Furthermore, RNA-pull down and immunoprecipitation assay were implemented to verify the potential regulatory effects of EIF4A3 on biogenesis of hsa_circ_0001162. Our results showed that hsa_circ_0001162 was highly expressed in peripheral blood of DN patients and high glucose-induced podocytes injury model, and the knockdown of hsa_circ_0001162 increased the proliferation, inhibited the apoptosis, and suppressed inflammatory response in high glucose-induced podocytes injury. Mechanism studies demonstrated that EIF4A3 bound with flanking sequences of hsa_circ_0001162 to promote hsa_circ_0001162 expression, upregulated hsa_circ_0001162 increased the MMP9 expression via sponging miR-149-5p, thus aggravating the high glucose-induced podocytes injury. Overall, our data demonstrated that knockdown of hsa_circ_0001162 inhibited high glucose-induced podocytes injury by regulating miR-149-5p/MMP9 axis, and intervention of hsa_circ_0001162/miR-149-5p/MMP9 axis may be a potentially promising therapeutic strategy for podocyte injury in DN patients.

MXene/Gelatin/Polyacrylamide Nanocomposite Double Network Hydrogel with Improved Mechanical and Photothermal Properties.

The development of smart hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties and photothermal conversion capability is helpful in expending its application fields. Herein, a MXene/gelatin/polyacrylamide (M/G/PAM) nanocomposite double network (NDN) hydrogel was synthesized by γ-ray radiation technology for the first time. Compared with gelatin/polyacrylamide double network hydrogel, the optimized resultant M3/G/PAM NDN hydrogel shows better mechanical properties (tensile strength of 634 ± 10 kPa, compressive strength of 3.44 ± 0.12 MPa at a compression ratio of 90%). The M3/G/PAM NDN hydrogel exhibits a faster heating rate of 30 °C min-1, stable photothermal ability, and mechanical properties even after 20 cycles of on-off 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation (1.0 W cm-2). Furthermore, the temperature of M3/G/PAM NDN hydrogel can be increased rapidly from 25 °C to 90 °C in 10 s and could reach 145 °C in 120 s under irradiation by focused NIR laser irradiation (56.6 W cm-2). The high mechanical property and photothermal properties of M/G/PAM hydrogel are ascribed to the formation of double network and uniform hydrogen bonding between MXene and gelatin and PAM polymers. This work paves the way for construction of photothermal hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties.

Ultrastretchable and adhesive agarose/Ti3C2Tx-crosslinked-polyacrylamide double-network hydrogel for strain sensor.

A novel agarose/Ti3C2Tx-crosslinked-polyacrylamide (AG/T-PAM) double-network (DN) hydrogel is synthesized by combining heating-cooling and γ-ray radiation-induced polymerization. The AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel possesses excellent mechanical properties with 4250% stretchability, and good adhesion to different substrates, such as an adhesive strength of 1148 kPa to copper at 30 °C. The resultant hydrogel also exhibits excellent tensile and compression sensing properties due to the variation of conductive network within hydrogel. The flexible and wearable strain sensor composed of the AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel presents rapid response to strain withstand 1000 cycles, and can monitor various movements of human body with a high sensibility. The AG/T-PAM DN hydrogel-based strain sensor will have broad application in large-scale strain detection scenarios requiring high sensitivity and adhesion.

Hemodiafiltration improves red blood cell lifespan in patients with end-stage renal disease.

INTRODUCTION: Uremic toxin-induced shortening of red blood cell (RBC) lifespan is an important mechanism of anemia in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Conventional hemodialysis does not improve RBC lifespan; the efficacy of hemodiafiltration (HDF) for alleviating RBC lifespan has not yet been evaluated in patients with ESRD. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with ESRD in maintenance hemodialysis were enrolled. Baseline data for sex, age, dialysis vintage, pre-dialysis hemoglobin (Hb), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), single pool Kt/V (spKt/V), and plasma indophenol sulfate (IS) were collected. RBC lifespans before and after one session of HDF were compared. The resultant differences were subjected to correlational analyses with baseline data. RESULTS: RBC lifespan increased from 73 (66, 89) days at baseline to 77 (71, 102) days after a single HDF treatment (p = 0.034). Meanwhile, plasma IS concentration decreased from 113.05 (80.67, 133.05) mg/L to 83.87 (62.98, 96.78) mg/L (p < 0.001). RBC lifespan increases correlated negatively with Hb levels. CONCLUSIONS: A single HDF treatment improved RBC lifespan in ESRD patients on maintenance hemodialysis, with more severe pre-HDF anemia at baseline being associated with greater increases in RBC lifespan.

Using different machine learning models to classify patients into mild and severe cases of COVID-19 based on multivariate blood testing.

COVID-19 is a serious respiratory disease. The ever-increasing number of cases is causing heavier loads on the health service system. Using 38 blood test indicators on the first day of admission for the 422 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (from January 2020 to June 2021) to construct different machine learning (ML) models to classify patients into either mild or severe cases of COVID-19. All models show good performance in the classification between COVID-19 patients into mild and severe disease. The area under the curve (AUC) of the random forest model is 0.89, the AUC of the naive Bayes model is 0.90, the AUC of the support vector machine model is 0.86, and the AUC of the KNN model is 0.78, the AUC of the Logistic regression model is 0.84, and the AUC of the artificial neural network model is 0.87, among which the naive Bayes model has the best performance. Different ML models can classify patients into mild and severe cases based on 38 blood test indicators taken on the first day of admission for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Polyacrylamide/Copper-Alginate Double Network Hydrogel Electrolyte with Excellent Mechanical Properties and Strain-Sensitivity.

The double network (DN) hydrogel has attracted great attention due to its wide applications in daily life. However, synthesis DN hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties is still a big challenge. Here, polyacrylamide/copper-alginate double network (PAM/Cu-alg DN) hydrogel electrolyte is successfully synthesized by radiation-induced polymerization and cross-linking process of acrylamide with N, N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide and subsequent cupric ion (Cu2+ ) crosslinking of alginate. The content of sodium alginate, absorbed dose, and the concentration of Cu2+ are investigated in detail for improving the overall properties of PAM/Cu-alg DN hydrogel electrolyte. The PAM/Cu-alg DN hydrogel electrolyte synthesizes by radiation technique and Cu2+ crosslinking shows superior mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 2.25 ± 0.02 MPa, excellent energy dissipation mechanism, and the high ionic conductivity of 4.08 ± 0.17 mS cm-1 . PAM/Cu-alg DN hydrogel is characterized with attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses and the reason for the improvement of mechanical properties is illustrated. Furthermore, PAM/Cu-alg DN hydrogel electrolyte exhibits excellent strain-sensitivity, cyclic stability, and durability. This work paves for the new way for the preparation of DN hydrogel electrolytes with excellent properties.

Exosome circCMTM3 promotes angiogenesis and tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma through miR-3619-5p/SOX9.

AIM: As one of the most common and lethal carcinomas, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global health concern and affects millions of people worldwide. Current treatments for HCC are very limited due to its unclear pathogenesis. Here, we aim to further investigate the role of circCMTM3/microRNA (miR)-3619-5p in HCC. METHODS: Human blood samples were collected from HCC patients and healthy people. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were undertaken to measure levels of circCMTM3, miR-3619-5p, SOX9, and exosome markers. The MTT, colony formation, and Transwell assays were used to examine the viability, migration, and invasion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), respectively. Tube formation assay was used to assess angiogenesis. Dual luciferase assay was used to validate circCMTM3/miR-3619-5p and miR-3619-5p/SOX9 interactions. A nude mouse xenograft model was used to test the role of circCMTM3 in HCC in vivo. RESULTS: Levels of circCMTM3 in exosomes from HCC patients and cells were elevated. Knockdown of circCMTM3 greatly decreased viability, migration, and invasion of HUVECs, as well as angiogenesis. CircCMTM3 acted as a miR-3619-5p sponge and miR-3619-5p inhibitor reversed the effects of si-circCMTM3 on angiogenesis. MiR-3619-5p directly targeted SOX9 and modulated angiogenesis through SOX9. Furthermore, knockdown of circCMTM3 suppressed angiogenesis and HCC tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: The exosome circCMTM3/miR-3619-5p/SOX9 axis from HCC cells promotes angiogenesis and thus contributes to HCC tumorigenesis.

Blood exosomal micro ribonucleic acid profiling reveals the complexity of hepatocellular carcinoma and identifies potential biomarkers for differential diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, but there is a shortage of effective biomarkers for its diagnosis. AIM: To explore blood exosomal micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers for HCC diagnosis. RESULTS: The principal component analysis suggested that daily alcohol consumption could alter the blood exosomal miRNA profiles of hepatitis B virus positive non-HCC patients through miR-3168 and miR-223-3p. The miRNA profiles also revealed the tumor stages of HCC patients. High expression of miR-455-5p and miR-30c-5p, which significantly correlated with better overall survival in tumor tissues, could also be detected in blood exosomes. Two pairs of miRNAs (miR-584-5p/miR-106-3p and miR-628-3p/miR-941) showed a 94.1% sensitivity and 68.4% specificity to differentiate HCC patients from non-HCC patients. The specificity of the combination was substantially influenced by alcohol consumption habits. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that blood exosomal miRNAs can be used as new non-invasive diagnostic tools for HCC. However, their accuracy could be affected by tumor stage and alcohol consumption habits.

Diagnosis and treatment of a patient with Kimura's disease associated with nephrotic syndrome and lymphadenopathy of the epitrochlear nodes.

BACKGROUND: Kimura's disease (KD) is a slowly progressing rare, benign inflammatory disorder of the soft tissues. It typically presents as subcutaneous tumor-like nodules, located most frequently in the head and neck region. KD is often accompanied by increased peripheral eosinophilia and elevated levels of serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E. There is renal involvement in approximately 12-16% of KD cases. We report the case of a 23-year-old Chinese man who was found to have KD associated with nephrotic syndrome. CASE PRESENTATION: A 23-year-old Chinese man presented with edema in both legs and a mass in ulnar side of his right upper arm on August 8(th) 2013. Before admission to our hospital, an ultrasound examination revealed swollen lymph nodes in the medial aspect of his right upper arm, proximal to the elbow. The patient was admitted on August 19(th) 2013 as a result of edema, severe proteinuria, and low serum albumin levels. He had a white blood cell count of 7.7 × 10(9) cells/L, 48.5% eosinophils, 4+ albuminuria, 24-hour urinary protein excretion 9.3 g, serum protein 50.3 g/L; serum albumin 16 g/L and IgE 1,510 IU/ml. A biopsy of the epitrochlear nodes revealed eosinophilic hyperplastic lymphogranulomatous tissue. A renal biopsy indicated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (cellular variant) with no infiltration of eosinophil in renal interstitium. The results of immune-staining on the renal biopsy were negative for IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 and C1q. The electron microscopic analysis showed podocyte effacement. His final diagnosis was Kimura's disease associated with nephrotic syndrome. He received methylprednisolone therapy as well as symptomatic treatment, and was discharged with key indicators in normal range on September 17(th) 2013. During the year following, he had methylprednisolone at a maintenance dose of 8 mg/day, and no relapses occurred up to now. CONCLUSION: Methylprednisolone therapy is effective in KD associated with nephrotic syndrome, and long-term administration of methylprednisolone at maintenance dose may be a way to prevent relapses of KD.

Growth differentiation factor GDF-15 does not influence iron metabolism in stable chronic haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a divergent member of transforming growth factor-beta super family. Under physiological states, it is weakly expressed in most tissues, but it is elevated in impaired kidney function. High concentrations of GDF-15 have been found in some haemoglobinopathies associated with suppressed concentration of hepcidin and iron overload. It is not clear whether the increased concentration of GDF-15 in chronic kidney disease influences iron metabolism. METHODS: The serum concentrations of GDF-15 and hepcidin, iron (Fe), ferritin, transferrin (Tf), total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, soluble transferrin receptor1 (sTfR1), erythropoietin and Hb were measured in 32 stable chronic kidney disease stage 5-dialysis (CKD5-D) patients and 24 healthy adults (controls) to investigate any relationship between GDF-15 and iron indices. RESULTS: GDF-15 was significantly elevated in the haemodialysis group (4840.6 ± 1520.5 ng/L) compared to control (472.8 ± 148.1 ng/L). There was a positive correlation between GDF-15 concentration and age in both groups. In the haemodialysis group, hepcidin was increased and correlated with serum ferritin, Tf, total iron binding capacity and sTfR1. There was no correlation between GDF-15 and hepcidin or other iron indices. CONCLUSIONS: GDF-15 was significantly elevated in our haemodialysis patients but there was no correlation between GDF-15, hepcidin and various iron indices. In this small observational study, GDF-15 would not appear to be associated with iron metabolism in stable CKD5-D patients.

Characterization of ambient particles size in workplace of manufacturing physical fitness equipments.

The manufacturing of fitness equipment involves several processes, including the cutting and punching of iron tubes followed by welding. Welding operations produce hazardous gases and particulate matter, which can enter the alveolar, resulting in adverse health effects. This study sought to verify the particle size distribution and exposure concentrations of atmospheric air samples in various work areas of a fitness equipment manufacturing industry. Observed particle concentrations are presented by area and in terms of relative magnitude: painting (15.58 mg/m(3)) > automatic welding (0.66 mg/m(3)) > manual welding (0.53 mg/m(3)) > punching (0.18 mg/m(3)) > cutting (0.16 mg/m(3)). The concentrations in each of the five work areas were Cinh>Cthor>Cresp. In all areas except the painting area, extra-fine particles produced by welding at high temperatures, and further those coagulated to form larger particles. This study observed bimodal distribution in the size of welding fume in the ranges of 0.7-1 µm and 15-21 µm. Meanwhile, the mass concentrations of particles with different sizes were not consistent across work areas. In the painting area, the mass concentration was higher in Chead>Cth>Calv, but in welding areas, it was found that Calv>Chead>Cth. Particles smaller than 1 µm were primarily produced by welding.

Uses of fresh herbs with antioxidant effect and prospect for population ecology reconstruction in Macau / 中国中药杂志

The average life expectancy in Macau is ranking the second in the world, the consumption of fresh medicinal plants is a profound culture in Macau. The paper focus on the distribution of the antioxidant herbs, a comprehensive investigation and analysis the amount of the plant resources was carried out. The antioxidant activity of alcohol extracts was determined by using the DPPH method, and six kinds fresh herbs with high antioxidant free radical activity were screened out. Reference to adult daily dose of vitamin C, it is calculated that the daily dose amount of fresh herbs is less than 200 g. For the expected shortage of resources and the ecological status of Macau, we give some suggestions of herbal introduction in population ecology reconstruction.

In vivo antioxidant activity of total flavonoids from indocalamus leaves in aging mice caused by D-galactose.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this thesis is to explore antioxidant activity of total flavonoids extracted from indocalamus leaves. METHOD: Aging mice model was established by D-galactose induction. Three groups of mice were treated with total flavonoids extracted from indocalamus leaves at doses of 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg d bw respectively. The antioxidant status in the aging mice was measured by determining the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) and total anti-oxidant capability (T-AOC) in the serum and liver and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the serum, liver and brain. RESULTS: Compared with control group, extracts of indocalamus leaves significantly enhanced activities of SOD, GSH-Px, CAT in the serum and liver, and decreased MDA content in the serum, liver and brain at the tested doses. CONCLUSION: Total flavonoids extracted from indocalamus leaves demonstrated the potent antioxidant activity.

How does short-term low-dose simvastatin influence serum prohepcidin levels in patients with end-stage renal disease? A pilot study.

Anemia is a common clinical problem in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Despite adequate erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) supplementation, some ESRD patients still have suboptimal hemoglobin levels, and iron deficiency and inflammation are recognized as the two most common causes. Hepcidin, a newly discovered key regulator of iron homeostasis, is found to be accumulated in ESRD. As it controls iron uptake and release, better reflecting real-time iron demand and availability, hepcidin might become a target in the management of iron deficiency and ESA resistance in dialysis patients. For their pleiotropic functions apart from lipid-modulation, statins are also used as anti-inflammatory or immune-modulating agents. In this study, we applied simvastatin for the purpose of influencing serum prohepcidin level in a group of maintenance hemodialysis patients. Thirty-three ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis were enrolled and assigned to experimental and hemodialysis control groups according to their lipid profile. Nineteen healthy adults were chosen as a normal control group. The subjects in the experimental group took 20 mg simvastatin orally per night for eight weeks, and those in the hemodialysis control group took no statins or any other lipid-modulating drugs. Before and after the experiment, the serum prohepcidin concentrations, plasma IL-6, and serum C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, hemoglobin, albumin, total cholesterol, glycerinate, and LDL and HDL cholesterol levels were determined. Of the 33 hemodialysis patients, the serum prohepcidin concentration was (175.8 +/- 52.9) ng/mL, significantly higher than that in the normal control group (149.5 +/- 24.2) ng/mL (P = 0.048). In the experimental group, the serum prohepcidin level was (156.7 +/- 51.9) ng/mL before treatment, and (190.6 +/- 49.6) ng/mL after eight weeks (P = 0.127). In the hemodialysis control group, the serum prohepcidin level was (190.6 +/- 49.6) ng/mL at the beginning, and (193.5 +/- 36.0) ng/mL after eight weeks (P = 0.728). In the experimental group, after taking simvastatin for eight weeks the serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels had lowered by 18.6% (P = 0.004) and 55.1% (P = 0.007), respectively. The plasma IL-6, serum CRP, ferritin, hemoglobin, albumin, and LDL and HDL cholesterol levels in both the hemodialysis group remained unchanged. According to our preliminary study, eight weeks of 20 mg simvastatin did not significantly change the serum prohepcidin, high-sensitive CRP, or IL-6 concentrations in the group of maintenance hemodialysis patients.

Conservative management of pediatric nephrolithiasis caused by melamine-contaminated milk powder.

OBJECTIVE: In this article we report our experience with the diagnostic screening and management of children with melamine-induced nephrolithiasis. METHODS: A total of 1091 children younger than 4 years who had been exposed to melamine-contaminated formula from September 17 to October 12, 2008, were screened for nephrolithiasis at the department of pediatrics at Shenzhen Nanshan Hospital in China. During the clinical examination, each patient's demographic characteristics were recorded together with the details of his or her milk-consumption profile during the contamination scare and any clinical signs of poisoning. Urinary stones were detected by B-ultrasonography, and renal status was examined by a routine urine test panel and a renal function test. When urinary stones were detected, patients were ordered to cease consumption of the suspected formula, and a conservative treatment course was adopted, including infusion of fluids, urinary alkalinization, increased water consumption, and diuresis. RESULTS: Of the 1091 children screened, 12 (1.1%) were diagnosed with kidney stones. They had been exposed to the contaminated milk from 1 to 24 months. Eleven (91.7%) of these 12 patients had consumed milk with a high level of melamine content (955-2563 ppm); 1 patient (8.3%) had consumed milk with a low-level melamine content (6.2-17.0 ppm). Six patients exhibited dysuria; the remaining 6 patients were asymptomatic. All 12 patients had normal renal function, although 4 had proteinuria, and 1 had hematuria. The kidney stones were resolved within 3 to 5 days of commencing treatment in all 12 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Nephrolithiasis was associated with high melamine-exposure levels. A combination of B-ultrasonography and urinalysis is suitable for screening for pediatric nephrolithiasis caused by melamine poisoning. The condition can be resolved with a conservative treatment approach in patients without serious clinical symptoms who have normal kidney function.

[Effect of continuous blood purification for management of multiple organ failure with acute renal failure].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of continuous blood purification (CBP) for treatment of multiple organ failure (MOF) with acute renal failure (ARF). METHODS: Forty-seven patients with MOF underwent CBP for an average of 3.1-/+0.5 days averagely. Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration was performed at daytime, and the substitute fluids were infused with pre-dilution at the rate of 2000-4000 ml/h. The general conditions, clinical symptoms, and serum biochemical indexes of the patients were observed and MODS score was calculated. RESULTS: After CBP, the MODS score of the patients decreased significantly from 9.1-/+3.5 to 5.4-/+2.7 (P<0.01) and serum creatinine decreased from 451.3-/+134.5 to 223.7-/+100.2 micromol/L (P<0.05). Twenty-nine patients survived with the survival rate of 61.7%. CONCLUSION: CBP is effective for treatment of MOF and may help reduce the mortality rate of MOF complicated by ARF.

Effect of continuous blood purification for management of multiple organ failure with acute renal failure / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect of continuous blood purification (CBP) for treatment of multiple organ failure (MOF) with acute renal failure (ARF).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-seven patients with MOF underwent CBP for an average of 3.1-/+0.5 days averagely. Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration was performed at daytime, and the substitute fluids were infused with pre-dilution at the rate of 2000-4000 ml/h. The general conditions, clinical symptoms, and serum biochemical indexes of the patients were observed and MODS score was calculated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After CBP, the MODS score of the patients decreased significantly from 9.1-/+3.5 to 5.4-/+2.7 (P<0.01) and serum creatinine decreased from 451.3-/+134.5 to 223.7-/+100.2 micromol/L (P<0.05). Twenty-nine patients survived with the survival rate of 61.7%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CBP is effective for treatment of MOF and may help reduce the mortality rate of MOF complicated by ARF.</p>

[Angiotensin II up-regulates osteopontin mRNA expression of RAW264.7 macrophages via p38MAPK signaling].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of osteopontin (OPN) mRNA expression induced by angiotensin II (AngII) in RAW264.7 macrophages, and to determine the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signaling in up-regulation of OPN mRNA expression. METHODS: RT-PCR was used for examining the OPN mRNA expression, and the phosphorylation of p38MAPK and activating transcription factor2 (ATF2) was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: (1) AngII (1 micromol/L) enhanced the expression of OPN mRNA in RAW264.7 macrophages with time-dependent, including 0.9 fold, 2.3 folds and 2.4 folds up-regulation at 6, 12, 24 h, respectively (all P < 0.01), whereas there was no significant change in negative control at 0 h and 24 h, suggesting that the mRNA expression of OPN is inducible. (2) Following excitation by Ang II in vitro, there was substantial up-regulation of OPN mRNA expression in RAW264.7 macrophages with dose-dependent; with a dose of 1 micromol/L incubated for 12 h, Ang II increased the OPN mRNA expression by 2.6 folds (P < 0.01). (3) Pre-treatment with SB202190 (5 micromol/L) for 30 min in RAW264.7 macrophages before AngII (1 micromol/L) used, the expression of OPN mRNA was inhibited by 61.7% (P < 0.01); but no marked inhibition had happened at the time of treatment with both SB202190 (5 micromol/L) and Ang II (1 micromol/L) added at the same time and with SB202190 (5 micromol/L) for 120 min after Ang II (1 micromol/L) used. (4) Pre-treatment with SB202190 (1, 5, 10 micromol/L) for 30 min in RAW264.7 macrophages before Ang II (1 micromol/L) used, the expression of OPN mRNA was decreased by 43.4%, 63.0% and 65.5%, respectively (all P < 0.01). (5) There was a maximal expression of p38MAPK phosphorylation at 15 approximately 30 min induced by Ang II (1 micromol/L) in RAW264.7 macrophages, and the maximal expression of phosphorylated ATF2 was at 30 approximately 45 min. (6) Pre-treatment with SB202190 (1, 5 micromol/L) for 30 min in RAW264.7 macrophages before Ang II (1 micromol/L) used, the expression of p38MAPK phosphorylation was inhibited markedly with dose-dependent, and the phosphorylation of p38MAPK was decreased by 61.7% (P < 0.01) after the SB202190 (5 micromol/L) was used. CONCLUSION: Angiotensin II may up-regulate osteopontin mRNA expression of RAW264.7 macrophages via p38MAPK signaling.