Chronic kidney disease is associated with high abdominal incisional hernia rates and wound healing disturbances.

Background And Objectives: Incisional hernias are among the most frequent complications following abdominal surgery with impact on morbidity and mortality rates. Elevated uremia toxins may inhibit granulation tissue formation and impair wound healing, thereby promoting incisional hernia development. Here, we quantified the hazard ratio for incisional hernia prevalence in patients at risk undergoing abdominal reoperations with interrelationship to kidney function.

Hedgehog-signaling is upregulated in non-producing human adrenal adenomas and antagonism of hedgehog-signaling inhibits proliferation of NCI-H295R cells and an immortalized primary human adrenal cell line.

Hedgehog (Hh)-signaling pathway is important in embryonic development. Activation of Hh-signaling is associated with tumorigenesis. Recent studies demonstrate that Hh-signaling is involved in the development of the adrenal gland in mice and is important in regulating adrenal proliferation.

Longitudinal characterization of a model of chronic allergic lung inflammation in mice using imaging, functional and immunological methods.

The present study investigated the role that imaging could have for assessing lung inflammation in a mouse model of HDM (house dust mite)-provoked allergic inflammation. Inflammation is usually assessed using terminal procedures such as BAL (bronchoalveolar lavage) and histopathology; however, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) methods have the potential to allow longitudinal, repeated study of individual animals. Female BALB/c mice were administered daily either saline, or a solution of mixed HDM proteins sufficient to deliver a dose of 12 or 25 μg total HDM protein±budesonide (1 mg/kg of body weight, during weeks 5-7) for 7 weeks.

Pathogenesis of cardiorenal syndrome type 1 in acute decompensated heart failure: workgroup statements from the eleventh consensus conference of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI).

Pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiorenal syndromes (CRS) types 1-5 are still sparsely characterized. In an attempt to address this issue, a consensus conference on CRS was held in Venice, Italy, in November 2012 under the auspices of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI). Working group 1 discussed monodirectional mechanisms of CRS type 1 which is characterized by a rapid worsening of cardiac function leading to acute kidney injury (AKI).

Diagnosis of acute kidney injury using functional and injury biomarkers: workgroup statements from the tenth Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative Consensus Conference.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) commonly occurs in hospitalized patients and is independently and strongly associates with morbidity and mortality. The clinical benefits of a timely and definitive diagnosis of AKI have not been fully realized due to limitations imposed by the use of serum creatinine and urine output to fulfill diagnostic criteria. These restrictions often lead to diagnostic delays, potential misclassification of actual injury status, and provide little information regarding underlying cause.

Implementation of novel biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of acute kidney injury: executive summary from the tenth consensus conference of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI).

Detection of acute kidney injury is undergoing a dynamic revolution of biomarker technology allowing greater, earlier, and more accurate determination of diagnosis, prognosis, and with powerful implication for management. Biomarkers can be broadly considered as any measurable biologic entity or process that allows differentiation between normal function and injury or disease. The ADQI (Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative) had its Ninth Consensus Conference dedicated to synthesis and formulation of the existing literature on biomarkers for the detection of acute kidney injury in a variety of settings.

Discovery of GW870086: a potent anti-inflammatory steroid with a unique pharmacological profile.

Background And Purpose: Glucocorticoids are highly effective therapies for a range of inflammatory diseases. Advances in the understanding of the diverse molecular mechanisms underpinning glucocorticoid action suggest that anti-inflammatory molecules with reduced side effect liabilities can be discovered. Here we set out to explore whether modification of the 17α position of the steroid nucleus could generate molecules with a unique pharmacological profile and to determine whether such molecules would retain anti-inflammatory activity.

Prophylactic perioperative sodium bicarbonate to prevent acute kidney injury following open heart surgery: a multicenter double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests a nephroprotective effect of urinary alkalinization in patients at risk of acute kidney injury. In this study, we tested whether prophylactic bicarbonate-based infusion reduces the incidence of acute kidney injury and tubular damage in patients undergoing open heart surgery.

Methods And Findings: In a multicenter, double-blinded (patients, clinical and research personnel), randomized controlled trial we enrolled 350 adult patients undergoing open heart surgery with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

MicroRNA expressions in PMBCs, CD4+, and CD8+ T-cells from patients suffering from autoimmune Addison's disease.

Autoimmune Addison's disease (AD) is a rare but potentially life threatening disease. The exact etiology of the immune response to the adrenal gland is still unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) critically control gene-expression and play an important role in regulating the immune response.

Dose-dependent histological alterations in the rat lung following intravenous application of Re-188-labeled microspheres.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the dose-effect correlation of pneumopathy after application of Rhenium-188 microspheres (Re-188 MS) in an animal model using histological changes as an end-point.

Methods And Materials: Wistar rats received an intravenous injection of Re-188 MS yielding doses that ranged from ˜ 2 to ˜ 55 Gy. Lungs were removed after ˜ 25 weeks and prepared for histology.

Photoluminescence study of nanocrystalline Y2O3:Ho3+ phosphor.

The Y2O3:Ho(3+) powder phosphors have been prepared by using low temperature combustion method. Powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize the as-prepared phosphor. The UV-Vis-NIR absorption, excitation and emission studies have been performed and the phenomenological Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters which are critically important in calculating the radiative properties and stimulated emission crosssection have been calculated by using Judd-Ofelt theory.

NIR to visible frequency upconversion in Er3+ and Yb3+ co-doped BaZrO3 phosphor.

Phosphor powders of Yb(3+) co-doped BaZrO3:Er(3+) have been prepared by the urea combustion route. The formation of single-phase BaZrO3:Er(3+) and BaZrO3:Er(3+),Yb(3+) was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Green and red luminescence along with a weaker blue emission is observed upon excitation at ~978 nm with a diode laser.

Hormone therapy in prostate cancer.

The role of nuclear medicine diagnostic bone scanning is well established in prostate cancer. This case provides an insight into the specific role that bone scanning plays in monitoring response to hormone therapy and an example of significant global skeletal response. The case highlights the remarkable efficacy of timely hormone therapy in high-grade prostate cancer with widespread bony metastasis.

Discovery and validation of cell cycle arrest biomarkers in human acute kidney injury.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) can evolve quickly and clinical measures of function often fail to detect AKI at a time when interventions are likely to provide benefit. Identifying early markers of kidney damage has been difficult due to the complex nature of human AKI, in which multiple etiologies exist. The objective of this study was to identify and validate novel biomarkers of AKI.

Early acid-base and blood pressure effects of continuous renal replacement therapy intensity in patients with metabolic acidosis.

Purpose: In acute kidney injury patients, metabolic acidosis is common. Its severity, duration, and associated changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and vasopressor therapy may be affected by the intensity of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). We aimed to compare key aspects of acidosis and MAP and vasopressor therapy in patients treated with two different CRRT intensities.

Control of CYP11B2/CYP11B1 expression ratio and consequences for the zonation of the adrenal cortex.

Access of corticotropin to glucocorticoid synthesis in adrenocortical cells is provided by the expression of the ACTH receptor (MC2R). Activation of the MC2R increases stimulatory G-protein, adenylyl cyclase, and protein kinase A (PKA) activities. Furthermore, PKA phosphorylates transcription factors that have a stimulating effect on glucocorticoid synthesis.

Effect of the crystal structure of small precursor particles on the growth of β-NaREF4 (RE = Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb) nanocrystals.

The origin of the narrow particle size distributions obtained in the oleic acid-based synthesis of hexagonal phase β-NaREF(4) nanocrystals (RE = Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb) has been investigated. Compared to the standard synthesis, the growth conditions were simplified by using small purified particles of either α-NaREF(4) (cubic phase) or β-NaREF(4) (hexagonal phase) as single-source precursors, thereby avoiding the complications arising from the simultaneous presence of molecular educts and intermediately formed small particles. The study shows that α-phase as well as β-phase particles grow by Ostwald-ripening but narrow particle size distributions of the β-NaREF(4) product particles are only obtained when α-phase precursor particles are employed.

Pushing short DNA fragments to the limit: Phylogenetic relationships of 'hydrobioid' gastropods (Caenogastropoda: Rissooidea).

Although phylogenetic studies are increasingly utilizing multi-locus datasets, a review of GenBank data for the Gastropoda indicates a strong bias towards a few short gene fragments (most commonly COI, LSU rRNA, and SSU rRNA). This is particularly the case for the Rissooidea, one of the largest and most taxonomically difficult gastropod superfamilies. Here we analyze fragments of these three genes from 90 species to determine whether they can well resolve higher relationships within this superfamily, whether structurally aligned sequence datasets increase phylogenetic signal, and whether the inclusion of highly variable regions introduces noise.

Griseofulvin inhibits the growth of adrenocortical cancer cells in vitro.

Supernumerary centrosomes and aneuploidy are associated with a malignant phenotype of tumor cells. Centrosomal clustering is a mechanism used by cancer cells with supernumerary centrosomes to solve the threatening problem of multipolar spindles. Griseofulvin is an antifungal substance that interferes with the microtubule apparatus and inhibits centrosomal clustering.

Low preoperative hepcidin concentration as a risk factor for mortality after cardiac surgery: a pilot study.

Objective: Hepcidin regulates iron absorption and recycling and is central to host defense, protection from reactive iron species, and a biomarker of iron-related pathophysiology. We assessed the value of hepcidin measured preoperatively for the prediction of in-hospital mortality and renal outcomes.

Methods: We studied 100 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery in the control arm of a randomized, controlled trial.

Subclinical AKI--an emerging syndrome with important consequences.

According to guidelines published by Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes, patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) should be managed according to their susceptibilities and exposures. Clinical evaluation of a patient's risk of acute loss of renal function is of undisputed importance. However, such evaluations can be hindered by the complex presentations of critically ill patients and the lack of methods to detect early kidney damage.

New insights into family relationships within the avian superfamily Sylvioidea (Passeriformes) based on seven molecular markers.

Background: The circumscription of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea is a matter of long ongoing debate. While the overall inclusiveness has now been mostly agreed on and 20 families recognised, the phylogenetic relationships among the families are largely unknown. We here present a phylogenetic hypothesis for Sylvioidea based on one mitochondrial and six nuclear markers, in total ~6.

Subclinical AKI is still AKI.

The concept of acute kidney syndromes has shifted in recent years from acute renal failure to acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI implies injury or damage but not necessarily dysfunction. The human kidney has an important glomerular function reserve, and dysfunction becomes evident only when more than 50% of the renal mass is compromised.

High cut-off and high-flux membrane haemodialysis in a patient with rhabdomyolysis-associated acute kidney injury.

In a patient with rhabdomyolysis-associated anuric acute kidney injury, an 8-hour haemodialysis session was performed with a large-pore, high cut-off (HCO) membrane (in-vivo cutoff, 60 kDa). Subsequently, during another 8-hour dialysis session, a standard high-flux (HF) membrane (in-vivo cut-off, 15kDa) was used. Serum myoglobin levels were measured throughout both sessions.

An electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic investigation on the growth mechanism of NaYF4:Gd nanocrystals.

Doped nanocrystals of NaYF(4) and NaGdF(4) are currently studied as upconversion luminescence markers and magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. An EPR investigation on the growth mechanism of NaYF(4):Gd and NaGdF(4) nanocrystals showed that these nanomaterials grow in the standard oleic acid-based reaction medium by a dissolution/recrystallization mechanism and not by the aggregation or oriented attachment of smaller particles.