A Novel Approach to Relative Radiometric Calibration on Spatial and Temporal Variations for FORMOSAT-5 RSI Imagery.

Unlabelled: Radiometric calibration for imaging sensors is a crucial procedure to ensure imagery quality. One of the challenges in relative radiometric calibration is to correct detector-level artifacts due to the fluctuation in discrepant responses (spatial) and electronic instability (temporal). In this paper, the integration of the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) with Hilbert⁻Huang transform (HHT) in relative radiometric calibration was explored for a new sensor, FS-5 RSI (remote sensing instrument onboard the FORMOSAT-5 satellite).

Low-dose heparin retention in temporary hemodialysis double-lumen catheter does not increase catheter occlusion and might reduce risk of bleeding.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of heparin concentration retained in temporary double-lumen catheters on bleeding risk.

Methods: Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) was measured in patients hemodialyzed via double-lumen catheters. Heparin solutions of 5,000 U/ml (group 1, n = 95) and 1,000 U/ml (group 2, n = 89) were randomly retained in catheters after placement and each hemodialysis (HD) session.

Unusual cause of postrenal biopsy anuria in a renal transplant patient.

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is an uncommon but well-known complication of percutaneous renal biopsy. Most postbiopsy AVFs are asymptomatic and regress spontaneously; however, some AVFs result in hypertension, hematuria and renal insufficiency. Transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) is a potentially curable cause of posttransplant arterial hypertension, allograft dysfunction and graft loss.

Intragraft pressures predict outcomes in hemodialysis patients with graft outflow lesions undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Objectives: This study is to introduce intragraft pressure (IGP) as intraprocedural parameter for outcome survey in hemodialysis patients with graft outflow lesions undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).

Background: The role of IGP on procedural endpoint and patency is unknown.

Methods: Seventy-five participants with graft outflow lesions receiving PTA were enrolled.

Erythropoietin suppresses epithelial to mesenchymal transition and intercepts Smad signal transduction through a MEK-dependent mechanism in pig kidney (LLC-PK1) cell lines.

Purpose: Tumor growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) plays a pivotal role in processes like kidney epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and interstitial fibrosis, which correlate well with progression of renal disease. Little is known about underlying mechanisms that regulate EMT. Based on the anatomical relationship between erythropoietin (EPO)-producing interstitial fibroblasts and adjacent tubular cells, we investigated the role of EPO in TGF-beta1-mediated EMT and fibrosis in kidney injury.

Clustering of unconventional cardiovascular risk factors among Taiwanese hemodialysis patients.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CAVD) is the most common cause of mortality for chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients, yet the risk factors for the events have not been well established.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional survey in 995 chronic HD patients recruited from 12 HD centers in Taiwan to investigate the prevalence of CAVD, including coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and related them to 30 different parameters.

Results: The mean age of 995 patients (499 males/496 females) was 56.

Mechanisms of star fruit-induced acute renal failure.

We have previously discovered that star fruit can induce oliguric acute renal failure. To investigate the mechanisms of star fruit-associated acute oxalate nephropathy, the nephrotoxic effect of star fruit was examined in both cellular experiments and animal models. We evaluated renal function, pathological changes in kidney tissues and apoptotic effects using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay in four groups of rats -- a control group (CG), fed with tap water (1); a star fruit group (SG), fed with star fruit juice naturally containing 0.

Renal protection for coronary angiography in advanced renal failure patients by prophylactic hemodialysis. A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: We performed a study to determine whether prophylactic hemodialysis reduces contrast nephropathy (CN) after coronary angiography in advanced renal failure patients.

Background: Pre-existing renal failure is the greatest risk factor for CN. Hemodialysis can effectively remove contrast media, but its effect upon preventing CN is still uncertain.

Effects of folic acid and vitamin B complex on serum C-reactive protein and albumin levels in stable hemodialysis patients.

Objective: Folic acid and vitamin B complex administration in uremic patients has been reported to lower plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels, but whether or not this has a beneficial effect on the inflammatory state is not clear.

Methods: We conducted a randomized open labeled study to determine the effects of folic acid (5 mg daily) and vitamin B complex administration on plasma tHcy levels as well as inflammatory (serum high-sensitivity C reactive protein, hs-CRP) and nutritional (serum albumin) markers in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Treatment was given for 3 consecutive months to 61 patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

De novo malignancies after kidney transplantation.

Objectives: To investigate the occurrence and patterns of de novo malignancy in a series of kidney transplantation (KT) recipients in southern Taiwan.

Methods: A retrospective study of 108 KT recipients who underwent follow-up at our hospital from 1991 to 2004 was carried out. The occurrence and patterns of malignancy were assessed.

The role of oxalate in star fruit neurotoxicity of five-sixths nephrectomized rats.

To investigate the role of oxalate in star fruit neurotoxicity, rats were given star fruit or oxalate after a sham operation or modified five-sixths nephrectomy; namely, star fruit (SC) or oxalate (OxC) for sham-operated rats and star fruit (SNx), calcium gluconate treated star fruit juice (SCaNx), or oxalate (OxNx) for nephrectomized rats. After feedings, none of the rats in SC, OxC, and SCaNx groups developed movement disorders or died, while all rats in SNx group and OxNx group presented movement disorders and two rats in SNx group and four rats in OxNx group died within minute to hour after development of myoclonic jerk and/or tonic-clonic convulsion. The plasma oxalate levels rose significantly only in the SNx group and OxNx group that also presented clusters of generalized spike-waves in the electroencephalographic recordings.

Comparison of the diuretic effect of furosemide mixed with human albumin or fresh frozen plasma for patients with hypoalbuminemia in the intensive care unit.

Background: Diuretics are commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU) for patients with fluid over-loading. Hypoalbuminemia is a major cause of diuretic resistance. Albumin mixed with furosemide can promote diuresis and sodium excretion in patients with hypoalbuminemia.

The clinical impact of bacteremia in complicated acute pyelonephritis.

Background: Bacteremia has been considered as a surrogate marker of severe infection in several infectious diseases. However, it remains uncertain whether the presence of bacteremia correlates with severe infection in patients with complicated acute pyelonephritis (APN).

Methods: We performed a retrospective study to investigate the relationship between the presence of bacteremia and disease severity in complicated APN.

Metallic stent placement in hemodialysis graft patients after insufficient balloon dilation.

Objective: We wanted to report our experience of metallic stent placement after insufficient balloon dilation in graft hemodialysis patients.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-three patients (13 loop grafts in the forearm and 10 straight grafts in the upper arm) underwent metallic stent placement due to insufficient flow after urokinase thrombolysis and balloon dilation. The indications for metallic stent deployment included 1) recoil and/or kinked venous stenosis in 21 patients (venous anastomosis: 17 patients, peripheral outflow vein: four patients); and 2) major vascular rupture in two patients.

Effect of anandamide on cytosolic Ca(2+) levels and proliferation in canine renal tubular cells.

The effect of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide on cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and proliferation is largely unknown. This study examined whether anandamide altered Ca(2+) levels and caused Ca(2+)-dependent cell death in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. [Ca(2+)](i) and cell death were measured using the fluorescent dyes fura-2 and WST-1 respectively.

Further evidence of the usefulness of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scoring system in acute paraquat poisoning.

Objective And Method: We have previously successfully applied the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II system to assess the severity of patients with acute paraquat poisoning, and this article investigates further evidence of the usefulness of APACHE II system in predicting the in-hospital mortality of 64 patients with acute paraquat poisoning over a period of 12 years. The predictive factors including APACHE II score, plasma paraquat concentration, severity index of paraquat poisoning (SIPP), and estimated ingestion dosage of paraquat for evaluating the outcome in paraquat-poisoned patients were assessed.

Results: Overall mortality was 71.

Short report: persistent bradycardia caused by ciguatoxin poisoning after barracuda fish eggs ingestion in southern Taiwan.

We report an outbreak of ciguatoxin poisoning after barracuda fish ingestion in southern Taiwan. Three members of a family developed nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, and myalgias about 1 hour after eating three to ten eggs of a barracuda fish. Numbness of the lips and extremities followed the gastrointestinal symptoms about 2 hours after ingestion.

Single-session alcohol-retention sclerotherapy for simple renal cysts: comparison of 2- and 4-hr retention techniques.

Objective: The objectives of our study were to evaluate the feasibility of ethanol sclerotherapy in treating simple renal cysts with prolonged ethanol retention and to compare the therapeutic results of 2- and 4-hr retention techniques.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 36 renal cysts in 33 patients treated by ethanol sclerotherapy with a single-session single-injection technique during the past 6 years. After complete aspiration of the cystic fluid, 95% ethanol was injected into the cyst and was retained for 4 hr in 14 cysts (group 1) and for 2 hr in 22 cysts (group 2).

2-O-methyl PAF as a Ca2+ mobilizer in Madin Darby canine kidney cells.

In Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, the effect of 2-O-methyl PAF, an inactive analogue of platelet activating factor (PAF), on intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was measured by using the Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent dye fura-2. 2-O-methyl PAF (> or = 15 microM) caused a rapid rise of [Ca2+]i in a concentration-dependent manner. 2-O-methyl PAF-induced [Ca2+]i rise was partly reduced by removal of extracellular Ca2+.

Increased endothelin 1 expression in adult-onset minimal change nephropathy with acute renal failure.

Background: Acute renal failure (ARF) occurs in some adult patients with minimal change nephropathy (MCN). To investigate clinical and pathological factors associated with developing ARF, we compared clinical features and kidney pathological characteristics of endothelin 1 (ET-1) expression in patients with adult-onset MCN with and without ARF.

Methods: The patient population consisted of 53 patients consecutively diagnosed with adult-onset MCN during a 10-year period.

Metallic stent placement for treating peripheral outflow lesions in native arteriovenous fistula hemodialysis patients after insufficient balloon dilatation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to report our experience with metallic stent placement in the peripheral outflow veins in native arteriovenous fistula (A-V fistula) hemodialysis patients after insufficient balloon dilatation.

Materials And Methods: During the past 4 years, 12 A-V fistula dialysis patients in our hospital underwent metallic stent placement in the peripheral outflow veins to restore vascular access. The indications for metallic stent placement in our study included (1) recoil stenosis of outflow vein in six patients; (2) outflow venous rupture in two patients and dissection in one patient; and (3) large residual adherent thrombus in outflow aneurysms in three patients with thrombosed (arteriovenous) access.

Platelet hyperreactivity in hemodialysis patients with frequently occluded vascular access.

It is known that thrombosis is a leading cause of vascular access failure and that the formation of thrombus requires platelets. The activation of platelets induces the increase in intracellular Ca 2(+) levels ([Ca(2+)](i)) leading to aggregation and thrombosis. We compared the platelet [Ca(2+)](i) before and after stimulation between the patients with and without easily occluded vascular access.