Enhanced desalination performance in compacted carbon-based reverse osmosis membranes.

Reverse osmosis membranes typically suffer compaction during the initial stabilization stage due to the applied hydraulic pressure, altering the desalination performance. The elucidation of the underlying transformations during compaction is key for further development of new membranes and its deployment in real-world scenarios. Hydraulic compaction of amorphous carbon (a-C) based membranes under cross-flow operation for water purification and desalination has been observed experimentally, and analysed employing molecular dynamics simulations.

[A case of type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with left iliopsoas abscess caused by a left femoral vein catheter during treatment for right pyothorax and right subphrenic abscess].

A 78-year-old man was receiving regular treatment for diabetes and dementia at our hospital. Diabetes was diagnosed about 10 years previously, at which time the patient's HbA(1)c level had been maintained at 6% by diet therapy and an oral hypoglycemic agent. In July, 2008, he was admitted with fever and hospitalized for pneumonia, which improved with antibiotic treatment and chest drainage.

Coronary artery calcification, arterial stiffness and renal insufficiency associate with serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients.

Although the kidneys are the major source of proinflammatory cytokines, association of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) with severity of atherosclerosis or kidney function in diabetic patients is unclear. Two hundred type 2 diabetic patients and 30 age-matched nondiabetic subjects consecutively admitted to our hospital were enrolled. The Agatston coronary artery calcium score (CACS), a quantitative marker of coronary atherosclerosis, was obtained using multidetector-row computed tomography.

Impaired peripheral circulation in lower-leg arteries caused by higher arterial stiffness and greater vascular resistance associates with nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients with normal ankle-brachial indices.

Diabetic nephropathy is a major cause of lower-limb amputation. We enrolled 250 type 2 diabetic patients without apparent occlusive peripheral arterial disease (ankle-brachial indices >0.9) and 40 age-matched nondiabetic subjects consecutively admitted to our hospital.

Characteristics of myogenic tone in the rat ophthalmic artery.

The pressure-induced constriction in the rat ophthalmic artery was characterized. Ophthalmic arteries were isolated, cannulated in an arteriograph, and pressurized. Arteries developed 25% constriction at 70 mmHg of intraluminal pressure.

Myogenic tone and reactivity of rat ophthalmic artery in acute exposure to high glucose and in a type II diabetic model.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of acute exposure to high glucose on myogenic tone and reactivity of the rat ophthalmic artery and to compare the observations with that in ophthalmic artery from a diabetic rat model.

Methods: Ophthalmic arteries from Sprague-Dawley rats were pressurized at 70 mmHg in an arteriograph, and outer diameter was monitored. Myogenic tone was assessed over a range of intraluminal pressures in the presence and absence of high glucose or mannitol.