Serum phosphate level at initiation of dialysis is associated with all-cause mortality: a multicenter prospective cohort study.

Introduction: As glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decreases, serum phosphate level increases. Previous reports indicated that serum phosphate level was associated with mortality in patients on dialysis. However, few reports have examined the association using dialysis initiation as the baseline period.

Toxicity of tetramethylammonium hydroxide to aquatic organisms and its synergistic action with potassium iodide.

The aquatic ecotoxicity of chemicals involved in the manufacturing process of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays was assessed with a battery of four selected acute toxicity bioassays. We focused on tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH, CAS No. 75-59-2), a widely utilized etchant.

Effect-directed investigation and interactive effect of organic toxicants in landfill leachates combining Microtox test with RP-HPLC fractionation and GC/MS analysis.

Landfill leachates contain a large amount of unknown harmful compounds derived from domestic and industrial sources. A toxicity effect-directed approach was used to identify biologically active compounds in three landfill leachate samples (S1-S3) by combining the Microtox test with reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) fractionation and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. Organic toxicants were recovered from coarse fractions only in S1 and in S2.

[Case of tuberculosis-associated hemophagocytic syndrome in a hemodialysis patient under steroid therapy].

A 70-year-old woman was referred and admitted to our hospital with fever of unknown etiology. She had a past medical history of pulmonary tuberculosis. Ten weeks before admission she was diagnosed with acute renal failure caused by crescentic glomerulonephritis.

Chemical stabilization of medical waste fly ash using chelating agent and phosphates: Heavy metals and ecotoxicity evaluation.

Chemical stabilization of heavy metals in medical waste fly ash has been carried out using the following compounds: a chelating agent (Ashnite S803), a commercial acidic phosphoric acid solution (Ashnite R303) as well as basic one (Ashnite R201). In order to predict the leachability of heavy metals, Japanese Leaching Test (JLT-13) procedure was applied to the stabilized fly ash products. An ecotoxicity assessment of the stabilized fly ash products leachate and the unstabilized fly ash leachate was conducted using a battery of bioassays based on lettuce root elongation inhibition, Daphnia magna mortality and Vibrio fischeri photoinhibition.

High ambient glucose augments angiotensin II-induced proinflammatory gene mRNA expression in human mesangial cells: effects of valsartan and simvastatin.

Background: Hyperglycemia may potentiate the adverse renal effects of angiotensin II (AII). In the kidney, the major target of AII action is the glomerular mesangial cell, where its hemodynamic and proinflammatory action contributes to renal injury. AII action is mediated by several types of cell receptors.

Toxicity of Diuron and copper pyrithione on the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana: the effects of temperature and salinity.

Diuron and copper pyrithione (CuPT) are two substances that have been used worldwide as alternatives to tributyltin (TBT) in antifouling paints for the protection of ship hulls. In this study their toxicity against the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana is examined under several combinations of salinity and temperature using the LC(20), LC(50) and LC(80) values found for the 25 degrees C and 35 per thousand standard conditions. A significant interaction between temperature and salinity effects was observed for both chemicals.

Solid-phase bioassays and soil microbial activities to evaluate PAH-spiked soil ecotoxicity after a long-term bioremediation process simulating landfarming.

The residual ecotoxicity of long-term bioremediated soils concomitantly spiked with three PAHs at four levels (15, 75, 150, 300 mg Sigma 3 PAHs kg(-1) soil) was evaluated using physico-chemical analyses, solid-phase bioassays and soil microbial activities. The pot-scale bioremediation process consisted of weekly moderate waterings in the presence or absence of sewage sludge compost (SSC) under greenhouse conditions. After 15 months, anthracene and pyrene were almost completely degraded whereas benzo[a]pyrene was still persisting, most apparently in SSC-amended soil treatments.

The interactive effects of binary mixtures of three antifouling biocides and three heavy metals against the marine algae Chaetoceros gracilis.

Three of the most commonly used antifouling booster biocides that are usually combined with copper or copper compounds are Irgarol 1051, Diuron, and Zn pyrithione. This study represents an assessment of the interactive effects of the antifouling biocides combined with each other, and with three heavy metals (Cu, Cd, and Zn) in binary mixtures, on the marine algae Chaetoceros gracilis. Seventy-two hour growth inhibition tests were carried out, and the IC50 values of the chemicals were determined along with growth inhibition (%) for several concentrations.

Effects of anthracene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene spiking and sewage sludge compost amendment on soil ecotoxicity during a bioremediation process.

The fate of spiked anthracene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene in soil with or without sewage sludge compost was assessed during a 6-month bioremediation process simulating landfarming. Bioassays and physico-chemical analyses were employed to monitor toxicity change in soil samples and elutriates through ten sampling campaigns. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was determined to measure the strength of relationship between bioassays and physico-chemical analyses.

Metals leachability from medical waste incinerator fly ash: A case study on particle size comparison.

This paper presents the results from a study of metals leachability of medical waste incinerator fly ash in Japan on the basis of particle size. Sequential extraction and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) analysis were carried out in order to quantify the leaching amount of metals in each categorized particle size. Sequential extraction was also subjected to identify the preference of binding matrix of metals.

An inhibitor of advanced glycation end product formation reduces N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine accumulation in glomeruli of diabetic rats.

Background: An inhibitor of advanced glycation, OPB-9195, retards the progression of nephropathy in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study is to evaluate histologically the role of N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) in the development of diabetic nephropathy and investigate whether inhibition of CML accumulation by OPB-9195 is associated directly with the prevention of glomerular lesions in OLETF rats.

Methods: Kidneys of OLETF and Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats were obtained at ages 7, 20, 50, and 68 weeks after collecting their blood and urine samples.

Effects of oral adsorbent on gene expression profile in uremic rat kidney: cDNA array analysis.

Background: An oral adsorbent, AST-120, is effective in removing such uremic toxins as indoxyl sulfate and delays the progression of chronic renal failure. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the renoprotective effects of AST-120, the complementary DNA (cDNA) array method was used to survey the alteration in gene expression profiles of uremic rat kidneys in response to AST-120.

Methods: Six weeks after five-sixth nephrectomy, 10 uremic rats were divided into two groups: those administered AST-120 and control uremic rats.

An oral adsorbent downregulates renal expression of genes that promote interstitial inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic rats.

Background/aims: An oral adsorbent, AST-120, removes uremic toxins such as indoxyl sulfate, and delays the progression of renal failure. This study was designed to investigate the effects of AST-120 on the molecular basis of interstitial inflammation and fibrosis, using Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Four weeks after unilateral nephrectomy, the uninephrectomized OLETF (1/2NxOLETF) rats were divided into two groups: AST-120-administered and control 1/2NxOLETF rats.

Role of organic anion transporters in the tubular transport of indoxyl sulfate and the induction of its nephrotoxicity.

In uremic patients, various uremic toxins are accumulated and exert various biologic effects on uremia. Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is one of uremic toxins that is derived from dietary protein, and serum levels of IS are markedly increased in both uremic rats and patients. It has been previously reported that the accumulation of IS promotes the progression of chronic renal failure (CRF).

Algal growth inhibition by river water pollutants in the agricultural area around Lake Biwa, Japan.

An ecotoxicological study of river water discharged from the agricultural area around Lake Biwa was performed by using algal bioassays to guide chemical analysis. Water samples were collected once a week, at least, for 1 year starting in April 1997 and continuing until April 1998. The toxicities of the dissolved and particulate-adsorbed extracts of water samples were evaluated by the algal growth inhibition test and concentrations of individual pesticides were determined.

Combination therapy with benazepril and oral adsorbent ameliorates progressive renal fibrosis in uremic rats.

Background/aims: The administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an oral adsorbent, AST-120 (Kremezin), prevents the progression of renal failure. This study was designed to determine the additional effects of AST-120 combined with an ACE inhibitor, benazepril, on the progression of renal fibrosis in uremic rats.

Methods: 5/6-nephrectomized uremic rats were divided into control uremic rats (CRF group), benazepril-treated uremic rats (CRF+B group) and uremic rats receiving benazepril and AST-120 (CRF+BK group).