Reduced cortical oxygenation predicts a progressive decline of renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Renal tissue hypoxia is a final pathway in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but whether renal oxygenation predicts renal function decline in humans has not been proven. Therefore, we performed a prospective study and measured renal tissue oxygenation by blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) in 112 patients with CKD, 47 with hypertension without CKD, and 24 healthy control individuals. Images were analyzed with the twelve-layer concentric objects method that divided the renal parenchyma in 12 layers of equal thickness and reports the mean R2* value of each layer (a high R2* corresponds to low oxygenation), along with the change in R2* between layers called the R2* slope. Serum creatinine values were collected to calculate the yearly change in estimated glomerular function rate (MDRD eGFR). Follow up was three years. The change in eGFR in CKD, hypertensive and control individuals was -2.0, 0.5 and -0.2 ml/min/1.73m <sup>2</sup> /year, respectively. In multivariable regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, diabetes, RAS-blockers, eGFR, and proteinuria the yearly eGFR change correlated negatively with baseline 24 hour proteinuria and the mean R2* value of the cortical layers, and positively with the R2* slope, but not with the other covariates. Patients with CKD and high outer R2* or a flat R2* slope were three times more likely to develop an adverse renal outcome (renal replacement therapy or over a 30% increase in serum creatinine). Thus, low cortical oxygenation is an independent predictor of renal function decline. This finding should stimulate studies exploring the therapeutic impact of improving renal oxygenation on renal disease progression

Ion synthesis and FMR studies of iron and cobalt nanoparticles in polyimides

Polyimide foils were implanted with 40 keV Fe+ and Co + to doses of 0.25-1.5×1017 ions/cm2. Electron microscopy studies showed the formation of iron and cobalt nanoparticles in the implanted polymer layer with a thickness of about 70 nm. The size and shape of the ion-synthesized metal nanoparticles depend on the implantation parameters and subsequent thermal annealing. A ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) response was found in the iron-implanted samples as well as in the annealed cobalt and iron samples. The effective magnetization values of the metal/polymer composite layers were extracted from the FMR spectra and plotted as a function of implantation dose. The magnetic properties of the iron and cobalt nanoparticles in polyimide are compared and discussed. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Sociodemographic, behavioral and genetic determinants of allostatic load in a Swiss population-based study.

Allostatic load (AL) is a marker of physiological dysregulation which reflects exposure to chronic stress. High AL has been related to poorer health outcomes including mortality. We examine here the association of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors with AL. Additionally, we investigate the extent to which AL is genetically determined. We included 803 participants (52% women, mean age 48±16years) from a population and family-based Swiss study. We computed an AL index aggregating 14 markers from cardiovascular, metabolic, lipidic, oxidative, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and inflammatory homeostatic axes. Education and occupational position were used as indicators of socioeconomic status. Marital status, stress, alcohol intake, smoking, dietary patterns and physical activity were considered as lifestyle factors. Heritability of AL was estimated by maximum likelihood. Women with a low occupational position had higher AL (low vs. high OR=3.99, 95%CI [1.22;13.05]), while the opposite was observed for men (middle vs. high OR=0.48, 95%CI [0.23;0.99]). Education tended to be inversely associated with AL in both sexes(low vs. high OR=3.54, 95%CI [1.69;7.4]/OR=1.59, 95%CI [0.88;2.90] in women/men). Heavy drinking men as well as women abstaining from alcohol had higher AL than moderate drinkers. Physical activity was protective against AL while high salt intake was related to increased AL risk. The heritability of AL was estimated to be 29.5% ±7.9%. Our results suggest that generalized physiological dysregulation, as measured by AL, is determined by both environmental and genetic factors. The genetic contribution to AL remains modest when compared to the environmental component, which explains approximately 70% of the phenotypic variance

Electron dephasing near zero temperature: an experimental review

The behavior of the electron dephasing time near zero temperature, $\tau_\phi^0$, has recently attracted vigorous attention. This renewed interest is primarily concerned with whether $\tau_\phi^0$ should reach a finite or an infinite value as $T \to$ 0. While it is accepted that $\tau_\phi^0$ should diverge if there exists only electron-electron (electron-phonon) scattering, several recent measurements have found that $\tau_\phi^0$ depends only very weakly on temperature, if at all, when $T$ is sufficiently low. This article discusses the current experimental status of "the saturation problem", and concludes that the origin(s) for this widely observed saturation are still unresolved

Percolation-type description of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions

A simple non-interacting-electron model, combining local quantum tunneling and global classical percolation (due to a finite dephasing time at low temperatures), is introduced to describe a metal-insulator transition in two dimensions. It is shown that many features of the experiments, such as the exponential dependence of the resistance on temperature on the metallic side, the linear dependence of the exponent on density, the $e^2/h$ scale of the critical resistance, the quenching of the metallic phase by a parallel magnetic field and the non-monotonic dependence of the critical density on a perpendicular magnetic field, can be naturally explained by the model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Two-species percolation and Scaling theory of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions

Recently, a simple non-interacting-electron model, combining local quantum tunneling via quantum point contacts and global classical percolation, has been introduced in order to describe the observed ``metal-insulator transition'' in two dimensions [1]. Here, based upon that model, a two-species-percolation scaling theory is introduced and compared to the experimental data. The two species in this model are, on one hand, the ``metallic'' point contacts, whose critical energy lies below the Fermi energy, and on the other hand, the insulating quantum point contacts. It is shown that many features of the experiments, such as the exponential dependence of the resistance on temperature on the metallic side, the linear dependence of the exponent on density, the $e^2/h$ scale of the critical resistance, the quenching of the metallic phase by a parallel magnetic field and the non-monotonic dependence of the critical density on a perpendicular magnetic field, can be naturally explained by the model. Moreover, details such as the nonmonotonic dependence of the resistance on temperature or the inflection point of the resistance vs. parallel magnetic are also a natural consequence of the theory. The calculated parallel field dependence of the critical density agrees excellently with experiments, and is used to deduce an experimental value of the confining energy in the vertical direction. It is also shown that the resistance on the ``metallic'' side can decrease with decreasing temperature by an arbitrary factor in the degenerate regime ($T\lesssim E_F$).Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Conductance fluctuations and weak localization in chaotic quantum dots

We study the conductance statistical features of ballistic electrons flowing through a chaotic quantum dot. We show how the temperature affects the universal conductance fluctuations by analyzing the influence of dephasing and thermal smearing. This leads us to two main findings. First, we show that the energy correlations in the transmission, which were overlooked so far, are important for calculating the variance and higher moments of the conductance. Second, we show that there is an ambiguity in the method of determination of the dephasing rate from the size of the of the weak localization. We find that the dephasing times obtained at low temperatures from quantum dots are underestimated.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Оценка влияния сопутствующей глаукомы на результаты эндотелиальной кератопластики при буллезной кератопатии

PURPOSE: Evaluate the influence of concomitant glaucoma on the ultra-thin Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (UTDSAEK) outcome. METHODS: 64 patients (67 eyes) with bullous keratopathy underwent UTDSAEK. The average age of the patients was 71.7±5.4 years. The average preoperative visual acuity equaled 0.04±0.04. 19 patients (19 eyes) had a history of glaucoma (stages II-III). 45 patients (48 eyes) didn’t have glaucoma. Bullous keratopathy was detected in 47 of the studied eyes, Fuchs dystrophy - in 20. Prior to the operation mean intraocular pressure (Р0) in eyes with glaucoma was 13±2.3 mmHg, in eyes without glaucoma - 14±3.1 mmHg. Intraocular pressure before and after the operation was measured by Tonopen-XL tonometer. RESULTS: In 1 year after endothelial keratoplasty mean IOP for patients with concomitant glaucoma was higher than before surgery and equaled 16±2.8 mmHg (pЦЕЛЬ. Оценить влияние сопутствующей глаукомы на результаты автоматизированной эндотелиальной кератопластики с удалением десцеметовой мембраны и использованием тонких трансплантатов (UTDSAEK). МЕТОДЫ. 64 пациентам (67 глаз) с буллезной кератопатией произвели UTDSAEK. Средний возраст пациентов составил 71,7±5,4 года. Средняя дооперационная острота зрения равнялась 0,04±0,04. Не страдали глаукомой 45 больных (48 глаз), у 19 пациентов (19 глаз) в анамнезе имелась глаукома II-III стадии. Вторичная буллезная кератопатия была выявлена на 47 глазах, дистрофия Фукса - на 20. Среднее внутриглазное давление (ВГД, Р0) на глазах с глаукомой до кератопластики составляло 13±2,3 мм рт.ст., на глазах без глаукомы - 14±3,1 мм рт.ст. ВГД до и после операции измеряли апланационным тонометром Tonopen-XL. РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ. Через 1 год после эндотелиальной кератопластики среднее ВГД у больных с сопутствующей глаукомой было достоверно выше, чем до операции, и равнялось 16±2,8 мм рт.ст. (

Cyclic oxidation of coated and uncoated single-crystal nickel-based superalloy MC2 analyzed by continuous thermogravimetry analysis

The previously developed cyclic thermogravimetry analysis (CTGA) [Monceau D, Poquillon D. Oxid Met 2004;61:143–163] method is applied to the cyclic oxidation at 1150 C of a NiCoCrAlYTa-coated and an uncoated single-crystal nickel-based superalloy MC2. A new procedure to correct the buoyancy effect is proposed in order to evaluate the amount of oxide formed during the heating periods, which can be important for alloys forming fast-growing transient oxides or during cycling with slow heating rates. It is shown that cyclic thermogravimetry is an useful technique for uantifying the oxidation resistance of an industrial alloy. Moreover, the behaviour of the alloy is better described with CTGA than with a classic cyclic gravimetric test, because both isothermal oxidation kinetics and spalling behaviour are assessed independently. In the present case, it is shown clearly that the NiCoCrAlYTa coating greatly improves the cyclic oxidation resistance without decreasing the isothermal oxidation kinetics. Finally, the use of CTGA for performance and time-of-life evaluations is demonstrated