Metabolic syndrome and abdominal fat are associated with inflammation, but not with clinical outcomes, in peritoneal dialysis patients

BACKGROUND: In the general population, metabolic syndrome (MetS) is correlated with visceral fat and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, little is known about the significance of abdominal fat and its association with inflammation and medication use in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We investigated the relationship of visceral fat area (VFA) with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and medication use in PD patients and followed their clinical outcomes. METHODS: In a prospective study from February 2009 to February 2012, we assessed diabetes mellitus (DM) status, clinical and PD-associated characteristics, medication use, CRP levels, components of MetS, and VFA in 183 PD patients. These patients were categorized into 3 groups based on MetS and DM status: non-MetS (group 1, n = 73), MetS (group 2, n = 65), and DM (group 3, n = 45). VFA was evaluated by computed tomography (CT) and corrected for body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: Patients in group 1 had smaller VFAs than patients in groups 2 and 3 (3.2 ± 1.8, 4.6 ± 1.9, and 4.9 ± 2.0 cm(2)/[kg/m(2)], respectively, P < 0.05) and lower CRP levels (0.97 ± 2.31, 1.27 ± 2.57, and 1.11 ± 1.35 mg/dL, respectively, P < 0.05). VFA increased with the number of criteria met for MetS. After adjusting for age, body weight, and sex, CRP and albumin levels functioned as independent positive predictors of VFA; on other hand, the use of renin-angiotensin system blockers was inversely correlated with VFA in PD patients without DM. In the survival analysis, DM patients (group 3) had the poorest survival among the 3 groups, but no significant differences were found between groups 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: This study showed that VFA and MetS are associated with CRP levels but cannot predict survival in PD patients without DM. The complex relationship of nutritional parameters to VFA and MetS may explain these results. The type of antihypertensive medication used was also associated with the VFA. The mechanisms behind these findings warrant further investigation

KCNN2 polymorphisms and cardiac tachyarrhythmias

Potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily N member 2 (KCNN2) encodes an integral membrane protein that forms small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels. Recent studies in animal models show that SK channels are important in atrial and ventricular repolarization and arrhythmogenesis. However, the importance of SK channels in human arrhythmia remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to test the association between genetic polymorphism of the SK2 channel and the occurrence of cardiac tachyarrhythmias in humans. We enrolled 327 Han Chinese, including 72 with clinically significant ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTa) who had a history of aborted sudden cardiac death (SCD) or unexplained syncope, 98 with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF), and 144 normal controls. We genotyped 12 representative tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across a 141-kb genetic region containing the KCNN2 gene; these captured the full haplotype information. The rs13184658 and rs10076582 variants of KCNN2 were associated with VTa in both the additive and dominant models (odds ratio [OR] 2.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.505-5.545, P = 0.001; and OR 2.55, 95% CI = 1.428-4.566, P = 0.002, respectively). After adjustment for potential risk factors, the association remained significant. The population attributable risks of these 2 variants of VTa were 17.3% and 10.6%, respectively. One variant (rs13184658) showed weak but significant association with AF in a dominant model (OR 1.91, CI = 1.025-3.570], P = 0.042). There was a significant association between the KCNN2 variants and clinically significant VTa. These findings suggest an association between KCNN2 and VTa; it also appears that KCNN2 variants may be adjunctive markers for risk stratification in patients susceptible to SCD

AMiBA: Broadband Heterodyne CMB Interferometry

The Y. T. Lee Array for Microwave Background (AMiBA) has reported the first science results on the detection of galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect. The science objectives required small reflectors in order to sample large scale structures (20') while interferometry provided modest resolutions (2'). With these constraints, we designed for the best sensitivity by utilizing the maximum possible continuum bandwidth matched to the atmospheric window at 86-102GHz, with dual polarizations. A novel wide-band analog correlator was designed that is easily expandable for more interferometer elements. MMIC technology was used throughout as much as possible in order to miniaturize the components and to enhance mass production. These designs will find application in other upcoming astronomy projects. AMiBA is now in operations since 2006, and we are in the process to expand the array from 7 to 13 elements.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, ApJ in press; a version with high resolution figures available at http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/~keiichi/upfiles/AMiBA7/mtc_highreso.pd

AMiBA: scaling relations between the integrated Compton-y and X-ray derived temperature, mass, and luminosity

We investigate the scaling relations between the X-ray and the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) properties of clusters of galaxies, using data taken during 2007 by the Y.T. Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) at 94 GHz for the six clusters A1689, A1995, A2142, A2163, A2261, and A2390. The scaling relations relate the integrated Compton-y parameter Y_{2500} to the X-ray derived gas temperature T_{e}, total mass M_{2500}, and bolometric luminosity L_X within r_{2500}. Our results for the power-law index and normalization are both consistent with the self-similar model and other studies in the literature except for the Y_{2500}-L_X relation, for which a physical explanation is given though further investigation may be still needed. Our results not only provide confidence for the AMiBA project but also support our understanding of galaxy clusters.Comment: Accepted by ApJ; 8 pages, 3 figures, 5 table

The Design a TDCP-Smoothed GNSS/Odometer Integration Scheme with Vehicular-Motion Constraint and Robust Regression

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is widely regarded as the primary positioning solution for intelligent transport system (ITS) applications. However, its performance could degrade, due to signal outages and faulty-signal contamination, including multipath and non-line-of-sight reception. Considering the limitation of the performance and computation loads in mass-produced automotive products, this research investigates the methods for enhancing GNSS-based solutions without significantly increasing the cost for vehicular navigation system. In this study, the measurement technique of the odometer in modern vehicle designs is selected to integrate the GNSS information, without using an inertial navigation system. Three techniques are implemented to improve positioning accuracy; (a) Time-differenced carrier phase (TDCP) based filter: A state-augmented extended Kalman filter is designed to incorporate TDCP measurements for maximizing the effectiveness of phase-smoothing; (b) odometer-aided constraints: The aiding measurement from odometer utilizing forward speed with the lateral constraint enhances the state estimation; the information based on vehicular motion, comprising the zero-velocity constraint, fault detection and exclusion, and dead reckoning, maintains the stability of the positioning solution; (c) robust regression: A weighted-least-square based robust regression as a measurement-quality assessment is applied to adjust the weightings of the measurements adaptively. Experimental results in a GNSS-challenging environment indicate that, based on the single-point-positioning mode with an automotive-grade receiver, the combination of the proposed methods presented a root-mean-square error of 2.51 m, 3.63 m, 1.63 m, and 1.95 m for the horizontal, vertical, forward, and lateral directions, with improvements of 35.1%, 49.6%, 45.3%, and 21.1%, respectively. The statistical analysis exhibits 97.3% state estimation result in the horizontal direction for the percentage of epochs that had errors of less than 5 m, presenting that after the intervention of proposed methods, the positioning performance can fulfill the requirements for road level applications. Document type: Articl

AMiBA: Sunyaev-Zel'Dovich Effect-derived Properties and Scaling Relations of Massive Galaxy Clusters

99學年度劉國欽研究獎助論文 100學年度劉國欽升等參考著作[[abstract]]The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) has been observed toward six massive galaxy clusters, at redshifts 0.091 ≤ z ≤ 0.322 in the 86-102 GHz band with the Y. T. Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA). We modify an iterative method, based on the isothermal β models, to derive the electron temperature T e, total mass M t, gas mass M g, and integrated Compton Y within r 2500, from the AMiBA SZE data. Non-isothermal universal temperature profile (UTP) β models are also considered in this paper. These results are in good agreement with those deduced from other observations. We also investigate the embedded scaling relations, due to the assumptions that have been made in the method we adopted, between these purely SZE-deduced T e, M t, M g, and Y. Our results suggest that cluster properties may be measurable with SZE observations alone. However, the assumptions built into the pure-SZE method bias the results of scaling relation estimations and need further study.[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]US

Platform Deformation Phase Correction for the AMiBA-13 Coplanar Interferometer

[[abstract]]We present a new way to solve the platform deformation problem of coplanar interferometers. The platform of a coplanar interferometer can be deformed due to driving forces and gravity. A deformed platform will induce extra components into the geometric delay of each baseline and change the phases of observed visibilities. The reconstructed images will also be diluted due to the errors of the phases. The platform deformations of The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) were modeled based on photogrammetry data with about 20 mount pointing positions. We then used the differential optical pointing error between two optical telescopes to fit the model parameters in the entire horizontal coordinate space. With the platform deformation model, we can predict the errors of the geometric phase delays due to platform deformation with a given azimuth and elevation of the targets and calibrators. After correcting the phases of the radio point sources in the AMiBA interferometric data, we recover 50%-70% flux loss due to phase errors. This allows us to restore more than 90% of a source flux. The method outlined in this work is not only applicable to the correction of deformation for other coplanar telescopes but also to single-dish telescopes with deformation problems. This work also forms the basis of the upcoming science results of AMiBA-13.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[ispeerreviewed]]Y[[booktype]]電子版[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]US