Long-term peritoneal dialysis and encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis in children

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is the most serious complication of long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD), with a mortality rate that exceeds 30%. There have been many reports of the incidence of EPS being strongly correlated to the duration of PD. Patients on PD for longer than 5 years, and especially those receiving this treatment for more than 8 years, should undergo careful and repeated surveillance for risk factors associated with the development of EPS. The development of ultrafiltration failure, a high dialysate/plasma creatinine ratio, as determined by the peritoneal equilibration test, peritoneal calcification, a persistently elevated C-reactive protein level, and severe peritonitis in patients on PD for longer than 8 years are signals that should prompt the clinician to consider terminating PD as a possible means of preventing the development of EPS. The impact of the newer, biocompatible PD solutions on the incidence of EPS has not yet been determined

IFPA meeting 2018 workshop report II: Abnormally invasive placenta; inflammation and infection; preeclampsia; gestational trophoblastic disease and drug delivery

Workshops are an important part of the IFPA annual meeting as they allow for discussion of specialized topics. At IFPA meeting 2018 there were nine themed workshops, five of which are summarised in this report. These workshops discussed new perspectives and knowledge in the following areas of research: 1) preeclampsia; 2) abnormally invasive placenta; 3) placental infection; 4) gestational trophoblastic disease; 4) drug delivery to treat placental dysfunction

Field experiment on thermocline destruction by aerator in dam reservoir (Visualization of water mass intrusion by measuring water temperature)

Aerators are necessary for the conservation of water quality in dams, as they increase water circulation and oxygenate the water. To estimate aerator performance characteristics in the field, the optimal spatial range, resolution, and sampling time interval need to be determined for the targeted water mass. In this study, we conducted precise field experiments at Hiyoshi Dam in Kyoto, Japan, by employing a new type of aerator in the summer of 2012. Initially, the water temperature distribution near one aerator was observed using an automatic temperature profiler capable of horizontal movement on the water surface over a distance of 90 m at a speed of 0.1 m/s during a sampling cycle of 15 minutes. The vertical temperature distribution was determined by a series of thermocouples suspended in steps of 0.1 to 1 m on a 10-m-long cable beneath the surface. Subsequently, the water temperature distribution between two identical aerators located 275 m apart was observed using 6 pairs of vertically suspended thermocouples connected horizontally with a cable at 25-m intervals. Finally, the water flow distribution near one aerator was observed with an electromagnetic flowmeter. Analysis of the results clearly showed how an entrained water mass intruded into a thermocline that formed at a depth of 2.5 m. In addition, details regarding the speed and flow rate of the intrusion, the mixing efficiency, and the estimated number of days required for shallow layer circulation were estimated

Factors associated with an inadequate hypoglycemia in the insulin tolerance test in Japanese patients with suspected or proven hypopituitarism

We attempted to identify the predictors of an inadequate hypoglycemia in insulin tolerance test (ITT), defined as a blood glucose level higher than 2.8 mmol/L after insulin injection, in Japanese patients with suspected or proven hypopituitarism. A total of 78 patients who had undergone ITT were divided into adequate and inadequate hypoglycemia groups. The relationships between the subjects' clinical parameters and inadequate hypoglycemia in ITT were analyzed. Stepwise logistic regression analysis identified high systolic blood pressure (SBP) and high homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) as being independent factors associated with inadequate hypoglycemia in ITT. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed the cutoff value for inadequate hypoglycemia was 109 mmHg for SBP and 1.4 for HOMA-IR. The areas under ROC curve for SBP and HOMA-IR were 0.72 and 0.86, respectively. We confirmed that high values of SBP and HOMA-IR were associated with inadequate hypoglycemia in ITT, regardless of the degree of reduction of pituitary hormone levels. Furthermore, the strongest predictor of inadequate hypoglycemia was obtained by using the cutoff value of HOMA-IR. Our results suggest that HOMA-IR is a useful pre-screening tool for ITT in these populations

Influences of rewarding and aversive outcomes on activity in macaque lateral prefrontal cortex

Both appetitive and aversive outcomes can reinforce animal behavior. It is not clear, however, whether the opposing kinds of reinforcers are processed by specific or common neural mechanisms. To investigate this issue, we studied macaque monkeys that performed a memory-guided saccade task for three different outcomes, namely delivery of liquid reward, avoidance of air puff, and feedback sound only. Animals performed the task best in rewarded trials, intermediately in aversive trials, and worst in sound-only trials. Most task-related activity in lateral prefrontal cortex was differentially influenced by the reinforcers. Aversive avoidance had clear effects on some prefrontal neurons, although the effects of rewards were more common. We also observed neurons modulated by both positive and negative reinforcers, reflecting reinforcement or attentional processes. Our results demonstrate that information about positive and negative reinforcers is processed differentially in prefrontal cortex, which could contribute to the role of this structure in goal-directed behavior

Negamycin Analogue with Readthrough-Promoting Activity as a Potential Drug Candidate for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

A series of (+)-negamycin <b>1</b> analogues were synthesized, and their readthrough-promoting activity was evaluated for nonsense mutations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A structure–activity relationship study indicated that <b>11b</b> was the most potent drug candidate. Immunohistochemical analyses suggested that treatment with <b>11b</b> restored dystrophin expression in <i>mdx</i> mice, a DMD mouse model. Furthermore, <b>11b</b> decreased serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, an indicator of muscle fiber destruction. Most importantly, <b>11b</b> demonstrated lower toxicity than <b>1</b>, and thus, it could be a useful candidate for long-term treatment of DMD