Multimedia teaching aid for students of basics of control theory in MATLAB and SIMULINK

The paper deals with the multimedia teaching aid which was created for students of the Bachelor curriculum entitled as Information and control technology. It helps mainly students of distance curriculum to study the slight introduction to control theory and programming in MATLAB from their home. They could run the DVD at home and watch how the controller is programmed or created. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Validation of distinct pathogenic patterns in a cohort of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis patients by cluster analysis

Background: A novel data-driven cluster analysis identified distinct pathogenic patterns in C3-glomerulopathies and immune complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Our aim was to replicate these observations in an independent cohort and elucidate disease pathophysiology with detailed analysis of functional complement markers. ----- Methods: A total of 92 patients with clinical, histological, complement and genetic data were involved in the study, and hierarchical cluster analysis was done by Ward method, where four clusters were generated. ----- Results: High levels of sC5b-9 (soluble membrane attack complex), low serum C3 levels and young age at onset (13 years) were characteristic for Cluster 1 with a high prevalence of likely pathogenic variations (LPVs) and C3 nephritic factor, whereas for Cluster 2-which is not reliable because of the small number of cases-strong immunoglobulin G staining, low C3 levels and high prevalence of nephritic syndrome at disease onset were observed. Low plasma sC5b-9 levels, decreased C3 levels and high prevalence of LPV and sclerotic glomeruli were present in Cluster 3, and patients with late onset of the disease (median: 39.5 years) and near-normal C3 levels in Cluster 4. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of end-stage renal disease during follow-up between the different clusters. Patients in Clusters 3-4 had worse renal survival than patients in Clusters 1-2. ----- Conclusions: Our results confirm the main findings of the original cluster analysis and indicate that the observed, distinct pathogenic patterns are replicated in our cohort. Further investigations are necessary to analyse the distinct biological and pathogenic processes in these patient groups

C4 nephritic factor in patients with immune-complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and C3-glomerulopathy

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Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy Practices in Pediatric Intensive Care Units Across Europe

Importance: Continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) is the preferred method of kidney support for children with critical illness in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). However, there are no data on the current CKRT management practices in European PICUs. Objective: To describe current CKRT practices across European PICUs. Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional survey of PICUs in 20 European countries was conducted by the Critical Care Nephrology Section of the European Society of Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care from April 1, 2020, to May 31, 2022. Participants included intensivists and nurses working in European PICUs. The survey was developed in English and distributed using SurveyMonkey. One response from each PICU that provided CKRT was included in the analysis. Data were analyzed from June 1 to June 30, 2022. Main outcome and measures: Demographic characteristics of European PICUs along with organizational and delivery aspects of CKRT (including prescription, liberation from CKRT, and training and education) were assessed. Results: Of 283 survey responses received, 161 were included in the analysis (response rate, 76%). The attending PICU consultant (70%) and the PICU team (77%) were mainly responsible for CKRT prescription, whereas the PICU nurses were responsible for circuit setup (49%) and bedside machine running (67%). Sixty-one percent of permanent nurses received training to use CKRT, with no need for certification or recertification in 36% of PICUs. Continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration was the preferred dialytic modality (51%). Circuit priming was performed with normal saline (67%) and blood priming in children weighing less than 10 kg (56%). Median (IQR) CKRT dose was 35 (30-50) mL/kg/h in neonates and 30 (30-40) mL/kg/h in children aged 1 month to 18 years. Forty-one percent of PICUs used regional unfractionated heparin infusion, whereas 35% used citrate-based regional anticoagulation. Filters were changed for filter clotting (53%) and increased transmembrane pressure (47%). For routine circuit changes, 72 hours was the cutoff in 62% of PICUs. Some PICUs (34%) monitored fluid removal goals every 4 hours, with variation from 12 hours (17%) to 24 hours (13%). Fluid removal goals ranged from 1 to 3 mL/kg/h. Liberation from CKRT was performed with a diuretic bolus followed by an infusion (32%) or a diuretic bolus alone (19%). Conclusions and relevance: This survey study found a wide variation in current CKRT practice, including organizational aspects, education and training, prescription, and liberation from CKRT, in European PICUs. This finding calls for concerted efforts on the part of the pediatric critical care and nephrology communities to streamline CKRT education and training, research, and guidelines to reduce variation in practice.</p