Comprehensive analysis of the immune implication of EPHX4 gene in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: The role of Epoxide Hydrolase-4 (EPHX4), a member of epoxide hydrolase family, has not been investigated in cancer. The purpose of this article is to explore the application value of EPHX4 in laryngeal cancer and its relationship with immune infiltration. METHODS: We observed that EPHX4 expression and its survival assays in laryngeal cancer specimens based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohorts. We also analyzed the correlation between immune cell infiltration levels and EPHX4 gene copy number in laryngeal cancer. Finally, we conducted in vitro assay to evaluate the functions of EPHX4 in laryngeal cancer cell line. RESULTS: EPHX4 is highly expressed in laryngeal cancer specimens and has a poor prognosis. EPHX4 related immune cell analysis showed that it participated in NK Natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity. Finally, Cell experiments indicate that EPHX4 could promote laryngeal cancer cell line proliferation, colony formation and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: Our research results suggest that EPHX4 may be a potential immunotherapy target for laryngeal cancer. The nominated immune signature is a helpful and promising prognostic indicator in laryngeal cancer. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level 3.

Study on the formation pathways of characteristic volatiles in preserved egg yolk caused by lipid species during pickling.

The formation of volatiles in high-fat foods is strongly influenced by the composition and structure of lipids. The relationship between key variable lipid species and characteristic volatiles were performed by lipidomics and flavoromics to resolve the pathways of volatiles in preserved egg yolk (PEY) during pickling. The results showed that the formation of nonanal and benzaldehyde at early stage possibly derived from oleic acid sited at Sn-1 in TG(18:1_18:2_20:4), Sn-2 in PE(22:6_18:1), and linoleic acid bonded at Sn-2 in TG(18:1_18:2_20:4), respectively. 1-octen-3-ol may be formed from linoleic acid located at Sn-2 in TG(18:1_18:2_20:4) and arachidonic acid sited at Sn-3 in TG(18:1_18:2_20:4). Indole was formed through TGs(16:0_16:1_20:1;16:1_18:1_22:1;23:0_18:1_18:1) at the later stage, and acetophenone through TGs(14:0_20:0_20:4;14:0_15:0_18:1; 16:0_16:0_22:6), PCs(24:0_18:1;O-18:1_18:2), PEs(P-18:1_20:4;P-18:1_22:6) and SPH(d18:0) during whole process of pickling. Our study provides a deep and precise insight for the formation pathways of characteristic volatiles in PEY through lipids degradation during pickling at the molecular level.

Relationship between gut microbiota and vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular calcification (VC) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The pathogenesis of VC is complicated and unclear. Uremic toxins produced by gut microbiota can promote VC. This study aims to identify the differences in gut microbiota between the different VC groups and the main bacteria associated with VC in hemodialysis (HD) patients in an attempt to open up new preventive and therapeutic approaches and define the probable mechanism for VC in HD patients in the future. METHODS: A total of 73 maintenance HD patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. According to the abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) scores, the participants were divided into the high AAC score group and the low AAC score group. High-throughput sequencing of the gut microbiota was performed and the results were evaluated by alpha diversity, beta diversity, species correlation, and model predictive analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of VC was 54.79% (40/73) in the study. The majority of phyla in the two groups were the same, including Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidota. The microbial diversity in the high AAC score group had a decreasing trend (p = 0.050), and the species abundance was significantly lower (p = 0.044) than that in the low AAC score group. The HD patients with high AAC scores showed an increased abundance of Proteobacteria and decreased abundances of Bacteroidota and Synergistota at the phylum level; increased abundances of Escherichia-Shigella, Ruminococcus_gnavus_group, and Lactobacillus; and decreased abundances of Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group at the genus level (p<0.05). Escherichia-Shigella and Ruminococcus_gnavus_group were positively correlated with VC, and Ruminococcus, Adlercreutzia, Alistipes, and norank_f__Ruminococcaceae were negatively correlated with VC. Escherichia-Shigella had the greatest influence on VC in HD patients, followed by Ruminococcus and Butyricimonas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide clinical evidence that there was a difference in gut microbiota between the different VC groups in HD patients. Escherichia-Shigella, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-producing bacterium, was positively correlated with VC and had the greatest influence on VC. Ruminococcus, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacterium, was negatively correlated with VC and had the second strongest influence on VC in HD patients. The underlying mechanism is worth studying. These findings hint at a new therapeutic target.

Use of low-protein staple foods in the dietary management of patients with stage 3-4 chronic kidney disease: a prospective case-crossover study.

OBJECTIVE: Maintaining a low-protein diet (LPD) is important for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to delay renal degradation and alleviate clinical symptoms. For most patients with CKD, it is difficult to maintain the necessary low level of dietary protein intake (DPI). To improve the current dietary management of CKD, we conducted an intervention study by administering low-protein staple foods (LPSF). DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective case-crossover study among 25 patients with stage 3-4 CKD. During the initial 12 weeks of the study, we instructed the patients regarding a standard LPD according to the recommendations of a renal dietitian. In the second stage of the study, we requested the patients taking low-protein rice or low-protein flour (250 g/d) as an LPSF diet instead of regular staple food daily, and followed these patients up for 12 weeks. We compared the DPI, dietary energy intake (DEI), normalized protein equivalent of total nitrogen appearance (nPNA), serum creatinine levels, and nutritional index between baseline and the end of the study. RESULTS: We found no change in dietary variables among the patients during the first 12 weeks of the LPD. After subjecting them to an LPSF diet, the corresponding variables showed a pronounced change. The patients' DPI decreased from 0.88 ± 0.20 to 0.68 ± 0.14 g/kg/d (P < 0.01) and the nPNA value decreased from 0.99 ± 0.18 to 0.87 ± 0.19 g/kg/d (P < 0.01). The high biological value protein intake proportion increased from 42% (baseline) to 57% (P < 0.01) during the 24 weeks. No variation was found in the measured DEI (28.0 ± 5.8 vs 28.6 ± 5.4 kcal/kg/d), nutrition assessment, or renal function and serum creatinine levels. CONCLUSION: Our prospective case-crossover study demonstrated that an LPSF diet can help patients with stage 3-4 CKD reduce DPI and nPNA values, improve the proportion of highly bioavailable proteins, ensure adequate calorie intake, and avoid malnutrition. An LPSF diet is an effective and simple therapy for patients with stage 3-4 CKD.

Peritoneal dialysis can maintain nitrogen balance with low Kt/V in anuric patients.

BACKGROUND: A big concern for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is dialysis adequacy in anuric patients. Some studies have even suggested that CAPD patients should be transferred to hemodialysis when they become anuric in order to achieve adequate dialysis. In the present study, we tried to find out whether anuric patients can maintain nitrogen balance with standard or even lower dialysis dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional single-center study. Fifteen anuric CAPD patients were selected. Their 3-day dietary records were reviewed by a dedicated dietitian to calculate their energy, protein, and nitrogen intake (NI). Nitrogen removal (NR) from urine and dialysate was measured by Kjeldahl technique. Fluid status was evaluated by bioimpedance analysis. Subjective global nutritional assessment was used to evaluate nutritional status. RESULTS: Among the 15 patients, 9 males and 6 females, mean age was 63.80 (31 - 77) years, dialysis duration 39.76 (6 - 127) months, body weight 58.70 ± 9.86 kg, and height 160.20 ± 7.93 cm. The mean dietary protein intake was 43.28 ± 7.57 g/day (0.80 ± 0.15 g/kg/d), total Kt/V was 1.59 ± 0.32 with dialysis dose of 7,904.00 ± 1,481.79 mL. However, they achieved neutral nitrogen balance (NI 6.92 ± 1.21 g/d vs. NR 6.83 ± 1.36 g/d, N balance 0.09 ± 1.00 g/d). All of them maintained good nutritional status (SGA "A", serum albumin 39.67 ± 3.58 g/L), and no symptom of nitrogen retention (serum urea 20.49 ± 3.06 mmol/L). Meanwhile, they achieved good volume control with a slightly low total fluid removal (704.00 ± 293.21 mL/d). CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that anuric patients (even with low Kt/V) can achieve nitrogen balance and stay well-nourished with appropriate dietary protein intake.

The estimation of protein equivalents of total nitrogen in Chinese CAPD patients: an explanatory study.

OBJECTIVE: The protein equivalent of total nitrogen appearance (PNA) formula, based on the urea nitrogen appearance (UNA), is popularly used by stable continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients to estimate dietary daily protein intake (DPI). However, we found that the estimated DPI was higher than that directly evaluated from the dietary records of most of our CAPD patients. Therefore, in the present study, we tried to determine possible bias in PNA estimation by UNA with a nitrogen balance study of our CAPD patients. METHODS: Thirty-one CAPD patients with stable clinical conditions were included. Their 3-day dietary records were reviewed by a dedicated dietitian to calculate their energy, protein, and nitrogen intake (NI). The nitrogen removal (NR) from urine and dialysate was measured by the Kjeldahl technique. Then, we calculated the proportion of urea nitrogen appearance (UNA) in total nitrogen appearance (TNA) and analyzed the possible factors that could affect this proportion. RESULTS: Among these patients, 17 males and 14 females, the mean age was 64.19 ± 12.42, and the dialysate drainage volume was 6700 (2540) ml/day. The percentage of UNA in TNA was 63.22 ± 6.66%. Compared with the other classic nitrogen balance studies in the CAPD population, the protein nitrogen and other nonurea nitrogen losses in this study were all lower. Based on these 31 nitrogen balance studies, we proposed a pair of new equations to estimate PNA by UNA. (1) PNA = 9.3 + 7.73 UNA; (2) PNA = PNPNA + TPL = 6.7 + 7.28 UNA + TPL. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that the PNA formula generated from previous European studies overestimated DPI in our CAPD patients.

Correction to: Urine Sediment Recognition Method Based on Multi-View Deep Residual Learning in Microscopic Image.

In the original version of this article, the authors' units in the affiliation section are, unfortunately, incorrect. Jining No.1 people's hospital and Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University are two independent units and should not have been combined into one affiliation.

Urine Sediment Recognition Method Based on Multi-View Deep Residual Learning in Microscopic Image.

Urine sediment recognition is attracting growing interest in the field of computer vision. A multi-view urine cell recognition method based on multi-view deep residual learning is proposed to solve some existing problems, such as multi-view cell gray change and cell information loss in the natural state. Firstly, the convolutional network is designed to extract the urine sediment features from different perspectives based on the residual network, and the depth-wise separable convolution is introduced to reduce the network parameters. Secondly, Squeeze-and-Excitation block is embedded to learn feature weights, using feature re-calibration to improve network representation, and the robustness of the network is enhanced by adding spatial pyramid pooling. Finally, for further optimizing the recognition results, the Adam with weight decay optimization method is used to accelerate the convergence of the network model. Experiments on self-built urine microscopic image data-set show that our proposed method has state-of-the-art classification accuracy and reduces network computing time.

Direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus in positive blood cultures through molecular beacon-based fluorescence in situ hybridization.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical diagnosis of bloodstream infection diseases depends on the blood culture results. Bacterial identification by traditional methods is time-consuming. This study aimed to utilize molecular beacon-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (MB-FISH) for rapid and direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus in positive blood cultures. METHODS: Three molecular beacon probes (MB1, MB2 and MB3) were designed and synthesized to target the 16S rRNA gene fragment of S. aureus. The MB-FISH system was optimized, and the specificity of this method in detecting S. aureus was evaluated. This approach was used to test 41 g-positive clinical specimens with positive blood cultures. In addition, the consistency of this method with traditional methods was evaluated. RESULTS: Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the molecular beacon MB1 was significantly higher than that of MB2 and MB3 (P < .001). The S/N ratios of MB1 probe at different concentrations were all >20. Thermal denaturation curve of the probe suggested that its hairpin structure can be opened and closed. Conditions such as deionized formamide concentration, ionic strength and temperature were optimized by monitoring the fluorescence intensity of MB1 in the presence or absence of its target sequence B1. The optimized hybridization system produced fluorescence only in S. aureus. The specificity and sensitivity of MB1 probe for detecting S. aureus in 41 specimens were 100% and 93.75%, respectively. Although sample size was small, MB-FISH appeared to be consistent with traditional culture methods (Kappa value = 0.948). CONCLUSION: MB-FISH demonstrates strong specificity and high sensitivity, and can be used for direct detection of S. aureus in positive blood cultures.

Clinical application of the Innovance D-dimer assay in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary thromboembolism.

Patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) have a high short-term mortality rate. The current study aimed to investigate the use of D-dimer in the diagnosis of APTE in suspected APTE patients. All suspected APTE patients were classified into diagnosis or control groups according to the results of a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to evaluate the association between D-dimer values and APTE. Area under the curve (AUC) values and the Youden Index were used to determine D-dimer cut-off levels for the prediction of APTE. The data of 112 suspected APTE patients (54.8% women; mean age, 70.5 years) were analyzed prospectively. There were no significant differences in age (74.5 vs. 73.5 years, P=0.538) or gender distribution (female ratio 56.5 vs. 53.0%, P=0.847) between the diagnosis and control groups. The incidence of symptoms including dyspnea (67.4 vs. 33.3%; P<0.01), chest distress (47.8 vs. 25.8%; P<0.05) and elevated D-dimer (8.49 vs. 0.97 mg/l; P<0.001) were significantly higher in patients with APTE compared with the control group. D-dimer values >3.32 mg/l fibrinogen equivalent units (FEU) were indicative of APTE and the Youden Index was 0.69. The maximum AUC was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.79-0.92), the sensitivity and specificity were 89.13 and 80.30%, respectively, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 4.53 and 0.14, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 75.90 and 91.40%, respectively. A D-dimer value <0.60 mg/l FEU was the optimal threshold for excluding APTE diagnosis, with a sensitivity of 100.0% and a specificity of 28.79%. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 1.40 and 0.00, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 49.50 and 100.00%, respectively. Thus, D-dimer levels, combined with clinical assessment, yield high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing APTE.

Low-dose dialysis combined with low protein intake can maintain nitrogen balance in peritoneal dialysis patients in poor economies
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OBJECTIVE: Due to limited economic conditions, we tried to provide "fitted" dialysis doses instead of the doses recommended by the international guidelines to the individual patients. In the present cross-sectional study, we studied the dialysis adequacy and nutritional status of 5 peritoneal dialysis patients who had a low dialysis dose (2 bags, 4,000 mL/day). METHODS: The 3-day dietary records were reviewed to calculate patients' energy, protein, and nitrogen intake (NI). The nitrogen removal (NR) from urine and dialysate was measured by Kjeldahl technique. Fecal nitrogen was estimated as 0.0155 g/kg/day. Subjective global nutritional assessment was used to evaluate the nutritional status. RESULTS: Among the 5 patients, 1 male and 4 female, mean age was 59 (42 - 81) years, dialysis duration 43 (33 - 74) months, body weight 51.05 ± 2.53 kg. The mean dietary protein intake was 0.66 g/kg/day, total weekly Kt/v was 1.25 (residual kidney Kt/v was 0.09), and total daily fluid removal was 699 mL. However, they achieved lower-level neutral nitrogen balance (NI 5.26 ± 0.93 g/day vs. NR 5.33 ± 0.81 g/day, N balance -0.07 ± 0.60 g/day). All of them maintained good nutritional status (SGA "A") without symptoms of nitrogen retention (serum urea 22 ± 4.18 mmol/L). CONCLUSIONS: Lower dialysis dose with lower daily protein intake can achieve a lower-level nitrogen balance and does not lead to malnutrition. It may be an effective approach to solve the dialysis problem for the economically week population in China, especially for people with a smaller body size with lower transport membrane.
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Influence of Different Payment Schemes on the Clinical Outcome in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

UNLABELLED: ♦ BACKGROUND: Cost is always a big issue for dialysis patients. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of different payment schemes on dialysis adequacy and clinical outcome in our peritoneal dialysis program. ♦ METHODS: This is a single-center cohort study. A total of 175 patients who began dialysis from January 2006 to December 2007 were included. Baseline data, including volume status, dietary intake and nutrition status, dialysis adequacy, and sodium removal were collected at 6 months after peritoneal dialysis. Based on the different payment schemes, the patients were divided into 2 groups, higher payment group (GHP, 130 cases, with more than 85% reimbursement), and lower payment group (GLP, 45 cases, with less than 50% payment or totally self-paid). Patients were followed up until dropout or until December 31, 2013. ♦ RESULTS: At baseline, patients in the 2 groups had nearly the same residual renal function. But the GLP group patients dialyzed at a lower dose (4,516.91 ± 1,768.20 mL vs 6,058.17 ± 2,013.43 mL, p < 0.001). They had lower creatinine clearance (51.64 ± 24.23 L/w vs 70.54 ± 30.27 L/w, p < 0.001), sodium removal (2.23 ± 1.29 g vs 2.77 ± 1.29 g, p = 0.027), and fluid removal (970.33 ± 545.97 mL vs 1,146.66 ± 460.93 mL, p = 0.038). Normalized by height (in meters), the GLP group patients still had a lower normalized dialysis dose (2,890.61 ± 1084.44 mL/m vs 3,761.34 ± 1,237.10 mL/m, p < 0.001). Baseline nutritional and dietary parameters were comparable except that a lower daily protein intake (42.73 ± 10.99 g vs 47.26 ± 14.30 g, p = 0.032) and higher serum urea level (23.43 ± 6.88 mmol/L vs 19.84 ± 5.92 mmol/L, p < 0.001) were presented in the GLP group. There was no difference in volume status. During the follow-up, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that there was no significant difference in patient survival and technique survival. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, after adjusting for related factors, payment was again not a strong predictor of survival in the study population. ♦ CONCLUSION: Our study found that GLP group patients were adherent to lifestyle modification with lower dialysis doses, and they also had nearly the same long-term clinical outcome as the GHP group patients. Thus, lower dialysis doses combined with controlled dietary intake may be an effective approach to solve the dialysis problem for the low socio-economic status (SES) population.

The correlation of plasma omentin-1 with insulin resistance in non-obese polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Aberrant circulating adipokines are considered to be related to the pathological mechanism of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study aims to evaluate the relationship between plasma omentin-1 levels, metabolic and hormonal parameters in the setting of non-obese Chinese women with PCOS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a case-controlled, cross-sectional study of 153 non-obese (BMI<25kg/m(2)) PCOS and 114 age-matched healthy non-obese control individuals. Levels of plasma omentin-1, fasting blood glucose, insulin and sexual hormones and ovary volume were analyzed in all subjects. RESULTS: Plasma omentin-1 levels of non-obese PCOS individuals were significantly lower than in healthy non-obese controls. Body Mass Index (BMI), homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH ratio and ovary volume (OV) were significantly higher in subjects with PCOS than controls. In the HOMA-IR stratified subgroups, PCOS individuals with insulin resistance had lower omentin-1 than those without insulin resistance after BMI adjustment. Omentin-1 was negatively correlated with BMI, HOMA-IR and fasting insulin. Multiple linear regressions revealed that BMI contributed to omentin-1 levels. Ovary volume was negatively correlated to HOMA-IR but had no correlation with omentin-1. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma omentin-1 concentrations were decreased in the non-obese PCOS group. Insulin resistance could further decrease plasma omentin-1 in non-obese individuals with PCOS independent of BMI status.

Phospholipids profiling and outcome of peritoneal dialysis patients.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate phospholipids (PLs) biomarkers in predicting outcome of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty PD patients were followed using baseline plasma PLs with an improved online two-dimensional liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry system. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in eight PL species with sphingomyelin (SM) and glycerophosphocholine between technical survival (n=15) and failure patients (n = 5). Cox regression showed SM 21:0 (adjusted HR 13.7, 95% CI 2.42-77.88, p = 0.003) was independently associated with patients technical failure. CONCLUSIONS: PD failure patients had different plasma PLs profiling as compared with survival patients. Elevated plasma SM 21:0 level may potentially serve as a biomarker of PD patients at risk for adverse outcomes.

Potassium metabolism in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Hypokalemia is common and may have contributed to the poor clinical outcome in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. In this study, we made a detailed investigation on the potassium metabolism in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients and tried to find out the possible factors associated with the high prevalence of hypokalemia in PD patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey in 243 clinically stable CAPD patients was made in our PD center in 2010. Patients were divided into four groups according to whether they were anuric or not and different dialysis regimens. Patients' demographic data and data on potassium metabolism including dietary potassium intakes, residual renal potassium, and peritoneal dialysis potassium removal were collected. RESULTS: The average potassium intake in our 243 PD patients was 32.1 ± 11.1 mmol/day. The total potassium removal was significantly higher in non-anuric patients as compared to anuric patients (33.2 ± 9.1 vs. 23.0 ± 4.7 mmol/day for 3 exchanges per day and 35.2 ± 8.9 vs. 28.6 ± 6.3 mmol/day for 4 exchanges per day, respectively, p < 0.01) and in anuric patients dialyzed with 4 exchanges per day as compared to anuric patients dialyzed with 3 exchanges per day (28.6 ± 6.3 vs. 23.0 ± 4.7 mmol/L, p < 0.05). Compared to non-anuric patients dialyzed with 3 exchanges per day, serum potassium level was significantly lower (4.1 ± 0.7 vs. 4.5 ± 0.7 mmol/L, p < 0.05) while the prevalence of hypokalemia was significantly higher (22.2% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.05) in non-anuric patients that dialyzed with 4 exchanges per day. There was a strong correlation between renal potassium removal and renal urea Kt/V (R(2) linear = 0.645, p < 0.05). In a linear multiregression analysis, dietary potassium intake, intracellular water (ICW) significantly positively predicted serum potassium level while dialysis exchanges, residual renal function (RRF), D/P potassium all significantly negatively predicted serum potassium levels. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that if potassium intake was limited in PD patients, we should be aware of the risk of hypokalemia with high doses of PD when patients have good RRF. Our study also suggested that potassium removal in PD patients may not necessarily reflect potassium intake even if serum potassium is normal, the effect of ICW should be considered when evaluating potassium homeostasis.

Characterizing the role of iodine doping in improving photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized hierarchically structured ZnO solar cells.

We report two novel types of hierarchically structured iodine-doped ZnO (I-ZnO)-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using indoline D205 and the ruthenium complex N719 as sensitizers. It was found that iodine doping boosts the efficiencies of D205 I-ZnO and N719 I-ZnO DSCs with an enhancement of 20.3 and 17.9 %, respectively, compared to the undoped versions. Transient absorption spectra demonstrated that iodine doping impels an increase in the decay time of I-ZnO, favoring enhanced exciton life. Mott-Schottky analysis results indicated a negative shift of the flat-band potential (V(fb)) of ZnO, caused by iodine doping, and this shift correlated with the enhancement of the open circuit voltage (V(oc)). To reveal the effect of iodine doping on the effective separation of e(-)-h(+) pairs which is responsible for cell efficiency, direct visualization of light-induced changes in the surface potential between I-ZnO particles and dye molecules were traced by Kelvin probe force microscopy. We found that potential changes of iodine-doped ZnO films by irradiation were above one hundred millivolts and thus significantly greater. In order to correlate enhanced cell performance with iodine doping, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, incident-photon-current efficiency, and cyclic voltammetry investigations on I-ZnO cells were carried out. The results revealed several favorable features of I-ZnO cells, that is, longer electron lifetime, lower charge-transfer resistance, stronger peak current, and extended visible light harvest, all of which serve to promote cell performance.

[Mutational analysis of candidate genes in a Chinese pedigree with dominantly inherited auditory neuropathy].

OBJECTIVE: Three genes including the OTOF, the DFNB59 and the DIAPH3 have been implicated previously in human non-syndromic auditory neuropathy. In this study, we aim to investigate whether DIAPH3 gene or the known deafness loci of 25 cloned autosomal dominant deafness (DFNA) genes contribute to the nonsyndromic hearing loss of a Chinese pedigree with dominantly inherited auditory neuropathy (AN). METHOD: Nine members of the kernal pedigree in this family were selected. Genomic DNA was isolated from the peripheral leukocytes of the subjects using the Puregene DNA Isolation Kits. Firstly, the 5'UTR of DIAPH3 gene was PCR amplified in all subjects. Then, the DNA fragments spanning the entire coding regions of DIAPH3, GJB2 and GJB3 genes, and 50 exons in other 23 cloned DFNA genes were amplified using specific primers. Each fragment was purified and analyzed by direct sequencing. The resultant sequence data were compared with the standard sequence to identify deafness-associated mutations. RESULT: PCR amplifications were successfully conducted. We failed to detect the presence either of c. --172G > A mutation in the 5'UTR that have been reported, or any other deafness-associated mutations in the whole DIAPH3 gene, by sequence analysis. We also did not find any known deafness-causing mutations among the 25 cloned DFNA genes. CONCLUSION: The DIAPH3 gene, and the known deafness loci of 25 cloned DFNA genes seem not contribute to the pathogenesis of this Chinese AN family in this study, which suggesting new gene(s) involvement.

Gastrointestinal symptoms predict peritonitis rates in CAPD patients.

OBJECTIVE: Peritonitis is still one of the major causes of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients' dropout. In the present study, we analyzed the relationship between gastrointestinal (GI) problems and peritonitis in our CAPD patients. METHODS: It is a prospective observational study. In December, 2008, 158 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for more than 3 months from our PD unit were included in this study. A questionnaire was used to evaluate their GI symptoms score (GISS). All patients were followed up for 24 months or until they dropped out from our PD program. All peritonitis events were recorded. RESULTS: The patients' PD duration was 22 (4 - 132) months before the study. During the 24 months follow-up, 37 patients dropped out. And 37 patients had 46 episodes of peritonitis (peritonitis group) whereas the other 121 patients did not have peritonitis (peritonitisfree group). The overall peritonitis rate was one episode per 75.87 patient months. The peritonitis free group had lower GISS (1.35 ± 1.94 vs. 2.95 ± 3.19, p = 0.006), higher albumin level and longer dialysis duration at baseline as compared to the peritonitis group. Multivariate Cox-regression analysis showed that only GISS (OR 1.206, 95% CI 1.093 - 1.330) and dialysis duration (OR 1.018, 95% CI 1.006 - 1.031) were the risk factors for the time to first peritonitis episodes during the follow-up. Further analysis identified 2 GISS components, belching and constipation, as the strongest predictors of peritonitis during the follow-up period (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Our study showed that GI symptoms could predict peritonitis in CAPD patients. Prevention and treatment for GI problems may thus be helpful to decrease peritonitis rate.

Metabolic syndrome and its components associated with endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) than in the general population. Endothelial dysfunction is an early predictor of cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a cross-sectional study in CKD patients to explore the association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components with endothelial cell function. METHODS: We evaluated clinical and laboratory data in 161 CKD patients from stage 1 to stage 5. Endothelial function was estimated by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery and expressed as percentage change relative to baseline diameter. MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. RESULTS: Patients were grouped into two groups according to whether or not they had MetS. FMD was significantly lower in the MetS group than in the group without MetS (P = 0.012). In a Pearson's correlation analysis, FMD was significantly negatively correlated with waist circumference in women (r = -0.223, P = 0.03) and fasting blood glucose (r = -0.186, P = 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose was an independently associated factor for FMD. CONCLUSION: MetS and some components of MetS (waist circumference in women and fasting blood glucose) are closely associated with a decreased FMD in CKD patients.

Factors contributing to formation of edema in volume overloaded continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Volume control is critical for the success of peritoneal dialysis (PD) but dry weight in PD has been difficult to obtain. Edema free is, in general, accepted clinically as a target for volume control in PD patients. However, PD patients can be free of edema despite significant volume overload. The present study investigates the possible factors that influence the formation of pitting edema in volume-overloaded PD patients. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, patients' fluid status was evaluated by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Values for overhydration were obtained. Patients with overhydration ≥ 2.0 kg were considered volume overloaded and were eligible for inclusion. From 1 March 2009 to 1 December 2009, a total of 96 patients on continuous ambulatory PD were included. Endothelial function was evaluated by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Other clinical indicators, such as blood pressure, dialysis adequacy, nutrition status, and biochemical parameters, were recorded. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on edema status: the edema group (n = 35 volume-overloaded patients with bilateral pitting edema) and the non-edema group (n = 61 volume-overloaded patients without bilateral pitting edema). RESULTS: Overhydration in the edema group was significantly higher than in the non-edema group (4.28 ± 1.75 kg vs 3.12 ± 0.81 kg, p < 0.001), whereas both FMD and serum albumin in the edema group were significantly lower than in the non-edema group (6.65% ± 5.2% vs 10.3% ± 5.1%, p = 0.001; 37.6 ± 4.2 g/L vs 39.3 ± 3.5 g/L, p = 0.047, respectively). Edema status (edema = 1, non-edema = 0) was positively correlated with overhydration (r = 0.341, p < 0.001), gender (male = 1, female = 2: r = 0.184, p = 0.072), and total fluid removal (r = 0.188, p = 0.074) and negatively correlated with endothelial function, as assessed by FMD (r = -0.33, p = 0.001), and serum albumin (r = -0.18, p = 0.055). Logistic regression analysis showed that FMD [odds ratio (OR) 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81 - 0.99; p = 0.036], gender (male = 1, female = 2: OR 4.06, 95% CI 1.23 - 13.35; p = 0.021), overhydration (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.53 - 6.13; p = 0.002), and serum albumin (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75 - 0.99; p = 0.035) were independent factors affecting the edema status of the study population. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that endothelial function (assessed by FMD), gender, serum albumin, and overhydration are independent determinants of edema status in PD patients. This may explain why some PD patients can maintain free of edema despite significant volume overload.