Our results suggest that intestinal dysbiosis-associated gut barrier disruption and aberrant mucosal immunity are important for the systemic inflammation and progressive fibrosis of CKD. Targeting the intestine might provide novel therapeutic opportunities for CKD.

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The gut microbiota is important for maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier, promoting immunological tolerance and carrying out metabolic activities that have not evolved in hosts. Intestinal dysbiosis is associated with chronic kidney disease and probiotic supplementation has been shown to be beneficial. However, it is not known whether gut microorganisms-specifically, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can protect against acute kidney injury (AKI). To address this issue, the present study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus salivarius BP121, an intestinal LAB isolated from the feces of newborns, in a rat model of cisplatin-induced AKI and also in Caco-2 human intestinal epithelial cells. BP121 prevented cisplatin-induced AKI in rats, as demonstrated by decreases in inflammation and oxidative stress in kidney tissue and in serum levels of uremic toxins such as indoxyl sulfate (IS) and p-cresol sulfate (PCS). BP121 also reduced intestinal permeability, as determined using fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran by immunohistochemical detection of tight junction (TJ) proteins such as zona occludens-1 and occludin. The abundance of Lactobacillus spp., which are beneficial intestinal flora, was increased by BP121; this was accompanied by an increase in the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in feces. Additionally, H 2 O 2 -induced TJ protein damage was reduced in Caco-2 cells treated with BP121 culture supernatant, an effect that was reversed by the 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor Compound C and Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 inhibitor TLR4-IN-C34. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that L. salivarius BP121 protects against cisplatin-induced AKI by decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress and this renoprotective effect is partially mediated by modulating the gut environment and thereby suppressing IS and PCS production as well as by regulating AMPK and TLR4 dependent TJ assembly.

Evidence suggests that novel biomarkers predict acute kidney injury (AKI) development and outcome earlier than serum creatinine. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and prognosis of AKI in decompensated cirrhotic patients, and also assess the usefulness of plasma cystatin C, urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) in early prediction of AKI and mortality. Single-center, prospective observational study enrolling decompensated cirrhotic patients without AKI at the time of admission. Of 111 patients with decompensated cirrhosis, 45 (40.5%) developed AKI while hospitalized. Even with 53.3% being transient (stage 1), mortality was significantly higher in AKI than non-AKI patients (46.5% vs. 25%, p = 0.02). Plasma cystatin C and urine NGAL, but not urine [TIMP-2]·[IGFBP7] at the time of admission were found to be independent early predictors of AKI. Substitution of cystatin C for creatinine significantly improved the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score accuracy for mortality prediction. The incidence of AKI is high and is associated with high mortality in decompensated cirrhotic patients. Plasma cystatin C and urine NGAL are useful for early detection of AKI. MELD-cystatin C, rather than original MELD, improves predictive accuracy of mortality.

This manuscript reports the temperature dependence of ferroelectric switching in Al 0.84 Sc 0.16 N, Al 0.93 B 0.07 N, and AlN thin films. Polarization reversal is demonstrated in all compositions and is strongly temperature dependent. Between room temperature and 300 C, the coercive field drops by almost 50% in all samples, while there was very small temperature dependence of the remanent polarization value. Over this same temperature range, the relative permittivity increased between 5% and 10%. Polarization reversal was confirmed by piezoelectric coefficient analysis and chemical etching. Applying intrinsic/homogeneous switching models produces nonphysical fits, while models based on thermal activation suggest that switching is regulated by a distribution of pinning sites or nucleation barriers with an average activation energy near 28 meV.

Abstract. Precipitation estimates with fine quality and spatio-temporal resolutions play significant roles in understanding the global and regional cycles of water, carbon, and energy. Satellite-based precipitation products are capable of detecting spatial patterns and temporal variations of precipitation at fine resolutions, which is particularly useful over poorly gauged regions. However, satellite-based precipitation products are the indirect estimates of precipitation, inherently containing regional and seasonal systematic biases and random errors. In this study, focusing on the potential drawbacks in generating Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) and its recently updated retrospective IMERG in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) era (finished in July 2019), which were only calibrated at a monthly scale using ground observations, Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC, 1.0°/monthly), we aim to propose a new calibration algorithm for IMERG at a daily scale and to provide a new AIMERG precipitation dataset (0.1°/half-hourly, 2000–2015, Asia) with better quality, calibrated by Asian Precipitation – Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE, 0.25°/daily) at the daily scale for the Asian applications. The main conclusions include but are not limited to the following: (1) the proposed daily calibration algorithm (Daily Spatio-Temporal Disaggregation Calibration Algorithm, DSTDCA) is effective in considering the advantages from both satellite-based precipitation estimates and the ground observations; (2) AIMERG performs better than IMERG at different spatio-temporal scales, in terms of both systematic biases and random errors, over mainland China; and (3) APHRODITE demonstrates significant advantages compared to GPCC in calibrating IMERG, especially over mountainous regions with complex terrain, e.g. the Tibetan Plateau. Additionally, results of this study suggest that it is a promising and applicable daily calibration algorithm for GPM in generating the future IMERG in either an operational scheme or a retrospective manner.The AIMERG data are freely accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3609352 (for the period from 2000 to 2008) (Ma et al., 2020a) and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3609507 (for the period from 2009 to 2015) (Ma et al., 2020b). Highlights. A new effective daily calibration approach, DSTDCA, for improving the GPM-era IMERG is provided.New AIMERG precipitation data (0.1°/half-hourly, 2000–2015, Asia) are provided.Bias of AIMERG is significantly improved compared with that of IMERG.APHRODITE is more suitable than GPCC in anchoring IMERG over Asia.

BackgroundRenal infarction (RI) is an uncommon disease that is difficult to diagnose. As little is known about clinical characteristics of this disease, we investigated its underlying risk factors and outcomes.MethodsWe performed a retrospective single-center study of 89 patients newly diagnosed with acute RI between January 2002 and March 2015 using imaging modalities. Clinical features, possible etiologies, and long-term renal outcome data were reviewed.ResultsThe patients' mean age was 63.5 ± 15.42 years; 23.6% had diabetes and 56.2% had hypertension. Unilateral and bilateral involvements were shown in 80.9% and 19.1% of patients, respectively; proteinuria and hematuria were reported in 40.4% and 41.6%, respectively. Cardiovascular disease was the most common underlying disease, followed by renal vascular injury and hypercoagulability disorder. Fourteen patients had no specific underlying disease. At the time of diagnosis, acute kidney injury (AKI) was found in 34.8% of patients. Univariate analysis revealed diabetes mellitus (DM), leukocytosis, and high C-reactive protein (CRP) as significant risk factors for the development of AKI. On multivariate analysis, DM and high CRP levels were independent predictors for AKI. During follow-up, chronic kidney disease developed in 27.4% of patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed old age to be an independent risk factor for this disease, whereas AKI history was a negative risk factor.ConclusionDM patients or those with high CRP levels should be observed for renal function deterioration. Clinicians should also monitor for RI in elderly patients.

The effect of ZrO 2 on crystallographic order, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of Ba(Zn 1/3 Ta 2/3 )O 3 (BZT) ceramics was investigated. A small amount of ZrO 2 disturbed the 1:2 cation ordering. The average grain size of the BZT significantly increased with the addition of ZrO 2 , which was attributed to liquid-phase formation. The relative density increased with the addition of a small amount of ZrO 2 , but it decreased when the ZrO 2 content was increased. Variation of the dielectric constant with ZrO 2 addition ranged between 27 and 30, and the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency increased abruptly as the ZrO 2 amount exceeded 2.0 mol%. The Q value of the BZT significantly improved with the addition of ZrO 2 , which could be explained by the increased relative density and grain size. The maximum Q؋f value achieved in this investigation was ϳ164 000 GHz for the BZT with 2.0 mol% ZrO 2 sintered at 1550°C for 10 h.