Search

Background Uremic tumoral calcinosis (UTC) is a rare complication in hemodialysis patients, whose mechanism remains incompletely understood. We report two cases with UTC who experienced completely different patterns of regression following parathyroidectomy, although there were no significant differences in serum calcium levels, parathyroid hormone, or phosphorus production between the two patients. Case presentation Case 1 had a substantial improvement in soft tissue calcification. However, in Case 2, one calcified mass was partially absorbed, while the others were aggravated with severe microvascular calcification and subcutaneous extravascular calcification. Whole-exome sequencing data revealed five mutation sites associated with atherosclerosis. Conclusion The different outcomes in UTC patients after PTX are rare. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism of paradoxical changes occurring in patients with UTC after parathyroidectomy.

High-load axial compressor is the mainstream of current compressor design and development. In order to improve the aerodynamic performance of high-load axial compressor, an active flow control method in which a synthetic jet is applied to the endwall is proposed. Taking the transonic axial compressor NASA Rotor 35 as the research object, using a single factor analysis method, the influence of five different excitation positions, three different excitation frequencies, and three different jet peak velocities on the aerodynamic performance of the compressor was studied in turn, and obtained the influence law of the endwall synthetic jet excitation parameters. The results show that all three parameters have important effects on the performance of the compressor. Among the excitation parameters studied in this paper, there is an optimal excitation position of 25% Ca. When excited at this position, the flow margin of the compressor is expanded the most. On the basis of maintaining the optimal excitation position and the maximum jet peak velocity, the calculation results found that the jet frequency has little effect on the compressor’s near stall flow rate, but has a great impact on the total pressure ratio and efficiency. The pressure ratio and efficiency increase with the increase of the excitation frequency. However, there seems to be a threshold of the excitation frequency. Only when the excitation frequency is greater than the threshold can the total pressure ratio and efficiency be higher than the prototype compressor. The jet peak velocity has the smallest impact on the compressor performance. Based on the optimal excitation position and the excitation frequency exceeding the threshold, even if the jet peak velocity is small, the compressor can obtain a higher flow margin, total pressure ratio, and efficiency than the prototype compressor. As the jet peak velocity increases, the performance of compressor can be further improved.

A frequency-doubled microwave photonic phase shifter (MPPS) without optical filter is proposed. The MPPS is based on an integrated dual-polarization dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DP...

Objective: to clarify the role of t cells in kidney pathology of three widely used murine lupus models. Material and methods: Cells infiltrating the glomeruli and perivascular areas in MRL/lpr (n = 10 female), nZB× nZW f1 (B/W f1) (n = 9 female), and BXSB (n = 10 male) mice were captured by laser microdissection (LMD). Samples were subjected to nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Rt-PCR) with primers specific to β-actin, t-cell receptor β chain (tCR-Cβ), interleukin (iL)-10, iL-13, iL-17, and interferon-g (ifn-g). frozen sections of lesions were also stained immunohistochemically for tissue and cellular characterization. Results: t cells infiltrating the glomeruli and perivascular areas predominantly produced ifn- g, iL-13, and iL-17 in MRL/lpr, B/W f1, and BXSB mice, with iL-17 expression in glomeruli of BXSB mice being significantly lower than that of MRL/lpr and B/W f1 mice. iL-10 was detected only in the perivascular areas of MRL/lpr and B/W f1 mice and not in glomeruli isolates. immunohistochemical staining revealed positive for the expression of thy-1, CD4, CD8, and B220 in glomeruli and perivascular areas from all three strains of mice. Conclusions: Cytokine balance in murine SLE is complex and cannot be attributed simply to the balance between t h1 and t h2 cells. t h17 cells may play a critical role in disease pathology, possibly with greater contribution toward disease progression in MRL/lpr and B/W f1 mice than in BXSB mice. furthermore, these findings lend support to the concept that different molecular mechanisms underlie glomerulonephritis as compared to vasculitis.

We aimed to investigate the effects of berberine on renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as its effects on blood pressure and renal damage in spontaneously hypertensive rats.Berberine was administrated to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR rats) between 3 and 20 weeks of age. Blood pressure was monitored in 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 16- and 20-week-old SHR rats and age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY rats). Besides, we measured levels of angiotensin II, aldosterone and pre-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-17, IL-23) in serum and kidney, as well as levels of collagen III and collagen IV in kidney and urinary markers of renal injury (osteopontin, kidney-injury-molecule (KIM-1) and albumin) in 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 16- and 20-week-old SHR rats and WKY rats. Glomerulosclerosis was also assessed with hematoxylin and eosin staining.SHR rats developed hypertension at the age of 6 weeks and had increased levels of angiotensin II, aldosterone, IL-6, IL-17, IL-23, collagen III, collagen IV, osteopontin, KIM-1 and albumin, as well as more severe glomerulosclerosis, compared to the aged-matched WKY rats. Berberine delayed the onset and attenuated the severity of hypertension, as well as partially inhibited the increases of the above substances in SHR rats.Berberine could delay the onset and attenuate the severity of hypertension, as well as ameliorate hypertension-induced renal damage in SHR rats. Furthermore, berberine could inhibit the activities of RAS and pre-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-17 and IL-23, which are involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension.