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Mussel farms are common structure to culture shellfish in the open sea. A numerical model is developed to analyze the interaction between mussel farm and waves, in which the mussel droppers are simulated as porous media. The surface elevation around porous breakwater and the force on mussel dropper from physical model tests are applied to validate our numerical model for simulating the interaction between waves and porous media. Furthermore, the effect of spacing between two adjacent mussel droppers on the force acting on mussel droppers is discussed, and the interaction between mussel farm and oblique waves is also analyzed. The results indicate that the drag force on the downstream mussel droppers is decreased significantly with the decrease of spacing, and it is sensitive to the spacing when the spacing is smaller than three times the diameter of mussel dropper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with depression have a high prevalence of developing dyslipidemia. In this study, we aim to investigate the difference of serum lipids, including total cholesterol (TCH), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG), between the depressed patients and healthy controls. Sex differences in lipids and their psychological correlations were also included. The study included 56 healthy controls (males/females = 26/30) and 110 first-diagnosed drug-naïve outpatients (males/females = 35/75). A total of 42 patients (males/females = 14/28) were followed for 3 months. A significant difference was found in TCH and LDL-C among healthy control and patients. Interestingly, female patients with first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depression had lower atherogenic indices than male patients. After 3 months of antidepressants therapy, female patients exhibited detrimental changes in serum lipids, namely increased TG and atherogenic index. Moreover, correlation analysis showed significant correlations between changes of depression inventory (HAMD and BDI) score and serum lipids (TCH, HDL-C) in depressed patients. We found that dyslipidemia was more common in female patients with depression during therapy with antidepressants. Moreover, the altered serum lipids and atherogenic index might be a hallmark of female patients. Further investigation of sex differences in lipid metabolism of depression is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) are orally active first-in-class new generation drugs for renal anemia. This extensive meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was designed to provide clear information on the efficacy and safety of HIF-PHIs on anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Searches included PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library database up to October 2019. RCTs of patients with CKD comparing HIF-PHIs with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) or placebo in the treatment of anemia. The primary outcome was hemoglobin change from baseline (Hb CFB); the secondary outcomes included iron-related parameters and the occurrence of each adverse event. 26 trials in 17 articles were included, with a total of 2804 dialysis or patients with CKD. HIF-PHIs treatment produced a significant beneficial effect on Hb CFB compared with the placebo group (MD, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.02). However, this favored effect of HIF-PHIs treatment was not observed in subgroup analysis among trials compared with ESAs (MD, 0.06; 95% CI, −0.20 to 0.31). The significant reduction in hepcidin by HIF-PHIs was observed in all subgroups when compared with the placebo group, whereas this effect was observed only in NDD-CKD patients when compared with ESAs. HIF-PHIs increased the risk of nausea (RR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.06 to 4.53) and diarrhea (RR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.06 to 2.92). We conclude that orally given HIF-PHIs are at least as efficacious as ESAs treatment to correct anemia short term in patients with CKD. In addition, HIF-PHIs improved iron metabolism and utilization in patients with CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in the level of quality and extractive nitrogenous components were investigated in the fresh muscle and commercial dried products of rabbitfish Siganus fuscescens collected from Penghu, Taiwan. The respective freshness quality for fresh muscle is as follows: trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), 29.50 mg N/100 g; trimethylamine (TMA), 2.30 mg N/100 g; NH3, 6.61 mg/100 g; total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN), 13.32 mg/100 g; aerobic plate count, 1.53 log CFU/g; and K-value, 28.80%. The respective freshness quality for dried products is as follows: TMAO, 43.44 mg N/100 g; TMA, 25.56 mg N/100 g wet wt.; NH3, 52.00 mg/100 g wet wt.; TVBN, 149.98 mg/100 g; aerobic plate count, 4.16 log CFU/g; and K-value, 89.73%. The major fatty acids in the fresh muscle and dried products are C16:0, C18:1 n-9, C18:0, C16:1 C22:6 n-3, and C22:5 n-3. The major nucleotide compound is inosine 5ʹ-monophosphate (IMP) in the fresh muscle (68%) and hypoxanthine (Hx) in the dried products (79%). The level of total free amino acids in the dried products shows significant variation depending on the processing method of the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A credible national tourism emission inventory is a key to the effective carbon management of tourism activities. Currently, there are no guidelines that define the scope and boundaries for evaluating national tourism emissions and great variations exist in research methodologies, leading to confusion and misuse of these measures. This study compares four accounting frameworks, the Production Accounting Principle (PAP), the Kyoto Protocol Framework (KPF), the Consumption Accounting Principle (CAP) and the Tourism Satellite Account Principle (TSAP), for their concepts, calculations, attributions of responsibility and applications in serving different carbon management purposes. We argue that the TSAP inventory is the best framework to calibrate the full-scale environmental externality concerning internal tourism consumption; the PAP inventory is a comprehensive measure for monitoring territorial emissions and forms a base to apply abatement policies toward domestic producers, and the TSAP, PAP and CAP are all valid indicators that monitor the trade-off between economic output and GHGs. A case study of Taiwan is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:To study the risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in-patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods:A total of 1371 cases of adult in-patients with AMI in the First People's Hospital of Changzhou from January 2008 to December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the occurrence of AKI diagnosed according to the 2012 KDIGO AKI criteria, they were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group and further into conservative treatment groups, coronary angiography (CAG) groups, and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) groups based on the timing of AKI occurrence, respectively. Related risk factors of AKI were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Results:410 (29.9%) developed AKI. Patients with AKI had significantly increased in-hospital mortality than patients without AKI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that decreased baseline eGFR, increased fasting plasma glucose (FPG), use of diuretics and Killip grade IV were independent risk factors of AKI, while increased DBP on admission was a protective factor for patients in conservative treatment group. Decreased baseline eGFR, increased FPG, use of diuretics, intraoperative hypotension and acute infection were independent risk factors of AKI for patients in the CAG group. Decreased baseline eGFR, increased FPG, use of diuretics and low cardiac output syndrome after operation were independent risk factors of AKI for patients in the CABG group. Conclusions:AKI is a common complication and associated with increased mortality after AMI. Decreased baseline renal function, increased FPG and use of diuretics were common independent risk factors of AKI after AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:Age is an independent risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI). The causes and outcomes of AKI in children, middle-aged, and older patients are different. The objective of this country-based study was to identify the characteristics and mortality factors for AKI in different age groups in China. Methods: Using data from 374,286 adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to 44 study hospitals, we investigated the characteristics and mortality risk factors for AKI in four different age groups: 18–39 years of age, 40–59 years of age, 60–79 years of age, and ≥80 years of age. The identification criteria for AKI included the 2012 KDIGO AKI definition and an expanded criterion. Results: The country-based survey included 7604 AKI patients (7604/374,286, 2.03%). The proportions of AKI in the four age groups were 11.52%, 30.79%, 41.03%, and 16.66%, respectively. In any age group, the patients with AKI stage 1 were the majority (43.4%, 42.4%, 46.4%, and 52.2%, respectively), and the most common classification of AKI was pre-renal AKI (44.3%, 51.3%, 52.3%, and 56.4%, respectively). The higher AKI peak stage occurred for the in-hospital mortality factors for AKI in all age groups; except for the AKI stage 2 patients in the 18–39 age group. Conclusion: The characteristics and mortality factors for AKI vary by age in China. Elderly patients were the primary population with AKI, and the most common type of AKI was pre-renal AKI. Special caution should be taken to the old population in hospitalized patients to prevent the pre-renal AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a common pathway that leads to kidney failure, and persistent tubulointerstitial inflammation is a key event in the development of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. The new immunosuppressive drug FTY720 modifies lymphocyte migration into injured tissues by sequestering lymphocytes within secondary lymphoid organs. However, its therapeutic effect on tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis had not been well understood. This study was designed to explore the effect of FTY720 on tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in subtotally nephrectomized (SNX) rats. In total, 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Seven days after 5/6 nephrectomy, rats were randomized to FTY720 (1 mg/kg/d) and placebo-treated groups. Sham-operated rats served as controls. FTY720 significantly attenuated the rise in proteinuria, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase activity in SNX rats, and reduced the count of peripheral white blood cells and lymphocytes in SNX rats. Morphological analysis revealed that there was severe tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in SNX group and much more tubulointerstitial infiltrating inflammatory cells with high expression of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68, CD163 and CCR-7 in SNX group, as compared with the controls, but the lesions were attenuated significantly by treatment with FTY720. Furthermore, the expressions of proinflammatory molecules (IL-6, TNF-α and MCP-1), profibrotic molecule (TGF-β1) and production of extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin and types I and III collagens were upregulated in SNX rats. FTY720 administration significantly reduced these abnormalities. In summary, FTY720 exerts therapeutic effects on tubulointerstitial fibrosis in SNX rats by inhibiting the tubulointerstitial inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We investigated whether urinary mRNA of connective tissue growth factor (CCN2) and nephroblastoma overexpressed gene (CCN3) can provide clinical insight into the management of patients with nondiabetic CKD. Methods: Urinary mRNA expression of CCN2 and CCN3 were measured by Real-time PCR in 35 CKD patients and 12 controls. Results: Urinary mRNA of CCN2 and CCN3 were distinctively greater in CKDs than healthy controls. Urinary CCN3/CCN2 mRNA ratio correlated to the degree of glomerular histological changes in those who received renal biopsy. Conclusion: Urinary CCN3/CCN2 mRNA ratio may be a useful noninvasive biomarker for evaluating patients with nondiabetic CKD prior to renal biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the clinical value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in diagnosing left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) associated with maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) population. Methods: Plasma BNP was determined in 59 MHD patients with normal ejection fraction. The ratio of early to late annular velocity (E’/A’) was determined by tissue Doppler imaging as a parameter of diastolic function. Results: LVDD occurred in 66% of the patients. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses identified a cut-off of 353.6 pg ml−1 as the one with the highest sensitivity and specificity for detecting LVDD. Conclusions: Plasma BNP may serve as a potential biomarker in diagnosing LVDD in MHD patients with normal systolic function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tremella aurantia (TA) has been traditionally used as food and crude medicine in Chinese society. The polysaccharide isolated from the fruiting bodies of TA exhibits significant hypoglycemic activity in diabetic mouse models of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Diabetes will cause sexual dysfunction in patients. In the present study, we examined if the treatment of TA on IDDM and NIDDM rats will restore steroidogenesis and then the reproductive function. The fruiting bodies (FB), mycelium (TM) and polysaccharide (GX) of TA were fed to the IDDM and NIDDM rats, and testosterone and corticosterone levels in plasma, the weight of steroidogenic organs, and the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein and P450scc enzyme were determined. Plasma testosterone productions were significantly suppressed with the feeding of FB or TM in normal rat (p&ThickSpace;> &ThickSpace;0.05). There was no significant difference of the testosterone production between normal and NIDDM rats (p&ThickSpace;>&ThickSpace;0.05). In plasma corticosterone production, there were no differences among control, FB- or TM-fed normal rats (p&ThickSpace;>&ThickSpace;0.05). Corticosterone levels were reduced in IDDM rats compared to control, and FB or TM could restore its level. Corticosterone levels were induced in NIDDM rats compared to control (p&ThickSpace;<&THICKSPACE;0.05), but FB, TM or GX significantly brought the corticosterone back (p&ThickSpace;<&ThickSpace;0.05) to the control levels. Considering steroidogenic organs, IDDM rats with or without TA treatments had heavier testis and adrenal glands, but not epididymis, than normal rats with or without TA treatments. There were no effects of TA on the weight of steroidogenic organs among normal and NIDDM rats. However, GX feeding in NIDDM rat had lesser testis weight compared to NIDDM rats. The expression of StAR protein and P450scc enzyme were not diffe... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]