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Background Transplant recipients are supposedly in a more anemic, catabolic, and even inflammatory state at re-entering hemodialysis due to chronic rejection. The goal of this study was to clarify how transplant recipients can re-enter dialysis safely by focusing on control of anemia. Methods From 2012 to 2014, a total of 29 transplant recipients re-entered hemodialysis because of chronic rejection (ie, the chronic kidney disease with transplant [CKDT] group). At the same time, in 2014, a total of 30 patients with chronic kidney disease without transplantation entered dialysis as the control group (ie, the CKD group). CKDT recipients (mean ± standard deviation age, 41.9 ± 11.8 years; 18 male subjects, 10 female subjects; frequency of diabetes, 10%; duration of graft survival, 12.5 ± 4.3 years) were younger and fewer had diabetes compared with the CKD group (age, 53.2 ± 10.5 years; 21 male subjects, 9 female subjects; frequency of diabetes, 36%). Patient characteristics at entering dialysis in both groups were analyzed according to retrospective chart review. Results At entering dialysis, there were no significant differences between the CKD and CKDT groups in terms of the following: dose of darbepoetin; concentrations of hemoglobin, albumin, and C-reactive protein; cardiothoracic ratio; blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels; estimated glomerular filtration rate; initial ultrafiltration; and duration of hospitalization for initiation of dialysis. The only difference between groups was mean weight at entry to dialysis (CKDT group, 58.5 ± 15.1 kg; CKD group, 67.1 ± 14.8 kg; P = .03). The darbepoetin dose per kilogram of weight did not differ between groups (CKDT, 2.28 ± 2.03 μg/kg; CKD, 2.12 ± 1.6 μg/kg; P = .95) in the final month before entry to dialysis. Conclusions Safe re-initiation of dialysis is important for recipient survival. Although anemia is supposedly higher in transplant recipients due to immunosuppression, this single-center analysis found no difference in anemia in CKD with or without transplantation, caused by good use of erythropoietin-stimulating agents in both groups.

Background and study aims The study aimed to assess a newly developed endoscopic marker designed to cause only minor inflammatory reactions. Materials and methods Chitosan and carbon powder were used in the marker substance. The product was a viscoelastic solution, which was injected into the submucosa in rat stomach walls. The tissue reactions were then examined histopathologically. The structure of the injected marker substance was examined with electron microscopy into rat stomach walls. India ink, which is currently used as an endoscopic marker, served as the control. Results Histopathological examination showed that inflammatory reactions with the novel agent were remarkably mild in the rat organs, while submucosally applied india ink caused severe inflammation in situ. The electron-microscopic findings showed that the carbon particles used were completely spherical in shape and that the carbon in the marker substance was entrapped in the chitosan networks. The india ink was shown to consist of a mixture of fine carbon particles and adhesive additives. Conclusions The chitosan-carbon solution appears to be a promising endoscopic marker substance, causing significantly reduced inflammation.

To improve the electrochemical properties of the silicon film anode in lithium cells, we prepared three types of silicon based-films, i.e., intrinsic silicon, n-type silicon, and Ag10Si90 binary fi...

Park’s two -temperature model for rotational and vibrational states of air in hypersonic flows of medium Mach numbers is known to give a deviation from the experimental data due to strong non-equilibrium conditions and non-Boltzmann distributions. The present study shows an establishment of hybrid measurement system of rotational and vibrational temperature by fitting the experimental data of N2 and N2 + behind strong shock waves using a free piston shock tube with the computational results of the SPRADIAN code. The spectra fitting between experiments and numerical results is good except for the spectrum region of contamination by hydrocarbons to ensure that this fitting method is feasible. The obtained rotational temperatures of N 2 and N2 + are quite different from that of Park’s model near the shock front and become the same level away from the shock front. On the other hand the vibrational temperatures of N2 and N2 + are lower than that from the shock front to all the way downstream.

Although financial time series can be viewed as the random walk for the first approximation, there are many evidences to show deviations from such simple view. First, the empirical probability density distributions of price increments are not Gaussian, but have fat tails. Second, tick-wise motions exhibit certain patterns. Based on those observations we presume that the financial time series carry finite length of memory, which suggest us a possibility of short-term prediction. We have examined large sized tick data of multiple currency exchange rates and found various interesting features such as arbitrage chances observed in triangular trades, the length of memory observed in the tick-wise data, and the scaling property observed in the probability density distribution of price increments.

In this paper, we describe a new system architecture of the personalized information delivery system for the individuals who move among the wireless LAN hotspots such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth. We propose wireless services not only for the fixed places but also for the moving spaces such as in public transportation vehicle. The proposed system manages individual geographical location and preference of moving people. While moving it can be used to filter various types of information from outside sources, for creating personalized information. The result is asynchronously pushed to each individual. In this paper we explain the implementation of the system, and evaluate the result of experimental study.

Hitherto, accurate measurements of the blood flow through the organ for reconstructive operation of the esophagus have been difficult, and consequently prognosis of the anastomotic leakage has hardly been possible. Based on the laser-doppler method, however, we measured accurately, during operation, intramural blood flows in detail of the stomach mobilized as an esophageal substitute. In studying the blood flow distribution pattern through the gastric tube, software was devised and employed that is capable of preparing the flow distribution chart instantly by linking the flowmeter to the computer. By this method, the blood flow through the gastric tube and its distribution could be determined easily and noninvasively, and it was made possible to assess objectively and during operation the possibility of leakage.