EXPERIMENTS: Stratifying films from SME solutions are formed and the heights of the steps are recorded. The viscosity of mixed SME + CAPB solutions is measured at various concentrations and weight ratios of the two surfactants.
FINDINGS: By theoretical analysis of the foam film data, we established that at 30-100 mM SME spherical micelles are formed and their aggregation number was determined. The addition of calcium ions, as in hard water, does not produce significant effect. However, SME and CAPB exhibit a strong synergism with respect to micelle growth as indicated by the high solution's viscosity. For this reason, the SME + CAPB mixtures represent a promising system for formulations in personal-care and house-hold detergency, having in mind also other useful properties of SME, such as high hard water tolerance, biodegradability and skin compatibility.
STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study.
SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 552 children and adolescents from 27 countries on maintenance HD followed up prospectively by the International Pediatric HD Network (IPHN) Registry between 2012 and 2017.
PREDICTOR: Type of vascular access: AVF, central venous catheter (CVC), or arteriovenous graft.
OUTCOME: Infectious and noninfectious vascular access complication rates, dialysis performance, biochemical and hematologic parameters, and clinical outcomes.
ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Univariate and multivariable linear mixed models, generalized linear mixed models, and proportional hazards models; cumulative incidence functions.
RESULTS: During 314 cumulative patient-years, 628 CVCs, 225 AVFs, and 17 arteriovenous grafts were placed. One-third of the children with an AVF required a temporary CVC until fistula maturation. Vascular access choice was associated with age and expectations for early transplantation. There was a 3-fold higher living related transplantation rate and lower median time to transplantation of 14 (IQR, 6-23) versus 20 (IQR, 14-36) months with CVCs compared with AVFs. Higher blood flow rates and Kt/Vurea were achieved with AVFs than with CVCs. Infectious complications were reported only with CVCs (1.3/1,000 catheter-days) and required vascular access replacement in 47%. CVC dysfunction rates were 2.5/1,000 catheter-days compared to 1.2/1,000 fistula-days. CVCs required 82% more revisions and almost 3-fold more vascular access replacements to a different site than AVFs (P<0.001).
LIMITATIONS: Clinical rather than population-based data.
CONCLUSIONS: CVCs are the predominant vascular access choice in children receiving HD within the IPHN. Age-related anatomical limitations and expected early living related transplantation were associated with CVC use. CVCs were associated with poorer dialysis efficacy, higher complication rates, and more frequent need for vascular access replacement. Such findings call for a re-evaluation of pediatric CVC use and practices.
METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of PEW prevalence from contemporary studies including more than 50 subjects with kidney disease, published during 2000-2014 and reporting on PEW prevalence by subjective global assessment or malnutrition-inflammation score. Data were reviewed throughout different strata: (1) acute kidney injury (AKI), (2) pediatric chronic kidney disease (CKD), (3) nondialyzed CKD 3-5, (4) maintenance dialysis, and (5) subjects undergoing kidney transplantation (Tx). Sample size, period of publication, reporting quality, methods, dialysis technique, country, geographical region, and gross national income were a priori considered factors influencing between-study variability.
RESULTS: Two studies including 189 AKI patients reported a PEW prevalence of 60% and 82%. Five studies including 1776 patients with CKD stages 3-5 reported PEW prevalence ranging from 11% to 54%. Finally, 90 studies from 34 countries including 16,434 patients on maintenance dialysis were identified. The 25th-75th percentiles range in PEW prevalence among dialysis studies was 28-54%. Large variation in PEW prevalence across studies remained even when accounting for moderators. Mixed-effects meta-regression identified geographical region as the only significant moderator explaining 23% of the observed data heterogeneity. Finally, two studies including 1067 Tx patients reported a PEW prevalence of 28% and 52%, and no studies recruiting pediatric CKD patients were identified.
CONCLUSION: By providing evidence-based ranges of PEW prevalence, we conclude that PEW is a common phenomenon across the spectrum of AKI and CKD. This, together with the well-documented impact of PEW on patient outcomes, justifies the need for increased medical attention.
METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of a cluster-randomized clinical trial that assesses the effect of implementing a feeding protocol on mortality in critically ill patients. Patients who stayed in the ICUs for at least 7 days and received exclusive EN were included in this analysis. Multivariable Cox hazard regression models and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess the relationship between the different doses of EN delivery and 28-day mortality. Subgroups with varying lactate levels at enrollment were additionally analyzed to address the potential confounding effect brought in by the presence of shock-related hypoperfusion.
RESULTS: Overall, 1322 patients were included in the analysis. The median (interquartile range) daily energy and protein delivery during the first week of enrollment were 14.6 (10.3-19.6) kcal/kg and 0.6 (0.4-0.8) g/kg, respectively. An increase of 5 kcal/kg energy delivery was associated with a significant reduction (approximately 14%) in 28-day mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.865, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.768-0.974, P = 0.016). For protein intake, a 0.2 g/kg increase was associated with a similar mortality reduction with an adjusted HR of 0.868 (95% CI 0.770-0.979). However, the benefits associated with enhanced nutrition delivery could be observed in patients with lactate concentration ≤ 2 mmol/L (adjusted HR = 0.804 (95% CI 0.674-0.960) for energy delivery and adjusted HR = 0.804 (95% CI 0.672-0.962) for protein delivery, respectively), but not in those > 2 mmol/L.
CONCLUSIONS: During the first week of critical illness, enhanced nutrition delivery is associated with reduced mortality in critically ill patients receiving exclusive EN, only for those with lactate concentration ≤ 2 mmol/L.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN12233792, registered on November 24, 2017.
METHODS: The discovery stage of our genome-wide association studies included 4505 cases and 21 968 controls of European, South-Asian, and African ancestry, drawn from 6 studies. In Stage 2, we selected the lead genetic variants at loci with association P<5×10(-6) and performed in silico association analyses in an independent sample of ≤1003 cases and 7745 controls.
RESULTS: One stroke susceptibility locus at 10q25 reached genome-wide significance in the combined analysis of all samples from the discovery and follow-up stages (rs11196288; odds ratio =1.41; P=9.5×10(-9)). The associated locus is in an intergenic region between TCF7L2 and HABP2. In a further analysis in an independent sample, we found that 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms in high linkage disequilibrium with rs11196288 were significantly associated with total plasma factor VII-activating protease levels, a product of HABP2.
CONCLUSIONS: HABP2, which encodes an extracellular serine protease involved in coagulation, fibrinolysis, and inflammatory pathways, may be a genetic susceptibility locus for early-onset stroke.
EXPERIMENTS: The solubility and electrolytic conductivity for a binary surfactant mixture of anionic methyl ester sulfonates (MES) with nonionic alkyl polyglucoside and alkyl polyoxyethylene ether at 5 °C during long-term storage were measured. Phase diagrams were established; a general theoretical model for their explanation was developed and checked experimentally.
FINDINGS: The binary and ternary phase diagrams for studied surfactant mixtures include phase domains: mixed micelles; micelles + crystallites; crystallites, and molecular solution. The proposed general methodology, which utilizes the equations of molecular thermodynamics at minimum number of experimental measurements, is convenient for construction of such phase diagrams. The results could increase the range of applicability of MES-surfactants with relatively high Krafft temperature, but with various useful properties such as excellent biodegradability and skin compatibility; stability in hard water; good wetting and cleaning performance.