The objective of this completed, randomized, open-label trial across 11 hemodialysis centers in Shanghai, China, was to evaluate whether hemoadsorption combined with hemodialysis (HAHD) reduces mortality compared to hemodialysis (HD) alone in end-stage kidney disease patients (maintenance HD ≥ 3 months, Kt/V ≥ 1.2). We randomized 1362 patients 1:1 to receive HAHD (n = 683) or HD alone (n = 679; mainly low-flux HD plus intermittent HDF). All 1362 randomized patients were analyzed. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, while secondary outcomes included cardiovascular mortality and major cardiovascular events. Over a median follow-up of 39.5 months, all-cause mortality occurred in 117 (17.1%) of HAHD patients compared to 144 (21.2%) of HD patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.778, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.609-0.994; P = 0.045). HAHD also significantly reduced cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.659, 95% CI: 0.481-0.901; P = 0.009) and major cardiovascular events (HR: 0.772, 95% CI: 0.621-0.959; P = 0.019). Important adverse events, primarily infections and abnormal blood pressure, were comparable between the two groups. Adding hemoadsorption significantly reduced all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and major cardiovascular events compared to HD alone (mainly low-flux HD plus intermittent HDF). Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03227770.

To investigate the association between microinflammatory state and cardiac valvular calcification (CVC) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, and to compare the predictive value of the C-reactive protein-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index with conventional inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers for CVC severity. This single-center cross-sectional study enrolled 203 MHD patients. Patients were categorized by echocardiography into no CVC (n = 67), single valve calcification (n = 69), and double valve calcification (n = 67) groups. Serum levels of hs-CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, and routine biochemical parameters were measured. The CALLY index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) were calculated. Multinomial logistic regression, model fit indices, net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and bootstrap internal validation were utilized to evaluate the comparative and incremental performance of the biomarkers. The prevalence of CVC in the study population was 67.0

Although hemoadsorption combined with hemodialysis (HAHD) is increasingly used in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), the optimal treatment duration remains uncertain. This study compared the efficacy and safety of 2-hour versus 4-hour HAHD sessions, supported by in vitro kinetic modeling. An in vitro recirculation system was used to assess the adsorption kinetics of parathyroid hormone (PTH), β2‑microglobulin (β2‑MG), and tumor necrosis factor‑alpha (TNF‑α) over 4 h. Subsequently, 92 stable MHD patients were prospectively enrolled and assigned to receive a single HAHD session of either 2 h (n = 45) or 4 h (n = 47). Pre- and post-treatment blood samples were analyzed to determine the reduction ratios of inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) and middle molecular toxins (PTH and β2-MG). In vitro results confirmed time-dependent adsorption, with 4-hour removal ratios for PTH (93.27%), β2-MG (93.36%), and TNF-α (50.54%) being significantly higher than those at 2 h (84.36%, 82.00%, and 27.56%, respectively; all p < 0.05). Clinically, the 4-hour group achieved significantly higher median reduction ratios for the inflammatory cytokines IL-8 (81.64% vs. 69.51%) and TNF-α (43.94% vs. 22.33%) and for the middle molecular toxins PTH (59.67% vs. 55.12%) and β2-MG (21.79% vs. 14.20%). Both durations were well tolerated, with no significant safety concerns. These findings indicate that prolonging HAHD to 4 h improves the clearance of inflammatory and middle molecular weight toxins without compromising safety and may offer clinical benefits for MHD patients with high inflammatory burdens.

In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), vascular calcification (VC) is common and influences patient’s outcome and prognosis. However, evaluation methods for VC severity are limited. Klotho and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) are biomarkers associating with VC development. This study aimed to explore the association of serum Klotho and FGF-23 levels with VC severity in patients with non-dialysis CKD. Patients with non-dialysis CKD were enrolled during hospitalization and were divided into the following four groups on the basis of their coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores: non-VC (CAC scores = 0), mild VC (0 < CAC scores ≤ 100), moderate VC (100 < CAC scores ≤ 400), and severe VC groups (CAC scores > 400). Serum Klotho and FGF-23 levels among the different groups were compared. A total of 154 non-dialysis CKD patients were enrolled. Correlation analysis showed that serum FGF-23 level (rho = 0.185, p = 0.022) was positively correlated with VC severity, whereas serum Klotho level (rho = − 0.196, p = 0.015) was negatively correlated with VC severity in patients with CKD. Multivariable regression analysis showed that Klotho level [odd ratio (OR) = 0.998, 95

Introduction: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a common complication associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases-2 • insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (TIMP-2•IGFBP7) determines tubular stress markers, which may occur prior to tubular damage. Previous studies on the use of TIMP-2•IGFBP7 for the prediction of CSA-AKI showed divergent results. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the predictive value of TIMP-2•IGFBP7 measurements for the early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) and short-term adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. Methods: In the prospective cohort study, blood and urine samples were collected 6–12 h after cardiac surgery. Blood samples to monitor serum creatinine levels were additionally extracted from days 1 to 7. AKI was defined based on the KDIGO consensus guidelines. AKI within 7 days following surgery was the primary outcome. The initiation of renal replacement therapy, in intensive care unit mortality, and the combination of both were secondary outcomes. Results: A total of 557 patients were enrolled, 134 (24.06%) of them developed AKI and 33 (5.9%) had moderate or severe AKI. AKI developed more frequently in elderly patients with diabetes or with higher baseline serum creatinine levels. Patients with AKI had higher EuroSCORE II, Cleveland clinical score, and simplified renal index than those without AKI. Urinary TIMP-2•IGFBP7 was significantly higher in patients with AKI. The area under the curve was 0.66 in predicting all AKI and 0.70 in predicting stages 2 and 3 AKI. The resulting sensitivity and specificity were 44.0% and 83.9%, respectively, for a calculated threshold TIMP-2•IGFBP7 value of 0.265 (ng/ml)2/1,000. The TIMP-2•IGFBP7 values, simplified renal index (SRI) Score and age were significantly associated with AKI within 7 days postoperatively. A total of 33 patients reached the composite endpoint, the percentage of patients who reached the composite end-point in the TIMP-2•IGFBP7 of >0.265 (ng/ml)2/1,000 group was significantly higher than that of ≤0.265 (ng/ml)2/1,000 group. Conclusions: Postoperative implementation of TIMP-2•IGFBP7 improved prediction of CSA-AKI and may aid in identifying patients at risk of short-term adverse outcomes. We identified an ideal calculated cutoff value of 0.265 (ng/ml))2/1,000 for the prediction of CSA-AKI among all AKI patients.

ABSTRACT Background VS-505 (AP301), an acacia and ferric oxyhydroxide polymer, is a novel fiber-iron-based phosphate binder. This two-part Phase 2 study evaluated the tolerability, safety and efficacy of oral VS-505 administered three times daily with meals in treating hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods In Part 1, patients received dose-escalated treatment with VS-505 2.25, 4.50 and 9.00 g/day for 2 weeks each, guided by serum phosphorus levels. In Part 2, patients received randomized, open-label, fixed-dosage treatment with VS-505 (1.50, 2.25, 4.50 or 6.75 g/day) or sevelamer carbonate 4.80 g/day for 6 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in serum phosphorus. Results The study enrolled 158 patients (Part 1: 25; Part 2: 133), with 130 exposed to VS-505 in total. VS-505 was well tolerated. The most common adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders, mainly feces discolored (56%) and diarrhea (15%; generally during Weeks 1–2 of treatment). Most gastrointestinal disorders resolved without intervention, and none was serious. In Part 1, serum phosphorus significantly improved (mean change −2.0 mg/dL; 95% confidence interval −2.7, −1.4) after VS-505 dose escalation. In Part 2, serum phosphorus significantly and dose-dependently improved in all VS-505 arms, with clinically meaningful reductions with VS-505 4.50 and 6.75 g/day, and sevelamer carbonate 4.80 g/day [mean change −1.6 (−2.2, −1.0), −1.8 (−2.4, −1.2) and −1.4 (−2.2, −0.5) mg/dL, respectively]. In both parts, serum phosphorus reductions occurred within 1 week of VS-505 initiation, returning to baseline within 2 weeks of VS-505 discontinuation. Conclusion VS-505, a novel phosphate binder, was well tolerated with a manageable safety profile, and effectively and dose-dependently reduced serum phosphorus in CKD patients with hyperphosphatemia receiving MHD. Clinical Trial registration number NCT04551300

INTRODUCTION:Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a common complication associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-2·insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (TIMP-2·IGFBP7) determines tubular stress markers, which may occur prior to tubular damage. Previous studies on the use of TIMP-2·IGFBP7 for the prediction of CSA-AKI showed divergent results. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the predictive value of TIMP-2·IGFBP7 measurements for the early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) and short-term adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. METHODS:In the prospective cohort study, blood and urine samples were collected 6-12 h after cardiac surgery. Blood samples to monitor serum creatinine levels were additionally extracted from days 1 to 7. AKI was defined based on the KDIGO consensus guidelines. AKI within 7 days following surgery was the primary outcome. The initiation of renal replacement therapy, in intensive care unit mortality, and the combination of both were secondary outcomes. RESULTS:A total of 557 patients were enrolled; 134 (24.06%) of them developed AKI and 33 (5.9%) had moderate or severe AKI. AKI developed more frequently in elderly patients with diabetes or with higher baseline serum creatinine levels. Patients with AKI had higher EuroSCORE II, Cleveland Clinic Score, and simplified renal index (SRI) than those without AKI. Urinary TIMP-2·IGFBP7 was significantly higher in patients with AKI. The area under the curve was 0.66 in predicting all AKI and 0.70 in predicting stages 2 and 3 AKI. The resulting sensitivity and specificity were 44.0% and 83.9%, respectively, for a calculated threshold TIMP-2·IGFBP7 value of 0.265 (ng/mL)2/1,000. The TIMP-2·IGFBP7 values, SRI score, and age were significantly associated with AKI within 7 days postoperatively. A total of 33 patients reached the composite endpoint; the percentage of patients who reached the composite endpoint in the TIMP-2·IGFBP7 of &gt;0.265 (ng/ml)2/1,000 group was significantly higher than that of ≤0.265 (ng/mL)2/1,000 group. CONCLUSIONS:Postoperative implementation of TIMP-2·IGFBP7 improved the prediction of CSA-AKI and may aid in identifying patients at risk of short-term adverse outcomes. We identified an ideal calculated cutoff value of 0.265 (ng/mL)2/1,000 for the prediction of CSA-AKI among all AKI patients.

Proteinuria during pregnancy is closely related to the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. One hundred and forty-two women with proteinuria during pregnancy and followed between January 2018 and December 2020 were evaluated. Based on the 24-h proteinuria value, they were divided as mild (n = 76, 300-1000 mg/day), moderate (n = 39, 1000-3500 mg/day) and severe (n = 27, >3500 mg/day) proteinuria. The rates of prematurity, low birth weight and neonatal asphyxia were significantly higher in the severe proteinuria group than in the mild and moderate groups, while the rates of foetal growth restriction and neonatal intensive care unit admission were significantly higher in the severe compared with the mild proteinuria group (all p < .05). Logistic regression analysis showed that moderate proteinuria (OR = 97.2, 95%CI: 7.1-1334.2, p = .001) and severe proteinuria (OR = 34.0, 95%CI: 1.6-711.0, p = .023) were associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. Compared with mild proteinuria, moderate and severe proteinuria are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in perinatal infants.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? The production of proteinuria is closely related to the filtration function of the glomerulus, the reabsorption and secretion function of the renal tubules. For women with normal renal function before pregnancy, such physiological changes are less likely to cause adverse symptoms; however, for women with chronic kidney disease before pregnancy, especially those with significantly impaired renal function, the kidneys often cannot compensate for these physiological changes, which can lead to serious complications for both mother and infant.What do the results of this study add? In our study, logistic regression analysis showed that the severity of proteinuria was independently associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. The ROC curve showed that 24-h proteinuria had a predictive value for adverse perinatal outcomes. Therefore, for patients with urine protein quantification ≥0.3 g/24 h, regular 24-h urine protein quantification during pregnancy could help predict adverse perinatal outcomes and improve prognosis.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Proteinuria quantification can be used as one of the factors predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes. Thus, monitoring of urinary protein quantification in women during pregnancy should be strengthened for early detection of renal impairment, then interventions be used to improve maternal and infant outcomes.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) seriously affects the health of both pregnant women and fetuses. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pregnancy-related AKI (PR-AKI). This case series study enrolled pregnant women with PR-AKI admitted to the surgical intensive care unit of Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between January 2010 and December 2020. Thirty-one PR-AKI patients were enrolled with a mean age of 29.16 ± 4.97 years. Seventeen pregnant women (54.84%) had complete recovery of renal function, 5 (16.13%) had partial recovery of renal function, 2 (6.45%) patients had no renal function improvement, and 7 (22.58%) died. Among the 31 patients with 35 fetuses, 25 (80.6%) pregnant women had poor fetal outcomes, including 5 cases of stillbirths, 5 neonatal asphyxia, 18 premature births, 10 low birth weight, and 8 deficient birth weight infants. Compared to cases with good fetal outcomes, cases with poor fetal outcomes had significantly shorter gestational weeks (39.26 ± 1.53 vs. 31.62 ± 5.50, P = 0.002), lower platelet count (217.13 ± 122.87 vs. 90.24 ± 84.88, P = 0.005), lower hemoglobin (94.19 ± 13.21 vs. 74.48 ± 20.78, P = 0.036), higher blood urea nitrogen (11.87 ± 4.28 vs. 19.47 ± 10.98, P = 0.013), and higher uric acid (262.41 ± 167.00 vs. 586.87 ± 144.52, P < 0.001). The maternal renal function of women with PR-AKI might improve after treatment, but occurrence rates of adverse fetal outcomes were still high.

We have assessed the oligomeric structure and antigenic properties of an affinity purified gp160 protein (oligo-gp160) using biosensor technology. Sucrose gradient purification analysis identified the existence of tetrameric, dimeric and monomeric forms of the protein. Reactivity to a broad panel of monoclonal antibodies specific for oligomeric gp160, discontinuous epitopes within monomeric gp120 and several linear epitopes within gp120 (V3) and gp41 was demonstrated. International sera from several countries, where HIV-1 clades A-F are prevalent, including type O from Cameroon, were reactive with oligo-gp160 indicating conserved antigenic epitopes. Enhanced immunologic reactivity per gp160 molecule was obtained with oligo-gp160 as compared to other current HIV-1(IIIB) subunit monomeric envelope gp120/gp160 immunogens suggesting higher HIV-1 envelope protein mimicry. HIV-1 antibodies from sera during acute HIV-1 infection were detectable by oligo-gp160 prior to detection with either a recombinant, monomeric gp120 protein or several commercial HIV-1 screening kits suggesting antibodies sensitive to oligomeric gp160 structure may be present earlier in infection. The oligomeric nature of this gp160 protein preparation and high reactivity with divergent mAbs and HIV-1 sera support the use of this protein as an HIV-1 immunogen.

The accumulation of protein-bound uremic toxins and medium-large molecule toxins in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients is one of the causes of long-term dialysis-related complications. Hemoperfusion can remove these uremic toxins and reduce the complications of MHD patients. Upon a review of the Chinese and international literature, combined with practical experience of clinical diagnosis and treatment, the Shanghai Medical Association Society of Nephrology reached a consensus on the clinical applications of hemoperfusion in MHD patients. This consensus included four aspects: selection of appropriate patients, treatment frequency, treatment methods, and adverse reactions and precautions and provided guidelines for the rational and standardized treatment of hemoperfusion in MHD patients.

Background: Regional citrate anticoagulation has been recommended as first choice for anticoagulation of continuous renal replacement therapy. Precise calcium supplementation is important for the safety of regional citrate anticoagulation. In this study we aimed to provide an optimized calcium supplementation approach for regional citrate anticoagulation in post-dilution continuous venous-venous hemodiafiltration. Methods: Twenty-seven patients receiving post-dilution continuous venous-venous hemodiafiltration anticoagulated by citrate were included in this study. The ionized calcium levels were monitored and maintained in the targeted range. After linear regression analysis of the clearance of non-protein bound calcium and calculating the ratio of the non-protein bound calcium concentration to total calcium concentration, we concluded the mathematical model for calcium supplementation. Results: Positive correlations were found between the clearance of non-protein bound calcium and both dialysate flow rates (r = 0.647, p < 0.001) and ultrafiltration plus substitution fluid flow rates (r = 0.525, p = 0.005). The ratio of the non-protein bound calcium concentration to total calcium concentration values at the pre-filter point after infusion of citrate were constant about 0.83. Based on the clearance and the calcium ratio, the amount of extracorporeal calcium removal can be estimated with a simplified equation. Conclusions: We provided an optimized calcium supplementation approach for post-dilution continuous venous-venous hemodiafiltration anticoagulated by citrate which may help to estimate the amount of extracorporeal circuit removal of calcium with regard to different dosages of regional citrate anticoagulation.

Compressed image quality assessment (IQA) has been a crucial part of a wide range of image services such as storage and transmission. Due to the effect of different bit rates and compression methods, the compressed images usually have different levels of quality. Nowadays, the mainstream full-reference (FR) metrics are effective to predict the quality of compressed images at coarse-grained levels, however, they may perform poorly when quality differences of the compressed images are quite subtle. To better improve the Quality of Experience (QoE) and provide useful guidance for compression algorithms, we propose an FR-IQA metric for fine-grained compressed images, which estimates the image quality by analyzing the difference of structure and texture. Our metric is mainly validated on the fine-grained compression IQA (FGIQA) database and is tested on other commonly used compression IQA databases as well. The experimental results show that our metric outperforms mainstream FR-IQA metrics on the fine-grained compression IQA database and also obtains competitive performance on the coarse-grained compression IQA databases.

BACKGROUND:Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) is a recommended anticoagulation alternative for patients at high risk of bleeding while undergoing intermittent hemodialysis. Previous reports implied the risk of citrate application on bone metabolism. It is unclear whether long-term use of RCA is safe for maintenance hemodialysis patients in terms of bone metabolism. MATERIAL AND METHODS:Seven patients with cerebral hemorrhage were included in the study. Blood samples were collected at baseline and 4 and 8 weeks after treatment. Spent dialysate samples were collected during each mid-week dialysis session, using the partial dialysate collection method. All patients were treated with RCA for 4 to 8 weeks, according to their clinical condition. We assessed bone metabolism-associated parameters, bone turnover markers, and magnesium loss at each dialysis session. RESULTS:Serum magnesium levels were 1.24±0.13 mmol/L at baseline and significantly decreased to 1.16±0.14 mmol/L after 4 weeks of RCA treatment (P=0.025). Most patients had negative magnesium balance during citrate hemodialysis. Serum total calcium levels did not change significantly after treatment. One bone marker, N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), significantly decreased from 146.07±130.12 mmol/L to 92.42±79.01 mmol/L after citrate treatment (P=0.018). No significant changes were detected in other bone turnover markers. CONCLUSIONS:Relatively long-term RCA treatment may decrease serum magnesium levels due to negative magnesium balance. Bone formation marker PINP seemed to decrease after treatment, while other bone turnover markers did not change significantly. Further investigation is needed to verify the effect of RCA on bone remodeling.

Background: This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of hemodialysis (HD) plus hemoperfusion (HP) with HD alone in adult patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in China. Methods: A Markov model was constructed to assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions over a lifetime horizon. Model parameters were informed by the HD/HP trial, the first randomized, open-label multicenter trial comparing survival outcomes and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for HD + HP versus HD alone, and supplemented by published literature and expert opinion. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with respect to quality adjusted life-years (QALY). The robustness of the results was examined in extensive sensitivity analyses. Analyses were conducted from a healthcare perspective. Costs were reported in both Chinese Renminbi (RMB) and US Dollars (USD) in 2019 values. Results: The base case ICER of HD + HP is RMB 174,486 (USD 25,251) per QALY, which is lower than the RMB 212,676 (USD 30,778) willingness-to-pay threshold of three times Gross Domestic Product. This conclusion is sensitive to the mortality for patients with no severe CVD events, the incidence of CVD events, and the cost of HP and HD. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of RMB 212,676 (USD 30,778) per QALY gained, the probability that HD + HP is cost-effective is 58%. Conclusions: Our results indicate a potential for HD + HP to be cost-effective for patients with ESRD. Further evidence on the longer-term impact of HD + HP on CVD event rates and mortality unrelated to CVD is needed to robustly demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of HD + HP. Trial Registration: The HD/HP trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTRIOR-16009332).

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pregnancy-related acute kidney injury (PR-AKI) and provide a basis for improving maternal and infant outcomes. Methods: Seventy pregnant women admitted to the surgical intensive care unit of Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from January 2010 to December 2020 were included; 31 were screened out according to KDIGO-AKI criteria. We retrospectively analyzed their clinical characteristics and prognosis and analyzed risk factors for different pregnancy outcomes with logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 31 PR-AKI patients were enrolled. The mean age of onset was 30.08±0.63 years, and the mean gestational age was 33.02±7.64 weeks. Six cases (19.45%) were in stage 1, six cases (19.35%) were in stage 2, and 19 cases (61.29%) were in stage 3. The continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) group comprised 13 cases (41.94%): one (7.69%) in stage 1, one (7.69%) in stage 2, and 11 (84.62%) in stage 3. The non-CRRT group comprised 18 cases (58.06%): five (27.78%) in stage 1, five (27.78%) in stage 2, and eight (44.44%) in stage 3. The mean time of commencing renal replacement therapy was 2.08±1.26 days after admission, and the serum creatinine (SCr) level at the beginning of treatment was 352.68±196.58 μmol/L. Renal function recovered completely in 18 cases (58.06%), comprising four (22.22%) in the CRRT group and 14 (77.78%) in the non-CRRT group, and three cases of partial renal function recovery occurred in the CRRT group. Eventually, seven patients (22.58%) died, of whom four (57.14%) were in the non-CRRT group, and all were in stage 3. The causes of death were postpartum hemorrhage, septic shock, and acute fatty liver during pregnancy. Three patients (42.86%) died in the non-CRRT group: two in stage 3 and one case in stage 1. The causes of death were severe preeclampsia and acute fatty liver during pregnancy. Multi-factor logistic regression analysis showed that gestational weeks (OR=0.456, P=0.023), platelet count (OR=0.989, P=0.02), hemoglobin (OR=1.017, P=0.022), and uric acid (OR=1.017, P=0.022) were associated risk factors for maternal adverse pregnancy outcomes of PR-AKI (P<0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of PR-AKI is high, the outcomes of maternal renal function are better, and the proportion of adverse fetal outcomes is higher. CRRT can effectively improve the prognosis of patients with PR-AKI, stabilize the internal environment, and affect hemodynamics slightly. It is currently one of the main ways to treat severe PR-AKI. Maternal and infant outcomes are related to the severity of PR-AKI.

BACKGROUND:Dialysate potassium concentration directly affects the serum potassium level and safety of hemodialysis patients. In most dialysis centers in China, a single dialysate potassium concentration is used for dialysis, but there is no data on whether this is reasonable or not.METHODS:Serum potassium values before and after dialysis in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients between 2019 and 2020 were collected from 5 hemodialysis centers in Shanghai, which uniformly use dialysate with a potassium concentration (KD) of 2.0 mmol/L, and data were collected 3 times per patient for analysis. Serum potassium fluctuation was analyzed after administration of individualized KD dialysate.RESULTS:In all, 1,296 MHD patients were included in the study. Predialysis serum potassium was lower than 4.5 mmol/L in 38.0% and higher than 5.5 mmol/L in 14.6% of patients. Postdialysis serum potassium was lower than 3 mmol/L in 11.3% and higher than 4 mmol/L in 10.4% of patients. Pre-dialysis serum potassium was below 4.5 mmol/L and post- dialysis serum potassium was below 3 mmol/L in 9.54% of patients. Compared with patients younger than 40 years, patients >80 years more often exhibited predialysis serum potassium below 4.5 mmol/L and Postdialysis serum potassium below 3 mmol/L. A total of 668 patients underwent a trial of hemodialysis with individualized KD dialysate. When receiving individualized KD, compared with uniform KD 2.0 mmol/L, the number of patients with postdialysis serum potassium less than 3 mmol/L significantly decreased, the following predialysis serum potassium level was not significantly different from baseline, and the proportion of patients with predialysis serum potassium less than 4.5 mmol/L and postdialysis serum potassium less than 3 mmol/L significantly decreased.CONCLUSIONS:Hypokalemia and fluctuations of serum potassium are common in MHD patients. KD 2.0 mmol/L dialysate should not be used for all patients, and individualized KD dialysate for patients with low serum potassium reduces the incidence of hypokalemia.

With the development of the game industry and the popularization of mobile devices, mobile games have played an important role in people's entertainment life. The aesthetic quality of mobile game images determines the users' Quality of Experience (QoE) to a certain extent. In this paper, we propose a multi-task deep learning based method to evaluate the aesthetic quality of mobile game images in multiple dimensions (i.e. the fineness, color harmony, colorfulness, and overall quality). Specifically, we first extract the quality-aware feature representation through integrating the features from all intermediate layers of the convolution neural network (CNN) and then map these quality-aware features into the quality score space in each dimension via the quality regressor module, which consists of three fully connected (FC) layers. The proposed model is trained through a multi-task learning manner, where the quality-aware features are shared by different quality dimension prediction tasks, and the multi-dimensional quality scores of each image are regressed by multiple quality regression modules respectively. We further introduce an uncertainty principle to balance the loss of each task in the training stage. The experimental results show that our proposed model achieves the best performance on the Multi-dimensional Aesthetic assessment for Mobile Game image database (MAMG) among state-of-the-art image quality assessment (IQA) algorithms and aesthetic quality assessment (AQA) algorithms.

INTRODUCTION:Calcium supplementation is one of the most important factors in maintaining the safety and efficacy of regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). The aims of this study were to assess the determinants of calcium requirements in RCA-CVVH and to simplify the calcium supplementation approach.METHODS:Our study consisted of two parts. The first part was a discovery phase to determine the key factors of calcium supplementation. Twenty critically ill patients who required RCA-CVVH were enrolled in this part. Systemic citrate, total calcium, protein-bound calcium, and ionized calcium concentrations were serially measured using the traditional RCA protocol. A two-phase calcium supplementation protocol was then proposed, and algorithms were developed for calcium supplementation. The second part of the study was the validation phase. Another 97 critically ill patients were enrolled and were treated with RCA-CVVH using the new version of the calcium supplementation protocol.FINDINGS:The loss of calcium flux in the extracorporeal circuit and the increase in citrate-calcium complexes in vivo were the main determinants of the required calcium supplementation. In the CVVH mode, the rate of calcium infusion had to be reduced after systemic citrate level reached a steady state. With the aid of mathematical models, systemic calcium levels could be stably maintained in the normal range, and the frequencies of calcium monitoring were reduced.DISCUSSION:Calcium supplementation during RCA-CVVH undergoes two phases. We propose mathematical models to quantify the need for calcium supplementation, which enable individualization of the RCA prescription and simplify the management of RCA in the CVVH mode.