A two-stage bilateral ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced AKI to CKD transition model in mice

Acute kidney injury (AKI) significantly increases the risk of development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Recently, our laboratory generated a mouse model with the typical phenotypes of AKI to CKD transition in the unilateral kidney. However, AKI, CKD, and even the transition from AKI to CKD usually occur bilaterally rather than unilaterally in patients. Therefore, in the present study, we further modified the strategy and developed a new model of CKD transitioned from bilateral ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in C57BL/6 mice. In this new model, unilateral severe IRI was performed in one kidney while the contralateral kidney was kept intact to maintain animal survival; then, following 14 days of recovery, when the renal function of the injured kidney restored above the survival threshold, the contralateral intact kidney was subjected to a similar IRI. Animals of these two-stage bilateral IRI models with pedicle clamping of 21 and 24 min at a body temperature of 37°C exhibited incomplete recovery from AKI and subsequent development of CKD with characteristics of progressive decline in glomerular filtration rate, increases in plasma creatinine, worsening of proteinuria, and deleterious histopathological changes, including interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis, in both kidneys. In conclusion, a new bilateral AKI to CKD transition animal model with a typical phenotype of CKD was generated in C57BL/6 mice.

The functional development of a premature baby – case study

Introduction. The intensive development of modern methods of treatment in neonatology has significantly reduced the survival threshold of prematurely born children. Early interruption of the maturation process of all systems in utero is associated with the risk of irregularities in the functional development of premature babies. Prematurely born children are exposed in the following years of life to many problems related to motor, cognitive, social and communication development, which is why there is a growing demand for more accurate tracking and research into their development. The impact of screen devices on the development of infants and young children is a growing social problem. Currently, thanks to the development of new digital technologies, small children and even infants are growing up in a screen environment.Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the functional development of a 28 months old child born in 29 weeks of gestation, taking into consideration the multifaceted involvement and effort of parents.

The grain size survival threshold in one-planet post-main-sequence exoplanetary systems

The size distribution and orbital architecture of dust, grains, boulders, asteroids, and major planets during the giant branch phases of evolution dictate the preponderance and observability of the eventual debris, which have been found to surround white dwarfs and pollute their atmospheres with metals. Here, we utilize the photogravitational planar restricted three-body problem in one-planet giant branch systems in order to characterize the orbits of grains as the parent star luminosity and mass undergo drastic changes. We perform a detailed dynamical analysis of the character of grain orbits (collisional, escape, or bounded) as a function of location and energy throughout giant branch evolution. We find that for stars with main-sequence masses of 2.0 M⊙, giant branch evolution, combined with the presence of a planet, ubiquitously triggers escape in grains smaller than about 1 mm, while leaving grains larger than about 5 cm bound to the star. This result is applicable for systems with either a terrestrial or giant planet, is largely independent of the location of the planet, and helps establish a radiative size threshold for escape of small particles in giant branch planetary systems.

Grape Berry Flavonoid Responses to High Bunch Temperatures Post Véraison: Effect of Intensity and Duration of Exposure

Climate models predict an increase in the frequency and duration of heatwaves with an increase in intensity already strongly evident worldwide. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of two heatwave-related parameters (intensity and duration) during berry ripening and identify a threshold for berry survival and flavonoid accumulation. A Doehlert experimental design was used to test three temperature intensities (maxima of 35, 46, and 54 °C) and five durations (3 to 39 h), with treatments applied at the bunch level shortly after véraison. Berry skin and seeds were analysed by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ-MS) for flavonoids (flavonols, anthocyanins, free flavan-3-ols, and tannins). Berries exposed to 46 °C showed little difference compared to 35 °C. However, berries reaching temperatures around 54 °C were completely desiccated, and all flavonoids were significantly decreased except for skin flavonols on a per berry basis and seed tannins in most cases. Some compounds, such as dihydroxylated flavonoids and galloylated flavan-3-ols (free and polymerised), were in higher proportion in damaged berries suggesting they were less degraded or more synthesised upon heating. Overall, irreversible berry damages and substantial compositional changes were observed and the berry survival threshold was estimated at around 50–53 °C for mid-ripe Shiraz berries, regardless of the duration of exposure.

Quality Investing and Pricing Strategies by Startups: Impacts of Demand Uncertainties and Capital Constraint

Investing in product quality for future growths or conserving cash flow to avoid bankruptcy is an important trade-off faced by many capital-constrained startups. Focusing on the trade-off, this paper proposes a two-stage model where a startup firm must earn profit above the survival threshold by the end of every stage. Considering impacts of the uncertainty of demand responsiveness to quality (DRQ), market shocks, and survival threshold, a hedge with price setting and quality investing is established against the bankruptcy risk. Besides, this paper stresses the necessity of identifying the operational decisions of startups under both profit-seeking and survival-seeking objectives. Results illustrate that, under stochastic environment, the profit-seeking startup makes conservative (aggressive) investment on quality by setting lower (higher) price and investing in lower (higher) quality than the deterministic case, while the survival-seeking startup always sets its price linked to quality in positive direction. In addition, the profit-seeking startup always improves its investment on quality when either the mean or the variance of DRQ increase, while the survival-seeking startup reduces its investment when either the mean of DRQ increases to a certain level or the variance of DRQ increases. Other factors are also examined. Finally, this paper provides the startup managers some guidance on the quality investing strategy under capital constraints.

Wealth-relative effects in cooperation games

This paper investigates conditions under which game agents benefit from considering wealth relative to decision payoff, presents simulation analysis of these effects, and explains why they often do not show up but it is realistic that they should. We extend the known categories of games reported to exhibit wealth relative effects (chicken games) to many others (including Prisoner’s Dilemma) while clarifying that the poor must avoid survival risk, regardless of whether this is associated with cooperation or defection. A simulation of iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma with wealth accumulation and a survival threshold (which we call the Farmer’s Game) is used to evaluate tit-for-tat and four variants, including Subsist, Thief, Exploit and Middle (even lower risk than Subsist). Equilibrium payoffs are used to keep the game scaled to social relevance, with a fraction of all payoffs externalized as a turn cost parameter. Findings include poor performance of tit-for-tat near the survival threshold, superior performance of Subsist and Middle for both poor and wealthy players, dependence of survival of the poor near the threshold on tit-for-tat forgiveness, unexpected optimization of forgiveness without encountering a social dilemma, improved performance of a diverse mix of strategies, and a more abrupt threshold of social catastrophe for the better performing mix. Additionally we find that experimental results which appear to be at odds with conventional findings of cooperation vs. network size can be reconciled with theory and simulation via wealth-relative weighting, which opens the door to practical application of cooperation theory.Significance StatementEnabling comparison of theoretical and simulated game cooperation theory results to controlled experiments with live subjects and in-situ data from field surveys will enable application of scientifically verified results to societal and policy problems, and will generate new and unexpected insights through clearer interpretation of data. Extension of wealth-relative effects to a broader range of games also allows analysis of real life situations with greater confidence.

Acoustic Transmitters Impact Rainbow Trout Growth in a Competitive Environment

Fish implanted with acoustic transmitters are assumed to behave and grow after stocking similar to untagged fish. In this study, three groups (tagged, sham, and control) of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss [mean (SD) initial length = 277 (24) mm] range were maintained together in three raceways for 90 days, with each raceway containing 10 tagged, 10 sham, and 10 control fish. The fish in the tagged group were anesthetized and had an inert transmitter inserted via a ventral incision. Fish in the sham group were anesthetized and had an incision without transmitter implantation, while the control group was anesthetized only. In each raceway, trout with the inert transmitters were significantly lighter and shorter than fish from the other two groups at the end of the experiment. However, the reduction in weight, length, and specific growth rate occurred primarily during the first 38 days post-tagging, with tagged fish growing at similar rates to the other two groups for the final 52 days of the experiment. Mortality data indicated a survival threshold of 280 mm length in the tagged fish, with 100% survival of the Rainbow Trout greater than 280 mm and only 59.1% survival of trout less than 280 mm. Based on the results of this study, rainbow trout implanted with 9 x 24 mm, 3.6 g acoustic transmitters should be held prior to release for a minimum of 38 days to ensure similar growth rates as untagged conspecifics, and only trout with an initial length greater than 280 mm should be used to maximize survival.