Muscle Wasting in Chronic Kidney Disease: Mechanism and Clinical Implications—A Narrative Review

Muscle wasting, known to develop in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), is a deleterious consequence of numerous complications associated with deteriorated renal function. Muscle wasting in CKD mainly involves dysregulated muscle protein metabolism and impaired muscle cell regeneration. In this narrative review, we discuss the cardinal role of the insulin-like growth factor 1 and myostatin signaling pathways, which have been extensively investigated using animal and human studies, as well as the emerging concepts in microRNA- and gut microbiota-mediated regulation of muscle mass and myogenesis. To ameliorate muscle loss, therapeutic strategies, including nutritional support, exercise programs, pharmacological interventions, and physical modalities, are being increasingly developed based on advances in understanding its underlying pathophysiology.     

Influence of Mg3AlNi2 content on the cycling stability of Mg2Ni–Mg3AlNi2 hydrogen storage alloy electrodes

A novel method to improve the cycling capacity degradation of Mg₂Ni-based hydrogen storage alloy by means of composite materials has been proposed. The new composites Mg₂Ni-x mol% Mg₃AlNi₂ (x = 0, 15, 30, 60, 100) were prepared by means of combining electric resistance melting with isothermal evaporation casting process (IECP). Phase analysis and microstructure were investigated by SEM and TEM observations. Results showed that the cycling stability of the alloy with Mg₃AlNi₂ was superior to that of Mg₂Ni. XPS analysis revealed that the formation of an Al oxide film during cycling could enhance the anti-corrosion of the surface of the composites. Among the obtained capacity retaining rates, Mg₂Ni-15 mol% Mg₃AlNi₂ composite had the best anti-corrosion performance. This composite has kept 76% of its maximum discharge capacity (50 mA hg^?1) at 25th cycle compared to 20% for Mg₂Ni. The enhancement of the cycling stability of the electrode alloy with 15 mol% Mg₃AlNi₂ can be ascribed to the decrease in the rate of pulverization of the alloy during cycling, which is considered as the factor in the improvement of the electrochemical properties of the Mg₃AlNi₂-containing alloys.     

A fast Monte Carlo algorithm for studying bottle-brush polymers

Obtaining reliable estimates of the statistical properties of complex macromolecules by computer simulation is a task that requires high computational effort as well as the development of highly efficient simulation algorithms. We present here an algorithm combining local moves, the pivot algorithm, and an adjustable simulation lattice box for simulating dilute systems of bottle-brush polymers with a flexible backbone and flexible side chains under good solvent conditions. Applying this algorithm to the bond fluctuation model, very precise estimates of the mean square end-to-end distances and gyration radii of the backbone and side chains are obtained, and the conformational properties of such a complex macromolecule are studied. Varying the backbone length (from Nb=67 to Nb=1027), side chain length (from N=0 to N=24 or 48), the scaling predictions for the backbone behavior as well as the side chain behavior are checked. We are also able to give a direct comparison of the structure factor between experimental data and the simulation results.     

A new shared AWG-based OCDMA scheme implemented with time-spreading and wavelength-group-hopping embedded M-sequence code

This paper exploits the inherent cyclic and periodic free-spectral-range (FSR) properties of arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) routers to construct a two-dimensional (2D) time-spreading and wavelength-group-hopping embedded M-sequence code for optical multiple-access networks. In the proposed codecs (encoder/decoder), a fine arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) is used to generate an M-sequence code pattern, which is then spread in the wavelength domain by multiple coarse AWGs. The signals produced at the output ports of the coarse AWGs are then spread in the time domain using optical delay lines. The 2D code is evaluated in terms of its correlation, bit-error-rate (BER) and cardinality characteristics. It is shown that the TS/GH embedded M-sequence code yields a significant improvement in both the BER and cardinality performance of the optical multiple-access networks compared to that obtained using conventional prime-hop code (PHC), modified prime-hop code (MPHC), Barker and Walsh-based bipolar–bipolar sequence.     

40-Gb/s Time-Division-Multiplexed Passive Optical Networks Using Downstream OOK and Upstream OFDM Modulations

In this investigation, we first propose and investigate a 40-Gb/s time-division-multiplexed passive optical network (TDM-PON) using four wavelength-multiplexed signals in both downstream and upstream traffic. Here, each downstream signal uses 10-Gb/s on–off keying (OOK) format encoded by a Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM) in 1.5-$mu{hbox {m}}$ band. And each upstream channel utilizes the highly spectral efficient 10-Gb/s orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexing quadrature amplitude modulation (OFDM-QAM) generated by directly modulating a 1.3-$mu{hbox {m}}$ laser. Based on the proposed scheme, 40-Gb/s data traffic in a TDM-PON can be obtained easily by using four wavelength-multiplexed channels. In addition, the performance of the proposed PON architecture has also been discussed.      

Efficiency improvement of near-ultraviolet InGaN LEDs using patterned sapphire substrates

The use of conventional and patterned sapphire substrates (PSSs) to fabricate InGaN-based near-ultraviolet (410 nm) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was demonstrated. The PSS was prepared using a periodic hole pattern (diameter: 3 /spl mu/m; spacing: 3 /spl mu/m) on the (0001) sapphire with different etching depths. From transmission-electron-microscopy and etch-pit-density studies, the PSS with an optimum pattern depth (D/sub h/=1.5 /spl mu/m) was confirmed to be an efficient way to reduce the thread dislocations in the GaN microstructure. It was found that the output power increased from 8.6 to 10.4 mW, corresponding to about 29% increases in the external quantum efficiency. However, the internal quantum efficiency (@ 20 mA) was about 36% and 38% for the conventional and PSS LEDs, respectively. The achieved improvement of the output power is not only due to the improvement of the internal quantum efficiency upon decreasing the dislocation density, but also due to the enhancement of the extraction efficiency using the PSS. Finally, better long-time reliability of the PSS LED performance was observed.     

Topology-aided cross-layer fast handoff designs for IEEE 802.11/mobile IP environments

This study first reviews state-of-the-art fast handoff techniques for IEEE 802.11 or Mobile IP networks. Based on that review, topology-aided cross-layer fast handoff designs are proposed for Mobile IP over IEEE 802.1.1 networks. Time-sensitive applications, such as voice over IP (VoIP), cannot tolerate the long layer-2 plus layer-3 handoff delays that arise in IEEE 802.11/Mobile IP environments. Cross-layer designs are increasingly adopted to shorten the handoff latency time. Handoff-related layer-2 triggers may reduce the delay between layer-2 handoff completion and the associated layer-3 handoff activation. Cross-layer topology information, such as the association between 802.11 access points and Mobile IP mobility agents, together with layer-2 triggers, can be utilized by a mobile node to start layer-3 handoff-related activities, such as agent discovery, address configuration, and registration, in parallel with or prior to those of layer-2 handoff. Experimental results indicate that the whole handoff. delay can meet the delay requirement of VoIP applications when layer-3 handoff activities occur prior to layer-2 handoffs.     

Nitride-based flip-chip ITO LEDs

Nitride-based flip-chip indium-tin-oxide (ITO) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were successfully fabricated. It was found that the forward voltage and the 20 mA output power of the flip-chip ITO LED were 3.32 V and 14.5 mW, respectively. Although the operation voltage of such a flip-chip ITO LED was slightly larger, it was found that its output power was much larger than those of conventional nonflip-chip LEDs. It was also found that flip-chip ITO LEDs were more reliable.