Hierarchical multi-active component yolk-shell nanoreactors as highly active peroxymonosulfate activator for ciprofloxacin degradation.

The reasonable design of the structure and composition of catalysts was essential to improve the catalytic performance of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Herein, we reported a simple strategy to synthesize hierarchical Co3O4-C@CoSiOx yolk-shell nanoreactors with multiple active components by using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The novel nanoreactors are further used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation. The effects of reaction parameters (pH value, co-existing ions, reaction temperature, etc.) on CIP degradation were systematically investigated. Especially, ∼98.2% of CIP was degraded within 17 min under the optimal conditions, together with the low cobalt leaching and excellent reusability. The appreciable catalytic performance improvement might be due to the synergistic effect of the structure and component design: (1) the hierarchical yolk-shell structure endowed the catalyst with high surface area (∼232.47 m2/g) and fully exposed active sites; (2) abundant highly active ≡Co-OH+ were formed on the surface of CoSiOx; (3) the presence of oxygen vacancies and nitrogen-doped carbon promoted the decomposition of PMS through a non-radical process. The results revealed both the radical (SO4∙-, ∙OH and O2∙-) and non-radical (1O2 and direct charge transfer) should be responsible for the CIP degradation. Moreover, the possible degradation pathways of CIP were proposed through the identification of intermediates using LC-MS/MS techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Our work highlights that multi-component catalysts derived from MOFs with novel structure have broad application prospects in AOPs.

Postencephalitis epilepsy in children: Diurnal rhythm of seizures is related to clinical characteristics.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to summarize the relationship between the clinical features of children with postencephalitis epilepsy and the diurnal rhythm of seizures. METHODS: We collected a retrospective review of 44 patients between 0 and 14 years, who were diagnosed with postencephalitis epilepsy. Patients were divided into three groups by their seizures in day/night or wakefulness/sleep state. RESULTS: Most epileptic seizures of patients of age 3 years or younger occurred during the daytime, and the other occurred most frequently at night. Most epileptic seizures of boys occurred during the wakefulness state, and girls occurred most frequently in sleep. Seizures of patients with the first seizure in the daytime occurred more frequently during the daytime and the wakefulness state; on the contrary, the first seizure in the nighttime occurred more frequently during the nighttime and the sleep state. Tonic seizure occurred more often during the nighttime and in sleep; epileptic spasm occurred more frequently during the daytime and wakefulness. Most seizures of temporal origin occurred in the awakening. The seizures of patient occurred more often during the wakefulness state; the prognosis was worse. Patients with the peak of seizures in the daytime, the level of the physiological development were poorer. CONCLUSIONS: The diurnal rhythm of seizures is different in patients with postencephalitis epilepsy with different clinical characteristics (age, gender, time of first seizure, seizure pattern, electroencephalography (EEG), prognosis, and physiological development). Our results may assist in seizure prediction, individualized treatment patterns, and prognosis prediction.

Elevated levels of cerebrospinal fluid S100B are associated with brain injury and unfavorable outcomes in children with central nervous system infections.

PURPOSE: This work aimed to assess whether elevated levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) S100B are associated with brain injury and unfavorable outcomes at discharge in children with central nervous system (CNS) infections. METHODS: CSF S100B and associated clinical parameters were retrospectively analyzed in 83 children with CNS infections and 88 children without neurological pathology served as controls. Children with CNS infections were divided into an infectious encephalitis group and an infectious meningitis group based on whether cerebral parenchyma was involved, and CSF S100B levels in different age subgroups between the two groups were compared. The predictive value of CSF S100B in children with infectious encephalitis was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the discriminative power was investigated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: CSF S100B levels in the infectious encephalitis group were significantly higher than the infectious meningitis and the control group at each age range. CSF S100B ≥ 0.96 µg/L had 62.9% sensitivity and 76.2% specificity for diagnosing cerebral parenchyma injury in children with CNS infections. Increased CSF S100B levels were proven to be an independent predictor of unfavorable outcomes in children with infectious encephalitis and the optimal cut-off value (1.77 µg/L of CSF S100B) for predicting unfavorable outcomes in children with infectious encephalitis showed 61.1% sensitivity and 96.2% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: This study has demonstrated that elevated levels of CSF S100B are associated with brain injury and could be used as an independent predictor of clinically unfavorable outcomes at discharge in children with CNS infections.

[Long-term behavioral and ultrastructural alterations following hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study long-term behavioral and ultrastructural alterations in a hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) model of neonatal rats. METHODS: Sixty seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly subjected to unilateral carotid artery ligation followed by hypoxic exposure (HIBD group) or sham operation (n=30 each). A battery of behavioral tests, including Morris water maze test and sensorimotor tests, were performed at a postnatal age of 5 weeks. Nissl staining was used for counting neurons. Transmission electron microscopy was used for observing synapse structures and measuring the thickness of the postsynaptic density area and the length of the postsynaptic active area. The correlations of histological changes with the results of behavioral tests were evaluated. RESULTS: The HIBD group showed a significantly longer escape latency (P<0.05) and a lower frequency of original platform crossing (P<0.05) in the Morris water maze test compared with the sham operation group. The sensorimotor function test showed that the sensorimotor function in the HIBD group was worse than in the sham operation group. Nissl staining showed that the number of neurons in the HIBD group was significantly reduced (P<0.01) compared with the sham operation group. Transmission electron microscopy showed that synapses were significantly reduced in number, and that the thickness of the postsynaptic density area and the length of the postsynaptic active area were reduced in the HIBD group. The thickness of the postsynaptic density area was negatively correlated with escape latency in the Morris water maze test (r=-0.861, P<0.01), and also negatively correlated with the total score of sensorimotor function tests (r=-0.758, P<0.05) in the HIBD group. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxia ischemia can lead to neuron loss and ultrastructure damage, resulting in long-term deficit of behavioral functions in neonatal rats.

Comparison of the intervention methods for perinatal brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effective implementation of rehabilitation therapy for nervous system impairment in neonates with perinatal brain injury. METHODS: A retrospective case study of 160 neonates with perinatal brain injury was performed. The cases were assigned into 5 groups according to different treatment modalities. Group I included 42 babies aged below 6 months who were treated at early stages with neurotrophic agents and hyperbaric oxygenation with functional habilitation for more than 10 courses. Group II consisted of 30 babies who received the same treatments at the ages of 6 to 12 months. Group III (n=30) only received single-course therapy with medicine and high baric oxygen during neonatal period. Group IV(n=30) received medication only, while group V did not receive any nervous system rehabilitation therapy. Bayley Scale was used to evaluate the effect of the therapy in the 5 groups. RESULTS: Assessment with Bayley Scale revealed significant difference in the scores of development quotient (DQ) between the 5 groups, and group I scored the highest in gross movement, fine movement, self-care ability and communication/language (P<0.01). Groups III and IV had better scores in gross movement than group II and V (P<0.05), while no significant difference was noted in respect of any other score among groups II,III,IV and V. The DQ values of the 5 groups were significantly different (X(2)=56.674, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Perinatal administration of neurotrophic agents and hyperbaric oxygenation along with functional habilitation therapy can effectively reduce nervous system sequelae of perinatal brain injury.