Continuous Blood purification on Influenza-Associated Neurological Disease in children: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Due to lack of proven therapies, we evaluated the effect of CBP on Influenza-Associated Neurological Disease in children. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective, cohort study was conducted in Luoyang, Henan province, China from January 2018 to January 2020. Children (<18 years) with influenza-associated neurological disease were enrolled in the study. Children with indications for CBP and parental consent received CBP (Continuous Blood purification), while others received maximal intensive care treatment because of the absence of parental consent. The outcomes of the CBP and non-CBP groups were compared. Categorical variables were presented as percentage and compared by Chi-square test. Continuous variables were expressed as median (interquartile ranges) and compared with non-parametric independent sample test. Statistical analyses were carried out by SPSS (version 26.0) and p < 0.05 (2 tailed) was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: 30 children with influenza-associated neurological disease were recruited to the study. 18 received CBP and the other 12 received maximal intensive care. There were no differences between CBP and non-CBP children in age, sex, body weight, type of influenza virus, neurological complications, Glasgow score, PIM-2 score and PCIS at admission (p > 0.05). The inflammatory factors (CRP, PCT and IL-6) of 30 cases were tested at admission and after 3 days of admission. In the CBP group, there was a significant decrease in IL-6 levels at 3 days of admission (p = 0.003) and a decrease in CRP and PCT levels, but no significant difference (p > 0.05). In the non-CBP group, there were no significant difference on levels of CRP, PCT and IL-6 at admission and 3-day of admission (p > 0.05). The 28-day mortality was significantly lower in the CBP group compared with the non-CBP group (11.11% vs. 50%, p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: CBP definitely reduces IL-6 levels significantly. We did find that the survival rate of patients in the CBP group was improved. But we don't know if there is a relationship between the reduction of IL-6 levels and the survival rate. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx (ChiCTR2000031754).

Microwave-assisted and gram-scale synthesis of ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets with enhanced lithium storage properties.

The rational design and fabrication of SnO2-based anode materials could offer a powerful way of effectively alleviating their large volume variation and guaranteeing excellent reaction kinetics for electrochemical lithium storage. Herein, we present an ultrarapid, low-cost, and simple microwave-assisted synthesis of ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets at the gram-scale. The two-dimensional (2D) anisotropic growth depends on microwave dielectric irradiation coupled with surfactant structural direction, and is conducted under low-temperature atmospheric conditions. The ultrathin 2D nanostructure holds a great surface tin atom percentage with high activity, where the electrochemical reaction processes could be facilitated that highly dependent on the surface. Compared with 1D SnO2 nanorods, the ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets exhibit remarkably improved electrochemical lithium storage properties with a high reversible capacity of 757.6 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 200 mA g(-1) up to 40 cycles as well as excellent rate capability and cycling stability. Specifically, the ultrathin 2D nanosheet could significantly reduce ion diffusion paths, thus allowing faster phase transitions, while the sufficient external surface interspace and interior porous configuration could successfully accommodate the huge volume changes. Even more importantly, we develop a promising strategy to produce ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets to tackle their intrinsic problems for commercial applications.