Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is a common opportunistic infection that occurs in immunocompromised patients. Compared with HIV patients, PCP in non-HIV patients tends to follow up a more urgent course ...and poorer prognosis. Therefore, markers that could predict survival of PCP patients in non-HIV population are of great value. MiRNA-150 has been widely studied in many diseases since it has been identified as a vital regulator of immune cell differentiation and activation. We thus conduct this study aiming to evaluate the prognostic value of miR-150 level in non-HIV PCP. First, the expression levels of miR-150 were compared between PCP patients and healthy volunteers. The miR-150 levels in immune cells were also detected in PCP mouse models. Then the prognostic value of miR-150 was further assessed in another PCP population (n = 72). The expression levels of miR-150 were measured by reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-PCR) technique. Our data demonstrated significantly decreased miR-150 expression levels in PCP patients and mouse models compared to controls. The miR-150 levels also decreased in various immune cells of PCP mouse models. With a cut-off value of 3.48, the area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity of miR-150 to predicate PCP mortality were 0.845, 68.2% and 96.0%, respectively. In conclusion, miR-150 expression value might serve as a potential biomarker to identify PCP patients at high risk of death.
Purpose
No consensus has been reached to define gastrointestinal failure (GIF) associated with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Reintam and colleagues proposed a scoring system of GIF for critically ...ill patients, but its suitability for patients with SAP is questionable. The present study evaluates a modified GIF score we developed to assess the GIF of patients with SAP.
Methods
The subjects of this study were 52 patients with SAP treated between September 2010 and July 2011. We recorded the Reintam’s GIF score, our modified GIF score, the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and other clinical values during the first 3 days after admission. The prognostic value of the modified GIF score, for evaluating the severity and outcomes of SAP, was also assessed.
Results
Compared with the Reintam’s GIF score, the modified GIF score seemed to be more valuable for predicting hospital mortality (the area under curve, AUC 0.915 vs. 0.850), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) (AUC 0.829 vs. 0.766), and pancreatic infection (AUC 0.796 vs. 0.776). Moreover, combining the modified GIF score and the SOFA or APACHEII scores resulted in more accurate prediction of the prognosis of SAP than either score alone.
Conclusion
The modified GIF score is useful for assessing gastrointestinal system function, which may serve as an early prognostic tool to evaluate the severity and predict the outcomes of SAP.
2D materials are attracting much attention in the field of cathode catalysts for lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) due to their layered structure, unique electronic properties, and high stability. ...However, different stacking layer structures trigger different catalytic capabilities in LOBs. In this work, tin selenide nanosheets with a black phosphorus‐like 2D structure are synthesized and used as the cathode catalyst for LOBs. SnSe nanosheets with exposed stack (200) facets and stack edge facets exhibit superior specific capacity over 20 783 mAh g−1 and ultralong cycle stability over 380 cycles at 500 mA g−1 in LOBs. This demonstrates that the growth of discharge products is mainly concentrated on the 2D surface (200) facets, rather than the stack edge facets. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that the confined adsorption of Li2O2 on the stack edge facets of SnSe, due to the 2D layer structure and the unique electron distribution, restricts the growth of discharge products. The 2D surface facets of SnSe benefit for the formation and stabilization of LiO2 intermediates, leading to the efficient formation/decomposition of discharge products. The findings provide in‐depth insight into the elusive electrocatalytic mechanism for 2D layer‐structures materials in LOBs.
Experimental and theoretical studies reveal the confined adsorption of Li2O2 on the stack edge facets of SnSe, due to layer structure and the unique electron distribution, which restrict the growth of discharge products. 2D surface facets of SnSe are beneficial for the formation and stabilization of LiO2 intermediate leading to the efficient formation/decomposition of discharge products.
To investigate the effects of early enteral nutrition (EEN) on the immune function and clinical outcome of patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).
Patients were randomly allocated to receive ...EEN or delayed enteral nutrition (DEN). Enteral nutrition was started within 48 h after admission in EEN group, whereas from the 8(th) day in DEN group. All the immunologic parameters and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were collected on days 1, 3, 7 and 14 after admission. The clinical outcome variables were also recorded.
Sixty SAP patients were enrolled to this study. The CD4+ T-lymphocyte percentage, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and the CRP levels in EEN group became significantly lower than in DEN group from the 7(th) day after admission. In contrast, the immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels and human leukocyte antigen-DR expression in EEN group became significantly higher than in DEN group from the 7(th) day after admission. No difference of CD8+ T-lymphocyte percentage, IgM and IgA levels was found between the two groups. The incidences of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and pancreatic infection as well as the duration of intensive care unit stay were significantly lower in EEN group than in DEN group. However, there was no difference of hospital mortality between the two groups.
EEN moderates the excessive immune response during the early stage of SAP without leading to subsequent immunosuppression. EEN can improve the clinical outcome, but not decrease the hospital mortality of SAP patients.
Plasma in a typically elongated cross-section tokamak （for example, EAST） is inherently unstable against vertical displacement. When plasma loses the vertical position control, it moves downward or ...upward, leading to disruption, and a large halo current is generated helically in EAST typically in the scrape-off layer. When flowing into the vacuum vessel through in-vessel components, the halo current will give rise to a large J × B force acting on the vessel and the in-vessel components. In EAST VDE experiment, part of the eddy current is measured in halo sensors, due to the large loop voltage. Primary experimental data demonstrate that the halo current first lands on the outer plate and then flows clockwise, and the analysis of the information indicates that the maximum halo current estimated in EAST is about 0.4 times the plasma current and the maximum value of TPF × Ih/Ip0 is 0.65, furthermore Ih/Ipo and TPF × Ih/Ipo tend to increase with the increase of Ip0. The test of the strong gas injection system shows good success in increasing the radiated power, which may be effective in reducing the halo current.
The Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple can play a significant role in the abiotic reduction of 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) at the cathode chamber of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Experimental results demonstrate that ...Fe(II) addition to the cathode chamber contributes to a significant increase in the reaction rate of 2-NP removal and the power performance of MFC. Observed pseudo first-order rate constants and power densities are heavily dependent on the identity of the Fe(II)-complexing ligands. The Fe(II) complex coordinated with citrate results in the highest rate constant up to 0.12
h
−1 as compared to other organically complexed iron species including Fe(II)–EDTA, Fe(II)–acetate and Fe(II)–oxalate, and iron species uncomplexed with any organic ligands. In addition, the presence of Fe(II)–citrate species leads to a maximum volumetric power density of 1.0
W
m
−3, which is the highest value among those obtained with other iron species for the similar MFC system.
For lithium‐oxygen batteries (LOBs), the strong oxidant intermediate and byproducts during the charge/discharge process are the main reasons for the degradation of the electrochemical performance. ...Searching for highly efficient catalysts for the direct formation/decomposition of Li2O2 is essential for the development of LOBs. In this study, core–shell nanostructured MoSe2@CNT with uniform MoSe2 coating layers are purposefully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal strategy to address the negative intermediate and side‐product issues, therefore enhancing the battery performance. The continuous and multiwalled MoSe2 layers can not only work as grain promoters that induce the initial nucleation and growth of equiaxed Li2O2 grains on the cathode surface even under a high rate, but also prevent the byproducts formation from corrosive issues between carbon and electrolyte. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the intrinsic layer dependent direct formation/decomposition catalytic capability of 2D MoSe2 and the LiO2 avoidable reaction pathway during the discharge/charge process, theoretically revealing the direct epitaxial growth mechanisms of Li2O2. As a consequence, the MoSe2@CNT cathode exhibited a superior specific capacity over 32 000 mAh g−1, excellent rate capabilities, and ultralong cycle life of 280 cycles at a high rate of 500 mA g−1.
A core–shell nanostructured MoSe2@CNT with uniform MoSe2 coating layers is synthesized to address the negative intermediate and side‐product issues of Li‐O2 batteries, therefore boosting the electrochemical performance. The intrinsic layer dependent direct formation/decomposition catalytic capability of 2D MoSe2 and the LiO2 avoided reaction pathway during cycling are theoretically confirmed which corresponds to the experimental results.
The development of highly efficient bifunctional catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of paramount importance for rechargeable Zn-air batteries. ...Herein, cobalt (II) oxide (L-CoO) nanosheets with hierarchical nanostructures were grown on the stainless steel (SS) substrate via the facile heat treatment of 2D layered Co(OH)2; and this binder-free 3D air electrode exhibits superior ORR/OER activity and stability (over 1000 h) in the rechargeable Zn-air flow battery. Importantly, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to reveal the origins of the excellent bifunctional catalytic performance of this catalyst. Moreover, the evolution of the atomic-scale structures revealed by operando XAS strongly supports the excellent stability of L-CoO during electrocatalytic operation. Our work suggests a facile strategy to construct oxygen vacancy active sites; meanwhile, it offers a deep understanding at the atomic level on the excellent cycling stability in the Zn-air flow battery through X-ray spectroscopy.
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•2D layered L-CoO nanosheets with abundant oxygen vacancies were fabricated by a simple heat treatment strategy.•The L-CoO nanosheets with lamellar crystal structure exhibits superior bifunctional ORR/OER performance.•The carbon-free and binder-free 3D air electrode significantly minimizes the negative effects caused by carbon corrosion.•The ZAB demonstrates a high energy efficiency (62.3.0% at 3 mA cm−2) and ultra-long cycling lifetime (1000 h).•XAS investigations revealed the origins of the excellent bifunctional catalytic stability of L-CoO.
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