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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the best opportunity for bedside continuous blood purification (CBP) to treat severe pneumonia with acute renal failure (ARF) of children and look for the sensitive marker to evaluate the clinical effects and prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 54 children patients that were diagnosed as severe pneumonia with ARF by Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) were enrolled in our study as experimental group. In the meanwhile, 46 children patients that were diagnosed as severe pneumonia with ARF by PICU were enrolled as a normal control group. Patients in the experimental group started CBP treatment within 24 h after onset while patients in the control group started CBP treatment 24h after onset. The differences of clinical effects between two groups were compared for statistical significance. RESULTS: The survival rates of the observation group in day 7, day 28 and 6 months were significantly higher than those in the control group. After treatment for 7 days, IL-6 and TNF-α, YKL-40 and Annexin A1 levels of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group. 7-day infection-related organ failure score (SOFA) of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: CBP therapy for treating severe pneumonia with acute renal failure of children within 24 hours could significantly improve the survival rate and reduce the inflammatory reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory behaviour in insects correlates with reproductive development in females, and migration often occurs during the pre-reproductive stage of adults. The relationship between ovarian development and population status of the white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera ( Horváth) and the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens ( Stål) was evaluated. Females of both species were captured in rice fields and light traps and then dissected in double-season rice-farming regions of southern China. The ovarian development of S. furcifera and N. lugens was divided into five levels, following previous studies. The population statuses of both species were examined based on the ovarian development of female adults caught in rice paddies. The ovarian development in N. lugens females caught in light traps mostly ranged from level I to level II, whereas that in S. furcifera females caught in light traps mostly ranged from level I to level III. During peak immigration, ovarian development in N. lugens females was mainly at level II, whereas that in S. furcifera females was mainly at level II and sporadically at level III. During peak emigration, both S. furcifera and N. lugens showed level I ovarian development. The temporal dynamics of ovarian development in light trap catches revealed that (i) significant emigration and partial immigration periods occur in S. furcifera, with ovarian development mainly at level I and sporadically from level II to level III and (ii) numerous immigrants of N. lugens were detected during sedentary and local breeding periods. The temporal dynamics of ovarian development provides more information than does the paddy population. Thus, this study proposes another method for pest forecasting, which is more precise and efficient than conventional forecasting methods such as light trap catching and monitoring population dynamics in rice fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polymeric precursor, polyhydridomethylsilazane, was pyrolysed in an active ammonia atmosphere at 873 K with subsequent pyrolysis in an inert nitrogen atmosphere at 1873 K, and the polymer-derived ceramic products were studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. No nanoneedles were observed in the 873 K pyrolysed products, while beta-Si3N4 nanoneedles were obtained after pyrolysis at 1873 K. The as-received nanoneedles were about 100–200 nm in diameter, and the maximum length reached about 10 µm. There were no bulbs or droplets on the tips of the nanoneedles, and no catalysts were used during the pyrolysis of the polymeric precursor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the effect of interfacial reaction on the mechanical strength of two types of solder joints, Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P and Sn-37Pb/Ni-P. The tensile strength and fracture behavior of the joints under different thermal aging conditions have been studied. It is observed that the tensile strength decreases with increasing aging temperature and duration. Associated with the tensile strength decrease is the transition of failure modes from within the bulk solder in the as-soldered condition toward failures at the interface between the solder and the intermetallic compounds (IMCs). For the same aging treatment, the strength of the Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P joint degrades faster than that of Sn-37Pb/Ni-P. The difference between the two types of joints can be explained by the difference in their interfacial reaction and growth kinetics. An empirical relation is established between the solder joint strength and the Ni3Sn4 intermetallic compound thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an investigation on the influence of the solder/under bump metallization (UBM) interfacial reaction to the tensile strength and fracture behavior of Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P solder joints under different thermal aging conditions. The tensile strength of Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P solder joints decreases with aging temperature and duration. Four types of failure modes have been identified. The failure modes shift from the bulk solder failure mode in the as-soldered condition toward the interfacial failure modes. Kirkendall voids do not appear to affect the tensile strength of the joint. The volume change of Ni-P phase transformation during the thermal aging process generates high tensile stress inside the Ni-P layer; this stress causes mudflat cracks on the remaining Ni-P coating and also leads to its delamination from the underlying Ni substrate. In general, interfacial reaction and the subsequent growth of Ni3Sn4 intermetallic compound (IMC) layer during solid-state reaction are the main reasons for the decrease of tensile strength of the solder joints. The current study finds there is an empirical linear relation between the solder joint strength and the Ni3Sn4 intermetallic compound (IMC) thickness. Therefore, the IMC thickness may be used as an indication of the joint strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the clinical value of complement-3a receptor 1 (C3aR1) and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in predicting sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC)., Methods: A prospective study was conducted among 78 children with sepsis who attended Xuzhou Children's Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University from June 2022 to June 2023. According to the presence or absence of SIC, they were divided into two groups: SIC ( n =36) and non-SIC ( n =42) . The two groups were compared in terms of clinical data and the levels of C3aR1 and NETs. The factors associated with the occurrence of SIC were analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the performance of C3aR1 and NETs in predicting SIC., Results: Compared with the non-SIC group, the SIC group had significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10, C3aR1, and NETs ( P <0.05). The multivaiate logistic regression analysis showed that the increases in C3aR1, NETs, and IL-6 were closely associated with the occurrence of SIC ( P <0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that C3aR1 combined with NETs had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.913 in predicting SIC ( P <0.05), which was significantly higher than the AUC of C3aR1 or IL-6 ( P <0.05), while there was no significant difference in AUC between C3aR1 combined with NETs and NETs alone ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: There are significant increases in the expression levels of C3aR1 and NETs in the peripheral blood of children with SIC, and the expression levels of C3aR1 and NETs have a high clinical value in predicting SIC.

Brown Planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)) is one of the most serious pests of rice in both temperate and tropical regions of East and South Asia and has become especially problematic over the past few years. In order to analyze the effect of the change of rice cropping system on the population dynamics of BPH, field surveys of the occurrence and distribution of BPH were performed and other relevant data, including light trap data and ovary dissection data were collected in nearly 40 Chinese counties encompassing six provinces (or municipalities), including Hainan, Guangxi, Anhui, Shanghai, Fujian and Guangdong from April to October in 2007.The mixed planting areas of single- and double-cropping rice in China include Hubei, South and Central Anhui, North Hunan, and North Jiangxi. In these areas, double-cropping rice has now been greatly reduced and single-cropping rice has been rapidly increasing since 1997. The surveys revealed that when the immigration peak of BPH occurred in June and July, the single-cropping rice was at the tillering to booting stage and fit for BPH, but early rice had already matured and most of late rice had not yet been transplanted. BPH immigrants from southern rice areas prefer to inhabit and breed in single-cropping rice paddies. Moreover, farming activities between early rice and late rice interrupted the continuous growth of BPH populations in double-cropping rice paddies. As a result, in comparison with data collected 30 years ago, the spatiotemporal dynamics and migration patterns of BPH have dramatically changed in the lower-middle reaches of the Yangtze River. In the mixed planting areas, due to their high suitability, the BPH population in single-cropping rice grew so quickly that it caused serious local damage and there was mass emigration of macropterous progeny to the Yangtze River Delta in late August and early September.Global warming may also affect BPH populations, where results suggest steadily warmer autumns have occurred from the 1990s on, with such conditions gradually the norm. The combination of 'cooler summer' and 'warmer autumn' are conditions known to promote outbreaks of BPH in the lower-middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Immigrant BPH arrivals in late August and September now cause serious damage to late-maturing mid-season rice and late rice in the lower-middle reaches of the Yangtze River.