Risk factors for adverse cardiac events in adults with fulminant myocarditis during hospitalization

BACKGROUND Fulminant myocarditis is the critical form of myocarditis that is often associated with heart failure, malignant arrhythmia, and circulatory failure. Patients with fulminant myocarditis who end up with severe multiple organic failure and death are not rare.AIM To analyze the predictors of in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE) in patients diagnosed with fulminant myocarditis.METHODS We included a cohort of adult patients diagnosed with fulminant myocarditis who were admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2007 to December2017. The primary endpoint was defined as in-hospital MACE, including death,cardiac arrest, cardiac shock, and ventricular fibrillation. Baseline demographics,clinical history, characteristics of electrocardiograph and ultrasonic cardiogram,laboratory examination, and treatment were recorded. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine risk factors for in-hospital MACE, and the variables were subsequently assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC).RESULTS The rate of in-hospital MACE was 40%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that baseline QRS duration > 120 ms was the independent risk factor for in-hospital MACE(odds ratio = 4.57, 95%CI: 1.23-16.94, P = 0.023). The AUC of QRS duration > 120 ms for predicting in-hospital MACE was 0.683(95%CI: 0.532-0.833, P = 0.03).CONCLUSION Patients with fulminant myocarditis has a poor outcome. Baseline QRS duration is the independent risk factor for poor outcome in those patients.

Association of frailty with in-hospital outcomes in elderly patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND Frailty is prevalent in elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases.However,the association between frailty and in-hospital outcomes for elderly patients with heart failure and reduced ejection(HFrEF)remains unknown.AIM To evaluate the predictive efficacy of frailty,compared with pre-frailty,for adverse events in these patients.METHODS Elderly patients(≥60 years)with HFrEF were assessed.Frailty was evaluated with the Fried phenotype criteria,and physical performance was evaluated based on handgrip strength and the short physical performance battery(SPPB).The composite incidence of adverse events,including all-cause death,multiple organ failure,cardiac shock,and malignant arrhythmia,during hospitalization was recorded.RESULTS Overall,252 elderly individuals with HFrEF[mean age:69.4±6.7 years,male:169(67.0%)]were included.One hundred and thirty-five(53.6%)patients were frail and 93(36.9%)were pre-frail.Frail patients were older,more likely to be female,to have a lower blood pressure,and to present with left ventricular thrombosis(P all<0.05).Frail patients with HFrEF had a higher incidence of in-hospital mortality(11.9%vs 4.3%,P=0.048).Multivariate analyses showed that female gender(OR=0.422),aging(OR=1.090),poor cardiac functional class(OR=2.167),frailty(OR=2.379),and lower handgrip strength(OR=1.106)were independent predictors of in-hospital adverse events(P all<0.05).CONCLUSION Frailty may be associated with poor in-hospital outcomes for elderly patients with HFrEF.The influence of frailty on long-term prognosis in these patients deserves further investigation.

Advance in reversible Zn anodes promoted by 2D materials

With the growing energy demand associated with high safety and low-cost requirement,aqueous zinc-ion batteries(AZIBs)have been considered as one of the most promising next-generation batteries.However,some key issues,such as uncontrollable dendrites growth,severe corrosion,hydrogen evolution and side reactions of Zn anodes during charge/discharge process,have hindered its pragmatic applications.Two-dimensional(2D)materials hold advantages of unique physical and chemical properties,large surface areas and abundant active sites,which have been successfully used to overcome the above shortcomings of Zn anodes in recent years.In this review,the issues and challenges of Zn anodes are outlined.Then,the state-of-the-art progress on Zn anodes modification based on 2D materials such as graphene,2D metal carbides and nitrides(MXenes),2D metal-organic frameworks(MOFs),2D covalent organic frameworks(COFs),2D transition metal compounds and other 2D materials is discussed in detail.Finally,the perspectives of employing 2D materials in highly reversible Zn anodes are summarized and discussed.

Bismuth-based materials for rechargeable aqueous batteries and water desalination

Aqueous batteries and seawater desalination have received considerable attention in recent years due to their merits as high safety,environmental friendliness and cost-effectiveness.However,the scarcity of highly match electrode materials hinders their development.The exploration of high performance and low cost electrode materials is crucial for their potential applications.Bismuth(Bi),with high energy density and low redox potential,shows perspective in the field of aqueous batteries and seawater desalination,and significant progress has been achieved in the past decades.In this review,the unique properties and synthetic methods of Bi-based electrodes,as well as their applications are comprehensively summarized and discussed.The commonly used preparation methods of Bibased electrodes,including hydrothermal method,electrodeposition method,etc.,are introduced.Then,the applications of the Bi-based composites in aqueous batteries,such as Ni//Bi batteries and water desalination,are summarized.Finally,the challenges and future research direction of Bi-based materials are proposed.

Preparation of Polyaniline-coated Composite Aerogel of MnO2 and Reduced Graphene Oxide for High-performance Zinc-ion Battery

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries,especially Zn-Mn02 battery,have attracted intensive attention owing to their unique features of high capacity,environmental friendliness,and safety.However,the problem of Mn dissolution hinders the development of zinc-ion batteries with long-term usage and high-rate performance.In this work,a novel preparation method for the polyaniline(PANI)-coated composite aerogel of Mn02 and rGO(MnO2/rGO/PANI)electrode is reported.The obtained composite possesses high electrical conductivity,and also effectively suppresses the dissolution of Mn.The fabricated Mn02/rGO/PANI//Zn battery exhibits a high capacity of 241.1 mAh·g^-1 at 0.1 A·g^-1,and an excellent capacity retention of 82.7%after 600 charge/discharge cycles.In addition,the rapid diffusion coefficient of the Mn02/rGO/PANI electrode was further examined by galvanostatic intermittent titration technique.This work provides new insights into the development of high-performance Zn-Mn02 battery with a better understanding of its diffusion kinetics.