Phase Evolution of Li-Rich Layered Li-Mn-Ni-(Al)-O Cathode Materials upon Heat Treatments in Air.

The phase evolution of Li-rich Li-Mn-Ni-(Al)-O cathode materials upon heat treatments in the air at 900 °C was studied by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. In addition, the structures of LiMnAl NiO, x = 0.0, 0.

Phase Engineering via Aluminum Doping Enhances the Electrochemical Stability of Lithium-Rich Cobalt-Free Layered Oxides for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Lithium-rich, cobalt-free oxides are promising potential positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries because of their high energy density, lower cost, and reduced environmental and ethical concerns. However, their commercial breakthrough is hindered because of their subpar electrochemical stability. This work studies the effect of aluminum doping on LiNiMnO as a lithium-rich, cobalt-free layered oxide.

Macroscopic rods from assembled colloidal particles of hydrothermally carbonized glucose and their use as templates for silicon carbide and tricopper silicide.

Self-aggregated colloids can be used for the preparation of materials, and we studied long rod-like aggregates formed on the evaporation of water from dispersed particles of colloidal hydrochar. The monodispersed hydrochar particles (100-200 nm) were synthesized by the hydrothermal carbonization of glucose and purified through dialysis. During the synthesis they formed colloidal dispersions which were electrostatically stable at intermediate to high pH and at low ion strengths.

Influence of the Presence of Different Alkali Cations and the Amount of Fe(CN) Vacancies on CO Adsorption on Copper Hexacyanoferrates.

The CO adsorption on various Prussian blue analogue hexacyanoferrates was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis. Compositions of prepared phases were verified by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, infra-red spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. The influence of different alkali cations in the cubic 3 structures was investigated for nominal compositions Cu[Fe(CN)] with = vacant, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs.

Silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO)-Templated Activated Carbons.

Microporous activated carbon was prepared by depositing and pyrolyzing propylene within the microporous voids of SAPO-37 and subsequently removing the template by a treatment with HCl and NaOH. The carbon had a high surface area and large micropore and ultramicropore volumes. The yield, crystallinity, morphology, and adsorption properties compared well with those of a structurally related zeolite-Y-templated carbon.

Surgical treatment for isolated mitral valve endocarditis: a 16-year single-centre experience.

Objectives: Despite progress in management, mitral valve endocarditis (MVE) is still a life-threatening disease. We report our experience in surgical treatment of infective isolated MVE.

Methods: A total of 140 operations in 128 patients for MVE performed between January 2000 and December 2015 were included in a retrospective study.

Long-term outcome after right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit surgery and reintervention.

Background: Reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract with a conduit is an established surgical procedure in congenital heart disease and reinterventions are common.

Objective: An increasing number of patients have a conduit, but there are few population-based studies of long-term outcomes after conduit surgery, reoperations, and transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement.

Methods: In April 2015, all adult patients with a conduit were identified in the Swedish National Registry for Congenital Heart Disease (SWEDCON).

Diffusivity of the double negatively charged mono-vacancy in silicon.

Lightly-doped silicon (Si) samples of n-type conductivity have been irradiated with 2.0 MeV [Formula: see text] ions at a temperature of 30 K and characterized in situ by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements using an on-line setup. Migration of the Si mono-vacancy in its double negative charge state (V ) starts to occur at temperatures above  ∼70 K and is monitored via trapping of V by interstitial oxygen impurity atoms ([Formula: see text]), leading to the growth of the prominent vacancy-oxygen ([Formula: see text]) center.

RV to PA conduits: impact of transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in adults - a national register study.

Objective: The use of a conduit is an established surgical method for reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract in congenital heart disease; however, its limited durability makes reintervention almost inevitable. We studied the trends in new implantation, reoperation, and transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) from a Swedish national perspective.

Design And Results: The Swedish registry of congenital heart disease (SWEDCON) was used to collect data.

: a program to obtain quantitative pair distribution functions from electron diffraction data.

is a graphical user interface program written in MATLAB to achieve quantitative pair distribution functions (PDFs) from electron diffraction data. The program facilitates structural studies of amorphous materials and small nanoparticles using electron diffraction data from transmission electron microscopes. It is based on the physics of electron scattering as well as the total scattering methodology.

Impact of Oxygen Deficiency on the Electrochemical Performance of K NiF -Type (La Sr ) NiO Oxygen Electrodes.

Perovskite-related (La Sr ) NiO (x=0.5-0.8) phases were explored for possible use as oxygen electrodes in solid electrolyte cells with a main focus on the effect of oxygen deficiency on the electrocatalytic activity.

Picture book support for preparing children ahead of and during day surgery.

Aim To develop and evaluate the use of a specific picture book aiming to prepare children for anaesthesia and surgery. Methods An intervention comparing two different information methods before ear, nose and throat day surgery was performed. The intervention involved using a specific information sheet and a specific picture book.

Atomic structure and oxygen deficiency of the ultrathin aluminium oxide barrier in Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions.

Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions are the building blocks of a wide range of superconducting quantum devices that are key elements for quantum computers, extremely sensitive magnetometers and radiation detectors. The properties of the junctions and the superconducting quantum devices are determined by the atomic structure of the tunnel barrier. The nanoscale dimension and disordered nature of the barrier oxide have been challenges for the direct experimental investigation of the atomic structure of the tunnel barrier.

Structure Characterization and Properties of K-Containing Copper Hexacyanoferrate.

Copper hexacyanoferrate, Cu(II)[Fe(III)(CN)6]2/3·nH2O, was synthesized, and varied amounts of K(+) ions were inserted via reduction by K2S2O3 (aq). Ideally, the reaction can be written as Cu(II)[Fe(III)(CN)6]2/3·nH2O + 2x/3K(+) + 2x/3e(-) ↔ K2x/3Cu(II)[Fe(II)xFe(III)1-x(CN)6]2/3·nH2O. Infrared, Raman, and Mössbauer spectroscopy studies show that Fe(III) is continuously reduced to Fe(II) with increasing x, accompanied by a decrease of the a-axis of the cubic Fm3̅m unit cell.

Surgical decision-making in aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis: the influence of electrocardiogram-gated computed tomography.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the value of electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated computed tomography (CT) in the surgical decision-making and preoperative evaluation in patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE).

Methods: Sixty-eight prosthetic valves in 67 patients with aortic PVE were prospectively evaluated with ECG-gated CT and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Imaging findings considered indications for surgery were as follows: (i) abscess/pseudoaneurysm formation; (ii) prosthetic valve dehiscence; (iii) valve destruction with valvular regurgitation; (iv) large vegetations (>1.

Surgical Treatment for Infective Endocarditis: A Single-Centre Experience.

 A considerable proportion of patients with acute infective endocarditis require surgical treatment. The aim of this study was to collate our short- and medium-term results of surgical treatment of infective endocarditis and to compare the results in native and prosthetic endocarditis.  Total 254 operations for infective endocarditis from January 2008 to May 2015 were included in this retrospective study.

Endovascular Closure of Chronic Dissection Entries in the Aortic Arch Using the Amplatzer Vascular Plug II as a Sealing Button.

Purpose: To present a new endovascular technique to avoid open surgical arch reconstruction in selected patients with aneurysmal dilatation due to small chronic dissection entries in the aortic arch.

Technique: The true and the false lumen of the aortic arch are catheterized from the femoral arteries. An Amplatzer Vascular Plug II (AVP II) is advanced through the proximal entry from the false lumen side and deployed as a sealing button in the entry hole, with 1 disc in the true lumen and the remaining 2 discs in the false lumen.

Increased aortic wall thickness on CT as a sign of prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Background Increased wall thickness in the aortic root has been suggested as an early sign of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). However, there are no previous studies on the aortic wall thickness after aortic valve replacement (AVR) or in patients with PVE. Purpose To identify a clinically useful cutoff value for aortic wall thickness to detect PVE.

18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Recent studies have shown promising results using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) in the diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). However, previous studies did not include negative controls. The aim of this study was to compare (18)F-FDG-uptake around prosthetic aortic valves in patients with and without PVE and to determine the diagnostic performance of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of PVE.

Surgical Treatment of Aortic Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis: A 20-Year Single-Center Experience.

Background: Despite progress in diagnostic methods and treatment, aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) remains a life-threatening disease. We report the outcome of all operations for aortic PVE performed at our institution over the past 20 years.

Methods: Eighty-seven operations performed in 84 patients between 1993 and 2013 were included in this retrospective study.

Homograft reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract in adults with congenital heart disease: a systematic review.

Reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract with a homograft is an established surgical method in congenital heart disease. Studies from children and adolescents suggest that homograft durability is shorter than the life expectancy of the patient; therefore, durability in adults is addressed in this systematic review. The PubMed database was searched in May 2012 and repeated in May 2015 with the terms 'homograft AND pulmonary valve', generating 665 hits.

Decline in self-reported health (EQ-5D) over time after surgical reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract: a longitudinal cohort study of 103 patients.

Objective: Patients with congenital heart disease may be operated with surgical reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). Reintervention is common in this group of patients. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinal self-reported health measured by the EQ-5D questionnaire.

Lithium and calcium carbides with polymeric carbon structures.

We studied the binary carbide systems Li2C2 and CaC2 at high pressure using an evolutionary and ab initio random structure search methodology for crystal structure prediction. At ambient pressure Li2C2 and CaC2 represent salt-like acetylides consisting of C2(2-) dumbbell anions. The systems develop into semimetals (P3m1-Li2C2) and metals (Cmcm-Li2C2, Cmcm-CaC2, and Immm-CaC2) with polymeric anions (chains, layers, strands) at moderate pressures (below 20 GPa).

ECG-gated computed tomography: a new role for patients with suspected aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Objectives: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the agreement in findings between ECG-gated CT and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE).

Methods: Twenty-seven consecutive patients with PVE underwent 64-slice ECG-gated CT and TEE and the results were compared. Imaging was compared with surgical findings (surgery was performed in 16 patients).

Prognostic factors in lung cancer in a defined geographical area over two decades with a special emphasis on gender.

Introduction: Many studies over recent decades report an increasing incidence of lung cancer in female patients. Female gender is often reported as a good prognostic factor.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate prognostic factors with a special emphasis on gender.