The value of D-dimer and platelet-lymphocyte ratio combined with CT signs for predicting intestinal ischemia in patients with bowel obstruction.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of D-dimer, platelet-lymphocyte rate (PLR) and CT signs for intestinal ischemia in patients with bowel obstruction.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and imaging data of 105 patients diagnosed with bowel obstruction, and performed univariate and multivariate analyses to determine the independent risk factors for intestinal ischemia in patients with bowel obstruction. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to examine the diagnostic value of D-dimer, PLR and CT signs in patients with bowel obstruction.

Revisit of Polyaniline as a High-Capacity Organic Cathode Material for Li-Ion Batteries.

Polyaniline (PANI) has long been explored as a promising organic cathode for Li-ion batteries. However, its poor electrochemical utilization and cycling instability cast doubt on its potential for practical applications. In this work, we revisit the electrochemical performance of PANI in nonaqueous electrolytes, and reveal an unprecedented reversible capacity of 197.

Scalable Synthesis of Bilayer Graphene at Ambient Temperature.

In this work, we develop for the first time a facile chemical lithiation-assisted exfoliation approach to the controllable and scalable preparation of bilayer graphene. Biphenyl lithium (Bp-Li), a strong reducing reagent, is selected to realize the spontaneous Li-intercalation into graphite at ambient temperature, forming lithium graphite intercalation compounds (Li-GICs). The potential of Bp-Li (0.

Prognostic Assessment of Colorectal Cancer Patients after Laparoscopic Surgery: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Glasgow Prognostic Score and Fibrinogen-to-Prealbumin Ratio.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that systemic inflammation and suboptimal nutritional status are associated with poor cancer prognosis. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value of preoperative Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) and fibrinogen-to-prealbumin ratio (FPR) in patients with CRC (colorectal cancer) after laparoscopic surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, the clinical data of 112 patients with CRC who underwent laparoscopic surgery were retrospectively analyzed, and the 3-year and 5-year survival rates of these patients were evaluated.

Controllable synthesis of a Na-enriched NaV(PO) cathode for high-energy sodium-ion batteries: a redox-potential-matched chemical sodiation approach.

Exploring a sodium-enriched cathode ( NaV(PO), which differs from its traditional stoichiometric counterpart NaV(PO) that can provide extra endogenous sodium reserves to mitigate the irreversible capacity loss of the anode material ( hard carbon), is an intriguing presodiation method for the development of high energy sodium-ion batteries. To meet this challenge, herein, we first propose a redox-potential-matched chemical sodiation approach, utilizing phenazine-sodium (PNZ-Na) as the optimal reagent to sodiate the NaV(PO) precursor into Na-enriched NaV(PO). The spontaneous sodiation reaction enables a fast reduction of one-half V ions from V to V, followed by the insertion of one Na ion into the NASICON framework, which only takes 90 s to obtain the phase-pure NaV(PO) product.

Preoperative Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR)-Binding Fibrinogen-Albumin Ratio (FAR) Is Superior to Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR)-Binding Fibrinogen-Albumin Ratio (FAR) and Lymphocyte-Monocyte (LMR)-Binding Fibrinogen-Albumin Ratio (FAR) as Predictors of Survival in Surgical Patients with Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND Studies have revealed that having systemic inflammation is linked to worse survival rates across a range of malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) in combination with fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) in surgical patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC). MATERIAL AND METHODS From January 2010 to December 2016, 200 patients with CRC had their preoperative NLR, PLR, LMR, and FAR assessed.

Exfoliation of MoS Nanosheets Enabled by a Redox-Potential-Matched Chemical Lithiation Reaction.

Ion intercalation assisted exfoliation is the oldest and most popular method for the scalable synthesis of molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets. The commonly used organolithium reagents for Li intercalation are -butyllithium (-BuLi) and naphthalenide lithium (Nap-Li); however, the highly pyrophoric nature of -BuLi and the overly reducing power of Nap-Li hinder their extensive application. Here, a novel organolithium reagent, pyrene lithium (Py-Li), which has intrinsic safe properties and a well-matched redox potential, is reported for the intercalation and exfoliation of MoS.

Covalently Bonded Silicon/Carbon Nanocomposites as Cycle-Stable Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries.

Carbon coating is a popular strategy to boost the cyclability of Si anodes for Li-ion batteries. However, most of the Si/C nanocomposite anodes fail to achieve stable cycling due to the easy separation and peeling off of the carbon layer from the Si surface during extended cycles. To overcome this problem, we develop a covalent modification strategy by chemically bonding a large conjugated polymer, poly-peri-naphthalene (PPN), on the surfaces of nano-Si particles through a mechanochemical method, followed by a carbonization reaction to convert the PPN polymer into carbon, thus forming a Si/C composite with a carbon coating layer tightly bonded on the Si surface.

Chemically Prelithiated Hard-Carbon Anode for High Power and High Capacity Li-Ion Batteries.

Hard carbons (HC) have potential high capacities and power capability, prospectively serving as an alternative anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIB). However, their low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) and the resulting poor cyclability hinder their practical applications. Herein, a facile and effective approach is developed to prelithiate hard carbons by a spontaneous chemical reaction with lithium naphthalenide (Li-Naph).

Hollow carbon nanofibers as high-performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.

Hollow carbon nanofibers (HCNFs) are successfully fabricated by pyrolyzation of a polyaniline hollow nanofiber precursor. The as-prepared HCNFs as sodium storage anode materials exhibit a high reversible charge capacity of 326 mA h g-1 at 20 mA g-1, high rate capability (85 mA h g-1 at 1.6 A g-1) and superior cycling stability (a capacity retention of 70% even after 5000 cycles at 1.

Highly Electrochemically-Reversible Mesoporous Na FePO F/C as Cathode Material for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

As promising cathode materials, iron-based phosphate compounds have attracted wide attention for sodium-ion batteries due to their low cost and safety. Among them, sodium iron fluorophosphate (Na FePO F) is widely noted due to its layered structure and high operating voltage compared with NaFePO . Here, a mesoporous Na FePO F@C (M-NFPF@C) composite derived from mesoporous FePO is synthesized through a facile ball-milling combined calcination method.

In Situ Formation of CoS Nanoclusters in Sulfur-Doped Carbon Foam as a Sustainable and High-Rate Sodium-Ion Anode.

Transition-metal sulfides hold great promise as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries due to the high theoretical capacity and excellent redox reversibility based on multielectron conversion reactions. In this work, an elaborate composite, cobalt sulfide nanoclusters embedded in honeycomb-like sulfur-doped carbon foam (CoS@S-CF), is prepared via a facile sulfur-assisting calcination strategy, which tactfully induces the co-occurrence of in situ pore-forming, sulfidation, sulfur doping, and carbonization. Notably, sulfur-doped carbon foam (S-CF) possesses abundant voids, which are subject to construction of three-dimensional ionic/electronic pathways, leading to high sodium-ion accessibility and ultrafast sodium-ion/electron transportation toward CoS nanoclusters.

Surface-Bound Silicon Nanoparticles with a Planar-Oriented N-Type Polymer for Cycle-Stable Li-Ion Battery Anode.

Silicon is now well-recognized to be a promising alternative anode for advanced lithium-ion batteries because of its highest capacity available today; however, its insufficiently high Coulombic efficiency upon cycling remains a major challenge for practical application. To overcome this challenge, we have developed a facile mechanochemical method to synthesize a core-shell-structured Si/polyphenylene composite (Si/PPP) with a n-type conductive PPP layer tightly bonded in a planar orientation to the surfaces of Si nanocores. Because of its compactness and flexibility, the outer PPP layer can protect the Si core from contacting the electrolyte and maintaining the structural stability of electrode/electrolyte interface during cycles.

NiGaO/rGO Composite as Long-Cycle-Life Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

This work reports a novel Ga-based material, NiGaO, which is typically used as a photocatalyst for water splitting, as an anode for Li-ion battery with a long cycle life. High-surface-area reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been used as the conductive substrate to avoid the aggregation of NiGaO nanoparticles (NPs). Because the size and shape of NiGaO are very sensitive to the pH of the precursor, ethylene glycol has been employed as the solvent, as well as the reduction agent to reduce GO, to avoid using extra surfactants and also to avoid the variation of pH of the precursor.

High-Performance GaO Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

There is a great deal of interest in developing battery systems that can exhibit self-healing behavior, thus enhancing cyclability and stability. Given that gallium (Ga) is a metal that melts near room temperature, we wanted to test if it could be employed as a self-healing anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, Ga nanoparticles (NPs), when directly applied, tended to aggregate upon charge/discharge cycling.

Suppression of Dendritic Lithium Growth by in Situ Formation of a Chemically Stable and Mechanically Strong Solid Electrolyte Interphase.

The growth and proliferation of Li dendrites during repeated Li cycling has long been a crucial issue that hinders the development of secondary Li-metal batteries. Building a stable and robust solid state electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the Li-anode surface is regarded as a promising strategy to overcome the dendrite issues. In this work, we report a simple strategy to engineer the interface chemistry of Li-metal anodes by using tiny amounts of dimethyl sulfate (DMS, CHSO) as the SEI-forming additive.

Multinuclear NMR Study of the Solid Electrolyte Interface Formed in Lithium Metal Batteries.

The composition of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers formed in Cu|Li cells using lithium bis(fluorosulfonyi)imide (LiFSI) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) electrolytes is determined by a multinuclear solid-state MAS NMR study at high magnetic field. It is found that the "dead" metallic Li is largely reduced in the SEI layers formed in a 4 M LiFSI-DME electrolyte system compared with those formed in a 1 M LiFSI-DME electrolyte system. This finding relates directly to the safety of Li metal batteries, as one of the main safety concerns for these batteries is associated with the "dead" metallic Li formed after long-term cycling.

Graphene-Scaffolded NaV(PO) Microsphere Cathode with High Rate Capability and Cycling Stability for Sodium Ion Batteries.

High voltage, high rate, and cycling-stable cathodes are urgently needed for development of commercially viable sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we report a facile spray-drying method to synthesize graphene-scaffolded NaV(PO) microspheres (NVP@rGO), in which nanocrystalline NaV(PO) is embedded in graphene sheets to form porous microspheres. Benefiting from the highly conductive graphene framework and porous structure, the NVP@rGO material exhibits a high reversible capacity (115 mAh g at 0.

Dual Core-Shell Structured Si@SiO@C Nanocomposite Synthesized via a One-Step Pyrolysis Method as a Highly Stable Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Silicon (Si) has been regarded as a promising high-capacity anode material for developing advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but the practical application of Si anodes is still unsuccessful mainly due to the insufficient cyclability. To deal with this issue, we propose a new route to construct a dual core-shell structured Si@SiO@C nanocomposite by direct pyrolysis of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer on the surface of Si nanoparticles. Since the PMMA polymers can be chemically bonded on the nano-Si surface through the interaction between ester group and Si surface group, and thermally decomposed in the subsequent pyrolysis process with their alkyl chains converted to carbon and the residue oxygen recombining with Si to form SiO, the dual core-shell structure can be conveniently formed in a one-step procedure.

The Impact of Li Grain Size on Coulombic Efficiency in Li Batteries.

One of the most promising means to increase the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium Li-ion batteries is to replace the graphite anode with a Li metal anode. While the direct use of Li metal may be highly advantageous, at present its practical application is limited by issues related to dendrite growth and low Coulombic efficiency, CE. Here operando electrochemical scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is used to directly image the deposition/stripping of Li at the anode-electrolyte interface in a Li-based battery.

Low Defect FeFe(CN)6 Framework as Stable Host Material for High Performance Li-Ion Batteries.

Low cost and high performance Li-ion batteries have been extensively pursued for grid-scale energy storage applications; however, their development has been impeded for a long time due to the lack of qualified cathode materials with not only decent electrochemical performance but also resource abundance and low price. In this paper, we report Prussian-blue type FeFe(CN)6 nanocrystals with well-controlled lattice defects and perfect nanocubic morphology, which can exhibit a high Li-storage capacity of 160 mAh g(-1), a strong rate performance at 24 C, and a superior cycle stability with 90% capacity retention over 300 cycles. This low defect lattice and its excellent Li-insertion performance might provide a new insight into the design of advanced Li-ion battery materials and also a competitive alternative to the presently developed Li(+) insertion cathodes to develop low cost and high performance Li-ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications.

Electrospun TiO2/C Nanofibers As a High-Capacity and Cycle-Stable Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Nanosized TiO2 is now actively developed as a low-cost and potentially high capacity anode material of Na-ion batteries, but its poor capacity utilization and insufficient cyclability remains an obstacle for battery applications. To overcome these drawbacks, we synthesized electrospun TiO2/C nanofibers, where anatase TiO2 nanocrystals with a diameter of ∼12 nm were densely embedded in the conductive carbon fibers, thus preventing them from aggregating and attacking by electrolyte. Due to its abundant active surfaces of well-dispersed TiO2 nanocrytals and high electronic conductivity of the carbon matrix, the TiO2/C anode shows a high redox capacity of ∼302.

Highly Crystallized Na₂CoFe(CN)₆ with Suppressed Lattice Defects as Superior Cathode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Prussian blue and its analogues have received particular attention as superior cathodes for Na-ion batteries due to their potential 2-Na storage capacity (∼170 mAh g(-1)) and low cost. However, most of the Prussian blue compounds obtained from the conventional synthetic routes contain large amounts of Fe(CN)6 vacancies and coordinated water molecules, which leads to the collapse of cyano-bridged framework and serious deterioration of their Na-storage ability. Herein, we propose a facile citrate-assisted controlled crystallization method to obtain low-defect Prussian blue lattice with greatly improved Na-storage capacity and cycling stability.

Graphene-Wrapped Na2C12H6O4 Nanoflowers as High Performance Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Graphene-wrapped organic nanoflowers are synthesized from ultrasonic treatment of a simple microsized disodium salt (Na212H6O4) and graphene, which demonstrates a greatly enhanced electrochemical capacity, rate capability and cycling stability as organic Na(+) storage anode. This work suggests an effective architecture to make organic materials electrochemically energetic and stable for energy storage applications.