Study on Low Thermal-Conductivity of PVDF@SiAG/PET Membranes for Direct Contact Membrane Distillation Application.

In order to enhance the separation performance and reduce the heat loss of transmembrane for membrane distillation, the thermal efficiency and hydrophobicity of the membrane distillation need to be simultaneously enhanced. In this work, a polyvinylidene difluoride/polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PVDF/PET) hydrophobic/hydrophilic membrane has been prepared by non-solvent phase induction method. Nanosized silica aerogel (SiAG) with high porosity has been added to the composite membranes. The modifying effects and operating conditions on permeate flux and thermal efficiency in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) are investigated. Furthermore, the latent heat of vaporization and the heat transfer across the membranes have been compared for SiAG addition, which indicates that the composite PVDF@SiAG/PET membranes demonstrate a great potential for distillation-separation application due to their high heat efficiency.

Study on parental satisfaction and clinical treatment outcomes of 128 diarrheic children receiving comprehensive nursing.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical treatment outcomes and parental satisfaction of children with diarrhea receiving comprehensive nursing intervention. METHODS: A total of 128 diarrheic children treated in our hospital from June 2016 to June 2017 were recruited and divided into a control group (n=64) receiving conventional nursing and an observation group (n=64) receiving comprehensive nursing intervention, as per a random number table. The clinical outcomes, electrolyte disorders, recovery of gastrointestinal function, quality of life and parental satisfaction were compared between the two groups after nursing. RESULTS: The overall response rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (81.25% vs. 51.56%) (P < 0.05). Nursing satisfaction in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (100.00% vs. 75.00%) (P < 0.05). However, the time to resolution of clinical symptoms and time to return of bowel sounds in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After nursing, the incidence of electrolyte disorders in the observation group was lower than that in the control group. The scores of physical symptoms, physical functioning, emotional functioning, cognitive functioning and social functioning in PedsQLTM Measurement Model were higher than those in the control group, and the electrolyte index monitoring results were better than those in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Comprehensive nursing intervention can effectively reduce the incidence of electrolyte disorders, improve parental satisfaction, accelerate the recovery of gastrointestinal function and improve the quality of life in the treatment of pediatric diarrhea.

Study of the Lithium Storage Mechanism of N-Doped Carbon-Modified Cu2 S Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Owing to their high specific capacity and abundant reserve, Cux S compounds are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Carbon compositing could stabilize the Cux S structure and repress capacity fading during the electrochemical cycling, but the corresponding Li+ storage mechanism and stabilization effect should be further clarified. In this study, nanoscale Cu2 S was synthesized by CuS co-precipitation and thermal reduction with polyelectrolytes. High-temperature synchrotron radiation diffraction was used to monitor the thermal reduction process. During the first cycle, the conversion mechanism upon lithium storage in the Cu2 S/carbon was elucidated by operando synchrotron radiation diffraction and in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The N-doped carbon-composited Cu2 S (Cu2 S/C) exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 425 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 , with a higher, long-term capacity of 523 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 after 200 cycles; in contrast, the bare CuS electrode exhibits 123 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles. Multiple-scan cyclic voltammetry proves that extra Li+ storage can mainly be ascribed to the contribution of the capacitive storage.

Glutamate receptor, ionotropic, N-methyl D-aspartate-associated protein 1, a potential target of miR-296, facilitates proliferation and migration of rectal cancer cells.

The purpose of our article was to probe the influence of GRINA on rectal cancer and how GRINA is regulated in rectal cancer. Based on the public data, we found that GRINA was highly expressed in rectal cancer tissues and related to worse prognosis in rectal cancer patients. MiR-296 was predicted as an upstream regulatory miRNA of GRINA, which was further verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, we revealed that up-regulation/down-regulation of GRINA facilitated/suppressed SW1463/SW837 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Rescue assays indicated that the facilitating impact of GRINA on SW1463 cell proliferation and motility was abolished by miR-296 over-expression whilst the suppressing influence of GRINA on SW837 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was reversed by miR-296 depletion. These consequences indicated that GRINA, which might be regulated by miR-296, acted stimulative important impact on rectal cancer cells, insinuating that GRINA might be a novel potential target for rectal cancer therapy.

Lithium lanthanum titanate perovskite as an anode for lithium ion batteries.

Conventional lithium-ion batteries embrace graphite anodes which operate at potential as low as metallic lithium, subjected to poor rate capability and safety issues. Among possible alternatives, oxides based on titanium redox couple, such as spinel Li4Ti5O12, have received renewed attention. Here we further expand the horizon to include a perovskite structured titanate La0.5Li0.5TiO3 into this promising family of anode materials. With average potential of around 1.0 V vs. Li+/Li, this anode exhibits high specific capacity of 225 mA h g-1 and sustains 3000 cycles involving a reversible phase transition. Without decrease the particle size from micro to nano scale, its rate performance has exceeded the nanostructured Li4Ti5O12. Further characterizations and calculations reveal that pseudocapacitance dictates the lithium storage process and the favorable ion and electronic transport is responsible for the rate enhancement. Our findings provide fresh impetus to the identification and development of titanium-based anode materials with desired electrochemical properties.

Enhanced Hybrid Capacitive Deionization Performance by Sodium Titanium Phosphate/Reduced Porous Graphene Oxide Composites.

In this study, sodium titanium phosphate/reduced porous graphene oxide (NTP/rPGO) composites are used as novel electrode materials for hybrid capacitive deionization (HCDI). The composites are synthesized through assembling the NaTi2(PO4)3 precursor with etched graphene oxide under hydrothermal condition. The NTP/rPGO composites demonstrate a porous hierarchical structure, where uniformly dispersed NaTi2(PO4)3 particles are attached on the rPGO sheets, which provide abundant adsorption sites, highly conductive networks, and short diffusion lengths for salt ions. Benefiting from the redox reaction of the NTP and electrical double-layer capacity of the rPGO, the NTP/rPGO composite containing 77 wt % NaTi2(PO4)3 presents a high specific capacity of 396.42 F g-1 and a high electrosorption capacity of 33.25 mg g-1 at the voltage of 1.4 V with the initial salt conductivity of 1600 µS cm-1 (786 mg L-1). Further, it also shows excellent recycling stability and rapid desalination rate of 0.30 mg g-1 s-1 (100 times as fast as the bare graphene electrode). Therefore, the NTP/rPGO composites exhibit a promising prospect for desalination application in the HCDI system.

A Crosslinked Polyethyleneglycol Solid Electrolyte Dissolving Lithium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries.

Replacing liquid electrolytes with solid ones can provide advantages in safety, and all-solid-state batteries with solid electrolytes are proposed to solve the issue of the formation of lithium dendrites. In this study, a crosslinked polymer composite solid electrolyte was presented, which enabled the construction of lithium batteries with outstanding electrochemical behavior over long-term cycling. The crosslinked polymeric host was synthesized through polymerization of the terminal amines of O,O-bis(2-aminopropyl) polypropylene glycol-block-polyethylene glycol-block-polypropylene glycol and terminal epoxy groups of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether at 90 °C and provided an amorphous matrix for Li+ dissolution. This composite solid electrolyte containing Li+ salt and garnet filler exhibited high flexibility, which supported the formation of favorable interfaces with the active materials, and possessed enough mechanical strength to suppress the penetration of lithium dendrites. Ionic conductivities higher than 5.0×10-4  S cm-1 above 45 °C were obtained as well as a wide electrochemical stability window (>4.51 V vs. Li/Li+ ) and a high Li+ diffusion coefficient (≈16.6×10-13  m2 s-1 ). High cycling stability (>500 cycles or 1000 h) was demonstrated.

Mechanism Study of Carbon Coating Effects on Conversion-Type Anode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Case Study of ZnMn2O4 and ZnO-MnO Composites.

The carbon coating strategy is intensively used in the modification of conversion-type anode materials to improve their cycling stability and rate capability. Thus, it is necessary to elucidate the modification mechanism induced by carbon coating. For this purpose, bare ZnMn2O4, carbon-derivative-coated ZnMn2O4, and carbon-coated ZnO-MnO composite materials have been synthesized and investigated in-depth. Herein, high-temperature synchrotron radiation diffraction is used to monitor the phase transition from ZnMn2O4 to ZnO-MnO composite during the carbonization process. The electrochemical performance has been evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The carbon- and carbon-derivative-coated samples display well-improved cycling stability in terms of suppressed electrode polarization, a moderate increase in resistance, and slight capacity variation. The influence of carbon coating on the intrinsic conversion process is investigated by ex situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which reveals the evolution of Zn and Mn oxidation states. This result confirms that the strong capacity variation of the bare ZnMn2O4 is induced not only by the reversible charge storage in the solid electrolyte interphase but also by the phase evolution of active materials. Carbon coating is an effective method to prevent the additional oxidation of MnO to Mn3O4, which leads to a stabilization of the main conversion reaction.

Umbilical Cord MSCs Reverse D-Galactose-Induced Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction via Activation of Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway.

Mitochondria are the central hubs for cellular bioenergetics and are crucial to cell survival. It is well accepted that compromised mitochondrial function is linked with hepatocytes injury and contribute to progression of liver diseases. Despite the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation on hepatic disorders have been extensively investigated, the effects of MSCs on mitochondrial function in liver injury models remain unknown. Here we investigated the effects of treatment with umbilical cord (UC) MSC in a rat model of D-galactose (D-Gal) induced liver injury, characterized by organ damage, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Our results showed that UC-MSCs treatment significantly alleviated histological lesion and attenuated the elevation of liver biochemical markers, demonstrating its protective effects on D-Gal induced hepatic disorders. Mitochondria isolated from the liver of D-Gal models exhibited decreased antioxidant capacity as well as compromised bioenergetics functions, as shown by a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reduction of mitochondrial respiration complexes and ATP decrement. Treatment of rats with UC-MSCs remarkably blunted these changes and rescued mitochondrial efficiency. Mechanistically, we found that the protective potential of UC-MSCs administration was mediated by nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) pathway, but not FOXO3a pathway. In conclusion, the attenuating effects of UC-MSCs on hepatic damage partially rely on normalizing mitochondrial function and preventing a state of energetic deficit via activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.