Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture Combined with Complete Radial Tear of the Posterior Horn of the Lateral Meniscus: Suture or Resection?

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture often presents with a tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. There is no clear preference between ACL reconstruction with suture and resection of the meniscus. We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of ACL reconstruction with suture versus resection in patients presenting with arthroscopic ACL rupture and radial complete tear of the posterior corner of the lateral meniscus. We retrospectively analyzed 157 patients with ACL rupture and complete radial tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Between May 2010 and April 2015, 86 of 157 patients underwent ACL reconstruction and meniscus suture (study group, 54.78%) and 71 of 157 patients underwent ACL reconstruction and meniscus resection (control group, 45.22%) in our department. All patients were monitored over the 12 to 72-month follow-up period. The primary evaluation indices were the Lysholm scores, the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores, pivot shift test, the Barret criteria, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of meniscal healing. The majority of 157 patients were relatively young men (29.64 ± 7.79 years) with low body mass index (BMI) (23.79 ± 2.74). The postoperative Lysholm and IKDC scores of the two groups were significantly improved over the corresponding preoperative scores (p < 0.05). The clinical results and excellent and good rates were significantly better for the study group than for the control group (both, p < 0.05). MRI showed that the meniscal healed rate of the study group was 96.51%. There was no significant difference in BMI between subgroups for any functional outcome. For patients with ACL rupture and complete radial tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus, ACL reconstruction and both simultaneous suture and resection of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus were found to be safe and effective. There was no association between outcomes and BMI. However, the former was associated with a superior long-term clinical effect and may restore the integrity of the meniscus and is particularly recommended for young patients.

Stabilizing Na metal anode with NaF interface on spent cathode carbon from aluminum electrolysis.

We report the synthesis of spent cathode carbon (SCC) with a NaF interface from aluminum electrolysis, and its application as a Na metal anode host. The SCC anode exhibits superior ion conductivity and a high shear modulus. The natural NaF interface on the SCC anode can regulate Na+ transmission and inhibit dendrite growth. Furthermore, the anode can be used to turn waste into treasure through directly using spent cathodic carbon without any chemical processing. The green SCC electrode exhibits a higher flat voltage and better reversibility compared with purified cathode carbon without NaF.

Alleviating Surface Degradation of Nickel-Rich Layered Oxide Cathode Material by Encapsulating with Nanoscale Li-Ions/Electrons Superionic Conductors Hybrid Membrane for Advanced Li-Ion Batteries.

Nickel-rich layered oxide cathode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries have received much attention recently because of their high specific capacities and significant reduction of cost. However, these cathodes are facing a fundamental challenge of loss in performance as a result of surface lithium residue, side reactions with the electrolyte and structure rearrangement upon long-term cycling. Herein, by capturing the lithium residue on the surface of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM) cathode material as Li source, we propose a hybrid coating strategy incorporating lithium ions conductor LixAlO2 with superconductor LixTi2O4 to overcome those obstinate issues. By taking full advantage of this unique hybrid nanomembrane coating architecture, both the lithium ion diffusion ability and electronic conductivity of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode material are improved, resulting in remarkably enhanced electrochemical performances during high voltage operation, including good cycle performance, high reversible capacity, and excellent rate capability. A high initial discharge capacity of 227 mAh g-1 at 4.4 V cutoff voltage with Coulombic efficiency of 87.3%, and reversible capacity of 200 mAh g-1 with 98% capacity retention after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.5 C can be attained. The improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the synergetic contribution from the removal of lithium residues and the unique hybrid nanomembrane coating architecture. Most importantly, this surface modification technique could save some cost, simplify the technical procedure, and show great potential to optimize battery performance, apply in a large scale and extend to all nickel-rich cathode material.

Determination of aroma components in Chinese southwest tobacco by directly suspended droplet microextraction combined with GC-MS.

In this paper, a simple and efficient approach, directly suspended droplet microextraction (DSDME), has been applied to extract aroma components in Chinese southwest tobacco prior to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The extraction parameters such as organic solvent type, extraction time, temperature, stirring speed and volume were systemically optimized. A single drop of cyclohexane was placed on the top of the aqueous sample which was used as solvent. Under the optimal conditions of DSDME, 62 aroma components of tobacco were analyzed and identified by GC-MS. The approach was used to determine some important aromas in tobacco with the relative recoveries ranged from 75.92 to 102.88%, relative standard deviations in the range of 3.40-7.14% (n = 5) and the limits of detection of 0.0002-0.002 µg/mL. Moreover, the DSDME was applied to identify the aromatic components in Chinese southwest tobacco in this research for the first time and the results suggested that the method can be used as rapid determination of the tobacco. This method can enhance the extracting rate of tobacco aromatic components and meet the need of qualitative analysis of large amount samples.