Ultrathin and High-Modulus LiBO2 Layer Highly Elevates the Interfacial Dynamics and Stability of Lithium Anode under Wide Temperature Range.

Lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) face huge challenges to achieve long cycling life at wide temperature range owing to the severe dendrite growth at subambient temperature and the intense side reactions with electrolyte at high temperature. Herein, an ultrathin LiBO2 layer with an extremely high Young's modulus of 8.0 GPa is constructed on Li anode via an in situ reaction between Li metal and 4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxa-borolane (TDB) to form LiBO2 @Li anode, which presents two times higher exchange current density than pristine Li anode. The LiBO2 layer presents a strong absorption to Li ions and greatly improves the interfacial dynamics of Li-ion migration, which induces homogenous lithium nucleation and deposition to form a dense lithium layer. Consequently, the Li dendrite growth during cycling at subambient temperature and the side reactions with electrolyte at high temperature are simultaneously suppressed. The LiBO2 @Li/LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 (NCM811) full batteries with limited Li capacity and high cathode mass loading of 9.9 mg cm-2 can steadily cycle for 300 cycles with a capacity retention of 86.6%. The LiBO2 @Li/NCM811 full batteries and LiBO2 @Li/LiBO2 @Li symmetric batteries also present excellent cycling performance at both -20 and 60 °C. This work develops a strategy to achieve outstanding performance of LMBs at wide working temperature-range.

Systematic review with network meta-analysis: comparative efficacy of different enteral immunonutrition formulas in patients underwent gastrectomy.

OBJECTIVES: Optimal enteral immunonutrition (EIN) regime for gastric cancer (GC) patients underwent gastrectomy remains uncertainty. To assess comparative efficacy of different EIN formulas in GC patients underwent gastrectomy, we performed network meta-analysis. RESULTS: We included 11 RCTs enrolling 840 patients. Pairwise meta-analysis indicated that EIN (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.36-0.86; MD -0.42, 95% CI -0.74-0.10), Arg+RNA+ω-3-FAs (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22-0.63; MD -0.42, 95% CI -0.75-0.07), Arg+Gln+ω-3-FAs (RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05-0.94; MD -0.69, 95% CI -1.22-1.07) reduced ICs and LOS. Network meta-analysis confirmed the potential of Arg+RNA+ω-3-FAs for ICs (OR 0.27, 95% Crl 0.12-0.49) and Arg+Gln+ω-3-FAs for CIs (OR 0.22, 95% Crl 0.02-0.84) and LOS (SMD -0.63, 95% Crl -1.07-0.13), and indicated that Arg+RNA+ω-3-FAs was superior to Arg+RNA and Arg+Gln for ICs as well. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed direct and network meta-analyses for randomized controlled trials comparing EIN formulas with each other or standard enteral nutrition (SEN) in reducing infectious complications (ICs), noninfectious complications (NICs) and length of hospital stay (LOS), through January 2016. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SCURA) and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) were used to rank regimes and rate qualities of evidences respectively. CONCLUSIONS: As for GC patients underwent gastrectomy, Arg+RNA+ω-3-FAs and Arg+Gln+ω-3-FAs are the optimal regimes of reducing ICs and LOS.

Meta-analysis comparing chewing gum versus standard postoperative care after colorectal resection.

BACKGROUND: Previous incomplete studies investigating the potential of chewing gum (CG) in patients undergoing colorectal resection did not obtain definitive conclusions. This updated meta-analysis was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect and safety of CG versus standard postoperative care protocols (SPCPs) after colorectal surgery. RESULTS: Total 26 RCTs enrolling 2214 patients were included in this study. The CG can be well-tolerated by all patients. Compared with SPCPs, CG was associated with shorter time to first flatus (weighted mean difference (WMD) -12.14 (95 per cent c.i. -15.71 to -8.56) hours; P < 0.001), bowl movement (WMD -17.32 (-23.41 to -11.22) hours; P < 0.001), bowel sounds (WMD -6.02 (-7.42 to -4.63) hours; P < 0.001), and length of hospital stay (WMD -0.95 (-1.55 to -0.35) days; P < 0.001), a lower risk of postoperative ileus (risk ratio (RR) 0.61 (0.44 to 0.83); P = 0.002), net beneficial and quality of life. There were no significant differences between the two groups in overall complications, nausea, vomiting, bloating, wound infection, bleeding, dehiscence, readmission, reoperation, mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The potentially eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared CG with SPCPs for colorectal resection were searched in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Wanfang databases through May 2016. The trial sequential analysis was adopted to examine whether a firm conclusion for specific outcome can be drawn. CONCLUSIONS: CG is benefit for enhancing return of gastrointestinal function after colorectal resection, and may be associated with lower risk of postoperative ileus.

Moxibustion is an Alternative in Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: The Evidence From Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common disorder in elderly. There is no known cure for KOA, and thus therapeutic strategies of alleviating symptoms are increasingly emphasized. Moxibustion has been widely used to treat KOA; however, results are inconclusive. The aim of our study is to critically reassess the effects of moxibustion on KOA.We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Chinese Biomedical Literature database (CBM) through 25 November 2015. Two independent reviewers selected studies and abstracted information, as well as assessed the risk of bias using Cochrane risk of bias tool. The random-effects meta-analyses were performed based on abstracted data.We initially captured 163 citations and added 4 records through checking review. After critical appraisal, 13 RCTs were included. Meta-analyses indicated that moxibustion is not statistically different from oral drug in improving the response rate (MD = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.00, 1.20; P = 0.05), alleviating pain and improving physical function. Our meta-analysis also found that moxibustion is superior to usual care and sham moxibustion in reducing WOMAC score (MD = 7.56; 95% CI = 4.11, 11.00; P = 0.00), pain and function, as well as increasing QoL. Moreover, most AEs caused by moxibustion can heal without medical care.We concluded that moxibustion treatment is equal to the oral drugs and intra-articular injections and may be an alternative in treating patients with KOA.

Effects of inosine on neuronal apoptosis and the expression of cytochrome C mRNA following hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats.

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that neuronal apoptosis plays a critical role in pathology of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Cytochrome C (CytC) is an important apoptotic protease activating factor. Inosine might have a neuroprotective effect against cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by inhibiting the neuronal apoptosis and the expression of CytC mRNA in adult rats. This study examined the effects of inosine on neuronal apoptosis and CytC mRNA expression following hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in order to investigate the neuroprotectivity of inosine against cerebral ischemia injury in neonatal rats and the possible mechanism. METHODS: A total of 140 healthy 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rat pups were randomly assigned into Control (n=40), HIBD (n=50) and Inosine treatment groups (n=50). HIBD rat models were established by ligating the left common carotid artery, followed by 8% O2 hypoxia exposure for 2 hrs in the HIBD and Inosine treatment groups. The Control group was not subjected to hypoxia-ischemia (HI). The Inosine treatment and the HIBD groups were randomly divided into 5 sub-groups sacrificed at 6 and 12 hrs, and 1, 3 and 7 days post- HI (n=10 each). The Control group rats were sacrificed at the corresponding time points (n=8 each). Inosine was administered to the Inosine treatment group by intraperitoneal injection immediately after HIBD at the dosage of 100 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days. TUNEL staining and in situ hybridization method was used to detect neuronal apoptosis and CytC mRNA expression respectively. RESULTS: Few apoptotic cells and CytC mRNA positive cells were found in brain tissues of the Control group. In the HIBD group, the number of apoptotic cells and the CytC mRNA expression in the cortical and hippocampal gyrum CA1 areas increased 6 hrs after HI, peaking at 1 day after HI and then decreased gradually. Until the 7th day, the number of apoptotic cells and the CytC mRNA expression in the cortical and hippocampal gyrum CA1 areas in the HIBD group remained significantly higher than in the Control group. Inosine treatment decreased the apoptotic cells and the CytC mRNA expression in both areas from 6 hrs to 7 days after HI compared with the HIBD group. The linear correlation analysis demonstrated that the number of apoptotic cells was positively correlated to the CytC mRNA expression in neonatal rats with HIBD (r=0.88, P < 0.01) . CONCLUSIONS: Inosine can reduce the number of apoptotic cells and down-regulate the expression of CytC mRNA following HIBD in neonatal rats. The decreased number of apoptotic cells was positively correlated to the decreased CytC mRNA expression after inosine treatment, suggesting that inosine offered neuroprotectivity against HIBD possibly through inhibiting the CytC mRNA expression and resulting in a decrease of cell apoptosis.