Binary Network of Conductive Elastic Polymer Constraining Nanosilicon for a High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery.

Silicon-based anodes are attracting more interest in both science and industry due to their high energy density. However, the traditional polymeric binder and carbon additive mixture cannot successfully accommodate the huge volume change and maintain good conductivity when cycling. Herein, we report a multifunctional polymeric binder (PPTU) synthesized by the cross-linking of conducting polymer (PEDOT:PSS) and stretchable polymer poly(ether-thioureas) (PETU). The multifunctional polymeric binder could be curved on the surfaces of nanosilicon particles, forming an interweaving continuous three-dimensional network, which is beneficial to electron transfer and the mechanical stability. Furthermore, the binder is elastic and adhesive, and which can accommodate the huge volume change of silicon to keep its integrity. Utilizing this multifunctional polymeric binder instead of commercial poly(acrylic acid) binder and carbon black mixtures, the nanosilicon anode demonstrates enhanced cycling stability (2081 mAhg-1 after 300 cycles) and rate performance (908 mAhg-1 at 8 Ag-1). The multifunctional polymeric binder has high conductivity, elasticity, and self-healing properties is a promising binder to promote progress toward a high performance lithium-ion battery.

Optimal margins for early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma resection.

BACKGROUND: A pathologically confirmed negative margin is required when performing sublobar resection in patients with early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma. However, the optimal margin distance to ensure complete tumor resection while preserving healthy lung tissue remains unknown. We aimed to establish a reliable distance range for negative margins. METHODS: A total of 52 intraoperative para-cancer tissue specimens from patients with peripheral lung adenocarcinoma with pathological tumors ≤2 cm in size were examined. Depending on the distance from the tumor edge (D), the para-cancer tissues were divided into the following five groups: D < 0.5 cm (group I); 0.5 cm ≤ D < 1.0 cm (group II); 1.0 cm ≤ D < 1.5 cm (group III); 1.5 cm ≤ D < 2.0 cm (group IV); and D ≥ 2.0 cm (group V). During pathological examination of the specimens under a microscope, the presence of atypical adenomatous hyperplasia or more severe lesions was considered unsafe, whereas the presence of normal lung tissue or benign hyperplasia was considered safe. RESULTS: Group V, in which the margin was the farthest from the tumor edge, was the safest. There were significant safety differences in between groups I and V (χ2 = 26.217, P < 0.001). Significant safety differences also existed between groups II and V (χ2 = 9.420, P < 0.005). There were no significant safety differences between group III or IV and group V (P = 0.207; P = 0.610). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that when performing sublobar resection in patients with early stage peripheral lung adenocarcinoma with pathological tumor sizes ≤2 cm, the resection margin distance should be ≥1 cm to ensure a negative margin.

Pt-Ni nanoframes functionalized with carbon dots: an emerging class of bio-nanoplatforms.

We designed a unique and novel bio-nanoplatform based on Pt-Ni nanoframes (PNnf) functionalized with carbon dots via the EDC/NHS coupling chemistry. The PNnf with open three-dimensional surfaces exhibited excellent water solubility after polyethylenimine modification. Due to low cytotoxicity and excellent biocompatibility, the bio-nanoplatforms were firstly used for MCF-7 cell imaging in vitro. More importantly, the design strategy can be readily generalized to facilitate other multi-functional bio-nanoplatforms for biological and biomedical applications.

Dual-Mode Luminescent Nanopaper Based on Ultrathin g-C3N4 Nanosheets Grafted with Rare-Earth Upconversion Nanoparticles.

Ultrathin graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets have attracted considerable attention due to the enhanced intrinsic photoabsorption and photoresponse with respect to bulk g-C3N4. For the first time, a dual-mode of down- and upconversion luminescent g-C3N4 nanopaper with high optical transparency and mechanical robustness was successfully fabricated through a simple thermal evaporation process using chitosan as a green cross-linking agent. The dual-mode of down- and upconversion fluorescence emission originated from the amino terminated ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets functionalized with carboxylic acid modified multicolored rare-earth upconversion nanoparticles (cit-UCNPs) via EDC/NHS coupling chemistry. The homogeneously distributed cit-UCNPs@g-C3N4 nanoconjugates with excellent hydrophilicity displayed good film-forming ability and structural integrity; thus, the photoluminescence of each ingredient was substantially maintained. Results indicated that the freestanding chitosan cross-linked cit-UCNPs@g-C3N4 luminescent nanopaper possessed high transmittance, excellent mechanical properties, and remarkable dual-mode emission. The smart design of high performance luminescent nanopaper based on ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets grafted with multicolored UCNPs offers a potential strategy to immobilize other multifunctional luminescent materials for easily recognizable and hardly replicable anticounterfeiting fields.

[Determination of trace elements in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients suffering cerebrovascular disease by atomic absorption spectrometry].

The contents of some trace elements such as zinc, copper, iron and cadmium in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of normal persons and the patients who suffered cerebral hemorrhage or infarction were determined directly by atomic absorption spectrometry. The method is simple and convenient with a recovery ratio by standard addition being 97.6% to 104.8%, and a relative standard deviation (RSD) is lower than 5%. The test showed that except for the content copper lower than normal, the patients suffering cerebrovascular disease have much higher contents of zinc, iron and cadmium. The result provides useful data for studying the relation between the contents of these trace elements and cerebrovascular disease, as well as diagnosing, treating and preventing this disease.