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Glass-ceramic sulfide solid electrolytes like Li7P3S11 are practicable propellants for safe and high-performance all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries (ASSLSBs); however, the stability and conductivity issues remain unsatisfactory. Herein, we propose a congener substitution strategy to optimize Li7P3S11 as Li7P2.9Sb0.1S10.75O0.25 via chemical bond and structure regulation. Specifically, Li7P2.9Sb0.1S10.75O0.25 is obtained by a Sb2O5 dopant to achieve partial Sb/P and O/S substitution. Benefiting from the strengthened oxysulfide structural unit of POS33- and P2OS64- with bridging oxygen atoms and a distorted lattice configuration of the Sb-S tetrahedron, the Li7P2.9Sb0.1S10.75O0.25 electrolyte exhibits prominent chemical stability and high ionic conductivity. Besides the improved air stability, the ionic conductivity of Li7P2.9Sb0.1S10.75O0.25 could reach 1.61 × 10-3 S cm-1 at room temperature with a wide electrochemical window of up to 5 V (vs Li/Li+), as well as good stability against Li and Li-In alloy anodes. Consequently, the ASSLSB with the Li7P2.9Sb0.1S10.75O0.25 electrolyte shows high discharge capacities of 1374.4 mAh g-1 (0.05C, 50th cycle) at room temperature and 1365.4 mAh g-1 (0.1C, 100th cycle) at 60 °C. The battery also presents remarkable rate performance (1158.3 mAh g-1 at 1C) and high Coulombic efficiency (>99.8%). This work provides a feasible technical route for fabricating ASSLSBs.

Purpose: To evaluate the midterm outcomes of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) using chimney grafts (ch-TEVAR) or thoracic stent-grafts with fenestrations made on the back table (f-TEVAR) to treat thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) and thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 474 consecutive patients (mean age 62.3±10.7 years; 346 men) treated with either f-TEVAR (n=110) or ch-TEVAR (n=364) for 352 TADs (81 f-TEVAR and 271 ch-TEVAR) or 122 TAAs (29 f-TEVAR and 93 ch-TEVAR) from 2008 to 2016. The primary endpoints at 30 days and during follow-up were overall mortality, aorta-related mortality, and major complications. The secondary endpoints were endoleak and reintervention. The patency of the target branches, cost of hospitalization, and the use of antiplatelet drugs were also analyzed. Results: Intraoperative type I endoleaks were treated in 69 (14.6%) cases (4 f-TEVAR and 65 ch-TEVAR, p

Glass-ceramic sulfide solid electrolytes like Li

Liquid organic electrolytes are mostly used in commercial lithium-ion batteries, due to their advantages of high conductivity and excellent wetting of the electrode interface. However, liquid organic electrolytes are flammable and volatile, causing safety issues of commercial lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Recently, all-solid-state lithium secondary batteries have attracted great attention owing to their high safety and increased energy density, and are considered the most promising next generation energy storage systems. The most essential components are solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries. Among various inorganic solid electrolytes, sulfide solid electrolytes have received widespread attention because of their high ionic conductivity and good mechanical properties. Herein, we summarize the development of several typical sulfide solid electrolytes and the problems to be addressed in emerging all-solid-state lithium batteries. Finally, the future development directions of sulfide electrolytes and all-solid-state lithium batteries are briefly discussed.

Objective: Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is associated with matrix changes, biochemical changes, and inflammatory markers like interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). However, the exact mechanism remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the role of IL-1β, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, smooth muscle cell apoptosis, and elastic fibre fracture in the development of TAD in a rat model. Methods: The TAD rat model was induced by β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN). TAD was investigated in 112 male Sprague–Dawley rats, which were equally divided into four groups of 28 rats (Control, BAPN, BAPN + IL-1β, and BAPN + IL-1β antibody). Systolic blood pressure, survival, and the development of TAD were measured after six weeks. Expression of IL-1β, MMP-2, and MMP-9 was measured by Western blot. Apoptosis, aortic elastin concentration, and biomechanical characteristics were measured by the TdT mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay, Victoria blue staining, and in vitro testing. Results: During six weeks, the mortality was 0% (0/28) in the control group, 53.6% (15/28) in the BAPN group (p

A retrospective single-center study is reported here to assess the safety and long-term effectiveness of applying a fibrin sealant (FS) sac-filling strategy to eliminate type IA endoleak (TIAE) after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm.Characteristics of abdominal aortic aneurysm patients who had challenging proximal aortic neck anatomy (short or angulated) and underwent FS sac filling to resolve TIAE after traditional EVAR in Changhai Hospital between December 2006 and July 2010 were collected and reviewed. Intrasac pressure was measured with a preloaded catheter before and after FS filling to observe the immediate curative effect. The 7- to 10-year long-term effect was evaluated on the basis of the occurrence of endoleak, maximum aneurysm diameter, all-cause mortality, and other severe complications by annual aortic computed tomography angiography check.There were 107 patients with short (≤15 mm; 83/107 [77.6%]) or angulated (60 degrees; 27/107 [25.2%]) aneurysm neck who underwent FS sac filling. The mean age of the patients was 71.1 ± 12.1 years (68 male patients). Of the 107 endoleaks, 106 (106/107 [99.1%]) were resolved, and 3 (3/107 [2.8%]) patients died in the perioperative period. Intrasac systolic, diastolic, mean, and pulse pressures decreased significantly in the treated cases (systolic pressure, 114.1 ± 16.7 mm Hg vs 59.5 ± 20.4 mm Hg; diastolic pressure, 65.0 ± 10.4 mm Hg vs 51.4 ± 18.2 mm Hg; mean pressure, 81.3 ± 11.4 mm Hg vs 54.1 ± 18.8 mm Hg; pulse pressure, 49.1 ± 12.8 mm Hg vs 8.2 ± 5.2 mm Hg; P .01). During a median follow-up period of 89.1 months, the mean maximum aneurysm diameter became significantly smaller than that observed before the operation (53.23 ± 10.9 mm vs 59.86 ± 11.77 mm). The postoperative maximum aneurysm diameter decreased in 76 patients and was stable in 22 patients. One patient with aneurysm enlargement was transferred to open surgery because of a type IV endoleak, and another patient with no blood flow into the aneurysm sac observed by computed tomography angiography was closely followed up. Four patients received repeated endovascular treatment after the occurrence of type IB endoleak and aneurysm enlargement. After a median follow-up of 89.1 months, the cumulative survival rate was 90.7%, 80.4%, 72.0%, 58.9%, and 51.4% after 1 year, 3 years, 6 years, 8 years, and 10 years after the operation, respectively. There was no recurrent type I endoleak, distal embolization, migration, kinking, or malfunction after FS injections during the perioperative period and follow-up.FS sac filling combined with intrasac pressure measurement is a simple and effective treatment method to eliminate TIAE after EVAR, especially for patients with challenging proximal neck anatomy. This method could expand the current indications of EVAR.

Rubber-sand mixtures (RSMs) have long been recognized as light filling back material and energy absorbing material with wide usage in civil engineering. As addition of rubber particles into sands usually decreases the strength of base sand, it is necessary to reinforce RSMs to satisfy the need of practical engineering. This paper presents studies on the behavior of geogrid reinforced RSMs. Conventional triaxial shear tests were carried out on reinforced/un-reinforced RSMs. Four kinds of geogrid reinforcing patterns, i.e., horizontal reinforcing with one layer, two layers, three layers, and vertical reinforcing were taken into accounted, and three kinds of confining pressures, i.e., 50 kPa, 100 kPa and 200 kPa were applied. Experimental results indicate that: (1) Comparing to un-reinforced RSMs, the stress-strain curves of RSMs reinforced by geogrid are enhanced in turn for vertical reinforcing, horizontal one layer reinforcing, horizontal two layer reinforcing, horizontal three layer reinforcing respectively. (2) The stress-strain relationship of RSMs reinforced by geogrid exhibits strain hardening characteristics instead of strain softening before reinforced. (3) The reinforcement effect coefficient on the failure stress of RSM is higher than that of pure sand, and at the low confining pressure, this phenomenon is more obvious. (4) Geogrid reinforcement can restore the strength of the RSMs with less effect on the modulus. That is, reinforced RSMs can maintain the merits of low modulus and high strength simultaneously. (5) The stress-strain relationship of the reinforced RSM could be well normalized with the failure stress adopted as the normalized factor, based on the established normalization equation, the stress - strain curves could be predicted well.

A carbon matrix, for restricting growth of LiMnPO4 crystallites, is built on the small Li3PO4 crystallites precipitated from aqueous solutions, by the pyrolysis of sucrose. LiMnPO4 is prepared using the carbon coated Li3PO4 as one of the reactants (the other reactant is MnSO4) and the nuclei by a solvothermal method. Smaller-crystallite-size (8–12 nm) LiMnPO4 is successfully obtained on the carbon matrix by a crystallite size control method. The as-prepared LiMnPO4/C sample presents the desired electrochemical performance, including higher discharge potential plateau, larger discharge capacity, excellent high-rate capability, and good cycle stability. It is also confirmed that the smaller LiMnPO4 crystallites on the carbon matrix are beneficial for shortening the lithium ion diffusion path and increasing the electrical conductivity of the LiMnPO4/C sample, contributing to an improvement in electrochemical performance. The methodology described in this work could be helpful in the development of LiMnPO4/C cathode materials for lithium ion batteries with high energy density.