Confinement of sulfur-doped NiO nanoparticles into N-doped carbon nanotube/nanofiber-coupled hierarchical branched superstructures:Electronic modulation by anion doping boosts oxygen evolution electrocatalysis

The search for non-precious and efficient electrocatalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is of vital importance for the future advancement of multifarious renewable energy conversion/storage technologies.Electronic modulation via heteroatom doping is recognized as one of the most forceful leverages to enhance the electrocatalytic activity.Herein,we demonstrate a delicate strategy for the in-situ confinement of S-doped Ni O nanoparticles into N-doped carbon nanotube/nanofiber-coupled hierarchical branched superstructures(labeled as S-Ni O@N-C NT/NFs).The developed strategy simultaneously combines enhanced thermodynamics via electronic regulation with accelerated kinetics via nanoarchitectonics.The S-doping into Ni O lattice and the 1 D/1 D-integrated hierarchical branched carbon substrate confer the resultant S-Ni O@N-C NT/NFs with regulated electronic configuration,enriched oxygen vacancies,convenient mass diffusion pathways and superior architectural robustness.Thereby,the SNi O@N-C NT/NFs display outstanding OER properties with an overpotential of 277 m V at 10 m A cm^(-2)and impressive long-term durability in KOH medium.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations further corroborate that introducing S-dopant significantly enhances the interaction with key oxygenate intermediates and narrow the band gap.More encouragingly,a rechargeable Zn-air battery using an air-cathode of Pt/C+S-Ni O@N-C NT/NFs exhibits a lower charge voltage and preferable cycling stability in comparison with the commercial Pt/C+Ru O_(2)counterpart.This study highlighting the concurrent consideration of electronic regulation,architectural design and nanocarbon hybridization may shed light on the future exploration of economical and efficient electrocatalysts.

Impact of vaccination against COVID-19 on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer:a retrospective cohort study

Background: Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the primary approach in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Studies have shown that vaccination against COVID-19 has adverse effects, particularly on human reproductive health, despite the fact that vaccination rates are still on the rise. However, few studies have reported whether vaccination affects the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or not. In this study, we compared the outcome of IVF-ET and the development of follicles and embryos between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study of 10,541 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles was conducted from June 2020 to August 2021. 835 IVF cycles with a history of vaccination against COVID-19 and 1670 IVF cycles that served as negative controls were selected and analyzed utilizing the Matchlt package of R software (http://www.R-project.org/) and the nearest neighbor matching algorithm for propensity-matched analysis at a 1:2 ratio. Results: The number of oocytes collected in the vaccinated group and the unvaccinated group were 8.00 (0, 40.00) and 9.00 (0, 77.00) ( P = 0.073) and the good-quality embryo rates of the two groups were 0.56±0.32 and 0.56±0.31 averagely ( P = 0.964). Clinical pregnancy rates for the vaccinated group and unvaccinated group were 42.4% (155/366) and 40.2% (328/816) ( P = 0.486) and biochemical pregnancy rates were 7.1% (26/366) and 8.7% (71/816) ( P = 0.355). Two other factors were analyzed in this study;vaccination among different genders and different types (inactivated vaccine or recombinant adenovirus vaccine) showed no statistically significant effect on the above outcomes. Conclusions: In our findings, vaccination against COVID-19 showed no statistically significant effect on the outcomes of IVF-ET and the development of follicles and embryos, nor did the gender of the vaccinated person or the formulation of vaccines show significant effects.

Recent progress in the treatment of women with diminished ovarian reserve

Diminished ovarian reserve(DOR)refers to a decrease in the number and/or quality of oocytes in the ovary,accompanied by a decline in reproductive potential,which is generally related to advanced age or ovarian disease.In in vitro fertilization(IVF)clinical practice,managing patients with DOR remains one of the most challenging tasks.In recent years,increased research on improving ovarian function has provided us with new insights into treating patients with DOR.Many therapeutic options have been proposed to improve the ovarian function of patients with DOR,yet they are not widely utilized in clinical practice because of limited evidence of safety and effectiveness.In this review,we focus on the mechanisms from animal models and clinical trials that have been applied to the treatment of DOR in recent years,intending to improve IVF outcomes in patients with DOR.Furthermore,new insights and perspectives on the molecular and cellular regulation of follicular development and ovarian reserve are emphasized to provide more clues for research on the treatment of DOR.