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HighlightsS-doped CuO nanorod arrays (S-CuO/CF) constructed by sulfur leaching and oxidative remodeling strategy require only 1.23 and 1.33 V versus hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to provide glycerol oxidation currents of 100 and 500 mA cm−2.S-CuO/CF shows satisfactory performance (at 100 mA cm−2, Vcell = 1.37 V) assembled as the anode in asymmetric coupled electrolytic cell of glycerol oxidation reaction and HER.The study identifies the key factors involved in the GOR reaction pathway, which include the C–C bond breaking and lattice oxygen deintercalation steps.Glycerol (electrochemical) oxidation reaction (GOR) producing organic small molecule acid and coupling with hydrogen evolution reaction is a critical aspect of ensuring balanced glycerol capacity and promoting hydrogen generation on a large scale. However, the development of highly efficient and selective non-noble metal-based GOR electrocatalysts is still a key problem. Here, an S-doped CuO nanorod array catalyst (S-CuO/CF) constructed by sulfur leaching and oxidative remodeling is used to drive GOR at low potentials: It requires potentials of only 1.23 and 1.33 V versus RHE to provide currents of 100 and 500 mA cm−2, respectively. Moreover, it shows satisfactory comprehensive performance (at 100 mA cm−2, Vcell = 1.37 V) when assembled as the anode in asymmetric coupled electrolytic cell. Furthermore, we propose a detailed cycle reaction pathway (in alkaline environment) of S-doped CuO surface promoting GOR to produce formic acid and glycolic acid. Among them, the C–C bond breaking and lattice oxygen deintercalation steps frequently involved in the reaction pathway are the key factors to determine the catalytic performance and product selectivity. This research provides valuable guidance for the development of transition metal-based electrocatalysts for GOR and valuable insights into the glycerol oxidation cycle reaction pathway.

Objective To investigate whether seasonal variations and meteorological factors influence pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting University-affiliated reproductive medical center. Subjects Women aged < 35 years undergoing IVF from June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2019. Interventions Cycles were divided into four groups according to the date of the beginning of ovulation induction: spring (659 cycles), summer (578 cycles), autumn (519 cycles), and winter (534 cycles). Results The high-quality embryo rate was higher in autumn and winter than in cycles in which ovulation induction occurred in spring and summer (58.70% vs. 58.78% vs. 62.67% vs. 63.42%; P  < 0.001). The results of linear regression analysis showed that the high-quality embryo rate was significantly correlated with the daily average temperature of ovulation induction ( P  = 0.037). The clinical pregnancy rates of cycles starting ovulation induction in spring, summer, and autumn were significantly higher than those starting in winter (70.71% vs. 73.18% vs. 70.13% vs. 65.17%; P  = 0.031), while the biochemical pregnancy rate, early abortion rate, and live birth rate were not significantly different ( P  > 0.050). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed significant seasonal variation in clinical pregnancy (OR = 1.643, 95% CI = 1.203–2.243; P  = 0.002), and that a higher daily average temperature at the time of ovulation induction increased the clinical pregnancy rate (OR = 1.012, 95% CI = 1.001–1.022; P  = 0.031). Conclusions In women younger than 35 years who undergo IVF treatment, the season and ambient temperature on the date of the beginning of ovulation induction may have an impact on embryo development and clinical pregnancy.

Epipogium roseum, commonly known as one of the ghost orchids due to its rarity and almost transparent color, is a non-photosynthetic and fully mycoheterotrophic plant. Given its special nutritional strategies and evolutionary significance, the mitogenome was first characterized, and three plastomes sampled from Asia were assembled. The plastomes were found to be the smallest among Orchidaceae, with lengths ranging from 18,339 to 19,047 bp, and exhibited high sequence variety. For the mitogenome, a total of 414,552 bp in length, comprising 26 circular chromosomes, were identified. A total of 54 genes, including 38 protein-coding genes, 13 tRNA genes, and 3 rRNA genes, were annotated. Multiple repeat sequences spanning a length of 203,423 bp (45.47%) were discovered. Intriguingly, six plastid regions via intracellular gene transfer and four plastid regions via horizontal gene transfer to the mitogenome were observed. The phylogenomics, incorporating 90 plastomes and 56 mitogenomes, consistently revealed the sister relationship of Epipogium and Gastrodia, with a bootstrap percentage of 100%. These findings shed light on the organelle evolution of Orchidaceae and non-photosynthetic plants.

Background Studies have shown that abnormalities in the decidualization process were closely related to recurrent implantation failure (RIF). Prokineticin 2 (PK2) is a secreted protein with angiogenic and tissue remodeling functions but its role in the endometrium is unknown. Methods PK2 levels and its receptor PKR1 mRNA and protein levels in mid-secretory endometrium from normal and RIF women were examined by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively. The effects of PK2 were evaluated by overexpressed PK2 in immortalized endometrial T-HESC cells using lentivirus vector and found different expression of Matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP9) and lncRNA LUCAT1 by RNA-sequencing. The ability of PK2 to regulate LUCAT1 and MMP9 was verified in endometrial cells by real-time PCR and western blotting. Results Using endometrial biopsies from normal and RIF patients, we found increased expression of PK2, together with its receptor PKR1 in RIF patients. We then overexpressed PK2 in immortalized endometrial T-HESC cells using lentivirus vector and found decreased expression of Matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP9), and increased expression of lncRNA LUCAT1. We verified the ability of PK2 to stimulate LUCAT1 and decrease MMP9 in endometrial cells. We further demonstrated that increased expression of a long noncoding RNA LUCAT1 and decreased expression of MMP9 in endometrial biopsies of patients with RIF. Thus, we highlighted the important role of PK2 and its receptor PKR1 in decidualization and RIF. Conclusion Prokineticin 2 and its receptor are important in endometrium decidualization. PK2 may affect endometrial decidualization through the LUCAT1- MMP9 pathway, thereby affecting embryo implantation.

Suaeda rigida is a lignified, true haplotype that predominantly grows in the Tarim basin, China. It has significant economic and ecological value. Herein, with aim to determine the genes associated with salt tolerance, transcriptome sequencing was performed on its stem, leaves and root over three set NaCl gradients regimens at treatment intervals of 3 h and 5 days. From our findings, we identified 829,095 unigenes, with 331,394 being successfully matched to at least one annotation database. In roots, under 3 h treatment, no up-regulated DEGs were identified in 100 and 500 mM NaCl treated samples. Under 5 days treatment, 97, 60 and 242 up-regulated DEGs were identified in 100, 300, 500 mM NaCl treated samples, respectively. We identified 50, 22 and 255 down-regulated DEGs in 100, 300, 500 mM NaCl treated samples, respectively. GO biological process enrichment analysis established that down-regulated DEGs were associated with nitrogen compound transport, organic substance transport and intracellular protein transport while the up-regulated genes were enriched in cell wall biogenesis, such as plant-type cell wall biogenesis, cell wall assembly, extracellular matrix organization and plant-type cell wall organization. These findings provide valuable knowledge on genes associated with salt tolerance of Suaeda rigida , and can be applied in other downstream haplotype studies.

A three-dimensional helix geometry unit cell is established to simulate the complex spatial configuration of 3D braided composites. Initially, different types of yarn factors, such as yarn path, cross-sectional shape, properties, and braid direction, are explained. Then, the multiphase finite element method is used to develop a new theoretical calculation procedure based on the unit cell for predicting the impacts of environmental temperature on the thermophysical properties of 3D four-direction carbon/epoxy braided composites. The changing rule and distribution characteristics of the thermophysical properties for 3D four-direction carbon/epoxy braided composites are obtained at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 200 °C. The influences of environmental temperature on the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and the coefficients of thermal conduction (CTC) are evaluated, by which some important conclusions are drawn. A comparison is conducted between theoretical and experimental results, revealing that variations in temperature exert a notable influence on the thermophysical characteristics of 3D four-directional carbon/epoxy braided composites. The theoretical calculation procedure is an effective tool for the mechanical property analysis of composite materials with complex geometries.

This paper investigates the problem of global finite-time output feedback stabilization in probability for a class of stochastic high-order nonlinear systems. The drift and diffusion terms satisfy the homogeneous growth conditions. Based on the stochastic Lyapunov theorem and the adding one power integrator technique, a homogeneous observer and controller are constructed for the nominal system. Then, a scaling gain is introduced into the homogenous observer and controller to render the closed-loop system to be globally finite-time stable in probability. Two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design scheme.

Background We aimed to compare the clinical and perinatal outcomes of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatment with either an early-follicular long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) long protocol (EFLL) or a midluteal short-acting GnRH-a long protocol (MLSL). Methods This single–center, retrospective study, included patients with PCOS who underwent IVF/ICSI from January 2013 to June 2019 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Patients underwent either MLSL (1179 cycles) or EFLL (2390 cycles). The primary outcomes were pregnancy outcomes, perinatal and maternal complications. Results Fresh embryo transfer (59.12% vs. 55.47%, P  = 0.038), clinical pregnancy (75.23% vs. 53.82%, P  = 0.001), and live birth rates (63.27% vs. 42.05%, P  = 0.010) were higher in the EFLL group. However, the proportion of patients “freezing all\" for high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (24.27% vs. 32.06%, P  = 0.001) and ectopic pregnancy (1.51% vs. 5.97%, P  = 0.002) were lower in the EFLL group than in the MLSL group. The incidence of gestational diabetes was higher in the EFLL group than in the MLSL group (5.08% vs. 1.42%, RR 3.714, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.474–9.360, P  = 0.003). There were no significant differences in the incidence of hypertension, premature rupture of membranes, placenta previa, congenital heart disease, or neonatal weight between the two groups. Logistic regression results showed that age (OR 0.966, 95% CI 0.941–0.993, P  = 0.013), treatments (OR 2.380, 95% CI 1.833–3.089, P  = 0.001), and endometrial thickness on trigger day (OR 1.115, 95% CI 1.070–1.162, P  = 0.001) were correlated with clinical pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy BMI (OR 1.098, 95% CI 1.002–1.204, P  = 0.046), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (OR 3.096, 95% CI 1.900–5.046, P  = 0.001), and treatments (OR 3.458, 95% CI 1.359–8.800, P  = 0.009) were correlated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Treatments (OR 0.291, 95% CI 0.148–0.575, P  = 0.001) and endometrial thickness on trigger day (OR 0.834, 95% CI 0.722–0.962, P  = 0.013) were correlated with ectopic pregnancy. Conclusion The early-follicular long-acting GnRH agonist long protocol can be used as an ideal assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancy assistance program for patients with PCOS, but obese patients should be encouraged to lose weight before ART treatments to reduce the risk of GDM.

The Hexi region, located in a sensitive and fragile ecological zone in northwest China, requires a scientific assessment of ecosystem services and their interactions. Identifying the main factors influencing spatial distribution is crucial for the sustainable development and effective management of the region. This study evaluates key ecosystem services, including regulating services (water conservation, soil conservation, carbon storage) and provisioning services (NPP), using Spearman’s correlation and pixel-by-pixel spatial analysis to calculate spatial trade-offs and synergies. Geographic detectors were used to uncover the underlying driving mechanisms. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, soil conservation, NPP, and carbon storage showed fluctuating growth, while water conservation declined. Spatially, high-value areas of water conservation, carbon storage, and NPP were concentrated in the central and southern areas, while high values of soil conservation services were mainly in the northwest and southeast regions. (2) The trade-offs and synergies among various ecosystem services exhibit temporal shifts, along with spatial scale effects and heterogeneity. In the study area, the proportion of pixels showing a trade-off relationship between water conservation and soil conservation, and between water conservation and NPP, accounts for 48.21% and 21.42%, respectively. These trade-offs are mainly concentrated in the central and southeastern regions, while the northwestern counties predominantly exhibit synergies. (3) Precipitation was the dominant factor for water conservation, carbon storage, and NPP, as well as for the trade-offs among these services. Among natural factors, climatic factors were significantly more influential than socio-economic factors, and the interaction between two factors had a greater explanatory power than single factors.

Stronger contractility and smaller bladder capacity are common symptoms in ketamine cystitis (KC). This study investigates the association between expression levels of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V (TRPV) proteins and the clinical characteristics of KC. Bladder tissues were obtained from 24 patients with KC and four asymptomatic control subjects. Video urodynamic parameters were obtained before surgical procedures. The TRPV proteins were investigated by immunoblotting, immunofluorescence staining, and immunohistochemistry. The Pearson test was used to associate the expression levels of TRPV proteins with clinical characteristics of KC. The expression level of TRPV1 and TRPV4 was significantly higher in the severe KC bladders than in mild KC or control bladders. The TRPV1 proteins were localized in all urothelial cell layers, and TRPV4 was located in the basal cells and lamina propria. The expression of TRPV1 was negatively associated with maximal bladder capacity (r = − 0.66, P  = 0.01). The expression of TRPV4 was positively associated with the velocity of detrusor pressure rise to the maximum flow rate (r = 0.53, P  = 0.01). These observations suggest smaller bladder capacity and stronger contractility in KC are associated with an elevated expression of TRPV1 and TRPV4, respectively.