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Herein, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) was used as a template to control the synthesis of Ca0.5Pr0.5FeO3. Its microstructure, composition, and morphology were detected via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The properties of catalyzing bagasse lignin (BL) pyrolysis were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) test and evaluation of a fixed bed alumina microreactor. The results show that the sample Ca0.5Pr0.5FeO3 regulated by SDBS has a cubic crystal phase, and the addition of SDBS does not cause phase transition. Moreover, when the SDBS concentration is 0.10 mol/L, the particle size is 200–500 nm and the specific surface area is 11.26 m2/g. The yields of gas, liquid, and solid products in the BL catalytic pyrolysis are 39.58 wt%, 26.76 wt% and 32.36 wt%, respectively. The contents of CO2 and CO decrease from 54.07% and 4.98% to 45.29% and 3.23%, respectively. The liquid products are mainly guaiacol, syringol, and phenol, and the total selectivity of phenols is 83.67%, accompanied by a small amount of non-aromatic oxygen-containing compounds (five-membered ring (furan) or ester). Compared with the BL pyrolysis and Ca0.5Pr0.5FeO3 catalytic pyrolysis products, the selectivity of guaiacol compounds increases by 43.26%, while those of syringol compounds and phenylketones decrease by 30.08% and 3.39%, respectively. The selectivity of 2,6-dimethoxyphenol is 28.37%. After five catalytic pyrolysis-regeneration cycles, the characteristic peaks of the catalyst do not change significantly and the particles are uniform, suggesting that the catalyst has good crystal phase stability and regeneration stability.

Al–Fe co-doped H1.6(Al0.3Mn0.7)1.6Fe0.1O4 lithium-ion sieves exhibit magnetic recovery properties and excellent recycling performance.

Subtle distal Fallopian tube abnormalities comprise a group of diseases that are characterised by subtle variations in tubal anatomy. This prospective cohort study investigated the prevalence of subtle distal Fallopian tube abnormalities in the infertile population and their relationship with endometriosis. It was conducted in a single fertility referral centre between January 2017 and December 2018 and included all infertile patients who underwent laparoscopy. Subtle distal Fallopian tube abnormalities included fimbrial agglutination, tubal diverticula, accessory ostium, fimbrial phimosis, and accessory Fallopian tube. A total of 876 patients were enrolled in the study, and 251 cases (28.65%; mean age: 29.4 ± 4.7 years) were diagnosed with subtle tube abnormalities. A total of 179 of these cases presented only one type of abnormality, 62 presented two types of abnormalities, and 12 presented three types. Tubal fimbrial agglutination composed the largest group (62.2%; n = 156), followed by tubal diverticula (26.3%; n = 66), fimbrial phimosis (25.5%; n = 64), tubal accessory ostium (15.5%; n = 39), and tubal accessory ostium (15.5%; n = 39). An accessory Fallopian tube was the least common abnormity (4.8%; n = 12). A total of 70.9% (178/251) of the women with subtle tubal abnormalities had endometriosis. The prevalence of subtle distal Fallopian tube abnormalities in the stage I-II group was significantly higher than in the stage III-IV group (57.3% [149/260] vs. 20.9% [29/139]; p < 0.001). These findings indicate the high prevalence of subtle distal Fallopian tube abnormalities in the infertile woman. This group of diseases is highly related to endometriosis and may indicate fimbrial abnormalities of endometriosis.

STUDY QUESTION What is the relationship between mitochondria of granulosa cells (GCs) and age and ovarian function in the patients under the POSEIDON classification? SUMMARY ANSWER Our results revealed obvious abnormal mitochondrial-related changes in low prognosis IVF population, where age and the function of ovarian reserve exerted a divergent effect on mitochondrial content and function. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Mitochondria have an important role in the cross-talk between GCs and oocytes. However, factors affecting mitochondria of GCs and related mechanisms are still poorly understood. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION GCs samples were obtained from 119 infertile women undergoing IVF from September 2020 to February 2021. Six groups were investigated by the POSEIDON stratification: young with normal prognosis (C1), aging with normal prognosis (C2), young and low prognosis group with normal ovarian reserve (NOR) (G1), aging and low prognosis group with NOR (G2), young and low prognosis group with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) (G3), and aging and low prognosis group with DOR (G4). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS The morphology of GC mitochondria was observed by transmission electron microscopy. MtDNA copy number and mitochondrial replication-related genes were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by confocal microscopy. Cellular glycolysis and aerobic respiratory capacity were analyzed by Seahorse XFe96 Analyzer, and related gene expression and protein levels were assessed by qPCR and Western blot. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Compared to the normal prognosis groups, mitochondrial morphology was impaired in the low prognosis groups, where the young groups (G1, G3) with low prognosis showed phenotypes undergoing oxidative stress (round, vacuolated, swollen with decreased matrix density) and the aging groups (G2, G4) revealed typical aging characteristics (an irregular shape with heterogeneous matrix density and cord-like cristae). Additionally, the degree of corresponding change and damage was more obvious in patients with DOR (G3, G4) regardless of age. For mitochondrial content, the mtDNA copy number in GCs was significantly negatively correlated with age in the low prognosis groups (β = −0.373, P = 0.005). Interestingly, the relationship between mtDNA copy number and anti-Mullerian hormone score differed between the two age groups with low prognosis, with a negative correlation in the young groups (β = −0.639, P = 0.049) and a positive correlation in the aging groups (β = 0.505, P = 0.039). In addition, significantly reduced mitochondrial activity (MMP, ROS) and cell metabolism (both glycolysis and OXPHOS) were observed in the low prognosis groups, with the most obvious decrease being observed in the DOR population. However, the metabolism of the GCs in normal prognosis aging women (C2) shifted from OXPHOS to anaerobic glycolysis. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Owing to the difficulties involved in primary GC collection and culture, the sample size was limited. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Mitochondrial abnormality is closely linked to the low prognostic outcome in IVF patients. Supplementing the functional mitochondrial content or improving mitochondrial function by autologous mitochondrial transfer or mitochondrial-related regulating drugs may help improve the clinical outcomes in patients with a low prognosis, especially for those with DOR. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21737001), the Peking University Clinical Medicine + X Youth Project (PKU2020LCXQ011), the Research and Development Program of Peking University People’s Hospital (No. RDH2017-03; No. RDX2019-06) and the Application of Clinical Features of Capital Special Subject (Z171100001017130). There were no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Register (Clinical Trial Number: ChiCTR2100045531).

Background. Abnormal endometrial repair after injury results in the formation of intrauterine adhesions (IUA) and a thin endometrium, which are key causes for implantation failure and infertility. Stem cell transplantation offers a potential alternative for some cases of severe Asherman’s syndrome that cannot be treated with surgery or hormonal therapy. Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) have been reported to repair the damaged endometrium. However, there is no report on the effects of UCMSCs previously seeded on human acellular amniotic matrix (AAM) on endometrial injury. Methods. Absolute ethanol was injected into rat uteri to damage the endometrium. UCMSCs previously seeded on AAM were surgically transplanted. Using a variety of methods, the treatment response was assessed by endometrial thickness, endometrial biomarker expression, endometrial receptivity, cell proliferation, and inflammatory factors. Results. Endometrial thickness was markedly improved after UCMSC-AAM transplantation. The expression of endometrial biomarkers, namely, vimentin, cytokeratin, and integrin β3, in treated rats increased compared with untreated rats. In the UCMSC-AAM group, the VEGF expression decreased, whereas that of MMP9 increased compared with the injury group. Moreover, in the AAM group, the MMP9 expression increased. The expression of proinflammatory factors (IL-2, TNFα, and IFN-γ) in the UCMSC-AAM group decreased compared with the untreated group, whereas the expression of anti-inflammatory factors (IL-4, IL-10) increased significantly. Conclusions. UCMSC transplantation using AAM as the carrier can be applied to treat endometrial injury in rats. The successful preparation of lyophilized AAM provides the possibility of secondary infectious disease screening and amniotic matrix quality detection, followed by retrospective analysis. The UCMSC-AAM complex may promote the better application of UCMSCs on the treatment of injured endometrium.

Single-emitting-layer white organic light-emitting diodes (SEL-WOLEDs) have developed rapidly in recent years due to the outstanding advantages of high efficiency, simple device structure, low cost, less phase separation, and stable emission color. Nevertheless, the relatively complicated host-dopant system is usually essential for most previous SEL-WOLEDs and the development of simple non-doped SEL-WOLEDs lags behind. Hence the straightforward synthesis of single-white-emitting molecules for non-doped SEL-WOLEDs still remains a great challengeable task. In this article, we designed and synthesized two new pyrene-based polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and used them as emitting layer materials in the OLED devices. When the molecules change from the mono-fused one to bis-fused one, the emitting light changes from greenish to white color. Further study indicated that the bis-fused molecule PyD with more twisted and extended backbone packed in neat Cmca space group in single-crystal system compared with P2

Objective This systematic review and meta-analysis were aimed to summarize the body of evidence on the prognosis after laparoscopic surgeries for pathological conditions on distal oviducts, then, furthermore, to evaluate prognostic factors for pregnancy outcomes. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the body of evidence on this topic, with the review question formulated as “what is the prognosis after the laparoscopic fimbrioplasty, salpingostomy, or salpingoneostomy for patients with pathologic conditions on the distal oviducts.” We searched Medline and EMBASE on June 1st, 2020. Two investigators (HH and ZY) independently screened the references of all retrieved records for potentially eligible studies by firstly, through titles and abstract, and then full-text. A study would be included if it was a primary study reporting pregnancy outcomes of patients after laparascopic surgery. A meta-analysis of the rates of pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, live birth, and miscarriage was performed using a random effect model. Results We identified 3861 records and included 21 reports with 2473 participants. The pooled estimate for the pregnancy rate was 35.1% (95% CI: 30.7%–39.7%, I2 ​= ​78%, low certainty). The pooled estimates for the live birth rate, ectopic pregnancy rate, and miscarriage were 24.4% (95% CI: 20.2%–28.8%, I2 ​= ​58%; 1154 participants; low certainty), 6.2% (95% CI: 4.4%–8.2%, I2 ​= ​61%; 2363 participants; low certainty), and 4.6% (95% CI: 2.8%–6.9%, I2 ​= ​10%; 544 participants; low certainty). Our analyses suggested that the more damaged tubal was associated with a decreased pregnancy rate, and patients with moderate or severe adhesion had lower pregnancy rates compared with patients with mild pelvic adhesion. Conclusion We estimated the pregnancy rate, ectopic pregnancy rate, and miscarriage rate of patients with distal tubal pathology after the laparoscopic fimbrioplasty or salpingostomy. Low certainty evidence suggested that laparoscopic surgery can restore the tubal function and cure infertility and should be considered as an alternative to in vitro fertilization. Tubal damage stage and adhesion are associated with worse pregnancy outcomes.

What are conception rates and pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopic treatment of subtle distal tubal abnormalities among infertile women, and which factors relate to natural conception?Prospective cohort study (n = 234) conducted in a single fertility referral centre between January 2017 and December 2018. Subtle abnormalities included fimbrial agglutination, tubal diverticula, accessory ostium, fimbrial phimosis and accessory fallopian tube. Pregnancy outcomes were followed-up annually until 36 months.One hundred and nine patients conceived naturally (natural conception rate 46.6%), and 59 patients conceived after IVF. Term live birth rate of the natural conception group was significantly higher than the IVF conception group (86.2% versus 71.2%, chi-squared = 5.625, P = 0.018). Preterm birth (11.9% versus 0%, P = 0.001) and multiple pregnancy rates (27.1% versus 0%, P0.001) of the IVF conception group were significantly higher than the natural conception group. Patient age (hazard ratio = 0.917, 95% CI 0.870 to 0.967, P = 0.001), duration of infertility (hazard ratio = 0.846, 95% CI 0.740 to 0.966, P = 0.014) and concurrent types of subtle abnormalities (hazard ratio = 0.636, 95% CI 0.416 to 0.970, P = 0.036) were factors associated with natural conception.Laparoscopy is an effective treatment for infertile patients with subtle abnormalities, especially for young patients with a short infertile period and at most two types of subtle abnormalities. For older women, a long infertile period and more than two types of subtle abnormalities, IVF may be more suitable after laparoscopic diagnosis.

In this study, aqueous organic redox flow batteries(AORFBs) with NaCl as supporting electrolyte were investigated. In AORFBs, the chlorine evolution reaction should be retarded, not the hydrogen evolution reaction. To enhance the catalytic activity of the graphite felt(GF) electrode, the metal oxides were proposed to decorate on the GF surface. Among the loading oxides, significant enhancement of the mass transfer and reaction activity was obtained by the presence of LaSrOx nanoparticles. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements revealed that the content of oxygen-containing groups and the hydrophilicity were remarkably increased. After the electrode assembled in the battery, the LaSrOx/GF electrode presented huge enhancement of the battery performance, obviously increasing in the battery capacity and efficiency. At a current of 50 Am/cm2, the energy efficiency(EE) of the battery increased from 54.76% to 61.37% by the LaSrOx/GF electrode. Furthermore, the cyclability of the system tested that no obviously fading was observed after 100 cycles, signifying the excellent stability of the LaSrOx/GF electrode.

To realize the resource and high-value utilization, a new approach, named bagasse lignin (BL) used to produce aryl oxygen-containing compounds by catalytic pyrolysis over perovskite, was proposed. LaTi0.2Fe0.8O3 (LTF) samples prepared by the sol-gel method (SG) and the solid-state reaction method (SS) were characterized. The catalytic action on BL pyrolysis was performed by the test of TG-DTG and the evaluation of the fixed bed micro-reactor, the components and contents of the products were determined. The results show that LTF samples have cubic perovskite phase, LTF prepared by SG (LTF-SG) is porous with larger specific surface area than LTF prepared by SS (LTF-SS). During the pyrolysis of BL, the addition of LTF lowers the pyrolysis temperature and the activation energy, the contents of CO2 and CO in gaseous products reduce by 4.6%–8.0% and 30.7%–34.3%, respectively, the total content of aryl oxygen-containing compounds (including phenolics, guaiacols, syringols and phenylates) in liquid products increases from 62 wt% to more than 72 wt%, and LTF-SG shows better catalytic performance. LTF samples have nice phase and catalytic stabilities for BL pyrolysis after five successive redox cycles.

Development of new n-type one-dimensional (1D) self-assembly nanostructure and a clear understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and self-assembly behavior are important prerequisites for further designing and optimizing organic optoelectronic nanodevice. In this article, a series of n-type organic semiconductor materials based on pyrene imide were successfully synthesized through [4+2] cycloaddition reactions and their preliminary optical and electrochemical properties were studied. The simulated HOMO-LUMO bandgaps via DFT tallied with the experimental data well. The self-assembly of these materials showed needle or fiber-like morphologies, indicating that different conjugation degree or alkyl group had significant influence on their self-assembly behaviors. Furthermore, the single-crystal packing for these molecules were analyzed and it was found out that the changes of conjugated backbone and functional group would affect certain crystal lattice parameter significantly, such as the intermolecular packing distance and crystal size etc, which would further result in different self-assembly morphology.

A new approach, named production of aryl oxygen-containing compounds from the catalytic pyrolysis of bagasse lignin (BL) over perovskite oxide, was proposed. A series of LaTixFe1−xO3 (LTF-x) samples were prepared by the solid state reaction method. The crystal phase and morphology of LTF-x were characterized by XRD and SEM respectively. Catalytic pyrolysis performance of LTF-x was performed by TG-DTG and the distribution patterns of gaseous, liquid and solid products from BL was investigated using a fixed-bed micro-reactor. The optimal reaction conditions were determined: the pyrolysis temperature was 600 °C, the mass ratio of mBL:mLTF-0.2 was 3:1, the velocity of carrier gas was 100 ml·min−1. The gaseous products were mainly composed of CO2, CO, CH4 and CnHm (n = 2–4, m = 2n + 2 or m = 2n). The main aryl oxygen-containing compounds in liquid products were phenolics, guaiacols, syringols and phenylates, the rest were benzenes, furans, esters and carboxylic acid. The total contents of aryl oxygen-containing compounds were from 62% up to more than 72% under the action of the perovskite. Moreover, the LTF-0.2 sample had nice regenerability.

A new method for regulating the synthesis of NiMgFe hydrotalcites (NMF LDHs) with the addition of hydroxyl compounds was proposed. A series of NMF LDHs were prepared by the above method, and then were calcined to obtain the NiMgFeOx (NMFOx) samples. The NMFOx samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TG-DTG, XPS and CO2-TPD, respectively. The catalytic performance of NMFOx for depolymerizing calcium lignosulfonate (CLS) was evaluated by hydrothermal reaction. The results showed that the addition of hydroxyl compounds favored reducing the particle sizes of NMF LDHs. For the depolymerization of CSL, the yield of liquid product increased from 45% to 75.8% with the addition of NMFOx-ethanol (NMFOx-ET). The liquid products were mainly phenolics, aromatics, ketones and esters. The total selectivity of oxy-containing compounds was over 90.6%, among them, the phenolics were approximately 35.2%. The valence of Ni and Fe, crystalline phase and basicity almost remained unchanged. The NMFOx-ET samples were recycled for the depolymerization of CLS, moreover, the NMFOx-ET samples had high activity and stability after 4 cycles.

LaTi0.2Fe0.8O3 (LTF) was prepared by the sol-gel method, and the effects of calcination temperature on the structure and properties were investigated. A new method of preparing aryl oxygen-containing compounds from bagasse lignin (BL) by the catalytic pyrolysis over LTF was proposed. The results show that LTF has cubic crystal phase and porous structure and its optimal calcination temperature is 800 °C (LTF-800). In the test for catalytic pyrolysis of BL, with the addition of LTF-800, the yield of liquid product reaches the maximum; the contents of phenolics, guaiacols, syringols, phenylates and furans increase obviously, while those of benzenes, esters and carboxylic acid decrease. The total content of aryl oxygen-compounds (including phenolics, guaiacols, syringols and phenylates) in liquid product is more than 74 wt% with the addition of LTF-800, larger than that obtained by single BL pyrolysis (62 wt%). LTF could avoid oxygen-containing functional groups from being excessively destroyed. It has nice regeneration performance by controlled combustion of char even after 5 cycles.

A series of LaM0.2Fe0.8O3 (M = Fe, Cu, Al, Ti) samples synthesized by the sol–gel method were used to catalyze the pyrolysis of bagasse alkali lignin (BAL) to produce aryl oxygen-containing compounds. The effects of doping metal ions in the B-site of LaFeO3 were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer. Furthermore, the catalytic pyrolysis performances of the perovskites were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis and the fixed-bed microreactor, and the gaseous and liquid pyrolysis products were analyzed by GC and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), respectively. The results indicated that the perovskites have a cubic crystal phase, porous structure, and large specific surface area. After doping Cu, Al, and Ti ions in the B-site of perovskites, the grain sizes were refined, the performance of catalyzing BAL pyrolysis was improved, and the yields of liquid pyrolysis products increased by 24.1–39.1%. The selectiv...

More women postpone childbearing nowadays while female fertility begins to decline with advancing age. Furthermore, with the rolling out of the two-child policy, there is a huge demand for a second child for Chinese aged women. There are various assisted reproductive technology (ART) strategies applied for age-related infertility without solid evidence. On behalf of the Society of Reproductive Medicine, Chinese Medical Association, we would like to develop a Chinese guideline of ART strategies for age-related infertility. This guideline was produced following the recommendations for standard guidelines described in the 2012 WHO Handbook for guideline development. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was also followed. A protocol was formulated and a Guideline Development Group was formed with specialists of reproductive medicine, methodologists from Chinese GRADE working group, and patient representative. Questions regarding the ART strategies for aged infertility were formulated and 8 most important ones were chosen to be structured in PICO format (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes). Comprehensive search and review of the literature were performed and the quality of the evidence was assessed and rated based on certain criteria and be categorized as high, moderate, low, or very low. Twenty-five recommendations were formulated among members of the Guidelines Development Group (Delphi method) basing on the overall quality of the evidence, in addition to the balance between benefits and harms, values and preferences, and resource implications. The final recommendations were agreed on by consensus during face-to-face meetings. This is the first Chinese practice guideline in reproductive medicine developed following the standard and scientific method.

“Dual triggering” for final oocyte maturation using a combination of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can improve clinical outcomes in high responders during in vitro fertilization–intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF–ICSI) GnRH-antagonist cycles. However, whether this dual trigger is also beneficial to normal responders is not known. We retrospectively analyzed the data generated from 469 normal responders from 1 January to 31 December 2017. The final oocyte maturation was undertaken with a dual trigger with a GnRHa combined with hCG (n = 270) or hCG alone (n = 199). Patients were followed up for 3 years. The cumulative live-birth rate was calculated as the first live birth achieved after all cycles having an embryo transfer (cycles using fresh embryos and frozen–thawed embryos) among both groups. Women in the dual-trigger group achieved a slightly higher number of oocytes retrieved (11.24 vs. 10.24), higher number of two-pronuclear (2PN) embryos (8.37 vs. 7.67) and a higher number of embryos available (4.45 vs. 4.03). However, the cumulative live-birth rate and the all-inclusive success rate for assisted reproductive technology was similar between the two groups (54.07 vs. 59.30%). We showed that a dual trigger was not superior to a hCG-alone trigger for normal responders in GnRH-antagonist cycles in terms of the cumulative live-birth rate.

It has been widely acknowledged that the dual triggering for final oocyte maturation with a combination of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) improve clinical outcomes in high responders during IVF-ICSI GnRH-antagonist cycles. However, it remains elusive whether this dual trigger is also benifical to the normal responders. The aim of this study was to investigate this issue. In the present study, we retrospectively analysed the data generated from a total of 469 normal responders from 1st January to 31st December 2017 and final oocyte maturation was performed with dual trigger with GnRH agonist combined hCG (n=270) or hCG alone (n=199). All the patients were followed up for three years. Cumulative live birth rate was calculated as the first live birth achieved after all cycles having an embryo transfer (fresh cycles as well as thawing cycles) among both groups. Subjects in the dual trigger group achieved a slightly higher number of oocytes retrieved (11.24 vs. 10.24), higher number of two-pronuclear embryo (2PN) (8.37 vs.7.67) and a higher number of embryos available (4.45 vs.4.03). But the cumulative live birth rate, an all-inclusive success rate for assisted reproductive technology, was similar between the two groups (54.07% vs.59.30%). This study showed that the dual trigger was not superior to only hCG trigger for normal responders in GnRH antagonist cycles in terms of cumulative live birth rate.

Background. This study is aimed at investigating the repairing effect of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes from different sources on ovarian granulosa cells damaged by chemotherapy drugs—phosphoramide mustard (PM). Methods. In this study, we choose bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and human placental mesenchymal stem cells (HPMSCs) for research. Then, they were cocultured with human ovarian granulosa cells (SVOG) injured by phosphoramide mustard (PM), respectively. β-Galactosidase staining, flow cytometry, and Western blot were used to detect the changes in the senescence and apoptosis of SVOG cells before and after their coculture with the above two types of MSCs. Subsequently, exosomes from these two types of MSCs were extracted and added to the culture medium of SVOG cells after PM injury to test whether these two types of exosomes played a role similar to that of MSCs in repairing damaged SVOG cells. Results. PM treatment-induced apoptotic SVOG cells were significantly decreased after HPMSCs and BMSCs as compared with control group. After coculturing with these two types of MSCs, PM-treated SVOG cells showed significantly reduced senescence and apoptosis proportions as well as cleaved-Caspase 3 expression, and HPMSCs played a slightly stronger role than BMSCs in repairing SVOG cells in terms of the above three indicators. In addition, the ratios of senescent and apoptotic SVOG cells were also significantly reduced by the two types of exosomes, which played a role similar to that of MSCs in repairing cell damages. Conclusions. The results indicated that BMSCs, HPMSCs, and their exosomes all exerted a certain repair effect on SVOG cells damaged by PM, and consistent repair effect was observed between exosomes and MSCs. The repair effect of exosomes secreted from BMSCs and HPMSCs on the SVOG cells was studied for the first time, and the results fully demonstrated that exosomes are the key carriers for MSCs to play their role.

A novel approach was proposed to prepare ZSM-5 zeolite via hydrothermal synthesis by using Al(OH)3, which was extracted from fly ash by a staged treatment, as an aluminum source. The synthesis parameters and crystal growth of ZSM-5 were optimized. The optimization of crystal growth for ZSM-5 was investigated under the effect of organic steric-hindrance agents. The crystal phase and morphology of the ZSM-5 were characterized by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy, and the particle size distribution was measured by laser particle-size analyzer. The crystal growth of ZSM-5 under different hydrothermal conditions obeyed the "S" regulation. According to the analysis, the formation of ZSM-5 crystal occurred via four steps: (1) the formation of amorphous aluminosilicate by the condensation of silicate ions and aluminate ions; (2) the particle growth and aggregation of the amorphous aluminosilicate; (3) crystallization and crystal growth of ZSM-5; (4) Gentle growth after the zeolite crystal reaches a certain size. The addition of organic steric hindrance agents resulted in a decrease in grain size and crystal-particle formation with a narrow size distribution. Single-grain dispersion resulted and the micropore volume, mesopore volume, and specific surface areas were improved by the presence of organic steric agents.

NaP zeolite was successfully synthesized by using various commercial silicon sources and NaAlO2 extracted from coal fly ash as raw materials. Multiple characterization methods were employed to investigate the effect of silicon sources on NaP zeolite. Adsorption performance and mechanism of NaP zeolite for Rhodamine B were surveyed. The product synthesized by fumed SiO2 at n(Na2O)/n(SiO2) = 0.70 presented single spherical morphology with the average grain size of 3.22 µm. The shearing of NaOH resulted in the formation of silicates with different polymerization degrees and silicates occurring in the forms of monomeric, dimeric, trimeric, long-chain, and cyclic oligomers, initiating an improvement in pore structure and morphology. The introduction of dynamic crystallization mode (with the rotating speed of 150 r/min) not only reduced grain size (from 3.22 µm to 1.78 µm) but also shortened crystallization time (from 12 h to 10 h) of NaP-fumed SiO2. NaP zeolite had excellent adsorption performance for Rhodamine B with the removal rate of 98.26%. Adsorption behavior fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm adsorption equations. Adsorption process was endothermic and feasible. NaP zeolite had good regeneration and alkali resistance capacities. Adsorption manners mainly contained pore filling, electrostatic attraction, and hydrogen bonding, focused on physisorption.

A new method, named the regulation of crystal growth process with steric agent, was proposed. Analcime (ANA) was prepared via hydrothermal synthesis method with sodium silicate and aluminum hydroxi...

To investigate whether laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometriomas pretreated with operation by gynecologists or reproductive surgeons exerts different effects on in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection results. Retrospective case control study. Relevant information was collected from the electronic records of women who underwent IVF/ICSI from 01/01/2013 to 30/12/2015 in our unit. The study group consisted of 35 women who previously had laparoscopic endometrioma excision by reproductive surgeons in our unit; the control group included 36 patients who underwent surgery for endometriomas by gynecologists in our hospital. There were slightly higher numbers of AFC and higher pregnancy rate in the study group, although differences did not reach statistical significance. For patients over 35 years old, there were more oocyte retrieved, mature oocytes and two pronucei (2PN) in the study group than the control group although observed differences did not reach statistical significance. Electrocautery is more deleterious on ovarian reserve than hemostatic suture. In procedure of patients who wish to conceive, surgeons should use hemostatic suturing technique preferentially.

Background: At present, a diagnostic tool with high specificity for impaired endometrial receptivity, which may lead to implantation failure, remains to be developed. We aimed to assess the different endometrial microRNA (miRNA) signatures for impaired endometrial receptivity by microarray analysis. Methods: A total of 12 repeated implantation failure (RIF) patients and 10 infertile patients, who conceived and delivered after one embryo transfer attempt, were recruited as RIF and control groups, respectively. Endometrial specimens from the window of implantation (WOI) were collected from these two groups. MiRNA microarray was conducted on seven and five samples from the RIF and control groups, respectively. Comparative, functional, and network analyses were performed for the microarray results. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on other samples to validate the expression of specific miRNAs. Results: Compared with those in the control group, the expression levels of 105 miRNAs in the RIF group were found to be significantly up- or down-regulated (at least 2-fold) by microarray analysis. The most relevant miRNA functional sets of these dysregulated miRNAs were miR-30 family, human embryonic stem cell regulation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and miRNA tumor suppressors by tool for annotations of microRNA analysis. Network regulatory analysis found 176 miRNA-mRNA interactions, and the top 3 core miRNAs were has-miR-4668-5p, has-miR-429, and has-miR-5088. Expression levels of the 18 selected miRNAs in new samples by real-time PCR were found to be regulated with the same trend, as the result of microarray analysis. Conclusions: There is a significant different expression of certain miRNAs in the WOI endometrium for RIF patients. These miRNAs may contribute to impaired endometrial receptivity.

Fracturing wastewater is often highly emulsified, viscous, and has a high chemical oxygen demand (COD), which makes it difficult to treat and recycle. Ferrate(VI) is a green oxidant that has a high redox potential and has been adopted for the efficient oxidation of fracturing wastewater to achieve triple effects: demulsification, visbreaking, and COD removal. Firstly, optimal conditions were identified to build a model for fast and efficient treatment. Secondly, wastewater treatment using ferrate oxidation was investigated via demulsification, visbreaking, and COD removal. Finally, a mechanism for ferrate oxidation was proposed for the three effects using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The theoretical and experimental data demonstrated that the ferrate oxidation achieved the three desired effects. When ferrate was added, the demulsification efficiency increased from 56.2% to 91.8%, the total viscosity dropped from 1.45 cp to 1.10 cp, and the total removal rate of COD significantly increased to 74.2%. A mechanistic analysis showed that the strongly-oxidizing ferrate easily and efficiently oxidized the O/W interfacial film materials, viscous polymers, and compounds responsible for the COD, which was a promising result for the triple effects.

Due to the rich pore structure, NaP zeolite adsorbent has been widely employed in the adsorption and separation fields. The NaP zeolite crystals with small size and good dispersion were generated with the addition of ionic surfactants using coal fly ash as the raw material. The effects of different types and concentrations of surfactants on the structure of NaP zeolites were investigated by various characterization methods. The optimal concentration of ionic surfactants was 0.5 cmc (critical micelle concentration) for NaP-CTAB and 0.125 cmc for NaP-SDBS. The NaP-SDBS zeolite at 0.125 cmc exhibited higher crystallinity (96.11%), the smallest grain size (2.20 ​μm), and the largest specific surface area (29.1 ​m2/g). The functional groups in the ionic surfactants exerted the electrostatic interaction (attraction and repulsion) and steric hindrance effects together with the negatively charged precursors of NaP zeolite, which provided a favorable foundation for broadening the application fields and improving the adsorption properties. And the introduction of ionic surfactants did not destroy the structure of NaP zeolites synthesized at optimal concentrations. Via the evaluation of Zn(II) adsorption, the NaP-SDBS zeolite showed the adsorption removal rate of 96.27% and the main adsorption manner was the ion exchange. Meanwhile, through the five times adsorption—desorption cycles, the adsorption properties of Zn(II) by NaP zeolites still reached above 95.30%, which demonstrated that NaP zeolite adsorbent is effective in treating industrial sewage.

Herein, a novel method for the adsorption of metal ions from sewage by NaP zeolite adsorbent synthesized from stage-treated coal fly ash (CFA) was proposed. The pre-treatment of CFA and grading extraction of silicon and aluminum were explored, and the effects of crystallization parameters and sodium salts on the yield and purity of NaP zeolites were investigated. The characteristics of the zeolite product were measured by a series of characterization methods and the adsorption performance was also evaluated. Optimal treatment parameters were calcination at 800 °C for 3 h with m(CFA)/m(Na2CO3) = 1:1 and 3 mol/L HCl with m(CFA)/V(HCl) = 1 g: 10 mL, with high extraction efficiencies (Si: 91.40% and Al: 90.20%) through stage treatment method. NaP zeolite product exhibited higher purity (96.66%) and yield (94.24%) at 120 °C for 8 h with the addition of NaBr (entirely instead of NaOH, the purity was 90.57% and the yield was 87.82%). The effect of organic steric hindrance was connected with its molecular configuration. NaP zeolite with the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) at n(Al2O3)/n(PEG) = 1:5 had the highest single-grain dispersion with the smallest grain size (2.13 μm). However, NaP zeolite with the addition of cyclohexanol (CyOH) at n(Al2O3)/n(CyOH) = 1:3 had the largest surface area (80.4 m2/g). During the Zn(II) adsorption, the appropriate pH value was identified at 5, and the adsorption process followed the pseudo second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm adsorption equations. The thermodynamic parameters revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. NaP zeolite adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption performance with Zn(II) concentration less than 0.2 ppm in the absorption equilibrium. Moreover, NaP zeolite as an effective adsorbent possessed excellent regeneration.

BACKGROUND Coal fly ash (CFA) is a solid waste generated during combustion and transformation of coal that causes serious environmental pollution because of the huge amount of emissions and subsequent accumulation. In this work, coal fly ash was selected as a source of silicon and aluminum components to synthesize zeolites Na-P and Na-X. RESULTS High purity zeolites Na-P and Na-X were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. The influences of an organic steric agent and different sodium salts on the preparation were investigated and the process parameters of the hydrothermal system optimized. The synthesized product was further characterized by XRD, SEM, ICP, FTIR, and BET surface area measurements. Adsorption tests of Na-P and Na-X zeolite for Ni2+ were performed and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was used for the detailed analysis. CONCLUSION Pretreatment and purification of CFA favors the preparation of pure Na-P and Na-X zeolite. The organic steric agent and different sodium salts were used to decrease the grain size of the product and control the purity and yield, respectively. Zeolite Na-P synthesized with the addition of TEA (triethanolamine) had the best Ni2+ adsorption performance and a hypothesis for Ni2+ adsorption is proposed. Preliminary analysis proved that Van der Waals absorption is the main type of adsorption for the porous zeolite but ion exchange could also occur with the effect of metal ion exchange contributing a maximum of 13.56% to the total adsorption capacity. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Background: Ovarian cancer is a leading gynecological malignancy. We investigated the prognostic value of programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) in patients with ovarian cancer. Methods: Expression levels of PDCD5 mRNA and protein were examined in six ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV3, CAOV3, ES2, OV1, 3AO, and HOC1A) and one normal ovarian epithelial cell line (T29) using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and flow cytometry. After inducing PDCD5 induction in SKOV3 cells or treating this cell line with taxol or doxorubicin (either alone or combined), apoptosis was measured by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining. Correlations between PDCD5 protein expression and pathological features, histological grade, FIGO stage, effective cytoreductive surgery, and serum cancer antigen-125 values were evaluated in patients with ovarian cancer. Results: PDCD5 mRNA and protein expression were downregulated in ovarian cancer cells. Recombinant human PDCD5 increased doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells (15.96 ± 2.07%, vs. 3.17 ± 1.45% in controls). In patients with ovarian cancer, PDCD5 expression was inversely correlated with FIGO stage, pathological grade, and patient survival ( P R = 0.7139 for survival). Conclusions: PDCD5 expression is negatively correlated with disease progression and stage in ovarian cancer. Therefore, measuring PDCD5 expression may be a good method of determining the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients.