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The decline in female fertility as age advances is intricately linked to the diminished developmental potential of oocytes. Despite this challenge, the strategies available to enhance the quality of aged oocytes remain limited. Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG), characterised by its anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant and tissue protective properties, holds promise as a candidate for improving the quality of maternally aged oocytes. In this study, we explored the precise impact and underlying mechanisms of EGCG on aged oocytes. EGCG exhibited the capacity to enhance the quality of aged oocytes both in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the application of EGCG in vitro resulted in noteworthy improvements, including an increased rate of first polar body extrusion, enhanced mitochondrial function, refined spindle morphology and a reduction in oxidative stress. These beneficial effects were further validated by the improved fertility observed among aged mice. In addition, our findings propose that EGCG might augment the expression of Arf6. This augmentation, in turn, contributes to the assembly of spindle‐associated F‐actin, which can contribute to mitigate the aneuploidy induced by the disruption of spindle F‐actin within aged oocytes. This work thus contributes not only to understanding the role of EGCG in bolstering oocyte health, but also underscores its potential as a therapeutic intervention to address fertility challenges associated with advanced age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2-coated LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 materials were prepared by the hydrolyzation of Ti(OBu)4. The impact of TiO2 coating on the structure and electrochemical properties of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 was investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and charge–discharge tests. The results indicated that TiO2 coating did not affect the lattice of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, but exhibited obvious effects on its discharge capacity and cycling stability. As coated TiO2 increased from 0.0 to 2.0 mol%, the initial capacity of samples decreased slightly, but the cycling stability over 2.5∼4.3 V increased remarkably. The capacity retention reached 99.5% at the 50th cycle at a coating amount of 2.0 mol%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of LiCoO2 cathode materials from spent lithium–ion batteries are presented. It started with the reclaim/recycle of metal values from spent lithium–ion batteries, which involves the separation of electrode materials by ultrasonic treatment, acid dissolution, precipitation of cobalt and lithium, followed by the preparation of LiCoO2 cathode materials. Co (99.4%) and Li (94.5%) were recovered from spent lithium–ion batteries. The LiCoO2 cathode materials prepared from the reclaimed cobalt and lithium compounds showed good elecrtochemical performance. The reclaiming of cobalt and lithium has a promising outlook for the recycling of cobalt and lithium from spent Li–ion batteries, thus reducing the cost of Li–ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sn doped lithium nickel cobalt manganese composite oxide of LiNi3/8Co2/8Mn3/8−x Sn x O2 (0≤ x ≤0.10) was synthesized by stannum substitute of manganese to enhance its rate capability at first time. Its structure and electrochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and charge/discharge tests. LiNi3/8Co2/8Mn3/8−x Sn x O2 had stable layered structure with α-NaFeO2 type as x up to 0.05, meanwhile, its chemical diffusion coefficient D Li of Li-ion was enhanced by almost one order of magnitude, leading to notable improvement of the rate capability of LiNi3/8Co2/8Mn3/8O2. The compound of x =0.10 showed the best rate capability among Sn doped samples, but its discharge capacity reduced markedly due to secondary phase Li2SnO3 and increase of cation-disorder. The compound with x =0.05 showed high rate capability with initial discharge capacity in excess of 156mAhg−1. It is a promising alternative cathode material for EV application of Li-ion batteries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aimed to promote the separation of photogenerated carriers and improve the redox performance of graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) by synthesizing a double-heterojunction-structure photocatalyst, g-C 3 N 4 /(101)-(001)-TiO 2 , through the solvothermal method. The photocatalyst comprised a Z-system formed from g-C 3 N 4 and the (101) plane of TiO 2 , as well as a surface heterojunction formed from the (101) and (001) planes of TiO 2 . The results showed that g-C 3 N 4 /(101)-(001)-TiO 2 had strong photocatalytic activity and stable performance in the photodegradation of paracetamol. The active species ·O 2 - and ·OH were found to play important roles in the photocatalytic degradation of paracetamol through a radical-quenching experiment. The charge-transfer mechanism was also described in detail. Overall, this work provided a new strategy for the Z-system heterojunction and opened up the application of this structure in the degradation of organic pollutants., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Graphene as a two-dimensional (2D) nanoplatform is beneficial for assembling a 2D heterojunction photocatalytic system to promote electron transfer in semiconductor composites. Here a BiVO 4 nanosheets/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based 2D-2D heterojunction photocatalytic system as well as 0D-2D BiVO 4 nanoparticles/RGO and 1D-2D BiVO 4 nanotubes/RGO nanocomposites are fabricated by a feasible solvothermal process. During the synthesis; the growth of BiVO 4 and the intimate interfacial contact between BiVO 4 and RGO occur simultaneously. Compared to 0D-2D and 1D-2D heterojunctions, the resulting 2D-2D BiVO 4 nanosheets/RGO composites yield superior chemical coupling; leading to exhibit higher photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of acetaminophen under visible light irradiation. Photoluminescence (PL) and photocurrent experiments revealed that the apparent electron transfer rate in 2D-2D BiVO 4 nanosheets/RGO composites is faster than that in 0D-2D BiVO 4 nanoparticles/RGO composites. The experimental findings presented here clearly demonstrate that the 2D-2D heterojunction interface can highlight the optoelectronic coupling between nanomaterials and promote the electron-hole separation. This study will motivate new developments in dimensionality factors on designing the heterojunction photocatalysts and promote their photodegradation photocatalytic application in environmental issues.

The misuse of β-agonists constitutes a potential risk to public health and has been forbidden in many countries. In this study, we describe a method for specific, sensitive and rapid detection of β-agonists in human urine. Urine samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, without any additional purification step, and analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS) with Clenbuterol-D9 and Salbuterol-D3 as internal standards. The intra- and interday precision values of the method were all <5.60% and the accuracy ranged from 94.5 to 109%. Extraction recovery for 11 β-agonists varied from 66.7 to 108%. One UPLC-MS-MS analysis could be completed within 12 min and the limits of detection for 11 β-agonists were 0.1 ng/mL in the experiment. β-Agonists in human urines from 24 volunteers were analyzed by our validated method and 1.70 ng/mL salbutamol was detected in one volunteer. The application of UPLC-MS-MS method in β-agonists detection of human urine will be helpful in veterinary control of β-agonists and for studying the effect of β-agonists on human health., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)