A Superhydrophobic and Oleophobic Silicone Sponge with Hierarchical Structures.

The fabrication of amphiphobic materials requires a precise and complicated design, especially for 3D porous materials, and amphiphobic sponges have rarely been investigated. This paper describes the synthesis of a superhydrophobic and oleophobic silicone sponge (SS-F) by simply building hierarchical structures, that is, introducing a secondary structure on the pore walls of a hydrophobic and oleophilic silicone sponge. This simple and efficient synthesis method is based on the thiol-ene click reaction.

Increased risk of maternal and neonatal complications in hormone replacement therapy cycles in frozen embryo transfer.

Background: The endometrial preparation during frozen embryo transfer (FET) can be performed by natural cycle (NC), hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cycle and cycle with ovulation induction (OI). Whether different FET preparation protocols can affect maternal and neonatal outcomes is still inconclusive.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study that included 6886 women who delivered singleton live birth babies after 28 weeks of pregnancy underwent FET from January, 2015 to July, 2018.

RNA-Binding Protein IGF2BP2/IMP2 is a Critical Maternal Activator in Early Zygotic Genome Activation.

A number of genes involved in zygotic genome activation (ZGA) have been identified, but the RNA-binding maternal factors that are directly related to ZGA in mice remain unclear. The present study shows that maternal deletion of (also commonly known as ) in mouse embryos causes early embryonic developmental arrest in vitro at the 2-cell-stage. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses of 2-cell-stage embryos in mice reveal that deletion of IMP2 downregulates the expression of and , both of which are required for early embryonic developmental competence.

Correlation of genetic results with testicular histology, hormones and sperm retrieval in nonobstructive azoospermia patients with testis biopsy.

To investigate the frequency and types of genetic results in different testicular histology of patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA), and correlated with hormones and sperm retrieval (SR), a retrospective study was conducted in 286 Chinese NOA patients who underwent testis biopsy and 100 age-matched fertile men as the control group. Chromosome karyotype analyses were performed by the peripheral blood chromosome G-band detection method. Screening of Y chromosome microdeletions of azoospermia factor (AZF) region was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 11 sequence-tagged sites (STS).

Phase transition of a quaternary ammonium Gemini surfactant induced by minor structural changes of protic ionic liquids.

The aggregation behaviors of a Gemini surfactant [C12H25(CH3)2N(+)(CH2)2N(+)(CH3)2C12H25]Br2(-) (12-2-12) in two protic ionic liquids (PILs), propylammonium nitrate (PAN) and butylammonium nitrate (BAN), were investigated by means of several experimental techniques including small and wide-angle X-ray scattering, the polarized optical microscopy and the rheological measurement. Compared to those in ethylammonium nitrate (EAN), the minor structural changes with only one or two methylene units (-CH2-) increase in cationic chain length of PIL, result in a dramatic phase transition of formed aggregates. The critical micellization concentration was increased in PAN, while no micelle formation was detected in BAN.

Fluorescent hybrid with electron acceptor methylene viologen units inside the pore walls of mesoporous MCM-48 silica.

A fluorescent material with methylene viologen units bonded into the pore walls of the mesoporous MCM-48 silica is synthesized using the method of periodic mesoporous organosilicas with bridging groups (PMOs), in which the methylene viologen units are located within the channel walls through the cohydrolysis and cocondensation of dichloride of N,N'-bis(triethoxysilylmethyl)-4,4'-bipyridinium (VP) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). It is found that the suspension of the hybrid emits fluorescence at ca. 380 and 420 nm, which is attributed to the S(1) state (pi* --> pi) of the viologen and the charge-transfer complex between the bipyridinium units as electron acceptor and accompanying halide (Br(-), Cl(-)) as donor components, respectively.