Correction: Cu2O template synthesis of high-performance PtCu alloy yolk-shell cube catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

Correction for 'Cu2O template synthesis of high-performance PtCu alloy yolk-shell cube catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells' by Sheng-Hua Ye et al., Chem. Commun., 2014, 50, 12337-12340, DOI: 10.1039/C4CC04108A.

Efficacy assessment of acupuncture in improving symptoms of uterine fibroids: A randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Uterine fibroids are a common benign genital tumor disease in gynecological diseases. It is mainly a change in physical function caused by the growth of smooth muscle cells in the factor uterus. Modern medicine's treatment of this disease is based on the dependence of uterine fibroids on sex hormones. Treatment with antiprogestin and estrogen drugs can reduce the volume of fibroids or slow the rate of increase in volume, thereby achieving the goal of alleviating clinical symptoms. In order to meet the needs of the majority of women of childbearing age and to maintain fertility, acupuncture treatment of uterine fibroids has a broad prospect for development. METHODS/DESIGN: This study plans to select 60 cases that meet the corresponding selection criteria. According to the random principle, they will be divided into intervention group and control group, with 30 cases in each group. The general information, fibroid size, and TCM syndrome scores of the two groups of patients will be compared before treatment. In terms of treatment, the intervention group will be given acupuncture combined therapy; the control group will be given Chinese patent medicine. The treatment cycles in both groups will be three menstrual cycles. After the treatment is completed, the data of the relevant curative effect indicators are analyzed by using SPSS software to draw conclusions. DISCUSSION: We aim to provide higher evidence-based medical evidence for acupuncture treatment of uterine fibroids. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR2000030438, Registered on March 01, 2020.

Cu2O template synthesis of high-performance PtCu alloy yolk-shell cube catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

Novel PtCu alloy yolk-shell cubes were fabricated via the disproportionation and displacement reactions in Cu2O yolk-shell cubes, and they exhibit significantly improved catalytic activity and durability for methanol electrooxidation.

Luminescent Zn2GeO4 nanorod arrays and nanowires.

Large-area Zn2GeO4 nanorod arrays (1.5 × 5 cm) and long Zn2GeO4 nanowires (length up to 1 mm) have been controllably prepared at different areas on the substrate using a simple thermal evaporation method. The formation processes for these nanostructures were investigated carefully. The solid state reaction and vapor-solid process have been found to clearly contribute to the creation of the Zn2GeO4 nanorod arrays and long Zn2GeO4 nanowires, respectively. Photoluminescence (PL) characterization of these nanostructures showed that both the nanorod arrays and nanowires exhibited strong blue-white luminescence. Mn-doped Zn2GeO4 nanorod arrays have also been obtained by doping an appropriate amount of Mn(2+) ions in the products. Zn2GeO4 nanostructures doped with Mn(2+) exhibited bright green luminescence.

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays grown directly on zinc foils and zinc spheres by a low-temperature oxidization method.

Vertically aligned, dense ZnO nanorod arrays were grown directly on zinc foils by a catalyst-free, low-temperature (450-500 degrees C) oxidization method. The zinc foils remain conductive even after the growth of ZnO nanorods on its surface. The success of this synthesis largely relies on the level of control over oxygen introduction. By replacing zinc foils with zinc microspheres, unique and sophisticated urchin-like ZnO nanorod assemblies can be readily obtained.

Nanowire array gratings with ZnO combs.

Diffraction gratings are mainly manufactured by mechanical ruling, interference lithography, or resin replication, which generally require expensive equipment, complicated procedures, and a stable environment. We describe the controlled growth of self-organized microscale ZnO comb gratings by a simple one-step thermal evaporation and condensation method. The ZnO combs consist of an array of very uniform, perfectly aligned, evenly spaced and long single-crystalline ZnO nanowires or nanobelts with periods in the range of 0.2 to 2 microm. Diffraction experiments show that the ZnO combs can function as a tiny three-beam divider that may find applications in miniaturized integrated optics such as three-beam optical pickup systems.

Growth and structure evolution of novel tin oxide diskettes.

The novel SnO diskettes have been synthesized by evaporating either SnO or SnO(2) powders at elevated temperature. Disregard the source material being SnO or SnO(2), the SnO diskettes are formed at a low-temperature region of 200-400 degrees C. Two types of diskette shapes have been identified: the solid-wheel shape with a drop center rim (type I) and the diskette with cone peak(s) and spiral steps (type II). The diskettes are determined to be tetragonal SnO structure (P4/nmm), with their flat surfaces being (001). The formation of the SnO diskettes is suggested to result from a solidification process. The structural evolution from SnO diskettes to SnO(2) diskettes has been investigated by oxidizing at different temperatures. The result shows that the phase transformation from SnO to SnO(2) occurs in two processes of decomposition and oxidization, and the decomposition process consists of two steps: first from SnO to Sn(3)O(4) and then from Sn(3)O(4) to SnO(2).

Molten gallium as a catalyst for the large-scale growth of highly aligned silica nanowires.

The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process is a fundamental mechanism for the growth of nanowires, in which a small size (5-100 nm in diameter), high melting point metal (such as gold and iron) catalyst particle directs the nanowire's growth direction and defines the diameter of the crystalline nanowire. In this article, we show that the large size (5-50 microm in diameter), low melting point gallium droplets can be used as an effective catalyst for the large-scale growth of highly aligned, closely packed silica nanowire bunches. Unlike any previously observed results using gold or iron as catalyst, the gallium-catalyzed VLS growth exhibits many amazing growth phenomena. The silica nanowires tend to grow batch by batch. For each batch, numerous nanowires simultaneously nucleate, grow at nearly the same rate and direction, and simultaneously stop growing. The force between the batches periodically lifts the gallium catalyst upward, forming two different kinds of products on a silicon wafer and alumina substrate. On the silicon wafer, carrot-shaped tubes whose walls are composed of highly aligned silica nanowires with diameters of 15-30 nm and length of 10-40 microm were obtained. On the alumina substrate, cometlike structures composed of highly oriented silica nanowires with diameters of 50-100 nm and length of 10-50 microm were formed. A growth model was proposed. The experimental results expand the VLS mechanism to a broader range.