Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are an important environmental issue that causes greenhouse and climate change effects on the earth. Nowadays, CO₂ has various conversion methods to be a potential carbon resource, such as photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and photo-electrocatalytic. CO₂ conversion into value-added products has many advantages, including facile control of the reaction rate by adjusting the applied voltage and minimal environmental pollution. The development of efficient electrocatalysts and improving their viability with appropriate reactor designs is essential for the commercialization of this environmentally friendly method. In addition, microbial electrosynthesis which utilizes an electroactive bio-film electrode as a catalyst can be considered as another option to reduce CO₂. This review highlights the methods which can contribute to the increase in efficiency of carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂R) processes through electrode structure with the introduction of various electrolytes such as ionic liquid, sulfate, and bicarbonate electrolytes, with the control of pH and with the control of the operating pressure and temperature of the electrolyzer. It also presents the research status, a fundamental understanding of carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) mechanisms, the development of electrochemical CO₂R technologies, and challenges and opportunities for future research.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is an eco-friendly method for producing clean and sustainable hydrogen fuels. Compared with the fabrication of solar hydrogen using n-type metal oxide semiconductor photoanodes, that of solar hydrogen using p-type metal oxide semiconductor photocathodes has not been researched as thoroughly. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of drop casting time on the PEC performance of a prepared CuBi₂O₄ photocathode. XPS, HRTEM, UV-DRS, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM analyses were used to characterize the prepared CuBi₂O₄ photocathode. Owing to the high charge separation and transfer, the photocurrent density of the CuBi₂O₄ photocathode was ~0.6 mA cm⁻² at 0.3 V vs. RHE. The nanoporous CuBi₂O₄ photocathode exhibited a high photocurrent density of up to 1.2 mA cm⁻² at 0.3 V vs. RHE with H₂O₂ as a sacrificial agent. Mott–Schottky and impedance measurements were also performed on the CuBi₂O₄ photocathode to estimate its acceptor density and charge-transfer resistance.

Background: Inguinal hernia repair is a common surgery worldwide. Despite the advantages of local anesthesia, many healthcare providers avoid using this method due to several barriers relating to patients, surgical team, and operating rooms. Method: A review of studies published in PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted to examine outcomes, costs, patient satisfaction, safety, and barriers associated with the use of local anesthesia for inguinal herniorrhaphy. Results: Local anesthesia was associated with many advantages including less postoperative pain, fewer complications, shorter hospital stay, lower healthcare costs, and safer in high‐risk patients compared with spinal and general anesthesia. New methods such as tumescent local anesthesia and the combination of hypnosis and conscious sedation with local anesthesia enhance the effectiveness and safety of local anesthesia, improving both surgeon and patient experience. Selected studies demonstrated that using local anesthesia in some traditional contraindications such as obesity and recurrent cases is a safe and effective option. Despite the strong evidence, there are some barriers that limit the use of local anesthesia including patient anxiety, intraoperative pain, surgeon discomfort, staff communication problems, logistic issues, and lack of institutional protocols. Conclusion: Local anesthesia is a safe and cost‐effective method for inguinal hernia repair. To facilitate the routine use of local anesthesia, it is crucial to address the barriers through training the surgical team, the development of standardized protocols and logistics, and enhanced patient awareness.