Synergistic Boosting Capture Ability of Thiophene Sulfur with a Novel Dual-Amino-Functionalized MOF-on-MOF Adsorbent.

A single metal-organic framework (MOF) exhibits some drawbacks in deep adsorptive desulfurization such as insufficient functional active sites, water instability, low surface area, etc. Herein, a dual-amino-functionalized (ZIF-8-NH2)-PVP-(Cu-BTC-NH2) core-shell dual MOF adsorbent was first synthesized by the hydrothermal growth method. The adsorption performance of thiophene sulfur (ThS) is systematically investigated and evaluated at mild temperatures through batch tests. The (ZIF-8-NH2)-PVP-(Cu-BTC-NH2) exhibits good adsorption ability toward ThS, which is attributed to the associative effects of dual MOFs with structure features such as hydrogen bond, open metal active sites, suitable pore sizes and π-π conjugation, etc. Meanwhile, the (ZIF-8-NH2)-PVP-(Cu-BTC-NH2) embedded 25 wt % water still remains crystal intact and good adsorption desulfurization performance, which is attributed to the NH2- functional groups. After five recycles, more than 90% ThS uptake onto (ZIF-8-NH2)-PVP-(Cu-BTC-NH2) could be recovered, exhibiting good reuse performance. This study presents a new strategy for grafting MOF-on-MOF with specific functional groups to improve the abilities of desulfurization and water resistance.

Icariin ameliorates osteoporosis by activating autophagy in ovariectomized rats.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis (OP) is a major problem that increases the mortality and disability rate worldwide. With an increase in the aging population, OP has become a major public threat to human health. Searching for effective and suitable targets for drug treatment in OP has become an urgent need. OBJECTIVES: Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by reduced bone mass and density as well as micro-architectural deterioration. Icariin is a flavonoid extracted from plants of the genus Epimedium and has been shown to exert potential anti-OP activity. The present study was designed to observe the effect of icariin on OP and to clarify the underlying mechanisms in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, von Kossa staining and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) confirmed significant bone loss in the OVX group. Protein expression level was detected with western blot analysis. RESULTS: Icariin reversed a trend of increased bone turnover by reducing serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase isoform 5b (TRACP-5b), and C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I). Furthermore, icariin decreased sequestosome 1 (p62) and increased microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3II/microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3I (LC3II/LC3I), autophagy-related protein 7 (Atg7), and Beclin 1 in the femur of OVX rats, improving the indicators of impaired autophagy in OP. CONCLUSIONS: Icariin reversed the significant upregulation of the serine/threonine protein kinase (Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and unc-51-like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1) at Ser757, and the downregulation of p-AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and ULK1 phosphorylated at Ser555 in the OVX rats, suggesting that the mechanism of icariin action in OP treatment involves the activation and suppression of the AMPK/ULK1 and AKT/mTOR/ULK1 autophagy pathways, respectively.

Well-constructed a water stable Cu-BTC@TpPa-1 binary composite with excellent capture ability toward malachite green.

Adsorptive removal of dyes (e.g., malachite green (MG)) from wastewater using commercially available adsorbents is not significantly efficient. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) such as Cu-BTC is considered as an excellent adsorbent in adsorption-separation filed. However, the water instability of Cu-BTC restricts its potential utilization in dye wastewater purification. In this paper, we have developed a novel metal/covalent-organic frameworks (Cu-BTC@TpPa-1) binary composite by solvothermal method. This composite serves as a multifunctional platform for the effective removal of MG from water. This Cu-BTC@TpPa-1 obviously keeps structural integrity soaked in water for 7 days. And its heat resistant performance can achieve 360 °C because of the TpPa-1 protection, which is outdistance to that of Cu-BTC. The adsorbed capacity of MG over Cu-BTC@TpPa-1 is exceptionally high, with an uptake of up to 64.12 mg/g, which is superior compared to previous adsorbents, highlighting its superior adsorption capabilities. The adsorptive performance was controlled by the associative effects of Cu-BTC and TpPa-1 with an association effect of π-complexation and electrostatic attraction. The Cu-BTC@TpPa-1 might be a prospective adsorbent for MG capture from industrial wastewater.

The health perception of urban green spaces and its emotional impact on young adults: an empirical study from three cities in China.

Introduction: Exposure to green space can bring many benefits to physical and mental health, but in China, the attractiveness of green space to youth groups seems to be not significant. The question of how to encourage young people to go out of the house to better perceive green space, enjoy nature, and promote physical and mental health is on our minds. Methods: This study combines young people's green space perception, green space use, and purpose of visit to explore its impact on the emotional health of youth groups, combined with the PANAS psychological data scale, an online questionnaire survey of 426 residents (18-35 years old) in three Chinese cities, and was used to construct a multiple regression model and AMOS structural equations. Results and discussion: The results of the study showed that, firstly, environmental attractiveness, environmental odor, and number of facilities were the key factors influencing adolescents' landscape perception evaluation, while activity space, environmental odor, and environmental attractiveness had a greater impact on adolescents' emotional well-being. Second, among adolescents' visit purposes, socializing and fitness were more likely to help them generate positive emotions while resting and viewing activities were effective in helping them alleviate negative emotions. In addition, in terms of usage, residents who took public transportation as well as those who arrived on foot were the most emotionally healthy. The findings of this paper provide insights for public policymakers, urban planners, and landscape architects to better encourage youth participation in green spaces when they are installed.

An Ustilaginoidea virens glycoside hydrolase 42 protein is an essential virulence factor and elicits plant immunity as a PAMP.

Rice false smut, caused by the ascomycete fungus Ustilaginoidea virens, which infects rice florets before heading, severely threatens rice grain yield and quality worldwide. The U. virens genome encodes a number of glycoside hydrolase (GH) proteins. So far, the functions of these GHs in U. virens are largely unknown. In this study, we identified a GH42 protein secreted by U. virens, named UvGHF1, that exhibits ß-galactosidase activity. UvGHF1 not only functions as an essential virulence factor during U. virens infection, but also serves as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) in Nicotiana benthamiana and rice. The PAMP activity of UvGHF1 is independent of its ß-galactosidase activity. Moreover, UvGHF1 triggers cell death in N. benthamiana in a BAK1-dependent manner. Ectopic expression of UvGHF1 in rice induces pattern-triggered immunity and enhances rice resistance to fungal and bacterial diseases. RNA-seq analysis revealed that UvGHF1 expression in rice not only activates expression of many defence-related genes encoding leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases and WRKY and ERF transcription factors, but also induces diterpenoid biosynthesis and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways. Therefore, UvGHF1 contributes to U. virens virulence, but is also recognized by the rice surveillance system to trigger plant immunity.

Boosting the Adsorption Performance of Thiophenic Sulfur Compounds with a Multimetallic Dual Metal-Organic Framework Composite.

Adsorptive desulfurization over metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) remains a challenge in maintaining good performance in the presence of water. Herein, multimetallic Fe/Ni/Cu/Zn-(MIL-88B)-on-(MOF-5) is first achieved through phase-competition-driven growth technology. The adsorption performance of thiophene (Th), benzothiophene (BT), and dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model fuels is systematically investigated at mild temperature and follows the order Fe/Ni/Cu/Zn-(MIL-88B)-on-(MOF-5) > MOF-5 > MIL-88B. Excellent adsorptive activity is mainly ascribed to the associative effects of multimetal active sites, suitable pore sizes and shapes, acid-base interactions, and complexation. Meanwhile, MIL-88B exhibits a "brick-wall" effect and effectively enhances the water stability of Fe/Ni/Cu/Zn-(MIL-88B)-on-(MOF-5) more than does MOF-5. Fe/Ni/Cu/Zn-(MIL-88B)-on-(MOF-5) exhibits superior stability even after being immersed in water for 5 days, maintaining 77, 77, and 81% of the initial DBT, BT, and Th uptake capacities. After five periods of regeneration, more than 90% of the desulfurization capacity of Fe/Ni/Cu/Zn-(MIL-88B)-on-(MOF-5) was recovered. This work provides a new strategy for the synthesis of desirable MOF-on-MOF, promoting its potential application to adsorption desulfurization.

Biological Properties of Transition Metal Complexes with Metformin and Its Analogues.

Metformin is a widely prescribed medication for the treatment and management of type 2 diabetes. It belongs to a class of biguanides, which are characterized by a wide range of diverse biological properties, including anticancer, antimicrobial, antimalarial, cardioprotective and other activities. It is known that biguanides serve as excellent N-donor bidentate ligands and readily form complexes with virtually all transition metals. Recent evidence suggests that the mechanism of action of metformin and its analogues is linked to their metal-binding properties. These findings prompted us to summarize the existing data on the synthetic strategies and biological properties of various metal complexes with metformin and its analogues. We demonstrated that coordination of biologically active biguanides to various metal centers often resulted in an improved pharmacological profile, including reduced drug resistance as well as a wider spectrum of activity. In addition, coordination to the redox-active metal centers, such as Au(III), allowed for various activatable strategies, leading to the selective activation of the prodrugs and reduced off-target toxicity.

Ustilaginoidin D induces hepatotoxicity and behaviour aberrations in zebrafish larvae.

Ustilaginoidins, a group of bis-naphtho-γ-pyrones, are one of the major mycotoxins produced by Ustilaginoidea virens. This group of bis-naphtho-γ-pyrone mycotoxins has been demonstrated to have antibacterial and immunological inhibitory activities and strong cytotoxicity to human oral epidermoid carcinoma. However, little is yet known about the toxicity of ustilaginoidins to animals or toxicity mechanisms. In this study, toxicity assays to zebrafish larvae show that ustilaginoidin D is highly toxic to zebrafish with an LC50 of ∼7.50 µM. Ustilaginoidin D causes an obvious yolk sac absorption delay and liver damage in zebrafish, which is indicated by liver atrophy and the increased alanine and aspartate transaminase activities. Interestingly, different doses of ustilaginoidin D can alter zebrafish movement behavior in a distinct manner. Transcriptome analyses show that global gene expression profiling in zebrafish is significantly changed in response to ustilaginoidin D exposure. KEGG pathway analyses reveal that differentially expressed genes are enriched in the pathways related to lipid metabolism and hyperbilirubinemia, which are indicators of severe liver injury. Consistently, the expression of the marker genes for hepatotoxic responses is significantly induced by ustilaginoidin D. The findings indicate that ustilaginoidin D induces lipid metabolism disorders and hepatotoxicity in zebrafish larvae and poses a potential risk to food safety.