Dexmedetomidine Inhibits Paraventricular Corticotropin-releasing Hormone Neurons that Attenuate Acute Stress-induced Anxiety-like Behavior in Mice.

BACKGROUND: Dexmedetomidine has repeatedly shown to improve anxiety, but the precise neural mechanisms underlying this effect remain incompletely understood. This study aims to explore the role of corticotropin-releasing hormone-producing hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (CRHPVN) neurons in mediating the anxiolytic effects of dexmedetomidine. METHODS: A social defeat stress mouse model was used to evaluate the anxiolytic effects induced by dexmedetomidine through the elevated plus maze, open-field test, and measurement of serum stress hormone levels. In vivo Ca2+ signal fiber photometry and ex vivo patch-clamp recordings were used to determine the excitability of CRHPVN neurons and investigate the specific mechanism involved. CRHPVN neuron modulation was achieved through chemogenetic activation or inhibition. RESULTS: Compared with saline, dexmedetomidine (40 µg/kg) alleviated anxiety-like behaviors. Additionally, dexmedetomidine reduced CRHPVN neuronal excitability. Chemogenetic activation of CRHPVN neurons decreased the time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze and in the central area of the open-field test. Conversely, chemogenetic inhibition of CRHPVN neurons had the opposite effect. Moreover, the suppressive impact of dexmedetomidine on CRHPVN neurons was attenuated by the α2-receptor antagonist yohimbine. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the anxiety-like effects of dexmedetomidine are mediated via α2-adrenergic receptor-triggered inhibition of CRHPVN neuronal excitability in the hypothalamus.

Ropivacaine-loaded hydrogels for prolonged relief of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain and potentiated chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy can cause severe pain for patients, but there are currently no satisfactory methods of pain relief. Enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy to reduce the side effects of high-dose chemotherapeutic drugs remains a major challenge. Moreover, the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain (CIPNP) is separate from chemotherapy in the clinical setting, causing inconvenience to cancer patients. In view of the many obstacles mentioned above, we developed a strategy to incorporate local anesthetic (LA) into a cisplatin-loaded PF127 hydrogel for painless potentiated chemotherapy. We found that multiple administrations of cisplatin-loaded PF127 hydrogels (PFC) evoked severe CIPNP, which correlated with increased pERK-positive neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). However, incorporating ropivacaine into the PFC relieved PFC-induced CIPNP for more than ten hours and decreased the number of pERK-positive neurons in the DRG. Moreover, incorporating ropivacaine into the PFC for chemotherapy is found to upregulate major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) expression in tumor cells and promote the infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8+ T cells) in tumors, thereby potentiating chemotherapy efficacy. This study proposes that LA can be used as an immunemodulator to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy, providing new ideas for painless cancer treatment.

Effects of Fermentation with Tetragenococcus halophilus and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii on the Volatile Profiles of Soybean Protein Hydrolysates.

The effects of fermentation with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast on the aroma of samples were analyzed in this work. The volatile features of different soybean hydrolysates were investigated using both GC-MS and GC-IMS. Only 47 volatile flavor compounds (VFCs) were detected when using GC-IMS, while a combination of GC-MS and GC-IMS resulted in the identification of 150 compounds. LAB-yeast fermentation could significantly increase the diversity and concentrations of VFCs (p < 0.05), including alcohols, acids, esters, and sulfurs, while reduce the contents of aldehydes and ketones. Hierarchical clustering and orthogonal partial least squares analyses confirmed the impact of fermentation on the VFCs of the hydrolysates. Seven compounds were identified as significant compounds distinguishing the aromas of different groups. The partial least squares regression analysis of the 25 key VFCs (ROAV > 1) and sensory results revealed that the treatment groups positively correlated with aromatic, caramel, sour, overall aroma, and most of the key VFCs. In summary, fermentation effectively reduced the fatty and bean-like flavors of soybean hydrolysates, enhancing the overall flavor quality, with sequential inoculation proving to be more effective than simultaneous inoculation. These findings provided a theoretical basis for improving and assessing the flavor of soybean protein hydrolysates.

A review on fabricating functional materials by electroplating sludge: process characteristics and outlook.

As the end product of the electroplating industry, electroplating sludge (ES) has a huge annual output and an abundant heavy metal (HM). The effective disposal of ES is attracting increasing attention. Currently, the widely used ES disposal methods (e.g. landfill and incineration) make it difficult to effectively control of HMs and synchronously utilise metal resources, leading to a waste of metal resources, HMs migration, and potential harm to the environment and human health. Therefore, techniques to limit HMs release into the environment and promote the efficient utilisation of metal resources contained within ES are of great interest. Based on these requirements, material reuse is a great potential means of ES management. This review presents an overview of the process flows, principles and feasibilities of the methods employed for the material reuse of ES. Several approaches have been investigated to date, including (1) additions in building materials, (2) application in pigment production, and (3) production of special functional materials. However, these three methods vary in their treatment scales, property requirements, ability to control HMs, and degree of utilisation of metal resources in ES. Currently, the safety of products and costs are not paid enough attention, and the large-scale disposal of HMs is not concordant with the effective management of HMs. Accordingly, this study proposes a holistic sustainable materialised reuse pattern of ES, which combines the scale and efficiency of sludge disposal and pays attention to the safety of products and the cost of transformation process for commercial application.

Characterization of ionic liquids removing heavy metals from electroplating sludge: Influencing factors, optimisation strategies and reaction mechanisms.

The disposal of electroplating sludge (ES) is a common concern of researchers. Currently, it is difficult to achieve effective fixation of heavy metals (HMs) using traditional ES treatment. As green and effective HMs removal agents, ionic liquids can be used for the disposal of ES. In this study, 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazole hydrogen sulphate ([Bmim]HSO4) and 1-propyl sulphonic acid-3-methyl imidazole hydrogen sulphate ([PrSO3Hmim]HSO4) were used as washing solvents for the removal of Cr, Ni, and Cu from ES. In reaction with increased agent concentration, solid-liquid ratio, and duration, the amount of HMs eliminated from ES rises, whereas opposite patterns were shown in response to rising pH. The quadratic orthogonal regression optimisation analysis also revealed that the ideal washing specifications for [Bmim]HSO4 were 60 g L-1, 1:40, and 60 min, respectively, for agent concentration, solid-liquid ratio, and washing time, while those for [PrSO3Hmim]HSO4 were 60 g L-1, 1:35, and 60 min, respectively. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the Cr, Ni, and Cu removal efficiencies for [Bmim]HSO4 were 84.3, 78.6, and 89.7%, respectively, and those values for [PrSO3Hmim]HSO4 were 99.8, 90.1, and 91.3%, respectively. This was mainly attributed to that ionic liquids enhance metal desorption through acid solubilisation, chelation, and electrostatic attraction. Overall, ionic liquids are reliable washing reagents for ES contaminated by HMs.

A Flexible-Robust Copper(II) Metal-Organic Framework Constructed from a Fluorinated Ligand for CO2/R22 Capture.

A flexible-robust copper(II) metal-organic framework, denoted as LIFM-100, has been successfully synthesized using a fluorinated linear dicarboxylate to link copper ions. LIFM-100 exhibits a breathing effect, which can transform reversibly between a large form (lp) and a narrow form (np) from single crystal to single crystal. In addition, LIFM-100 shows good thermal and chemical stability. By the introduction of trifluoromethyl functional groups and uncoordinated carboxyl acids, LIFM-100 features a good CO2/R22 adsorption/separation performance at 298 K, showing potential in natural gas purification and CO2/R22 capture.

Dynamic Coordination Chemistry of Fluorinated Zr-MOFs: Synthetic Control and Reassembly/Disassembly Beyond de Novo Synthesis to Tune the Structure and Property.

Known for excellent stability, porosity and functionality, the high-valent Zr4+ metal-organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) still meets synthetic challenge in modulating the strength of Zr-Ocarboxylate linkage. Herein we explore the unusual coordination dynamics of fluorinated Zr-MOFs by designing two trifluoromethyl modified ligands with distinct geometry preference to form a family of thermodynamic and kinetic products. The low-connecting kinetic Zr-MOFs possess substitutable coordination sites to endow Zr6 -cluster with extra dynamic behaviors, thus opening a post-synthetic pathway to sequential reassembly/disassembly processes. Comprehensive factors, including ligand geometry, Zr6 -cluster connectivity, acid modulator and reaction temperature/concentration, have been studied for controllable syntheses. The stability, hydrophobicity and gas adsorption/separation properties of obtained Zr-MOFs are explored. This work sheds light on the understanding of the dynamic coordination chemistry of Zr-MOFs beyond strong Zr-O bond, which poses a versatile platform for modification and functionalization of Zr-MOFs.

Self-Generation of Surface Roughness by Low-Surface-Energy Alkyl Chains for Highly Stable Superhydrophobic/Superoleophilic MOFs with Multiple Functionalities.

We transformed the hydrophilic metal-organic framework (MOF) UiO-67 into hydrophobic UiO-67-Rs (R=alkyl) by introducing alkyl chains into organic linkers, which not only protected hydrophilic Zr6 O8 clusters to make the MOF interspace superoleophilic, but also led to a rough crystal surface beneficial for superhydrophobicity. The UiO-67-Rs displayed high acid, base, and water stability, and long alkyl chains offered better hydrophobicity. Good hydrophobicity/oleophilicity were also possible with mixed-ligand MOFs containing metal-binding ligands. Thus, a (super)hydrophobic MOF catalyst loaded with Pd centers efficiently catalyzed Sonogashira reactions in water at ambient temperature. Studies of the hydrophobic effects of the coordination interspace and the outer surface suggest a simple de novo strategy for the synthesis of superhydrophobic MOFs that combine surface roughness and low surface energy. Such MOFs have potential for environmentally friendly catalysis and water purification.

Catalysis through Dynamic Spacer Installation of Multivariate Functionalities in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

We demonstrate herein a facile strategy to engineer versatile catalytically active coordination interspace in the same primitive metal-organic framework (MOF) for variable heterogeneous catalysis. Different functional ligands can be reversibly inserted into and removed from proto-LIFM-28 individually or successively to bring in single or binary catalytic sites for specific reactions and switch the parent MOF to multipurpose catalysts. Alcohol-oxidation, Knoevenagel-condensation, click, acetal, and Baylis-Hillman reactions are achievable through simple exchange of a single catalytic spacer, while sequential or stepwise reactions are designable via selective combination of two catalytic spacers with different functionalities, thus making proto-LIFM-28 a multivariate MOF for multiuse and economic catalysis.

A Flexible Cu-MOF as Crystalline Sponge for Guests Determination.

A trifluoromethyl functionalized linker and Cu-O chain composed MOF, LIFM-100, was used as "crystalline sponge" to determine eight hardly crystallized liquids' configurations based on its flexibility conformation, suitable pore size, electron-rich channel environment, and low symmetric space group. The H bond interactions between host-guest and guest-guest were well analyzed.

Tunability of fluorescent metal-organic frameworks through dynamic spacer installation with multivariate fluorophores.

Through dynamic spacer installation, five fluorescent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been constructed based on a proto-MOF LIFM-28 and multivariate ligands as fluorophores. The emissions are tunable via insertion of fluorescent ligands, demonstrating a versatile approach for luminescence tuning by virtue of dynamic spacer installation using swing-role MOFs.

Stepwise engineering of pore environments and enhancement of CO2/R22 adsorption capacity through dynamic spacer installation and functionality modification.

Through stepwise post-synthetic spacer insertion and click reactions, six Zr-MOFs with different types and amounts of functional groups have been constructed based on proto-MOF PCN-700. Their gas adsorption capacities and selectivities have been greatly improved and finely tuned, demonstrating the combinatorial effect of pore surface modification and pore space partition.

Dynamic Spacer Installation for Multirole Metal-Organic Frameworks: A New Direction toward Multifunctional MOFs Achieving Ultrahigh Methane Storage Working Capacity.

A robust Zr-MOF (LIFM-28) containing replaceable coordination sites for additional spacer installation has been employed to demonstrate a swing- or multirole strategy for multifunctional MOFs. Through reversible installation/uninstallation of two types of spacers with different lengths and variable functional groups, different tasks can be accomplished using the same parent MOF. An orthogonal optimizing method is applied with seven shorter (L1-7) and six longer (L8-13) spacers to tune the functionalities, achieving multipurpose switches among gas separation, catalysis, click reaction, luminescence, and particularly, ultrahigh methane storage working capacity at 5-80 bar and 298 K.

A Robust Metal-Organic Framework Combining Open Metal Sites and Polar Groups for Methane Purification and CO2 /Fluorocarbon Capture.

A 3D porous perchlorinated metal-organic framework (MOF), LIFM-26, featuring dual functionality, that is, functional polar groups and open metal sites, has been synthesized using perchlorinated linear dicarboxylate to link trigonal prismatic Fe3 (µ3 -O) units. LIFM-26 exhibits good thermal and chemical stability, and possesses high porosity with a BET surface area of 1513 m2 g-1 , compared with isoreticular MOF-235 and Fe3 O(F4 BDC)3 (H2 O)3 (F4 BDC=2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate). Most strikingly, LIFM-26 features good gas sorption/separation performance at 298 K and 1 atm with IAST selectivity values reaching up to 36, 93, 23, 11, 46, and 202 for CO2 /CH4 , CO2 /N2 , C2 H4 /CH4 , C2 H6 /CH4 , C3 H8 /CH4 , and R22/N2 (R22=CHClF2 ), respectively, showing potential for use in biogas/natural gas purification and CO2 /R22 capture.

Precise Modulation of the Breathing Behavior and Pore Surface in Zr-MOFs by Reversible Post-Synthetic Variable-Spacer Installation to Fine-Tune the Expansion Magnitude and Sorption Properties.

To combine flexibility and modifiability towards a more controllable complexity of MOFs, a post-synthetic variable-spacer installation (PVSI) strategy is used to implement kinetic installation/ uninstallation of secondary ligands into/from a robust yet flexible proto-Zr-MOF. This PVSI process features precise positioning of spacers with different length, size, number, and functionality, enabling accurate fixation of successive breathing stages and fine-tuning of pore surface. It shows unprecedented synthetic tailorability to create complicated MOFs in a predictable way for property modification, for example, CO2 and R22 adsorption/separation, thermal/chemical stability, and extended breathing behavior.