Extraction of Uranium by a Pyrazole-Based Porous Organic Polymer.

In this work, we report a pyrazole-based porous organic polymer (namely, ECUT-POP-2) for extraction of uranium. ECUT-POP-2 affords a high uranium extraction capacity of up to 1851 mg/g, excellent selectivity, and good reusability, suggesting its superior application in treating uranium-containing wastewater and acquring nuclear fuel.

An imidazole-based covalent-organic framework enabling a super-efficiency in sunlight-driven uranium extraction from seawater.

Uranium extraction from seawater represents an effective way to solve the difficulty of the insufficient uranium supply chain. However, this route is still restricted by the low extraction efficiency of reported adsorbents. Here, we find that reversing the donor-acceptor in imidazole-based COFs (covalent-organic frameworks) would be effective for enhancing the extraction efficiency of uranium. As a result, the TI-COF is found to enable a uranium extraction efficiency up to 8.8 mg g-1 day-1 from seawater under visible light irradiation, exceeding all established adsorbents for such use, and an unprecedented uranium extraction efficiency up to 6.9 mg g-1 day-1 from seawater under natural sunlight.

Correlations between serum uric acid level and disease activity, intrathecal inflammation reactivity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlations between serum uric acid (UA) levels and the clinical and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters of multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: The medical reports of 47 MS patients admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital during 2008 and 2010 were reviewed. And 49 age- and gender-matched cerebral infarction patients were enrolled as control. The mean serum UA level of the MS patients was compared with that of the control group. The correlations between the UA levels and the clinical parameters including gender, disease duration, relapse rate, and disease disabilities as assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale score, were explored. Forty-one patients had CSF examinations. The correlations between the UA levels and the CSF parameters reflecting inflammation and tissue damage, including CSF protein, white blood cell count, oligoclonal band, 24-hour IgG index, and myelin basic protein, were also investigated. RESULTS: The mean serum UA level in the MS patients was lower than that in the control group (247.75±52.59 µmol/L vs. 277.94±74.33 µmol/L, P=0.025) and inversely correlated with the relapse rate (P=0.049). MS patients with lower serum UA levels tended to have higher white blood cell counts and myelin basic protein level. But there was no correlation between CSF protein levels (r=0.165, P=0.273), white blood cell counts (r=-0.051, P=0.732), IgG index (r=0. 045, P=0.802), or myelin basic protein level (r=-0.248, P=0.145) and the serum UA level, respectively. CONCLUSION: In MS patients, UA levels might partly reflect the extent of disability and inflammation.

Serum uric acid levels and their correlation with clinical and cerebrospinal fluid parameters in patients with neuromyelitis optica.

Although uric acid (UA) concentration has been considered a surrogate marker for monitoring the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), less is known about the relationship between UA and the progression of neuromyelitis optica (NMO). We therefore investigated the correlations between serum UA concentrations and the clinical and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters in patients with NMO. Factors assessed in patients with NMO included gender, disease duration, disease disability, CSF white blood cell (WBC) counts, oligoclonal bands (OB), 24 hour immunoglobulin (Ig)G index, and myelin basic protein (MBP) concentration. Mean serum UA concentrations were compared in patients with NMO and in a control group of patients with cerebral infarction (CI). We found that mean serum UA concentrations were significantly lower in patients with NMO compared to those with CI (206.81 compared to 274.00 µmol/L, p=0.00). Serum UA concentration was correlated directly with NMO duration (p=0.013) and was inversely correlated with the Expanded Disability Status Scale score (p=0.021). Patients with NMO with lower serum UA concentrations tended to be positive for OB, to have higher CSF protein and MBP concentrations, and to have higher WBC counts and 24 hour IgG index, but no correlation was statistically significant. UA may be a useful surrogate marker for monitoring NMO activity.