A 2D, extremely stable, metal-organic framework (MOF), NENU-503, was successfully constructed. It displays highly selective and recyclable properties in detection of nitroaromatic explosives as a fluorescent sensor. This is the first MOF that can distinguish between nitroaromatic molecules with different numbers of NO2 groups.

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NCT02182921.

The diagnosis of primary aldosteronism typically requires at least one confirmatory test. The fludrocortisone suppression test is generally accepted as a reliable confirmatory test, but it is cumbersome. Evidence from accuracy studies of the saline infusion test (SIT) and the captopril challenge test (CCT) has provided conflicting results. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the SIT and CCT using fludrocortisone suppression test as the reference standard. One hundred thirty-five patients diagnosed with primary aldosteronism and 101 patients diagnosed with essential hypertension who completed the 3 confirmatory tests were included for the diagnostic accuracy analysis. The areas under the receiver-operator characteristics curves of the CCT and SIT were 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-0.98) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.92-0.98), respectively, using post-test plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) for diagnosis. However, the areas under the receiver-operator characteristics curves of the CCT decreased to 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65-0.77) when the PAC suppression percentage was used to diagnose primary aldosteronism. The optimal cutoff of PAC post-CCT was set at 11 ng/dL, resulting in a sensitivity of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84-0.95) and a specificity of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83-0.95), which were not significantly different from those of SIT (with PAC post-SIT set at 8 ng/dL, sensitivity: 0.85 [95% CI, 0.78-0.91], =0.192; specificity: 0.92 [95% CI, 0.85-0.97],=0.551). In conclusion, both CCT and SIT are accurate alternatives to the more complex fludrocortisone suppression test. Because CCT is safe and much easier to perform, it may serve as a more feasible alternative. When interpreting the results of CCT, PAC post-CCT is highly recommended.

Purpose. To compare pain scores between first-eye and second-eye cataract surgery and to determine the affecting factors. Methods. 106 first-eye and 53 second-eye cataract surgery patients (mean age: 67 ± 13 and 69 ± 10 years, resp.) were enrolled. The patients completed simplified State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and visual analog scale (VAS) for anxiety questionnaires before surgery, and VAS for pain and Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale questionnaires after surgery. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded perioperatively. Results. A greater proportion of patients who underwent second-eye surgery reported intraoperative pain compared with first-eye surgery patients (85% versus 35%, P < 0.001). The pain scores were higher in second-eye surgery, while the VAS anxiety score was lower in second-eye surgery. Moreover, 31 patients reported greater pain during second-eye surgery than their first one, with higher pain scores than other 22 patients (P = 0.032 and 0.003, resp.). The VAS pain score of these 31 patients was positively correlated with the differences between the intraoperative and postoperative diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, and HR. Conclusions. Cataract patients were likely to have more pain during second-eye surgery, which may be related to lower preoperative anxiety. Monitoring perioperative BP and HR may help to identify patients with intraoperative pain.

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A stable porous carbazole-based luminescent metal-organic framework, NENU-522, was successfully constructed. It is extremely stable in air and acidic/basic aqueous solutions, which provides the strategy for luminescent material encapsulation of Ln(3+) ions with tunable luminescence for application in light emission. More importantly, Ln(3+)@NENU-522 can emit white light by encapsulating different molar ratios of Eu(3+) and Tb(3+) ions. Additionally, Tb(3+)@NENU-522 is found to be useful as a fluorescent indicator for the qualitative and quantitative detection of nitroaromatic explosives with different numbers of -NO2 groups, and the concentrations of complete quenching are about 2000, 1000, and 80 ppm for nitrobenzene, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol, respectively. Meanwhile, Tb(3+)@NENU-522 displays high selectivity and recyclability in the detection of nitroaromatic explosives.

An anionic MOFNENU-505exhibits selective adsorption toward cationic dyes and has been exploited for selectively sensing and adsorbing Cr3+for the first time.