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Background: Crohn’s disease (CD) is a multifactorial inflammatory bowel disease characterized by complex aberrant autoimmune disorders. Currently, the involvement of the circadian rhythm in the pathogenesis of CD is unknown.Methods: Bulk and single-cell RNA-seq data and associated clinical data from patients with CD were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis was performed to calculate the enrichment score (ES) of circadian rhythm-related genes. Differential expression analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Functional enrichment analysis was used to explore potential disease mechanisms. CIBERSORT was used to estimate immune cell abundance. Single-cell RNA-seq data were analyzed using the R package “Seurat.”Results: The ES of circadian rhythm-related genes was lower in the CD tissue than in the normal tissue. Ubiquitin-specific protease 2 (USP2), a circadian rhythm-related gene, was identified as a potential modulator of CD pathogenesis. USP2 expression was reduced in CD and was associated with disease severity. Moreover, the analysis of bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq data showed that monocyte and neutrophil abundance was elevated in CD and was negatively correlated with USP2 expression. It should be noted that USP2 expression in acinar cells was negatively correlated with monocyte and neutrophil abundance. Functional enrichment analysis revealed several canonical pathways to be enriched in CD, including the interleukin-17 signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and nod-like receptor signaling pathway.Conclusion: Aberrant expression of circadian rhythm-related genes is correlated with CD pathogenesis. USP2 might be related to crosstalk among the different cell types in CD. These findings provide insights into future chronotherapy for CD.

Picric acid (PA) is an important chemical product which has been widely used in dye manufacturing, antiseptics, and pharmaceuticals. Owing to PA’s extreme electron-deficient structure, its natural degradation is hard, leading to accumulation in the environment and finally threatening the ecosystem and human health. In this case, PA detection and removal becomes more and more important, concerning environmental protection and human health. In this study, an ionic covalent organic framework (I-COF) was synthesized and modified with a luminescent Tb(III) emitter (Tb(DPA)33-, DPA = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid), via ionic exchange. The resulting composite material (Tb-COF) was fully characterized by geometric analysis, IR, XRD, porosity analysis, SEM/TEM, and elemental analysis. It was found that Tb(DPA)33- was loaded into the hexagonal cage in an I-COF host with an ionic exchange ratio of 41%. The as-synthesized Tb-COF showed weak Tb(III) emission and strong red COF emission, after adding PA, Tb(III) emission was increased whereas COF emission weakened greatly, showing sensing behavior. Linear working curves were observed with good selectivity. The sensing mechanism was revealed as follows. PA molecules replaced the [Tb(PDA)3]3- component trapped in Tb-COF, releasing free luminescent [Tb(PDA)3]3-. After incorporating PA in the hexagonal cage, the COF emission was quenched. This sensing mechanism ensured a good selectivity over competing species, including cations, anions, and nitrocompounds. The adsorption and removal performance of I-COF for PA were investigated as well.

Ferrum (Fe) is a widely existing metal element and nearly the most important trace element in living species, including human beings. The design of chemosensors for Fe ions faces issues related to the d-d transition of Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions, which makes them efficient electron trappers and energy quenchers. Most fluorescent dyes cannot afford such d-d quenching, showing emission turn off effect towards both Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions with poor selectivity. As a consequence, the development for Fe with emission turn on effect and good selectivity shall be continued and updated. In this work, three rhodamine-derived chemosensors modified by different lengths of alkyl chains having electron-donating N and O atoms were synthesized and explored for the selective optical sensing of Fe(III). These chemosensors showed colorimetric and fluorescent emission turn on sensing for Fe(III), showing two sensing channels. These chemosensors showed good selectivity, which was assigned to the sieving effect of alkyl chains with electron-donating N and O atoms. The N atom was found to be more effective in associating with Fe(III), compared to the O atom. Their fluorescent cell imaging experiment was carried out to confirm the possibility of being used for cell imaging.