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Methyleugenol (ME) as a natural essential oil in many plant species is widely used in human food and beverage for its fragrance and possible beneficial health effects. Previous chronic or subacute studies in rodents show that ME mainly causes liver toxicity. However, whether and how acute ME affects the central nervous system still remain elusive. Here, we found that ME administrated into the hippocampus impaired the acquisition of hippocampus-dependent contextual fear memory in mice (ME vs control: repeated-measures two-way ANOVA, F (5,70) = 2.937, p < 0.05; Fisher test, p < 0.05, respectively, 53 ± 5.2% vs 73 ± 7.6% during trial 4 and 46.8 ± 6% vs 74.5 ± 9.3% during trial 5). Meanwhile, acute ME impaired hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation (LTP; ME vs control: independent t-test, p < 0.01, 110.6 ± 1.8% vs 133.3 ± 5.6%) while facilitated long-term depression (LTD; p < 0.01, 75.7 ± 3.4% vs 88.6 ± 1.7%) in mice brain slices and inducing a decrease in learning-dependent phosphorylation of Ser831 (ME vs control: independent t-test, p < 0.001, 0.87 ± 0.03 vs 1.23 ± 0.03) and Ser845 (p < 0.01, 0.42 ± 0.07 vs 0.97 ± 0.14) sites of excitatory glutamate AMPA receptor subunit 1 (GluA1) in the hippocampus, which may be the underlying mechanisms of impairment of hippocampus-dependent learning. In addition, intrahippocampal infusion of ME also increased anxiety-like behaviors in mice. These results suggested that acute ME impaired the hippocampus function at behavioral, cellular, and molecular levels, indicating the potential risks of ME on the central nervous system.

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To improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, a series of NiO–TiO2 nanotubes (NTbs) is prepared by impregnating TiO2 nanotubes in a solution of NiCl2·6H2O at different concentrations. Self-organized TiO2 nanotubes are prepared by a two-step anodization process. Scanning electron microscopy images show that large particle agglomerates are formed for higher precursor concentrations, and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy results indicate that the atomic percentages of Ni in the NiO–TiO2 NTbs prepared with precursor concentrations of 100 and 300 mM are 1.95% and 4.23%, respectively. Electronic lifetime measurements show that the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs is lower for NiO–TiO2 NTbs compared to that of TiO2. Specifically, the recombination rate of the sample prepared at 50 mM is the lowest, which is associated with the longest electron lifetime. Compared to unmodified TiO2 nanotubes, NiO–TiO2 NTbs exhibit improved results for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B.