Sleep initiation patterns and sleep quality among toddlers in the southeast of China: initial study results.

BACKGROUND: A large number of psychological consequences including sleep health emerged during the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Sleep patterns in toddlers are vulnerable to negative environmental exposures, however, very few studies on this topic have been published so far. OBJECTIVES: In this paper, we aimed to investigate the sleep patterns and associated factors in toddlers from China confined at home in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: From April to November 2021, a convenience sample of 493 parents of young children aged (12-35 months) were surveyed from Fuzhou, Sanming, Quanzhou, Nanping, and Longyan cities in the Fujian Province, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted via Electronic questionnaires to collect parent and child social-demographic characteristics. The Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) was used to collect data on sleep practices, sleep duration and patterns, as well as the number of nocturnal awaking . RESULTS: The mean age of toddlers was 2.11 years old, and 52.54% (259/493) were males. Among the 493 toddlers' sleep patterns, 331(67.1%) initiated sleep accompanied by parents, 67(13.6%) slept independently, 59 (12.0%) were breast fed/bottle fed to initiate sleep, 27 (5.5%) were held and 9 (1.8%) rocked. The clear longitudinal association between the duration of night-time sleep, the frequency of nighttime awakenings, and various sleep patterns remains clear (p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that sleep initiation with bottle-feeding/breast-feeding and rocked significantly increased the frequency of nighttime awakenings and reduced the duration of nighttime sleep (p < 0.05), as held was dramatically only for increasing the number of nighttime awakenings (p < 0.05). Multi-variate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that toddlers with severe sleep difficulties had a higher probability of being rocked to initiate sleep (p < 0.05). Conversely, young children with minor sleep problems were more apt to be in bed alone to initiate sleep (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most infants and toddlers initiated sleep accompanied by parents and tend to have electronic media exposure before bedtime. Increased waking at night may be associated with sleep initiation with breast-feeding/bottle-feeding. Therefore, pediatric practitioners in primary community hospitals should pay attention to the education and promotion of sleep hygiene and parenting knowledge of young children to avoid the formation of poor sleep hygiene habits.

Number of positive lymph nodes combined with the logarithmic ratio of positive lymph nodes predicts long-term survival for patients with node-positive parotid gland carcinoma after surgery: a SEER population-based study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic value of the number of positive lymph nodes (NPLN), the ratio of positive lymph nodes (pLNR), and the logarithmic ratio of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in patients with parotid gland carcinoma. On this basis, establishing and validating an optimal nomogram. METHODS: A total of 895 patients with T1-4N1-3M0 parotid gland carcinoma were included in our study from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Patients' data were randomly assigned to the training cohort and the validation cohort by a ratio of 7:3. Univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between the study factors and the prognosis of parotid gland carcinoma, including overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS). The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to evaluate model fit. Harrell's concordance index (C-index), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and net reclassification index (NRI) were used to evaluate the predictive ability of these models. The decision curve analysis was used to evaluate the clinical benefit of the nomograms compared with the TNM stage. RESULTS: NPLN, pLNR, and LODDS are independent risk factors for the prognostic of PGC. According to the AIC, C index, IDI, and NRI, the models combined with NPLN and LODDS were the best. The decision curves suggested that our nomograms had good predictive abilities for the prognosis of parotid gland carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The two nomograms which contained NPLN and LODDS had the potential to predict OS and CSS in patients with parotid gland carcinoma.

Real-Time Vehicle Detection from UAV Aerial Images Based on Improved YOLOv5.

Aerial vehicle detection has significant applications in aerial surveillance and traffic control. The pictures captured by the UAV are characterized by many tiny objects and vehicles obscuring each other, significantly increasing the detection challenge. In the research of detecting vehicles in aerial images, there is a widespread problem of missed and false detections. Therefore, we customize a model based on YOLOv5 to be more suitable for detecting vehicles in aerial images. Firstly, we add one additional prediction head to detect smaller-scale objects. Furthermore, to keep the original features involved in the training process of the model, we introduce a Bidirectional Feature Pyramid Network (BiFPN) to fuse the feature information from various scales. Lastly, Soft-NMS (soft non-maximum suppression) is employed as a prediction frame filtering method, alleviating the missed detection due to the close alignment of vehicles. The experimental findings on the self-made dataset in this research indicate that compared with YOLOv5s, the mAP@0.5 and mAP@0.5:0.95 of YOLOv5-VTO increase by 3.7% and 4.7%, respectively, and the two indexes of accuracy and recall are also improved.

[Two cases of MEGDEL syndrome due to variants of SERAC1 gene and a literature review].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical phenotype and genetic features of two children with MEGDEL syndrome due to variants of the SERAC1 gene. METHODS: Two children who had presented at the Fujian Medical University Union Hospital respectively on July 14, 2020 and July 28, 2018 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical features and results of genetic testing were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Both children had featured developmental delay, dystonia and sensorineural deafness, along with increased urine 3-methylglutaric acid levels. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed changes similar to Leigh-like syndrome. Gene sequencing revealed that both children have harbored pathogenic compound heterozygous variants of the SERAC1 gene, including c.1159C>T and c.442C>T in child 1, and c.1168C>T and exons 4~9 deletion in child 2. CONCLUSION: Children with MEGDEL syndrome due to SERAC1 gene variants have variable clinical genotypes. Delineation of its clinical characteristics and typical imaging changes can facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. Discovery of the novel variants has also enriched the spectrum of SERAC1 gene variants.

Lectin receptor-like kinase LecRK-VIII.2 is a missing link in MAPK signaling-mediated yield control.

The energy allocation for vegetative and reproductive growth is regulated by developmental signals and environmental cues, which subsequently affects seed output. However, the molecular mechanism underlying how plants coordinate yield-related traits to control yield in changing source-sink relationships remains largely unknown. Here, we discovered the lectin receptor-like kinase LecRK-VIII.2 as a specific receptor-like kinase that coordinates silique number, seed size, and seed number to determine seed yield in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The lecrk-VIII.2 mutants develop smaller seeds, but more siliques and seeds, leading to increased yield. In contrast, the plants overexpressing LecRK-VIII.2 form bigger seeds, but less siliques and seeds, which results in similar yield to that of wild-type plants. Interestingly, LecRK-VIII.2 promotes the growth of the rosette, root, and stem by coordinating the source-sink relationship. Additionally, LecRK-VIII.2 positively regulates cell expansion and proliferation in the seed coat, and maternally controls seed size. The genetic and biochemical analyses demonstrated that LecRK-VIII.2 acts upstream of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) gene MPK6 to regulate silique number, seed size, and seed number. Collectively, these findings uncover LecRK-VIII.2 as an upstream component of the MAPK signaling pathway to control yield-related traits and suggest its potential for crop improvement aimed at developing plants with stable yield, a robust root system, and improved lodging resistance.

Individual Microcystis colonies harbour distinct bacterial communities that differ by Microcystis oligotype and with time.

Interactions between bacteria and phytoplankton in the phycosphere have impacts at the scale of whole ecosystems, including the development of harmful algal blooms. The cyanobacterium Microcystis causes toxic blooms that threaten freshwater ecosystems and human health globally. Microcystis grows in colonies that harbour dense assemblages of other bacteria, yet the taxonomic composition of these phycosphere communities and the nature of their interactions with Microcystis are not well characterized. To identify the taxa and compositional variance within Microcystis phycosphere communities, we performed 16S rRNA V4 region amplicon sequencing on individual Microcystis colonies collected biweekly via high-throughput droplet encapsulation during a western Lake Erie cyanobacterial bloom. The Microcystis phycosphere communities were distinct from microbial communities in whole water and bulk phytoplankton seston in western Lake Erie but lacked 'core' taxa found across all colonies. However, dissimilarity in phycosphere community composition correlated with sampling date and the Microcystis 16S rRNA oligotype. Several taxa in the phycosphere were specific to and conserved with Microcystis of a single oligotype or sampling date. Together, this suggests that physiological differences between Microcystis strains, temporal changes in strain phenotypes, and the composition of seeding communities may impact community composition of the Microcystis phycosphere.

Temperature regulation as a tool to program synthetic microbial community composition.

Engineering of synthetic microbial communities is emerging as a powerful new paradigm for performing various industrially, medically, and environmentally important processes. To reach the fullest potential, however, this approach requires further development in many aspects, a key one being regulating the community composition. Here we leverage well-established mechanisms in ecology which govern the relative abundance of multispecies ecosystems and develop a new tool for programming the composition of synthetic microbial communities. Using a simple model system consisting of two microorganisms Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida, which occupy different but partially overlapping thermal niches, we demonstrated that temperature regulation could be used to enable coexistence and program the community composition. We first investigated a constant temperature regime and showed that different temperatures led to different community compositions. Next, we invented a new cycling temperature regime and showed that it can dynamically tune the microbial community, achieving a wide range of compositions depending on parameters that are readily manipulatable. Our work provides conclusive proof of concept that temperature regulation is a versatile and powerful tool capable of programming compositions of synthetic microbial communities.

Syntrophic co-culture amplification of production phenotype for high-throughput screening of microbial strain libraries.

Microbes can be engineered to synthesize a wide array of bioproducts, yet production phenotype evaluation remains a frequent bottleneck in the design-build-test cycle where strain development requires iterative rounds of library construction and testing. Here, we present Syntrophic Co-culture Amplification of Production phenotype (SnoCAP). Through a metabolic cross-feeding circuit, the production level of a target molecule is translated into highly distinguishable co-culture growth characteristics, which amplifies differences in production into highly distinguishable growth phenotypes. We demonstrate SnoCAP with the screening of Escherichia coli strains for production of two target molecules: 2-ketoisovalerate, a precursor of the drop-in biofuel isobutanol, and L-tryptophan. The dynamic range of the screening can be tuned by employing an inhibitory analog of the target molecule. Screening based on this framework requires compartmentalization of individual producers with the sensor strain. We explore three formats of implementation with increasing throughput capability: confinement in microtiter plates (102-104 assays/experiment), spatial separation on agar plates (104-105 assays/experiment), and encapsulation in microdroplets (105-107 assays/experiment). Using SnoCAP, we identified an efficient isobutanol production strain from a random mutagenesis library, reaching a final titer that is 5-fold higher than that of the parent strain. The framework can also be extended to screening for secondary metabolite production using a push-pull strategy. We expect that SnoCAP can be readily adapted to the screening of various microbial species, to improve production of a wide range of target molecules.

All-dielectric metamaterial analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency and its sensing application in terahertz range.

A novel electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) all-dielectric metamaterial is proposed, fabricated, and characterized. The unit cell of the proposed metamaterial comprises of two asymmetric split ring resonators (a-SRRs) positioned with a mirror symmetry. The asymmetric nature of a-SRRs results from the length difference of two arcs. Optical properties of the fabricated metamaterial are investigated numerically using finite difference method, as well as experimentally using a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The results confirm that the proposed metamaterial exhibits an EIT transparent window in the frequency range around 0.78THz with a Q-factor of ~75.7 and a time-delay up to ~28.9ps. Theoretical investigations show that EIT effects in our metamaterial are achieved by hybridizing two bright modes in the same unit cell, which are aroused by the excitation of magnetic moments. We also confirm that the proposed metamaterial has great potential for sensing applications with high sensitivity and high figure of merit (FOM), which guarantees potential applications in in situ chemical and biological sensing.

Dual band and tunable perfect absorber based on dual gratings-coupled graphene-dielectric multilayer structures.

In this paper, a mid-infrared perfect absorber based on the dual gratings-coupled graphene-dielectric multilayer structures (DGC-GDM) is proposed, in which GDM is sandwiched between two Au gratings. The DGC-GDM absorber shows advantages of dual-band and tunable absorption, insensitive to polarization, ultrathin thickness and wide angle range absorption. Two kinds of SPPs in the GDM layer can be excited by the upper and lower Au gratings, respectively, which confine the incident light into the GDM and thus contribute to the dual-band absorption. The wavelength of the absorption peak can be effectively changed by varying the Fermi level of graphene. Most importantly, an analytic formulas describing the relationships between the parameters of the absorber and the absorption spectra is derived. And the accuracy of the theoretical formulas is verified by comparing the simulation results with the theoretically calculated ones. Therefore, the exact values of parameters of the structure for an absorption peak as required can be obtained. The proposed structure can be applied to absorbers that are working at other frequencies.

Biodiversity Improves Life Cycle Sustainability Metrics in Algal Biofuel Production.

Algal biofuel has yet to realize its potential as a commercial and sustainable bioenergy source, largely due to the challenge of maximizing and sustaining biomass production with respect to energetic and material inputs in large-scale cultivation. Experimental studies have shown that multispecies algal polycultures can be designed to enhance biomass production, stability, and nutrient recycling compared to monocultures. Yet, it remains unclear whether these impacts of biodiversity make polycultures more sustainable than monocultures. Here, we present results of a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) for algal biorefineries to compare the sustainability metrics of monocultures and polycultures of six fresh-water algal species. Our results showed that when algae were grown in outdoor experimental ponds, certain bicultures improved the energy return on investment (EROI) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 20% and 16%, respectively, compared to the best monoculture. Bicultures outperformed monocultures by performing multiple functions simultaneously (e.g., improved stability, nutrient efficiency, biocrude characteristics), which outweighed the higher productivity attainable by a monoculture. Our results demonstrate that algal polycultures with optimized multifunctionality lead to enhanced life cycle metrics, highlighting the significant potential of ecological engineering for enabling future environmentally sustainable algal biorefineries.

Production of cellulosic organic acids via synthetic fungal consortia.

Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a potential breakthrough technology for reducing costs of biochemical production from lignocellulosic biomass. Production of cellulase enzymes, saccharification of lignocellulose, and conversion of the resulting sugars into a chemical of interest occur simultaneously within a single bioreactor. In this study, synthetic fungal consortia composed of the cellulolytic fungus Trichoderma reesei and the production specialist Rhizopus delemar demonstrated conversion of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and alkaline pre-treated corn stover (CS) to fumaric acid in a fully consolidated manner without addition of cellulase enzymes or expensive supplements such as yeast extract. A titer of 6.87 g/L of fumaric acid, representing 0.17 w/w yield, were produced from 40 g/L MCC with a productivity of 31.8 mg/L/hr. In addition, lactic acid was produced from MCC using a fungal consortium with Rhizopus oryzae as the production specialist. These results are proof-of-concept demonstration of engineering synthetic microbial consortia for CBP production of naturally occurring biomolecules.

Long non-coding RNA XIST promotes cell growth by regulating miR-139-5p/PDK1/AKT axis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abnormal expression of long non-coding RNA often contributes to unrestricted growth of cancer cells. Long non-coding RNA XIST expression is upregulated in several cancers; however, its modulatory mechanisms have not been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we found that XIST expression was significantly increased in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and cell lines. XIST promoted cell cycle progression from the G1 phase to the S phase and protected cells from apoptosis, which contributed to hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth. In addition, we revealed that there was reciprocal repression between XIST and miR-139-5p. PDK1 was identified as a direct target of miR-139-5p. We proposed that XIST was responsible for hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, and XIST exerted its function through the miR-139-5p/PDK1 axis.

Design and characterization of synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for direct production of isobutanol from cellulosic biomass.

Synergistic microbial communities are ubiquitous in nature and exhibit appealing features, such as sophisticated metabolic capabilities and robustness. This has inspired fast-growing interest in engineering synthetic microbial consortia for biotechnology development. However, there are relatively few reports of their use in real-world applications, and achieving population stability and regulation has proven to be challenging. In this work, we bridge ecology theory with engineering principles to develop robust synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for efficient biosynthesis of valuable products from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The required biological functions are divided between two specialists: the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which secretes cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic biomass into soluble saccharides, and the bacterium Escherichia coli, which metabolizes soluble saccharides into desired products. We developed and experimentally validated a comprehensive mathematical model for T. reesei/E. coli consortia, providing insights on key determinants of the system's performance. To illustrate the bioprocessing potential of this consortium, we demonstrate direct conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and pretreated corn stover to isobutanol. Without costly nutrient supplementation, we achieved titers up to 1.88 g/L and yields up to 62% of theoretical maximum. In addition, we show that cooperator-cheater dynamics within T. reesei/E. coli consortia lead to stable population equilibria and provide a mechanism for tuning composition. Although we offer isobutanol production as a proof-of-concept application, our modular system could be readily adapted for production of many other valuable biochemicals.

A Novel Fusion-Based Ship Detection Method from Pol-SAR Images.

A novel fusion-based ship detection method from polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR) images is proposed in this paper. After feature extraction and constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection, the detection results of HH channel, diplane scattering by Pauli decomposition and helical factor by Barnes decomposition are fused together. The confirmed targets and potential target pixels can be obtained after the fusion process. Using the difference degree of the target, potential target pixels can be classified. The fusion-based ship detection method works accurately by utilizing three different features comprehensively. The result of applying the technique to measured Airborne Synthetic Radar (AIRSAR) data shows that the novel detection method can achieve better performance in both ship's detection and ship's shape preservation compared to the result of K-means clustering method and the Notch Filter method.

Synthesis and enhanced visible-light responsive of C,N,S-tridoped TiO2 hollow spheres.

C,N,S-tridoped TiO2 hollow spheres (labeled as C,N,S-THs) were synthesized using carbon spheres as template and C,N,S-tridoped TiO2 nanoparticles as building blocks. The structure and physicochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Photoluminescence emission spectroscopy (PL). The results showed that the hollow spheres had average diameter of about 200 nm and the shell thickness was about 20 nm. The tridoped TiO2 hollow spheres exhibited strong absorption in the visible-light region. C,N,S-tridoped could narrow the band gap of the THs by mixing the orbit O 2p with C 2p, N 2p and S 3p orbits and shift its optical response from ultraviolet (UV) to the visible-light region. PL analysis indicated that the electron-hole recombination rate of TiO2 hollow spheres had been effectively inhibited when doped with C, N and S elements. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated for the degradation of X-3B (Reactive Brilliant Red dye, C.I. Reactive Red 2) aqueous solution under visible-light (lambda > 420 nm) irradiation. It was found that the C,N,S-tridoped TiO2 hollow spheres indicated higher photocatalytic activity than commercial P25 and the undoped counterpart photocatalyst.

Prognostic Value of Controlling Nutritional Status Score in Advanced Hypopharyngeal Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of the preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in patients with resectable advanced hypopharyngeal cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study included 113 advanced hypopharyngeal cancer patients who underwent curative resection in our hospital from 2013 to 2017. The association between the CONUT score and clinicopathological variables was evaluated. The association between CONUT score and survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression. The efficacy of the CONUT score and other immune-nutritional markers to predict prognosis was compared using a time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC). RESULTS: Patients were divided into the high-CONUT score group (≥3) and the low-CONUT score group (≤2) according to ROC analysis. The CONUT score was associated with body mass index (p = 0.047), monocyte (p = 0.021), pharyngocutaneous fistula (p = 0.045), flap repairment (p = 0.034), tumor (T) classification (p = 0.034), node (N) classification (p = 0.036), subsite of tumor (p = 0.035), and negative pathologic factors (p < 0.001). Tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage, negative pathologic factors, adjuvant radiotherapy, postoperative chemoradiotherapy, and CONUT score were independent prognostic factors for survival. Patients with a higher CONUT score had worse overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio: 2.76, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-5.29, p = 0.002) and disease-free survival (hazard ratio: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.28-4.91, p = 0.007). The area under the curve of the CONUT score (0.799) to predict 5-year OS was greater than those of Preoperative Nutritional Index (0.769), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (0.643), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (0.565), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (0.577). CONCLUSION: The CONUT score is a prognostic marker for patients with resectable advanced hypopharyngeal cancer. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 133:2613-2620, 2023.

Irisin alleviates hyperoxia-induced bronchopulmonary dysplasia through activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a common pulmonary injury among premature infants, which is often caused by hyperoxia exposure. Irisin is a novel hormone-like myokine derived mainly from skeletal muscles as well as adipose tissues. Many studies have indicated that Irisin exert a variety of properties against hyperoxia-induced inflammation and oxidative stress (OS). We aimed to evaluate the effects of irisin on hyperoxia-induced lung injury explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: BPD model was established after exposing newborn mouse to 85% oxygen. BPD mouse received continuous intraperitoneal injection of irisin at a dose of 25 µg/kg/day. Lung tissues were collected for histological examination at 7 and 14 days after birth. The alveolarization and alveolar vascularization of each animal was assessed. Levels of oxidative stress indicators, and the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in lung tissues were detected at 14 days after birth. RESULTS: Hyperoxia exposure induced a markedly alveolar simplification and a disrupted alveolar angiogenesis, which was ameliorated by irisin treatment. The hyperoxia-induced increase in these oxidative stress indicators was significantly reversed by irisin treatment. The Nrf2/HO-1 pathway is inducted in the hyperoxia-induced BPD mouse model, which is further activated by irisin treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated the beneficial effects of irisin in reducing the OS, enhancing alveolarization, and promoting vascular development through activation of Nrf2/HO-1 axis in a hyperoxia-induced experimental model of BPD.

Electrochemiluminescence properties of [Pt2Ag4(C≡CC6H4R)8]n (R = CH3, n = 1; R = H, n = 1 and 2) with amine (TPrA and DBAE) as the coreactant and determination of Sudan I.

Two hexanuclear clusters, [Pt(2)Ag(4)(C≡CC(6)H(4)R)(8)] (R = CH(3), 1; R = H, 2), together with dimer [Pt(2)Ag(4)(C≡CC(6)H(5))(8)](2) (3), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy and by X-ray crystallography for 1 and 3. A considerable enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) and a notable red shift in the emission maximum of 1 (λ(max) 600 nm) relative to 2 (λ(max) 545 nm) are observed. Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of 1 and 2 in the absence or presence of coreactant tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) or 2-(dibutylamino)ethanol (DBAE) at different working electrodes in different solvents (CH(2)Cl(2), CH(2)ClCH(2)Cl, or CH(3)CN) has been studied. The ECL spectra are identical with the PL spectra, indicating that ECL emissions are also due to a MLM'CT [Pt(d)/π (C≡CC(6)H(4)R-4) → Pt(p(z))/Ag(sp)/π* (C≡CC(6)H(4)R-4)] state modified by Pt···Ag and Ag···Ag contacts. ECL of 1- and 2/amine systems in CH(2)ClCH(2)Cl was produced at the potentials of 1.14-1.19 V vs SCE, notably negatively shifted by about 0.38 V compared to those of the Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)/amine system. In all cases, ECL quantum efficiencies of 2 are higher than those of 1 and on the same order of magnitude as that of the [Ru(bpy)(3)](PF(6))(2)/amine system. It is noted that Sudan I tends to decrease the ECL intensity of the 1/DBAE system in CH(2)ClCH(2)Cl at a platinum working electrode. A new ECL method for the determination of Sudan I was developed with a linear range of 2.5 × 10(-5)-1.0 × 10(-3) M and a detection limit of 8.0 × 10(-6) M based on 3 times the ratio of signal-to-noise.