Clinical Manifestations of Subjective Sleep Disorders in Chinese Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Their Relationship with Dopaminergic Drugs.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disorders are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and significantly impact quality of life. Herein, we surveyed the incidence and severity of sleep disorders in Chinese PD patients and observed their relationship with dopaminergic drugs. METHODS: We collected the demographic and disease information of 232 PD patients. The incidence and severity of sleep disorders were surveyed with the Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS) Chinese version. Data on dopaminergic drug intake were collected and converted to levodopa equivalent doses (LED). RESULTS: The average total score of PDSS in 232 patients was 119.3 ± 19.7. There was a significant difference in PDSS scores between groups classified by the Hoehn-Yahr (H&Y) stage, but not between the groups classified by the type of dopaminergic drugs. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that the LED of dopaminergic drugs taken before bedtime (p < 0.00), LED of dopaminergic drugs taken over a 24-h period (p < 0.00), and scores of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) (p = 0.01) were determinants of PDSS. CONCLUSION: Sleep disorders in PD patients may be multifactorial. High dosage of dopaminergic drugs taken prior to sleep, daily total high dosage of dopaminergic drugs, and depression exert negative effects on subjective sleep. The timing and dosage of dopaminergic drugs taken before bedtime should be considered in PD management.

Rapid Evaluation of the Resistance of Citrus Germplasms Against Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri.

Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) is the causal agent of citrus bacterial canker (CBC), one of the most devastating citrus diseases. Most commercial citrus varieties are susceptible to CBC. However, some citrus varieties and wild citrus germplasms are CBC resistant and are promising in genetic increases in citrus resistance against CBC. We aimed to evaluate citrus germplasms for resistance against CBC. First, we developed a rapid evaluation method based on enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP)-labeled Xcc. The results demonstrated that eYFP does not affect the growth and virulence of Xcc. Xcc-eYFP allows measurement of bacterial titers but is more efficient and rapid than the plate colony counting method. Next, we evaluated citrus germplasms collected in China. Based on symptoms and bacterial titers, we identified that two citrus germplasms ('Ichang' papeda and 'Huapi' kumquat) are resistant, whereas eight citrus germplasms ('Chongyi' wild mandarin, 'Mangshan' wild mandarin, 'Ledong' kumquat, 'Dali' citron, 'Yiliang' citron, 'Longyan' kumquat, 'Bawang' kumquat, and 'Daoxian' wild mandarin) are tolerant. In summary, we have developed a rapid evaluation method to test the resistance of citrus plants against CBC. This method was successfully used to identify two highly canker-resistant citrus germplasms and eight citrus germplasms with canker tolerance. These results could be leveraged in traditional breeding contexts or be used to identify canker resistance genes to increase the disease resistance of commercial citrus varieties via biotechnological approaches.

Digital video interventions and mental health literacy among young people: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy is important as it relates to understanding mental illness, increasing help-seeking efficacy, and reducing mental illness-related stigma. One method to improve the mental health literacy of young people is a digital video intervention. AIMS: A scoping review was conducted to map existing research in the area of digital video interventions for mental health literacy among young people. METHODS: The scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR checklist. All results were screened based on our inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were selected for analysis. In most studies (n = 14), a digital video was the only intervention whereas three studies took a multi-intervention approach. Only two of the digital video interventions were co-created with people with mental illness or university students. All studies showed positive results in favor of digital video interventions in at least one component of mental health literacy or compared to one of the comparison conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Digital video interventions represent effective tools for enhancing mental health literacy. However, there is a need for active involvement of end-users in co-creation and to attend to the production quality so that the digital video intervention is as relevant, informed, and effective as possible.

MTTFsite: cross-cell type TF binding site prediction by using multi-task learning.

MOTIVATION: The prediction of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) is crucial for gene expression analysis. Supervised learning approaches for TFBS predictions require large amounts of labeled data. However, many TFs of certain cell types either do not have sufficient labeled data or do not have any labeled data. RESULTS: In this paper, a multi-task learning framework (called MTTFsite) is proposed to address the lack of labeled data problem by leveraging on labeled data available in cross-cell types. The proposed MTTFsite contains a shared CNN to learn common features for all cell types and a private CNN for each cell type to learn private features. The common features are aimed to help predicting TFBSs for all cell types especially those cell types that lack labeled data. MTTFsite is evaluated on 241 cell type TF pairs and compared with a baseline method without using any multi-task learning model and a fully shared multi-task model that uses only a shared CNN and do not use private CNNs. For cell types with insufficient labeled data, results show that MTTFsite performs better than the baseline method and the fully shared model on more than 89% pairs. For cell types without any labeled data, MTTFsite outperforms the baseline method and the fully shared model by more than 80 and 93% pairs, respectively. A novel gene expression prediction method (called TFChrome) using both MTTFsite and histone modification features is also presented. Results show that TFBSs predicted by MTTFsite alone can achieve good performance. When MTTFsite is combined with histone modification features, a significant 5.7% performance improvement is obtained. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The resource and executable code are freely available at http://hlt.hitsz.edu.cn/MTTFsite/ and http://www.hitsz-hlt.com:8080/MTTFsite/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Ultrasound Microvascular Imaging Based on Super-Resolution Radial Fluctuations.

OBJECTIVES: Super-resolution ultrasound (SRUS) has become a tool for in vivo microvascular imaging. Most of the SRUS methods are based on microbubble localization: namely, ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM). The aim of this study was to develop a nonlocalization SRUS method and verify its feasibility in microvascular imaging. METHODS: We introduce a new super-resolution strategy based on the postprocessing of contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The proposed method, which is termed ultrasound diffraction attenuation microscopy (UDAM), uses super-resolution radial fluctuations instead of microbubble localization to overcome acoustic diffraction limits. Biceps of Japanese long-ear white rabbits were adopted to validate its feasibility on muscle vascular imaging, using a clinical accessible ultrasound system at a frame rate of 30 Hz under a single bolus injection of SonoVue (Bracco SpA, Milan, Italy). The super-resolution image was compared with the maximum-intensity projection and ULM. RESULTS: The animal study illustrates that the proposed UDAM can obtain super-resolution microvascular images of rabbits' muscles under a single bolus injection of SonoVue with a 150-second contrast-enhanced ultrasound video. Both ULM and UDAM can achieve a very similar vascular structure with the maximum-intensity projection but much higher spatial resolution. The measurement of 1-dimensional signals shows that UDAM can distinguish the subwavelength structures and substantial reduce the full width at half-maximum of microvessels. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude UDAM provides a noninvasive tool for in vivo super-resolution microvascular imaging.

Green synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots using chloroplast dispersions as precursors and application for Fe3+ ion sensing.

Water-soluble carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal treatment of chloroplast dispersions extracted from fresh leaves as a green carbon source. The CD solution showed an emission peak centred at 445 nm when excited at 300 nm. The synthesized CDs were uniform and monodispersed with an average size of 5.6 nm. When adding ferric(III) ions (Fe3+ ) to the solution of the original CDs, the fluorescence intensity decreased significantly. Based on the linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and concentration of Fe3+ ions, an effective method for rapid, sensitive and selective Fe3+ sensing in aqueous solution could be established. Under optimum conditions, the extent of the fluorescence quenching of prepared CDs strongly depended on the Fe3+ ions over a wide concentration range 1.0-100.0 µM with a detection limit (3σ/k) of 0.3 µM. Furthermore, the quantitative determination of Fe3+ ions in environmental water samples was realized.

Colorimetric captopril assay based on oxidative etching-directed morphology control of silver nanoprisms.

Oxidative etching is an effective approach to control the morphology of nanomaterials. Taking silver nanocrystals (AgNCs) as an example, oxidative etching-directed morphological transformation from a triangular prism shape to a disk shape is achieved and then applied to the determination of captopril. As a mediator, trace amount of halides play important roles in the shape-controlled evolution of AgNCs. Etching causes the color of the triangular silver nanoprims (AgNPRs) to change from blue to yellow on formation of round nanodisks. On addition of captopril, the oxidative etching of the AgNPRs is prevented owing to the protection by the drug via Ag-S bonding. In this case, the solution color does not change. This finding was used to design an assay of captopril that has a linear response in the 10-600 nM concentration range and a 2 nM limit of detection. This method also allows digital camera read-out. It was successfully applied to quality control of captopril in tablets. Graphical abstractOxidative etching-directed morphological transformation of silver nanocrystals is well manipulated and successfully applied in colorimetric determination of captopril in tablets.

One-pot synthesis of green-emitting gold nanoclusters as a fluorescent probe for determination of 4-nitrophenol.

A hydrothermal method was applied to the synthesis of green-emitting gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) which are shown to be viable fluorescent probes for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The Au NCs were prepared by using thiol-ß-cyclodextrin as a template. Under 365 nm excitation, their green fluorescence has a peak at 502 nm, with a narrow emission bandwidth of only 30 nm. The fluorescence and composition of the Au NCs were characterized and the mechanism of the nanocluster formation is discussed. Due to host-guest recognition of ß-cyclodextrin and 4-NP, fluorescence is quenched. The probe can selectively recognize 4-NP among other nitrophenols. A fluorometric and colorimetric assay was developed for 4-NP that works in the 0.1 to 100 µM concentration range and has a detection limit of 90 nM (at 3σ). Graphical abstractSchematic representation of hydrothermal synthesis of green-emitting gold nanoclusters using thiol-ß-cyclodextrin. Fluorescence is quenched and the absorption of the nanoclusters is increases in the presence of 4-nitrophenol.

Smartphone-based colorimetric assay of antioxidants in red wine using oxidase-mimic MnO2 nanosheets.

In this work, we report a fast and colorimetric method for the detection of antioxidants based on the oxidase-like activity of two-dimensional MnO2 nanosheets. Specifically, MnO2 nanosheets can transform the colourless substrate, 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), into a deep blue product (oxTMB) via catalytic oxidation, with a specific absorption peak arising at 652 nm. In the presence of antioxidants, both the dramatic colour fading and the decrease in absorbance at 652 nm are observed owing to the inhibition of catalytic oxidation of TMB, where MnO2 nanosheets can be transformed into Mn2+ with the aid of antioxidants. Based on the linear relationship between the absorbance at 652 nm and the concentration of the antioxidants, quantitative determination of antioxidants in the range of 0.1-12 µM has been achieved. Moreover, combined with smartphone-based technology, a portable colorimetric analytical platform for assay of antioxidants is further developed. This method shows advantages including easy operation, low cost, rapid detection and high sensitivity and has been successfully applied in the determination of total antioxidants in red wine.

In vivo monitoring of cerebral glucose with an updated on-line electroanalytical system.

Because cerebral species involve rapid events, increasing the temporal resolution to realize in vivo near-real-time measurements is desirable. Here, we aimed to improve the low resolution of our previous on-line electroanalytical system by decreasing the dead volume and reducing molecular dispersion. This updated system has advantages of elevated time resolution and accelerated analysis for on-line monitoring of glucose versus the previous system. Finally, this new system was successfully applied to continuous measurement of cerebral glucose in vivo during global ischemia/reperfusion events. This study is expected to offer a reliable on-line analytical platform for continuous monitoring of important species associated with fast physiological and pathological events in vivo. Graphical abstract.

Selective ratiometric fluorescence detection of hypochlorite by using aggregation-induced emission dots.

The development of simple and effective tools for selective ratiometric detection of hypochlorite (ClO-) is one of the most important goals for elucidating the biofunction of ClO- in associated diseases. However, most developmental probes suffer from the notorious aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect that greatly limits their applications. Herein, we report on novel aggregation-induced emission dots (AIED) for ratiometric detection of ClO- via a co-precipitation strategy. The AIED nanoprobe displayed a ratiometric signal output, which was more promising to minimize the bad environmental factors and simultaneously avoided the ACQ effect. Notably, amphiphilic block copolymer endowed the nanoprobe with stable water dispersibility and easy modification. The as-prepared AIED probe exhibited high sensitivity (~ 89 nM), high selectivity, outstanding photostability, and prominent long-term fluorescence stability. Furthermore, the as-prepared AIED was applied for the visualized fluorescence detection of ClO- and further utilized to detect ClO- in real samples. We expect the nanoprobe to be an outstanding tool to understand ClO--associated diseases. Graphical abstract Illustration of the probe for the detection of ClO-.

Carbon dots synthesized by the m-trihydroxybenzene as the carbon source and its application on the detection of pH value.

New carbon dots (CDs) were prepared by a microwave method using m-trihydroxybenzene and dilute sulphuric acid as raw materials. The as-prepared CDs exhibited excellent water solubility and photoluminesence properties. The optimum excitation and emission wavelengths of the new CDs were at 365 nm and 465 nm, respectively. The fluorescence of the new CDs experienced remarkable changes in the presence of Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer solution with different pH values under 4°C after reacting for 70 min. In addition, a linear relationship between the logarithm of the relative fluorescence intensity ratio [lg(IF /IFo )] of CDs and the pH values of the sensing system ranging 1.81-5.72 was obtained, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9933. Thus, a sensitive and simple method to detect the pH value of solution was developed. Furthermore, the analytical application of detecting the concentration of acetic acid in vinegar was investigated. The detection values were found similar to the reference values, fully demonstrating a good linear relationship between the logarithm of the relative fluorescence intensity ratio of the CDs and the pH value of the system. Hence, the method could be used to detect the concentration of acetic acid in vinegar.

Nuclear fast red-based colorimetric sensors for sensitive and selective detection of Ag ions.

The reduction of nuclear fast red (NFR) stain by sodium tetrahydroboron was catalyzed in the presence of silver ions (Ag+ ). The fluorescence properties of reduced NFR differed from that of NFR. The product showed fluorescence emission at 480 nm with excitation at 369 nm. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity of the mixture increased strongly in the presence of Ag+ and Britton-Robinson buffer at pH 4.78. There was a good linear relationship between increased fluorescence intensity (ΔI) and Ag+ concentration in the range 5.0 × 10-9 to 5.0 × 10-8  M. The correlation coefficient was 0.998, and the detection limit (3σ/k) was 1.5 × 10-9  M. The colour of the reaction system changed with variation in Ag+ concentration over a wide range. Based on the colour change, a visual semiquantitative detection method for recognition and sensing of Ag+ was developed for the range 1.0 × 10-8  to 5.0 × 10-4  M, with an indicator that was visible to the naked eye. Therefore, a sensitive, simple method for determination of Ag+ was developed. Optimum conditions for Ag+ detection, the effect of other ions and the analytical application of Ag+ detection of synthesized sample were investigated.

Identification and characterization of uterine micro-peristalsis in women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer via dynamic ultrasound features.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the existence of uterine micro-peristalsis (UMP) by dynamic ultrasound features and evaluate the feasibility of UMP as a tool to distinguish pregnant and non-pregnant infertility patients undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), using clinical pregnancy results as a benchmark. METHODS: Fifty-one women, including 29 pregnant and 22 non-pregnant patients were recruited. Also, ultrasound videos were collected before embryo transfer. First of all, undiscoverable uterine micro-peristalsis was magnified by video magnification. Then, the dynamic features of UMP were characterized by a novel index termed histogram entropy based on the micro-peristalsis feature selection by entropy weight (HEMEW), which was generated by combining frame difference and volume local phase quantization. Finally, a comparative experiment of HEMEW between non-pregnant and pregnant patients, logistic regression analysis for HEMEW and other independent clinical characteristics, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed. RESULTS: The magnified uterine video clearly exhibited UMP, which was invisible in the original ultrasound video. Further, there existed a significant difference in HEMEW between pregnant patients and non-pregnant patients after micro-motion magnification (p = 0.003, n = 51). The logistic regression result showed that HEMEW (p = 0.006) was significantly associated with clinical pregnancy outcome, while other independent variables had no significant effect on it. The ROC performance of HEMEW was 72.6% accuracy (AUC = 0.774, 95% CI: 0.644-0.905). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed micro-motion magnification and characterization strategy identified the existences of uterine micro-peristalsis, and verified that UMP has the feasibility to distinguish the outcomes of IVF-ET.

Spectrofluorometric determination of berberine using a novel Au nanocluster with large Stokes shift.

Berberine hydrochloride (BHC), a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, is widely applied as a an agent in traditional Chinese medicine. Almost all the traditional methods for BHC detection require complicated preprocessing steps or expensive instruments. In this article, we report a simple, rapid, sensitive, and selective method for BHC detection using fluorescent gold nanoclusters (F-AuNCs) as the fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift of 237 nm. The F-AuNCs prepared with citrate-stabilized stannous chloride and hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III) as raw materials in an aqueous medium display strong and stable fluorescence at 566 nm. When F-AuNCs are mixed with BHC, the fluorescence of F-AuNCs is effectively quenched. Under optimized conditions, this method allows sensitive and selective measurements of BHC in a concentration ranging from 1.0 × 10-6 to 1.0 × 10-4 mol L-1 with a detection limit of 7.5 × 10-8 mol L-1, which is relatively low among reported spectral methods. This method provides excellent selectivity for the detection of BHC against inorganic anions and natural amino acids. In addition, the BHC content in two different types of berberine tablets was successfully determined by this method and the results showed high accuracy. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

A near-infrared fluorescent sensor with large Stokes shift for rapid and highly selective detection of thiophenols in water samples and living cells.

The development of simple methods with high sensitivity and selectivity to differentiate toxic aromatic thiols (thiophenols) from aliphatic thiols (cysteine, homocysteine, and glutathione) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is of great significance. Herein, we report on the fabrication of a novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent sensor for rapid and highly selective detection of thiophenols through the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. In the presence of the thiophenols, an obvious enhancement of NIR fluorescence at 658 nm could be visualized with the aid of nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reaction. The sensor displays large Stokes shift (~ 227 nm), fast response time (< 30 s), high sensitivity (~ 8.3 nM), and good biocompatibility. Moreover, the as-prepared sensor possesses an excellent anti-interference feature even when other possible interferents exist (aliphatic thiols and H2S) and has been successfully utilized for thiophenol detection in both water samples and living cells. Graphical abstract Illustration of the sensor for thiophenol imaging in living cells.

Real-time monitoring of endogenous cysteine levels in living cells using a CD-based ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobe.

A simple and readily available fluorescent probe is needed for the real-time monitoring of endogenous cysteine (Cys) levels in living cells, as such a probe could be used to study the role of Cys in related diseases. Herein, we report the first fluorescent probe based on carbon dots (CDs-FITA) for the selective and ratiometric imaging of endogenous Cys in live cells. In this ratiometric fluorescent probe, a fluorescein derivative (FITA) that recognizes Cys is covalently linked to the surfaces of carbon dots (CDs); employing CDs greatly improves the water solubility of the probe. Acrylate on FITA is selectively cleaved by Cys in aqueous solution under mild conditions, leading to a dramatic increase in the fluorescence from fluorescein. The probe therefore allows the highly selective ratiometric fluorescent detection of Cys even in the presence of various interferents. The as-prepared CDs-FITA showed excellent performance when applied to detect Cys in blood serum. In addition, due to its negligible cytotoxicity, the CDs-FITA can also be utilized for the real-time monitoring of endogenous cysteine (Cys) levels in living cells. Graphical abstract Illustration of the CD-based probe for Cys imaging in living cells.

Highly sensitive and selective determination of hydrogen sulfide by resonance light scattering technique based on silver nanoparticles.

We have developed a green approach to prepare DNA-templated silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) from the direct reaction between Ag+ and ascorbic acid in the presence of DNA and sodium hydroxide. The Ag-NPs showed strong resonance light scattering (RLS) intensity property. Then, the interaction between hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and Ag-NPs was studied by measuring their RLS spectra. The results showed that there is a strong interaction between Ag-NPs and H2S, which resulted in a decrease in the size of Ag-NPs and a decrease in the RLS intensity of the Ag-NPs solution at the wavelength of 467 nm. The results demonstrated that the RLS technique offers a sensitive and simple tool for investigating the interaction between Ag-NPs and H2S, which can be applied to detect H2S with high sensitivity and selectivity without complex readout equipment. The linear range for H2S determination was found to be the range from 5.0 × 10-9 to 1.0 × 10-7 mol L-1, and the detection limit (3σ/k) was 2.8 × 10-9 mol L-1. Moreover, the proposed method was applied for the determination of H2S in natural water samples with satisfactory results. Graphical abstract The application of Ag-NPs in H2S detection.

Silver nanoclusters stabilized with denatured fish sperm DNA and the application on trace mercury ions detection.

In this study, fluorescent silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) were synthesized using denatured fish sperm DNA as the template. In contrast to other methods, this method did not use artificial DNA as the template. After their reaction with denatured fish sperm DNA, Ag+ ions were reduced by NaBH4 to form Ag NCs. The Ag NCs showed a strong fluorescence emission at 650 nm when excited at 585 nm. The fluorescence intensity increased fourfold at pH 3.78, controlled with Britton-Robinson buffer solution. The fluorescence of the Ag NCs was quenched in the presence of trace mercury ions (Hg2+ ) in a weakly acidic medium and nitrogen atmosphere. The extent of the fluorescence quenching of Ag NCs strongly depends on the Hg2+ ion concentration over a linear range from 2.0 nmol L-1 to 3.0 µmol L-1 . The detection limit (3σ/k) for Hg2+ was 0.7 nmol L-1 . Thus, a sensitive and rapid method was developed for the detection of Hg2+ ions.

Copper ion detection using novel silver nanoclusters stabilized with amido black 10B.

Novel fluorescent silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) were synthesized using amido black 10B (AB) as a stabilizing agent and then employed for the detection of copper ions (Cu(2+)). The AB-stabilized AgNCs (AB-AgNCs) were well dispersed in aqueous solution with an average diameter of around 1.3 nm and exhibited illustrious blue fluorescence emission. Moreover, the fluorescence of AB-AgNCs could be quenched efficiently by Cu(2+), which might be a result of the coordination between Cu(2+) and the free recognition group of AB on surfaces of AB-AgNCs, inducing the aggregation of AB-AgNCs. Based on the linear decrease of fluorescence intensity, the Cu(2+) concentration was determined in the range of 0.01-1.1 µmol L(-1) and the limit of detection (LOD) was 4.0 nΜ. In addition, the detection of Cu(2+) could be performed with AB-AgNCs in the presence of other ions, including 13 kinds of conventional metal ions and 11 kinds of anions. Based on the above experiment, the developed AB-AgNC probe was successfully further applied to detect Cu(2+) in three electroplating effluents, which showed high accuracy.