Progression trajectories from prodromal to overt synucleinopathies: a longitudinal, multicentric brain [F]FDG-PET study.

The phenoconversion trajectory from idiopathic/isolated Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) towards either Parkinson's Disease (PD) or Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is currently uncertain. We investigated the capability of baseline brain [F]FDG-PET in differentiating between iRBD patients eventually phenoconverting to PD or DLB, by deriving the denovoPDRBD-related pattern (denovoPDRBD-RP) from 32 de novo PD patients; and the denovoDLBRBD-RP from 30 de novo DLB patients, both with evidence of RBD at diagnosis. To explore [F]FDG-PET phenoconversion trajectories prediction power, we applied these two patterns on a group of 115 iRBD patients followed longitudinally.

Validation of the REM behaviour disorder phenoconversion-related pattern in an independent cohort.

Background: A brain glucose metabolism pattern related to phenoconversion in patients with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBDconvRP) was recently identified. However, the validation of the iRBDconvRP in an external, independent group of iRBD patients is needed to verify the reproducibility of such pattern, so to increase its importance in clinical and research settings. The aim of this work was to validate the iRBDconvRP in an independent group of iRBD patients.

Investigating the relationship between the SNCA gene and cognitive abilities in idiopathic Parkinson's disease using machine learning.

Cognitive impairments are prevalent in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the underlying mechanisms of their development are unknown. In this study, we aimed to predict global cognition (GC) in PD with machine learning (ML) using structural neuroimaging, genetics and clinical and demographic characteristics. As a post-hoc analysis, we aimed to explore the connection between novel selected features and GC more precisely and to investigate whether this relationship is specific to GC or is driven by specific cognitive domains.

Fluorescence from Multiple Chromophore Hydrogen-Bonding States in the Far-Red Protein TagRFP675.

Far-red fluorescent proteins are critical for in vivo imaging applications, but the relative importance of structure versus dynamics in generating large Stokes-shifted emission is unclear. The unusually red-shifted emission of TagRFP675, a derivative of mKate, has been attributed to the multiple hydrogen bonds with the chromophore N-acylimine carbonyl. We characterized TagRFP675 and point mutants designed to perturb these hydrogen bonds with spectrally resolved transient grating and time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) spectroscopies supported by molecular dynamics simulations.

Far-Red Emission of mPlum Fluorescent Protein Results from Excited-State Interconversion between Chromophore Hydrogen-Bonding States.

Fluorescent proteins with large Stokes shifted emission beyond 600 nm are actively sought for live-cell imaging applications. The mechanism of excited-state relaxation leading to the Stokes shift in the mPlum fluorescent protein, which emits at a peak wavelength of 650 nm, has been previously investigated by both ultrafast spectroscopy and theoretical methods. Here, we report that femtosecond time-resolved area-normalized emission spectra of mPlum show a clear isoemissive point.

Retrieval of frequency spectrum from time-resolved spectroscopic data: comparison of Fourier transform and linear prediction methods.

Femtosecond time-resolved signals often display oscillations arising from the nuclear and electronic wave packet motions. Fourier power spectrum is generally used to retrieve the frequency spectrum. We have shown by numerical simulations and coherent phonon spectrum of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) that the Fourier power spectrum may not be appropriate to obtain the spectrum, when the peaks overlap with varying phases.

Ultrafast generation of fundamental and multiple-order phonon excitations in highly enriched (6,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes.

Using a macroscopic ensemble of highly enriched (6,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes, combined with high signal-to-noise ratio and time-dependent differential transmission spectroscopy, we have generated vibrational modes in an ultrawide spectral range (10-3000 cm(-1)). A total of 14 modes were clearly resolved and identified, including fundamental modes of A, E1, and E2 symmetries and their combinational modes involving two and three phonons. Through comparison with continuous wave Raman spectra as well as calculations based on an extended tight-binding model, we were able to identify all the observed peaks and determine the frequencies of the individual and combined modes.

Photoswitchable quantum dots by controlling the photoinduced electron transfers.

We report photoluminescence (PL) modulation of quantum dots (QDs) by photoinduced electron transfers from acridine-1,8-dione derivative surface ligands. Reversible PL switching upon many repeated cycles was demonstrated, as alternating on and off of the UV excitation for the surface ligand has successfully resulted in the QD PL modulation.

Modest changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with sleep apnea syndrome after continuous positive airway pressure treatment.

Background: Decreased cerebral glucose metabolism has been reported in patients with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), but it has yet to be decided whether cerebral glucose metabolism in SAS can be altered by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate cerebral glucose metabolism changes in patients with SAS after CPAP treatment.

Methods: Thirteen middle-aged male patients with severe SAS [mean age 49.

The use of an in vitro adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assay to predict chemotherapeutic response in breast cancer.

The adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assay (ATP-CRA) has the advantages of standardization, evaluability, reproducibility, and accuracy, and can be performed on relatively small numbers of tumor cells. A total of 43 patients were enrolled in the present study, and chemosensitivity tests were successfully performed in 40 (93.0%) of these patients.

99mTc-labeled 1-thio-beta-D-glucose as a new tumor-seeking agent: synthesis and tumor cell uptake assay.

99mTc-labeled 1-thio-beta-D-glucose (99mTc-1-TG) was synthesized under different ligand concentrations. 1-Thio-beta-D-glucose (1-TG) showed different chemical properties and higher stability at acid pH as compared to neutral and basic pH. Under different ligand concentrations, 99mTc-1-TG was obtained with high labeling efficiency of >97%, but the HPLC chromatogram varied with the ligand concentration.