Quantification of nickel, cobalt, and manganese concentration using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.

Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy is one of the most effective, inexpensive, flexible, and simplest analytical techniques to measure species concentration in the liquid phase. It has a wide range of applications such as wastewater treatment, dye degradation, colloidal nanoparticle characterization. It is used in almost every spectroscopy laboratory for routine analysis or research.

Effect of Thickness on the Optical and Electrical Properties of ITO/Au/ITO Sandwich Structures.

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/Au/ITO sandwich structures with varying top and bottom ITO film thicknesses were deposited by magnetron sputtering. The effects of varying thickness of the two ITO films on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the sandwich structures were investigated. X-ray diffraction spectra showed that by inserting an ultrathin Au film, the average grain size of the top ITO layer was significantly increased, but not for the bottom one.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Chinese Medicine on Nonmotor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) have devastating impacts on both patients and their caregivers. Jiawei-Liujunzi Tang (JLT) has been used to treat some NMS of PD based on the Chinese medicine theory since Qing dynasty. Here we report a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, add-on clinical trial aiming at evaluating the efficacy and safety of the JLT in treating NMS in PD patients.

Prevalence of visual impairment and refractive errors among different ethnic groups in schoolchildren in Turpan, China.

Background: There is currently limited information about ethnic differences in myopia prevalence within mainland China, especially in rural or semi-rural areas. We examined the prevalence of refractive errors, visual impairment and spectacle coverage in school children of varying ethnicity in Turpan, Xinjiang province.

Methods: A community eye care service was provided for five schools.

The involvement of serotonin metabolism in cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress in rat lung in vivo.

Recently, we have reported the dysregulation of circulating serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) homeostasis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An increase in metabolism of 5-HT has been reported to induce oxidative stress via monoamine oxidase (MAO)-dependent pathway. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of cigarette smoke exposure on the systemic circulation and local airway 5-HT levels as well as MAO-mediated oxidative pathway using a cigarette smoke-exposed rat model.

Inhibitory effect of Chinese green tea on cigarette smoke-induced up-regulation of airway neutrophil elastase and matrix metalloproteinase-12 via antioxidant activity.

Our recent study has indicated that Chinese green tea (Lung Chen), in which epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) accounts for 60% of catechins, protected cigarette smoke-induced lung injury. We now hypothesized that Lung Chen tea may also have potential effect on lung oxidative stress and proteases/anti-proteases in a smoking rat model. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to either sham air (SA) or 4% cigarette smoke (CS) plus 2% Lung Chen tea or water by oral gavage.

Cigarette smoke-induced cerebral cortical interleukin-6 elevation is not mediated through oxidative stress.

The author group has previously established an in vivo subchronic cigarette smoke (CS) exposure rat model, in which the systemic oxidative burden as well as the modulation of local anti-oxidative enzymes in the lung has been demonstrated. Oxidative stress has been shown to induce pro-inflammatory cytokine release, including interleukin (IL)-6 in the airways. In this study, we aimed to investigate the changes in IL-6 production, as well as the oxidative/anti-oxidative responses in the cerebral cortex using the same in vivo model.

The reproducibility and short-term and long-term repeatability of sonographic measurement of splenic length.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the reproducibility (interobserver variability), and the short-term and long-term repeatability (intraobserver variability) of sonographic measurement of the maximum and mean splenic length. Ultrasound (US) measurements of the splenic length were performed in 43 subjects, ages 30 to 59 years old (mean age = 44.5 years).