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Locus coeruleus (LC) is severely affected in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). However, the alterations of LC-related resting-state networks (RSNs) in PD remain unclear. We used resting-state functional MRI to investigate the alterations of functional connectivity (FC) of LC-related RSNs and the associations between RSNs changes and clinical features in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), and PD patients with (PDRBD+) and without RBD (PDRBD−). There was a similarly disrupted FC pattern of LC-related RSNs in iRBD and PDRBD+ patients, while the LC-related RSNs were less damaged in PDRBD− patients compared with iRBD and PDRBD+ patients. The FC of LC-related RSNs correlated with cognition and duration in iRBD, with depression in PDRBD−, and with cognition and severity of RBD in PDRBD+ patients. Our findings demonstrate that LC-related RSNs are significantly disrupted in the prodromal stage of α-synucleinopathies and proposed body-first PD (PDRBD+), but are less affected in brain-first PD (PDRBD−).

Helix is a sophisticated structure in nature and has many unique functions which makes it possible to store more information and energy, even receive more sensitive signals. Besides, as an effective method for preparing hydrogel fibers, microfluidic spinning has achieved unprecedented development in the past decade. However, hydrogel fiber with helical structure has began to be studied only in recent years. In this paper, the helical hydrogel fibers were prepared by the microfluidic spinning method. The microfluidic chip was assembled by PDMS connector, collection tube, inner and outer channels. Sodium alginate (SA) and calcium chloride were used as the core fluid and sheath fluid, respectively. By designing and adjusting the length of the chip, changing the concentration of SA and the ratio of two flow rates (inner flow rate/outer flow rate), a continuous and uniform helical hydrogel fiber was prepared. The relationships between the diameter of the fiber, the pitch of the helix and the concentration of SA, the ratio of two flow rates were discussed. The results showed that the diameter of the fiber was mainly affected by the core fluid. Within a certain range, as the concentration of SA increased, the diameter of the fiber increased. Besides, the pitch of the helix was greatly affected by the flow rate of sheath fluid. As the velocity of the sheath fluid increased, the pitch of the fiber increased. Such helical fiber could be used in micro sensors when added some conductive materials or crosslinked with some temperature responsive polymers such as N-isopropylacrylamide.

Polyurethane (PU) superfine fiber leathers have been widely used in people's life. However, the flammability brings potential risks to their application. Therefore, more and more attention has been paid to the flame retardant modification of PU leathers. In the 1980s, researchers found that some brominated flame retardants produced dioxins during combustion. In 2007, the EU began implementing the REACH regulation, which restricted the use of certain halogenated flame retardants, so a majority of studies focused on halogen-free flame retardant modification. In addition, the halogen-free flame retardant PU should own a better alkali resistance, because alkali treatment is needed in the forming process of the superfine fiber leather. In this paper, two different halogen-free flame retardants were blended with solvent-based PU. The flame retardant properties and alkali resistance of the flame retardant PU were studied by limiting oxygen index (LOI) test, vertical burning (UL-94) test, and thermogravimetry-infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR). It was found that BY-90 system flame retardant could be uniformly dispersed in the PU matrix. And when its additive volume was 27%, the LOI value of the flame retardant PU was 27.1%, the vertical burning test could reach V-0 level. Moreover, it also had good alkali resistance. The LOI value remained at 26.1% after the alkali treatment at 90 °C for 40 min in the 30g/L NaOH solution.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy technology has broad application prospects in food safety, environmental monitoring, surface science and material analysis because of the characteristics of ultra-high sensitivity and non-destructive testing. However, there are still some challenges in the preparation of SERS substrates. As SERS substrates, the common colloidal noble metal nanoparticles usually show low storage stability and poor repeatability of analytical results. In order to overcome these limitations, a coaxial microfluidic spinning device was designed to prepare flexible SERS substrates in this paper. Based on the microfluidic spinning and subsequent in-situ reduction reaction of AgNO3, novel gel fibers uniformly loaded with AgNPs were successfully prepared. The effects of the concentration of AgNO3 solution and UV irradiation duration on the formation of AgNPs were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the average particle size was about 2.7 nm. The gel fibers loaded with AgNPs were used as SERS substrates to detect 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA), which showed obvious Raman enhancement effect and good repeatability. The relative standard deviation of 10 test results was 4.75%, and the detection line range was 10-14-10-5 mol·L-1.

Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) is a new type of polyurethane system, which using water instead of organic solvent as dispersing medium. Because of its non-toxicity and environmental safety, WPU is considered as the development direction of coatings and adhesives. However, the mechanical properties of WPU are worse than that of solvent-based polyurethane, therefore, the modification of WPU has received increasingly attention. Meanwhile numerous evidences demonstrate the excellent properties of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) such as high aspect ratio, low weight and outstanding mechanical strength. Therefore, there is a high expectation for CNFs to be introduced into WPU as reinforcing filler. In this work, a series of CNFs/WPU nanocomposite films were prepared by solution blending. The structure, morphology, thermal behavior and mechanical properties were investigated. SEM results showed that CNFs were evenly dispersed in the WPU matrix. Tensile tests indicated that the modulus and tensile strength of CNFs/WPU nanocomposite films were improved compared with the neat film. While the break elongation of the nanocomposite films decreased with the increase of CNFs content. The synergistic interaction between CNFs and WPU matrix plays an important role in the enhancement of mechanical properties.

A series of zeolite X/activated carbon (AC) composites were prepared from the same starting materials at various activation time. The corresponding modified samples were obtained by being treated with diluted NH4Cl solution. The relationship between porosity development, surface properties, and CH4/N2 adsorption performance was investigated. The increase of micropore volume is beneficial to the improvement of CH4 and N2 adsorption capacity, but more sensitive for CH4. In addition, the polar functional groups of zeolite X/AC composites may enhance CH4 adsorption capacity. More importantly, both developing micropore structure and surface modification contributed to enhance the adsorption selectivity αCH4/N2. As the optimum sample of these studies, HZAC(24) showed CH4 adsorption capacity of 17.3 cm3/g and the highest adsorption selectivity αCH4/N2 of 3.4. The CH4 and N2 adsorption isotherms of all samples can be well fitted by the Langmuir–Freundlich model. HZAC(24) showed an excellent cyclability of adsorption/desorption of CH4 with a neglectable capacity loss after subsequent cycles. Moreover, HZAC(24) displayed relatively rapid adsorption kinetics. These properties of zeolite X/AC composites are essential for the adsorptive separation of CH4 from N2 in the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process.

Stimuli-sensitive hydrogels crosslinked by macromolecular micelles usually present good mechanical properties. In this paper, a novel kind of pH and ion sensitive hydrogels with high toughness and strength were prepared using Pluronic F127 diacrylate (F127DA) as crosslinking centers for the free radical copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and methacrylate (MA) monomers. These hydrogels showed high strength and tensibility with elongation at break of 1208%, fracture stress of 328 kPa and toughness of 1.80 MJ/m-3. The hydrogels not only exhibited enhancement of mechanical performance, but also achieved sensitive response to changes of pH and ionic strength, making an approach for the development of applications in drug delivery and sensors.

Temperature-responsive hydrogel fibers with bilayer structure were prepared by a microfluidic spinning device with a Y-shaped connector. The bilayer hydrogel fibers include two layer with different chemical composition. One layer is the ionic crosslinking hydrogel of calcium alginate (CA) and the other layer is temperature-responsive hydrogel which is semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPN) of linear poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and CA. The bilayer hydrogel fibers were evaluated by morphology observation, tensile stress measurement, temperature-responsive actuation test and equilibrium swelling ratio test. The results show that the prepared hydrogel fibers have obvious double layer structure with different porous structures. The bilayer hydrogel fibers can bend in water at 50 °C and the bending rate is influenced by the diameter of the fiber. Moreover, the diameter of the hydrogel fibers can be controlled by changing the flow rates of spinning fluids.

Introduction Glucocerebrosidase (GBA) mutations and leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) variants are the most common genetic risk factors for late-onset Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the differences in pre-diagnostic symptoms of PD associated with the variants. Methods The participants were recruited from 24 centers across China and genotyped for LRRK2 G2385R and R1628P variants and GBA L444P mutation. Participants were surveyed with structural questionnaires for history of environmental exposure and living habits and interviewed to collect the time at onset of each symptoms before diagnosis. We compared the cumulative prevalence and manifestation pattern of symptoms between groups using multiple logistic regression, adjusting age and gender. Results Total 1799 PD patients were recruited, including 226 patients with LRRK2 G2385R or R1628P variant, 44 with GBA L444P mutation, three with both LRRK2 and GBA mutation, and 1526 idiopathic patients. The cumulative prevalence of non-motor and typical motor symptoms did not differ between groups before diagnosis (P > 0.05). The manifestation sequences of non-motor symptoms were indistinguishable between the LRRK2-carriers, GBA-carriers, and idiopathic PD subjects, and followed the sequence of constipation, hyposmia, sleep disorders, anxiety and depression, sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinency, dizziness and cognition. Slightly higher prevalence of hypomimia and micrographia were detected in the GBA-carriers. Conclusions The prevalence of pre-diagnostic symptoms is almost indistinguishable between the LRRK2-carriers, GBA-carriers, and idiopathic PD before diagnosis; the sequence of the manifestation of non-motor symptoms largely conforms to the Braak stage for both genetic-related and idiopathic late-onset PD.

Background Emerging evidence indicates that inflammasome-induced inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Several proteins including α-synuclein trigger the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. However, few studies examined whether inflammasomes are activated in the periphery of PD patients and their possible value in the diagnosis or tracking of the progress of PD. The aim of this study was to determine the association between inflammasome-induced inflammation and clinical features in PD. Methods There were a total of 67 participants, including 43 patients with PD and 24 controls, in the study. Participants received a complete evaluation of motor and non-motor symptoms, including Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) staging scale. Blood samples were collected from all participants. The protein and mRNA expression levels of inflammasomes subtypes and components in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined using western blotting and RT-qPCR. We applied Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) immunoassay to measure the plasma levels of IL-1β and α-synuclein. Results We observed increased gene expression of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 in PBMCs, and increased protein levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, and IL-1β in PD patients. Plasma levels of IL-1β were significantly higher in patients with PD compared with controls and have a positive correlation with H-Y stage and UPDRS part III scores. Furthermore, plasma α-synuclein levels were also increased in PD patients and have a positive correlation with both UPDRS part III scores and plasma IL-1β levels. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated in the PBMCs from PD patients. The related inflammatory cytokine IL-1β and total α-synuclein in plasma were increased in PD patients than controls, and both of them presented a positive correlation with motor severity in patients with PD. Furthermore, plasma α-synuclein levels have a positive correlation with IL-1β levels in PD patients. All these findings suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome activation-related cytokine IL-1β and α-synuclein could serve as non-invasive biomarkers to monitor the severity and progression of PD in regard to motor function.

Glucose-sensitive hydrogels that have three-dimensional network structure can respond to the glucose, which arouses great interest in biochemistry and biomedical. As a glucose sensitive group, Benzene boric acid has the advantages of good stability, low toxicity and no immune rejection. In this study, synthetic 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid (AAPBA) with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) were used to fabricate glucose-responsive hydrogels via free radical polymerization in aqueous media. Several key factors such as polymer compositions and polymer concentrations have been investigated to sensitivity of the hydrogels. These polymers can respond in the presence of glucose, and the monomer ratio has a significant influence on the response behavior of hydrogels. Therefore, it has potential applications in the field of insulin-controlled drug delivery system and biosensor.

Smart hydrogel is a kind of new soft and wet material which can be responsive to external stimuli. Hydrogel fiber owning one dimension size can significantly improve response speed and be easily formed into higher-order assemblies. N-isopropylacrylamide/calcium alginate (NIPA/Ca-alginate) as-spun fiber was generated via microfluidic spinning. Then PNIPA/Ca-alginate hydrogel fiber was prepared through off-chip free radical polymerization of NIPA in the presence of Ca-alginate. The structure and morphology of the hydrogel fiber were characterized by FTIR and SEM. The swelling property and temperature-/pH-response behaviors were also investigated. The PNIPA/Ca-alginate hydrogel fiber had a 3D network porous structure. The thinner the hydrogel fiber, the faster the swelling speed was. Meanwhile, the hydrogel fiber exhibited temperature and pH response.

The zeolite X/activated carbon composite (X/AC) was prepared from elutrilithe by adding pitch powder and solid SiO2 was used to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. To investigate the influences of solution pH, contact time and temperature on the phenol adsorption capacities of the composite material, batch experiments were conducted under different conditions. The adsorption performances of 13X, the activated sample (AC) and X/AC were also compared. The results showed X/AC exhibited better adsorption performance for the removal of phenol than 13X and AC. Furthermore, the adsorption ability of X/AC was revealed by equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamic parameters. The adsorption kinetic data could be better represented by pseudo-second-order equation and the intra-particle diffusion model. It is shown that the adsorption rate was controlled by both the pore diffusion and the external layer diffusion. The equilibrium adsorption data were better described by Redlich–Peterson and Freundlich equations, indicating that X/AC possessed various functional groups. The obtained thermodynamic parameters demonstrate that adsorption of phenol was spontaneous, favorable, endothermic, and realized by the electron donor-acceptor complex and the solvent effects.

In the present study, the effect of phosphorus flame retardation (FR) agent, 2-carboxyl ethyl (phenyl) phosphinic acid (CEPPA), incorporating phosphate glass (Pglass) on the flame retardation and melt dripping behavior of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been investigated. The Pglass/FR-PET nanocomposites (P/FR-PET) were prepared by melt blending. The morphology, thermal degradation behavior and flamability of the nanocomposites were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), limiting oxygen index test (LOI) and vertical combustion test. SEM micrographs showed that as the increasing of Pglass contents the morphologies of Pglass in the FR-PET matrix changed from nanoparticles (50 nm to 100 nm) to network structures. The thermal stability of nanocomposites at high temperature increased with the addition of Pglass contents. Meanwhile, the LOI values of the nanocomposites increased from 33.6 for neat FR-PET to 36.1 for 50% P/FR-PET nanocomposites. The vertical combustion test revealed that the P/FR-PET nanocomposites had excellent anti-dripping flame retardant property which can achieve UL-94 V-0 level. The formation of the Pglass network-structured protective layer, which acted as a supporting and heat shield layer, must be crucial for the large reduction in melt dripping. In a word, the experimental results showed that the CEPPA in combination with Pglass has excellent flame retardation and anti-dripping effect.

Boehmite (γ-AlOOH) coatings with nanoflakes and flower-like structures have been successfully synthesised on alumina membrane surfaces by hydrothermal reaction. The effects of hydrothermal reaction time and temperature on the morphologies of the layers were investigated. During the hydrothermal reaction, γ-AlOOH nanoflakes grew randomly on the Al2O3 particles, which changed the surface morphology of the alumina membrane and promoted its roughness. X-ray powder diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope were used to characterise the structure and morphology of the membranes. Contact angle measurements were used to analyse the wetting property of the alumina membrane surface. Alumina membranes coated with boehmite layers possessed the wetting property from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic after chemical vapour deposition of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane.

Owing to their excellent viscoelasticity and easy processing properties, polymer materials have a huge potential in sound absorption. Moreover, micro-/nanofibres can be produced by electrospinning technology with many special advantages, such as high specific surface area. In this paper, electrospun fibres based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) were prepared for the sound absorption test. The scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that three types of fibres with mean diameters of 400, 1000 and 1000 nm for PAN, TPU and TPEE were obtained respectively. The sound absorption coefficients of the electrospun fibres were measured using the impedance tube instrument at different frequencies. Membranes with different back cavities were investigated. The results showed on the whole that the electrospun fibres had good acoustical performance in the low and medium frequency range (100–2500 Hz). Compared with TPU and TPEE fibre m...

Two amphiphilic block copolymers poly(t-butyl acrylate)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(t-butyl acrylate)-b-poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PtBA-b-PDMAEMA) were synthesised by atom transfer radical polymerisation reaction. Then, PtBA-b-PDMAEMA was hydrolysed to prepare poly(acrylic acid)-b-poly[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] in an acidic medium. 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to characterise the chemical structure of the block copolymers. The complex micelles were prepared under the condition of 25°C and pH 5·5. It has been found that their stimuli response behaviour changed with different temperature and pH in solutions which were investigated by a Zetasizer Nano ZS Instrument. The morphology of complex micelles was characterised by TEM. Core shell structure and corona of the micelles were observed obviously from the TEM images. Moreover, the hydrogen bonding interaction in complex micelles was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Alumina nanofibers were fabricated by single-spinneret electrospinning of aluminium nitrate (Al (NO3)3)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor solution, followed by sintering treatment. The Al (NO3)3/PAN composite fibers and sintered fibers were characterized by SEM, TG, FTIR and XRD. It is found that the obtained alumina nanofibers show porous external surfaces and hollow sections. Upon calcining the composite fibers at 1000 or 1300 oC, the nanofibers are consisted of α-phased crystalline grains. Sintering temperature plays an important role in controlling the morphology and crystal structure of the nanofibers. A mechanism based on Kirkendall Effect was proposed to explain the formation process of the hollow structure.

The thermal responsive SiO2-PNIPAAm composites were designed and successfully synthesized. The structure, morphology, surface composition and temperature sensitive property in aqueous solution were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement instrument and dynamic light scatter (DLS). FTIR measurement and N1s and C1s core-level spectrum of XPS illustrate that PNIPAAm is grafted availably. TEM analysis revealed the difference between bare SiO2 and PNIPAAm-functionalized SiO2. The measurements of water contact angle and DLS show that the hydration transition temperature of the thermal responsive SiO2-PNIPAAm composites is 304 K. The different grafted PNIPAM content has the obvious effect on the water contact angle measure and DLS for SiO2.

A hierarchical zeolite CaA with microporous, mesoporous and macroporous structure was hydrothermally synthesized by a ”Bond-Blocking” method using organo-functionalized mesoporous silica (MS) as a silica source. The characterization by XRD, SEM/TEM and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques showed that the prepared material had well-crystalline zeolite Linde Type A (LTA) topological structure, microspherical particle morphologies, and hierarchically intracrystalline micro-meso-macropores structure. With the Bond-Blocking principle, the external surface area and macro-mesoporosity of the hierarchical zeolite CaA can be adjusted by varying the organo-functionalized degree of the mesoporous silica surface. Similarly, the distribution of the micro-meso-macroporous structure in the zeolite CaA can be controlled purposely. Compared with the conventional microporous zeolite CaA, the hierarchical zeolite CaA as a catalyst in the conversion of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME), exhibited complete DME selectivity and stable catalytic activity with high methanol conversion. The catalytic performances of the hierarchical zeolite CaA results clearly from the micro-meso-macroporous structure, improving diffusion properties, favoring the access to the active surface and avoiding secondary reactions (no hydrocarbon products were detected after 3 h of reaction).

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/boehmite nanocomposites fibers were successfully prepared by electrospinning using boehmite sol containing PVP as the spinning solution. Several techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to characterize their ingredients, thermal properties and morphology. The results showed that PVP concentration exhibited significant effect on the PVP/boehmite nanofibers morphology. With increasing PVP concentration, the morphology changed from beaded, beaded fiber to uniform fiber. These PVP/boehmite nanofibers can be used as good candidates for continuously preparing uniform and compact alumina nanofibers.

The new macroscopic-scale SBA-15 spheres with diameter of 0.2–0.5 mm are prepared by a sol–gel method, in which the tetrabutylorthosilicate (TBOS) is used as silicon source and triblock copolymer (P123) and polyoxyethylene octylphenol ether (OP-10) are used as templates. The resulting spherical samples are characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, TEM and SEM methods. The results show that the inner structure of SBA-15 macrospheres has macroporous channels (0.5 μm) and mesoporous skeleton (4–5 nm). These SBA-15 macrospheres with the hierarchical pore structure demonstrate high absorption capacity for Emodin molecules.

In this study, pH- and temperature-responsive hydrogels based on linear sodium alginate (SA) and crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) were prepared by semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) technique. The dually responsive hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, DSC, and SEM, and their temperature- and pH-responsive behaviors were investigated by measuring equilibrium swelling ratios and pulsatile swelling experiments. The results showed that these hydrogels underwent volume phase transition at around 33°C irrespective of the pH value of the medium, but their pH sensitivity was evident only below their volume phase transition temperature. Under basic conditions, the swelling ratios of SA/PNIPAAm semi-IPN hydrogels were greater than that of pure PNIPAAm hydrogel and increased with increasing SA content incorporated into the hydrogels, but the case was inverse under acidic conditions. The pulsatile swelling experiments indicated that the higher the SA content in SA/PNIPAAm semi-IPN hydrogels, the faster the response rate to both pH and temperature change. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1931–1940, 2005

Poly(cis-1,4-butadiene) (PCB) gels were prepared by the crosslinking polymerization of 4-tert-butylstyrene (tBS) and divinylbenzene (DVB) onto unvulcanized butadiene rubber with a solution polymerization technique with benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator. The effects of the reaction conditions, such as the amount of the solvent, the amount of DVB and tBS, and the initiator (BPO), on the equilibrium swelling ratio (Qe) were also investigated. The highest oil absorbencies of crosslinked gels in xylene and cyclohexane were 51.35 and 32.98 g/g, respectively. A swelling kinetic equation was proposed for this system: Qt = Qe − {Kt + [1/(Qe − Q0)]}−1, where Qt is the swelling ratio at time t, Q0 is the initial swelling ratio, and K is the swelling kinetic constant. This equation fit the experimental results quite well. The diffusion of organic solvents in PCB gels was Fickian. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2241–2245, 2003

To investigate the possible association of IVS5-5GA polymorphism, positioned in the upstream region of exon 5 of PINK1 gene with the risk for sporadic late onset Parkinson disease (LOPD) in Chinese.Intronic regulatory sequence analysis was performed using the web-based in-silico analysis. The authors performed an association study using a case-control series (comprising 382 LOPD patients and 336 controls, Chinese of Han ancestry). Genotyping was performed by PCR-based denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) combined with sequencing analyses. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared by the Chi-square test.In-silico analysis showed that the intronic IVS5-5GA polymorphism was located within acceptor site of exon 5 and may be the functional single polymorphism (SNP) in the regulatory region with impact on the splicing of PINK1 gene. Those result yielded statistical significant evidence for the association of PINK1 IVS5-5GA polymorphism with risk for typical PD in Chinese Han population (OR=1.95, 95%CI: 1.29-2.94, P=0.0012). Homozygote of A allele may have increased risk for LOPD (OR=2.45, 95%CI: 1.27-4.72, P=0.009).The authors provide the first evidence that the common genetic variation PINK1 IVS5-5GA may contribute to the risk of LOPD in Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical significance of plasma homocysteine Hcy in patients with coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS Plasma Hcy levels of 85 patients with coronary atherosclerosis and 68 normal controls were determined by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. RESULTS The mean levels of plasma Hcy were (9.31+/-3.80)mgr;mol/L in normal controls and (13.39+/-6.06)mgr;mol/L in patients with coronary atherosclerosis. That was (11.36+/-3.86)mgr;mol/L in the patients with micro-pathological changes of coronary artery, (13.32+/-6.09)mgr;mol/L with single-vessel disease,(13.39+/-4.92)mgr;mol/L with double-vessel disease, and (18.23+/-8.98)mgr;mol/L with three-vessel disease by coronary angiography. Statistically, the mean plasma Hcy concentrations in male and female patients was higher than that in the corresponding control subjects(13.77+/-6.68 compared with 10.50+/-4.07, 11.50+/-3.58 compared with 7.80+/-2.85mgr;mol/L,P0.001 respectively). CONCLUSION The patients with coronary atherosclerosis present hyperhomocysteinemia is very important to determine plasma homocysteine for diagnosis and therapy in the patients with coronary heart disease.