Topographic Mapping of P300 and Frontal Cognitive Function in Parkinson’s Disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between P300 that is one of the event-related potentials and frontal cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease (PD) without clinically apparent dementia

Retrobulbar Hemodynamic Effects of Nipradilol in Normal and Normal-Tension Glaucoma Eyes

Purpose. To investigate the effects of nipradilol on retrobulbar hemodynamics. Methods. We investigated normal and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) eyes. Topical nipradilol (one eye) and placebo eye drops (fellow eye) were instilled for 1 week in volunteers. Nipradilol was also instilled in NTG patients. Ultrasound color Doppler imaging for the posterior vessels was performed before, 2 hr, 1 week (for normal), and at 4 weeks (for NTG). Results. In normal eyes, there were significant decreases in the resistance index (RI) for the temporal short posterior ciliary arteries (PCA) at 2 hr and for the ophthalmic arteries at 1 week. There were no significant changes in the placebo-treated eyes. In the NTG eyes, there was a significant decrease in the RI for the central retinal artery, nasal, and temporal PCA at 2 hr and 4 weeks. Conclusion. Short-term observations found that nipradilol increased the ocular blood flow in normal and NTG eyes

Identification of a tomato UDP-arabinosyltransferase for airborne volatile reception

植物間コミュニケーションの仕組みを解明 --受容した香りを防御物質に変える遺伝子発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-02-28.Volatiles from herbivore-infested plants function as a chemical warning of future herbivory for neighboring plants. (Z)-3-Hexenol emitted from tomato plants infested by common cutworms is taken up by uninfested plants and converted to (Z)-3-hexenyl β-vicianoside (HexVic). Here we show that a wild tomato species (Solanum pennellii) shows limited HexVic accumulation compared to a domesticated tomato species (Solanum lycopersicum) after (Z)-3-hexenol exposure. Common cutworms grow better on an introgression line containing an S. pennellii chromosome 11 segment that impairs HexVic accumulation, suggesting that (Z)-3-hexenol diglycosylation is involved in the defense of tomato against herbivory. We finally reveal that HexVic accumulation is genetically associated with a uridine diphosphate-glycosyltransferase (UGT) gene cluster that harbors UGT91R1 on chromosome 11. Biochemical and transgenic analyses of UGT91R1 show that it preferentially catalyzes (Z)-3-hexenyl β-D-glucopyranoside arabinosylation to produce HexVic in planta

Topographic Mapping of P300 and Frontal Cognitive Function in Parkinson’s Disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between P300 that is one of the event-related potentials and frontal cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease (PD) without clinically apparent dementia

Topographic mapping of P300 and frontal cognitive function in Parkinson's disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between P300 that is one of the event-related potentials and frontal cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease (PD) without clinically apparent dementia. Subjects were 20 PD cases 48 to 79 years of age, all of whom were within normal limits on the Mini-Mental State examination, and 55 age-matched healthy adults. P300 was elicited with an auditory oddball paradigm and recorded at 15 sites on the scalp. Cognitive functioning of the frontal lobe was evaluated using the New Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Letter Pick-Out Test (LPOT) which reflects selective attention and semantic categorization. P300 latency was delayed in 30.0% of subjects and topographic mapping of P300 demonstrated abnormal distribution in 20.0%. Scores of the WCST and the LPOT were abnormal in 15.0%, 21.4%, respectively. P300 latency significantly correlated with number of subcategories achieved on the WCST. P300 amplitude correlated with scores on the LPOT. These results suggest that cognitive dysfunction which linked partly to the frontal lobe might begin in PD even without clinically apparent dementia

Photoluminescence Properties, Molecular Structures, and Theoretical Study of Heteroleptic Silver(I) Complexes Containing Diphosphine Ligands

The homoleptic complex [Ag­(<b>L</b>)₂]­PF₆ (<b>1</b>) and heteroleptic complexes [Ag­(<b>L</b>)­(<b>L</b>_<b>Me</b>)]­BF₄ (<b>2</b>) and [Ag­(<b>L</b>)­(<b>L</b>_<b>Et</b>)]­BF₄ (<b>3</b>) [<b>L</b> = 1,2-bis­(diphenylphosphino)­benzene, <b>L</b>_<b>Me</b> = 1,2-bis­[bis­(2-methylphenyl)­phosphino]­benzene, and <b>L</b>_<b>Et</b> = 1,2-bis­[bis­(2-ethylphenyl)­phosphino]­benzene] were synthesized and characterized. X-ray crystallography demonstrated that <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> possess tetrahedral structures. Photophysical studies and time-dependent density functional theory calculations of <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> revealed that alkyl substituents at the ortho positions of peripheral phenyl groups in the diphosphine ligands have a significant influence on the energy and intensity of phosphorescence of the complex in solution at room temperature. The results can be interpreted in terms of the geometric preferences of each complex in the ground and excited states. The homoleptic complex <b>1</b> exhibits weak orange phosphorescence in solution arising from its flat structure in the triplet state, while heteroleptic complexes <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> show strong green phosphorescence from triplet states with tetrahedral structure. Larger interligand steric interactions in <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> caused by their bulkier ligands probably inhibit geometric relaxation within the excited-state lifetimes, leading to higher energy phosphorescence than that observed for <b>1</b>. NMR experiments revealed that <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> in solution possess structures that are much more immobilized than that of <b>1</b>; fluxional motion is completely suppressed in <b>2</b> and <b>3</b>. Accordingly, conformational changes of <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> are expected to be suppressed by the alkyl substituents not only in the ground state but also in excited states. Consequently, nonradiative decay of the excited states of <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> occurs less efficiently than in <b>1</b>. As a result, the quantum yields of phosphorescence for <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> are 6 times larger than that for the homoleptic complex <b>1</b>

Photoluminescence Properties, Molecular Structures, and Theoretical Study of Heteroleptic Silver(I) Complexes Containing Diphosphine Ligands

The homoleptic complex [Ag­(<b>L</b>)₂]­PF₆ (<b>1</b>) and heteroleptic complexes [Ag­(<b>L</b>)­(<b>L</b>_<b>Me</b>)]­BF₄ (<b>2</b>) and [Ag­(<b>L</b>)­(<b>L</b>_<b>Et</b>)]­BF₄ (<b>3</b>) [<b>L</b> = 1,2-bis­(diphenylphosphino)­benzene, <b>L</b>_<b>Me</b> = 1,2-bis­[bis­(2-methylphenyl)­phosphino]­benzene, and <b>L</b>_<b>Et</b> = 1,2-bis­[bis­(2-ethylphenyl)­phosphino]­benzene] were synthesized and characterized. X-ray crystallography demonstrated that <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> possess tetrahedral structures. Photophysical studies and time-dependent density functional theory calculations of <b>1</b>–<b>3</b> revealed that alkyl substituents at the ortho positions of peripheral phenyl groups in the diphosphine ligands have a significant influence on the energy and intensity of phosphorescence of the complex in solution at room temperature. The results can be interpreted in terms of the geometric preferences of each complex in the ground and excited states. The homoleptic complex <b>1</b> exhibits weak orange phosphorescence in solution arising from its flat structure in the triplet state, while heteroleptic complexes <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> show strong green phosphorescence from triplet states with tetrahedral structure. Larger interligand steric interactions in <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> caused by their bulkier ligands probably inhibit geometric relaxation within the excited-state lifetimes, leading to higher energy phosphorescence than that observed for <b>1</b>. NMR experiments revealed that <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> in solution possess structures that are much more immobilized than that of <b>1</b>; fluxional motion is completely suppressed in <b>2</b> and <b>3</b>. Accordingly, conformational changes of <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> are expected to be suppressed by the alkyl substituents not only in the ground state but also in excited states. Consequently, nonradiative decay of the excited states of <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> occurs less efficiently than in <b>1</b>. As a result, the quantum yields of phosphorescence for <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> are 6 times larger than that for the homoleptic complex <b>1</b>