Mesotrione, which is a kind of herbicide to control broad-leaved weeds, has been increasingly used due to its excellent selectivity, rapid process and low toxicity. However, the excessive application of mesotrione have led to widespread contamination. Herein, a turn-on competitive coordination-based fluorescent probe, 2-hydroxy-1-(9-purin)-methylidenehydrazinenaphthalene (HPM), has been successfully synthesized. HPM could effectively detect Al3+ in CH3OH/HEPES (1/9, v/v) with low limit of detection (LOD) being 0.2 µM via coordination. HPM also exhibited excellent imaging capabilities for Al3+ in living cells with low cytotoxicity. On the basis of the competitive coordination of HPM with Al3+, the [HPM-Al3+] complex could also serve as a potential fluorescence sensor for detecting mesotrione with the LOD of 0.2 µM. Furthermore, [HPM-Al3+] complex was applied for the detection of mesotrione in real samples and test paper. Finally, the mechanism of [HPM-Al3+] for sensing mesotrione was investigated deeply as well. This work designed a new convenient method for on-site detection of mesotrione without the large-scale equipment or complicated pre-treatment.

Given how crucial it is to preserve a human-safe and sustainable environment, the rapid discovery of possibly lethal heavy metals such as Hg(II) has drawn much attention in recent years. A novel sensor, known as (E)-2-((10-octyl-10H-phenothiazin-3-yl)methylene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (PTZHC), was synthesized as a fluorescence \'on-off\' sensor for Hg2+ ions. Coordination alters organic molecule electron densities, quenching the fluorescence intensity. PTZHC was described completely with the help of FTIR and 1 H-NMR spectrum studies. The Hg2+ ion was successfully detected using the PTZHC sensor even when there were other metal ions present. The limit of the detection was estimated to be 2.5 × 10-8  M and the Job\'s plot examination implied that PTZHC was bound to Hg2+ with a simple 1:1 stoichiometry in s CH3 CN/H2 O (9:1, v/v) suspension. To further cast light on the bridged effect on geometric and optoelectronic characteristics, time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level and DFT were both examined.

The chalcone compound DHPO was synthesized through a chemical reaction between 1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanone and 3,4-dimethoxy benzaldehyde under ultrasound irradiation. The interaction between the DHPO compound and several metal ions was studied using fluorescence behavior, revealing that the chalcone function as a \"turn on and turn off\" switch fluorescent sensor, for selectively and sensitively detecting Fe3+ ions. The process of fluorescence quenching and complexation of DHPO with Fe3+ ion was further studied using methods such as Benesi-Hildebrand, Stern-Volmer plot, and job plot.

Introduction: Levodopa is the most effective drug in the treatment of Parkinson\'s disease, but its chronic treatment is linked to the occurrence of motor complications with fluctuations of motor performance and dyskinesia. Unpredictable OFF episodes can be severe and disabling and current rescue medications cannot always be used safely. Rescue therapy is characterized by a rapid and predictable ON response and the safety profile of levodopa will represent a major advantage for patients affected by unresponsive OFF episodes.Areas covered: CVT-301 is a new inhaled formulation of LD recently developed as a self-administered treatment for OFF periods. Herein, the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, efficacy, and safety of CVT-301 are reviewed.Expert opinion: CVT-301 may offer several potential advantages including increased systemic bioavailability through pulmonary absorption, rapid onset of action, avoidance of first-pass drug metabolism, and less plasma level variability. It should be noted that the delivery device used has been described as relatively simple to use, but the few steps required to prepare and self-administer the dose can be challenging for PD patients during their OFF state. Additionally, resolution of an OFF episode requires the administration of two capsules of CVT-301, which further complicates the use of the device.

Due to the circadian rhythm regulation of almost every biological process in the human body, physiological and biochemical conditions vary considerably over the course of a 24-h period. Thus, optimal drug delivery and therapy should be effectively controlled to achieve the desired therapeutic plasma concentrations and therapeutic drug responses at the required time according to chronopharmacological concepts, rather than continuous maintenance of constant drug concentrations for an extended time period. For many drugs, it is not always necessary to constantly deliver a drug into the human body under disease conditions due to rhythmic variations. Pulsatile drug delivery systems (PDDSs) have been receiving more attention in pharmaceutical development by providing a predetermined lag period, followed by a fast or rate-controlled drug release after application. PDDSs are characterized by a programmed drug release, which may release a drug at repeatable pulses to match the biological and clinical needs of a given disease therapy. This review article focuses on thermoresponsive gating membranes embedded with liquid crystals (LCs) for transdermal drug delivery using PDDS technology. In addition, the principal rationale and the advanced approaches for the use of PDDSs, the marketed products of chronotherapeutic DDSs with pulsatile function designed by various PDDS technologies, pulsatile drug delivery designed with thermoresponsive polymers, challenges and opportunities of transdermal drug delivery, and novel approaches of LC systems for drug delivery are reviewed and discussed. A brief overview of all academic research articles concerning single LC- or binary LC-embedded thermoresponsive membranes with a switchable on-off permeation function through topical application by an external temperature control, which may modulate the dosing interval and administration time according to the therapeutic needs of the human body, is also compiled and presented. In the near future, since thermal-based approaches have become a well-accepted method to enhance transdermal delivery of different water-soluble drugs and macromolecules, a combination of the thermal-assisted approach with thermoresponsive LCs membranes will have the potential to improve PDDS applications but still poses a great challenge.

Many neuronal types occur as pairs that are similar in most respects but differ in a key feature. In some pairs of retinal neurons, called paramorphic, one member responds to increases and the other to decreases in luminance (ON and OFF responses). Here, we focused on one such pair, starburst amacrine cells (SACs), to explore how closely related neuronal types diversify. We find that ON and OFF SACs are transcriptionally distinct prior to their segregation, dendritic outgrowth, and synapse formation. The transcriptional repressor Fezf1 is selectively expressed by postmitotic ON SACs and promotes the ON fate and gene expression program while repressing the OFF fate and program. The atypical Rho GTPase Rnd3 is selectively expressed by OFF SACs and regulates their migration but is repressed by Fezf1 in ON SACs, enabling differential positioning of the two types. These results define a transcriptional program that controls diversification of a paramorphic pair.

In patients with Parkinson\'s disease (PD) with motor fluctuations, total daily OFF time is comprised of both end-of-dose time and the time taken to turn ON with medication. However, little is known about the impact of delays in ON time.
This was a single-visit pilot study of fluctuating patients with PD attending a routine appointment. During a single visit, adult patients with idiopathic PD who were treated with levodopa for at least 1 year completed a questionnaire evaluating the time waiting for ON and the symptoms experienced while waiting to turn ON. Patients then completed a 5-day home time-to-ON diary, where they documented how long it took to turn ON following their first morning dose of levodopa in 5-min increments.
A total of 151 consecutive patients completed the study survey, of whom 97 (64.2%) experienced motor fluctuations. Of the patients experiencing motor fluctuations, 54 (56%) reported delays in ON time (latency >30 min) following their first morning dose of levodopa. Half (51%) reported that they had experienced delayed ON at least once in the previous week and 21% reported having delayed ON during all seven mornings of the previous week. In addition, 10% of patients reported having dose failures on four or more mornings during the previous week. The most common symptoms experienced while waiting for ON were slowness (94.8%), fatigue (87.6%), reduced dexterity (82.5%), problems in walking (66.0%) and problems with balance (59.8%).
Early-morning OFF problems such as delays in time to ON and dose failures are common in levodopa-treated patients with PD.

Three Rhodamine B derivatives were synthesized and characterized by ESI-MS, NMR, HR-MS and IR. The probes exhibit high selectivity and sensitivity towards Fe(3+) over other metal ions in CH3CN-water. Upon the addition of Fe(3+), the spirocyclic ring of the probe was opened and a significant enhancement of visible color and fluorescence within the range of 540-700 nm was observed. The colorimetric and fluorescent response to Fe(3+) can be conveniently detected even by the naked eye, which provides a facile method for the visual detection of Fe(3+). Job\'s plot, fluorescence titration and MS indicated the formation of 1:2 complexes between the probes and Fe(3+). The reversibility of the reaction establishes the potential of these probes as chemosensors for Fe(3+) detection.