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Excessive consumption of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) severely endangers human health and has raised public safety concerns. However, its quantification by readily rapid tools with simplicity and low cost is still challenging. Herein, we found that a G-rich THC aptamer (THC1.2) can tightly bind to thioflavin T (ThT) with strong fluorescence, which would be specifically quenched in the presence of THC. Based on that, a label-free ratiometric fluorescent sensor for the sensing of THC and its metabolite (THC-COOH) based on THC1.2/ThT as a color emitter and red CdTe quantum dots as reference fluorescence was constructed. Notably, a transition of the fluorescent color of the ratiometric probe from green to red can be instantly observed upon the increased concentration of THC and THC-COOH. Furthermore, a portable smartphone-based fluorescence device integrated with a self-programmed Python program was fabricated and used to accomplish on-site monitoring of THC and THC-COOH within 5 min. Under optimized conditions, this ratiometric fluorescent sensor allowed for an instant response toward THC and its metabolite with considerable limits of detection of 97 and 254 nM, respectively. The established sensor has been successfully applied to urine and saliva samples and exhibited satisfactory recoveries (88–116%). This ratiometric fluorescent sensor can be used for the simultaneous detection of THC and THC-COOH with the advantages of rapidness, low cost, ease of operation, and portability, providing a promising strategy for on-site detection and facilitating law enforcement regulation and roadside control of THC.

The insufficiency of human aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) has been consistently associated with high blood acetaldehyde levels and impaired locomotor function during acute alcohol intoxication. The ALDH2-associated change in peripheral glutamic acid (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and its correlation with pharmacokinetics and psychomotor function remain unclear. In this study, ALDH2*2mice were used to build an acute alcohol intoxication model after intraperitoneal administration. The blood ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations were analyzed to generate concentration-time curves at two doses of alcohol (2.0 and 4.0 g/kg). The dose of 4.0 g/kg was selected in accordance with the preliminary behavioral evaluation result to perform the following behavioral tests (e.g. the rotarod test, the open field test, and the Y-maze test), so as to assess locomotor activity, anxiety and cognitive ability. Plasma Glu and GABA levels were determined through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The results suggested that the ALDH2*2mice had highly accumulated acetaldehyde levels, impaired locomotor activity and anxiety-like emotion but unimpaired cognitive function, compared to the wild type (WT) mice. The plasma Glu level and the ratio of Glu/GABA in the alcohol-treated WT and ALDH2*2 groups decreased from 2 to 5 h after intraperitoneal administration, whereas the GABA level did not change significantly. The blood alcohol concentration in the WT and ALDH2*2 mice was positively correlated with plasma Glu level, whereas the blood acetaldehyde level was found as the opposite. We speculate that the decline degree of Glu/GABA ratio could be associated with psychomotor retardation and needs to be further investigated.

Short tandem repeats on the Y chromosome (Y-STRs), characterized by paternal inheritance, are valuable in forensic practice. Notably, the potential application of Y-STRs in pedigrees should be drawn upon, especially in China’s surname-concentrated natural villages. The study focused on 50 Y-STRs, including 13 rapidly mutating (RM) Y-STRs that largely constitute the current Y-STR commercial kits, and determined the differences in these Y-STRs between branches in a large pedigree and the discriminatory power of these haplotypes in different units for male relatives. As indicated in the results, 14 inconsistencies were observed at 9 Y-STRs between 10 father-son pairs. In addition, these 50 Y-STR haplotypes discriminated 10 out of 47 father-son pairs, 106 of 148 cousin pairs, 70 of 119 uncle-nephew pairs, 17 of 39 brother pairs, and 14 out of 33 grandfather-grandson pairs in a large pedigree. The RM Y-STR set is able to differentiate close male relatives in a large pedigree.

AbstractShort tandem repeats on the Y chromosome (Y-STRs), characterized by paternal inheritance, are valuable in forensic practice. Notably, the potential application of Y-STRs in pedigrees should be drawn upon, especially in China’s surname-concentrated natural villages. The study focused on 50 Y-STRs, including 13 rapidly mutating (RM) Y-STRs that largely constitute the current Y-STR commercial kits, and determined the differences in these Y-STRs between branches in a large pedigree and the discriminatory power of these haplotypes in different units for male relatives. As indicated in the results, 14 inconsistencies were observed at 9 Y-STRs between 10 father-son pairs. In addition, these 50 Y-STR haplotypes discriminated 10 out of 47 father-son pairs, 106 of 148 cousin pairs, 70 of 119 uncle-nephew pairs, 17 of 39 brother pairs, and 14 out of 33 grandfather-grandson pairs in a large pedigree. The RM Y-STR set is able to differentiate close male relatives in a large pedigree.

To assess the bioequivalence of 2 formulations of aripiprazole orally disintegrating tablets and to monitor their safety and tolerability in Chinese subjects, a single‐site, open‐label, randomized, 2‐preparation, single‐dose, 2‐period crossover design was conducted. All 60 subjects were randomly divided into the fasting group and the fed group. Blood samples were collected at scheduled times after a single oral dose of orodispersible tablets containing 10 mg of aripiprazole. In the fasting state, the geometric mean ratios (90% confidence intervals [CIs]) of the test/reference formulation were 92.22%‐100.20% for the area under the concentration‐time curve (AUC) from time zero to the last measured concentration (AUC0‐t), 91.73%‐100.14% for the AUC from administration to infinite time (AUC0‐∞), and 98.52%‐112.52% for the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax). In the fed state, AUC0‐t, AUC0‐∞, and Cmaxwere 92.23%‐100.20%, 91.73%‐100.14%, and 95.91%‐105.13%, respectively. The 90%CIs of the test/reference AUC ratio and Cmaxratio were within the acceptance range of 80.00%‐125.00% for bioequivalence. Neither the maximum peak plasma concentration (tmax) nor the terminal elimination half‐life (t1/2) showed any significant difference. No serious adverse events) were encountered during the study. The test and reference formulations were bioequivalent under both fasting and fed conditions and were found to be safe and tolerated.

ABSTRACTNowadays, the abuse of illegal drugs has been an increasingly grim problem in the world. Excitation–emission matrix fluorescence combined with parallel factor analysis was used to make a quantitative analysis of the simulated amphetamine-type illegal drugs. Satisfactory results were achieved for simultaneous determination of methamphetamine (MAM) and 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the presence of adulterants. The average recoveries were (99.8 ± 0.6)% and (101.6 ± 5.7)% for MAM and MDMA, respectively. Figures of merit including root-mean-square error of calibration and prediction, sensitivity and selectivity were investigated to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The limits of detection were 0.054 and 0.002 1 μg/mL for MAM and MDMA, respectively.

ABSTRACTHeavy alcohol drinking is a major public health problem, causing a large disease, social and economic burden in societies. Subjective response (SR) to alcohol is an intermediate characteristic of heavy drinking. A variety of candidate genes have been reported to be associated with SR to alcohol. In this study, we investigated nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to SR to alcohol in healthy individuals from five Chinese ethnic groups, the Han, Hui, Tibetan, Mongolian and Uygur populations, and a total of 584 bloodstain samples were collected. The nine SNPs included four SNPs in alcohol-metabolizing genes (ADH1B, ADH1C, ALDH2and CYP2E1*5B) and five SNPs in genes of neurobiological pathways (GABRA2, OPRM1, CHRNA3, HYKKand SLC6A4). A SNaPshot analysis method was developed to type these SNPs simultaneously, and all samples were typed successfully. Statistical analyses of the allele frequencies indicated that the frequencies of all SNPs, except for ADH1C, showed varying degrees of difference in the five studied ethnic groups. Tibetans showed the highest frequencies of risk alleles for heavy drinking at most loci. The genetic polymorphic differences found in this study revealed the variation in genetic susceptibility to heavy drinking in the studied populations.

Hepatic lipase (HL) is a lipolytic enzyme involved in the metabolism of plasma lipoproteins, especially HDLs. Association of the polymorphisms in the promoter region of the LIPC gene to post-heparin plasma HL activity and the plasma HDL-C concentration has been investigated thoroughly, but to date little is known about this in the Chinese. In the present study, we analyzed the polymorphisms in the promoter region of LIPC gene in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) using denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and DNA sequencing. As the result, a novel single nucleotide polymorphism -586T-to-C was identified and no linkage of this variant with other polymorphisms in the promoter was found. Compared with the nonsymptomatic control subjects, excess of carriers of the -586T/C substitution were detected in the CAD patients (43% vs. 31%, chi(2) = 4.597, degree of freedom = 2, P = 0.032).The -586C allele carriers in the CAD patients had a significantly higher HDL-C level than the noncarriers (1.13 +/- 0.24 mmol/l vs. 0.91 +/- 0.14 mmol/l, P < 0.05). To test the functionality of this substitution, luciferase-reporter assays was performed in HepG2 cells. Promoter activity of the -586C construct was decreased 2-fold than the -586T construct. Our studies suggest that a T-to-C substitution at -586 of the LIPC promoter is associated with a lowered HL activity and that this variation may contribute to the increased plasma HDL-C concentration in the Chinese.