Early detection of cerebral ischemia due to pericardium traction using cerebral oximetry in pediatric minimally invasive cardiac surgery: a case report

Background Minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) for simple congenital heart defects has become popular, and monitoring of regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) is crucial for preventing cerebral ischemia during pediatric MICS. We describe a pediatric case with a sudden decrease in rSO2 during MICS. Case presentation An 8-month-old male underwent minimally invasive ventricular septal defect closure. He developed a sudden decrease in rSO2 and right radial artery blood pressure (RRBP) without changes in other parameters following pericardium traction. The rSO2 and RRBP immediately recovered after removal of pericardium fixation. Obstruction of the right innominate artery secondary to the pericardium traction would have been responsible for it. Conclusions Pericardium traction, one of the common procedures during MICS, triggered rSO2 depression alerting us to the risk of cerebral ischemia. We should be aware that pericardium traction during MICS can lead to cerebral ischemia, which is preventable by cautious observation of the patient

New organic activators for the enantioselective reduction of aromatic imines with trichlorosilane

N-Picolinoyl-(2S)-(diphenylhydroxymethyl)pyrrolidine was found to work as an organic activator in the reduction of aromatic imines to the corresponding amines by Cl3SiH. The highest selectivity was 80% ee. These are the first data showing that N-formyl group is not always essential as N-protecting group of pyrrolidine derivatives for the reduction of imines by Cl3SiH

Efficient Oxidation of Adamantanes by Sodium Nitrite with Molecular Oxygen in Trifluoroacetic Acid

Oxidation of adamantanes by oxygen was effectively achieved by use of sodium nitrite as a catalyst in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to give 1-adamantyl trifluoroacetates, from which adamantanols were obtained in good yields. A catalytic amount of sodium nitrite was essential and TFA was the best solvent among solvents examined for this oxidation

ADAMTS13 gene deletion enhances plasma high-mobility group box1 elevation and neuroinflammation in brain ischemia-reperfusion injury

Highly adhesive glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (VWF) multimer induces platelet aggregation and leukocyte tethering or extravasation on the injured vascular wall, contributing to microvascular plugging and inflammation in brain ischemia-reperfusion. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type-1 motifs 13 (ADAMTS13) cleaves the VWF multimer strand and reduces its prothrombotic and proinflammatory functions. Although ADAMTS13 deficiency is known to amplify post-ischemic cerebral hypoperfusion, there is no report available on the effect of ADAMTS13 on inflammation after brain ischemia. We investigated if ADAMTS13 deficiency intensifies the increase of extracellular HMGB1, a hallmark of post-stroke inflammation, and exacerbates brain injury after ischemia-reperfusion. ADAMTS13 gene knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to 30-min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and 23.5-h reperfusion under continuous monitoring of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The infarct volume, plasma high-mobility group box1 (HMGB1) level, and immunoreactivity of the ischemic cerebral cortical tissue (double immunofluorescent labeling) against HMGB1/NeuN (neuron-specific nuclear protein) or HMGB1/MPO (myeloperoxidase) were estimated 24h after MCAO. ADAMTS13KO mice had larger brain infarcts compared with WT 24h after MCAO (p<0.05). The rCBF during reperfusion decreased more in ADAMTS13KO mice. The plasma HMGB1 increased more in ADAMTS13KO mice than in WT after ischemia-reperfusion (p<0.05). Brain ischemia induced more prominent activation of inflammatory cells co-expressing HMGB1 and MPO and more marked neuronal death in the cortical ischemic penumbra of ADAMTS13KO mice. ADAMTS13 deficiency may enhance systemic and brain inflammation associated with HMGB1 neurotoxicity, and aggravate brain damage in mice after brief focal ischemia. We hypothesize that ADAMTS13 protects brain from ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating VWF-dependent inflammation as well as microvascular pluggin

Association between high psychological distress and poor oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people: the Nagasaki Islands Study

Background: We investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Nagasaki Islands Study. A total of 1183 (455 men and 728 women)has been analyzed in this study. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). Oral health status was measured by dental examination. The OHQoL was measured using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). We defined the total score of ?5 points on the K6 as high psychological distress (high-K6 group). Results: The multiple linear regression analysis to identify the GOHAI showed that gender, K6, the total number of teeth, the number of dental caries, and visiting a dental clinic within the past 6 months significantly associated with the GOHAI. Among all of these variables, high-K6 (? 5)was a substantial contributing factor of the GOHAI (β = ? 0.23, 95% Cl ? 2.31 to ?1.41, p < 0.0001).Conclusions: It is likely that the individual with high psychological distress was strongly related to poor OHQoL even in the general population

A DNA Polymerase α Accessory Protein, Mcl1, Is Required for Propagation of Centromere Structures in Fission Yeast

Specialized chromatin exists at centromeres and must be precisely transmitted during DNA replication. The mechanisms involved in the propagation of these structures remain elusive. Fission yeast centromeres are composed of two chromatin domains: the central CENP-ACnp1 kinetochore domain and flanking heterochromatin domains. Here we show that fission yeast Mcl1, a DNA polymerase α (Polα) accessory protein, is critical for maintenance of centromeric chromatin. In a screen for mutants that alleviate both central domain and outer repeat silencing, we isolated several cos mutants, of which cos1 is allelic to mcl1. The mcl1-101 mutation causes reduced CENP-ACnp1 in the central domain and an aberrant increase in histone acetylation in both domains. These phenotypes are also observed in a mutant of swi7+, which encodes a catalytic subunit of Polα. Mcl1 forms S-phase-specific nuclear foci, which colocalize with those of PCNA and Polα. These results suggest that Mcl1 and Polα are required for propagation of centromere chromatin structures during DNA replication

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements