Organic carboxylate salt-enabled alternative synthetic routes for bio-functional cyclic carbonates and aliphatic polycarbonates

Simple and efficient synthetic routes for functionalized cyclic carbonates are indispensable for the practical application of side-chain bio-functionalized aliphatic polycarbonates as biodegradable functional biomaterials. In this study, a six-membered cyclic carbonate with a triethylammonium carboxylate has been prepared in one step from 2,2-bis(methylol)propionic acid (bis-MPA). We have demonstrated the suitability of the organic carboxylate salt of the bis-MPA cyclic carbonate for esterification with alkyl bromides via the SN2 mechanism, leading to the formation of functionalized cyclic carbonate monomers. The esterification of the organic carboxylate salt proceeds efficiently when alkyl bromides with α-carbonyl, allyl, and benzyl groups are used. This approach enables a two-step synthesis of functionalized cyclic carbonates from bis-MPA. The organocatalyzed ring-opening polymerization of the resultant functionalized cyclic carbonates is effectively controlled, indicating that the synthetic process involving the organic carboxylate salt does not influence their polymerizability. The ether-functionalized aliphatic polycarbonates obtained from the organic carboxylate salt exhibit good antiplatelet properties, comparable to those of a previously developed blood-compatible aliphatic polycarbonate. The synthetic pathways exploiting organic carboxylate salts enable alternative shortcuts to functionalized cyclic carbonates from bis-MPA

ジンソクナ バイスタンダー シンパイ ソセイホウ ニヨリ トツゼンシ オ マヌガレ シャカイ フッキ デキタ コウコウセイ ノ 2 ショウレイ

Bystander CPR means that people who find cardiopulmonary arrest perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the spot. Quick CPR contributes to increase in the rate of returning to the society as well as one-month survival rate and neurological prognosis. We report our experience with two high school students who underwent quick Bystander CPR, avoided sudden death, and returned to the society. ［Case 1］ Eighteen-year-old man : He collapsed suddenly in his home. Bystander CPR was performed by his family until emergency crews arrived there. Automated external defibrillator （AED） worked twice and his heartbeat started again. In electrocardiogram, coved type ST elevation in lead V1 was observed, and he was diagnosed as Brugada syndrome. We implanted an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. Since his condition was stable, he was discharged on the 19th day. ［Case 2］ Seventeen-year-old woman : She collapsed suddenly walking with her family. Her father confirmed that she had no response, and started Bystander CPR. Her father got AED quickly and AED worked once, and she started to breathe again. She was admitted to our hospital for a work-up. Torsades de pointes （TdP） was observed in monitor electrocardiogram, and her QTc time was 513 msec in 12‐lead electrocardiogram. She was diagnosed as congenital long QT syndrome because genetic test showed that she had LQT2. Her QTc time was improved （approximately 350 msec） by medication, and she was discharged on the 25th day. Utstein-style statistics in Japan shows that the rate of returning to the society can be doubled by performing Bystander CPR on patients with cardiopulmonary arrest. However, performing rate of Bystander CPR is less than 50％ in Japan. In order to increase survival rate of patients with cardiopulmonary arrest for the future, it is important to inform people about CPR and to promote CPR, and in fact, we have been promoting CPR

Right adrenal giant cystic pheochromocytoma: A case report

A 78-year-old woman was referred to our institution for evaluation and treatment of a mass on her right adrenal gland measuring 12 × 11 × 10 cm. Twenty-four–hour urine analysis revealed a total metanephrine level over 3 times the upper limit of normal. Scintigraphy using 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine was positive. The mass was resected en bloc by laparotomy after a laparoscopic attempt was unsuccessful. Histopathologic examination revealed a pheochromocytoma of the right adrenal gland, weighing 576 g. The Grading System for Adrenal Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma score was 6, and the histology of the tumor was a moderately differentiated type

Enhanced role of eddies in the Arctic marine biological pump

The future conditions of Arctic sea ice and marine ecosystems are of interest not only to climate scientists, but also to economic and governmental bodies. However, the lack of widespread, year-long biogeochemical observations remains an obstacle to understanding the complicated variability of the Arctic marine biological pump. Here we show an early winter maximum of sinking biogenic flux in the western Arctic Ocean and illustrate the importance of shelf-break eddies to biological pumping from wide shelves to adjacent deep basins using a combination of year-long mooring observations and three-dimensional numerical modelling. The sinking flux trapped in the present study included considerable fresh organic material with soft tissues and was an order of magnitude larger than previous estimates. We predict that further reductions in sea ice will promote the entry of Pacific-origin biological species into the Arctic basin and accelerate biogeochemical cycles connecting the Arctic and subarctic oceans

Analysis of the Comorbidity of Bronchial Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis by Questionnaire in 10,009 Patients

Background: Bronchial asthma (BA) and allergic rhinitis (AR) are thought to share a common pathogenesis. However, reports concerning the comorbidity of the two diseases in a large-scaled population are rare in Japan. In the present study, we performed an analysis on the two diseases using questionnaires that addressed the diagnosis, symptoms and period of occurrence in more than 10,000 patients with BA or AR. Methods: Patients with BA (adult: n = 2,781, childhood: n = 3,283) and AR (n = 3,945) were enrolled in the present study during the 3 months from August 1, 2006 to October 31, 2006. Results: Sixty one percent of the patients with adult BA showed symptoms of AR. Among them, 68% of the patients were diagnosed with AR. Among the patients with childhood BA, 68% showed AR symptoms and 60% were diagnosed with AR. On the other hand, 49% of AR patients showed BA symptoms and 35% of them were diagnosed with BA. The symptoms of both BA and AR in the BA and AR patients were frequent in two seasons, March and April, and September and October. In addition, BA and AR symptoms often co-occurred in the patients with BA and AR. Conclusions: Comorbidity of BA and AR was high in both populations of BA and AR. The symptoms of both BA and AR co-occurred on both a daily and seasonal basis. These results suggested that BA and AR share a common immuno-pathogenesis in the airway and need to be treated as a single airway disease

Hematopoietic stem progenitor cells with malignancy‐related gene mutations in patients with acquired aplastic anemia are characterized by the increased expression of CXCR4

Abstract The phenotypic changes in hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs) with somatic mutations of malignancy‐related genes in patients with acquired aplastic anemia (AA) are poorly understood. As our initial study showed increased CXCR4 expression on HLA allele‐lacking (HLA[−]) HSPCs that solely support hematopoiesis in comparison to redundant HLA(+) HSPCs in AA patients, we screened the HSPCs of patients with various types of bone marrow (BM) failure to investigate their CXCR4 expression. In comparison to healthy individuals (n = 15, 12.3%–49.9%, median 43.2%), the median CXCR4+ cell percentages in the HSPCs of patients without somatic mutations were low: 29.3% (14.3%–37.3%) in the eight patients without HLA(−) granulocytes, 8.8% (4.1%–9.8%) in the five patients with HLA(−) cells accounting for >90% of granulocytes, and 7.8 (2.1%–8.7%) in the six patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. In contrast, the median percentage was much higher (78% [61.4%–88.7%]) in the five AA patients without HLA(−) granulocytes possessing somatic mutations (c‐kit, t[8;21], monosomy 7 [one for each], ASXL1 [n = 2]), findings that were comparable to those (66.5%, 63.1%–88.9%) in the four patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndromes. The increased expression of CXCR4 may therefore reflect intrinsic abnormalities of HSPCs caused by somatic mutations that allow them to evade restriction by BM stromal cells