PALLADIUM-CATALYZED AMINATION OF 2-CHLORO-1-AZAAZULENE WITH 2-AMINOPYRIDINE

Palladium-catalyzed amination of 2-chloro-1-azaazulene with 2-aminopyridine was studied under various conditions in order to obtain N-(1-azaazulen-2-yl)-N-(2-pyridyl)amine (4) and N,N-bis(1-azaazillen-2-yl)-N-(2-pyridyl)amine (5) as a multidentate ligand. Results of the reaction and physical and chemical properties of 4 and 5 are described.ArticleHETEROCYCLES. 83(3):547-554 (2011)journal articl

Chemotherapy with low-dose capecitabine as palliative treatment in a patient with metastatic breast cancer: a case report

Chemotherapeutic agents are rarely used for symptom management in patients under palliative care setting. This is because chemotherapeutic agents not only have limited efficacy in palliative treatment but are also known to exert severe adverse effects. We describe our experience with a patient with metastatic breast cancer who was successfully treated with low-dose capecitabine, without the development of any severe toxicities and with significant improvement in activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QOL)

Japanese translation and linguistic validation of the US National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)

Abstract Background The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) has developed the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) to capture patients’ self-reported symptomatic adverse events in cancer clinical trials. The aim of this study was to develop and linguistically validate a Japanese translation of PRO-CTCAE. Forward- and back-translations were produced, and an independent review was performed by the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) Executive Committee and the US NCI. We then conducted cognitive interviews with 21 patients undergoing cancer treatment. Participants were asked to complete the PRO-CTCAE and were interviewed using semi-structured scripts and predetermined probes to investigate whether any items were difficult to understand or answer. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and a thematic analysis was performed. The data were split into two categories: 1) remarks on the items and 2) remarks on the questionnaire in general. Results Twenty-one cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or hormone therapy were interviewed at the University of Tokyo Hospital and the Kansai Medical University Hirakata Hospital during 2011 and 2012. Thirty-three PRO-CTCAE items were evaluated as “difficult to understand,” and 65 items were evaluated as “difficult to answer” by at least one respondent. However, on further investigation, only 24 remarks were categorized as “comprehension difficulties” or “clarity” issues. Most of these remarks concerned patients’ difficulties with rating their experience of individual symptomatic events. Conclusions The study provides preliminary evidence supporting the linguistic validity of the Japanese version of PRO-CTCAE. Further cognitive interviewing is warranted for PRO-CTCAE items relating to sexuality and anxiety and for response options on severity attribute items

CO Multi-line Imaging of Nearby Galaxies (COMING). III. Dynamical effect on molecular gas density and star formation in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4303

We present the results of $^{12}$CO($J$=1-0) and $^{13}$CO($J$=1-0) simultaneous mappings toward the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 4303 as a part of the CO Multi-line Imaging of Nearby Galaxies (COMING) project. Barred spiral galaxies often show lower star-formation efficiency (SFE) in their bar region compared to the spiral arms. In this paper, we examine the relation between the SFEs and the volume densities of molecular gas $n(\rm{H}_2)$ in the eight different regions within the galactic disk with CO data combined with archival far-ultraviolet and 24 $\mu$m data. We confirmed that SFE in the bar region is lower by 39% than that in the spiral arms. Moreover, velocity-alignment stacking analysis was performed for the spectra in the individual regions. The integrated intensity ratios of $^{12}$CO to $^{13}$CO ($R_{12/13}$) range from 10 to 17 as the results of stacking. Fixing a kinetic temperature of molecular gas, $n(\rm{H}_2)$ was derived from $R_{12/13}$ via non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) analysis. The density $n(\rm{H}_2)$ in the bar is lower by 31-37% than that in the arms and there is a rather tight positive correlation between SFEs and $n(\rm{H}_2)$, with a correlation coefficient of $\sim 0.8$. Furthermore, we found a dependence of $n(\rm{H}_2)$ on the velocity dispersion of inter-molecular clouds ($\Delta V/ \sin i$). Specifically, $n(\rm{H}_2)$ increases as $\Delta V/ \sin i$ increases when $\Delta V/ \sin i < 100$ km s$^{-1}$. On the other hand, $n(\rm{H}_2)$ decreases as $\Delta V/ \sin i$ increases when $\Delta V/ \sin i > 100$ km s$^{-1}$. These relations indicate that the variations of SFE could be caused by the volume densities of molecular gas, and the volume densities could be governed by the dynamical influence such as cloud-cloud collisions, shear and enhanced inner-cloud turbulence.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Mediastinal Tracheostoma for Treatment of Tracheostenosis after Tracheostomy in a Patient with Mucopolysaccharidosis-Induced Tracheomalacia

Background. Treatment of tracheostenosis after tracheostomy in pediatric patients is often difficult. Mucopolysaccharidosis is a lysosomal storage disease that may induce obstruction of the airways. Case Presentation. A 16-year-old male patient underwent long-term follow-up after postnatal diagnosis of type II mucopolysaccharidosis. At 11 years of age, tracheostomy was performed for mucopolysaccharidosis-induced laryngeal stenosis. One week prior to presentation, he was admitted to another hospital on an emergency basis for major dyspnea. He was diagnosed with tracheostenosis caused by granulation. The patient was then referred to our institution. The peripheral view of his airway was difficult because of mucopolysaccharidosis-induced tracheomalacia. For airway management, a mediastinal tracheostoma was created with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. To maintain the blood flow, the skin incision for the mediastinal tracheal hole was sharply cut without an electrotome. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was weaned from the ventilator on postoperative day 19. He was discharged 1.5 months postoperatively. Although he was referred to another institution because of respiratory failure caused by his primary disease 6 months postoperatively, his airway management remained successful for 1.5 years postoperatively. Conclusion. Mediastinal tracheostomy was useful for treatment of tracheostenosis caused by granulation tissue formation after a tracheostomy

ベトナムダイオキシン高濃度汚染地域における授乳中の母親の唾液中ホルモン値の検討

【目的】アメリカ軍は１９６１年から１９７１年の間に８０００万リットル以上の枯葉剤を南ベトナムに撒布した。この研究の目的はベトナムの枯葉剤高濃度汚染地域（Binh Dinh省Phu Cat県）と非汚染地域（Ha Nam省Kim Bang県）において枯葉剤（オレンジ剤）の暴露と人体への健康影響との関連を検討することである。【方法】２つの地域において疫学的調査を実施した。対象者は授乳中で生後４週から１６週の乳児を持つ２０－３０歳の母親とし、汚染地域では５８名、非汚染地域では５３名であった。疾患の危険因子等に関する情報は母親への面接調査から得た。母乳をすべての対象者から採取したが、唾液を採取したのは汚染地域４１名、非汚染地域１９名であった。母親と子どもの身体計測を行い２地域間で比較を行った。【結果と考察】汚染地域における乳児の体重と胸囲は有意に非汚染地域よりも小さいが、年齢(週数)も汚染地域の方が有意に低かった。汚染地域における母親とその家族の現病歴は非汚染地域よりも有意に多かった。母親の視力は両眼とも２地域間で有意差は認められなかった。汚染地域と非汚染地域双方の母親の唾液中のコルチゾン値は、母乳中のコルチゾン値と高い相関を示した。汚染地域と非汚染地域間で唾液中のホルモン値には有意差は認められなかった。Objective : Between 1961 and 1971 the US military used over 80 million litres of herbicides in southern Vietnam. This study aims to assess hormone levels in the saliva of lactating Vietnamese mothers and human health effects in a dioxin hot spot (Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province) and a non-exposed (Kim Bang district, Ha Nam province) area in Vietnam. Materials and Methods : An epidemiological study was carried out in both areas. The subjects were 58 lactating females in the hot spot area and 53 lactating females in the non-exposed area. All were aged between 20 and 30 years with infants aged between 4 and 16 weeks. Information about disease risk factors was obtained through interviews with mothers. Breastmilk samples were taken from all subjects, whereas saliva samples were obtained from 41 mothers in the hot spot area and 19 in the non-exposed area. Body measurements for both mothers and their infants were compared between the two areas. Result and Discussion : The weight and chest circumference of infants in the hot spot area were significantly lower than those in the non-exposed area, whereas age (weeks) is also significantly younger in hot spot area than non-exposed area. Present maternal and family diseases in the hot spot area were significantly higher than those in the non-exposed area. Maternal eyesight in both eyes did not differ significantly between the two areas. The cortisone levels in saliva have been found to be closely related to those in breast milk samples of both mothers in hot spot and non-exposed areas. No significant difference was found between salivary hormone levels of mothers in the hot spot and non-exposed areas

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024