Effect of polymerization conditions on the syndiotactic-specificity in radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and fractionation of the obtained polymer according to the stereoregularity

Radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) was examined in the presence of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA). The addition of an excess amount of HMPA induced syndiotactic-specificity that gradually enhanced as the feed monomer was consumed. The syndiotacticity of the obtained poly(NIPAAm)s was improved by increasing the [HMPA]0/[NIPAAm]0 ratio to 5 and prolonging the polymerization time to 96h (racemo = 72%). It was also revealed that more stereoregulated poly(NIPAAm) could be fractionated by reprecipitating the resulting polymers from hexane-THF mixture. This result suggested that more stereoregulated poly(NIPAAm) showed a lower solubility than less stereoregulated poly(NIPAAm)s. Furthermore, unusual hysteresis was observed in transmittance analysis of an aqueous solution of the fractionated syndiotactic poly(NIPAAm)

Direct synthesis of syndiotactic-rich poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) via radical polymerization of hydrogen-bond-complexed monomer

Radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) in toluene was investigated in the presence of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA). We succeeded in directly preparing syndiotactic-rich poly(NIPAAm), the syndiotacticity of which (r = 70%) is the highest among those of radically-prepared poly(NIPAAm)s so far reported, by lowering polymerization temperature to –60°C in the presence of a twofold amount of HMPA. The NMR analysis revealed that the induced syndiotactic-specificity was ascribed to 1:1 complex formation between NIPAAm and HMPA. Furthermore, thermodynamic analysis described that the induced syndiotactic-specificity was enthalpically achieved

Effective and convenient treatment of Xultophy with lower doses for elderly diabetic patient

The case is an 82-year-old female patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) for 22 years. She developed right empyema in early January, 2021 and was treated by antibiotics and CT-guided drainage. After improving the status, she was transferred to Hayashi hospital, Tokushima, Japan. Treatment for T2DM was initially multiple daily insulin injection (MDI), but it could not continue because of injection several times a day by the family. Then, Xultophy was started once a day, which brought satisfactory glucose variability with lower doses. Consequently, Xultophy would be effective and useful agent from bio-psycho-social points of view

Update on the Keio collection of Escherichia coli single-gene deletion mutants

The Keio collection (Baba et al, 2006) has been established as a set of single‐gene deletion mutants of Escherichia coli K‐12. These mutants have a precisely designed deletion from the second codon from the seventh to the last codon of each predicted ORF. Further information is available at http://sal.cs.purdue.edu:8097/GB7/index.jsp or http://ecoli.naist.jp/. The distribution is now being handled by the National Institute of Genetics of Japan (http://www.shigen.nig.ac.jp/ecoli/pec/index.jsp). To date more than 4 million samples have been distributed worldwide. As we described earlier (Baba et al, 2006), gene amplification during construction is likely to have led to a small number of mutants with genetic duplications

Allergin-1 on mast cells suppresses house dust mite-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in mice

Although airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a prominent feature of asthma, how it is regulated remains incompletely understood. Allergin-1, an inhibitory immunoglobulin-like receptor containing an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM), is expressed on human and mouse mast cells (MCs) and inhibits high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI)-mediated signaling. Using MC-deficient KitW-sh/W-sh mice and Mas-TRECK mice, which carries a diphtheria toxin (DT)-induced MC deletion system based on il4 enhancer elements, we demonstrate here that MCs are involved in the induction of house dust mite (HDM)-induced AHR. Further, we show that MCs deficient in Allergin-1 exacerbated HDM-induced AHR, but had no effect on airway inflammation. In vitro analysis demonstrated that Allergin-1 inhibited anti-HDM allergen antibody-dependent HDM allergen-mediated degranulation by MCs. Thus, Allergin-1 on MCs plays an important role in the regulation of HDM-induced AHR

NICU実習を通じた看護学生の学び ─ディベロプメンタルケアと児に出会って感じたこと・考えたこと─

【目的】看護学生がNICU実習を通じて学んだディベロプメンタルケアと児に出会って感じたこと・考えたことを明らかにする．【方法】A 大学看護学部3年生で，平成26年度に小児臨床看護学実習を行った者96名のうち，研究協力に同意を得られた45名を対象とした．NICU実習記録から，ディベロプメンタルケア，児に出会って感じたこと・考えたことについて質的帰納的分析を行った．　【結果】ディベロプメンタルケアについて，246のコード，24のサブカテゴリーから《音》《光》《温度・湿度》《ポジショニング》《ストレスの少ないケア》《スキンケア》《家族ケア》の7つのカテゴリーが生成された．児に出会って感じたこと・考えたことについて，151のコード，14のサブカテゴリーから《小さな体で一生懸命生きている》《児の思いを汲み取りながらケアしている》《早産で生まれた児の発達促進ケアに気づく》《両親の児に対する思いを汲み取りながら親子関係を支援している》《児や両親が多くの人に支えられている》の5つのカテゴリーが生成された．　【結論】学生は，音，光，温度・湿度といった環境調整や，ポジショニング，ストレスの少ないケア，スキンケアといったケアの実際，家族看護を学んでおり，NICU看護の基本であるディベロプメンタルケアを理解できていた．NICUの児との出会いに感動し，他職種が連携して児の生命を支え，家族の形成を支えていることを知り，学生にとって肯定的な体験が得られる実習となると推察される．本研究結果から，NICU実習は看護実践能力で必要な対象理解や権利擁護を体験的に学修する貴重な機会となり得ることが示唆された

Infection risk in hemodialysis patient

Chronic care patients undergoing hemodialysis for treatment of end-stage renal failure experience higher rates of bloodstream-associated infection due to the patients' compromised immune system and management of the bloodstream through catheters. Staphylococcus species are a common cause of hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infections. We investigated environmental bacterial contamination of dialysis wards and contamination of hemodialysis devices to determine the source of bacteria for these infections. All bacterial samples were collected by the swab method and the agarose stamp method. And which bacterium were identified by BBL CRYSTAL Kit or 16s rRNA sequences. In our data, bacterial cell number of hemodialysis device was lower than environment of patient surrounds. But Staphylococcus spp. were found predominantly on the hemodialysis device (46.8%), especially on areas frequently touched by healthcare-workers (such as Touch screen). Among Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus epidermidis was most frequently observed (42.1% of Staphylococcus spp.), and more surprising, 48.2% of the Staphylococcus spp. indicated high resistance for methicillin. Our finding suggests that hemodialysis device highly contaminated with bloodstream infection associated bacteria. This study can be used as a source to assess the risk of contamination-related infection and to develop the cleaning system for the better prevention for bloodstream infections in patients with hemodialysis

Electrofluorochromic Device Based on a Redox-Active Europium(III) Complex

Electrofluorochromism owing to redox reactions on the center europium (Eu) ion in ionic liquids is examined for the helicate complexes (abbreviated as EuL) with a hexadentate pyridine derivative. Typical electrofluorochromism requires extra electroactive units complementing intra- or intermolecular energy transfer to quench fluorophores. Herein, an unprecedentedly simplified electrofluorochromic system overcoming such issues is demonstrated by utilizing reversible electrochemistry of EuL between Eu3+ and Eu2+, which accompanies large emission transition. A three-electrode electrochemical switching device is facilely prepared with an ionic liquid [BMIM] [PF6] and EuL mixture. Benefiting from the stable helical coordinated structure of the ligand in [BMW] [PF6], highly enhanced red fluorescence of EuL with small quantity (<= 1 wt %) is utilized. Rapid response and large contrast of luminescence are achieved: the emission is drastically quenched at the reduced state (Eu2+) and it is successfully restored by subsequent oxidation (Eu3+) The reversible fluctuation of excitation and emission spectra of an electrofluorochromic device is achieved in the potential window within +/- 2 V. The device affords excellent optoelectric properties in terms of well-controlled luminescence switching depending on the applied potentials and its durability. This work paves an efficient and smart way toward Eu luminescence control in optoelectronic devices