Asymmetric syntheses of daedalin A and quercinol and their tyrosinase inhibitory activity

Stereoselective syntheses of daedalin A and quercinol, an enantiomer of daedalin A, is described. The tyrosinase inhibitory activities of daedalin A and quercinol were examined. The activity of quercinol was weaker than that of daedalin A at high concentration.ArticleBIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS. 20(3):1063-1064 (2010)journal articl

Total synthesis of (+)-azimine via diastereoselective aminopalladation

The aminopalladation of amino allylic alcohol using Cl2Pd(MeCN)(2) in CH2Cl2 gave the 2,6-disubstituted piperidine with excellent diastereoselectivity. This compound was successfully converted into (+)-azimine (1) using cross-metathesis and Shiina macrolactonization.ArticleTETRAHEDRON. 69(39):8349-8352 (2013)journal articl

Comparability of Weighed Dietary Records and a Self-Administered Diet History Questionnaire for Estimating Monetary Cost of Dietary Energy

An increasing number of studies have estimated monetary diet cost using various dietary assessment methods, based on databases on retail food prices, for investigating its association with dietary intake and health outcomes. However, information regarding the comparability of monetary diet cost across dietary assessment methods is absolutely lacking. This study compared monetary cost of dietary energy estimated from weighed dietary records (DRs) with that estimated from a self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ). The subjects were 92 Japanese women aged 31–69 years and 92 Japanese men aged 32–76 years. The DHQ (assessing diet during the preceding month) and 4-day DRs (one weekend day and three weekdays) were completed in each season over a 1-year period (DHQs1-4 and DRs1-4, respectively). An additional DHQ was completed at one year after completing DHQ1 (DHQ5). Monetary cost of dietary energy (Japanese yen/4184 kJ) was calculated using food intake information derived from each dietary assessment method, based on retail food prices. Pearson correlation between the mean of DRs1-4 and mean of DHQs1-4 was 0.64 for women and 0.69 for men. Pearson correlation between the mean of DRs1-4 and DHQ1 was 0.60 for women and 0.52 for men, while intraclass correlation between DHQ1 and DHQ5 was 0.64 for women and 0.51 for men. These data indicate reasonable comparability of monetary cost of dietary energy across DR and a DHQ as well as usefulness of a single administration of the DHQ for estimating monetary cost of dietary energy

AN EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF PROCYANIDINS USING EQUIMOLAR CONDENSATION OF CATECHIN AND/OR EPICATECHIN CATALYZED BY YTTERBIUM TRIFLATE

Stereoselective synthesis of catechin and epicatechin dimers under intermolecular condensation of equimolar amount of catechin derivatives catalyzed by Yb(OTf)(3). The coupled products were successfully converted to procyanidins B1, B2, B3, and B4, respectively. Procyanidins B1, B2, B3, and B4 could be used as standard compounds for identifying the polyphenols in natural source.ArticleHETEROCYCLES. 79:549-563 (2009)journal articl

IL-19 Contributes to the Development of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis by Altering Lipid Metabolism

Interleukin (IL)-19, a member of the IL-10 family, is an anti-inflammatory cytokine produced primarily by macrophages. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a disease that has progressed from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is characterized by inflammation and fibrosis. We evaluated the functions of IL-19 in a NAFLD/NASH mouse model using a 60% high fat diet with 0.1% methionine, without choline, and with 2% cholesterol (CDAHFD). Wild-type (WT) and IL-19 gene-deficient (KO) mice were fed a CDAHFD or standard diet for 9 weeks. Liver injury, inflammation, and fibrosis induced by CDAHFD were significantly worse in IL-19 KO mice than in WT mice. IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-β were significantly higher in IL-19 KO mice than in WT mice. As a mechanism using an in vitro experiment, palmitate-induced triglyceride and cholesterol contents were decreased by the addition of IL-19 in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, addition of IL-19 decreased the expression of fatty acid synthesis-related enzymes and increased ATP content in HepG2 cells. The action of IL-19 in vitro suppressed lipid metabolism. In conclusion, IL-19 may play an important role in the development of steatosis and fibrosis by directly regulating liver metabolism and may be a potential target for the treatment of liver diseases

JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire: initial report

AbstractBackgroundThere is no widely accepted objective evaluation for lumbar spine disorders. New outcome measures should be patient-oriented and should measure symptoms and self-reported functional status in multiple dimensions. The aim of this study was to identify items to be included in the disease-specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for the assessments of patients with lumbar spine disorders.MethodsThe draft of the QOL questionnaire that consisted of a total of 60 items, including 24 items derived from the Japanese version of the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) and 36 items derived from the Japanese version of Short Form 36 (SF-36), were administered to patients and controls. After obtaining written informed consent, the following data were collected from the patient group (n = 328) and the control group (n = 213): (1) background characteristics, including age, diagnosis, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and finger to floor distance; (2) responses to the questionnaire; (3) the identification rate by discrimination analysis to select the candidates for adoption and by adopting explanatory variables. The items to be excluded were determined by examining the explanatory variables, which were selected after the discrimination analysis, by setting the candidate to-be-excluded items as an objective variable.ResultsBased on the distribution of the responses, two items, RDQ-15 and RDQ-19, were excluded. From the results of the correlation coefficient calculation for each question in the patient group, 33 items were excluded and 27 candidate items were adopted. Based on the adoption explanatory variable used in the discrimination analysis, 25 of the 27 candidate items for adoption were accepted.ConclusionsThis study identified the 25 specific questionnaire items that should be included in the questionnaire to evaluate QOL of patients with various lumbar spine disorders

〈Original Papers〉Diurnal and seasonal variation of air temperature profile in the mountain forest at Sugadaira, central Japan

Air temperature profiles were observed for a year with micro-climate observation in and around the mixed mountain forest. The shading effects of tree crown, depending on the solar elevation angle and abscission of broad leaf species, controlled the diurnal and seasonal variation of radiation budget and temperature gradients in the forest. Vertical mixing of air in the forest was infrequent even the wind speed over the forest was high. Sasa albo-marginata served as another important daytime heat source at the forest floor in snow-free season. In the forest, weak but clear diurnal wind variation was observed on fair summer days indicating prevailing of daytime up-slope winds and nocturnal gravity currents. After leaf abscission, the nocturnal temperature inversion prevailed in and out of the forest. The importance of the local winds blowing through the forest and their effect on the data from the station in an open space are discussed with regard to the long-term assessment of mountain meteorological and forest phonological data