Mechanistic evidence for the remote π-aryl participation in acidcatalyzed ring opening of homobenzoquinone epoxides

The acid-induced reaction of bis(p-chlorophenyl)homobenzoquinone epoxide gave the dual ipso/ortho intramolecular SE2-Ar products associated with the π-aryl participated oxirane ring opening, whereas bis(p-tolyl)- and diphenyl-substituted homologues provided only the ortho products

Systematic Evaluation and Mechanistic Investigation of Antioxidant Activity of Fullerenols Using -Carotene Bleaching Assay

Antioxidant activity of hydroxylated fullerenes, so-called fullerenols, against lipid peroxyl radical was evaluated by -carotene bleaching assay. All samples showed moderate to high antioxidant activity (%AOA), especially for C 60 (OH) 12 (70.1) and C 60 (OH) 44 (66.0) as compared with 8, 24, 26, and 36 hydroxylated ones (31.7-62.8). The detection of the possible products was conducted in the model reaction of both fullerenols and C 60 with methyl linoleate by MALDI-TOF-MS. These results suggested that the two possible mechanisms, such as C-addition to double bonds and H-abstraction from -OH groups, are involved in the present radical scavenging reaction

Effects of Pin-up Oxygen on [60]Fullerene for Enhanced Antioxidant Activity

The introduction of pin-up oxygen on C60, such as in the oxidized fullerenes C60O and C60On, induced noticeable increase in the antioxidant activity as compared to pristine C60. The water-soluble inclusion complexes of fullerenes C60O and C60Onreacted with linoleic acid peroxyl radical 1.7 and 2.4 times faster, respectively

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2016 (J-SSCG 2016)

Background and purposeThe Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2016 (J-SSCG 2016), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in February 2017 and published in the Journal of JSICM, [2017; Volume 24 (supplement 2)] https://doi.org/10.3918/jsicm.24S0001 and Journal of Japanese Association for Acute Medicine [2017; Volume 28, (supplement 1)] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jja2.2017.28.issue-S1/issuetoc.This abridged English edition of the J-SSCG 2016 was produced with permission from the Japanese Association of Acute Medicine and the Japanese Society for Intensive Care Medicine.MethodsMembers of the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine were selected and organized into 19 committee members and 52 working group members. The guidelines were prepared in accordance with the Medical Information Network Distribution Service (Minds) creation procedures. The Academic Guidelines Promotion Team was organized to oversee and provide academic support to the respective activities allocated to each Guideline Creation Team. To improve quality assurance and workflow transparency, a mutual peer review system was established, and discussions within each team were open to the public. Public comments were collected once after the initial formulation of a clinical question (CQ) and twice during the review of the final draft. Recommendations were determined to have been adopted after obtaining support from a two-thirds (> 66.6%) majority vote of each of the 19 committee members.ResultsA total of 87 CQs were selected among 19 clinical areas, including pediatric topics and several other important areas not covered in the first edition of the Japanese guidelines (J-SSCG 2012). The approval rate obtained through committee voting, in addition to ratings of the strengths of the recommendation, and its supporting evidence were also added to each recommendation statement. We conducted meta-analyses for 29 CQs. Thirty-seven CQs contained recommendations in the form of an expert consensus due to insufficient evidence. No recommendations were provided for five CQs.ConclusionsBased on the evidence gathered, we were able to formulate Japanese-specific clinical practice guidelines that are tailored to the Japanese context in a highly transparent manner. These guidelines can easily be used not only by specialists, but also by non-specialists, general clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, clinical engineers, and other healthcare professionals

Efficacy of Single Energy Metal Artifact Reduction (SEMAR) for Head and Neck Cancer

Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the head and neck region is susceptible to artifacts caused by dental restorations. Metal artifact reduction is an established technology that can be used to improve the quality of CT images. The diagnostic efficacy of single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) for head and neck cancer has not been proven. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of SEMAR with PET/CT in the field of head and neck cancer. The study included 46 patients who underwent PET/CT with SEMAR. For qualitative evaluation, images with and without SEMAR were visually evaluated by two radiologists using a 5-point scale. For quantitative assessment, the standardized uptake values (SUVs) -related parameters were assessed based on their position in normal structures such as the tongue, tonsils, masseter muscles, and spinal cord. The qualitative analysis revealed that SEMAR improved the overall quality of PET/CT fusion images (2.28 ± 1.24 points vs. 3.61 ± 0.77 points, p < 0.0001). The scores for normal structures were also enhanced. SEMAR did not change the SUV-related values significantly. In conclusion, SEMAR significantly improved the quality of PET/CT fusion images. Thus, SEMAR with PET/CT clearly has potential diagnostic efficacy