A 1-Year Weight Management Program for Difficult-to-Treat Asthma With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: Obesity-associated asthma results in increased morbidity and mortality. We report 1-year asthma outcomes with a weight management regimen, the Counterweight-Plus Programme (CWP), compared with usual care (UC) in a single-center, randomized controlled trial in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma and obesity.

Research Question: Can use of the CWP result in improved asthma control and quality of life compared with UC at 1 year in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma and obesity?

Study Design And Methods: Adults with difficult-to-treat asthma and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m were randomized (1:1 CWP:UC) to treatment.

Direct synthesis of partially ethoxylated branched polyethylenimine from ethanolamine.

We report here a method to make a branched and partially ethoxylated polyethyleneimine derivative directly from ethanolamine. The polymerization reaction is catalysed by a pincer complex of Earth-abundant metal, manganese, and produces water as the only byproduct. Industrial processes to produce polyethyleneimines involve the transformation of ethanolamine to a highly toxic chemical, aziridine, by an energy-intensive/waste-generating process followed by the ring-opening polymerization of aziridine.

De-epimerizing DyKAT of β-lactones generated by isothiourea-catalysed enantioselective [2 + 2] cycloaddition.

An enantioselective isothiourea-catalysed [2 + 2] cycloaddition of C(1)-ammonium enolates with pyrazol-4,5-diones is used to construct spirocyclic β-lactones in good yields, excellent enantioselectivity (99 : 1 er) but with modest diastereocontrol (typically 70 : 30 dr). Upon ring-opening with morpholine or alternative nucleophilic amines and alcohols β-hydroxyamide and β-hydroxyester products are generated with enhanced diastereocontrol (up to >95 : 5 dr). Control experiments show that stereoconvergence is observed in the ring-opening of diastereoisomeric β-lactones, leading to a single product (>95 : 5 dr, >99 : 1 er).

Synthesis of Tetra-Substituted 3-Hydroxyphthalide Esters by Isothiourea-Catalysed Acylative Dynamic Kinetic Resolution.

A general and highly enantioselective method for the preparation of tetra-substituted 3-hydroxyphthalide esters via isothiourea-catalysed acylative dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) is reported. Using (2S,3R)-HyperBTM (5 mol %) as the catalyst, the scope and limitations of this methodology have been extensively probed, with high enantioselectivity and good to excellent yields observed (>40 examples, up to 99 %, 99 : 1 er). Substitution of the aromatic core within the 3-hydroxyphthalide skeleton, as well as aliphatic and aromatic substitution at C(3), is readily tolerated.