Solid Solutions of Plastic/Ferroelectric Crystals: Toward Tailor-Made Functional Materials.

Plastic crystals that show ferroelectricity are highly promising materials for a wide range of applications. Their inherent remarkable malleability and highly symmetric cubic structures in the plastic crystal phase ensure that their ferroelectricity and related properties are retained in their bulk polycrystals. To develop functional materials based on such plastic/ferroelectric crystals, methods to tune their properties for specific applications are required.

Ferroelectric Ionic Molecular Crystals with Significant Plasticity and a Low Melting Point: High Performance in Hot-Pressed Polycrystalline Plates and Melt-Grown Crystalline Sheets.

Among ferroelectric crystals based on small molecules, plastic/ferroelectric crystals are currently receiving particular attention because they can be used as bulk polycrystals. Herein, we show that an ionic molecular ferroelectric crystal, guanidinium tetrafluoroborate, exhibits significant malleability and multiaxial ferroelectricity despite the absence of a plastic crystal phase. Powder samples of this crystal can be processed into transparent bulk crystalline plates either by press-forming or by melt-growing.

Glutamine Regulates Skeletal Muscle Immunometabolism in Type 2 Diabetes.

Dysregulation of skeletal muscle metabolism influences whole-body insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis. We hypothesized that type 2 diabetes-associated alterations in the plasma metabolome directly contribute to skeletal muscle immunometabolism and the subsequent development of insulin resistance. To this end, we analyzed the plasma and skeletal muscle metabolite profile and identified glutamine as a key amino acid that correlates inversely with BMI and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) in men with normal glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes.

Stabilization of Interfacial Polarization and Induction of Polarization Hysteresis in Organic MISIM Devices.

Molecule-based ferroelectrics has attracted much attention because of its advantages, such as flexibility, light weight, and low environmental load. In the present work, we examined an organic metal|insulator|semiconductor|insulator|metal (MISIM) device structure to stabilize the interfacial polarization in the S layer and to induce polarization hysteresis even without bulk ferroelectrics. The MISIM devices with I = parylene C and S = TMB (=3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine)-TCNQ (=tetracyanoquinodimethane) exhibited hysteresis loops in the polarization-voltage (-) curves not only at room temperature but also over a wide temperature range down to 80 K.

Branched-chain amino acid metabolism is regulated by ERRα in primary human myotubes and is further impaired by glucose loading in type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Increased levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are associated with type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. However, most metabolomic studies are limited to an analysis of plasma metabolites under fasting conditions, rather than the dynamic shift in response to a metabolic challenge. Moreover, metabolomic profiles of peripheral tissues involved in glucose homeostasis are scarce and the transcriptomic regulation of genes involved in BCAA catabolism is partially unknown.

Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of IRS1 in skeletal muscle from men with normal glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes: A case-control study.

Background & Aims: The physiological regulation and contribution of the multiple phosphorylation sites of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance is unknown. Our aims were to map the phosphorylated motifs of IRS1 in skeletal muscle from people with normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 11) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; n = 11).

Methods: Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained under fasted conditions or during a euglycemic clamp and IRS1 phosphorylation sites were identified by mass spectrometry.

Incorporating Spacer Molecules into the Tetrathiafulvalene--Chloranil Charge-Transfer Framework: Modulating the Neutral-Ionic Phase Transition.

The charge-transfer (CT) tetrathiafulvalene--chloranil (TTF-CA) crystal, a representative functional organic electronic material, has been the subject of both basic and applied research. This material shows a neutral-ionic phase transition (NIPT) that induces drastic changes in its physical properties. Here, we use this crystal as a framework and demonstrate a method for modulating physical properties of TTF-CA.

Two Cases of Rocuronium-Induced Anaphylaxis/Anaphylactic Shock Successfully Treated With Sugammadex.

While anaphylaxis can occur at any time during general anesthesia, 90% of cases occur at induction of anesthesia. As several drugs are administered simultaneously at this time, it is difficult to identify the causative agent. However, it has been found that rocuronium is the most common drug associated with perioperative anaphylaxis.

16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing of Microbial Communities Involved in Anaerobic Bulking in a Mesophilic Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Reactor Treating Wastewater Discharged from a Japanese-Style Thickened Worcestershire Sauce-Producing Factory.

We analyzed the prokaryotes in bulking and healthy sludge from a mesophilic expanded granular sludge bed reactor treating wastewater with high organic content by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We tabulated the microbiota at the phylum level, providing a framework for avoiding sludge bulking.

16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Profiling of Anaerobic Bulking-Associated Prokaryotic Microbiota in a Mesophilic Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Reactor for Beverage Wastewater Treatment.

Information regarding prokaryotic microbiota associated with anaerobic bulking is limited. Here, we provide 16S rRNA gene-based prokaryotic diversity profiles for anaerobic bulking and healthy granular sludge in a mesophilic expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. These data were tabulated at the phylum level based on high-quality reads.

Draft Genome Sequence of sp. Strain Kuro-1, a Thermophilic, Lactate-Degrading Anaerobe Isolated from a Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion Reactor.

sp. strain Kuro-1, newly isolated from a thermophilic anaerobic digestion reactor, is a thermophilic anaerobe that can utilize l-lactic acid in fermentation, sulfate respiration, and cocultivation with hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Here, we report its draft genome sequence, consisting of a 1.

Prokaryotic Community Structures in a Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion Reactor Converting Poly(l-Lactic Acid) for a Long Period Revealed by 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing.

Little information on poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) treatment-associated microbiota in thermophilic anaerobic digestion reactors is available. Here, we provide 16S rRNA gene sequence data on microbiota in a thermophilic anaerobic digestion reactor converting PLLA to methane for 336 days. Data comprising 99,566 total high-quality reads were tabulated at the taxonomic class level.

Plastic/Ferroelectric Crystals with Easily Switchable Polarization: Low-Voltage Operation, Unprecedentedly High Pyroelectric Performance, and Large Piezoelectric Effect in Polycrystalline Forms.

Molecular ferroelectric crystals have attracted growing interest as potential alternatives to conventional lead-based ceramic ferroelectrics. We have recently discovered that a class of compounds known as plastic crystals can show multiaxial ferroelectricity, which allows ferroelectric performance even in polycrystalline forms. Here, we report new plastic/ferroelectric ionic molecular crystals that exhibit remarkably small coercive electric fields at room temperature.

General Anesthetic Management of a Patient With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy for Oral Surgery: Did Digitalis Contribute to Bradycardia?

Stabilization of circulatory dynamics is a critical issue in the anesthetic management of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In this report, we managed general anesthesia for a 74-year-old male patient with nonobstructive HCM who developed circulatory instability intraoperatively. Severe bradycardia measuring 35 beats/min and hypotension measuring 78 mm Hg systolic were observed during surgery.

Draft Genome Sequence of Moorella sp. Strain Hama-1, a Novel Acetogenic Bacterium Isolated from a Thermophilic Digestion Reactor.

sp. strain Hama-1 was isolated from a thermophilic anaerobic digestion reactor treating poly(l-lactic acid). The strain is a thermophilic acetogen capable of lactate oxidation under anaerobic conditions.

General Anesthetic Management of a Child With Horseshoe Lung and Left Lung Hypoplasia for Cheiloplasty: A Case Report.

Horseshoe lung is an extremely rare congenital malformation in which the right and left lungs are fused due to stenosis of the lung parenchyma. In anesthetic management, it is important to avoid hypoxemia and hypercapnia caused by a decline in lung capacity and functional residual capacity. A 3-year-old boy with horseshoe lung and left lung hypoplasia was scheduled to undergo cheiloplasty.

Band-Like Carrier Transport at the Single-Crystal Contact Interfaces between 2,5-Difluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane and Electron Donors.

Some heterojunction interfaces formed with molecular solids show metal-like transport behavior. In order to clarify the requirement, interfaces are fabricated by lamination of single-crystal electron-accepting 2,5-difluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (FTCNQ) and electron-donating molecules with a wide range of ionization potentials. Carrier injection between the acceptor and donor crystals leads to highly conducting interfaces, some of which exhibited band-like charge transport behaviors.

Ferroelectricity and Piezoelectricity in Free-Standing Polycrystalline Films of Plastic Crystals.

Plastic crystals represent a unique compound class that is often encountered in molecules with globular structures. The highly symmetric cubic crystal structure of plastic crystals endows these materials with multiaxial ferroelectricity that allows a three-dimensional realignment of the polarization axes of the crystals, which cannot be achieved using conventional molecular ferroelectric crystals with low crystal symmetry. In this work, we focused our attention on malleability as another characteristic feature of plastic crystals.

Directionally tunable and mechanically deformable ferroelectric crystals from rotating polar globular ionic molecules.

Ferroelectrics are used in a wide range of applications, including memory elements, capacitors and sensors. Recently, molecular ferroelectric crystals have attracted interest as viable alternatives to conventional ceramic ferroelectrics because of their solution processability and lack of toxicity. Here we show that a class of molecular compounds-known as plastic crystals-can exhibit ferroelectricity if the constituents are judiciously chosen from polar ionic molecules.

Transport Characteristics of the Organic Field-Effect Transistors Based on Charge Transfer Complex as Semiconductors.

The n-type organic field-effect transistors are fabricated with using four kinds of charge transfer (CT) complexes with PXX (peri-xanthenoxanthene) as a donor component. The CT complexes with four kinds of acceptors form mixed-stack type one-dimentional columns with different PXX-acceptor overlaps. Comparison of the field-effect properties reveals the correlation between the device performance and intermolecular interaction in the semiconducting CT complexes.

A Case of Blau Syndrome with NOD2 E383K Mutation.

We report a 3.5-year-old Japanese boy who developed lichenoid papules and erythema with noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas with a scant lymphocytic infiltrate histologically on his limbs at the age of 8 months. Genetic analysis of the patient and his parents, who had no medical past history, revealed heterozygous 1147G>A (E383K) mutation of NOD2 in the patient and in his father, so the patient was diagnosed with Blau syndrome and his father as an asymptomatic carrier.

Molecular motion, dielectric response, and phase transition of charge-transfer crystals: acquired dynamic and dielectric properties of polar molecules in crystals.

Molecules in crystals often suffer from severe limitations on their dynamic processes, especially on those involving large structural changes. Crystalline compounds, therefore, usually fail to realize their potential as dielectric materials even when they have large dipole moments. To enable polar molecules to undergo dynamic processes and to provide their crystals with dielectric properties, weakly bound charge-transfer (CT) complex crystals have been exploited as a molecular architecture where the constituent polar molecules have some freedom of dynamic processes, which contribute to the dielectric properties of the crystals.