Evaluation of point-of-care thumb-size bispectral electroencephalography device to quantify delirium severity and predict mortality.

Background: We have developed the bispectral electroencephalography (BSEEG) method for detection of delirium and prediction of poor outcomes.

Aims: To improve the BSEEG method by introducing a new EEG device.

Method: In a prospective cohort study, EEG data were obtained and BSEEG scores were calculated.

Combined Computational and Experimental Studies on the Asymmetric Michael Addition of α-Aminomaleimides to β-Nitrostyrenes Using an Organocatalyst Derived from Alkaloid.

Maleimides are often used as electrophiles in conventional reactions; however, their application as nucleophiles is limited to only a few reactions, and reactions utilizing α-aminomaleimides as asymmetric Michael donors have not been reported to date. Thus, in this work, asymmetric Michael addition of α-aminomaleimides as Michael donors to β-nitrostyrenes was conducted for the first time using an organocatalyst derived from a alkaloid. Density functional theory investigations were crucial to improve the enantioselectivity of the adduct.

Treatment of Chylothorax After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Chylothorax after coronary artery bypass grafting is a rare complication. The treatment protocol is not well described because of its rarity. The current treatment options for chylothorax include conservative medical treatment or an interventional approach (ie, thoracic duct embolization or surgical ligation of the thoracic duct).

Topological data analysis (TDA) enhances bispectral EEG (BSEEG) algorithm for detection of delirium.

Current methods for screening and detecting delirium are not practical in clinical settings. We previously showed that a simplified EEG with bispectral electroencephalography (BSEEG) algorithm can detect delirium in elderly inpatients. In this study, we performed a post-hoc BSEEG data analysis using larger sample size and performed topological data analysis to improve the BSEEG method.

[Steroid].

It has been more than 60 years since the introduc- tion of glucocorticoid therapy as an effective treatment for patients with inflammatory process. Although glu- cocorticoid therapy has been widely accepted as an essential part of certain clinical settings, long-term administration can suppress the hypothalamic pitu- itary-adrenal axis, causing secondary adrenocortical insufficiency with surgical or medical stress. Periopera- tive glucocorticoid replacement may be required in such circumstances, but the amount of supplementa- tion needed to cover their stress during severe illness or following surgery has not been clearly determined.

Nonlinear electrical impedance spectroscopy of viruses using very high electric fields created by nanogap electrodes.

Our living sphere is constantly exposed to a wide range of pathogenic viruses, which can be either known, or of novel origin. Currently, there is no methodology for continuously monitoring the environment for viruses in general, much less a methodology that allows the rapid and sensitive identification of a wide variety of viruses responsible for communicable diseases. Traditional approaches, based on PCR and immunodetection systems, only detect known or specifically targeted viruses.

[Ishido Kanae, a scholar at the Hanaoka Seisyu Medical Institute, and the Imose family: a contributor who supported the Hanaoka Medical Institute].

Ishido Kanae entered the medical school Syunrin-ken which Hanaoka Seisyu established in the intercalary year of 1797, the ninth year of the Kansei era. In 1818, the first year of the Bunsei era, in the Imose family of Seisyu's wife, Kae, Kae's older brother died. They had no sons who could carry on the Imose name.

Bovine induced pluripotent stem cells are more resistant to apoptosis than testicular cells in response to mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.

Although the androgen receptor (AR) has been implicated in the promotion of apoptosis in testicular cells (TSCs), the molecular pathway underlying AR-mediated apoptosis and its sensitivity to environmental hormones in TSCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) remain unclear. We generated the iPSCs from bovine TSCs via the electroporation of OCT4. The established iPSCs were supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor and bone morphogenetic protein 4 to maintain and stabilize the expression of stemness genes and their pluripotency.

An organometallic dithiolene complex exhibiting electrochemically initiated hydrogen generation.

We clarify the electrochemical behavior of an organometallic cobalt dithiolene complex (1-NH) with a secondary sulfonyl amide (–NHSO(2)–) substituted Cp ligand involving proton dynamics. The reductions of 1-NH and its deprotonated derivative (1-N(−)) are centered on the CpCoS(2) moiety. The 2e(−) reduction of 1-NH quantitatively gives 1-N(−) with hydrogen generation.

Synthesis and electrochemistry of organometallic cobaltadithiaazulenes.

Reaction of tropolone or hinokitiol with phosphorus pentasulfide (P(2)S(5)) directly gives the sulfurized precursor [PS(2)(SST)](2) or [PS(2)(SSH)](2) (SST = dithiotropolonato or SSH = dithiohinokitiolato). The resulting [PS(2)(SST)](2) or [PS(2)(SSH)](2) is further reacted with [CpCoI(2)(CO)] (Cp = η(5)-cyclopentadienyl) to form the organometallic [CpCo(I)(SST)] (1) or [CpCo(I)(SSH)] (2), respectively. 1 and 2 have a cobaltadithiaazulene ring containing one cobalt and two sulfur atoms in the five-membered ring of azulene.

Cerebral infarction associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in a patient with encephalitis.

We report a patient who had cerebral infarction associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) during treatment of aseptic encephalitis. In patients with intracranial inflammation, such as ours, the possibility of HIT has to be considered when heparin is used, since inflammatory cerebral lesions often cause vascular damage, which is an aggravating factor for HIT-associated thrombosis.

Microwave effect on the surface composition of the Urushibara Ni hydrogenation catalyst and improved reduction of acetophenone.

The Urushibara Ni (U-Ni) hydrogenation catalyst and some modified forms, and for comparison Raney-Ni, were subjected to conventional (oil bath) and MW heating, and subsequently characterized by electron dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), by BET surface area, and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); yields of the catalyzed hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol in 2-propanol by one of the modified forms (U-Ni-B) were greatly improved (from 68% to 95%).

Microwave discharge electrodeless lamps (MDEL). III. A novel tungsten-triggered MDEL device emitting VUV and UVC radiation for use in wastewater treatment.

Exposure to low doses of the xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) and to the hormonal 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicide, an environmental endocrine disruptor, can have serious health consequences such as the induction of mammary gland ductal hyperplasias and carcinoma (LaChapelle et al., Reprod. Toxicol.

Gene expression in Pre-MBT embryos and activation of maternally-inherited program of apoptosis to be executed at around MBT as a fail-safe mechanism in Xenopus early embryogenesis.

S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is an enzyme which converts S-adenosylmethione (SAM), a methyl donor, to decarboxylated SAM (dcSAM), an aminopropyl donor for polyamine biosynthesis. In our studies on gene expression control in Xenopus early embryogenesis, we cloned the mRNA for Xenopus SAMDC, and overexpressed the enzyme by microinjecting its mRNA into Xenopus fertilized eggs. In the mRNA-injected embryos, the level of SAMDC was enormously increased, the SAM was exhausted, and protein synthesis was greatly inhibited, but cellular polyamine content did not change appreciably.

Carotid atherosclerosis is associated with brain atrophy in Japanese elders.

Background: The relation between atherosclerosis and brain atrophy remains unclear in patients with risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

Objective: This study was performed to clarify the relation between brain atrophy and carotid atherosclerosis.

Methods: A total of 142 patients (78 women and 64 men, mean age 74 years) with no neurologic disturbances were studied.

Occurrence of pre-MBT synthesis of caspase-8 mRNA and activation of caspase-8 prior to execution of SAMDC (S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase)-induced, but not p53-induced, apoptosis in Xenopus late blastulae.

Overexpression of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) in Xenopus fertilized eggs activates caspase-9 and executes maternal program of apoptosis shortly after midblastula transition (MBT). We find that overexpression of caspase-8 and p53, like that of SAMDC, induces apoptosis in Xenopus late blastulae. The apoptosis induced by p53 was abolished by injection of mRNA for xdm-2, a negative regulator of p53, and by injection of a peptide inhibitor or a dominant-negative type mutant of caspase-9, but not caspase-8.

[Analysis of factors affecting prolonged hospitalizations in elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia].

To determine the factors involved in prolonged hospital stay of elderly patients (over 60 years old) with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), we investigated: (1) the age, (2) underlying diseases, (3) severity of pneumonia, and (4) length of hospital stay etc. of such cases at a 19-bed local facility. Of the 30 elderly patients with CAP, 20 had no underlying diseases (Group A).

Electrochemical behavior of nickeladithiolene S,S'-dialkyl adducts: evidence for the formation of a metalladithiolene radical by electrochemical redox reactions.

The electrochemical behavior of nickeladithiolene S,S'-dialkyl adducts (alkyl = benzyl, methyl, tert-butyl) was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV), visible, near-IR, and ESR spectroscopies and bulk electrolyses. The redox potentials of the S,S'-dialkyl adducts were influenced by the electron-donating effect of the functional group on the sulfur atoms. The nickeladithiolene S,S'-dibenzyl adduct [Ni[S(SCH(2)Ph)C(2)Ph(2)](2)] (2) eliminated one benzyl radical by one-electron reduction, and then the monobenzyl adduct anion [Ni(S(2)C(2)Ph(2))[S(2)(CH(2)Ph)C(2)Ph(2)]](-) (3(-)) was formed.

Ovarian tumor with functioning stroma.

The authors reported two cases with ovarian tumors with functioning stroma. One was an ovarian carcinoid with testosterone-producing stroma and another was an ovarian mucinous cystadenoma with elevated serum level of estrogen. They appeared as multilocular cystic masses with varying signal on MR.

Contrast-enhanced CT with saline flush technique using two automated injectors: how much contrast medium does it save?

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to investigate the volume of contrast medium saved by the saline flush technique.

Method: Thoracic helical CT was performed by injecting 75 ml of contrast material (Ioversol 320) only (n = 25; Group A) or 75 ml of contrast medium pushed with 6 ml (n = 25; Group B), 12 ml (n = 25; Group C), 25 ml (n = 25; Group D), or 50 ml (n = 25; Group E) of saline at a rate of 2 ml/s. The aortic CT numbers were measured from 30 to 55 s after the beginning of injection.

Use of plasma exchange and heparin during cardiopulmonary bypass for a patient with heparin induced thrombocytopenia: a case report.

Patients with documented history of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) pose a difficult problem during surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Several alternatives to heparin exist, but these products either are not approved for use in the United States or have more side effects than heparin. We report on a patient with documented heparin-induced antibody and left main coronary artery disease who underwent uneventful coronary artery bypass surgery and recovery by using preoperative plasmaphresis and limited use of porcine intestinal heparin during CPB.