Synthesis of peptide nucleic acids containing pyridazine derivatives as cytosine and thymine analogs, and their duplexes with complementary oligodeoxynucleotides.

Synthesis of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) is reported with new pyridazine-type nucleobases: 3-aminopyridazine (aPz) and 1-aminophthalazine (aPh) as cytosine analogs, and pyridazin-3-one (Pz(O)) and phthalazin-1-one (Ph(O)) as thymine analogs. The PNAs having an aPz or a Pz(O) formed duplexes with each complementary oligodeoxynucleotide forming a base pair with G or A, respectively, as evaluated by using UV melting analyses and circular dichroism (CD) spectra.

[Vacuum-assisted Closure (VAC) Treatment for Sternal Infection in a Patient after Cardiovascular Surgery; Report of a Case].

One year ago, a 42-year-old woman underwent aortic root replacement because of a pseudoaneurysm that developed at the site of an anastomosis after ascending aortic replacement for acute aortic dissection. Six months later, she complained of fever and cough. A computed tomography revealed recurrence of the peudoaneurysm at the proximal anastomosis of the aortic root replacement.

Oxidation of translation factor EF-G transiently retards the translational elongation cycle in Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, elongation factor G (EF-G), a key protein in translational elongation, is particularly susceptible to oxidation. We demonstrated previously that EF-G is inactivated upon formation of an intramolecular disulphide bond. However, the details of the mechanism by which the oxidation of EF-G inhibits the function of EF-G on the ribosome remain to be elucidated.

Development of analytical method for catechol compounds in mouse urine using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

An analytical method for catecholamines and related compounds using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with native fluorescence detection has been developed. We found that ZIC-cHILIC with phosphorylcholine was suitable for the separation of catechol compounds with good peak shapes among six different HILIC columns (Inertsil SIL, Inertsil Amide, Inertsil Diol, TSKgel NH2-100, ZIC-HILIC, and ZIC-cHILIC). Using ZIC-cHILIC, eight catechol compounds (dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol, 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, and internal standard 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine) were separated within 15min.

The use of a sulfonated capillary on chiral capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry of amphetamine-type stimulants for methamphetamine impurity profiling.

Chiral capillary electrophoresis/tandem mass spectrometry (CE/MS/MS) using a chemically modified capillary containing sulfonated groups was developed for the following 8 amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS): amphetamine, methamphetamine (MA), norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, ephedrine (EP), pseudoephedrine (pEP), dimethylamphetamine and methylephedrine. The running buffer was 10 mM formic acid containing 20 mM highly sulfated γ-cyclodextrin (pH 2.5) as the chiral selector.

Detection of main metabolites of XLR-11 and its thermal degradation product in human hepatoma HepaRG cells and human urine.

The metabolism of (1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indol-3-yl)(2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropyl)methanone (XLR-11), a novel synthetic cannabinoid, was studied using a HepaRG cell culture. The HepaRG cells were incubated with the drug for 48 hours and the metabolites were extracted from the culture medium by liquid-liquid extraction. The extract was analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to detect the metabolites.

Instability of the hydrochloride salts of cathinone derivatives in air.

We observed the decomposition of the hydrochloride salt of α-pyrrolidinoheptanophenone (α-PHPP-HCl), a newly distributed pyrrolidine-type cathinone derivative when 2.5ng of this substance was placed in glass test tubes and stored in a refrigerator for 3 days. To further investigate this phenomenon, we studied the (i) time course of the residual ratios of α-PHPP-HCl when a small amount (10μg) of α-PHPP-HCl was stored in glass vials in air at room temperature; (ii) identification of the decomposition products of α-PHPP-HCl; (iii) effect of air on the decomposition process; (iv) effect of the added amounts of α-PHPP-HCl on its decomposition; and (v) comparison of the stability between various cathinone derivatives and their decomposition products.

Development of a Sol Particle Homogeneous Immunoassay for Measuring Full-Length Selenoprotein P in Human Serum.

Background: Selenoprotein P (SeP), a selenium-rich extracellular glycoprotein, is the primary selenoprotein in the plasma. SeP plays an important role in the maintenance of selenium levels in the peripheral tissues. We developed a new sol particle homogeneous immunoassay (SPIA) for measuring full-length SeP (FL-SeP) levels in the human serum.

A diarylethene as the SO2 gas generator upon UV irradiation.

A closed-ring isomer of a diarylethene having a sulfone group works as the reagent for SO2 gas generation with thermal stability even at 70 °C, and it rapidly reverts to the open-ring isomer and generates the SO2 gas to induce cell death upon UV irradiation.

Partially photodegradable hybrid hydrogels with elasticity tunable by light irradiation.

This paper reports a simple technique to synthesize elasticity tunable hybrid hydrogels using photocleavable (N-hydroxysuccinimide terminated photocleavable tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol); NHS-PC-4armPEG) and non-photocleavable (N-hydroxysuccinimide terminated tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol); NHS-4armPEG) activated-ester type crosslinkers. Partially photodegradable hybrid hydrogels were synthesized by reacting the crosslinker mixture with amino-terminated tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (amino-4armPEG). The photocleavable crosslinks are cleaved by irradiating light while the non-photocleavable crosslinks remain intact, resulting in decreased elasticity.

Controlling the fluorescence of benzofuran-modified uracil residues in oligonucleotides by triple-helix formation.

We developed fluorescent turn-on probes containing a fluorescent nucleoside, 5-(benzofuran-2-yl)deoxyuridine (dU(BF)) or 5-(3-methylbenzofuran-2-yl)deoxyuridine (dU(MBF)), for the detection of single-stranded DNA or RNA by utilizing DNA triplex formation. Fluorescence measurements revealed that the probe containing dU(MBF) achieved superior fluorescence enhancement than that containing dU(BF). NMR and fluorescence analyses indicated that the fluorescence intensity increased upon triplex formation partly as a consequence of a conformational change at the bond between the 3-methylbenzofuran and uracil rings.

Two target locations for corneal inlay implantation combined with laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To compare the visual acuity outcomes between 2 target locations for corneal inlay implantation with concurrent laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to compensate for presbyopia.

Setting: Shinagawa LASIK Center, Tokyo, Japan.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Recent advances in hydrophilic interaction chromatography for quantitative analysis of endogenous and pharmaceutical compounds in plasma samples.

There is an increasing need for new analytical methods that can handle a large number of analytes in complex matrices. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) has recently been demonstrated as an important supplement to reversed-phase liquid chromatography for polar analytes, particularly endogenous compounds. With the increasing popularity of HILIC, progressively more polar phases with diverse functional groups have been developed.

Effect of the fluorination degree of hydrophobic chains on the monolayer behavior of unsaturated diacylphosphatidylcholines bearing partially fluorinated 9-octadecynoyl (stearoloyl) groups at the air-water interface.

The effect of the fluorination degree of hydrophobic chains on the monolayer behavior of unsaturated diacylphosphatidylcholines (PCs) was examined by employing a series of PCs bearing partially fluorinated 9-octadecynoyl (stearoloyl) groups (DFnStPCs, n: the number of fluorinated carbon atoms in a stearoloyl group; n=1, 2, 4, 8), including their hydrophobic parts--partially fluorinated stearolic acids (FnStAs)--at the air-water interface. π-A isotherm measurements and Brewster angle microscope observations revealed: (i) all DFnStPCs including FnStAs form monolayers of liquid character at 25 °C; (ii) they form more expanded monolayers than their non-fluorinated counterparts, distearoloyl-PC (DStPC) and stearolic acid, while the monolayer stability increases with n; (iii) compared with DStPC and DF8StPC, DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4) in the low-π region tend to show a weakening in their self-aggregation property and an increase in the work required for monolayer compression; (iv) although DF8StPC forms the most expanded monolayer, the behavior of DF8StPC resembles that of DStPC rather than that of DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4). The monolayer behavior of DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4) is explained by postulating a flatly-lying conformation of hydrophobic chains, in which three polar parts (ester group, triple bond, CF2-CH2 linkage) in chains are immersed in the subphase at large areas.

Synthesis of branched DNA using oxidatively cleavable tritylsulfenyl as a hydroxy protecting group.

The application of oxidatively cleavable tritylsulfenyl (TrS) group to the synthesis of branched DNA is described. The TrS protecting group can be removed by treatment with 1 M aqueous iodine, while it is stable toward an oxaziridine-type oxidant. At the same time, the sulfur-oxygen linkage showed sufficient stability under the acidic and basic conditions used in oligonucleotide synthesis.

[Early rehabilitation program in uncomplicated Stanford type B acute aortic dissection].

Between December 2009 and August 2011, 120 patients with uncomplicated Stanford type B acute aortic dissection( UBAD) received medical treatment. In October 2010, we initiated an early rehabilitation program for UBAD patients in an acute phase. This early rehabilitation program, which was aimed at enabling the patient to walk around the ward within 2 days, was conducted for 87 consecutive patients;the remaining 33 were subjected to the conventional rehabilitation program.

Activated-ester-type photocleavable crosslinker for preparation of photodegradable hydrogels using a two-component mixing reaction.

Photodegradable hydrogels have emerged as powerful platforms for studying and directing cellular behavior in a spatiotemporally controlled manner. Photodegradable hydrogels have previously been formed by free radical polymerizations, Michael-type addition reactions, and orthogonal click reactions. Here, an ester-activated photocleavable crosslinker is presented for preparing photodegradable hydrogels by means of a one-step mixing reaction between the crosslinker and a biocompatible polymer containing amino moieties (amino-terminated tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol) or gelatin).

Extended robust support vector machine based on financial risk minimization.

Financial risk measures have been used recently in machine learning. For example, ν-support vector machine ν-SVM) minimizes the conditional value at risk (CVaR) of margin distribution. The measure is popular in finance because of the subadditivity property, but it is very sensitive to a few outliers in the tail of the distribution.

Application of a portable near infrared spectrometer for presumptive identification of psychoactive drugs.

A portable near infrared spectrometer was applied to the presumptive identification of psychotropic drugs based on library searching. Data-treatment methods (mathematical pretreatment and library search algorithm) were examined on the basis of differentiation ability. The optimized mathematical pretreatment was a standard normal variate followed by the 2nd derivative.

Synthesis and properties of oligonucleotides modified with 2'-O-(2-carboxyethyl)nucleotides and their carbamoyl derivatives.

2'-O-Methyl oligoribonucleotides with four kinds of 2'-O-modified uridine derivatives were synthesised. Their duplex stability, hydration behavior and exonuclease resistance were studied by spectroscopic analyses and molecular dynamics simulations. Consequently, 2'-O-modification of the uridine residue with 2-carbamoylethyl or 2-(N-methylcarbamoyl)ethyl groups resulted in a significant improvement of the exonuclease resistance without the loss of duplex stability.

Protein synthesis yield increased 72 times in the cell-free PURE system.

Compared to cell-based protein expression, cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) offers several advantages including a greater control over system additives. This control is further enhanced with a CFPS system called the Protein synthesis Using Recombinant Elements (PURE) system, which consists of 108 purified transcriptional and translational elements. With the PURE system, all elements are known, nuclease and protease activities are reduced, and the concentration of each element can be optimized for maximal protein expression.

Retrospective evaluation of the influence of pupil size on visual acuity after KAMRA inlay implantation.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of pupil size on visual acuity after KAMRA inlay (AcuFocus, Inc., Irvine, CA) implantation.

Methods: Five hundred eighty-four presbyopic eyes of 584 patients who underwent LASIK were evaluated.

[Surgical treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis after aortic root replacement].

Aorto-left ventricular continuity destruction due to prosthetic valve endocarditis is rare, but it is one of the fatal complications after aortic root operation. We report a case of surgical treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis after aortic root replacement. A 47-year-old man, who had undergone aortic root replacement with a composite graft was transferred to our hospital with sudden chest pain and high fever.

Using financial risk measures for analyzing generalization performance of machine learning models.

We propose a unified machine learning model (UMLM) for two-class classification, regression and outlier (or novelty) detection via a robust optimization approach. The model embraces various machine learning models such as support vector machine-based and minimax probability machine-based classification and regression models. The unified framework makes it possible to compare and contrast existing learning models and to explain their differences and similarities.