Effect of number of medications and use of potentially inappropriate medications on frailty among early-stage older outpatients.

Background: Frailty is an urgent concern among an aging population worldwide. However, the relationship between frailty and number and types of medications has not been studied in detail among early-stage older patients, and it is unclear what prescriptions may have a role in preventing frailty. This study aimed to clarify the effects of number of medications and use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) on frailty among early-stage older outpatients in Japan.

Utilizing carbon nanotube electrodes to improve charge injection and transport in bis(trifluoromethyl)-dimethyl-rubrene ambipolar single crystal transistors.

We have examined the significant enhancement of ambipolar charge injection and transport properties of bottom-contact single crystal field-effect transistors (SC-FETs) based on a new rubrene derivative, bis(trifluoromethyl)-dimethyl-rubrene (fm-rubrene), by employing carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes. The fundamental challenge associated with fm-rubrene crystals is their deep-lying HOMO and LUMO energy levels, resulting in inefficient hole injection and suboptimal electron injection from conventional Au electrodes due to large Schottky barriers. Applying thin layers of CNT network at the charge injection interface of fm-rubrene crystals substantially reduces the contact resistance for both holes and electrons; consequently, benchmark ambipolar mobilities have been achieved, reaching 4.

Purification and crystallization of a LysR-type transcriptional regulator CBNR from Ralstonia eutropha NH9.

CbnR, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator from Ralstonia eutropha NH9, has been crystallized by the vapor-diffusion method. It is intriguing to note that the different mixing ratios between the protein and reservoir solutions resulted in the different crystal forms. These crystals have the symmetry of the orthorhombic system with space groups P2(1)1(i)2 and P2(1)2(1)2(1).

Crystal structures of the reaction intermediate and its homologue of an extradiol-cleaving catecholic dioxygenase.

BphC derived from Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102 is an extradiol-cleaving catecholic dioxygenase. This enzyme contains a non-heme iron atom and plays an important role in degrading biphenyl/polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the microbe.