A new complex alkali metal aluminium amide borohydride, Li2Al(ND2)4BH4: synthesis, thermal analysis and crystal structure

The first reported compound containing both [Al(ND₂)₄]⁻ and BH₄⁻ anions, Li₂Al(ND₂)₄BH₄, was formed in ball-milled LiAl(ND₂)₄ + 2LiBH₄ and NaAl(ND₂)₄ + 2LiBH₄. Its crystal structure was solved and refined in a monoclinic unit cell.

Sleep disturbances and quality of life in patients after living donor liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

Following improvements in patient and graft survival after liver transplantation (LT), the recipients' quality of life has become an important focus of patient care. Sleep is closely related to physical and mental health; however, sleep disturbances in LT patients have not yet been evaluated.

METHODS

We assessed 59 LT patients (aged ≥18 years) between September 2011 and September 2012. The patients completed the restless legs syndrome (RLS), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaires. In addition, laboratory data were obtained and neuropsychological tests (NPT) were performed during study entry.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight patients (64%) were included in the poor sleep group (PSQI ≥6 or ESS ≥10). The SF-36 scores were lower in the poor sleep group than in the good sleep group. Eleven patients (18%) had RLS. An NPT score ≥3 indicated minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE3). The MHE3 group consisted of 22 patients (43%). The time after LT was shorter; serum albumin, branched chain amino acid/tyrosine molar ratio (BTR), and role limitations due to poor physical health were lower; and serum ammonia levels were higher in the MHE3 group than in the MHE0-2 group. When the poor sleep group was divided into subgroups (control, MHE, RLS, and unknown), MHE patients had high model for end-stage liver disease scores, high ammonia levels, and low BTR, whereas RLS patients showed a short time after LT.

CONCLUSION

Sixty-four percent of recipients were classified as poor sleepers. SF-36 scores were lower for poor sleepers than good sleepers. RLS and MHE are major diseases that cause sleep disturbances in patients after LT.

Effects of extracellular DNA from Candida albicans and pneumonia-related pathogens on Candida biofilm formation and hyphal transformation

AIMS

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of genomic DNA purified from Candida albicans and pneumonia-related pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, on in vitro biofilm formation and morphological change of 3 Candida species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Biofilm formation was evaluated by the crystal violet assay and colony-forming unit counts. Morphological characteristics of biofilms were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. Addition of DNA at a low concentration (<1·0 μg ml(-1)) significantly increased biofilm mass of all three Candida species. In contrast, the addition of DNA at a high concentration (10 μg ml(-1)) decreased the biofilm mass. Interestingly, the formation of hyphae in a dense network of yeast cells was observed in C. albicans biofilms exposed to a low concentration of DNA (<1·0 μg ml(-1)).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated that extracellular DNA (eDNA) plays a crucial role in Candida biofilm formation and suggested that eDNA may induce the morphological transition from yeast to hyphal growth form during C. albicans biofilm development.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

A novel therapy targeting eDNA may be applicable for Candida infection to decrease biofilm formation and hyphal formation.

Hydrogen negative ion production in a 14 GHz electron cyclotron resonance compact ion source with a cone-shaped magnetic filter

The plasma electrode structure of a 14 GHz ECR ion source was modified to enlarge the plasma volume of low electron temperature region. The result shows that the extracted beam current reached about 0.6 mA/cm(2) with about 40 W microwave power. To investigate the correlation between the volume of the low electron temperature region and the H(-) current, a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectrometer had been installed to observe light emission in the VUV wavelength range from the plasma. From the results of the negative ion beam current and that from VUV spectrometry, production rate of vibrationally excited hydrogen molecule seems to be enhanced by increasing the volume of low electron temperature region.

Reactive increase in gastric mucus secretion is an adaptive defense mechanism against low-dose aspirin-induced gastropathy

BACKGROUND

Gastric mucus is considered to play an essential role in gastric mucosal defense mechanisms, especially when irritants are present in the stomach.

AIM

To investigate the relationship between low-dose aspirin-induced gastropathy and gastric secretory function, especially gastric mucus secretion, in healthy volunteers.

METHODS

Thirty male, asymptomatic, Helicobacter pylori pylori-negative healthy volunteers were asked to take 100 mg of enteric-coated aspirin (Bayaspirin) once a day for 10 days. Endoscopic examination was performed before and 3 and 10 days after drug administration. The extent of endoscopically assessed gastric mucosal injury was semi-quantitatively evaluated according to the modified Lanza score. The pentagastrin-stimulated gastric juice was collected for 10 min during the endoscopic examination and subjected to analysis for gastric acid (mEq/10 min) or mucus (mg hexose/10 min) output.

RESULTS

Overall, the 10-day aspirin treatment significantly increased gastric mucus secretion from 0.8 (interquartile range 1.7) to 1.6 (1.6) mg hexose/10 min (P < 0.05), with a concomitant and significant decrease in the gastric acid/mucus ratio from 4.3 (5.2) to 2.9 (4.7) (P < 0.01). Subsequent analysis of two subgroups of volunteers categorized according to their endoscopic status ("severe gastropathy" vs. "modest gastropathy") revealed that changes in gastric secretory parameters occurred exclusively in those subjects without severe gastric injury; there was no alteration in these parameters in subjects with severe gastric injury.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that the reactive increase in gastric mucus secretion is an adaptive defense mechanism against low-dose aspirin-induced gastropathy. In some individuals, such a response may be insufficient to prevent the development of severe mucosal injury and even ulcers and their complications.

Orbital masses: the usefulness of diffusion-weighted imaging in lesion categorization

INTRODUCTION

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) produces contrast among different kinds of tissues according to their diffusibility characteristics. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the role of DWI including measurement of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in recognizing benignancy or malignancy of orbital masses.

METHODS

A total of 39 orbital masses were evaluated visually for signal characteristics on DWI and ADC maps. ADC values were calculated for each lesion. Visual signal characteristics were compared using the Fisher exact test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out to determine sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing malignant from benign lesions using ADC values. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare the ADC values between orbital lymphomas and idiopathic orbital inflammatory (IOI) lesions, and between optic nerve sheath meningiomas and gliomas.

RESULTS

Visual assessment revealed no significant difference between benign and malignant lesions on DWI (p-value = 0.66). However, visual assessment of ADC maps revealed a statistically significant (p-value ≤ 0.0001) between benign and malignant lesions. ROC analysis showed a sensitivity of 83.33 % and a specificity of 85.71 % when using an optimal cut off ADC value of 0.84 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s for differentiating malignant from benign lesions. Significant differences in mean ADC values were observed between lymphomas and IOI lesions (p-value = 0.05), and between optic nerve sheath meningiomas and gliomas (p-value = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

DWI is useful for differentiating malignant and benign orbital tumors if accompanied by visual assessment of ADC maps and ADC value calculations.

Absorption, distribution and excretion of radioactivity by male rats after a single intravenous or subcutaneous dose of 14C-azacitidine

The absorption, distribution and excretion of radioactivity were investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats after a single intravenous or subcutaneous dose of 14C-azacitidine. After subcutaneous administration, 14C-azacitidine was rapidly absorbed and the radioactivity was distributed to the tissues. The absorption of radioactivity after subcutaneous administration was 76.6% of that observed after intravenous administration. There were no marked differences in the tissue distribution of the radioactivity between administration routes. The concentrations of radioactivity in most tissues, including the spleen and bone marrow, which are sites of action of azacitidine, were higher than those in the plasma. Particularly high concentrations of radioactivity were detected in the spleen, kidney and liver. The accumulation of radioactivity in blood cells increased from 0.5 to 48 h. The binding of azacitidine to serum protein was low at <9%, and the cumulative urinary and fecal excretion of radioactivity for 168 h after intravenous or subcutaneous administration was >95% of the administered dose, indicating that radioactivity did not accumulate in the tissues. The radioactivity was mainly excreted in the urine.

Existence of an exotic torus configuration in high-spin excited states of 40Ca

We investigate the possibility of the existence of the exotic torus configuration in the high-spin excited states of (40)Ca. We here consider the spin alignments about the symmetry axis. To this end, we use a three-dimensional cranked Skyrme Hartree-Fock method and search for stable single-particle configurations. We find one stable state with the torus configuration at the total angular momentum J=60 ħ and an excitation energy of about 170 MeV in all calculations using various Skyrme interactions. The total angular momentum J=60 ħ consists of aligned 12 nucleons with the orbital angular momenta Λ=+4, +5, and +6 for spin-up or -down neutrons and protons. The obtained results strongly suggest that a macroscopic amount of circulating current breaking the time-reversal symmetry emerges in the high-spin excited state of (40)Ca.