Significance of anti-HBc IgM in acute hepatitis and hepatitis B associated chronic liver disease

To determine the diagnostic value of anti-HBc IgM in acute viral hepatitis or chronic liver disease B, Anti-HBc IgM was measured by a RIA and an ELISA in 32 patients with acute hepatitis (4 with type A, 15 with type B and 13 with type non A non B), 18 patients with chronic hepatitis and 19 patients with liver cirrhosis. In acute hepatitis B, anti-HBc IgM (both RIA and ELISA) was positive in 14(93%) of 15 patients and its cut-off index value was very high. However, anti-HBc IgM was always negative in one patient with typical course of type B. In 1 of 4 patients with acute hepatitis A and 2 of 13 with non A non B, anti-HBc IgM (RIA and/or ELISA) was positive. These 3 patients were positive for anti-HBs at the onset of disease, so we could not made the diagnosis of acute hepatitis B. Anti-HBc IgM was positive in 21(51%) of 37 patients with HBsAg-positive chronic liver disease by RIA and in 11 (30%) by ELISA, and its cut-off index value was relatively low. These results suggest that when adequate cut-off index value is established, anti-HBc analysis is useful for differentiating recent and current infections from remote infections.     

Dianion of sulfinylacetone as a synthetic equivalent of beta-enolate of propionic acid: a novel synthesis of carboxylic acids from alkyl halides with three-carbon elongation

The reaction of the dianion of phenylsulfinylacetone with alkyl halides afforded beta-keto sulfoxides, which were first chlorinated with hexachloroethane and then treated successively with KH and t-BuLi to give carboxylic acids in three-steps in moderate overall yields from the alkyl halides. This procedure affords a good method for a synthesis of carboxylic acids from alkyl halides with three-carbon elongation.     

Application of 1,2,3,5,6,7-hexahydropyrrolizinium perchlorate in the synthesis of 7a-substituted hexahydro-1h-pyrrolizines

The method for preparing 7a-substituted hexahydro-1H-pyrrolizines 2 from 1,2,3,5,6,7-hexahydropyrrol-izinium Perchlorate (3) was investigated, by which introduction of a wide variety of functionalities on C(7a) could be achieved easily.     

Ion-Pair Solvent Extraction of EDTA Anions with Tetraalkylammonium Ions in Various Organic Solvents

Summary.  The ion-pair solvent extraction behavior of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) anion by various tetraalkylammonium ions was investigated at 25.0 ± 0.1°C. The extraction of EDTA exceeded 90% from the basic aqueous solution into the organic solvents such as n-hexane and benzene derivatives containing tri-n-octylmethylammonium chloride, but EDTA was hardly extracted from acidic solution. Among the chemical species of EDTA in aqueous solution, edta ⁴⁻ is the most extractable one. On the other hand, the extraction of EDTA was less than 1% into chloroform and 1,2-dichloroethane even from the basic aqueous solution. The effect of the structure of alkylammonium ion was also examined. Tetra-n-hexylammonium and tetra-n-octylammonium ions could not extract EDTA even from the basic aqueous solution, while the use of tri-n-octylmethylammonium and di-n-lauryldimethylammonium ions enhances the extraction of EDTA. These results suggest that the steric hindrance in the ion-pair of alkylammonium and EDTA anion in the organic phase affects the extractability of EDTA containing ion-pair. The solution structure of ion-pair in the organic phase was calculated by MMFF force field and the steric effect in the ion-pair was also suggested. From the extraction constants obtained, the possibility of the extraction separation of EDTA has been shown. Present address: Chemistry Department, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China     

Effects of diazepam administration on melatonin synthesis in the rat pineal gland in vivo.

The effect of diazepam (DZP) on melatonin synthesis in rat pineal gland was investigated in vivo. Subcutaneous injection of DZP (3 mg/kg) 1 h before the start of darkness significantly suppressed nocturnal elevations of pineal N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and melatonin contents in rats, and caused a 2-h delay in reaching the maximum melatonin level in the dark phase. DZP treatment also markedly suppressed the dark-induced increase of pineal N-acetyltransferase activity, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in melatonin synthesis, but had no effect on hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activity, which catalyzes the final step of melatonin formation. Pineal norepinephrine and dopamine contents, in contrast, were not altered by DZP injection. The distribution rate of DZP to the brain reached the highest level 30 min after a single injection, while that to the pineal gland was observed 5 h later (i.e., 4 h after the start of darkness). It is clear that the inhibitory effect of DZP on melatonin synthesis in rat pineal gland appears concomitantly with the increase in the distribution volume of DZP into this gland. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of DZP on melatonin synthesis results from the drug's direct action on the rat pineal gland.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed carbonylative cycloaddition of alpha-keto lactones with alkenes or alkynes: the participation of an ester-carbonyl group in cycloaddition reactions as the two-atom assembling unit

The reaction of benzofuran-2,3-dione derivatives 1 with CO and alkenes (or alkynes) results in a carbonylative [2+2+1] cycloaddition in which the ester-carbonyl group is incorporated into a two-atom assembling unit to give spirolactone derivatives 2. This reaction provides the first example of an ester-carbonyl group participating in a carbonylative cycloaddition reaction.     

Novel canonical coding method for representation of three-dimensional structures

A new canonical coding method for representation of three-dimensional structures, CAST (CAnonical representation of STereochemistry), is described. CAST canonically codes stereochemistry around an atom in a molecule. The same CAST notations are given for atoms of molecules in the same conformation. The CAST code is based on the dihedral angles of four atoms that are uniquely defined by a molecular tree structure. CAST has successfully represented similarities and differences between several conformers.     

Recent progress of high-power negative ion beam development for fusion plasma heating

A negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) has been constructed for JT-60U. The N-NBI is designed to inject 500 keV, 10 MW neutral beams using two ion sources, each producing a 500 keV, 22 A D⁻ ion beam. In the preliminary experiment using one ion source, a D⁻ ion beam of 13.5 A has been successfully accelerated with an energy of 400 keV (5.4 MW) for 0.12 s at an operating pressure of 0.22 Pa. This is the highest D⁻ beam current and power in the world. Co-extracted electron current was effectively suppressed to the ratio of Ie/I_D⁻ < 1. The highest energy beam of 460 keV, 2.4 A, 0.44 s has also been obtained. To realize 1 MeV class NBI system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), demonstration of ampere class negative ion beam acceleration up to 1 MeV is an important mile stone. To achieve the mile stone, a prototype accelerator and a 1 MV, 1 A test facility called MeV Test Facility (MTF) were constructed. Up to now, an H⁻ ion beam was accelerated up to the energy of 805 keV with an acceleration drain current of 150 mA for 1 s in a five stage electrostatic multi-aperture accelerator.     

Preparative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with agarose gels in the first dimension for high molecular mass proteins

A two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) method that uses an agarose isoelectric focusing (IEF) gel in the first dimension (agarose 2-DE) was compared with an immobilized pH gradient 2-DE method (IPG-Dalt). The former method was shown to produce significant improvements in the 2-D electrophoretic separation of high molecular mass proteins larger than 150 kDa, up to 500 kDa, and to have a higher loading capacity, as much as 1.5 mg proteins in total for micropreparative runs. The extraction medium found best in this study for agarose 2-DE of mammal tissues was 6 M urea, 1 M thiourea, 0.5% 2-mercaptoethanol, protease inhibitor cocktail (Complete Mini EDTA-free), 1% Triton X-100 and 3% 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS). Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) treatment of the agarose gel after IEF is to be carefully weighed beforehand, because some high molecular mass proteins were less likely to enter the second-dimensional polyacrylamide gel after TCA fixation, and proteins such as mouse skeletal muscle actin gave pseudospots in the agarose 2-DE patterns without TCA fixation. As a good compromise we suggest fixation of proteins in the agarose gel with TCA for one hour or less. The first-dimensional agarose IEF gel containing Pharmalyte as a carrier ampholyte was 180 mm in length and 2.5-4.8 mm in diameter. The gel diameter was shown to determine the loading capacity of the agarose 2-DE, and 1.5 mg liver proteins in total were successfully separated by the use of a 4.8 mm diameter agarose gel.