Changes in the plethysmogram patterns of finger reactive hyperemia in nutritional (alcoholic) liver disease patients with increased serum monoamine oxidase activities

The activity levels of serum monoamine oxidase in nutritional (alcoholic) liver disease patients were elevated beyond the upper normal limit, while those of other subjects without pathologically accelerated fibrosis ranged within normal values. Capillaroscopic and plethysmographic studies on finger reactive hyperemia revealed that two characteristic changes in the blood microcirculation, which indicated an occurrence of increased fibritic process in the capillary wall and skin tissues, were observed only in the nutritional (alcoholic) liver disease patients with the elevated serum monoamine oxidase levels. These results suggested that nutritional (alcoholic) liver disease is not a disease restricted to liver tissues, but to a disorder creating pathological fibrosis in the whole-body.     

Gas-phase ion/molecule reactions in C5F8

Gas-phase ion-molecule reactions in octafluorocyclopentene (C5F8) were studied with a pulsed electron beam mass spectrometer. When a few Torr of major gas, CH4, Ar, or N2, containing approximately 10 mTorr C5F8 was ionized by 2 keV electrons, C5F8+, C5F7+, C4F6+, C4F5+, and C3F3+ were formed as major fragment ions. The interaction between those ions and C5F8 is found to be a weak electrostatic interaction. The cation...C5F8 bonding energies are around 10 kcal/mol, which were reproduced well by (U)B3LYP/6-311+G(d) calculations. The proton affinity of C5F8 (=148.6 kcal/mol by B3LYP/6-311+G(d)) was found to be smaller than that of C2H4 (=162.8 kcal/mol). In the negative mode of operation, the intense signal of C5F8- was observed during the electron pulse. This indicates that C5F8 has a positive electron affinity (1.27 eV by (U)B3LYP/6-311+G(d)). The C5F8- ion was quickly converted to a complex C10F16-. This complex did not react further with C5F8 down to 170 K. The theoretical calculation revealed that a C5F7-F-...C5F8 interaction mode in (C5F8)2- was converted to a C5F7*...C5F9- one via fluoride-ion transfer. The F- ion was found to form a strong covalent bond with C5F8, but the interaction in F-(C5F8)- - -C5F8 is a weak electrostatic interaction due to the charge dispersal in F-(C5F8). The halide ions except F- interact with C5F8 only weakly. Thermochemical stabilities for the cluster ions I-(CH3I)n (n = 1, 2) were also determined.     

Stable metallic behavior and antiferromagnetic ordering of Fe(III) d spins in (EDO-TTFVO)2.FeCl4

We report the crystal structure and physical properties of the 2:1 FeCl4- salt of a new donor molecule, EDO-TTFVO. Crystal structure analysis of this salt revealed that the donor molecules formed a beta' '-type two-dimensional conducting layer, and there is a short S...Cl contact between the donor molecules and the FeCl4- ions, which is expected to mediate a strong pi-d interaction. This salt showed a stable metallic conducting behavior down to 0.3 K and an antiferromagnetic ordering at TN approximately 3.0 K, indicating that this salt becomes a new antiferromagnetic molecular metal at ambient pressure. The appearance of the magnetic ordering is considered to originate from the strong pi-d interactions between the donor molecules and the FeCl4- ions because the field dependence of magnetoresistances was remarkably affected below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature.     

Harmonic-intensity analysis of normal and hoarse voices

Objective evaluation of normal and hoarse voices is performed considering the characteristic that hoarse voices show a prominent fundamental frequency intensity compared with harmonics in the voice spectrum. The relative harmonic intensity Hr, obtained from a stable portion of the sustained vowel/a/, is defined as the intensity of the second and higher harmonics expressed as a percentage of the total voice intensity. Ninety-five percent of the normal voices examined have Hr larger than the critical value of 67.2%, whereas 90% of the hoarse voices have Hr smaller than the critical value. The harmonic-intensity analysis thus provides good discrimination between normal and hoarse voices.     

Effects of anti-epileptic drugs on the L-tryptophan binding to human serum albumin.

Effects of four anti-epileptic drugs (AED; phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine and sodium valproate) on the L-tryptophan binding to human serum albumin were studied. Among these drugs examined, only sodium valproate inhibited the binding even within the concentrations of its therapeutic range, and the Klotz plotting analysis revealed that the inhibition was competitive. The results of examinations with sera from epileptic patients medicated with these AED and drug-free normal controls also suggested that the protein binding ratios of L-tryptophan were decreased in the blood plasma of some patients with the high valproate concentrations and the low albumin contents.     

A stereocontrolled formal total synthesis of (±)-thienamycin

The stereocontrolled synthesis of a key intermediate 20 for the preparation of (±)-thienamycin 1 is described. The key steps in the synthesis are the formation of the β-lactam ring by cyclization of the amide 5 via a complete S_N2 mechanism, and the stereospecific conversion of the azetidinone 5 to the amide (trans-11) which have the correct relative configurations at three contiguous chiral centres. The mechanism of the conversion of the azetidinone 16E to the N-free azetidinone 17 and the selenide compound 18 is presumed.