Partially Oxidized Purely Organic Zwitterionic Neutral Radical Conductor: Multi-step Phase Transitions and Crossover Caused by Intra- and Intermolecular Electronic Interactions.

Formation of a partially charge-transfer or partially oxidized/reduced state has been one of the most important requirements for the development of highly conducting molecular materials, such as organic metals and superconductors. This requirement has been fulfilled by combining appropriate electron-donor and acceptor molecules to construct multi-component molecular complexes/salts, such as (TTF+0.59)(TCNQ-0.59) and (BEDT-TTF+0.5)2X-, where TTF = tetrathiafulvalene, TCNQ = tetracyanoquinodimethane, BEDT-TTF = bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene, and X = monovalent inorganic anion. Here, we propose a methodology to fulfill this requirement by a single neutral molecule; namely, we have connected two TTF+0.5-type partially oxidized π-skeletons through a boron anion to design a purely organic zwitterionic neutral radical {[(PDT-TTF-Cat)2]+B-}•. This molecule was successfully obtained as air-stable crystals containing solvent tetrahydrofuran (THF) molecules. Measurements of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and X-ray diffraction reveal that the partially oxidized state is certainly formed, which enables realization of a 3/4-filled electron band. Furthermore, this system has intramolecular charge degrees of freedom, attributable to the two TTF+0.5 π-skeletons introduced into the molecule. The resulting interplay of intra- and intermolecular charge degrees of freedom (or simply, intra- and intermolecular electronic interactions) has led to multi-step phase transitions and crossover, providing unique strongly correlated electron properties, such as the formation of a three-dimensional charge-ordered dimer-Mott insulating state and its melting triggered by disorder-order transformation of the co-crystallized solvent THF molecules at low temperatures.

Gastric cancer in the remnant stomach after pancreaticoduodenectomy: A case series.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) occasionally develops in the remnant stomach following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). In those who have undergone PD for adenocarcinoma, however, the interval and frequency of anastomotic GC are unknown. METHODS: We searched our institutional database for patients who had undergone PD for adenocarcinoma and subsequently developed GC between 1994 and 2018 and found six patients. We summarized the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of these patients with anastomotic GC. RESULTS: The median interval from PD to development of GC was 111.5 months. Four patients underwent curative resection of gastrojejunal anastomosis. Pathologic analysis showed signet ring cell carcinoma in four patients. The median overall survival after developing GC was 61 months. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that GC in the remnant stomach after PD is rare but can occur at gastrojejunostomy anastomosis after a prolonged period. Periodic and long-term follow-up +/- surveillance endoscopy to facilitate early detection of GC in the remnant stomach is recommended, particularly for symptomatic patients. Recognition of the anastomotic tumor as a second primary and not a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma recurrence/metastasis is crucial in the optimal treatment of these patients, as curative resection of early-stage GC may prolong survival.

Astrocytes in the mouse visual cortex reliably respond to visual stimulation.

Astrocytes are known to contact with a great number of synapses and may integrate sensory inputs. In the ferret primary visual cortex, astrocytes respond to a visual stimulus with a delay of several seconds with respect to the surrounding neurons. However, in the mouse visual cortex, it remains unclear whether astrocytes respond to visual stimulations. In this study, using dual-color simultaneous in vivo two-photon calcium imaging of neurons and astrocytes in the awake mouse visual cortex, we examined the visual response of astrocytes and their precise response timing relative to the surrounding neurons. Neurons reliably responded to visual stimulations, whereas astrocytes often showed neuromodulator-mediated global activities, which largely masked small visual responses. Administration of the selective α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin substantially reduced such global astrocytic activities without affecting the neuronal visual responses. In the presence of prazosin, astrocytes showed weak but consistent visual responses mostly at their somata. Cross-correlation analysis estimated that the astrocytic visual responses were delayed by approximately 5 seconds relative to the surrounding neuronal responses. In conclusion, our research demonstrated that astrocytes in the primary visual cortex of awake mice responded to visual stimuli with a delay of several seconds relative to the surrounding neurons, which may indicate the existence of a common mechanism of neuron-astrocyte communication across species.

TAR DNA-binding protein 43 pathology in a case clinically diagnosed with facial-onset sensory and motor neuronopathy syndrome: an autopsied case report and a review of the literature.

We report an autopsy case of a 48-year-old female clinically diagnosed with facial-onset sensory and motor neuronopathy (FOSMN) syndrome with TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology. She developed paresthesia involving her whole face, right upper extremity and the right side of her upper trunk, followed by dysphagia, dysarthria, muscle atrophy and weakness with fasciculation in both upper extremities. Her symptoms showed a marked cranial and right-sided dominancy. She had anti-sulfoglucuronyl paragloboside (SGPG) IgG and anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) IgG, and repeatedly showed limited response to immunotherapies. Her disease was essentially progressive, culminating in death due to respiratory failure three and a half years after onset. The autopsy revealed severe degeneration of the nuclei of the right trigeminal nerve and right facial nerve and widespread TDP-43-positive glial inclusions in the brainstem tegmentum. Neurons in the hypoglossal nerve nuclei were also shrunken and lost, with TDP-43-positive neuronal inclusions. Neuronal loss and gliosis in the anterior horn, predominantly in the cervical cord, were prominent with TDP-43-positive skein-like inclusions. Bilateral ventral roots were obviously atrophic. Spinal tract degeneration was also prominent in the ventral columns, essentially sparing the anterior corticospinal tracts at the cervical cord level. Additionally there was severe myelin pallor in the right spinal trigeminal tract and right fasciculus cuneatus of the cervical cord. The right spinal root ganglion showed numerous Nageotte's nodules and focal lymphocytic infiltration. The present case manifested FOSMN syndrome clinically, while the pathological findings suggested a motor neuron disease like TDP-43 proteinopathy and a possible involvement of immune-mediated neuropathy.

[Investigation of preoperative respiratory evaluation in four cases of myasthenia gravis undergoing extended thymectomy in the past two years].

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease. The MG patients undergoing extended thymectomy under general anesthesia are at risk for postoperative complications, such as respiratory insufficiency and crisis (cholinergic and myasthenic). We evaluated the preoperative predictive factors, which are important for postoperative respiratory control. METHODS: Four patients undergoing extended thymectomy under general anesthesia in our hospital within the last two years (2008-2010) were studied. All patients were graded with Ossermann Classification (I, IIa, IIb, IIb), MGFA Clinical Classification (Class I, IIIb, IIIb, IIIb) and Fuchu Hospital Scoring System (2, 4, 5, 10). RESULTS: One patient was re-intubated in postoperative 5 days due to myasthenic crisis. The patient had a high values in Fuchu Hospital Scoring System (10), longer duration of myasthenia (84 months) and higher preoperative anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody value (1,200 nmol x l(-1)). CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that Fuchu Hospital Scoring System, duration of myasthenia and preoperative anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody are valuable for MG patients undergoing extended thymectomy as preoperative predictive factors. These factors are important for postoperative respiratory control.

[A case of multiple pulmonary and remnant liver metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after partial hepatic resection remarkably responding to S-1].

A 73-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for hemorrhagic shock due to HCC rupture and treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in July 2007, followed by partial hepatic resection two months later. Multiple pulmonary and remnant liver metastases were detected by CT six months after the surgery. Since treatment with UFT for two months was not effective, the chemotherapy was changed to S-1 100 mg/body/day in June 2008. After S-1 treatment for three months, lung metastases remarkably diminished, as did the serum AFP level. Meanwhile, although the S-1 dose was gradually reduced to 50 mg/body/day due to adverse effects, pulmonary lesions and serum AFP level remained stationary for five months. While there is no established regimen for distant metastases of HCC, S-1 may be effective even at a reduced dose.