Hydrolytic dynamic kinetic resolution of racemic 3-phenyl-2-oxetanone to chiral tropic acid.

Tropic acid was synthesized in a good yield and with high enantioselectivity (81% ee) under non-biphasic conditions via the novel hydrolytic dynamic kinetic resolution of racemic 3-phenyl-2-oxetanone (tropic acid ß-lactone) in the presence of a chiral quaternary ammonium phase-transfer catalyst and strongly basic anion exchange resin as the hydroxide ion donor.

Comparison of the usability of an automatic sleep staging program via portable 1-channel electroencephalograph and manual sleep staging with traditional polysomnography.

Automatic algorithms are a proposed alternative to manual assessment of polysomnography data for analyzing sleep structure; however, none are acceptably accurate for clinical use. We investigated the feasibility of an automated sleep stage scoring system called Sleep Scope, which is intended for use with portable 1-channel electroencephalograph, and compared it with the traditional polysomnography scoring method. Twenty-six outpatients and fourteen healthy volunteers underwent Sleep Scope and polysomnography assessments simultaneously. Polysomnography records were manually scored by three sleep experts. Sleep Scope records were scored using a dedicated auto-staging algorithm. Sleep parameters, including total sleep time, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency, were calculated. The epoch-by-epoch pairwise concordance based on the classification of sleep into five stages (i.e., wake, rapid eye movement, N1, N2, and N3) was also evaluated after validating homogeneity and bias between Sleep Scope and polysomnography. Compared with polysomnography, Sleep Scope seemed to overestimate sleep latency by approximately 3 min, but there was no consistent tendency in bias in other sleep parameters. The Κ values ranged from 0.66 to 0.75 for experts' inter-rater polysomnography scores and from 0.62 to 0.67 for Sleep Scope versus polysomnography scores, which indicated sufficient agreement in the determination of sleep stages based on the Landis and Koch criteria. We observed sufficient concordance between Sleep Scope and polysomnography despite lower concordance in sleep disorder patients. Thus, this auto-staging system might serve as a novel clinical tool for reducing the time and expenses required of medical staff and patients. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41105-022-00421-5.

Correction to: Comparison of the usability of an automatic sleep staging program via portable 1-channel electroencephalograph and manual sleep staging with traditional polysomnography.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s41105-022-00421-5.].

Identification of dietary patterns and their relationships with general and oral health in the very old.

Little is known about the dietary patterns of Asian populations aged >=85 years and their associated factors. Thus, we aimed to (1) identify these dietary patterns and (2) clarify the relationships between the dietary pattern and health outcomes in a community-dwelling very old population. The Tokyo Oldest Old Survey on Total Health study is an observational cohort study comprising 512 Japanese subjects (women, n=288; men, n=224; age, 87.8±2.2 years). Dietary patterns were assessed by principal component analysis using a brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. Barthel index, Mini-Mental State Examination, and oral health status [maximum occlusal force (MOF), denture use, and dentulous / edentulous state] were also measured. Two dietary patterns were identified. The first factor component "traditional Japanese" was characterized by a high consumption of vegetables, seaweed, legumes, and fish. The second factor component "noodles and confectioneries" was characterized by a high consumption of noodles, confectioneries, and non-alcoholic beverages. Multivariable analysis showed that the "traditional Japanese" dietary pattern was inversely associated with dentulous state (OR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.34-0.82), the lowest tertile of MOF (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42-0.99), and denture use (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.26- 4.63) even after adjustment for potential confounders. Furthermore, the "noodles and confectioneries" dietary pattern was inversely associated with the lowest tertile of MOF (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40-0.94). However, there were no significant associations between these dietary patterns and disability or cognitive function. We identified two dietary patterns in the very old population, which were associated with oral health status.

Relationship between Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in the General Population.

AIM: The Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) Guidelines for Diagnosis and Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases for Japanese 2012 version have set a non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C)-management target of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ＋30 mg/dL. However, the actual difference between non-HDL-C and LDL-C is not clear. Therefore, we evaluated its joint distribution and assessed the validity of this criterion in the general Japanese population. METHODS: We used baseline cross-sectional data of 4,110 participants from two studies; the KOBE Study (n=1,108) and the Tsuruoka Metabolomic Cohort Study (n=3,002). To evaluate whether the difference between LDL-C and non-HDL-C in the general population match that of the current guidelines, we classified LDL-C levels into four groups according to the JAS Guideline and evaluated its agreement with the corresponding non-HDL-C group. Analysis was also done using six groups (the previous four groups plus the upper and lower cut-off values). RESULTS: The mean difference (mg/dL) between the non-HDL-C and LDL-C (for the KOBE Study and Tsuruoka Metabolomic Cohort Study, respectively) was 19.6 and 24.1 (p<0.001) for men and 15.9 and 18.3 (p<0.001) for women. In both the cohort studies, the difference was lower than 30 mg/dL. It was especially small among individuals with normal triglyceride levels. CONCLUSIONS: In the general Japanese population, the difference between non-HDL-C and LDL-C was lower than the expected difference of 30 mg/dL. Changes to the criteria for non-HDL-C target levels may be considered in the future.

Carotid atherosclerosis, cytomegalovirus infection, and cognitive decline in the very old: a community-based prospective cohort study.

To investigate various risk factors of cognitive decline in the very old, we studied 494 subjects over 85 years old without diagnosis of dementia at baseline from the Tokyo Oldest Old Survey on Total Health, an ongoing, community-based cohort in Japan. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline and at 3-year follow-up using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Plasma samples were assayed for levels of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and blood chemistry. Carotid artery plaques were measured using an ultrasonography. In the cross-sectional analyses using Tobit regression, individuals with high carotid artery plaque score (≥5.0) had MMSE scores that were 1.08 points lower compared to those with no plaque (95 % confidence interval (CI) -1.95 to -0.20; p = 0.016), adjusted for age, sex, and education. Individuals with CMV IgG titers in the highest quartile had MMSE scores that were 1.47 points lower compared to individuals in the lowest quartile (95 % CI -2.44 to -0.50; p = 0.003). CMV and carotid atherosclerosis showed evidence of an interaction, where the association between CMV and MMSE was present only in subjects with carotid artery plaque. In the longitudinal analyses using linear regression, carotid atherosclerosis, smoking, low grip strength, and poor activities of daily living (ADL) status were associated with faster cognitive decline, adjusted for age, sex, education, and baseline cognitive function. Our findings suggest that carotid atherosclerosis is consistently associated with low cognitive function in the very old and modifies the association between latent CMV infection and cognition.