Organic Crystalline Solid Electrolytes with High Mg-Ion Conductivity Composed of Nonflammable Ionic Liquid Analogs and Mg(TFSA)2.

The development of solid electrolytes with Mg-ion conductivity at room temperature is an important issue to achieve all-solid magnesium batteries. We focus on organic ionic crystals with Mg-ion conduction paths in addition to nonflammable and nonvolatile features as an innovative candidate of solid electrolytes with Mg-ion conductivity. Herein, we show the development of novel organic ionic crystals, [N(CH3)4-n(CH2CH3)n][Mg{N(SO2CF3)2}3] (n = 0 or 2), using analogs of ionic liquids, [N(CH3)4][N(SO2CF3)2] (N1111TFSA) and [N(CH3)2(CH2CH3)2][N(SO2CF3)2] (N1122TFSA), and magnesium salt, Mg{N(SO2CF3)2}2 (Mg(TFSA)2). We also report the crystal structures of the obtained crystals and the high Mg-ion conductivity of 10-4 S cm-1 under mild conditions of 80 °C in the solid state. These results indicate that organic ionic crystals with ion conduction paths have significant potential as safe solid electrolytes and provide insights into developing innovative Mg-ion conductors.

Phycocyanin prevents hypertension and low serum adiponectin level in a rat model of metabolic syndrome.

Endothelial dysfunction is associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis, and metabolic syndrome. Phycocyanin is a pigment found in the blue-green algae, Spirulina, which possesses antihypertensive effect. In this study, we hypothesized that phycocyanin derived from Spirulina exerts antihypertensive actions by improving endothelial dysfunction in metabolic syndrome. Spontaneously hypertensive/NIH-corpulent (SHR/NDmcr-cp) rats were divided into 4 groups then fed a normal diet with or without phycocyanin (2500-, 5000-, or 10,000-mg/kg diet) for 25 weeks. At 34 weeks of age, although systolic blood pressure was not significantly different among groups, phycocyanin-fed groups exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in blood pressure. Serum levels of adiponectin and messenger RNA levels of adiponectin and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α in the adipose tissue of rats fed diets containing phycocyanin tended to be higher than those of rats fed a normal diet, but the differences were not statistically significant. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed a significant and positive correlation between aortic endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression levels, a downstream target of the adiponectin receptor, and serum adiponectin levels, although there were no significant differences in eNOS expression among groups. There was also no significant correlation between eNOS expression levels and systolic blood pressure. These results suggest that long-term administration of phycocyanin may ameliorate systemic blood pressure by enhancing eNOS expression in aorta that is stimulated by adiponectin. Phycocyanin may be beneficial for preventing endothelial dysfunction-related diseases in metabolic syndrome.

[Factors that affect the mortality in patients receiving emergency surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms].

This retrospective study was performed to identify the perioperative factors affecting the mortality rate in 28 patients, who had received emergency surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms from January, 2005 to June, 2008. Five (17.9%) of these 28 patients died of massive bleeding, sepsis, or multiple organ failure during or within 11 days after surgery. Various factors which might influence the outcomes were compared between the survivors and non-survivors. Preoperative hypotension defined as a systolic blood pressure < or = 80 mmHg associated with hemorrhagic shock was the only significant factor affecting the mortality. There were no significant differences in age, gender, the time from the admittance to the hospital to aortic cross clamping, duration of surgery, and the amount of blood products transfused and intraoperative blood loss, between the two groups. Of great importance is that preoperative hypotension should be corrected before the onset of hemodynamic deterioration.