Triple-Phase Boundary in Anion-Exchange Membrane Reactor Enables Selective Electrosynthesis of Aldehyde from Primary Alcohol.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Prof. Mahito Atobe at Yokohama National University, Japan. The image shows an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) reactor enabling selective oxidation of a primary alcohol to a corresponding aldehyde by the electrochemical reaction at the triple-phase boundary. The Communication itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202102076.

Triple-phase Boundary in Anion-Exchange Membrane Reactor Enables Selective Electrosynthesis of Aldehyde from Primary Alcohol.

Oxidation of primary alcohol to the corresponding aldehyde remains a significant challenge, even with the state-of-the-art chemistry. Here, a novel electrochemical system was developed for the exclusive production of aldehyde from primary alcohol using an anion-exchange membrane (AEM) reactor. Oxidation proceeded on a gold catalyst under basic conditions, which largely enhanced the reaction rate. Despite the basic nature around the reaction sites, the oxidation of primary alcohols exclusively yielded the corresponding aldehyde, which was attributed to the unique three-phase interfacial reaction sites in the AEM reactor. In addition to benzyl alcohol, the oxidation of allylic and aliphatic alcohols was also demonstrated. Comparison of constant potential electrolysis with the AEM reactor or a conventional batch-type cell revealed the crucial role of the triple-phase boundary for the selectivity of the oxidation of alcohol.

Intra-familial Similarity of Wide-Field Fundus Autofluorescence in Inherited Retinal Dystrophy.

To examine the similarity of wide-field fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging in inherited retinal dystrophy between siblings and between parents and their children. The subjects included 17 siblings (12 with retinitis pigmentosa and 5 with cone rod dystrophy) and 10 parent-child pairs (8 with retinitis pigmentosa and 2 with cone rod dystrophy). We quantified the similarity of wide-field FAF using image processing techniques of cropping, binarization, superimposition, and subtraction. The estimated similarity of the siblings was compared with that of the parent-child pairs and that of the age-matched unrelated patients. The similarity between siblings was significantly higher that of parent-child pairs or that of age-matched unrelated patients (P = 0.004 and P = 0.049, respectively). Wide-field FAF images were similar between siblings with inherited retinal dystrophy but different between parent-child pairs. This suggests that aging is a confounding factor in genotype-phenotype correlation studies.

A case of neuromyelitis optica masquerading as miller fisher syndrome.

A 22-year-old woman presented with double vision that she had experienced since an infection 2 weeks previously. A neurological examination showed limited bilateral eye abduction, mimicking Miller Fisher syndrome. However, T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of her brain revealed hyperintense areas in the tegmentum of the pons, including the abducens nucleus, and her serum anti-aquaporin-4 antibody test was positive. She was finally diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica. Intravenous high-dose steroid therapy immediately improved the patient's abduction palsy, but bilateral optic neuritis manifested during the treatment. Subsequent treatment with plasma exchange improved her optic neuritis symptoms.