An IrO2 colloid stabilized by citrate ions was self-assembled on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode when it was immersed in the colloid solution at pH 3.5. The IrO2 colloid on the ITO surface was characterized using electrochemical, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction spectroscopic, scanning electron microscopic, and atomic force microscopic techniques. The self-assembly was promoted steeply at pH 3.5 to 4.1, although it hardly occurred at pH 5.3 to 9.7. It is considered to be caused by chemical interaction between carboxylic groups on the citrate stabilizer and hydroxyl groups of the ITO surface. The adsorption isotherm of the IrO2 colloid onto the ITO surface was analyzed by a Langmuir adsorption isotherm to provide the maximum coverage and an adsorption equilibrium constant Γmax = 1.1 × 10-8 mol cm-2 and K ads = 1.8 × 104 M-1 at 25 °C, respectively. The K ads value increased from 6.7 × 103 to 1.8 × 104 M-1 with a temperature increase from 5 to 25 °C. The temperature dependence of K ads gave ΔH° = 36.5 kJ mol-1, ΔG° = −24.4 kJ mol-1, and ΔS° = 204 J mol-1 K-1 at 25 °C. The positive ΔH° and ΔS° values are explained by the rearrangement of solvating water molecules and counter cations surrounding the IrO2 colloid that is involved in its assembly on the ITO surface. In electrocatalytic water oxidation, the maximum turnover frequency of the IrO2 catalyst was 23 600 h-1 under potential static conditions at 1.3 V versus Ag/AgCl.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J‐SSCG 2020), a Japanese‐specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J‐SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English‐language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese‐language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high‐quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J‐SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU‐acquired weakness [ICU‐AW], post‐intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J‐SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient‐ and family‐centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro‐intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large‐scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members. As a result, 79 GRADE‐based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J‐SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

Polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) containing trans-1,4-bis­(isocyanato­methyl)­cyclohexane (1,4-H6XDI) have been synthesized by polymerizing 1,4-H6XDI with poly­(oxytetra­methylene) glycol and 1,4-butanediol. The molecular aggregation state and mechanical properties of these PUEs have been compared with those exhibited by PUE analogues made of MDI and diols. The hard segment chains in the 1,4-H6XDI-based PUEs are found to readily crystallize and form strong hydrogen bonds due to a high symmetry of 1,4-H6XDI molecule. Consequently, the 1,4-H6XDI-based PUEs exhibit well-organized hard segment domains. This leads to their generally superior mechanical properties as compared to those of the well-known MDI-based PUEs. 1,4-H6XDI’s lack of aromatic moieties is expected to greatly enhance color stability of resulting PUEs. All the above features suggest 1,4-H6XDI could replace MDI in a range of applications.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members.As a result, 79 GRADE-based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J-SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

No abstract