Increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and increased serum levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-18, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether carotid IMT, a useful marker for early atherosclerosis, is associated with these inflammatory markers in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Carotid IMT was investigated with ultrasonography in 36 patients with OSA and 16 obese control subjects. Serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and IL-18 were measured at 5:00 A.M. Carotid IMT (p < 0.001) and serum levels of CRP (p < 0.003), IL-6 (p < 0.005), and IL-18 (p < 0.03) of patients with OSA were significantly higher than those of obese control subjects. Carotid IMT was significantly correlated with serum levels of CRP (r = 0.61, p = 0.0001), IL-6 (r = 0.41, p = 0.01), and IL-18 (r = 0.45, p = 0.005), duration of OSA-related hypoxia (r = 0.60, p = 0.0001), and severity of OSA (r = 0.50, p = 0.002). In addition, the primary factor influencing carotid IMT was duration of hypoxia during total sleep time (p = 0.036). These results suggest that OSA-related hypoxia and systemic inflammation might be associated with the progression of atherosclerosis and thus might increase the risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity in patients with OSA.

No abstract

We introduced different spirobenzopyran derivatives into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gels and evaluated the effects of spontaneous ring-opening rates of the spirobenzopyrans on light-responsive volume change behaviors of the gels. Rates of reswelling from the light-induced shrunken state of the spirobenzopyran-functionalized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (p(Sp-NIPAAm)) gels increased with increasing ring-opening rates of spirobenzopyrans in the gels. Bending motion of a rod-like p(Sp-NIPAAm) gel was invoked by local light-irradiation because of asymmetric shrinkage of the gel. Two types of bending motions were observed depending on the reswelling rates of the gels; a gel with a fast reswelling rate was steadily bent only during light-irradiation, whereas another gel with a slow reswelling rate showed a continuous bending motion even after the irradiation. In addition, a sheet-like gel with a fast reswelling rate was operated as a micro-conveyor whose conveying direction was arbitrarily controlled with a light-irradiation.

No abstract

These results suggest that serum levels of sCD40L and sP-selectin are elevated and SBI is more common in patients with moderate to severe OSA, leading to elevated cerebrovascular morbidity. Moreover, nCPAP may be useful for decreasing risk in patients with moderate to severe OSA.

The quick photoresponse of thin hydrogel layers composed of thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with an acrylated spirobenzopyran chromophore incorporated in the polymer backbone is reported. The instant formation of microrelief on a thin hydrogel layer is demonstrated by means of micropatterned light irradiation.

A photoresponsive culture surface (PRCS) allowing photocontrol of cell adhesion was prepared with a novel polymer material composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) having spiropyran chromophores as side chains. Cell adhesion of the surface was drastically enhanced by the irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light (wavelength: 365 nm); after subsequent cooling and washing on ice, many cells remained in the irradiated region, whereas most cells were removed from the nonirradiated region. The cell adhesion of the PRCS, which had been enhanced by previous UV irradiation, was reset by the visible light irradiation (wavelength 400-440 nm) and the annealing at 37 degrees C for 2 h. Also it was confirmed that the regional control of cell adhesion was induced several times by repeating the same series of operations. Further, living cell patterning with the 200 microm line width was produced readily by projecting UV light along a micropattern on the PRCS on which the living cells had been seeded uniformly in advance. By using a fluorescent probe that stains living cells only, it was confirmed that the cells maintained sufficient viability even after UV light irradiation followed by cooling and washing.

Perfluoroalkyl compounds are known to exhibit a hydrophobic character on the surface of the material, although the CF bond has a large dipole, which should make the molecular surface polar and hydrophilic. This inconsistency has long been a chemical matter to be solved. Herein, a stratified dipole‐arrays model is proposed: the molecular polar surface can be fully hidden by forming a two‐dimensional aggregate of perfluoroalkyl (Rf) groups; this aggregate is spontaneously induced by dipole–dipole interaction arrays owing to the helical structure of the Rf group. In this model, a ‘short’ Rf group should play the role of a single Rf group with a hydrophilic character, whereas a ‘long’ Rf group should spontaneously form a hexagonal aggregate. To examine this model, Rf‐containing myristic acids with various Rf lengths have been synthesized and their aggregation properties are analyzed by using the Langmuir monolayer technique aided by precise IR spectroscopic analysis.