Recruitment of grid-like responses in human entorhinal and piriform cortices by odor landmark-based navigation.

Olfactory navigation is universal across the animal kingdom. Humans, however, have rarely been considered in this context. Here, we combined olfactometry techniques, virtual reality (VR) software, and neuroimaging methods to investigate whether humans can navigate an olfactory landscape by learning the spatial relationships among discrete odor cues and integrating this knowledge into a spatial map.

Optimization and Validation of a Virtual Reality Orientation and Mobility Test for Inherited Retinal Degenerations.

Purpose: To optimize a virtual reality (VR) orientation and mobility (O&M) test of functional vision in patients with inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs).

Methods: We developed an O&M test using commercially available VR hardware and custom-generated software. Normally sighted subjects (n = 20, ages = 14-67 years) and patients with IRDs (n = 29, ages = 15-63 years) participated.

A Virtual Reality Orientation and Mobility Test for Inherited Retinal Degenerations: Testing a Proof-of-Concept After Gene Therapy.

Purpose: To test the ability of a virtual reality (VR) orientation and mobility (O&M) protocol to serve a measure of functional vision for patients with inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs).

Methods: A VR-O&M protocol designed using a commercially available VR hardware was tested in normally sighted control subjects (n=7; ages 10-35yo; Average 22.5yo) and patients with -associated Leber Congenital Amaurosis (n=3; ages 7-18yo; Average 12.

Aqueous Hydricity from Calculations of Reduction Potential and Acidity in Water.

Hydricity, or hydride donating ability, is a thermodynamic value that helps define the reactivity of transition metal hydrides. To avoid some of the challenges of experimental hydricity measurements in water, a computational method for the determination of aqueous hydricity values has been developed. With a thermochemical cycle involving deprotonation of the metal hydride (pK), 2e oxidation of the metal (E°), and 2e reduction of the proton, hydricity values are provided along with other valuable thermodynamic information.

Solvent-Dependent Thermochemistry of an Iridium/Ruthenium H Evolution Catalyst.

The hydricity of the heterobimetallic iridium/ruthenium catalyst [Cp*Ir(H)(μ-bpm)Ru(bpy)] (1, where Cp* = η-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, bpm = 2,2'-bipyrimidine, and bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) has been determined in both acetonitrile (63.1 kcal mol) and water (29.7 kcal mol).

Efficient Photochemical Dihydrogen Generation Initiated by a Bimetallic Self-Quenching Mechanism.

Artificial photosynthesis relies on coupling light absorption with chemical fuel generation. A mechanistic study of visible light-driven H production from [Cp*Ir(bpy)H] (1) has revealed a new, highly efficient pathway for integrating light absorption with bond formation. The net reaction of 1 with a proton source produces H, but the rate of excited state quenching is surprisingly acid-independent and displays no observable deuterium kinetic isotopic effect.

Thermodynamic Hydricity of Transition Metal Hydrides.

Transition metal hydrides play a critical role in stoichiometric and catalytic transformations. Knowledge of free energies for cleaving metal hydride bonds enables the prediction of chemical reactivity, such as for the bond-forming and bond-breaking events that occur in a catalytic reaction. Thermodynamic hydricity is the free energy required to cleave an M-H bond to generate a hydride ion (H(-)).

The effect of early versus late treatment initiation after diagnosis on the outcomes of patients treated for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a systematic review.

Background: Globally it is estimated that 480 000 people developed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2014 and 190 000 people died from the disease. Successful treatment outcomes are achieved in only 50 % of patients with MDR-TB, compared to 86 % for drug susceptible disease. It is widely held that delay in time to initiation of treatment for MDR-TB is an important predictor of treatment outcome.

Aqueous Hydricity of Late Metal Catalysts as a Continuum Tuned by Ligands and the Medium.

Aqueous hydride transfer is a fundamental step in emerging alternative energy transformations such as H2 evolution and CO2 reduction. "Hydricity," the hydride donor ability of a species, is a key metric for understanding transition metal hydride reactivity, but comprehensive studies of aqueous hydricity are scarce. An extensive and self-consistent aqueous hydricity scale is constructed for a family of Ru and Ir hydrides that are key intermediates in aqueous catalysis.

Photoswitchable hydride transfer from iridium to 1-methylnicotinamide rationalized by thermochemical cycles.

Visible light-triggered hydride transfer from [Cp*Ir(bpy)(H)](+) (1) to organic acids and 1-methylnicotinamide (MNA(+)) is reported (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine). A new thermochemical cycle for determining excited-state hydride donor ability (hydricity) predicted that 1 would be an incredibly potent photohydride in acetonitrile. Phototriggered H2 release was indeed observed from 1 in the presence of various organic acids, providing experimental evidence for an increase in hydricity of at least 18 kcal/mol in the excited state.

Cation-modulated reactivity of iridium hydride pincer-crown ether complexes.

Complexes of a new multidentate ligand combining a rigid, strongly donating pincer scaffold with a flexible, weakly donating aza-crown ether moiety are reported. The pincer-crown ether ligand exhibits tridentate, tetradentate, and pentadentate coordination modes. The coordination mode can be changed by Lewis base displacement of the chelating ethers, with binding equilibria dramatically altered through lithium and sodium cation-macrocycle interactions.

Hydrogenation of carboxylic acids catalyzed by half-sandwich complexes of iridium and rhodium.

A series of half-sandwich Ir and Rh compounds are demonstrated to be competent catalysts for the hydrogenation of carboxylic acids under relatively mild conditions. Of the structurally diverse group of catalysts tested for activity, a Cp*Ir complex supported by an electron-releasing 2,2'-bipyridine ligand was the most active. Higher activity was achieved with employment of Brønsted or Lewis acid promoters.

Kinetic and structural studies, origins of selectivity, and interfacial charge transfer in the artificial photosynthesis of CO.

The effective design of an artificial photosynthetic system entails the optimization of several important interactions. Herein we report stopped-flow UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, X-ray crystallographic, density functional theory (DFT), and electrochemical kinetic studies of the Re(bipy-tBu)(CO)(3)(L) catalyst for the reduction of CO(2) to CO. A remarkable selectivity for CO(2) over H(+) was observed by stopped-flow UV-vis spectroscopy of [Re(bipy-tBu)(CO)(3)](-1).

Trialkylborane-Assisted CO(2) Reduction by Late Transition Metal Hydrides.

Trialkylborane additives promote reduction of CO(2) to formate by bis(diphosphine) Ni(II) and Rh(III) hydride complexes. The late transition metal hydrides, which can be formed from dihydrogen, transfer hydride to CO(2) to give a formate-borane adduct. The borane must be of appropriate Lewis acidity: weaker acids do not show significant hydride transfer enhancement, while stronger acids abstract hydride without CO(2) reduction.

Synthesis and characterization of three-coordinate Ni(III)-imide complexes.

A new family of low-coordinate nickel imides supported by 1,2-bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)ethane was synthesized. Oxidation of nickel(II) complexes led to the formation of both aryl- and alkyl-substituted nickel(III)-imides, and examples of both types have been isolated and fully characterized. The aryl substituent that proved most useful in stabilizing the Ni(III)-imide moiety was the bulky 2,6-dimesitylphenyl.

A two-coordinate nickel imido complex that effects C−H amination.

An exceptionally low coordinate nickel imido complex, (IPr*)Ni═N(dmp) (2) (dmp = 2,6-dimesitylphenyl), has been prepared by the elimination of N2 from a bulky aryl azide in its reaction with (IPr*)Ni(η6-C7H8) (1). The solid-state structure of 2 features two-coordinate nickel with a linear C−Ni−N core and a short Ni−N distance, both indicative of multiple-bond character. Computational studies using density functional theory showed a Ni═N bond dominated by Ni(dπ)−N(pπ) interactions, resulting in two nearly degenerate singly occupied molecular orbitals (SOMOs) that are Ni−N π* in character.

Synthesis and C-C coupling reactivity of a dinuclear Ni(i)-Ni(i) complex supported by a terphenyl diphosphine.

Mono- and bimetallic complexes of nickel supported by a terphenyl diphosphine have been synthesized. The reported complexes show diverse metal-arene interactions in the solid state. Reactions of an o,o'-biphenyldiyl dinickel complex with CO and dichloroalkanes lead to fluorene derivatives, indicating the formation of carbon-carbon bonds at a bimetallic moiety.

Thermodynamic studies of [H(2)Rh(diphosphine)(2)](+) and [HRh(diphosphine)(2)(CH(3)CN)](2+) complexes in acetonitrile.

Thermodynamic studies of a series of [H(2)Rh(PP)(2)](+) and [HRh(PP)(2)(CH(3)CN)](2+) complexes have been carried out in acetonitrile. Seven different diphosphine (PP) ligands were selected to allow variation of the electronic properties of the ligand substituents, the cone angles, and the natural bite angles (NBAs). Oxidative addition of H(2) to [Rh(PP)(2)](+) complexes is favored by diphosphine ligands with large NBAs, small cone angles, and electron donating substituents, with the NBA being the dominant factor.

Homogeneous CO hydrogenation: dihydrogen activation involves a frustrated Lewis pair instead of a platinum complex.

During a search for conditions appropriate for Pt-catalyzed CO reduction using dihydrogen directly, metal-free conditions were discovered instead. A bulky, strong phosphazene base forms a "frustrated" Lewis pair (FLP) with a trialkylborane in the secondary coordination sphere of a rhenium carbonyl. Treatment of the FLP with dihydrogen cleanly affords multiple hydride transfers and C-C bond formation.

Dehydrogenation of amine-boranes with a frustrated Lewis pair.

Bulky tertiary phosphine/borane Lewis pairs P(t)Bu(3)/B(C(6)F(5))(3) react with amine-boranes to afford dehydrocoupling products and phosphonium borohydride salts.

Evidence from the UK Zoonoses Action Plan in favour of localised anomalies of Salmonella infection on United Kingdom pig farms.

Salmonella spp. are important food-borne pathogens. Abattoir studies demonstrated that almost a quarter of British finisher pigs might carry Salmonella, which led to the introduction by the British Pig Executive of their Zoonoses Action Plan (ZAP) to monitor the Salmonella status of United Kingdom pig farms by testing meat juice samples using an ELISA system.

Reductive coupling of carbon monoxide in a rhenium carbonyl complex with pendant Lewis acids.

Phosphinoborane ligands impart unique reactivity to a rhenium carbonyl cation relative to simple phosphine complexes. Addition of either triethylborohydride or a platinum hydride (that can be formed from H2) forms a rhenium boroxycarbene. This carbene, which crystallizes as a dimer, disproportionates over a period of days to afford the starting cation and a structurally unprecedented boroxy(boroxymethyl)carbene, in which a new C-C bond has been formed between two reduced CO ligands.

Probing the electronic structures of [Cu2(mu-XR2)]n+ diamond cores as a function of the bridging X atom (X = N or P) and charge (n = 0, 1, 2).

A series of dicopper diamond core complexes that can be isolated in three different oxidation states ([Cu2(mu-XR2)]n+, where n = 0, 1, 2 and X = N or P) is described. Of particular interest is the relative degree of oxidation of the respective copper centers and the bridging XR2 units, upon successive oxidations. These dicopper complexes feature terminal phosphine and either bridging amido or phosphido donors, and as such their metal-ligand bonds are highly covalent.

Long-lived and efficient emission from mononuclear amidophosphine complexes of copper.

A number of structurally unusual, monomeric amidophosphine complexes of copper exhibit luminescence properties that are unprecedented for monocopper systems in solution at room temperature. The complexes exhibit lifetimes as long as 150 micros in benzene and quantum efficiencies in the range of 0.16 View Article and Find Full Text PDF