Water-soluble neutral octahedral chalcogenide tungsten and molybdenum {MQ} clusters with P(CHCONH) ligand.

Developing the chemistry of octahedral chalcogenide molybdenum and tungsten cluster complexes in the context of applications in biology and medicine, in this work a series of water-soluble neutral cluster complexes [{MQ}(P(CHCONH))] (M = Mo, W; Q = S, Se) have been obtained by simultaneous replacement of inner and terminal halide ligands in [{MI}I] with chalcogenide and organic phosphine ligands and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, H and P NMR spectroscopies, elemental analysis, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The amide groups of the organic ligands, on the one hand, contribute to the solubility of the resulting clusters in water and, on the other hand, are able to form an extensive network of hydrogen bonds, leading to the crystallization of the complexes from aqueous solutions. Despite this fact, the complexes have sufficient solubility and stability in aqueous solutions, which made it possible to demonstrate their low cytotoxicity on Hep-2 cells (IC were not reached even at concentration up to 4 mM).

Octahedral molybdenum iodide clusters with pyrazole or pyrazolate ligands.

Due to the combination of useful physicochemical properties (luminescence, X-ray contrast, .), octahedral molybdenum halide cluster complexes [MoXL] have been the subject of active investigation during the last decades. The most common methods for synthesizing new compounds with organic ligands involve the use of silver salts of organic acids or the substitution of terminal methylate ligands.

Carrier Recombination in Nitride-Based Light-Emitting Devices: Multiphonon Processes, Excited Defects, and Disordered Heterointerfaces.

We study recombination processes in nitride LEDs emitting from 270 to 540 nm with EQE ranging from 4% to 70%. We found a significant correlation between the LEDs' electro-optical properties and the degree of nanomaterial disorder (DND) in quantum wells (QWs) and heterointerfaces. DND depends on the nanoarrangement of domain structure, random alloy fluctuations, and the presence of local regions with disrupted alloy stoichiometry.

Wiring surface loss of a superconducting transmon qubit.

Quantum processors using superconducting qubits suffer from dielectric loss leading to noise and dissipation. Qubits are usually designed as large capacitor pads connected to a non-linear Josephson junction (or SQUID) by a superconducting thin metal wiring. Here, we report on finite-element simulation and experimental results confirming that more than 50% of surface loss in transmon qubits can originate from Josephson junctions wiring and can limit qubit relaxation time.

Analysis of the Effects of Pentose Phosphate Pathway Inhibition on the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species and Epileptiform Activity in Hippocampal Slices.

The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is one of three major pathways involved in glucose metabolism, which is regulated by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) controls NADPH formation. NADPH, in turn, regulates the balance of oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. G6PD dysfunction, affecting the PPP, is implicated in neurological disorders, including epilepsy.

COVID-19 test-to-stay program for K-12 schools: Opt-in versus opt-out consent model.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promoted the Test-to-Stay (TTS) program to facilitate in-person instruction in K-12 schools during COVID-19. This program delineates guidelines for schools to regularly test students and staff to minimize risks of infection transmission. TTS enrollment can be implemented via two different consent models: opt-in, in which students do not test regularly by default, and the opposite, opt-out model.

PEGylation of Terminal Ligands as a Route to Decrease the Toxicity of Radiocontrast Re-Clusters.

The development of novel radiocontrast agents, mainly used for the visualization of blood vessels, is still an emerging task due to the variety of side effects of conventional X-ray contrast media. Recently, we have shown that octahedral chalcogenide rhenium clusters with phosphine ligands-NaH[{ReQ}(P(CHCOO))] (Q = S, Se)-can be considered as promising X-ray contrast agents if their relatively high toxicity related to the high charge of the complexes can be overcome. To address this issue, we propose one of the most widely used methods for tuning the properties of proteins and peptides-PEGylation (PEG is polyethylene glycol).

Surgical treatment of epilepsy in a patient with bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia: A case report.

Background: Periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) is a rare pathological condition characterized by the presence of nodules of gray matter located along the lateral ventricles of the brain. The condition typically presents with seizures and other neurological symptoms, and various methods of surgical treatment and postoperative outcomes have been described in the literature.

Case Description: We present a case study of a 17-year-old patient who has been experiencing seizures since the age of 13.

Egg characteristics vary longitudinally in Arctic shorebirds.

Arctic environments are changing rapidly and if we are to understand the resilience of species to future changes, we need to investigate alterations in their life histories. Egg size and egg shape are key life-history traits, reflecting parental investment as well as influencing future reproductive success. Here we focus on egg characteristics in two Arctic shorebirds, the Dunlin () and the Temminck's stint ().

Improving Josephson junction reproducibility for superconducting quantum circuits: junction area fluctuation.

Josephson superconducting qubits and parametric amplifiers are prominent examples of superconducting quantum circuits that have shown rapid progress in recent years. As such devices become more complex, the requirements for reproducibility of their electrical properties across a chip are being tightened. Critical current of the Josephson junction Ic is the essential electrical parameter in a chip.

Improved Synthesis of (TBA)[WBr] Paving the Way to Further Study of Bromide Cluster Complexes.

Octahedral cluster complexes of molybdenum and tungsten, [MXY] (M = Mo, W; X, Y = Cl, Br, I), are promising active components in various fields, including biomedicine and solar energy. Cluster complexes draw considerable attention due to their X-ray opacity, red/near-IR luminescence, and ability to convert triplet molecular oxygen to active singlet oxygen under UV and visible irradiation. Among the octahedral cluster complexes of molybdenum and tungsten, compounds with a {WBr} core are the least studied.

Optimization of shadow evaporation and oxidation for reproducible quantum Josephson junction circuits.

The most commonly used physical realization of superconducting qubits for quantum circuits is a transmon. There are a number of superconducting quantum circuits applications, where Josephson junction critical current reproducibility over a chip is crucial. Here, we report on a robust chip scale Al/AlO/Al junctions fabrication method due to comprehensive study of shadow evaporation and oxidation steps.

Unusual Square Pyramidal Chalcogenide Mo Cluster with Bridging Pyrazolate-Ligands.

The family of chalcogenide molybdenum clusters is well presented in the literature by a series of compounds of nuclearity ranging from binuclear to multinuclear articulating octahedral fragments. Clusters actively studied in the last decades were shown to be promising as components of superconducting, magnetic, and catalytic systems. Here, we report the synthesis and detailed characterization of new and unusual representatives of chalcogenide clusters: square pyramidal complexes [{Mo(μ-Se)(μ-Se)(μ-pz)}(pzH)] (pzH = pyrazole, i = inner, t = terminal).

Detecting and mitigating simultaneous waves of COVID-19 infections.

The sudden spread of COVID-19 infections in a region can catch its healthcare system by surprise. Can one anticipate such a spread and allow healthcare administrators to prepare for a surge a priori? We posit that the answer lies in distinguishing between two types of waves in epidemic dynamics. The first kind resembles a spatio-temporal diffusion pattern.

Water-Soluble Chalcogenide W-Clusters: On the Way to Biomedical Applications.

Despite the great potential of octahedral tungsten cluster complexes in fields of biomedical applications such as X-ray computed tomography or angiography, there is only one example of a water-soluble WQ-cluster that has been reported in the literature. Herein we present the synthesis and a detailed characterization including X-ray structural analysis, NMR, IR, UV-Vis spectroscopies, HR-MS spectrometry, and the electrochemical behavior of two new cluster complexes of the general formula WQL with phosphine ligands containing a hydrophilic carboxylic group, which makes the complexes soluble in an aqueous medium. The hydrolytic stability of the clusters' aqueous solutions allows us to investigate for the first time the influence of W-clusters on cell viability.

ITO film stack engineering for low-loss silicon optical modulators.

The Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) platform is one of the promising solutions for state-of-the-art integrated optical modulators towards low-loss silicon photonics applications. One of the key challenges on this way is to optimize ITO-based thin films stacks for electro-optic modulators with both high extinction ratio and low insertion loss. In this paper we demonstrate the e-beam evaporation technology of 20 nm-thick ITO films with low extinction coefficient of 0.

A unified physiological framework of transitions between seizures, sustained ictal activity and depolarization block at the single neuron level.

The majority of seizures recorded in humans and experimental animal models can be described by a generic phenomenological mathematical model, the Epileptor. In this model, seizure-like events (SLEs) are driven by a slow variable and occur via saddle node (SN) and homoclinic bifurcations at seizure onset and offset, respectively. Here we investigated SLEs at the single cell level using a biophysically relevant neuron model including a slow/fast system of four equations.

Transport properties of nitrile and carbonate solutions of [P66614][NTf] ionic liquid, its thermal degradation and non-isothermal kinetics of decomposition.

The electrical conductivity, density and diffusion coefficients of trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([P66614][NTf]) ionic liquid and its binary solutions in acetonitrile, propionitrile, dimethyl and diethyl carbonates were measured in the temperature range of 293-348 K. The electrical conductivity - ionic liquid mole fraction dependencies for the binary solutions were fitted with the empirical Casteel-Amis equation. The temperature dependencies of electrical conductivity were analyzed using the Arrhenius, Litovitz and Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann approaches.

Self-Assembled Microporous M-HOFs Based on an Octahedral Rhenium Cluster with Benzimidazole.

Substitution of apical halide ligands in [{ReSe}X] (X = Cl, Br) by benzimidazole (bimzH) accompanied by a self-assembly process leads to the formation of microporous Re-based hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (Re-HOFs) constructed on N-H···X hydrogen bonds and π-π-stacking interactions between bimzH ligands. Re-HOFs demonstrate sorption properties with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of up to 443 m g and luminescence with a quantum yield and an emission lifetime of up to 0.16 and 16 μs, respectively.