The role of social work practitioners and human service professionals in long-term disaster recovery after the 2016 Alberta wildfires in Canada.

The 2016 Alberta wildfires resulted in widespread destruction of property and displacement of residents. Research aimed to identify the roles and responsibilities of social work practitioners and human service professionals in long-term disaster recovery. This article presents the findings from interviews, focus groups, and a survey with a total of 140 participants in Alberta, Canada.

Encapsulation and adhesion of nanoparticles as a potential biomarker for TNBC cells metastatic propensity.

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related mortality; therefore, the ability to predict its propensity can remarkably affect survival rate. Metastasis development is predicted nowadays by lymph-node status, tumor size, histopathology, and genetic testing. However, all these methods may have inaccuracies, and some require weeks to complete.

Proteomic Markers for Mechanobiological Properties of Metastatic Cancer Cells.

The major cause (more than 90%) of all cancer-related deaths is metastasis, thus its prediction can critically affect the survival rate. Metastases are currently predicted by lymph-node status, tumor size, histopathology and genetic testing; however, all these are not infallible, and obtaining results may require weeks. The identification of new potential prognostic factors will be an important source of risk information for the practicing oncologist, potentially leading to enhanced patient care through the proactive optimization of treatment strategies.

Exploring the Optoelectronic Properties of D-A and A-D-A 2,2'-bi[3,2-]thienothiophene Derivatives.

The synthesis of some novel donor-acceptor and acceptor-donor-acceptor systems containing a 2,2'-bi[3,2-]thienothiophene donor block and various electron-accepting units is described alongside their photophysical properties studied using electrochemistry, optical spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The obtained results show that the energy levels can be modulated by changing the strength of the acceptor unit. Among the three investigated end-groups, 1,1-dicyanomethylene-3-indanone exhibited the largest bathochromic shift and the lowest band gap suggesting the strongest electron-withdrawing character.

[Assessment of the safety and efficacy of medicinal product PPR-001 based on regulatory polypeptides of the testes].

Objective: Evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of the drug PPR-001 (lyophilizate) in comparison with placebo in men with impaired spermatogenesis.

Materials And Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective, multicenter, parallel-group research.

Results: It was found that the drug has clinical efficacy and a positive effect on the concentration of spermatozoa in the ejaculate, the percentage of progressively mobile forms and the number of morphologically normal forms of spermatozoa was increased in the group of PPR-001.

Does Informal Education Training Increase Awareness of Anaphylaxis among Students of Medicine? Before-After Survey Study.

Allergies are among the most common chronic diseases in Europe. The most serious complication is anaphylactic shock. Most cases occur outside the hospital; thus, knowledge of symptoms and first aid is crucial.

IGFBP-3 Mediates Metabolic Homeostasis During Hyperosmolar Stress in the Corneal Epithelium.

Purpose: The insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is a multifunctional secretory protein with well-known roles in cell growth and survival. Data in our laboratory suggest that IGFBP-3 may be functioning as a stress response protein in the corneal epithelium. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of IGFBP-3 in mediating the corneal epithelial cell stress response to hyperosmolarity, a well-known pathophysiological event in the development of dry eye disease.

3D Printing in Heterogeneous Catalysis-The State of the Art.

This paper describes the process of additive manufacturing and a selection of three-dimensional (3D) printing methods which have applications in chemical synthesis, specifically for the production of monolithic catalysts. A review was conducted on reference literature for 3D printing applications in the field of catalysis. It was proven that 3D printing is a promising production method for catalysts.

Risk-sensitive foraging does not explain condition-dependent choices in settling reef fish larvae.

The transition from the planktonic larval to the benthic adult stage in reef fishes is perilous, and involves decisions about habitat selection and group membership. These decisions are consequential because they are essentially permanent (many fish rarely leave their initial settlement habitat, at least for the first several days or weeks). In one common Caribbean reef fish, the bluehead wrasse (), settling larvae either join groups or remain solitary.

A three-armed cryptand with triazine and pyridine units: synthesis, structure and complexation with polycyclic aromatic compounds.

The aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction based synthesis of a three-armed cryptand displaying 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine units as caps and pyridine rings in the bridges, along with NMR, MS and molecular modelling-based structural analysis of this compound are reported. Appropriate NMR and molecular modelling investigations proved the formation of 1:1 host-guest assemblies between the investigated cryptand and some polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons or their derivatives.

Modulating short tryptophan- and arginine-rich peptides activity by substitution with histidine.

Background: High antimicrobial efficacy of short tryptophan-and arginine-rich peptides makes them good candidates in the fight against pathogens. Substitution of tryptophan and arginine by histidine could be used to modulate the peptides efficacy by optimizing their structures.

Methods: The peptide (RRWWRWWRR), reported to showed good antimicrobial efficacy, was used as template, seven new analogs being designed substituting tryptophan or arginine with histidine.

A Study of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding in Levoglucosan Derivatives.

Organofluorine is a weak hydrogen-bond (HB) acceptor. Bernet et al. have demonstrated its capability to perturb OH···O intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IMHBs), using conformationally rigid carbohydrate scaffolds including levoglucosan derivatives.

Supramolecular anion recognition by β-HCH.

The formation of highly ordered supramolecular architectures via cooperative C(aliphatic)-H·anion contacts between β-HCH and various anions (Cl, Br, I and HSO) was investigated by single crystal X-ray diffractometry, molecular modelling, ESI-MS and H-NMR titrations.

Indenopyrans - synthesis and photoluminescence properties.

New indeno[1,2-c]pyran-3-ones bearing different substituents at the pyran moiety were synthesized and their photophysical properties were investigated. In solution all compounds were found to be blue emitters and the trans isomers exhibited significantly higher fluorescence quantum yields (relative to 9,10-diphenylanthracene) as compared to the corresponding cis isomers. The solid-state fluorescence spectra revealed an important red shift of λmax due to intermolecular interactions in the lattice, along with an emission-band broadening, as compared to the solution fluorescence spectra.

α-Fluoro-o-cresols: The Key Role of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonding in Conformational Preference and Hydrogen-Bond Acidity.

The conformational preferences of o-cresols driven by fluorination were thoroughly investigated from a theoretical point of view with quantum-chemical methods, and the results were compared to those recently reported for benzyl alcohols. The key conformers of both families exhibit a six-membered intramolecular hydrogen-bond (IMHB) interaction. A significant enhancement in the strength of the IMHB is observed in α-fluoro-o-cresols, owing to a simultaneous increase in the hydrogen bond (HB) basicity of the aliphatic fluorine and the HB acidity of the aromatic hydroxyl relative to that observed for o-fluorobenzyl alcohols, which are characterized by aromatic fluorine atoms and aliphatic hydroxyl groups.

Intramolecular OH⋅⋅⋅Fluorine Hydrogen Bonding in Saturated, Acyclic Fluorohydrins: The γ-Fluoropropanol Motif.

Fluorination is commonly exercised in compound property optimization. However, the influence of fluorination on hydrogen-bond (HB) properties of adjacent functional groups, as well as the HB-accepting capacity of fluorine itself, is still not completely understood. Although the formation of OH⋅⋅⋅F intramolecular HBs (IMHBs) has been established for conformationally restricted fluorohydrins, such interaction in flexible compounds remained questionable.

Selective host molecules obtained by dynamic adaptive chemistry.

Up till 20 years ago, in order to endow molecules with function there were two mainstream lines of thought. One was to rationally design the positioning of chemical functionalities within candidate molecules, followed by an iterative synthesis-optimization process. The second was the use of a "brutal force" approach of combinatorial chemistry coupled with advanced screening for function.

(3-Chloro-phen-yl){2-eth-oxy-5-[(Z)-hydroxy(phen-yl)methyl-idene]cyclo-penta-1,3-dien-1-yl}methanone.

The title compound, C(21)H(17)ClO(3), which crystallizes as one of two possible oxo/hy-droxy-fulvene prototropic tautomers, possesses a strong intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bond that closes a seven-membered ring. The dihedral angles between the central five-membered ring and two pendant rings are 55.05 (9) and 44.

Reference molecules for nonlinear optics: a joint experimental and theoretical investigation.

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) experiments and quantum chemical calculations are combined to investigate the second-order nonlinear optical responses of a series of reference molecules, namely, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, trichloroacetonitrile, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane. The multipolar decomposition of the first hyperpolarizability tensor through the use of the spherical harmonics formalism is employed to highlight the impact of the symmetry of the molecular scatterers on their nonlinear optical responses. It is demonstrated that HRS is a technique of choice to probe the molecular symmetry of the compounds.

Effects of the nature and length of the π-conjugated bridge on the second-order nonlinear optical responses of push-pull molecules including 4,5-dicyanoimidazole and their protonated forms.

Theoretical and experimental methods of characterization have been employed to investigate a series of six push-pull molecules containing a 4,5-dicyanoimidazole acceptor (A) unit, a N,N-dimethylamino donor (D) group, and systematically enlarged π-conjugated linkers (π) with the view of assessing their first hyperpolarizabilities (β) as well as their variations upon protonation. The results demonstrated that protonation occurred at the N,N-dimethylamino function, which led to disruption of the electronic charge-transfer delocalization: the A-π-D pattern of the neutral species with large β values was transformed into an A-π-A' pattern, which displayed much smaller β values. This feature makes these systems applicable as pH-triggered nonlinear optics (NLO) switches.

Reflexive modernization at the source: local media coverage of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in rural Alberta.

The potential for reflexive modernization is defined by multiple factors, but the acknowledgment of risk is crucial, particularly among social groups that play a key role in risk minimization. This study offers an examination of the role of local media in response to the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in beef-producing communities in rural Alberta. BSE is one of several global risk issues that reflexive modernization theorists argue have the potential to trigger a transformation toward a critically reflexive society in which such risks are minimized.

Geometric enantiomerism in cyclic compounds: chiral dibrominated 1,3-dioxanes.

The first geometric enantiomers in the cyclic compounds series are reported. The investigated compounds are 2,2-disubstituted-5-methyl-1,3-dioxane derivatives in which the substituents at position 2 bear chiral centers with identical substituents but with opposite configurations. The structure of the unlike isomers was determined from the solid state molecular structure of the compounds obtained by single crystal X-ray diffractometry and the enantiomers of these diastereoisomers were observed by chiral column HPLC base-line separation.

Nonlinear optical properties of flavylium salts: a quantum chemical study.

Ab initio calculations have been carried out to unravel the relationships between the structure and the first hyperpolarizability in flavylium derivatives, with the aim to design efficient second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) switching compounds. Large contrasts of the first hyperpolarizability have been obtained along the pH-controlled and photoinduced transformations for specific combinations of chemical substituents in the 4'- and 7-positions, which demonstrates that these multistate systems should behave as highly efficient molecular NLO switches.