Patient signalment and aetiology of hypercortisolism in Australian dogs with Cushing's syndrome.

Objective: Patient characteristics of Cushing's syndrome differ between countries and have not been assessed in the Australian dog population. This study describes signalment and distribution of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent hypercortisolism (ADH) and ACTH-independent hypercortisolism (AIH) in Australian dogs.

Animals: Two-hundred client-owned dogs that had endogenous ACTH concentrations measured by radioimmunoassay.

Improving Public Health Emergency Communication Along the U.S. Southern Border: Insights From a COVID-19 Pilot Campaign With Truck Drivers.

Tens of thousands of trucks cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day.

Enhancing CO Capture via Metal-Ligand Cooperativity: Tuning Ligand Basicity and Zn(II) Lewis Acidity.

A series of thiosemicarbazonato-hydrazinatopyridine zinc(II) complexes were evaluated as direct air CO capture agents. The complexes sequester CO in a methanol solution as a metal-coordinated methylcarbonate. The reaction is reversible upon sparging of solutions with an inert gas (N or Ar).

Metal-Ligand Cooperativity Promotes Reversible Capture of Dilute CO as a Zn(II)-Methylcarbonate.

In this study, a series of thiosemicarbazonato-hydrazinatopyridine metal complexes were evaluated as CO capture agents. The complexes incorporate a non-coordinating, basic hydrazinatopyridine nitrogen in close proximity to a Lewis acidic metal ion allowing for metal-ligand cooperativity. The coordination of various metal ions with (diacetyl-2-(4-methyl-thiosemicarbazone)-3-(2-hydrazinopyridine) (HL) yielded ML (M = Ni(II), Pd(II)), ML(CHOH) (M = Cu(II), Zn(II)), and [ML(PPh)]BF (M = Co(III)) complexes.

Toward Understanding of the Li-Ion Migration Pathways in the Lithium Aluminum Sulfides LiAlS and LiAlSCl via Li Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Li-containing materials providing fast ion transport pathways are fundamental in Li solid electrolytes and the future of all-solid-state batteries. Understanding these pathways, which usually benefit from structural disorder and cation/anion substitution, is paramount for further developments in next-generation Li solid electrolytes. Here, we exploit a range of variable temperature Li and Li nuclear magnetic resonance approaches to determine Li-ion mobility pathways, quantify Li-ion jump rates, and subsequently identify the limiting factors for Li-ion diffusion in LiAlS and chlorine-doped analogue LiAlSCl.

Control of Ionic Conductivity by Lithium Distribution in Cubic Oxide Argyrodites LiPSiOCl.

Argyrodite is a key structure type for ion-transporting materials. Oxide argyrodites are largely unexplored despite sulfide argyrodites being a leading family of solid-state lithium-ion conductors, in which the control of lithium distribution over a wide range of available sites strongly influences the conductivity. We present a new cubic Li-rich (>6 Li per formula unit) oxide argyrodite LiSiOCl that crystallizes with an ordered cubic (23) structure at room temperature, undergoing a transition at 473 K to a Li site disordered 4̅3 structure, consistent with the symmetry adopted by superionic sulfide argyrodites.

Off-the-Shelf Gd(NO) as an Efficient High-Spin Metal Ion Polarizing Agent for Magic Angle Spinning Dynamic Nuclear Polarization.

Magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments are widely employed in the characterization of solid media. The approach is incredibly versatile but deleteriously suffers from low sensitivity, which may be alleviated by adopting dynamic nuclear polarization methods, resulting in large signal enhancements. Paramagnetic metal ions such as Gd have recently shown promising results as polarizing agents for H, C, and N nuclear spins.

Cation Disorder and Large Tetragonal Supercell Ordering in the Li-Rich Argyrodite LiZnSiS.

A tetragonal argyrodite with >7 mobile cations, LiZnSiS, is experimentally realized for the first time through solid state synthesis and exploration of the Li-Zn-Si-S phase diagram. The crystal structure of LiZnSiS was solved from high-resolution X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data and supported by solid-state NMR. LiZnSiS adopts a tetragonal 4 structure at room temperature with ordered Li and Zn positions and undergoes a transition above 411.

Regretful pleasure: Toward an understanding of flow cost in media use.

Flow (state of intense focus) during media use has been largely considered a desirable experience, with technologies developed to maximize the chance of encountering flow in computer-mediated environments. However, the total absorption of attention due to flow could be problematic in contexts where the user has multiple predetermined goals, and engaging with the flow-inducing media could cost them resources that may be otherwise devoted to other goals. When flow imposes a cost on the user's goal performance, it may also reduce their post-experience gratification with the flow-inducing media.

LiAlSCl: A Sulfide-Chloride Lithium Ion Conductor with Highly Disordered Structure and Increased Conductivity.

Mixed anion materials and anion doping are very promising strategies to improve solid-state electrolyte properties by enabling an optimized balance between good electrochemical stability and high ionic conductivity. In this work, we present the discovery of a novel lithium aluminum sulfide-chloride phase, obtained by substitution of chloride for sulfur in LiAlS and LiAlS materials. The structure is strongly affected by the presence of chloride anions on the sulfur site, as the substitution was shown to be directly responsible for the stabilization of a higher symmetry phase presenting a large degree of cationic site disorder, as well as disordered octahedral lithium vacancies.

Li Dynamics of Liquid Electrolytes Nanoconfined in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are excellent platforms to design hybrid electrolytes for Li batteries with liquid-like transport and stability against lithium dendrites. We report on Li dynamics in quasi-solid electrolytes consisting in Mg-MOF-74 soaked with LiClO-propylene carbonate (PC) and LiClO-ethylene carbonate (EC)/dimethyl carbonate (DMC) solutions by combining studies of ion conductivity, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) characterization, and spin relaxometry. We investigate nanoconfinement of liquid inside MOFs to characterize the adsorption/solvation mechanism at the basis of Li migration in these materials.

Extended Condensed Ultraphosphate Frameworks with Monovalent Ions Combine Lithium Mobility with High Computed Electrochemical Stability.

Extended anionic frameworks based on condensation of polyhedral main group non-metal anions offer a wide range of structure types. Despite the widespread chemistry and earth abundance of phosphates and silicates, there are no reports of extended ultraphosphate anions with lithium. We describe the lithium ultraphosphates LiPO and LiPO based on extended layers and chains of phosphate, respectively.

Element selection for crystalline inorganic solid discovery guided by unsupervised machine learning of experimentally explored chemistry.

The selection of the elements to combine delimits the possible outcomes of synthetic chemistry because it determines the range of compositions and structures, and thus properties, that can arise. For example, in the solid state, the elemental components of a phase field will determine the likelihood of finding a new crystalline material. Researchers make these choices based on their understanding of chemical structure and bonding.

Polymorph of LiAlPO: Combined Computational, Synthetic, Crystallographic, and Ionic Conductivity Study.

We report a new polymorph of lithium aluminum pyrophosphate, LiAlPO, discovered through a computationally guided synthetic exploration of the Li-Mg-Al-P-O phase field. The new polymorph formed at 973 K, and the crystal structure, solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, adopts the orthorhombic space group with = 5.1140(9) Å, = 8.

LiSiOCl: A Hexagonal Argyrodite Based on Antiperovskite Layer Stacking.

A hexagonal analogue, LiSiOCl, of the cubic lithium argyrodite family of solid electrolytes is isolated by a computation-experiment approach. We show that the argyrodite structure is equivalent to the cubic antiperovskite solid electrolyte structure through anion site and vacancy ordering within a cubic stacking of two close-packed layers. Construction of models that assemble these layers with the combination of hexagonal and cubic stacking motifs, both well known in the large family of perovskite structural variants, followed by energy minimization identifies LiSiOCl as a stable candidate composition.

Evaluation of nurses' experiences of a post education program promoting recognition and response to patient deterioration: Phase 2, clinical coach support in practice.

Front-line nurses providing around the clock care are pivotal to the identification, recognition, and response to patient deterioration. However, there is growing evidence that patient deterioration indicators are poorly managed and not escalated to rapid response teams (RRTs), contributing to adverse outcomes. Access to effective educational programs has been cited as vital in optimising nurses' recognition and response to deteriorating patients.

The impact of the degree of intimate mixing on the compaction properties of materials produced by crystallo-co-spray drying.

Direct compression remains one of the most favourable methods available to produce tablet compacts due to its simplicity, efficiency and cost effectiveness however, the technique still remains unsuitable for the majority of formulations due to materials exhibiting poor physical properties such as inadequate compressibility and deformation mechanisms. Whereas crystallo-co-spray drying of various blends has shown to improve the tabletting properties of poorly processable materials, the role of the solvent feed composition in altering the soluble fraction ratio of the excipient to the drug in a crystallo-co-spray dried agglomerate is not well understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of the soluble fraction of a drug (paracetamol) and an excipient (α-lactose monohydrate) on the tabletting properties of their crystallo-co-spray dried agglomerates produced via co-spray drying using various inlet feed solvent compositions in order to vary the soluble fraction of the excipient in the feed.

Computationally Guided Discovery of the Sulfide LiAlS in the Li-Al-S Phase Field: Structure and Lithium Conductivity.

With the goal of finding new lithium solid electrolytes by a combined computational-experimental method, the exploration of the Li-Al-O-S phase field resulted in the discovery of a new sulfide LiAlS. The structure of the new phase was determined through an approach combining synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction with Li and Al magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and revealed to be a highly ordered cationic polyhedral network within a sulfide anion -type sublattice. The originality of the structure relies on the presence of AlS repeating dimer units consisting of two edge-shared Al tetrahedra.

Perspectives on Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) Research, Clinical Management and Community Engagement from the Duke IBC Consortium.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an understudied and aggressive form of breast cancer with a poor prognosis, accounting for 2-6% of new breast cancer diagnoses but 10% of all breast cancer-related deaths in the United States. Currently there are no therapeutic regimens developed specifically for IBC, and it is critical to recognize that all aspects of treating IBC - including staging, diagnosis, and therapy - are vastly different than other breast cancers. In December 2014, under the umbrella of an interdisciplinary initiative supported by the Duke School of Medicine, researchers, clinicians, research administrators, and patient advocates formed the Duke Consortium for IBC to address the needs of patients in North Carolina (an ethnically and economically diverse state with 100 counties) and across the Southeastern United States.

DISC1 regulates N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor dynamics: abnormalities induced by a Disc1 mutation modelling a translocation linked to major mental illness.

The neuromodulatory gene DISC1 is disrupted by a t(1;11) translocation that is highly penetrant for schizophrenia and affective disorders, but how this translocation affects DISC1 function is incompletely understood. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) play a central role in synaptic plasticity and cognition, and are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia through genetic and functional studies. We show that the NMDAR subunit GluN2B complexes with DISC1-associated trafficking factor TRAK1, while DISC1 interacts with the GluN1 subunit and regulates dendritic NMDAR motility in cultured mouse neurons.

DNA sequence-level analyses reveal potential phenotypic modifiers in a large family with psychiatric disorders.

Psychiatric disorders are a group of genetically related diseases with highly polygenic architectures. Genome-wide association analyses have made substantial progress towards understanding the genetic architecture of these disorders. More recently, exome- and whole-genome sequencing of cases and families have identified rare, high penetrant variants that provide direct functional insight.

The impact of a multimodal education strategy (the DeTER program) on nurses' recognition and response to deteriorating patients.

Nurses are ideally positioned to recognise and respond to patient deterioration. However, premonitory signs of patient deterioration are often overlooked, not managed, or not communicated in a timely fashion. Education programs aimed at improving nurses' technical and non-technical skills have been developed, however, the outcomes of these educational strategies remain unclear.

Altered DNA methylation associated with a translocation linked to major mental illness.

Recent work has highlighted a possible role for altered epigenetic modifications, including differential DNA methylation, in susceptibility to psychiatric illness. Here, we investigate blood-based DNA methylation in a large family where a balanced translocation between chromosomes 1 and 11 shows genome-wide significant linkage to psychiatric illness. Genome-wide DNA methylation was profiled in whole-blood-derived DNA from 41 individuals using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina Inc.