Direct nucleophilic and electrophilic activation of alcohols using a unified boron-based organocatalyst scaffold.

Organocatalytic strategies for the direct activation of hydroxy-containing compounds have paled in comparison to those applicable to carbonyl compounds. To this end, boronic acids have emerged as valuable catalysts for the functionalization of hydroxy groups in a mild and selective fashion. Distinct modes of activation in boronic acid-catalyzed transformations are often accomplished by vastly different catalytic species, complicating the design of broadly applicable catalyst classes.

Judicious Heteroatom Doping Produces High-Performance Deep-Blue/Near-UV Multiresonant Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence OLEDs.

Two multiresonant thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitters are presented and it is shown how further borylation of a deep-blue MR-TADF emitter, DIDOBNA-N, both blueshifts and narrows the emission producing a new near-UV MR-TADF emitter, MesB-DIDOBNA-N, are shown. DIDOBNA-N emits bright blue light (Φ = 444 nm, FWHM = 64 nm, Φ = 81%, τ = 23 ms, 1.5 wt% in TSPO1).

A qualitative exploration of Indigenous patients' experiences of racism and perspectives on improving cultural safety within health care.

Background: In Canada, Indigenous Peoples continue to experience persistent health inequities, resulting in disproportionately poorer health outcomes compared with non-Indigenous Canadians. This study engaged Indigenous patients accessing health care in Vancouver, Canada, about their experiences of racism and improving cultural safety within health care.

Methods: A research team consisting of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers committed to employing a Two-Eyed Seeing approach and conducting culturally safe research hosted 2 sharing circles in May 2019 with Indigenous people recruited from urban health care settings.

CIB2 Is a Novel Endogenous Repressor of Atrial Remodeling.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly prevalent condition that can cause or exacerbate heart failure, is an important risk factor for stroke, and is associated with pronounced morbidity and death. Genes uniquely expressed in the atria are known to be essential for maintaining atrial structure and function. Atrial tissue remodeling contributes to arrhythmia recurrence and maintenance.

: And the winner is ….

This Editorial (Vol. 15 Issue 2-Regular Issue) first announces the winner of the 2023 Michèle Auger Award for Young Scientists' Independent Research before then going on to describe the contents of the current Issue. The Editorial closes with a discussion of the pros and cons of writing in the formulation of scientific ideas.

Editors' roundup: April 2023.

The IUPAB journal provides a regular forum, known as the "Editors' Roundup," that is available to editorial board members of any biophysics-related journal to contribute a personal recommendation of articles appearing within their publications. This latest Issue of the Editors' Roundup carries recommendations from editorial board members associated with the following journals, , and the journal.

Increasing Quality and Frequency of Goals-of-Care Documentation in the Highest-Risk Surgical Candidates: One-Year Results of the Surgical Pause Program.

Unlabelled: Patient values may be obscured when decisions are made under the circumstances of constrained time and limited counseling. The objective of this study was to determine if a multidisciplinary review aimed at ensuring goal-concordant treatment and perioperative risk assessment in high-risk orthopaedic trauma patients would increase the quality and frequency of goals-of-care documentation without increasing the rate of adverse events.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed a longitudinal cohort of adult patients treated for traumatic orthopaedic injuries that were neither life- nor limb-threatening between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021.

Staff competence in caring for LGBTQ+ patients in the paediatric emergency department.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the competency of paediatric emergency department (PED) multidisciplinary staff in caring for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, + inclusive of all identities) adolescents.

Design: This was an observational study within which participants were required to complete the LGBT-Development of Clinical Skills Scale self-assessment tool of clinical competence.

Setting: It was conducted across three PEDs and one urgent care centre pertaining to the Children's Health Ireland healthcare group.

Why is tinnitus a problem? A large-scale qualitative evaluation of problems reported by tinnitus patients in mainland China.

Objectives: The lived experience of tinnitus has biopsychosocial characteristics which are influenced by sociocultural factors. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how tinnitus affects people in their everyday life in China. A deductive qualitative analysis examined whether an Western-centric conceptual framework could extend to an Asian context.

Hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis signaling in Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus).

In vertebrates, the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal/interrenal (HPA/HPI) axis is a highly conserved endocrine axis that regulates glucocorticoid production via signaling by corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Once activated by ACTH, G protein-coupled melanocortin 2 receptors (Mc2r) present in corticosteroidogenic cells stimulate expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (Star), which initiates steroid biosynthesis. In the present study, we examined the tissue distribution of genes involved in HPI axis signaling and steroidogenesis in the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and provided the first functional characterization of Mc2r in sturgeon.

Computational Quantum Chemistry Insights into the Mechanism of VO Reduction on Graphene-Based Electrodes.

The identity of active sites for redox reactions within vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) isstill controversial despite decades of research into the matter. Here, we use density functional theory to examine the premise of selected surface functional groups as active sites and provide mechanistic insights into the reaction pathway for the positive electrode reaction. The adsorption of electroactive species on phenol and carbene-like edge carbon sites was compared using model aromatic clusters.

Exploring the usability, user experience and usefulness of a supportive website for people with dementia and carers.

Purpose: This study explores the usability, usefulness and user experience of the Forward with Dementia website for people with dementia and family carers, and identifies strategies to improve web design for this population.

Methods: The website was iteratively user-tested by 12 participants (five people with dementia, seven carers) using the Zoom platform. Data collection involved observations, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires.

Scales for Antipsychotic-Associated Movement Disorders: Systematic Review, Critique, and Recommendations.

Background: Antipsychotic-associated movement disorders remain common and disabling. Their screening and assessment are challenging due to clinical heterogeneity and different use of nomenclature between psychiatrists and neurologists.

Objective: An International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society subcommittee aimed to rate psychometric quality of severity and screening instruments for antipsychotic-associated movement disorders.

Comparison of the Risk Analysis Index and the modified 5-factor frailty index in predicting 30-day morbidity and mortality after spine surgery.

Objective: Frailty's role in preoperative risk assessment in spine surgery has increased in association with the increasing size of the aging population. However, previous frailty assessment tools have significant limitations. The aim of this study was to compare the predictive ability of the Risk Analysis Index (RAI) with the 5-factor modified frailty index (mFI-5) for postoperative spine surgery morbidity and mortality.

Has Wrought Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloy Changed for the Worse Over Time?

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) failure due to tribocorrosion of modular junctions and resulting adverse local tissue reactions to corrosion debris have seemingly increased over the past few decades. Recent studies have found that chemically-induced column damage seen on the inner head taper is enabled by banding in the alloy microstructure of wrought cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy femoral heads, and is associated with more material loss than other tribocorrosion processes. It is unclear if alloy banding represents a recent phenomenon.

Rapid escape of new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants from BA.2-directed antibody responses.

In November 2021, Omicron BA.1, containing a raft of new spike mutations, emerged and quickly spread globally. Intense selection pressure to escape the antibody response produced by vaccines or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection then led to a rapid succession of Omicron sub-lineages with waves of BA.

Hyperglycemia First Detected in Pregnancy in South Africa: Facts, Gaps, and Opportunities.

This review contextualizes hyperglycemia in pregnancy from a South-African perspective. It aims to create awareness of the importance of hyperglycemia in pregnancy in low-middle-income countries. We address unanswered questions to guide future research on sub-Saharan African women with hyperglycemia first detected in pregnancy (HFDP).

Germline genetic variants and pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma outcomes: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Relative to other pediatric cancers, survival for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) has not improved in recent decades, suggesting the need to enhance risk stratification. Therefore, we conducted a genome-wide association study for event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) to identify genetic variants associated with outcomes in individuals with RMS.

Methods: The study included 920 individuals with newly diagnosed RMS who were enrolled in Children's Oncology Group protocols.

Comparison of published core outcome sets with outcomes recommended in regulatory guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency: cross sectional analysis.

Objective: To compare the outcomes in published core outcome sets with the outcomes recommended in corresponding guidance documents from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), matched by health condition.

Design: Cross sectional analysis.

Setting: US and Europe.

An Oligomer Approach for Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Emitters Based on Twisted Donor-Acceptor Units.

The development of efficient blue donor-acceptor thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters remains a challenge. To enhance the efficiency of TADF-related processes of the emitter, we targeted a molecular design that would introduce a large number of intermediate triplet states between the lowest energy excited triplet (T) and singlet (S) excited states. Here, we introduce an oligomer approach using repetitive donor-acceptor units to gradually increase the number of quasi-degenerate states.

Conductive organic electrodes for flexible electronic devices.

The paper reports on a novel process flow to manufacture conductive organic electrodes from highly conductive doped PEDOT:PSS polymer films that can be patterned and display a good adhesion to oxidized Si wafers as well as to flexible substrates, such as Mylar. Among other results, it is shown that multiple depositions of PEDOT:PSS increase the electrical conductivity by more than two orders of magnitude without increasing the film thickness of PEDOT:PSS significantly. An exponential dependence between sheet resistance and the number of PEDOT:PSS coatings has been found.

Meisosomes, folded membrane microdomains between the apical extracellular matrix and epidermis.

Apical extracellular matrices (aECMs) form a physical barrier to the environment. In , the epidermal aECM, the cuticle, is composed mainly of different types of collagen, associated in circumferential ridges separated by furrows. Here, we show that in mutants lacking furrows, the normal intimate connection between the epidermis and the cuticle is lost, specifically at the lateral epidermis, where, in contrast to the dorsal and ventral epidermis, there are no hemidesmosomes.