An Amperometric Sensor with Anti-Fouling Properties for Indicating Xylazine Adulterant in Beverages.

Amperometric electrochemical sensing schemes, which are easily fabricated and can directly relate measured current with analyte concentrations, remain a promising strategy for the development of the portable, in situ detection of commonly employed adulterants. Xylazine (XYL) is a non-narcotic compound designed for veterinary use as a sedative known as Rompun. XYL is increasingly being abused as a recreational drug, as an opioid adulterant and, because of its chemical properties, has found unfortunate prominence as a date rape drug spiked into beverages.

Fouling-Resistant Voltammetric Xylazine Sensors for Detection of the Street Drug "Tranq".

As the opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc on a global scale, it is increasingly critical to develop methodologies to detect the most dangerous drugs such as fentanyl and its derivatives, which have orders of magnitude higher potency than morphine. The scientific challenge for chemical detection of fentanyl and its derivatives is complicated by both the constantly increasing synthetic variations of the drug as well as the expanded use of adulterants. One tragically consequential example is the nocuous street drug known as "Tranq", which combines fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative with the veterinary sedative Rompun, chemically identified as xylazine (XYL).

Situating Second-Year Success: Understanding Second-Year STEM Experiences at a Liberal Arts College.

Challenges particular to second-year students have been identified that can impact persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. We implemented a program to improve student success in intermediate-level science courses by helping students to feel they belonged and could succeed in STEM. We used survey measures of perceptions and attitudes and then qualitative measures to characterize the impact of support strategies, including peer mentoring, a second-year science student retreat, learning and advising support resources, and department-specific activities.