Unravelling ionic liquid solvent effects for a non-polar Cope rearrangement reaction.

The impact of ionic liquids (ILs) on polar reactions is well recognised, however the impact of ILs on non-polar reactions is less well understood or explored. Pericyclic Cope rearrangements are highly concerted, exhibit minimal charge localisation and pass through an uncharged but well-defined transition state, and thus provide a good mechanism for exploring the impact of IL polarizability on chemical reactivity. Recently, a 10× rate enhancement has been observed for the Cope rearrangement of 3-phenyl-1,5-hexadiene in the IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [CCim][NTf] compared to benzene.

Anion and ether group influence in protic guanidinium ionic liquids.

Ionic liquids are attractive liquid materials for many advanced applications. For targeted design, in-depth knowledge about their structure-property-relations is urgently needed. We prepared a set of novel protic ionic liquids (PILs) with a guanidinium cation with either an ether or alkyl side chain and different anions.

Investigation of occupant kinematics and injury risk in a reclined and rearward-facing seat under various frontal crash velocities.

Introduction: The availability of highly automated driving functions will vastly change the seating configuration in future vehicles. A reclined and rearward-facing seating position could become one of the popular seating positions. The occupant safety needs to be addressed in these novel seating configurations, as novel occupant loading conditions occur and the current standards as well as regulations are not fully applicable.

Curled cation structures accelerate the dynamics of ionic liquids.

Ionic liquids are modern liquid materials with potential and actual implementation in many advanced technologies. They combine many favourable and modifiable properties but have a major inherent drawback compared to molecular liquids - slower dynamics. In previous studies we found that the dynamics of ionic liquids are significantly accelerated by the introduction of multiple ether side chains into the cations.

Transethnic meta-analysis of rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 supports their general contribution to Alzheimer's disease.

Rare coding variants in TREM2, PLCG2, and ABI3 were recently associated with the susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Caucasians. Frequencies and AD-associated effects of variants differ across ethnicities. To start filling the gap on AD genetics in South America and assess the impact of these variants across ethnicity, we studied these variants in Argentinian population in association with ancestry.

Apolipoprotein E ε4 does not affect cognitive performance in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD). The apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele ε4 is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and has also been suggested to be a risk factor for dementia in PD and even a predictor of impairment in certain cognitive domains.

Methods: A total of 447 PD patients (PD patients without cognitive impairment: n = 187; PD patients with mild cognitive impairment: n = 188; PD patients with dementia: n = 72) were included from an ongoing observational German multicenter cohort study (LANDSCAPE study).

No association of the variant rs11887120 in DNMT3A with cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Alterations in DNA methylation have been associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. A recent study of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) reported a significant association between annual decline in cognitive function and the rs11887120 SNP located in DNMT3A, a gene implicated in DNA methylation. Here, we aimed to replicate this finding in two independent MCI cohorts (n = 1024); however, no significant association was observed in either cohort or the pooled dataset.

TREM2 rare variant p.R47H is not associated with Parkinson's disease.

Variant p.R47H of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). We screened this TREM2-variant in 821 PD patients including 261 demented PD patients (PDD) and in healthy controls (n = 919).

Variants in the 3'UTR of SNCA do not affect miRNA-433 binding and alpha-synuclein expression.

Alpha-synuclein (SNCA) is a major risk gene for Parkinson's disease (PD) and increased SNCA gene dosage results in a parkinsonian syndrome in affected families. Regulatory regions relevant for SNCA expression include the 3' untranslated region (UTR), which among other regulatory elements contains several micro-RNA-binding sites. Interestingly, variants located in the 3' region of SNCA have been associated with PD in two genome-wide association studies.

Systematic approach to complex periodic vortex and helix lattices.

We present a general comprehensive framework for the description of symmetries of complex light fields, facilitating the construction of sophisticated periodic structures carrying phase dislocations. In particular, we demonstrate the derivation of all three fundamental two-dimensional vortex lattices based on vortices of triangular, quadratic, and hexagonal shape, respectively. We show that these patterns represent the foundation of complex three-dimensional lattices with outstanding helical intensity distributions which suggest valuable applications in holographic lithography.

Investigation of the neutron contamination in IMRT deliveries with a paired magnesium and boron coated magnesium ionization chamber system.

Background And Purpose: Photon beams used in IMRT treatments with high energies (>10 MV) are contaminated with neutrons. Measurement of this neutron dose is of significance to the overall risk estimate of high energy radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: For measuring neutron doses a paired magnesium and boron coated magnesium chamber system was used.