Publications by authors named "Kevin M. Smith"

Public health policies can dramatically shape government responses to emerging public health crises. In cases where a response is inadequate, it's natural to seek improvements to these policies to achieve better results in future crises. However, while policies and outcomes are usually visible, the complex dynamics that link them are seldom obvious.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The synthesis of a new bis-BF tetrafluorobenzo-[α]-fused BOPYPY dye from 4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroisoindole and 2-hydrazinopyrazine is reported. The regioselectivity of nucleophilic substitution reactions at the periphery of the tetrafluorinated BOPYPY and its α-bromo derivative were investigated using N-, O-, S-, and C-based nucleophiles. Among the aromatic fluorine atoms, the F atom is consistently regioselectively substituted, except when the α-position contains a thiophenol group; in this case, F is substituted instead due to stabilizing π-π-stacking between the two aromatic groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The reaction of Zn ions with β-octaalkylcorroles leads to the air oxidation of the macrocycle, with the formation of a mixture of 5- and 10-oxocorroles. Spectroscopic characterization confirms the antiaromatic character of these macrocycles. A simple synthetic protocol opens the way for more detailed studies of oxocorrole chemistry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alkylation of one of the inner-core nitrogen atoms is one possible approach to obtain dianionic corrole ligands, suitable for the coordination of divalent metal ions, such as Pd . Inner-core N-methylation can be obtained by treating the corrole with CH I, but the reaction conditions should be optimized to limit the formation of the dimethylated derivative. Two regioisomers, the N-21 and the N-22 methyl derivatives are obtained from the reaction, with the first product achieved in a higher amount.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a binary cancer treatment that involves the irradiation of B-containing tumors with low-energy neutrons (thermal or epithermal). The alpha particles and recoiling Li nuclei that are produced in the B-capture nuclear reaction are high-linear-energy transfer particles that destroy boron-loaded tumor cells; therefore, BNCT has the potential to be a localized therapeutic modality. Two boron-delivery agents have been used in clinical trials of BNCT in patients with malignant brain tumors, cutaneous melanoma, or recurrent tumors of the head and neck region, demonstrating the potential of BNCT in the treatment of difficult cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We present here the life and the work of Paul A. Castelfranco (1921-2021), a very special person who was not only a top chemist of chlorophyll biosynthesis, but also made major contributions on fatty acid oxidation, acetate metabolism and cellular organization. He led an extraordinary and exemplary life as a human being.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Details of the structural elucidation of the clinically useful photodynamic therapy sensitizer NPe6 () are presented. NPe6, also designated as Laserphyrin, Talaporfin, and LS-11, is a second-generation photosensitizer derived from chlorophyll-a, currently used in Japan for the treatment of human lung, esophageal, and brain cancers. After the initial misidentification of the structure of this chlorin-e aspartic acid conjugate as (), NMR and other synthetic procedures described herein arrived at the correct structure (), confirmed using single crystal X-ray crystallography.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study explored nursing home social services directors' interest in pursuing trauma-informed care (TIC) training, and individual and organizational characteristics associated with their interest. Data from the 2019 National Nursing Home Social Services Directors Survey, a national cross-sectional survey, were used. Measures sought information on participants' interest in TIC training, sociodemographic characteristics, and characteristics of employing nursing homes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The synthesis and reactivity of 3,8-dibromo-dodecafluoro-benzo-fused BOPHY 2 are reported, via S Ar with O-, N- S- and C-nucleophiles, and in Pd(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions (Suzuki and Stille). The resulting perfluoro-BOPHY derivatives were investigated for their reactivity in the presence of various nucleophiles. BOPHY 3 displays reversible color change and fluorescence quenching in the presence of bases (Et N, DBU), whereas BOPHY 7 reacts preferentially at the α-pyrrolic positions, and BOPHY 8 undergoes regioselective fluorine substitution in the presence of thiols.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Women living with HIV who misuse alcohol and live in economically disadvantaged settings in South Africa experience a multitude of contextual barriers as they navigate the HIV care continuum. The Women's Health CoOp (WHC), a brief, woman-focused, behavioural, evidence-based intervention, has been shown to be effective in reducing heavy drinking and improving HIV-related outcomes among this key population. However, these women face other broader socioecological barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A series of α-amino acid-BODIPY derivatives were synthesized using commercially available -Boc-l-amino acids, via boron functionalization under mild conditions. The mono-linear, mono-spiro, and di-amino acid-BODIPY derivatives were obtained using an excess of basic (histidine, lysine, and arginine), acidic (aspartic acid), polar (tyrosine, serine), and nonpolar (methionine) amino acid residues, in yields that ranged from 37 to 66%. The conformationally restricted mono-spiro- and di-amino acid-BODIPYs display strong absorptions in the visible spectral region with high molar extinction coefficients and significantly enhanced fluorescence quantum yields compared with the parent BF-BODIPY.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study describes social services directors' involvement in dementia care in U.S. nursing homes, focusing on interest in and needs for dementia care training.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Providing nursing home psychosocial care to persons with serious mental illnesses (SMI) requires understanding of comorbidities and attention to resident rights, needs and preferences. This quantitative study reports how 924 social service directors (SSDs) taking part in the National Nursing Home Social Service Director survey identified their roles and competence, stratified by the percentage of residents with SMI. More than 70% of SSDs, across all categories of homes, reported the social services department was "always" involved in conducting depression screening, biopsychosocial assessments and PASRR planning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To examine the relationships between loneliness and psychosocial supports, emerging adult service utilization, and barriers to utilization. 18 to 29-year-old students enrolled in a large Midwestern University ( = 292). Online surveys were administered to all participants involving information on loneliness, social supports, basic need satisfactions, community/university service utilization, and barriers to service use.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nursing home (NH) residents have high psychosocial needs related to illness, disability, and changing life circumstances. The staff member with the most expertise in addressing psychosocial needs is the social worker. However, federal regulations indicate that only NHs with 120+ beds need hire a social services staff member and that a "qualified social worker" need not have a social work degree.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate student learning outcomes in a flipped classroom versus a traditional classroom in a podiatric medical school. To date no published reports in podiatric medical schools have used the flipped classroom for the entirety of a medical school course.

Methods: Students from the class of 2017 completed the Emergency Medicine and Trauma course using traditional classroom lectures, and the class of 2018 used a flipped classroom approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The Department of Defense aims to maintain mission readiness of its service members. Therefore, it is important to understand factors associated with treatment seeking in order to identify areas of prevention and intervention early in a soldier's career that can promote positive functioning and increase their likelihood of seeking mental health care when necessary.

Method: Using a theory of planned behavior lens, this study identified potential barriers (risk) and facilitators (resilience) to treatment seeking among 24,717 soldiers-in-training who participated in the New Soldiers Study component of the "Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers" (Army STARRS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two different copper and gallium arylcorroles have been functionalized using the Vilsmeier-Haack reaction. A further Knoevenagel reaction with cyanoacetic acid was performed on both complexes, affording the desired products with yields above 90 %. The newly synthesized compounds have been thoroughly characterized by a combination of spectroscopic methods, optical analyses, and X-ray crystallography.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Silver corrolates are attractive compounds from both practical and theoretical points of view. Indeed, they play a key role in peripheral functionalization reactions occurring at the macrocycle, enabling high-yield and regioselective group insertions useful to further elaborate the molecular skeleton. In parallel, the Janus innocent or noninnocent behavior of the corrole ligand in these complexes makes their description particularly challenging.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An efficient synthesis of boron-functionalized cyclic BODIPY-Gly conjugates, using commercially available -protected glycine amino acids and a BF-BODIPY moiety as starting materials, is reported. The existence of two conformers (up and down) is revealed through comprehensive DFT calculations and H and B NMR analyses. The experimental and computational results indicate that all BODIPYs are stable in aqueous solutions at neutral pH and that Fmoc-BODIPY () is more stable than Ac-BODIPY () in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the preferred treatment for displaced femoral neck fractures in select patients, although dislocation remains a concern. In some studies, the supercapsular percutaneously assisted (SuperPATH) approach has demonstrated early mobilization, short hospital stay, and low dislocation rates in primary THA, but there are little data on its use for fractures. This study describes the perioperative outcomes and early dislocation rate of SuperPATH THA for displaced femoral neck fragility fractures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Revision ACL surgery may be complicated by tunnel malposition and/or tunnel widening and often requires a staged treatment approach that includes bone grafting, a period of several months to allow bone graft incorporation and then definitive revision ACL reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of a single-staged ACL revision reconstruction technique using a cylindrical dowel bone graft for patients who have existing posteriorly placed and/or widened tibial tunnels in the tibia at a minimum of 2 years follow-up.

Methods: Between 2010 and 2014, patients undergoing single-stage revision ACL reconstruction with the described technique were prospectively enrolled and evaluated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A novel and straightforward strategy for boron functionalization in boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) is developed. In particular, this synthetic strategy provides new possibilities for the synthesis of sp N-substituted (B-NCS and -NCO), benzotriazole- and trifluoroacetamide-substituted BODIPYs that were hitherto unknown. These new BODIPYs display an array of highly desirable photophysical properties (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Increased contact pressures of the osteoarthritic joint can lead to underlying osseous injury, with resultant marrow edema changes of the subchondral bone. These osteoarthritis-related bone marrow lesions can subsequently lead to persistent pain and further disability. Limited joint preservation treatment options exist to alleviate symptoms or potentially alter the natural history of the affected joint; however, recent success with injectable calcium phosphate has provided early pain relief and may provide a scaffold for endogenous repair mechanisms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF