A non-covalently bound redox indicator for electrochemical CRISPR-Cas12a and DNase I biosensors.

A rapid and accurate biosensor for detecting disease biomarkers at point-of-care is essential for early disease diagnosis and preventing pandemics. CRISPR-Cas12a is a promising recognition element for DNA biosensors due to its programmability, specificity, and deoxyribonuclease activity initiated in the presence of a biomarker. The current electrochemical CRISPR-Cas12a-based biosensors utilize the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) self-assembled on an electrode surface and covalently modified with the redox indicator, usually methylene blue (MB).

Perceptions of teachers' responses to children's peer victimization: Agreement (and lack of agreement) among teachers and students.

Recent research has underscored the importance of teachers' responses to students' peer victimization as well as students' expectations for how their teacher responds to this victimization. However, little research has examined the extent to which teachers and their students have a shared understanding of their teacher's efforts, or lack of efforts, to manage peer victimization. This study addressed this issue using longitudinal data collected on 410 students (47.

Feeding Practices Used by Australian Parents of Young Children Living With Food Insecurity and Household Chaos.

Responsive feeding practices are crucial for developing healthy eating behaviours in children. However, chaotic households and financial stress may disrupt these practices. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise feeding practices among Australian parents experiencing financial hardship.

Patterns of Simultaneous and non-Simultaneous Use of Cannabis and Alcohol Among American Indian Adolescents.

Background: American Indian (AI) adolescents report earlier initiation and higher rates of cannabis and alcohol use compared to their non-AI peers. Simultaneous cannabis and alcohol (SCA) use is increasingly common. A primary goal of our research was to identify profiles of cannabis and alcohol use, including SCA use, among AI adolescents using latent class analysis (LCA).

Frequency is not enough: Characterizing heterogenous patterns of cannabis use intensity among reservation-area American Indian youth.

Background: Reservation-area American Indian (AI) youth use cannabis at significantly higher rates than their national counterparts. This discrepancy is concerning, as cannabis use-particularly heavy use-can negatively impact adolescents' health. Studies primarily use frequency to classify cannabis use intensity; however, frequency alone may not fully capture heterogenous patterns of use.

Complementary Strategies for Installation of Thioimidates into Peptide Backbones.

Thioimidates are a precursor and synthetic branch point to access either thioamide or amidine isosteres of the native amide (peptide bond). Previous syntheses of thioimidate-containing peptides were prone to side reactivity and required slow, cumbersome steps that were difficult to monitor. We describe a more efficient approach to directly couple thioimidates onto the growing peptide chain.

Synthesis of Highly Substituted Oxaboroles from Oxaboranes via a Selective Petasis Borono-Mannich Reaction.

We present a novel and efficient method for the synthesis of highly substituted non-benzofused oxaboroles. Reactions of oxaboranes, morpholine, and salicylaldehyde in toluene heated to 85 °C for 4 h produce the corresponding oxaborole products in yields up to 93%. The process is effective across a diverse substrate scope and can be scaled to produce gram quantities of densely functionalized oxaboroles in excellent yield.

Family ties: examining family functioning and alcohol use among American Indian youth.

Purpose: This study aims to examine a second-order latent variable of family functioning built from two established protective factors for American Indian (AI) youth, i.e. family cohesion and parental monitoring.

Nicotine use among reservation-area American Indian adolescents compared with a national sample.

Background: Past research has found significant nicotine use disparities for reservation-area American Indian adolescents when compared to national levels. However, adolescent nicotine use has changed markedly, with reduced smoking and rapid increases in nicotine vaping. This study presents 2021-2022 prevalence estimates of tobacco product use, perceived harm and availability for reservation-area American Indian youth, with comparisons to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) national study.

Catalytic carbon-carbon bond cleavage in lignin via manganese-zirconium-mediated autoxidation.

Efforts to produce aromatic monomers through catalytic lignin depolymerization have historically focused on aryl-ether bond cleavage. A large fraction of aromatic monomers in lignin, however, are linked by various carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds that are more challenging to cleave and limit the yields of aromatic monomers from lignin depolymerization. Here, we report a catalytic autoxidation method to cleave C-C bonds in lignin-derived dimers and oligomers from pine and poplar.

Autoxidation Catalysis for Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage in Lignin.

Selective lignin depolymerization is a key step in lignin valorization to value-added products, and there are multiple catalytic methods to cleave labile aryl-ether bonds in lignin. However, the overall aromatic monomer yield is inherently limited by refractory carbon-carbon linkages, which are abundant in lignin and remain intact during most selective lignin deconstruction processes. In this work, we demonstrate that a Co/Mn/Br-based catalytic autoxidation method promotes carbon-carbon bond cleavage in acetylated lignin oligomers produced from reductive catalytic fractionation.

Screening the Coulomb interaction leads to a prethermal regime in two-dimensional bad conductors.

The absence of thermalization in certain isolated many-body systems is of great fundamental interest. Many-body localization (MBL) is a widely studied mechanism for thermalization to fail in strongly disordered quantum systems, but it is still not understood precisely how the range of interactions affects the dynamical behavior and the existence of MBL, especially in dimensions D > 1. By investigating nonequilibrium dynamics in strongly disordered D = 2 electron systems with power-law interactions ∝ 1/r and poor coupling to a thermal bath, here we observe MBL-like, prethermal dynamics for α = 3.

Designing and developing a nature-based virtual reality with heart rate variability biofeedback for surgical anxiety and pain management: evidence from total knee arthroplasty patients.

Objectives: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most common joint surgeries, with over a million procedures performed annually in the US. Over 70% of patients report moderate to high pain and anxiety surrounding TKA surgery, and 96% are discharged with an opioid prescription. This population requires special attention as approximately 90% of TKA patients are older adults and one of the riskiest groups prone to misusing opioids.

The 141-year period for Dr. Beal's seed viability experiment: A hybrid surprise.

Premise: In 1879, Dr. William Beal buried 20 glass bottles filled with seeds and sand at a single site at Michigan State University. The goal of the experiment was to understand seed longevity in the soil, a topic of general importance in ecology, restoration, conservation, and agriculture, by periodically assaying germinability of these seeds over 100 years.

Can High and Consistent School-Related Protective Factors Prevent Cannabis Use Among American Indian Middle School Students?

Background: High cannabis use rates among American Indian (AI) adolescents necessitate the identification of factors that protect against early cannabis initiation.

Methods: Data collected from 279 AI middle school students attending reservation-based schools in 2018 and 2019 were analyzed. Three waves of data, with approximately 6 months between each, were used.

The Structure of Boron Monoxide.

Boron monoxide (BO), prepared by the thermal condensation of tetrahydroxydiboron, was first reported in 1955; however, its structure could not be determined. With the recent attention on boron-based two-dimensional materials, such as borophene and hexagonal boron nitride, there is renewed interest in BO. A large number of stable BO structures have been computationally identified, but none are supported by experiments.

Intersecting sex and American Indian identity moderates school and individual correlates of binge drinking among reservation-area adolescents.

Reservation-area American Indian (AI) youth demonstrate higher rates of binge drinking (BD) than their non-AI peers. However, individual and school-level differences in BD disparities between reservation-area AI/non-AI female and male adolescents remain unexamined. This study applies an Intersectional framework to examine risk and protective factors of BD among reservation-area youth at the intersection of their sex and AI identities.

Nickel-Catalyzed Isomerization of Homoallylic Alcohols.

Nickel-catalyzed isomerizations of homoallylic alcohols and a bishomoallylic alcohol are presented. These isomerization reactions occur in the presence of a simple nickel catalyst that does not require addition of an exogenous ligand. The corresponding ketone products are generated in ≤98% yield.

A Comparison of COVID-19 Outcomes Between Reservation-Area American Indian and U.S. National Students.

Introduction: This study presents data from 2 population-based surveys of youth (reservation-area American Indian adolescents and U.S. adolescents) on self, family, and friend morbidity and changes in substance use and negative impacts during COVID-19.

General Strategy for Incorporation of Functional Group Handles into Covalent Organic Frameworks via the Ugi Reaction.

The library of imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) has grown significantly over the last two decades, featuring a variety of morphologies, pore sizes, and applications. An array of synthetic methods has been developed to expand the scope of the COF functionalities; however, most of these methods were designed to introduce functional scaffolds tailored to a specific application. Having a general approach to diversify COFs via late-stage incorporation of functional group handles would greatly facilitate the transformation of these materials into platforms for a variety of useful applications.

Ni- and Ni/Pd-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling of Lignin-Derived Aromatics to Access Biobased Plasticizers.

Lignin-derived aromatic chemicals offer a compelling alternative to petrochemical feedstocks, and new applications are the focus of extensive interest. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid (), vanillic acid (), and syringic acid () are readily obtained via oxidative depolymerization of hardwood lignin substrates. Here, we explore the use of these compounds to access biaryl dicarboxylate esters that represent biobased, less toxic alternatives to phthalate plasticizers.