Enhancing the Potential of Fused Heterocycle-Based Triarylhydrazone Photoswitches.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Marek Cigáň, Anna M. Grabarz and co-workers. The image depicts how a non-expert might imagine a "molecular photoswitch".

Enhancing the Potential of Fused Heterocycle-Based Triarylhydrazone Photoswitches.

Triarylhydrazones represent an attractive class of photochromic compounds offering many interesting features including high molar absorptivity, good addressability, and extraordinary thermal stability. In addition, unlike most other hydrazone-based photoswitches, they effectively absorb light above 365 nm. However, previously prepared triaryhydrazones suffer from low quantum yields of the Z→E photoisomerization.

Linear-Structure Single-Atom Gold(I) Catalyst for Dehydrogenative Coupling of Organosilanes with Alcohols.

A strategy for the synthesis of a gold-based single-atom catalyst (SAC) via a one-step room temperature reduction of Au(III) salt and stabilization of Au(I) ions on nitrile-functionalized graphene (cyanographene; G-CN) is described. The graphene-supported G(CN)-Au catalyst exhibits a unique linear structure of the Au(I) active sites promoting a multistep mode of action in dehydrogenative coupling of organosilanes with alcohols under mild reaction conditions as proven by advanced XPS, XAFS, XANES, and EPR techniques along with DFT calculations. The linear structure being perfectly accessible toward the reactant molecules and the cyanographene-induced charge transfer resulting in the exclusive Au(I) valence state contribute to the superior efficiency of the emerging two-dimensional SAC.

The influence of prehabilitation in patients with liver cirrhosis before liver transplantation: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: The high prevalence of liver cirrhosis in Slovakia leads to a great need for transplant treatment. The outcome of liver transplantation is influenced by several factors.

Aim: The main objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of prehabilitation compared to standard of care.

Incidence and evolutionary relevance of autotriploid cytotypes in a relict member of the genus (Thymelaeaceae).

Odd ploidy-level cytotypes in sexually reproducing species are considered a dead end due to absent or reduced fertility. If sterility is only partial, however, their contribution to the population gene pool can be augmented by longevity and clonal growth. To test this, we investigated the cytotype origin and spatial pattern, and pollen viability in three relict shrub species of the genus (Thymelaeaceae Juss.

How Different Molecular Markers Estimate the Diversity of European Species of the Genus.

Based on published anatomical-morphological and ecological characteristics and phylogenetic evidence, six species of the genus are known to occur in Europe, namely, (Pers.) Pat., (Schulzer) Donk, Bres.

Was there a significant difference in sleep shifts in the high school population due to the COVID-19 pandemic depending on chronotype? A nationwide cross-sectional study.

The aim of this study was to detect whether the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in the sleep cycle (subjective sleep shifts) of high school students divided into a sample of young women - W ( = 1999, age = 17.65 ± 2.39 y) and young men - M ( = 1094, age = 17.

Mechanistic Basis for Red Light Switching of Azonium Ions.

Azonium ions formed by the protonation of tetra--methoxy-substituted aminoazobenzenes photoisomerize with red light under physiological conditions. This property makes them attractive as molecular tools for the photocontrol of physiological processes, for example, in photopharmacology. However, a mechanistic understanding of the photoisomerization process and subsequent thermal relaxation is necessary for the rational application of these compounds as well as for guiding the design of derivatives with improved properties.

Predicting sediment yield on different landuse surfaces in Calabar River Catchment, Nigeria.

This study predicts sediment yield on various landuse surfaces within the Calabar River Catchment, Nigeria. Five experimental plots of 31 by 23 cm (representing urban, farm, grass, bare, and forest surfaces) were established on a convex slope series with a 20% gradient, oriented along the slope strike. Rainfall, morphological, and hydraulic stations were derived for each plot.

The Influence of Phenol on the Growth, Morphology and Cell Division of .

Phenol, a monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with various commercial uses, is a major pollutant in industrial wastewater. is a unicellular freshwater flagellate possessing secondary chloroplasts of green algal origin. This protist has been widely used for monitoring the biological effect of various inorganic and organic environmental pollutants, including aromatic hydrocarbons.

Mechanochemical arylative detrifluoromethylation of trifluoromethylarenes.

The stoichiometric defluorinative functionalization of ArCF is a conceptually appealing research target. It enables the challenging late-stage functionalization of CF-containing aromatic molecules and contributes to the remedy of environmental risks resulting from the accumulation of relatively inert ArCF-containing molecules. Similarly, Ar-CN bond features limit their utilization in cross-coupling reactions.

Comparison of ultrasound-guided and palpation-inserted peripheral venous cannula in -patients before primary hip or knee arthroplasty: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: More than 2 billion peripheral vascular cannulas are introduced globally each year. It is the most frequently performed invasive procedure in medicine worldwide. There is a group of patients with difficult intravenous access (DIVA).

Rigidized 3-aminocoumarins as fluorescent probes for strongly acidic environments and rapid yeast vacuolar lumen staining: mechanism and application.

Coumarins remain one of the most important groups of fluorescent bio-probes, thanks to their high quantum yields, moderate photostability, efficient cell permeation and low (cyto)toxicity. Herein, we introduce new 3-aminocoumarins as turn-on pH probes under strongly acidic conditions and for indicators capable of significantly improving yeast vacuolar lumen staining compared to the commercial CMAC derivatives. We present the details of the on-off switching mechanism revealed by the TD-DFT and calculations complemented by a Franck-Condon analysis of the probes' emission profiles.

Decoding the infrared spectra changes upon formation of molecular complexes: the case of halogen bonding in pyridine⋯perfluorohaloarene complexes.

A recently developed computational scheme is employed to interpret changes in the infrared spectra of halogen-bonded systems in terms of intermolecular interaction energy components (electrostatic, exchange, induction, dispersion) taking pyridine⋯perfluorohaloarene complexes as examples. For all complexes, we find a strong linear correlation between the different terms of the interaction-induced changes of the IR band associated with an intermolecular halogen bond stretching mode and the corresponding terms of the interaction energy, which implies that the interaction components play similar roles in both properties. This is not true for other vibrational modes localized in one of the monomers studied here, for which the corresponding interaction-induced changes in IR bands may present a completely different decomposition than the interaction energy.

Energy status of chironomid larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae) from high alpine rivers (Tyrol, Austria).

Chironomids (non-biting midges) inhabit almost every wet or semi-wet continental environment on Earth with probably 10,000 different species. Species occurrence and composition are undoubtedly limited by environmental harshness and food availability being reflected in their energy stores. Most animals store energy as glycogen and lipid.

European river typologies fail to capture diatom, fish, and macrophyte community composition.

Typology systems are frequently used in applied and fundamental ecology and are relevant for environmental monitoring and conservation. They aggregate ecosystems into discrete types based on biotic and abiotic variables, assuming that ecosystems of the same type are more alike than ecosystems of different types with regard to a specific property of interest. We evaluated whether this assumption is met by the Broad River Types (BRT), a recently proposed European river typology system, that classifies river segments based on abiotic variables, when it is used to group biological communities.

Critically raw materials as potential emerging environmental contaminants, their distribution patterns, risks and behaviour in floodplain soils contaminated by heavy metals.

The expanding demand for new critical raw materials can lead to their increased release to the environment in the form of emerging environmental contaminants (EECs). However, there has never been a comprehensive study that takes into account the total EEC content, the content of various EEC fractions, their behaviour in floodplain soils, and potential ecological and human health risks. The occurrence, fractions, and influencing factors of the seven EECs (Li, Be, Sr, Ba, V, B, Se) originating from historical mining in floodplain soils of various ecosystems (arable lands, grasslands, riparian zones, contaminated sites) were investigated.

A theoretical study of the adsorption behavior of superheavy 7p-elements and their compounds on a surface of gold in comparison with their lighter homologs.

Adsorption energies, , of the 7th row superheavy elements (SHEs) Lv through Og, as well as of the homologous species of the 6th row elements Po through Rn on a gold surface are predicted on the basis of relativistic periodic density functional theory calculations SCM BAND software. Since some of the elements can also form compounds such as hydrides and oxyhydrides under experimental conditions, the values of the MH (M = Bi/Mc, Po/Lv, At/Ts and Rn/Og) and MOH (M = At/Ts and Rn/Og) molecules on a gold surface were also calculated. The aim of this study is to support "one-atom-at-a-time" gas-phase chromatography experiments on the reactivity/volatility of SHEs.

The impact of hydro-biofuel-wind-solar energy consumption and coal consumption on carbon emission in G20 countries.

Globally, as a renewable source of energy, biofuel, wind, solar, and hydro energy have been increasingly valued by a range of businesses. There is no denying the advantages of using renewable energy in terms of preventing climate change and protecting the environment. Therefore, this article investigates the relationship among hydro, solar, biofuel, wind, coal consumption, and CO emissions in 19 G20 member countries between 2000 and 2019.

Low back pain in patients hospitalised with liver cirrhosis- a retrospective study.

Background: Lower back pain is a common issue, but little is known about the prevalence of pain in patients with liver cirrhosis during hospitalisation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine lower back pain in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Methods: The sample consisted of patients with liver cirrhosis (n = 79; men n = 55; women n = 24; mean age = 55.

A new computational tool for interpreting the infrared spectra of molecular complexes.

The popularity of infrared (IR) spectroscopy is due to its high interpretive power. This study presents a new computational tool for analyzing the IR spectra of molecular complexes in terms of intermolecular interaction energy components. In particular, the proposed scheme enables associating the changes in the IR spectra occurring upon complex formation with individual types of intermolecular interactions (electrostatic, exchange, induction, and dispersion), thus providing a completely new insight into the relations between the spectral features and the nature of interactions in molecular complexes.

Magnetic Polaron States in Photoluminescent Carbon Dots Enable Hydrogen Peroxide Photoproduction.

Photoactivation of aspartic acid-based carbon dots (Asp-CDs) induces the generation of spin-separated species, including electron/hole (e /h ) polarons and spin-coupled triplet states, as uniquely confirmed by the light-induced electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The relative population of the e /h pairs and triplet species depends on the solvent polarity, featuring a substantial stabilization of the triplet state in a non-polar environment (benzene). The electronic properties of the photoexcited Asp-CDs emerge from their spatial organization being interpreted as multi-layer assemblies containing a hydrophobic carbonaceous core and a hydrophilic oxygen and nitrogen functionalized surface.

Post-pandemic lessons for EU energy and climate policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Introduction to a special issue on EU green recovery in the post-Covid-19 period.

The key policy priority for governments around the world during the 2020-2021 period was the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this was swiftly replaced by an even graver urgent need to respond to Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022. This special issue aims to study the post-pandemic response and how related policy choices influence decarbonisation and energy transition efforts in the EU.

Versatile biotechnological applications of Euglena gracilis.

Euglena gracilis is a freshwater protist possessing secondary chloroplasts of green algal origin. Various physical factors (e.g.

Acidic graphene organocatalyst for the superior transformation of wastes into high-added-value chemicals.

Our dependence on finite fossil fuels and the insecure energy supply chains have stimulated intensive research for sustainable technologies. Upcycling glycerol, produced from biomass fermentation and as a biodiesel formation byproduct, can substantially contribute in circular carbon economy. Here, we report glycerol's solvent-free and room-temperature conversion to high-added-value chemicals via a reusable graphene catalyst (G-ASA), functionalized with a natural amino acid (taurine).