Efficient amide bond formation tropylium ion organocatalysis.

Amide bond formation is a fundamental reaction in organic synthesis, essential for the construction of peptides and various bioactive molecules. Traditional methods for amide bond formation often require harsh conditions, expensive reagents, or generate undesirable by-products. Herein, we report a novel and efficient method for amide bond formation utilizing tropylium ion organocatalysis.

eLearning improves allied health professionals' knowledge and confidence to manage medically unexplained chronic fatigue states: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of eLearning by allied health professionals on improving the knowledge and confidence to manage people with medically unexplained chronic fatigue states (FS).

Methods: Using a parallel randomized controlled trial design, participants were randomized 1:1 to a 4-week eLearning or wait-list control group. Knowledge and self-reported confidence in clinical skills to implement a therapeutic intervention for patients with FS were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up.

Wireless Body Area Sensor Networks: Survey of MAC and Routing Protocols for Patient Monitoring under IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.15.6.

Wireless body area sensor networks (WBASNs) have received growing attention from industry and academia due to their exceptional potential for patient monitoring systems that are equipped with low-power wearable and implantable biomedical sensors under communications standards such as IEEE 802.15.4-2015 and IEEE 802.

What Pre-clinical Rat Models Can Tell Us About Anxiety Across the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy and Clinically Anxious Humans.

Purpose Of Review: Anxiety symptoms increase during the peri-menstrual phase of the menstrual cycle in people with anxiety disorders. Whether this reflects a heightened variant of normal menstrual-related changes in psychological states experienced by healthy (i.e.

The impact of hormonal contraceptives on anxiety treatments: From preclinical models to clinical settings.

Exposure therapy is a central component of the first-line treatment for anxiety disorders, a common mental health condition that is twice as prevalent in women relative to men. A key underlying mechanism of exposure therapy is fear extinction, which is an active learning process supported by a neural circuitry that is highly regulated by ovarian hormones. This review synthesises research examining the impact of hormonal contraceptives on laboratory fear extinction tasks in female rats and women, and on exposure therapy in women with anxiety disorders.

Mind's eye: The impact of spider presence and cognitive therapy on size estimation biases in spider phobia.

The present study assessed the circumstances under which size estimation biases in spider phobia occur, and whether such biases are modifiable by treatment. Women with (n = 67) and without (n = 33) spider phobia approached a spider during a behavioral approach test (BAT). They provided size estimates of the spider both during and shortly after the BAT (with the spider in view, or not in view, respectively).

Progesterone levels predict reductions in behavioral avoidance following cognitive restructuring in women with spider phobia.

Background: Ovarian hormones have been implicated as a potential source of variability in the effectiveness of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders in women. Additionally, preclinical studies in healthy women indicate that ovarian hormones are related to cognitive modes of emotion regulation, like cognitive restructuring. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether a relationship exists between endogenous ovarian hormones and the outcomes of cognitive restructuring in clinically anxious women.

A Self-Reporting Photocatalyst for Online Fluorescence Monitoring of High Throughput RAFT Polymerization.

Translating controlled/living radical polymerization (CLRP) from batch to the high throughput production of polymer libraries presents several challenges in terms of both polymer synthesis and characterization. Although recently there have been significant advances in the field of low volume, high throughput CLRP, techniques able to simultaneously monitor multiple polymerizations in an "online" manner have not yet been developed. Here, we report our discovery that 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine zinc (ZnTPP) is a self-reporting photocatalyst that can mediate PET-RAFT polymerization as well as report on monomer conversion via changes in its fluorescence properties.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like superoxide dismutase 1 proteinopathy is associated with neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease brain.

Neuronal loss in numerous neurodegenerative disorders has been linked to protein aggregation and oxidative stress. Emerging data regarding overlapping proteinopathy in traditionally distinct neurodegenerative diseases suggest that disease-modifying treatments targeting these pathological features may exhibit efficacy across multiple disorders. Here, we describe proteinopathy distinct from classic synucleinopathy, predominantly comprised of the anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1), in the Parkinson's disease brain.

Mothers do it differently: reproductive experience alters fear extinction in female rats and women.

Fear extinction is the laboratory basis of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. Recent findings have revealed that estradiol is necessary to the consolidation of extinction memories in females. These findings are based on studies conducted using virgin rats and young women whose reproductive history is unknown.

Synthesis, Characterization and Anti-Cancer Activity of Hydrazide Derivatives Incorporating a Quinoline Moiety.

Identification of the novel (E)-N'-((2-chloro-7-methoxyquinolin-3-yl)methylene)-3-(phenylthio)propanehydrazide scaffold 18 has led to the development of a new series of biologically active hydrazide compounds. The parent compound 18 and new quinoline derivatives 19-26 were prepared from the corresponding quinoline hydrazones and substituted carboxylic acids using EDC-mediated peptide coupling reactions. Further modification of the parent compound 18 was achieved by replacement of the quinoline moiety with other aromatic systems.

Selective Photoactivation: From a Single Unit Monomer Insertion Reaction to Controlled Polymer Architectures.

Here, we exploit the selectivity of photoactivation of thiocarbonylthio compounds to implement two distinct organic and polymer synthetic methodologies: (1) a single unit monomer insertion (SUMI) reaction and (2) selective, controlled radical polymerization via a visible-light-mediated photoinduced electron/energy transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) process. In the first method, precise single unit monomer insertion into a dithiobenzoate with a high reaction yield (>97%) is reported using an organic photoredox catalyst, pheophorbide a (PheoA), under red light irradiation (λmax = 635 nm, 0.4 mW/cm(2)).

A Proposal for a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury Featuring the Rubrospinal Tract and its Contributions to Locomotion and Skilled Hand Movement.

Spinal cord injury and repair is a dynamic field of research. The development of reliable animal models of traumatic spinal cord injury has been invaluable in providing a wealth of information regarding the pathological consequences and recovery potential of this condition. A number of injury models have been instrumental in the elaboration and the validation of therapeutic interventions aimed at reversing this once thought permanent condition.

Exploring examiner judgement of professional competence in rater based assessment.

Exercise physiology courses have transitioned to competency based, forcing Universities to rethink assessment to ensure students are competent to practice. This study built on earlier research to explore rater cognition, capturing factors that contribute to assessor decision making about students' competency. The aims were to determine the source of variation in the examination process and document the factors impacting on examiner judgment.

Individual differences in the expression of conditioned fear are associated with endogenous fibroblast growth factor 2.

These experiments examined the relationship between the neurotrophic factor fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and individual differences in the expression of conditioned fear. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that rats naturally expressing low levels of contextual or cued fear have higher levels of hippocampal FGF2 relative to rats that express high levels of conditioned fear and nonconditioned rats. Experiment 3 demonstrated that hippocampal FGF2 is not increased in rats that exhibit pharmacological-induced amnesia of conditioned fear.

Estradiol and Progesterone have Opposing Roles in the Regulation of Fear Extinction in Female Rats.

Fear extinction, the laboratory basis of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, fluctuates across the female rat estrous cycle, where extinction is enhanced during proestrus (high estradiol and progesterone), and impaired during metestrus (low estradiol and progesterone). During the estrous cycle increasing levels of estradiol precede and then overlap with increased levels of progesterone. We sought to isolate the impact of these hormonal changes on fear extinction by systematically treating ovariectomized female rats with estradiol alone, or in combination with progesterone.

A generalised enzyme kinetic model for predicting the behaviour of complex biochemical systems.

Quasi steady-state enzyme kinetic models are increasingly used in systems modelling. The Michaelis Menten model is popular due to its reduced parameter dimensionality, but its low-enzyme and irreversibility assumption may not always be valid in the in vivo context. Whilst the total quasi-steady state assumption (tQSSA) model eliminates the reactant stationary assumptions, its mathematical complexity is increased.

Coherent control of a single ²⁹Si nuclear spin qubit.

Magnetic fluctuations caused by the nuclear spins of a host crystal are often the leading source of decoherence for many types of solid-state spin qubit. In group-IV semiconductor materials, the spin-bearing nuclei are sufficiently rare that it is possible to identify and control individual host nuclear spins. This Letter presents the first experimental detection and manipulation of a single ²⁹Si nuclear spin.

Prevention, treatment and care of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs.

People who inject drugs (PWID) represent the core of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic in many countries. HCV transmission continues among PWID, despite evidence demonstrating that high coverage of combined harm reduction strategies, such as needle syringe programs (NSP) and opioid substitution treatment (OST), can be effective in reducing the risk of HCV transmission. Among infected individuals, HCV-related morbidity and mortality continues to grow and is accompanied by major public health, social and economic burdens.

The acceptability of different HIV testing approaches: cross-sectional study among GMSM in Australia.

Background: We explored the attitudes of Australian gay and other men who have sex with men (GMSM) about the current standard-of-care (non-rapid tests at healthcare settings) and alternative approaches (rapid tests and testing in non-healthcare settings) to better understand the acceptability of alternative testing approaches.

Methods: The Contemporary Norms in Networks and Communities of GMSM study enrolled GMSM in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in 2011-2012 using peer referrals. We explored the self-reported preferences for testing: rapid versus non-rapid and in non-healthcare settings (community-based or home-based testing) versus in healthcare settings, and examined factors associated with preferences for these approaches.