Variation from closed-shell to open shell electronic structures in oligothiophene bis(dioxolene) complexes.

A series of oligothiophene bis(dioxolene) complexes, SQ-Th-SQ (SQ = = ½TpZn(3--butyl-orthosemiquinonate); Tp = tris(5-cumenyl-3-methylpyrazolyl)borate anion) have been synthesized, structurally characterized, and studied as a function of the number of thiophene bridging units, ( = 0-3) using a combination of variable-temperature (VT) electronic absorption and EPR spectroscopies, and VT magnetic susceptibility measurements. The thiophene bridge bond lengths determined by X-ray crystallography display dramatic differences across the SQ-Th-SQ series. Bridge bond deviation values (Σ||) display a progressive change in the nature of the bridge fragment bonding as the number of thiophene groups increases, with quinoidal bridge character for = 1 (SQ-Th-SQ) and biradical character with "aromatic" bridge bond lengths for = 3 (SQ-Th-SQ).

Design and synthesis of stable four-coordinated benzotriazole-borane with tunable fluorescence emission.

A new class of stable four-coordinated benzotriazole-borane compounds was developed gold-catalyzed alkyne hydroboration. The application of polymeric (BHCN) reagent gave the formation of cyano-amine-boranes (CAB) complexes with less basic N-heterocyclic amines and anilines. Various new CABs were investigated in catalytic hydroboration to synthesize N-B cycles.

Anion mediated, tunable isoguanosine self-assemblies: decoding the conformation influence and solvent effects.

Systematic investigations were performed with various substituted groups at C8 purine and ribose. A series of isoG analogs, C8-phenyl substituted isoG were synthesized and applied for Cs coordination. The structural proximity between purine and ribose limited pentaplex formation for C8-phenyl substituted isoG derivatives.

Spatial Engineering Direct Cooperativity between Binding Sites for Uranium Sequestration.

Preorganization is a basic design principle used by nature that allows for synergistic pathways to be expressed. Herein, a full account of the conceptual and experimental development from randomly distributed functionalities to a convergent arrangement that facilitates cooperative binding is given, thus conferring exceptional affinity toward the analyte of interest. The resulting material with chelating groups populated adjacently in a spatially locked manner displays up to two orders of magnitude improvement compared to a random and isolated manner using uranium sequestration as a model application.

Construction of fluorescence active MOFs with symmetrical and conformationally rigid -2-aryl-triazole ligands.

1,4-Bis-triazole-substituted arene (NAT) was designed and synthesized for the construction of metal organic frameworks. Unlike the tri-phenyl analogs, which give a twisted conformation between three benzene rings due to the A-1,3 repulsion, the NAT-ligand gave the energetically favored co-planar conformation with the strong fluorescence emission. With this ligand, two new MOFs, NAT-MOF-Cd (2,3,4-c) and NAT-MOF-Cu (4-c), were successfully obtained with the structure confirmed by X-ray.

Highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution promoted by O-Mo-C interfaces of ultrafine β-MoC nanostructures.

Optimizing interfacial contacts and thus electron transfer phenomena in heterogeneous electrocatalysts is an effective approach for enhancing electrocatalytic performance. Herein, we successfully synthesized ultrafine β-MoC nanoparticles confined within hollow capsules of nitrogen-doped porous carbon (β-MoC@NPCC) and found that the surface layer of molybdenum atoms was further oxidized to a single Mo-O surface layer, thus producing intimate O-Mo-C interfaces. An arsenal of complementary technologies, including XPS, atomic-resolution HAADF-STEM, and XAS analysis clearly reveals the existence of O-Mo-C interfaces for these surface-engineered ultrafine nanostructures.

"I Cannot Be Worried": Living with Chagas Disease in Tropical Bolivia.

Background: Chagas disease (CD) profoundly affects the social and emotional dimensions of patients' lives, and disproportionately impacts poor, marginalized populations in Latin America. Biomedical treatment for CD fails to reach up to 99% of the people affected, and in any case seldom addresses the emotional health or socioeconomic conditions of patients. This study examines patient strategies for coping with CD in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Impact of Brief Intervention Services on Drug Using Truant Youth Arrest Charges over Time.

School truancy is a serious concern in the U.S., with far-reaching negative consequences.

The Mental Health, Substance Use, and Delinquency among Truant Youths in a Brief Intervention Project: A Longitudinal Study.

The relationship between substance use, mental health disorders, and delinquency among youth is well documented. What has received far less attention from researchers is the relationship between these issues among truant youth, in spite of studies that document truants are a population at-risk for negative outcomes. The present study bridges this gap by (1) examining psychosocial functioning and delinquency among truants, and (2) assessing the efficacy of a Brief Intervention (BI) in reducing delinquent behavior over time.

Repeated binge ethanol administration during adolescence enhances voluntary sweetened ethanol intake in young adulthood in male and female rats.

Binge alcohol consumption is a rising concern in the United States, especially among adolescents. During this developmental period alcohol use is usually initiated and has been shown to cause detrimental effects on brain structure and function as well as cognitive/behavioral impairments in rats. Binge models, where animals are repeatedly administered high doses of ethanol typically over a period of three or four days cause these effects.

Localization of stereotaxic coordinates for the ventral tegmental area in early adolescent, mid-adolescent and adult rats.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a brain region implicated in drug addiction and related behaviors; however, little research has been conducted examining the role of the VTA in these processes in adolescent rats. Understanding the development of the VTA is imperative for elucidating mechanisms mediating adolescent vulnerability to drug addiction. The purpose of the present study was to define stereotaxic coordinates for the VTA in developing rats.

Inter-observer variation in methodologies involving the pubic symphysis, sternal ribs, and teeth.

For the skeletal age of a victim to be useful in victim identification, the methods on which it is based must be reliable, accurate, and the results easily duplicated. The ability of multiple investigators to duplicate results is an interesting and complex issue. The purpose of this study is to investigate how consistently multiple investigators assign skeletal traits to rib, pubic symphyseal, or tooth "phases" and measure teeth.

Adolescents differ from adults in cocaine conditioned place preference and cocaine-induced dopamine in the nucleus accumbens septi.

In humans, adolescent exposure to illicit drugs predicts the onset of adult drug abuse and suggests that early drug use potentiates vulnerability to drug addiction. Cocaine conditioned place preferences were measured in early adolescent [postnatal day (PND) 35], late adolescent (PND 45) and young adult (PND 60) rats by injecting either 0, 5 or 20 mg/kg cocaine and conditioning them to environmental cues. Cocaine preferences were found for all ages at the high dose.

Polygons and Faceted Polyhedra and Nanoporous Networks.

Small rhombihexahedra and small cubicuboctahedra, namely faceted polyhedra, form the basis of two novel low-density framework solids that are afforded by the self-assembly of molecular squares only or molecular squares and triangles, respectively.

Self-Assembly of Nanometer-Scale Secondary Building Units into an Undulating Two-Dimensional Network with Two Types of Hydrophobic Cavity.

A series of bowls separated by hour-glass-shaped channels characterizes the structure of the undulating two-dimensional coordination polymer that is prepared from a nanoscale secondary building unit (nSBU), which is formed by four square metal(II)carboxylate SBUs that have 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate units as 120° spacers.