'Lanthanide contraction' in [Ln(BTP)3](CF3SO3)3 complexes

The FTIR spectra of the complexes of lanthanides (Ln = La - Lu, except for the radioactive Pm) with 2,6-bis(5,6-dipropyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine have been measured in both the mid- and far-IR ranges. The spectra revealed some characteristic bands shifting towards higher wavenumbers with increasing lanthanide atomic number. X-ray diffraction results on several (La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tm and Yb) complexes revealed decreasing Ln– ligand distances in the same direction. DFT calculations using the M062X exchange–correlation functional have been performed on selected model complexes in order to uncover the ‘lanthanide contraction’ phenomenon and to assist the interpretation of the FTIR spectra. The stronger bonding due to ‘lanthanide contraction’ is supported by the computed charge transfer interactions. The vibrational study confirmed that the blueshifting bands can be attributed to significant Ln–ligand vibrations.JRC.E.4 - Nuclear Fuel Safet

A plutonium-based single-molecule magnet

The magnetic properties of the 5f5 [tris-(tri-1-pyrazolylborato)–plutonium(III)] complex have been investigated by ac susceptibility measurements, showing it to be the first plutonium single-molecule magnet; its magnetic relaxation slows down with decreasing temperature through a thermally activated mechanism followed by a quantum tunnelling regime below 5 K.JRC.E.6 - Actinide researc

Thorium / Uranium Mixed Oxide Nanocrystals: Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Magnetic Properties

One of the primary aims of the actinide community within nanoscience is to develop a good understanding similar to what is currently the case for stable elements. As a consequence, efficient, reliable and versatile synthesis techniques dedicated to the formation of new actinide-based nano-objects (e.g., nanocrystals) are necessary. Hence, a “library” dedicated to the preparation of various actinidebased nanoscale building blocks is currently being developed. Nanoscale building blocks with tunable sizes, shapes and compositions are of prime importance. So far, the non-aqueous synthesis method in highly coordinating organic media is the only approach which has demonstrated the capability to provide size and shape control of actinide-based nanocrystals (both for thorium and uranium, and recently extended to neptunium and plutonium). In this paper, we demonstrate that the non-aqueous approach is also well adapted to control the chemical composition of the nanocrystals obtained when mixing two different actinides. Indeed, the controlled hot co-injection of thorium acetylacetonate and uranyl acetate (together with additional capping agents) into benzyl ether can be used to synthesize thorium/uranium mixed oxide nanocrystals covering the full compositional spectrum. Additionally, we found that both size and shape are modified as a function of the thorium:uranium ratio. Finally, the magnetic properties of the different thorium/uranium mixed oxide nanocrystals were investigated. Contrary to several reports, we did not observe any ferromagnetic behavior. As a consequence, ferromagnetism cannot be described as a universal feature of nanocrystals of non-magnetic oxides as recently claimed in the literature.JRC.E.5 - Nuclear chemistr

Relative Age Effect for Different Playing Positions in Adolescent Female Volleyball Players

International Journal of Exercise Science 17(4): 1553-1567, 2024. Understanding the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in female volleyball can provide a deeper insight into potential developmental advantages and selection biases between playing positions and volleyball-related performance characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of the RAE in adolescent female volleyball players according to the playing position and the possible differences in anthropometric and performance characteristics between the relative age groups. The study involved 193 young female volleyball players from 12 different regions and 108 sports clubs from all over Greece, with an average age of 14.53 ± 0.31 years, height of 1.67 ± 0.07 m, weight of 57.20 ± 9.10 kg, and body mass index (BMI) of 20.34 ± 2.50. RAE was identified by the birth quarter of each player, categorizing thus the total sample into four sub-groups: Q1 (January–March), Q2 (April–June), Q3 (July–September), and Q4 (October–December). Anthropometrics, upper and lower limb power, agility, flexibility, and trunk strength were also assessed. The distribution of volleyball players differed significantly across birth quarters (34.19% of Q1, 25.9% of Q2, 22.79% of Q3, 17.09% of Q4; χ2 = 11.788, p = 0.008). Analysis revealed no significant association between birth quarter and playing position (χ2 = 11.314, p = 0.730). Present study’s results indicated no RAE in young female volleyball players regarding their playing position. Also, performance tests did not differ significantly among the RAE groups. Moreover, despite athletes’ early specialization based on assigned playing positions, no differences in athletes’ position-related performance characteristics were observed. These findings suggest that interventions to mitigate RAE should be considered to ensure equitable development opportunities across all playing positions

T-Bar Utilization for Concomitant Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Operation and Left Upper Lobectomy

Management in patients with coexisting coronary artery disease and lung carcinoma is usually a two-stage operation, with the cardiac surgery procedure followed by pulmonary resection at a later time. Delayed tumor resection on the other hand may be detrimental. Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting could facilitate concomitant lung resection at one stage via median sternotomy. T-bar retractor may be a useful tool in the surgical approach of this combined operation

Tris‐{hydridotris(1‐pyrazolyl)borato}actinide Complexes: Synthesis, Spectroscopy, Crystal Structure, Bonding Properties and Magnetic Behaviour

The isostructural compounds of the trivalent actinides uranium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, and curium with the hydridotris(1-pyrazolyl)borato (Tp) ligand An[η$_{3}$-HB(N$_{2}$C$_{3}$H$_{3}$)$_{3}$]$_{3}$ (AnTp$_{3}$) have been obtained through several synthetic routes. Structural, spectroscopic (absorption, infrared, laser fluorescence) and magnetic characterisation of the compounds were performed in combination with crystal field, density functional theory (DFT) and relativistic multiconfigurational calculations. The covalent bonding interactions were analysed in terms of the natural bond orbital (NBO) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) models