Tris(ethyl-enedi-amine)-cobalt(II) dichloride.

The title compound, [Co(II)(C2H8N2)3]Cl2, was obtained unexpectedly as the product of an attempted solvothermal synthesis of cobalt selenide from the elements in the presence of NH4Cl in ethyl-enedi-amine solvent. The three chelate rings of the distorted octa-hedral [Co(C2H8N2)3](2+) complex cation adopt twisted conformations about their C-C bonds. The spread of cis-N-Co-N bond angles [80.17 (6)-98.10 (6)°] in the title compound is considerably greater than the equivalent data for [Co(III)(C2H8N2)3]Cl3 [Takamizawa et al. (2008 ▶). Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 1689-1692]. In the crystal, the components are linked by numerous N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network in which the cationic complexes are stacked in columns along [010] and separated by columns of chloride anions

Optimization of sandwich-style SERS substrates for the detection of human skeletal tissue components

Detection of DNA from various sources is an essential and delicate process that plays a keyrole in the analysis of biological evidence. As such, the extraction of DNA from bone is awidely studied area in forensic science. Unfortunately, there is no standard pre-extractiontechnique to qualitatively assess the likelihood of obtaining a usable amount of high qualityDNA for genotyping. The purpose of this research is to lay the foundation for investigatingRaman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) as potentialdiagnostic tools for determining whether a bone sample contains viable DNA for genotyping.Herein, we present individual spectra of skeletal tissue and DNA components measuredusing both Raman spectroscopy and SERS. A previously studied fabrication method for aSERS substrate architecture, known as sandwich-style SERS substrates, was utilized for thisresearch. A key focus of this research was to optimize these substrates to enable to detectionof low concentrations of adenine, which serves as a Raman-active marker molecule for thedetection of DNA in various solutions. Several parameters were varied from the originalsubstrate fabrication method such as silver nanoparticle size, dispersion, and inter-particlespacing - the result of which yielded SERS substrates that led to the detection of adeninemolecules in a solution with a concentration as low as 10??8 M

Emerging professional skills: Insights and methods

In this workshop run by the Engineering skills SIG, attendees were given the opportunity to learn about emerging professional competencies, and strategies to overcome teaching barriers.The workshop format was “world cafe” with several tables for small groups to informally discuss these strategies within a time limit. Each table focussed on an emerging skill and/or scenario and participants each visited several tables. The session was informed by the engineering skills survey taken by SEFI 2021 conference attendees. It gave us views on new competencies, barriers to teaching them, and illustrations of good practice. Obstacles to teaching them include motivation, legitimacy, overloaded curriculums, student resistance, resource constraints, and pedagogical understandings.Ideally skills should be learned by students in contexts where they’re used. While many technical competencies are primarily developed in engineering practice, professional/soft abilities are often not. As a result, there ought to be some opportunity for the student to transfer, adapt and (re)learn them in an engineering degree. This report summarises the conference workshop outputs with sections for each table. Each section acknowledges the hosts/authors, a summary of the discussion, and any materials presented. Readers may find this paper useful when facilitating related discussions

Who, What, How? Tackling Skills Challenges: Future Relevance, Stakeholder Differences, And Teaching Hurdles

The Engineering Skills Special Interest Group (SIG) ran a workshop on the current challenges in teaching engineering skills. This workshop employed the “world café” participatory method where attendees visited three tables for a structured discussion with a member of the SIG. Each table posed a different question: On the What? table we discussed which skills are most relevant for future practitioners. The Who? table focussed on the differences in the way that various professional skills are conceptualised by main stakeholders. Finally, at the How? table we discussed the facilitators and barriers in designing and delivering skills education. The outcome of the workshop presented here is a mapping of skills in terms of present and future importance to attendees and their countries, and a classification of stakeholders in terms of macro, meso, micro level when considering their influence over skill conceptualisation and realisation