Explorations in anatomy: the remains from Royal London Hospital

This paper considers the faunal remains from recent excavations at the Royal London Hospital. The remains date to the beginning of the 19th century and offer an insight into the life of the hospital's patients and practices of the attached medical school. Many of the animal remains consist of partially dissected skeletons, including the unique finds of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and Cercopithecus monkey. The hospital diet and developments in comparative anatomy are discussed by integrating the results with documentary research. They show that zooarchaeological study of later post-medieval material can significantly enhance our understanding of the exploitation of animals in this perio

Inclusion and release of ant alarm pheromones from metal–organic frameworks

Zinc(II) and zirconium(IV) metal–organic frameworks show uptake and slow release of the ant alarm pheromones 3-octanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanone. Inclusion of N-propyl groups on the MOFs allows for enhanced uptake and release over several months. In preliminary field trials, leaf cutting ants show normal behavioural responses to the released pheromones

Using trained dogs and organic semi-conducting sensors to identify asymptomatic and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections: an observational study

BACKGROUND: A rapid, accurate, non-invasive diagnostic screen is needed to identify people with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We investigated whether organic semi-conducting (OSC) sensors and trained dogs could distinguish between people infected with asymptomatic or mild symptoms, and uninfected individuals, and the impact of screening at ports-of-entry. METHODS: Odour samples were collected from adults, and SARS-CoV-2 infection status confirmed using RT-PCR. OSC sensors captured the volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of odour samples. Trained dogs were tested in a double-blind trial to determine their ability to detect differences in VOCs between infected and uninfected individuals, with sensitivity and specificity as the primary outcome. Mathematical modelling was used to investigate the impact of bio-detection dogs for screening. RESULTS: About, 3921 adults were enrolled in the study and odour samples collected from 1097 SARS-CoV-2 infected and 2031 uninfected individuals. OSC sensors were able to distinguish between SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals and uninfected, with sensitivity from 98% (95% CI 95–100) to 100% and specificity from 99% (95% CI 97–100) to 100%. Six dogs were able to distinguish between samples with sensitivity ranging from 82% (95% CI 76–87) to 94% (95% CI 89–98) and specificity ranging from 76% (95% CI 70–82) to 92% (95% CI 88–96). Mathematical modelling suggests that dog screening plus a confirmatory PCR test could detect up to 89% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, averting up to 2.2 times as much transmission compared to isolation of symptomatic individuals only. CONCLUSIONS: People infected with SARS-CoV-2, with asymptomatic or mild symptoms, have a distinct odour that can be identified by sensors and trained dogs with a high degree of accuracy. Odour-based diagnostics using sensors and/or dogs may prove a rapid and effective tool for screening large numbers of people. Trial Registration NCT04509713 (clinicaltrials.gov)

The structures and properties of zinc(II) and cadmium(II) coordination polymers based on semi-rigid phenylenediacetate and 1,4-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene linkers

A systematic investigation into the reactions of o- and p-phenylenediacetic acid with zinc(II) and cadmium(II) salts in the presence of the semi-rigid 1,4-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene (pbmeix) co-ligand is reported. Five new coordination polymers – [Zn(μ-opda)(μ-pbmeix)0.5]n 1, {[Zn(μ-ppda)(μ-pbmeix)]·H2O}n 2, {[Zn(μ-ppda)(μ-pbmeix)]∙0.5pbmeix·H2O}n 3, {[Cd(μ-opda)(μ-pbmeix)]·0.5DMF}n 4 and [Cd(μ-ppda)(μ-pbmeix)0.5]n 5 (o/ppda = 1,2-/1,4-phenylenediacetate) – have been prepared and structurally characterised. Compounds 1 and 5 were found to form three-dimensional coordination networks, 2 forms a two-dimensional structure whereas both 3 and 4 form one-dimensional nanotubular structures. Compounds 1 and 4 are opda complexes in which the dicarboxylate shows a tridentate coordination mode in 1 and a tetradentate coordination mode in 4. Compounds 2, 3 and 5 are ppda complexes in which the dicarboxylate adopts bidentate (2, 3) and hexadentate (5) coordination modes. The structure of 2 contains interpenetrated 2D frameworks and is a polycatenane with ppda linkers from one framework passing through Zn2(μ-pbmeix)2 rings from a neighbouring framework. The thermal stability of complexes 1–4 and luminescence properties of complexes 1 and 4 are also reported. © 2018 Elsevier Inc