O,N,N-Pincer ligand effects on oxidatively induced carbon–chlorine coupling reactions at palladium

The syntheses of two families of sterically tuneable O,N,N pro-ligands are reported, namely the 2-(phenyl-2′-ol)-6-imine-pyridines, 2-(C6H4-2′-OH),6-(CMe[double bond, length as m-dash]NAr)C5H3N [Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (HL1a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (HL1b)] and the 2-(phenyl-2′-ol)-6-(amino-prop-2-yl)pyridines, 2-(C6H4-2′-OH),6-(CMe2NHAr)C5H3N [Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (HL2a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (HL2b)], using straightforward synthetic approaches and in reasonable overall yields. Interaction of HL1a/c and HL2a/b with palladium(II) acetate affords the O,N,N-pincer complexes, [{2-(C6H4-2′-O)-6-(CMe[double bond, length as m-dash]NAr)C5H3N}Pd(OAc)] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (1a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (1b)) and [{2-(C6H4-2′-O)-6-(CMe2NHAr)C5H3N}Pd(OAc)] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (2a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (2b)), which can be readily converted to their chloride derivatives, [{2-(C6H4-2′-O)-6-(CMe[double bond, length as m-dash]NAr)C5H3N}PdCl] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (3a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (3b)) and [{2-(C6H4-2′-O)-6-(CMe2NHAr)C5H3N}PdCl] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (4a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (4b)), respectively, on reaction with an aqueous sodium chloride solution. Treating each of 3a, 3b, 4a and 4b with two equivalents of di-p-tolyliodonium triflate at 100 °C in a toluene/acetonitrile mixture affords varying amounts of 4-chlorotoluene along with the 4-iodotoluene by-product with the conversions highly dependent on the steric and backbone properties of the pincer complex employed (viz.4a > 3a > 4b > 3b); notably, the least sterically bulky and most flexible amine-containing 4a reaches 90% conversion to 4-chlorotoluene in 15 h as opposed to 17% for imine-containing 3b. In the case of 3a, the inorganic palladium species recovered from the reaction has been identified as the Pd(II) salt [{2-(C6H4-2′-O)-6-(CMe[double bond, length as m-dash]N(4-i-PrC6H4)C5H3N}Pd(NCMe)][O3SCF3] (5a), which was independently prepared by the reaction of 3a with silver triflate in acetonitrile. Single crystal X-ray structures are reported for HL1a, HL2a, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and 5a

Organo-palladium(II) complexes bearing unsymmetrical N,N,N-pincer ligands: synthesis, structures and oxidatively induced coupling reactions

The 2-(2'-aniline)-6-imine-pyridines, 2-(C6H4--2'-NH2)-6-(CMe=NAr)C5H3 N (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (HL1a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (HL1b)), have been synthesised via sequential Stille cross-coupling, deprotection and condensation steps from 6-tributylstannyl-2-(2-methyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)pyridine and 2-bromonitrobenzene. The palladium(II) acetate N,N,N-pincer complexes, [{2-(C6H4-2'-NH)-6-(CMe=NAr)C5H3N}Pd(OAc)] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (1a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (1b)), can be prepared by reacting HL1 with Pd(OAc) 2 or, in the case of 1a , more conveniently by the template reaction of ketone 2-(C6H4-2'-NH2)-6-(CMe=O)C5H3N, Pd(OAc)2 and 4-isopropylaniline; ready conversion of 1 to their chloride analogues, [{2-(C6H4-2'-NH)-6-(CMe=NAr)C5H3N}PdCl] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (2a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (2b)), has been demonstrated. The phenyl-containing complexes, [{2-(C6H4-2'-NH)-6-(CMe=NAr)C5H3N}PdPh] (Ar = 4-i-PrC6H4 (3a), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (3b)), can be obtained by treating HL1 with (PPh3)2 PdPh(Br) in the presence of NaH or with regard to 3a, by the salt elimination reaction of 2a with phenyllithium

Habitat structure: a fundamental concept and framework for urban soil ecology

Habitat structure is defined as the composition and arrangement of physical matter at a location. Although habitat structure is the physical template underlying ecological patterns and processes, the concept is relatively unappreciated and underdeveloped in ecology. However, it provides a fundamental concept for urban ecology because human activities in urban ecosystems are often targeted toward management of habitat structure. In addition, the concept emphasizes the fine-scale, on-the-ground perspective needed in the study of urban soil ecology. To illustrate this, urban soil ecology research is summarized from the perspective of habitat structure effects. Among the key conclusions emerging from the literature review are: (1) habitat structure provides a unifying theme for multivariate research about urban soil ecology; (2) heterogeneous urban habitat structures influence soil ecological variables in different ways; (3) more research is needed to understand relationships among sociological variables, habitat structure patterns and urban soil ecology. To stimulate urban soil ecology research, a conceptual framework is presented to show the direct and indirect relationships among habitat structure and ecological variables. Because habitat structure serves as a physical link between sociocultural and ecological systems, it can be used as a focus for interdisciplinary and applied research (e.g., pest management) about the multiple, interactive effects of urbanization on the ecology of soils

Ethical and Scientific Considerations Regarding Animal Testing and Research

In 1959, William Russell and Rex Burch published the seminal book, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique, which emphasized reduction, refinement, and replacement of animal use, principles which have since been referred to as the ‘‘3 Rs’’. These principles encouraged researchers to work to reduce the number of animals used in experiments to the minimum considered necessary, refine or limit the pain and distress to which animals are exposed, and replace the use of animals with non-animal alternatives when possible. Despite the attention brought to this issue by Russell and Burch and since, the number of animals used in research and testing has continued to increase, raising serious ethical and scientific issues. Further, while the ‘‘3 Rs’’ capture crucially important concepts, they do not adequately reflect the substantial developments in our new knowledge about the cognitive and emotional capabilities of animals, the individual interests of animals, or an updated understanding of potential harms associated with animal research. This Overview provides a brief summary of the ethical and scientific considerations regarding the use of animals in research and testing, and accompanies a Collection entitled Animals, Research, and Alternatives: Measuring Progress 50 Years Later, which aims to spur ethical and scientific advancement

Vascular responses of the extremities to transdermal application of vasoactive agents in Caucasian and African descent individuals

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer in European Journal of Applied Physiology on 04/04/2015, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3164-2 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Purpose: Individuals of African descent (AFD) are more susceptible to non-freezing cold injury than Caucasians (CAU) which may be due, in part, to differences in the control of skin blood flow. We investigated the skin blood flow responses to transdermal application of vasoactive agents. Methods: Twenty-four young males (12 CAU and 12 AFD) undertook three tests in which iontophoresis was used to apply acetylcholine (ACh 1 w/v %), sodium nitroprusside (SNP 0.01 w/v %) and noradrenaline (NA 0.5 mM) to the skin. The skin sites tested were: volar forearm, non-glabrous finger and toe, and glabrous finger (pad) and toe (pad). Results: In response to SNP on the forearm, AFD had less vasodilatation for a given current application than CAU (P = 0.027–0.004). ACh evoked less vasodilatation in AFD for a given application current in the non-glabrous finger and toe compared with CAU (P = 0.043–0.014) with a lower maximum vasodilatation in the non-glabrous finger (median [interquartile], AFD n = 11, 41[234] %, CAU n = 12, 351[451] %, P = 0.011) and non-glabrous toe (median [interquartile], AFD n = 9, 116[318] %, CAU n = 12, 484[720] %, P = 0.018). ACh and SNP did not elicit vasodilatation in the glabrous skin sites of either group. There were no ethnic differences in response to NA. Conclusion: AFD have an attenuated endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in non-glabrous sites of the fingers and toes compared with CAU. This may contribute to lower skin temperature following cold exposure and the increased risk of cold injuries experienced by AFD.Published versio

Bat Eyes Have Ultraviolet-Sensitive Cone Photoreceptors

Mammalian retinae have rod photoreceptors for night vision and cone photoreceptors for daylight and colour vision. For colour discrimination, most mammals possess two cone populations with two visual pigments (opsins) that have absorption maxima at short wavelengths (blue or ultraviolet light) and long wavelengths (green or red light). Microchiropteran bats, which use echolocation to navigate and forage in complete darkness, have long been considered to have pure rod retinae. Here we use opsin immunohistochemistry to show that two phyllostomid microbats, Glossophaga soricina and Carollia perspicillata, possess a significant population of cones and express two cone opsins, a shortwave-sensitive (S) opsin and a longwave-sensitive (L) opsin. A substantial population of cones expresses S opsin exclusively, whereas the other cones mostly coexpress L and S opsin. S opsin gene analysis suggests ultraviolet (UV, wavelengths <400 nm) sensitivity, and corneal electroretinogram recordings reveal an elevated sensitivity to UV light which is mediated by an S cone visual pigment. Therefore bats have retained the ancestral UV tuning of the S cone pigment. We conclude that bats have the prerequisite for daylight vision, dichromatic colour vision, and UV vision. For bats, the UV-sensitive cones may be advantageous for visual orientation at twilight, predator avoidance, and detection of UV-reflecting flowers for those that feed on nectar

Global-scale climate impact functions: the relationship between climate forcing and impact

Although there is a strong policy interest in the impacts of climate change corresponding to different degrees of climate change, there is so far little consistent empirical evidence of the relationship between climate forcing and impact. This is because the vast majority of impact assessments use emissions-based scenarios with associated socio-economic assumptions, and it is not feasible to infer impacts at other temperature changes by interpolation. This paper presents an assessment of the global-scale impacts of climate change in 2050 corresponding to defined increases in global mean temperature, using spatially-explicit impacts models representing impacts in the water resources, river flooding, coastal, agriculture, ecosystem and built environment sectors. Pattern-scaling is used to construct climate scenarios associated with specific changes in global mean surface temperature, and a relationship between temperature and sea level used to construct sea level rise scenarios. Climate scenarios are constructed from 21 climate models to give an indication of the uncertainty between forcing and response. The analysis shows that there is considerable uncertainty in the impacts associated with a given increase in global mean temperature, due largely to uncertainty in the projected regional change in precipitation. This has important policy implications. There is evidence for some sectors of a non-linear relationship between global mean temperature change and impact, due to the changing relative importance of temperature and precipitation change. In the socio-economic sectors considered here, the relationships are reasonably consistent between socio-economic scenarios if impacts are expressed in proportional terms, but there can be large differences in absolute terms. There are a number of caveats with the approach, including the use of pattern-scaling to construct scenarios, the use of one impacts model per sector, and the sensitivity of the shape of the relationships between forcing and response to the definition of the impact indicator

Violence against women in relation to literacy and area of residence in Ethiopia

Objective: This study explores violence against women in a low-income setting in relation to residency and literacy. Setting: The study was conducted within the Butajira Rural Health Programme (a Health and Demographic Surveillance Site), which includes rural and semi-urban settings in south-central Ethiopia. Design: This is a community-based cross-sectional study and is part of the WHO Women&#x0027;s Health and Life Events multi-country study. It included 1,994 randomly selected married women. Methods: A standardised WHO questionnaire was used to measure physical violence, residency, literacy of the woman and her spouse, and attitudes of women about gender roles and violence. Analyses present prevalence with 95% confidence intervals and odds ratios derived from bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: In urban and rural areas of the study area, the women were of varying ages, had varying levels of literacy and had spouses with varying levels of literacy. Women in the overall study area had beliefs and norms favouring violence against women, and women living in rural communities and illiterate women were more likely to accept such attitudes. In general, violence against women was more prevalent in rural communities. In particular, violence against rural literate women and rural women who married a literate spouse was more prevalent. Literate rural women who were married to an illiterate spouse had the highest odds (Adj. OR=3.4; 95% CI: 1.7&#x2013;6.9) of experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner. Conclusion: Semi-urban lifestyle and literacy promote changes in attitudes and norms against intimate partner violence; however, within the rural lifestyle, literate women married to illiterate husbands were exposed to the highest risks of violence

Malaria associated symptoms in pregnant women followed-up in Benin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is generally agreed that in high transmission areas, pregnant women have acquired a partial immunity to malaria and when infected they present few or no symptoms. However, longitudinal cohort studies investigating the clinical presentation of malaria infection in pregnant women in stable endemic areas are lacking, and the few studies exploring this issue are unconclusive.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective cohort of women followed monthly during pregnancy was conducted in three rural dispensaries in Benin from August 2008 to September 2010. The presence of symptoms suggestive of malaria infection in 982 women during antenatal visits (ANV), unscheduled visits and delivery were analysed. A multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between symptoms and a positive thick blood smear (TBS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During routine ANVs, headache was the only symptom associated with a higher risk of positive TBS (aOR = 1.9; p < 0.001). On the occasion of unscheduled visits, fever (aOR = 5.2; p < 0.001), headache (aOR = 2.1; p = 0.004) and shivering (aOR = 3.1; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with a malaria infection and almost 90% of infected women presented at least one of these symptoms. Two thirds of symptomatic malaria infections during unscheduled visits occurred in late pregnancy and long after the last intermittent preventive treatment dose (IPTp).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The majority of pregnant women were symptomless during routine visits when infected with malaria in an endemic stable area. The only suggestive sign of malaria (fever) was associated with malaria only on the occasion of unscheduled visits. The prevention of malaria in pregnancy could be improved by reassessing the design of IPTp, i.e. by determining an optimal number of doses and time of administration of anti-malarial drugs.</p

A cluster of Candida krusei infections in a haematological unit

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Candida krusei </it>infections are associated with high mortality. In order to explore ways to prevent these infections, we investigated potential routes for nosocomial spread and possible clonality of <it>C. krusei </it>in a haematological unit which had experienced an unusually high incidence of cases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched for <it>C. krusei </it>contamination of the hospital environment and determined the level of colonization in patients and health care workers. We also analyzed the possible association between exposure to prophylactic antifungals or chemotherapeutic agents and occurrence of <it>C. krusei</it>. The <it>C. krusei </it>isolates found were genotyped by pulsed-field electrophoresis method in order to determine possible relatedness of the cases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twelve patients with invasive <it>C. krusei </it>infection and ten patients with potentially significant infection or mucosal colonization were documented within nine months. We were unable to identify any exogenic source of infection or colonization. Genetic analysis of the isolates showed little evidence of clonal transmission of <it>C. krusei </it>strains between the patients. Instead, each patient was colonized or infected by several different closely related genotypes. No association between medications and occurrence of <it>C. krusei </it>was found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Little evidence of nosocomial spread of a single <it>C. krusei </it>clone was found. The outbreak may have been controlled by cessation of prophylactic antifungals and by intensifying infection control measures, e.g. hand hygiene and cohorting of the patients, although no clear association with these factors was demonstrated.</p