The proof of the pudding is in the eating: an outbreak of emetic syndrome after a kindergarten excursion, Berlin, Germany, December 2007

An outbreak of food poisoning (emetic syndrome) occurred in three kindergartens (A, B and C) in Berlin, Germany, on 3 December 2007 after an excursion during which food was served. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among the kindergarten children and personnel who participated in the trip. The overall attack rate among the 155 participants was 30%. It was 31% among the 137 children (aged two to six years) and 17% among adults (n=18). The consumption of rice pudding was significantly associated with disease. Among those who ate rice pudding, the attack rate was 36%, compared with 0% for non-eaters (relative risk: infinite,

The supramolecular architecture of arene complexes of bis(polyfluorophenyl)mercurials

The 1:1 (arene)mercury complexes [HgR2(arene)] [R = C6F4-o-NO2, C6F4-m-NO2, C6F4-o-H, C6F5; arene = TMB (1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene), PMB (1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylbenzene)] are readily formed when mixtures of the mercurial and arene are crystallised from CH2Cl2 or CH2Cl2/hexane. Analogous 1:1 complexes are also formed from Hg(C6F5)(2) and PhMe, whereas novel 1:2 complexes [HgR2(arene)(2)] result from Hg(C6F4-o-NO2)(2) and PhMe or TMO (1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene) and from Hg(C6F5)(2) and TMO. In the crystalline state, the 1:1 [HgR2(arene)] complexes exist as canted columns of alternating planar HgR2 and arene layers linked by weak (Hg center dot center dot center dot C 3.2-3.5 angstrom) eta(1) or eta(2) pi-arene-mercury interactions. For the TMB (R = C6F4-o-NO2, C6F4-o-H, C6F5) and PhMe (R = C6F5) complexes, the packing of neighbouring columns shows aligned, alternating fluoroarene and arene ring planes resulting in a 2D brick-wall motif with potential supramolecular components (fluoroarene-fluoroarene and fluoroarene-arene stacking). For the TMB complex with R = C6F4-m-NO2 the 2D array is distorted into a herringbone motif by weak C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions. The 1:2 complex [Hg(C6F4-o-NO2)(2)-(PhMe)(2)] has an analogous mercury environment to the 1:1 complexes, and the packing shows a distinct layer structure of alternating rows of PhMe and HgR2 with two PhMe units per HgR2 unit but with no inter-stack interactions. The TMO complexes have long Hg center dot center dot center dot O contacts (3.2 angstrom.) rather than Hg center dot center dot center dot C and similarly show a layered structure, but in this case, with a single column of alternating HgR2 and pairs of TMO. Theoretical calculations for the 1:2 [HgR2(TMB)(2)] Complexes (R = C6F4-o-NO2, C6F4-m-NO2) are consistent with the findings from the observed crystal structures

Synthesis of fluoro(aryloxo)alkaline earth metal cages by C–F bond activation\ud

Treatment of Ca or Sr metal with Hg(C6F5)2 and 2,4,6-trimethylphenol (HOmes) in 1,2-dimethoxyethane (dme) at room temperature resulted in C–F bond activation, giving rise to the unique fluoro(aryloxo)alkaline earth cages [Ca5(µ4-F)(µ3-F)4(µ-Omes)4(Omes)(dme)4] 1 and [Sr10(µ4-F)4(µ3-F)4(µ-Omes)12(dme)4] 2, which can be viewed as arrested fluorite structures