Synthesis and Density Functional Theory Studies of Azirinyl and Oxiranyl Functionalized Isoindigo and (3Z,3’Z)-3,3’-(ethane-1,2-diylidene)bis(indolin-2-one) Derivatives

The design and synthesis of functionalized isoindigo compounds by reaction of isoindigo with (S)-glycidyl tosylate, epibromohydrin, 2-(bromomethyl)-1-(arylsulfonyl)aziridine, and 2-(bromomethyl)-1-(alkylsulfonyl)aziridine in the presence of MeONa proceed under mild conditions in moderate yields. (3Z,3’Z)-3,3’-(Ethane-1,2-diylidene)bis(1-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)indolin-2-one), with an extended central olefin π-conjugated moiety was also reacted with methyl-oxiranes to give the corresponding N,N’-disubstituted derivative. Calculations with DFT and TD-DFT of hypothetical isoindigo-thiophene DA molecules with various electron withdrawing substituents, including aziridine, oxirane, nitrile, carbonyl, and sulfonate, indicated that the proximity and strength of the functional group have a significant effect on the HOMO, LUMO, vertical excitation energy, and oscillator strength of the π–π* transitions

Synthesis and density functional theory studies of azirinyl and oxiranyl functionalized isoindigo and (3Z,3′Z)-3,3′-(ethane-1,2-diylidene)bis(indolin-2-one) derivatives

The design and synthesis of functionalized isoindigo compounds by reaction of isoindigo with (S)-glycidyl tosylate, epibromohydrin, 2-(bromomethyl)-1-(arylsulfonyl)aziridine, and 2-(bromomethyl)-1-(alkylsulfonyl)aziridine in the presence of MeONa proceed under mild conditions in moderate yields. (3Z,3′Z)-3,3′-(Ethane-1,2-diylidene)bis(1-(oxiran-2-ylmethyl)indolin-2-one), with an extended central olefin π-conjugated moiety was also reacted with methyl-oxiranes to give the corresponding N.N″-disubstituted derivative. Calculations with DFT and TD-DFT of hypothetical isoindigo-thiophene DA molecules with various electron withdrawing substituents, including aziridine, oxirane, nitrile, carbonyl, and sulfonate, indicated that the proximity and strength of the functional group have a significant effect on the HOMO, LUMO, vertical excitation energy and oscillator strength of the π-π∗ transitions

Reflection on the SIA Ltd professional project and the body of knowledge

In the last five years the Safety Institute of Australia Limited (SIA) has developed and implemented a number of strategies to gain professional recognition for the ‘generalist occupational health and safety (OHS) professional’ in Australia and internationally. Despite a considerable amount of work by the SIA aimed at gaining professional status, there does not appear to have been any published debate or reflection about how the drive for professionalism (the ‘professional project’) will contribute to the prevention of occupational disease and injury. Professionalisation has been promoted as a sign of maturity for the SIA and as an unquestionably good outcome, as it has been assumed that professionalisation will provide unmitigated benefits for workplace health and safety. The aim of this paper is to critically reflect on the processes of professionalisation (the professional project) and discuss the ways in which this project may shape the field of occupational health and safety

Predicting phosphirane air stability using density functional theory

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Phosphorus 3-membered heterocycles, phosphiranes, provide an interesting synthetic scaffold with a potentially diverse range of reactions that are currently underexplored. This is in part due to their difficulty in synthesis, with many products and intermediates containing low air stability. With the application and extension of a density functional theory (DFT) model to phosphiranes by calculation at the UB3LYP/6-31G(d) level of their radical cation singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO), a correlation between calculated and relative experimental air stability has been demonstrated. The model also accounts for the stability of many synthesised substituted and unsubstituted phosphiranes and has allowed new synthetic targets to be identified, in particular, 1-(2,4,6-tri-tert-butoxyphenyl)phosphirane exhibited high theoretical air stability. Because of the simplicity and efficiency of the model, its application enables phosphiranes to be screened for high bench stability, providing accessibility for their use in synthetic chemistry, in turn, realising the potential for incorporation of phosphiranes into complex synthetic strategies

Regioselective convergent synthesis of 2-arylidene thiazolo[3,2-a] pyrimidines as potential anti-chikungunya agents

This journal is The Royal Society of Chemistry. Convergent and convenient regioselective synthesis of novel thiazolo[2,3-a]pyrimidine derivatives was accomplished using the one-pot reaction of 6-ethylthiouracil, bromoacetic acid, anhydrous sodium acetate, acetic anhydride, acetic acid and suitable aldehyde. X-ray crystallographic study reveals the presence of the Z configuration of only one regioisomer confirmed by computational studies as being the most likely isomer present

“I STILL WANT TO KNOW THEY’RE NOT TERRIBLE PEOPLE”: NEGOTIATING TRUST, PLEASURE AND QUEER ETHICS IN LGBTQ+ YOUNG PEOPLE’S DATING APP USE

Dating and hook-up apps constitute spaces of intense negotiation around issues of sex, identity and intimacy, in which norms are tested and reinforced. This paper examines discussions of ‘ideal app use’ which emerged in qualitative workshops conducted in 2018 with 23 LGBTQ+ app-users aged 18-35 in urban and regional New South Wales. We explore how a reading of in-app practices - such as messaging, picture-sharing and blocking - through a lens of queer ethics can inform LGBTQ+ young people’s ‘rules’ for app use. Participants were invited to create 'how-tos' for ideal app use, and describe the ways they distinguished ‘good’ (or trustworthy) profiles from ‘bad’ (untrustworthy) profiles via creative design activities. In their discussions, participants articulated their ‘rules’ for filtering matches in relation to particular design features of apps which enabled (sexed and gendered) cultures of accountability to others. As in Duguay’s (2017) research on queer women’s deployment of in-app affordances as ‘identity modulation’, participants interacted with other users and interpreted their profiles in relation not only to sexual desires, but also queer politics and identity. In many instances, this was expressed through a heightened sense of responsibility for self-knowledge and self-disclosure, and a need to connect with ‘good people’ with a shared political sensibility. At other times, participants acknowledged the challenges of negotiating politicised responsibility to others while simultaneously pursuing the kinds of pleasurable connections they sought on apps, and limiting their own self-disclosure as a means of guarding their physical and emotional safety

Spatial and temporal monitoring of farm practices in Great Barrier Reef catchments

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is under increasing threat from climate change, extreme weather events, and land-based runoff (sediments, nutrients, and pesticides). The major contributor of loads of these pollutants are the agricultural production systems in river catchments adjacent to the GBR. These agricultural land uses comprise approximately 14,000 farms which manage ~370,000 km2 or 80% of the total land area. The governments of Australia and Queensland have invested significant public funds in improving how farms are managed with the aim of decreasing pollutant loads and improving water quality in the GBR lagoon. The Paddock to Reef program monitors the adoption of farm management practices within these catchments, for the five main agricultural land uses (beef cattle grazing, and cropping of grains, sugarcane, bananas, and other horticultural crops). Paddock to Reef manages a geographic information system (GIS) based system to track farm management changes spatially, and over time. Between 2014 and 2021, Paddock to Reef has recorded management attributes on more than 50,000 km2 of farmland in the highest priority areas of the GBR catchments. The purpose of these data is to enable independent, science-based assessment of the potential water quality impacts of the many programs and projects aiming to improve farm management. This paper summarises unique features of Paddock to Reef’s monitoring and evaluation effort, the main limitations, and possible future enhancements

TRUST IN FRIENDSHIP: LGBTQ+ YOUNG PEOPLE AND HOOK-UP APP SAFETIES

Digital media research commonly explores the use of social media platforms and dating/hook-up apps separately, implying distance between social and sexual communication practices. By exploring how friendships enfold into LGBTQ+ young people’s use of dating/hook-up apps, this paper troubles that delineation. In 2018, we ran four workshops with LGBTQ+ young people (18-35 years) about negotiating safety in dating/hook-up apps. Discussion of friendship featured in all workshops, mostly related to four key themes: the safety of having mutual friends with prospective dates/hook-ups; friend-making through apps; friend-involvement in safety strategies; and friendship advice on app use. Through analysis of these data, we highlight how friendship is an organising force in LGBTQ+ young people’s dating/hook-up app practices, and argue for greater attention to the porousness of media sites commonly defined as social (e.g. Instagram) or sexual (e.g. Tinder). Participants demonstrate that trust in friendship is far greater that their trust in apps, and so this is called upon, at many levels, to negotiate app use. Notably mutual friends (‘mutuals’) offer greater feelings of safety. An overlap between friendship and sexual connections is also apparent in these data, as per discussion of 'sliding into DMs'. Participants who were not cisgender men had greater concern for safety, and thus more knowledge on how to negotiate apps (and dating) safely, particularly through friendship support networks