Strain alleviation in an isomorphous series of lanthanide 2-nitroterephthalates [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]·2H2O (Ln = Pr – Lu, except Pm)

An extended series of trivalent lanthanide 2-nitroterephthalates, [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]•2H2O, (Ln = Pr through Lu, except Pm) were synthesized hydrothermally from Ln2O3 and 2-nitroterephthalic acid (H2TPNO2) at 170˚C in Teflon lined Parr steel autoclaves, and were characterized via single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analyses, and thermogravimetric analyses. All [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]•2H2O coordination polymers are isomorphous, crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system with space group C2/c. The metal centers in all networks possess the coordination number 8, while forming a three-dimensional extended lattice. Two metal centers form Ln2O14 entities, comprising crystallographically identical LnO8 polyhedra, connected via edge-sharing, utilizing two carboxylate O-atoms. These Ln2O14 units are separated along the a and b-axes by individual 2-nitroterephthalate linkers, while being closely connected along the c axis via two carboxylate groups on each side. Compared to small inorganic anions, the rather flexible 2-nitroterephthalate seems to allow for the unobstructed decrease in size of the LnO8 polyhedra as Ln3+ ionic radii decrease towards the heavier Ln elements. Hence, the structural parameters of the crystal lattice adjust gradually without noticeable strain buildup along the series resulting in isomorphous arrangements for all networks. The thermogravimetric and FT-IR measurements seem to confirm the structural features

Age-related striatal BOLD changes without changes in behavioral loss aversion

Loss aversion (LA), the idea that negative valuations have a higher psychological impact than positive ones, is considered an important variable in consumer research. The literature on aging and behavior suggests older individuals may show more LA, although it is not clear if this is an effect of aging in general (as in the continuum from age 20 and 50 years), or of the state of older age (e.g., past age 65 years). We also have not yet identified the potential biological effects of aging on the neural processing of LA. In the current study we used a cohort of subjects with a 30 year range of ages, and performed whole brain functional MRI (fMRI) to examine the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VS/NAc) response during a passive viewing of affective faces with model-based fMRI analysis incorporating behavioral data from a validated approach/avoidance task with the same stimuli. Our a priori focus on the VS/NAc was based on (1) the VS/NAc being a central region for reward/aversion processing, (2) its activation to both positive and negative stimuli, (3) its reported involvement with tracking LA. LA from approach/avoidance to affective faces showed excellent fidelity to published measures of LA. Imaging results were then compared to the behavioral measure of LA using the same affective faces. Although there was no relationship between age and LA, we observed increasing neural differential sensitivity (NDS) of the VS/NAc to avoidance responses (negative valuations) relative to approach responses (positive valuations) with increasing age. These findings suggest that a central region for reward/aversion processing changes with age, and may require more activation to produce the same LA behavior as in younger individuals, consistent with the idea of neural efficiency observed with high IQ individuals showing less brain activation to complete the same task

Redefining Neuromarketing as an Integrated Science of Influence

Multiple transformative forces target marketing, many of which derive from new technologies that allow us to sample thinking in real time (i.e., brain imaging), or to look at large aggregations of decisions (i.e., big data). There has been an inclination to refer to the intersection of these technologies with the general topic of marketing as ‘neuromarketing’. There has not been a serious effort to frame neuromarketing, which is the goal of this paper. Neuromarketing can be compared to neuroeconomics, wherein neuroeconomics is generally focused on how individuals make ‘choices’, and represent distributions of choices. Neuromarketing, in contrast, focuses on how a distribution of choices can be shifted or ‘influenced’, which can occur at multiple ‘scales’ of behavior (e.g., individual, group, or market/society). Given influence can affect choice through many cognitive modalities, and not just that of valuation of choice options, a science of influence also implies a need to develop a model of cognitive function integrating attention, memory, and reward/aversion function. The paper concludes with a brief description of three domains of neuromarketing application for studying influence, and their caveats

Strain Alleviation in an Isomorphous Series of Lanthanide 2-Nitroterephthalates [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]·2H2O (Ln = Pr – Lu, except Pm)

An extended series of trivalent lanthanide 2-nitroterephthalates, [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]·2H2O, (Ln = Pr through Lu, except Pm) were synthesized hydrothermally from Ln2O3 and 2-nitroterephthalic acid (H2TPNO2) at 170 °C in Teflon lined Parr steel autoclaves, and were characterized via single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analyses, and thermogravimetric analyses. All [Ln2(TPNO2)3(H2O)2]·2H2O coordination polymers are isomorphous, crystallizing in the monoclinic crystal system with space group C2/c. The metal centers in all networks possess the coordination number 8, while forming a three-dimensional extended lattice. Two metal centers form Ln2O14 entities, comprising crystallographically identical LnO8 polyhedra, connected via edge-sharing, utilizing two carboxylate O-atoms. These Ln2O14 units are separated along the a- and b-axes by individual 2-nitroterephthalate linkers, while being closely connected along the c-axis via two carboxylate groups on each side. Compared to small inorganic anions, the rather flexible 2-nitroterephthalate seems to allow for the unobstructed decrease in size of the LnO8 polyhedra as Ln3+ ionic radii decrease towards the heavier Ln elements. Hence, the structural parameters of the crystal lattice adjust gradually without noticeable strain buildup along the series resulting in isomorphous arrangements for all networks. The thermogravimetric and FT-IR measurements seem to confirm the structural features