Bond length of perchlorate at different temperatures: X-ray and neutron comparison.

The averages (average deviations from the mean are given in square brackets) of uncorrected Cl-O bond distances in a perchlorate anion from an X-ray diffraction analysis of (N-{2-[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino]ethyl}pyridine-2-carboxamidato)(nitric oxide)manganese perchlorate acetonitrile disolvate, [Mn(C20H20N5O)(NO)]ClO4·2CH3CN or [Mn(PaPy3)(NO)]ClO4·2CH3CN, decrease from 1.447 [4] Å at 10 K to 1.428 [4] Å at 170 K. The 10 K value is close to the neutron value (1.441 [1] Å) at 18 K. Comparisons are made with a second X-ray study at 30 K [1.444 (8) Å] and to libration-corrected, density functional theory (DFT), and Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) values

Bis(9-amino-acridinium) bis-(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato-κO,N,O)nickelate(II) trihydrate.

The title compound, (C(13)H(11)N(2))(2)[Ni(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(2)]·3H(2)O, consists of a mononuclear anionic complex, two 9-amino-acridinium cations and three uncoordinated water mol-ecules. Two pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate (pydc) ligands are bound to the Ni(II) ion, giving an NiN(2)O(4) bonded set. The coordination geometry around the Ni(II) atom is distorted octa-hedral. There are two types of robust O-H⋯O hydrogen-bond synthons, namely R(6) (6)(24) and R(2) (4)(8), which link the complex anions and water mol-ecules to each other. N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds connect the stacks of anions and cations in the structure. Other inter-molecular inter-actions, including weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, π-π [shortest centroid-centroid distance = 3.336 (7) Å] and C-O⋯π [O⋯centroid distance = 3.562 (10) Å] inter-actions, connect the various components

A temperature-dependent phase transformation of (E)-2-[(4-chloro-phen-yl)imino]-ace-naphthylen-1-one.

The crystal structure determination based on 90 K data of the title imine ligand, C18H10ClNO, revealed non-merohedral twinning with three twin domains. In our experience, this is an indication of an ordering phase transition. Consequently, the structure was redetermined with higher temperature data, and a reversible phase transition was discovered. The higher temperature phase is indeed an ordered structure. At the higher temperature, the 4-chloro-phenyl group has rotated by ca 7° into a crystallographic mirror plane. Warming the crystal from 90 K to 250 K changes the space group from triclinic P-1, to monoclinic P21/m. Diverse non-classical inter-actions are present in the crystal packing, and these are described for the phase change reported in this work. The crystal structure of the title imine ligand, measured at 100 K, has been reported on previously [Kovach et al. (2011 ▸). J. Mol. Struct.992, 33-38]

Does the Impact of Managed Care on Substance Abuse Treatment Services Vary By Profit Status?

We extend our previous research by determining whether, and how, the impact of managed care on substance abuse treatment (SAT) services differs by facility ownership. We use the 2000 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services that contains data on service offerings and other characteristics of 10,513 SAT facilities. For each group of for-profit, not-for-profit, and public facilities, we estimate the impact of managed care (MC) on the number and types of SAT services offered (i.e., indicators of the quality of care). We use IVs to account for possible endogeneity between facilities' involvement in MC and service offerings. We find substantial differences in the magnitude and direction of the impact of MC by facility ownership. On average, MC causes for-profits to offer approximately four (out of 26) additional services, causes publics to offer approximately four fewer services, and has no impact on the number of services offered by not-for-profits. Our findings raise concerns that managed care may reduce the quality of care provided by public SAT facilities by limiting the range of services offered. On the other hand, for-profit clinics are found to increase their range of services; the societal impact of this is unclear for several reasons.

Mindfulness meditation and improvement in depressive symptoms among Spanish- and English speaking adults: A randomized, controlled, comparative efficacy trial.

ObjectiveLatino immigrants experience acculturative stress and increased depression risk. Mindfulness meditation improves depressive symptoms, yet the vast majority of research has focused on English speaking populations.MethodsIn this randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel treatment groups, adults with moderate levels of perceived stress (n = 76) were recruited from the Los Angeles community from October 2015 to March 2016, stratified into Spanish- (n = 36) and English speaking (n = 40) language groups, and randomized for 6 weeks of treatment with standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) or health education (HE). Main outcome measure was depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory.ResultsUsing an intent-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome, depressive symptoms as indexed by the Beck Depression Inventory, showed greater improvement in MAPs vs. HE, with a between-group post-intervention mean difference of -2.2 (95% CI -4.4 - -0.07) and effect size of 0.28; similar effect sizes were found in the the Spanish- (0.29) and English speaking (0.30) groups. MAPs showed significant improvement relative to HE on secondary outcome of mindfulness with between group difference of 10.7 (95% CI4.5-16.9), but not perceived stress.ConclusionThe comparable efficacy of Spanish and English formats of mindfulness meditation in improving depressive symptoms suggests that this community based intervention may mitigate depression risk in Latino adults who are experiencing social adversity.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03545074

Comparing Price and Non-price Approaches to Urban Water Conservation

Urban water conservation is typically achieved through prescriptive regulations, including the rationing of water for particular uses and requirements for the installation of particular technologies. A significant shift has occurred in pollution control regulations toward market-based policies in recent decades. We offer an analysis of the relative merits of market-based and prescriptive approaches to water conservation, where prices have rarely been used to allocate scarce supplies. The analysis emphasizes the emerging theoretical and empirical evidence that using prices to manage water demand is more cost-effective than implementing non-price conservation programs, similar to results for pollution control in earlier decades. Price-based approaches also have advantages in terms of monitoring and enforcement. In terms of predictability and equity, neither policy instrument has an inherent advantage over the other. As in any policy context, political considerations are important.Cost-effectiveness, Water Conservation, Market-based Approaches, Policy Instrument Choice, Water Price

Three Key Elements of Post-2012 International Climate Policy Architecture

We describe three essential elements of an effective post-2012 international global climate policy architecture: a means to ensure that key industrialized and developing nations are involved in differentiated but meaningful ways; an emphasis on an extended time path of targets; and inclusion of flexible market-based policy instruments to keep costs down and facilitate international equity. This architecture is consistent with fundamental aspects of the science, economics, and politics of global climate change; addresses specific shortcomings of the Kyoto Protocol; and builds upon the foundation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.global climate change, global warming, policy architecture, Kyoto Protocol

The Diffusion of the Tractor in American Agriculture: 1910-60

This paper examines the impact and diffusion of the gasoline tractor in American agriculture. A key feature of the transition from horses to tractors was a long intermediate stage when both modes of power were used on the same farm. This is largely explained in the technical limitations of early tractors. In addition, we explore how rural markets and institutions adjusted to facilitate diffusion. Our simultaneous-equation regression analysis reveals that farm scale and tractor adoption had positive, independent effects on each other. Finally, we analyze diffusion as a capital replacement problem, which reveals that the shift to the new technology came far sooner than has generally been thought.