Performance Management or “Herding Cats”? Strategies to Support Faculty Success

Presenters and participants will engage in analysis and discussion of several case studies illustrating common faculty performance issues. Presenters will share practical performance management tools and best practices for promoting faculty success

Atomically dispersed Pt-N-4 sites as efficient and selective electrocatalysts for the chlorine evolution reaction

Chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is a critical anode reaction in chlor-alkali electrolysis. Although precious metal-based mixed metal oxides (MMOs) have been widely used as CER catalysts, they suffer from the concomitant generation of oxygen during the CER. Herein, we demonstrate that atomically dispersed Pt-N-4 sites doped on a carbon nanotube (Pt-1/CNT) can catalyse the CER with excellent activity and selectivity. The Pt-1/CNT catalyst shows superior CER activity to a Pt nanoparticle-based catalyst and a commercial Ru/Ir-based MMO catalyst. Notably, Pt-1/CNT exhibits near 100% CER selectivity even in acidic media, with low Cl- concentrations (0.1M), as well as in neutral media, whereas the MMO catalyst shows substantially lower CER selectivity. In situ electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals the direct adsorption of Cl- on Pt-N-4 sites during the CER. Density functional theory calculations suggest the PtN4C12 site as the most plausible active site structure for the CER

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

Electrocatalytic urea mineralization in aqueous alkaline medium using NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2 anodes and its relationship with the simultaneous electrogeneration of H2 on Pt counterelectrodes

NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2-coated ITO electrodes (ITO/TiO2//NiIIcyclam) were prepared by electropolymerization of NiIIcyclam monomers to TiO2-coated ITO electrodes (ITO/TiO2) to improve electrocatalytic urea CO(NH2)2 oxidation in alkaline aqueous solutions. A high value adding secondary effect was the collection of electrons at Pt cathodes, to simultaneously generate H2 from water reduction. NiIIcyclam-modified ITO electrodes (ITO//NiIIcyclam) were also prepared by electropolymerization of NiIIcyclam monomers to bare ITO electrodes (ITO) for comparison purposes. In the presence of the TiO2 nanoparticles, the urea mineralization on NiIIcyclam coatings was doubled (23.95% – organic carbon removal at 120 min of electrolysis) compared to those without TiO2 nanoparticles (13.02% – organic carbon removal at 120 min of electrolysis). In agreement, the faradaic efficiency for H2 generation at the Pt cathode, electrically connected to an anode having TiO2 nanoparticles (0.99 at 120 min of electrolysis), was also twice as effective than that observed when the same Pt cathode was electrically connected to an anode without TiO2 nanoparticles (0.46 at 120 min of electrolysis). The experimental results indicated that the poisoning of NiII centers (which is caused by an excessive production of CO intermediates during the urea oxidation on both NiIIcyclam-modified anodes) was strongly inhibited in the presence of the nanoparticulate TiO2|NiIIcyclam junction. A final comparison between our results and those reported in selected publications revealed that the NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2-coated ITO anodes here developed, constitutes a promising electrocatalytic system for performing direct urea mineralization at a relative short electrolysis time. Furthermore, the combination of the following phenomena: (a) effective charge separation on the semiconducting ITO|nanoparticulate TiO2 junctions, (b) remarkable capabilities of the nanoporous TiO2 films for tuning the load of OH� anions demanded by the urea oxidation and, (c) outstanding capabilities of the TiO2 nanoparticles for capturing CO intermediates (at Ti3+ donor sites), successfully promoted the enhancement of the electron external transport to Pt cathodes, and consequently improved the faradaic efficiency associated to the cathodic generation of H2

Enhancing communication through Crucial Conversations® training: outcomes and best-practices

Department chairs and other academic leaders were invited to participate in Crucial Conversations training as part of professional development programming sponsored by the provost’s office. This session will 1) describe the logistics of the program including the Crucial Conversations platform; 2) present cohort data, 3) share assessment data for the program; and 4) identify best practices for on-going communication training