Substituted bis(beta-diketones) for molecular squares

Our group has been synthesizing porous supramolecular metal-organic molecules using multidentate β-diketones as ligands. For example, m-phenylenebis(acetylacetone) (m-pbaH2, 1) and m-phenylenebis(dipropionylmethane) (m-pbprH2, 2) were readily converted to the molecular squares Cu4(m-pba)4 (6) and Cu4(m-pbpr)4 (7), which bind guests such as 4,4’-bpy and C60.1 However, 6 and 7 are only soluble in a few solvents, limiting their use in practical applications. It is therefore necessary to derivatize the ligand with different functional groups in order to improve solubility and adjust host-guest properties. Simple alkoxy derivatives should prove useful in testing this idea as they would be relatively chemically inert and should not interfere with reactions in their synthesis. Herein, I report synthesis of the ligands 5-MeO-m-pbaH2 (3), 5- BuO-m-pbaH2 (4), and 2-MeO-m-pbaH2 (5). Ligand 3 was synthesized from 5-methoxy-1,3- benzendimethanol in a two step reaction and reacted with Cu2+ to form a complex that is soluble in CH2Cl2 and THF. X-ray analysis of this complex confirms that it is a molecular square with the formula Cu4(5-MeO-m-pba)4 (square 8). Ligand 4 was synthesized from dimethyl 5- hydroxyisophthalate in a three step reaction and used for the synthesis of Cu4(5-BuO-m-pba)4 (square 9). Square 9 is soluble in a wide range of solvents including CH2Cl2, CHCl3, THF, and several benzene derivatives. Ligand 5 was synthesized from 2-methoxyisophthalic acid in a three step reaction and used for the synthesis of Cu4(2-MeO-m-pba)4 (square 10)

Remotely sensed heat : variation and change in surface urban heat islands in a temperate eco-region of the United States.

Urban heat island (UHI) is a term used to describe increased surface and atmospheric temperatures in an urban core relative to surrounding non-urbanized areas. To examine the variability introduced into derived estimates of the surface UHI, this study constructs and compares multiple remotely sensed indicators of the surface UHI for major metropolitan cities of a temperate eco-region of the United States. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-day, 500-meter product (MOD11A2) is the source data used to calculate six different RS-derived UHI indicators for the year 2002 to 2012. The different SUHI indicators are evaluated using the Spearmans Rho rank-order correlation statistic to assess agreeability for 2012 and consistency over time 2002 to 2012. Inconsistencies exist in monthly rankings between indicators, and the degree to which the indicators detect change over time. Results suggest that land cover based indicators are highly correlated compared to urban heat island driven indicators in terms of magnitude and change over time

Kioto Aoki Interview

Artist Bio: Kioto Aoki is a conceptual photographer and experimental filmmaker who also makes books and installations engaging the material specificity of the analogue image and image-making process. Her work explores modes of perception via nuances of the mundane, with recent focusing on perceptions of movement between the still and the moving image. She received MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently a 2017-2018 HATCH artist in residence at the Chicago Artist Coalition. https://kiotoaoki.com

Knowledge, Technical Skills, and Employability Skills Required of Accounting Graduates: Perceptions of Certified Public Accountants in Mississippi

Employers report recent college graduates are not prepared for the workforce and a skills gap exists (O’Bannon, 2016). Research indicates accounting graduates do not have the skills needed when entering the workforce (Altarawneh, 2016). The skills gap is costing companies money (Nanduri, 2017). Employers report extended job vacancies cost U.S. companies close to one million dollars annually (Nanduri, 2017). Also, the skills gap costs the U.S. economy an estimated $160 billion per year (Fisher, 2014). This research determined the knowledge, technical skills, and employability skills required of accounting graduates in the workforce as perceived by Mississippi CPAs and determined if recent accounting graduates possessed the knowledge and skills deemed important as perceived by CPA hiring managers. Also, this study determined the relationship between skills CPA hiring managers’ perceived importance and accounting graduate acquisition of knowledge, technical skills, and employability skills. This non-experimental, cross-sectional, explanatory study finds that Mississippi CPAs perceived that many of the knowledge and skill variables were important. Those skills deemed very important are critical thinking, analytical and problem solving, decision making, self-motivation/self-direction, and listening attentiveness. Employers indicate that accounting graduates only moderately possess most knowledge and skills. The skills possessed by accounting graduates were professional attitude/professional demeanor, teamwork/group interaction, and computer skills/information technology skills. The relationship between perceived importance and perceived graduation acquisition indicates that 16 of the 25 knowledge items had significant, positive correlations, and two of the 16 skills items had significant, positive correlations. However, coefficients ranged from .211 to .411 which are considered small to medium effect (Field, 2013). Future research considerations include larger samples and other states

Reflections From A (Mostly) Non-Academic Career: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Dr. Sandifer, retired Chief Science Advisor for NOAA\u27s National Ocean Service, presents his experiences at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and his service as a scientist for government agencies. As part of the year-long 75th anniversary celebration, this symposium brings together presentations from both alumni and current students to provide a historical and forward-looking perspective on the impacts that members of the VIMS community have made to the world

Illusion or Ununderstood Reality: Spiritual or Psychic Healing and Protection in Southern Madagascar

Far from the hospital room and its doctor, the medicine and philosophies of Lakazy and its Ombiasa pertain to a domain largely untouched by western logic and science. Their practices appear to be effective and unique enough to have survived the advent of compelling new theological and scientific belief systems and the vastly different perspectives on community health and stability which these systems have brought to Madagascar. The prime examples of these new arrivals are Christianity and modern medicine, respectively. Within and without their sacred space, the mission of the true Ombiasa is to support their community and for this work they rely neither on physiological tests nor on pre-established pharmaceuticals. To this date, no scientific and objective evidence can substantiate the practices of spiritual or psychic healers enough to grant them the credibility of modern medicine. This is due to the fact that tools capable of measuring the mechanisms at hand are still inexistent and no laws and formulas are in place to explain such phenomena and consistently reproduce the same results. The lack of investigation in the field has delayed the development of the nools and approaches necessary to evalute the phenomena. Yet evidence there is – having solely remained outside of technological and theological reach. Formula or law there is yet is has been overlooked : the mechanism underlying the phenomena is directly affected by human intention and this aspect of reality – the maliability of external reality and the influence which consciousness bears on it – is only beginning to find scientific acknowledgement. Due to the fact that psychic or spiritual healing is not yet understood with the certainty of chemical or cirgical intervention, it lacks credibility among the majority of the scientific and medical community. Despite this, the field of noetic sciences is beginning to achieve certainty in these domains. The Double-Slit Experiment has revealed that the conscious observation of a possible phenomenon collapses the phenomena into finite existence. Furthermore, multiples experiments have revealed that human intention, when projected towards chemical and biological structures affect the stability of these structures. This stuy is designed to generate additional momentum towards uncovering the truth behind the power of consciousness since the holistic effect of psychic or spiritual healing may be orders of magnitude greater for reasons explored further down. The phenomena which the Ombiasa call “Spirit” must imperatively be studied under greater light for it has the potential to have a significant and positive impact over our reality and more specifically over the health and life events of communities which place positive intent in their interactions such a phenomena

Taylor: Indonesian Independence and the United Nations

A Review of Indonesian Independence and the United Nations. By Alastair M. Taylor

Wainhouse: International Peace Observation-a History and Forecast

A Review of International Peace Observation-a History and Forecast By David W. Wainhouse in association with Bernhard G. Bechhoefer, John C. Dreier, Benjamin Gerig and Harry R. Turkel