Social and Clinical Correlates of Stimulant Use Disorder (Mephedrone) in a Tertiary Mental Health Setting in Mumbai: A Pilot Exploratory Study

Introduction: Increasing mephedrone use is a major public health concern in India. There are limited data on sociodemographic determinants and psychiatric comorbidity associated with stimulant use disorder (mephedrone) (SUD‑M) from India. Aim: The primary objective of this study was to report the clinical and social correlates of SUD‑M among those presenting to specialist mental health services in Mumbai, India. Methods: Patients with SUD-M were recruited from a clinical setting. Standardized culturally validated assessments were carried out to obtain information about sociodemographics and mental health: comorbid psychopathology Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‑2 for personality traits and a clinical assessment for diagnoses of mental disorders. Results: Seventy patients (aged between 21 and 30 years, of whom 58 men) with SUD-M consented. SUD‑M was more common among young men from the low socioeconomic position. The most common reasons for choosing mephedrone over other substances were better high from the drug and peer pressure. There were no associations between sociodemographic factors with the severity of SUD-M. Around 40% of the patients with SUD-M had psychiatric comorbidity. Psychotic disorders and anxiety symptoms were most common. Family history of substance use, comorbid substance use, and comorbid psychiatric disorders were directly related to the severity of SUD-M. Conclusions: This was a cross‑sectional study with a relatively smaller sample size of self‑nominating participantslimiting the generalizability of findings to a wider population. Therapeutic implication of this finding is that prompt attention and treatment of the comorbid psychiatric disorder is essential while treating patients with SUD-M. Further population-based studies are recommended for a better understanding of the burden of SUD-M

High aspect ratio nanoscale multifunctional materials derived from hollow carbon nanofiber by polymer insertion and metal decoration

A novel high aspect ratio material which can simultaneously display multiple functions such as proton and electron conductivity and electrocatalytic activity has been developed by incorporating both platinum nanoparticles and phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole along the inner and outer surfaces of a hollow carbon nanofiber

Novel assembly of an MoS2 electrocatalyst onto a silicon nanowire array electrode to construct a photocathode composed of elements abundant on the Earth for hydrogen generation

Mild-mannered catalyst: A novel procedure to load a MoS2 co-catalyst onto the surface of silicon under mild-conditions (room temperature, atmospheric pressure, aqueous solution) by a photo-assisted electrodeposition process employing commercially available precursors is reported. The obtained Si-NW@MoS2 photocathode showed similar catalytic activity for light-driven H2 generation compared with a Si-NW@Pt photocathode (see scheme)

Microporosity-controlled synthesis of heteroatom codoped carbon nanocages by wrap-bake-sublime approach for flexible all-solid-state-supercapacitors

Heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials with high surface area and tunable microporosity are important but they generally require difficult and multistep syntheses. Herein, a simple and straightforward strategy is introduced that involves a wrap-bake-sublime approach to synthesize microporosity controlled and heteroatom codoped carbon nanocages. A zinc-containing zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) core is wrapped in a cross-linked oligomer containing nitrogen and phosphorus, oligo(cyclotriphosphazene-co-hexahydroxytriphenylene) (OCHT). As-synthesized core-shell ZIF-8-OCHT nanoparticles are baked at high temperatures to sublimate zinc through OCHT shell, resulting in a porous structure. Meanwhile, hollow cavities are introduced into N,P codoped carbon nanocages (NPCNs) via the sacrificial nature of ZIF-8 template. The microporosity is finely tuned by controlling thickness of the OCHT shell during synthesis of the core-shell nanoparticles, since the sublimation tendency of zinc component at high temperatures depends on the thickness of OCHT shell. A systematic correlation between the electrochemical performance of NPCNs and their microporosity is confirmed. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance of the NPCNs is related to the degree of heteroatom codoping. The approach is successfully scaled-up without compromising their electrochemical performance. Finally, a symmetric and flexible all-solid-state-supercapacitor with high energy and power density, and a long-term cycleability is demonstrated (75% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles).

Co2+-doping of magic-sized CdSe clusters: Structural insights via ligand field transitions

Magic-sized clusters represent materials with unique properties at the border between molecules and solids and provide important insights into the nanocrystal formation process. However, synthesis, doping, and especially structural characterization become more and more challenging with decreasing cluster size. Herein, we report the successful introduction of Co2+ ions into extremely small-sized CdSe clusters with the intention of using internal ligand field transitions to obtain structural insights. Despite the huge mismatch between the radii of Cd2+ and Co2+ ions (>21%), CdSe clusters can be effectively synthesized with a high Co2+ doping concentration of similar to 10%. Optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry suggest that one or two Co2+ ions are substitutionally embedded into (CdSe)(13) clusters, which is known as one of the smallest CdSe clusters. Using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy on the intrinsic ligand field transitions between the different 3d orbitals of the transition metal dopants, we demonstrate that the Co2+ dopants are embedded on pseudotetrahedral selenium coordinated sites despite the limited number of atoms in the clusters. A significant shortening of Co-Se bond lengths compared to bulk or nanocrystals is observed, which results in the metastability of Co2+ doping. Our results not only extend the doping chemistry of magic-sized semiconductor nanoclusters, but also suggest an effective method to characterize the local structure of these extremely small sized clusters.

Co2+-Doping of Magic-Sized CdSe Clusters: Structural Insights via Ligand Field Transitions

Magic-sized clusters represent materials with unique properties at the border between molecules and solids and provide important insights into the nanocrystal formation process. However, synthesis, doping, and especially structural characterization become more and more challenging with decreasing cluster size. Herein, we report the successful introduction of Co2+ ions into extremely small-sized CdSe clusters with the intention of using internal ligand field transitions to obtain structural insights. Despite the huge mismatch between the radii of Cd2+ and Co2+ ions (>21%), CdSe clusters can be effectively synthesized with a high Co2+ doping concentration of ∼10%. Optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry suggest that one or two Co2+ ions are substitutionally embedded into (CdSe)13 clusters, which is known as one of the smallest CdSe clusters. Using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy on the intrinsic ligand field transitions between the different 3d orbitals of the transition metal dopants, we demonstrate that the Co2+ dopants are embedded on pseudotetrahedral selenium coordinated sites despite the limited number of atoms in the clusters. A significant shortening of Co−Se bond lengths compared to bulk or nanocrystals is observed, which results in the metastability of Co2+ doping. Our results not only extend the doping chemistry of magic-sized semiconductor nanoclusters, but also suggest an effective method to characterize the local structure of these extremely smallsized clusters.© 2018 American Chemical Societ

Extremely Vivid, Highly Transparent, and Ultrathin Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes

Displaying information on transparent screens offers new opportunities in next-generation electronics, such as augmented reality devices, smart surgical glasses, and smart windows. Outstanding luminance and transparency are essential for such “see-through” displays to show vivid images over clear background view. Here transparent quantum dot light-emitting diodes (Tr-QLEDs) are reported with high brightness (bottom: ≈43 000 cd m−2, top: ≈30 000 cd m−2, total: ≈73 000 cd m−2 at 9 V), excellent transmittance (90% at 550 nm, 84% over visible range), and an ultrathin form factor (≈2.7 µm thickness). These superb characteristics are accomplished by novel electron transport layers (ETLs) and engineered quantum dots (QDs). The ETLs, ZnO nanoparticle assemblies with ultrathin alumina overlayers, dramatically enhance durability of active layers, and balance electron/hole injection into QDs, which prevents nonradiative recombination processes. In addition, the QD structure is further optimized to fully exploit the device architecture. The ultrathin nature of Tr-QLEDs allows their conformal integration on various shaped objects. Finally, the high resolution patterning of red, green, and blue Tr-QLEDs (513 pixels in.−1) shows the potential of the full-color transparent display. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhe