Photochemistry and photophysics of anthracenes on silica gel

Studies have been carried out investigating the photochemical and photophysical properties of anthracene adsorbed on silica gel. The photochemistry and photo physics of anthracene in solution are well reported and known, hence its choice as a probe for the silica gel surface. UV -visible absorption and fluorescence spectra of anthracene adsorbed on silica gel reveal aggregate formation at very low loadings (1 % of a monolayer) indicating preferential adsorption occurs at some surface sites. Laser flash photolysis at 355 nm produces both the triplet and radical cation of anthracene, their production was found to be mono- and multi-photonic respectively. The decays of both these transients were complex and the rates increased with increasing loading. Analysis of the triplet state decay has been carried out by studying the delayed fluorescence which arises from triplet triplet annihilation. Fractal and twodimensional models have been used to describe this bimolecular decay. The coadsorption of anthracene and an electron donor having an oxidation potential below 1.09 V on silica gel causes electron transfer to occur from the electron donor to the anthracene radical cation produced following laser flash photolysis at 355 nm. Studies using a selection of electron donors with varying reduction potentials were carried out. The electron donor transfers an electron to the anthracene radical cation, thus greatly accelerating its rate of decay; for electron donors such as triphenylamine, N,N-dimethylaniline and N,N,N',N'tetramethyl- l,4-phenylenediamine the rise of the donor radical cation is observed as the anthracene cation decays. These systems were studied using fluorescence measurements and laser flash photolysis to study any fluorescence quenching and the rate of decay of both the anthracene triplet and radical cation. A selection of anthracene derivatives adsorbed onto silica gel were also briefly studied to see the effect of substituent group and its position. Symmetrically substituted dialkoxyanthracenes and 9-cyanoanthracene were used. The transient absorption spectra of the 2,3- and 2,6-dialkoxyderivatives and 9-cyanoanthracene revealed spectral similarities with that of unsubstituted anthracene. The spectra of9,10- and I,S-didecyloxyanthracene showed significant differences in the radical cation spectra to those obtained for unsubstituted anthracene

Business-IT Alignment : A View From The Bridge

This paper examines the role that social capital plays in organisations in creating alignment between the business and IT communities. The paper reports on an interpretative study in financial services looking at the impact that network associations, social norms, trust, reciprocity-expectation and collective efficacy have on alignment within four firms. The study found that firms with high levels of social capital resources in network relationships, social norms, trust and reciprocity-expectation are better able to create collective efficacy through partnership. Being part of a single business community derived from trust, a clear understanding of value and respect for each other’s contribution. Network associations and process were valuable but if they did not translate to higher levels of community and partnership, they did not contribute to the goal of alignment : superior performance

Transfer of care – a randomised control trial investigating the effect of sending the details of patients’ discharge medication to their community pharmacist on discharge from hospital

Objective: There is substantial evidence demonstrating that transferring patients between care providers is a high-risk area for medicines management. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sending patients’ hospital discharge letters to their nominated community pharmacists on the number of discrepancies between the patient’s general practitioner (GP) records and the discharge letter and between the patient’s self-described medication regime and the discharge letter. Methods: In a randomised, controlled trial, 33 participants in two groups, control and intervention, had their discharge letter sent to either their GP only or their GP and nominated community pharmacy after hospital discharge. At least 3 weeks after hospital discharge, the participant’s current GP’s medication record and their self-described medication regime was obtained. Discrepancies between their GP medication record and their discharge letter and between the participant’s self-described medication regime and their discharge letter were counted. The number of discrepancies (relative to the number of drugs pre- scribed) in the intervention group was compared with the control group for each of the above two categories, using the chi-squared test to determine the statistical significance of any differences between the two groups. Results: The intervention group had statistically fewer discrepancies than the control group for both data sets: GP records compared with the discharge letters (P < 0.0005); participants’ self-described medication regimes compared with the discharge letters (P < 0.00005). Conclusions: Sending a copy of patients’ discharge letters to their community pharmacists could be beneficial in reducing post-discharge prescribing discrepancies and improving patient understanding of the changes made to their medicines

"If you're kind to me, I'll be kind to you." Compassion to self and others as a dynamic and relational process among young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour: A Grounded Theory.

The past decade has seen increasing research interest in compassion to self and others, both as a construct and a likely precipitant of psychological wellbeing. A growing literature base suggests that psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at increasing self-compassion can help to alleviate negative effects often associated with shame and self-criticism. Compassion-focused interventions have subsequently been proposed for populations likely to experience heightened shame. Despite the interest in this area, only limited research has attempted to explore how compassion is understood and experienced among varying populations. Research that has been undertaken has tended to adopt quantitative approaches, utilising self-report measures validated with well-educated, often academic, populations. There is clearly a need for the construct of compassion to be explored with other populations, particularly those who may be disadvantaged and/or at risk of heightened levels of shame. One such population is young people who have come to the attention of services for engaging in harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). This research therefore intended to fill this gap and extend the existing literature base on compassion by employing a qualitative approach. Nine young people (8 males, 1 female) aged 14-18, who were receiving input from youth offending services for HSB, were recruited for this research. Each participant took part in a one-off interview where they were asked about their understanding and experiences of compassion to and from self and others. Adopting a Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, data were analysed through an iterative process of constant comparison, leading to the construction of a substantive theoretical model grounded in the data. The resultant model explicates the dynamic and relational process of compassion to self and others experienced by young people who have engaged in HSB. The model is considered in relation to existing literature and implications for clinical practice are discussed, along with directions for future research

Characterisation of Death Receptor 3 dependent aortic changes during inflammatory arthritis

Murine collagen‐induced arthritis (mCIA) is characterized by decreased vascular constriction responses and increased MMP‐9. Here, we describe additional histological alterations within the aorta and surrounding perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), study the role of PVAT in constriction response, and investigate the potential involvement of death receptor 3 (DR3). mCIA was induced in wild‐type (WT) and DR3−/− mice with nonimmunized, age‐matched controls. Vascular function was determined in isolated aortic rings ±PVAT, using isometric tension myography, in response to cumulative serotonin concentrations. Cellular expression of F4/80 (macrophages), Ly6G (neutrophils), DR3, and MMP‐9 was determined using immunohistochemistry. In WTs, arthritis‐induced vascular dysfunction was associated with increased F4/80+ macrophages and increased DR3 expression in the aorta and PVAT. MMP‐9 was also up‐regulated in PVAT, but did not correlate with alterations of PVAT intact constriction. DR3−/− mice inherently showed increased leukocyte numbers and MMP‐9 expression in the PVAT, but retained the same nonarthritic constriction response as DR3WT mice ±PVAT. Arthritic DR3−/− mice had a worsened constriction response than DR3WT and showed an influx of neutrophils to the aorta and PVAT. Macrophage numbers were also up‐regulated in DR3−/− PVAT. Despite this influx, PVAT intact DR3−/− constriction responses were restored to the same level as DR3WT. Impaired vascular constriction in inflammatory arthritis occurs independently of total MMP‐9 levels, but correlates with macrophage and neutrophil ingress. Ablating DR3 worsens the associated vasculature dysfunction, however, DR3−/− PVAT is able to protect the aorta against aberrant vasoconstriction caused in this model

Gender, Age, and Frequency of Internet Use as Moderators of Citizens’ Adoption of Electronic Government

This paper proposes a model of citizen acceptance of e-government systems by extending UTAUT with two additional constructs (Anxiety and Attitude), and includes three moderators; gender, age, and frequency of Internet use. The model was tested with primary data gathered within the context of use of an e-government system in India. The model received good empirical support, explaining 53.7% of variance in citizen intention to make use of e-government systems. The paper contributes to e-government services research by highlighting key influencing factors (particularly the importance of attitude), identified a number of significant differences based on the use of the moderators, and identified a number of aspects appropriate for government attention and future work

Electron transfer reactions in ternary systems on silica gel surfaces: evidence for radical cation diffusion

Electron transfer reactions have been studied between 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid co-adsorbed with perylene on silica gel surfaces employing azulene as a molecular shuttle in order to facilitate hole transfer. In this paper we present for the first time a ternary system that unambiguously demonstrates an appreciable mobility of radical cations on the silica gel surface. Rates of hole transfer from the 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid radical cation to perylene via azulene have been studied using diffuse reflectance laser flash photolysis spectroscopy. Azulene has been shown to enhance the rate of electron transfer in the ternary system, proving significant mobility of the azulene and its radical cation species on silica gel surfaces. The data shows that the azulene radical cation can diffuse at an appreciable rate on the silica gel surface