The trapping of 6,6-dimethylisobenzofulvene by its 1,3-dipolar precursor : a rare example of dipolar[6 4] cycloaddition

A new route to isobenzofuran and isobenzofulvene is reported that is proposed to involve the 14e electrocyclic fragmentation of a transient 1,3-dipolar intermediate formed by ring-opening of a fused aziridinocyclobutane. 6,6-Dimethylisobenzofulvene generated in this way reacts with its 1,3-dipole precursor to form a [10pi + 4pi] cycloadduct, the first of this type involving the participation of a 1,3-dipolar species

Healthy choice rewards: A feasibility trial of incentives to influence consumer food choices in a remote Australian Aboriginal community

Poor diet including inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience a disproportionate level of preventable chronic disease and successful strategies to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote areas to consume more fruit and vegetables can help address health disadvantage. Healthy Choice Rewards was a mixed methods study to investigate the feasibility of a monetary incentive: store vouchers, to promote fruit and vegetable purchasing in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. Multiple challenges were identified in implementation, including limited nutrition workforce. Challenges related to the community store included frequent store closures and amended trading times, staffing issues and poor infrastructure to support fruit and vegetable promotion. No statistically significant increases in fruit or vegetable purchases were observed in the short time frame of this study. Despite this, community members reported high acceptability of the program, especially for women with children. Optimal implementation including, sufficient time and funding resources, with consideration of the most vulnerable could go some way to addressing inequities in food affordability for remote community residents. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

A cross-industry assessment of the flow rate-time profiles of test equipment typically used for dry-powder inhaler (DPI) testing: Part 1 – compendial apparatuses

We report a cross-industry study characterizing flow rate-time profiles of equipment used for testing dry-powder inhalers (DPIs). Nine organizations used the same thermal mass flow sensor to record flow rate-time profiles at the inlet of individual participant compendial DPI test systems including either sample collection tubes (SCT), the Andersen 8-stage non-viable impactor (ACI) or the Next Generation Impactor (NGI™) with and without pre-separator (PS). The plan included some tests with a surrogate DPI consisting of one of three inlet orifices chosen to generate a 4-kPa pressure drop at each of the target final flow rates of 30, 60, and 90 l.min−1, simulating the pressure drop typical of high-, medium-, and low-resistance DPIs. When a particular surrogate DPI was present at the inlet, rise times to 90% of these target flow rates (t90) were shortest at the highest target flow rate, and decreased linearly with decreasing apparatus internal volume, following the order: NGI-PS>NGI>ACI-PS>ACI>SCT. A flow acceleration parameter was also evaluated, expressed as the slope between the rise times when the flow rate attained 20% and 80% of each final steady flow rate (slopet20/80). Flow acceleration was smallest at the lowest target flow rate, decreasing exponentially with increasing internal volume. Measurements were also made without the surrogate DPI, providing a reference condition with no resistance at the inlet to the apparatus. These flow rate-rise time profiles will be useful for those involved in evaluating equipment for characterizing DPIs and in understanding the behavior of these inhalers in development or commercial production