Synthesis of alkylcarbonate analogs of O-acetyl-ADP-ribose

The non-hydrolyzable alkylcarbonate analogs of O-acetyl-ADP-ribose have been synthesized from the phosphorylated ribose derivatives after coupling with AMP morpholidate promoted by mechanical grinding. The analogs were assessed for their ability to inhibit the human sirtuin homolog SIRT1. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Idiosyncratic species effects confound size-based predictions of responses to climate change

Understanding and predicting the consequences of warming for complex ecosystems and indeed individual species remains a major ecological challenge. Here, we investigated the effect of increased seawater temperatures on the metabolic and consumption rates of five distinct marine species. The experimental species reflected different trophic positions within a typical benthic East Atlantic food web, and included a herbivorous gastropod, a scavenging decapod, a predatory echinoderm, a decapod and a benthic-feeding fish. We examined the metabolism-body mass and consumption-body mass scaling for each species, and assessed changes in their consumption efficiencies. Our results indicate that body mass and temperature effects on metabolism were inconsistent across species and that some species were unable to meet metabolic demand at higher temperatures, thus highlighting the vulnerability of individual species to warming. While body size explains a large proportion of the variation in species' physiological responses to warming, it is clear that idiosyncratic species responses, irrespective of body size, complicate predictions of population and ecosystem level response to future scenarios of climate change. © 2012 The Royal Society.

An investigation of the role of surface nitrate species in the oxidation of propene on a Pt-based diesel oxidation catalyst

Enhancing the low temperature activity of diesel oxidation catalysts is important for cold-start conditions and the possible importance of nitrate species in oxidation reactions has been proposed although definitive evidence has not been reported. To investigate the possible role of surface nitrates, their adsorption and reactivity on a Pt-based diesel oxidation catalyst have been investigated using the Short Time on Stream (STOS) transient kinetic technique. The results provide for the first time definitive evidence for the oxidation of propene by some of these nitrate-type species. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

Topochemical polymerization in self-assembled rodlike micelles of bisurea bolaamphiphiles

Rod-like micelles, formed from bolaamphiphiles with oligo(ethylene oxide) hydrophilic outer segments and a hydrophobic segment with diacetylene flanked by two urea moieties, were covalently fixated by topochemical photopolymerization to high degrees of polymerization by optimizing the hydrophobic core and the hydrophilic periphery of the bolaamphiphiles. Analysis of the polymerized product with dynamic light scattering in chloroform showed degrees of polymerization of approximately 250. Cryo-TEM of bolaamphiphiles before and after UV irradiation showed that the morphology of the rods was conserved upon topochemical polymerization. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Assessing the surface modifications following the mechanochemical preparation of a Ag/Al2O3 selective catalytic reduction catalyst

The surface modification of a mechanochemically prepared Ag/Al O catalyst compared with catalysts prepared by standard wet impregnated methods has been probed using two-dimensional T -T NMR correlations, HO temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and DRIFTS. The catalysts were examined for the selective catalytic reduction of NO using n-octane in the presence and absence of H. Higher activities were observed for the ball milled catalysts irrespective of whether H was added. This higher activity is thought to be related to the increased affinity of the catalyst surface towards the hydrocarbon relative to water, following mechanochemical preparation, resulting in higher concentrations of the hydrocarbon and lower concentrations of water at the surface. DRIFTS experiments demonstrated that surface isocyanate was formed significantly quicker and had a higher surface concentration in the case of the ball milled catalyst which has been correlated with the stronger interaction of the n-octane with the surface. This increased interaction may also be the cause of the reduced activation barrier measured for this catalyst compared with the wet impregnated system. The decreased interaction of water with the surface on ball milling is thought to reduce the effect of site blocking whilst still providing a sufficiently high surface concentration of water to enable effective hydrolysis of the isocyanate to form ammonia and, thereafter, N. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Traces of Peter Rice

A review of the events comprising Peter Rice at Queen's including the Traces of Peter Rice Exhibition at the Naughton Gallery

How much do you need: a randomised experiment of whether readers can understand the key messages from summaries of Cochrane Reviews, without reading the full review?

Objective: We explored whether readers can understand key messages without having to read the full review, and if there were differences in understanding between various types of summary.
Design: A randomised experiment of review summaries which compared understanding of a key outcome.
Participants: Members of university staff (n = 36).
Setting: Universities on the island of Ireland.
Method: The Cochrane Review chosen examines the health impacts of the use of electric fans during heat waves. Participants were asked their expectation of the effect these would have on mortality. They were then randomly assigned a summary of the review (i.e. abstract, plain language summary, podcast or podcast transcription) and asked to spend a short time reading/listening to the summary. After this they were again asked about the effects of electric fans on mortality and to indicate if they would want to read the full Review.
Main outcome measure: Correct identification of a key review outcome.
Results: Just over half (53%) of the participants identified its key message on mortality after engaging with their summary. The figures were 33% for the abstract group, 50% for both the plain language and transcript groups and 78% for the podcast group.
Conclusions: The differences between the groups were not statistically significant but suggest that the audio summary might improve knowledge transfer compared to written summaries. These findings should be explored further using a larger sample size and with other reviews.

Highly diastereoselective hydrosilylations of allylic alcohols

The highly syn-selective hydrosilylation of allylic alcohols was developed which, following oxidation, provided 1,3 alcohols containing two contiguous stereocentres. Through judicious choice of silane the complementary anti-selective hydrosilylation was also developed. This protocol was applied to the synthesis of an all syn polyketide stereotriad. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Representations of specific acoustic patterns in the auditory cortex and hippocampus

Previous behavioural studies have shown that repeated presentation of a randomly chosen acoustic pattern leads to the unsupervised learning of some of its specific acoustic features. The objective of our study was to determine the neural substrate for the representation of freshly learnt acoustic patterns. Subjects first performed a behavioural task that resulted in the incidental learning of three different noise-like acoustic patterns. During subsequent high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, subjects were then exposed again to these three learnt patterns and to others that had not been learned. Multi-voxel pattern analysis was used to test if the learnt acoustic patterns could be 'decoded' from the patterns of activity in the auditory cortex and medial temporal lobe. We found that activity in planum temporale and the hippocampus reliably distinguished between the learnt acoustic patterns. Our results demonstrate that these structures are involved in the neural representation of specific acoustic patterns after they have been learnt.

Selective Palladium-Catalysed Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols

Palladium has a significant track record as a catalyst for a range of oxidation reactions and it has been explored for the selective oxidation of alcohols for many years. This chapter focuses on the two main types of aerobic Pd catalysts: heterogeneous and ligand-modulated systems. In the case of heterogeneous systems, the mechanistic understanding of these systems and the use of in situ and operando techniques to obtain this knowledge are discussed. The current state-of-the-art is also summarized in terms of catalytic performance and substrate scope for heterogeneous Pd-based catalysts. In terms of ligand-modulated systems, leading examples of molecular Pd(ii) catalysts which undergo direct O2 coupled turnover are highlighted. The catalyst performance for such catalysts is exemplified and mechanistic understanding for these molecular systems is discussed.

Out of the Shadows: A one day investigation of the politics of architecture explored through the lens of post-conflict, Belfast

This booklet covers the itinerary and some of the findings of a day-long visit to Belfast on the 7th November 2014 by Peter Oborn; Vice President International of the Royal Institute of British Architects. His visit was in response to a motion submitted to the RIBA council (19.05.2014) calling for the suspension of the Israeli Association of United Architects from the International Union of Architects. Despite members of council speaking against the motion it was carried; 23 members voting for, 16 against, and 10 abstentions. Subsequently the RIBA came under considerable pressure to consider its position in such critical contexts. This visit to Belfast was part of a wider fact-finding mission and evidence taking. At its heart was the question: 'Is it appropriate for the institute (RIBA) to engage with communities facing civil conflict and/or natural disaster and, if so, how it can do so most effectively.' The visit was facilitated by Ruth Morrow, Professor of Architecture, School of Planning, Architecture & Civil Engineering, Queen's University Belfast, and Martin Hare, Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) president.

Interspecific competition in honeybee intracellular gut parasites is asymmetric and favours the spread of an emerging infectious disease

There is increasing appreciation that hosts in natural populations are subject to infection by multiple parasite species. Yet the epidemiological and ecological processes determining the outcome of mixed infections are poorly understood. Here, we use two intracellular gut parasites (Microsporidia), one exotic and one co-evolved in the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), in an experiment in which either one or both parasites were administered either simultaneously or sequentially. We provide clear evidence of within-host competition; order of infection was an important determinant of the competitive outcome between parasites, with the first parasite significantly inhibiting the growth of the second, regardless of species. However, the strength of this ‘priority effect’ was highly asymmetric, with the exotic Nosema ceranae exhibiting stronger inhibition of Nosema apis than vice versa. Our results reveal an unusual asymmetry in parasite competition that is dependent on order of infection. When incorporated into a mathematical model of disease prevalence, we find asymmetric competition to be an important predictor of the patterns of parasite prevalence found in nature. Our findings demonstrate the wider significance of complex multi-host–multi-parasite interactions as drivers of host–pathogen community structure

Psychosocial aspects in cardiac rehabilitation: From theory to practice. A position paper from the Cardiac Rehabilitation Section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation of the European Society of Cardiology

A large body of empirical research shows that psychosocial risk factors (PSRFs) such as low socio-economic status, social isolation, stress, type-D personality, depression and anxiety increase the risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and also contribute to poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prognosis in patients with established CHD. PSRFs may also act as barriers to lifestyle changes and treatment adherence and may moderate the effects of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Furthermore, there appears to be a bidirectional interaction between PSRFs and the cardiovascular system. Stress, anxiety and depression affect the cardiovascular system through immune, neuroendocrine and behavioural pathways. In turn, CHD and its associated treatments may lead to distress in patients, including anxiety and depression. In clinical practice, PSRFs can be assessed with single-item screening questions, standardised questionnaires, or structured clinical interviews. Psychotherapy and medication can be considered to alleviate any PSRF-related symptoms and to enhance HRQoL, but the evidence for a definite beneficial effect on cardiac endpoints is inconclusive. A multimodal behavioural intervention, integrating counselling for PSRFs and coping with illness should be included within comprehensive CR. Patients with clinically significant symptoms of distress should be referred for psychological counselling or psychologically focused interventions and/or psychopharmacological treatment. To conclude, the success of CR may critically depend on the interdependence of the body and mind and this interaction needs to be reflected through the assessment and management of PSRFs in line with robust scientific evidence, by trained staff, integrated within the core CR team.

New insights on postglacial colonization in western Europe: the phylogeography of the Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri)

Despite recent advances in the understanding of the interplay between a dynamic physical environment and phylogeography in Europe, the origins of contemporary Irish biota remain uncertain. Current thinking is that Ireland was colonized post-glacially from southern European refugia, following the end of the last glacial maximum(LGM), some 20 000 years BP. The Leisler’s bat (Nyctalus leisleri), one of the few native Irish mammal species, is widely distributed throughout Europe but, with the exception of Ireland, is generally rare and considered vulnerable. We investigate the origins and phylogeographic relationships of Irish populations in relation to those across Europe, including the closely related species N. azoreum. We use a combination of approaches, including mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, in addition to approximate Bayesian computation and palaeo-climatic species distribution modelling. Molecular analyses revealed two distinct and diverse European mitochondrialDNAlineages,which probably diverged in separate glacial refugia. Awestern lineage, restricted to Ireland, Britain and the Azores, comprises Irish and British N. leisleri and N. azoreum specimens; an eastern lineage is distributed throughout mainland Europe. Palaeo-climatic projections indicate suitable habitats during the LGM, including known glacial refugia, in addition to potential novel cryptic refugia along the western fringe of Europe. These results may be applicable to populations of many species.