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The aim of the paper is to define a method for evaluating infrastructural interventions for the mitigation of noise generated by roads based on multi-criteria analysis which considers a series of parameters (environmental, social, economic and health) that could give broader evaluations than just economic convenience.

A carboxylative Ni-catalyzed tandem C–C σ-bond activation of cyclobutanones followed by CO2-electrophilic trapping is documented as a direct route to synthetically valuable 3-indanone-1-acetic acids. The protocol shows an adequate functional group tolerance and useful chemical outcomes (yield up to 76%) when AlCl3 is adopted as an additive. Manipulations of the targeted cyclic scaffolds and a mechanistic proposal based on experimental evidence complete the investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of ligand-free Ni-nanoparticles supported on rGO (size distribution average d = 9 ± 3 nm) was prepared and fully characterized via morphological (Fe-SEM), structural (P-XRD, HR-TEM), and spectroscopic (ICP-EOS, XPS) analysis tools. The metal composite was effectively employed in the unprecedented heterogeneously Ni-assisted cross-coupling reaction of aryl/vinyl iodides and thiocarboxylates. A range of sulfur-containing aryl as well as vinyl derivatives (15 examples) was achieved in high yields (up to 82%), under mild reaction conditions, and with wide functional group tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tandem catalytic functionalization/carboxylation of double as well as triple carbon‐carbon bonds with CO2 represent an emerging research area in synthetic organic methodology. In particular, the combination of mild reaction conditions, stoichiometric acceptor/donorless conditions (visible light photoredox catalysis) and chiral catalysts contributed to a rapid development of this intriguing research area capable of creating chemical diversity/ complexity from readily available unsaturated hydrocarbons and CO2 as a C1‐buinding block. The most recent developments in the field have been collected in the present review article and organized, based on the different sets of π‐systems/intermediates/reactive partners employed (i.e., nickelalactones, organo‐halides) as well as synthetic strategies (i.e., visible‐light photo redox catalysis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tandem catalytic functionalization/carboxylation of double as well as triple carbon‐carbon bonds with CO2 represent an emerging research area in synthetic organic methodology. In particular, the combination of mild reaction conditions, stoichiometric acceptor/donorless conditions (visible light photoredox catalysis) and chiral catalysts contributed to a rapid development of this intriguing research area capable of creating chemical diversity/ complexity from readily available unsaturated hydrocarbons and CO2 as a C1‐buinding block. The most recent developments in the field have been collected in the present review article and organized, based on the different sets of π‐systems/intermediates/reactive partners employed (i.e., nickelalactones, organo‐halides) as well as synthetic strategies (i.e., visible‐light photo redox catalysis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor rehabilitation is a therapeutic process to facilitate functional recovery in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, its efficacy is limited to areas with remaining sensorimotor function. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) creates a temporary prosthetic effect that may allow further rehabilitation-induced recovery in individuals without remaining sensorimotor function, thereby extending the therapeutic reach of motor rehabilitation to individuals with more severe injuries. In this work, we report our first steps in developing a non-invasive brain-spine interface (BSI) based on electroencephalography (EEG) and transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS). The objective of this study was to identify EEG-based neural correlates of lower limb movement in the sensorimotor cortex of unimpaired individuals and to quantify the performance of a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) decoder in detecting movement onset from these neural correlates. Our results show that initiation of knee extension was associated with event-related desynchronization in the central-medial cortical regions at frequency bands between 4-44 Hz. Our neural decoder using µ (8-12 Hz), low β (16-20 Hz), and high β (24-28 Hz) frequency bands achieved an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 ± 0.06 s.d. (n = 7) during a cued movement task offline. Generalization to imagery and uncued movement tasks served as positive controls to verify robustness against movement artifacts and cue-related confounds, respectively. With the addition of real-time decoder-modulated tSCS, the neural decoder performed with an average AUC of 0.81 ± 0.05 s.d. (n = 9) on cued movement and 0.68 ± 0.12 s.d. (n = 9) on uncued movement. Our results suggest that the decrease in decoder performance in uncued movement may be due to differences in underlying cortical strategies between conditions. Furthermore, we explore alternative applications of the BSI system by testing neural decoders trained on uncued movement and imagery tasks. By developing a non-invasive BSI, tSCS can be timed to be delivered only during voluntary effort, which may have implications for improving rehabilitation.

Here we demonstrate for the first time that an antibody-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-polymer conjugate thin-film biosensor can easily be fabricated to selectively capture Tau protein. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are employed as sensing elements, thus capitalizing on their propensity to undergo assembly or disassembly in response to the adsorption or conjugation of various biomolecules on their surface, thereby forming robust interactions with the target analyte. We show that the Tau protein in its different aggregation phases can be detected, by restricting the reaction area on the solid thin polymer film and thus reducing the diffusion effects usually encountered in immunosensors. A limit of detection (LOD) of 460 pg/mL was reached, demonstrating a great potential for detecting Tau in aggregation states. This sensor based on thin polymer film could open new routes for sensing and monitoring Tau protein in biological assays and biomedical diagnosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The use of kilohertz-frequency (KHF) waveforms has rapidly gained momentum in transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) to restore motor function after paralysis. However, the mechanisms by which these fast-alternating currents depolarize efferent and afferent fibers remain unknown. Our study fills this research gap by providing a hypothesis-and evidence-based investigation using peripheral nerve stimulation, lumbar tSCS, and cervical tSCS in 25 unimpaired participants together with computational modeling. Peripheral nerve stimulation experiments and computational modeling showed that KHF waveforms negatively impact the processes required to elicit action potentials, thereby increasing response thresholds and biasing the recruitment towards efferent fibers. While these results translate to tSCS, we also demonstrate that lumbar tSCS results in the preferential recruitment of afferent fibers, while cervical tSCS favors recruitment of efferent fibers. Given the assumed importance of proprioceptive afferents in motor recovery, our work suggests that the use of KHF waveforms should be reconsidered to maximize neurorehabilitation outcomes, particularly for cervical tSCS. We posit that careful analysis of the mechanisms that mediate responses elicited by novel approaches in tSCS is crucial to understanding their potential to restore motor function after paralysis.

A carbonylation-carboxylation synthetic sequence, via double CO 2 fixation, is described. The productive merger of a Ni-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling manifold, with the use of AlCl 3 , triggered a cascade reaction with the formation of three consecutive C-C bonds in a single operation. This strategy traces an unprecedented synthetic route to ketones under Lewis acid assisted carbon dioxide valorization. Computational insights revealed a unique double function of AlCl 3 , and labeling ( 13 CO 2 ) experiments validate the genuine incorporation of CO 2 in both functional groups.

We present an environmentally benign methodology for the covalent functionalization (arylation) of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets with arylazo sulfones. A variety of tagged aryl units were conveniently accommodated at the rGO surface via visible-light irradiation of suspensions of carbon nanostructured materials in aqueous media. Mild reaction conditions, absence of photosensitizers, functional group tolerance and high atomic fractions (XPS analysis) represent some of the salient features characterizing the present methodology. Control experiments for the mechanistic elucidation (Raman analysis) and chemical nanomanipulation of the tagged rGO surfaces are also reported., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

A carboxylative Ni-catalyzed tandem C-C σ-bond activation of cyclobutanones followed by CO 2 -electrophilic trapping is documented as a direct route to synthetically valuable 3-indanone-1-acetic acids. The protocol shows an adequate functional group tolerance and useful chemical outcomes (yield up to 76%) when AlCl 3 is adopted as an additive. Manipulations of the targeted cyclic scaffolds and a mechanistic proposal based on experimental evidence complete the investigation.