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The chemistry of the group 2 metals (beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium) is dominated by the +2 oxidation state. Here, we report the reductions of two magnesium(II) iodide complexes with potassium metal in toluene, leading to thermally stable magnesium(I) compounds, (L)MgMg(L) (where L is [(Ar)NC(NPri₂)N(Ar)]⁻ or {[(Ar)NC(Me)]₂CH}⁻, Ar is 2,6-diisopropylphenyl, Me is methyl, and Pri is isopropyl) in moderate yields. The results of x-ray crystallographic and theoretical studies are consistent with central Mg ²⁺₂ units that have single, covalent magnesium-magnesium bonding interactions with 2.8508 ± 0.0012 (standard deviation) and 2.8457 ± 0.0008 angstrom bond lengths, respectively, and predominantly ionic interactions with the anionic ligands (L).

Highly sensitive and specific urine-based tests to detect either primary or recurrent bladder cancer have proved elusive to date. Our ever increasing knowledge of the genomic aberrations in bladder cancer should enable the development of such tests based on urinary DNA. DNA was extracted from urine cell pellets and PCR used to amplify the regions of the TERT promoter and coding regions of FGFR3, PIK3CA, TP53, HRAS, KDM6A and RXRA which are frequently mutated in bladder cancer. The PCR products were barcoded, pooled and paired-end 2 x 250 bp sequencing performed on an Illumina MiSeq. Urinary DNA was analysed from 20 non-cancer controls, 120 primary bladder cancer patients (41 pTa, 40 pT1, 39 pT2+) and 91 bladder cancer patients post-TURBT (89 cancer-free). Despite the small quantities of DNA extracted from some urine cell pellets, 96% of the samples yielded mean read depths >500. Analysing only previously reported point mutations, TERT mutations were found in 55% of patients with bladder cancer (independent of stage), FGFR3 mutations in 30% of patients with bladder cancer, PIK3CA in 14% and TP53 mutations in 12% of patients with bladder cancer. Overall, these previously reported bladder cancer mutations were detected in 86 out of 122 bladder cancer patients (70% sensitivity) and in only 3 out of 109 patients with no detectable bladder cancer (97% specificity). This simple, cost-effective approach could be used for the non-invasive surveillance of patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers harbouring these mutations. The method has a low DNA input requirement and can detect low levels of mutant DNA in a large excess of normal DNA. These genes represent a minimal biomarker panel to which extra markers could be added to develop a highly sensitive diagnostic test for bladder cancer.

(1) Background: This project evaluates the outcomes of a novel pharmacy-led model of deprescribing unnecessary medications for care home patients. A feasibility study was conducted in 2015 to explore exposure to inappropriate polypharmacy in patients residing in care homes over a one-year timescale. The aim of this study was to present the results of this ongoing service evaluation over a five-year period. (2) Methods: Data collection and risk assessment tools developed during the feasibility study were used to measure the prevalence, nature, and impact of deprescribing interventions by primary care pharmacists over a five-year period. A random sample of approximately 5% of safety interventions were screened twice yearly by the pharmacist leads as part of standard practice. (3) Results: Over a period of five years there were 23,955 interventions (mean 2.3 per patient) reported from the 10,405 patient reviews undertaken. Deprescribing accounted for 53% of total estimated financial drug savings, equating to £431,493; and 16.1% of all interventions were related to safety. (4) Conclusions: Medication reviews in care homes, undertaken by primary care pharmacists who are linked to GP practices, generate a wide range of interventions commonly involving deprescribing, which contributes significantly to the continuous optimisation of the prescribing and monitoring of medicines.

Learn to create high-performance, error-free programs by understanding the core principles and techniques behind programming in C++ Key Features * Gain a solid understanding of the syntax and anatomy of C++ * Implement best practices when building high-performance C++ programs * Prepare for real-world development tasks by tackling engaging activities Book Description C++ is the backbone of many games, GUI-based applications, and operating systems. Learning C++ effectively is more than a matter of simply reading through theory, as the real challenge is understanding the fundamentals in depth and being able to use them in the real world. If you're looking to learn C++ programming efficiently, this Workshop is a comprehensive guide that covers all the core features of C++ and how to apply them. It will help you take the next big step toward writing efficient, reliable C++ programs. The C++ Workshop begins by explaining the basic structure of a C++ application, showing you how to write and run your first program to understand data types, operators, variables and the flow of control structures. You'll also see how to make smarter decisions when it comes to using storage space by declaring dynamic variables during program runtime. Moving ahead, you'll use object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques such as inheritance, polymorphism, and class hierarchies to make your code structure organized and efficient. Finally, you'll use the C++ standard library?s built-in functions and templates to speed up different programming tasks. By the end of this C++ book, you will have the knowledge and skills to confidently tackle your own ambitious projects and advance your career as a C++ developer. What you will learn * Understand how a C++ program is written, executed, and compiled * Efficiently work with the essential C++ data types and variables * Build your own C++ applications by writing clear and error-free code * Grasp the core principles behind object-oriented programming * Simplify your code by using templates and the standard library * Debug logical errors and handle exceptions in your program Who this book is for This Workshop is for anyone who is new to C++ who wants to build a strong foundation for C++ game programming or application development. Basic prior knowledge of data structures and OOP concepts, as well as experience in any other programming language, will help you grasp the concepts covered in this book more easily.

The work presented in this thesis is concerned with synthetic and theoretical investigations involving compounds containing low oxidation state elements from across the main group. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to low oxidation state group 13 chemistry, with an emphasis on the preparation and reactivity of group 13 metal(I) halides and alkyls. Additionally, the jV-heterocyclic carbene class of ligand and its group 13 valence isoelectronic analogues are discussed. Chapter 2 details the use of the low oxidation state gallium halide species, 'Gal9, as a new reducing agent in organic synthesis, predominantly in the reactivity towards a-functionalised ketones. Isolation of inorganic intermediates aided in the proposal of reaction mechanisms, including the first structural characterisation of a gallium enediolato complex. Chapter 3 investigates the dissolution of the indium(I) halides, which in the case of the bromide and iodide, afforded the first structurally characterised molecular indium(I) halide complex and neutral indium subhalide complex, respectively. For the first time, the study also established that InBr can be crystallised from an organic solvent. Chapter 4 explores the synthesis, electronic structure and reactivity of unprecedented magnesium(I) and related magnesium(II) hydride complexes. The magnesium(I) complexes contain the first structurally characterised Mg-Mg bonds while the magnesium(II) hydrides are the first structurally characterised examples of neutral complexes of the type {L Mg(//- in - 1 or 2). Chapter 5 pertains to theoretical studies involving low oxidation state group 14 and 15 amidinate and guanidinate complexes, based on experimental investigations that led to several digermynes and diarsenes. In part, the study deals with multiple bonding, or lack thereof, between the corresponding metal centres. Chapter 6 describes the electronic structure of novel main group and transition metal complexes bearing Group 13 heterocyclic ligands, examples of which illustrate the first structurally characterised Ga-Sn bond and shortest Ga-Pt bond.

Ebooks are big business today. Yet the success of ebooks is still such that a lot of competing apps and storefronts have appeared, as companies attempt to capitalise upon it. Amazon's Kindle needs little introduction; Amazon virtually invented the online bookstore, played a key role in popularising ebooks, and sold one of the first successful ereaders. The Kobo brand has a multinational history. Originally a Canadian business that branched out from a bookstore chain, Kobo was later acquired by the Japanese conglomerate Rakuten. Nowadays, Kobo run an online bookstore and distribute ereader devices via partners in different countries around the world. Like Kobo, Nook comes to people from North America -- though this time it's the US of A rather than Canada. It's the brainchild of Barnes & Noble, the largest retail booksellers in America. Seattle-based Bluefire Productions offers its reader app as a white label platform to other businesses, allowing them to rebrand it and integrate their own stores with it.

It has been widely reported for some years that many people do the majority of their personal computing using their mobile devices, whether for Web browsing, reading emails, checking in on Facebook or Twitter or playing games. It's undeniable that there has been a huge impact here, as smartphones have many unique strengths. The biggest counter to the idea that the strengths of mobile devices indicate that the PC is dying is to observe that they're not the only computers that have unique strengths. It is hard to imagine that those who spend a lot of time working with lengthy documents or desktop publishing software, designing Websites or writing the code for them, developing applications or games, using digital art software, working in accountancy or even software testing would prefer to use a tablet over a PC for any serious amount of time. Tablets have their place in working environments, but their role is largely supplementary.

Shareware was born of humble origins all the way back in 1982. Home PC ownership was on the rise, and more and more computer clubs were springing up. These were ideal environments in which to share diskettes containing software, and the new shareware model was perfect for such an environment. Awareness of shareware programs spread virally and extremely rapidly as a result. Despite the increasing popularity of the IBM PC in American homes and the fact that the Amiga and Atari ST never really took off in the States, there were relatively few games available for the PC through much of the 1980s and even the early 1990s. Shareware had helped make PC gaming a success, but as competition and budgets increased, it became increasingly less popular. The future of shareware is a debatable one. Like many innovations, it has mutated beyond its original vision.

These days, social media is so pervasive a part of our experience of the web that it can be difficult to remember a time when it did not exist. Social media also meant that the rest of the world was able to observe, to a limited degree, what was happening inside the country, and offer support or expressions of solidarity. Social media had a role to play in Egypt's political opposition long before the January Revolution. The exact origins of the Occupy movement are somewhat hazy, as befits a non-hierarchical movement made up of thousands of autonomous aggregations of people. Ironically, social media also lay behind the partial collapse of the Occupy Wall Street group that gave the movement its name. Social media has been defined as \"a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content\".

The storefronts via which people purchase their entertainment have changed immensely over the past decade. This seems a statement of the obvious, but it's worth considering that this change was a slow and gradual process and few shifts occurred overnight. In recent years, digital distribution has achieved a sufficient state of maturity that its importance to the future of entertainment consumption and online shopping is without question. The iTunes store was for a long time, and for many is probably still so today, the first thing people thought of when they were asked to name a digital distribution service. However, Valve is far from the only games company to dabble in digital distribution. As far back as 2001, the US-based software company Stardock had established an early platform for its software. Music and games are far from the only media that have been revolutionised via digital distribution: books, film and TV have also come in for the same treatment.