Tears in My Snorkel Mask: An Artist's Love Affair with Nature's Hot Mess.

Artistic practice can be fueled by a sense of wonder connected with the natural world and all of its layers of color, pattern, texture and movements. As an autodidact I have pursued an understanding of the sciences in the time my life allows, listening to audible sources such as books and podcasts and watching film content. I'm also very comfortable in the outdoors hiking and camping my whole life and experiencing and observing nature is an integral piece of my artwork. Being neurodivergent in some undiagnosed way is my path, I search out what nurtures and excites my brain and I try to bring the beauty and experience to the canvas in acrylic paint. My intellect searches for edification as I can find it, and that is how my work has arrived in your publication. My self-teaching is a trail of breadcrumbs, and I would welcome any correspondence from the members of this organization sharing scientific material relating to any of my paintings.

Older Adults under Guardianship: Challenges and Recommendations for Improving Practice.

The probate court may appoint legal guardians to make decisions on behalf of older adults regarding medical needs, living arrangements, or finances. This study aims to highlight the challenges of guardianship for older adults and ways to improve practice at the county level. Focus group discussions were comprised of probate court judges and other court staff, and guardians (including family members, volunteers, attorneys, and professionals) in five counties within the state of Ohio. Themes identified illuminate challenges regarding responsibility to care, elder mistreatment, and administrative bottlenecks. These counties have developed some promising practices including commitment to excellence, resource stability, and community collaboration, to address these challenges.

Social Lives and Cliques Within Senior Housing Communities.

A better understanding of social environments will benefit facilitation of social cultures within senior housing communities. Social cliques naturally form among groups of people, particularly those living in close proximity. Research has shown that often older adults experience stigma based upon their health status and are excluded from social groups. This study examined residents' perceptions of life in senior housing, social stigma, and cliques. Forty-eight residents from two types of senior housing communities participated in the study. Qualitative thematic coding was used to analyze responses to open-ended interview questions. Overall, residents reported satisfaction with the community and their privacy and reported difficulties with distance from family, caregiving, and bereavement. The majority were able to identify cliques, defining them based upon common interests, health status, and shared histories. The most salient finding was that while social cliques existed they were not a source of dissatisfaction or stigma.

Trifluoroacetic acid in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol facilitates S(N)Ar reactions of heterocycles with arylamines.

Small-molecule drug discovery requires reliable synthetic methods for attaching amino compounds to heterocyclic scaffolds. Trifluoroacetic acid-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFA-TFE) is as an effective combination for achieving SN Ar reactions between anilines and heterocycles (e.g., purines and pyrimidines) substituted with a leaving group (fluoro-, chloro-, bromo- or alkylsulfonyl). This method provides a variety of compounds containing a "kinase-privileged fragment" associated with potent inhibition of kinases. TFE is an advantageous solvent because of its low nucleophilicity, ease of removal and ability to solubilise polar substrates. Furthermore, TFE may assist the breakdown of the Meisenheimer-Jackson intermediate by solvating the leaving group. TFA is a necessary and effective acidic catalyst, which activates the heterocycle by N-protonation without deactivating the aniline by conversion into an anilinium species. The TFA-TFE methodology is compatible with a variety of functional groups and complements organometallic alternatives, which are often disadvantageous because of the expense of reagents, the frequent need to explore diverse sets of reaction conditions, and problems with product purification. In contrast, product isolation from TFA-TFE reactions is straightforward: evaporation of the reaction mixture, basification and chromatography affords analytically pure material. A total of 45 examples are described with seven discrete heterocyclic scaffolds and 2-, 3- and 4-substituted anilines giving product yields that are normally in the range 50-90 %. Reactions can be performed with either conventional heating or microwave irradiation, with the latter often giving improved yields.