Synthesis, Characterization, and Study of Catalytic Activity of Chiral Cu(II) and Ni(II) Salen Complexes in the α-Amino Acid C-α Alkylation Reaction.

A new family of Cu(II) and Ni(II) salen complexes was synthesized and fully characterized through various physicochemical methods. Their catalytic activity was evaluated in the phase transfer Cα-alkylation reaction of the Schiff bases of D,L-alanine ester and benzaldehyde derivatives. It was found that the introduction of a chlorine atom into the ortho- and para-positions of the phenyl ring of the substrate resulted in an increase in both the chemical yield and the asymmetric induction (ee 66-98%). The highest enantiomeric excess was achieved in the case of a Cu(II) salen complex based on (S,S)-cyclohexanediamine and salicylaldehyde at -20 °C. The occurrence of a bulky substituent in the ligand present in the complexes led to a drastic decrease in ee and chemical yield. For instance, the introduction of bulky substituents at positions 3 and 5 of the phenyl ring of the catalyst resulted in a complete loss of the stereoselectivity control in the alkylation reaction.

Positive but not negative affect is associated with increased daily drinking likelihood in non-clinical populations: systematic review and meta-analyses.

Background: Recent meta-analytical findings indicate that affect regulation plays an important role in alcohol craving, consumption volume, and substance use. However, in view of mixed findings, the affect and drinking likelihood literature remains in need of clarification and consolidation.Objectives: This systematic review with meta-analyses interrogated the results from peer-reviewed studies among non-clinical populations that examined the relationship between daily affective states and intraday likelihood of alcohol consumption.Method: A PRISMA guided search of PsychINFO, PsycARTICLES, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, PubMed, SCOPUS, and JSTOR databases was conducted. Multilevel meta-analyses yielded 11 eligible negative affect studies (2751 participants, 23 effect sizes) and nine studies on positive affect (2244 participants, 14 effect sizes).Results: The pooled associations between intra-day affect and alcohol consumption likelihood revealed no significant association between negative affective state and drinking likelihood (OR = .90, 95% CI [.73, 1.12]) and that positive affect was associated with increased drinking likelihood (OR = 1.17, 95% CI [1.09, 1.27]). Egger's test, P-curve, fail-safe N, and selection models analyses suggested that the obtained results were unlikely to be the product of publication bias and p-hacking alone.Conclusions: Results converge to suggest that, independent of age, affect measure used, and study design, a significant albeit modest relationship between positive affect and alcohol consumption likelihood exists, which does not appear to be the case for negative affect. In conjunction with other recent meta-analyses, current findings help map out a more nuanced understanding of the affect-alcohol/substance use relationship, with potential implications for interventions.

These comprehensive meta-analyses on the impact of within-day affective states on alcohol consumption suggest that increased positive but not negative affect is associated with greater likelihood of alcohol consumption.

Affect and alcohol consumption: An ecological momentary assessment study during national lockdown.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related lockdown provided an opportunity to examine the relationship between affect and alcohol consumption in a historically unique context. To shed light on mixed findings regarding the interplay between affective states and alcohol consumption, the present study examined how affective states and affect fluctuations impact drinking during confinement of people to their homes. It also examined the extent to which the social context moderated the affect-consumption relationship. Having preregistered study protocols, methods, and hypotheses, 87 U.K. participants (34% male, Mage = 29.33) used their smartphones to respond to thrice daily prompts, recording their affective states, alcohol consumption, and social context over 1 week. Multilevel modeling suggested that being with someone (vs. alone) was associated with increased alcohol consumption. Increased drinking on the previous day was associated with increased next day negative affect, and the number of household occupants was associated with decreased negative affect. Preconsumption affect was not associated with subsequent drinking. These findings point to a complex relationship between alcohol consumption, social context, and negative affect. The opportunity to interact with others during lockdown was generally associated with decreased negative affect in the moment. However, the presence of others was associated with increased consumption which, in turn, predicted elevated next-day negative affect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Towards an affect intensity regulation hypothesis: Systematic review and meta-analyses of the relationship between affective states and alcohol consumption.

While self-medication and positive and negative reinforcement models of alcohol use suggest that there is an association between daily affect and alcohol consumption, findings within the academic literature have been inconsistent. This pre-registered systematic review meta-analytically interrogated the results from studies amongst non-clinical populations that examine the relationship between daily affective states and alcohol consumption volume. PRISMA guided searches of PsychINFO, PsycARTICLES, Science Direct, PubMed, SCOPUS, and JSTOR databases were conducted. When both laboratory and field studies were included, meta-analyses with robust variance estimation yielded 53 eligible studies on negative affect (8355 participants, 127 effect sizes) and 35 studies for positive affect (6384 participants, 50 effect sizes). The significant pooled associations between intra-day affect and alcohol consumption were r = .09, [.03, .14] for negative affect, and r = .17, [.04, .30] for positive affect. A small-to-medium sized effect (d = .275, [.11, .44]) of negative affect on daily alcohol consumption volume was found in laboratory studies (14 studies, 1100 participants). While publication bias was suspected, P-curve analyses suggested that the results were unlikely to be the product of publication bias and p-hacking alone, and selection model analysis revealed no significant differences in results when publication bias was accounted for. For negative affect, using number of drinks as the measure of alcohol consumption was associated with lower effect sizes. For positive affect, the results demonstrated a decline of this observed effect over time. Overall, findings point towards the possibility of developing an affect intensity regulation theory of alcohol use. Conceptualizing the mood-alcohol nexus in terms of affect intensity regulation may afford a more parsimonious explanation of alcohol consumption rather than viewing the behavior as being shaped by either positive or negative affective states.

Characterisation of Neurospheres-Derived Cells from Human Olfactory Epithelium.

A major problem in psychiatric research is a deficit of relevant cell material of neuronal origin, especially in large quantities from living individuals. One of the promising options is cells from the olfactory neuroepithelium, which contains neuronal progenitors that ensure the regeneration of olfactory receptors. These cells are easy to obtain with nasal biopsies and it is possible to grow and cultivate them in vitro. In this work, we used RNAseq expression profiling and immunofluorescence microscopy to characterise neurospheres-derived cells (NDC), that simply and reliably grow from neurospheres (NS) obtained from nasal biopsies. We utilized differential expression analysis to explore the molecular changes that occur during transition from NS to NDC. We found that processes associated with neuronal and vascular cells are downregulated in NDC. A comparison with public transcriptomes revealed a depletion of neuronal and glial components in NDC. We also discovered that NDC have several metabolic features specific to neuronal progenitors treated with the fungicide maneb. Thus, while NDC retain some neuronal/glial identity, additional protocol alterations are needed to use NDC for mass sample collection in psychiatric research.