Boston College

About: Boston College is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 9749 authors who have published 25406 publications receiving 1105145 citations. The organization is also known as: BC.

The contribution of marital quality to the well-being of parents of children with developmental disabilities.

Abstract: Background This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of both mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities. Parent well-being is conceptualized in terms of mental health, parenting stress and parenting efficacy. Methods These analyses are based on data from  families participating in the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, an ongoing longitudinal investigation of the development of children with disabilities and the adaptation of their families. Multidimensional assessment techniques were used to collect data from married mothers and fathers and their child with a disability. Mother and father data were analysed separately using parallel hierarchical regression models. Results For both mothers and fathers, greater marital quality predicted lower parenting stress and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond socio-economic status, child characteristics and social support. In relation to parenting efficacy, marital quality added significant unique variance for mothers but not for fathers. For fathers, greater social support predicted increased parenting efficacy. Child behaviour was also a powerful predictor of parental well-being for both mothers and fathers. Conclusion The findings support the importance of the marital relationship to parental well-being and illustrate the value of including fathers in studies of children with developmental disabilities.

Catalytic Z -selective olefin cross-metathesis for natural product synthesis

Abstract: Alkenes are found in many biologically active molecules, and there are a large number of chemical transformations in which alkenes act as the reactants or products (or both) of the reaction. Many alkenes exist as either the E or the higher-energy Z stereoisomer. Catalytic procedures for the stereoselective formation of alkenes are valuable, yet methods enabling the synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted Z alkenes are scarce. Here we report catalytic Z-selective cross-metathesis reactions of terminal enol ethers, which have not been reported previously, and of allylic amides, used until now only in E-selective processes. The corresponding disubstituted alkenes are formed in up to >98% Z selectivity and 97% yield. These transformations, promoted by catalysts that contain the highly abundant and inexpensive metal molybdenum, are amenable to gram-scale operations. Use of reduced pressure is introduced as a simple and effective strategy for achieving high stereoselectivity. The utility of this method is demonstrated by its use in syntheses of an anti-oxidant plasmalogen phospholipid, found in electrically active tissues and implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and the potent immunostimulant KRN7000.

Thermal conductivity of diamond nanowires from first principles

Abstract: Usingab initiocalculations we have investigated the thermal conductivity (κ) of diamond nanowires, unveiling unusual features unique to this system. In sharp contrast with Si, κ(T) of diamond nanowires as thick as 400 nm still increase monotonically with temperature up to 300 K, and room-temperature size effects are stronger than for Si. A marked dependence of κ on the crystallographic orientation is predicted, which is apparent even at room temperature. [001] growth direction always possesses the largest κ in diamond nanowires. The predicted features point to a potential use of diamond nanowires for the precise control of thermal flow in nanoscale devices.