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Hurricane Sandy was a large and intense storm with high winds that caused total water levels from combined tides and storm surge to reach 4.0 m in the Atlantic Ocean and 2.5 m in Great South Bay (GSB), a back-barrier bay between Fire Island and Long Island, New York. In this study the impact of the hurricane winds and waves are examined in order to understand the flow of ocean water into the back-barrier bay and water level variations within the bay. To accomplish this goal, a high resolution hurricane wind field is used to drive the coupled Delft3D-SWAN hydrodynamic and wave models over a series of grids with the finest resolution in GSB. The processes that control water levels in the back-barrier bay are investigated by comparing the results of four cases that include: (i) tides only; (ii) tides, winds and waves with no overwash over Fire Island allowed; (iii) tides, winds, waves and limited overwash at the east end of the island; (iv) tides, winds, waves and extensive overwash along the island. The results indicate that strong local wind-driven storm surge along the bay axis had the largest influence on the total water level fluctuations during the hurricane. However, the simulations allowing for overwash have higher correlation with water level observations in GSB and suggest that island overwash provided a significant contribution of ocean water to eastern GSB during the storm. The computations indicate that overwash of 7500–10,000 m 3 s − 1 was approximately the same as the inflow from the ocean through the major existing inlet. Overall, the model results indicate the complex variability in total water levels driven by tides, ocean storm surge, surge from local winds, and overwash that had a significant impact on the circulation in Great South Bay during Hurricane Sandy.

We present reflectance and polarization phase curve measurements of highly reflective planetary regolith analogues having physical characteristics expected on atmosphereless solar system bodies (ASSBs) such as a eucritic asteroids or icy satellites. We used a goniometric photopolarimeter (GPP) of novel design to study thirteen well-sorted particle size fractions of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The sample suite included particle sizes larger than, approximately equal to, and smaller than the wavelength of the incident monochromatic radiation (λ = 635 nm). The observed phase angle, α, was 0.056 o ∼95%). The incident radiation has a very high probability of being multiply scattered before being backscattered toward the incident direction or ultimately absorbed. The five smallest particle sizes exhibited extremely high void space (> ∼95%). The reflectance phase curves for all particle size fractions show a pronounced non-linear reflectance increase with decreasing phase angle at α∼ The polarization phase curves for particle size fractions with size parameter (particle radius/wavelength) r/λ ∼1 we detect no polarization. This polarization behavior is distinct from that observed in low albedo solar system objects such as the Moon and asteroids and for absorbing materials in the laboratory. We suggest this behavior arises because photons that are backscattered have a high probability of having interacted with two or more particles, thus giving rise to the CB process. These results may explain the unusual negative polarization behavior observed near small phase angles reported for several decades on highly reflective ASSBs such as the asteroids 44 Nysa, 64 Angelina and the Galilean satellites Io, Europa and Ganymede. Our results suggest these ASSB regoliths scatter electromagnetic radiation as if they were extremely fine grained with void space > ∼95%, and grain sizes of the order The GPP used in this study was modified from our previous design so that the sample is presented with light that is alternatingly polarized perpendicular to and parallel to the scattering plane. There are no analyzers before the detector. This optical arrangement, following the Helmholtz Reciprocity Principle (HRP), produces a physically identical result to the traditional laboratory reflectance polarization measurements in which the incident light is unpolarized and the analyzers are placed before the detector. The results are identical in samples measured by both methods. We believe that ours is the first experimental demonstration of the HRP for polarized light, first proposed by Helmholtz in 1856.

Theoretical modelling has suggested that the deposition of charged solar energetic particles in the lunar regolith can generate electric fields strong enough to cause millimeter-scale dielectric breakdown, and that these violent electric discharges are responsible for such space weathering effects as submicron iron particles, glass, low albedo and reddish color. It is shown that, when secondary electron emission and the particulate, porous, reentrant structure of the regolith are taken into account, electric fields sufficient to initiate breakdown are unlikely to occur there.

Hurricane Sandy at Fire Island, New York presented unique challenges in the quantification of storm impacts using traditional metrics of coastal change, wherein measured changes (shoreline, dune crest, and volume change) did not fully reflect the substantial changes in sediment redistribution following the storm. We used a time series of beach profile data at Fire Island, New York to define a new contour-based morphologic change metric, the Beach Change Envelope (BCE). The BCE quantifies changes to the upper portion of the beach likely to sustain measurable impacts from storm waves and capture a variety of storm and post-storm beach states. We evaluated the ability of the BCE to characterize cycles of beach change by relating it to a conceptual beach recovery regime, and demonstrated that BCE width and BCE height from the profile time series correlate well with established stages of recovery. We also investigated additional applications of this metric to capture impacts from storms and human modification by applying it to several post-storm historical datasets in which impacts varied considerably; Nor'Ida (2009), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Sandy (2012), and a 2009 community replenishment. In each case, the BCE captured distinctive upper beach morphologic change characteristic of these different beach building and erosional events. Analysis of the beach state at multiple profile locations showed spatial trends in recovery consistent with recent morphologic island evolution, which other studies have linked with sediment availability and the geologic framework. Ultimately we demonstrate a new way of more effectively characterizing beach response and recovery cycles to evaluate change along sandy coasts.

The visible (400–700 nm) and near-infrared (700–2800 nm) reflectance of the lunar regolith is dominantly controlled by variations in the abundance of plagioclase, iron-bearing silicate minerals, opaque minerals (e.g., ilmenite), and maturation products (e.g., agglutinate glass, radiation-produced rims on soil grains, and Fe-metal). The same materials control reflectance into the near-UV (250–400 nm) with varying degrees of importance. A key difference is that while ilmenite is spectrally neutral in the visible to near-infrared, it exhibits a diagnostic upturn in reflectance in the near-UV, at wavelengths shorter than about 450 nm. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (WAC) filters were specifically designed to take advantage of this spectral feature to enable more accurate mapping of ilmenite within mare soils than previously possible. Using the reflectance measured at 321 and 415 nm during 62 months of repeated near-global WAC observations, first we found a linear correlation between the TiO2 contents of the lunar soil samples and the 321/415 nm ratio of each sample return site. We then used the coefficients from the linear regression and the near-global WAC multispectral mosaic to derive a new TiO2 map. The average TiO2 content is 3.9 wt% for the 17 major maria. The highest TiO2 values were found in Mare Tranquillitatis (∼12.6 wt%) and Oceanus Procellarum (∼11.6 wt%). Regions contaminated by highland ejecta, lunar swirls, and the low-TiO2 maria (e.g., Mare Frigoris, the northeastern units of Mare Imbrium) exhibit very low TiO2 values ( 2.6 Ga), whereas only medium to high TiO2 values (average = 6.8 wt%, minimum = 4.5 wt%) are found for younger mare units (

Cyclotrimerization reactions of alkynes and their oligomers with themselves or other heterocumulenes are usually performed by stoichiometric or catalytic mediacy of transition metal complexes. However, a number of transition metal-free variations have appeared, ranging from stepwise cyclizations of alkynes or oligoalkynes under rather drastical reaction conditions to trimeric condensation reactions of ketoalkynes under amine catalysis and finally uncatalyzed cyclizations of oligoalkynes under partially rather mild conditions. Consequentially a range of different reaction conditions and mechanism are involved in these transformations. The presented digest accounts selected examples of such transition metal-free formal [2+2+2] cycloadditions and exemplarily discusses their mechanistic course of action.

Behavior of coastal systems on time scales ranging from single storm events to years and decades is controlled by both small-scale sediment transport processes and large-scale geologic, oceanographic, and morphologic processes. Improved understanding of coastal behavior at multiple time scales is required for refining models that predict potential erosion hazards and for coastal management planning and decision-making. Here we investigate the primary controls on shoreline response along a geologically-variable barrier island on time scales resolving extreme storms and decadal variations over a period of nearly one century. An empirical orthogonal function analysis is applied to a time series of shoreline positions at Fire Island, NY to identify patterns of shoreline variance along the length of the island. We establish that there are separable patterns of shoreline behavior that represent response to oceanographic forcing as well as patterns that are not explained by this forcing. The dominant shoreline behavior occurs over large length scales in the form of alternating episodes of shoreline retreat and advance, presumably in response to storms cycles. Two secondary responses include long-term response that is correlated to known geologic variations of the island and the other reflects geomorphic patterns with medium length scale. Our study also includes the response to Hurricane Sandy and a period of post-storm recovery. It was expected that the impacts from Hurricane Sandy would disrupt long-term trends and spatial patterns. We found that the response to Sandy at Fire Island is not notable or distinguishable from several other large storms of the prior decade.

The porosity of the upper centimeter or so of the lunar regolith strongly affects several properties that are commonly studied remotely. Hence, it is important to determine its value. We have reanalyzed the data of Ohtake et al. (Ohtake et al. [2010]. Space Sci. Rev., 154, 57–77), who used spacecraft and laboratory reflectance measurements of the Moon by Kaguya Multiband Imager instruments and an Apollo sample to infer a lunar regolith porosity of 74–87%. Our analysis was augmented by using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide and Narrow Angle Camera images. We confirm the Ohtake et al. (Ohtake et al. [2010]. Space Sci. Rev., 154, 57–77) estimate and refine it to 83 ± 3%. However, depending on the validity of key assumptions, this value could be a lower limit, so that the actual porosity could be somewhat higher. Even though the magnetic resonance index of the sample indicates that it is mature, it is appears to be optically less mature than a standard photometric site near the sample collection site.

The opposition effect is the sharp, narrow surge observed in the reflectance of a scattering medium near zero phase angle. Numerous observations and experiments have shown that the primary cause of the phenomenon in particulate media is coherent backscattering, in which wavelets traveling in opposite directions along chains of scatterers interfere constructively and generate the peak. A broader opposition surge caused by shadow hiding and preferential escape is also present, but is entangled with the incoherent continuum reflectance on which the coherent peak is superposed, making it difficult to identify and isolate. Theoretical models of media of independent scatterers predict that the angular width and shape of the coherent backscatter peak depend on the wavelength, porosity and particle size. It was hoped that remote measurements of the opposition effect would give information on the latter two quantities in planetary regoliths. However, observations and laboratory studies of media of large particles in contact with one another find little dependence on any of these quantities. Instead, these studies imply that the opposition effect in regolith-like media comes from reflection by short chains only a few scatterers long located on the surfaces of the particles of the medium, and that the lengths of these chains are proportional to the wavelength. Since the angular width of the peak is controlled by the ratio of the wavelength to the mean scattering chain length, the width is independent of wavelength. Because the wavelets never enter a particle, low albedo media can exhibit a strong coherent backscatter peak. Opposition effect peaks less than a degree wide on solar system bodies can imply an immature regolith; peaks several degrees wide imply a mature regolith.

On October 29, 2012, storm surge and large waves produced by Hurricane Sandy resulted in the formation of a breach in eastern Fire Island, NY. The goals of this study are to gain a better understanding of the physical processes that govern breach behavior and to assess whether process-based models can be used to forecast the evolution of future breaches. The wilderness breach grew rapidly in size during the first winter following formation. Growth of the breach was accompanied by the formation of a complex of flood shoals inside Great South Bay, a primary channel that flowed through the eastern part of the flood shoals, and an ebb shoal on the ocean side of the breach. From the summer of 2013 through late 2015, the breach continued to change and evolve, albeit at a much slower pace than in the first year after formation. A hybrid combination of Delft3D and XBeach models is used to hindcast the morphodynamic evolution of the wilderness breach over the first three years after formation. The formation of the breach during Hurricane Sandy is not part of the simulations. Model simulations are initiated with a post-storm topography in which the breach is already present. The models are capable of hindcasting the main morphodynamic changes of the wilderness breach. The spatial patterns, as well as the bulk statistics, such as breach geometry and sediment volume changes, are reasonably well reproduced by the model. The model sheds light on previously unknown processes of breach evolution, especially regarding sediment transport and flow regimes within the breach complex.

A critical typographical error and the value of a parameter in the new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera TiO2 algorithm are corrected.

Prediction of coastal vulnerability is of increasing concern to policy makers, coastal managers and other stakeholders. Coastal regions and barrier islands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are subject to frequent, large storms, whose waves and storm surge can dramatically alter beach morphology, threaten infrastructure, and impact local economies. Given that precise forecasts of regional hazards are challenging, because of the complex interactions between processes on many scales, a range of probable geomorphic change in response to storm conditions is often more helpful than deterministic predictions. Site-specific probabilistic models of coastal change are reliable because they are formulated with observations so that local factors, of potentially high influence, are inherent in the model. The development and use of predictive tools such as Bayesian Networks in response to future storms has the potential to better inform management decisions and hazard preparation in coastal communities. We present several Bayesian Networks designed to hindcast distinct morphologic changes attributable to the Nor'Ida storm of 2009, at Fire Island, New York. Model predictions are informed with historical system behavior, initial morphologic conditions, and a parameterized treatment of wave climate. We refine a preliminary Bayesian Network by 1) increasing model experience through additional observations, 2) including anthropogenic modification history, and 3) replacing parameterized wave impact values with maximum run-up elevation. Further, we develop and train a pair of generalized models with an additional dataset encompassing a different storm event, which expands the observations beyond our hindcast objective. We compare the skill of the generalized models against the Nor'Ida specific model formulation, balancing the reduced skill with an expectation of increased transferability. Results of Nor'Ida hindcasts ranged in skill from 0.37 to 0.51 and accuracy of 65.0 to 81.9%.

A series of cobalt half-sandwich complexes of type [Co( η 5 -C 5 H 5 )(L)(L′)] ( 1 : L, L′ = 1,5-hexadiene; 2 : L = P(OEt) 3 , L′ = H 2 C CHSiMe 3 ; 3 : L = L′ = P(OEt) 3 ) has been studied regarding their physical properties such as the vapor pressure, decomposition temperature and applicability within the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process, with a focus of the influence of the phosphite ligands. It could be shown that an increasing number of P(OEt) 3 ligands increases the vapor pressure and thermal stability of the respective organometallic compound. Complex 3 appeared to be a promising MOCVD precursor with a high vapor pressure and hence was deposited onto Si/SiO 2 (100 nm) substrates. The resulting reflective layer is closed, dense and homogeneous, with a slightly granulated surface morphology. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies demonstrated the formation of metallic cobalt, cobalt phosphate, cobalt oxide and cobalt carbide.

The inner-continental shelf off Fire Island, New York was mapped in 2011 using interferometric sonar and high-resolution chirp seismic-reflection systems. The area mapped is approximately 50 km long by 8 km wide, extending from Moriches Inlet to Fire Island Inlet in water depths ranging from 8 to 32 m. The morphology of this inner-continental shelf region and modern sediment distribution patterns are determined by erosion of Pleistocene glaciofluvial sediments during the ongoing Holocene marine transgression; much of the shelf is thus an actively forming ravinement surface. Remnants of a Pleistocene outwash lobe define a submerged headland offshore of central Fire Island. East of the submerged headland, relatively older Pleistocene outwash is exposed over much of the inner-continental shelf and covered by asymmetric, sorted bedforms interpreted to indicate erosion and westward transport of reworked sediment. Erosion of the eastern flank of the submerged Pleistocene headland over the last ~ 8000 years yielded an abundance of modern sand that was transported westward and reworked into a field of shoreface-attached ridges offshore of western Fire Island. West of the submerged headland, erosion of Pleistocene outwash continues in troughs between the sand ridges, resulting in modification of the lower shoreface. Comparison of the modern sand ridge morphology with the morphology of the underlying ravinement surface suggests that the sand ridges have moved a minimum of ~ 1000 m westward since formation. Comparison of modern sediment thickness mapped in 1996–1997 and 2011 allows speculation that the nearshore/shoreface sedimentary deposit has gained sediment at the expense of deflation of the sand ridges.

We herein report on the different coordination behavior of phosphite–olefin ligands containing either a terminal olefin moiety or a related compound containing an internal olefin moiety to a CpCo(I)-center. While the former coordinates to the metal center via P atom and olefin moiety upon irradiation, photolysis of the latter led to the subsequent formation of the phosphorus-free [CpCo(η4-1,3-butadiene)] complex (6). A mechanistic rational of the decomposition reaction based on an Arbuzov-like rearrangement is suggested.

We report on the successful modification of the air-stable CpCo(I)-complex [CpCo( trans -MeO 2 CCH CHCO 2 Me){P(OEt) 3 }] ( 2 ) in order to enhance its recyclability by covalently linking this highly active catalyst for cycloaddition reactions on several solid supports. While the sol–gel-entrapped catalyst yielded no cycloaddition product, the silica-bound analogue led to the formation of the pyridine derivative, representing the first solid-supported Cp′Co(I)-complex to catalyze the cyclotrimerization of a diyne and a nitrile.

Objective The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is an established screening questionnaire for the detection of at-risk drinking and possible alcohol use disorders (AUD) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – fourth edition (DSM-IV). But there are still no comparable results on the diagnostic performance regarding the new criteria for AUD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – fifth edition (DSM-5), especially taking account of possible gender differences. We evaluated the performance of the full AUDIT and the consumption questions (AUDIT-C) in screening for DSM-5 AUD and at-risk drinking. Method Data from the study Transitions in Alcohol Consumption and Smoking (TACOS) is used to analyze the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity of the AUDIT and the AUDIT-C in the general population of northern Germany. DSM-5 AUD and at-risk drinking were assessed with the Munich-Composite Diagnostic Interview and used as gold standards. Results The best balance between sensitivity and specificity is achieved at a score of 5 for men and 4 for women. High severity, according to DSM-5, were associated with higher cut-offs. Conclusions Both AUDIT versions are accurate in the screening for DSM-5 AUD. Since the proposed cut-offs do not differ from the optimal screening cut-offs for DSM-IV disorders, current screening procedures should not face major changes.

High-resolution images of the Surveyor, Luna, and Apollo landing sites obtained by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) show regions around the landers where reflectivity of the surface was modified. We interpret the change in reflectance properties of these regions mainly as disturbance of the regolith by rocket exhaust during descent of the spacecraft and we refer to these areas herein as “blast zones” (BZs). The BZs consist of an area of lower reflectance (LR-BZ) compared to the surroundings that extends up to a few meters out from the landers, as well as a broader halo of higher reflectance (HR-BZ) that extends tens to hundreds of meters away from the landers. When approximated as an ellipse, the average Apollo BZ area is ∼29,000 m2 (∼175 ± 60 m by 200 ± 27 m) which is 10× larger than the average Luna BZ, and over 100× larger than the average Surveyor BZ. The LR-BZs are most evident at the Apollo sites, especially where astronaut activity disturbed the soil, leading to a 15–30% (relative to background undisturbed areas) reduction in reflectance at ∼30° phase angle. The LR-BZs at the Surveyor and Luna sites are less evident and are unresolvable with NAC images. The average reflectance in the HR-BZs as determined for 30° phase angle is 3–12% higher than in the undisturbed surrounding areas; this magnitude is the same, within uncertainty, for all sites, indicating a common process or combination of processes causing differences in reflectance properties of the regolith. Phase-ratio images and photometric data collected over a range of illumination geometries show that a greater separation in reflectance occurs between the HR-BZs and undisturbed areas at phase angles between 0° and 70° and indicates that the HR-BZs are less backscattering than undisturbed areas. The LR-BZs are affected by macroscopic disruption of the surface and astronaut activity (at the Apollo sites). For the HR-BZ areas, reflectance has likely been affected by scouring from particles entrained by exhaust gases with low-angle trajectories. Regolith particle interactions with surface soil within HR-BZs may destroy fine-scale surface structure (e.g., “fairy-castle”) and decrease macroscopic roughness, contributing to a decrease in backscattering character within the HR-BZs and an increase in backscattering character within the LR-BZs. Redistribution of fine particles from the LR-BZ to the HR-BZ may have also contributed to the changed reflectance. Photometric modeling is consistent with one or a combination of these processes.

Using the B3LYP density functional theory method we have computed the potential energy surface of the (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Ir-catalyzed acetylene cyclotrimerization. The first step is the oxidative addition which forms the iridacyclopentadiene complex ( 2 ) from the bisacetylene complex (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Ir(η 2 -HCCH) 2 ( 1 ), and this is the rate-determining step. On the potential energy surface, acetylene addition to complex ( 2 ) forms the iridacyclopentadiene(acetylene) complex ( 3 ), and this step is barrier-free and highly exergonic; and complex ( 3 ) forms the benzene complex ( 4 ) via an intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition. Alternatively, complex ( 2 ) and acetylene form the iridabicyclo[3.2.0]heptatriene complex ( 5 ) via an intermolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition, and complex ( 5 ) can further isomerize into the aromatic iridacycloheptatriene complex ( 6a ), which is a trap on the potential energy surface. This potential energy surface is qualitatively close to that for the CpRh-catalyzed reaction, but differs strongly from that for the CpCo-catalyzed reaction, which undergoes a spin crossing (or non-adiabatic) mechanism. The differences among these mechanisms as well as the relative stability of their intermediates have been compared and discussed accordingly.

An increasing need exists for regional-scale measurements of shoreline change to aid in management and planning decisions over a broad portion of the coast and to inform assessments of coastal vulnerabilities and hazards. A recent dataset of regional shoreline change, covering a large portion of the U.S. East coast (New England and Mid-Atlantic), provides rates of shoreline change over historical (~ 150 years) and recent (25–30 years) time periods making it ideal for a broad assessment of the regional variation of shoreline change, and the natural and human-induced influences on coastal behavior. The variable coastal landforms of the region provide an opportunity to investigate how specific geomorphic landforms relate to the spatial variability of shoreline change. In addition to natural influences on the rates of change, we examine the effects that development and human modifications to the coastline have on the measurements of regional shoreline change. Regional variation in the rates of shoreline change is a function of the dominant type and distribution of coastal landform as well as the relative amount of human development. Our results indicate that geomorphology has measurable influence on shoreline change rates. Anthropogenic impacts are found to be greater along the more densely developed and modified portion of the coast where jetties at engineered inlets impound large volumes of sediment resulting in extreme but discrete progradation updrift of jetties. This produces a shift in averaged values of rates that may mask the natural long-term record. Additionally, a strong correlation is found to exist between rates of shoreline change and relative level of human development. Using a geomorphic characterization of the types of coastal landform as a guide for expected relative rates of change, we found that the shoreline appears to be changing naturally only along sparsely developed coasts. Even modest amounts of development influence the rates of change and the human imprint override the geomorphic signal. The study demonstrates that human activities associated with creating and maintaining coastal infrastructure alter the natural behavior of the coast over hundreds of kilometers and time spans greater than a century. This suggests that future assessments of vulnerability, based largely on rates of change along developed coastlines, need to take the role of human alterations into account.

Observed morphodynamic changes over multiple decades were coupled with storm-driven run-up characteristics at Fire Island, New York, to explore the influence of wave processes relative to the impacts of other coastal change drivers on the near-term evolution of the barrier island. Historical topography was generated from digital stereo-photogrammetry and compared with more recent lidar surveys to quantify near-term (decadal) morphodynamic changes to the beach and primary dune system between the years 1969, 1999, and 2009. Notably increased profile volumes were observed along the entirety of the island in 1999, and likely provide the eolian source for the steady dune crest progradation observed over the relatively quiescent decade that followed. Persistent patterns of erosion and accretion over 10-, 30-, and 40-year intervals are attributable to variations in island morphology, human activity, and variations in offshore bathymetry and island orientation that influence the wave energy reaching the coast. Areas of documented long-term historical inlet formation and extensive bayside marsh development show substantial landward translation of the dune–beach profile over the near-term period of this study. Correlations among areas predicted to overwash, observed elevation changes of the dune crestline, and observed instances of overwash in undeveloped segments of the barrier island verify that overwash locations can be accurately predicted in undeveloped segments of coast. In fact, an assessment of 2012 aerial imagery collected after Hurricane Sandy confirms that overwash occurred at the majority of near-term locations persistently predicted to overwash. In addition to the storm wave climate, factors related to variations within the geologic framework which in turn influence island orientation, offshore slope, and sediment supply impact island behavior on near-term timescales.

The enantioselective intramolecular [2 + 2 + 2] cycloisomerisation of triynes under catalysis by chiral transition-metal complexes (CoI, Ni0) in order to receive nonracemic helicene derivatives was explored. The use of the chiral neomenthylindene CoI complex led to a moderate 25% ee of tetrahydro[6]helicene, which was the first example of such a reaction catalysed by the chiral CoI complex. The alternative Ni0 catalysis employing privileged axially chiral monophosphines such as (−)-(aS)-NAPHEP led to tetrahydro[6]helicene with 64% ee, which is among the highest enantiomeric excesses so far observed for this Ni0-catalysed reaction.

Objective To investigate sociodemographic-, living situation- and substance-related variables as predictors of current risky alcohol use for both female and male general hospital inpatients. Method The sample of 6050 female and 8282 male general hospital inpatients was recruited in 2002–2004. Using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption, they were assigned to four drinking groups: abstinent, moderate use, slightly increased use and notably increased use. Gender-specific predictors of group affiliation were determined using multivariate multinomial logistic regressions. Results In both genders, younger age, rural living environment, the occurrence of lifetime alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and current tobacco smoking were positively associated with risky alcohol use. Higher education was positively associated with slightly and notably increased use for women. Living alone, being divorced/ widowed and being unemployed (relative risk ratios=1.4–1.7) were positively associated with notably increased use for men. In both genders, older age, less education and the occurrence of lifetime AUDs were positively associated with abstinence. Conclusions Higher educated women are likely to report risky alcohol use. Marriage may have a protective effect on level of alcohol use for men only. In addition to the implementation of routine alcohol screening, the examined data may provide cost-effective information that could be used to tailor interventions.