The structures of five s-block metal salt forms of three disulfonated monoazo dyes are presented. These are poly[di-μ-aqua-diaqua[μ₄-3,3'-(diazane-1,2-diyl)bis(benzenesulfonato)]disodium(I)], [Na₂(C₁₂H₈N₂O₆S₂)(H₂O)₄]_n, (I), catena-poly[[tetraaquacalcium(II)]-μ-3,3'-(diazane-1,2-diyl)bis(benzenesulfonato)], [Ca(C₁₂H₈N₂O₆S₂)(H₂O)₄]_n, (II), catena-poly[[[diaquacalcium(II)]-μ-2-(4-amino-3-sulfonatophenyl)-1-(4-sulfonatophenyl)diazenium] dihydrate], {[Na(C₁₂H₁₀N₃O₆S₂)(H₂O)₂]·2H₂O}_n, (III), hexaaquamagnesium bis[2-(4-amino-3-sulfonatophenyl)-1-(4-sulfonatophenyl)diazenium] octahydrate, [Mg(H₂O)₆](C₁₂H₁₀N₃O₆S₂)₂·8H₂O, (IV), and poly[[{μ₂-4-[2-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-methoxyphenyl)diazen-1-yl]benzene-1,3-disulfonato}di-μ-aqua-diaquabarium(II)] dihydrate], {[Ba(C₁₄H₁₃N₃O₇S₂)(H₂O)₄]·2H₂O}_n, (V). Compound (III) is that obtained on crystallizing the commercial dyestuff Acid Yellow 9 [74543-21-8]. The Mg species is a solvent-separated ion-pair structure and the others are all coordination polymers with bonds from the metal atoms to sulfonate groups. Compound (I) is a three-dimensional coordination polymer, (V) is a two-dimensional coordination polymer and both (II) and (III) are one-dimensional coordination polymers. The coordination behaviour of the azo ligands and the water ligands, the dimensionality of the coordination polymers and the overall packing motifs of these five structures are contrasted to those of monosulfonate monoazo congers. It is found that (I) and (II) adopt similar structural types to those of monosulfonate species but that the other three structures do not.

Purpose

Although health coaches are a growing resource for supporting patients in making health decisions, we know very little about the experience of health. We undertook a qualitative study of how health coaches support patients in making decisions and implementing changes to improve their health.

Methods

We conducted 6 focus groups (3 in Spanish and 3 in English) with 25 patients and 5 friends or family members, followed by individual interviews with 42 patients, 17 family members, 17 health coaches, and 20 clinicians. Audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed by at least 2 members of the study team in ATLAS.ti using principles of grounded theory to identify themes and the relationship between them.

Results

We identified 7 major themes that were related to each other in the final conceptual model. Similarities between health coaches and patients and the time health coaches spent with patients helped establish the health coach-patient relationship. The coach-patient relationship allowed for, and was further strengthened by, 4 themes of key coaching activities: education, personal support, practical support, and acting as a bridge between patients and clinicians.

Conclusions

We identified a conceptual model that supports the development of a strong relationship, which in turn provides the basis for effective coaching. These results can be used to design health coach training curricula and to support health coaches in practice.

Despite a considerable expenditure of time and resources and significant advances in experimental models of disease, cancer research continues to suffer from extremely low success rates in translating preclinical discoveries into clinical practice. The continued failure of cancer drug development, particularly late in the course of human testing, not only impacts patient outcomes, but also drives up the cost for those therapies that do succeed. It is clear that a paradigm shift is necessary if improvements in this process are to occur. One promising direction for increasing translational success is comparative oncology-the study of cancer across species, often involving veterinary patients that develop naturally-occurring cancers. Comparative oncology leverages the power of cross-species analyses to understand the fundamental drivers of cancer protective mechanisms, as well as factors contributing to cancer initiation and progression. Clinical trials in veterinary patients with cancer provide an opportunity to evaluate novel therapeutics in a setting that recapitulates many of the key features of human cancers, including genomic aberrations that underly tumor development, response and resistance to treatment, and the presence of comorbidities that can affect outcomes. With a concerted effort from basic scientists, human physicians and veterinarians, comparative oncology has the potential to enhance the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of pipelines for cancer drug discovery and other cancer treatments.

Cancer progression is an evolutionary process. During this process, evolving cancer cell populations encounter restrictive ecological niches within the body, such as the primary tumor, circulatory system, and diverse metastatic sites. Efforts to prevent or delay cancer evolution-and progression-require a deep understanding of the underlying molecular evolutionary processes. Herein we discuss a suite of concepts and tools from evolutionary and ecological theory that can inform cancer biology in new and meaningful ways. We also highlight current challenges to applying these concepts, and propose ways in which incorporating these concepts could identify new therapeutic modes and vulnerabilities in cancer.