NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins have provided plenty of fireworks but no winning chemistry for the New Orleans Pelicans in their first three games together since a blockbuster trade moved Cousins from Sacramento.

The NBA's newest version of the Twin Towers gets a fourth chance for a breakthrough win on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center, but it will be a very tall order because the 24-37 Pelicans will host the 46-13 San Antonio Spurs, the team with the second-best record in the NBA, in a nationally televised game.

The Pelicans have lost two of three to the Spurs this season, but in their most recent contest on Jan. 27, New Orleans spanked San Antonio 119-103. The Spurs had entered the game having won five straight, but San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich waved the white flag and emptied his bench with 3:34 left.

"We just ran out of gas," Popovich said.

Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 23 points and had 11 assists, and Davis scored 16 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, tying his career high on the boards.

The Pelicans would love nothing more than to have Holiday repeat that performance. Holiday broke out of a mini-slump on Wednesday night with 22 points in a 109-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

"I'm still excited (about the Cousins trade), but I don't think we're as good as we've shown," Holiday said Thursday after practice. "We've added DeMarcus and seen bits and pieces of him and AD getting 30 and nobody else helping them out. When we put a whole game together, it'll be a lot more fun."

In his three games as a Pelicans, Cousins has averaged 23.3 points and 12.7 rebounds, but he's also picked up 14 fouls, some of them early in games to limit his effectiveness. Cousins sat out the victory over Detroit on Wednesday while serving a one-game suspension for having picked up his 18th technical foul of the season in the previous game.

On Thursday, the Pelicans scrimmaged "a little more than we do on regular practice days to find out what will work best in essentially a double-post offense," said coach Alvin Gentry.

"We're just trying to get (Cousins) and everybody else into a flow where we're beginning to understand where guys want the ball or where guys are going to be in certain situations," Gentry said. "That's the biggest thing -- putting them out there and letting them play."

Davis has averaged 31.4 points on 50 percent shooting and 10.2 rebounds over his last five games, and he had 33 points in the victory over Detroit. Holiday said he hopes to get both big men going and have a good game himself.

Once the offense starts to click, Holiday believes Davis will really benefit from having more space to operate.

"I think he'll get a lot more shots because you really can't double-team him," Holiday said. "If you do it with a guard, it's a mismatch. He's playing against fours now, and fours can't handle him in the perimeter or in the post."

The Spurs are coming off a challenging 100-99 home victory against the Indiana Pacers in a game which had its share of controversy down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard hit the game-winning, fallaway jumper over Paul George with 2.4 seconds left, but the NBA admitted Thursday that the shot should not have counted because officials missed a traveling call against Leonard before the shot.

Leonard led the Spurs with 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting.

"He does that every night," Popovich said.

Leonard has averaged 18.7 points and 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals in three games against New Orleans, while forward LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 16.0 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Rookie point guard Dejounte Murray started in place of Tony Parker (quad contusion) against the Pacers and played well down the stretch, contributing four assists and three points in the fourth quarter.

"He didn't start that well, but he hung in there and made some big plays," San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said

The Spurs have won five of the last six games against New Orleans.

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Cousins, Davis still seeking winning chemistry with Pelicans - Yahoo Sports

Zaza Pachulia holds his own during competitive games of poker on the airplane alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson they call it the "Good Guys Table." Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee, one-time teammates with Denver reunited in Oakland, hold secret chats.

"We're building an empire," Iguodala joked. "We've got secret stuff we can't talk about."

Jonnie West son of Hall of Famer and Warriors executive Jerry West joins Curry, Pachulia and Thompson for their card games.

"It depends how Klay feels. If he's tired, then no card game," Pachulia said.

With all that was made before the season about adding Kevin Durant to an already star-studded roster, Golden State's players have jelled just fine. The NBA-best Warriors (47-9) are gearing up for the second half and what they hope is another championship run, and chemistry sure isn't holding them back.

Two-time reigning MVP Curry and KD love to watch each other accomplish amazing things on the floor, along with Draymond Green and Thompson and all of the others who contribute off the bench.

Curry initially allowed Durant to find his groove, then began to assert himself more and increase his shots. Experience playing together is the biggest factor to keep building team bonds, if you ask Iguodala.

"Weathering storms builds chemistry and adversity builds chemistry," he said. "The season's long and you want to have all types of ups and downs. And that's where you build it the most, and off the court, plane rides. I think when you play with teammates seven, eight years, you're still building throughout that time. You continue to learn about each other. You've just got to understand that that's part of the process and you've got to want to learn from one another."

The Warriors are counting on every advantage they can gain, on and off the court. During flights, team dinners, anywhere.

After a heartbreaking Game 7 to end last season's NBA Finals, Golden State's players want nothing short of a championship. Many of them got a taste winning the title two years ago for the franchise's first in 40 years.

Steve Kerr, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, gets a kick out of watching his teams come together each year.

"It's one of my favorite parts of coaching honestly, is seeing how a team comes together, seeing the relationships develop, seeing guys laughing together, seeing who hangs out with who," Kerr said. "It's great. This team has a really, really good chemistry that developed really quickly. Obviously, we had the core group intact from last year. We lost some key guys, too. The additions have been great. The chemistry is really good."

Pachulia took it upon himself to be a part of that. With constant attention on the Warriors, he knows the importance of sticking together through all of the many challenges that come in an 82-game season and those things prepare a group for the postseason.

"You wish for the chemistry to come right away because you're kind of feeling pressure, a lot of talk's going on from outside," Pachulia said. "The reality is it's a process. It takes some days, it takes some games. It takes some bumps as well for the team to get on the same page and get the chemistry right. You've got to go through the process. I just don't see it the other way. We couldn't wait for these 40 or 50 games to pass and see where we were going to be. I feel really confident where we are right now, with everything we had throughout this 50 games, even the losses we had unexpected. It made us better, it made us stronger. You can appreciate it, honestly. We care about each other. We're on the same page. Keep going. We're not going to stop."

For Iguodala and McGee, the "chatter" stays between them.

"I have a lot of really in-depth conversations with JaVale McGee," Iguodala said, "about life."

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Power of science: Warriors thrive with chemistry experiment - Chicago Tribune

February 27, 2017 Photoluminescent compounds synthesized by the Coordination Chemistry and Catalysis Unit glowing under a UV light. Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

Chemical compounds that emit light are used in a variety of different materials, from glow-in-the-dark children's toys to LED lights to light-emitting sensors. As the demand for these compounds increases, finding new efficient methods for their production is essential. New research from the Coordination Chemistry and Catalysis Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) describes a new strategy for producing photoluminescent (PL) compounds with increased capabilities. This research was recently published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

Production of PL compounds is typically centered around two main methods: the conventional metal-ligand system or an aggregation based system. The first method requires a complex ligand, or compound, that strongly binds to a metal ion in a way that would allow for the complex to emit light of certain wavelength. Unfortunately, this system is rigid and unable to be modified once the complex is produced. In contrast, the aggregation-based system is driven by weak interactions between different molecules or their parts. This allows for tunability by shifting the color of light emitted based on interactions of the PL compound with the local environment. However, aggregation is typically difficult to control and thus not feasible to use in systems requiring precision.

Recent research from OIST scientists combines the best parts of both methods to produce PL molecules. "We wanted to create better photoluminescent compounds by combining the two previous concepts: the flexibility of the weak aggregation driven complexes and the controllability of the conventional metal-ligand system", explained Dr. Georgy Filonenko, postdoctoral researcher from the Coordination Chemistry and Catalysis Unit at OIST.

Researchers, led by Prof. Julia Khusnutdinova, designed compounds whose photoluminescence depended on weak interactions between atoms within the single compound molecule itself. As a result, they obtained the tunability of the aggregation-based system confined to a single molecule, without the need for intermolecular aggregation.

Akin to the conventional metal-ligand system, the molecules synthesized by Filonenko consist of a ligand and a copper ion which interact to produce photoluminescence. However, the ligand in the OIST-synthesized molecules is not rigid and has two cyclic-bonded atom structure, referred to as rings, stacked on top of one another that can interact just like in the aggregation system, but within a single molecule. Interestingly, researchers discovered that they could adjust the color emitted from these molecules based on the distance between these rings. "We found that we could change the color produced by the compound based on what other groups of atoms were bound to the ligand," illuminates Filonenko. "Larger groups would cause the rings to move closer together, shifting the color to the orange-yellow range, while smaller substituents would make the rings move apart, turning the emission color red. The ability to tune the wavelength of light emitted from these molecules provides a huge advantage over the traditional metal-ligand PL complexes".

The tunability and controllability of these complexes makes them an attractive candidate for many applications. "We see a high potential for these compounds to be used as sensors due to their very high sensitivity to the surrounding environment," revealed Filonenko.

Explore further: Finding needles in chemical haystacks

More information: G. A. Filonenko et al. Intramolecular non-covalent interactions as a strategy towards controlled photoluminescence in copper() complexes, J. Mater. Chem. C (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C6TC04989C

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Matthew Florjancic, WKYC 4:29 PM. EST February 13, 2017

Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis (22) and designated hitter Carlos Santana (41) celebrate after both scoring on a wild pitch by Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester in the fifth inning in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. (Photo: Tommy Gilligan, Custom)

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians pitchers and catchers reported to Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona, on Sunday for the official beginning to Spring Training for the defending American League champions.

In the abbreviated offseason following a run to the World Series for the first time in 19 years, the Indians handled plenty of business, re-signing all but one of their arbitration-eligible players and adding a middle-of-the-order power hitter in Edwin Encarnacion with the richest free-agent contract in franchise history.

With the Indians in camp for more than six weeks because of the World Baseball Classic, there will be plenty of time to work on fundamentals. However, the Indians need to work on chemistry and avoid complacency after the deep playoff run.

Ourselves, ourselves, shortstop Francisco Lindor told WKYC.com at TribeFest. If we play like were the AL champs, were not going to go anywhere. I feel like weve got to play with the same chip that we had last year, like were going to shock the world.

Were going to let the world know that were the Tribe and were coming for them. This year, were going to have to stay quiet, mind our own business and well see what happens. I think anything can happen once October comes by.

NO COMFORT FOR LINDOR

In his first full season with the Indians, Lindor made the American League All-Star team, led the franchise on its first trip to the World Series since 1997 and earned postseason recognition for his efforts.

At the plate, Lindor batted .301 with 182 hits in 604 at-bats, 99 runs scored and 78 driven in. Lindor smacked 30 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs with 19 stolen bases, a .358 on-base percentage and .435 slugging percentage.

In the postseason, Lindor hit .310 with 18 hits, three doubles, two home runs and six RBI along with five runs scored.

Comfortable? No. I dont ever want to get comfortable, said Lindor, who won an AL Gold Glove in 2016. I feel like Ive still got a lot to prove. We havent won. Yeah, maybe we went to the World Series, but we didnt win. It was cool; it was fun, but I want to win. I want to wear that World Series ring.

CHEMISTRY IS KEY

The Indians finished one win shy of their first World Series Championship since 1948 when they surrendered a three-games-to-one lead and lost Game 7 of The Fall Classic to the Chicago Cubs in extra innings at Progressive Field last November.

In an effort to get over the obstacles and complete what they started in 2016, the Indians went to one of their opponents in the AL playoffs, the Toronto Blue Jays, to bring in Encarnacion, who signed a three-year contract, one that includes a club option for the 2020 season.

Thats always the interesting part of spring training, manager Terry Francona said. Every team, every year, even the guys that are coming back, its a different team. The identity, the personality, thats what we work on in spring training, and we work hard at it because its meaningful.

ADDING POP TO LINEUP

In 12 years at the Major League level, Encarnacion has hit .266 with 1,439 hits in 5,409 at-bats in 1,513 career games. Of those 1,439 hits, 629 have gone for extra bases, including 311 doubles and 310 home runs. Also, Encarnacion has driven in 942 runs, scored another 829 and drawn 662 walks.

During his final year with the Blue Jays, Encarnacion hit .263 (158 for 601) with 34 doubles, 42 home runs and 127 runs batted in over 160 games. He set career highs with the 158 hits, 99 runs scored, 76 extra-base hits, 127 RBI and 318 total bases. The 42 round-trippers matched his single-season career best.

When you add a really good hitter, it makes everybody else better, but we didnt have Michael Brantley either, Francona said. Thats really our three and four hitters. Imagine if we have two All-Stars that we didnt have last year.

Its going to back up a couple guys. Its going to lengthen out our lineup. I know we have some work to do and we havent gotten Michael back on the field yet, but if we can get him back, its going to be exciting because we would never give a pitcher an inning off. Youre always coming, coming, coming, coming, and thats how you win.

( 2017 WKYC)

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Cleveland Indians must develop chemistry, avoid complacency in spring training - WKYC-TV

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PMV Pharma gets $74M boost for personalized chemistry - MedCity ... MedCity News P53: "The guardian of the genome." It's not an HBO series, it's a transcription factor implicated in over 50 percent of human cancers. An attractive target, to say ... and more »

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Danny Ainge: Adding Players Can Sometimes Mess Up Team Chemistry NESN.com Rumors had the Celtics gearing up for a blockbuster trade, but neither Jimmy Butler nor Paul George will make their way to Boston. Despite the trade deadline having passed, the Celtics still can make roster additions. As part of the trade deadline ... Big questions, lots of answers before NBA trade deadlineESPN all 354 news articles »

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An international team led by Argonne has visualized the elusive, ultrafast proton transfer process following the ionization of water.

Understanding how ionizing radiation interacts with water like in water-cooled nuclear reactors and other water-containing systems requires glimpsing some of the fastest chemical reactions ever observed.

In a new study from a worldwide collaboration led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the German research center DESY, and conducted at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, researchers have witnessed for the first time the ultrafast proton transfer reaction following ionization of liquid water.

The truly exciting thing is that weve witnessed the fastest chemical reaction in ionized water. Argonne distinguished fellow Linda Young

The proton transfer reaction is a process of great significance to a wide range of fields, including nuclear engineering, space travel, and environmental remediation. The observation was made possible by the availability of ultrafast X-ray free-electron-laser pulses, and is basically unobservable by other ultrafast methods. While studying the fastest chemical reactions is interesting in its own right, this observation for water also has important practical implications.

The truly exciting thing is that weve witnessed the fastest chemical reaction in ionized water, which leads to the birth of the hydroxyl radical, said Argonne distinguished fellow Linda Young, the senior corresponding author of the study. The hydroxyl radical is itself of considerable importance, as it can diffuse through an organism, including our bodies, and damage virtually any macromolecule including DNA, RNA, and proteins.

By understanding the time scale for the formation of the chemically aggressive hydroxyl radical and, thereby, gaining a deeper mechanistic understanding of the radiolysis of water, it may ultimately become possible to develop strategies to suppress this key step which can lead to radiation damage.

When radiation with sufficient energy hits a water molecule, it triggers a set of virtually instantaneous reactions. First, the radiation ejects an electron, leaving a positively charged water molecule (H2O+) in its wake. H2O+ is extremely short-lived so short-lived, in fact, that it is virtually impossible to see directly in experiments. Within a fraction of a trillionth of a second, H2O+ gives up a proton to another water molecule, creating hydronium (H3O+) and a hydroxyl (OH) radical.

Scientists had long known of this reaction, with a first sighting in the 1960s when scientists at Argonne first detected the electron ejected from water by radiolysis. However, without a sufficiently fast X-ray probe like that provided by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, researchers had no way to observe the residual positively charged ion, the other half of the reaction pair.

Being part of this highly collaborative and world-class group was just as exciting as watching water molecules dance in slow motion following ionization, said SLAC instrument scientist Bill Schlotter, who with Young led the conceptual design of the experiment. The keys to capturing the water in action are the ultrashort X-ray pulses at LCLS. By adjusting the color of these X-ray pulses, we can distinguish between the specific ions and molecules that participate.

The freeze-frame technology offered by LCLS offered researchers the first opportunity to watch the time evolution of the hydroxyl radical. While according to Young, the researchers would have liked to isolate the spectroscopic signature of the H2O+ radical cation as well, its lifetime is so short that its presence was only inferred from the OH spectroscopy measurements.

The ultrafast proton transfer that creates the hydroxyl radical gives rise to a special spectroscopic signature that indicates the rise of the hydroxyl radical and is a time stamp for the initial creation of the H2O+. According to Young, the spectra of both species is accessible because they exist in a water window where liquid water does not absorb light.

The major accomplishment here is the development of a method to watch elementary proton transfer reactions in water and to have a clean probe for the hydroxyl radical, Young said. No one knew the time scale of proton transfer, so now weve measured it. No one had a way to follow the hydroxyl radical in complex systems on ultrafast timescales, and now we have a way to do that as well.

Understanding the formation of the hydroxyl radical could be of particular interest in aqueous environments containing salts or other minerals that might, in turn, react with ionized water or its byproducts. Such environments could include nuclear waste repositories or other places in need of environmental remediation.

The development of the theory behind the experiment was led by Robin Santra of the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at DESY in Germany. Santra showed that through ultrafast X-ray absorption, scientists could detect the structural dynamics both in terms of electron and nuclear motion near the ionization and proton transfer site.

We could show that the X-ray data actually contain information on the dynamics of the water molecules that enable the proton transfer, said Santra, who is a lead scientist at DESY and principal investigator at the Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, a cluster of excellence at the University of Hamburg and DESY. In just 50 quadrillionths of a second, the surrounding water molecules literally move in on the ionized H2O+ until one of them comes close enough to grab one of its protons in a sort of handshake, turning into hydronium H3O+ and leaving behind the hydroxyl radical OH.

This work was motivated by earlier research by Zhi-Heng Loh from NTU Singapore, the lead author and co-corresponding author for this paper.

Since joining NTU nine years ago, I and the members of my group have been studying the ultrafast dynamics that accompany the ionization of molecules, both in the gas phase and in aqueous medium, using femtosecond laser pulses spanning the infrared to the extreme ultraviolet. Our earlier work on ionized liquid water provided a glimpse of the lifetime of the H2O+ radical cation, albeit via indirect probing in the near-infrared, Loh said. We realized that a definitive experiment to observe the H2O+ radical cation would require soft X-ray probing, which however, lies beyond the capability of most tabletop femtosecond light sources. So when Linda approached me after hearing my talk on ionized water at a meeting in 2016, and wanted to collaborate on an experiment at the LCLS X-ray free-electron laser, I was absolutely thrilled.

Argonnes Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, was used to characterize the water jet before the experiment at LCLS.

A paper based on the study, Observation of the fastest chemical processes in the radiolysis of water, will appear in the January 10 online issue of Science.

In addition to Argonne, DESY, SLAC and NTU Singapore, several other institutions collaborated on the study. They included Uppsala University, the Technical University of Denmark, and Frances CNRS.

The Argonne portion of the research was funded by DOEs Office of Science (Office of Basic Energy Sciences).

The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the DOE Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOEs Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sand
ia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

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Scientists Observe Ultrafast Birth of Radicals Glimpsing Some of the Fastest Chemical Reactions Ever Observed - SciTechDaily

Chemistry to be focus of CU symposium The Lawton Constitution The public is invited to a symposium, "Improving People's Lives Through the Transforming Power of Chemistry" today and Friday at Cameron University. Graduates from Cameron's Department of Chemistry, Physics and Engineering will speak at the CU ... and more »

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Chemistry to be focus of CU symposium - The Lawton Constitution

Rita Pleskevich shoots a free throw during an open practice at Marv Harshman Court on Oct. 10, 2019.

Despite returning 10 of 14 players, Washington womens basketball head coach Jody Wynn says, Its a new team.

This is not the team that went 11-21 last year and won only two games in the conference regular season. This is a team with two years of experience under Wynn and a group of newcomers that includes a much-needed point guard.

I feel like from where we ended last year, on that really high note, I feel like we have grown so much, sophomore Haley Van Dyke said. Now we have a step up from where we were last year and that has helped us grow.

A lot has changed for the Huskies in the year since last season began, in the eight months since Washingtons Pac-12 tournament Cinderella run ended, and in the two months since training for this season began.

Two months ago it was so hard, junior transfer Rita Pleskevich said. One month ago I thought OK, its getting a little bit better but its too slow. Now, actually, I feel that I got much better and much more confident. We have a lot of meetings with coaches when they tell us, Oh, we trust you and we want the ball in your hands and we want you to be confident. I think Im there.

Pleskevich came from junior college to fill a gap thats been in Washingtons lineup for two years now. Shell be Washingtons first true point guard in a while, something that was emphasized to her from the beginning.

Pleskevich averaged 19.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in her sophomore season at Broward College and has four years of experience with the Russian Junior National Team.

The Dawgs also get added depth from three freshmen, centers JaQuaya Miller and Ali Bamberger, and guard Nia Lowery. That depth will be key on the court, but its also been important when preparing for the season to start.

It adds more intense practices every day, when you have that kind of depth and people fighting for playing time, Wynn said. To be able to have a deep bench and versatile players that can contribute whether its offensively or defensively or both is certainly going to make us a much stronger unit.

Washingtons chemistry this season is strong, and its helped the UWs newest players acclimate to the team.

My weaknesses are my new strengths and my strengths are even more powerful, Miller said. Ive definitely grown as a player and a person being surrounded by this team.

The Huskies will host Cal State Bakersfield on Friday at 7 p.m. to open the season and face Tulane at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Tulane will be a revenge game for the Huskies, who went to New Orleans last year and lost to the Green Wave. But that isnt this games focus for the Huskies.

Its so early, Wynn said. Were concentrating on ourselves getting better every day. Its more that on Sunday were better than we were on Friday.

Reach Engagement Editor Hailey Robinson at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @haileyarobin

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'New' Huskies prepare for season with chemistry, added depth - Dailyuw

Entropy maximisation can lead to entropic bonding that is remarkably similar to traditional chemical bonding between molecules, researchers in the US propose, even when effectively no electronic interaction occurs. The phenomenon could be useful in controlling self-assembly of colloids and other structures in soft matter.

The second law of thermodynamics famously states that, in any allowed process, the entropy of a system always increases. Entropy is sometimes defined broadly as the degree of disorder or randomness in a system, and the second law explains why a highly pressurised flask of gas will spontaneously spread out to fill a vacuum but all the molecules in a room will never spontaneously concentrate into a flask, leaving vacuum everywhere else. However, the second law often springs surprises: maximising entropy, which is more precisely the number of microscopic states of a system corresponding to each macroscopic state, can drive molecules to self-assemble from a seemingly disordered liquid into an ordered crystal, for example. The particles can assemble themselves in more different ways if they become a crystal than if they remain a liquid, explains computational scientist Sharon Glotzer of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Under suitable conditions, colloidal nanoparticles can be arranged such that direct intermolecular forces arising from electronic interactions are almost entirely screened. The molecules therefore behave like hard spheres and, in the absence of other forces, are governed purely by entropy. The definitive experiment to establish this required extreme measures to avoid the influence of gravity. They flew the experiment on the International Space Station, explains Glotzer. The astronauts produced all kinds of gorgeous crystals in test tubes.

The microscopic details of entropys influence on systems remain poorly understood, however. When we work with experimentalists and they grow nanoparticles in solution, they get whatever shape they get, and then they try to functionalise them with DNA or organic ligands, for example, to engineer the explicit interactions that arise from electrons, says Glotzer. Nobody ever says How do I engineer the entropy of my system?

In their new research, Glotzer and colleagues conducted a series of computational simulations focusing on hexagonal lanthanide-fluoride nanoplates. These can be synthesised with a wide range of bond angles and, in experiments, are often functionalised with multiple different groups. The researchers, however, focused on nanoplates with no functional groups and therefore negligible electronic interactions. When you strip all those interactions away, what you are left with is just entropy, explains Glotzer.

The researchers found that, despite the absence of physical attractive forces between the molecules, crystal structures formed that were remarkably similar to those seen under the influence of traditional chemical bonding. In principle, we all knew that maximisation of entropy in the absence of any other forces could order things, explains Glotzer, What we didnt know is that these emergent statistical, entropic forces could be highly directional and predictable. That predictable directionality is what has led us to argue that these emergent forces are, to all intents and purposes, bonds.

Theoretical chemist Daan Frenkel at the University of Cambridge says the Glotzer lab hugely expanded his own work on entropic self-assembly in the 1980s and 1990s. She has shown that purely entropic effects can produce a huge variety of crystal structures, liquid crystal structures and quasicrystal structures. That, I think, was a surprise to everybody. He says the present paper is not terribly surprising for people familiar with entropic self-assembly but attempts an intuitive theoretical rationalisation of what they have found in the past that gives general rules of thumb to predict which structures will be formed and which will not.

The researchers now aim to develop a predictive, microscopic theory of entropic bonding that can be combined with traditional theories of chemical bonding to assist in molecular design. We want to understand the role of entropy and shape alone in a system that also has chemical interactions, says Glotzer.

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Odd 'entropic bonds' akin to chemical ones can form between nanoparticles - Chemistry World

K.J. Wright has seen a lot as the Seahawks longest-tenured player, so when the nine-year veteran says theres something special going on when it comes to the chemistry of this team, its worth paying attention.

The closer the team, the better they play together, the better they play for one another, and this team is definitely close, Wright said. Its just good vibes in here.

Wright then paused to turn the tables on the reporters surround him who usually are the ones asking questions.

I dont know if you can feel the energydo yall feel the energy in locker rooms? Wright asked.

After some nods and affirmative answers, Wright continued, The energy is good in here. It feels good, everybodys happy, everybody wants to win, there aint nobody on no B.S., life is good around here, its a good locker room.

There are a lot of very measurable reasons why the Seahawks are 10-2 this season and in first place in he NFC West. Quarterback Russell Wilson is playing at an MVP level, which combined with a strong running game has given the Seahawks one of the most productive offenses in the NFL; the Bobby Wagner and Wright-led defense has made a big turn over the past month, giving the Seahawks a dangerous, ball-hawking defense; and special teams play has been a big difference maker in several games, including last weeks win over Minnesota.

Much more difficult to quantify, but imperative nonetheless if you ask players and coaches, is the team chemistry, which can fluctuate from season to season as players come and go. And this years team, carrying over what started with a young, retooling team in 2018, has found something special. With that closeness comes not just off-field comradery between players, but a belief in what theyre doing together on the field and a desire to do well for each other. That cant be measured on a stat sheet, but its powerful and a real part of this teams success.

This is the team that I think well look back on, there was this deep seeded, longstanding care for each other that comes about in terms of harmony that they really are together, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last month. Theyre with us on everything and theyre going along with it. Theyre pliable in a sense. Theyre growing into the belief that they can win football games. Thats really powerful knowing when you get there. Its obvious with all of the close games that weve played. The ability to do that comes from the belief that they have for themselves, what they are capable of doing, what the guys around them are capable of doing. Thats a very strongness in here. Its like, the force is strong in this room. Its pretty cool.

The chemistry this team has is particularly valuable, players say, when the Seahawks go on the road. The Seahawks are 6-0 on away from CenturyLink Field this season, matching the highest road win total in franchise history, and while that has a lot to do with the talent on the field and the coaching staff, theres also some intangibles in play.

Thats why when Wagner was asked about his teams road success, the first thing he said was, I just think it shows how close of a group we are. When we go on the road, everybodys connected, everybodys together, and I think thats what makes us a really good road teamthe connection, the chemistry, especially on the defensive side because when the offense is up its so quiet. Were able to communicate a lot better, were able to talk to one another a lot better. You can only talk to other people if you have a chemistry with them.

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It's just good vibes in here. The Role Chemistry Has Played In The 2019 Seahawks' Success - Seahawks.com

Valparaiso chemistry students mentor second-graders The News Tribune Some of the students were much younger than usual second-graders from Hayes Leonard Elementary working on projects with juniors and seniors in the high school AP chemistry class. Second-grade teachers Heather Treece and Sharon McCorkle have ... and more »

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Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.A senior member of Mississippi States Department of Chemistry is being recognized as one of the most prolific contributors to an international professional publication.

Dongmao Zhang, an associate professor at the university, recently joined a group of researchers from around the world cited by name in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C. The others work at major institutions of higher learning in China, England, Germany and India.

The journal was created in 2007 to highlight investigations of physical chemistrys sub-disciplines. It is produced weekly by the American Chemical Society, the Washington, D.C.-based organization whose 158,000 members make it the worlds largest scientific body. The ACS also produces physical chemistry journals A and B.

For those not living and breathing chemistry research and education every day, its important to emphasize that the journal is the premier stage and highest impact for scholarship in this essential sub-discipline, emphasized Dennis Smith, head of MSUs Department of Chemistry.

In my view, this is more valuable than many of the more common awards passed around, Smith said, adding that recognition of this sort is focused on a concrete metric of performance and, as such, sounds the alert to the world that we absolutely are competing among the best.

The chemistry department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, MSUs largest academic unit.

Zhang joined the MSU faculty in 2008 and currently is investigating nanoparticle interfacial interactions, optical spectroscopy and analytical method design. After graduating in 1987 from Chinas Wuhan University, he earned a doctorate in 2002 from Purdue University in Indiana.

Giselle Thibaudeau, the colleges associate dean for research, said the insights and technologies resulting from Zhangs research are critical to understanding and developing nanoscale applications for chemical synthesis, functional nanomaterial design, and ultimately disease diagnosis and treatment.

We are exceptionally proud of Dr. Zhangs accomplishments in this area and of the recognition this brings to MSU, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Chemistry on a national and international scale, Thibaudeau said.

Zhang said the journal recognition truly is a surprising honor to be listed together with researchers from the top universities crossing the world.

It is a manifest that our university and department are competing internationally in fundamental research, Zhang continued. Receiving this distinction would not have happened without the hard work of current and former students in my group, the vital help from our collaborators, and the strong support from the administrators, staff and fellow faculty colleagues in the Department of Chemistry.

For more on Zhang and his research, see http://www.chemistry.msstate.edu/people/faculty/dongmao-zhang.

The College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,000 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences and its Department of Chemistry may be found at, respectively, http://www.cas.msstate.edu and http://www.chemistry.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippis leading university, also available online at http://www.msstate.edu.

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MSU faculty member recognized by top chemistry journal - Mississippi State Newsroom

Nature's carbonate system, the dynamic chemistry involving carbon dioxide (CO2), carbonate (CO32-), bicarbonate (HCO3-), and carbonic acid (H2CO3), is a vital component of the biosphere. Carbonate, bicarbonate, and carbonic acid emerge when atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in the oceans, which is the largest sink for this greenhouse gas. Researchers are interested in better understanding the carbonate system to potentially help facilitate carbon sequestration schemes, especially with carbon-bonding minerals, to help mitigate climate change. The carbonate system is also central to biological respiration systems, another reason why researchers are interested in this chemistry.

Recently, a group of chemists from the University of California, Berkeley teamed up with scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and made breakthrough discoveries about the carbonate species' behavior at saltwater surfaces, like that of the ocean. They report their findings this week in The Journal of Chemical Physics, from AIP Publishing.

According to one of the paper's authors, UC Berkeley chemistry professor Richard Saykally, a strong motivation for this research was understanding the chemical processes involved in carbon sequestration. They found that while neutral carbonic acid was most heavily present at the surface, as was expected, the more highly charged carbonate ion was more abundant than the weaker bicarbonate.

"We want to generally advance our understanding of the global carbon cycle," Saykally said. "The aspects of this cycle that we have been focusing on begin with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolving into salt water, followed by some very interesting chemistry."

Carbon dioxide is captured by the water surface and hydrated to form carbonic acid or bicarbonate, which can then ionize into either bicarbonate or carbonate where carbonate may react with dissolved magnesium or calcium ions to form limestone.

"We want to know all those steps going from gaseous carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to limestone," Saykally said. "Our goal is to understand all the details in all the steps in that process."

UC Berkeley chemistry doctoral candidate Royce Lam, a co-author of the paper who led much of the research, wanted to build on earlier examinations of the hydration structure of carbonic system species, focusing on the relative abundances of carbonate species at the liquid surface.

Collaborating with LBNL's Dr. Hendrik Bluhm, Lam and co-authors made use of the ambient pressure photoemission spectroscopy (APPES) beamline (11.0.2) at the Advanced Light Source synchrotron at LBNL, to conduct X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements -- a way to probe the molecular makeup of materials using an intense beam of high-energy X-rays. The XPS system enabled them to probe different aspects of the carbonate system they could not access before.

"What is special about XPS is that it allows us to probe at different depths into the water surface," Lam said. "This is one of the few beamlines in the world that can do this class of experiments on liquids."

For samples, Lam combined solutions of the carbonate species and hydrochloric acid, which fortuitously resembled the ocean system. With a liquid microjet device, the researchers injected these samples into a vacuum chamber and probed them at multiple X-ray energies to deduce the relative abundances of the carbonate species from the photoemitted electrons.

At the liquid surface, both carbonate and carbonic acid were more abundant than biocarbonate. The most significant surprise was that the more highly charged carbonate was more abundant at the surface than the less charged bicarbonate, which conflicts with expectations from existing theoretical models.

This raises important question about where the bicarbonate could be moving in the system, with a possibility that the carbonate could be "ion pairing" with sodium, changing the chemistry, and causing bicarbonate to move to lower depths.

"We are still working on the theory and we hope that this paper will stimulate further theoretical discussion that may actually yield definitive insights about what is going on here," Lam said.

Lam hopes that this research will also lead to more direct research on carbon sequestration possibilities.

"So, the next step would be to look further into ion pairing, and essentially limestone or mineral formation, specifically, looking at the interaction of calcium and magnesium ions with carbonate," Lam said of one carbon sequestration possibility he discussed.

Saykally feels this research connects with the whole system of aqueous carbonate chemistry, with applications ranging from carbon sequestration to biomedical research.

"In order to achieve these kinds of advances, I believe you have to know every detail of the chemistry involved in all those steps of the water-carbonate system." Saykally said. "It is a very intricate chemistry with profound practical implications."

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Science Daily

Unexpected oxidation state for molecular plutonium discovered Science Daily "This finding marks out plutonium, already known for its extremely complex chemistry, as the actinide element with the largest number of confirmed oxidation states," said Andrew Gaunt, lead Los Alamos investigator on the project along with Stosh Kozimor. and more »

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Unexpected oxidation state for molecular plutonium discovered - Science Daily

"I think that a lot of stuff just happens," first baseman Eric Hosmer said of building that chemistry. "A lot of these guys have played against each other through the Minors or with each other when they got to the big leagues. It's not something you can really force the issue on. Hopefully, it'll all just come together when the games start."

The World Baseball Classic runs through March 22. In the U.S., games air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch, while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN provide the exclusive Spanish-language coverage. MLB.TV Premium subscribers in the U.S. have access to watch every tournament game live on any of the streaming service's 400-plus supported devices. The tournament is being distributed internationally across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio in territories excluding the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Get tickets for games at Marlins Park, Tokyo Dome, Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, Petco Park, as well as the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, while complete coverage -- including schedules, video, stats and gear -- is available at WorldBaseballClassic.com.

Team USA's catchers, Buster Posey of the Giants and Jonathan Lucroy of the Rangers, have the tough task of learning to effectively call games for a staff made up predominantly of short-inning relievers with a varied arsenal of pitches.

"We've had to have a lot of communication. Talking to them in the dugout. Talking to them in the clubhouse so that I can get to know them," Lucroy said. "I know a lot of guys and what they do from facing them. One of the good things about being in the league a decent amount of time is that you know what certain guys want to do against a hitter."

Hosmer and Lucroy are joined by outfielders Adam Jones and Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Luke Gregerson as the only Classic veterans. All five were members of the 2013 team.

"The will to want to play is a lot from the American players this year, so we are all excited about the chance, and we are going to see what we can do to bring it all home," said Hosmer.

Team USA will face teams that, in some cases, have been practicing as a unit for weeks or more. Most members agreed that the overall talent of this year's squad and the desire to bring the country a Classic title will overcome any unfamiliarity.

"I don't see any weaknesses with this team," said Chris Archer, who will get the start in the opener. "We've got great starters, great relief pitching and great hitters. Everything is a strength with us."

The team didn't exactly show those strengths in a 3-2 loss to the Twins on Wednesday, however. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit a two-run double in the first inning, but the U.S. was held scoreless by Twins pitchers the rest of the way.

USA@MIN: Arenado drills a two-run double to left

Nolan Arenado drives a two-run double off the left-field wall to open the scoring for Team USA in the top of the 1st inning

Andrew Miller gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Twins. Gregerson, Jake McGee, Pat Neshek, David Robertson and Nate Jones all tossed a shutout inning before giving way to Twins Minor Leaguers, who pitched the final frames.

J. Scott Butherus is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Team USA needs quick spark of chemistry - MLB.com

Drew Veskauf of GateHouse Media Illinois

PEKIN As a kindergartner used her weight in an attempt to crush a liquid-filled bottle, her fellow students looked on as it was unscathed.

The lesson, one of many during a Bradley University chemistry demonstration, proved that liquids could not be compressed. The bottles counterpart, however, was filled with air and crumbled when the petite student stepped on it.

For the last part of the school day Friday at L.E. Starke Primary School, students and teachers had a visit from the Bradley University Chemistry Club Demo Crew led by professor Dean Campbell.

Students also saw how liquid nitrogen could freeze a racquetball, making it as fragile as glass, and then saw it shatter after being thrown against a wall.

A simpler demonstration was then held showing that household items such as Alka-Seltzer and water could be combined in a film canister to make miniature rockets. The carbon dioxide gas resulting from the chemical reaction of the two created pressure within the canister, separating it from its lid and blasting it more than 10 feet in the air.

We try and get to educate the community on different aspects of science get them excited about science. Some people use the word edutainment, Campbell said, adding: We dont want it to be scary. We want it to be accessible to people in the safest way as we possibly can.

Campbell, who teaches chemistry and biochemstry, was accompanied by four Bradley students for the visit.

Before the demonstration, students in Marj Oeshs second-grade class were researching and preparing science experiments of their own.

Just as the carbon dioxide and water combination created pressure in the film canisters, Claire Schaefer and Addison Johnson had a similar project of their own answering the question of what happens when a Mentos mint is dropped into soda.

Once the two are combined, there will be an explosion, the girls said.

Our question is how much soda will we have left in the bottle after we add five Mentos, Schaefer said.

We predict the Coca-Cola will have less (liquid) in the bottle, Johnson replied.

Bradley graduate student Dannielle Wentzel said making chemistry less threatening at a young age will hopefully get kids more interested in the field.

I think of what we try to do ... is use things that are accessible for a teacher or a parent, Wentzel said. Personally, I always like to talk about what you encounter on your day-to-day life that is chemistry.

An added bonus for Wentzel, she said, was getting the girls involved in the STEM fields of study.

I want to be out there as much as I can, because seeing that we have three girls doing this demo, its something that they could do, Wentzel said. Even today, I had a girl tell me, I want to be a science person, and she was in kindergarten.

To end the excitement of seeing chemistry in action, the Demo Crew ended it with a boom. A balloon with air was popped, creating a pop heard throughout the gymnasium. The next two balloons, however, were filled with hydrogen gas, and when lit, gave off a louder explosion with a bright yellow flame.

Campbell said the Demo Crew has been doing these community events since 2007 and has done more than 200 of them at various locations in the Peoria area.

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Power of science: Warriors thriving with chemistry experiment

OAKLAND -- Zaza Pachulia holds his own during competitive games of poker on the airplane alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson - they call it the "Good Guys Table." Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee, one-time teammates with Denver reunited in Oakland, hold secret chats.

"We're building an empire," Iguodala joked. "We've got secret stuff we can't talk about."

Jonnie West - son of Hall of Famer and Warriors executive Jerry West - joins Curry, Pachulia and Thompson for their card games.

"It depends how Klay feels. If he's tired, then no card game," Pachulia said.

With all that was made before the season about adding Kevin Durant to an already star-studded roster, Golden State's players have jelled just fine. The NBA-best Warriors (47-9) are gearing up for the second half and what they hope is another championship run, and chemistry sure isn't holding them back.

Two-time reigning MVP Curry and KD love to watch each other accomplish amazing things on the floor, along with Draymond Green and Thompson and all of the others who contribute off the bench.

Curry initially allowed Durant to find his groove, then began to assert himself more and increase his shots. Experience playing together is the biggest factor to keep building team bonds, if you ask Iguodala.

"Weathering storms builds chemistry and adversity builds chemistry," he said. "The season's long and you want to have all types of ups and downs. And that's where you build it the most, and off the court, plane rides. I think when you play with teammates seven, eight years, you're still building throughout that time. You continue to learn about each other. You've just got to understand that that's part of the process and you've got to want to learn from one another."

The Warriors are counting on every advantage they can gain, on and off the court. During flights, team dinners, anywhere.

After a heartbreaking Game 7 to end last season's NBA Finals, Golden State's players want nothing short of a championship. Many of them got a taste winning the title two years ago for the franchise's first in 40 years.

Steve Kerr, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, gets a kick out of watching his teams come together each year.

"It's one of my favorite parts of coaching honestly, is seeing how a team comes together, seeing the relationships develop, seeing guys laughing together, seeing who hangs out with who," Kerr said. "It's great. This team has a really, really good chemistry that developed really quickly. Obviously, we had the core group intact from last year. We lost some key guys, too. The additions have been great. The chemistry is really good."

Pachulia took it upon himself to be a part of that. With constant attention on the Warriors, he knows the importance of sticking together through all of the many challenges that come in an 82-game season - and those things prepare a group for the postseason.

"You wish for the chemistry to come right away because you're kind of feeling pressure, a lot of talk's going on from outside," Pachulia said. "The reality is it's a process. It takes some days, it takes some games. It takes some bumps as well for the team to get on the same page and get the chemistry right. You've got to go through the process. I just don't see it the other way. We couldn't wait for these 40 or 50 games to pass and see where we were going to be. I feel really confident where we are right now, with everything we had throughout this 50 games, even the losses we had unexpected. It made us better, it made us stronger. You can appreciate it, honestly. We care about each other. We're on the same page. Keep going. We're not going to stop."

For Iguodala and McGee, the "chatter" stays between them.

"I have a lot of really in-depth conversations with JaVale McGee," Iguodala said, "about life."

OAKLAND -- Mess with one Warrior, you mess with the entire organization.

Thats the message the Warriors sent out Friday in the wake of a Twitter beef between center JaVale McGee and TNT analyst Shaquille ONeal that began late Thursday night and carried into the wee hours Friday morning.

Coach Steve Kerr fired back at ONeal, as did Warriors forward Kevin Durant. The Warriors, as a franchise, contacted ONeals bosses.

Kerr spent a portion of his post-practice news conference Friday afternoon defending McGee from ONeals relentless ridicule on the video segment Shaqtin A Fool. Durant said ONeals ongoing critiques are childish, adding that ONeal was a great player with his own imperfections.

Prior to the comments by Durant and Kerr, though, it was confirmed by CSNBayArea.com that the Warriors contacted Turner Sports in hopes of getting TNTs parent company to persuade ONeal to curb the constant derision directed toward McGee because of its impact on his image and reputation.

The outreach was a direct response to a roughly two-minute segment Thursday night that was strictly limited to castigating McGee.

Upon getting wind of Durants comments, ONeal turned to Twitter to tell Durant that McGee is a bum and to mind yo business.

OAKLAND -- The long-simmering acrimony between retired NBA star Shaquille ONeal and Warriors center JaVale McGee reached epic proportions late Thursday night and early Friday morning when the two engaged in a Twitter beef.

By Friday afternoon, Kevin Durant was stepping into the fray. He didnt bother with Twitter, instead speaking his mind and firing verbal grenades at Shaq.

JaVale works extremely hard, Durant said after practice. He has come in here and done so much for us as a player. He only wants to be respected, just like anybody else. And I understand that Shaq works for a company that wants him to do that type of stuff, and make fun of players. Its cool and funny.

But when you just keep doing it time and time and time again, for no reason, and then a guy actually disagrees with you? And you threaten him? I didnt know cops could threaten civilians like that.

ONeal currently is a reserve police officer in Doral, Fla. He also has served in that capacity in several other cities.

The latest ONeal-McGee spat began when ONeal, now an analyst at TNT who frequently targets McGee for ridicule, presented a video Thursday night that mocked McGee. It was very personal.

McGee took offense and responded on Twitter, which led to the two men exchanging insults, with McGee accusing ONeal of cooning, and ONeal calling McGee dumb and threatening to smack the s--t out of McGee.

Though McGee was not available Friday, he was sharply defended by Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Durant.

Its definitely childish, Durant said. But thats what they want from these stars and these retired players, is to feud with the guys that are playing now and make arguments and disagreements. If I was JaVale, Id feel the same way. Its childish.

Shaq wants to make a joke about it, but if it was him in that position, he would feel the same way.

Everybody cant be Shaq. Hes trying to make his money and enjoy the game of basketball, and his perception of him is that hes a dumb player because he makes mistakes on the court. Shaq was a sh---yfree-throw shooter. He missed dunks. He air-balled free throws. He couldnt shoot outside the paint. He was bigger than everybody. He didnt have any skill. But he was bigger and stronger than everybody.

Durant then turned his head and seemed to speak directly to ONeal.

He was still a great player, but you had your flaws too as a player, he said. And you played on five of six teams, too. So its not like youre this perfect center. You had your flaws too. Like I said, I didnt know cops could go on Twitter and threaten civilians like that. Im glad JaVale challenged him.

Kerr, who has known ONeal for more than 20 years, also came to McGees defense.

I dont blame him for being frustrated, he said Kerr. Shaqs been picki
ng on him for years and years and years. And JaVale, rightfully so, probably gets frustrated. It never ends. And its one thing to just have a little fun, but you can go a little bit over the top.

Its one of those things. If you think about JaVales career, when youre in this position where someone is on national TV making fun of you night after night, its not the greatest thing for your reputation.

I can tell you, I had a preconceived notion of JaVale before he got here that turned out to be totally false. And a lot of that was because of what goes on with Shaqs Shaqtin A Fool thing.

***

Shaq responded to Durant Friday on Twitter, writing "@KDTrey5 mind yo business this ain't for you," and "@KDTrey5 I understand u sticking up for your teammate that's cool but your boy @JaValeMcGee34 is still a bum, he started it I'm a finish it."

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Power of science: Warriors thriving with chemistry experiment - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

When the Blackhawks visit the Wild on Wednesday, it appears as if Jonathan Toews will have Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik as his linemates for the third consecutive game.

That must feel like an eternity given how often coach Joel Quenneville has churned his lines this season specifically Toews' line, on which almost every winger on the roster (and some currently in Rockford) has gotten a turn.

Toews' scoring numbers (10 goals, 20 assists) are down, in part because of an ailing back that plagued him early in the season and sidelined him for nine games in November and December.

But he also has changed linemates this season and last season, too, for that matter more than he anticipated when the Hawks traded Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets in the 2015 offseason.

"I would never have predicted that my line would change as much as it has," Toews said. "Give credit to (Saad) he's a great player and a lot of fun to play with but you can't look at one thing like that and hang your hat on that excuse. It's up to me to find that consistency with whoever I'm playing with."

Toews is always one to put the onus on himself first and foremost, and he knows his $10.5 million salary carries with it a burden to produce. But he admitted the revolving door has made it hard to develop chemistry over multiple games the way Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin have blossomed together.

"As good as they've been, you don't really remember them for the game they might have been off or they didn't score," Toews said. "You give them some time to recover and they'll get back on the horse and get their offense going.

"Sometimes it is tough when you have to start that chemistry over. Sometimes it's midway through games or it's a couple times per week. Sometimes, even if I go a few games without scoring or producing, it'd be nice to start to build that chemistry and start to know where the other two guys are on your line.

"It's no knock against myself or anybody that I've been on a line with. It's about building that chemistry, being predictable for each other."

But Quenneville keeps tinkering with the lines every so often. And if general manager Stan Bowman is true to his word that the Hawks do not plan on making a big splash at the trade deadline, Toews might not have another headliner, such as Andrew Ladd a season ago, to play with come March.

"That's kind of a feel thing, and sometimes the record will dictate how long they stay together," Quenneville said. "Is it progressing where it looks like it'll come together? And it looks like it could have some staying power? With him, we always want to make sure we give it enough chance at least to survive and exist."

Toews likes his current line iteration. Schmaltz has been playing better over the last month during his second stint with the team, while Panik and Toews have formed a formidable combination in the past. Ultimately, though, Toews said it's on him to make it work.

"It's up to me to take ownership and play the best game that I can every single night and make sure that consistency is there," Toews said. "Then when it comes down to it, that's Q's decision who he thinks I should be out there with. I'll leave it at that."

chine@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ChristopherHine

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Jonathan Toews hoping for time to develop chemistry with linemates ... - Chicago Tribune

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a joint appearance in the White House's East Room reaffirmed the importance of the two countries' "very crucial" security alliance in the Pacific region and their economic relationship.

Trump also in the press conference Friday afternoon gave his first public remarks about his phone call with China's president, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.

I think we are in the process of getting along very well, and I think that will be very much of benefit to Japan," said Trump who as president-elect made waves by speaking directly with Taiwan's president in a break with decades of U.S. practice. "Discussed a lot of subjects. It was a long talk. We are working on that as we speak. We have conversations with various representatives of China. Think it will work out very well for everybody.

The press conference was Trump's first during a difficult week for the White House. On Thursday night, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by the Department of Justice to lift a stay on Trumps controversial immigration executive order.

The president on Friday reiterated his position that the White House will ultimately "win that particular case."

"We are going to do whatever is necessary to keep our country safe," Trump said. "Well be doing something very rapidly having to do with additional security for our country. Youll be seeing that sometime next week."

Prior to the press conference, Trump and Abe met in the Oval Office where Trump complimented Abes handshake and strong hands before walking together down the Colonnade. Trump noted that the two developed a friendship during a prior meeting at Trump Tower in New York and have very, very, good chemistry.

The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep, said Trump.

This administration is committed to bringing those ties even closer," he said. "We're committed to the security of Japan and all areas under its administrative control and to further strengthening our very crucial alliance. The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Pacific region.

Abe noted that this was his fourth visit to the United States in six months. In December, he met with former President Obama in Hawaii on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

In his remarks, Abe complimented Trump on his unusual rise to the presidency and business skills.

Donald, president, you are an excellent businessman, but you have never been in the Congress or been a governor. You have not experienced being in the public office, but you have fought the uphill struggle and fought for more than a year in the election campaign to become a new president, and this is the dynamism of democracy.

While traditionally friendly, the relationship between the U.S. and Japan got off to a rocky start when Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership during his first days in office. The move was met with disappointment by Japan who saw the T.P.P. as a check on Chinas trade power in the Pacific.

On T.P.P., of course we are fully aware of president Trump's decision. On the economic issues, we will be discussing at the working lunch that follows, said Abe. He added that the purpose of T.P.P. was a free and fair common set of rules for free trade regime in the region, and that importance has not changed.

Trump has touted his plans to increase infrastructure development, an idea he said is under discussion with Abe. Over the past year Japan said it has made more than $150 billion in new investments in the United States. Abe noted potential plans to build a high-speed train between Washington, D.C. and New York.

I'm sure there will be major-scale infrastructure investments that will be made, including the fast-speed train," Abe said, adding that Japan, with its high level of technical capability "will be able to contribute to President Trump's growth strategy.

Trump also said that big announcements are going to be made soon about companies "coming back" to the United States.

Ever since I won the election, and became president-elect, I've been telling companies, car companies and other companies, many companies, 'Come back into the United States,' and they've been coming back in, and big announcements are going to be made over the next short period of time, the president said.

Trump and Abe additionally discussed their commitment to combating terrorism and checking the threat of North Korean aggression in the Pacific region.

Our country is committed to being a fully engaged partner, said Trump. We will work together to promote our shared interests, of which we have many, in the region, including freedom of navigation and defending against the North Korean missile and nuclear threat, both of which I consider a very, very high priority.

In a lighthearted moment, Abe, whose name is pronounced ah-bay, said Americans sometimes mistakenly pronounce his name like that of Abe Lincoln. But that is not bad because even in Japan everybody knows the name of the great president, said Abe. That former carpenters son that became a president, and that fact 150 years ago surprised the Japanese ... The Japanese opened their eyes to democracy.

Following the press conference, the two leaders departed on Air Force One for Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, where the president is entertaining Abe and his wife Akie. Both countries' leaders are golf enthusiasts and are scheduled to play a round together Saturday afternoon.

Abe joked that his game isnt up to par with Trumps. My scores in golf are not up to the level of Trump at all but my policy is never up, never in but always aiming for the cup.

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Trump: 'Good Chemistry' With Japan's Leader, 'Getting Along Very Well' With China - ABC News