红树林植物海榄雌化学成分研究

本论文对红树林植物海榄雌的化学成分进行了研究，对其中分离得到的部分化合物进行了初步的生物活性筛选。 海榄雌采自海南东寨港，样品干燥后用氯仿甲醇（1：1）浸泡提取，合并提取物，先后用石油醚、乙酸乙酯和正丁醇萃取。得到石油醚相、乙酸乙酯相、正丁醇相和水相。 各部分采用常规的硅胶柱层析、制备薄层层析、凝胶Sephadex LH-20柱层析、反相硅胶柱层析、半制备HPLC以及重结晶等手段分离得到28个化合物。利用各种现代波谱技术(IR、UV、ESI-MS、FAB-MS、HR-FAB-MS、1D-NMR、2D-NMR等)，确定了其中20个化合物的结构，其中包括2个新化合物：化合物A1 2′-O-(5-phenyl-2E, 4E-pentadienoyl)mussaenosidic acid和化合物A2 2′-O-(p-methoxycinnamoyl)mussaenosidic acid，以及13个首次从海榄雌中报道的化合物。 对得到的20个化合物A1－A20进行了DPPH自由基清除活性筛选，化合物A4、A5、A6和A16表现出较好的活性，其IC50分别为9.61 μg/mL、8.55 μg/mL、11.72 μg/mL和7.73 μg/mL；化合物A13和A15表现出中等强度的DPPH自由基清除活性，其IC50分别为34.80 μg/mL和44.90 μg/mL；其他化合物只表现出微弱活性，其IC50均大于100 μg/mL；阳性对照BHT的IC50为18.00 μg/mL。 对分离得到的部分样品进行了抑菌活性测试，各样品在测试浓度下对测试菌均未表现出明显的抑菌活性。

两种海洋生物次生代谢产物的研究

本论文对多指软珊瑚（Sinularia numerosa）和鼠尾藻（Sargassum thunbergii）两种海洋生物的化学成分进行了研究，对从其中分离得到的大部分化合物进行了初步的生物活性筛选。 多指软珊瑚采自海南三亚，样品经冷冻干燥并粉碎后用丙酮浸泡提取得到提取物；鼠尾藻采自山东青岛沿岸，样品干燥后用乙醇提取，将提取物先后用石油醚、乙酸乙酯和正丁醇萃取，得到石油醚相、乙酸乙酯相和正丁醇相提取物。 采用常规的硅胶柱层析、反相硅胶柱层析、凝胶Sephadex LH-20柱层析、制备薄层层析、重结晶以及半制备HPLC等手段分离得到38个化合物。利用各种现代波谱技术（IR、UV、MS、HR-MS、1D-NMR、2D-NMR等），确定了其中27个化合物的结构。其中，从多指软珊瑚中得到30个化合物，鉴定了其中得19个化合物，包括2个新的西松烷二萜类化合物（化合物SN1，命名为Numerolides A；化合物SN2，命名为Numerolides B）、1个新的甾醇类化合物（化合物SN3，命名为Gorgost-3β, 7β-diol）以及15个首次从该种中报道的化合物。从鼠尾藻中分离鉴定了8个化合物，包括植醇、岩藻甾醇、2个单萜类化合物、1个环戊烯酮类化合物及3个不饱和长链化合物，这些化合物皆为首次从该种中报道。对大部分化合物作了针对人肝癌细胞株SMMC-7721体外细胞毒活性和抗菌活性筛选，所测样品均未显示针对SMMC-7721的细胞毒活性，而化合物SN15具有中等强度的抑制金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌的活性，化合物SN19有促进金黄色葡萄球菌生长的活性。

两种红树林植物海漆和海桑化学成分研究

本论文对两种红树林植物海漆 (Excoecaria agallocha L.) 和海桑（Sonneratia caseolaris L.）的化学成分进行了系统研究。 采用常规的硅胶柱层析、制备薄层层析、凝胶 Sephadex LH-20 柱层析、MCI柱层析、反相硅胶柱层析、半制备型 HPLC 以及重结晶等手段，从海漆 (Excoecaria agalloch L. ) 中分离得到 40 个化合物，从海桑（Sonneratia caseolaris L.）中分离得到 30 个化合物。利用各种现代波谱技术 (IR、UV、ESI-MS、EI-MS、1D-NMR、2D-NMR等) 及其化学物理性质，确定了海漆中 32 个化合物的结构，其中包括 1 个新的三萜天然产物以及 15 个首次从海漆中报道的化合物；确定了海桑中 27 个化合物的结构，其中包括 1 个新化合物和一个首次报道其碳谱数据的化合物。本文为首次报道海桑的化学成分研究。 对海漆和海桑粗提物及分离得到的部分化合物进行了抗肝癌细胞毒活性筛选，化合物S22表现出较强活性，其IC50为2.8 μg/mL；海漆和海桑粗提物及其它部分单体化合物只表现出微弱活性；阳性对照丝裂霉素C的IC50为1.1 μg/mL。 对分离得到的部分样品还进行了抗菌活性测试，各样品在测试浓度下对测试菌均未表现出明显的抗菌活性。 首次研究了海漆挥发性成分及其季节性变化。利用水蒸汽法提取了不同季节海漆的挥发性成分，通过GC-MS鉴定其化学组成，发现脂肪酸、二萜和倍半萜是海漆挥发性成分的主要组成，不同季节的挥发性成分差异较大。

Skeleton-rearranged pentacyclic diterpenoids possessing a cyclobutane ring from Euphorbia wallichii

Two novel rearranged trachylobane diterpenoids, designated as wallichanol A (2) and wallichanol B (3), consisting of an unprecedented pentacyclic skeleton named wallichane with a cyclobutane ring, and a new ent-trachylobane diterpenoid, 3-oxo-ent-trachyloban-17-oic acid (1), were isolated from the roots of Euphorbia wallichii. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive analysis of 2D-NMR spectroscopic data, with the stereochemistry of 1 confirmed by X-ray crystallographic study. All of these compounds potently block osteoclastogenesis in vitro, suggesting a potential therapeutic application in prevention of osteoporosis.

Distance Metric Between 3D Models and 3D Images for Recognition and Classification

Similarity measurements between 3D objects and 2D images are useful for the tasks of object recognition and classification. We distinguish between two types of similarity metrics: metrics computed in image-space (image metrics) and metrics computed in transformation-space (transformation metrics). Existing methods typically use image and the nearest view of the object. Example for such a measure is the Euclidean distance between feature points in the image and corresponding points in the nearest view. (Computing this measure is equivalent to solving the exterior orientation calibration problem.) In this paper we introduce a different type of metrics: transformation metrics. These metrics penalize for the deformatoins applied to the object to produce the observed image. We present a transformation metric that optimally penalizes for "affine deformations" under weak-perspective. A closed-form solution, together with the nearest view according to this metric, are derived. The metric is shown to be equivalent to the Euclidean image metric, in the sense that they bound each other from both above and below. For Euclidean image metric we offier a sub-optimal closed-form solution and an iterative scheme to compute the exact solution.

Catalyst, additive and substrate effects in intramolecular aromatic additions of alpha-diazoketones

This thesis is focused on transition metal catalysed reaction of α-diazoketones leading to aromatic addition to form azulenones, with particular emphasis on enantiocontrol through use of chiral copper catalysts. The first chapter provides an overview of the influence of variation of the substituent at the diazo carbon on the outcome of subsequent reaction pathways, focusing in particular on C-H insertion, cyclopropanation, aromatic addition and ylide formation drawing together for the first time input from a range of primary reports. Chapter two describes the synthesis of a range of novel α-diazoketones. Rhodium and copper catalysed cyclisation of these to form a range of azulenones is described. Variation of the transition metal catalyst was undertaken using both copper and rhodium based systems and ligand variation, including the design and synthesis of a novel bisoxazoline ligand. The influence of additives, especially NaBARF, on the enantiocontrol was explored in detail and displayed an interesting impact which was sensitive to substituent effects. Further exploration demonstrated that it is the sodium cation which is critical in the additive effects. For the first time, enantiocontrol in the aromatic addition of terminal diazoketones was demonstrated indicating enantiofacial control in the aromatic addition is feasible in the absence of a bridgehead substituent. Determination of the enantiopurity in these compounds was particularly challenging due to the lability of the products. A substantial portion of the work was focused on determining the stereochemical outcome of the aromatic addition processes, both the absolute stereochemistry and extent of enantiopurity. Formation of PTAD adducts was beneficial in this regard. The third chapter contains the full experimental details and spectral characterisation of all novel compounds synthesised in this project, while details of chiral stationary phase HPLC and 1H NMR analysis are included in the appendix.

Characterisation of bifunctional ruthenium(ii) complexes, potential DNA photo-probes. Presence of folded and unfolded conformers

Novel bifunctional ruthenium(n) complexes, [Ru(TAP)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ and [Ru(BPY)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+(la, 2a), containing a metallic and an organic moiety, have been prepared as photoprobes and photoreagents of DNA(TAP = 1,4,5,8-tetraazaphenanthrene, POQ-Nmet = 5-[6-(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl)-3-thia-6-azaheptanamido]-l,10phenanthroline). The ES mass spectrometry and 'H NMR data in organic solvents indicate that the quinoline moiety exists in both the protonated and non-protonated form. Moreover, the comparison of the NMR data with those of the corresponding monofunctional complexes(without quinoline) evidences that [Ru(TAP).2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ and [Ru(BPY)J(POQ-Nmet)]2+ are unfolded when the quinoline unit is protonated whereas deprotonation permits folding of the molecule. In the folded state the spatial proximity of the electron donor(the organic moiety) and electron acceptor(the metallic moiety) in [Ru(TAP)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ favours intramolecular photo-induced electron transfer, which has been shown in a previous study to be responsible for the very low luminescence of la in non-protonating solutions. The restoration of the luminescence by protonation of the quinoline moiety as observed previously is in agreement with the unfolding of the molecule demonstrated in this work. The existence of such folding-unfolding processes related to protonation is crucial for studies of la with DNA. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2000.

Development of numerical techniques for near-field aeroacoustic computations

This work is concerned with the development of a numerical scheme capable of producing accurate simulations of sound propagation in the presence of a mean flow field. The method is based on the concept of variable decomposition, which leads to two separate sets of equations. These equations are the linearised Euler equations and the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. This paper concentrates on the development of numerical schemes for the linearised Euler equations that leads to a computational aeroacoustics (CAA) code. The resulting CAA code is a non-diffusive, time- and space-staggered finite volume code for the acoustic perturbation, and it is validated against analytic results for pure 1D sound propagation and 2D benchmark problems involving sound scattering from a cylindrical obstacle. Predictions are also given for the case of prescribed source sound propagation in a laminar boundary layer as an illustration of the effects of mean convection. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ring-opening polymerisation of silver-diphosphine [M2L3] coordination cages to give [M2L3](infinity) coordination polymers

[M2L3] coordination cages and linear [M2L3]infinity polymers of the rigid, bridging diphosphines bis(diphenylphosphino)acetylene (dppa) and trans-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene (dppet) with silver(I) salts have been investigated in the solution and solid states. Unlike flexible diphosphines, 1:1 dppa/AgX mixtures do not selectively form discrete [Ag2(diphos)2(X)2] macrocycles; instead dynamic mixtures of one-, two- and three-coordinate complexes are formed. However, 3:2 dppa/AgX ratios (X = SbF6. BF4, O3SCF3 or NO3) do lead selectively to new [M2L3] triply bridged cage complexes [Ag2(dppa)3(X)2] 1a-d (X = SbF6 a, BF4 b, O3SCF3 c, NO3 d), which do not exhibit Ag-P bond dissociation at room temperature on the NMR time scale (121 MHz). Complexes la-d were characterised by X-ray crystallography and were found to have small internal cavities, helical conformations and multiple intramolecular aromatic interactions. The nucleophilicity of the anion subtly influences the cage shape: Increasing nucleophilicity from SbF6 (1a) through BF4 (1b) and O3SCF3 (1c) to NO3 (1d) increases the pyramidal distortion at the AgP3 centres, stretching the cage framework (with Ag...Ag distances increasing from 5.48 in 1a to 6.21 A in 1d) and giving thinner internal cavities. Crystal packing strongly affected the size of the helical twist angle, and no correlation between this parameter and the Ag-Ag distance was observed. When crystalline 1c was stored in its supernatant for 16 weeks, conversion occured to the isostoichiometric [M2L3]infinity coordination polymer [Ag(dppa)2Ag(dppa)(O3SCF3)2]infinity (1c'). X-ray crystallography revealed a structure with ten-membered Ag2(dppa)2 rings linked into infinite one-dimensional chains by a third dppa unit. The clear structural relationship between this polymer and the precursor cage 1c suggests a novel example of ring-opening polymerisation. With dppet, evidence for discrete [M2L3] cages was also found in solution, although 31P NMR spectroscopy suggested some Ag-P bond dissociation. On crystallisation, only the corresponding ring-opened polymeric structures [M2L3]infinity could be obtained. This may be because the greater steric bulk of dppet versus dppa destabilises the cage and favours the ring-opening polymerisation.

Engineering source/drain extension regions in nanoscale double gate (DG) SOI MOSFETs: Analytical model and design considerations

In this paper, we propose for the first time, an analytical model for short channel effects in nanoscale source/drain extension region engineered double gate (DG) SOI MOSFETs. The impact of (i) lateral source/drain doping gradient (d), (ii) spacer width (s), (iii) spacer to doping gradient ratio (s/d) and (iv) silicon film thickness (T-si), on short channel effects - threshold voltage (V-th) and subthreshold slope (S), on-current (I-on), off-current (I-on) and I-on/I-off is extensively analysed by using the analytical model and 2D device simulations. The results of the analytical model confirm well with simulated data over the entire range of spacer widths, doping gradients and effective channel lengths. Results show that lateral source/drain doping gradient along with spacer width can not only effectively control short channel effects, thus presenting low off-current, but can also be optimised to achieve high values of on-currents. The present work provides valuable design insights in the performance of nanoscale DG Sol devices with optimal source/drain engineering and serves as a tool to optimise important device and technological parameters for 65 nm technology node and below. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon ion acceleration from thin foil targets irradiated by ultrahigh-contrast, ultraintense laser pulses

In this study, ion acceleration from thin planar target foils irradiated by ultrahigh-contrast (10(10)), ultrashort (50 fs) laser pulses focused to intensities of 7 x 10(20) W cm(-2) is investigated experimentally. Target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) is found to be the dominant ion acceleration mechanism when the target thickness is >= 50 nm and laser pulses are linearly polarized. Under these conditions, irradiation at normal incidence is found to produce higher energy ions than oblique incidence at 35 degrees with respect to the target normal. Simulations using one-dimensional (1D) boosted and 2D particle-in-cell codes support the result, showing increased energy coupling efficiency to fast electrons for normal incidence. The effects of target composition and thickness on the acceleration of carbon ions are reported and compared to calculations using analytical models of ion acceleration.

Protic ionic liquids based on the dimeric and oligomeric anions: [(AcO)(x)Hx-1](-)

We describe a fluidity and conductivity study as a function of composition in N-methylpyrrolidine-acetic acid mixtures. The simple 1 : 1 acid-base mixture appears to form an ionic liquid, but its degree of ionicity is quite low and such liquids are better thought of as poorly dissociated mixtures of acid and base. The composition consisting of 3 moles acetic acid and 1 mole N-methylpyrrolidine is shown to form the highest ionicity mixture in this binary due to the presence of oligomeric anionic species [(AcO)(x)Hx-1](-) stabilised by hydrogen bonds. These oligomeric species, being weaker bases than the acetate anion, shift the proton transfer equilibrium towards formation of ionic species, thus generating a higher degree of ionicity than is present at the 1 : 1 composition. A Walden plot analysis, thermogravimetric behaviour and proton NMR data, as well as ab initio calculations of the oligomeric species, all support this conclusion.

Plasma surface dynamics and smoothing in the relativistic few-cycle regime

Efficient production of coherent harmonic radiation from solid targets relies critically on the formation of smooth, short density scalelength plasmas. Recent experimental results (Dromey et al 2009 Nat. Phys. 5 146) suggest, however, that the target roughness on the scale of the emitted harmonic wavelength does not result in diffuse reflection-in apparent contradiction to the Rayleigh criterion for coherent reflection. In this paper we show, for the first time, using analytic theory and 2D PIC simulations, that the interaction of relativistically strong laser pulses with corrugated target surfaces results in a highly effective smoothing of the interaction surface and consequently the generation of highly collimated and temporally confined XUV pulses from rough targets, in excellent agreement with experimental observations.

Exploiting spatio-temporal constraints for robust 2D pose tracking

We present a Spatio-temporal 2D Models Framework (STMF) for 2D-Pose tracking. Space and time are discretized and a mixture of probabilistic "local models" is learnt associating 2D Shapes and 2D Stick Figures. Those spatio-temporal models generalize well for a particular viewpoint and state of the tracked action but some spatio-temporal discontinuities can appear along a sequence, as a direct consequence of the discretization. To overcome the problem, we propose to apply a Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter (RBPF) in the 2D-Pose eigenspace, thus interpolating unseen data between view-based clusters. The fitness to the images of the predicted 2D-Poses is evaluated combining our STMF with spatio-temporal constraints. A robust, fast and smooth human motion tracker is obtained by tracking only the few most important dimensions of the state space and by refining deterministically with our STMF.

Second-to-Fourth Digit Ratio and Impulsivity: A Comparison between Offenders and Nonoffenders

Personality characteristics, particularly impulsive tendencies, have long been conceived as the primary culprit in delinquent behavior. One crucial question to emerge from this line of work is whether impulsivity has a biological basis. To test this possibility, 44 male offenders and 46 nonoffenders completed the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, and had their 2D:4D ratio measured. Offenders exhibited smaller right hand digit ratio measurements compared to non-offenders, but higher impulsivity scores. Both impulsivity and 2D:4D ratio measurements significantly predicted criminality (offenders vs. nonoffenders). Controlling for education level, the 2D:4D ratio measurements had remained a significant predictor of criminality, while impulsivity scores no longer predicted criminality significantly. Our data, thus, indicates that impulsivity but not 2D:4D ratio measurements relate to educational attainment. As offenders varied in their number of previous convictions and the nature of their individual crimes, we also tested for differences in 2D:4D ratio and impulsivity among offenders. Number of previous convictions did not correlate significantly with the 2D:4D ratio measurements or impulsivity scores. Our study established a link between a biological marker and impulsivity among offenders (and lack thereof among non-offenders), which emphasise the importance of studying the relationship between biological markers, impulsivity and criminal behavior.