SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYACRYLATES CONTAINING CHARGE-TRANSFER GROUPS

Polyacrylates containing para-nitro azobenzene have been synthesized by free radical polymerization. The influence of the length of the spacer of the homopolyacrylates (HPn, n=3,4,6), content of methyl acrylate in the copolyacrylates (CP6) with para-nitro azobenzene groups on the thermal properties, such as liquid crystallinity, Tg and Tm, was studied by DSC, WAXD and polarized optical microscopy. Among the polymers studied, only the homopolyacrylate (HP6)with six carbon atoms in the spacer exhibited a nematic phase. The second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal of the poled HP6 film was detected qualitatively by Maker-fringer method.

Chemical Bonding between Heteropoly Acid and Oxygen-containing Groups on the Surface of Activated Carbon

In order to define the force of heteropoly acids on absorbed activated carbon surface, IR spectra of 12-silicotungstic acid (SiW12) and 12-tungstophosphoric acid (PW12) absorbed on activated carbon and in oxygen-containing organic compound solutions were studied. Based on the IR spectra and UV characteristics of the heteropoly acids in various chemical conditions, the chemical bonding between heteropoly acid and oxygen-containing gropus on the surface of activated carbon was suggested.

MODIFIED POLYSULFONES .1. SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYSULFONES WITH UNSATURATED END-GROUPS

Chloro-terminated polysulfones with various molecular weights were modified with poly(ethylene oxide) and poly[(ethylene oxide)(propylene oxide)] macromers carrying alpha-hydroxyl and omega-allyl end groups via classical polycondensation reactions. The pr

PENDANT FUNCTIONAL-GROUP COPOLYETHER SULFONES .1. SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW COPOLYETHER SULFONES WITH PENDANT ALDEHYDE GROUPS MODIFIED INTO PHENOLIC AZOMETHINE GROUPS

New functional copolyether sulfones with pendant aldehyde groups were synthesized by the classical polycondensation reaction between 4,4' -dichlorodiphenyl sulfone (I) and various bisphenols such as 5,5'-methylene bis-salicylaldehyde (II-2), 2,2-bis( 4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (III), and 2,6-bis(4-hydroxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone (IV). Condensation reaction with 4-aminophenol led to pendant phenolic azomethine groups containing copolyether sulfones. The structures of the resulting polymers were confirmed by IR, H-1-NMR spectra, and elemental analyses. The polymers were characterized by reduced viscosity, solubility, thermal stability, DSC, and x-ray diffraction measurements.

Construction of AFLP-based genetic linkage map for Zhikong scallop, Chlamys farreri Jones et Preston and mapping of sex-linked markers

Zhikong scallop (Chlamys farreri) is an economically important aquaculture species in China; however, frequent mass mortality seriously affects the development of its industry. Genetic linkage map is useful for genetic improvement and selective breeding of C. farreri. Linkage maps were constructed using an intraspecific F-1 cross and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Thirty-two selected AFLP primer combinations produced 545 AFLP markers that were polymorphic in either of the parents and segregated in the progeny. Of these segregating markers, 166 were mapped to 19 linkage groups of the female framework map, covering a total of 1503.9 cM, with an average marker spacing of 10.2 cM; and 197 markers were assigned to 20 linkage groups of the male map, covering a total of 1630.7 cM, with 9.2 cM per marker. A sex-linked marker was mapped on the female map with zero recombination and a LOD of 27.3. The genetic length of C farreri genome was estimated as 1889.0 cM for the female and 1995.9 cM for the male. The coverage of the framework map was calculated as 79.6% for the female and 81.7% for the male. When the triplets and doublets were considered, the observed length of the map was calculated as 1610.2 cM with coverage of 85.2% for the female, and 1880.5 cM with coverage of 94.2% for the male. The genetic maps presented here will serve as a basis for the construction of a high-resolution genetic map and mapping of economically important genes. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Zooplankton functional groups on the continental shelf of the yellow sea

Zooplankton plays a vital role in marine ecosystems. Variations in the zooplankton species composition, biomass, and secondary production will change the structure and function of the ecosystem. How to describe this process and make it easier to be modeled in the Yellow Sea ecosystem is the main purpose of this paper. The zooplankton functional groups approach, which is considered a good method of linking the structure of food webs and the energy flow in the ecosystems, is used to describe the main contributors of secondary produciton of the Yellow Sea ecosystem. The zooplankton can be classified into six functional groups: giant crustaceans, large copepods, small copepods, chaetognaths, medusae, and salps. The giant crustaceans, large copepods, and small copepods groups, which are the main food resources for fish, are defined depending on the size spectrum. Medusae and chaetognaths are the two gelatinous carnivorous groups, which compete with fish for food. The salps group, acting as passive filter-feeders, competes with other species feeding on phytoplankton, but their energy could not be efficiently transferred to higher trophic levels. From the viewpoint of biomass, which is the basis of the food web, and feeding activities, the contributions of each functional group to the ecosystem were evaluated; the seasonal variations, geographical distribution patterns, and species composition of each functional group were analyzed. The average zooplankton biomass was 2.1 g dry wt m(-2) in spring, to which the giant crustaceans, large copepods, and small copepods contributed 19, 44, and 26%, respectively. High biomasses of the large copepods and small copepods were distributed at the coastal waters, while the giant crustaceans were mainly located at offshore area. In summer, the mean biomass was 3.1 g dry wt m(-2), which was mostly contributed by the giant crustaceans (73%), and high biomasses of the giant crustaceans, large copepods, and small copepods were all distributed in the central part of the Yellow Sea. During autumn, the mean biomass was 1.8 g dry wt m(-2), which was similarly constituted by the giant crustaceans, large copepods, and small copepods (36, 33, and 23%, respectively), and high biomasses of the giant crustaceans and large copepods occurred in the central part of the Yellow Sea, while the small copepods were mainly located at offshore stations. The giant crustaceans and large copepods dominated the zooplankton biomass (2.9 g dry wt m(-2)) in winter, contributing respectively 57 and 27%, and they, as well as the small copepods, were all mainly located in the central part of the Yellow Sea. The chaetognaths group was mainly located in the northern part of the Yellow Sea during all seasons, but contributed less to the biomass compared with the other groups. The medusae and salps groups were distributed unevenly, with sporadic dynamics, mainly along the coastline and at the northern part of the Yellow Sea. No more than 10 species belonging to the respective functional groups dominated the zooplankton biomass and controlled the dynamics of the zooplankton community. The clear picture of the seasonal and spatial variations of each zooplankton functional group makes the complicated Yellow Sea ecosystem easier to be understood and modeled. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of the initial size, stocking density and sorting on the growth of juvenile Pacific abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Ino

During winter months, a novel overwintering mode of transferring juvenile abalones to open seawaters in southern China rather than keeping them in closed land-based nursery systems in northern China is a popular practice. The initial size, stocking density and sorting are among the first considerations when establishing an abalone culture system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of these factors on the growth of juvenile Pacific abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Ino, during overwintering. Juvenile abalones were reared in multi-tier basket form for overwintering in open seawaters in southern China for 106 days. The daily growth rates (DGRs) in the shell length of all experimental groups ranged from 67.08 to 135.75 mu m day(-1), while the specific growth rates (SGRs) were 0.2447-0.3259% day(-1). Variance analysis indicated that both DGRs and SGRs in shell length were significantly affected by the initial body size and stocking density. Furthermore, the effects of stocking density on DGRs and SGRs varied with the initial size. However, sorting abalones according to their initial sizes may not be necessary in practice as sorting did not alter growth significantly at all densities in this study. Factors potentially affecting abalone growth such as genetic control and intraspecific competition were discussed.

TCP Control Groups: Aggregated Congestion Control for TCP (MA Thesis)

This thesis presents a framework for aggregated congestion management for TCP flows and shows how to integrate such an approach in an existing TCP protocol stack. The thesis presents an initial implementation of this congestion management scheme in Linux, with performance evaluation in ns as well.

Mistreatment in Distributed Caching Groups: Causes and Implications

Although cooperation generally increases the amount of resources available to a community of nodes, thus improving individual and collective performance, it also allows for the appearance of potential mistreatment problems through the exposition of one node’s resources to others. We study such concerns by considering a group of independent, rational, self-aware nodes that cooperate using on-line caching algorithms, where the exposed resource is the storage of each node. Motivated by content networking applications – including web caching, CDNs, and P2P – this paper extends our previous work on the off-line version of the problem, which was limited to object replication and was conducted under a game-theoretic framework. We identify and investigate two causes of mistreatment: (1) cache state interactions (due to the cooperative servicing of requests) and (2) the adoption of a common scheme for cache replacement/redirection/admission policies. Using analytic models, numerical solutions of these models, as well as simulation experiments, we show that online cooperation schemes using caching are fairly robust to mistreatment caused by state interactions. When this becomes possible, the interaction through the exchange of miss-streams has to be very intense, making it feasible for the mistreated nodes to detect and react to the exploitation. This robustness ceases to exist when nodes fetch and store objects in response to remote requests, i.e., when they operate as Level-2 caches (or proxies) for other nodes. Regarding mistreatment due to a common scheme, we show that this can easily take place when the “outlier” characteristics of some of the nodes get overlooked. This finding underscores the importance of allowing cooperative caching nodes the flexibility of choosing from a diverse set of schemes to fit the peculiarities of individual nodes. To that end, we outline an emulation-based framework for the development of mistreatment-resilient distributed selfish caching schemes.

Notes on the Effect of Different Access Patterns on the Intensity of Mistreatment in Distributed Caching Groups

In this report, we extend our study of the intensity of mistreatment in distributed caching groups due to state interaction. In our earlier work (published as BUCS-TR-2006-003), we analytically showed how this type of mistreatment may appear under homogeneous demand distributions. We provided a simple setting where mistreatment due to state interaction may occur. According to this setting, one or more "overactive" nodes generate disproportionately more requests than the other nodes. In this report, we extend our experimental evaluation of the intensity of mistreatment to which non-overactive nodes are subjected, when the demand distributions are not homogeneous.

Politically motivated former prisoner groups: community activism and conflict transformation

Aims and objectives: This study represents the first sustained quantitative and qualitative attempt to involve both Republicans and Loyalists in an investigation of the impact of imprisonment and the role of politically motivated former prisoners in the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the project is to examine the ways in which groups of former prisoners are involved in peace-building and conflict transformation work and to evaluate the constraints and impediments placed upon their activities by the effects of the imprisonment process, politically motivated release and residual criminalisation. In pursuing the evaluation of the role of politically motivated former prisoners working within and without their own communities, the research has six specific objectives: To trace the evolution and development of former prisoner groups; To evaluate the impacts of imprisonment and release on the personal lives of former prisoners; To assess the constraints imposed on former prisoners as agents of change by the residual criminalisation arising from their status; To determine the potential of the former prisoner community in challenging intra-community tensions and evaluate their potential and actual contribution to conflict transformation at the inter-community level; To compare and contrast the effectiveness of Loyalist and Republican former prisoners as agents of change within their own communities; To explore the notion of former prisoners as agents of social and communal transformation within broader political processes through grounding the knowledge and practical experience of the former prisoner community within the broader conceptual context of conflict transformation.

Chemistry of B1- and B10- boranes containing halogen or pseudohalogen groups

The research described in this thesis involved the chemistry of borane-species which contain one or more halide or pseudohalide groups. Both monoboron species e.g. [BH3X]- and "cluster" borane species e.g. [B10H9X]2- and I-Se B11H10 were studied. The first chapter is a review of the syntheses, properties and reactions of halide and pseudohalide species containing from one to ten boron atoms. Chapter Two is a theoretical investigation of' the electronic and molecular structures of two series of boranes i. e. [BH3X]- and [B10H9X]2- where X = H, CI, CN, NCS, SCN and N3. The calculational method used was the Modified Neglect of Differential Overlap (MNDO) method of Dewar et al. The results were compared where possible with experimental results such as the X-ray crystallographically determined structures of [BH3CI]- and [B10H10]2-. Chapter Three concerns halogenated selenaborane clusters and reports an improved synthesis of 12-Br-SeB11H10 and the first structural data for a simple non-metal containing selenaborane cage with the X-ray crystallographically determined structure of 12-1-SeB11H10. Finally, an indepth n.m.r. study of Se2B9H9 is also reported together with attempts to halogenate this compound. The last two chapters are based on single boron systems. Chapter Four concerns the synthetic routes to amine-boranes and -cyanoboranes from [BH4]- and [BH3CN]- substrates. This chapter discusses some difficulties encountered when polyamines were used in these reactions. The characterisation of an unusual ketone isolated from some of these reactions, the X-ray crystallographically determined structure of 4-dimethylamino-pyridine-cyanoborane and a new route to pyrazabole dimeric species are also discussed. The final chapter reports on work carried out at producing BH2X (X = H, CN) adducts of aminophosphines. Three routes were attempted to generate P-B and N-B bonded species with varying degrees of success. Some unusual products of these reactions are discussed including [Ph2(O) PPPh2 ] [Ph2NH]2, the structure of which was determined by X-ray crystallography.

The accountability of transnational armed groups under international law

Terrorist attacks by transnational armed groups cause on average 15,000 deaths every year worldwide, with the law enforcement agencies of some states facing many challenges in bringing those responsible to justice. Despite various attempts to codify the law on transnational terrorism since the 1930s, a crime of transnational terrorism under International Law remains contested, reflecting concerns regarding the relative importance of prosecuting members of transnational armed groups before the International Criminal Court. However, a study of the emerging jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court suggests that terrorist attacks cannot be classified as a war crime or a crime against humanity. Therefore, using organisational network theory, this thesis will probe the limits of international criminal law in bringing members of transnational armed groups to justice in the context of changing methods of warfare. Determining the organisational structure of transnational armed groups, provides a powerful analytical framework for examining the challenges in holding members of transnational armed groups accountable before the International Criminal Court, in the context of the relationship between the commanders and the subordinate members of the group.