Oceanographic Profiling Observations MOCE-4 Cruise: 26 January to 12 February 1998

This report contains results from the fourth cruise of the MODIS Optical Characterization Experiment (MOCE). Also resented are oceanographic data from two MOBY maintenance cruises L-20 and L-25. The MOCE4 cruise was the first NOAAINESDIS-Ied SeaWiFS Initialization cruise during which a variety ofspectroradiometric observations ofthe upper water column and atmosphere were made by investigators from NOAA, the University of Miami, CHORS and MLML. Data presented in this report were obtained by oceanographic CTD profiler: salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, beam attenuation and chlorophyll-a fluorescence~ and by water samplers: total suspended matter and suspended organic carbon and nitrogen, salinity and dissolved oxygen. (PDF contains 142 pages).

Completions of epsilon-dense partial Latin squares

A classical question in combinatorics is the following: given a partial Latin square $P$, when can we complete $P$ to a Latin square $L$? In this paper, we investigate the class of textbf{$epsilon$-dense partial Latin squares}: partial Latin squares in which each symbol, row, and column contains no more than $epsilon n$-many nonblank cells. Based on a conjecture of Nash-Williams, Daykin and H"aggkvist conjectured that all $frac{1}{4}$-dense partial Latin squares are completable. In this paper, we will discuss the proof methods and results used in previous attempts to resolve this conjecture, introduce a novel technique derived from a paper by Jacobson and Matthews on generating random Latin squares, and use this novel technique to study $ epsilon$-dense partial Latin squares that contain no more than $delta n^2$ filled cells in total.

In Chapter 2, we construct completions for all $ epsilon$-dense partial Latin squares containing no more than $delta n^2$ filled cells in total, given that $epsilon < frac{1}{12}, delta < frac{ left(1-12epsilonright)^{2}}{10409}$. In particular, we show that all $9.8 cdot 10^{-5}$-dense partial Latin squares are completable. In Chapter 4, we augment these results by roughly a factor of two using some probabilistic techniques. These results improve prior work by Gustavsson, which required $epsilon = delta leq 10^{-7}$, as well as Chetwynd and H"aggkvist, which required $epsilon = delta = 10^{-5}$, $n$ even and greater than $10^7$.

If we omit the probabilistic techniques noted above, we further show that such completions can always be found in polynomial time. This contrasts a result of Colbourn, which states that completing arbitrary partial Latin squares is an NP-complete task. In Chapter 3, we strengthen Colbourn's result to the claim that completing an arbitrary $left(frac{1}{2} + epsilonright)$-dense partial Latin square is NP-complete, for any $epsilon > 0$.

Colbourn's result hinges heavily on a connection between triangulations of tripartite graphs and Latin squares. Motivated by this, we use our results on Latin squares to prove that any tripartite graph $G = (V_1, V_2, V_3)$ such that begin{itemize} item $|V_1| = |V_2| = |V_3| = n$, item For every vertex $v in V_i$, $deg_+(v) = deg_-(v) geq (1- epsilon)n,$ and item $|E(G)| > (1 - delta)cdot 3n^2$ end{itemize} admits a triangulation, if $epsilon < frac{1}{132}$, $delta < frac{(1 -132epsilon)^2 }{83272}$. In particular, this holds when $epsilon = delta=1.197 cdot 10^{-5}$.

This strengthens results of Gustavsson, which requires $epsilon = delta = 10^{-7}$.

In an unrelated vein, Chapter 6 explores the class of textbf{quasirandom graphs}, a notion first introduced by Chung, Graham and Wilson cite{chung1989quasi} in 1989. Roughly speaking, a sequence of graphs is called "quasirandom"' if it has a number of properties possessed by the random graph, all of which turn out to be equivalent. In this chapter, we study possible extensions of these results to random $k$-edge colorings, and create an analogue of Chung, Graham and Wilson's result for such colorings.

Diagnóstico de la contaminación atmosférica de Zamudio

Nivel educativo: Grado.Duración (en horas): De 41 a 50 horas.Destinatario: Estudiante

Informática de gestión

Nivel educativo: Grado. Duración (en horas): Más de 50 horas

The intramolecular Buchner reaction of α-diazo-β-ketonitriles : development and application to the total synthesis of (+)-Salvileucalin B

Since its discovery in 1896, the Buchner reaction has fascinated chemists for more than a century. The highly reactive nature of the carbene intermediates allows for facile dearomatization of stable aromatic rings, and provides access to a diverse array of cyclopropane and seven-membered ring architectures. The power inherent in this transformation has been exploited in the context of a natural product total synthesis and methodology studies.

The total synthesis work details efforts employed in the enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-salvileucalin B. The fully-substituted cyclopropane within the core of the molecule arises from an unprecedented intramolecular Buchner reaction involving a highly functionalized arene and an α-diazo-β-ketonitrile. An unusual retro-Claisen rearrangement of a complex late-stage intermediate was discovered on route to the natural product.

The unique reactivity of α-diazo-β-ketonitriles toward arene cyclopropanation was then investigated in a broader methodological study. This specific di-substituted diazo moiety possesses hitherto unreported selectivity in intramolecular Buchner reactions. This technology was enables the preparation of highly functionalized norcaradienes and cyclopropanes, which themselves undergo various ring opening transformations to afford complex polycyclic structures.

Finally, an enantioselective variant of the intramolecular Buchner reaction is described. Various chiral copper and dirhodium catalysts afforded moderate stereoinduction in the cyclization event.

Construcción 3. Construcción industrializada

Nivel educativo: Grado. Duración (en horas): Más de 50 horas

Construcción 4. Construcción industrializada

Nivel educativo: Grado. Duración (en horas): Más de 50 horas

Oceanographic Profiling Observations from the MOCE-3 Cruise: 27 October to 15 November 1994

This report contains results from the third cruise of the Marine Optical Characterization Experiment (Fig. 1). A variety of spectroradiometric observations of the upper water column and atmosphere were made by investigators from the University of Miami, NOAA, CHORS and MLML. Data presented here were obtained by oceanographic CTD profiler: salinity, temperatllre, dissolved oxygen, beam attenuation and chlorophyll-a fluorescence; and by water samplers: total suspended matter and suspended organic carbon and nitrogen, salinity, and dissolved oxygen.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation: insights, application toward cyclopentanoid and cycloheptanoid molecules, and the total synthesis of several daucane sesquiterpenes

The asymmetric construction of quaternary stereocenters is a topic of great interest in the organic chemistry community given their prevalence in natural products and biologically active molecules. Over the last decade, the Stoltz group has pursued the synthesis of this challenging motif via a palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation using chiral phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) ligands. Recent results indicate that the alkylation of lactams and imides consistently proceeds with enantioselectivities substantially higher than any other substrate class previously examined in this system. This observation prompted exploration of the characteristics that distinguish these molecules as superior alkylation substrates, resulting in newfound insights and marked improvements in the allylic alkylation of carbocyclic compounds.

General routes to cyclopentanoid and cycloheptanoid core structures have been developed that incorporate the palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation as a key transformation. The unique reactivity of α-quaternary vinylogous esters upon addition of hydride or organometallic reagents enables divergent access to γ-quaternary acylcyclopentenes or cycloheptenones through respective ring contraction or carbonyl transposition pathways. Derivatization of the resulting molecules provides a series of mono-, bi-, and tricyclic systems that can serve as valuable intermediates for the total synthesis of complex natural products.

The allylic alkylation and ring contraction methodology has been employed to prepare variably functionalized bicyclo[5.3.0]decane molecules and enables the enantioselective total syntheses of daucene, daucenal, epoxydaucenal B, and 14-p-anisoyloxydauc-4,8-diene. This route overcomes the challenge of accessing β-substituted acylcyclopentenes by employing a siloxyenone to effect the Grignard addition and ring opening in a single step. Subsequent ring-closing metathesis and aldol reactions form the hydroazulene core of these targets. Derivatization of a key enone intermediate allows access to either the daucane sesquiterpene or sphenobolane diterpene carbon skeletons, as well as other oxygenated scaffolds.

Progress towards the total synthesis of a spermine-conjugated dynemicin analog

Progress towards the synthesis of the spermine-conjugated Dynemicin analog 4 is described. The synthetic route starts with the Michael addition of menthyl acetoacetate to trans-ethyl crotonate followed by a Dieckman condensation to form the cyclohexanedione 14 which, through a series of chemical reactions, is transformed into the quinone imine 6. Key features in the route include the Suzuki coupling reaction of the aryl boronic acid 11 and the enol triflate 12, thermal deprotection/internal amidation of the biaryl 19, cis addition of the (Z)-enediyne 33 to the quinoline 25, intramolecular acetylide addition to a carbonyl within the ketone 29, and an addition/elimination of the cyanophthalide to the quinone imine 6 to form the anthraquinone 36 utilizing the Kraus and Sugimoto methodology.

New strategies for the total synthesis of aza-propellane natural products

The propellane alkaloids comprise a large class of natural products that possess varying degrees of structural complexity and biological activity. The earliest of these to be isolated was acutumine, a chlorinated alkaloid that has been shown to exhibit selective T-cell cytotoxicity and antiamnesic properties. Alternatively, the hasubanan family of natural products has garnered considerable attention from the synthetic community in part due to its structural similarities to morphine. While these alkaloids have been the subject of numerous synthetic studies over the last forty years, very few enantioselective total syntheses have been reported to date.

As part of a research program directed towards the synthesis of various alkaloid natural products, we have developed a unified strategy for the preparation of the hasubanan and acutumine alkaloids. Specifically, a highly diastereoselective 1,2-addition of organometallic reagents to benzoquinone-derived tert-butanesulfinimines was established, which provides access to enantioenriched 4-aminocyclohexadienone products. This methodology enabled the enantioselective construction of functionalized dihydroindolones, which were found to undergo intramolecular Friedel-Crafts conjugate additions to furnish the propellane cores of several hasubanan alkaloids. As a result of these studies, the first enantioselective total syntheses of 8-demethoxyrunanine and cepharatines A, C, and D were accomplished in 9-11 steps from commercially available starting materials.

More recent efforts have focused on applying the sulfinimine methodology to the synthesis of a more structurally complex propellane alkaloid, acutumine. Extensive studies have determined that a properly functionalized dihydroindolone undergoes a photochemical [2+2] cycloaddition followed by a lactone fragmentation/Dieckmann cyclization to establish the carbocyclic framework of the natural product. The preparation of more appropriately oxidized propellane intermediates is currently under investigation, and is anticipated to facilitate our synthetic endeavors toward acutumine.

Gene enrichment using antibodies to DNA/RNA hybrids : mapping the ribosomal DNA of slime mold and rat

A novel method for gene enrichment has been developed and applied to mapping the rRNA genes of two eucaryotic organisms. The method makes use of antibodies to DNA/RNA hybrids prepared by injecting rabbits with the synthetic hybrid poly(rA)•poly(dT). Antibodies which cross-react with non-hybrid nucleic acids were removed from the purified IgG fraction by adsorption on columns of DNA-Sepharose, oligo(dT)-cellulose, and poly(rA)-Sepharose. Subsequent purification of the specific DNA/RNA hybrid antibody was carried out on a column of oligo(dT)-cellulose to which poly(rA) was hybridized. Attachment of these antibodies to CNBr-activated Sepharose produced an affinity resin which specifically binds DNA/RNA hybrids.

In order to map the rDNA of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, R-loops were formed using unsheared nuclear DNA and the 178 and 268 rRNAs of this organism. This mixture was passed through a column containing the affinity resin, and bound molecules containing R- loops were eluted by high salt. This purified rDN A was observed directly in the electron microscope. Evidence was obtained that there is a physical end to Dictyostelium rDN A molecules approximately 10 kilobase pairs (kbp) from the region which codes for the 268 rRNA. This finding is consistent with reports of other investigators that the rRNA genes exist as inverse repeats on extra-chromosomal molecules of DNA unattached to the remainder of the nuclear DNA in this organism.

The same general procedure was used to map the rRNA genes of the rat. Molecules of DNA which contained R-loops formed with the 188 and 288 rRNAs were enriched approximately 150- fold from total genomal rat DNA by two cycles of purification on the affinity column. Electron microscopic measurements of these molecules enabled the construction of an R-loop map of rat rDNA. Eleven of the observed molecules contained three or four R-loops or else two R-loops separated by a long spacer. These observations indicated that the rat rRNA genes are arranged as tandem repeats. The mean length of the repeating units was 37.2 kbp with a standard deviation of 1.3 kbp. These eleven molecules may represent repeating units of exactly the same length within the errors of the measurements, although a certain degree of length heterogeneity cannot be ruled out. If significantly shorter or longer repeating units exist, they are probably much less common than the 37.2 kbp unit.

The last section of the thesis describes the production of antibodies to non-histone chromosomal proteins which have been exposed to the ionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The presence of low concentrations of SDS did not seem to affect either production of antibodies or their general specificity. Also, a technique is described for the in situ immunofluorescent detection of protein antigens in polyacrylamide gels.

A unified strategy to ent-kauranoid natural products : total syntheses of (–)-maoecrystal Z, (–)-trichorabdal A, and (–)-longikaurin E

The diterpenoid constituents of the Isodon plants have attracted reasearchers interested in both their chemical structures and biological properties for more than a half-century. In recent years, the isolations of new members displaying previously unprecedented ring systems and highly selective biological properties have piqued interest from the synthetic community in this class of natural products.

Reported herein is the first total synthesis of such a recently isolated diterpenoid, (–)-maoecrystal Z. The principal transformations implemented in this synthesis include two highly diastereoselective radical cyclization reactions: a Sm^(II)-mediated reductive cascade cyclization, which forms two rings and establishes four new stereocenters in a single step, and a Ti^(III)-mediated reductive epoxide-acrylate coupling that yields a functionalized spirolactone product, which forms a core bicycle of maoecrystal Z.

The preparation of two additional ent-kauranoid natural products, (–)-trichorabdal A and (–)-longikaurin E, is also described from a derivative of this key spirolactone. These syntheses are additionally enabled by the palladium-mediated oxidative cyclization reaction of a silyl ketene acetal precursor that is used to install the bridgehead all-carbon quaternary stereocenter and bicyclo[3.2.1]octane present in each natural product. These studies have established a synthetic relationship among three architecturally distinct ent-kaurane diterpenoids and have forged a path for the preparation of interesting unnatural ent-kauranoid structural analogs for more thorough biological study.

The development of an asymmetric palladium-catalyzed conjugate addition and its application toward the total syntheses of taiwaniaquinoid natural products

The asymmetric synthesis of quaternary stereocenters remains a challenging problem in organic synthesis. Past work from the Stoltz laboratory has resulted in methodology to install quaternary stereocenters α- or γ- to carbonyl compounds. Thus, the asymmetric synthesis of β-quaternary stereocenters was a desirable objective, and was accomplished by engineering the palladium-catalyzed addition of arylmetal organometallic reagents to α,β-unsaturated conjugate acceptors.

Herein, we described the rational design of a palladium-catalyzed conjugate addition reactions utilizing a catalyst derived from palladium(II) trifluoroacetate and pyridinooxazole ligands. This reaction is highly tolerant of protic solvents and oxygen atmosphere, making it a practical and operationally simple reaction. The mild conditions facilitate a remarkably high functional group tolerance, including carbonyls, halogens, and fluorinated functional groups. Furthermore, the reaction catalyzed conjugate additions with high enantioselectivity with conjugate acceptors of 5-, 6-, and 7-membered ring sizes. Extension of the methodology toward the asymmetric synthesis of flavanone products is presented, as well.

A computational and experimental investigation into the reaction mechanism provided a stereochemical model for enantioinduction, whereby the α-methylene protons adjacent the enone carbonyl clashes with the tert-butyl groups of the chiral ligand. Additionally, it was found that the addition of water and ammonium hexafluorophosphate significantly increases the reaction rate without sacrificing enantioselectivity. The synergistic effects of these additives allowed for the reaction to proceed at a lower temperature, and thus facilitated expansion of the substrate scope to sensitive functional groups such as protic amides and aryl bromides. Investigations into a scale-up synthesis of the chiral ligand (S)-tert-butylPyOx are also presented. This three-step synthetic route allowed for synthesis of the target compound of greater than 10 g scale.

Finally, the application of the newly developed conjugate addition reaction toward the synthesis of the taiwaniaquinoid class of terpenoid natural products is discussed. The conjugate addition reaction formed the key benzylic quaternary stereocenter in high enantioselectivity, joining together the majority of the carbons in the taiwaniaquinoid scaffold. Efforts toward the synthesis of the B-ring are presented.

Studies toward the total synthesis of ritterazine B : the investigation of alkynylation reactions for use in the synthesis of the western fragment

The ritterazine and cephalostatin natural products have biological activities and structures that are interesting to synthetic organic chemists. These products have been found to exhibit significant cytotoxicity against P388 murine leukemia cells, and therefore have the potential to be used as anticancer drugs. The ritterazines and cephalostatins are steroidal dimers joined by a central pyrazine ring. Given that the steroid halves are unsymmetrical and highly oxygenated, there are several challenges in synthesizing these compounds in an organic laboratory.

Ritterazine B is the most potent derivative in the ritterazine family. Its biological activity is comparable to drugs that are being used to treat cancer today. For this reason, and the fact that there are no reported syntheses of ritterazine B to date, our lab set out to synthesize this natural product.

Herein, efforts toward the synthesis of the western fragment of ritterazine B are described. Two different routes are explored to access a common intermediate. An alkyne conjugate addition reaction was initially investigated due to the success of this key reaction in the synthesis of the eastern fragment. However, it has been found that a propargylation reaction has greater reactivity and yields, and has the potential to reduce the step count of the synthesis of the western fragment of ritterazine B.