Civil Engineer Company Grade Officer Training Needs Analysis for Contingency Operations

In terms of active duty personnel, the USAF is the smallest it has ever been since its creation in 1947. With fewer personnel to accomplish essential tasks, the training of Airmen is more important than ever. Outdated and irrelevant training can lead to gaps in the knowledge of trainees. The purpose of this research was to analyze the training needs of Civil Engineer (CE) Company Grade Officers (CGOs) in the contingency environment. This was done by first conducting a Job Analysis (JA). The JA resulted in a list of 36 critical tasks and 58 important Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). The tasks rated most critical were those associated with presenting information to superiors, project management, construction management, and operations and maintenance. The most important KSAs included the ability to work in teams, critical thinking, time and stress management, and leadership. These results were used to create a test instrument to assess contingency job knowledge in a sample of 64 CE CGOs. The lowest scoring areas of the test included Prime BEEF concepts, joint forces, enlisted CE AFSC knowledge, contingency construction standards, general construction activities, reach-back resources, deployed leadership, project scheduling, BOS-I and SAA, contingency base types, contract types, and construction inspection. The knowledge gaps represented the training needs for CE CGOs in the contingency environment. The career field should consider the findings of this research when making decisions regarding the content of future contingency training curriculums for CE CGOs

Micropower Impulse Radar: A Novel Technology for Rapid, Real-Time Detection of Pneumothorax

Pneumothorax detection in emergency situations must be rapid and at the point of care. Current standards for detection of a pneumothorax are supine chest X-rays, ultrasound, and CT scans. Unfortunately these tools and the personnel necessary for their facile utilization may not be readily available in acute circumstances, particularly those which occur in the pre-hospital setting. The decision to treat therefore, is often made without adequate information. In this report, we describe a novel hand-held device that utilizes Micropower Impulse Radar to reliably detect the presence of a pneumothorax. The technology employs ultra wide band pulses over a frequency range of 500 MHz to 6 GHz and a proprietary algorithm analyzes return echoes to determine if a pneumothorax is present with no user interpretation required. The device has been evaluated in both trauma and surgical environments with sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 85%. It is has the CE Mark and is available for sale in Europe. Post market studies are planned starting in May of 2011. Clinical studies to support the FDA submission will be completed in the first quarter of 2012

I. Catalytic redox-initiated glycolate aldol additions of silyl glyoxylates II. Diastereoselective De Novo Synthesis of pentasubstituted gamma-butyrolactones from silyl glyoxylates and ketones via double Reformatsky reactions III. Progress toward the total synthesis of leustroducsin B

I. Catalytic Redox-Initiated Glycolate Aldol Additions of Silyl Glyoxylates An investigation of the reaction parameters necessary for achieving a catalytic redox-initiated glycolate aldol addition of silyl glyoxylates and metal alkoxides was performed. The reaction achieved catalytic turnover through the use of strain-release Lewis acidic silacycles, which effectively mediated the necessary alkoxide metathesis in the turnover step. Lanthanide (III) isopropoxides were found to be effective catalysts in this reaction, and praseodymium (III) isopropoxide in particular resulted in full conversion of the silyl glyoxylates in under five minutes. Preliminary efforts toward imparting asymmetry in the title reaction were also performed. II. Diastereoselective De Novo Synthesis of Pentasubstituted gamma-Butyrolactones From Silyl Glyoxylates and Ketones Via Double Reformatsky Reactions The development of a double Reformatsky reaction cascade from Reformatsky reagents, silyl glyoxylates, and aldehydes/ketones is discussed. The reaction affords highly substituted gamma-butyrolactones with an unexpectedly high level of diastereoselectivity when alkyl-aryl ketones are used as the terminating electrophiles. The use of monosubstituted Reformatsky reagents was determined to be necessary to achieve a high degree of diastereoselectivity, and a boat-like transition state model was proposed to account for the production of the major diastereomers. Several secondary transformations added to the synthetic utility of the lactone products. III. Progress Toward the Total Synthesis of Leustroducsin B Progress toward the total synthesis of leustroducsin B is presented. The synthesis commenced with an unprecedented three-component coupling reaction of silyl glyoxylates, Reformatsky reagents, and enantioenriched beta-lactones. The resulting Reformatsky/Claisen reaction cascade affords beta-hydroxyketone products with greater than 25:1 diastereomeric ratio. Strategies for the introduction of the dihydropyrone are discussed, along with the challenges faced in the functionalization of advanced intermediates. The optimized synthetic route to the advanced intermediate shown is presented as well as a discussion of projected endgame strategies

Diastereoselective Synthesis of Pentasubstituted γ-Butyrolactones from Silyl Glyoxylates and Ketones through a Double Reformatsky Reaction

Three contiguous stereocenters can be established with remarkable diastereoselectivity in a double Reformatsky sequence. Densely functionalized gamma-butyrolactones were assembled rapidly by this approach, in which a ketone is used as the terminal electrophile (see scheme). Secondary transformations of the lactone products enhance their synthetic utility. R(1) = Me, H; R(2) = alkyl, aryl, CF(3); Bn = benzyl, TBS = tert-butyldimethylsilyl

Catalytic Redox-Initiated Glycolate Aldol Additions of Silyl Glyoxylates

Lanthanide triisopropoxides catalyze a rapid, tandem MPV reduction/Brook rearrangement/aldol sequence between silyl glyoxylates and aldehydes that achieves catalytic turnover through alkoxide transfer from a strain-release Lewis acidic silacycle

Formal Synthesis of Leustroducsin B via Reformatsky/Claisen Condensation of Silyl Glyoxylates

A formal synthesis of leustroducsin B has been completed. The synthesis relies upon a recently developed Reformatsky/Claisen condensation of silyl glyoxylates and enantioenriched β-lactones that establishes two of the molecule's three core stereocenters and permits further elaboration to an intermediate in Imanishi's synthesis via reliable chemistry (Prasad reduction, asymmetric pentenylation, Mitsunobu inversion)

Remote Stereoinduction in the Acylation of Fully Substituted Enolates: Tandem Reformatsky/Quaternary Claisen Condensations of Silyl Glyoxylates and β-Lactones

Reformatsky reagents react sequentially with silyl glyoxylates and β-lactones to give highly functionalized Claisen condensation products. A heretofore undocumented instance of stereochemical 1,4-induction results in efficient transmission of β-lactone stereochemistry to the emerging fully-substituted stereocenter. Second-stage transformations reveal that the five heteroatom-containing functionalities embedded within the products are entirely chemo-differentiated, a circumstance that permits rapid assembly of the leustroducsin B core substructure

Three-Component Coupling Reactions of Silyl Glyoxylates, Vinyl Grignard Reagent, and Nitroalkenes: An Efficient, Highly Diastereoselective Approach to Nitrocyclopentanols

The sequential vinylation/[1,2]-Brook rearrangement/vinylogous Michael reaction provides (Z)-silyl enol ethers

Silyl Glyoxylates. Conception and Realization of Flexible Conjunctive Reagents for Multicomponent Coupling

This Perspective describes the discovery and development of silyl glyoxylates, a new family of conjunctive reagents for use in multicomponent coupling reactions. The selection of the nucleophilic and electrophilic components determines whether the silyl glyoxylate reagent will function as a synthetic equivalent to the dipolar glycolic acid synthon, the glyoxylate anion synthon, or the α-keto ester homoenolate synthon. The ability to select for any of these reaction modes has translated to excellent structural diversity in the derived three- and four-component coupling adducts. Preliminary findings on the development of catalytic reactions using these reagents are detailed, as are the design and discovery of new reactions directed toward particular functional group arrays embedded within bioactive natural products