SUPPORTING DOMAIN SPECIFIC WEB-BASED SEARCH USING HEURISTIC KNOWLEDGE EXTRACTION

Modern search engines like Google support domain-independent search over the vast information contained in web documents. However domain-specific information access, such as finding less well-known people, locations, and events are not performed efficiently without users developing sophisticated query strategies. This thesis describes the design and development of an application to support one such domain-specific information activity: for insurance (and related) companies to identify weather and natural disaster damage to better assess when and where personnel will be needed. The approach presented to supporting such activity combines information extraction with an interactive presentation of results. Previous domain specific search engines extract information about papers, people, and course information using rule-based or learningbased techniques. However they use the results of information extraction in a typical query and list of results interface. They fail to address the need for interaction based on the extracted document features. The domain specific web-based search application developed in this project combines information extraction with the interactive display of results to facilitate rapid information location. A heuristic evaluation was performed to determine whether the application met the design goals and to improve the design. Thus the final application has an unconventional but interactive presentation of the results with the use of tree based display. The application also allows options for user specific results caching and modification of the search and caching process. With a heuristic based search process it extracts information about place, date and damages regarding a specific disaster using a bank of search heuristics developed

Synthesis of 2-Acylphenol and Flavene Derivatives from the Ruthenium-Catalyzed Oxidative C-H Acylation of Phenols with Aldehydes

The cationic ruthenium hydride complex [(C6H6)(PCy3)(CO)RuH]+BF4− has been found to be an effective catalyst for the oxidative C–H coupling reaction of phenols with aldehydes to give 2-acylphenol compounds. The coupling of phenols with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes selectively gives the flavene derivatives. The catalytic method mediates direct oxidative C–H coupling of phenol and aldehyde substrates without using any metal oxidants or forming wasteful byproducts

Evaluation of alternative solvents in common amide coupling reactions : replacement of dichloromethane and N,N-dimethylformamide

A range of alternative solvents have been evaluated within amidation reactions employing common coupling reagents with a view to identifying suitable replacements for dichloromethane and N,N-dimethylformamid

α-Methylenation of methyl propanoate via catalytic dehydrogenation of methanol

A one-pot system for the conversion of methyl propanoate (MeP) to methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been investigated. In particular, this study is focused on the possibility of performing catalytic dehydrogenation of methanol for the in situ production of anhydrous formaldehyde, which is then consumed in a one-pot base-catalysed condensation with MeP to afford methyl 3-hydroxy-2-methylpropanoate, which spontaneously dehydrogenates to MMA, some of which is subsequently hydrogenated to methyl 2-methypropanoate (MiBu).PostprintPostprintPeer reviewe

POP-type ligands : Variable coordination and hemilabile behaviour

Hemilabile ligands – ligands containing two or more potential donors to a metal centre, of which one or more can dissociate – have the ability to provide a transition metal complex with open coordination sites at which reactivity can occur, or stabilise low coordinate intermediates along reaction pathways. POP-type ligands and in particular POP, Xantphos, DBFphos and DPEphos-based ligands contain three possible binding sites: two phosphines and an ether linker, thus have the potential to show κ1-, κ2- or κ3-binding modes. This review summarises the examples where POP-type ligands display hemilabile, or closely related variable coordination, characteristics in either synthesis or catalysis

Nucleophilic additions to coordinated 1,10-phenanthroline: intramolecular, intermolecular, reversible, and irreversible

KN(SiMe3)2 reacts with [Re(CO)3(phen)(PMe3)]OTf via reversible addition to the phen ligand and irreversible deprotonation of the PMe3 ligand followed by intramolecular attack to phen by the deprotonated phosphane, whereas MeLi irreversibly adds to phen. The addition of MeLi has been shown to be intermolecular, unlike previously known nucleophilic additions to pyridines.The authors thank MINECO and FEDER (grant CTQ2015-70231-P) and Principado de Asturias (grantFC-15-GRUPIN14-103) forfunding, and Ministerio de Educación for an FPU predoctoral fellowship (to R.A.).Peer reviewe