Hybridization between pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) subspecies in natural and human-mediated contact zones

Hybridization is particularly important for evolutionary and speciation processes. It promotes evolutionary divergence between lineages by reinforcing reproductive isolation mechanisms to avoid the erosion of the spatial genetic structure and the production of unfit hybrids. Additionally, hybridization creates novel taxa by the fusion of interacting lineages. However, introgressive hybridization leads to conservation problems when introgression happens between threatened lineages and non-native or domesticated lineages. In such cases, introgressive hybridization may lead to the genetic swamping of one lineage and to the loss of the entire taxon. Hybrids often harbour novel genetic combinations and novel adaptations that provide them a higher potential to adapt to environmental changes and colonize new ecological niches. In the future, conservation of hybrids might provide additional genetic diversity for species to cope with alterations in their environment. In my thesis, I investigated hybridization and introgression between European pond turtle subspecies (Emys orbicularis) by combining nuclear microsatellites and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene: I reported that introgressive hybridization between pond turtle subspecies occured in natural and human-mediated contact zones. Outcomes of introgressive hybridization between European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) subspecies indicated that E. o. orbicularis and E. o. hellenica subspecies and hybrids may have better fitness than E. o. galloitalica subspecies and hybrids under Swiss environmental conditions. Furthermore, I developed an eDNA-based methodology to detect the presence of pond turtles and investigated the efficiency of two water sampling methods. Finally, results of this thesis provided scientific knowledge to the Swiss national conservation programme of the European pond turtle

Development of iron catalysts for hydrogenation and polymerization

Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden eine Reihe von neuen, einfach herzustellenden Eisenhydrierkatalysatoren eingeführt. Verschiedenste Aspekte dieser neuen Hydrierkatalysatoren wie Eisenquelle, Aktivierungsmittel, Substrate und Effizienz wurden untersucht. Ein ligandfreier Katalysator, hergestellt aus einer Eisen(II)chlorid-Suspension aktiviert mit Diisobutylaluminiumhydrid (DIBAH), weist die grösste Aktivität auf. Alle Arten von C-C-Doppelbindungen wie mono-, di- oder trisubstituierte, acyclische oder cyclische, isolierte oder konjugierte Doppelbindungen sowie Alkine werden von diesem Katalysator unter milden Bedingungen (3 bar Wasserstoffdruck, Raumtemperatur) in kurzer Zeit quantitativ hydriert. Sowohl TON wie auch TOF steigen mit zunehmender Menge Aktivierungsmittel, bis bei einem Verhältnis FeCl2/DIBAH 1:8 mit TON = 1900 und TOF = 125 h-1 der effizienteste Katalysator erhalten wird. Mit Ausnahme von Ethern und Aminen verhindert die Verwendung eines starken Reduktionsmittels zur Aktivierung die Hydrierung von funktionalisierten Olefinen. In Abwesenheit von Wasserstoff H2 konnte katalytische Aktivität für Alkinpolymerisierungs- und Alkincyclotrimerisierungsreaktionen nachgewiesen werden. Ferner kann dieser Katalysator zur Polymerisierung von Acetylen eingesetzt werden. Bei dem Versuch, die in diesen Fällen katalytisch aktive Spezies zu identifizieren fand man einen homogenen Präkatalysator, welcher erstaunliche Effizienz aufweist (TOF > 340 h-1). Abgeleitet von der angenommenen Struktur dieses Präkatalysators wurden eine Reihe von Allylbenzylether synthetisiert, welche als Liganden getestet wurden. Die entsprechenden Katalysatoren, erhalten durch Aktivierung mit Alkyllithiumreagenzien, weisen Alkenhydrier- und Ethylenoligomerisierungsaktivität auf.In the scope of this work, a series of new, easy to prepare iron hydrogenation catalysts have been introduced. Different aspects of this new hydrogenation catalysts such as iron source, activation reagent, substrates and efficiency were investigated. A ligand-free catalyst, prepared from an iron(II) chloride suspension activated with diisobutylaluminiumhydride (DIBAH), showed the highest activity. With this catalyst all kind of C-C double bonds like mono-, di- or trisubstituted, acyclic or cyclic, isolated or conjugated double bonds as well as alkynes were hydrogenated quantitatively under mild conditions (3 bar hydrogen pressure, room temperature) within short time. Both TON and TOF scale with the added amount of activation reagent up to a 1:8 FeCl2/DIBAH ratio furnishing the most active catalyst with TON = 1900 and TOF = 125 in this case. With the exception of ethers and amines, the use of strong reducing agents as activators prevents the hydrogenation of functionalized olefins. In absence of hydrogen H2, catalytic activity for alkyne polymerization and cyclotrimerization was observed. Furthermore, this catalyst is able to promote the polymerization of acetylene. Attempts to identify the catalytic active species led to the development of a homogeneous precatalyst showing an amazing efficiency (TOF > 340 h-1). Derived from the assumed structure of this precatalyst, a series of allylbenzylethers were synthesized and tested as ligands. The corresponding catalysts, obtained by activation with alkyllithium reagents, display alkene hydrogenation and ethylene oligomerization activity

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF): raising awareness of the user benefits for scholarly editions

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), an initiative born in 2011, defines a set of common application programming interfaces (APIs) to retrieve, display, manipulate, compare, and annotate digitised and born-digital images. Upon implementation, these technical specifications have offered institutions and end users alike new possibilities. In Switzerland, only a handful of organizations and projects have collaborated with the IIIF community. For instance, e-codices, the Virtual Manuscript Library, implemented in December 2014 the two core IIIF APIs (Image API and Presentation API). Since then, no other Swiss collection has fully complied with the IIIF specifications to make true interoperability possible. The NIE-INE project, overseen by the University of Basel and funded by Swissuniversities, has aimed to build a national platform for scientific editions. There is a shared rationale between NIE-INE and IIIF who both advocate flexible and consistent technical architecture as well as providing high-quality user experience (UX) in their content delivery. Remote and in-person usability tests were conducted on the Universal Viewer (UV) and Mirador, two IIIF-compliant image viewers deployed by many IIIF implementers, in order to assess their satisfaction and efficiency as well as their perceived usability. NIE-INE was the target audience of the usability testing with a view to evaluating how scholarly research and the wider scientific community could benefit from leveraging IIIF-compliant technology. To conclude this bachelor’s thesis, a set of recommendations, based on the usability testing results and throughout this assignment, was drawn for the developing teams of both viewers, the IIIF community and the NIE-INE team members