DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL ELECTROPHILIC RUTHENIUM(II) AND IRIDIUM(III) COMPLEXES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS AS HOMOGENEOUS CATALYSTS

Our aim was to develop the synthetic potential and reaction chemistry of Ir3+ and Ru2+ electrophiles by preparing well-characterized complexes whose properties are controllable by modification of the ancillary ligand environment Specifically, we prepared a series of ruthenium complexes to serve as selective hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis catalysts of furan derivatives. We also expanded the synthesis of electrophilic Ir3+ di-thiolate complexes. These types of compounds could eventually serve as catalysts precursors for the addition of weak nucleophiles to alkynes and nitriles

Keynote - Mark Bontrager - Necessary Conditions and Infrastructure for a Successful Multi-User Spaceport

Space Florida was created to strengthen Florida’s position as the global leader in aerospace research, investment, exploration and commerce. As Florida’s spaceport authority and aerospace development organization, Space Florida is committed to attracting and expanding the next generation of space industry businesses. The future of successful spaceports will be dependent on a balance and co-location of commercial, civil, and defense activities in aviation and space flight operations. Operations may include: general aviation; horizontal rocket powered liftoff (suborbital) and glided landings; traditional vertical rocket launches and newly evolving rocket stage return; aviation systems with unique commodities for air launch payloads; unmanned aircraft systems; and localized vertical take-off and landings for technology development or suborbital flights. Spaceports require necessary conditions in the early stages of master plan development to address a diverse multi-modal transportation portfolio, which includes multiple regulation regimes for airspace and land use that directly impact potential customers. An example of a successful multi-user commercial spaceport would be one that could spread their operations costs across several customers. Spaceports can be built to suit at a heavy price or existing infrastructure can be leveraged and readapted to fulfill user needs. Florida case studies will include the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center and Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, to see how they qualitatively rank against the necessary conditions along with Space Florida’s role in preparing those locations for future business

Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part I—an examination of cancellous bone architecture in the hindlimb bones of theropods

This paper is the first of a three-part series that investigates the architecture of cancellous (‘spongy’) bone in the main hindlimb bones of theropod dinosaurs, and uses cancellous bone architectural patterns to infer locomotor biomechanics in extinct non-avian species. Cancellous bone is widely known to be highly sensitive to its mechanical environment, and has previously been used to infer locomotor biomechanics in extinct tetrapod vertebrates, especially primates. Despite great promise, cancellous bone architecture has remained little utilized for investigating locomotion in many other extinct vertebrate groups, such as dinosaurs. Documentation and quantification of architectural patterns across a whole bone, and across multiple bones, can provide much information on cancellous bone architectural patterns and variation across species. Additionally, this also lends itself to analysis of the musculoskeletal biomechanical factors involved in a direct, mechanistic fashion. On this premise, computed tomographic and image analysis techniques were used to describe and analyse the three-dimensional architecture of cancellous bone in the main hindlimb bones of theropod dinosaurs for the first time. A comprehensive survey across many extant and extinct species is produced, identifying several patterns of similarity and contrast between groups. For instance, more stemward non-avian theropods (e.g. ceratosaurs and tyrannosaurids) exhibit cancellous bone architectures more comparable to that present in humans, whereas species more closely related to birds (e.g. paravians) exhibit architectural patterns bearing greater similarity to those of extant birds. Many of the observed patterns may be linked to particular aspects of locomotor biomechanics, such as the degree of hip or knee flexion during stance and gait. A further important observation is the abundance of markedly oblique trabeculae in the diaphyses of the femur and tibia of birds, which in large species produces spiralling patterns along the endosteal surface. Not only do these observations provide new insight into theropod anatomy and behaviour, they also provide the foundation for mechanistic testing of locomotor hypotheses via musculoskeletal biomechanical modelling

Lumbar Vertebral Body Bone Microstructural Scaling in Small to Medium‐Sized Strepsirhines

Bone mass, architecture, and tissue mineral density contribute to bone strength. As body mass (BM) increases any one or combination of these properties could change to maintain structural integrity. To better understand the structural origins of vertebral fragility and gain insight into the mechanisms that govern bone adaptation, we conducted an integrative analysis of bone mass and microarchitecture in the last lumbar vertebral body from nine strepsirhine species, ranging in size from 42 g ( Microcebus rufus ) to 2,440 g ( Eulemur macaco ). Bone mass and architecture were assessed via µCT for the whole body and spherical volumes of interest (VOI). Allometric equations were estimated and compared with predictions for geometric scaling, assuming axial compression as the dominant loading regime. Bone mass, microarchitectural, and vertebral body geometric variables predominantly scaled isometrically. Among structural variables, the degree of anisotropy (Tb.DA) was the only parameter independent of BM and other trabecular architectural variables. Tb.DA was related to positional behavior. Orthograde primates had higher average Tb.DA (1.60) and more craniocaudally oriented trabeculae while lorisines had the lowest Tb.DA (1.25), as well as variably oriented trabeculae. Finally, lorisines had the highest ratio of trabecular bone volume to cortical shell volume (∼3x) and while there appears to be flexibility in this ratio, the total bone volume (trabecular + cortical) scales isometrically (BM 1.23 , r 2 = 0.93) and appears tightly constrained. The common pattern of isometry in our measurements leaves open the question of how vertebral bodies in strepsirhine species compensate for increased BM. Anat Rec, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96425/1/22632_ftp.pd

Trabecular and cortical bone structure of the talus and distal tibia in Pan and Homo

$\textbf{Objectives:}$ Internal bone structure, both cortical and trabecular bone, remodels in response to loading and may provide important information regarding behavior. The foot is well suited to analysis of internal bone structure because it experiences the initial substrate reaction forces, due to its proximity to the substrate. Moreover, as humans and apes differ in loading of the foot, this region is relevant to questions concerning arboreal locomotion and bipedality in the hominoid fossil record. $\textbf{Materials and methods:}$ We apply a whole-bone/epiphysis approach to analyze trabecular and cortical bone in the distal tibia and talus of $\textit{Pan troglodytes}$ and $\textit{Homo sapiens}$. We quantify bone volume fraction (BV/TV), degree of anisotropy (DA), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), bone surface to volume ratio (BS/BV), and cortical thickness and investigate the distribution of BV/TV and cortical thickness throughout the bone/epiphysis. $\textbf{Results:}$ We find that $\textit{Pan}$ has a greater BV/TV, a lower BS/BV and thicker cortices than $\textit{Homo}$ in both the talus and distal tibia. The trabecular structure of the talus is more divergent than the tibia, having thicker, less uniformly aligned trabeculae in $\textit{Pan}$ compared to $\textit{Homo}$. Differences in dorsiflexion at the talocrural joint and in degree of mobility at the talonavicular joint are reflected in the distribution of cortical and trabecular bone. $\textbf{Discussion:}$ Overall, quantified trabecular parameters represent overall differences in bone strength between the two species, however, DA may be directly related to joint loading. Cortical and trabecular bone distributions correlate with habitual joint positions adopted by each species, and thus have potential for interpreting joint position in fossil hominoids.This research was supported by The Max Planck Society and the European Research Council Starting Grant #336301