Quantifier Elimination and Rectilinearisation Theorem for Generalised Quasianalytic Algebras

An algebra of germs of real functions is generalised quasianalytic if to each element of the algebra we can associate, injectively, a power series with nonnegative real exponents. We prove a quantifier elimination and a rectilinearisation result for generalised quasianalytic algebras

The Efficient Synthesis of 2-Arylamino-2-imidazolines, 2-Heteroaryl- Substituted Benzimidazoles, and Their Morpholin-4-ylmethyl Derivatives

2-Heteroaryl-substituted 1H-benzimidazoles were synthesized in good yields by heating the HSO3 adducts of heteroaromatic aldehydes with o-phenylenediamine in DMF under reflux. This procedure is more general and shorter than earlier methods. 2-Arylamino-2-imidazolines were prepared by heating dimethyl aryldithioimidocarbonates and ethylenediamine under reflux. The imine-enamine tautomerization of 2-arylamino-2-imidazolines was investigated by means of 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Morpholin-4-ylmethyl derivatives of the benzimidazole and imidazoline products were synthesized regioselectively by treatment with morpholine and formaldehyde. South African Journal of Chemistry Vol.55 2002: 119-123PDF and Supplemetry file attache

Station. Public Exodus Centers

MBArch - Màster Universitari en Estudis Avançats en Arquitectura-Barcelona: The Contemporary ProjectResearch focuses on the renovation of the abandoned or disused 19th-century railway stations to adapt them into the contemporary city as public exodus centers. The birth of railroad transportation became an evolution in transportation history, which was followed by the appearance of railway stations which evolved from simple cottages to cathedrals and palaces. Due to their “node” and “place” characters, station buildings became a convergence place of various social classes during history until the fall of railroad transportation in mid of 20th century and the abandonment of railway stations. On the contrary, stations, rather than being places keeping people away, have a very powerful potential to be hedonistic public spaces in contemporary cities through the five qualities that station buildings have. Thus, the research examines deeply three case studies that follow different strategies for the readaptation of abandoned 19th-century stations. Atocha Railway Station has been extended linearly behind the former station, and the historical building is used as a public space amidst the tropical garden. Railroads in Orsay Station have been moved laterally under the ground level, and the former station transformed into a museum which is a contemporary public space. The last case study, which is proposed by the author in Haydarpasa Railway Station, creates a new centrality by detaching the station terminal from the historical building. The former station is functioned as a cultural center, while the public space between the old and new station becomes a convergence place. Since railroad transportation is the strongest candidate to be the main actor of green and sustainable transportation in the near future, most 19th-century station buildings would gain importance to be the central point of dense transportation traffic. Thus, renovation of former stations as public exodus centers defines them as a meeting place for society and the city.Award-winnin

Natural Selection By Insect Pollinators and Seed Predators on Floral Head Traits of Helianthus Grosseserratus (Sawtooth Sunflower)

Flowering plants must invest energy and resources to produce floral displays that are attractive to pollinators, but these same displays may also attract detrimental insects. How floral traits are shaped by the preferences of both pollinators and herbivores/seed predators is not fully understood. Using Helianthus grosseserratus (sawtooth sunflower) as my study species, I investigated these conflicting selective pressures on floral head traits through a 2-year study in a large, unbroken tract of mesic prairie in Wisconsin. In the first season, I followed individual heads over time and recorded insect visitation patterns and phenological changes to floral head traits. I also dissected seed heads at the end of the flowering period and identified all seed predators to order. In the second year, I measured floral head traits (including disc area, ray area, and UV reflectance patterns) on the day when most florets were presenting pollen. I also performed a hand-pollination experiment to determine if the plants were pollen-limited or resource-limited. I recorded the number and percent developed seeds per head as measures of reproductive success and also counted and identified the seed predators in each head. I also measured the number of flowers surrounding the study head as an additional factor that may affect pollinator and herbivore/seed predator preference. Floral heads were visited by a diverse group of insects: 16 species from 7 orders were recorded. Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera were the most common visitors. These 3 orders had highest visitation on the second or third day of pollen presentation. Seed head dissection revealed 6 orders of insect, with Thysanoptera and Diptera being the most common. In year 2, I found that pollinators were required for seed set in this system, as heads that were bagged produced negligible seed. Heads in the hand-pollination treatment had fewer developed seeds and a lower percentage of developed seeds than heads that were open-pollinated, although these differences were not significant. These results suggest that the plants were more likely to be resource-limited than pollen-limited. However, hand-pollinated heads did have significantly more seed predators than open-pollinated heads, which likely reduced seed set. Disc area was the most important trait affecting both the number of developed seeds and the number of seed predators, with larger discs having both greater seed production and more seed predators. Disc area did not influence the percentage of developed seeds, suggesting that the effects on seed number reflect the fact that a larger head has more ovules rather than pollinator attraction. The UV patterning on study heads showed significant polymorphism, where some plants had a strong bulls-eye pattern on rays, while others had no clear demarcation (50% of heads in 2013 had no demarcation; 44% in 2014). My results showed there was no relationship between this patterning and number or percentage of developed seeds, but plants with a stronger bulls-eye pattern (likely because of a reduced amount of UV-absorbing defensive pigments) had more seed predators. These results suggest that UV patterning was important for defense against seed predators. In addition, floral heads with a large ray area had fewer seed insects, while those with a short head height and a large number of flowers in surrounding area had higher number and percentage of developed seeds. Such results highlight the complexities involved in the generalist pollination syndrome and the need to consider a multitude of floral head traits when analyzing plant/insect interactions

Resilient Families Project Web Application

In order to help The Resilient Families Project, a stress management course for at-risk families, we have created an online application to allow users to take stress examinations more frequently, and to record their thoughts and interactions pertaining to the project. In this paper, we document our thought process, design rationale and any other relevant information to the web application for the Resilient Families Project

Relative Pfaffian closure for definably complete Baire structures

Speissegger proved that the Pfaffian closure of an o- minimal expansion of the real field is o-minimal. Here we give a first order version of this result: having introduced the notion of definably complete Baire structure, we define the relative Pfaf- fian closure of an o-minimal structure inside a definably complete Baire structure, and we prove its o-minimality. We derive effec- tive bounds on some topological invariants of sets definable in the Pfaffian closure of an o-minimal expansion of the real field