N–Phenyl Pyrroloimidazolone Derivatives for Stereoselective Birch Reduction-Alkylation and Chiral Imidazolylidene-Iridium Complexation

This thesis describes the synthesis and use of an N– based proline–derived directing group towards the Birch reduction, diastereoselective alkylation, and the synthesis of NHC–iridium complexes that are precursors for the study of intramolecular aryl C–H activation. A pair of ortho–benzoate esters containing epimeric pyrroloimidazolone chiral auxiliaries underwent sequential Birch reduction and diastereoselective alkylation to provide products ranging from a 50:50 to 95:5 dr for the anti– epimer, and 88:12 to >95:5 diastereomeric ratio (dr) for the syn– epimer. Single crystal X–ray analysis of key anti–epimer–derived products, along with the comparison of the optical rotation measurements of enantiomers that were prepared from the syn–or anti– starting materials to its known enantiomer confirmed the stereoselectivity of the products. This work includes related Schultz stereoselective Birch reduction alkylation of anisole with a chiral benzamide except that the pyrroloimidazolone replaces the achiral methoxy group and serves as the stereodetermining element. In addition, the synthesis and evaluation of the N–phenyl iridium complex derived from the annulated aminal with syn–stereochemistry in the backbone was achieved. Exposure of the neutral Ir–complexes to anionic nucleophiles such as MeLi resulted in an increase of electron density at the Ir atom that initiated C–H bond activation. Lastly, a N–heterocyclic carbene ligand derived from the N–benzyl analogue of the auxiliary was also investigated. Attempts to design a monodentate ligand as well as a bidentate ligand bearing an alcohol side chain were both shown to be unsuccessful at this time

On a decoupled linear FEM integrator for Eddy-current-LLG

We propose a numerical integrator for the coupled system of the eddy-current equation with the nonlinear Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The considered effective field contains a general field contribution, and we particularly cover exchange, anisotropy, applied field, and magnetic field (stemming from the eddy-current equation). Even though the considered problem is nonlinear, our scheme requires only the solution of two linear systems per time-step. Moreover, our algorithm decouples both equations so that in each time-step, one linear system is solved for the magnetization, and afterwards one linear system is solved for the magnetic field. Unconditional convergence -- at least of a subsequence -- towards a weak solution is proved, and our analysis even provides existence of such weak solutions. Numerical experiments with a micromagnetic benchmark problem underline the performance of the proposed algorithm.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Forecasting Foreign Exchange Rate by using ARIMA Model: A Case of VND/USD Exchange Rate

Forecasting foreign exchange rate is one work that supports to foreign exchange rate risk of commercial joint stock banks in Vietnam. By using real foreign exchange rate data from the first day of 2013 to the last day of 2015, this paper introduces Arima model with four steps to forecast foreign exchange rate between VND/USD in the next twelve months of 2016. After having forecasted foreign exchange data, we compare them with real foreign exchange rate data to check the suitable level of Arima model for forecasting foreign exchange rate in Vietnam and the results show that Arima model is suitable for estimating foreign exchange rate in Vietnam in short-time period. Keywords: Arima, Exchange Rate, Exchange Rate Forecasting, Stationary.

Impact of Exchange Rate Fluctuations on Business Risk of Joint Stock Commercial Banks: Evidence from Vietnam

The nearer Vietnamese New Year festival comes, the more foreign currency is demanded in order to respond for imports and exports. This need leads to an effervescent market in foreign exchange business of Join Stock Commercial Banks. The fundamental objective of this paper is to answer the three questions.  First, does joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam have to face foreign currency difficulties? Second, which factors impact on exchange rate? And finally, what solutions Joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam should follow in order to reduce exchange rate risk in foreign exchange business? The paper proceeds as follows. First this research will give some information about the fluctuation of foreign exchange rate in 2014. Next we will try to answer the question what make foreign exchange rate fluctuate by establishing one model using data from 2005 to 2014. The final part shows the derivative instruments that commercial banks in Vietnam often use for hedging foreign exchange rate risk. Keywords: Exchange rate, Exchange Rate Risk, Commercial Banks, Derivative Instrument

Interactions Between Resistance Genes In Wheat \u3ci\u3eTriticum aestivum\u3c/i\u3e L. And Wheat Curl Mite Populations \u3ci\u3eAceria tosichella\u3c/i\u3e Keifer (Eriophyidae)

Wheat curl mite (WCM) (Aceria tosichella Keifer) is a major pest of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), being the only known vector of three damaging plant viruses, Wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, and High Plains wheat mosaic virus. This wheat-mite-virus complex causes significant yield loss globally. Management has been mostly through cultural practices to reduce mite build up in volunteer wheat, thereby reducing the spread of viruses. Host plant resistance to WCM has also been used as an important management strategy for this wheat-mite-virus complex. However, WCM is a cryptic species complex, resulting in great variability in WCM responses to resistance genes in wheat. Also, the stability of WCM resistance has been questioned because of previous adaptation to one mite resistance gene (Cmc3). Changes in virulence of mite populations were examined after field selection and long-term (i.e., 6-8 months and 12 months) exposure to different mite-resistant wheat varieties TAM 107 (Cmc3), TAM 112 (Cmc3+Cmc4) and Byrd (Cmc4). Mite populations were allowed to go through multiple generations on resistant varieties to estimate their adaptation potential. Mite population counts and leaf curling symptoms were evaluated after short (14 days) and extended (28 days) mite infestation to estimate the stability of antibiosis and tolerance traits. Results indicate that the effectiveness of antibiosis on WCM populations was reduced with long-term mite exposure to TAM 112 but not for Byrd. This adaptation to the resistance in TAM 112 was only evident for the 12-month colony at the extended 28-day test period. In contrast, plant tolerance remained stable and effective throughout the 12-month colony period. The transcriptome-level responses of wheat to continued mite feeding and exposure of subsequent mite generations to plant defenses were examined. Results indicate potential mechanisms of resistance for Byrd containing the Cmc4 gene. Action of phytohormones, combined with lipid signaling and membrane integrity appear to play a role in response to WCM after 10-day-post-infestation (dpi). A higher number of molecular functions are activated at 10 dpi compared to previous work done at 1 dpi for this resistant variety. In addition, the importance of the genes located in the sub-genome D of the wheat in response to mite feeding is identified. Advisors: Gary L. Hein and Joe Loui

Gender Disparities in NLSY97: Educational Attainment and Income Level

This paper is designed to examine gender differences in education and their impact on education and occupation status, following the research Economic Rationale for Sex Differences in Education conducted by Janice Fanning Madden. Data was collected from the NLSY97 (National Longitudinal Survey) on American youth born between 1980-84. The sample originally included 8,984 respondents when first interviewed in 1997

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT ORAL CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES: A CASE AT COLLEGES IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Corrective feedback has received much attention in language teaching and learning, including English as a foreign language. However, little research has been done with regard to college teachers’ perceptions about this area of interest in speaking language classes. The present study, therefore, focuses on teachers’ perceptions about oral corrective feedback and its types at tertiary contexts within a local province of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger study consisting of questionnaires. The findings indicate that teachers had positive perceptions about oral corrective feedback. However, some considered oral corrective feedback as optional since they were concerned with learners’ uptake when provided with corrective feedback. Elicitation was the most favored technique, followed by meta-linguistic feedback. Furthermore, implications are also presented. Article visualizations