DESIGNING MOLECULAR RECOGNITION IN THE CONTEXT OF HYDROGEN BONDING AND MOLECULAR DYNAMICS

The effect of hydrogen bonding on the conformation of organic moleculesunifies two projects in this thesis. In one project, the stability of the intramolecularhydrogen bond in derivatives of 2-guanidinobenzimidazole was studied bydynamic 1H NMR spectrometry. The impact that this intramolecular hydrogenbond had on the bond order of the neutral guanidino group and on the dynamicconformation of these aromatic structures was related to the concept of hydrogenbond-assisted resonance. In another project, an oligomer possessing repetitiveconformation and capable of much inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bondingwas designed and synthesized. The sensitivity of this oligomer to changes inanion concentration, as well as its own propensity to self-aggregate weremeasured.Hydrogen bonds found in many biological oligomers are connected thougha system of conjugated bonds. Guanidinobenzimidazole is a conjugated systemof carbon and nitrogen, connected by an intramolecular hydrogen bond. Severalderivatives of guanidinobenzimidazole were synthesized, and the effect ofseveral simple alkyl for hydrogen substitutions were studied.Guanidinobenzimidazole was used as a model to study what effect theconjugation and the intramolecular hydrogen bond have on each other.The formation of redundant low energy hydrogen bonds is universal inbiological oligomers. In DNA and RNA multiple hydrogen bonds are formed witha typical energy contribution of only 1-2 kcal/mol. Individually, these interactionsdo not give the biological oligomers their conformational stability, but togetherthey are very stable. The urea and amide based oligomers designed in the workand discussed in the thesis should form multiple hydrogen bonds withthemselves and/or with anionic guests. Chiral oligoureas were designed topossess this characteristic of cooperative conformation that so many biologicaloligomers and polymers share

Calibration of Multicurrency LIBOR Market Models

This paper presents a methodf or calibrating a multi currency lognormal LIBOR Market Model to market data of at-the-money caps, swaptions and FX options. By exploiting the fact that multivariate normal distributions are invariant under orthonormal transformations, the calibration problem is decomposed into manageable stages, while maintaining the ability to achieve realistic correlation structures between all modelled market variables.currency options; LIBOR market model; exchange rate risk; interest rate risk

Work restructuring and changing craft identity: the Tale of the Disaffected Weavers (or what happens when the rug is pulled from under your feet)

This article explores the changes in worker identity that can occur during manufacturing restructuring – specifically those linked to the declining status of craft work – through an in-depth case study of Weaveco, a UK carpet manufacturer. An analysis of changes in the labour process is followed by employee reactions centred on the demise of the traditional craft identity of male carpet weavers. The voices of the weavers dramatize the tensions involved in reconstructing their masculine identity, and we consider the implications this has for understanding gendered work relations

Decadal erosion of coral assemblages by multiple disturbances in the Palm Islands, central Great Barrier Reef

Increases in the frequency of perturbations that drive coral community structure, such as severe thermal anomalies and high intensity storms, highlight the need to understand how coral communities recover following multiple disturbances. We describe the dynamics of cover and assemblage composition of corals on exposed inshore reefs in the Palm Islands, central Great Barrier Reef, over 19 years encapsulating major disturbance events such as the severe bleaching event in 1998 and Cyclone Yasi in 2011, along with other minor storm and heat stress events. Over this time, 47.8% of hard coral cover was lost, with a concomitant shift in coral assemblage composition due to taxon-specific rates of mortality during the disturbances, and asymmetric recovery in the aftermath thereof. High recruitment rates of some broadcast-spawning corals, particularly corymbose Acropora spp., even in the absence of adult colonies, indicate that a strong external larval supply replenished the stocks. Conversely, the time required for recovery of slow-growing coral morphologies and life histories was longer than the recurrence times of major disturbances. With interludes between bleaching and cyclones predicted to decrease, the probability of another severe disturbance event before coral cover and assemblage composition approximates historical levels suggests that reefs will continue to erode

Climate vulnerability assessment for Pacific salmon and steelhead in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

Major ecological realignments are already occurring in response to climate change. To be successful, conservation strategies now need to account for geographical patterns in traits sensitive to climate change, as well as climate threats to species-level diversity. As part of an effort to provide such information, we conducted a climate vulnerability assessment that included all anadromous Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.) population units listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Using an expert-based scoring system, we ranked 20 attributes for the 28 listed units and 5 additional units. Attributes captured biological sensitivity, or the strength of linkages between each listing unit and the present climate; climate exposure, or the magnitude of projected change in local environmental conditions; and adaptive capacity, or the ability to modify phenotypes to cope with new climatic conditions. Each listing unit was then assigned one of four vulnerability categories. Units ranked most vulnerable overall were Chinook (O. tshawytscha) in the California Central Valley, coho (O. kisutch) in California and southern Oregon, sockeye (O. nerka) in the Snake River Basin, and spring-run Chinook in the interior Columbia and Willamette River Basins. We identified units with similar vulnerability profiles using a hierarchical cluster analysis. Life history characteristics, especially freshwater and estuary residence times, interplayed with gradations in exposure from south to north and from coastal to interior regions to generate landscape-level patterns within each species. Nearly all listing units faced high exposures to projected increases in stream temperature, sea surface temperature, and ocean acidification, but other aspects of exposure peaked in particular regions. Anthropogenic factors, especially migration barriers, habitat degradation, and hatchery influence, have reduced the adaptive capacity of most steelhead and salmon populations. Enhancing adaptive capacity is essential to mitigate for the increasing threat of climate change. Collectively, these results provide a framework to support recovery planning that considers climate impacts on the majority of West Coast anadromous salmonids

Phi Mesons from a Hadronic Fireball

Production of $\phi$ mesons is considered in the course of heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies. We investigate the possible difference in momentum distributions of $\phi$ mesons measured via their leptonic ($\mu^+\mu^-$) and hadronic ($K^+K^-$) decays. Rescattering of secondary kaons in the dense hadron gas together with the influence of in-medium kaon potential can lead to a relative decrease of a $\phi$ yield observed in the hadronic channel. We analyze how the in-medium modifications of meson properties affect apparent - reconstructed momentum distributions of $\phi$ mesons. Quantitative results are presented for central Pb+Pb collisions at $E_{beam}=158 GeV/A$.Comment: style Revtex4,9 pages, 5 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.