Herein I describe a model study to determine the feasibility of organic hydride donors as a source of hydride in the regeneration of ammonia borane. Hydride transfer was observed in the model system comprised of Hantzsch ester and several analogues, as the organic hydride donor, and tris(pentafluorophenyl)boron, as the boron-based hydride acceptor akin to BBr3. Side reactions could be minimized by varying the reaction conditions. We determined that a Lewis acid-base adduct was forming between the carbonyls of the donor and the hydride acceptor, that this adduct was dynamic in the case of Hantzsch ester and that it could be inhibited by bulkier ester groups or promoted by reducing the steric bulk at the carbonyl in the case of a methyl ketone. The thermodynamics of the hydride transfer reaction with an N-substituted analogue were probed via variable temperature NMR and compared to two differently substituted analogues. In addition, the scope of the sp2-sp3 Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling previously developed in our lab was extended to include 2-(1,2-diaryl)ethane pinacolborane scaffolds. In order to access this asymmetric scaffold, reaction conditions for the cross-coupling of a primary boronic ester in the presence of a secondary one were developed. Yields achieved for the linear cross-coupling were in the 70 % range and varied from 42 % to 69 % for the secondary position. These latter yields are in the same range as the hydroborated styrene scaffolds described in our first account demonstrating the broad scope of these reaction conditions. / Thesis (Master, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-30 14:43:02.652

No description available.

Reorganization of the intermediate filament (IF) network during axonal regeneration is accompanied by changes in the expression of various IF proteins. An increase in expression of the neuronal IF subunit gefiltin in goldfish retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) has been linked to the unique ability of the goldfish optic nerve to regenerate following injury. Evidence suggests that the optic tectum may regulate the expression of gefiltin during regeneration. The goal of this thesis was to determine the function of the tectum in the regulation of gefiltin mRNA expression during optic fiber regeneration in the goldfish. It was found that gefiltin mRNA levels in the RGCs of animals that received an optic nerve crush (ONC group) increased by 10 days, peaked from 20 to 38 days at around 5.5-fold over normal, and declined to near normal by 115 days. In animals that had the entire tectum removed and an optic nerve crush (ETR group), gefiltin mRNA levels increased by 10 days, peaked at 20 days at around 5.5- to 6.5-fold over normal, and although they dropped slightly thereafter, they remained elevated at around 5-fold over normal for at least 115 days. When axons regenerated to the ipsilateral tectal lobe as a result of a left tectal lobe removal and left eye removal surgery the expression pattern of gefiltin mRNA paralleled that of the ONC group. It was also found that the abundance of gefiltin subunits in the retina was elevated at 30 days of regeneration in ONC and ETR animals, and that levels in the nerve were reconstituted to 80% of normal by 30 days. These results demonstrate that increases in gefiltin mRNA and protein levels during optic nerve regeneration are independent of the tectum, whereas the downregulation of gefiltin mRNA levels is entirely dependent upon the tectum. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The objective of this research is to produce a critical case study of the European Union's modus operandi in approaching urban issues through an analysis of the formulation and operationalisation of its Structural Fund Initiative for deprived neighbourhoods, URBAN (1994-1999). The key actors and major events in the decision-making process, together with their methods of determining URBAN's main objectives, are the focus of the empirical study. The member states' strategies to operationalise the Community guidelines are illustrated by four local URBAN projects in London (Park Royal), Merseyside, Berlin and Duisburg-Marxloh. The central research question addresses the decisions regarding URBAN at EU, national and local case study level. More specifically, the study investigates the inputs and processes of the URBAN Initiative by applying the theoretical framework of policy networks and multi-level governance to EU decision making at the conceptual level. The investigation was undertaken by means of qualitative "elite" interviews with EU representatives, central and local government officials, and local project staff in the UK and Germany. By intensive analysis grounded in the empirical accounts, the study aims to identify three main issues: i) do professional elites and policy networks determine the EU's structural funding framework; ii) do policy networks evolve and operate conditionally to European, national and local circumstances; and iii) are the nature and characteristics of policy networks and multi-level governance related to the policy output. In the analytical framework, the concept of Multi-level Governance is understood to comprise the three notions of Participation, defined as Network Actor, Partnership. perceived as Network Interaction, and Multi-dimensionality, considered as Network Range. Hence, the study illustrates the conceptualisation process of the URBAN programme at EU level, as well as the national and local variations in the URBAN projects' formulation and operationalisation. These are a function of the specific constellation of and interplay between Participation, Partnership and Multi-dimensionality. The outcome of this study is a critical analysis of EU decision-making processes and policy performance related to urban governance, a governance which advances, albeit in a limited way, the EU's cohesion policy. Additionally, existing bodies of literature for the European, national and local level were drawn together into one multi-layered analytical framework of policy making and policy implementation.

No description available.

This thesis will explore the regeneration and transmission of Indigenous people’s knowledge systems and practices in our communities today. The Omushkegowuk Cree teaching of awuwanainithukik (living an authentic Cree way of life by following our ancestors values and beliefs) is used as a foundation for creating pathways of resurgence. A family’s journey of reciprocal ceremonial regeneration will be used as a case in point to reveal how Indigenous people can create meaningful and transformational changes within their minds and hearts when they begin to take action according to their ancestral teachings. The challenges Indigenous people encounter on their path of cultural regeneration will be discussed in light of the current religious, economic, political and psychological issues colonialism has inflicted upon our communities. By living according to the teaching of awuwanainithukik Indigenous people can regenerate their authentic ways of being in the world despite of the historical and continuing effects of colonialism. / Graduate

No description available.

The thesis examines the emergence and operation of public-private partnership for economic regeneration in Sheffield since c1985. The argument advanced is that changes in approach to economic policy over this period were part of a process of economic and political restructuring and fragmentation in the local state. The original contribution of this research is that it offers a detailed insight into one aspect of this process - the development of local economic policy that drew on a range of institutional and individual actors, producing both formal and informal mechanisms for articulating this approach. The co-operative framework that emerged was one which allowed the local authority a key position in the mediation of local interests, but that also magnified business input into local economic policy. This framework produced a politics that was about how the partners established co-operation, sought to resolve conflicts, and develop a consensus package for the city's regeneration. Acknowledging the emergence of a system of fragmented government suggests the need to tie together some general theoretical insights about the process of restructuring with the experience of change in particular places. Several perspectives are considered, but the thesis focuses on local corporatism, growth coalition and regime theory. The thesis suggests that despite some limitations, coalition and regime theory are useful for developing our understanding of partnership in Sheffield. The thesis is divided into two main sections. Firstly, it discusses some theoretical and interpretive issues within the literature on local government restructuring. Secondly, the thesis analyses the empirical investigation into the development and operation of the partnership in what was its formative stage. It considers why cooperation developed around the issue of economic regeneration, how such co-operation worked in practice, and the degree to which it represented a realignment in the structures and mechanisms for coping with urban economic change.

No description available.

A range of adsorbents have been evaluated for the adsorption of selected herbicide compounds from aqueous solution. The adsorption performance of LF -1, a carbonised polymer produced in the laboratory, Amberlite XAD-4, a commercially available polymeric adsorbent produced by Rohm and Haas and MN-200, a HypersolMacronet polymer produced by Purolite, were compared with a commercial activated carbon, Chemviron F -400. The pore size distributions of the adsorbents have been investigated using nitrogen adsorption. F-400, LF-1 and MN-200 were found to contain similar microporous structures. The carbons also possess a significant degree of mesoporous structure, which may enhance the diffusion of organic species into the micropores. The pore size distribution for XAD-4 shows an almost exclusive meso/macroporosity with very little microporous structure. Spectroscopic analysis and titration of the adsorbents indicated a number of different oxygen functional groups. XPS and elemental analysis suggested higher oxygen concentrations than those obtained using direct titration, which was attributed to bound oxygen within the structure of the adsorbents. The adsorption capacity of phenol was assessed as a characterisation technique. The capacity of the carbons was much greater than the polymeric adsorbents. Analytical techniques were developed and validated for the determination of trace levels (0.1 parts per billion) of five herbicides; atrazine, benazolin, bentazone, imazapyr and tric1opyr. Single and multi-component adsorption isotherms are presented for trace concentrations of the herbicides in aqueous solution. The effect of pH and fulvic acid upon the adsorption was also investigated. Mini-column experiments were performed using multi-component mixtures. In all cases, the uptake of herbicides on F -400 is greater than on the other adsorbents. Regeneration of F-400 and MN-200 was investigated usmg solvent stripping techniques. Significant regeneration efficiencies were observed using ethanol at pH 12 and 50°C to make the technique a viable option.