全國中小學科展

2017年

Reactivity of styrylmalonates as synthetic equivalents of Donor–acceptor cyclopropanes with aldehydes in the presence of BF3•Et2O

Donor–acceptor cyclopropanes (DACs), which can act as sources of 1,2- and 1,3-zwitterions in the presence of Lewis acids, are widely used in organic synthesis for the preparation of various carbo- and heterocyclic compounds, including natural compounds and their analogues. To date, many types of DACs reactivity have been identified. However, the chemistry of styrylmalonates (isomers of DACs, which can be easily generated from DACs) is almost undescribed and has a powerful synthetic potential. The use of styrylmalonates as synthetic equivalents of DACs allows us cardinally change the known reaction pathways of DACs. In this work, a new strategy for cascade assembly of substituted pyrenes based on the reactions of styrylmalonates with aldehydes in the presence of BF3•Et2O has been developed. Generation of formal 1,2-zwitterionic intermediates owing to complexation of dicarboxylate groups with BF3•Et2O is the driving force of the reaction discovered. This method makes it possible to assemble pyrenes or 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-ones in one synthetic stage from readily available starting compounds with high regio- and diastereoselectivity, and use these pyrenes in futher reactions. We’ve optimized conditions of the reaction and synthesized a number of various substituted pyrenes. Moreover, the reaction shows good results with various aromatic and heteroaromatic substituents. Pyrenes can be easily purified by crystallization. Every product was obtained selectively and determined by full set of physical-chemical methods, including X-ray analysis. 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one skeleton is found in various natural compounds demonstrating a broad spectrum of biological activity, such as antiviral and antineoplastic.

Understanding the Modern Diagnoses of Protein C Deficiency "Pcd" with Unknown Gene Plays a Critical Role in the Inherited Thrombophilia

Protein C deficiency (PCD) is found in 1 out of 200 to 500 persons in the general global population which is also one of the common conditions of Inherited thrombophilia, it’s characterized by an increased tendency of blood to clot in human blood vessels. It is caused by several factors including mutations in the genes involved in thrombin binding, protein c activation and numerous clotting factors. This includes F5 (Factor 5 Leiden) gene on chromosome 1q24.2, F7 (Prothrombin) gene on chromosome 13q34, SERPINC1 (serpin peptidase inhibitor C) on chromosome 1q25.2, SERPIND1 (serpin peptidase inhibitor D) on chromosome 22q11.21, HRG (Histidine Rich Glycoprotein) on chromosome 3q27.3, PLAT (Plasminogen Activator) on chromosome 8q11.21 and THBD (Thrombomodulin) gene on chromosome 20p11.21. In the current study, a three Saudi families with inherited thrombophilia has been recruited to identify the underlying cause of this special condition. Whole exome sequencing, targeting all coding exons of the human genome, was performed using Illumina Nextera library preparation kits followed by paired-end sequencing on Illumina NextSeq500 instrument. Reads quality control was performed and reads were aligned to the reference genome using BWA software. Variants calling and annotation was performed using GATK. All known genes involved in causing inherited thrombophilia All known genes involved in causing PCD were excluded by whole exome sequencing. The genes that were previously reported to be involved in inherited thrombophilia were checked for any causative variant. No mutation has been identified in known genes. identifying a novel gene underlying PCD. The Result of this study will hopefully pave the way to better understanding the disease pathophysiology and help in developing DNA based diagnosis, carrier screening and somatic gene therapy.

How to spill your coffee

We all do it – walk along with a cup in hand, and carelessly spill it. While it’s usually more annoying than anything else, it happens to affect almost all of us, and little is done to minimise the likelihood of it occurring. So my aim was to explain the physics behind why we spill drinks when we walk, and to investigate how we can minimise the likelihood of this occurring. I broke this investigation into two distinct parts, explaining the system of the cup, and explaining the effect of walking. From initial observations, it was clear that the cup was a resonating system. Like any resonating system, the cup has a natural frequency. When the cup is oscillated – moved back and forth – at near this frequency, the size of the liquid oscillations is very large. This is because the acceleration is in phase with the motion of the liquid, so in each cycle maximum energy is input into the system. In my investigation I experimentally measured this natural frequency, and created a mathematical model to explain this frequency. It was also found that as the size of liquid oscillations in the cup increases, so does distortion of the fluid surface, possibly enabling spilling. To systematically analyse the effect of walking, I had subjects walk on a treadmill, so walking surface and speed were controlled. However, I also needed an accurate way of measuring the motion of a carried cup. Firstly, I tried to use video analysis; however I found this far too imprecise for measuring small changes in velocity of a cup. In the end I used a smartphone to record the acceleration of a carried cup, as acceleration is what causes the movement of liquid in a cup. This allowed surprisingly accurate measurements to be made, and allowed both the size and frequency of the acceleration to be recorded. In order to relate the system of the cup and the oscillation provided whilst walking I conducted a qualitative experiment into the effect of stride frequency on the likelihood of spilling. When stride frequency was very close to the natural frequency of the cup, spilling occurred almost instantly, while it did not occur if stride frequency was much higher or lower. In the end, my research showed that to minimise the likelihood of spilling your drink walk slowly, use a narrow cup, focus on walking smoothly, and fill the cup well below the rim. Despite this, some people happen to be much smoother cup carriers than others, likely due to their individual biomechanics. And, if you really don’t want to spill your drink, you can always use a lid.

The Locus of Mid-Tangent Points of Planar Curves

In this project, we defined a mid-tangent point with respect to a fixed point X and a tangent at a point Y on a planar curve C as a point on the tangent that is equidistant from X and Y. We studied the locus of mid-tangent points of conic sections. We found that the locus of mid-tangent points of most conic sections are non-linear curves. However, we observed and proved by using Euclidean geometry that the locus of mid-tangent points of circles are straight lines. The mapping defined by mid-tangent points was studied further. The similarity between a mid-tangent mapping and a stereographic projection was displayed as a one – to – one correspondence function. We also extended the concept of mid-tangent points to three dimensional space and found that the similarity with the stereographic projection was retained in higher dimensions. Finally, we studied the locus of mid-tangent points of a sphere to create a mapping of the sphere to a plane.

Investigating the Effect of Coloured Light on the Behaviour and Learning of Lymnae stagnalis

Lymnae stagnalis (pond snail) is emerging as a preferable invertebrate model in understanding neurological mechanisms because of its simple nervous system. A three-cell network mediates behaviours such as aerial respiration and research has shown that small, subtle changes occurring across the network might result in a disruption of natural behaviour (Lukowiak et al. 1995). It is also known that Lymnae features a more developed eye than other molluscs and studies have shown that various wavelengths of light can activate photoreceptors producing distinct electrophysiological responses (Sakakibara et al. 2004). However, no studies have looked beyond the electrophysiological response. The purpose of this project was to determine if coloured light would firstly, elicit a behavioural response as observed in its movement and secondly, affect learning and memory through the operant conditioning of its aerial respiration.

以蛋白質體學方法鑑定人類肝癌細胞經蕾莎瓦治療之預後的潛力生物標記 Identification of Potential Prognostic Biomarkers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Treated with Sorafenib

肝癌是死亡率極高的癌症。目前並無非侵入性方法判斷標靶藥物治療效果。蕾莎瓦(Sorafenib)是一種使用於肝癌晚期治療的標靶藥物,但有些病患在治療過程中會出現抗藥性,因此可預測蕾莎瓦治療效果的生物標記相當重要。 血液中的生物標記可及時追蹤疾病進展與預後之評估。本實驗利用質譜法鑑定分析在肝癌細胞(HuH7)中加入蕾莎瓦模擬治療後肝癌的分子機轉,並透過生物資訊軟體了解蛋白質在HuH7細胞中所扮演的角色。我們發現Galectin-3 和HMGB1可能參與腫瘤細胞的增生和遷移,以西方墨點法觀察其表現量,發現Galectin-3 和HMGB1在受到藥物處理後,表現量皆有下降的情形。 蕾莎瓦可抑制B-RAF激酶進而阻斷MAPK pathway。MAPK pathway又可分成ERKs、JNKs和p38/SAPKs三類。為確認Galectin-3之訊息傳遞路徑,將蕾莎瓦和ERK抑制劑處理細胞,發現Galectin-3的表現量隨著時間而下降,證實Galectin-3的表現會受到ERK路徑調控。 Galectin-3與 HMGB1是極具潛力的生物標記可應用於蕾莎瓦的治療,希望這些生物標記可以應用在臨床上。

SeedBot: Low-Cost Seeding Robot for Agricultural Applications

This paper presents a semi-autonomous seeding robot which is based on both electrical and mechanical platforms that perform advance agriculture process. SeedBot composed of four components: drilling mechanism, body of robot, seed container and paving mechanism. Other than those components the sensor system and the control system are also discussed. The aim of this study is designing and building a low-cost robotic system to automate and optimize process during farming especially for personal usage. This study demonstrates that semi-autonomous farming has crucial advantages over conventional farming. In addition to that, SeedBot provides safer, requires less manpower and precise farming than usual methods that we have so far.

故態復「蒙」,「日」新月異-Monge's theorem的性質探討與推廣

本研究以蒙日定理「平面上三圓彼此的外公切線交點共線」及其對偶定理「平面上三圓彼此的內公切線交點與另一圓的圓心的連線共點」出發,探討三圓更多由內、外公切線所產生的共點共線性質,進而探討四圓以上的情形,以及正多邊形、圓錐曲線等位似圖形,並推廣至空間中的球體。正如本研究作品名稱,我們將鮮少人研究的蒙日定理萌發出新枝,在日夜中茁壯,甚至最後有驚人的發現「在空間中n個外離的球,任意1個球的球心與另n-1個球的蒙日點連線會共交一點,此點稱之為n球的蒙日點」,此「點」發現,讓人不禁對宇宙中星體之間的關係產生更多無限的想像。

The impact of climate variability on infectious disease

Diarrhoea is an infectious disease that claims many lives (particularly among infants) and is known among many other infectious diseases, to have a relationship with climate. This projects quantifies this relationship by comparing health insurance treatment claims for diarrhoea and anti-diarrheal drug sales data from the private health sector with temperature and rainfall data provided by the South African Weather Service. The data were then analysed and show that incidence is highly seasonal and varies among regions with different seasonal climates. The results show that climate variability can explain 73% of diarrhea incidence variation with rainfall explaining 8% and minimum temperature explain the other 65 %. Preliminary predictions of future monthly percentage increases in incidence were then made for a series of time ranges. This project demonstrates that with predicted climate data one can predict future variations of diarrhoea allowing the health sector to be adequately prepared.

以線蟲動物模式評估漸凍人症之運動障礙

本研究探討TDP-43突變之漸凍人症(ALS)線蟲模式中的BLMP-1與其運動障礙之間的關係。在ALS患者的運動神經元內,Fas 訊息途徑活化之ASK1激酶被證實會導致軸突運輸障礙。在長壽漿細胞中,有研究發現BLIMP1可調控ASK1之表現。因此,本研究推測在TDP-43突變線蟲運動神經元中,BLMP-1(人類BLIMP1之同源蛋白質)會降低NSY-1(人類ASK1之同源蛋白質)表現,間接證明提升BLMP-1量有助改善癱瘓症狀。 本研究藉降低NSY-1表現的方式,分析線蟲之癱瘓程度與運動動能驗證Fas訊息途徑在線蟲中亦對運動功能障礙有顯著促進,確認其作為本研究模式生物之合理性。此外,將其側腹神經索中的BLMP-1表現量下降,發現其運動功能急遽惡化。最後將兩基因之表現量下降,則運動功能改善。 本研究首度證實線蟲之BLMP-1能有效的阻礙NSY-1所造成之運動障礙,且降低BLMP-1表達量會加劇其癱瘓症狀。此研究之發現對SOD1突變引起的ALS治療提供一個新研究方向及治癒的可能性。