The report by List, Lerner, and Barbas1 in 2000 of an intermolecular direct aldol reaction catalyzed by proline became an unexpected watershed for the field of organocatalysis.2-4 Pihko and co-workers4b,c were the first to observe significantly higher yields with addition of water to intermolecular aldol reactions, even allowing employment of stoichiometric substrate ratios in some cases. This ...

The process of suburbanization of Riyadh, a city of 4.5 million inhabitants, offers a unique situation in which the urban morphology of the city can be examined in light of socio-political and economic conditions. Central government ordinances helped create 'dysfunctional' sprawl by mandating big lots and over wide streets. Fifty percent of the city's urban plan of approximately 1,300 square ki...

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one the most common durability issues for reinforced concrete (RC) structures, especially when located in marine areas. The study mechanical consequences this pathology great importance to assess their performance. Experimental campaigns have been carried out on corroded structures. So far, assessing quasi-static behavior or predicting dynamic response struct...

Drought index is a useful tool to assess and respond to drought. However, current drought indices could not fully reveal land use effects and they have limitations in applications. Besides, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), strongly influences the climate of Florida. Hence, understanding ENSO patterns on a regional scale and developing a new land use drought index suitable for Florida are cr...

Solok rice is an important agricultural commodity that contributes significantly to the economic prosperity of West Sumatra region. As indigenous knowledge from Sumatra, development and preservation can stimulate a nationwide increase in production. The cumulative effects entire sequence activities comprising production will impact environmental quality due increased output. Therefore, Life Cyc...

We examine the trans-Pacific transport of mercury using a global chemical transport model. Using existing anthropogenic inventories, the model reproduces the observed Hg/CO ratio in Asian long-range transport events observed at a surface site in Okinawa, Japan and Mount Bachelor, Oregon, with an underestimate of 18-26% in the ratio. This is in contrast with previous studies that inferred a fact...