A chance-constrained approach to stochastic line balancing problem

In this paper, chance-constrained 0–1 integer programming models for the stochastic traditional and U-type line balancing (ULB) problem are developed. These models are solved for several test problems that are well known in the literature and the computational results are given. In addition, a goal programming approach is presented in order to increase the system reliability, which is arising from the stochastic case.     

Graphene oxides/multi-walled carbon nanotubes hybrid-modified carbon electrodes for fast and sensitive voltammetric determination of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil in spiked human plasma samples

The electrochemical oxidation of anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at graphene oxides (GOs)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanohybrid-modified screen-printed carbon and glassy carbon electrodes was studied by voltammetric techniques. The modified electrodes showed better performance toward the electro-oxidation and determination of 5-FU compared to CNTs-modified or GOs-modified electrodes. The oxidation peak current obtained at about + 1.156 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) from square wave voltammetry was linearly dependent on the 5-FU concentration in the ranges of 0.05–5 and 5–1200 µM in phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.0. The developed method was applied successfully to the electrochemical sensing of 5-FU in human plasma samples at micro-molar concentration levels with satisfactory results. It is hopeful that the developed method in the future can be used for the simple and fast determination of 5-FU in clinical test and pharmacokinetics.     

Application of 1,4-Diaminoanthraquinone as a New Sensing Material for Fabrication of a Iron(III)-Selective Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

In the present work, a novel sensitive electrochemical potentiometric sensor for sensing Fe³⁺ ions based on 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone (DAQ) as a hydrophobic selector element was prepared to implement as an ion selective carbon paste electrode in the aqueous solutions. The adequate amounts of ionophore (5%), paraffin oil (25%) as a binder, Nanosilica (NS: 0.5%) multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs: 1%) as a modifier, and graphite powder (68.5%) as an inert matrix was occupied to form the paste. This new FeCP sensor demonstrated a Nernstian slope of 19.7 ± 0.7 mV per decade over widish linear range between 1.0 × 10^–8 to 1.0 × 10^–2 mol L^–1 at working pH range of 1.9–5.0 in the optimized conditions. The average elapsed time to response of electrode was about ~6 s for concentrations from lower (1.0 × 10^?8 mol L^–1) to higher (1.0 × 10^?2 mol L^–1) of Fe³⁺ ion solution. The selectivity of electrode toward Fe³⁺ ions in comparison with other cations was studied by matched potential method. The making FeCP sensor has been put to use successfully as an indicator electrode in analytical applications such as the potentiometric titration and determination of iron(III) ion in blend of different ions.     

A streptavidin linker layer that functions after drying

The ability of streptavidin (SA) to simultaneously bind four biotins is often used in linker layers, where a biotinylated molecule is linked to a biotin-functionalized surface via SA. For biosensor and array applications, it is desirable that the SA linker layer be stable to drying and rehydration. In this study it was observed that a significant decrease in binding capacity of a SA layer occurred when that layer was dried. For this study a SA linker layer was constructed by binding SA to a biotin-containing alkylthiolate monolayer (BAT/OEG) self-assembled onto gold. Its stability after drying was investigated using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Approximately a quarter of the SA layer was removed from the BAT/OEG surface upon drying and rehydration, suggesting disruption of SA-biotin binding when dry. This resulted in the dried SA layer losing approximately 40% of its biotinylated ferritin (BF) binding capacity. Coating the layer with trehalose before drying was found to inhibit the loss of SA from the BAT/OEG surface. SPR showed that the trehalose-protected SA linker layer retained approximately 91% of its original BF binding capacity after drying and rehydration. Atomic force microscopy, which was used to image individual surface-bound SA and BF molecules, qualitatively confirmed these observations.     

Gas-phase reactions of protonated tryptophan

The gas phase reactions of protonated tryptophan have been examined in a quadrupole ion trap using a combination of collision induced dissociation, hydrogen-deuterium exchange, regiospecific deuterium labeling and molecular orbital calculations (at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory). The loss of ammonia from protonated tryptophan is observed as the primary fragmentation pathway, with concomitant formation of a [M + H - NH(3)](+) ion by nucleophilic attack from the C3 position of the indole side chain. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange and regiospecific deuterium labeling reveals that scrambling of protons in the C2 and C4 positions of the indole ring, via intramolecular proton transfer from the thermodynamically preferred site of protonation at the amino nitrogen, precedes ammonia loss. Molecular orbital calculations have been employed to demonstrate that the activation barriers to intramolecular proton transfer are lower than that for NH(3) loss.     

Photocatalytic decarboxylative amidosulfonation enables direct transformation of carboxylic acids to sulfonamides

Sulfonamides feature prominently in organic synthesis, materials science and medicinal chemistry, where they play important roles as bioisosteric replacements of carboxylic acids and other carbonyls. Yet, a general synthetic platform for the direct conversion of carboxylic acids to a range of functionalized sulfonamides has remained elusive. Herein, we present a visible light-induced, dual catalytic platform that for the first time allows for a one-step access to sulfonamides and sulfonyl azides directly from carboxylic acids. The broad scope of the direct decarboxylative amidosulfonation (DDAS) platform is enabled by the efficient direct conversion of carboxylic acids to sulfinic acids that is catalyzed by acridine photocatalysts and interfaced with copper-catalyzed sulfur–nitrogen bond-forming cross-couplings with both electrophilic and nucleophilic reagents.

Sulfonamides are now accessible directly from carboxylic acids by a one-step, tricomponent decarboxylative amidosulfonation that provides the missing link between the two key functionalities.     

Biphasic epoxidation of 1-octene with H2O2 catalyzed by amphiphilic fluorinated Ti-loaded zirconia

A series of amphiphilic fluorinated zirconia containing titanium was prepared by titanium impregnation followed by fluorination and alkylsilylation of zirconium oxide. Physical properties of the resulting samples were characterized by XRD analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy, BET surface area analysis and EDAX analysis. The effects of fluorine and alkylsilane groups on the samples were studied by the epoxidation of 1-octene with aqueous hydrogen peroxide. The epoxidation of alkenes is one of the most important methods of functionalizing simple hydrocarbons. The amphiphilic fluorinated catalysts were more active and more efficient than the conventional titania-silica and zirconia-silica mixed oxides in linear alkene epoxidation; enhanced by the presence of alkylsilane and fluorine groups in the catalysts. Modification with alkylsilane successfully induces the hydrophobic behavior of zirconia which is hydrophilic in nature; whereas fluorine was chosen for its electron-withdrawing effect which further activates the titanium active sites.     

Smooth control of HIV/AIDS infection using a robust adaptive scheme with decoupled sliding mode supervision

In this paper, a robust adaptive controller subject to decoupled sliding mode controller as a supervisory controller has been implemented on the HIV infection dynamic model. A five-state dynamic model of HIV is utilized which the measurement of the CD4+T cells and the viral load counts are necessary to estimate all its parameters. Decoupled sliding mode control is a variable structure controller having significant and appropriate features, such as best tracking and regulation performance and robustness and elevate the performance of the controller. Generally, due to the importance of applied treatment strategy to mitigate viral escape, sliding mode control is utilized in accordance with PI control to deliver necessary control inputs. To achieve the least possible chattering, effectual methods such as the transfer function is used. To update the gains of PI control, an adaptation law is then employed. The results demonstrate the suitable performance of the controller via providing proper tracking performance, and also, elimination of the chattering problem and decrease the time of treatment. The number of infected CD4+ T-cells and the number of free virus particles can be controlled in less than five days. The proposed controller is capable of controlling the dynamic behavior of the virus concentration for different patients with the same control scheme.