Optimal Control of Cancer Chemotherapy with Delays and State Constraints

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - A mathematical model of cancer chemotherapy is considered as an optimal control problem with the objective of either minimizing a weighted sum of...     

Preparation and characterization of HypoGel-supported Pd nanocatalysts for Suzuki reaction under mild conditions

A new heterogeneous catalyst composed of Pd nanoparticles immobilized within a HypoGel resin has been prepared in the absence of any ligands using an extensive cross-linking method. This new-ly develop...     

Functionalized carbon nanomaterials as nanocarriers for loading and delivery of a poorly water-soluble anticancer drug: a comparative study

Carbon nanomaterials such as multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) have been functionalized by highly hydrophilic and biocompatible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) for loading and delivery of an anticancer drug, camptothecin (CPT). For the first time, CPT was loaded onto MWCNT-PVA and GO-PVA through π-π interactions and its capability to kill human breast and skin cancer cells was investigated.     

A heuristic approach to the multi-period multi-commodity transportation problem

This paper describes an approach to solving a real-world problem which involves the transportation of multiple types of commodities from a number of sources to a number of destinations in discrete time periods, using a capacitated heterogeneous fleet of vehicles. The preliminary objective is to minimize the total number of discrete periods needed to complete the entire operation. The problem is first formulated as a mixed integer programme and its tractability is then greatly improved by reformulating it through backward decomposition into two separate models and solved iteratively. A heuristic approach harnessing specific features of the second approach is developed for solving large size problems to obtain near-optimal solutions within reasonable time. The design of the heuristic also takes into consideration the secondary objectives of minimizing the total vehicle capacity used and minimizing the total capacity of sources needed to satisfy the demands at the destinations. Computational results are provided for a variety of randomly generated problems as well as problems from the literature. The approach described here may be applied to the multi-period transportation of personnel and goods from multiple starting points to multiple destinations in both military and civilian applications.     

Thermal behaviors and mechanical properties of halloysite nanotube-reinforced poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites

Poly(lactic acid)/halloysite nanotubes (PLA/HNTs) nanocomposites were prepared using melt compounding followed by compression molding. N,N′-ethylenebis(stearamide) (EBS) was used to improve the dispersion of HNTs and toughen the PLA nanocomposites. The thermal properties of PLA/HNTs nanocomposites were assessed by using differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analyzer (TG). The TG measurements were performed at both nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere. The mechanical properties of PLA/HNTs were characterized through tensile and impact tests. The morphological properties of the PLA/HNTs nanocomposites were investigated by using transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The degree of crystallinity of PLA nanocomposites was increased slightly by the addition of EBS. The decomposition process of PLA/HNTs depends on the atmosphere reaction during TG test as well as the amount of EBS. The best mechanical properties of PLA/HNTs nanocomposites expressed by the impact strength and elongation at break were achieved by the addition of 5 mass% of EBS.     

A Hybrid Approach to Multi-objective Linear Optimization

The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid and practical man-machine interactive approach to solving linear programmes involving more than one objective function. The approach incorporates all the strengths and avoids the weaknesses of some existing methods. It uses the solution of a two-person zero-sum game with mixed strategies to generate efficient solutions, and then proceeds to modify the feasible region using responses from the decision-maker. The cycle is repeated until a satisfactory solution is found. An example from the literature is solved using the proposed method in order to demonstrate its applicability. A microcomputer implementation of the method is described, with illustrations from actual screen displays. A comparison of the proposed method with 14 other existing methods is also presented.     

Ultra-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry targeted profiling of arachidonic acid and eicosanoids in human colorectal cancer

Cumulative evidence shows that eicosanoids such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes and hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acids play an important role in associating inflammation with human colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study an ultra‐pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the targeted profiling of eight relevant eicosanoids and the major metabolic precursor, arachidonic acid (AA), in human colon. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) experiments were performed in negative electrospray ionization mode. The metabolites were separated using a C₁₈ column consisting of 1.7 µm ethylene‐bridged hybrid particles (100 × 2.1 mm i.d.) and gradient elution (50 to 95% of solvent B) with a mobile phase comprising water (0.1% formic acid) [solvent A] and acetonitrile (0.1% formic acid) [solvent B] at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The analysis time for each sample was 5.5 min. Our UPLC/MS/MS method demonstrated satisfactory validation results in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, matrix effect, linearity, extraction efficiency, intra‐ and inter‐day precision, accuracy and autosampler stability. The method was applied for the clinical profiling of matched pairs of cancerous and normal colon mucosae obtained from eight colorectal cancer patients. Endogenous levels of AA and selected eicosanoids such as prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), prostacyclin (PGI₂) [assayed as its stable hydrolytic product 6‐keto‐prostaglandin_1α (6‐k PGF_1α)] and 12‐hydroxy‐5Z,8Z,10E,14Z‐eicosatetraenoic acid (12‐HETE) were found to be significantly different (p <0.05; paired t‐test) between cancerous and normal mucosae. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of parent graphite particle size on the electrochemistry of thermally reduced graphene oxide

Electrochemical applications of graphene are of very high importance. For electrochemistry, bulk quantities of materials are needed. The most common preparation of bulk quantities of graphene materials is based on oxidation of graphite to graphite oxide and subsequent thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide to thermally reduced graphene oxide (TR-GO). It is important to investigate to which extent a reaction condition, that is, composition of the oxidation mixture and size of graphite materials, influences the properties of the resulting materials. We characterised six graphite materials with a range of particle sizes (0.05, 11, 20, 32, 35 and 41 μm) and the TR-GO products prepared from them by use of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetric performance of the TR-GO samples was compared using ferro/ferricyanide and ascorbic acid. We observed no correlation between size of initial graphite and properties of the resultant TR-GO such as density of surface defects, amount of oxygen-containing groups, or rate of heterogeneous electron transfer (HET). A positive correspondence between HET rate and high defect density as well as low amounts of oxygen functionalities was noted. Our findings will have profound influence upon practical fabrication of graphene for applications in sensing and energy storage devices.