Challenges in validating the sterilisation dose for processed human amniotic membranes

Most of the tissue banks in the Asia Pacific region have been using ionising radiation at 25 kGy to sterilise human tissues for save clinical usage. Under tissue banking quality system, any dose employed for sterilisation has to be validated and the validation exercise has to be a part of quality document. Tissue grafts, unlike medical items, are not produced in large number per each processing batch and tissues relatively have a different microbial population. A Code of Practice established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2004 offers several validation methods using smaller number of samples compared to ISO 11137 (1995), which is meant for medical products. The methods emphasise on bioburden determination, followed by sterility test on samples after they were exposed to verification dose for attaining of sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10⁻¹. This paper describes our experience in using the IAEA Code of Practice in conducting the validation exercise for substantiating 25 kGy as sterilisation dose for both air-dried amnion and those preserved in 99% glycerol.     

A novel direct method for preparation of aromatic polyimides via microwave-assisted polycondensation of aromatic dianhydrides and diisocyanates

Possibility of imide structure formation under microwave irradiation of molecules containing anhydride and isocyanate functional groups was investigated. The microwave-assisted polycondensation of aromatic diisocyanates and dianhydrides for preparation of polyimides was studied. The effect of microwave irradiation time and power, solvent nature, solid content of monomers, effect of catalyst, effect of polymerization reactor material and possibility of pressure development during polymerization, on the inherent viscosity of prepared polyimides were discussed. Experimental results showed that polymers obtained via this method had superior inherent viscosity and yield in comparison to the polymers obtained via conventional solution method.     

Structural Elucidation of {[(CH3)2SnCl2·H2O]2·18-crown-6} n and its Hydrogen Bonding in Solution by HMBC Spectroscopy

Behavior of {[(CH₃)₂SnCl₂·H₂O]₂·18-crown-6}_n in solution have been investigated by HMBC NMR. The results show that coordination of water to tin containing species and its hydrogen bonding to crown ether remains intact in non-coordinating solvent in contrast to coordinating solvent. H-NMR reveals that the chemical shift of water in complex varies by solvent of crystallization.     

Quantitative reaction cascades of ninhydrin in the solid state

Crystalline ninhydrin (1) undergoes waste-free solid-state cascade reactions with dimedone, L-proline, three o-phenylenediamines, o-mercaptoaniline, two ureas, three thioureas, and methyl 3-aminocrotonate. The yields are quantitative and give pure crystalline products without workup just by milling stoichiometric mixtures of the crystalline reagents. The structures of the new and the previously obtained products with lower yields from solutions are established or confirmed by spectroscopic data and density functional calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. The success of 3- and 4-cascade reactions in the crystal without melting is unusual and of unmatched atom economy. They are mechanistically investigated with atomic force microscopy techniques (AFM) on six different faces of 1 when o-phenylenediamine was the reagent (substitution, elimination, cyclization, elimination) and interpreted on the basis of known crystal structure data. Strict correlations to the crystal packings are observed. The characteristic surface features grow to microm heights in some cases at distances of 0.5 mm from the contact edge of the reacting crystals. The waste-free and easy syntheses of highly functionalized (C=O; O-H; C=N) heterocycles or of a tetraketone are also of interest for synthetic use.     

Normal subgroup based power graph of finite groups

Ricerche di Matematica - Let G be a finite group and $$N \unlhd G$$ . The normal subgroup based power graph of G, $$\Gamma _N(G)$$ , is an undirected graph with vertex set $$(G{\setminus }N) \cup...     

Optimizing pig marketing decisions under price fluctuations

In the manufacturing of fattening pigs, pig marketing refers to a sequence of culling decisions until the production unit is empty. The profit of a production unit is highly dependent on the price of pork, the cost of feeding and the cost of buying piglets. Price fluctuations in the market consequently influence the profit, and the optimal marketing decisions may change under different price conditions. Most studies have considered pig marketing under constant price conditions. However, because price fluctuations have an influence on profit and optimal marketing decisions it is relevant to consider pig marketing under price fluctuations. In this paper we formulate a hierarchical Markov decision process with two levels which model sequential marketing decisions under price fluctuations in a pig pen. The state of the system is based on information about pork, piglet and feed prices. Moreover, the information is updated using a Bayesian approach and embedded into the hierarchical Markov decision process. The optimal policy is analyzed under different patterns of price fluctuations. We also assess the value of including price information into the model.

     

On the nilpotent * - Fourier transform

LetG be a nilpotent Lie group. The adapted nilpotent Fourier transform was introduced by D. Arnal and J. C. Cortet,:L(G) C (V,L(^2d )), whereL(G) is the Schwartz space ofG andV × ^2k is aG-invariant Zariski open set ing ^* the dual of the Lie algebra ofG. We prove the surjectivity of this transformation, which allows us to extend it to distribution spaces.     

On a bosonic-parafermionic realization ofU_q (\widehat{sl(2)})

We realize the current algebra at an arbitrary level in terms of one deformed free bosonic field and a pair of deformed parafermionic fields. It is shown that the operator product expansions of these parafermionic fields involve an infinite number of simple poles and simple zeros, which then condensate to form a branch cut in the classical limitq1. Our realization coincides with those of Frenkel-Jing and Bernard when the levelk takes the values 1 and 2, respectively.     

Boolean logic functions of a synthetic peptide network

Living cells can process rapidly and simultaneously multiple extracellular input signals through the complex networks of evolutionary selected biomolecular interactions and chemical transformations. Recent approaches to molecular computation have increasingly sought to mimic or exploit various aspects of biology. A number of studies have adapted nucleic acids and proteins to the design of molecular logic gates and computational systems, while other works have affected computation in living cells via biochemical pathway engineering. Here we report that de novo designed synthetic peptide networks can also mimic some of the basic logic functions of the more complex biological networks. We show that segments of a small network whose graph structure is composed of five nodes and 15 directed edges can express OR, NOR, and NOTIF logic.     

Additional peaks in the cluster size distribution of amphiphile + water systems: a clue for shape/phase transition or statistical uncertainty

In some works on the lattice Monte Carlo simulation of amphiphilic systems additional peaks in the cluster size distribution has been interpreted as a clue for the phase or shape transition of micellar aggregates. On the other hand, some other works showed that the additional peaks are a result of finite size of the lattice box. In this paper using calculating energy-auto-correlation function and statistical error in correlated data, it is shown that how these apparently contradictory results are the same. To do this, we have simulated a pure system containing amphiphile and water molecules. A simple model of potential containing the main feature for these systems (the hydrophobicity of surfactant molecules) that cause the aggregates to be formed is considered to avoid any synthetic results due to additional non-real parameters. To relax the initial configuration faster, configurational bias Monte Carlo move is used in addition to reptation move. Periodic boundary condition and self-avoiding walks are used as former published works in this field. It is shown that the additional peaks is a result of the statistical errors for averaged cluster size distribution and can not be interpreted as a clue for shape or phase transition.