Effectiveness of Photodynamic Therapy in Elimination of HPV‐16 and HPV‐18 Associated with CIN I in Mexican Women

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT), using δ‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA), in the elimination of premalignant cervical lesions in Mexican patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and/or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Thirty women diagnosed with CIN I and/or positive for HPV participated in the study. Topical 6% 5‐ALA in gel form was applied to the uterine cervix; after 4 h, the lesion area was irradiated with a light dose of 200 J cm^?2 at 635 nm. This procedure was performed three times at 48‐h intervals. Clinical follow‐up was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months after the initial PDT administration, by colposcopy, cervical cytology, histopathological analysis, polymerase chain reaction, and hybrid capture. Of HPV‐infected patients without evidence of CIN I, 80% cleared the infection, while HPV associated with CIN I was eliminated in 83% of patients (P < 0.05). At 12 months, CIN I had regressed in 57% of patients, although this response was not statistically significant. PDT using 6% 5‐ALA is concluded to be effective in eliminating HPV infection associated or not with CIN I.     

General correlation model for some physical properties of saturated pure fluids

In this work, we use a general expression to accurately correlate the liquid density, the vaporization enthalpy, the surface tension, and the isobaric heat capacity of a saturated liquid versus temperature along the whole coexistence curve. The general expression used is the same for the four thermodynamic properties, and uses both critical and triple point values as reference. As representative examples of the use of the model, results are given for a set of 22 pure substances. We find that this general expression correlates the data with smaller or similar overall deviations when compared with other published models whose number of coefficients are the same or greater.     

A fractional order epidemic model for the simulation of outbreaks of influenza A(H1N1)

In this paper, we propose a nonlinear fractional order model in order to explain and understand the outbreaks of influenza A(H1N1). In the fractional model, the next state depends not only upon its current state but also upon all of its historical states. Thus, the fractional model is more general than the classical epidemic models. In order to deal with the fractional derivatives of the model, we rely on the Caputo operator and on the Grünwald–Letnikov method to numerically approximate the fractional derivatives. We conclude that the nonlinear fractional order epidemic model is well suited to provide numerical results that agree very well with real data of influenza A(H1N1) at the level population. In addition, the proposed model can provide useful information for the understanding, prediction, and control of the transmission of different epidemics worldwide. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolutionary dynamics of knowledge

This study discusses the evolutionary nature of knowledge acquisition at micro and macro levels, and in particular when the process involves an artificial agent's interpretative devices. In order to accomplish this, we propose using an individual learning model (or inner‐world reconstruction model) that in our view overcomes neoclassic epistemological holdups and may increase the predictive power of computational economics, by letting an artificial agent's knowledge evolve by itself, irrespective of globally specified goals or individual motives of behavior; using simultaneous (or parallel) genetic algorithms (GA) to evolve a single agent's learning strategy, each GA with different general specifications, in a multiagent setting. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 11: 12–19, 2006     

Diferrocenophosphaborin: A Planar‐Chiral,Redox‐Active and Anion‐Responsive Ambiphilic Ligand

A new class of Janus‐like ambiphilic ligands is introduced. The rigid diferrocene backbone in heterocycles 4‐SnP and 4‐BP creates an unprecedented chiral environment as demonstrated by multinuclear NMR and single‐crystal X‐ray studies. In addition, the ligands are redox‐responsive and the Lewis acidic borane moiety in 4‐BP can be exploited to further tune the properties: a clear decrease in the CO stretching frequency of a Vaska‐type Rh^I complex 5‐BP is observed upon addition of fluoride ions. Thus, the Lewis acid and Lewis base sites influence each other and their strength can be modulated by redox chemistry and anion binding.     

Diastereoselective radical mediated alkylation of a chiral glycolic acid derivative

Radical alkylation of 2-(tert-butyl)-2-methyldioxolan-4-one, a chiral equivalent of glycolic acid, occurs with good to high diastereoselectivity that compares favorably with the corresponding enolate alkylation. The importance of the position of the transition state position, early or late, is highlighted.     

Highly selective and sensitive chromo-fluorogenic detection of the Tetryl explosive using functional silica nanoparticles

Silica nanoparticles containing polyamines and thiol groups have been used as probes for the selective detection of Tetryl.