Application of topological degree theory to semi-definite complementarity problem

The topological degree theory is applied to study the problem of existence of solutions to the semi-definite complementarity problem (SDCP). A notion of an exceptional family of matrices is introduced, and assertions of a non-strict alternative type are obtained. Namely, for a continuous mapping, there exists at least one of the following two items: either a solution to the SDCP, or an exceptional family of matrices. Hence, if there is no exceptional family, then at least one solution exists     

Comparative molecular field analysis of chromatographic hydrophobicity indices for some coumarin analogs

The chromatographic hydrophobicity index (CHI) is an HPLC‐based parameter that provides reliable guidance in optimization of pharmacological efficiency and adsorption, distribution, metabolism and exertion (ADME) profile of drug candidates. In the present work, classical and three‐dimensional quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) models were developed for prediction of CHI values of some 4‐hydroxycoumarin analogs on immobilized artificial membrane column. Comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) as 3D–QSPR methods were performed to gain insight into the key structural factors affecting on the chromatographic hydrophobicity of interested chemicals. The calculated parameters of Q ², R ² and standard error were 0.545, 0.996 and 0.773 for CoMFA model and 0.815, 0.986 and 1.44 for CoMSIA model, respectively. The contour maps for steric fields of the CoMFA model illustrate that the hydrophobicity of chemicals will be higher when the positions of R6, R7 and R8 in the 4‐hydroxycuomarin ring are substituted by alkyl groups. Moreover, by the analysis of the plots of electrostatic fields, it was concluded that the CHI value greatly increases if one hydrogen on coumarin ring is substituted by the F, Cl, Br, OH or OCH₃ group.     

Synthesis Optimization of Quaternized Chitosan and its Action as Reducing and Stabilizing Agent for Gold Nanoparticles

The optimal conditions for synthesizing quaternized chitosan (QCS) via microwave irradiation were explored. The microwave temperature, time, power, mole ratio between chitosan and 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (ETA), volume ratio between isopropanol and water, and pH value of the reaction system were studied to evaluate the effect on the degree of substitution (DS). The structure of QCS was characterized by means of FT-IR, NMR, XPS and XRD. TGA and DTG were used to measure its thermal stability. At last, QCS acted as a reducing and stabilizing agent to greenly synthesize gold nanoparticles without adding any other chemical reagent.     

QSAR models of cytochrome P450 enzyme 1A2 inhibitors using CoMFA,CoMSIA and HQSAR

Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) studies were conducted on an in-house database of cytochrome P450 enzyme 1A2 inhibitors using the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), comparative molecular similarity analysis (CoMSIA) and hologram QSAR (HQSAR) approaches. The database consisted of 36 active molecules featuring varied core structures. The model based on the naphthalene substructure alignment incorporating 19 molecules yielded the best model with a CoMFA cross validation value q² of 0.667 and a Pearson correlation coefficient r² of 0.976; a CoMSIA q² value of 0.616 and r² value of 0.985; and a HQSAR q² value of 0.652 and r² value of 0.917. A second model incorporating 34 molecules aligned using the benzene substructure yielded an acceptable CoMFA model with q² value of 0.5 and r² value of 0.991. Depending on the core structure of the molecule under consideration, new CYP1A2 inhibitors will be designed based on the results from these models.     

非原位拉曼光谱区分富锂层状氧化物的集成结构:一种预测Li2MnO3活化程度的有效方法

采用5种方法,即溶胶-凝胶法、高温固相法、共沉淀法、水热法和溶剂热法合成了富锂材料Li_1.2Mn_0.6Ni_0.2O₂。拉曼光谱研究发现共沉淀法制备的样品是固溶体结构,而其他4个样品是以不同尺度共生形成的复合物结构。电化学性能测试结果表明这5个富锂材料性能存在明显差异,尤其是在首次充电过程中5个样品位于4.5 V以上由Li₂MnO₃组分活化所贡献的容量明显不同,共沉淀法制备的具有固溶体结构的样品中由Li₂MnO₃组分活化贡献的容量最多。因此我们建立起电化学性能与两相集成方式的联系,不同的集成方式使得Li₂MnO₃组分活化所贡献的容量不同,进而影响了最终的电化学性能。     

Study of the Molecular Mobility in Polymers with the Thermally Stimulated Recovery Technique—A Review

Thermally stimulated recovery (TSR) is a non‐conventional mechanical spectroscopy technique that allows to analyse in detail the relaxation processes of polymeric systems in the low frequency region. This work reviews the main aspects and potentialities of this technique. The different kinds of TSR experiments that can be performed, global and thermal sampling (TS) experiments, are described and illustrated with several examples. Also, the different methods for the determination of the thermokinetic parameters (activation energy and pre‐exponential factor) of the thermal sampling (TS) procedure are explained and compared. In this context, the compensation phenomenon, which always appears in TSR results when the studies are performed in the glass transition region of a given system, is discussed. Examples of the application of this technique to different polymeric systems during the last 20 years are provided. An emphasis will be made on the analysis of the effect of crystallinity degree and crosslink density on the TSR response. A comparison between the results (characteristic times and activation energies) obtained by different techniques, namely TSR, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), is made.     

Nonstationarity and related measures for time‐dependent hartree–fock and multiconfigurational models

Based on an earlier article (Eberly and Singh, Phys. Rev. D 1973 , 7, 359) and related works on short‐time evolution, this article proposes a many‐electron formulation for the nonstationarity degree which can be assigned to quantum system at each time point. The key measure introduced, , is a nonstationarity index that can be thought of as an inverse nominal lifetime at each instance of time. The index is directly computed from the time derivative of one‐electron density matrix and is a size‐consistent quantity. In this article, the approach is developed for the time‐dependent Hartree–Fock (TDHF), single‐excitation (TDCIS), and time‐dependent full configuration interaction (TDFCI) models. As a rule, nonstationarity effects are more pronounced in correlated electron systems, and a joint analysis of and the multiconfigurational character of wave functions apparently provide a deeper insight into dynamical molecular processes. The performed calculations on small molecules in laser fields show a preference for the TDCIS model when comparing TDCIS and TDHF with the “exact” TDFCI model. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Survey study and experimental investigation on the local behavior of pedestrian groups

Current research on pedestrian dynamics mainly focuses on the interactions among isolated individuals, the impact of the presence of groups is not fully considered. In recent 5 years, researchers have started to investigate pedestrian group movement. The aim of this work is to explore the local behavior of pedestrian groups by questionnaires and field observation. Survey study focused on pedestrians' psychology when walking in groups, which included five parts: group size, interpersonal distance, spatial relationship among group members, speed adjustment of group members, information transmission, and acid action among group members. Meantime a field observation was carried out to study group movement characteristics, which contained speed, step frequency, offset angle and interpersonal distance. The survey results show that group members have a closer interpersonal distance, faster information transmission and plenty of acid action. Conversely, group walking has a negative influence on pedestrian's speed, step frequency by comparing with the way isolated pedestrian walks. In addition, it is found that for a certain group, the group members are able to keep movement consistent. Also there exists obvious movement diversity among different group types (male dyads, female dyads, couple groups, and ordinary‐friend groups) because of different gender and social relationship. Ultimately the results will be more promising for helping to model the movement of pedestrian groups. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 20: 87–97, 2015     

A characterization of almost simple K 3-groups

It is a well-known fact that characters of a finite group can give important information about the group's structure. Also it was proved by the third author of this article that a finite simple group can be uniquely determined by its character table. Here the authors attempt to investigate how to characterize a finite almost simple group by using less information of its character table, and successfully characterize the almost simple K₃-groups by their orders and at most three irreducible character degrees of their character tables.     

Determination of Required HLB of Capryol 90

The required hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of an oily substance indicates the HLB of the surfactants required to prepare a stable emulsion using the oil. This study utilizes empirical method to calculate required HLB (RHLB) of Capryol 90 using surfactant blends (Span 20, Tween 20, vitamin E TPGS, Pluronic F68, Span 60, and Tween 80). The methods used were assessment of degree of creaming after centrifugation and after shelf storage for 28 days at room temperature, turbidimetric method, accelerated stability study, and droplet size analysis. The droplet size was found to be in the range of 15 to 2 µm and v/v% separation after centrifugation was found to be 0–82%. The RHLB for Capryol 90 was found to be 15. The effect of various surfactant blends was investigated. Results revealed that a blend of tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) and Pluronic F68 gave the most stable emulsion for Capryol 90.