An Eulerian exposition

An overview of Eulerian graphs is presented. In particular, characterizations of Eulerian graphs and digraphs as well as algorithms for constructing Eulerian circuits are discussed. A solution to the Chinese postman problem is followed by a study of subgraphs and supergraphs of Eulerian graphs. After an introduction to randomly Eulerian graphs and digraphs, we conclude with a summary of a variety of results involving enumeration.     

Reaction pathways to dimer in polystyrene pyrolysis: A mechanistic modeling study

A detailed mechanistic model for polystyrene pyrolysis was created that built on a modeling framework developed in our previous work and was used to probe three competing pathways to dimer formation: benzyl radical addition, 1,3-hydrogen shift, and 7,3-hydrogen shift, based on recent literature reports. To incorporate the chemistry involved in the 7,3-hydrogen shift pathway, the 1,7- and 7,3-hydrogen shift reaction families were added to the model. The updated version of the model tracks 75 species and over 3500 reactions. Rate parameters for all families were specified based on our previous work, more recent literature reports, and regression against limited experimental data. The model was able to accurately predict the experimental results for polystyrene pyrolysis for different reactor configurations for a temperature range of 100 °C and two orders of magnitude of initial molecular weight for experimental data collected in our own lab and from Bouster and coworkers and Bockhorn and coworkers. The results from our model were studied using net rate analysis to gain insight into the competitiveness of the various reaction pathways to dimer formation. The net rate analysis demonstrated that 7,3-hydrogen shift is the dominant reaction pathway to dimer formation at the temperatures studied. Benzyl radical addition becomes a more competitive reaction pathway as the temperature increases, which is caused predominantly by an increase in the benzyl radical concentration with increasing temperature. Overall, it is quantitatively shown that both 7,3-hydrogen shift and benzyl radical addition are important pathways for dimer formation, with their relative competitiveness influenced by temperature.     

Geodesies in the Erez-Rosen space-time

We investigate null and time-like geodesics in the Erez-Rosen space-time, that is, in the exterior gravitational field of a mass with quadrupole moment. By using the weak-field approximation of the Erez-Rosen metric, we find the solution of the equation for equatorial time-like geodesics and determine how they differ from the corresponding Schwarzschild geodesies. For the exact form of the Erez-Rosen metric, we only draw some qualitative conclusions about the influence of the quadrupole moment on the path of test particles and on the motion of photons. We derive the relativistic contribution of the quadrupole moment to the perihelion shift and to the precession of the ascending node.     

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.     

Non-catalytic hydroamination of alkenes: a computational study

The detailed reaction profiles of the neutral-neutral as well as the cation-neutral direct hydroamination reactions between ethylene and ammonia are analyzed using MP2 (Full)/6-31++G(2df,2p) and B3LYP/6-31++G(2df,2p) methodologies. Analysis shows that both neutral-neutral, as well as the cation-neutral reactions are exothermic and the latter is >100 kJ/mol more exothermic than the former. Calculations show that a very large barrier height (>200 kJ/mol), and very large negative reaction entropy prevent the neutral-neutral reaction from proceeding in the forward direction. Analysis of the cation-neutral reaction, which is barrierless (the transition state is more stable than the reactants) and highly exothermic, indicates that the direct hydroamination reaction is thermodynamically attainable via a cation-neutral reaction pathway without a catalyst. Our calculations also suggest that although the cation-neutral direct hydroamination reaction is very fast, the cation of either ethylene or ammonia goes through a structural relaxation process before reacting with the other neutral reactant.     

An investigation of structure-reactivity relationships of δ-alkenyl oximes; competitive thermal reactions leading to cyclic nitrones and/or N-unsubstituted bicyclic isoxazolidines

Thermal reactions of C-aryl δ-alkenyl oximes give N-unsubstituted bicylic lactone, lactam and pyrrolidine fused isoxazolidines by an intramolecular oxime olefin cycloaddition pathway (IOOC) and/or cyclic nitrones by an azaprotio cyclotransfer (APT) route; a number of factors, including the nature of the aryl group, the oxime geometry and the structure of the linker between the oxime and the terminal alkene, contribute to the competition.     

Very Low Energy Electrons Transform the Cyclobutane‐Pyrimidine Dimer into a Highly Reactive Intermediate

Electrons with virtually no kinetic energy (close to 0 eV) trigger the decomposition of cytotoxic cyclobutane‐pyrimidine dimer (CPD) into a surprisingly large variety of fragment ions plus their neutral counterparts. The response of CPD to low energy electrons is thus comparable to that of explosives like trinitrotoluene (TNT). The dominant unimolecular reaction is the splitting into two thymine like units, which can be considered as the essential molecular step in the photolyase of CPD. We find that CPD is significantly more sensitive towards low energy electrons than its thymine building blocks. It is proposed that electron attachment at very low energy proceeds via dipole bound states, supported by the large dipole moment of the molecule (6.2 D). These states act as effective doorways to dissociative electron attachment (DEA).     

{(COD)Ru[RNC(H)-C(H)C(Ph)]2} (RMe, Et): The first structurally characterized mononuclear ruthenium complexes with enyl-imino ligands and their relevance in ruthenium catalyzed C-H activation reactions

The reaction of α,β-unsaturated imines with [(1,5-cyclooctadiene)-bis(2-methylallyl)-ruthenium(II)] leads to the formation of mononuclear ruthenium complexes of the general formula {(COD)Ru[RNC(H)-C(H)C(Ph)]₂}. In these complexes the imine ligands are deprotonated in β-position with respect to the imine double bond and coordinate as an enyl-imino ligand. In the case of R = Me, Et the corresponding compounds have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The relevance of these complexes with respect to ruthenium catalyzed C-C coupling reactions of the same α,β-unsaturated imines is demonstrated by the structural analysis of another mononuclear ruthenium complex in which two imine ligands are reductively coupled (R = Cy). [(1,5-Cyclooctadiene)-bis(2-methylallyl)-ruthenium(II)] also turns out to be a highly effective precatalyst in the reaction of the respective imines with carbon monoxide and ethylene to produce heterocyclic compounds.     

High-throughput salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction with acetonitrile for the simultaneous determination of simvastatin and simvastatin acid in human plasma with liquid chromatography

Simvastatin (SS) is an effective cholesterol-lowering medicine, and is hydrolyzed to simvastatin acid (SSA) after oral administration. Due to SS and SSA inter-conversion and its pH and temperature dependence, SS and SSA quantitation is analytically challenging. Here we report a high-throughput salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction (SALLE) method with acetonitrile and mass spectrometry compatible salts for simultaneous LC-MS/MS analysis of SS and SSA. The sample preparation of a 96-well plate using SALLE was completed within 20 min, and the SALLE extract was diluted and injected into an LC-MS/MS system with a cycle time of 2.0 min/sample. The seamless interface of SALLE and LC-MS eliminated drying down step and thus potential sample exposure to room or higher temperature. The stability of SS and SSA in various concentration ratios in plasma was evaluated at room and low (4 °C) temperature and the low temperature (4 °C) was found necessary to maintain sample integrity. The short sample preparation time along with controlled temperature (2-4 °C) and acidity (pH 4.5) throughout sample preparation minimized the conversion of SS → SSA to ≤0.10% and the conversion of SSA → SS to 0.00% The method was validated with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.094 ng mL⁻¹ for both SS and SSA and a sample volume of 100 μL. The method was used for a bioequivalence study with 4048 samples. Incurred sample reproducibility (ISR) analysis of 362 samples from the study exceeded ISR requirement with 99% re-analysis results within 100 ± 20% of the original analysis results.