Evaluating cost impacts on reverse logistics using an Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model with environmental and social considerations

Central European Journal of Operations Research - Societal awareness and legislation changes concerning sustainability have affected how organizations generate value for stakeholders, as well as...     

Buffering effects on the solution behavior and hydrolytic degradation of poly(β-amino ester)s

With a vast, synthetically accessible compositional space and highly tunable hydrolysis rates, poly(β-amino ester)s (PBAEs) are an attractive degradable polymer platform. Leveraging PBAEs in a wide range of applications hinges on the ability to program degradation, which, thus far, has been frustrated by multiple confounding phenomena contributing to the degradation of these charged polyesters. Basic conditions accelerate hydrolysis, yet reduce solubility, limiting water access to amines and esters. Further, the high buffering capacity of PBAEs can render buffers ineffective at controlling solution pH. To unify understanding of PBAE degradation and solution properties, this study examines PBAE hydrolysis as a function of pH and buffer concentration as well as polymer hydrophobicity. At low buffer concentrations, the PBAE amines and the acid produced during hydrolysis control solution pH. Meanwhile, at high buffer concentrations that afford relatively constant pH, hydrolysis rate increases with pH, despite the reduced PBAE solubility. Increasing the hydrophobic content of PBAEs eventually hinders the capacity of the polymer to accept protons from solution, limiting the pH increase and slowing hydrolysis. These studies showcase the role of buffering on the pH-dependent degradation and solution properties of PBAEs, providing guidance for programming degradation in applications ranging from drug delivery to thermosets.     

The existence of Thom classes

In this paper we consider the category of unstable modules over the Steenrod algebra. We prove the existence of finite primary decompositions in this category. Moreover, we prove the existence of Thom classes in noetherian unstable modules, i.e., elements that generate cyclic unstable submodules that are closed under the action of the Steenrod algebra. This in turn leads to the proof of the prime filtration theorem in the category of noetherian unstable modules. As an application we present a proof of the Landweber-Stong conjecture (now a theorem by D. Bourguiba and S. Zarati) that does not make use of the classification of injectives.     

A Hybrid Improvement Heuristic for the One-Dimensional Bin Packing Problem

We propose in this work a hybrid improvement procedure for the bin packing problem. This heuristic has several features: the use of lower bounding strategies; the generation of initial solutions by reference to the dual min-max problem; the use of load redistribution based on dominance, differencing, and unbalancing; and the inclusion of an improvement process utilizing tabu search. Encouraging results have been obtained for a very wide range of benchmark instances, illustrating the robustness of the algorithm. The hybrid improvement procedure compares favourably with all other heuristics in the literature. It improved the best known solutions for many of the benchmark instances and found the largest number of optimal solutions with respect to the other available approximate algorithms.     

Imidazol(in)ium carboxylates as N-heterocyclic carbene ligand precursors for Suzuki-Miyaura reactions

Simple catalysts formed in situ from palladium acetate and a variety of imidazolium and imidazolinium carboxylates and dithiocarboxylates have been screened in the coupling of aryl halides with trans-2-phenylvinylboronic acid. Imidazol(in)ium carboxylates show an excellent activity, which compares to that displayed by the parent imidazol(in)ium chlorides, whereas imidazol(in)ium dithiocarboxylates are poorly efficient. Interestingly, the base employed exerts a profound influence on the trans/cis stereochemistry of the coupling product.     

Study of interactions of various ionic species with solvents toward the design of receptors

In earlier studies, the interactions of isolated ionic species with various solvents were investigated using ab initio calculations. The ionic species investigated included cations (proton, hydronium, ammonium, and metal cations) and anions (single electron, hydroxide, and halide anions). However in the present study, we investigate the interactions of these ionic species with the solvent in the presence of other competing ionic species. We also elaborate on how the information obtained from these extensive studies have been employed in designing and synthesizing various kinds of novel ionophores and receptors.     

A short synthesis of 4-amino-3-hydroxybutyric acid (GABOB) via allyl cyanide

4-Amino-3-hydroxybutyric acid was synthesized from allyl cyanide in four steps in an overall yield of 38%. Ultrasonically promoted epoxidation of allyl cyanide with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid giving oxiranylacetonitrile was used as a key step.     

Effect of cyclodextrins on physico-chemical and release properties of Eudragit RS 100 microparticles containing glutathione

The objective of this work was to develop a novel microparticulate system based on the mucoadhesive polymer Eudragit-RS 100 and cyclodextrins (CDs), potentially useful for the oral administration of Glutathione (γ–glutamylcysteinylglycine, GSH). For this purpose, an oil-in-oil (O/O) emulsion-solvent evaporation method was used for the preparation of microparticles (MPs) containing GSH alone or together with one of the following CDs: α-, β-, γ-, methyl-β-(Me-β-), hydroxypropyl-β-(HP-β-) or sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE_7m-β-CD). MPs were obtained by emulsifying a mixture of Eudragit RS 100, GSH, CD and magnesium stearate in acetone or acetonitrile with a mixture of liquid paraffin and Span 80. Size, encapsulation efficiency, and drug release of the prepared MPs were evaluated. The results clearly indicated that all the examined properties were dependent on the water-miscible solvents and CD used. In particular, MPs prepared by using acetone or acetonitrile showed different size distributions with mean diameters in the ranges 82–350 and 15–22 μm, respectively. Moreover, encapsulation efficiency values were found to be high in all cases (71–99%) and was significantly affected by the CD type. The GSH release rates were evaluated employing dissolution media with different pH values (1.2, 6.8 and 7.4) and the following rank order was obtained for MPs prepared using acetone: MPs incorporating Me-β-CD > MPs without CD > MPs incorporating the remaining CDs. On the other hand, MPs prepared using acetonitrile gave the highest GSH release rate. Finally, stability of GSH encapsulated in MPs containing HP-β-CD to enzymatic attack by pepsin A, α-chymotrypsin, and γ-glutamyltranspeptidase was also investigated.     

Synthesis and N.m.r. studies of bis-trisubstituted phosphine platinum(o) and palladium(o) complexes with push-pull olefins

Summary Platinum(0) and palladium(0) complexes of the type: P₂M(R₁R₂C=CR₃R₄) (P=trisubstituted phosphine; R₁, R₂, R₃ and R₄ are different groups having electron acceptor or electron donor properties; M=Pt or Pd) with so called pushpull olefins, have been prepared and characterized. In some cases unusual patterns in the n.m.r. spectra of olefinic protons were observed. The spectra were analyzed by computer simulation and general rules for ABMX patterns for this type of complexes are given.