Understanding the quality concept in health care

During the past three decades there has been an intense debate on the quality of health care. Errors in medicine, practice variations, competence of physicians, scarcity and lack of resources have all been reasons for discussing the quality of care. A clear definition of quality should explain the nature of the debate, improve uniformity of speech and facilitate meaningful actions such as quality assurance or quality improvement. However, in due course many different definitions have been proposed and principles of quality assurance in health care have been frequently questioned, because of their industrial nature. It raises questions on our understanding of quality in health care. In this paper, we (i) explore the nature of the quality concept, (ii) explain its meaning by Wittgenstein's theory on rule-following, and (iii) argue for understanding medical care as a reflexive practice, in order to integrate the meaning of quality in medical care.     

"Frustrated Lewis pairs": a concept for new reactivity and catalysis

The concept of "frustrated Lewis pairs" is described and shown to result in molecular systems capable of unique reactivity as well as applications in catalysis.     

The concept of mass angular scattering power and its relation to the diffusion constant

An understanding of the scattering of high energy charged particle beams by tissue is required in radiotherapy since the particle trajectories determine the pattern of radiation dose deposition in patients. Numerical calculations of radiation dose often utilize energy dependent values of the angular scattering power. However, the physics literature is replete with confused interpretations of the concept of angular scattering power and its relation to the single scattering cross section for the medium or the diffusion constant in the diffusional limit. The purpose of this article is to clarify these notions.     

Understanding hydrogenation of the adenine‐thymine base pairs and their anions: A density functional study

The B3LYP/DZP++ approach has been used to investigate the properties of hydrogenated radicals and anions of adenine‐thymine (A‐T) base pairs. Our calculations show that the hydrogenated radicals and anions have relatively high stabilities compared with the single adenine and thymine base. The conformations and hydrogen‐bond interactions of A‐T base pairs have obviously changed once the hydrogen atoms attached to the A‐T base pairs and their anion. As for the hydrogenated A‐T radicals, all of them exhibit relatively high electron affinities and different hydrogenation properties with respect to their components. The process of the bond formations of (C6)‐H (adenine) and (C6)‐H (thymine) are the most favorable in energetics. The two hydrogenation channels have the reaction Gibbs free energies (ΔG°) of ?51.8 and ?54.2 kcal mol^?1, respectively. Also, the calculations on the basis of CPCM model imply that the solvent effect plays an important role in the electron attachment and hydrogenation reactions, and can stabilize the hydrogenated A‐T anions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

On the matching properties of three fence graphs

Supplementing the construction of a Möbius ladder graph derived from a ladder graph, the linear fence graph and cyclic fence graph are introduced. These have neater mathematical expressions for the perfect matching numbers and the matching and characteristic polynomials than the graphs in the previous families.     

Comparability graphs and molecular properties: IV. Generalizations and applications

The development of a recently proposed method for calculating molecular properties is outlined. The approach is based on the idea of constructing optimized compound samples for structure—property or structure-activity correlations by means of the so—called comparability graphs (CG) of isomeric compounds. A dynamic comparability principle is devised, proceeding from a series of standard molecular rearrangements described in graph—theoretical terms as rules on molecular branching and cyclicity. An extension of the approach is presented for both the construction of CG's and their combination for variable numbers of atoms. The method is applied to various physico-chemical properties, which are thus divided into three groups according to the degree to which they are conditioned by molecular topology. The Wiener topological index is shown to produce a highly linear correlation with the alkane critical densities and volumes, as well as with their heats and entropies of vaporization.Dedicated to the memory of Professor Oskar E. Polansky, a pioneer of chemical graph theory     

On the use of overlapping lattices for screening to find pairs of nearby points in two and three dimensions

In designing an algorithm to find pairs of points that are within Euclidean distance d it is effective to use a screening procedure to reject most pairs of points that are far apart. A procedure based on multiple, overlapping lattices can efficiently identify close points and exclude distant ones.     

Understanding the solubilization of Ca acetylide with a new computational model for ionic pairs

The unique reactivity of the acetylenic unit in DMSO gives rise to ubiquitous synthetic methods. We theoretically consider CaC₂ solubility and protolysis in DMSO and formulate a strategy for CaC₂ activation in solution-phase chemical transformations. For this, we use a new strategy for the modeling of ionic compounds in strongly coordinating solvents combining Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics with the DFTB3-D3(BJ) Hamiltonian and static DFT computations at the PBE0-D3(BJ)/pob-TZVP-gCP level. We modeled the thermodynamics of CaC₂ protolysis under ambient conditions, taking into account its known heterogeneity and considering three polymorphs of CaC₂. We give a theoretical basis for the existence of the elusive intermediate HC C–Ca–OH and show that CaC₂ insolubility in DMSO is of thermodynamic nature. We confirm the unique role of water and specific properties of DMSO in CaC₂ activation and explain how the activation is realized. The proposed strategy for the utilization of CaC₂ in sustainable organic synthesis is outlined.

Constructing the carbon framework from a carbon-neutral source: a new computational model for ionic pairs in solution based on DFTB MD and DFT helps to propose a strategy for sustainable organic transformations with solid CaC₂.     

Understanding the elastomeric properties of polymer networks

It is shown that Monte‐Carlo (MC) simulations of the elastic behaviour of chains in networks using realistic rotational‐isomeric‐state (RIS) chain models are able to reproduce experimentally observed deviations from Gaussian network behaviour in uniaxial extension and also to interpret, quantitatively, stress‐optical properties. In stress‐strain behaviour, an increase in the proportion of fully extended chains with increasing macroscopic strain gives rise to a steady decrease in the rate of change of the Helmholtz energy of a network, causing a reduction in network modulus at moderate macroscopic strains. There is no need to invoke a transition from affine to phantom chain behaviour as deformation increases. To evaluate stress‐optical properties, the average orientation of segments with respect to the deformation axis is calculated, taking into account the interdependence of segment orientation and chain orientation as chains become more extended and aligned under uniaxial stress. The MC method gives, in agreement with experiment, values of stress‐optical coefficient that are dependent upon both deformation ratio and network‐chain length. The method highlights serious shortcomings in the classical Gaussian model of stress‐optical behaviour. Applications of the simulation methods to the quantitative modelling of the stress‐strain behaviour of poly(dimethyl siloxane) networks and the stress‐optical behaviour of polyethylene networks are described.     

Understanding the differences in photochemical properties of substituted aminopyrimidines

The luminescent patterns of several members of the aminopyrimidine family are very different, showing not fluorescence at all, only a fluorescence band, normal or anomalous, or dual fluorescence, depending on the substituents and on the environment (gas phase vs. polar solvents). In this work, we study the lowest excited states of several members of this family that exhibit different fluorescence patterns to try to explain their photochemistry and to understand the effect of the substituents and the environment. We have found that several excited states (local excited (LE), charge transfer (CT) and n _N?C??* states) have minima on the lowest excited potential energy surface (S₁), being their relative energy the determinant factor of the luminescent behavior. If the more stable S₁ minima are of n _N?C??* character, a non-radiative deexcitation channel is the most efficient and the system shows no fluorescence. If the CT and/or LE states are the most stable, the non-radiative deactivation channel is not accessible and the system fluoresces. The relative energies of the CT and LE minima (affected by substituents and by the presence of a polar solvent) and the different magnitude of the oscillator strength for the radiative transition to the ground state determine which emission is more efficient, giving place to normal, anomalous or dual fluorescence. The study has been carried out by CASSCF/CASPT2 computations, including the solvent effect by means of the PCM model.     

Combinatorial properties of graphs and groups of physico-chemical interest

Combinatorial properties of graphs and groups of physico-chemical interest are described. A type of mathematical modeling is applied which involves "translating" algebraic expressions into graphs. The idea is applied to both graph theory and group theory. The former topic includes objects of importance in physics and chemistry such as trees, polyomino graphs, king boards, etc. Our study along these lines emphasizes nonadjacency relations, graph-generation, quasicrystals, continued fractions, fractals, and general ordering schemes of graphs. The second part of the paper considers certain colored graphs as models of several group-theoretical concepts including coset representations of groups, subduction of groups, character tables, and mark tables which are essential to the understanding of recent developments of combinatorial enumeration in chemistry.     

Metric properties of the functions of distances between molecular graphs

The metric properties of several functions of distances between the molecular (marked) graphs, depending on the size of the largest common subgraphs, are discussed. Recommendations are given on how to use these functions in investigations of samples of chemical compounds.     

Surface patterning using templates: concept, properties and device applications

Surface nano-patterns on substrates are the fundamental structures of various nano-devices. Template-based surface nano-patterning techniques are highly efficient methods in realizing different surface nano-patterns. The time-saving and low-cost fabrication processes of the template-based surface patterning are highly desirable for industry in fabricating different kinds of nano-devices. This tutorial review summarizes the recent advancements in the field of template-based surface nano-patterning, especially focusing on three templates prepared using self-assembly processes: ultra-thin alumina membranes, monolayer polystyrene sphere arrays, and block copolymer patterns. The basic concepts, the general fabrication processes, the structure-related properties, and the device applications of these template-based surface nano-patterning techniques are introduced.     

A technique for determining the symmetry properties of molecular graphs

A procedure has been devised to determine the automorphism partition and the automorphism group for nondirected graphs. The general approach is to reveal the permutational symmetry by means of its systematic destruction. Symmetry decomposition pathways are created by numerically weighting specific series of vertices. Each pathway leads to a discrete ordered vector. Each pair of pathways that match reveals an element of the automorphism group. Results are presented for two molecular graphs. Further potential applications of this approach to problems of isomorphism, canonical labeling, and structural indexing are discussed.     

Effect of protonation on the electronic properties of DNA base pairs: applications for molecular electronics

Protonation of DNA basepairs is a reversible phenomenon that can be controlled by tuning the pH of the system. Under mild acidic conditions, the hydrogen-bonding pattern of the DNA basepairs undergoes a change. We study the effect of protonation on the electronic properties of the DNA basepairs to probe for possible molecular electronics applications. We find that, under mild acidic pH conditions, the A:T basepair shows excellent rectification behavior that is, however, absent in the G:C basepair. The mechanism of rectification has been discussed using a simple chemical potential model. We also consider the noncanonical A:A basepair and find that it can be used as efficient pH dependent molecular switch. The switching action in the A:A basepair is explained in the light of pi-pi interactions, which lead to efficient delocalization over the entire basepair.