Comparative bioavailability of two zolpidem hemitartrate formulations in healthy human Brazilian volunteers using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

To assess the bioequivalence of two zolpidem hemitartrate formulations in 30 healthy volunteers. Plasma samples were obtained over a 24 h period. Plasma concentrations of zolpidem were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with positive ion electrospray ionization using multiple reaction monitoring. Values of peak concentration (C_max), area under curve (AUC), half-life, elimination constant, volume of distribution and clearance showed statistically significant differences when comparing women (604.34 ng h/ml, 127.36 ng/ml, 4.4 h, 0.18 1/h, 50.56 L and 8.55 L/h, respectively) and men (276.1 ng h/ml, 70.9 ng/ml, 3.3 h, 0.26 1/h, 91.42 L and 24.34 L/h, respectively), receiving the same dose (5 mg), respectively. The geometric means with corresponding 90% confidence interval for Test/Reference percentage ratios were 99.73% (CI 93.69–106.16) for C_max, 97.44% (90% CI = 91.85–103.37%) for area under curve of plasma concentration until the last concentration observed (AUC_last) and 98.30% (90% CI = 92.48–104.49) for the area under curve between the first sample (pre-dosage) and infinity (AUC_0–inf). Since the 90% CI for AUC_last, AUC_0–inf and C_max ratios were within the 80–125% interval proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that zolpidem hemitartrate formulation (5 mg orodispersible tablet) is bioequivalent to the zolpidem hemitartrate formulation (Patz SL 5 mg sublingual tablet) with regard to both the rate and the extent of absorption. A new formulation of zolpidem 2.5 mg may be useful in women for the same clinical benefits as the 5 mg formulation in men.     

Monotonic models and cycles

A partitional model of knowledge is monotonic if there exists a linear order on the state space such that, for every player, each element of her partition contains only a sequence of consecutive states. In monotonic models, the absence of alternating cycles is equivalent to the property that, for every pair of players, the join of their partitions contains only singletons. Under these equivalent conditions any set of posteriors for the players is consistent (i.e., there is a common prior). When checking for consistency in a monotonic model, it is not necessary to evaluate all cycle equations; if the cycle equations corresponding to cycles of length two hold, then there is a common prior.     

Impact of tetrahedralization on parallel conforming octree mesh generation

This work discusses the performance impact from the tetrahedralization of non‐conforming meshes generated by a parallel octree method capable of handling arbitrary immersed geometries. First, we review conforming techniques for meshes created from octrees. Then we implement a tetrahedralization scheme based on templates in a parallel meshing algorithm that uses a linear octree with 2:1 balancing constraint. Besides, we also propose a change on the partitioning strategy for the same meshing algorithm to improve the octree refinement load balancing. Scalability analyses show that the chosen tetrahedralization technique preserves algorithm performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Failure Impact,Availability and Cost Analysis of PONs Based on a Network Geometric Model

Passive Optical Networks(PONs)are considered as the preferred solution for broadband fibre-based access networks.This is because PONs present low cost deployment,low energy consumption and also meet high bandwidth demands from end users.In addition,end users expect a high availability for access networks,while operators are more concerned about reducing the failure impact(number of clients affected by failures).Moreover,operators are also interested in reducing the cost of the access network.This paper provides a deep insight into the consequences that the physical topology and design decisions cause on the availability,the failure impact and the cost of a PON.In order to do that,the physical layout of the PON deployment area is approximated by a network geometric model.A PON deployed according to the geometric model is then assessed in terms of failure impact,availability and cost.This way,the effects of different design decisions and the physical layout on these three parameters are evaluated.In addition,the tradeoffs between availability,failure impact and cost caused by planning decisions and the physical topology are identified and pinpointed.     

Truncated Cinchona alkaloids as catalysts in enantioselective monobenzoylation of meso-1,2-diols

Readily synthesised quincorine and quincoridine derived chiral diamines efficiently catalyse the asymmetric monobenzoylation of cyclic and acyclic meso-1,2-diols.     

Force balance of particles trapped at fluid interfaces

We study the effective forces acting between colloidal particles trapped at a fluid interface which itself is exposed to a pressure field. To this end, we apply what we call the "force approach," which relies solely on the condition of mechanical equilibrium and turns to be in a certain sense less restrictive than the more frequently used "energy approach," which is based on the minimization of a free energy functional. The goals are (i) to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of the force approach as compared to the energy approach, and (ii) to disentangle which features of the interfacial deformation and of the capillary-induced forces between the particles follow from the gross feature of mechanical equilibrium alone, as opposed to features which depend on the details of, e.g., the interaction of the interface with the particles or the boundaries of the system. First, we derive a general stress-tensor formulation of the forces at the interface. On that basis we work out a useful analogy with two-dimensional electrostatics in the particular case of small deformations of the interface relative to its flat configuration. We apply this analogy in order to compute the asymptotic decay of the effective force between particles trapped at a fluid interface, extending the validity of the previous results and revealing the advantages and limitations of the force approach compared to the energy approach. It follows the application of the force approach to the case of deformations of a nonflat interface. In this context, we first compute the deformation of a spherical droplet due to the electric field of a charged particle trapped at its surface and conclude that the interparticle capillary force is unlikely to explain certain recent experimental observations within such a configuration. We finally discuss the application of our approach to a generally curved interface and show as an illustrative example that a nonspherical particle deposited on an interface forming a minimal surface is pulled to regions of larger curvature.     

Trace analysis of fumagillin in honey by liquid chromatography-diode array-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

In this work a new liquid chromatography with diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-ESI-MS) method has been developed for the determination of fumagillin residues in honey. This procedure involves a solid-phase extraction on polymeric cartridges for the isolation of fumagillin from diluted honey. Chromatographic separation of fumagillin was performed in isocratic mode, on a C(18) column (150 mm x 4.60mm i.d., 5 microm), the mobile phase consisted of a mixture of ammonium formate 20mM in water and acetonitrile (61/39, v/v), at 35 degrees C and the flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min. Average analyte recoveries, influenced by the botanical origin were from 88 to 96% in replica sets of fortified honey samples. The detection limits of the LC-DAD-ESI-MS method were between 24 and 1 microg/kg for clear honeys (rosemary) and between 45 and 4 microg/kg for dark honeys (heather). The developed method has been applied to the analysis of fumagillin residues in honey samples collected from veterinary treated beehives, infected by Nosema ceranae and fed with the technical product at different doses.     

Metal Nodes of Metal-Organic Frameworks can Activate Molecular Hydrogen

Hydrogenation of multiple bonds are among the most general and important organic reactions. Typical heterogeneous catalysts are based on transition metal nanoparticles, including noble metals. Data are presented here showing that metal nodes of MIL-101(Cr) and UiO-66 in the absence of occluded metal nanoparticles can promote hydrogenation of polarized X=Y double bonds of nitro and carbonyl groups. The catalytic activity is a function of the composition of the metal node and the organic linker. It is proposed that the reaction mechanism is based on the operation of frustrated Lewis acid/base pairs.     

Computational study on the kinetics of the reaction between Ca and urea

A computational study, in the framework of statistical kinetic theories, of the reaction of Ca²⁺ with urea has been carried out. The kinetically preferred products are NH₃ + [CaOCNH]²⁺, which are the fifth products in order of stability. The second kinetically preferred products are , followed by [CaNH₃]²⁺+HNCO, whereas the most stable ones, and , appear only in residual quantities. These estimates are in agreement with the experimental evidence and provide a suitable mechanism to understand the competition between Coulomb explosion and neutral loss processes.     

Synthesis, structural characterization, and ligand replacement reactions of gem-dithiolato-bridged rhodium and iridium complexes

The reaction of gem-dithiol compounds R 2C(SH) 2 (R = Bn (benzyl), (i) Pr; R 2 = -(CH 2) 4-) with dinuclear rhodium or iridium complexes containing basic ligands such as [M(mu-OH)(cod)] 2 and [M(mu-OMe)(cod)] 2, or the mononuclear [M(acac)(cod)] (M = Rh, Ir, cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) in the presence of a external base, afforded the dinuclear complexes [M 2(mu-S 2CR 2)(cod) 2] ( 1- 4). The monodeprotonation of 1,1-dimercaptocyclopentane gave the mononuclear complex [Rh(HS 2Cptn)(cod)] ( 5) that is a precursor for the dinuclear compound [Rh 2(mu-S 2Cptn)(cod) 2] ( 6). Carbonylation of the diolefin compounds gave the complexes [Rh 2(mu-S 2CR 2)(CO) 4] ( 7- 9), which reacted with P-donor ligands to stereoselectively produce the trans isomer of the disubstituted complexes [Rh 2(mu-S 2CR 2)(CO) 2(PR' 3) 2] (R' = Ph, Cy (cyclohexyl)) ( 10- 13) and [Rh 2(mu-S 2CBn 2)(CO) 2{P(OR') 3} 2] (R' = Me, Ph) ( 14- 15). The substitution process in [Rh 2(mu-S 2CBn 2)(CO) 4] ( 7) by P(OMe) 3 has been studied by spectroscopic means and the full series of substituted complexes [Rh 2(mu-S 2CBn 2)(CO) 4- n {P(OR) 3} n ] ( n = 1, 4) has been identified in solution. The cis complex [Rh 2(mu-S 2CBn 2)(CO) 2(mu-dppb)] ( 16) was obtained by reaction of 7 with the diphosphine dppb (1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane). The molecular structures of the diolefinic dinuclear complexes [Rh 2(mu-S 2CR 2)(cod) 2] (R = Bn ( 1), (i) Pr ( 2); R 2 = -(CH 2) 4- ( 6)) and that of the cis complex 16 have been studied by X-ray diffraction.