Location of a distribution center for a perishable product

A model that combines an inventory and location decision is presented, analyzed and solved. In particular, we consider a single distribution center location that serves a finite number of sales outlets for a perishable product. The total cost to be minimized, consists of the transportation costs from the distribution center to the sales outlets as well as the inventory related costs at the sales outlets. The location of the distribution center affects the inventory policy. Very efficient solution approaches for the location problem in a planar environment are developed. Computational experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution approaches.     

Tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium cyano and triphenylcyanoborate complexes: Structures and a DFT study

The structures of [Rh(CN)(PPh₃)₃](EtOH) (1), [Rh(NCBPh₃)(PPh₃)₃] (2), and [Rh(CNBPh₃)(PPh₃)₃] (3) are reported together with a density functional theory (DFT) study of the model compounds [Rh(NCBH₃)(PH₃)₃] and [Rh(CNBH₃)(PH₃)₃]. Compound 1 crystallizes in space group Pc with a = 10.4798(15) Å, b = 12.5410(18) Å, c = 19.974(3) Å and = 112.215(6)°; compound 2 crystallizes in space group with a = 12.929(2) Å, b = 14.362(2) Å, c = 17.575(3) Å and = 92.544(3)°, = 90.214(3)°, = 113.831(3)°; compound 3 crystallizes in space group with a = 12.915(2), b = 14.296(2), c = 17.664(3) Å and = 92.469(3)°, = 90.088(3)°, = 113.768(3)°. All three complexes show slight tetrahedral distortion from ideal square planar geometry (largest for 1). Differences in the reactivity and stability of 2 and 3 are interpreted according to the results of a density functional theory study.     

A Covalent Binding Mode of a Pyrazole-Based CD38 Inhibitor

Brain concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), an important cellular co-factor, tend to decrease with age and in neurodegeneration. As the NADase cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38) significantly contributes to NAD⁺ consumption, we reasoned that CD38 inhibition may be of therapeutic value for CNS disorders. The new pyrazole compound was designed based on a known CD38 inhibitor and showed good inhibitory potency. Several attempts to co-crystallise this pyrazole with CD38 and cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (cADPR) culminated in a high-resolution X-ray structure, in which the pyrazolyl group in the new compound formed a covalent bond with one of the ribosyl units of cADPR. This reaction proceeded under retention of configuration and resulted in a neutral ribosyl-pyrazole conjugate that is embedded within the active site of the enzyme. An analysis of this structural complex gave rise to design principles that enabled the preparation of more potent CD38 inhibitors with drug-like properties.     

The d4/d3 redox pairs [MX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp']z (z=0 and 1): structural consequences of electron transfer and implications for the inverse halide order

The d4 halide complexes [MX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp'] {X=F, Cl, Br or I; R=Me or Ph; M=Mo or W; Tp'=hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate} undergo one-electron oxidation to the d3 monocations [MX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp']+, isolable for M=W, R=Me. X-Ray structural studies on the redox pairs [WX(CO)(eta-MeC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CMe)Tp']z (X=Cl and Br, z=0 and 1), the ESR spectra of the cations [WX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp']+ (X=F, Cl, Br or I; R=Me or Ph), and DFT calculations on [WX(CO)(eta-MeC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CMe)Tp']z (X=F, Cl, Br and I; z=0 and 1) are consistent with electron removal from a HOMO (of the d4 complexes) which is pi-antibonding with respect to the W-X bond, pi-bonding with respect to the W-C(O) bond, and delta-bonding with respect to the W-Calkyne bonds. The dependence of both oxidation potential and nu(CO) for [MX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp'] shows an inverse halide order which is consistent with an ionic component to the M-X bond; the small size of fluorine and its closeness to the metal centre leads to the highest energy HOMO and the lowest oxidation potential. In the cations [MX(CO)(eta-RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)Tp']+ electronegativity effects become more important, leading to a conventional order for Cl, Br and I. However, high M-F pi-donation is still facilitated by the short M-F distance.     

Experimental investigation of the spontaneous wetting of polymers and polymer blends

The dynamics of polymeric liquids and mixtures spreading on a solid surface have been investigated on completely wetting and partially wetting surfaces. Drops were formed by pushing the test liquid through a hole in the underside of the substrate, and the drop profiles were monitored as the liquid wet the surface. Silicon surfaces coated with diphenyldichlorosilane (DPDCS) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) were used as wetting and partial wetting surfaces, respectively, for the fluids we investigated. The response under complete and partial wetting conditions for a series of polypropylene glycols (PPG) with different molecular weights and the same surface tension could be collapsed onto a single curve when scaling time based on the fluid viscosity, the liquid-vapor surface tension, and the radius of a spherical drop with equivalent volume. A poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG300) and a series of poly(ethylene oxide-rand-propylene oxide) copolymers did not show the same viscosity scaling when spread on the partially wetting surface. A combined model incorporating hydrodynamic and molecular-kinetic wetting models adequately described the complete wetting results. The assumptions in the hydrodynamic model, however, were not valid under the partial wetting conditions in our work, and the molecular-kinetic model was chosen to describe our results. The friction coefficient used in the molecular-kinetic model exhibited a nonlinear dependence with viscosity for the copolymers, indicating a more complex relationship between the friction coefficient and the fluid viscosity.     

Comparison of monodisperse droplet generation in flow-focusing devices with hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces

A thin flow-focusing microfluidic channel is evaluated for generating monodisperse liquid droplets. The microfluidic device is used in its native state, which is hydrophilic, or treated with OTS to make it hydrophobic. Having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces allows for creation of both oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions, facilitating a large parameter study of viscosity ratios (droplet fluid/continuous fluid) ranging from 0.05 to 96 and flow rate ratios (droplet fluid/continuous fluid) ranging from 0.01 to 2 in one geometry. The hydrophilic chip provides a partially-wetting surface (contact angle less than 90°) for the inner fluid. This surface, combined with the unusually thin channel height, promotes a flow regime where the inner fluid wets the top and bottom of the channel in the orifice and a stable jet is formed. Through confocal microscopy, this fluid stabilization is shown to be highly influenced by the contact angle of the liquids in the channel. Non-wetting jets undergo breakup and produce drops when the jet is comparable to or smaller than the channel thickness. In contrast, partially-wetting jets undergo breakup only when they are much smaller than the channel thickness. Drop sizes are found to scale with a modified capillary number based on the total flow rate regardless of wetting behavior.     

Ultraheavy Yukawa-bound states of fourth-generation at Large Hadron Collider

A study of bound states of the fourth-generation quarks in the range of 500?C700 GeV is presented, where the binding energies are expected to be mainly of Yukawa origin, with QCD subdominant. Near degeneracy of their masses exhibits a new ??isospin??. The production of a colour-octet, isosinglet vector meson via $q\bar q \to \omega_8$ is the most interesting. Its leading decay modes are $\pi_8^\pm W^\mp$ , $\pi_8^0Z^0$ , and constituent quark decay, with $q\bar q$ and $t\bar t'$ and $b\bar b'$ subdominant. The colour octet, isovector pseudoscalar ?? ₈ meson decays via constituent quark decay, or to Wg. This work calls for more detailed study of fourth-generation phenomena at LHC.     

Quantum rules: an Effect can have more than one Operation

We review the formalism of Effects and Operations in order to demonstrate that this formalism is equivalent to the standard rules of quantum mechanics. D'Espagnat has studied an example where he finds a discrepancy between an analysis based on the standard quantum rule for calculating probabilities and an analysis that uses a particular Operation taken from the work of Barchielli and his collaborators. We use the formalism of Effects and Operations to explore and explain this discrepancy.