ISOTROPIC WEYL MANIFOLD WITH A SEMI-SYMMETRIC CONNECTION

In this work,it is proved that every isotropic Weyl manifold with a semi- symmetric connection is locally conformal to an Einstein manifold with a semi-symmetric connection.     

Thiocyanate separation by imprinted polymeric systems

Novel polymers for the specific recognition of thiocyanate ion (SCN) have been prepared by template polymerization of SCN with chitosan-Zn(II), the N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilan-Zn(II) complex, epichlorohydrin, and tetraethoxysilane. After removal of SCN, the imprinted beads have been used for solid-phase extraction of SCN from aqueous solutions. Optimised conditions for SCN separation are reported with respect to sample pH for the quantitative preconcentration and desorption. Competitive adsorption of fluoride and phosphate has been investigated and selectivity coefficients are given for these ions with respect to SCN.     

Location coverage models with demand originating from nodes and paths: Application to cellular network design

Location covering problems, though well studied in the literature, typically consider only nodal (i.e. point) demand coverage. In contrast, we assume that demand occurs from both nodes and paths. We develop two separate models – one that handles the situation explicitly and one which handles it implicitly. The explicit model is formulated as a Quadratic Maximal Covering Location Problem – a greedy heuristic supported by simulated annealing (SA) that locates facilities in a paired fashion at each stage is developed for its solution. The implicit model focuses on systems with network structure – a heuristic algorithm based on geometrical concepts is developed. A set of computational experiments analyzes the performance of the algorithms, for both models. We show, through a case study for locating cellular base stations in Erie County, New York State, USA, how the model can be used for capturing demand from both stationary cell phone users as well as cell phone users who are in moving vehicles.     

A novel,rapid and sensitive UPLC–MS/MS method for the determination of macitentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Macitentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist commonly used in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A novel, rapid, simple and sensitive UPLC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for pharmacokinetic study and the determination of macitentan in PAH patients. Macitentan and bosentan, which are used as internal standards, were detected using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization in positive ion and multiple reaction monitoring mode by monitoring the mass transitions m/z 589.1 → 203.3 and 552.6 → 311.5, respectively. Chromatographic separation was performed on a reverse‐phase C18 column (5 μm, 4.6 × 150 mm) with an isocratic mobile phase, which consisted of water containing 0.2% acetic acid–acetonitrile (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Retention times were 1.97 and 1.72 min for macitentan and IS, respectively. The calibration curve with high correlation coefficient (0.9996) was linear in the range 1–500 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantitation and average recovery values were determined as 1 ng/mL and 89.8%, respectively. This method is the first UPLC–MS/MS method developed and validated for the determination of macitentan from human plasma. The developed analytical method was fully validated for linearity, selectivity, specificity, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, stability, matrix effect and recovery according to US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The developed method was applied successfully for pharmacokinetic study and the determination of macitentan in PAH patients.     

Phosphorus–nitrogen compounds: Part 19. Syntheses,structural and electrochemical investigations,biological activities,and DNA interactions of new spirocyclic monoferrocenylcyclotriphosphazenes

The reactions of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazatriene, N₃P₃Cl₆, with N-alkyl-N-ferrocenylmethylethylene diamines, FcCH₂NH(CH₂)₂NHR₁ [R₁ = Me (1) and Et (2)], and sodium [3-(N-ferrocenylmethylamino)-1-propanoxide] (3) produce spirocyclic monoferrocenyl tetrachlorophosphazenes (1a–3a). The tetrapyrrolidinophosphazenes (1b–3b) are prepared from the reactions of corresponding phosphazenes (1a–3a) with excess pyrrolidine. The reaction of 1a with excess morpholine affords geminal-morpholino phosphazene (1c), whilst the reactions of 2a and 3a give diethylaminotrimorpholino (2c) and fully substituted morpholino products (3c), respectively. The structural investigations of the compounds are examined by Fourier transform IR, MS, ¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P NMR, DEPT, HETCOR, and HMBC techniques. The crystal structures of 3b and 3c are determined using X-ray crystallography. Cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric data show that compounds 1a–3a, 1b–3b, and 1c–3c exhibit electrochemically reversible one-electron oxidation of Fc redox centers which are hardly affected by the substituents on the phosphazene ring. The compounds 1b, 2b, 3b, and 3c are screened for antibacterial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and for antifungal activities against yeast strains. In addition, the antituberculosis activities (in vitro) of these compounds are evaluated against INH-susceptible reference strain M. tuberculosis H37Rv, and six multi-drug resistant clinical M. tuberculosis isolates. Compound 2b is found to be the most active against the susceptible the reference strain. In addition, 1b, 2b, and 3c are active against all the multidrug-resistant clinical isolates at the highest concentrations. Gel electrophoresis data indicate that the compounds promote the formation of strand breaks in plasmid DNA. Almost all the concentrations lost of supercoiled DNA suggests that the compound 3b is very efficient plasmid-modifier. The compounds inhibit BamHI cleavage of pUC18 DNA while restricting HindIII.     

A method for solving differential equations of fractional order

In this paper, we consider Caputo type fractional differential equations of order 0<α<1$0<\alpha <1$ with initial condition x(0)=_x0$x\left(0\right)=x_0$. We introduce a technique to find the exact solutions of fractional differential equations by using the solutions of integer order differential equations. Generalization of the technique to finite systems is also given. Finally, we give some examples to illustrate the applications of our results.     

A combinatorial optimization algorithm for solving the branchwidth problem

In this paper, we consider the problem of computing an optimal branch decomposition of a graph. Branch decompositions and branchwidth were introduced by Robertson and Seymour in their series of papers that proved the Graph Minors Theorem. Branch decompositions have proven to be useful in solving many NP-hard problems, such as the traveling salesman, independent set, and ring routing problems, by means of combinatorial algorithms that operate on branch decompositions. We develop an implicit enumeration algorithm for the optimal branch decomposition problem and examine its performance on a set of classical graph instances.     

Spectrophotometric determination of bisoprolol in pharmaceutical preparations by charge transfer reactions

A simple, rapid and sensitive method for the spectrophotometric determination, of bisoprolol was developed. The proposed methods were based on the charge-transfer reactions of bisoprolol, as n-electron donor, with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoqumodimethane (TCNQ) and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) as ??-acceptors to give highly colored complexes. The proposed methods were validated according to the ICH guidelines with respect to linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, recovery and specificity. Beer??s law is obeyed over the concentration ranges of 10?C60 and 10?C80 ??g/mL bisoprolol with TCNQ and DDQ, respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the assay of bisoprolol in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Effective field theory of a topological insulator and the Foldy–Wouthuysen transformation

Employing the Foldy–Wouthuysen transformation, it is demonstrated straightforwardly that the first and second Chern numbers are equal to the coefficients of the 2+1 and 4+1 dimensional Chern–Simons actions which are generated by the massive Dirac fermions coupled to the Abelian gauge fields. A topological insulator model in 2+1 dimensions is discussed and by means of a dimensional reduction approach the 1+1 dimensional descendant of the 2+1 dimensional Chern–Simons theory is presented. Field strength of the Berry gauge field corresponding to the 4+1 dimensional Dirac theory is explicitly derived through the Foldy–Wouthuysen transformation. Acquainted with it, the second Chern numbers are calculated for specific choices of the integration domain. A method is proposed to obtain 3+1 and 2+1 dimensional descendants of the effective field theory of the 4+1 dimensional time reversal invariant topological insulator theory. Inspired by the spin Hall effect in graphene, a hypothetical model of the time reversal invariant spin Hall insulator in 3+1 dimensions is proposed.