Properly immersed minimal disks bounded by straight lines

Let and be two distinct parallel planes in . Let and denote two points such that the segment meets and orthogonally. Let be a straight line containing , and denote as the set of straight lines in containing . Then there exists an analytic family of proper pairwise non congruent minimal immersions satisfying: 1. is homeomorphic to , where 2. , where . 3. is contained in the slab determined by and . 4. If and are the two connected components of , then is injective, . 5. The parameter is an analytic determination of the angle that the orthogonal projection of on makes with and is invariant under the reflection around a straight line not contained in the surface. 6. If is a proper minimal immersion satisfying 1, 2, 3 and4, then, up to a rigid motion, . Received December 28, 1997 / Revised November 20, 1999 / Published online October 11, 2000     

Orlicz function spaces without complemented copies ofl p

This paper proves the existence of Orlicz function spaces Lφ (0, 1) containing no complemented subspaces isomorphic tol ^p for anyp ≠ 2. Some properties of minimal Orlicz function spaces Lφ (0, 1) are also given. Supported in part by CAICYT grant 0338-84.     

Multiobjective routing problems

Summary Many network routing problems, particularly where the transportation of hazardous materials is involved, are multiobjective in nature; that is, it is desired to optimise not only physical path length but other features as well. Several such problems are defined here and a general framework for multiobjective routing problems is proposed. The notion of “efficient solution” is defined and it is demonstrated, by means of an example, that a problem may have very many solutions which are efficient. Next, potentially useful solution methods for multiobjective routing problems are discussed with emphasis being placed on the use of shortest/k-shortest path techniques. Finally, some directions for possible further research are indicated. Invited by B. Pelegrin     

Alternative formulations for the Set Packing Problem and their application to the Winner Determination Problem

An alternative formulation for the set packing problem in a higher dimension is presented. The addition of a new family of binary variables allows us to find new valid inequalities, some of which are shown to be facets of the polytope in the higher dimension. We also consider the Winner Determination Problem, which is equivalent to the set packing problem and whose special structure allows us to easily implement these valid inequalities in a very easy way. The computational experiments illustrate the performance of the valid inequalities and obtain good results.     

Closed-form BER analysis of variable weight MPPM coding under gamma-gamma scintillation for atmospheric optical communications

In this paper, the performance of the variable weight multiple pulse-position modulation (MPPM) coding technique in an atmospheric optical communication environment under gamma-gamma optical scintillation is analyzed, proposing a closed-form expression for the average bit error rate (BER). This study is based on a hyperexponential fitting of the conditional BER in absence of turbulence fluctuations, leading to closed-form expressions that characterize the behavior of this nonlinear coding scheme. Finally, conditional and average BER expressions proposed here are corroborated with Monte Carlo simulations results.     

Synthesis,Antiprotozoal Activity,and Cheminformatic Analysis of 2-Phenyl-2H-Indazole Derivatives

Indazole is an important scaffold in medicinal chemistry. At present, the progress on synthetic methodologies has allowed the preparation of several new indazole derivatives with interesting pharmacological properties. Particularly, the antiprotozoal activity of indazole derivatives have been recently reported. Herein, a series of 22 indazole derivatives was synthesized and studied as antiprotozoals. The 2-phenyl-2H-indazole scaffold was accessed by a one-pot procedure, which includes a combination of ultrasound synthesis under neat conditions as well as Cadogan’s cyclization. Moreover, some compounds were derivatized to have an appropriate set to provide structure-activity relationships (SAR) information. Whereas the antiprotozoal activity of six of these compounds against E. histolytica, G. intestinalis, and T. vaginalis had been previously reported, the activity of the additional 16 compounds was evaluated against these same protozoa. The biological assays revealed structural features that favor the antiprotozoal activity against the three protozoans tested, e.g., electron withdrawing groups at the 2-phenyl ring. It is important to mention that the indazole derivatives possess strong antiprotozoal activity and are also characterized by a continuous SAR.     

An experimental and theoretical study of the reactions OIO+NO and OIO+OH

The kinetics of the reaction OIO+NO were studied by pulsed laser photolysis/time-resolved cavity ring-down spectroscopy, yielding k(235-320 K)=7.6(+4.0)(-3.1) x 10(-13) exp[(607+/-128)/T] cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Quantum calculations on the OIO+NO potential-energy surface show that the reactants form a weakly bound OIONO intermediate, which then dissociates to the products IO+NO2. Rice-Ramsberger-Kassel-Markus (RRKM) calculations on this surface are in good accord with the experimental result. The most stable potential product, IONO2, cannot form because of the significant rearrangement of OIONO that would be required. The reaction OIO+OH was then investigated by quantum calculations of the relevant stationary points on its potential-energy surface. The very stable HOIO2 molecule can form by direct recombination, but the bimolecular reaction channels to HO2+IO and HOI+O2 are closed because of significant energy barriers. RRKM calculations of the HOIO2 recombination rate coefficient yield krec,0=1.5x10(-27) (T/300 K)(-3.93) cm6 molecule-2 s-1, krec,infinity=5.5x10(-10) exp(46/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1, and Fc=0.30. The rate coefficients of both reactions are fast enough around 290 K and 1 atm pressure for these reactions to play a potentially important role in the gas phase and aerosol chemistry in the marine boundary layer of the atmosphere.     

Development of a highly sensitive imaged cIEF immunoassay for studying AAV capsid protein charge heterogeneity

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid proteins tune and regulate the AAV infective life cycle, which can impact the safety and efficacy of AAV gene therapy products. Many of these PTMs induce changes in protein charge heterogeneity, including deamidation, oxidation, glycation, and glycosylation. To characterize the charge heterogeneity of a protein, imaged capillary isoelectric focusing (icIEF) has become the gold standard method. We have previously reported an icIEF method with native fluorescence detection for denatured AAV capsid protein charge heterogeneity analysis. Although well suited for final products, the method does not have sufficient sensitivity for upstream, low-concentration AAV samples, and lacks the specificity for capsid protein detection in complex samples like cell culture supernatants and cell lysates. In contrast, the combination of icIEF, protein capture, and immunodetection affords significantly higher sensitivity and specificity, addressing the challenges of the icIEF method. By leveraging different primary antibodies, the icIEF immunoassay provides additional selectivity and affords a detailed characterization of individual AAV capsid proteins. In this study, we describe an icIEF immunoassay method for AAV analysis that is 90 times more sensitive than native fluorescence icIEF. This icIEF immunoassay provides AAV stability monitoring, where changes in individual capsid protein charge heterogeneity can be observed in response to heat stress. When applied to different AAV serotypes, this method also provides serotype identity with reproducible quantification of VP protein peak areas and apparent isoelectric point (pI). Overall, the described icIEF immunoassay is a sensitive, reproducible, quantitative, specific, and selective tool that can be used across the AAV biomanufacturing process, especially in upstream process development where complex sample types are often encountered.