Stability,monotonicity and invariant quantities in general polling systems

Consider a polling system withK1 queues and a single server that visits the queues in a cyclic order. The polling discipline in each queue is of general gated-type or exhaustive-type. We assume that in each queue the arrival times form a Poisson process, and that the service times, the walking times, as well as the set-up times form sequences of independent and identically distributed random variables. For such a system, we provide a sufficient condition under which the vector of queue lengths is stable. We treat several criteria for stability: the ergodicity of the process, the geometric ergodicity, and the geometric rate of convergence of the first moment. The ergodicity implies the weak convergence of station times, intervisit times and cycle times. Next, we show that the queue lengths, station times, intervisit times and cycle times are stochastically increasing in arrival rates, in service times, in walking times and in setup times. The stability conditions and the stochastic monotonicity results are extended to the polling systems with additional customer routing between the queues, as well as bulk and correlated arrivals. Finally, we prove that the mean cycle time, the mean intervisit time and the mean station times are invariant under general service disciplines and general stationary arrival and service processes.     

Multinuclear Fe(III) complexes with polydentate ligands of the family of dicarboxyimidazoles: nuclearity- and topology-controlled syntheses and Magneto-structural correlations

Two polydentate ligands of the family of dicarboxyimidazoles, H(2)MeDCBI (= 4,5-dicarboxy-1-methyl-1H-imidazole) and H(3)DCBI (= 4,5-dicarboxyimidazole), have been used in reactions with the [Fe(3,5-(t)()Bu(2)salpn)](+) species {3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn = the dianion of 1,3-bis-[(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)amino]propane} to synthesize selectively complexes of different nuclearities. Four complexes have been synthesized: the mononuclear complex [Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)(HMeDCBI)] (1), the two binuclear but topologically different complexes [Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)(MeDCBI)Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)] (2) and {[Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)](2)(HDCBI)} (3), and the trinuclear complex {[Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)](2)(DCBI)Fe(3,5-(t)Bu(2)salpn)} (4). The structures of these complexes have been determined by X-ray crystallography. Variable-temperature direct-current magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted for all compounds to obtain information about their electronic structure and to investigate the extent of magnetic communication among the Fe(III) centers. The results of these measurements allowed us to correlate the different structural motifs with the possible magnetic interactions that arise in multinuclear complexes of dicarboxyimidazoles. For 1, the room-temperature chi(M)T value reveals an S = (5)/(2) ground state. The data for the binuclear but topologically different complexes 2 and 3, and the trinuclear complex 4 suggest that weak intramolecular antiferromagnetic interactions are present, with interaction parameters ranging from -3.6 to -5.1 cm(-1). Differences in the extent of the magnetic communication between the metal centers through the two different interaction pathways of the ligands MeDCBI and DCBI (either through the imidazole ring or through the carboxylate groups) have been observed in complexes 2-4 that can be explained by the structural differences observed in the crystal structures of these compounds (the separation of the metal centers and the coplanarity of the metal ion orbitals with the pi system of the ligands). Cyclic voltammetry measurements for the mononuclear compound 1 show an irreversible reduction wave that is attributed to Fe(3+) + e(-) --> Fe(2+). The electrochemical behavior of the multinuclear complexes 2-4 is more complicated; however, it indicates that there is a degree of electronic communication between the Fe(III) centers.     

1-Ethyl-1H-3-nitrobenzopyrano[4,3,2-cd]isoindole: a novel heterocyclic ring system bearing an unusually labile deuterium-exchangeable aromatic proton

The ease of deuterium exchange of the aromatic H2 of the novel heterocycle 1-ethyl-1H-3-nitrobenzopyrano[4,3,2-cd]isoindole was studied by NMR and theoretical calculations.     

Development and validation of a UPLC‐UV method for the determination of daptomycin in rabbit plasma

Daptomycin (DPT) is a lipopeptide antibiotic with potent bactericidal activity in vitro against Gram‐positive bacteria, which has attracted the attention of the scientific community due to its unique mechanism of action and due to the immediate need for new antibiotics in the era of multidrug resistance. In order to assess its pharmacokinetics in rabbits a new analytical method has been developed and validated using ultra performance liquid chromatography in conjugation with ultraviolet detection for the quantitation of the antibiotic in rabbit plasma, using the internal standard methodology. The separation was achieved employing a C₁₈ column with gradient elution using 0.1% aq. trifluoroacetic acid and methanol. The total analysis time was 2.5 min. The sample pretreatment employed protein precipitation with acetonitrile–methanol mixture and centrifugation. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, sensitivity, robustness, short‐term and freeze–thaw stability and was applied to the quantification of DPT in plasma samples obtained from rabbits treated with 25 mg kg^?1 DPT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An explanation of the very low fluorescence and phosphorescence in pyridine: a CASSCF/CASMP2 study

In this work, we applied the multiconfigurational complete active space self-consistent field method and the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory CASMP2 to study the fundamental excited states of pyridine and its possible photophysical and photochemical transformations. Our calculations, which are in agreement with the experimental results corresponding to excitations around the 0–0 transition, showed that the very low experimentally observed fluorescence of pyridine is due to the presence of two almost isoenergetic crossings, one of triple character, S₁/T₁/S₀ and the other of S₁/S₀ character. Both crossings are below the minimum of S₁(nπ^*) and have a common transition state (S₁(TS)) with a very low energy barrier (1.85 kcal/mol or 0.08 eV at the CASMP2 level of theory) separating them. A third triple crossing of the type S₁/T₁/S₀ lying lower with respect to the other two elucidates the observed T₁→S₀ radiationless transition. This explains not only pyridine's very low fluorescence and phosphorescence but also its almost negligible photochemistry, showing that photophysics is the prevalent process in this molecule.     

Using clathrate hydrates for gas storage and gas-mixture separations: experimental and computational studies at multiple length scales

ABSTRACT

Clathrate hydrates have characteristic properties that render them attractive for a number of industrial applications. Of particular interest are the following two cases: (i) the incorporation of large amounts of gas molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates as possible material for the storage/transportation of energy or environmental gases, and (ii) the selective incorporation of guest molecules into the solid structure has resulted in considering hydrates for gas-mixture separations. For the proper design of such industrial applications, it is essential to know accurately a number of thermodynamic, structural and transport properties. Such properties can either be measured experimentally or calculated at different scales that span the molecular scale-up to the continuum scale. By using clathrate hydrates as a particular case study, we demonstrate that performing studies at multiple length scales can be utilised in order to obtain properties that are essential to process design.     

Silver Nanoparticles Using Eucalyptus or Willow Extracts (AgNPs) as Contact Lens Hydrogel Components to Reduce the Risk of Microbial Infection

Eucalyptus leaves (ELE) and willow bark (WBE) extracts were utilized towards the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs(ELE), AgNPs(WBE)). AgNPs(ELE) and AgNPs(WBE) were dispersed in polymer hydrogels to create pHEMA@AgNPs(ELE)_2 and pHEMA@AgNPs(WBE)_2 using hydroxyethyl-methacrylate (HEMA). The materials were characterized in a solid state by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRPD), thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DTG/DSC) and attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy in solution. The antimicrobial potential of the materials was investigated against the Gram-negative bacterial strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and the Gram-positive bacterial strain of the genus Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which are involved in microbial keratitis. The percentage of bacterial viability of P. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis upon their incubation over the pHEMA@AgNPs(ELE)_2 discs is interestingly low (28.3 and 6.8% respectively), while the inhibition zones (IZ) formed are 12.3 ± 1.7 and 13.2 ± 1.2 mm, respectively. No in vitro toxicity of this material towards human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) was detected. Despite its low performance against S. aureus, pHEMA@AgNPs(ELE)_2 could be an efficient candidate towards the development of contact lenses that reduces microbial infection risk.     

Investigation of proper modeling of very dense granular flows in the recirculation system of CFBs

The aim of this paper is the development of new models and/or the improvement of existing numerical models, used for simulating granular flow in CFB (circulating fluidized bed) recirculation systems. Most recent models follow the TFM (two-fluid model) methodology, but they cannot effectively simulate the inter-particle friction forces in the recirculation system, because the respective stress tensor does not incorporate compressibility of flow due to change of effective particle density. As a consequence, the induced normal and shear stresses are not modeled appropriately during the flow of the granular phase in the CFB recirculation system. The failure of conventional models, such as that of von Mises/Coulomb, is mainly caused by false approximation of the yield criterion which is not applicable to the CFB recirculation system. The present work adopts an alternative yield function, used for the first time in TFM Eulerian modeling. The proposed model is based on the Pitman–Schaeffer–Gray–Stiles yield criterion. Both the temporal deformation of the solid granular phase and the repose angle that the granular phase forms are more accurately simulated by this model. The numerical results of the proposed model agree well with experimental data, implying that frictional forces are efficiently simulated by the new model.