Magnetic–fluorescent Langmuir–Blodgett films of fluorophore-labeled ferritin nanoparticles

We have covalently coupled fluorophore 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) to the external ferritin shell through lysine residues. An increase in the luminescence quantum yield of the fluorescent ferritin particles and a blue shift in its emission peak compared to individual fluorophore were observed. The study of the particles by transmission electron microscopy showed that the native iron core ferritin is intact and that no degradation occurs during chemical functionalization of the protein shell. The NBD-labeled ferritin particles are water soluble, which allowed their controlled deposition by the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. Superparamagnetic and fluorescent properties of the particles are preserved within the LB film.     

A maintenance model with failures and inspection following Markovian arrival processes and two repair modes

We consider a deteriorating system submitted to external and internal failures, whose deterioration level is known by means of inspections. There are two types of repairs: minimal and perfect, depending on the deterioration level, each one following a different phase-type distribution. The failures and the inspections follow different Markovian arrival processes (MAP). Under these assumptions, the system is governed by a generalized Markov process, whose state space and generator are constructed. This general model includes the phase-type renewal process as a special case. The distribution of the number of minimal and perfect repairs between two inspections are determined. A numerical application optimizing costs is performed, and different particular cases of the model are compared.     

trans‐1,2,3‐Tris(1‐hydroxycyclo­propyl)cyclopropane

The central three‐membered ring in the title compound, trans‐1,1′,1′′‐cyclo­propane‐1,2,3‐triyl­tris­(cyclo­propanol), C₁₂H₁₈O₃, shows pronounced asymmetry of the bond lengths, which is induced by the different orientations of the substituents. A network of hydrogen bonds links the mol­ecules into sheets.     

Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction of aryl and heterocyclic bromides and aromatic polybromides on a Pd(II)‐hydrotalcite catalyst

The Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction of various bromine‐containing substrates and phenylboronic acid in toluene at 90 °C on a Pd(AcO)₂Py₂ catalyst supported on an Mg? Al hydrotalcite, using K₂CO₃ as the base, was studied. The conversion and selectivity results obtained for many of the substrates were excellent and similar to those provided by more active or even homogeneous catalysts. The reactions of aryl polybromides and phenylboronic acid gave the corresponding polyaromatic compounds in variable yields depending on the particular substrate. Arylation occurred in a consecutive manner by substitution of the different Br atoms. ICP‐MS measurements of the palladium content of the catalyst performed prior to and after the reaction revealed that part of the metal is incorporated into the bulk solution; therefore, the catalytic process is not purely heterogeneous. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scheduling production of multiple part-types in a system with pre-known demands and deterministic inactive time intervals

We introduce and formalise a scheduling problem that consists in determining an optimum policy (i.e. one that minimises total inventory holding costs) to produce n part-types using a system that is able to share its capacity at all times among these part-types and that switches between an active and an inactive state for pre-known periods of time. Consequently, when active the system must produce enough reserves to meet the demand during the inactive interval. We show that there is always a simple optimum policy in which the production of the part-types is prioritised and, provided the units are properly defined, the optimum priority ordering corresponds to a non-decreasing sequence of the unit holding costs of the part-types.