Z′ mediated flavor changing neutral currents in B meson decays

We study the effects of an extra U(1)′ gauge boson with flavor changing couplings with fermion mass eigenstates on certain B meson decays that are sensitive to such new physics contributions. In particular, we examine to what extent the current data on B_d→φK and B_d→η′K decays may be explained in such models, concentrating on the example in which the flavor changing couplings are left-chiral. We find that within reasonable ranges of parameters, the Z′ contribution can readily account for the anomaly in S_φKS but is not sufficient to explain large branching ratio of B_d→η′K with the same parameter value. S_φKS and S_η′KS are seen to be the dominant observables that constrain the extra weak phase in the model.     

A ring-closing metathesis route to 7-membered aza-heteroannulated sugars

Azepane rings have been constructed diastereoselectively upon a carbohydrate derivative utilising reductive amination and RCM. The stereochemistry of the ring junctions was confirmed by X-ray crystallography and NMR. Diastereoselective dihydroxylation has also been employed to afford a tetrahydroxylated azepane carbohydrate derivative with potential biological activity.     

A global algorithm to estimate the expectations of the components of an observed univariate mixture

This paper deals with the unsupervised classification of univariate observations. Given a set of observations originating from a K-component mixture, we focus on the estimation of the component expectations. We propose an algorithm based on the minimization of the “K-product” (KP) criterion we introduced in a previous work. We show that the global minimum of this criterion can be reached by first solving a linear system then calculating the roots of some polynomial of order K. The KP global minimum provides a first raw estimate of the component expectations, then a nearest-neighbour classification enables to refine this estimation. Our method’s relevance is finally illustrated through simulations of various mixtures. When the mixture components do not strongly overlap, the KP algorithm provides better estimates than the Expectation-Maximization algorithm.     

Generalizations of the Nikodym boundedness and Vitali–Hahn–Saks theorems

Generalizations of the Nikodym boundedness and Vitali–Hahn–Saks theorems for scalar-valued measures on rings of sets that are in general not σ-rings are presented. As a consequence, the rings of subsets of N with density zero and uniform density zero are shown to have the Nikodym property. In addition, vector measure generalizations of the Vitali–Hahn–Saks theorem are given.     

Criteria for right disfocality of linear difference equations

Right disfocality and criteria for right disfocality of linear difference equations are considered. The criteria require the positivity of appropriate minors of a Wronskian determinant and are analogues to criteria for the disconjugacy of linear ordinary differential equations and linear difference equations.     

Study on the Binding Characteristic of S-Naproxen Imprinted Polymer and the Interactions between Templates and Monomers

S-naproxen imprinted polymer was prepared with acrylamide as a functional monomer, 1,4-butanediyl diacrylate as a new kind of crossliner, and 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphenyl-phosphinic acid ethyl ester as photoinitiator. Their UV and IR spectra were applied to study the interactions between the template and the monomer. Binding experiments showed that the S-naproxen imprinted polymer had better recognition capability for the template than that of a blank polymer. The adsorption distribution coefficient KD of S-naproxen on molecularly-imprinted polymer was 153.2 g/mL, and the separation factor was 1.95 when the initial concentration of substrate was 2.0 mmol/L. Scatchard curves suggested that there were two classes of binding sites in the imprinted polymer and only one class in the blank polymer. Computer simulation using Hyperchem showed the existence of the interactions between the template and the functional monomer as well as the models of the complexes formed by the template and the monomer.     

Implementation of an integrated glucose POCT system

In response to a change of the Belgian National Directives whereby hospital laboratories became responsible for all point-of-care testing (POCT) performed within hospital walls a standardized and automated POC glucose-testing system was implemented in our hospital. The system consists of 50 AccuCheck Inform instruments (Roche Diagnostics, Vilvoorde, Belgium), 50 docking stations, a DataCare Server, and connections to the medical laboratory information system (MOLIS, Sysmex, Barchon, Belgium) and to the hospital information system. Implementation involved many parties and extensive preparation and communication. Key issues were bar-coded patient and user identification, training, and responsibilities. One year after the hospital wide implementation of this system the quality of POC glucose testing has significantly increased, thereby improving patient safety. This study describes a stepwise change over involving the medical laboratory and with a focus on hands-on quality.Presented at the ninth conference on Quality in the Spotlight, 18–19 March 2004, Antwerp, Belgium.