Valid inequalities for MIPs and group polyhedra from approximate liftings

In this paper, we present an approximate lifting scheme to derive valid inequalities for general mixed integer programs and for the group problem. This scheme uses superadditive functions as the building block of integer and continuous lifting procedures. It yields a simple derivation of new and known families of cuts that correspond to extreme inequalities for group problems. This new approximate lifting approach is constructive and potentially efficient in computation. J.-P. P. Richard was supported by NSF grant DMI-348611.     

Enhanced Karush–Kuhn–Tucker condition and weaker constraint qualifications

In this paper we study necessary optimality conditions for nonsmooth optimization problems with equality, inequality and abstract set constraints. We derive the enhanced Fritz John condition which contains some new information even in the smooth case than the classical enhanced Fritz John condition. From this enhanced Fritz John condition we derive the enhanced Karush–Kuhn–Tucker condition and introduce the associated pseudonormality and quasinormality condition. We prove that either pseudonormality or quasinormality with regularity on the constraint functions and the set constraint implies the existence of a local error bound. Finally we give a tighter upper estimate for the Fréchet subdifferential and the limiting subdifferential of the value function in terms of quasinormal multipliers which is usually a smaller set than the set of classical normal multipliers. In particular we show that the value function of a perturbed problem is Lipschitz continuous under the perturbed quasinormality condition which is much weaker than the classical normality condition.     

Derivatives of the Hurwitz Zeta function for rational arguments

The functional equation for the Hurwitz Zeta function ζ(s,a) is used to obtain formulas for derivatives of ζ(s,a) at negative odd s and rational a. For several of these rational arguments, closed-form expressions are given in terms of simpler transcendental functions, like the logarithm, the polygamma function, and the Riemann Zeta function.     

Characteristics of listener sensitivity to talker-specific phonetic detail

Previous research shows that listeners are sensitive to talker differences in phonetic properties of speech, including voice-onset-time (VOT) in word-initial voiceless stop consonants, and that learning how a talker produces one voiceless stop transfers to another word with the same voiceless stop [Allen, J. S., and Miller, J. L. (2004). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 115, 3171-3183]. The present experiments examined whether transfer extends to words that begin with different voiceless stops. During training, listeners heard two talkers produce a given voiceless-initial word (e.g., pain). VOTs were manipulated such that one talker produced the voiceless stop with relatively short VOTs and the other with relatively long VOTs. At test, listeners heard a short- and long-VOT variant of the same word (e.g., pain) or a word beginning with a different voiceless stop (e.g., cane or coal), and were asked to select which of the two VOT variants was most representative of a given talker. In all conditions, which variant was selected at test was in line with listeners' exposure during training, and the effect was equally strong for the novel word and the training word. These findings suggest that accommodating talker-specific phonetic detail does not require exposure to each individual phonetic segment.     

Synthesis of high-mannose type neoglycolipids: active targeting of liposomes to macrophages in gene therapy

The concise synthesis of five biantennary oligomannose neoglycolipids is presented. Employing a strategy based on the principles of reactivity tuning and orthogonal activation, the oligomannose moieties, isolated from the glycoprotein 63 of the parasite Leishmania mexicana amazonensis, were rapidly assembled taking advantage of common structural motifs found in these N-glycans. Deprotection of all structures was achieved in high yield by hydrogenolysis. The deprotected glycoconjugates were subsequently coupled to a cholesteroldiamine derivative using diethylsquarate as a linker. The resulting neoglycolipids will be used as additives to cationic liposome formulations in the active targeting of liposomes to macrophages.     

Using chemical probes to investigate the sub-inhibitory effects of azithromycin

The antibacterial drug azithromycin has clinically beneficial effects at sub-inhibitory concentrations for the treatment of conditions characterized by chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, such as cystic fibrosis. These effects are, in part, the result of inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation. Herein, the efficient synthesis of azithromycin in 4 steps from erythromycin and validation of the drug's ability to inhibit biofilm formation at sub-MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values are reported. Furthermore, the synthesis of immobilized and biotin-tagged azithromycin analogues is described. These chemical probes were used in pull-down assays in an effort to identify azithromycin's binding partners in vivo. Results from these assays revealed, as expected, mainly ribosomal-related protein binding partners, suggesting that this is the primary target of the drug. This was further confirmed by studies using a P. aeruginosa strain containing plasmid-encoded ermC, which expresses a protein that modifies 23S rRNA and so blocks macrolide entry to the ribosome. In this strain, no biofilm inhibition was observed. This work supports the hypothesis that the sub-inhibitory effects of azithromycin are mediated through the ribosome. Moreover, the synthesis of these chemical probes, and proof of their utility, is of value in global target identification in P. aeruginosa and other species.     

Probing intermolecular couplings in liquid water with two-dimensional infrared photon echo spectroscopy

Two-dimensional infrared photon echo and pump probe studies of the OH stretch vibration provide a sensitive probe of the correlations and couplings in the hydrogen bond network of liquid water. The nonlinear response is simulated using numerical integration of the Schrodinger equation with a Hamiltonian constructed to explicitly treat intermolecular coupling and nonadiabatic effects in the highly disordered singly and doubly excited vibrational exciton manifolds. The simulated two-dimensional spectra are in close agreement with our recent experimental results. The high sensitivity of the OH stretch vibration to the bath dynamics is found to arise from intramolecular mixing between states in the two-dimensional anharmonic OH stretch potential. Surprisingly small intermolecular couplings reproduce the experimentally observed intermolecular energy transfer times.     

Simplified method of the quantum chemical analysis for determination of thermodynamic parameters of 2D cluster formation of amphiphilic compounds at the air/water interface

A simplified method is proposed to estimate the thermodynamic parameters of clusterization at the air/water interface for various classes of amphiphilic compounds with a single alkyl chain. The method is based on the calculation of thermodynamic characteristics only for one of the homologous series of dimers (n=6-16) governing the formation of infinite clusters. The method is used to calculate the thermodynamic parameters of clusterization for alcohols, thioalcohols, carboxylic acids and amines, and the dependencies of the Gibbs energy of clusterization on the alkyl chain length are evaluated. It is shown that the alkyl chain length, at which the spontaneous clusterization begins, as calculated using the proposed simplified method, is in fact the same as that calculated using the additive scheme developed earlier. The simplified method proposed was verified using alkylnitriles as example. In contrast to alcohols, thioalcohols and amines, infinite 'rhombic' clusters are formed rather than 'rectangular' clusters for this class of compounds. Spontaneous clusterization of nitriles is shown to start for alkyl chains containing 18-19 carbon atoms. This value agrees with that obtained from experimental data with 17-18 carbon atoms. The proposed simplified method introduces an exact and suitable tool for the estimation of thermodynamic parameters of the clusterization of amphiphilic compounds.     

Stress relaxation behaviour of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine monolayers spread on the surface of a pendant drop

Dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers were characterised by surface pressure/area isotherms (π/A) and surface dilational rheological parameters at temperatures 20–40°C. The methods used were the Langmuir trough and the pendant drop micro-film balance. The latter allows accurate measurements at higher temperatures and transient drop deformation. Stable DPPC monolayers were found only for low surface pressures, π<15 mN m⁻¹. At higher monolayer compression π decreases over a long time, mainly caused by molecular rearrangement processes in the monolayer starting in the coexisting region. At π>25 mN m⁻¹ and 20°C relaxation experiments give evident of rupturing, brittle monolayer structures. At higher temperatures the monolayers became more fluid-like. π/A-isotherms determined by using both methods principally agree with each other, but show also remarkable differences, which cannot be explained so far satisfactory. Transient drop relaxation experiments were analysed for the short time range (600 s). At 20°C the dilational modulus (_r) and the surface dilational viscosity (ξ_r) passes a stationary maximum at 0.54 nm² molecule⁻¹ and increase strongly at higher surface coverage, thus indicating crystalline monolayer structure. Increasing temperature from 20 to 30°C causes a rapid decrease of _r and ξ_r and a shift of the stationary maximum to lower surface coverage. No evidence for crystalline structure is found. Further increase of temperature causes _r and ξ_r increase again. This increase is caused by a rising relaxation time, while the elasticity does not change in the same manner. Such intermediate decrease of _r and ξ_r in the range 30–40°C appears to be unusual and can be interpreted as a consequence of strong DPPC interactions and strongly pronounced retardation of monolayer deformation. The study is discussed in connection to the physiology of breathing. For pulmonary surfactants the observed behaviour seems to be understandable. It is however interesting that such complex behaviour is observed for monolayers consisting of DPPC only.