Optical resolution of 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-21-ene derivatives. Diastereoselectivity in the formation of cyanohydrine-brucine complexes

A new, practical method for the optical resolution of bicyclic ketones if illusttrated by the preparation of (+)-(1R,4R)-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]bept-5-en-2-one ((+)- 1 ) and (+)-(1R, 2S,4R)-2-cyano-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-yul acetate ((+)- 4 ). It involves the diastereoselective formation of a brucine complex with the corresponding cyanhydrine mixture.     

Lifting wreath product extensions

Let and be finite groups and let be a hilbertian field. We show that if has a generic extension over and satisfies the arithmetic lifting property over , then the wreath product of and also satisfies the arithmetic lifting property over . Moreover, if the orders of and are relatively prime and is abelian, then any extension of by (which is necessarily a semidirect product) has the arithmetic lifting property.

     

Highly diastereo- and enantioselective catalytic synthesis of the bis-tetrahydrofuran alcohol of Brecanavir and Darunavir

An efficient highly diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of the bis-tetrahydrofuran (bis-THF) alcohol of several HIV protease inhibitors, including Brecanavir and Darunavir, has been achieved utilizing an Evans Mukaiyama aldol reaction of (benzyloxy)acetaldehyde and a silyl ketene acetal. The lactone alcohol intermediate from the catalytic aldol reaction was reduced to a lactol. Palladium catalyzed hydrogenolysis removed the benzyl protection and promoted an in situ cyclization to form the epimer of the bis-THF alcohol in a 98:2 diastereomeric ratio and 97:3 enantiomeric ratio. The alcohol epimer was readily converted to the target in two steps by oxidation to a ketone followed by highly selective reduction to the bis-THF alcohol.     

Deformations of dihedral -group extensions of fields

Given a -Galois extension of number fields we ask whether it is a specialization of a regular -Galois cover of . This is the ``inverse" of the usual use of the Hilbert Irreducibility Theorem in the Inverse Galois problem. We show that for many groups such arithmetic liftings exist by observing that the existence of generic extensions implies the arithmetic lifting property. We explicitly construct generic extensions for dihedral -groups under certain assumptions on the base field . We also show that dihedral groups of order and have generic extensions over any base field with characteristic different from .

     

OR and the challenge to improve the NHS: modelling for insight and improvement in in-patient flows

This paper considers efforts to improve in-patient flows, a particularly urgent issue in the National Health Service (NHS). The context is described and related to reasons why OR has been making relatively little contribution. The paper argues that large complex models may often be unnecessary and even get in the way of providing clear insight and guidance for problem owners. The importance of understanding the generic working of systems to lead to improvement, and the limitations of simply describing them, is stressed. It is demonstrated that some very simple models can be of significant practical value in understanding and managing complex systems, changing mindsets and driving collection and use of operationally valuable data. Recommendations for more effective engagement with the NHS are offered.     

Vehicle routing and scheduling with time-varying data: A case study

A heuristic algorithm is described for vehicle routing and scheduling problems to minimise the total travel time, where the time required for a vehicle to travel along any road in the network varies according to the time of travel. The variation is caused by congestion that is typically greatest during morning and evening rush hours. The algorithm is used to schedule a fleet of delivery vehicles operating in the South West of the United Kingdom for a sample of days. The results demonstrate how conventional methods that do not take time-varying speeds into account when planning, except for an overall contingency allowance, may still lead to some routes taking too long. The results are analysed to show that in the case study using the proposed approach can lead to savings in CO₂ emissions of about 7%.     

The vibration of atoms at high miller index surfaces: Face centred cubic metals

Using a nearest neighbour model of interatomic forces we have obtained surface mode requencies for the face centred cubic (100), (110), (111), (210), …, (332) surfaces. In addition mode frequencies for the (511̄), (711̄), (911̄) and (553) surfaces were obtained so effects of increasing terrace size could be further studied. Frequencies and surface eigenvectors are presented for nickel. Since a nearest neighbour model is used a simple conversion factor allows a determination of the frequencies for other metals for which the nearest neighbour model is appropriate.