Multivariate calibration techniques applied to the spectrophotometric analysis of one-to-four component systems

The UV spectrophotometric analysis of a multicomponent mixture containing paracetamol, caffeine, tripelenamine and salicylamide by using multivariate calibration methods, such as principal component regression (PCR) and partial least-squares regression (PLS), was described. The calibration set was based on 47 reference samples, consisting of quaternary, ternary, binary and single-component mixtures, with the aim to develop models able to predict the concentrations of unknown samples containing as many as one-to-four components. The calibration models were optimized by an appropriate selection of the number of factors as well as wavelength ranges to be used for building up the data matrix and excluding any information about the interfering excipients included in pharmaceutics. The PCR and PLS models were compared and their predictive performance was inferred by a successful application to the assays of synthetic mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations.     

Modelling the thermal behaviour of carboxylic acid derivatives with cylcodextrins in the solid-state

The application of classical QSAR and molecular modelling to the inclusion complexation of natural and modified cyclodextrins (CDs) with carboxylic acid derivatives as guest molecules was examined. Information was available on the thermal behaviour, in the solid-state of benzoic acid (BA), salicylic acid (SA), and various substituted aminosalicylic acids (3-aminosalicylic acid, 3-ASA, 4-aminosalicylic acid, 4-ASA and 5-aminosalicylic acid, 5-ASA), as well as on the thermal behaviour of 1:1 molar ratio physical and kneaded mixtures of these acids with each of three different cyclodextrins, β-, (BCD) 2-hydroxypropyl-β-, (HPBCD) and γ-cyclodextrin (GCD). The thermal behaviour of the binary (1:1 stoichiometry) mixtures was modelled using stepwise multiple regression (SMR). Two models for the prediction of the percentage mass loss and enthalpy of dehydration of the physical mixtures were established with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.79 and 0.92, respectively. Decreased correlation in the thermal behaviour of kneaded mixtures indicated significant interaction and possible formation of inclusion complexes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Random walks on inhomogeneous lattices

For lattices with two kinds of points (black and white), distributed according to a translation-invariant joint probability distribution, we study statistical properties of the sequence of consecutive colors encountered by a random walker moving through the lattice. The probability distribution for the single steps of the walk is considered to be independent of the colors of the points. Several exact results are presented which are valid in any number of dimensions and for arbitrary probability distributions for the coloring of the points and the steps of the walk. They are used to derive a few general properties of random walks on lattices containing traps.Presented at the Symposium on Random Walks, Gaithersburg, MD, June 1982.     

Random walk properties of lattices and correlation factors for diffusion via the vacancy mechanism in crystals

Random walk properties and correlation factors for diffusion via the vacancy mechanism are calculated and compared for various three-dimensional lattices. By applying the theory of random walks on an imperfect lattice, the correlation factor for impurity diffusion is calculated rigorously for the five jump frequency model in the fee lattice.Presented at the Symposium on Random Walks, Gaithersburg, MD, June 1982.     

Novel random poly(propylene isophthalate/adipate) copolyesters: Synthesis and characterization

Poly(propylene adipate) (PPA) and poly(propylene isophthalate/adipate) (PPI-PPA) random copolymers of various compositions were synthesized in bulk and characterized in terms of chemical structure and molecular weight. Furthermore, the thermal behavior was examined by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. All the polymers showed a good thermal stability. At room temperature they appeared as semicrystalline materials, except the copolymers containing 20 and 30 mol% of PI units: the main effect of copolymerization was a lowering in the amount of crystallinity and a decrease of melting temperature with respect to homopolymers. The crystalline phase of PPI and PPA was evidenced at high content of propylene isophthalate or propylene adipate units, respectively. Amorphous samples were obtained after melt quenching and an increment of T_g as the content of PI units is increased was observed. This behavior was explained as due to the stiff phenylene groups in the polymeric chain. The Wood equation was found to describe well T_g-composition data. Lastly, the presence of a rigid-amorphous phase was evidenced in the copolymers, differently from PPA homopolymer.     

Autoignition temperature: comprehensive data analysis and predictive models

ABSTRACT

Here we report a new predictive model for autoignition temperature (AIT), an important physical parameter widely used to assess potential safety hazards of combustible materials. Available structure-AIT data extracted from different sources were critically analysed. Support vector regression (SVR) models on different data subsets were built in order to identify a reliable compound set on which a realistic model could be built. This led to a selection of the dataset containing 875 compounds annotated with AIT values. The thereupon-based SVR model performs reasonably well in cross-validation with the determination coefficient r ² = 0.77 and mean absolute error MAE = 37.8°C. External validation on 20 industrial compounds missing in the training set confirmed its good predictive power (MAE = 28.7°C).     

Measurement of lactate in whole human blood with near-infrared transmission spectroscopy

We have evaluated the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a technique for rapid analysis of lactate in whole blood. To test the NIRS technique, a comparison was made with a standard clinical method using whole blood samples taken from five exercising human subjects at three different stage of exercise. To expand lactate concentration within the physiological range, standard additions method was used to generate 45 unique data points. Spectra were collected over the 2050-2400 nm spectral range with a 1 mm optical path length quartz cell. Reference lactate concentrations in the samples were determined by enzymatic measurements. Estimates and calibration of the lactate concentration with NIRS was made using partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis and leave-N-out cross validation on second derivative spectra. Separate calibrations were determined from each of the subject samples and cumulative PRESS was used to determine the number of PLS factors in the final model. The results from the PLS model presented are generated from the five individual calibration coefficient vectors and provided a correlation coefficient of 0.978 and a standard error of cross validation of 0.65 mmol l⁻¹ between the enzymatic assay and the NIRS technique. To study the parameters that impact the spectra baseline and the correlation between the calculated model and the data, referenced measurements of lactate against baseline spectrum were made for each individual. A correlation coefficient of 0.992 and a standard error of cross validation of 0.21 mmol l⁻¹ were found. The results suggest that NIRS may provide a valuable tool to assess physiological status for both research and clinical needs.     

On vector-valued random Fourier series

Consider a (complex) Banach spaceX, such thatX C_O, and vectors(X _i ) _i ofX. Consider an independent standard normal sequence(g _i ) _i . Then if anX-valued random Fourier series _{|k| n} e ^ikt g _k x _k satisfies

Rare numbers

Suppose thatX ₁,X ₂,... is a sequence of iid random variables taking values inZ ⁺. Consider the random sequenceA(X)(X ₁,X ₂,...). LetY _n be the number of integers which appear exactly once in the firstn terms ofA(X). We investigate the limit behavior ofn ^–(1–) Y _n for [0, 1].