On Improvements to the Analytic Center Cutting Plane Method

In this paper, we explore a weakness of a specific implementation of the analytic center cutting plane method applied to convex optimization problems, which may lead to weaker results than Kelley's cutting plane method. Improvements to the analytic center cutting plane method are suggested, and tested on some example problems.     

BRCA1 mutation screening using restriction endonuclease fingerprinting-single-strand conformation polymorphism in an automated capillary electrophoresis system

Efficient mutation scanning techniques are needed for the rapid detection of novel disease-associated mutations and rare-sequence variants of putative importance. The large size of the breast cancer 1 gene (BRCA1) and the many mutations found throughout its entire coding sequence make screening for mutations in this gene particularly challenging. We have developed a method for screening exon 11 of the BRCA1 gene based on restriction enzyme digestion of fluorescence-labeled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) using an automated capillary electrophoresis system, denoted capillary restriction endonuclease fingerprinting (REF)-SSCP electrophoresis. Using this strategy on a control set of samples, we were able to detect 17 of 18 known sequence alterations. The method was then applied to screen 73 Norwegian females with family histories of breast and/or ovarian cancer. A total of 172 sequence alterations were detected, including substitutions, insertions, and deletions. One novel substitution of unknown function was identified. Sequencing of all samples negative in the capillary REF-SSCP system gave no additional mutations confirming the high sensitivity of the described methodology. Capillary REF-SSCP electrophoresis appeared as a technically convenient technique, requiring amplification of fewer PCR fragments than traditional SSCP. The novel strategy allows high-throughput mutation scanning without radioactive labeling and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE).     

Physicochemical and interfacial investigation of lipid/polymer particle assemblies

A model study was investigated to develop colloidal supramolecular assemblies consisting of particles coated with lipid layers. The interactions between monodisperse sulfate-charged poly(styrene) submicrometer particles and zwitterionic/cationic lipid vesicles composed of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane were considered. The influence of relevant experimental parameters on the final associations was examined by quasi-elastic light scattering to point out some new phenomena occurring in these colloidal systems. The major role of electrostatic interactions as driving forces to control the organization between cationic lipids and oppositely charged poly(styrene) particles was clearly evident, whereas this influence was less pronounced when considering the zwitterionic lipids. The characterization of these original complex assemblies was completed by a thorough study of the surface modification. The combination of zeta potential measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, and microscopy observations proved that the envisioned model can really correspond to polymer particles surrounded by lipids.     

On a Primal-Dual Analytic Center Cutting Plane Method for Variational Inequalities

We present an algorithm for variational inequalities VI( , Y) that uses a primal-dual version of the Analytic Center Cutting Plane Method. The point-to-set mapping is assumed to be monotone, or pseudomonotone. Each computation of a new analytic center requires at most four Newton iterations, in theory, and in practice one or sometimes two. Linear equalities that may be included in the definition of the set Y are taken explicitly into account.We report numerical experiments on several well—known variational inequality problems as well as on one where the functional results from the solution of large subproblems. The method is robust and competitive with algorithms which use the same information as this one.     

PtCl2-catalyzed cycloisomerizations of 5-en-1-yn-3-ol systems

5-En-1-yn-3-ol substrates bearing a free hydroxyl group or an acyl group are highly versatile partners for PtCl2-catalyzed cycloisomerizations. Electrophilic activation of the alkyne moiety triggers at wish a hydride or an O-acyl migration yielding at the end to regioisomeric keto derivatives. The efficient preparation of Sabina ketone, an important monoterpene precursor, has been worked out.     

A Step-Forward Method of Quantitative Analysis of Enzymatically Produced Isomaltooligosaccharide Preparations by AEC-PAD

In this paper, anion exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection has been successfully applied for the fine analysis of isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) syrups where previous reported methods suffered from a lack of homologue oligosaccharides resolution. These syrups are made of a very complex mixture of glucose oligosaccharides characterized at the same time by their DP value (from 2 to ~15) and linkage types [α-(1–2, 3 or 6) and non-IMO α-(1–4)] and position. A mix of available commercial standards (17 species) was completely separated on a CarboPac PA-100 column at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1 and with a gradient of sodium acetate in 100 mM sodium hydroxide. The method was validated according to calibration curve, precision, recovery tests, limits of detection and quantitation. Calibration curves presented correlation coefficients greater than 0.98. The analytical method has been applied on real syrups, keeping a high performance separation of structurally close molecules and giving, for six determinations, very low relative SD for the available standard molecules (0.3–5.8%). The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by recovery measurements: first by spiking maltose on three different syrups and then by spiking six different sugar standards (20, 50 and 75% of the initial content) on a single syrup. Good recovery results (respectively, 96.5–99.7 and 97.1–102.7%) were found. The method was found sensible with limits of detection (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) between 0.048 and 0.124 μg mL^?1 and limits of quantification (signal-to-noise ratio of 10) between 0.159 and 0.412 μg mL^?1.     

On Minimizing Some Merit Functions for Nonlinear Complementarity Problems under <Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-Differentiability

In this paper, we describe the H-differentials of some well known NCP functions and their merit functions. We show how, under appropriate conditions on an H-differential of f, minimizing a merit function corresponding to f leads to a solution of the nonlinear complementarity problem. Our results give a unified treatment of such results for C ¹-functions, semismooth-functions, and locally Lipschitzian functions. Illustrations are given to show the usefulness of our results. We present also a result on the global convergence of a derivative-free descent algorithm for solving the nonlinear complementarity problem. The first author is deeply indebted to Professor M. Seetharama Gowda for his numerous helpful suggestions and encouragement. Special thanks to Professor J.-P. Crouzeix and an anonymous referees for their constructive suggestions which led to numerous improvements in the paper. The research of the first author was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Scholar Activity Grant of Thompson Rivers University. The research of the second author was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

A cutting plane method from analytic centers for stochastic programming

The stochastic linear programming problem with recourse has a dual block-angular structure. It can thus be handled by Benders' decomposition or by Kelley's method of cutting planes; equivalently the dual problem has a primal block-angular structure and can be handled by Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition—the two approaches are in fact identical by duality. Here we shall investigate the use of the method of cutting planes from analytic centers applied to similar formulations. The only significant difference form the aforementioned methods is that new cutting planes (or columns, by duality) will be generated not from the optimum of the linear programming relaxation, but from the analytic center of the set of localization.This research has been supported by the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique Suisse (grant # 12-26434.89), NSERC-Canada and FCAR-Quebec.Corresponding author.     

The 8 : 1 : 1 ternary hybrid framework in the system [EDT-TTF +][1,4-bis(iodoethynyl)benzene][Re6Se8(CN)6]4-: dual noncovalent expression of the octahedral halogen-bond hexa-acceptor nanonode

Complementary shapes of the neutral symmetrical halogen-bond bis-donor core and octahedral inorganic cluster core prevent halogen-bonded polymers developing in more than one direction, favouring further templating by conducting radical cation slabs and yielding an 8 : 1 : 1 phase formulation instead of n : 2 : 1, with a 2D net, or m : 3 : 1, with a pseudo-cubic architecture, which may in principle also be targeted.