Composition of the Canadian Total Force: Issues and Findings for the Air Components

In 1987 the Canadian Department of National Defence enunciated the Total Force concept. The Total Force is comprised of Regular and Reserve components. The intention is to make maximum use of the Reserve to reduce defence expenditures and at the same time to ensure that military capability remains adequate to support national policy objectives. This paper discusses some of the governing parameters that affect the modelling of the composition of the Total Force and analyses the mix of regular and reserve forces. The interplay between the key factors and their marginal costs will be stressed. The models are employed to study two units in the Canadian Forces, a maintenance support unit and a tactical unit with high operational activity cost. The lessons drawn from these studies are highlighted.     

Spanning point-line geometries in buildings of spherical type

We consider the point-line geometries that arise as a shadow space in a spherical building with a diagram of type A_n, B_n, C_n, D_n or E_n, and determine in which cases the geometry is spanned by the set of points on an apartment. It turns out that this happens precisely in the cases corresponding to a minimal weight.     

The solid-phase Nicholas reaction: scope and limitations

Two libraries of alpha-substituted alkynes has been prepared on solid phase using a sequential Sonogashira/Nicholas reaction approach. The scope of nucleophiles in the Nicholas reaction on solid phase has been investigated, including carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, fluoride, and hydride nucleophiles. The conditions for the reaction sequence have been optimized in terms of Lewis acid, catalyst for the Sonogashira step, temperature, reaction time, and decomplexation method, enabling the five-step sequence to be performed in 1 day.     

Primary amido substituted diborane4 compounds and imidodiborate4 anions

Treatment of the diborane(4) compound B(2)(NMe(2))(4) with aniline or 2,6-dimethylaniline results in the primary amido compounds B(2)(NHR)(4)(R = Ph, 2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3)); subsequent treatment with n-BuLi in toluene in each case affords the first examples of anionic imidodiborates namely Li(4)(thf)(6)B(2)(NPh)(4) and Li(4)(thf)(4)B(2)(N-2,6-Me(2)C(6)H(3))(4); all complexes have been characterised crystallographically.     

QUENCHING OF TRYPTOPHAN PHOSPHORESCENCE IN ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE FROM HORSE LIVER and ITS TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE

Abstract— The phosphorescence of alcohol dehydrogenase from horse liver (LADH) can be observed at room temperature. The quenching of this long-lived light emission, which comes from a tryptophan residue well buried within the interior of the enzyme structure, was measured. The rate constants for the quenching by the small oxygen molecule and by the I ^-1ion were found to be 1.4 → 10⁸ M ^-1 s^-1 and 10⁸ M ^-1 s^-1, respectively, at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the quenching yields an activation energy of about 14 kcal/mol. This activation energy and the meaning of the accompanying large pre-exponential factor in the Arrhenius equation, A = 10¹⁸ M ^-l s^-1, are discussed in terms of a model in which the quencher threads its way through the protein network.     

Quantitative analysis of the farnesyl transferase inhibitor lonafarnib (Sarasartrade mark, SCH66336) in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

Lonafarnib is a novel anticancer drug that inhibits farnesyl transferase. To assess its pharmacokinetic properties, we developed a sensitive and quantitative assay using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of lonafarnib levels in human plasma. Sample pretreatment consisted of the addition of an isotopically labeled internal standard and protein precipitation with acetonitrile using 100 microL plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Inertsil ODS-3 analytical column (50 x 2.1 mm i.d., particle size 5 microm) with acetonitrile/water/formic acid (50:50:0.05, v/v/v) as the mobile phase, at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The analytical run time was 8 min. An API365 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used for specific and sensitive detection. It was operated in the positive ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring was used for drug quantification. The method was validated using a concentration range of 2.5 to 2500 ng/mL lonafarnib. Validation of the assay was performed according to the most recent FDA guidelines for bioanalytical method validation and all results were within the requirements. The described method was successfully applied to support a clinical phase I trial with lonafarnib.