Study of degradation behavior of besifloxacin,characterization of its degradation products by LC–ESI–QTOF–MS and their in silico toxicity prediction

Knowledge and understanding of the stability profile of a drug is important as it affects its safety and efficacy. In the present work, besifloxacin, a new, fourth‐generation fluoroquinolone antibiotic, was subjected to different forced‐degradation conditions as per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines such as hydrolysis (acid, base and neutral), oxidation, thermal and photolysis. The drug degraded under acidic, basic, oxidative and photolytic conditions while it was found to be stable under dry heat and neutral hydrolytic conditions. In total, five degradation products (DPs) were formed under different conditions—DP1 and DP2 (photolysis), DP3 (oxidation), DP4 (acidic), DP3 and DP5 (basic). The chromatographic separation of besifloxacin and its degradation products was achieved on a Sunfire C₁₈ (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column with 0.1% aqueous formic acid–acetonitrile as a mobile phase. The gradient RP‐HPLC method was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. The degradation products were characterized with the help of LC–ESI–QTOF mass spectrometric studies and the most likely degradation pathway of the drug was proposed. In silico toxicity assessment of the drug and its degradation products was carried out, which indicated that DP3 and DP4 carry a mutagenicity alert.     

Critical behaviour of a relativistic ideal Bose gas with pair production

We discuss the critical behaviour of an ideal relativistic Bose gas (in d dimensions) with a net charge including the effects of pair production. We show that the critical exponents of the system are the same as those of the usual nonrelativistic Bose gas. The universal ratios formed from the critical amplitude are also the same as those of the usual Bose gas.     

QCD estimates for associated charm production by weak neutral currents

We give quantitative estimates for associated charm production in neutrino and antineutrino induced neutral current interactions, based on (a) quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and (b) the quark parton model (QPM) and a phenomenological generalization thereof. We emphasize the need for a precise measurement of the ratio σ(v_μN→v_μe⁺X)/σ(v_μN→μ^?X) and the corresponding ratio for antineutrinos, as these can provide clean tests of certain characteristic features of QCD. Bounds are obtained for single charm production by charm-changing neutral currents.     

Phytosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Walnut (Juglans regia) Bark with Characterization of the Antibacterial Activity against Streptococcus mutans

A green method using Juglans regia bark extract was used to synthesize silver nanoparticles at room temperature with monitoring by absorption spectroscopy. The size and shape of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering. The average particle size was from 10 to 30?nm. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used for the separation, identification, and quantification of components of the plant extracts. A possible mechanism for the synthesis of nanoparticles was elucidated based on the GC–MS results. The synthesized silver nanoparticles showed effective inhibition against Streptococcus mutans, which is the main causative agent for dental caries. The nanoparticles also showed promising antibiofilm activity by inhibiting the glucosyltransferase enzyme.     

Particle mass limits in minimal and nonminimal supersymmetric models

A review of the Higgs and neutralino sector of supersymmetric models is presented. This includes the upper limit on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, as well as models based on the standard model gauge groupSU(2) _L xU(l) _Y with extended Higgs sectors. We then discuss the Higgs sector of left-right supersymmetric models, which conserveR-parity as a consequence of gauge invariance, and present a calculable upper bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in these models. We also discuss the neutralino sector of general supersymmetric models based on the SM gauge group. We show that, as a consequence of gauge coupling unification, an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutralino as a function of the gluino mass can be obtained.     

Beyond the standard model: Working group report

This report summarises the activities of the working group on ‘Physics beyond the Standard Model’. The results of investigations in incorporatingR-parity in grand unification, the possibility of a light charged Higgs boson in extension of MSSM and radiative generation of neutral vector boson self-couplings within the MSSM are described. Also given is an account of activities in neutrino physics, namely a proposal for a study of the atmospheric muon anomaly in deep underground mines, a field theoretic study of neutrino oscillations and a mechanism to generate appropriate masses of three active plus one sterile neutrino species.     

Neutralino mass matrix in the nonminimal supersymmetric Standard Model

We study in detail the neutralino mass matrix in the minimal extension of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model. The model contains a Higgs singlet besides the two Higgs doublets of the minimal model. A number of limiting cases are considered wherein the neutralino mass spectrum can be analytically obtained. Based on these analytical results several useful approximation formulas for the neutralino masses are obtained. Using the constraints from the renormalization group analysis of the model, we obtain the spectrum numerically and study the dependence of the neutralino masses on the parameters of the model. We compare the results of the approximation formulas with the numerical results, and thereby establish the applicability of the these formulae in the different regions of the parameter space.     

Radiative corrections to Higgs boson masses in supersymmetric models

The effect of radiative corrections on the Higgs masses and couplings in supersymmetric models is summarized. Radiative corrections in both the minimal and nonminimal models are discussed. It is pointed out that large singlet Higgs vacuum expectation values are screened out from the radiative corrections to the lightest Higgs mass in nonminimal models. In supersymmetric models the crucial mass limit for the Higgs search may be around 150 GeV.     

Production and two-photon decay of the MSSM scalar Higgs bosons at the LHC

We consider the production and two-photon decay of theCP-even Higgs bosons (h ⁰ andH ⁰) of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) at the Large Hadron Collider. We study in detail the dependence of the cross section on various parameters of the MSSM, especially the dependence on the mixing effects in the squark sector due to the Higgs bilinear parameterμ and the soft supersymmetry breaking parameterA. We find that the cross section for the production of these Higgs bosons has a significant dependence on the parameters which determine the chiral mixing in the squark sector. The cross section times the two-photon branching ratio ofh ⁰ is of the order of 15–25 fb in much of the parameter space that remains after imposing the present experimental constraints. For theH ⁰ the two-photon branching ratio is only significant if theH ⁰ is light, but then the cross section times the branching ratio may exceed 200 fb. The QCD corrections due to quark loop contributions are known to increase the cross section by 50%. We find the dependence of the cross section on the gluon distribution function used to be rather insignificant.