Proton relaxation times in human red bone marrow by volume selective magnetic resonance spectroscopy

In hematological diseases the composition of red bone marrow shows alterations. The relaxation timesT ₁ andT ₂ of water and lipids in human hemopoietic bone marrow of 14 normal volunteers and 10 patients with acute leukemia and bone marrow carcinosis are determined using a double spin echo spectroscopy sequencein vivo. The volumes of interest (VOI) of (13 mm)³ in the center of vertebral bodies are examined using different measurement parameters. ForT ₁ measurements an inversion-recovery method is used.T ₂ is evaluated from spectra with differentTE. T ₁ (water) is found in a range between 1000 and 1700 ms,T ₁ (lipids) in a range between 260 and 320 ms in healthy volunteers.T ₂ (water) is determined between 32 and 65 ms. In some cases phase distortions of the water signals occur in the spectra. Water flow within the VOI may be a possible reason.T ₂ (lipids) is evaluated between 73 and 91 ms. The patients with acute leukemia exhibit clearly reduced lipid signals in their spectra. Lipid relaxation times could not be determined in these cases.T ₂ (water) is prolonged in acute leukemia to 51–98 ms.T ₁ (water) was not significantly different from values of healthy volunteers in our measurements. Results are discussed in comparison to relaxometric data from imaging and STEAM spectroscopic methods of other authors.     

Development of the Bogolyubov-Mitropol'skii method of integral manifolds

A survey is presented of some results relating to the development of the Bogolyubov-Mitropol'skii method of integral manifolds.Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 33–46, January, 1992.     

Onn-th commutators with nilpotent or regular values in rings

Then-th commutator for a,b in a ringR is defined inductively as follows: [a,b]₁=[a,b]=ab−ba and[a,b] _n=[[a,b]₋₁,b]. We characterize the ringsR without non-zero nil right ideals in which[a,b] _nis nilpotent or regular for alla,b∈R. We also examine the case whereR is a semiprime ring with involution in which[t ₁, t₂]_nis nilpotent or regular for all tracest ₁,t₂∈R.     

Analysis of barbiturates in human serum and urine by high-performance capillary electrophoresis-micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with on-column multi-wavelength detection

The analysis of barbiturates in human serum (or plasma) and urine by high-performance capillary electrophoresis-electrokinetic capillary chromatography with on-column fast-scanning multi-wavelength detection is discussed. The use of a buffer of ca. pH 8 and containing sodium dodecyl sulphate provides a medium suitable for fast and high-resolution separations of barbiturates. Seven barbiturates are characterized by their retention and absorption spectra between 195 and 320 nm. Comparison of these computer-stored data with those of unknown samples is shown to allow the identification of barbiturates in samples of patients undergoing pharmacotherapy and in toxicological urine and serum specimens. Three-dimensional electropherograms provide reliable information on the requirement and suitability of sample pretreatment procedures. With urine, extraction of barbiturates prior to analysis is necessary. With human serum several barbiturates, including phenobarbital, are shown to elute in an interference-free window in front of uric acid and the proteins, allowing these substances to be determined by direct sample injection. The need for multi-wavelength detection over a relatively wide wavelength range as a means of peak confirmation in electrokinetic capillary analyses is demonstrated and limitations of this technique for compounds with similar retention behaviour and absorption spectra are discussed.     

Plant processing by simultaneous lactic acid fermentation and enzyme hydrolysis

Traditional ensiling of plant material by anaerobic lactic acid fermentation was combined with enzymatic hydrolysis (ENLAC for short) with cell wall degrading enzymes (hemicellulases, cellulases, and pectinases) to increase fiber digestibility or to increase the recovery of cell content from plants. Such findings were made using 0.015% (w/w, wet basis) Phylacell® enzyme preparation by ENLAC of corn and corn-sorghum mixtures, but not of forage grasses. Addition to alfalfa of a mixture of cell wall degrading enzymes, such as NOVO Viscozyme® together with NOVO Celluclast® each at 0.2–1.0% (w/w, wet basis), resulted in more rapid ensiling and improvement of rumen digestibility of silage by 20%. After 20 d of ensiling at 25 °C when the same enzymes were added to alfalfa at the 1.0% level, protein recovery by pressing increased by 35%, β-carotene recovery by 80%, and chlorophyll/xanthophyll recovery by 30%. ENLAC with the same enzymes also increased the recovery of sclareol from muscatel sage by 400%.

     

Constrained control for uncertain linear systems

The linear state feedback synthesis problem for uncertain linear systems with state and control constraints is considered. We assume that the uncertainties are present in both the state and input matrices and they are bounded. The main goal is to find a linear control law assuring that both state and input constraints are fulfilled at each time. The problem is solved by confining the state within a compact and convex positively invariant set contained in the allowable state region.It is shown that, if the controls, the state, and the uncertainties are subject to linear inequality constraints and if a candidate compact and convex polyhedral set is assigned, a feedback matrix assuring that this region is positively invariant for the closed-loop system is found as a solution of a set of linear inequalities for both continuous and discrete time design problems.These results are extended to the case in which additive disturbances are present. The relationship between positive invariance and system stability is investigated and conditions for the existence of positively invariant regions of the polyhedral type are given.The author is grateful to Drs. Vito Cerone and Roberto Tempo for their comments.