Probabilistic estimation of poles or zeros of functions

A Maximum Likelihood method is presented for the purpose of estimating the positions of poles or zeros of certain classes of functions of a complex variable from information on ordinate values sampled at arbitrary abscissae. General and asymptotic properties of the method are discussed and some numerical examples given.     

Evaluation of the prostate by magnetic resonance imaging

Forty-seven male patients with suspected prostatic disease underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pelvis on a Picker resistive magnet operating at 0.15 T; 33 had histologically proved adenocarcinoma, 12 benign prostatic hypertrophy, 1 a transitional cell carcinoma, and 1 a seminoma. Eleven normal subjects also were included in the study. The study attempted to (1) define the MRI characteristics of the normal prostate, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and prostatic adenocarcinoma, (2) evaluate various pulse sequences in imaging the prostate, and (3) compare MRI findings with clinical, pathologic, and computed tomography results. Various pulse sequences, including inversion recovery and spin-echo with short and long TE and TR, were used. MRI was sensitive in detecting intracapsular and extracapsular prostatic disease. The finding of inhomogeneous signal texture throughout the gland was a sensitive but nonspecific finding for adenocarcinoma. A focal nodule with prolonged T1 and T2 relaxation times was the most specific MRI finding for adenocarcinoma. Extracapsular spread of neoplasm was often demonstrated, and because of its superior soft-tissue contrast ability, MRI was more accurate than computed tomography in delineating extracapsular extension.     

Reverse intersystem crossing in rose bengal. II. Fluence dependence of fluorescence following 532 nm laser excitation

A fluence-dependent fluorescence technique was used to observe reverse intersystem crossing from a certain higher-lying triplet state of rose bengal populated by a single pulse of 532 nm light. The quantum yield of reverse intersystem crossing from this state was determined to be 0.12+/-0.02 for rose bengal in phosphate-buffered saline. The importance of including molecular rotation effects in the analysis of fluorescence resulting from reverse intersystem crossing is discussed. Differences in the photochemical reactivity of upper triplet states in biological systems have been previously hypothesized to result from photophysical differences, particularly substantial differences in their reverse intersystem crossing yields. In this work this hypothesis is analyzed quantitatively, using numerical models of the population dynamics. These models suggest that reverse intersystem crossing alone cannot adequately explain the differences in biological response.     

Bifunctional decamethylcyclohexasilanes X<Subscript>2</Subscript>Si<Subscript>6</Subscript>Me<Subscript>10</Subscript> (X = Cl,H, or OH): molecular and crystal structures and mesomorphic properties

Isomer separation of mixtures, which were prepared by chlorination followed by transformations of dodecamethylcyclohexasilane (Me₂Si)₆ into bifunctional decamethylcyclohexasilanes X₂Si₆Me₁₀ (X = Cl, H, or OH), was carried out. As a result, mixtures of the corresponding 1,3- and 1,4-derivatives were separated to obtain structural isomers, and stereoisomers, viz., cis- and trans-1,4-dihydrocyclohexasilanes, were isolated in individual form. The molecular and crystal structures of the resulting bifunctional decamethylcyclohexanes X₂Si₆Me₁₀ (X = H or OH) and decamethyl-7-oxahexasilanorbornane were established by X-ray diffraction analysis. Bifunctional cyclohexasilanes form a mesophase as a plastic crystal. The temperature range of its existence was determined. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1566–1575, July, 2005.