Two methods for semi-automated quantification of changes in ventricular volume and their use in schizophrenia

Two semi-automated methods for quantification of ventricular volume change from baseline and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans have been developed. Technique 1 employs direct segmentation of the ventricles from both the scans using thresholding and contour extraction. Technique 2 operates on difference images produced by voxel based intensity subtraction of the baseline from the registered follow-up images. Here, all voxels with intensities above a noise threshold and in a restricted area are monitored to compute volumetric changes. In phantom measurements the first technique was accurate to 0.0046%, the second to 0.167% of the phantom volume. Results from normal volunteers was that the average ventricular volume changed by 1.52% and 1.54% for images acquired within 9 months using techniques 1 and 2, respectively. With schizophrenic patients mean change of 10.78% and 9.43% were found employing the first and second procedures, respectively. All measurements agreed with a radiologist’s visual grading of the changes. Robust, objective, fast, easy-to-use, and fairly accurate procedures have been developed and validated to quantify volumetric changes.     

CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN UTILIZING A COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCE

Noncooperative games are used to demonstrate that, while free riding is always an option, the “tragedy of the commons” is not inevitable. When the decision to cooperate or free ride is considered in a dynamic setting, there is no intermediate case where some cooperate and others free ride. The game is only stabilized in either full cooperation or full defection. The important factor in obtaining a cooperative outcome is the critical number of players that decide to cooperate. The concept of commitment is used to demonstrate the necessary and sufficient conditions for full cooperation. Although the analysis is based on a shared water resource, it can be extended to other natural resources with common costs and private benefits, especially in the cases where there are no international authorities or treaties that internalize the externalities involved in privatizing the resource.     

Solving multiple-objective problems in the objective space

Projection and relaxation techniques are employed to decompose a multiobjective problem into a two-level structure. The basic manipulation consists in projecting the decision variables onto the space of the implicit tradeoffs, allowing the definition of a relaxed multiobjective master problem directly in the objective space. An additional subproblem tests the feasibility of the solution encountered by the relaxed problem. Some properties of the relaxed problem (linearity, small number of variables, etc.) render its solution efficient by a number of methods. Representatives of two different classes of multiobjective methods [the Geoffrion, Dyer, Feinberg (GDF) method and the fuzzy method of Baptistella and Ollero] are implemented and applied within this context to a water resources allocation problem. The results attest the computational viability of the overall procedure and its usefulness for the solution of multiobjective problems.This work was partially sponsored by grants from CNP_q and FAPESP, Brazil. The authors are indebted to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.     

Application of extraction disks in dissolution tests of clenbuterol and levothyroxine tablets by capillary electrophoresis

Sample preparation procedures using octadecyl (C₁₈) extraction disks were developed to obtain accurate and reproducible results for determinations of clenbuterol (20 μg per dose) and levothyroxine (100 μg per dose) in dissolution media of solid oral dosage forms. Preconcentration of samples allowed final concentrations of 1.1 μg/ml of clenbuterol and 4.0 μg/ml of levothyroxine to be reached prior to CE analysis. The results obtained by CE were in good agreement with those of HPLC. The precision of the migration time, peak area, peak height and accuracy were determined in both intea-day (n = 6) and inter-day (n =18) assays. Linearity was demonstrated over the ranges 0.5–80.0 μg/ml of clenbuterol and 1.0–30.0 μg/ml of levothyroxine. The mean recoveries were higher than 94.0%, ranging from 50 to 125% levels with respect to dose potencies. The proposed methodology may be generally applied to determine drugs at ng/ml concentrations.     

Pressure and temperature effects on the excess deuteron and proton conductance

The limiting molar conductances ° of deuterium chloride DCl in D₂O were determined as a function of pressure and temperature in order to examine the proton-jump mechanism in detail. The excess deuteron conductances °_E(D ⁺), as estimated by the equation [°_E(D ⁺) = °(DCl/D ₂ O) – °(KCl/D ₂ O)], increases with an increase in the pressure and temperature as well as the excess proton conductance [°_E(H ⁺) = °(HCl/H ₂ O) – °(KCl/H ₂ O)]. The isotope effect on the excess conductances, however, depends on the pressure and temperature contrary to the model proposed by Conway et al.: °_E(H ⁺)/°_E(D ⁺) decreases with increasing pressure and temperature. The magnitude of the decrease with pressure becomes more prominent at lower temperature. These results are discussed in terms of the pre-rotation of adjacent water molecules, the bending of hydrogen bonds with pressure, and the difference in strength of hydrogen bonds between D₂O and H₂O.     

水溶性席夫碱型锰配合物的合成、表征及其模拟超氧化物歧化酶活性研究

以水杨醛为母体, 与胺类化合物缩合形成席夫碱配体, 用分子自组装法合成了一系列水溶性席夫碱型金属锰单核、双核配合物. 通过元素分析、红外光谱对配合物进行了表征, 采用邻苯三酚自氧化法测定了配合物的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性. 结果表明, 这些水溶性锰配合物具有良好的SOD活性.     

从芒果皮中提取果胶的工艺研究

果胶是一种大分子多糖类物质 ,具有良好的胶凝作用 ,用途广泛 ,在国内外市场上的销量很好。 1 990年世界上果胶总产量约 2 5 0 0 0吨 ,而我国 1 990年仅在食品工业上消耗的果胶就达 1 0 0 0吨 ,但国内市场上销售的果胶大部分为进口货[1] 。果胶在我国的生产仍处于开发阶段 ,所以发掘新的提取资源、提高果胶质量、降低果胶生产成本的意义十分重大。目前 ,已有以柑桔皮、向日葵盘、苹果皮、香蕉皮、马铃薯渣为原料提取果胶的研究报道 ,如何从芒果皮中提取果胶却未见报道。芒果在制造罐头和饮料中副产大量下脚料———芒果皮 ,未能得到充分利用…     

硫酸根阴离子对HPMBP及TOA协同萃取镨(Ⅲ)及钕(Ⅲ)的影晌

本文研究了硫酸根阴离子对1-苯基-3-甲基-4-苯甲酰基吡唑酮-5(HPMBP,HL)及三辛胺(TOA)协同萃取镨(Ⅲ)及钕(Ⅲ)的影响。发现在SO_4~(2-)体系中协萃机理为:(LnL_3)_o+(HTOAL)_o(HTOA~+LuL_4~-)_o及(HLnL_4)_o+(TOA)_o(HTOA~+LnL_4~-)_o式中Ln~(3+)=Pr~(3+),下标“o”指示有机相中物种,无下标指示水相中物种。固体萃合物的红外光谱及元素分析数据确证了上述机理。     

合成丙交酯中微量水分分析

合成丙交酯中微量水分分析徐溢，柳胜春（重庆大学化工学院分析教研室６３００４４）关键词丙交酯，微量水，定量分析丙交酯是人工合成骨材料聚乳酸的合成中间体，其性能决定着合成产品的品质，要获得高质量的合成材料，对中间体的分析和监测十分重要。一般要求丙交酯中间...