Method Similar (method + similar)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


N -methyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-butanamine (MBDB): its properties and possible risks

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000
L. A. G. J. M. Van Aerts
MBDB (N -methyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-aminobutane) is the ,-ethyl homologue of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine). MBDB is metabolized and excreted similarly to MDMA: presumably, the majority of oral MBDB is excreted in urine unmetabolized. The main metabolic routes in man are thought to be O-dealkylation and subsequent methylation, sulphation and glucuronidation of the newly formed hydroxy groups. The major acute neuropharmacological effects of MBDB in the rat are an increase in serotonin release in the brain and an inhibition of serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake. These effects compare well with those of MDMA, although the latter is more potent. MBDB may also slightly increase dopamine release and inhibit dopamine re-uptake, but to a lesser extent than MDMA. This is important, as dopamine release has been implicated in the reinforcing qualities of substances such as cocaine and amphetamine. The neuroendocrine effects of MBDB resemble those of MDMA. Both substances increase plasma ACTH, corticosterone, prolactin and renin. The neurophysiological effects of MBDB are characterized by a decrease in electrical activity throughout the brain, most notably in the alpha 2 and delta frequency bands. In contrast, hallucinogens increase the activity in the alpha 1 band, especially in the corpus striatum. In drug discrimination tests in the rat, MBDB, like MDMA, can be distinguished clearly from both stimulants and hallucinogens. The class of substances to which MBDB belongs may be named entactogens. MBDB dose-dependently increases locomotor activity and decreases exploratory behaviour in the rat and causes distress vocalization and wing extension in the newly hatched chicken. The rewarding properties of MBDB appear to be smaller than those of MDMA, as suggested by a 2.5 times weaker potency in the conditioned place preference test in rats. The main subjective effects of MBDB in man are a pleasant state of introspection, with greatly facilitated interpersonal communication and a pronounced sense of empathy and compassion between subjects. In this respect, MBDB again resembles MDMA. However, there are also differences. MBDB has a slower and more gentle onset of action than MDMA, produces less euphoria and has less stimulant properties. The few toxicological data available suggest that MBDB may cause serotonergic deficits in the brain, although the potency of MBDB to cause this neurotoxic effect is smaller than that of MDMA. Severe acute reactions in man as have been reported for MDMA have not been published for MBDB. The dependence potential of MBDB appears to be small, probably even smaller than that of MDMA. MBDB has been available at least since 1994 but its position on the synthetic drugs market is marginal. Subjective reports indicate that MBDB is less popular among users than MDMA. The reason may be that MBDB produces less euphoria than MDMA. Another possible explanation is that MBDB largely lacks the stimulant properties of MDMA. We calculated a margin of safety with a method similar to one used in the risk assessment of pharmaceuticals. The results suggest that MBDB is three times less likely to cause serotonergic brain deficits than MDMA. However, it should be noted that for both substances the margin of safety is less than one, indicating that the risk of neurotoxicity is not negligible. In animals, serotonergic brain deficits after exposure to MDMA have been linked to the degeneration of serotonergic nerve terminals. [source]


A robust a priori error estimate for the Fortin,Soulie finite element method

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 7 2005
David J. BlackerArticle first published online: 14 MAR 200
Abstract It is well known that conforming finite element schemes exhibit Poisson locking in the incompressible limit as the Poisson ratio , tends to 1/2. A remedy for this is to use a non-conforming method (Math. Comput. 1992; 59:321-328) in which an a priori error bound is proved for the Crouzeix,Raviart scheme. In this paper we derive a new a priori estimate for the error in energy for the Fortin,Soulie finite element method using a method similar to that used in Brenner and Sung. We then illustrate the new error bound by presenting some numerical examples. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in Ecuadorian Indians

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 4 2004
R. G. Jagger
Summary, The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in indigenous South American Indians. A total of 140 consecutive indigenous Indians (69 Quechua and 71 Colorado) attending a mobile dental health caravan in the Santo Domingo region of Ecuador were examined objectively and subjectively for signs and symptoms of TMD using a method similar to that used in previous studies. There was a prevalence of up to 41% of at least one symptom. The Quechua Indians reported a significantly higher prevalence of difficulty in opening of the mouth and pain in front of the ears than the Colorado Indians. There was a prevalence of up to 63% of at least one sign. The objective findings in the Colorado Indians were similar to those found to be present in a Scandinavian population and an Arab population in previous studies using similar methods. Signs and symptoms of TMD are common in Latin American Indians. Differences occur between different populations in the same geographical area. [source]


Matching the frequency spectrum of pre-main sequence stars by means of standard and rotating models

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008
M. Di Criscienzo
ABSTRACT We applied the aton evolutionary code to the computation of detailed grids of standard (non-rotating) and rotating pre-main sequence (PMS) models and computed their adiabatic oscillation spectra, with the aim of exploring the seismic properties of young stars. As, until now, only a few frequencies have been determined for ,40 PMS stars, the way of approaching the interpretation of the oscillations is not unique. We adopt a method similar to the matching mode method by Guenther and Brown making use, when necessary, also of our rotating evolutionary code to compute the models for PMS stars. The method is described by a preliminary application to the frequency spectrum of two PMS stars (85 and 278) in the young open cluster NGC 6530. For the Star 85, we confirm with self-consistent rotating models, previous interpretation of the data, attributing three close frequencies to the mode n= 4, l= 1 and m= 0, +1 and ,1. For the Star 278, we find a different fit for the frequencies, corresponding to a model within the original error box of the star, and dispute the possibility that this star has a Teff much cooler that the red boundary of the radial instability strip. [source]


Testing dispersion effects from general unreplicated fractional factorial designs

QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2001
P. C. Wang
Abstract Continuous improvement of the quality of industrial products is an essential factor in modern-day manufacturing. The investigation of those factors that affect process mean and process dispersion (standard deviation) is an important step in such improvements. Most often, experiments are executed for such investigations. To detect mean factors, I use the usual analysis of variance on the experimental data. However, there is no unified method to identify dispersion factors. In recent years several methods have been proposed for identifying such factors with two levels. Multilevel factors, especially three-level factors, are common in industrial experiments, but we lack methods for identifying dispersion effects in multilevel factors. In this paper, I develop a method for identifying dispersion effects from general fractional factorial experiments. This method consists of two stages. The first stage involves the identification of mean factors using the performance characteristic as the response. The second stage involves the computation of a dispersion measure and the identification of dispersion factors using the dispersion measure as the response. The sequence for identifying dispersion factors is first to test the significance of the total dispersion effect of a factor, then to test the dispersion contrasts of interest, which is a method similar to the typical post hoc testing procedure in the ANOVA analysis. This familiar approach should be appealing to practitioners. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Identification of post-transplant lymphocele using lymphatic mapping with isosulphane blue

CLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 1 2009
A. Cakmak
Abstract:, Lymphocele development after renal transplantation is a well-recognized complication that occurs with the incidence of 0.6,18%. Although the majority of patients are asymptomatic, post-renal transplant lymphocele continues to be a major cause of morbidity if it is left untreated. The standard approach for the treatment of symptomatic lymphoceles is accepted to be laparoscopic or open marsupialization in many centers if simple drainage and conservative measures fail. However, marsupialization is almost impossible under certain circumstances, such as in the case of excessive abdominal adhesions. Hence, direct visualization of the lymphatic leak and suture ligation may become inevitable, which is usually a challenging procedure for the surgeon. Herein we report a case of post-renal transplant lymphocele treated by the direct identification and suture ligation of injured lymphatic vessel using a new method similar to sentinel lymph node detection using the dye isosulphane blue. [source]