Gasoline and flammable and nonflammable clothing studies

Studies were conducted on mannequins using gasoline and flammable and nonflammable children's clothing. The results indicate that the flame-resistant standards currently required by law for children's sleepweare lead to much less severe burns.     

Handling covariates in population pharmacokinetics

Population models were developed to analyze processes, described by parametric models, from measurements obtained in a sample of individuals. In order to analyze the sources of interindividual variability, covariates may be incorporated in the population analysis. The exploratory analyses and the two-stage approaches which use standard non-linear regression techniques are simple tools to select meaningful covariates. The global population approaches may be divided into two classes within which the covariates are handled differently: the parametric and the non-parametric methods. The power as well as the limitations of each approach regarding handling of covariates are illustrated and compared using the same data set which concerns the pharmacokinetics of gentamicin in neonates. With parametric approaches a second-stage model between structural parameters and covariates has to be defined. In the non-parametric method the joint distribution of parameters and covariates is estimated without parametric assumptions; however, it is assumed that covariates are observed with some error and parameters involved in functional relationships are not estimated. The important results concerning gentamicin in neonates were found by the two methods.     

Stokes-Einstein violation in glass-forming liquids

The dynamic changes in exocytosis, endocytosis and recycling in single gonadotropes induced by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) were visualized and estimated with an impermeable fluorescent membrane probe, 1-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatrien (TMA-DPH), using a digital imaging and confocal laser scanning microscope. 10(-7) M GnRH induced exocytosis and endocytosis within 10 sec and 60 sec, respectively. Recycling of the plasma membrane started at 180-300 sec. Exocytosis and endocytosis in purified gonadotropes changed dose-dependently with 10(-10)-10(-7) M GnRH. These results show that GnRH-induced exocytosis, endocytosis and recycling in gonadotropes maintain dynamic equivalence. The procedure we established will be very useful in studies of the function of secretory cells.     

Sticking of solids in liquids

Under small buoyancy forces, it was observed that solids stick together for varying times before separating, with the time interval depending on the buoyancy force, contact area, separation distance, and liquid viscosity. The effect was observed for both metal and nonmetal systems. The time dependence is accounted for quantitatively on the basis of a fluid mechanics analysis given by Landau and Lifshitz.