Model of a miniature pig catheterized for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of anti-infective agents

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sleep problems in the etiology of nursing caries. Two-hundred mothers of children (104 with nursing caries and 96 caries free) from ages 2 to 4.5 years were surveyed to determine whether difficulty with child sleep and ensuing sleep-associated feeding might be related to the presence of nursing caries. Differences were noted between these two groups regarding: average number of nights the child slept through the night (P < 0.001); total hours of sleep per night (P < 0.05); frequency of night waking episodes (P < 0.01); feeding on demand upon waking (P < 0.01); using a bottle to assist with falling asleep at night (P < 0.001); and feeding in association with nap time (P < 0.001). Differences also were noted in regard to average age of weaning (P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that sleep problems among young children are a behavioral risk factor for night-time bottle use and early childhood caries.     

Analysis of adaptive routing schemes in multirate loss networks

As technology evolves, it is now feasible to implement sophisticated adaptive routing schemes on networks which support different kinds of services with heterogeneous bandwidth characteristics. Adaptive routing can increase the network throughput by routing calls to less congested paths. It can also be used to bypass transmission facility failures. In this paper, we analyze and compare two adaptive routing schemes. The first is called theMaximum mean time to blocking (MTB) routing which is based on themean time to blocking measure of a link. This measure captures the traffic rates, bandwidth characteristic and link capacity information and reflects more accurately the congestion status of different paths. The second is theM ² routing, which is a modification of the least loaded routing (LLR). Aggregation of link status information can significantly reduce signalling traffic. We show in this paper that with properly designed aggregation, the aggregatedM ² and MTB routings can have performance that approach that of the non-aggregated schemes. The use of complete sharing and restricted access policies together with trunk reservation control in multirate loss networks are also studied.     

Effects of a Nd—Fe—B magnetic filler on the crystallization of poly(phenylene sulfide)

The crystallization of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) in a polymer–magnetic Nd—Fe—B powder suspension was studied. Isothermal crystallization behavior was analyzed by way of differential scanning calorimetry, and the kinetics were described via the Avrami equation. The Avrami parameters and the crystallization times were strongly affected by both the particle size and the presence of a coupling agent coated on the filler particles. The small Nd—Fe—B particles exhibited long induction and half‐times, whereas the large particles tended to have short crystallization times. Particles ranging from 38 to 150 μ appeared to have similar crystallization times and to have no significant change in the value of Avrami index with melt crystallization temperature. As a result of these analyses, the dynamic mechanical properties were determined to correlate the fundamental polymer crystallization characteristics and the physical properties of the PPS binder. The enhancement of the wetting of the filler to the binder was promoted through the coupling agent, as confirmed by dynamic mechanical testing performed on the samples. The storage modulus typically decreased because of the presence of the uncoated small particles. Conversely, the loss modulus was enhanced because of the presence of the coated small particles in the PPS binder. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1091–1102, 2002     

Measurement and prediction of pressure drop in two-phase flow

Experimental data for air–water two-phase co-current flow in two different pipe diameters were used to test the prediction of pressure drop by a number of existing theories and correlations. Several models are shown to be useful for prediction, particularly with the stratified regimes which have proved difficult to handle in the past. The model suggested by Olujic proved to be of particular value.     

On the stability preserving property of the double bilinear transformation on a class of 2-D transfer functions

This paper addresses the BIBO (bounded-input bounded-output) stability of a class of discrete 2-D quarter-plane filters in the presence of nonessential singularities of the second kind (NSSK's) on the unit bidisk. Conditions under which the double bilinear transformation (DBT) preserves stability are derived. The results presented here also extend the class of systems whose stability can be predicted. Use of the inverse DBT to produce a continuous equivalent of the discrete 2-D transfer function allows easy application of a continuous-domain equivalent of a criterion developed by Dautov. The necessary and sufficient condition for stability derived in this work provides a simple check for the class of systems under consideration. From this class of systems, it is also possible to construct stable pairs of mutually inverse transfer functions.     

How are bitter and sweet tastes related?

Sweet taste and bitter taste are both apparently mediated by G-protein-coupled receptors. In this review article, connections between bitter taste and sweet taste are examined. In addition, several ways in which sweet taste may be more effectively used to mask bitter taste are discussed.     

Synthesis and characterisation of carboxylic acid and diphenylphosphine derivatives in the 1,3-diyne series: Spectral properties of polydiacetylene carboxylates

Symmetrically substituted 1,3-diynes containing hydroxyalkyl ( 1a-d ), bromoalkyl ( 1e-h ) (diphenylphosphinyl) ( 1i-k ) and carboxyalkyl ( 2a-d ) substituents have been prepared and characterised; the phosphine derivative ( 1k ) has been converted with alkyl iodides ( RI ; R = Me, Et) into bis(phosphonium) salts ( 1l and m ). During preparation of the diynedioic acid. ( 2a ), the non-centrosymmetrical diyne, HO₂CCH₂C?C—C?C(CH₂)₂OH ( 3 ), was also isolated. ⁶⁰Co γ-Irradiation of diacetylene monomers ( 2a – d ) and 10,12-tricosadiyn-1-oic acid gave the corresponding polydiacetylene derivatives ( 4a – d and 5 ), respectively. Rubidium salts of ( 4c ) and ( 4d ), a barium salt of ( 4c ), and a potassium salt of ( 5 ) were prepared and isolated; soluble potassium salts of the carboxylic acid polymers ( 4 ) were generated in aqueous solution. The effects of changes in pH on the UV/visible absorption spectra of aqueous solutions of selected carboxylic acid polydiacetylenes have been recorded, and are discussed.