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Background: This study aimed to investigate the (1) survival probabilities of prefabricated zirconia crowns (PZCs) placed on primary teeth and (2) identify demographic and tooth‐related factors that might affect survival probability. Methods: This study prospectively followed children treated under general anaesthesia by a single practitioner between 2012 and 2020. Demographic variables including the age at treatment, gender and tooth‐related variables including FDI tooth number, crown size used and any procedural complications at postoperative reviews were collected. Results: A total of 155 children involving 319 teeth with PZCs were followed up between 12 and 78 months postoperatively with a mean of 38 months. Of the 319 crowns followed, five failures were observed in three patients requiring extraction. Other procedural complications noted included fracture (n = 3), overhangs (n = 3), internal resorption (n = 5) and 24% of crowns showed signs of radiographic changes on postoperative radiographs when these were taken. Age at treatment, tooth type and need for pulp therapy were not statistically associated with clinical success (P > 0.1). Conclusions: PZCs provide an aesthetic and durable solution in the management of children with early childhood caries. This study shows very good clinical success and survival extending up to 78 months for PZCs placed on primary teeth under general anaesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A previously published study successfully isolated photoreceptor responses from canine rods, long/medium‐wavelength (L/M) cones, and short‐wavelength (S) cones using silent substitution electroretinography (ERG) performed under general anesthesia. We hypothesized that responses would be similar in dogs under sedation and that a curtailed protocol suitable for use in clinical patients could effectively isolate responses from all three photoreceptor subtypes. Animals studied: Three normal adult purpose‐bred beagles (2 females and 1 male). Methods: Dogs were dark‐adapted for 1 hour. Sine wave color stimuli were delivered using LEDs in a Ganzfeld dome. The ERG protocol under anesthesia was performed as previously published; sedated ERG protocols were performed after a 3‐day washout period. Intravenous sedation (dexmedetomidine 1.25 mcg/kg, butorphanol 0.1 mg/kg) was administered for sedation. Statistical analysis was performed using two‐way repeated‐measures ANOVA and linear regression. Results: In both anesthetized and sedated animals, rod‐derived responses peaked at low frequency (4‐12 Hz), L/M‐cone responses peaked at high frequency (32‐38 Hz), and S‐cone responses peaked at low frequency (4‐12 Hz). The frequencies eliciting maximal responses were similar in sedated and anesthetized protocols, although rod amplitudes were significantly higher in the sedated protocols compared with anesthetized (P <.001). Conclusion: We present a clinically applicable method to consistently isolate rod and cone subclass function in sedated dogs. This may allow detailed evaluation of photoreceptor function in clinical patients with rod or cone subclass deficits without the need for general anesthesia or protracted adaptation times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a critique of the paper "The value of strategic planning for formal decisions: review of empirical evidence," by J.S. Armstrong. The original paper reviewed evidence pertaining to the benefits of strategic planning in the decision-making of management. Armstrong came to the conclusion that prior research on business planning was poorly done. The author believes Armstrong's paper used an inappropriate model to assess performance. The author also feels that Armstong's pool of organizations is not diverse enough to fully state that a correlation exists or doesn't exist. He believes additional research should be done on the subject with more emphasis on standardizing the data.

This paper describes the results of a study focusing on effectiveness and participation in strategic planning and their inter-relationships. The work reported is a comparative study of ten, diverse organizations in the United Kingdom. The paper sets out the frameworks for effectiveness and participation against which the empirical work took place; describes the results of the analysis undertaken, and postulates a number of theories concerning effective planning practice and its relation to participation in the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing equivalent circuit extraction techniques are inaccurate for piezoelectric transformers (PTs) with low-input capacitance or high damping. A new method is presented, offering improved accuracy in both damping resistance and resonant frequency extraction compared with state-of-the-art methods. Effectiveness is evaluated on two sample PTs, with the proposed method achieving up to 84% decrease in error compared with previous methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The spatial proximity of adipose depots to secondary lymph nodes allows a unique relation between the two systems. Obesity, predominately visceral adiposity, links to numerous diseases; hence, we postulate that secondary lymphatics within this region contributes to disease risk. Material and methods Male C57BL/6 mice were fed standard CHOW (18% kcal fat) or Western diet (45% kcal fat) for 7 weeks. Visceral and subcutaneous lymph nodes and associated adipose depots they occupy were excised. Lymph node morphology and resident immune cell populations were characterized via histopathology, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. Adipose tissue immune cell populations were also characterized. Results Obesity caused lymph node expansion, increased viable cell number and deviations in immune cell populations. These alterations were exclusive to visceral lymph nodes. Notably, pro-inflammatory antigen presenting cells and regulatory T cells increased in number in the visceral lymph node. Obesity, however, reduced T regulatory cells in visceral lymph nodes. The visceral adipose depot also had greater reactivity towards HFD than subcutaneous, with a greater percent of macrophages, dendritic and CD8+ T cells. Immune cell number, in both the visceral and subcutaneous, however decreased as adipose depots enlarged. Conclusion Overall, HFD has a greater influence on visceral cavity than the subcutaneous. In the visceral lymph node, but not subcutaneous, HFD-induced obesity decreased cell populations that suppressed immune function while increasing those that regulate/activate immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Adipose tissue plays a fundamental role in glucose homeostasis. For example, fat removal (lipectomy, LipX) in lean mice, resulting in a compensatory 50% increase in total fat mass, is associated with significant improvement in glucose tolerance. This study was designed to further examine the link between fat removal, adipose tissue compensation and glucose homeostasis using a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ ( PPAR γ; activator of adipogenesis) knockout mouse. Material and methods The study involved PPARγ knockout ( FKOγ) or control mice ( CON), subdivided into groups that received LipX or Sham surgery. We reasoned that as the ability of adipose tissue to expand in response to LipX would be compromised in FKOγ mice, so would improvements in glucose homeostasis. Results In CON mice, LipX increased total adipose depot mass (~60%), adipocyte number (~45%) and changed adipocyte distribution to smaller cells. Glucose tolerance was improved (~30%) in LipX CON mice compared to Shams. In FKOγ mice, LipX did not result in any significant changes in adipose depot mass, adipocyte number or distribution. LipX FKOγ mice were also characterized by reduction of glucose tolerance (~30%) compared to shams. Conclusions Inhibition of adipose tissue PPARγ prevented LipX-induced increases in adipocyte expansion and produced a glucose-intolerant phenotype. These data support the notion that adipose tissue expansion is critical to maintain and/or improvement in glucose homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon is the most widely studied material today because it exhibits special properties not seen in any other materials when in nano dimensions such as nanotube and graphene. Reduction of material defects created during synthesis has become critical to realize the full potential of carbon structures. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in principle, allow defect formation mechanisms to be studied with high fidelity, and can, therefore, help guide experiments for defect reduction. Such MD simulations must satisfy a set of stringent requirements. First, they must employ an interatomic potential formalism that is transferable to a variety of carbon structures. Second, the potential needs to be appropriately parameterized to capture the property trends of important carbon structures, in particular, diamond, graphite, graphene, and nanotubes. Most importantly, the potential must predict the crystalline growth of the correct phases during direct MD simulations of synthesis to achieve a predictive simulation of defect formation. Because an unlimited number of structures not included in the potential parameterization are encountered, the literature carbon potentials are often not sufficient for growth simulations. We have developed an analytical bond order potential for carbon, and have made it available through the public MD simulation package LAMMPS. We demonstrate that our potential reasonably captures the property trends of important carbon phases. Stringent MD simulations convincingly show that our potential accounts not only for the crystalline growth of graphene, graphite, and carbon nanotubes but also for the transformation of graphite to diamond at high pressure. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eosinophils are pro-inflammatory cells implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and atopy. Apoptosis has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying the resolution of eosinophilic inflammation and studies have indicated the ability of interventions that induce human eosinophil apoptosis to promote the resolution of eosinophilic inflammation. Recently, the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor R-roscovitine was shown to enhance neutrophil apoptosis and promote the resolution of neutrophilic inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of CDKs in human blood eosinophils, the effects of R-roscovitine on eosinophil survival in vitro and whether R-roscovitine could influence eosinophilic lung inflammation in vivo. Eosinophils were isolated from human peripheral blood and the effects of R-roscovitine on apoptosis, degranulation and phagocytic uptake examined in vitro. The effects of R-roscovitine on eosinophilic lung inflammation in vivo were also assessed using an ovalbumin mouse model. Our data demonstrate that human eosinophils express five known targets for R-roscovitine: CDK1, -2, -5, -7 and -9. R-roscovitine induced eosinophil apoptosis in a time- and concentration-dependent manner but also accelerated transition to secondary necrosis as assessed by microscopy, flow cytometry and caspase activation. In addition, we show that R-roscovitine can override the anti-apoptotic signals of GM-CSF and IL-5. We report that the pro-apoptotic effect of R-roscovitine is associated with suppression of Mcl-1L expression and that this compound enhanced phagocytic clearance of eosinophils by macrophages. Finally, we show that R-roscovitine induces apoptosis in murine peripheral blood and spleen-derived eosinophils; despite this, R-roscovitine did not modulate the tissue and lumen eosinophilia characteristic of the ovalbumin mouse model of airway eosinophilia. These data demonstrate that R-roscovitine is capable of inducing rapid apoptosis and secondary necrosis in eosinophils but does not affect the onset or improve the resolution of eosinophilic airway inflammation in vivo. Cite this as: N. Farahi, L. Uller, J. K. Juss, A. J. Langton, A. S. Cowburn, A. Gibson, M. R. Foster, S. N. Farrow, P. Marco- Casanova, A. Sobolewski, A. M. Condliffe and E. R. Chilvers, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2011 (41) 673-687. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In social primates, individuals use various tactics to compete for dominance rank. Grooming, displays and contact aggression are common components of a male chimpanzee's dominance repertoire. The optimal combination of these behaviors is likely to differ among males with individuals exhibiting a dominance “style” that reflects their tendency to use cooperative and/or agonistic dominance tactics. Here, we examine the grooming behavior of three alpha male chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, Tanzania. We found that (1) these males differed significantly in their tendency to groom with other males; (2) each male's grooming patterns remained consistent before, during and after his tenure as alpha, and (3) the three males tended to groom with high- middle- and low-ranking partners equally. We suggest that body mass may be one possible determinant of differences in grooming behavior. The largest male exhibited the lowest overall grooming rates, whereas the smallest male spent the most time grooming others. This is probably because large males are more effective at physically intimidating subordinates. To achieve alpha status, a small male may need to compensate for reduced size by investing more time and energy in grooming, thereby ensuring coalitionary support from others. Rates of contact aggression and charging displays conformed to this prediction, suggesting that each male exhibited a different dominance “style.” Am. J. Primatol. 71:136–144, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin and signalling through the vagus nerve act in concert to regulate metabolic homeostasis and ingestive behaviour. Our previous studies using streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats have shown that hepatic branch vagotomy (HV), gastroduodenal branch vagotomy (GV) and capsaicin treatment of the common hepatic branch that selectively destroys afferent fibres (CapV), all promote lard, but not total, caloric intake to levels similar to those achieved with insulin treatment. Because hypothalamic and limbic mRNA expression of neuropeptides linked to energy balance is altered by STZ-diabetes and HV, we examined the role(s) of insulin and the common hepatic and gastroduodenal branches of the vagus nerve and hepatic afferent fibres in the regulation of these neuropeptides in rats with high, steady-state corticosterone levels. STZ-diabetic rats were prepared with osmotic minipumps containing either saline or insulin and were compared with nondiabetic counterparts: half of each group received a vagal manipulation, the other half were sham operated. Five days after surgery, rats were offered the choice of lard and chow to consume for another 5 days, when brains were collected and processed for in situ hybridisation. Paraventricular nucleus corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA was elevated by STZ treatment, an effect prevented by either insulin treatment or GV. By contrast, CRF mRNA expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nuclei of the stria terminalis was unaffected by STZ treatment, but HV and CapV manipulations elevated expression in the nondiabetic, but not STZ-diabetic groups. Arcuate nucleus neuropeptide Y, but not pro-opiomelanocortin, mRNA expression was elevated by STZ treatment and all vagal manipulations; however, exogenous insulin treatment failed to prevent this, in keeping with their previously documented elevated caloric intake. These results strongly suggest that the gastroduodenal branch and hepatic branch proper, which merge to form the common hepatic branch, differentially interact with prevailing insulin levels to regulate hypothalamic and limbic neuropeptide mRNA expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to the inhibitory role of central insulin on food intake, insulin also acts to promote lard intake. We investigated the neural pathways involved in this facet of insulin action. Insulin or saline was infused into either the superior mesenteric or right external jugular veins of streptozotocin-diabetic rodents with elevated steady-state circulating corticosterone concentrations. After postsurgical recovery, rats were offered the choice of chow or lard to eat. Irrespective of the site of venous infusion, insulin increased lard and decreased chow intake. After 4 days, lard was removed for 8 h. On return for 1 h, only insulin infused into the superior mesenteric vein resulted in lard intake. This facilitated distinction between the effects of circulating insulin concentrations (similar in the two insulin-infused groups) and lard ingestion on the patterns of c-Fos+ cells in the brain, termed insulin- and lard-associated patterns, respectively. Insulin-associated changes in c-Fos+ cell numbers were evident in the arcuate nucleus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and substantia nigra pars compacta, concomitant with elevated leptin levels and reduced chow intake. Lard-associated changes in c-Fos+ cell numbers were observed in the nucleus of the tractus solitarius, lateral parabrachial nucleus, central nucleus of the amygdala, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens shell and the prefrontal cortex, and were associated with lower levels of triglycerides and free fatty acids. The anterior paraventricular thalamic nucleus exhibited both patterns. These data collectively fit into a framework for food intake and reward and provide targets for pharmacological manipulation to influence the choice of food intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To provide a description of ward nurses perceptions of the intensive care unit liaison nurse role. BACKGROUND: Critical care outreach services have become commonplace over recent years. In Australia, the intensive care unit liaison nurse, developed at a local level by healthcare providers, has emerged as a way of improving the continuity of care offered to this patient group. As a relatively new development in critical care services, evaluation of this role has been limited, particularly in relation to the perceptions of ward nurses who receive patients on discharge from intensive care unit. DESIGN: Case study of one Australian hospital that utilizes an intensive care unit liaison nurse. METHODS: Ten ward nurses were purposefully selected for their representativeness of the population and for their experience with the intensive care unit liaison nurse role. Each of these nurses participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. FINDINGS: Three major themes emerged from the interviews, highlighting role behaviours, contextual demands and outcomes associated with the intensive care unit liaison nurse role. The role behaviours of the liaison nurse included the professional characteristics of the individual and the primacy of clinical liaison as a role descriptor. Contextual demands were environmental characteristics relevant to providing patient, family and staff support. Outcomes of the role were perceived to include environmental preparation and education. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study has presented an overview of ward nurses perceptions of the intensive care unit liaison nurse role within one Australian hospital, illustrating the educative and empathic support that the liaison nurse role can provide to ward nurses. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Collaboration with ward nurses in developing specialist roles such as the intensive care unit liaison nurse is essential in ensuring improvements in patient and family care across the continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: The aim of this paper is to communicate attributes, antecedents, and consequences identified within the 'continuum of care' using the process of concept development. BACKGROUND: The term 'continuum of care' is embedded in health care experience and is consistently taken for granted in health care literature without adequate analysis or definition. METHODS: Using EndNote and MS Excel software, a sample of 153 articles from 638 nursing and allied health journal articles retrieved by electronic search were reviewed; keywords descriptive of the concept were manually extracted. An electronic library was created and searched for keyword frequencies and words were ranked and sorted into unifying categories. FINDINGS: Four major unifying categories of attributes: people, environment, events and time, were identified, described and encorporated into a definition of the concept. An exemplar case was identified. CONCLUSIONS: The continuum of care was identified as a concept with specific, describable attributes evidenced in an exemplar case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to gather information from the members of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) to assess trends in the current practice of laparoscopic colorectal surgery.A postal questionnaire survey of the members of ACPGBI.The response rate was 37% (200/540). Only 45 surgeons currently perform laparoscopic colorectal work in Great Britain and Ireland mainly right hemicolectomy and laparoscopic stoma formation, of these about one third practiced laparoscopy for benign colorectal conditions only. The majority (68%) of surgeons had enough resources at their place of work, but further training seemed to be a major issue. Nearly 22% of surgeons had not had any formal training. Only 50% of surgeons trained their specialist registrars. The incidence of conversion rate was not different for benign or malignant conditions and also did not appear to be related to the duration of experience. Only four surgeons had noted port a site recurrence during the past 10 years. Seventy-five percent (150/200) felt that laparoscopic colorectal work could be carried out safely in a District General Hospital.Laparoscopic colorectal surgery was being performed by a small minority of members of the ACPGBI although more surgeons had started to work in this field in recent years. The main areas of concern appeared to be a wide variation in the range of experience as indicated by the number of operations performed and limited formal training for consultants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent developments in the concept of social protection, beginning with an attempt to establish a working definition of the term. This is set in the context of globalisation and new thinking on connections between the management of vulnerability, risk and poverty on the one hand and long–term economic and social development on the other. The article identifies aspects of the debate which require further development, by exploring the relationship between social protection, equality, social cohesion and rights. It also reviews contemporary definitions of social protection in the policies of donors and international organisations, and summarises lessons to be learnt from experience to date with civil society practices and state policies in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiparameter approach is proposed for the characterization of fatigue crack growth in metallic materials. The model assesses the combined effects of identifiable multiple variables that can contribute to fatigue crack growth. Mathematical expressions are presented for the determination of fatigue crack growth rates, da/dN, as functions of multiple variables, including stress intensity factor range, ΔK, stress ratio, R, crack closure stress intensity factor, Kcl , the maximum stress intensity factor Kmax , nominal specimen thickness, t, frequency, Ω, and temperature, T. A generalized empirical methodology is proposed for the estimation of fatigue crack growth rates as a function of these variables. The validity of the methodology is then verified by making appropriate comparisons between predicted and measured fatigue crack growth data obtained from experiments on Ti–6Al–4V. The effects of stress ratio and specimen thickness on fatigue crack growth rates are then rationalized by crack closure considerations. The multiparameter model is also shown to provide a good fit to experimental data obtained for HY-80 steel, Inconel 718 polycrystal and Inconel 718 single crystal. Finally, the implications of the results are discussed for the prediction of fatigue crack growth and fatigue life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes some models of health education as a context for considering data from a recent study of mothers' and health visitors' perspectives on good child health care. Most health visitors favoured an individualistic topdown approach aimed at changing mothers' behaviour. Mothers preferred a dialogue which started from their own priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fouling plates (Plexiglas squares and concrete blocks) were bolted in a horizontal position to racks on the ocean floor at a depth of 12 m. Some of these were periodically taken from the sea, subjected to nondestructive microscopic survey in the laboratory, and then replaced. Others were: a) left undisturbed as controls; b) variously caged to exclude larger predatory animals; or, c) had sediment removed from them at intervals. Populations developing on the periodically surveyed plates were similar to those on undisturbed plates. Populations on undisturbed plates were significantly different from those on partially caged plates. The exclusion of large predators by complete caging resulted in highly significantly different communities from those on partially caged plates. Completely caged communities were composed mainly of worms, barnacles and bryozoans. Summer-installed plates supported significantly different populations at the end of the experimental period (12 mo) from winter-installed plates. Plant growth rates were slow, not exceeding 2 cm/mo, and the mortality rates were often high. A few species had high rates of recruitment and survival each month. Most had high recruitment only in the most favorable growth periods and high loss rates. Physical conditions on the sea floor were measured. The methods developed during this study make it possible to quantitatively describe the growth and reproduction of populations of benthic marine algae in the sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- A series of 20 women with stress urinary incontinence underwent bladder neck suspension according to the method in which there are no suprapubic or vaginal incisions and no buttresses. Follow-up was between 9 weeks and 8 months. Twelve patients (60%) were cured, 2 (10%) were significantly improved and 6 (30%) were not improved; 3 patients had pre-operative detrusor instability; when they were excluded the failure rate fell to 23%. These results are inferior to those obtained in this unit using the Stamey procedure, although the difference is not significant. The operation is quick and easy to perform and was well tolerated with minimal complications; we believe it is worthy of further evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- The investigation of scrotal swelling has been aided by the advent of scrotal ultrasound. We have reviewed 100 patients in whom 112 scans were performed. One quarter of this group presented with scrotal pain without swelling. Of these patients, 33% were shown to have normal testes on scan; the remainder all had benign disease. A similar number presented with scrotal pain and swelling and the majority were diagnosed on scan as having epididymitis. Nineteen patients were thought on clinical grounds to have tumours; 6 were proven at operation and all were correctly identified pre-operatively by scanning. Scrotal ultrasound is a useful investigation in the management of both painless and painful scrotal swellings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights a conference on strategic planning which was held from June 11 to 12, 1979 in Brussels, Belgium. This conference was aimed primarily at senior managers of companies who are either planners themselves or have an executive role to play in strategic decision-making and planning within their organization. The intention was that the conference should be for an essentially European clientele, as similar conferences had been held previously in the U.S. The heavy program of events was divided into two main blocks: Case Studies in Strategic Planning and what might loosely be called Strategic Planning Techniques. Let us look now at the more positive aspects of the lectures. The studies of Reed International and Rhone-Poulenc are interesting in that they relate to firms which, with the aid of planning, have experienced a turnaround in their position following a difficult period in the mid seventies. This may act as reassurance to organizations which wonder whether they can afford the luxury of strategic planning in difficult times. The Reed approach is based on extensive computer modelling, using as its input data generated by an algorithmic approach provided by the center and used within divisions.

BSTRACT [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of a new technique for zeolite framework structure solution is described that exhaustively enumerates every possible topology consistent with known unit-cell dimensions and space-group symmetry. It is shown that computer-generated on-line databases of hypothetical crystal structures can radically augment structure building in the pre-refinement stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the use of glucose and hemolysis to screen red blood cells for contamination with Yersinia enterocolitica and Serratia liquifaciens bacteria. Growth curves and glucose concentration of AS-3 red blood cells inoculated with bacteria; Detection of gross hemolysis; Impact of bacterial growth and metabolism on partial pressure.

-We present 3 patients with prostatic tumours who presented with symptoms of rectal stenosis. In all 3 cases digital examination of the rectum revealed a mass suggestive of rectal carcinoma, but carcinoma of the prostate was suspected because of other clinical features and this was confirmed by biopsy. Treatment by hormonal manipulation resulted in a dramatic improvement in symptoms. The diagnostic and management difficulties associated with this unusual presentation of carcinoma of the prostate are described, together with a review of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red blood cell proton relaxation times T1 and T2 were measured in samples from chronic alcoholic patients abstinent for varying periods from 1 week to over 6 months. T1 and T2 were elevated in the early stages of abstinence and declined to the values of controls after 8 weeks. Changes in the water content of the red blood cells and the mean corpuscular volume paralleled these changes but were more closely associated with T2. It is suggested that T1 and T2 may reflect different aspects in water content and free-to-bound ratio of water. The significance of these findings is discussed in the context of changes previously observed in the brains of alcoholic patients, and in rats fed a diet supplemented with alcohol for 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enormous potential benefits of gallium nitride based power switching devices, only commercially available very recently, in terms of power switching device loss are highlighted. This is first demonstrated through a simulated prediction of loss in multilevel converters, followed by experimental validation. While the simulations focus on losses in multilevel converters, the observations made are relevant in a broad range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impedance spectroscopy, a technique for analysing electroceramics, is applied to the two-port form of the Cauer network which is commonly used as a thermal circuit analogue. The transfer impedance spectra of the Cauer network representations of a single material are presented as Nyquist plots for a range of network orders. The results demonstrate that a model with four or more resistor-capacitor elements is required to accurately model a single material. The effect of taking a measurement at different points within a single material is then reported and four elements are similarly required between the heat source and the measurement. The existing modelling techniques, which often use only one element per material block, are shown to be especially inaccurate. By using these findings, a design engineer can produce a better thermal model of a complete system by making an informed compromise between the model's accuracy and complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]