Aluminum flame temperature measurements in solid propellant combustion.

The temperature in an aluminized propellant is determined as a function of height and plume depth from diatomic AlO and thermal emission spectra. Higher in the plume, 305 and 508 mm from the burning surface, measured AlO emission spectra show an average temperature with 1σ errors of 2980 ± 80 K. Lower in the plume, 152 mm from the burning surface, an average AlO emission temperature of 2450 ± 100 K is inferred. The thermal emission analysis yields higher temperatures when using constant emissivity. Particle size effects along the plume are investigated using wavelength-dependent emissivity models.

The effect of supplemental oxygen on postoperative nausea and vomiting in children undergoing dental work.

Administration of 80% intraoperative oxygen has been proposed as being a cheap, safe and effective means of reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) but no studies have been performed in the high risk paediatric population. We tested whether 80% intraoperative oxygen reduces PONV in well children undergoing elective day-stay dental treatment under general anaesthesia. Ninety-five children received standardized sevoflurane, morphine, vecuronium anaesthesia with either 30% or 80% intraoperative oxygen and no antiemetic prophylaxis in a randomized, double blind, prospective trial. There was no difference in PONV or in the use of rescue ondansetron between the groups. The total incidence of PONV was 40% in the group that received 30% oxygen and 33% in those that received 80% oxygen. High inspired intraoperative oxygen was not found to significantly reduce PONV in well children undergoing dental work under general anaesthesia.

Awake fibreoptic intubation under remifentanil and propofol target-controlled infusion.

We present the first report of the use of remifentanil and propofol target-controlled infusion to sedate a patient with a difficult airway undergoing awake fibreoptic intubation. This regimen was rapidly titratable, aided suppression of airway reflexes, maintained patient comfort and cooperation and did not compromise spontaneous respiration. The literature regarding infusion rates and potential complications of this technique is reviewed.

Charge forms of serum and whey transferrin in rat differ in the sialic acid content of their glycan chains: immunological implications.

Transferrin has been purified from both rat whey and rat serum. Both proteins migrated as the same size on electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate but when electrophoresed under native conditions showed the presence of multiple charge forms. The patterns observed were not altered by iron binding or removal and all forms were shown to bind iron. Treatment with neuraminidase tended to condense all bands into a single species common to both transferrins whereas treatment with a peptide N-glycosidase resulted in a complex pattern of bands consistent with removal of one of the two glycan chains of the transferrins. A sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was set up to examine the transferrins. Iron binding and removal and treatment with peptide N-glycosidase all modified the ELISA signal obtained. Neuraminidase, however, did not affect the ELISA signal.