Dialectal and gender differences in nasalance for a Mandarin population.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are dialectal and gender related differences in nasalance of main Mandarin vowels and three sentences in 400 Chinese normal adults. The mean nasalance score difference for dialect and gender was significant (p < .001) in all speech materials. For different dialects, the average nasalance scores show that Chongqing > Beijing > Shanghai > Guangzhou for the nasal sentence, oro-nasal sentence, /a/, /i/ and /u/. In addition, the average nasalance scores of females were higher than those of males for all speech materials in all dialects. The clinical significance of this study can be helpful in making nasalance clinical decisions for Chinese people with cleft palate, hearing disorders and dysarthria with resonance disorders. It also shows the theoretical and socio-cultural features for linguists considering dialects and gender.

[Suprapubic puncture: preferable to transurethral catheterization for pressure-flow determination in BPH patients].

OBJECTIVE: To compare suprapubic puncture and transurethral catheterization for pressure-flow determination during voiding in BPH patients. METHODS: Both suprapubic puncture and transurethral catheterization were used for pressure-flow determinations during voiding in 23 BPH patients at the mean age of 69.3 years (range 57-77 years) and the related parameters were compared by t-test. RESULTS: Compared with transurethral catheterization, suprapubic puncture increased Qmax by 1.19 mn/s (P <0.05) and MMC by 66.61 ml (P <0.01) , and reduced the pressure of detrusor at Qmax (Pdet, Qmax) by 10.57 cmH2O (P < 0.05), URA by 11.39 cmH2O (P < 0.01) and AG by 12.94 (P < 0.01). Either according to the Schäfer diagram or with AG > 40 as the diagnostic standard, there were 16 (69.6%) cases of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in the suprapubic puncture group and 20 (87.0%) in the transurethral catheterization group. CONCLUSION: In pressure-flow determination during voiding, suprapubic puncture and transurethral catheterization each have its own advantages and disadvantages, but the former is preferred for BPH patients. As for other patients, it all depends on specific conditions.

[Effects of transurethral catheterization on uroflow rate in the pressure-flow study of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of transurethral catheterization on the uroflow rate in the pressure-flow study of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Thirty-nine men with BPH underwent free uroflowmetry and pressure-flow analysis respectively. With an 8 F urethral catheter, the standard pressure-flow variables such as the maximum flow rate, detrusor pressure at the maximum flow rate and so on were recorded. The free maximum flow rate and the maximum flow rate with transurethral catheterization were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The maximum voided volumes of the free uroflowmetry group and the pressure-flow study group were (209.23 +/- 56. 56) ml and (210.33 +/- 62.02) ml respectively (P > 0.05). The free maximum flow rate was (8.61 +/- 2.80) ml/s, and the maximum flow rate with transurethral catheterization-was (7.39 +/- 3.01) ml/s (P < 0.05). When the patients were divided into seven grades of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) according to the Schäfer nomogram, the free maximum flow rate and the maximum flow rate with transurethral catheterization with Grade 0-I of BOO were (12.56 +/- 1.57) ml/s and (10.95 +/- 2.51) ml/s, and those of Grade II were (9.35 +/- 0.76) ml/s and (8.41 +/- 1.23) ml/s respectively. For Grades III, IV and V-VI , the two maximum flow rates were (7.88 +/- 1.21) ml/s and (6.37 +/- 0.59) ml/s, (6.54 +/- 1.93) ml/s and (5.55 +/- 2.48) ml/s, and (6.01 +/- 2.10) ml/s and (4.84 +/- 2.89) ml/s, respectively, all with significant difference in between (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The 8 F urethral catheter has a significant effect on the maximum uroflow rate in the pressure-flow study and this effect is correlated with the grade of BOO.

Analytical solutions of coupled-mode equations for multiwaveguide systems, obtained by use of Chebyshev and generalized Chebyshev polynomials.

A novel approach is proposed for obtaining the analytical solutions of the coupled-mode equations (CMEs); the method is applicable for an arbitrary number of coupled waveguides. The mathematical aspects of the CMEs and their solution by use of Chebyshev polynomials are discussed. When mode coupling between only adjacent waveguides is considered (denoted weak coupling), the first and second kinds of the usual Chebyshev polynomials are appropriate for evaluating the CMEs for linearly distributed and circularly distributed multiwaveguide systems, respectively. However, when one is considering the coupling effects between nonadjacent waveguides also (denoted strong coupling), it is necessary to use redefined generalized Chebyshev polynomials to express general solutions in a form similar to those for the weak-coupling case. As concrete examples, analytical solutions for 2 x 2, 3 x 3, and 4 x 4 linearly distributed directional couplers are obtained by the proposed approach, which treats the calculation as a nondegenerate eigenvalue problem. In addition, for the 3 x 3 circularly distributed directional coupler, which gives rise to a degenerate eigenvalue problem, an analytical solution is obtained in an improved way. Also, for comparison and without loss of generality, to clarify the difference between the two coupling cases, analytical solutions for a 5 x 5 circularly distributed directional coupler are obtained by use of the usual and the redefined generalized Chebyshev polynomials.