We consider quasi-periodically systems in the presence of dissipation and study existence response solutions, i.e. quasi-periodic solutions with same frequency vector as forcing term. When is large enough a suitable function involving has simple zero, are known to exist without assuming any non-resonance condition on vector. analyse case non-simple zeroes and, order deal small divisors, we conf...

In order to assess the role of genetic factors and environmental influences in bronchial responsiveness, we studied the airway response to an inhaled bronchodilator in 66 nonasthmatic parents (age, 30.9 +/- 5.9 years) of infants with bronchiolitis (group 1). It was a placebo-controlled double-blind study. A control group (group 2) of healthy parents of infants who did not have bronchiolitis als...

Variability of airway function is a feature of asthma, spanning timescales from months to seconds. Short-term variation in airway resistance (R(rs)) is elevated in asthma and is thought to be due to increased variation in the contractile activation of airway smooth muscle. If true, then variation in R(rs) should decrease in response to bronchodilators, but this has not been investigated. Using ...

Patients with obstructive lung diseases commonly undergo bronchodilator reversibility testing during examination of their pulmonary function by spirometry. A positive response is defined by an increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). FEV1 is a rather nonspecific criterion not allowing the regional effects of bronchodilator to be assessed. We employed the imaging technique of electric...

Prenatal stress (PNS) during critical periods of brain development has been associated with numerous behavioral and/or mood disorders in later life. These outcomes may result from changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, which, in turn, can be modulated by environmental factors, such as nutritional status. In this study, the adult male offspring of dams exposed to rest...

Piezoelectric stack actuators (PESAs) are widely used in applications requiring a fast response, high resolution, and accuracy. The self-heating of PESA during continuous drive with large amplitude at frequencies can change its voltage displacement charge characteristics. These changes lead to loss stability inaccurate positioning systems. In this paper, we confirmed that by using our proposed ...