Delay of gastric emptying time and gastric electrical abnormalities are found in a high proportion of children with diabetes and can contribute to poor glycemic control, most likely by causing a mismatch between the onset of insulin action and the delivery of nutrients into the small intestine. Diabetic children with unexplained poor glycemic control should be investigated for abnormalities in gastric motility.

In order to better understand the natural history of chronic functional constipation, a questionary was applied to 163 children and infants, before beginning standardized treatment. Median age (range) at start was 3mo(0-108mo) but age at arrival at the Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit was 53mo(2-146mo). In 62,4% of the cases symptoms began before or up to 3mo after cow's milk introduction and rarely around (±6mo) toilet training. Possible complications appeared progressively, often at preschool or school age or as the first noticeable manifestation: recurrent abdominal pain (61,1%), fecal soiling (45,4%), fecal blood (35%), enuresis (23,3%), vomiting (19%), urinary infection (17,9%), urinary retention (8,6%). Abdominal distension was rarely detected on physical examination and was usually discrete. In conclusion, children attended in Botucatu begin their constipation at an early age, frequently associated with weaning, and important complications may ensue along years. This evolution should be avoided by prevention and early treatment of constipation.

ResumoObjetivo: Obter a prevalência de constipação intestinal em escolares, tendo em vista que constipação crônica é freqüente em nosso ambulatório geral, mas são escassos os dados sobre prevalên-cia comunitária em crianças.Métodos: Foram avaliados 1145 alunos do ciclo básico (52,5% masculinos, idade mediana 8a 4m) de 5 escolas da periferia de Botucatu. As crianças responderam questionário previamente validado, aplicado por estudantes de Curso de Auxiliar de Enfermagem especialmente treinados. Exoneração de cíbalas e/ou dificuldade / dor ao evacuar, habitualmente, caracterizaram a constipação, por um critério rigoroso. Sangue ou escape fecal como sintomas isolados não foram incluídos no critério rigoroso, mas foram considerados em outros 2 critérios.Resultados: A prevalência de CI foi de 25,1% nos meninos e 32,9% nas meninas, pelo critério rigoroso, e mais freqüente em meninas (p< 0,05). Os meninos e meninas constipados apresentavam, respectivamente, 30,5% e 31,8% de escape fecal e 14,6% e 25,7% de sangue fecal. Adicionalmente, 61 meninos e 49 meninas apresentavam escape ou sangue fecal como sintomas isolados, aumentando a prevalência pelos outros critérios.Conclusões: Foi alta a prevalência de constipação na comunidade observada. Levando-se em conta a gravidade das possíveis complicações, essas altas taxas podem ser consideradas um verdadeiro problema de saúde pública. J. pediatr. (Rio J.). 1997; 73(5):340-344: constipação intestinal, escape fecal, prevalência, crianças, escolares. AbstractObjective: To obtain the prevalence of constipation in school children, as chronic constipation is frequent among children attending our outpatient unit but only scarce data about community prevalence are available.Methods: 1145 children of the two first school years (52.5% males, median age 8y 4mo) of 5 schools in underprivileged areas were evaluated. They answered a previously validated questionnaire, applied by specially trained students of a practical nurse school. Defecation of scybalous stools and/or straining / pain, usually, were used to characterize constipation, by a strict criterium. Soiling or fecal blood occurring as isolated symptoms were not included in the strict criterium, but were included in two other criteria.Results: The prevalence of constipation was 25.1% for boys and 32.9% for girls, by the strict criterium, and was more frequent among girls (p<0.05). Constipated boys and girls presented, respectively, 30.5% e 31.8% of soiling and 14.6% and 25.7% of fecal blood. In addition 61 boys and 49 girls presented either soiling or fecal blood as isolated symptoms and increased the prevalence by the other criteria.Conclusions: The prevalence of constipation in the observed community was high. Due to the severity of the possible complications, this could be considered a public health problem.

In this paper, the design of a low-order controller for a high-order, smart-structural system is presented. The application considered here is a model of a solar panel dynamically similar to those used on satellites. Smart structure refers here to the use of integrated piezoceramic materials as sensors and actuators in the structural system in order to implement the control. The analytical contribution is made by extending the well-known robust control theory by relating the high-frequency robustness condition to the residual uncertainty, removing a trial-and-error step in the normal robust-control design. The procedure is applied experimentally to a half-metre long frame that is coupled in bending and torsion, verifying that the technique is viable for a reasonably complex structure.

This paper presents an active control method which consists of minimizing the active part of the structural intensity aiming at reducing the overall vibration level in beams. The basic idea behind this strategy is that the control forces dissipate the input power due to the perturbing forces, thus preventing the structure from having to vibrate in order to dissipate the incoming energy. A frequency-domain adaptive structural intensity control method (ASIC) is used. The method is investigated using a simple example consisting of an aluminum beam which is fitted at one end with a quasi-anechoic termination (sandbox) and has the other end free. Numerically simulated and experimental results are presented. The numerical simulation uses a state-space model which was identified using experimental data. Results are compared with those obtained minimizing measured vibration directly, and with results using the instantaneous wave amplitudes as error signals in time-domain LMS control schemes. In the preliminary experimental results, the ASIC method and the method that controls the wave amplitudes outperformed one another at different frequencies. At frequencies where the power-flow-based methods performed well, their performance was equivalent to that of the direct control of vibrations. The relative advantages and disadvantages of the different control methods are discussed.