Abstract: Compositions in which aspirin is present in combination with alkaline compounds, especially those containing water of crystallization (hydrates), deteriorate on standing. This deterioration may take several forms: It can be a physical deterioration in which such aspirin compositions become completely unmanageable, wet, gummy, sticky masses; or chemical decomposition in which aspirin loses its molecular structure chiefly by losing the acetyl group. The latter is accompanied by formation of acetic acid, the mixture developing its characteristic acetic odor. In both cases, such compositions become entirely unsuitable for all practical commercial and medicinal purposes. Yet, when preparation of water-soluble aspirin compositions is desired, it is impossible to avoid the use of alkaline compounds. This is because the only known method of converting aspirin into soluble form is by means of reacting it with an alkaline compound to form the soluble salt of aspirin.

Abstract: When installing equipment in a complex system such as a telephone exchange, there are often a variety of possible solutions to the problem faced by the planner, using different types of equipment and providing different capabilities, e.g. spare capacity or extra capabilities. Not all personnel will necessarily be familiar with all types of equipment, which can have a practical limit on the installations an individual can work on. To overcome this, a planning system is disclosed which stores information relating to equipment types suitable for providing the different types of functionality required, and also stores information relating to the availability of such equipment types, and generates proposals for providing the functionality according to the availability and suitability of each equipment type. These may be ranked by cost, complexity, availability of components, or other criteria.