Slipped capital femoral epiphysis associated with radiation therapy

We reviewed 32 children with 41 radiation-therapy associated slipped capital femoral epiphyses (RTASCFE). Ten were from the authors' institutions and 22 from the literature. Gender distribution was equal. The age at diagnosis of the malignancy was 4.3 +/- 3.1 years; the amount of radiation was 4,240 +/- 1,445 rads. Children with RTASCFE presented younger (10.4 +/- 3.2 years) than a routine SCFE. The average symptom duration was 5 +/- 6 months. Children with RTASCFE are usually thin (median weight, 10th percentile) in contrast to children with typical SCFE, who are usually obese (<95th percentile). The majority (82%) of the slips were mild, compared to routine SCFEs (approximately 50%); 28% were bilateral. There was a positive linear relationship between the age at presentation of the SCFE and the age at diagnosis of the malignancy; there was a negative linear relationship between the age at presentation of the SCFE and the amount of radiation therapy.     

Notch sensitivity of thermoset and thermoplastic laminates loaded in tension

Inplane tensile fracture of unnotched and notched thermoset graphite-epoxy and thermoplastic graphite-PEEK composite laminates is examined. Both fibre-dominated quasi-isotropic and matrix dominated ±45 angle-ply layups were investigated.Classical lamination theory predictions of elastic and strength properties of unnotched specimens are compared with experiments. Several notched geometries, i.e. centre-notched, double-edge notched and open-hole specimens subjected to tensile loading to fracture were examined. The notched strength of the quasi-isotropic laminates was analysed by a damage zone model, where damage around the notch is represented by an equivalent crack with cohesive force acting between the crack surfaces.Good agreement between experimental and calculated strength was observed for the graphite-epoxy laminates which failed in a collinear manner. For the graphite-PEEK laminates discrepancies between predicted and experimental strength are related to observed deviations from collinear crack growth. The angle-ply graphite-PEEK laminates showed larger notch sensitivity than the corresponding graphite-epoxy, probably due to less degree of stress relieving damage formation around the notch.     

Design of simulator training: a comparative study of Swedish dynamic decision-making training facilities

Cognition, Technology & Work - Simulator training is becoming increasingly important for training of time-critical and dynamic situations. Hence, how simulator training in such domains is...     

Using distance transform based algorithms for extracting measures of the fiber network in volume images of paper

Nowadays volume images are frequently used in many applications. Volume images of paper can be analyzed to increase the understanding of the complexity of the fiber network in paper and its effect on the optical and mechanical properties of paper. We show how curve and surface representations of the fiber, the fiber wall, and the fiber lumen can be computed using distance transform based algorithms. These representations are used for easy computation of wall thickness, degree of collapse, fiber length, slenderness ratio, fiber curl, and torsional resistance for the fibers. Free-fiber segments are identified, again using a distance transform based algorithm. Finally, we show tools for qualitative visual inspection of the fibers. The methods are evaluated and illustrated using both sets of synthetic and of real data. In addition to the analysis of the fiber network in paper, they can be used in many other applications where shape analysis of elongated objects is to be performed.     

Strain rate sensitivity and ductile-brittle behavior of polycrystalline Fe-Si alloys with 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 wt pct Si

The strain rate sensitivity of the tensile properties of polycrystalline Fe-Si alloys with 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5 wt pct Si and a C+N content of 0.005 to 0.010 wt pct has been determined at room temperature. From these and previous results the influence of silicon on the athermal and thermal components of the yield (proof) stress of ferrite has been deduced. Both components increase with silicon content, but at the highest strain rates (and lowest temperatures) the thermal component varies little with silicon content and is smaller than that reported for pure iron. Transmission electron microscopy of ductile alloys has shown that the density and arrangements of dislocations are not greatly influenced by silicon content or strain-rate within the range investigated. At room temperature the dislocation velocity exponent,m*, increases with silicon content, being 4.5, 7.4, and 10.6 (±1.0) in the three alloys. For the grain size studied (5 to 7 ASTM) it appears that the stress for yielding by glide must not exceed about 700 MN/m² (100 ksi) if brittle behavior is to be avoided. The combinations of temperature and strain rate at which the ductile-brittle transition occurs are indicated for different silicon contents and different grain sizes. Formerly with the same Institute     

Peak-to-average power ratio reduction in OFDM using cyclically shifted phase sequences

Two approaches for reducing peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) are proposed that are relied on a set of cyclically shifted phase sequences (CSPS) and implemented using the time domain circular convolution. After multiplying CSPS with the frequency domain data, the signal candidates can be expressed as weighted sum of the circularly shifted OFDM time domain data in the first method, which is called CSPS method. In the second method, weighted coefficients for generating the signal candidates in CSPS method are optimally selected to improve its performance; thus, the second method is referred to as optimised CSPS (OCSPS) method. The performances of the CSPS and OCSPS methods are evaluated using simulated data and compared with those of selective mapping (SLM) and partial transmit sequences (PTS). The simulation results show that both the CSPS and OCSPS methods can reduce the PAPR effectively, and that the OCSPS performs even better than the CSPS. The OCSPS can achieve the same performance as compared to the PTS. A distinct feature of the proposed methods is that only one inverse discrete Fourier transform is needed, and thus, the candidates can be calculated in time domain directly.     

125I-labelling of an internally 75Se-labelled monoclonal antibody--biodistribution in tumour-bearing nude mice

A monoclonal antibody, C215, was first internally labelled with 75Se-methionine and then labelled with 125I. The biodistribution of the dual-labelled [125I][75Se]C215 was studied in tumour-bearing nude mice killed 3 days after injection. The biodistribution of the dual-labelled [125I][75Se]C215 was compared with the biodistribution of single-labelled [131I]C215 and [75Se]C215. Iodine-labelled antibodies seem to be damaged during iodination, affecting the disappearance rate and tumour uptake. There were no signs of dehalogenation of circulating antibodies or antibodies taken up in the tumour.