Improving manufacturing by cost-effective process modeling

Computer-aided engineering tools are routinely used to simulate forging and heat-treatment operations and to perform thermal and stress analyses. This review gives a few examples of the current uses of process modeling tools and outlines some developing capabilities and near-term applications.     

Kinetics of zones of plastic deformation in fatigue failure

Translated from Fiziko-Khimicheskaya Mekhanika Materialov, No. 5, pp. 51–56, September–October, 1992.     

Selection of Protector Parameters for Right Bidirectional Transducers

The paper compares experimental and calculated pulse shapes and spectra of signals for bidirectional right transducers with radically different protectors, namely, those from epoxy glue with a filler and ceramic. The new data support the previously made conclusion (from calculated parameters of emitted pulses) that in protectors from composite materials (with low propagation velocities of longitudinal elastic waves) signal spectra can have several pronounced peaks, and their waveforms can exhibit beats (oscillating amplitude modulation).     

A thrombolytic decision tree.

We constructed a decision analysis model based on data in the medical literature to estimate the possible outcomes of thrombolytic therapy in patients 50 to 80 years old with possible myocardial infarction. We used the model to test the most likely effects of treatment (determined by averaging the values in reports of large studies) and the worst effects reported so far. The program begins by asking the patient's age, the hours from the onset of pain, and the probability of acute myocardial infarction. It then provides an opportunity to perform sensitivity analyses by changing the values for these variables and for the probability of death in the absence of thrombolytic therapy, as well as for the probability of major stroke and hemorrhage. The counterintuitive findings observed with this program are that the benefits of thrombolytic therapy increase with age and that young patients derive surprisingly little benefit from it.     

Management of the patient with minor traumatic brain injury

Staff in the accident and emergency department and critical care unit are often confronted with patients who have sustained life-threatening injuries. In such situations the symptoms of a minor traumatic brain injury (MTBI) may be missed. It is important that, when the physical symptoms begin to subside, nurses are aware of the symptoms of MTBI and respond accordingly. A post-concussion syndrome may develop 2 weeks to 2 months after a MTBI. This syndrome can affect the patient's ability to perform the usual activities of living. This article defines MTBI, describes the symptoms encountered in patients with MTBI, and outlines the pathophysiology, clinical findings, treatment and nursing interventions.