Ureteroenteric fistula shown only on bone imaging

An unusual case of dislocation of the midfoot through the calcaneocuboid and naviculocuneiform joints is presented. The prognosis is excellent for most midfoot dislocations, as long as they are recognized and treated early.     

Fine structures of residual strain distribution in Fe-Doped lnP-100) wafers grown by the LEC and VCZ methods

By using a high-spatial-resolution scanning infrared polariscope, in-plane components of residual strain have been characterized quantitatively in 2′Φ wafers of Fe-doped InP( 100) single crystals grown by the liquid-encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) and the vapor pressure controlled Czochralski (VCZ) methods. The twodimensional distribution maps of LEC-grown wafers reveal characteristic fine structures such as slip-like patterns originated from crystallographic glides during the crystal growth process, highly strained spots and filaments due to inclusions or voids inside the wafer, or due to scratches on the surface. The sliplike patterns are seldom observed in the VCZ-grown wafers. The residual strain value averaged over the whole region of wafer is also examined, together with etch pit density and resistivity, as a function of the solidified fraction. It is found that the residual strain in the Fe-doped InP crystals grown by the LEC and VCZ methods mainly depends on the thermal stress during the growth process rather than on the impurity-hardening effect of Fe.Key words: InP, infrared polariscope, liquid-encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method, residual strain, vapor pressure controlled Czochralski (VCZ) method     

A bioassay for serum interferon based on induction of 2''5''-oligoadenylate synthetase activity

BACKGROUND: Patients treated for primary hyperparathyroidism run an increased risk of death. The aim of this study was to analyse several factors that may influence their risk of death. METHODS: General, laboratory, physical and clinical variables, altogether 34 variables, were defined as possible risk factors for death and were studied in a patient series of 845 patients operated on during the period 1953-82. Mean follow-up time was 10.5 years (SD 5.9); 253 patients were deceased at follow-up. Cox's proportional hazard model was used. RESULTS: We found seven variables with independent influence on the risk of death: age, sex, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, glomerular filtration rate, renal tubular concentration capacity and amount of diseased parathyroid tissue. The remaining 27 variables were separately tested, one at a time, using the same method and with the influence of age and sex eliminated. In this test situation, the year of surgery, peak serum calcium, serum creatinine level, body mass index, hypertension, psychiatric symptoms and a history of crisis were all significantly related to the risk of death. The analyses also gave information on the direction and magnitude of the effect of the variables on the risk of death. CONCLUSION: Primary hyperparathyroidism itself is a risk factor for death, but it was concluded that well-preserved renal function at surgery seems to have a protective role. We also found that the greater the amount of diseased parathyroid tissue the lesser the renal function and, furthermore, that hyperparathyroidism of substantial degree or long duration may bring about renal impairment that is not necessarily disclosed by the creatinine value alone.     

Learning of real robot's inverse dynamics by a forward‐propagation learning rule

A forward‐propagation learning rule (FPL) has been proposed for a neural network (NN) to learn an inverse model of a controlled object. A feature of FPL is that the trajectory error propagates forward in NN and appropriate values of two learning parameters are required to be set. FPL has only been simulated to several kinds of controlled objects such as a two‐link arm in a horizontal plane. In this work, we applied FPL to AIBO and showed the validity of FPL on a real controlled object. At first, we tested a learning experiment of an inverse dynamic of a two‐link arm in a sagittal plane with viscosity and Coulomb friction by computer simulation. In this simulation, a low‐pass filter (LPF) was applied to realized trajectories because coulomb friction vibrates them. From the simulation results, we found that the learning process is stable by some adequate sets of the learning parameters although it is more sensitive to the values of the parameters owing to friction and gravity terms. Finally, we tested applying FPL to motor control of AIBO's leg. The inverse dynamics model was acquired by FPL with only about 150 learning iterations. From these results, the validity of the FPL was confirmed by the real robot control experiments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 161(4): 38–48, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20456     

Fabrication of semi-conductive ceramics by combination of gelcasting and reduction sintering

In this study, we propose a new process to fabricate electrically semi-conductive alumina by the combination of gelcasting and reduction sintering. The process is similar to the conventional gelcasting method except for varying amounts of methacrylamide monomer dosages at 2.83, 5.50, and 8.04 wt% relative to the mass of the slurry. Correspondingly, the rheological evaluation of aqueous slurry was conducted. The resulting fluidity exhibited that monomer dosage until 8.04 wt% yielded slurry viscosity of 1628 MPA·s at shear rate of 20 s⁻¹, which was feasible for gelcasting without noticeable casting defects. The freshly gelled bodies were demolded, carefully dried, and then sintered at different schedules in nitrogen atmosphere. The reduction-sintered samples were re-sintered in air for comparative evaluation of physical property. The sintered alumina body was characterized by electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that monomer additions and sintering schedule significantly affect in lowering electrical resistivity. The obtained lowest value was 3.6 × 10⁶ Ω-cm with 8.04 wt% monomer dosage and sintering at 1550°C with 2 h holding time. The resulting material is classified as semi-conductive, which is potential for electrostatic shielding applications. The effect of physical property and microstructure on electrical conductivity and the corresponding reaction mechanism were discussed in details.     

Light-induced changes in the solar cell parameters and temperature coefficient of n-C/p-Si heterojunction solar cell

Amorphous carbon (a-C) is a potential material for the development of low-cost and high-efficiency solar cell. We report the study of the influence of light soaking up to 100 h on n-C/p-Si heterojunction solar cell. It is observed that the deterioration in the fill factor and the efficiency are significantly smaller as compared to that observed in a-Si:H solar cell. Variations in the temperature coefficients of the I–V characteristics subjected to light degradation and recovery has also been investigated. A good correlation between change in the temperature coefficient and the degradation/recovery state of cell's conversion efficiency has been observed.     

Mmic technology for communication systems

MMIC technology is recently progressing at a rapid rate and is now being applied in communications systems. However, there remain few practical applications. This is mainly due to the high cost of conventional mmics because of the small market size and specialized needs. This paper introduces three new technical approaches that overcome the problems: uniplanar mmic, line unified fet^lufet), and multilayer mmic. Concepts and several examples of these technologies are described. It is shown that these technologies are effective not only for cost reduction but also for increased performance. In addition, one example of system application is described.     

Boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon films grown by surface-wave mode microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

We report the effects of boron (B) doping on optical and structural properties of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films grown by surface-wave mode microwave plasma (SW-MWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on n-type silicon and quartz substrates at room temperature. Argon and acetylene were used as a carrier and carbon source gases respectively. Analytical methods such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Nanopics 2100/NPX200 surface profiler, JASCO V-570 UV/VIS/NIR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to investigate the properties of the films. Low atomic concentration of B (0.08 at.%) was found in the doped film. The optical band gap of the undoped film was 2.6 eV and it decreased to 1.9 eV for the B-doped film. Structural property shows the crystalline structure of the film and it has changed after incorporating B as a dopant. The structural modifications of the films leading to being more graphite in nature were confirmed by the Raman and FT-IR characterization.     

Identifying rotation and oscillation in surface tension measurement using an oscillating droplet method

We proposed a new approach to identify the frequencies of droplet rotation and m=±2 oscillation that degrade the accuracy of surface tension measurement by an oscillating droplet method. Frequencies of droplet rotation and m=±2 oscillation can be identified by a phase unwrapping analysis of time dependence of the deflection angle for the maximum diameter of the droplet image observed from above. The present method was validated, using test data with given frequencies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 37(7): 421–430, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20214     

Metallic Glass as a Mechanical Material for Microscanners

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuators essentially have movable silicon structures where the mechanical motion can be activated electronically. The microscanner is one of the most successfully commercialized MEMS devices which are widely used for collecting optical information, manipulating light, and displaying images. While silicon is abundant, it is also brittle and stiff and when microprocessed, defects are not uncommon. These defects result in weakness under torsional stress and this has been the key factor limiting the scanning performance of the microscanner. Here a metallic glass (MG)‐based microscanner is reported with MG as the material for the moving torsion bars. The low elastic modulus, high fracture toughness, and high strength of MG offers, for the first time, an ultralarge rotating angle of 146° with power consumption lowered to the microwatt range, and a smaller driving force and better actuation performance, than conventional single crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon. The high spatial resolution and large scanning field of the MG‐based microscanner are demonstrated in the tomographic imaging of a human finger. This development of an MG‐based MEMS possibly opens a new field of low‐powered MEMS devices with extreme actuation and enhanced sensing.