Spinal neurilemmomas and neurofibromas: central dot sign in postgadolinium MRI

The MR studies of three histologically proven spinal neurilemmomas and neurofibromas were reviewed retrospectively. There were two benign neurilemmomas (schwannomas) and one neurofibroma. The common characteristic of these cases was a central low intensity focus ("dot") seen on postcontrast T1-weighted imaging. The low intensity foci corresponded histologically to a congeries of changes including edema, microcysts, foam cells, hyalinization of blood vessels, old hemorrhage, and dystrophic calcification.     

Accessory artificial circulation in complex treatment of experimental acute toxic pulmonary edema

In experiments on 50 dogs with toxic acute edema of the lung, induced with intravenous injection of 0.1% silver nitrate, the authors have studied the efficacy of accessory artificial circulation and "conservative" therapy. During the perfusion a discharge of the right portions, adequate extracorporeal gas metabolism, normalization of blood gas and acid-base balance were noted; an intensity of pulmonary edema is descreased. An intensive therapy for pulmonary edema was found to be more effective in association of "conservative" treatment with venoarterial perfusion and blood oxygenation.     

Nitrous oxide "analgesia": resemblance to opiate action

Nitrous oxide produced a dose-related "analgesia" in mice (median effective dose, 55 percent). The analgesia was evaluated by means of a phenylquinone writhing test. Narcotic antagonists or chronic morphinization reduced nitrous oxide analgesia. Either nitrous oxide releases an endogenous analgesic or narcotic antagonists have analgesic antagonist properties heretofore unappreciated.     

Structure and properties of a layered steel/vanadium alloy/steel composite prepared by high-pressure torsion

The microstructure and hardness of a layered steel 08Kh17T/V–10Ti–5Cr/steel 08Kh17T composite, which was prepared by torsion under a high hydrostatic pressure at temperatures of 20, 200, and 400°C, have been studied. Severe plastic deformation under used conditions is shown to provide good joining of layers, which is accompanied by their substantial hardening (from 2.0 to 3.5 times). During deformation at temperatures of 20 and 200°C, fragmentation of the vanadium alloy layer into thinner layers is observed; at 400°C, mainly a plane interface between the vanadium alloy and the steel layers is formed.     

X-ray diffraction measurements of the internal stresses in coarse-grained polycrystals

The possibilities of a one-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of coarse-grained polycrystalline materials are demonstrated for cast 20L steel specimens in order to determine the elastic lattice strains and the residual stresses calculated from them.     

Structure and mechanical properties of oxide films on zirconium alloys upon oxidation under different conditions

The structure and mechanical properties, as well as the mechanism and kinetics of the destruction of oxide films formed on tube specimens of E110 zirconium alloy based on electrolytic or sponge zirconium upon corrosion testing in an autoclave and high-temperature oxidation in steam (LOCA conditions), were studied with the use of transmission and scanning electron microscopy, microhardness measurements, acoustic emission, and fractography. Oxide films on specimens made of electrolytic zirconium upon testing in an autoclave are found to be composed of extended grains with a thickness of 100 nm, while those on sponge specimens are composed chiefly of equiaxial grains with a diameter of 30 nm. After high-temperature oxidation, the structure of oxide films consists of extended grains of a variable thickness, which increases from the surface to the film-metal boundary from 600 nm to 2.5 μm on specimens made of electrolytic zirconium and from 250 nm to 2 μm on sponge-zirconium specimens. The microhardness of films after testing in an autoclave is 1200 ± 50 HV on electrolytic zirconium and 2000 ± 50 HV on sponge zirconium. The hardness of films on sponge-zirconium specimens upon high-temperature oxidation is 1600 ± 50 HV. The combined analysis of deformation diagrams, fractures, and acoustic emission data showed that the destruction of thin oxide films after testing in an autoclave and that of thick films after high-temperature oxidation begins with the formation of transverse brittle ruptures at the same load of 12–15 MPa. The number of cracks in the films on specimens that underwent high-temperature oxidation increases under loading especially rapidly on electrolytic zirconium.     

A pulse method to estimate the efficiency of shielding magnetic fields

A method for experimental evaluation of the magnetic-field attenuation coefficients under a pulsed action is considered. A technique for the preliminary processing of measurement results for low useful signal-to-noise ratios is considered taking the features of the operation of digital oscilloscopes into account. The analysis of the spectral composition of measured signals and a method for their approximation in the time domain, which allows elimination of the influence of measuring-sensor noise and digital-oscilloscope rounding errors, are presented. The results of estimating the frequency dependence of the magnetic-field attenuation coefficients for a copper shield in comparison with the results of a theoretical calculation are presented. The considered method allows simultaneous determination of the coefficients of the magnetic-field attenuation by the shield in a wide frequency range.     

Operation mode of the proton injector in the linac of the Institute for Nuclear Research with a 100-Hz pulse repetition rate

Results of the analysis and upgrading of the high-voltage pulse generator circuit in the proton injector for operation with a 100-Hz pulse repetition rate are presented.