Safety Devices Based on Smart Alloys

Journal of Machinery Manufacture and Reliability - A device based on smart alloys has been designed for use in machine building items, in particular, in nuclear engineering, for preventing...     

Fetal alcohol syndrome in twins of alcoholic mothers: concordance of diagnosis and IQ

The effects of teratogens can be modified by genetic differences in fetal susceptibility and resistance. Twins of alcoholic mothers provide a unique opportunity to study this phenomenon with respect to alcohol teratogenesis. Sixteen pairs of twins, 5 MZ and 11 DZ, all heavily exposed to alcohol prenatally, were evaluated. They represented all available twins of alcohol-abusing mothers who were on the patient rolls of the authors. The rate of concordance for diagnosis was 5/5 for MZ and 7/11 for DZ twins. In two DZ pairs, one twin had fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), while the other had fetal alcohol effects (FAE). In 2 other DZ pairs, one twin had no diagnosis while one had FAE. IQ scores were most similar within pairs of MZ twins and least similar within pairs of DZ twins discordant for diagnosis. Despite equivalent alcohol exposure within twin pairs, alcohol teratogenesis appears to be more uniformly expressed in MZ than in DZ twins. These data are interpreted as reflecting the modulating influence of genes in the expression of the teratogenic effects of alcohol.     

Partial congenital defect of the left pericardium: angiographic diagnosis and treatment by thoracoscopic pericardiectomy: case report

Twenty-six patients with an intracardiac myxoma underwent surgical resection at our institution from 1977 through 1992. Left atrial myxoma was diagnosed in 22 patients, left ventricular in 1, right atrial in 2, and right ventricular in 1. Six patients were asymptomatic; preoperative symptoms included dyspnea, arrhythmias, embolic episodes, and syncope. The diagnosis was established with transthoracic echocardiography in all cases but one. Surgery was performed in all cases with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass with moderate hypothermia and cold crystalloid cardioplegia. One patient with a left ventricular myxoma died in a comatose state during the immediate postoperative period. Long-term clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in 19 patients; results were excellent (all the patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II), and no recurrences were documented. The clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and surgical approach are presented and discussed.     

Increasing the quality of diamond wheels for manual grinding of commercial and art glass

It was shown that use of AS32–AS50 diamond powders (instead of AS6–AS15 powders) combined with a new metal bond with hardness of HB 75–85 (in comparison to M2-01 binder) allows prolonging the lifetime of wheels by 1.5–2 times in grinding articles made of commercial and art glass, reducing the specific diamond consumption, and increasing the cutability of the instrument.     

Mathematical model of an industrial robot with articulated configuration and six degrees of freedom

This paper analyses the load influence on a d.c. drive motor servo system for all six degrees of freedom of industrial robots with an articulated configuration. Through the analyses, the analytical equations of total inertia and gravitation moments of an industrial robot servo system for external coordinate function were obtained. A mathematical model of an electro-mechanical industrial robot system was also developed.