Technological Aspects of Synthesizing Ceramic Coatings by Flow-Through Micro-Arc Oxidation

Refractories and Industrial Ceramics - The paper introduces a promising technology for utilizing a traditional scheme for implementing a flow-through micro-arc oxidation method to restore localized...     

New Design of Wavelets Based on the Convolution of Compactly Supported Functions with a Rectangular Pulse

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - A new design of wavelets based on the convolution of a compactly supported function with a rectangular pulse is proposed and theoretically...     

Heuristic Solution to the Diffraction Problem on a Superconducting Half-Plane

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - Abstract—The article presents a rigorous numerical solution, using the Wiener–Hopf method, to the problem of plane wave...     

CD46 (membrane cofactor protein of complement, measles virus receptor): structural and functional divergence among species (review)

OBJECT: In this retrospective study, the authors analyzed the frequency, anatomical distribution, and appearance of traumatic brain lesions in 42 patients in a posttraumatic persistent vegetative state. METHODS: Cerebral magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to detect the number of lesions, which ranged from as few as five to as many as 19, with a mean of 11 lesions. In all 42 cases there was evidence on MR imaging of diffuse axonal injury, and injury to the corpus callosum was detected in all patients. The second most common area of diffuse axonal injury involved the dorsolateral aspect of the rostral brainstem (74% of patients). In addition, 65% of these patients exhibited white matter injury in the corona radiata and the frontal and temporal lobes. Lesions to the basal ganglia or thalamus were seen in 52% and 40% of patients, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging showed some evidence of cortical contusion in 48% of patients in this study; the frontal and temporal lobes were most frequently involved. Injury to the parahippocampal gyrus was detected in 45% of patients; in this subgroup there was an 80% incidence of contralateral peduncular lesions in the midbrain. The most common pattern of injury (74% in this series) was the combination of focal lesions of the corpus callosum and the dorsolateral brainstem. In patients with no evidence of diffuse axonal injury in the upper brainstem (26% in this series), callosal lesions were most often associated with basal ganglia lesions. Lesions of the corona radiata and lobar white matter were equally distributed in patients with or without dorsolateral brainstem injury. Moreover, cortical contusions and thalamic, parahippocampal, and cerebral peduncular lesions were also similarly distributed in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that diffuse axonal injury may be the major form of primary brain damage in the posttraumatic persistent vegetative state. In addition, the authors demonstrated in this study that MR imaging, in conjunction with a precise clinical correlation, may provide useful supportive information for the accurate diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state after traumatic brain injury.     

Calculation of electrodynamic properties of a biconical resonator

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 3, pp. 57–58, March, 1993.     

Life Calculations for Header – PGV-1000 Steam Generator Connector Weld Joints under NPP Service Conditions

The procedure for calculating the life of header – steam generator connector weld joints is proposed. It allows for running out the material plasticity reserve upon static cyclic elastoplastic loading as well as operating conditions, local stress concentrations, and residual stresses after welding.     

Renal gunshot wounds: methods of salvage and reconstruction

Over the past 14 years, 2079 patients have been seen at our institution with renal trauma. Of these, 84 sustained gunshot wounds (81 unilateral, 3 bilateral; a total of 87 renal units). We evaluated this group to characterize the nature of their injuries and establish a methodology for renal salvage and reconstruction. Preoperative radiographic staging was performed with excretory urography (IVP) or computed tomographic (CT) scanning. The injuries were classified into five categories: 16 contusions (18.4%), 12 minor lacerations (13.8%), 44 major lacerations (50.5%), six vascular injuries (6.9%), and nine combination laceration and vascular injury (10.3%). Most patients had multiple organ injuries, with 79 requiring associated surgical procedures (94%). The mean injury Severity Score (ISS) was 26.7 (range, 4-59). Based on radiographic and clinical staging criteria, 69 renal injuries were surgically explored (79.3%), and 12 patients underwent nephrectomy (13.8%). Forty-six renal units were reconstructed (66.6%) by various methods, including renorrhaphy, omental pedical flaps, mesh or peritoneal patch grafts, partial nephrectomy, and vascular repair. Overall, 75 renal units were salvaged (86.2%). Early renal vascular control was achieved in all patients who underwent renal exploration. Follow-up functional studies were done in 24 (28.5%): none had delayed nephrectomy or postinjury hypertension. Overall, 79 patients survived (94%); however, mortality was not related to renal injury. These findings suggest that aggressive radiographic staging coupled with early vascular control and careful selection of reconstructive techniques can ensure a high renal salvage rate in patients with renal gunshot injuries.     

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in aneurysms and normal aorta

BACKGROUND: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are characterized by degradation of collagen and elastin resulting from increases in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. Previous authors have identified isolated increases in expression of specific MMPs in AAAs, but none have compared relative levels of expression of particular MMPs to one another or to those of their inhibitors, the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). This study proposes to quantify relative mRNA levels for interstitial collagenase (MMP-1), 72 kd type IV collagenase (MMP-2), 92 kd type IV collagenase (MMP-9), TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in normal aorta (NA) and AAA to provide insight as to the relative importance of each in aneurysm formation. METHODS: Competitive polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) with gene-specific external standards and cDNA derived from AAAs (n = 8; mean age, 67.4 years) and NA (n = 5; mean age, 40.6 years) were used to quantify mRNA levels. Results were normalized to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA levels, determined by means of competitive PCR, and compared by means of Mann-Whitney statistics. RESULTS: Significant increases in MMP mRNA expression in AAA over NA were observed for MMP-1 (3.64 versus 0.3, p = 0.007), MMP-9 (78.03 versus 3.35, p = 0.003), TIMP-1 (835.32 versus 477.2, p = 0.027), and TIMP-2 (18.09 versus 4.14, p = 0.003). The ratio of MMP to TIMP mRNA levels was higher in AAA than NA (0.135 versus 0.045, p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Increases in expression of MMP-1, MMP-9, and MMP/TIMP ratios may result in increased proteolysis and matrix degradation, which characterize AAAs. MMP-9 appears to be the predominant metalloproteinase expressed in AAA, because its mRNA levels were more than 20 times and 2 times higher than those of MMP-1 and MMP-2, respectively. TIMP-1 mRNA levels were in molar excess to those of any of the metalloproteinases studied.     

Scattering of electromagnetic waves with a grating of microstrip conductors on an anisotropic substrate

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 2, pp. 45–46, February, 1992.