Future dental public health programs: forging community and academic collaborations

In the past 5 years we have discovered 8 boys and 3 girls who suffer from fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase deficiency. Although they all showed the typical symptoms of the deficiency such as frequent vomiting, hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis, and hepatomegaly, the age at diagnosis varied from 2 months to 4 years. All the boys revealed the deficient enzyme activity in leukocytes but none of the girls. The liver biopsy was investigated in six patients to confirm the diagnosis. These results suggest the existence of tissue-specific isoenzymes for fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase possibly with a different gene origin.     

Diagnosis of systemic causes of uveitis; a matter of ophthalmologist and internist

OBJECTIVE: To assess how often the aetiology is established in patients with uveitis, what systemic disease are found and what is the contribution of the internist to the diagnostic process. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: University Hospital Leiden, the Netherlands. METHOD: From January 1987 to April 1992, 342 patients presented with uveitis. All patients underwent a standard ophthalmological examination. Referral to an internist and individualised laboratory screening followed in patients with recurrent, chronic, bilateral or panuveitis. Recorded were: ophthalmological data, results of laboratory screening, results of analysis by the internist, final diagnosis and presence of systemic disease. RESULTS: 149 (44%) patients were examined by the internist, 18 (5.2%) were seen by another specialist. In 169 (49%) patients a specific diagnosis was made. 74 (22%) had a systemic disease, 74 a primary ocular disease. In 28 (8%) a systemic disease was presumed (5% were HLA-B27 positive, 3% had abnormal laboratory results); 5 (1%) patients had endophthalmitis as a complication of a septic process. CONCLUSION: In approximately 1/3 of the patients with uveitis a systemic disease was found. Examination by the internist tailored to the individual patient is essential in the evaluation of uveitis patients.     

Thixoforging of continuous fiber-reinforced AlSi/AlMg-alloys

High strength in combination with low density is the key features for lightweight constructions in automotive and aerospace applications. Tailor-made fiber reinforcements in light-metal matrices could help to achieve this goal. However, the integration of fibers with conventional casting-route manufacturing techniques like squeeze casting or diffusion bonding restricts the component geometry and results in elevated process cost due to long cycle times and the need of additional fiber coatings. In the center of competence for casting and thixoforging Stuttgart (CCT), new processes for manufacturing metal matrix composites are developed. Long-fiber reinforced Al–Si alloys and components are produced by thixoforging of laminates made of alternating metal matrix layers and carbon fiber fabrics. This paper illustrates the manufacturing technology and first experimental results with special focus on fiber penetration and infiltration behavior and also on the formation of fiber-matrix interface to analyze fiber damage by mechanical or chemical attack.     

Using GOMS and NASA-TLX to Evaluate Human–Computer Interaction Process in Interactive Segmentation

HCI plays an important role in interactive medical image segmentation. The Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules (GOMS) model and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire are different methods that are often used to evaluate the HCI process. In this article, we aim at improving the HCI process of interactive segmentation using both the GOMS model and the NASA-TLX questionnaire to: 1) identify the relations between these two methods and 2) propose HCI design suggestions based on the synthesis of the evaluation results using both methods. For this, we conducted an experiment where three physicians used two interactive segmentation approaches to segment different types of organs at risk for radiotherapy planning. Using the GOMS model, we identified 16 operators and 10 methods. Further analysis discovered strong relations between the use of GOMS operators and the results of the NASA-TLX questionnaire. Finally, HCI design issues were identified, and suggestions were proposed based on the evaluation results and the identified relations.     

Experiments and modeling of conduction and charge accumulation in liquid crystal cells

A combination of different electrical measurement techniques is applied to liquid crystal (display) cells; voltage drop, current-voltage, dc stress measurements and impedance spectroscopy. It is found that at small timescale (seconds) conduction is dominated by transport of mobile ions, but at long timescale (hours) by (bulk) generation of extremely low mobility ions. These slow ions accumulate at ionic double layers at the liquid crystal-polyimid interface, giving rise to electric fields over the polyimid alignment layers. These processes of charge transport and accumulation are represented in consistent and insightful electrical network models.     

A numerical simulation of the D.C. continuous casting process including nucleate boiling heat transfer

The steady-state thermal problem associated with the direct-chill continuous casting of A6063 aluminum cylindrical ingots is solved using the numerical finite element technique. Excellent correlation is demonstrated between the numerical model and experimental data from ingots cast at two different speeds. By application of the model, effective heat transfer coefficients are calculated as a function of vertical position on the outside surface of the ingot. It is shown that direct application of these coefficients to the modeling of different casting situations will produce substantial errors in the region in which heat transfer is by nucleate boiling. Using theories of nucleate boiling with forced convection and film cooling, a method is developed to calculate the external boundary conditions in the submold region of the ingot, thus making it possible for the first time to define explicitly all of the thermal boundary conditions associated with this casting configuration. These theories are incorporated into the numerical model, and a subsequent simulation shows excellent agreement with experimental data from a third ingot.