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Case report of a plumber's fatal work accident. Investigations on the causes of death made at post mortem showed that the worker had absorbed a large quantity of freon 22 (chlorodifluoromethane) which is known to be a narcotic agent and capable of inducing cardiac arrhythmia. It is believed freon inhalation was the cause of loss of consciousness with consequent death from drowning in the water issuing from the pipes. It is concluded that preventive measures need to be reinforced by adequate information to the workforce on the risks connected to this type of gas.

We retrospectively analyzed thirty-seven cases of infantile pulmonary tuberculosis that had been subjected to bronchoscopy. Although this exploration produced evidence of bronchial wall irritation, the macroscopic findings, as well as the histological ones, were frequently insufficient to make the diagnosis of tuberculosis. The bacteriological study of bronchial exudates of these patients was more efficient since we encountered BAAR in 34.2% of the samples.

A diagnostic system has been developed to measure the temperature of a pulsed thermionic cathode. The thermionic cathode consists of more than 150 tungsten filaments each brought to over 2500 Kelvin in less than 10 msecs. Four optical fibers can view the cathode array and feed their light through a spectrograph (150 g/mm) into a silicon vidicon detector. An optical multi-channel analyzer (OMA) controls a pulse generator which can gate the vidicon from 70 nanoseconds to 1 millisecond. The spectrum of the tungsten source is recorded from 450 to 750 nm (across 512 channels) on four separate tracks (corresponding to each fiber). The OMA converts the count verses wavelength data to an ASCII file. A computer program has been developed which applies appropriate calibration factors to the raw data, fold in emissivity values as functions of wavelength and temperature, and provides two-color temperature measurements across the 512 channels. A simple statistical routine then determines mean and standard deviation of the temperature measurements. The system can be applied to the remote sensing of CW or pulsed thermal sources. Background measurements can be taken prior to data collection and then subtracted from raw data. Temperature values for a single pulsed tungsten filament are compared with integration of pulsed power heating.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The authors present the case of a closed posteriomedial enucleation of the talus, which is the first ever reported in the literature. The patient's course is described and available publications are fully reviewed. The authors believe that in spite of the high rate of necrosis observed in talus enucleations, it is valid to attempt treatment designed to prevent necrosis, reserving arthrodesis for those cases where necrosis has already occurred or where walking is impaired.

After suffering traumatic volar dislocation of the first metacarpophalangeal joint, a 27-year-old patient was treated using closed reduction of the thumb. The patient regained full function and stability of the joint after 5 months. A review of the literature indicates that open reduction is the most common treatment for volar dislocation, but our case report suggests that conservative treatment using closed reduction can be highly effective.

A case of intermittent priapism with neurogenic claudication caused by spinal stenosis is reported. The symptoms disappeared completely after decompressive laminectomy.

Summary A 12-year-old boy had a history of pain in the right knee for 2 months, mainly pain in extension. He could not recall any trauma to the knee. The radiograph suggested osteochondritis dissecans in the anterior spine. An arthroscopy was performed and a prominence in the tibial insertion of the anterior cruciate ligament in the anterointernal area was observed, and the fragment resected. The diagnosis of osteochondritis dissecans was confirmed by pathological study. As far as we are aware, this is the first case describing this new location.

The inhibitory effects on poly(U)-directed polyphenylalanine synthesis of cryptopleurine and a number of structurally related analogs have been compared in a yeast cell-free system. Results suggest that the quinolidine structure by itself does not promote biological activity, and for an inhibitory effect it must be condensed with a phenanthrene or another related compound such as naphthalene. The results are presented and possible relationships between structure and activity for the compounds emetine, tubolosine, tylophora alkaloids, and various cryptopleurine analogs are considered.

A case of dorsal dislocation of the first metatarso-phalangeal joint is reported because it is a very unusual injury, and the literature is reviewed.

We report the case of a girl, aged 2 years, who was able to dislocate her right hip voluntarily and in whom there was no other abnormality. She was given psychological treatment and the condition resolved after 2 years. Eight similar cases of habitual dislocation of the hip are reported in the world literature.

We have followed for more than ten years three women suffering from a S.N. which appeared in their fourth decade. In these patients no malignancy or other known toxic and infectious aetiologies could be found. According to the authors the clinical symptomatology as far as the C.S.F. and the neurophysiological findings justify the separation of S.N. from G.B.S., being the first disorder characterized by an elective damage of the neurones of the ganglia of the posterior roots. Therefore the eponym of "ganglio-neuronopathy" seems appropriate.

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is a perennial plant with an interesting economic value by processing it for liquid wax production. By pressing of jojoba seeds, by-product which has been called "residual meal" has been obtained, and because of its high protein content, it would be a great interest to evaluate it as animal feedstuff. The results of this study showed the following. Both seed and residual meal were analyzed in regard to their chemical proximal composition: crude protein 14.03 and 25.24%; ether extract, 48.89 and 14.73%; crude fiber, 10.03 and 10.07%; ash, 1.59 and 4.72, and nitrogen-free extract, 25.46 and 45.25, the limiting amino acids being methionine, lysine and isoleucine. The trypsin inhibitor factors were 13.747 and 11,197 TIU/g; and hemagglutinins and saponins were negative for both samples. Cyanogenic glucosides were positive in both samples. It was concluded that jojoba residual meal is an alternative as an adequate feedstuff in those regions where jojoba is produced. Nevertheless, prior to consumption it must be treated so as to eliminate the toxic factors.

Background In Kyrgyzstan, a low-middle income Central-Asia republic, breast cancer (BC) management does not meet minimal standards: ∼70% of women are diagnosed late and do not receive adequate treatments. Setting up BC services is a health priority. Methods In 2011, the Swiss Development Cooperation in Central Asia audited for a BC project in Kyrgyzstan. The audit found a dramatic situation in imaging, histologic diagnosis and treatment (local and systemic). A multi-step program was funded, supported by the European School of Oncology (ESO), the Swiss Cancer League and the Swiss Association against Cancer in close collaboration with the local ONG Ergene (Europa Donna member), the Swiss Embassy and the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health. The first priorities were mammographic and histologic diagnosis. From 2017, Swiss and Italian breast specialists periodically visited Kyrgyzstan to supply materials, teach health professionals and trace progress and problems; Kyrgyz doctors were trained in Switzerland and Italy, patients were provided educational support and devices (prostheses, wigs). Results Improvements were significant and fast. The mammography quality is now acceptable and the pathologists routinely assess hormonal receptors, HER-2 and Ki-67 expression and biomarkers for differentiating tumor subtypes. Diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines have been implemented with local physicians. Thanks to a Canadian government donation, two Linear Accelerators and one Computed Tomography for radiotherapy planning are being purchased, replacing old, unsafe equipment. A US ONG assisted in chemotherapy regimen implementation. Current steps involve training of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, technicians and surgeons in modern BC loco-regional approaches, discussing the availability of drugs of the WHO list of essential medicines, establishing tele pathology and mobile mammography. Conclusions The SILK project shows effective BC cooperative programs in low-middle income countries are feasible. Strict and continuous collaboration with local governments, organizations and health professionals is vital to ensure their success. SILK is a model adaptable and exportable to other critical situations across the world. Legal entity responsible for the study European School of Oncology. Funding European School of Oncology, Swiss Cancer League. Disclosure G. Pruneri: Honoraria (self): Roche Foundation Medicine. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

The present paper focused on the analysis of the fracture surfaces of a new development insulated iron powder compound with the addition of the aluminium alloy in order to improve the mechanical properties. Results show that in the pressed state, mainly pores act as crack initiators and due to their presence the distribution of stress is inhomogeneous across the cross-section and leads to the reduction of the effective load bearing area. Investigation of fracture surfaces concluded that improvements in bonding during the pressing process and heat treatment can be helpful in the development of soft magnetic materials to give a suitable combination between pressing pressure, annealing temperature and time as well as magnetic properties.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the sintered duplex stainless steels manufactured in sinter-hardening process and its use in the field of stainless steels and, moreover, to calculate the powder mix composition using computer software. In the presented paper, duplex stainless steels were obtained through powder metallurgy starting from austenitic or ferritic base powders by controlled addition of alloying elements powder. In the studies, besides the preparation of powder mixes, computer software based on Schaeffler's diagram was studied. It has been demonstrated that austenitic-ferritic microstructures with regular arrangement of both phases and absence of precipitates can be obtained with properly designed powder mix composition and sintering cycle. Applied producing method and used sintering cycle as well as developed computer software proves advantageous in the case of obtained microstructures also working with cycles easy to be introduced in industries. [Received 15 March 2007; Accepted 10 July 2007]

A technological analysis of the vacuum furnace application for hardening of tools and dies with respect to heating and quenching requirements has been performed. It was noted that in modern vacuum furnaces the hardening process is performed mainly under gas atmosphere but under vacuum conditions only at the beginning during air evacuation. Analyses show that the hypereutectoid carbide precipitation cannot be avoided due to the insufficiently fast cooling in the high pressure gas quenching. A design of an integral quench furnace with a closed system of introducing the noble gas, i.e. argon or helium, and of quenching in a hot oil bath has been developed. The new design reduces the possibility of carbide precipitation and also reduces thermal stresses applying thermal hardening.

Exploitation of the critical parts in die casting moulds for radiators was observed for years and it was found that dominant wear mechanism was heat checking. After 1.2343 and 1.2367 grades, a vacuum remelted grade,  1.2343 with a lowered silicon content was used. At hardness of ca. 44 HRC, lifetime of the critical mould part significantly decreased, where heavy cracks occured. Notched impact energy and metallography of the mould part samples were analyzed.

Mechanical properties (adhesion, microhardness, Young modulus) of the commercially available PVD hard coatings (Futura nano, WC/C, TiCN, Futura nano+WC/C, Lumena, Alcrona) and of the TiAlN coating prepared at Jozef Stefan Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia) are tested. Three different deposition methods were used for preparation of hard coatings: sputtering using unballanced magnetron sources-CC800 (CemeCon) and cathode arc evaporation (BAI 1200 (Balzers)). These coatings were deposited on the cold work tools D2, steels of Uddeholm Tooling (Rigor, Sleipner, Vanadis 4 and Vanadis 6) and on D2 steel. These coatings showed wide range of mechanical properties. The feedbacks related to performance of coatings applied on the cutting and forming tools exploited in the Electrolux Group are presented.