To cite: Thomas J, Subramanyam S, Vijayaraghavan S, et al. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2014208900 DESCRIPTION A 26-year-old man presented with progressive difficulty in swallowing for 2 years and increased skin pigmentation for 1 year. This was associated with a loss of weight despite a preserved appetite. He had a lack of tears since childhood...

INTRODUCTION We present our experience with the use of semirigid ureteroscopy for the treatment of ureteric stones in children less than or equal to 6 years of age. MATERIAL AND METHODS The records of 21 children (12 female, 9 male) with an average age of 4.7 years (range 8 months to 6 years) treated with semirigid ureteroscopy between June 2006 and July 2010 were reviewed. In 13 ureteral uni...

The dissipated energy from periodic deformation is regarded as the main reason for heat generation and temperature rise inside the tire domain. However, the mechanical behavior of rubber parts is highly temperature dependent. In most performed investigations, the influence of thermal effects on stress/ deformation fields of pneumatic tires is ignored and just temperature distribution is conside...

in this study, an intelligent system for sorting closed shell and open shell pistachio nuts, was designed and developed based on combined acoustic and artificial neural network (ann) techniques. the system included a microphone, pc, material handling equipment and an air reject pneumatic mechanism. the microphone, placed under the steel plate, received sound signals generated by the pistachio n...

Lateral transmission of blood-borne diseases can occur when a single needle is used repeatedly to vaccinate livestock. Needle-free technology to vaccinate sheep without damaging the carcass, causing lesions, or leaving needle fragments, and eliciting a similar antibody response as traditional needle vaccinations, has been hampered due to variable wool length. Vaccine delivery, injection time, a...

This paper reports mechanical testing and modeling results for the McKibben artificial muscle pneumatic actuator. This device, first developed in the 1950's, contains an expanding tube surrounded by braided cords. We report static and dynamic length-tension testing results and derive a linearized model of these properties for three different models. The results are briefly compared with human m...

The axial soft−tissue system in the neck of Dicraeosauridae and Diplodocidae, including pneumatic diverticula, liga− ments, and muscles, is reconstructed on the basis of phylogenetic and functional morphological comparisons with extant crocodylians and birds and compared with other soft−tissue reconstructions for sauropods. Bifurcation of the neural spines separated the paired supraspinal ligam...

OBJECTIVES To compare the effectiveness and safety of ultrasonic and pneumatic lithotripters in the treatment of renal stone disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 227 consecutive percutaneous nephrolithotomy procedures for renal calculi were performed. In 107 patients ultrasonic lithotriptors were used (group I) and in 83 patients pneumatic lithotriptors were used (group II). In the remai...

Despite emergent progress in many fields of bionics, a functional Bionic Voice prosthesis for laryngectomy patients (larynx amputees) has not yet been achieved, leading to a lifetime of vocal disability for these patients. This study introduces a novel framework of Pneumatic Bionic Voice Prostheses as an electronic adaptation of the Pneumatic Artificial Larynx (PAL) device. The PAL is a non-inv...