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...

BACKGROUND and aims: In this prospective study, we determined the long term clinical course of patients with achalasia who were treated by pneumatic dilation using the Browne-McHardy dilator, and determined whether previously described predictors of outcome remain significant after prolonged follow up. METHODS Between 1981 and 1991, 54 consecutive patients were treated by pneumatic dilation a...

Skeletal pneumaticity is found in the presacral vertebrae of most sauropod dinosaurs, but pneumaticity is much less common in the vertebrae of the tail. We describe previously unrecognized pneumatic fossae in the mid-caudal vertebrae of specimens of Giraffatitan and Apatosaurus. In both taxa, the most distal pneumatic vertebrae are separated from other pneumatic vertebrae by sequences of three ...

PURPOSE To compare efficacy and safety of holmium:YAG laser and pneumatic lithotripter in the management of ureteral stones. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and twelve patients with 1 to 2 cm ureteral calculi were selected for pneumatic or holmium:YAG laser transurethral ureterolithotripsy (56 patients in each group). Ultrasonography and plain abdominal x-ray were performed for all the pati...

Rather severe parametric uncertainties and uncertain nonlinearities exist in the dynamic modeling of a parallel manipulator driven by pneumatic muscles. Those uncertainties not only come from the timevarying friction forces and the static force modeling errors of pneumatic muscles but also from the inherent complex nonlinearities and unknown disturbances of the parallel manipulator. In this pap...