Mild pyelectasis

Mild pyelectasis is a common finding which is often incidental, with no significant long term sequelae. However, there is a small association with aneuploidy and postnatal renal pathology. In this paper the aetiology and prognosis are discussed and the management strategies described. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal desires of patients and social obligations of geneticists: applying preimplantation genetic diagnosis for non-medical sex selection

The arguments against the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for non-medical sex selection are analysed. It is concluded that the distinction between medical and non-medical reasons is difficult to maintain, that the disproportionality of means and end is not a decisive counterargument and that the fear of damage to the reputation of PGD does not justify the refusal of controversial applications. Moreover, since non-medical sex selection does not belong to basic health care, it should not be equally accessible to all. The position defended in this article is founded on two basic principles: (1) medical reasons have priority on non-medical reasons, and (2) personal reasons do not qualify for public funding. In order to respect both principles, it is proposed that restrictions should be installed to control the number of requests for social sexing and that a tax should be imposed on these elective services. The tax should compensate the society for the investment it made in the training and education of the physician. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Joint analysis of process and operator performance in chemical process operational safety

Independent studies of case histories by the Health and Safety Commission in the UK and by a Honeywell led industrial consortium world-wide showed that human errors represent the major cause of failure in process plant operation. In contrast to this discovery the majority of previous studies on computer aided systems for fault detection and diagnosis has focused on the process side. This paper presents a methodology, which can involve human factors into the development of systems for automatic identification and diagnosis of abnormal operations and develops methods and techniques that can be used to simultaneously capture, characterise and assess the performance of operators as well as of the process. A joint process–operator simulation platform is developed which is used as a test-bed for carrying out the study. The process part is a simulator, which simulates in high fidelity the dynamic behaviour of the process that is subject to the influence of various disturbances and operators’ interventions. The operator module is developed as a real-time expert system, which emulates operator’s behaviour in interpretation of received signals, and planning and execution of decisions. The interaction between the two modules is managed through an interaction module, which handles the real-time exchange of data using Dynamic Data Exchange. The interaction module also contains the toolkits for analysing the dynamic behaviour of the joint process–operator system. The method and system are illustrated using a simulated case study.     

PVC电缆火灾早期特征气体的组成分析和传感器探测

利用气体传感器对电缆绝缘过热释放的气体进行监测有望实现电气火灾早期预警,目前该技术的发展由于特征气体未得到确认而受到限制。分析了聚氯乙烯(PVC)电缆绝缘层在不同温度下释放的气体组成,并对其主要成分进行传感器测试。TG-IR和GC-MS分析表明PVC电缆绝缘层在200℃前已出现微小失重,释放出以邻苯二甲酸二辛酯(DOP)等塑化剂为主的气体。气敏测试中,商用半导体气体传感器对DOP和电缆蒸气产生较好、相似的响应性能。因此,DOP可以作为PVC电缆火灾早期的特征气体。     

浙江墩头盆地横山组孢粉化石的发现及其地层意义

浙江墩头盆地红色岩层中上部首获丰富的以Cassopllis为主(58.39—62.54％)伴有Exesipollenites(15.21—15.84％),Hsuisporites(0.56—0.62％),Cicatricosisporites(0—0.31％)等孢粉化石。该孢粉组合特征既与国内外晚侏罗世孢粉组合面貌差别较大,又与早白垩世中晚期孢粉组合面貌存在明显差异,显示了早白垩世早期孢粉组合的色彩。笔者认为这套红色岩层应归早白垩世早期横山组为宜。