Pretibial cyst formation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using auto hamstring grafts: two case reports in a prospective study of 89 cases

Eighty-nine cases after anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) reconstruction were followed prospectively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The patients were examined using axial and sagittal MRI at least twice during the postoperative evaluation of reconstructed ACL. Two cases of pretibial cyst formation were observed. At the time of cyst formation, neither patient had any subjective or objective evidence of knee instability. The cyst of one case communicated with the intra-articular. The minimum follow-up period after the surgical excision was 9 months, with no evidence of recurrence. We might speculate that the critical period for cyst formation in both patients occurred at less than 12 months after their ACL reconstruction. We concluded that the cyst formation was most likely due to incomplete graft tendon incorporation within the osseous tunnel.     

Prediction of output response probability of sound environment system using simplified model with stochastic regression and fuzzy inference

The traditional standard stochastic system models, such as the autoregressive (AR), moving average (MA) and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models, usually assume the Gaussian property for the fluctuation distribution, and the well-known least squares method is applied on the basis of only the linear correlation data. In the actual sound environment system, the stochastic process exhibits various non-Gaussian distributions, and there exist potentially various nonlinear correlations in addition to the linear correlation between input and output time series. Consequently, the system input and output relationship in the actual phenomenon cannot be represented by a simple model. In this study, a prediction method of output response probability for sound environment systems is derived by introducing a correction method based on the stochastic regression and fuzzy inference for simplified standard system models. The proposed method is applied to the actual data in a sound environment system, and the practical usefulness is verified.     

General Form of Non-Symmetric Spin Models

A spin model (for link invariants) is a square matrix W with non-zero complex entries which satisfies certain axioms. Recently (Jaeger and Nomura, J. Alg. Combin. 10 (1999), 241–278) it was shown that ^t WW ^–1 is a permutation matrix (the order of this permutation matrix is called the index of W), and a general form was given for spin models of index 2. In the present paper, we generalize this general form to an arbitrary index m. In particular, we give a simple form of W when m is a prime number.     

Backscattering correction for quantitative Auger analysis: II. Verifications of the backscattering factors through quantification by AES

The validity and utility of the backscattering correction factors obtained from Monte Carlo calculations for quantitative analysis by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) were examined through practical quantification of surface concentrations of binary alloys. Quantifications were attempted, first, to access the surface composition of a sputter-deposited NiPt layer, which is probably the most appropriate test-sample with known surface composition for surface analysis. The quantification by AES has led to the result that the surface composition of the layer agrees well with the bulk composition of the sputtered NiPt alloy, as expected. The composition of a sputtered AuCu alloy surface was, then, examined according to the same correction procedure as for the NiPt layer, leading to the confirmation that no preferential sputtering is observed for AuCu alloys by AES as Färber et al. reported.     

Infrared absorption and Raman scattering due to localized vibrational mode of Be in zinc-chalcogenides

The localized vibrational modes of Be in ZnS and ZnSe are observed by using the infrared absorption and Raman scattering. The concentration dependent shift of local mode line is found in ZnS: Be. For these systems, anharmonic potential constants are calculated up to the 4th order. Fundamental local mode of ZnTe: Be is also measured.