The robotized workstation "MASTER" for users with tetraplegia: description and evaluation.

The rehabilitation robotics MASTER program was developed by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and evaluated by the APPROCHE Rehabilitation centers. The aim of this program is to increase the autonomy and quality of life of persons with tetraplegia in domestic and vocational environments. Taking advantage of its experience in nuclear robotics, the CEA has supported studies dealing with the use of such technical aids in the medical area since 1975 with the SPARTACUS project, followed by MASTER 10 years later, and its European extension in the framework of the TIDE/RAID program.

What sounds reach fetuses: biological and nonbiological modeling of the transmission of pure tones.

In utero transmission of external and maternal sounds has been studied in pregnant women and in an animal model of human species, the sheep. These works, especially the most recent ones, suggest that local and environmental factors interfere in such a way that signals are attenuated in a complex manner as frequency increases. The present work investigated whether a plain rubber sphere which was filled with water could be considered as a reliable nonbiological model in a study describing the characteristics of sound transmission.

Comparative diagnoses of twin zygosity by SSLP variant analysis, questionnaire, and dermatoglyphic analysis.

Zygosity diagnosis has been performed in 79 pairs of twins using three methods. Simple sequence repeat length polymorphism (SSLP) analysis allows an efficient classification (MZ or DZ) with only a few markers following a simplified technique of extraction and amplification. A method based on a full questionnaire completed by parents about twin similarity correctly classifies 97.