Mycosis fungoides palmaris et plantaris

BACKGROUND: Mycosis fungoides primarily localized to the palms and soles is rare and has been previously reported as cutaneous lymphoma in four patients or as Woringer-Kolopp disease in eight patients. OBSERVATIONS: Four patients were initially diagnosed and treated unsuccessfully for various palmoplantar dermatitides until histopathologic findings revealed mycosis fungoides. Each case exhibited a clonal rearrangement of T-cell receptor gamma genes and immunohistochemical studies consonant with mycosis fungoides. All patients had limited skin involvement without evidence of extracutaneous involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Mycosis fungoides palmaris et plantaris is an uncommon expression of mycosis fungoides that manifests primarily on the palms and soles and clinically may mimic various inflammatory palmoplantar dermatoses. A biopsy is recommended in the evaluation of recalcitrant palmoplantar dermatoses.     

Logistics Support System for Construction Robotics Implementation

Abstract: A logistics and scheduling microcomputer system for construction robotics implementation has been developed within the framework of the Construction Robotic Equipment Management System (CREMS) at Purdue University. This paper addresses the main procedures and software developed to effectively manage multiple robots in diverse construction sites. The current version of the software is used with HyperCard, QuickBASIC, and Think-Pascal on an Apple Macintosh microcomputer. This paper presents an example microcomputer application to optimal robot implementation assignment decision support for use with multiple concurrent construction projects.     

Cy7PE and Cy7APC: bright new probes for immunofluorescence

We demonstrate the utility of indotricarbocyanine (Cy7) conjugates of the phycobiliproteins phycoerythrin (PE) and allophycocyanin (APC) in flow cytometry. This is the first demonstration of the use of an APC tandem dye for fluorescence measurements. These resonance energy transfer tandem dyes can be excited by the phycobiliprotein-specific excitation wavelengths and fluoresce at wavelengths above 780 nm. The tandem dyes, when conjugated to antibodies, are suitable for flow cytometry and other immunofluorescence applications. These conjugates are easily detectable above the very low autofluorescence in this part of the spectrum. Indeed, the Cy7-conjugated PE tandem (Cy7PE) has a "brightness" (fluorescence signal over cellular autofluorescence) comparable to that of fluorescein, and the Cy7APC tandem has a "brightness" comparable to that of APC. These tandems are also easily distinguished from other commonly used fluorophores, making them suitable for high-order multiparametric analysis. We show an example of six-color immunofluorescence analysis by flow cytometry, simultaneously measuring fluorescences from fluorescein, PE, Cy5PE, Texas red, APC, and Cy7APC.     

Cations size mismatch versus bonding characteristics: synthesis,structure and oxygen ion conducting properties of pyrochlore-type lanthanide hafnates

This work describes the synthesis, structural characterization and electrical properties of solid solutions with the general formula Gd₂Hf_2?xB_xO₇, where B?=?Ti⁴⁺, Sn⁴⁺ and Zr⁴⁺. All samples were successfully prepared in?~?30 h, via a mechanochemical reaction in a planetary ball mill, using the corresponding elemental oxides as starting chemicals. The XRD and Raman spectroscopy analysis of the title samples revealed that on firing at 1500 °C Hf⁴⁺ substitution by Sn⁴⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ produces better ordered pyrochlore structures and decreases the electrical conductivity of Gd₂Hf₂O₇ by more than two orders of magnitude (from 2.7?×?10^?4 at 700 °C to 8.71?×?10^?7 and 1.12?×?10^?6 Sm cm^?1, for Gd₂Sn₂O₇ and Gd₂Ti₂O₇, respectively). By contrast, the Gd₂Hf_2?xZr_xO₇ system remains disordered with conductivity increasing by almost an order of magnitude and reaching a value for Gd₂Zr₂O₇ of 1.55?×?10^?3 Sm cm^?1 at 700 °C, whereas the activation energy for oxygen migration decreases in both, the Sn- and Ti-containing systems, and increases slightly in the Zr-containing solid solution. These changes cannot be only explained when taking into account the cations size ratio criteria; the covalency of the <B–O> metal bond plays also a key role in determining the structural characteristics and electrical properties of the title three systems.     

On the effect of the deployment setting on broadcasting in Euclidean radio networks

The paper studies broadcasting in radio networks whose stations are represented by points in the Euclidean plane (each station knows its own coordinates). In any given time step, a station can either receive or transmit. A message transmitted from station v is delivered to every station u at distance at most 1 from v, but u successfully hears the message if and only if v is the only station at distance at most 1 from u that transmitted in this time step. A designated source station has a message that should be disseminated throughout the network. All stations other than the source are initially idle and wake up upon the first time they hear the source message. It is shown in [17] that the time complexity of deterministic broadcasting algorithms depends on two parameters of the network, namely, its diameter (in hops) D and a lower bound d on the Euclidean distance between any two stations. The inverse of d is called the granularity of the network, denoted by g. Specifically, the authors of [17] present a deterministic broadcasting algorithm that works in time O (Dg) and prove that every broadcasting algorithm requires \(\varOmega \left( D \sqrt{g} \right) \) time. In this paper, we distinguish between the arbitrary deployment setting, originally studied in [17], in which stations can be placed everywhere in the plane, and the new grid deployment setting, in which stations are only allowed to be placed on a d-spaced grid. Does the latter (more restricted) setting provide any speedup in broadcasting time complexity? Although the O (Dg) broadcasting algorithm of [17] works under the (original) arbitrary deployment setting, it turns out that the \(\varOmega \left( D \sqrt{g} \right) \) lower bound remains valid under the grid deployment setting. Still, the above question is left unanswered. The current paper answers this question affirmatively by presenting a provable separation between the two deployment settings. We establish a tight lower bound on the time complexity of deterministic broadcasting algorithms under the arbitrary deployment setting proving that broadcasting cannot be completed in less than \(\varOmega (D g)\) time. For the grid deployment setting, we develop a deterministic broadcasting algorithm that runs in time \(O \left( D g^{5 / 6} \log g \right) \), thus breaking the linear dependency on g.     

In Vivo Micro‐CT Imaging of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Labeled with Gold‐Poly‐l‐Lysine Nanocomplexes

Developing in vivo cell tracking is an important prerequisite for further development of cell‐based therapy. So far, few computed tomography (CT) cell tracking studies have been described due to its notoriously low sensitivity and lack of efficient labeling protocols. A simple method is presented to render human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) sufficiently radiopaque by complexing 40 nm citrate‐stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with poly‐l ‐lysine (PLL) and rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC). AuNP‐PLL‐RITC labeling does not affect cellular viability, proliferation, or downstream cell differentiation into adipocytes and osteocytes. Labeled hMSCs can be clearly visualized in vitro and in vivo with a micro‐CT scanner, with a detection limit of ≈2 × 10⁴ cells per µL in vivo. Calculated Hounsfield unit values are 2.27 per pg of intracellular Au, as measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry, and are linear over a wide range of cell concentrations. This linear CT attenuation is observed for both naked AuNPs and those that were taken up by hMSCs, indicating that the number of labeled cells can be quantified similar to the use of radioactive or fluorine tracers. This approach for CT cell tracking may find applications in CT image‐guided interventions and fluoroscopic procedures commonly used for the injection of cellular therapeutics.     

Default logic and specification of nonmonotonic reasoning

In this paper constructions leading to the formation of belief sets by agents are studied. The focus is on the situation when possible belief sets are built incrementally in stages. An infinite sequence of theories that represents such a process is called a reasoning trace. A set of reasoning traces describing all possible reasoning scenarios for the agent is called a reasoning frame. Default logic by Reiter is not powerful enough to represent reasoning frames. In the paper a generalization of default logic of Reiter is introduced by allowing infinite sets of justifications. This formalism is called infinitary default logic. In the main result of the paper it is shown that every reasoning frame can be represented by an infinitary default theory. A similar representability result for antichains of theories (belief frames) is also presented.     

Robotics in Civil Engineering

Abstract: Robots have been investigated for automation of construction, maintenance, and inspection of civil works since the early 1980s. This paper describes the progress of robotics in civil engineering from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. It focuses on the environment and motivation for implementation of robotics, identifies key centers of development, identifies regional differences, and describes progress in key areas. It also traces the emergence and change of development strategies over time, it identifies practical achievements, and it identifies key developments for the future. It concludes that despite many false starts and setbacks, significant progress has been made, and significant changes are on the horizon.