Aortic valve papillary fibroelastoma. A diagnosis by transthoracic echocardiography

Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas are unusual, frond-like growths typically found on cardiac valves, diagnosed incidentally on autopsy or cardiac surgery, but rarely during life. We report a rare case of an aortic valve papillary fibroelastoma detected by transthoracic echocardiography and confirmed by histologic study.     

Ubiquitin expression in inclusion body myositis. An immunohistochemical study

Ubiquitin has been shown by immunohistochemical studies to be a component of many of the filamentous inclusion bodies that are known in neuropathology. In the current study, we examined the expression of ubiquitin in 14 cases of typical inclusion body myositis, in skeletal muscle specimens from four cases of typical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and in muscle specimens from three normal controls. In the cases of inclusion body myositis, rimmed vacuoles were ubiquitin immunoreactive in all cases. Intrasarcoplasmic inclusions were positive in the nine cases that had them. In four cases, there were positive intranuclear inclusions, and in seven, there was homogeneous staining of nuclei. Atrophic fibers and necrotic fibers were positive in 11 and nine cases, respectively. In the cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, atrophic fibers were positive in three cases, and focal nuclear staining was seen in two. In one of the three control cases, a few atrophic fibers had faint sarcoplasmic positivity; no other staining was seen. We conclude that ubiquitin is a component of the inclusions that characterize inclusion body myositis. However, ubiquitin expression in skeletal muscle disease is not pathognomonic of inclusion body myositis.     

Methodological issues in outcome studies of school-based interventions for the prevention of adolescent depression.

Several methodological and ethical issues are addressed in the context of 3 related school-based studies of the primary and targeted prevention of depressive symptoms and disorder in high school adolescents. These issues include obtaining S consent and the protection of confidentiality, minimizing attrition over long-term follow-up periods, the "unit of assignment" issue common to most school-based research, and ensuring therapist fidelity to the intervention protocol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of custom microarray manufacture

Given the enormous size of the genome and that there are potentially many other types of measurements we need to do to understand it, it has become necessary to pick and choose one's targets to measure because it is still impossible to evaluate the entire genome all at once. What has emerged is a need to have rapidly customizable microarrays. There are two dominant methods to accomplish custom microarray synthesis, Affymetrix-like microarrays manufactured using light projection rather than semiconductor-like masks used by Affymetrix to mass manufacture their GeneChip/sup TM/ arrays now, or the ink-jet printing method employed by Agilent. The manufacture of these custom Affymetrix-like microarrays can now be done on a digital optical chemistry (DOC) machine developed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and this method offers much higher feature numbers and feature density than is possible with ink-jet printed arrays. On a microarray, each feature contains a single genetic measurement. The initial DOC prototype has been described in several publications, but that has now led to a second-generation machine. This machine reliably produces a number of arrays daily, has been deployed against a number of biomedical questions, is being used in new ways and has also led to a number of spin-off technologies.     

A comparative analysis of fuzzy logic and PI speed control in high-performance AC drives using experimental approach

One of the frequently discussed applications of artificial intelligence in motion control is the replacement of a standard proportional plus integral (PI) speed controller with a fuzzy logic (FL) speed controller. Regardless of all the work, it appears that a thorough comparison of the drive behavior under PI and FL speed control is still missing. This paper attempts to fill in this gap, by providing an in-depth comparison of operation of a vector-controlled permanent-magnet synchronous motor, using at first an experimental rig. Speed responses, obtained under PI and FL speed control, are recorded and compared for a variety of operating conditions. The transients studied include response to a large step speed command from standstill with nominal inertia and an increased inertia, response to small step speed reference change, and response to step load torque application. The transient behavior is examined for various initial speed settings, so that a thorough comparison is enabled. Experimental results are further supplemented with a set of simulation results, obtained using a different permanent-magnet machine and a different FL controller. Better generalization of the results is enabled in this way. It is shown that superiority of the FL speed control is less pronounced than it is often portrayed in the literature on the basis of limited comparisons. Indeed, in a number of cases, PI speed control provides a superior speed response.     

双塔脱丙烷工艺技术

对扬子乙烯装置双塔脱丙烷系统低压塔液泛、高压塔再沸器堵塞等问题进行了技术分析,提出了工艺流程修改方案,完善了双塔脱丙烷技术,对同类装置有参考价值。     

Photoelectric properties of planar structures with double Schottky barrier treated in a high-vacuum microwave discharge

The state of the surface of n-GaAs crystals upon high-vacuum microwave plasmachemical (HVMWPC) etching in various gas mixtures and the influence of the semiconductor surface condition on the photoelectric characteristics of related metal-semiconductor-metal structures with double Schottky barrier (MSMDSB structures) are investigated. Dependence of the HVMWPC etching rate of the GaAs surface on the gas mixture composition and substrate temperature is determined. It is shown that the HVMWPC etching regime strongly influences the photoelectric properties of MSMDSB structures: the treatment can lead to either growth or drop in photosensitivity of the samples. Optimum etching regimes are established for which good semiconductor surface quality and high photosensitivity of the MSMDSB structures are retained at a high etching rate.     

Processing of Yttria-Alumina Coated Silicon Nitride Slips by Slip Casting

Si₃N₄powders coated with 6 wt% Y₂O₃and 4 wt% Al₂O₃were prepared by coprecipitation. The resulting powders were dispersed in water at different pH values and with addition of various amounts of ammonium polyacrylate (NH₄PA) to produce 32 vol% slips. The influence of the amount of NH₄PA solution added and pH on the rheological properties of 32 vol% coated Si₃N₄slips were studied. In addition, the sintered density of cast samples was determined and related to the degree of slip dispersion. The adsorption of the NH₄PA on the coated particle surface was rather high and the surface became saturated near 0.86 mg/m²at pH 9.2. High NH₄PA concentrations (1.7–3 wt%) were necessary to obtain well dispersed 32 vol% coated Si₃N₄slips at pH 9.2. The best stabilization was obtained with the addition of 2.3 wt% NH₄PA; in this condition, the viscosity reached a minimum value of 35 mPa.s at 100 s^–1. The slip viscosity increased with increasing pH from 9.2 to 10.2. Slips with low viscosities gave a more dense packing of cast samples and consequently higher sintered density values.