Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in children

The authors presented the cases of two children with inflammatory myofibroblastic (IMF) tumor and reviewed the literature to facilitate the preoperative recognition, delineate the clinical features, and describe the natural history of this entity. The first child had IMF tumor arising from the mesentery of the small intestine. He presented with an abdominal mass associated with severe inflammatory response manifested by fever, impaired growth, thrombocytosis, and microcytic, hypochromic anemia. After surgical resection, his fever resolved and his growth rate and the laboratory abnormalities normalized. Five months after initial diagnosis, the fever, anemia, and thrombocytosis recurred along with two tumors arising from the omentum and the abdominal soft tissue. After the second surgery, he remains free of recurrent disease for 30 months. The second child presented with a lung mass that was radiologically indistinguishable from pulmonary sequestration. After surgical resection, she remains free of recurrent disease for 18 months. IMF tumor should be considered in any solid tumor that occurs in association with a chronic inflammatory response. IMF tumor should also be considered in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary sequestration.     

LEICA: a low energy ion composition analyzer for the study of solarand magnetospheric heavy ions

The SAMPEX (Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer) LEICA instrument is designed to measure ~0.5-5-MeV/nucleon solar and magnetospheric ions over the range from He-Ni. The instrument is a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, which measures particle TOF over an ~0.5-m path and the residual energy deposited in an array of Si solid state detectors. Large-area microchannel plates are used, resulting in a large geometrical factor for the instrument (0.6 cm² sr), which is essential for accurate compositional measurements in small solar flares and in studies of precipitating magnetospheric heavy ions     

Characterization of rectangular waveguide with a pseudochiral /spl Omega/ slab

A mode matching approach has been employed for evaluating the matrix S of the section of rectangular waveguide with pseudochiral /spl Omega/ slab. Scattering characteristics for different localizations of the /spl Omega/ slab in the guide are predicted numerically and verified by measurements. Based on the numerical analysis, the scattering properties of the guides are discussed. Scattering parameters are next applied in an optimization procedure to extract constitutive parameters of the /spl Omega/ slab used in experiment.     

Formation of Self-Assembled Sidewall Nanowires on Shallow Patterned GaAs (100)

The formation of "sidewall nanowires" on shallow patterned mesa strips with a modulation depth of only 35 nm on GaAs (100) was demonstrated using molecular beam epitaxy. While self-assembled GaAs sidewall nanowire formation is observed near mesa strips running along [011], relatively thinner AlAs/GaAs layers are formed on identical mesa strips running along [01-1]. Cross-sectional atomic force microscopy (XAFM) on (011) and (01-1) and AFM on (100) are used to understand the formation of the different morphology of the nanostructures, depending on the direction of the mesas. The data indicates that anisotropic surface diffusion of adatoms, resulting from the characteristic (2times4) GaAs (100) surface reconstruction, is responsible for the sidewall nanowire formation and for the different morphology observed along different directions     

Millimeter-wave three-port finline circulator using distributedcoupling effect

The design and experimental results for a novel three-port finline circulator are presented for the frequency range 26-40 GHz. The circulator consists of a T^E-junction cascaded with the section of ferrite coupled slot finlines magnetized in the propagation direction. The T^E-junction structure refers to a transition from a unilateral single slot finline taper to a coplanar line region via a tapered center conductor. The design procedure for the structure is described and confirmed by experimental results. The proposed structure belongs to the family of the distributed coupled ferrite line nonreciprocal devices suitable for application in the millimeter-wave range     

Specifying transformer winter and summer peak-load limits

This paper presents a methodology for specifying the winter and summer peak-load limits for substation transformers that carry a temperature-sensitive load, taking into account the random nature of load and ambient temperature as well as their correlation. With this methodology, we can easily and accurately specify the peak-load limits for each substation transformer once the historical ambient temperature and load data are available. Also, we can collectively specify the peak-load limits for the transformer of each cooling type (OA, OA/FA, or OA/FA/FA) in a geographic region based on the mean and standard deviation of ambient temperatures in that region. Such peak-load limits are useful for power system planning.     

Stochastic defect diffusion model for relaxation effects in crystalline polyethylene

It is suggested that some relaxation processes observed in crystalline polyethylene are consequences of the diffusive motion of a particular defect called a point dislocation or twist dispiration loop along the polyethylene stems in lamellar crystals. The motion of the defect, characterized by a diffusion coefficient and a mobility, is described by solutions of the Smoluchowski diffusion equation with boundary conditions that constrain the defect to move along routes that produce experimentally observable results. The fact that passage of the defect causes both a 180° rotation of the chain and moves an extra CH₂ group in the direction of the chain axis is important to the interpretation of the data according to this model. The diffusion coefficient for a defect is estimated to be around 2 × 10^?9 cm² s^?1 at 70°C. This value is shown to be reasonable both from the viewpoint of detailed computer modelling of defect motion and contemporary ideas about scaling.     

Dispirations,disclinations, dislocations,and chain twist in polyethylene crystals

It is proposed that the twist in polyethylene chains that can result from crystallization and subsequent deformation aggregates at boundaries and becomes a template for further reorganization that results in the long period observed in polyethylene fibres. The observed lower density at the boundaries requires the transport of free volume to the twist boundaries. Dispirations, disclinations and dislocations are crystallographic defects that are involved in the necessary transport mechanism. Twist and bend, derived from the Eulerian angles which are computed from the sets of chain internal coordinates, relate the orientation of different segments of a chain. Twist and bend are useful for the characterization of both crystallographic defects and arbitrary conformations of polymer chains. Defects, along with folds, chain ends, and ordinary edge and screw dislocations provide a basis for interpretation of structure-property relationships in solid polyethylene.     

Toward Better Understanding of Task Difficulty during Physicians’ Interaction with Electronic Health Record System (EHRs)

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to assess the relationship of task difficulty and mental effort with performance during physicians’ interaction with electronic health records (EHRs). A total of 38 physicians were asked to identify abnormal results and take follow-up action to “close the loop” on care delivery. Task difficulty was quantified via task-flow strategies and computer mouse-click patterns. Mental effort was quantified using eye movements based on changes in pupillary dilations (task evoked pupillary response or TEPR) and blink rate. Performance was quantified based on commission errors (error vs. no-error). Results indicated that physicians had different task-flow strategies; however, with improved awareness of the patient status, they exhibited an optimal task-flow strategy. Overall, performance was related to task-flow strategies, computer mouse-click patterns, and blink rate, indicating that physicians had lower task-difficulty and experienced lower mental effort with improved awareness of patient follow-up status. This is an important finding demonstrating that task-flows are a dominant predictor of physician performance when comparing between EHR designs. On the contrary, mouse-click patterns and blink rate are both useful predictors of physician performance when assessment was done within an EHR.