Air-structured optical fiber drawn from a 3D-printed preform

© 2015 Optical Society of America. A structured optical fiber is drawn from a 3D-printed structured preform. Preforms containing a single ring of holes around the core are fabricated using filament made from a modified butadiene polymer. More broadly, 3D printers capable of processing soft glasses, silica, and other materials are likely to come on line in the not-so-distant future. 3D printing of optical preforms signals a new milestone in optical fiber manufacture

Oncocytic metaplasia in inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia: Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis

Oncocytic metaplasia (OM) is not a well-known feature in inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH) lesions, although it may be common, as proposed in our previous study about this lesion. In the present paper, we assessed the histopathological and immunohistochemical features of 18 cases of IFH containing OM areas. All the samples were examined on haematoxylin and eosin stained sections and cytokeratins (AE1/AE3, 34 beta E12, CK5, CK7, CK8, CK13, CK14 and CK19), CD15, CD20, CD68, CD45Ro, and LCA primary antibodies were used. The vast majority of IFH occurred in women (n= 14) and the most common site of presentation was the buccal vestibule. Oncocytic and salivary duct cells showed uniform immunoreactivity for AE1/AE3, CK7, CK8 and CK19. CD45Ro+ T-lymphocytes were the most common inflammatory cells surrounding the OM areas followed by CD20+ B-lymphocytes. These findings suggest that oncocytic cells present in IFH might develop from salivary duct epithelium, and T-lymphocytes might play an important role in its etiopathogenesis.133E151E15

An adaptive prefix-assignment technique for symmetry reduction

This paper presents a technique for symmetry reduction that adaptively assigns a prefix of variables in a system of constraints so that the generated prefix-assignments are pairwise nonisomorphic under the action of the symmetry group of the system. The technique is based on McKay's canonical extension framework [J.~Algorithms 26 (1998), no.~2, 306--324]. Among key features of the technique are (i) adaptability---the prefix sequence can be user-prescribed and truncated for compatibility with the group of symmetries; (ii) parallelizability---prefix-assignments can be processed in parallel independently of each other; (iii) versatility---the method is applicable whenever the group of symmetries can be concisely represented as the automorphism group of a vertex-colored graph; and (iv) implementability---the method can be implemented relying on a canonical labeling map for vertex-colored graphs as the only nontrivial subroutine. To demonstrate the practical applicability of our technique, we have prepared an experimental open-source implementation of the technique and carry out a set of experiments that demonstrate ability to reduce symmetry on hard instances. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the implementation effectively parallelizes to compute clusters with multiple nodes via a message-passing interface.Comment: Updated manuscript submitted for revie

Radiosurgical, neurosurgical, or no intervention for cerebral cavernous malformations: A decision analysis

Introduction We aimed to evaluate the preferred treatment strategy for patients with symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM). Methods In a decision model, we compared neurosurgical, radiosurgical, and conservative management. A literature review yielded the risks and outcomes of interventions, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and seizures. Patients with CCM rated their quality of life to determine utilities. We estimated the expected number of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and the ICH recurrence risk over five years, according to mode of presentation and CCM location (brainstem vs. other). We performed analyses with a time horizon of five years. Results Using the best available data, the expected number of QALYs for brainstem CCM presenting with ICH or focal neurological deficit was 2.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.54-3.08) for conservative, 3.01 (95% CI: 2.86-3.16) for neurosurgical, and 3.03 (95% CI: 2.88-3.18) for radiosurgical intervention; those for non-brainstem CCM presenting with ICH or focal neurological deficit were 3.08 (95% CI: 2.85-3.31) for conservative, 3.21 (95% CI: 3.01-3.36) for neurosurgical, and 3.19 (95% CI: 2.98-3.37) for radiosurgical intervention. For CCM presenting with epilepsy, QALYs were 3.09 (95% CI: 3.03-3.16) for conservative, 3.33 (95% CI: 3.31-3.34) for neurosurgical, and 3.27 (95% CI: 3.24-3.30) for radiosurgical intervention. Discussion and conclusion For the initial five years after presentation, our study provides Class III evidence that for CCM presenting with ICH or focal neurological deficit conservative management is the first option, and for CCM presenting with epilepsy CCM intervention should be considered. More comparative studies with long-term follow-up are needed

Self-gravitating elastic bodies

Extended objects in GR are often modelled using distributional solutions of the Einstein equations with point-like sources, or as the limit of infinitesimally small "test" objects. In this note, I will consider models of finite self-gravitating extended objects, which make it possible to give a rigorous treatment of the initial value problem for (finite) extended objects.Comment: 16 pages. Based on a talk given at the 2013 WE-Heraeus seminar on "Equations of motion in relativistic gravity

Design and feasibility testing of a novel group intervention for young women who binge drink in groups

BackgroundYoung women frequently drink alcohol in groups and binge drinking within these natural drinking groups is common. This study describes the design of a theoretically and empirically based group intervention to reduce binge drinking among young women. It also evaluates their engagement with the intervention and the acceptability of the study methods.MethodsFriendship groups of women aged 18–35 years, who had two or more episodes of binge drinking (>6 UK units on one occasion; 48g of alcohol) in the previous 30 days, were recruited from the community. A face-to-face group intervention, based on the Health Action Process Approach, was delivered over three sessions. Components of the intervention were woven around fun activities, such as making alcohol free cocktails. Women were followed up four months after the intervention was delivered. Results The target of 24 groups (comprising 97 women) was recruited. The common pattern of drinking was infrequent, heavy drinking (mean consumption on the heaviest drinking day was UK 18.1 units). Process evaluation revealed that the intervention was delivered with high fidelity and acceptability of the study methods was high. The women engaged positively with intervention components and made group decisions about cutting down. Twenty two groups set goals to reduce their drinking, and these were translated into action plans. Retention of individuals at follow up was 87%.ConclusionsThis study successfully recruited groups of young women whose patterns of drinking place them at high risk of acute harm. This novel approach to delivering an alcohol intervention has potential to reduce binge drinking among young women. The high levels of engagement with key steps in the behavior change process suggests that the group intervention should be tested in a full randomised controlled trial