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Almost three quarters of a century ago, Charles Frank proposed that the deep supercooling observed in metallic liquids is due to icosahedral short-range order (ISRO), which is incompatible with the long-range order of crystal phases. Some evidence in support of this hypothesis had been published previously. However, those studies were based on a small population of maximum supercooling measurements before the onset of crystallization. Here, the results of a systematic statistical study of several hundred maximum supercooling measurements on Ti39.5Zr39.5Ni21, Ti40Zr30Ni30, and Zr80Pt20 liquids are presented. Previous X-Ray and neutron scattering studies have shown that the structures of these liquid alloys contain significant amounts of ISRO. The results presented here show a small work of critical cluster formation (W* = 31–40 kBT) from the analysis of the supercooling data for the Ti39.5Zr39.5Ni21 liquid, which crystallizes to a metastable icosahedral quasicrystal. A much larger value (W* = 54–79 kBT and W* = 60–99 kBT) was obtained for the Ti40Zr30Ni30 and Zr80Pt20 liquids, respectively, which do not crystallize to an icosahedral quasicrystal. Taken together, these results significantly strengthen the validity of Frank's hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal expansion coefficients, structure factors, and viscosities of twenty-five equilibrium and supercooled metallic liquids have been measured using an electrostatic levitation (ESL) facility. The structure factor was measured at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne, using the ESL. A clear connection between liquid fragility and structural and volumetric changes at high temperatures is established; the observed changes are larger for the more fragile liquids. It is also demonstrated that the fragility of metallic liquids is determined to a large extent by the cohesive energy and is, therefore, predictable. These results are expected to provide useful guidance in the future design of metallic glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network therapy (NT) employs family members and/or friends to support compliance with an addiction treatment carried out in office practice. This study was designed to ascertain whether NT is a useful psychosocial adjunct, relative to a control treatment, for achieving diminished illicit heroin use for patients on buprenorphine maintenance. Patients agreeing to randomization to either NT (N = 33) or medication management (MM, N = 33) were inducted onto short-term buprenorphine maintenance and then tapered to zero dose. NT resulted in significantly more urine toxicologies negative for opioids than MM (65% vs. 45%) and more NT than MM patients (50% vs. 23%) experienced a positive outcome relative to secondary heroin use by the end of treatment. The use of NT in office practice may therefore improve the effectiveness of eliminating secondary heroin use during buprenorphine maintenance. It may also be useful in enhancing compliance with an addiction treatment regimen in other contexts. Keywords: Network Therapy; Buprenorphine; Heroin; Addiction treatment; Social support

During containerless processing, the oscillating drop method can be used to measure the surface tension and viscosity of a levitated melt. Through containerless processing, reactive melts that cannot be measured through conventional methods can be accurately measured; however, the accuracy of this method is dependent on the internal flow within the drop. While laminar flow does not redistribute the momentum of the oscillations, turbulent flow does redistribute the momentum of the flow and, as a result, dominates the damping. As a result, it is important to understand the internal flow behavior and the factors that affect the flow during these experiments. Models are used for the indirect quantification and characterization of the internal flow using the experimental parameters and material properties. In some cases, such as Cu50Zr50, the flow is laminar over the full range of the experiment. In other cases, including Al75Ni25, the sample is dominated by turbulent flow at high temperatures and applied electromagnetic fields, but upon cooling, transitions to laminar flow. Additionally, cases exist in which the flow is fully turbulent over the range of interest and valid measurements using the oscillating drop method are not possible. During the design phase of the experiment, the experimental parameters should be modeled to characterize the flow behavior and ensure a clean experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Many surgeons consider total proctectomy with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis as the treatment of choice for patients with medically refractory ulcerative colitis or ulcerative colitis with dysplasia. However, obstruction occurring at the pouch inlet or involving the afferent limb can be refractory to nonoperative or endoscopic management. Historically, these refractory obstructions have usually required resection of the pouch. There is now increasing evidence to suggest that pouch salvage surgery may be feasible in these patients. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all patients of a single surgical practice who underwent a neo ileal‐pouch anastomosis for J‐pouch inlet obstructions between 2000 and 2017. Data collected included patient demographics, preoperative workup, intra‐operative findings, type of surgical intervention and postoperative outcomes. Results: Surgical interventions were performed on eight patients with J‐pouch inlet obstructions. Six patients had inlet strictures or acute angulations at the inlet, which were either bypassed or resected and primarily anastomosed. Two patients had internal hernias posterior to the mesentery, with volvulus of the pouch. At a mean follow‐up of 36.5 months, all patients retained their pouches and the mean number of daily bowel movements was eight. Two major and two minor complications occurred. Discussion: J‐pouch inlet obstructions may take years to develop. In patients with obstruction who are refractory to endoscopic or medical treatment, good functional results may be obtained with pouch salvage procedures. With increasing numbers of J‐pouches being performed, awareness of novel surgical techniques is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Katerina Zakka,1 Renjian Jiang,2 Olatunji B Alese,1 Walid L Shaib,1 Christina Wu,1 Joel P Wedd,3 Marty T Sellers,4 Madhusmita Behera1,2 Bassel F El-Rayes,1 Mehmet Akce11Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; 2Department of Research Informatics, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; 3Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; 4Division of General and GI Surgery, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USABackground: HCC variants are rare primary hepatic tumors. The aim of this study is to compare clinical characteristics and outcomes of HCC variants with pure HCC.Methods: Patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2013 with ICD-O-3 8180/3 and 8170/3-8175/3 were identified from the National Cancer Database. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were conducted to analyze the association between histology and overall survival (OS).Results: 80,280 patients were identified; pure HCC 78,461 (97.7%), fibrolamellar (FLHCC) 310 (0.4%), scirrhous 161 (0.2%), spindle cell 72 (0.1%), clear cell 487 (0.6%), pleomorphic 23 (0.0%), and combined HCC and cholangiocarcinoma (mixed HCC) 766 (1.0%). 76.7% were male and 72% Caucasian. Liver transplant was performed in 10.1% of pure HCC, 14.5% of mixed HCC, 16.2% of scirrhous, 6.9% of spindle cell, 8.8% of clear cell, 8.7% of pleomorphic, and 3.2% of FLHCC (p

The article discusses aspects of intervention under international law as of January 2014. Topics include the domestic jurisdiction of states, which includes areas that international law does not reach and should protect against improper interventions, the fundamental human rights and the inherent dignity of real human beings for the sovereign rights and self-determination of states, and the inherent and fundamental value in the freedom and independence of states and their peoples.

We describe the design and performance of a new rotating dilution refrigerator that will primarily be used for investigating the dynamics of quantized vortices in superfluid 4He. All equipment required to operate the refrigerator and perform experimental measurements is mounted on two synchronously driven, but mechanically decoupled, rotating carousels. The design allows for relative simplicity of operation and maintenance and occupies a minimal amount of space in the laboratory. Only two connections between the laboratory and rotating frames are required for the transmission of electrical power and helium gas recovery. Measurements on the stability of rotation show that rotation is smooth to around 10-3 rad s-1 up to angular velocities in excess of 2.5 rad s-1. The behavior of a high-Q mechanical resonator during rapid changes in rotation has also been investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of ex vivo innate immune responses requires the transport of blood to a laboratory for analyses. Storage temperature and duration are highly variable in the published literature. The objective of the present study was to establish recommended storage temperature and duration for blood before analysis of several ex vivo innate immune responses in vitro. Peripheral blood was collected from 8 clinically healthy, 12-mo-old Holstein heifers and stored either on ice or at ambient temperature for 1.5, 3.5, 5.5, 7.5, 9.5, and 24 h before conducting analyses for lipopolysaccharide stimulated whole blood tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion, neutrophil L-selectin expression, and neutrophil phagocytic and oxidative burst capacities when exposed to an Escherichia coli. L-Selectin expression was greater in neutrophils stored on ice as early as 1.5 h after blood collection. In addition, when neutrophils were stored on ice, L-selectin expression at 24 h was not different from that at 1.5 h after blood collection. Measures of innate immune cell function, including whole blood TNF-α secretion and neutrophil phagocytic and oxidative burst abilities, were decreased in blood stored on ice. Both TNF-α secretion and neutrophil oxidative burst intensity did not differ at 24 h compared with 1.5 h after blood collection when blood was stored at ambient temperatures. These data indicate that both storage temperature and duration influence measures of innate immune responses. Therefore, storage durations should be minimized and storage protocols kept consistent to reduce the influences of storage conditions on experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]