BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with a cytological sample is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of the aetiology of biliary stricture. Our aim was to evaluate whether a more dense Infinity® cytological brush is more sensitive in diagnosing malignancy than the regularly used brush. PATIENTS AND METHODS We recruited 60 patients with a biliary strict...

We introduce a toy model of crumpled sheets, and use Monte Carlo simulation to show there is a first-order phase transition in the model, from a disordered dilute phase to a mixture with a layered phase. We demonstrate the transition through two order parameters, corr and lay, the first of which measures orientational order while the second measures bulk layering. An important feature of the ar...

The stack in various forms[1] has been widely used as an architectural template for networking systems. Recently the stack has been subject to criticism for a lack of flexibility. However, when it comes right down to it nobody has offered a truly compelling alternative. Various “cross-layer” optimizations have been proposed, but these optimizations are frequently hacks to achieve a particular g...

Iterative Layering is an existing pre-synthesis technique that can be used for constructing a near-optimal representation of the input circuit. Originally, the Iterative Layering algorithm uses SAT instances extensively. However, in the original implementation, they are solved either by exhaustive enumeration of all possible assignments of input variables, or by using BDDs. Both approaches perf...

Software engineers often espouse the importance of using abstraction and encapsulation in developing software components. They advocate the \layering" of new components on top of existing components, using only information about the functionality and interfaces provided by the existing components. This layering approach is in contrast to a \direct implementation" of new components, utilizing un...

We have recently proposed @Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 166101 ~2001!# that any isotropic fluid should exhibit surface layering at its liquid–vapor interface above the triple temperature provided that the system has a low triple temperature. In this article we present an extensive study of systems with different isotropic pair interactions, some of which present a very low triple temperature. We have c...

The present study was performed to investigate the relationship between the concentrations of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) and the CT images in 23 cases of chronic subdural hematomas (SDHs). The concentrations of t-PA and PAI-1 were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Chronic SDHs were divided into five groups according ...

We have reinvestigated the effects of Ca++ and ATP on brush borders isolated from intestinal epithelial cells. At 37 degrees C, Ca++ (1 microM) and ATP cause a dramatic contraction of brush border terminal webs, not a retraction of microvilli as previously reported (M. S. Mooseker, 1976, J. Cell Biol. 71:417-433). Terminal web contraction, which occurs over the course of 1-5 min at 37 degrees C...

Complex fluids that exhibit phenomena such as layering and separation of multiple phases are computationally expensive to model using conventional numerical integration of partial differential equations. Lattice gas approaches are significantly cheaper to simulate and can still reveal good insights into the essential behaviours. We describe simulations of multi-phase layering in a lattice gas b...