Solid Si (wafer) and gaseous Si (silane) are generally used as starting materials for fabricating Si devices. In this study, a liquid precursor (liquid-phase hydrosilane) for semiconducting Si, ...called liquid Si (liq-Si), was synthesized to establish a liquid pathway for fabricating Si. Although the liquid-to-solid Si conversion can be induced by heating at 400 °C, conversion without heating was realized herein by electron-beam (EB) irradiation. This study is the first to irradiate liq-Si with EB. Size-controllable Si nanodots, with diameters of the order of 100 nm, were directly deposited at any point by liquid-phase electron-beam-induced deposition (LP-EBID) with a beam diameter of 50 nm. This approach yielded less-contaminated deposits at the detection limit of energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, as opposed to typical EBID, wherein carbon impurities up to 90% are found. The processing resolution of LP-EBID is potentially 1 nm or less. Therefore, this non-heating deposition technique realizes the direct writing of Si nanostructures and would be a powerful tool for Si nanofabrication.
We have produced fully biomass-based poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) from furfural produced from inedible agricultural cellulosic waste. Furfural was oxidized to give fumaric acid. Fumaric acid was ...hydrogenated under high pressure with a palladium−rhenium/carbon catalyst to give 1,4-butanediol, and with a palladium/carbon catalyst to give succinic acid. Dimethyl succinate was synthesized from fumaric acid by esterification and hydrogenation under normal pressure. Fully biomass-based PBS was obtained by polycondensation of biomass-based 1,4-butanediol and biomass-based succinic acid or dimethyl succinate. The biomass carbon ratio calculated from 14C concentrations measured by accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS) verified that the PBS obtained in this study contained only biomass carbon. The polycondensation of biomass-based 1,4-butanediol and petroleum-based terephthalic acid or dimethyl terephthalate gave partially biomass-based poly(butylene terephthalate), which is an engineering plastic.
A precursor solution for semiconducting Si called liquid Si (liq‐Si) is synthesized, and semiconducting Si is inkjet‐printed. Satisfactory inkjet discharge is achieved using liq‐Si consisting of ...liquid‐phase polysilane with an average molecular weight of 2500 g mol−1. The printed liq‐Si is converted into amorphous Si by heating at 400 °C. The resulting Si film has a flat surface with a root‐mean‐square roughness of 0.8 nm. These results are extended to n‐ and p‐type Si films by synthesizing liq‐Si chemically doped with P and B compounds, respectively. Liq‐Si inkjet printing produces Si patterns without using traditional photolithography processes, opening up the field of printed Si electronics.
A precursor solution for semiconducting Si called liquid‐Si is synthesized and printed by an inkjet method. Well‐defined printed patterns are converted into amorphous or polycrystalline Si by heat treatment. The Si printing technology is also extended to p‐ and n‐type Si film by synthesizing liquid‐Si chemically doped with B and P compounds, respectively.
Background:Evidence for the prognostic value of gait speed is largely based on a single measure at baseline, so we investigated the prognostic significance of change in gait speed in hospitalized ...older acute heart failure (AHF) patients.Methods and Results:This retrospective study was performed in a cohort of 388 AHF patients ≥60 years old (mean age: 74.8±7.8 years, 228 men). Routine geriatric assessment included gait speed measurement at baseline and at discharge. The primary outcome of this study was all-cause death. Gait speed increased from 0.74±0.25 m/s to 0.98±0.27 m/s after 13.5±11.0 days. Older age, shorter height and lower hemoglobin level at admission, prior HF admission, and higher baseline gait speed were independently associated with lesser improvement in gait speed. A total of 80 patients died and 137 patients were readmitted for HF over a mean follow-up period of 2.1±1.9 years. In multivariate analyses, change in gait speed showed inverse associations with all-cause death (hazard ratio HR per 0.1 m/s increase: 0.83; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.73 to 0.95; P=0.006) and with risk of readmission for HF (HR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83 to 0.99; P=0.036).Conclusions:Short-term improvement in gait speed during hospitalization was associated with reduced risks of death and readmission for HF in older patients with AHF.
Purpose
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer. It is an aggressive malignancy associated with poor prognosis because of recurrence, metastasis, and ...treatment resistance. Aberrant glycosylation of cancer cells triggers their migration and invasion and is considered one of the most important prognostic cancer biomarkers. The current study aimed to identify glycan alterations and their relationship with the malignant potential of PDAC.
Methods
Using a lectin microarray, we evaluated glycan expression in 62 PDAC samples. Expression of fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8), the only enzyme catalyzing core fucosylation, was investigated by immunohistochemistry. The role of FUT8 in PDAC invasion and metastasis was confirmed using an in vitro assay and a xenograft peritoneal metastasis mouse model.
Results
The microarray data demonstrated that core fucose-binding lectins were significantly higher in carcinoma than in normal pancreatic duct tissues. Similarly, FUT8 protein expression was significantly higher in carcinoma than in normal pancreatic duct tissues. High FUT8 protein expression was significantly associated with lymph-node metastases and relapse-free survival. FUT8 knockdown significantly reduced the invasion in PDAC cell lines and impaired peritoneal metastasis in the xenograft model.
Conclusions
The findings of this study provide evidence that FUT8 plays a pivotal role in PDAC invasion and metastasis and might be a therapeutic target for this disease.
Combination therapy of tegafur/uracil (UFT) and leucovorin (LV) is widely used to treat colorectal cancers. Although this therapy has a significant therapeutic effect, severe adverse effects occur ...frequently. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) may help to prevent adverse effects. A useful assay that can quantitate plasma levels of 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur simultaneously for TDM has been desired, but such a method is not currently available. In this study, we aimed to develop a sensitive method for simultaneous quantification of 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur in human plasma using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). After preparing plasma samples by protein precipitation and liquid extraction, 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS in negative electrospray ionization mode. Validation was performed according to US Food and Drugs Administration guidance. The calibration curves were linear over concentration ranges of 2-500 ng/mL for 5-FU, 20-5000 ng/mL for uracil, and 200-50,000 ng/mL for tegafur. The corresponding average recovery rates were 79.9, 80.9, and 87.8%. The method provides accuracy within 11.6% and precision below 13.3% for all three analytes. Matrix effects of 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur were higher than 43.5, 84.9, and 100.2%, respectively. This assay was successfully applied to assess the time courses of plasma 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur concentrations in two patients with colorectal liver metastasis who received UFT/LV therapy after hepatectomy. In conclusion, we succeeded to develop a sensitive and robust UPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of 5-FU, uracil, and tegafur in human plasma. This method is potentially useful for TDM in patients receiving UFT/LV combination therapy.
Background
We have implemented Smart Endoscopic Surgery (SES), a surgical system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect the anatomical landmarks that expert surgeons base on to perform ...certain surgical maneuvers. No report has verified the use of AI-based support systems for surgery in clinical practice, and no evaluation method has been established. To evaluate the detection performance of SES, we have developed and established a new evaluation method by conducting a clinical feasibility trial.
Methods
A single-center prospective clinical feasibility trial was conducted on 10 cases of LC performed at Oita University hospital. Subsequently, an external evaluation committee (EEC) evaluated the AI detection accuracy for each landmark using five-grade rubric evaluation and DICE coefficient. We defined LM-CBD as the expert surgeon’s “judge” of the cystic bile duct in endoscopic images.
Results
The average detection accuracy on the rubric by the EEC was 4.2 ± 0.8 for the LM-CBD. The DICE coefficient between the AI detection area of the LM-CBD and the EEC members’ evaluation was similar to the mean value of the DICE coefficient between the EEC members. The DICE coefficient was high score for the case that was highly evaluated by the EEC on a five-grade scale.
Conclusion
This is the first feasible clinical trial of an AI system designed for intraoperative use and to evaluate the AI system using an EEC. In the future, this concept of evaluation for the AI system would contribute to the development of new AI navigation systems for surgery.
Abstract
A liquid precursor for the semiconductor, Si, called liquid Si (liq-Si), was synthesized. Although liq-Si is converted to semiconducting Si by heating at 400 °C, herein, we demonstrate ...liquid-to-solid Si conversion without heating using liquid-phase electron beam-induced deposition. This technique realizes the direct deposition of semiconducting Si by irradiating liq-Si with an electron beam. Specifically, at electron beam (diameter, ∼50 nm) irradiation, a Si deposit with a diameter of approximately 240 nm was obtained. It is expected that the application of this developed method will enable the production of high-resolution Si nanostructures and grant access to previously inaccessible devices.
Purpose Respiratory physiotherapy plays an important role in the management of acute respiratory disturbance; however, chest pain often impedes patients from performing respiratory physiotherapy. In ...this study, we investigated whether pain due to multiple rib fractures can be managed with intermittent serratus anterior fascia plane (SAP) block. Participants and Methods We performed intermittent SAP blocks in three consecutive patients with pain due to multiple rib fractures based on the level of pain. The level of pain and differences in expiratory/inspiratory chest expansion were evaluated before and after performing the SAP block. Results All three patients reported an improvement in the severity of pain and increase in the thoracic range of motion after receiving the SAP block. No adverse events associated with intermittent SAP blocks were observed in any of the patients. Conclusion We report the cases of three patients who completed respiratory physiotherapy after receiving intermittent SAP blocks for the management of pain due to multiple rib fractures. SAP blocks are associated with a low risk of complications as the ribs are not punctured while performing SAP blocks.
The fabrication of thin film silicon devices based on solution processes rather than on conventional vacuum processes is of substantial interest since cost reductions may result. Using a solution ...process, we coated substrates with polydihydrosilane solution and studied the pyrolytic transformation of the material into hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). From thermal gravimetry and differential thermal analysis data a significant reduction in weight of the material and a construction of SiSi bonds are concluded for the pyrolysis temperature Tp=270 to 360°C. The appearance of amorphous silicon phonon bands in Raman spectra for films prepared at Tp≥330°C suggests the construction of a three-dimensional amorphous silicon network. Films prepared at Tp≥360°C exhibit a hydrogen content near 10at.% and an optical gap near 1.6eV similar to device-grade vacuum processed a-Si:H. However, the infrared microstructure factor, the spin density, and the photosensitivity require significant improvements.
► We fabricate hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films by a solution process. ► The a-Si:H films are prepared by pyrolytic transformation in polysilane solution. ► We investigate basic properties in relation to the pyrolysis temperature. ► Raman spectra, hydrogen content, and optical gap are similar to device-grade a-Si:H. ► Microstructure factor, spin density, and photoconductivity show poor quality.
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