This letter investigates degradation after negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) stress applied to LTPS TFTs with different polycrystalline-silicon grain sizes. The initial characteristics of ...the LTPS TFTs are similar regardless of grain size; however, we observed a different degree of degradation after NBTI depending on grain size. In general, after NBTI, both grain boundary traps and interface traps were generated. We found that the degree of NBTI degradation is dominated by the concentration of grain boundary traps, which themselves are a result of the different grain sizes that occur due to excimer laser annealing energy. At initial, dangling bonds in the grain boundaries and at the interface are passivated by hydrogen atoms, hence the initial characteristics are similar. Since the large grain of poly-Si initially generates more dangling bonds in the grain boundaries, after NBTI, hydrogen depassivation generates more grain boundary traps and causes much more serious degradation in device performance.
In this work, the suppression of hydrogen diffusion in top-gate InGaZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) was observed. Under positive-bias temperature stress, the threshold voltage in short-channel ...devices was negatively shifted; this shift was attributed to hydrogen diffusion. To inhibit hydrogen migration, low-temperature high-pressure (LTHP) fluorine treatment was subsequently utilized. Under supercritical fluid states, fluorine, the most electronegative species of all elements, acted as a reactant and reduced mobile hydrogen. It was confirmed that the treatment benefited the characteristic properties of InGaZnO TFTs with varied channel lengths, especially in devices with short channels. The reliability of devices under stress improved through the LTHP treatment; the effects of suppression of hydrogen diffusion were illustrated by the energy band and capacitance-voltage curves of devices. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of the specimen treated with LTHP indicated the presence of fluorine, which ensured the contribution of the treatment. Thus, LTHP treatment enables the realization of small-sized high-performance top-gate InGaZnO TFTs.
In this paper, we consider a multiple Type-I censored life test of series systems in which each component's lifetime belongs to the log-location-scale family of distributions with dependence. The ...dependence among lifetimes of components is generated by the Clayton copula with unknown copula parameter. We obtain the maximum likelihood estimates of the underlying parameters via EM algorithm under masked data and derive the Fisher information via missing information principle. The effect due to misspecification by independent models is investigated through the percentiles estimation of both the system's and components' failure time distributions by simulation study as well as a real data example.
Currently, no standard of care or therapies have been established for patients with advanced HCC. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of conventional transarterial chemoembolization using gelatin ...sponges or microspheres plus lipiodol-doxorubicin (cTACE) and TACE with doxorubicin-loaded drug eluting beads (DEB-TACE).
This retrospective study included 273 patients who received cTACE (n = 201) or DEB-TACE. Tumor response, survival, and adverse events were evaluated over a 5-year follow-up period.
During 5-year follow-up, a greater percentage of patients treated with cTACE died than those treated with DEB-TACE (76.1% vs. 66.7%) (P = 0.045). At the last evaluation, all surviving patients had disease progression and no differences were seen between treatment groups. However, the time to disease progression differed between groups; median time to disease progression was 11.0 months for cTACE and 16.0 months for DEB-TACE (P = 0.019). The median survival time was 37 months in both treatment groups. No significant differences were observed between cTACE and DEB-TACE therapies in subgroups of patients with BCLC stage A or stage B + C either in survival time or time to disease progression (P values > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in survival status or disease progression between cTACE and DEB-TACE in patient subgroups with either tumor number > 5 or with the sum of the diameter of largest five HCC tumors being > 7 cm.
DEB-TACE demonstrates greater long-term benefits than cTACE in treating treatment-naïve patients with HCC. Results of this long-term study support the use of DEB-TACE in treating HCC.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study investigated the impact of Joule heating under high current operation on multi-finger organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The degradation was examined for a range of devices with ...different numbers of fingers (N = 4, 6, and 10). Due to the heat accumulation during operation, significant electrical degradation was observed at high currents. Under bias stress, with increasing number of fingers, the electrical characteristics exhibited different degrees of degradation, and an abnormal hump was observed in devices with 10 fingers. To examine the effect of self-heating, OTFTs were prepared on two substrates, polyimide and glass, and the causes of degradation were investigated at both room temperature and low temperatures. In addition, AC operation was proposed. Finally, a Silvaco TCAD simulation was made to model the device self-heating and illustrate the effect of the number of fingers on the bias stress.
Our study aimed to confirm a simplified radiological scoring system, derived from a modified Reiff score, to evaluate its relationship with clinical symptoms and predictive outcomes in Taiwanese ...patients with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB).
This extensive multicenter retrospective study, performed in Taiwan, concentrated on patients diagnosed with NCFB verified through high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans. We not only compared the clinical features of various types of bronchiectasis (cylindrical, varicose, and cystic). Furthermore, we established relationships between the severity of clinical factors, including symptom scores, pulmonary function, pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization, exacerbation and admission rates, and HRCT parameters using modified Reiff scores.
Data from 2,753 patients were classified based on HRCT patterns (cylindrical, varicose, and cystic) and severity, assessed by modified Reiff scores (mild, moderate, and severe). With increasing HRCT severity, a significant correlation was found with decreased forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (p < 0.001), heightened clinical symptoms (p < 0.001), elevated pathogen colonization (pseudomonas aeruginosa) (p < 0.001), and an increased annual hospitalization rate (p < 0.001). In the following multivariate analysis, elderly age, pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia, and hospitalizations per year emerged as the only independent predictors of mortality.
Based on our large cohort study, the simplified CT scoring system (Reiff score) can serve as a useful adjunct to clinical factors in predicting disease severity and prognosis among Taiwanese patients with NCFB.
Chondrosarcoma is the second most common primary malignancy form of bone cancer, exhibiting resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well as developing high metastasis ability in ...late‐stage tumors. Thus, understanding the metastatic processes of chondrosarcoma is considered a strategy for the treatment of this disease. Sphingosine 1‐phosphate (S1P), a bioactive sphingolipid, is produced intracellularly by sphingosine kinase (SphK) and is regarded as a second signaling molecule that regulates inflammation, proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. However, the effect of S1P on chondrosarcoma remains uncertain. As demonstrated by the transwell, immunoblotting, and real‐time PCR analyses, we found that S1P inhibited cell migration and MMP‐2 expression through the upregulation of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐3 (TIMP‐3) expression in human chondrosarcoma cells. Additionally, we also showed that microRNA (miRNA)‐101, which targets the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of TIMP‐3, decreased significantly following S1P treatment. After transfection with miR‐101 mimics, the S1P‐regulated cell migration and TIMP‐3 expression were both reversed. Furthermore, we also showed that the S1P‐inhibited cell migration is mediated through the c‐Src/MEK/ERK signaling axis. Meanwhile, the in vivo study indicated that overexpression of SphK1 decreases chondrosarcoma metastasis to the lungs. Our results illustrate the clinical significance between SphK1, TIMP‐3, and miR‐101 in human chondrosarcoma patients. Taken together, our results suggest that S1P and miR‐101 may prove to be potential therapeutic targets for future chondrosarcoma treatment.
S1P activates the c‐Src/MEK/ERK signaling axis, followed by the suppression of miR‐101 expression targeted to the 3′ untranslated region of TIMP‐3, leading to downregulation of MMP‐2 and subsequent metastasis in human chondrosarcoma cells. Thus, S1P and miR‐101 may prove to be potential therapeutic targets for future chondrosarcoma treatment.
Polymorphisms in interferon (IFN)L3 (encodes IFNλ3 or interleukin 28B) are associated with outcomes of treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, there is controversy regarding how ...polymorphisms in IFNL3 affect the risk for development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
In a retrospective study, we analyzed data from 1118 patients with HCV infection (589 men; median age, 60 y; 49.9% infected with genotype 1; 51.3% with advanced fibrosis) treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin from March 2000 through October 2009 at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (71.64% achieved sustained virologic response SVR). Baseline samples were collected before therapy. Starting 24 weeks after treatment, clinical and biochemical features were assessed every 3 to 6 months and patients underwent ultrasound examinations. Lesions detected were examined by computed tomography, angiography, or fine-needle aspiration biopsy analyses. Patients were followed up from the initiation of HCV therapy until a diagnosis of HCC (based on published guidelines), death, or March 31, 2013 (median, 60 mo). DNA samples from each patient were analyzed for rs12979860 in IFNL3. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to determine the risk for development of HCC.
The percentages of patients with the IFNL3 rs12979860 CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 86.4%, 13.2%, and 0.3%, respectively. A total of 108 patients (9.66%) developed HCC. The IFNL3 rs12979860 CT and TT genotypes correlated with high baseline levels of α-fetoprotein (AFP; ≥20 ng/mL), advanced stage of fibrosis, diabetes, or lack of an SVR (all P < .05). Based on multivariate Cox regression analysis, age 60 years and older, low platelet count (<15 × 10(9) cells/L), AFP level of 20 ng/mL or greater, advanced stage fibrosis, diabetes, lack of an SVR, and the IFNL3 rs12979860 CT and TT genotypes were significant risk factors for HCC (P < .05). Age 60 years and older, low numbers of platelets or high AFP level, and advanced fibrosis were risk factors for HCC among patients with a SVR. The IFNL3 rs12979860 genotype did not have a significant effect on risk for HCC among patients with SVRs, although some of these patients (with the CT or TT genotype) did develop HCC. Among patients without SVRs, only fibrosis stage and the IFNL3 rs12979860 CT and TT genotypes (hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-3.07; P = .030) were independent risk factors for HCC.
Based on a retrospective study of patients treated for HCV infection, the IFNL3 rs12979860 CT and TT polymorphisms are associated with a risk for HCC, especially in patients without a SVR.
The effect of hydrogen diffusion in the bilayer bottom gate insulator (BGI) in dual-gate InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFT) is investigated. It is discovered that hydrogen diffuses from the ...first deposited GI, migrates toward the second one, and forms a weak chemical bond with a dangling bond at the interface between the GI and the active layer. The stress condition with a positive gate bias at various temperatures makes the weakly bonded hydrogen break, thereby forming defects that can induce electron trapping in the interface and bulk, causing the threshold voltage to increase. With the rising temperature of positive bias temperature stress (PBTS), more broken bonds appear at the interface, which results in more trapped electrons. Through a charge trapping model and data fitting, the parameter that indicates the quality of the film can be extracted and compared. The trend of degradation between threshold voltage, bond breaking, and defect generation is examined.
PDF
