Spin cast ferroelectric beta poly(vinylidene fluoride) thin films via rapid thermal annealing

We describe a method of fabricating ferroelectric beta-type poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin films on Au substrate by the humidity controlled spin casting combined with rapid thermal treatment. Our method produces thin uniform ferroelectric PVDF film with ordered beta crystals consisting of characteristic needlelike microdomains. A capacitor with a 160 nm thick ferroelectric PVDF film exhibits the remanent polarization and coercive voltage of similar to 7.0 mu C/cm(2) and 8 V, respectively, with the temperature stability of up to 160 degrees C. A ferroelectric field effect transistor also shows a drain current bistablility of 100 at zero gate voltage with +/- 20 V gate voltage sweep. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physicsopen485

Live algae as a vector candidate for hydrophobic polychlorinated biphenyls translocation to bivalve filter feeders for laboratory toxicity test Author Details

Abstract Live algae carrying hydrophobic xenobiotics can be an effective vector candidate for the chemical translocation to filter feeders in the laboratory toxicity test, but information on their application is lacking. Time-course uptake and elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (0, 50, 100, and 500 ng g -1 ) by two key algal foods, Isochrysis galbana and Tetraselmis suecica, were measured. Both of the algae achieved maximum concentration in an hour after PCBs exposure regardless the chemical concentrations in our time-course measurements (0, 1, 5, 10, 24, 48 and 72 hrs). Once achieved the maximum concentration, the algae shortly exhibited elimination or eliminating tendency depending on the chemical concentrations. Algae exposed to the chemical for 1 and 24 hrs (hereafter 1 and 24 hr vectors, respectively) were then evaluated as a chemical translocation vector by feeding test to larval and spat Crassostrea gigas. In the feeding test the 24 hr vector, which contained lower chemicals than the 1-hr vector, appeared to be more damaging the early lives of the oyster. This was particularly significant for vectors of higher PCBs (p<0.05), probably due to algal reduction in food value by the prolonged chemical stress. These findings imply that 1 hr exposure is long enough for a generation of algal vector for laboratory toxicity test, minimizing data error resulted from reduction in food value by longer chemical stress

Delayed Primary Repair of Perforated Epiphrenic Diverticulum

A 68-yr-old man complaining of sudden, postprandial chest pain visited the emergency room. His symptom had been aggravated during the preceding two days. Upper gastrointestinal contrast study with gastrographin showed leakage of dye from the epiphrenic diverticulum in the lower third of the esophagus. The primary repair was urgently carried out. Upper gastrointestinal contrast study 14 days after operation revealed an esophageal leakage which was small and confined. The patient was managed with conservative treatments such as intravenous hyperali-mentation and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Forty-two days after the operation, a gastrographin swallow study showed the absence of leaks. This is the first report-ed case of a perforated epiphrenic esophageal diverticulum repaired by delayed primary repair in Korea

The multiplex bead array approach to identifying serum biomarkers associated with breast cancer

Introduction Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer seen in women in western countries. Thus, diagnostic modalities sensitive to early-stage breast cancer are needed. Antibody-based array platforms of a data-driven type, which are expected to facilitate more rapid and sensitive detection of novel biomarkers, have emerged as a direct, rapid means for profiling cancer-specific signatures using small samples. In line with this concept, our group constructed an antibody bead array panel for 35 analytes that were selected during the discovery step. This study was aimed at testing the performance of this 35-plex array panel in profiling signatures specific for primary non-metastatic breast cancer and validating its diagnostic utility in this independent population. Methods Thirty-five analytes were selected from more than 50 markers through screening steps using a serum bank consisting of 4,500 samples from various types of cancer. An antibody-bead array of 35 markers was constructed using the Luminex (TM) bead array platform. A study population consisting of 98 breast cancer patients and 96 normal subjects was analysed using this panel. Multivariate classification algorithms were used to find discriminating biomarkers and validated with another independent population of 90 breast cancer and 79 healthy controls. Results Serum concentrations of epidermal growth factor, soluble CD40-ligand and proapolipoprotein A1 were increased in breast cancer patients. High-molecular-weight-kininogen, apolipoprotein A1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, vitamin-D binding protein and vitronectin were decreased in the cancer group. Multivariate classification algorithms distinguished breast cancer patients from the normal population with high accuracy (91.8% with random forest, 91.5% with support vector machine, 87.6% with linear discriminant analysis). Combinatorial markers also detected breast cancer at an early stage with greater sensitivity. Conclusions The current study demonstrated the usefulness of the antibody-bead array approach in finding signatures specific for primary non-metastatic breast cancer and illustrated the potential for early, high sensitivity detection of breast cancer. Further validation is required before array-based technology is used routinely for early detection of breast cancer.Kenny HA, 2008, J CLIN INVEST, V118, P1367, DOI 10.1172/JCI33775Shah FD, 2008, INTEGR CANCER THER, V7, P33, DOI 10.1177/1534735407313883Carlsson A, 2008, EUR J CANCER, V44, P472, DOI 10.1016/j.ejca.2007.11.025Nolen BM, 2008, BREAST CANCER RES, V10, DOI 10.1186/bcr2096Brogren H, 2008, THROMB RES, V122, P271, DOI 10.1016/j.thromres.2008.04.008Varki A, 2007, BLOOD, V110, P1723, DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-10-053736Madsen CD, 2007, J CELL BIOL, V177, P927, DOI 10.1083/jcb.200612058Levenson VV, 2007, BBA-GEN SUBJECTS, V1770, P847, DOI 10.1016/j.bbagen.2007.01.017VAZQUEZMARTIN A, 2007, EUR J CANCER, V43, P1117GARCIA M, 2007, GLOBAL CANC FACTS FIMoore LE, 2006, CANCER EPIDEM BIOMAR, V15, P1641, DOI 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-05-0980Borrebaeck CAK, 2006, EXPERT OPIN BIOL TH, V6, P833, DOI 10.1517/14712598.6.8.833Zannis VI, 2006, J MOL MED-JMM, V84, P276, DOI 10.1007/s00109-005-0030-4Jemal A, 2006, CA-CANCER J CLIN, V56, P106Silva HC, 2006, NEOPLASMA, V53, P538Chahed K, 2005, INT J ONCOL, V27, P1425Jain KK, 2005, EXPERT OPIN PHARMACO, V6, P1463, DOI 10.1517/14656566.6.9.1463Abe O, 2005, LANCET, V365, P1687Paradis V, 2005, HEPATOLOGY, V41, P40, DOI 10.1002/hep.20505Molina R, 2005, TUMOR BIOL, V26, P281, DOI 10.1159/000089260Furberg AS, 2005, CANCER EPIDEM BIOMAR, V14, P33Benoy IH, 2004, CLIN CANCER RES, V10, P7157Song JS, 2004, BLOOD, V104, P2065, DOI 10.1182/blood-2004-02-0449Schairer C, 2004, J NATL CANCER I, V96, P1311, DOI 10.1093/jnci/djh253Hellman K, 2004, BRIT J CANCER, V91, P319, DOI 10.1038/sj.bjc.6601944Roselli M, 2004, CLIN CANCER RES, V10, P610Zhou AW, 2003, NAT STRUCT BIOL, V10, P541, DOI 10.1038/nsb943Hapke S, 2003, BIOL CHEM, V384, P1073Miller JC, 2003, PROTEOMICS, V3, P56Amirkhosravi A, 2002, BLOOD COAGUL FIBRIN, V13, P505Bonello N, 2002, HUM REPROD, V17, P2272Li JN, 2002, CLIN CHEM, V48, P1296Louhimo J, 2002, ANTICANCER RES, V22, P1759Knezevic V, 2001, PROTEOMICS, V1, P1271Di Micco P, 2001, DIGEST LIVER DIS, V33, P546Ferrigno D, 2001, EUR RESPIR J, V17, P667Webb DJ, 2001, J CELL BIOL, V152, P741Gion M, 2001, EUR J CANCER, V37, P355Schonbeck U, 2001, CELL MOL LIFE SCI, V58, P4Blackwell K, 2000, J CLIN ONCOL, V18, P600Carriero MV, 1999, CANCER RES, V59, P5307Antman K, 1999, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V281, P1470Loskutoff DJ, 1999, APMIS, V107, P54Molina R, 1998, BREAST CANCER RES TR, V51, P109Bajou K, 1998, NAT MED, V4, P923Chan DW, 1997, J CLIN ONCOL, V15, P2322Chu KC, 1996, J NATL CANCER I, V88, P1571vanDalen A, 1996, ANTICANCER RES, V16, P2345Yamamoto N, 1996, CANCER RES, V56, P2827KOCH AE, 1995, NATURE, V376, P517HADDAD JG, 1995, J STEROID BIOCHEM, V53, P579FOEKENS JA, 1994, J CLIN ONCOL, V12, P1648GEARING AJH, 1993, IMMUNOL TODAY, V14, P506HUTCHENS TW, 1993, RAPID COMMUN MASS SP, V7, P576DECLERCK PJ, 1992, J BIOL CHEM, V267, P11693GABRIJELCIC D, 1992, AGENTS ACTIONS S, V38, P350BIEGLMAYER C, 1991, TUMOR BIOL, V12, P138DNISTRIAN AM, 1991, TUMOR BIOL, V12, P82VANDALEN A, 1990, TUMOR BIOL, V11, P189KARAS M, 1988, ANAL CHEM, V60, P2299, DOI 10.1021/ac00171a028LERNER WA, 1983, INT J CANCER, V31, P463WESTGARD JO, 1981, CLIN CHEM, V27, P493TROUSSEAU A, 1865, CLIN MED HOTEL DIEU, V3, P654*R PROJ, R PROJ STAT COMP1

Dynamic Modeling of Modified Styrene-Acrylonitrile Process

Dynamic model for the commercial modified styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) polymerization process is developed using the custom modeler within Aspen Dynamics (R). Modified SAN is one of the most widely used thermoplastics in commercial products. In the commercial modified SAN process, the polymerization reaction takes place under high temperature. However, most of the studies of modified SAN process in the past have been conducted under low temperature. Thus, it is difficult to predict the properties, such as weight-average molecular weight, number-average molecular weight, and polydispersity index, of polymer with the models studied in the past. We develop a dynamic simulation model considering segment-based approach, group contribution method, and first principles such as thermodynamic equations and reaction kinetics. Polymer properties are calculated from method of moments, and the model is validated by comparing the properties of simulation result with measured data from plant experiments. Our model gives better performances than the models developed in the past, which are built under different process conditions from the process of interest. Copyright (c) 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)N

Impact of Lifestyle Diseases on Postoperative Complications and Survival in Elderly Patients with Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: The influence of lifestyle diseases on postoperative complications and long-term survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether lifestyle diseases were significant risk factors of perioperative and long-term surgical outcomes in elderly patients with stage I NSCLC. Methods: Between December 1995 and November 2013, 110 patients aged 65 years or older who underwent surgical resection of stage I NSCLC at Dong-A University Hospital were retrospectively studied. We assessed the presence of the following lifestyle diseases as risk factors for postoperative complications and long-term mortality: diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. Results: The mean age of the patients was 71 years (range, 65 to 82 years). Forty-six patients (41.8%) had hypertension, making it the most common lifestyle disease, followed by diabetes (n=23, 20.9%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 0.9% (n=1). The 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 78% and 64%, respectively. Postoperative complications developed in 32 patients (29.1%), including 7 (6.4%) with prolonged air leakage, 6 (5.5%) with atrial fibrillation, 5 (4.5%) with delirium and atelectasis, and 3 (2.7%) with acute kidney injury and pneumonia. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the presence of a lifestyle disease was the only independent risk factor for postoperative complications. In survival analysis, univariate analysis showed that age, smoking, body mass index, extent of resection, and pathologic stage were associated with impaired survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that resection type (hazard ratio [HR], 2.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 4.49; p=0.030) and pathologic stage (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.49; p=0.043) had independent adverse impacts on survival. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the presence of a lifestyle disease was a significant prognostic factor for postoperative complications, but not of survival, in elderly patients with stage I NSCLC. Therefore, postoperative complications may be influenced by the presence of a lifestyle disease

Preferential (100)-oriented CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film formation by flash drying and elucidation of formation mechanism

Most previous studies of perovskite films have explored the use of highly (110)-oriented perovskite films, even though films having the (100) orientation exhibit more desirable characteristics. In this study, we examined a simple method for growing (100)-oriented perovskite films for solar cells and elucidated their growth mechanism. Oriented perovskite grains with a lateral size of as much as 20 μm and a very flat surface morphology could be obtained. It was found that the amount of thermal energy delivered during annealing and the amount of residual solvent remaining after spin coating play critical roles in determining the growth orientation of the perovskite film. It was suggested that the formation mechanism of the preferentially (100)-oriented grains is most likely the classical hetero-nucleation and selective growth process in the solution system, even though DMSO was included in the solvent. The results of this study will aid in the optimization of preferentially (100)-oriented CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film, which will be useful for the study of the effect of crystal orientation and the properties of perovskite optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs, sensors, transistors, and photovoltaic cells. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016.FALS

Control of Rubrene Polymorphs via Polymer Binders: Applications in Organic Field-Effect Transistors

In this report, the crystallization mechanisms in solution-processed, annealed thin films of semiconducting small molecule 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene (rubrene) blended with three different amorphous polymers (polystyrene (PS), poly­(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly­(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP)) are investigated. The results show that the degree of phase separation, the exact crystal structure, and the electronic properties of the blend films depend strongly on the choice of polymer binder. While rubrene films crystallized from blends with PS and P4VP consist of crystalline spherulites in a mostly orthorhombic crystal structure, rubrene in PMMA blends contains a significant fraction of triclinic phase and is generally more disordered. Structural characterizations also reveal a high degree of vertical phase separation in PS and P4VP films, which is attributed to residual solvent effects in the case of rubrene/PS films and a preferential hydrophilic interaction with the Si/SiO₂ interface for rubrene/P4VP films. This type of phase separation is shown to be critical for crystallization and lead to improved field-effect mobilities. Finally, this processing technique easily allows for patterning of transistors using chemically modified substrates, which is useful for large-scale device fabrication