Silicon germanium photo-blocking layers for a-IGZO based industrial display

Amorphous indium- gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) has been intensively studied for the application to active matrix flat-panel display because of its superior electrical and optical properties. However, the characteristics of a-IGZO were found to be very sensitive to external circumstance such as light illumination, which dramatically degrades the device performance and stability practically required for display applications. Here, we suggest the use for silicon-germanium (Si-Ge) films grown plasmaenhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) as photo-blocking layers in the a-IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). The charge mobility and threshold voltage (V-th) of the TFTs depend on the thickness of the Si-Ge films and dielectric buffer layers (SiNX), which were carefully optimized to be similar to 200 nm and similar to 300 nm, respectively. As a result, even after 1,000 s illumination time, the V-th and electron mobility of the TFTs remain unchanged, which was enabled by the photo-blocking effect of the Si-Ge layers for a-IGZO films. Considering the simple fabrication process by PECVD with outstanding scalability, we expect that this method can be widely applied to TFT devices that are sensitive to light illumination.

Review on the process of identifying a city brand slogan and power brand assets: The case of Daejeon, Korea

This study, as part of the 7030 project, which celebrates in 2019 the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Daejeon as a city and the 30th anniversary of its promotion to a Metropolitan City, places its first purpose on analysing the internal and external marketing-related environments of the city and accordingly, identifying core values (keywords) for the city marketing and finally, suggesting an alternative brand slogan comprising the keywords. A second purpose is, for the purpose of achieving the slogan, to define power brands through the exploration, classification, and assessment of the existing brand assets. Firstly, this study identifies 18 keywords based on the internal and external environmental analysis and, based on two criteria, whether the value is shared by citizens and how it differentiates Daejeon from other cities. The study suggests a revised slogan: “a city of innovation and capacity, pursuing a life of composure and dignity”. Subsequently, to actualize this slogan, this study detects a total of 423 city brand assets and classifies them into eight categories, based on which it conducts an AHP analysis and computes the relative weights of the categories, while it conducts the IPA to evaluate the levels of the recognition and importance of each asset. The AHP weight evaluation, as well as the IPA, is conducted by a citizen planning board of about 50 people. The results of such a group evaluation differs by the background of the rater, and acknowledging the tendency, this study suggests how to interpret and utilize the evaluation results. Finally, it computes the final power brand asset score, which is a function of the AHP weight and IPA point. Such a power brand selection process is then used to develop guidelines and principles for the marketing of each category of brand assets

Incipient piezoelectrics and electrostriction behavior in Sn-doped Bi-1/2( Na0.82K0.18)(1/2) TiO3 lead-free ceramics

Dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and strain properties of lead-free Sn-doped Bi-1/2(Na0.82K0.18)(1/2)TiO3 (BNKT) were investigated. A crossover from a nonergodic relaxor to an ergodic relaxor state at room temperature, accompanied by a giant electric-field-induced strain, was observed at 5 at. % Sn doping. Switching dynamics monitored during a bipolar poling cycle manifested that the observed giant strain originates from incipient piezoelectricity. When Sn doping level reached 8 at. %, BNKT exhibited an electrostrictive behavior with a highly temperature-insensitive electrostrictive coefficient of Q(11) = 0.023 m(4)open3

Cause of Chest Pain in a Patient with Previous Myocardial Infarction: Look Outside the Heart for Extracardiac Mass

We report a case of thymic carcinoma that was initially detected by echocardiography in an 80-year-old male who visited the emergency room for chest pain and had a history of myocardial infarction and percutaneous coronary intervention. Transthoracic echocardiography showed a huge extracardiac mass that was located in the anterior mediastinum and was diagnosed as a thymic carcinoma by biopsy

The assessment of efficacy of porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus inactivated vaccine based on the viral quantity and inactivation methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There have been many efforts to develop efficient vaccines for the control of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Although inactivated PRRSV vaccines are preferred for their safety, they are weak at inducing humoral immune responses and controlling field PRRSV infection, especially when heterologous viruses are involved.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In all groups, the sample to positive (S/P) ratio of IDEXX ELISA and the virus neutralization (VN) titer remained negative until challenge. While viremia did not reduce in the vaccinated groups, the IDEXX-ELISA-specific immunoglobulin G increased more rapidly and to significantly greater levels 7 days after the challenge in all the vaccinated groups compared to the non-vaccinated groups (<it>p </it>< 0.05). VN titer was significantly different in the 10⁶PFU/mL PRRSV vaccine-inoculated and binary ethylenimine (BEI)-inactivated groups 22 days after challenge (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Consequently, the inactivated vaccines tested in this study provided weak memory responses with sequential challenge without any obvious active immune responses in the vaccinated pigs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The inactivated vaccine failed to show the humoral immunity, but it showed different immune response after the challenge compared to mock group. Although the 10⁶PFU/mL-vaccinated and BEI-inactivated groups showed significantly greater VN titers 22 days after challenge, all the groups were already negative for viremia.</p

Retrospective analyses of cisplatin-based doublet combination chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backgrounds</p> <p>Cisplatin-based chemotherapy, in combination with fluoropyrimidines or taxanes, have demonstrated efficacy against advanced gastric cancer (AGC). This retrospective study was performed with the data obtained from our cancer chemotherapy registry and eight another cancer centers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2008, a total of 283 AGC patients were treated with cisplatin-based doublet chemotherapy in the first-line setting: capecitabine plus cisplatin (XP, n = 77), S-1 plus cisplatin (SP, n = 97), taxanes (docetaxel, paclitaxel) plus cisplatin (TP, n = 72), and 5-fluorouracil plus platinum (FP, n = 37). The primary endpoint of this study was overall survival (OS) and the secondary endpoints were safety, response rate and progression-free survival (PFS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median age was 54 years with a range of 28-78 years and median delivered number of chemotherapy cycles were XP: 4, SP: 5, TP: 5 and FP: 5, respectively. Objective tumor responses (38%; 95% CI, 32-43%) were 40% for XP, 42% for SP, 36% for DP, and 24% for FP. The estimated median PFS was 4.5 months (95% CI, 3.6-5.4 months) and the median OS was 12.3 months (95% CI, 10.8-13.7 months). No statistically significant difference was found between each regimen used as first-line chemotherapy. At multivariate analysis, independent prognostic parameters for OS were prior gastrectomy, peritoneal dissemination, performance status and hemoglobin level</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All of the cisplatin-based doublet chemotherapy regimens appear to be active as first-line chemotherapy for AGC. With better patient selection according to clinical parameters and molecular markers, clinical outcomes of AGC patients in first-line setting can be improved.</p

Improved Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life after Conversion from Mycophenolate Mofetil to Enteric-Coated Mycophenolate Sodium in Renal Transplant Patients Receiving Tacrolimus

It is reported that a conversion from mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) relieves gastrointestinal (GI) symptom burden and improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, it is unclear whether renal transplant recipients using tacrolimus receive the same benefit from the conversion. In this prospective, multi-center, open-label trial, patients were categorized into two groups by their GI symptom screening. Equimolar EC-MPS (n=175) was prescribed for patients with GI burdens; those with no complaints remained on MMF (n=83). Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) were evaluated at baseline and after one month. Patients and physicians completed Overall Treatment Effect (OTE) at one month. EC-MPS-converted patients had worse GSRS and GIQLI scores at baseline than MMF-continued patients (all P<0.001). Significant improvements in GSRS and GIQLI scores were observed for EC-MPS-converted patients at one month, but MMF-continued patients showed worsened GSRS scores (all P<0.05). OTE scale indicated that EC-MPS patients improved in overall GI symptoms and HRQoL more than MMF patients did (P<0.001). In tacrolimus-treated renal transplant recipients with GI burdens, a conversion from MMF to EC-MPS improves GI-related symptoms and HRQoL

Favorable short-term oncologic outcomes following laparoscopic surgery for small T4 colon cancer: a multicenter comparative study

Background Laparoscopic surgery for T4 colon cancer may be safe in selected patients. We hypothesized that small tumor size might preoperatively predict a good laparoscopic surgery outcome. Herein, we compared the clinicopathologic and oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic and open surgery in small T4 colon cancer. Methods In a retrospective multicenter study, we reviewed the data of 449 patients, including 117 patients with tumors ≤ 4.0 cm who underwent surgery for T4 colon cancer between January 2014 and December 2017. We compared the clinicopathologic and 3-year oncologic outcomes between the laparoscopic and open groups. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Blood loss, length of hospital stay, and postoperative morbidity were lower in the laparoscopic group than in the open group (median [range], 50 [0–700] vs. 100 [0–4000] mL, p < 0.001; 8 vs. 10 days, p < 0.001; and 18.0 vs. 29.5%, p = 0.005, respectively). There were no intergroup differences in 3-year overall survival or disease-free survival (86.6 vs. 83.2%, p = 0.180, and 71.7 vs. 75.1%, p = 0.720, respectively). Among patients with tumor size ≤ 4.0 cm, blood loss was significantly lower in the laparoscopic group than in the open group (median [range], 50 [0–530] vs. 50 [0–1000] mL, p = 0.003). Despite no statistical difference observed in the 3-year overall survival rate (83.3 vs. 78.7%, p = 0.538), the laparoscopic group had a significantly higher 3-year disease-free survival rate (79.2 vs. 53.2%, p = 0.012). Conclusions Laparoscopic surgery showed similar outcomes to open surgery in T4 colon cancer patients and may have favorable short-term oncologic outcomes in patients with tumors ≤ 4.0 cm.This work was supported by the Clinical Research Program of the National Cancer Center (grant number NCC 2011520-1)