Via and embedded resistor production in low cost lithographically printed substrates

Lithographic printing of silver based conductive inks to form circuit tracking provides a very low cost, environmentally friendly method of production. It allows circuits with line widths down to 100 μm and a sheet resistance of 0.3 Ω per square to be produced at rates of up to 10000 impressions per hour. The process makes use of low capital cost equipment and has low set up costs. To date, an equally cost effective method of manufacturing vias in these circuits has not been developed. This paper proposes two new techniques for via production which are compatible with the rest of the manufacturing process. In the first technique, suitably profiled holes are laser drilled for subsequent filling as part of the lithographic printing. In the second technique laser energy is used to melt the substrate material so that it is able to mix with the conductive ink and so form a conductive path. The paper describes the proposed production techniques and discusses the factors affecting each method and in particular the substrate properties affecting production. The substrate materials considered in detail are Glossart and Teslin. The optical absorption and ablation characteristics of these materials for excimer and CO2 lasers are reported, as are the thermal diffusivities

Die Nerven und das Bindegewebe der Pia des Menschen im mikrophotographischen Bild

Die Nerven der Pia des Menschen können mit der Silberkarbonattechnik von del Rio Hortega an Ganzpräparaten mikrophotographisch klar wiedergegeben und zwanglos in 2 Systeme eingeteilt werden: 1. Das perivaskuläre System, das von Nerven gebildet wird, die nach ihrem Eintritt in die Pia direkt zu den Gefäßen verlaufen und die letzteren mit einem dichten Geflecht umgeben. Das Grundnetz, welches von Nerven gebildet wird, die a) gleich nach ihrem Eintritt in die Pia sich aufsplittern und den Hauptteil des Grundnetzes bilden; b) von Nerven, welche von einem gefäßwärts verlaufenden Nerven sich abzweigen; c) von Nerven, welche zum perivaskulären Plexus gehören, und schließlich d) von starken Nervenbündeln, welche innerhalb des Grundnetzes zahlreiche Plexus bilden und allmählich in dasselbe übergehen. Das Grundnetz selbst erscheint histologisch als ein in sich geschlossenes Ganzes und enthält keine besonderen Endformationen. Die Strukturen des Bindegewebes zerfallen ebenfalls in 2 Systeme: A. das perivaskuläre Gewebe und B. das die Maschen der Gefäße ausfüllende Netz. A. Die oberflächliche Schicht der Adventitia besteht aus dichten, gleichmäßig starken, parallel verlaufenden Fasern. Die 2. Lage enthält große, ovale oder birnenförmige Zellen mit zahlreichen Ausläufern, welche in der Literatur vielfach als Ganglienzellen gedeutet worden sind. Die 3. Schicht ist durch ovale Auftreibungen ihrer Fasern charakterisiert und die 4. besteht aus zarten, der Media anliegenden Fibrillen. B. Die Maschen zwischen den Gefäßen sind von einem dichten Gewirr sich sternförmig kreuzender Fasern ausgefüllt. Es bestehen direkte Verbindungen zwischen dem Bindegewebe und den Zellen der Arachnoidea. The nerves and connective tissue of the human pia were investigated with the silver carbonate method of del Rio Hortega . The nerves of the pia form two distinctly different but closely associated systems: 1. the perivascular system is made up of nerves which enter the pia, give numerous branches to the ground network (Grundnetz) (Fig. 1), and form perivascular plexuses (Figs. 2, 3, 4) and, 2. the ground network (Grundnetz), which spreads out over the entire pia and is supported by connective tissue structures. The ground network is formed by: A) nerves which enter the pia and split into numerous branches (Fig. 5), B) ramification of perivascular nerves (Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9), C) numerous plexuses derived from coarse nerves which have no direct connection with the vessels; these plexuses gradually merge with the ground network (Figs. 10, 11, 12). The ground network is a dense interwoven structure without demonstrable terminal formations (Fig. 13). The latter have been found only on the media of vessels (Fig. 14). The connective tissue structures are no less complicated than those of the nerves and can also be subdivided into two systems: 1. the adventitia, and 2. the interwoven network of stellate fibers which fills in the space between the vessels. In the adventitia there can be distinguished four layers: A) the upper which contains coarse parallel fibers (Fig. 15), B) the second which is characterized by large, oval or round elements with numerous processes (Fig. 16), C) the third which is composed of fibers with numerous bead-like swellings along their course (Figs. 17, 18), and D) the fourth which consists of delicate fibers which lie directly on the media (Fig. 19). The meshes between the vessels are filled with stellate fiber formations (Fig. 20). The connective tissue fibers of the upper strata of the pia are connected with the processes of the cells of the arachnoidea and are surrounded by numerous connective tissue loops (Fig. 21). Les nerfs et le tissue conjonctif de la pie-mère humaine furent vérifiés à l'aide de la microphotographie de pièces du tissue entier imprégnées à la méthode de del Rio Hortega . Les nerfs montrent deux systèmes différents: 1. Le système périvasculaire formé par des nerfs qui en entrant dans la piemère joignent les vaisseaux en entournant ceux-ci avec un réseau dense.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41654/1/702_2005_Article_BF01227770.pd

Urinary endogenous sex hormone levels and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer

To assess the relation between urinary endogenous sex steroid levels and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, a nested case–cohort study was conducted within a large cohort (the DOM cohort) in the Netherlands (n¼9 349). Until the end of follow-up (1 January 1996), 397 postmenopausal breast cancer cases were identified and a subcohort of 424 women was then taken from all eligible women. Women using hormones were excluded, leaving 364 breast cancer cases and 382 women in the subcohort for the analyses. Concentrations of oestrone, oestradiol, testosterone, 5a-androstane-3a, 17b-diol and creatinine were measured in first morning urine samples, which had been stored since enrolment at -201C. A Cox proportional Hazards model was used, with Barlow’s adjustment for case–cohort sampling, to estimate breast cancer risk in quartiles of each of the, creatinine corrected, hormone levels, the lowest quartile being the reference group. Women with higher levels of all four of the hormones were at increased risk for postmenopausal breast cancer (highest vs lowest quartile: incidence rate ratio for oestrone (IRRoestrone=2.5, 95% CI: 1.6–3.8; IRRoestradiol=1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.3; IRRtestosterone=1.6, 95% CI: 1.0–2.4; IRR5a-androstane-3a, 17b-diol=1.7, 95% CI: 1.1–2.7). In conclusion, women with higher excretion levels of both oestrogens and androgens have an increased risk of breast cancer

Tobacco smoking-associated genome-wide DNA methylation changes in the EPIC study.

Epigenetic changes may occur in response to environmental stressors, and an altered epigenome pattern may represent a stable signature of environmental exposure

Diet, vegetarian food and prostate carcinoma among men in Taiwan

In a case–control study in a veterans hospital in Taiwan, we compared 237 histology-confirmed prostate carcinoma cases with 481 controls, frequency matched by age, for their consumption of vegetarian food, namely soybean products, rice, wheat protein and other vegetables. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed a significant association with such food (odds ratio (OR)=0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.47, 0.94). This beneficial effect presented for men with body mass index (BMI) ⩽25 kg m−2 (OR=0.50, 95% CI=0.32, 0.76) but not for men with greater BMI. The OR of prostate carcinoma for men with BMI ⩽25 kg m−2 was 1.74 (95% CI=1.21, 2.51), compared with men with higher BMI (>25 kg m−2). Other significant risk factors associated with the disease included higher income (OR=2.40, 95% CI=1.07, 5.42), physical activity (OR=1.75, 95% CI=1.08, 2.83), being married (OR=2.49, 95% CI=1.40, 4.43) and coffee consumption (OR=1.88, 95% CI=1.07, 3.30). Stratified analysis also showed that the consumption of fish/shellfish had an adverse association for men with higher BMI. This study suggests that the intake of the low fat local vegetarian food has a protective effect against prostate carcinoma for thin men in this study population

Endogenous sex hormones and prostate cancer: a quantitative review of prospective studies

This paper presents a quantitative review of the data from eight prospective epidemiological studies, comparing mean serum concentrations of sex hormones in men who subsequently developed prostate cancer with those in men who remained cancer free. The hormones reviewed have been postulated to be involved in the aetiology of prostate cancer: androgens and their metabolites testosterone (T), non-SHBG-bound testosterone (non-SHBG-bound T), di-hydrotestosterone (DHT), androstanediol glucuronide (A-diol-g), androstenedione (A-dione), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), the oestrogens, oestrone and oestradiol, luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin. The ratio of the mean hormone concentration in prostate cancer cases to that of controls (and its 95% confidence interval (CI)) was calculated for each study, and the results summarized by calculating the weighted average of the log ratios. No differences in the average concentrations of the hormones were found between prostate cancer cases and controls, with the possible exception of A-diol-g which exhibited a 5% higher mean serum concentration among cases relative to controls (ratio 1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.11), based on 644 cases and 1048 controls. These data suggest that there are no large differences in circulating hormones between men who subsequently go on to develop prostate cancer and those who remain free of the disease. Further research is needed to substantiate the small difference found in A-diol-g concentrations between prostate cancer cases and controls

Lifetime physical activity and risk of breast cancer in pre-and post-menopausal women

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York To investigate the association between different types of physical activity (PA) and breast cancer. A case–control study of breast cancer was conducted in Western Australia from 2009 to 2011, in which 1205 women with breast cancer and 1789 frequency age-matched breast cancer-free control women were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about lifetime and age-period recreational, household, occupational and transport physical activities. Detailed questions about demographic characteristics, and relevant reproductive, medical and lifestyle factors were also included. Logistic regression and restrictive cubic spline analyses were applied to investigate the association and dose–response relationship between PA and breast cancer risk. Subgroup analysis was performed regarding menopausal status. We found non-linear dose–response associations between PA and risk of breast cancer. Overall, 95–130 MET-hours/week of total lifetime PA was associated with the lowest breast cancer risk. The effects were stronger among post-menopausal women. We also found that the medium amounts of recreational PA (up to 21 MET-hours/week) were associated with lower breast cancer risk among post-menopausal women. Further analysis on the intensity of recreational PA demonstrated different dose–response associations between moderate- and vigorous-intensity recreational PA and breast cancer risk. We found that PA was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women, but not in a linear fashion. Recreational PA of different intensities may have different dose–response associations with risk of breast cancer

Lung cancers attributable to environmental tobacco smoke and air pollution in non-smokers in different European countries: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: Several countries are discussing new legislation on the ban of smoking in public places, and on the acceptable levels of traffic-related air pollutants. It is therefore useful to estimate the burden of disease associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution. METHODS: We have estimated exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) and to air pollution in never smokers and ex-smokers in a large prospective study in 10 European countries (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition)(N = 520,000). We report estimates of the proportion of lung cancers attributable to ETS and air pollution in this population. RESULTS: The proportion of lung cancers in never- and ex-smokers attributable to ETS was estimated as between 16 and 24%, mainly due to the contribution of work-related exposure. We have also estimated that 5-7% of lung cancers in European never smokers and ex-smokers are attributable to high levels of air pollution, as expressed by NO2 or proximity to heavy traffic roads. NO2 is the expression of a mixture of combustion (traffic-related) particles and gases, and is also related to power plants and waste incinerator emissions. DISCUSSION: We have estimated risks of lung cancer attributable to ETS and traffic-related air pollution in a large prospective study in Europe. Information bias can be ruled out due to the prospective design, and we have thoroughly controlled for potential confounders, including restriction to never smokers and long-term ex-smokers. Concerning traffic-related air pollution, the thresholds for indicators of exposure we have used are rather strict, i.e. they correspond to the high levels of exposure that characterize mainly Southern European countries (levels of NO2 in Denmark and Sweden are closer to 10-20 ug/m3, whereas levels in Italy are around 30 or 40, or higher).Therefore, further reduction in exposure levels below 30 ug/m3 would correspond to additional lung cancer cases prevented, and our estimate of 5-7% is likely to be an underestimate. Overall, our prospective study draws attention to the need for strict legislation concerning the quality of air in Europe