Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the vulva, an underrecognized entity? Case report with a single inguinal micrometastasis detected by sentinel node technique

This report describes an unusual EBV-negative lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the vulva in a 73-year-old patient. The lesion was localised at the right minor labium and was resected by partial vulvectomy. A synchronous sentinel lymph node biopsy revealed a single micrometastasis in the right inguinal region, which prompted local radiotherapy. Follow-up nine months later showed only slight vulvar atrophy, without signs of local recurrence or distant metastases

Influence of band width on the scattered ion yield spectra of a He + Ion by resonant or quasi-resonant charge exchange neutralization

The influence of the band structure, especially the bandwidth, on the scattered ion yield spectra of a He+ ion by the resonant or quasi-resonant neutralization was theoretically examined using quantum rate equations. When calculating the scattered ion yield spectra of He+ to simulate the experimental data, we observed that the band structure, especially the bandwidth, had a strong influence on the spectra at relatively low incident He+ ion energies of less than several hundred eV. Through many simulations, it was determined that theoretical calculations that include bandwidth calculation can simulate or reproduce the experimentally observed spectra of He+-In, He+-Ga, and He+-Sn systems. In contrast, simulations not including bandwidth simulation could neither reproduce nor account for such spectra. Furthermore, the calculated ion survival probability (ISP) at low incident ion energies tended to decrease with increasing bandwidth. This decrease in ISP probably corresponds to the relatively small scattered ion yield usually observed at low incident ion energies. Theoretically, such a decrease indicates that a He+ ion with a low incident energy can be easily neutralized on the surface when the bandwidth is large

Layered Al2O3-SiO2 and Al2O3-Ta2O5 thin-film composites for high dielectric strength, deposited by pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Multilayer thin films have the potential to act as high dielectric strength insulation for wire and microelectronics. In this study, films consisting of 2, 4 or 8 layers, composed of Al2O3 with SiO2 or Ta2O5, were prepared via pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering to a thickness of between 152 and 236 nm. The dielectric strengths of all films exceeded the 310 Vμm−1 achieved for PDC Al2O3. Maximum dielectric strengths were obtained for four layer composites; Al2O3-SiO2-Al2O3-SiO2 (466 Vμm−1) and Al2O3-Ta2O5-Al2O3-Ta2O5 (513 Vμm−1), each containing two PDC-Al2O3 and two RF-SiO2/Ta2O5 layers. Whilst the average dielectric strength was higher in the Ta2O5 composites, they suffered from higher leakage prior to breakdown with ca. 6.5 nA compared to ca. 0.1 nA for SiO2 composites. The mechanical properties of the composites were poorer due to increased intrinsic coating stress. Samples exhibited complete interfacial delamination with maximum coating adhesion strengths of 22 and 25 MPa. The variance resulted from larger coefficient of thermal expansion for Ta2O5 compared to SiO2. Sputtered composites of Al2O3 and either SiO2 or Ta2O5 had high breakdown strength with reasonable adhesion and could be suitable for insulating copper conductors in the aerospace and automotive industries