Local tentative bonding method to maintain alignment accuracy in bonding process using resin as an adhesive material

The authors proposed a novel method to maintain the alignment accuracy in the wafer-bonding process, which uses a resin as an adhesive material. Recently, the resin has received attention as an adhesive material for wafer bonding in microelectromechanical system device fabrication because of its multiple advantageous material properties. However, because of its inherent material viscosity, the alignment accuracy cannot be easily maintained, particularly when two wafers are bonded with a thick resin after alignment. To solve this problem, they proposed a local tentative bonding method. After aligning the two wafers, they irradiated the adhesive resin layer between the wafers using a near-infrared (NIR) spotlight (wavelength = 1020 nm), which is transparent to Si wafers. Using several NIR irradiation spots aimed at the resin layer after aligning the wafers, the resin layer was bonded locally and tentatively, which was sufficiently secure to avoid wafer shifting in the subsequent process. The local tentative bonded areas acted as anchors, which held the wafers during the bonding process. They performed experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of their method using resins, such as polyimide, benzocyclobutene and SU-8. Consequently, they achieved an alignment accuracy <5 µm, which is a significant improvement compared with the typical bonding results

Changes in work and life patterns associated with depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study of health app (CALO mama) users

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people refrained from going out, started working from home (WFH), and suspended work or lost their jobs. This study examines how such pandemic-related changes in work and life patterns were associated with depressive symptoms. METHODS: An online survey among participants who use a health app called CALO mama was conducted from 30 April to 8 May 2020 in Japan. Participants consisted of 2846 users (1150 men (mean age=50.3) and 1696 women (mean age=43.0)) who were working prior to the government declaration of a state of emergency (7 April 2020). Their daily steps from 1 January to 13 May 2020 recorded by an accelerometer in their mobile devices were linked to their responses. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Two-Question Screen. RESULTS: On average, participants took 1143.8 (95% CI -1557.3 to -730.2) fewer weekday steps during the declaration period (from 7 April to 13 May). Depressive symptoms were positively associated with female gender (OR=1.58, 95% CI 1.34 to 1.87), decreased weekday steps (OR=1.22, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.45) and increased working hours (OR=1.73, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.26). Conversely, starting WFH was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased weekday steps during the declaration period were associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms, but WFH may mitigate the risk in the short term. Further studies on the longitudinal effects of WFH on health are needed

Working from home and dietary changes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of health app (CALO mama) users

It is plausible that the coronavirus disease pandemic and related changes in work and life patterns affected dietary patterns, but existing studies have limitations owing to a cross-sectional design. Using longitudinal data, we examined dietary changes in people due to the pandemic and work and life patterns. We conducted an online survey on changes in work and life patterns during the pandemic from April 30, 2020, to May 8, 2020, among users of a health app called CALO mama provided in Japan. We retrieved and linked the dietary data for 5929 participants from January 1, 2020, to May 13, 2020. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate the frequencies of food intake associated with the pandemic and work and life patterns. During the state of emergency, the frequency of intake of vegetables, beans, seaweeds, fish, meats, dairy products, and snacks increased, whereas alcohol intake decreased. Working from home was associated with increased intake of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and snacks but decreased intake of seaweeds, meats, and alcohol. Time spent on childcare was associated with decreased intake of vegetables and fruits but increased intake of meats. Probable depressive symptoms were negatively associated with the frequency of food intake other than snacks and alcohol. We conclude that diet quality improved during the pandemic in general, but attention must be paid to overconsumption of snacks and negative factors such as increased burden of childcare and depression for healthy eating

Titanium peroxide nanoparticles enhanced cytotoxic effects of X-ray irradiation against pancreatic cancer model through reactive oxygen species generation in vitro and in vivo

Details of the synthetic protocol for PAA-TiOxNPs formation from TiO2NPs. (PPTX 151 kb

Papillary thyroid carcinoma with tall cell features is as aggressive as tall cell variant: a meta-analysis

There are still ongoing debates as to which cut-off percentage of tall cell (TC) should be used to define tall cell variant (TCV) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In this meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of PTC with tall cell features (PTC-TCF, PTC with 10–50% of TCs) in comparison with classical PTC and TCVPTC (PTC with more than 50% of TCs) to clarify the controversial issue. Four electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Virtual Health Library were accessed to search for relevant articles. We extracted data from published studies and pooled into odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using random-effect modeling. Nine studies comprising 403 TCVPTCs, 325 PTC-TCFs and 3552 classical PTCs were included for meta-analyses. Overall, the clinicopathological profiles of PTC-TCF including multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and patient mortality were not statistically different from those of TCVPTC. Additionally, PTC-TCF and TCVPTC were both associated with an increased risk for aggressive clinical courses as compared to classical PTC. The prevalence of BRAF mutation in PTC-TCF and TCVPTC was comparable and both were significantly higher than that in classical PTC. The present meta-analysis demonstrated that even a PTC comprising only 10% of TCs might be associated with a poor clinical outcome. Therefore, the proportions of PTC in PTC should be carefully estimated and reported even when the TC component is as little as 10%

DNA Double-Strand Breaks Induced by Cavitational Mechanical Effects of Ultrasound in Cancer Cell Lines

Ultrasonic technologies pervade the medical field: as a long established imaging modality in clinical diagnostics; and, with the emergence of targeted high intensity focused ultrasound, as a means of thermally ablating tumours. In parallel, the potential of [non-thermal] intermediate intensity ultrasound as a minimally invasive therapy is also being rigorously assessed. Here, induction of apoptosis in cancer cells has been observed, although definitive identification of the underlying mechanism has thus far remained elusive. A likely candidate process has been suggested to involve sonochemical activity, where reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediate the generation of DNA single-strand breaks. Here however, we provide compelling new evidence that strongly supports a purely mechanical mechanism. Moreover, by a combination of specific assays (neutral comet tail and staining for γH2AX foci formation) we demonstrate for the first time that US exposure at even moderate intensities exhibits genotoxic potential, through its facility to generate DNA damage across multiple cancer lines. Notably, colocalization assays highlight that ionizing radiation and ultrasound have distinctly different signatures to their respective γH2AX foci formation patterns, likely reflecting the different stress distributions that initiated damage formation. Furthermore, parallel immuno-blotting suggests that DNA-PKcs have a preferential role in the repair of ultrasound-induced damage

Genetic Polymorphisms of IL-17F and TRAF3IP2 Could Be Predictive Factors of the Long-Term Effect of Infliximab against Crohn’s Disease

Background. We aimed to identify certain genes related to response to infliximab (IFX) and biomarkers to predict the IFX effect for Japanese Crohn\u27s disease (CD) patients by performing an association study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes in the interleukin-(IL-) 17 signaling pathway with response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Methods. A total of 103 patients were divided into two groups, responders and nonresponders. Twenty-eight tag SNPs in 5 genes were genotyped. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of each SNP were compared between responders and nonresponders in three different inheritance models. A genetic test was performed using a combination of the associated SNPs as biomarkers. Results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the four variable factors, concomitant use of immunomodulators, penetrating disease, a G/G genotype of rs766748 in IL-17F, and a C/C or C/A genotype of rs1883136 in TRAF3IP2, independently contributed to response to IFX after 1 year of treatment. Genetic test using the polymorphisms of these genes perfectly predicted the responder and nonresponder CD patients with both concomitant use of immunomodulators and penetrating disease. Conclusion. IL17F and TRAF3IP2 are one of IFX-related genes, useful as biomarkers of IFX response, and may be target molecules for new therapeutic drugs

Clinical Outcome of Patients with Pelvic and Retroperitoneal Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma : A Retrospective Multicenter Study in Japan

This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the clinical outcomes of patients with pelvic and retroperitoneal bone and soft tissue sarcoma (BSTS). Overall, 187 patients with BSTS in the pelvis and retroperitoneal region treated at 19 specialized sarcoma centers in Japan were included. The prognostic factors related to overall survival (OS), local control (LC), and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated. The 3-year OS and LC rates in the 187 patients were 71.7% and 79.1%, respectively. The 3-year PFS in 166 patients without any distant metastases at the time of primary tumor diagnosis was 48.6%. Osteosarcoma showed significantly worse OS and PFS than other sarcomas of the pelvis and retroperitoneum. In the univariate analyses, larger primary tumor size, soft tissue tumor, distant metastasis at the time of primary tumor diagnosis, P2 location, chemotherapy, and osteosarcoma were poor prognostic factors correlated with OS. Larger primary tumor size, higher age, soft tissue tumor, chemotherapy, and osteosarcoma were poor prognostic factors correlated with PFS in patients without any metastasis at the initial presentation. Larger primary tumor size was the only poor prognostic factor correlation with LC. This study has clarified the epidemiology and prognosis of patients with pelvic and retroperitoneal BSTS in Japan