An unusual mechanism of metastasis in serous carcinoma of the endometrium associated with BRCA1 mutation gene: A case report with clinical and immunohistochemical features

The current case report documented a uterine highgrade serous carcinoma in a 48yearold woman with previous clinical history of breast cancer, BRCA1 gene mutation, and melanoma of the back. Uterine Serous Carcinoma (USC) was minimally invasive with fallopian tubes, ovaries, omentum, peritoneal surface and lymph node biopsy demonstrating no evidence of neoplasm at the time of total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooophorectomy. In the peritoneal washing cytology and in the lumen of both fallopian tubes there were neoplastic cells which, on immunohistochemical analysis, showed immunoreactivity for p53 and p16 and negativity for WT1, supporting the endometrial origin of these malignant serous neoplastic cells. One year after surgery, the patient presented with recurrent peritoneal neoplastic nodules and metastases into intestinal lymphnodes. To detect neoplastic USC cells in the fallopian tube lumen and to prove a retrograde transtubal spread into the peritoneal cavity, it is mandatory to examine the fallopian tubes in their entirety according to the SEEFIM (Sectioning and Extensively Examining the Fimbria) protocol. In addition, this case report highlights the importance of the peritoneal cytology and omentectomy during a total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooophorectomy to establish adequate staging and future patient management, even in cases of minimally invasive serous endometrial carcinoma

Effects of inorganic seed promoters on MoS2 few-layers grown via chemical vapor deposition

In the last years, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), especially at the two-dimensional (2D) limit, gained a large interest due to their unique optical and electronic properties. Among them, MoS2 received great attention from the scientific community due to its versatility, workability, and applicability in a large number of fields such as electronics, optoelectronics and electrocatalysis. To open the possibility of 2D-MoS2 exploitation, its synthesis over large macroscopic areas using cost-effective methods is fundamental. In this study, we report a method for the synthesis of large-area (~ cm2) few-layers MoS2 via liquid precursor CVD (L-CVD), where the Mo precursor (i.e. ammonium heptamolybdate AHM) is provided via a solution that is spin-coated over the substrate. Given the capability of organic and inorganic molecules, such as alkaline salts, to enhance MoS2 growth, we investigated the action of different inorganic salts as seed promoters. In particular, by using visible Raman spectroscopy, we focused on the effect of Na(OH), KCl, KI, and Li(OH) on the thickness, morphology, uniformity and degree of coverage of the grown MoS2. We optimized the process tuning parameters such as the volume of spin-coated solution, the growth temperature, and the seed promoter concentration, to synthesise the lowest possible thickness which resulted to be 2 layers (2L) of the highest quality. We witnessed that the addition of an inorganic seed promoter in the solution improves the extension of the grown MoS2 promoting lateral growth front, and therefore the degree of coverage. From this study, we conclude that, amongst the investigated seed promoters, K-based salts proved to grant the growth of high-quality two-layer MoS2 with optimal and uniform coverage of the SiO2/Si substrate surface

Optical properties of two-dimensional tin nanosheets epitaxially grown on graphene

Heterostacks formed by combining two-dimensional materials show novel properties which are of great interest for new applications in electronics, photonics and even twistronics, the new emerging field born after the outstanding discoveries on twisted graphene. Here, we report the direct growth of tin nanosheets at the two-dimensional limit via molecular beam epitaxy on chemical vapor deposited graphene on Al2O3(0001). The mutual interaction between the tin nanosheets and graphene is evidenced by structural and chemical investigations. On the one hand, Raman spectroscopy indicates that graphene undergoes compressive strain after the tin growth, while no charge transfer is observed. On the other hand, chemical analysis shows that tin nanosheets interaction with sapphire is mediated by graphene avoiding the tin oxidation occurring in the direct growth on this substrate. Remarkably, optical measurements show that the absorption of tin nanosheets show a graphene-like behavior with a strong absorption in the ultraviolet photon energy range, therein resulting in a different optical response compared to tin nanosheets on bare sapphire. The optical properties of tin nanosheets therefore represent an open and flexible playground for the absorption of light in a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum and technologically relevant applications for photon harvesting and sensors.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Endocarditis of Native Valve due to Proteus mirabilis: Case Report and Literature Review

AbstractEndocarditis due to Proteus mirabilis is very uncommon and the optimal surgical and/or antibiotic treatment is not well defined. Guidelines from the AHA and ESC recommend prolonged courses of combined antibiotic therapy but information regarding the clinical presentation, the choice of treatment, the surgical management, and the duration of therapy can only be taken from clinical cases reported in literature. We describe a case of native valve endocarditis due to Proteus mirabilis, successfully treated with antibiotic therapy alone with a review of the relevant literature on this topic

Broadband and Tunable Light Harvesting in Nanorippled MoS2 Ultrathin Films

Nanofabrication of flat optic silica gratings conformally layered with two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 is demonstrated over large area (cm2), achieving a strong amplification of the photon absorption in the active 2D layer. The anisotropic subwavelength silica gratings induce a highly ordered periodic modulation of the MoS2 layer, promoting the excitation of Guided Mode Anomalies (GMA) at the interfaces of the 2D layer. We show the capability to achieve a broadband tuning of these lattice modes from the visible (VIS) to the near-infrared (NIR) by simply tailoring the illumination conditions and/or the period of the lattice. Remarkably, we demonstrate the possibility to strongly confine resonant and nonresonant light into the 2D MoS2 layers via GMA excitation, leading to a strong absorption enhancement as high as 240% relative to a flat continuous MoS2 film. Due to their broadband and tunable photon harvesting capabilities, these large area 2D MoS2 metastructures represent an ideal scalable platform for new generation devices in nanophotonics, photo- detection and -conversion, and quantum technologies