Correction of pattern size deviations in the fabrication of photomasks made with a laser direct-writer

When using Heidelberg DWL66+ laser writer to fabricate the photomask, the pattern feature dimensions may have deviations. These deviations can be caused by the lithography process and the undercut in the metal etch process. The same deviation value of 0.8µm was found to appear in all the patterns independent of the pattern original size and local pattern density. To overcome this universal deviation, a universal bias is suggested to be applied to the original patterns during the data preparation for the lithography process. In order to ensure this pre-exposure bias method can work, both the laser direct-write exposure conditions (laser power, filters, focus parameters) and the metal etch time should be kept consistent

Extremum seeking control of quantum gates

To be useful for quantum computation, gate operations must be maintained at high fidelities over long periods of time. In addition to decoherence, slow drifts in control hardware leads to inaccurate gates, causing the quality of operation of as-built quantum computers to vary over time. Here, we demonstrate a data-driven approach to stabilized control, combining extremum-seeking control (ESC) with direct randomized benchmarking (DRB) to stabilize two-qubit gates under unknown control parameter fluctuations. As a case study, we consider these control strategies in the context of a trapped ion quantum computer using physically-realistic simulation. We then experimentally demonstrate this control strategy on a state-of-the-art, commercial trapped-ion quantum computer.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Genomic heterogeneity of multiple synchronous lung cancer

Multiple synchronous lung cancers (MSLCs) present a clinical dilemma as to whether individual tumours represent intrapulmonary metastases or independent tumours. In this study we analyse genomic profiles of 15 lung adenocarcinomas and one regional lymph node metastasis from 6 patients with MSLC. All 15 lung tumours demonstrate distinct genomic profiles, suggesting all are independent primary tumours, which are consistent with comprehensive histopathological assessment in 5 of the 6 patients. Lung tumours of the same individuals are no more similar to each other than are lung adenocarcinomas of different patients from TCGA cohort matched for tumour size and smoking status. Several known cancer-associated genes have different mutations in different tumours from the same patients. These findings suggest that in the context of identical constitutional genetic background and environmental exposure, different lung cancers in the same individual may have distinct genomic profiles and can be driven by distinct molecular events

Association of serum microRNA expression in hepatocellular carcinomas treated with transarterial chemoembolization and patient survival.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly tumors. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is effective for unresectable HCC. In recent years, miRNAs have been proposed as novel diagnostic and prognostic tools for HCC. This study aimed to identify whether microRNAs (miRNAs) can serve as biomarkers to reliably predict outcome before HCC patients are treated with TACE.Eleven miRNAs (miR-, miR-19a, miR-101-3p, miR-199a-5p, miR-200a, miR-21, miR-214, miR-221, miR-222, miR-223 and miR-, -5p) were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 136 HCC patients' serum before they received TACE therapy. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identify the prognostic value of clinical parameters and miRNAs. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the prediction potency.The levels of some miRNAs were dramatically associated with clinicopathologic features regarding Child-Puge class, AFP, tumor size and satellite nodules. Univariate analysis revealed that miR-200a, miR-21, miR-122 and miR-224-5p were significantly associated with patients' survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that AFP, satellite nodules and miR-200a were the independent prognostic factors associated with survival in this cohort (p = 0.000, 0.001, 0.000, respectively). The probability of the prognostic accuracy of miR-200a was 81.64% (74.47% specificity and 88.76% sensitivity), which was higher than the classifier established by combination of AFP and satellite nodules (76.87% probability, 70.21% specificity and 69.66% sensitivity). Furthermore, the combination of AFP, satellite nodules and miR-200a demonstrated as a classifier for HCC prognosis, yielding a ROC curve area of 88.19% (93.62% specificity and 68.54% sensitivity).Our study indicated that serum miR-200a may prognosticate disease outcome in HCC patients with TACE therapy. Therefore, miR-200a can potentially guide individualized treatment for HCC patients with a high risk of TACE treatment failures

Spectrally Encoded Nonscanning Imaging through a Fiber

Recent advancements in neuroimaging and microsurgery have sparked an increasing demand to capture images with miniaturized optical probes such as optical fibers. In this work, we present an approach to acquire images through a single fiber without the need for mechanical scanning. At the distal end of the fiber, a metasurface filter array encodes spatial information into a highly orthogonal spectrum. At the proximal end, the object can then be computationally recovered via the pseudo inverse of the encoding process. We demonstrate captures of a 4 × 4 binary object at the proximity of the spectral filter array using a 560–625 nm wavelength band. The recovered image maintains an error rate of <11% when measured using a spectrometer with a spectral resolution of 1.5 nm. Importantly, this modality remains unchanged as the fiber is bent or moved. Thus, our approach shows a robust way to image through a single optical fiber, with potential applications in compact endoscopes and angioscopes

Association of clinical parameters with overall survival by Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test.

<p><b>A.</b> AFP-normal, AFP-elevated or AFP-diagnostic patients. <b>B.</b> Patients with BCLC stages A+B or C. <b>C.</b> Patients with Child-Puge class A or B. <b>D.</b> Patients with or without satellite nodules. SN: satellite nodules.</p

Univariate and Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of miRNAs in relation to HCC outcome.

<p>HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; miR, microRNA.</p><p>Univariate and Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis of miRNAs in relation to HCC outcome.</p

Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for predicting prognostic accuracy of hepatocellular carcinoma with TACE treatment.

<p>ROC curves for the combination of AFP and satellite nodules, miR-200a and the combination of AFP, satellite nodules and miR-200a in total 136 patients and subgroup of HCC patients with normal (≤20 ng/ml), elevated (20–400 ng/ml) and diagnostic (>400 ng/ml) AFP level, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and AUC were indicated below each ROC graph. SN: satellite nodules.</p

Clinicopathologic features in 136 HCC patients treated with TACE.

<p>Clinicopathologic features in 136 HCC patients treated with TACE.</p

The levels of serum miRNAs were associated with overall survival.

<p><b>A.</b> Patients with low or high expression of miR-200a (Cutoff value: Delta CT = 16.02). <b>B.</b> Patients with low or high expression of miR-21 (Cutoff value: Delta CT = 6.08). <b>C.</b> Patients with low or high expression of miR-122 (Cutoff value: Delta CT = 6.88). <b>D.</b> Patients with low or high expression of miR-224-5p (Cutoff value: Delta CT = 14.22). <b>E.</b> The relative expression level of serum miR-200a, miR-21, miR-122 and miR-224-5p in the group of HCC patients with high expression level was normalized by the group of patients with low expression level (set as 1), respectively. Mean ± s.d.</p