Low-temperature formation of epitaxial graphene on 6H-SiC induced by continuous electron beam irradiation

It is observed that epitaxial graphene forms on the surface of a 6H-SiC substrate by irradiating electron beam directly on the sample surface in high vacuum at relatively low temperature (similar to 670 degrees C). The symmetric shape and full width at half maximum of 2D peak in the Raman spectra indicate that the formed epitaxial graphene is turbostratic. The gradual change of the Raman spectra with electron beam irradiation time increasing suggests that randomly distributed small grains of epitaxial graphene form first and grow laterally to cover the entire irradiated area. The sheet resistance of epitaxial graphene film is measured to be similar to 6.7 k Omega/sq.open4

The Relationship between the Presence of Chromosomal Instability and Prognosis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: Fluorescence in situ Hybridization Analysis of Paraffin-embedded Tissue from 47 Korean Patients

To evaluate the prognostic importance of chromosomal instability (CIN) in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung, the relationship between CIN detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and survival in SCC patients was examined. Forty-seven surgical specimens of lung SCC were analyzed. To identify tumors with CIN, p16 and multi-target DNA FISH assays for c-myc, chromosome 6, EGFR, and chromosome 5 (LAVysion, Vysis) were performed on nuclei extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. Survival rates were compared in terms of age, T factor, N factor, CIN, and smoking status. A sample was defined as CIN-positive if at least four of the five chromosomes were positive. Among the 47 specimens, 9 (19%) were CIN-positive. The overall survival rate was 66%. Overall survival rates were estimated as 33.3% for CIN-positive patients and 76.7% for CIN-negative patients (Hazard ratio 3.47; 95% Confidence interval, 1.25-9.67; P=0.017). In multivariate analysis, the presence of CIN was a predictive factor for survival. CIN-positive based on FISH can be prognostic factor of lung SCC

Performance of Papanicolaou Testing and Detection of Cervical Carcinoma In Situ in Participants of Organized Cervical Cancer Screening in South Korea

BACKGROUND: The present study measured the performance of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test and detection of cervical carcinoma in situ (CIS) and cancer in participants of organized cervical cancer screening in South Korea, and examined differences in the proportion of CIS according to socio-demographic factors. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Cancer Screening Program and National Health Insurance Cancer Screening Program databases. We analyzed data from 4,072,997 screenings of women aged 30 years or older who underwent cervical cancer screening by Pap test between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006. We calculated the performances of the Pap test and compared that according to socio-demographic factors. RESULTS: The positivity rate for all screenings was 6.6%. The cancer detection rate (CDR) and interval cancer rate (ICR) were 0.32 per 1,000 screenings, and 0.13 per 1,000 negative screenings, respectively. About 63.4% of screen-detected CIS+ cases (CIS or invasive cervical cancer) were CIS. The CDR and ICR, and percentage of CIS among all CIS+ were significantly different by age group and health insurance status. The odds ratios of CDR and ICR were higher for Medical Aid Program (MAP) recipients compared with National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries. The likelihood of a detected CIS+ case to be CIS was significantly lower among MAP recipients than among NHI beneficiaries. CONCLUSIONS: The difference in performance of cervical cancer screening among different socio-demographic groups may indicate an important influence of socio-demographic factors on preventive behavior. The findings of the study support the critical need for increasing efforts to raise awareness and provide more screening in at-risk populations, specifically low-income groups

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-05-14T13:52:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-05-14T14:00:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-05-14T14:00:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018University of Dundee. Hospital and Medical School. Scottish Centre for Respiratory Research. Dundee, United Kingdom.Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Rochester, MN, USA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Hospital Universitario de Monterrey. Centro de Investigación, Prevención y Tratamiento de Infecciones Respiratorias. Monterrey, Nuevo León UANL, Mexico.Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova de Gaia. Respiratory Department. Espinho, Portugal.Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections are increasingly rapidly worldwide. The reason for this phenomenon is unclear, but may include the ageing population, the increasing use of immunosuppressive drugs, the increasing prevalence of diseases that confer susceptibility to NTM, such as COPD and bronchiectasis, and growing testing for NTM. Awareness of the NTM related diseases is rising but is still suboptimal. Guidelines from the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America have provided a framework for evaluating disease and evaluating care. Compliance with these guidelines is, however, very poor globally. NTM infections are amongst the most challenging cases that respiratory and infectious diseases physicians face. The challenges include intrinsic antibiotic resistance, complex drug regimens, poor tolerability and significant side effects associated with therapy and poor response rates. The decision to initiate treatment is therefore often difficult and requires careful evaluation of benefits and risks. Optimal management of NTM infections requires multidisciplinary care with close collaboration between physicians, microbiologists, physiotherapist/allied health professionals, primary care physicians and the patient. There remains a need for greater research into the epidemiology, clinical evaluation and treatment of NTM pulmonary disease. Randomised clinical trials are now being conducted which may provide useful data on the effectiveness of some new and existing therapies. In this review, we discuss the growing importance of NTM pulmonary disease and the opportunities for progress in clinical research for these conditions

Neuroanatomical heterogeneity and homogeneity in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) demonstrate heterogeneity in clinical profiles and outcome features. However, the extent of neuroanatomical heterogeneity in the CHR-P state is largely undetermined. We aimed to quantify the neuroanatomical heterogeneity in structural magnetic resonance imaging measures of cortical surface area (SA), cortical thickness (CT), subcortical volume (SV), and intracranial volume (ICV) in CHR-P individuals compared with healthy controls (HC), and in relation to subsequent transition to a first episode of psychosis. The ENIGMA CHR-P consortium applied a harmonised analysis to neuroimaging data across 29 international sites, including 1579 CHR-P individuals and 1243 HC, offering the largest pooled CHR-P neuroimaging dataset to date. Regional heterogeneity was indexed with the Variability Ratio (VR) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) ratio applied at the group level. Personalised estimates of heterogeneity of SA, CT and SV brain profiles were indexed with the novel Person-Based Similarity Index (PBSI), with two complementary applications. First, to assess the extent of within-diagnosis similarity or divergence of neuroanatomical profiles between individuals. Second, using a normative modelling approach, to assess the ‘normativeness’ of neuroanatomical profiles in individuals at CHR-P. CHR-P individuals demonstrated no greater regional heterogeneity after applying FDR corrections. However, PBSI scores indicated significantly greater neuroanatomical divergence in global SA, CT and SV profiles in CHR-P individuals compared with HC. Normative PBSI analysis identified 11 CHR-P individuals (0.70%) with marked deviation (>1.5 SD) in SA, 118 (7.47%) in CT and 161 (10.20%) in SV. Psychosis transition was not significantly associated with any measure of heterogeneity. Overall, our examination of neuroanatomical heterogeneity within the CHR-P state indicated greater divergence in neuroanatomical profiles at an individual level, irrespective of psychosis conversion. Further large-scale investigations are required of those who demonstrate marked deviation.publishedVersio