Clinical Significance of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Association with Hormone Receptor Expression Patterns in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Hormone receptor expression patterns often correlate with infiltration of specific lymphocytes in tumors. Specifically, the presence of specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) with particular hormone receptor expression is reportedly associated with breast cancer, however, this has not been revealed in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Therefore, we investigated the association between hormone receptor expression and TILs in EOC. Here we found that ERα, AR, and GR expression increased in EOC, while PR was significantly reduced and ERβ expression showed a reduced trend compared to normal epithelium. Cluster analysis indicated poor disease-free survival (DFS) in AR+/GR+/PR+ subgroup (triple dominant group); while the Cox proportional-hazards model highlighted the triple dominant group as an independent prognostic factor for DFS. In addition, significant upregulation of FoxP3+ TILs, PD-1, and PD-L1 was observed in the triple dominant group compared to other groups. NanoString analyses further suggested that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and/or NF-κB signaling pathways were activated with significant upregulation of RELA, MAP3K5, TNFAIP3, BCL2L1, RIPK1, TRAF2, PARP1, and AKT1 in the triple dominant EOC group. The triple dominant subgroup correlates with poor prognosis in EOC. Moreover, the TNF and/or NF-κB signaling pathways may be responsible for hormone-mediated inhibition of the immune microenvironment.     

Novel blue‐light‐emitting polymers based on a diphenylanthracene moiety

New luminescent copolyethers with diphenylanthracene‐emitting segments and electron‐transporting benzoxazole phenyl were successfully synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic substitution. The polymers, characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopy, were obtained in high yields, showed good solubility in various organic solvents, and had high thermal stability with high glass‐transition temperatures (125–129). The number‐average molecular weights of the polymers were 10,000–20,000, and they had polydispersity indices of 1.2–1.4. The optical and electrochemical properties of the polymers were also investigated. The pure blue emission for the polymers (maximum wavelength = 430–440 nm) was obtained with high photoluminescence quantum efficiency (76–78%) in a chloroform solution. The blue electroluminescence for the poly(TDPB) (maximum wavelength = 440 nm) was obtained with a turn‐on voltage of 15–20 V when simple light‐emitting diodes (indium tin oxide/polymer/Al) were fabricated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2151–2157, 2006     

Process optimization of sweet potato pulp‐based biodegradable plastics using response surface methodology

Biodegradable plastics were produced from sweet potato pulp (SPP) and cationic starch (CS) or chitosan composite (CC) by compression molding and their mechanical properties were tested. A universal testing machine, Rockwell hardness tester, and Izod impact tester were used for testing the mechanical properties (flexural strength, Rockwell hardness, and Izod strength) of the plastics. A central composite second‐order design was used to study the effects of temperature, time, and moisture content on the flexural strength, Rockwell hardness, and Izod strength of SPP/CS and SPP/CC blended plastics. The flexural strength, Rockwell hardness, and Izod strength of SPP‐based plastics was 101.1–305.9 kg/cm², R29.0–R96.7, and 0.6–3.0 kg cm cm^?2, respectively. Regression analysis predicted the optimal mechanical properties (flexural strength, Rockwell hardness, and Izod strength) to be attained with a 150–160°C temperature, 15–20‐min reaction time, and 20–23% moisture content. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 423–434, 2002     

A unified theory on solid-liquid separation: Filtration, expression, sedimentation, filtration by centrifugal force, and cross flow filtration

Based upon a new conception that the solid compressive pressure on a cake surface is not null, almost of all solid-liquid separation operations have been re-examined. For cake filtration, the phenomenon caused by the solid compressive pressure on a cake surface is discussed for thin cake. New expression and hindered sed-imentation theories are developed by above new conception using Darcy’s equation. Application of the new conception to centrifugal filtration and tangential filtration is also discussed. Above results lead to the conclusion that cake filtration, expression, hindered sedimentation, centrifugal filtration and tangential filtration can be described with a unified theory, and the main difference between the operations is only the boundary condition of cake.     

Underactuated miniature bending joint composed of serial pulleyless rolling joints

This paper proposes a miniature bending joint composed of serial rolling joints; it refers to the classification of small joints of other products and studies on surgical applications according to the structures and transmissions. To achieve this, a pulleyless rolling joint is introduced as a unit component and the basic design principle is established for the joint. A simple mechanism guarantees a smooth rolling contact using elastic fixtures. Underactuation, which prevents S-shaped curvature similar to buckling, is applied to drive the bending joint with a limited number of wire cables. Using a 1-DOF real-sized prototype, experiments were performed to measure the motion accuracy and payload capacity from various angles to evaluate the efficacy of an improved design that enhances the payload on the distal end. This novel joint is applicable to a wider variety of surgical tools and catheters relative to other candidates owing to its small constant curvature, reasonable payload capacity, and miniature size.     

Converting random bits into random numbers

Converting random bits into random numbers is necessary for cryptographic protocols such as key agreements, public key encryptions, digital signatures and so on. In this paper, we propose the simple partial discard method and the complex partial discard method that convert random bits into random numbers. They are up to two times more efficient than standardized techniques.     

Contraction stress build‐up of anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) for flip‐chip interconnection: Effect of thermal and mechanical properties of ACFs

The important mechanical mechanism for the electrical conduction of anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) is the joint clamping force after the curing and cooling processes of ACFs. In this study, the mechanism of shrinkage and contraction stress and the relationship between these mechanisms and the thermomechanical properties of ACFs were investigated in detail. Both thickness shrinkages and modulus changes of four kinds of ACFs with different thermomechanical properties were experimentally investigated with thermomechanical and dynamic mechanical analysis. Based on the incremental approach to linear elasticity, contraction stresses of ACFs developed along the thickness direction were estimated. Contraction stresses in ACFs were found to be significantly developed by the cooling process from the glass‐transition temperature to room temperature. Moreover, electrical characteristics of ACF contact during the cooling process indicate that the electrical conduction of ACF joint is robustly maintained by substantial contraction stress below T_g. The increasing rate of contraction stresses below T_g was strongly dependent on both thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) and elastic modulus (E) of ACFs. A linear relationship between the experimental increasing rate and E × CTE reveals that the build‐up behavior of contraction stress is closely correlated with the ACF material properties: thermal expansion coefficient, glassy modulus, and T_g. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2634–2641, 2004     

Feasibility of Sludge Ozonation for Stabilization and Conditioning

A pilot-scale sludge treatment plant was built to investigate the feasibility of ozonation processes for waste activated sludge treatment. Ozonation of wastewater sludge resulted in mass reduction by mineralization as well as by supernatant and filtrate recycle. Another advantage of sludge ozonation is a significant improvement of settleability and dewaterability. Experimental results showed that mass reduction of 70% and volume reduction of 85% compared with the control sludge was achieved through the sludge ozonation at a dose of 0.5?gO₃/gDS. It is also interesting to note that the filterability deteriorates up to ozone dose of 0.2?gO₃/gDS and then improves considerably at a higher ozone dose. The filterability could be improved by chemical conditioning even at a low ozone dose. The economic feasibility by cost analysis reveals that ozonation processes can be more economical than other alternative processes for sludge treatment and disposal at small-sized wastewater treatment plants.     

Enhanced surface morphologies of screen-printed carbon nanotube films by heat treatment and their field-emission properties

A heating process for obtaining free-standing carbon nanotube emitters is presented with the aim of improving field-emission properties from the screen-printed multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films. Using an atmosphere with an optimum combination of nitrogen and air for heat treatment of CNT films, the CNT emitters can be made to protrude from the surface. This allows for a high emission current and the formation of very uniform emission sites without special surface treatment. The morphological change of the CNT film by this technique has eliminated additional processing steps, such as surface treatment which may result in secondary contamination and damage to the film. Despite its simplicity the process provides a high reproducibility in emission current density which makes the films suitable for practical applications.     

Microwave Dielectric Properties and Low-Temperature Cofiring of BaTe4O9 with Aluminum Metal Electrode

Polycrystalline BaTe₄O₉ ceramic compound was investigated as a promising microwave dielectric compound for low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) applications. The binary phase BaTe₄O₉ was synthesized and subsequently densified over the temperature range of only 500°–550°C, which allows for low-temperature cofiring with aluminum metal. The dielectric properties of BaTe₄O₉ ceramics sintered at 550°C for 2 h were determined in the microwave region of 12–14 GHz. The dielectric constant and Q × f product obtained were 17.5 and 54 700 GHz at 12 GHz, respectively. The temperature coefficient of resonance frequency showed a negative value of −90 ppm/°C. In terms of its evaluation for LTCC, the BaTe₄O₉ composition was found to be chemically compatible and successfully cofired with highly conductive aluminum electrode, while maintaining good electrical performance.