Ion-beam polishing of fused silica substrates for imaging soft x-ray and extreme ultraviolet optics.

We have studied the surface treatment of polished fused silica by neutralized Ar ions with energy of 500-1500 eV and incidence angles of 0-90°. We found the following regularities: for samples that passed the standard procedure of deep polishing (initial effective roughness σ(eff)∼0.5  nm), the effective roughness decreases to the ultrasmooth level (i.

Roughness measurement and ion-beam polishing of super-smooth optical surfaces of fused quartz and optical ceramics.

The main problems and the approach used by the authors for roughness metrology of super-smooth surfaces designed for diffraction-quality X-ray mirrors are discussed. The limitations of white light interferometry and the adequacy of the method of atomic force microscopy for surface roughness measurements in a wide range of spatial frequencies are shown and the results of the studies of the effect of etching by argon and xenon ions on the surface roughness of fused quartz and optical ceramics, Zerodur, ULE and Sitall, are given. Substrates of fused quartz and ULE with the roughness, satisfying the requirements of diffraction-quality optics intended for working in the spectral range below 10 nm, are made.

Serum adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as a potential prognostic marker for cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignancy of bile ducts with a high incidence of invasion and metastasis. This disease is often detected in advanced stages because of the difficulties of early diagnosis, leading to a high mortality rate. However, biomarkers for early CCA detection are still lacking.

Evaluation of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients undergoing R1 and R2 resections.

Surgical resection is the gold standard treatment and is considered the only potential cure for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). However, most of the patients present at a late stage of disease and positive margins are frequently encountered. Therefore, adjuvant therapeutic modalities, such as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy are needed to improve the survival time of CCA patients.

Evaluation of efficacy, safety and tolerability of high dose-intermittent calcitriol supplementation to advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients--a pilot study.

Antitumor activity (growth suppression) of vitamin D has been demonstrated using cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) cell lines, CCA cell-grafted animal models, and human CCA tissue cultures. The present study aimed to determine the toxicity and tolerability of intermittent-high dose calcitriol in advanced inoperable intrahepatic CCA patients and to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of combinations of calcitriol and 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapeutic drugs. The patients were divided into 3 groups: the first (n=2) received intermittent-high dose oral calcitriol 12 μg/day for 3 days, i.