High Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Polymer Composites with Vertically Aligned Silicon Carbide Sheet Scaffolds.

Owing to the growth of demand for highly integrated electronic devices, high heat dissipation of thermal management materials is essential. Epoxy composites have been prepared with vertically aligned (VA) three-dimensional (3D)-structured SiC sheet scaffolds. The required VA-SiC sheet scaffolds were prepared by a novel approach starting with a graphene oxide (GO) scaffold.

Effect of Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Stage II Colon Cancer: Analysis of Korean National Data.

Purpose: Debates exist regarding the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer. This study aimed to investigate the current status of adjuvant chemotherapy and its impact on survival for Korean stage II colon cancer patients by analyzing the National Quality Assessment data.

Materials And Methods: A total of 7,880 patientswho underwent curative resection for stage II colon adenocarcinoma between January 2011 andDecember 2014 in Koreawere selected randomly as evaluation subjects for the quality assessment.

Modified Surgical Intervention for Extensive Mitral Valve Endocarditis and Posterior Mitral Annular Calcification.

The concomitant presence of posterior mitral annular calcification and infectious mitral valve lesions poses a technical challenge with considerable perioperative risk when using previously proposed techniques for mitral valve surgery. Herein, we report a case of the use of a modified surgical technique to successfully treat a patient with mitral infective endocarditis complicated by a subendocardial abscess and extensive posterior mitral annular calcification.

Acute thrombotic occlusion of left internal jugular vein compressed by bypass graft for thoracic endovascular aortic repair debranching procedure.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair has become a widespread alternative treatment option for thoracic aortic aneurysm. The debranching of arch vessels may be required to provide an acceptable landing zone for an endovascular stent graft. We report a case where the bypass graft used in the thoracic endovascular aortic repair procedure compressed the left internal jugular vein, causing acute thrombotic occlusion.

Neurologic outcomes of preoperative acute silent cerebral infarction in patients with cardiac surgery.

Background: Acute cerebral infarction is a major risk factor for postoperative neurologic complications in cardiac surgery. However, the outcomes associated with acute silent cerebral infarction (ASCI) have not been not well established. Few studies have reported the postoperative outcomes of these patients in light of preoperative Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI).

Modern outcome and risk analysis of surgically resected occult N2 non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: This study was performed to assess the incidence, survival, and risk factors associated with unsuspected pathologic N2 disease in patients with resectable clinical N0-1 non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: Between January 2002 and December 2010, 1,821 patients with clinical N0-1 non-small cell lung cancer underwent pulmonary resection and mediastinal lymph node dissection. Clinical outcomes and risk factors for pathologic N2 disease were retrospectively analyzed for this cohort.

Direct-write patterning of bacterial cells by dip-pen nanolithography.

The ability of dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) to generate nano- or microarrays of soft or hard materials (e.g., small molecules, DNA, proteins, nanoparticles, sols, and polymers) in a direct-write manner has been widely demonstrated.

Bundling dynamics regulates the active mechanics and transport in carbon nanotube networks and their nanocomposites.

High-density carbon nanotube networks (CNNs) continue to attract interest as active elements in nanoelectronic devices, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and multifunctional nanocomposites. The interplay between the network nanostructure and its properties is crucial, yet current understanding remains limited to the passive response. Here, we employ a novel superstructure consisting of millimeter-long vertically aligned single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) sandwiched between polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers to quantify the effect of two classes of mechanical stimuli, film densification and stretching, on the electronic and thermal transport across the network.

Expression and large-scale production of the biochemically active human tissue-plasminogen activator in hairy roots of Oriental melon (Cucumis melo).

Human tissue-plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a thrombolytic protein that plays an active role in dissolving fibrin clots by fibrinolysis and in activating plasminogen to plasmin in blood vessels. t-PA and synthetic t-PA (st-PA) genes were expressed as enzymatically active form in hairy roots of Oriental melon (Cucumis melo L. cv.

Fabrication of pseudo-crystal nanostructures of TiO2 particles under UV-irradiation.

Colloidal titanium dioxide (TiO2) suspensions were synthesized by hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide in the presence of acetic acid. When TiO2 colloids were subjected to bandgap excitation (ultraviolet [UV] irradiation), the colloidal solution exhibited yellow coloration, leading to the trapping of holes and electrons on the particle surfaces. The absorption spectra indicated a distinct absorption band in the UV and visible region.

New hole transporting materials based on di- and tetra-substituted biphenyl derivatives for organic light-emitting diodes.

This study aimed to synthesize novel hole transporting materials (HTMs) with biphenyl derivatives that are di- or tetra-substituted with naphthylphenyl amine groups and/or methoxy groups, and to examine systematically the variations of the properties of the HTMs with the number and location of the substituents. The tetranaphthylphenyl amine-substituted biphenyl-based HTMs T1N and T2N were observed to have better thermal properties than the commercial HTM NPB, with decomposition temperatures above 500 degrees C, and a 10 degrees C higher T(g). In EL devices with ITO/2-TNATA-(60 nm)/HTM(15 nm)/Alq3(70 nm)/LiF(1 nm)/Al structures, the disubstituted biphenyl-based HTMs with an asymmetric molecular structure D1N and D2N were found to have inferior luminescence efficiencies when compared to NPB, which has a symmetric molecular structure.

Synthesis and electroluminescent properties of new conjugated bithiazole-containing polymers.

Three new bithiazole-based conjugated copolymers were synthesized and characterized. The EL device using PNBTV as the emitting layer showed red electroluminescence at 641 nm with a peak luminance of ca. 160 cd/m2 (0.

Sanguinarine-induced G1-phase arrest of the cell cycle results from increased p27KIP1 expression mediated via activation of the Ras/ERK signaling pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells.

The present study identified a novel mechanism for the effects of sanguinarine in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Sanguinarine treatment of VSMC resulted in significant growth inhibition as a result of G1-phase cell-cycle arrest mediated by induction of p27KIP1 expression, and resulted in a down-regulation of the expression of cyclins and CDKs in VSMC. Moreover, sanguinarine-induced inhibition of cell growth appeared to be linked to activation of Ras/ERK through p27KIP1-mediated G1-phase cell-cycle arrest.

Improvement of interfacial adhesion and nondestructive damage evaluation for plasma-treated PBO and Kevlar fibers/epoxy composites using micromechanical techniques and surface wettability.

Comparison of interfacial properties and microfailure mechanisms of oxygen-plasma treated poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole (PBO, Zylon) and poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA, Kevlar) fibers/epoxy composites were investigated using a micromechanical technique and nondestructive acoustic emission (AE). The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and work of adhesion, Wa, of PBO or Kevlar fiber/epoxy composites increased with oxygen-plasma treatment, due to induced hydrogen and covalent bondings at their interface. Plasma-treated Kevlar fiber showed the maximum critical surface tension and polar term, whereas the untreated PBO fiber showed the minimum values.

Primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the kidney.

Primary renal malignant fibrous histiocytoma is a rare tumor of the kidney. It is clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from a renal cell carcinoma. Even following radical surgery, the tumor shows a strong predilection for local recurrence and the prognosis is generally poor.