Search

Osteosclerosing myeloma is a specific form of multiple myeloma. We present a case of a 63-year-old woman who was found to have anemia during her medical checkup. Her blood tests suggested multiple myeloma, but she had diffuse osteosclerotic changes mainly in the axial skeleton, such as osteoblastic bone metastasis. On the other hand, the bone scintigraphy and FDG-PET showed almost normal. Osteosclerosing myeloma is similar to osteoblastic bone metastases and POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes) syndrome, but is characterized by a lack of response to nuclear medicine testing, reflecting very low activity. This case highlights the critical value of the image findings of osteosclerosis myeloma and promotes awareness of this highly unusual but unique form of the disease.

Abstract Experimentally demonstrating the existence of waters with local structures unlike that of common water is critical for understanding both the origin of the mysterious properties of water and liquid polymorphism in single component liquids. At the interfaces between water and ices Ih, III, and VI grown/melted under pressure, we previously discovered low- and high-density unknown waters, that are immiscible with the surrounding water. Here, we show, by in-situ optical microscopy, that an unknown water appears at the ice V–water interface via spinodal-like dynamics. The dewetting dynamics of the unknown water indicate that its characteristic velocity is ~ 90 m/s. The time evolution of the characteristic length of the spinodal-like undulation suggests that the dynamics may be described by a common model for spinodal decomposition of an immiscible liquid mixture. Spinodal-like dewetting dynamics of the unknown water transiently showed anisotropy, implying the property of a liquid crystal.

TAFRO syndrome is an inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology characterized by thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis, renal insufficiency, and organomegaly. Despite great advancements in research on the TAFRO syndrome in the last decade, its diagnosis and treatment are still challenging for most clinicians because of its rarity and severity. Since the initial proposal of the TAFRO syndrome as a distinct disease entity in 2010, two independent diagnostic criteria have been developed. Although these are different in the concept of whether TAFRO syndrome is a subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease or not, they are similar except for the magnitude of lymph node histopathology. Because there have been no specific biomarkers, numerous diseases must be ruled out before the diagnosis of TAFRO syndrome is made. The standard of care has not been fully established, but interleukin-6 blockade therapy with siltuximab or tocilizumab and anti-inflammatory therapy with high-dose corticosteroids are the most commonly applied for the treatment of TAFRO syndrome. The other immune suppressive agents or combination cytotoxic chemotherapies are considered for patients who do not respond to the initial treatment. Whereas glowing awareness of this disease improves the clinical outcomes of patients with TAFRO syndrome, further worldwide collaborations are warranted.

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is an extremely rare condition in oncology practice. Although PVOD is clinically similar to pulmonary arterial hypertension, the conditions differ in terms of pathophysiology, management, and prognosis. This report discusses the case of a 47-year-old woman who developed dyspnea and fatigue after high-dose cyclophosphamide chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for relapsed lymphoma. The patient exhibited tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypotension, but other findings in the physical examination were unremarkable. The imaging studies showed no evidence of pulmonary embolism, but multiple ground-glass opacities and bilateral pleural effusions were observed on chest high-resolution computed tomography scans. In the right heart catheterization study, the mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance were 35 mm Hg and 5.93 Wood units, respectively, with a normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure of 10 mm Hg. Pulmonary function tests revealed a remarkable reduction in the percentage predicted value of diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide to 31%. Lymphoma progression, collagen diseases, infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus or parasitic infections, portal hypertension, and congenital heart disease were carefully excluded as these are also capable of causing pulmonary arterial hypertension. Thereafter, we reached a final diagnosis of PVOD. The patient was treated with supplemental oxygen and a diuretic during 1 month of hospitalization, which relieved her right heart overload symptoms. Herein, we present the patient’s clinical course and diagnostic workup because misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment can lead to unfavorable outcomes in patients with PVOD.

Abstract Intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare subtype of B‐cell lymphoma characterized by aggressive disease progression with a high incidence of central nervous system (CNS) involvement. We retrospectively analyzed 16 patients with de novo IVLBCL treated at our hospital between 2004 and 2018 with either standard therapy plus CNS‐directed therapy or standard therapy alone. CNS‐directed therapy was associated with a significantly better 2‐year CNS‐free survival (100% vs. 63%, p = 0.0191), despite no significant effects on progression‐free or overall survival. Further studies should assess CNS‐focused treatment in patients with IVLBCL with or without primary CNS involvement.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a worldwide pandemic. Ultraviolet (UV) is regarded as a very powerful tool against SARS-CoV-2. However, the inactivating effects of different UV wavelengths on SARS-CoV-2 under the same conditions have hardly been compared. Here, we showed that SARS-CoV-2 cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and 2% fetal bovine serum was efficiently inactivated by irradiation with 222, 254, and 265 wavelengths UV, but not at 308 nm. In addition, it was revealed that UV absorption by DMEM-2% FBS is very efficient at 222 nm. Our results present potentially important information for selecting the optimum UV wavelength according to the application.

Abstract Individual authentication using artefact metrics has received increasing attention, as greater importance has been placed on the security of individual information. These artefact metrics must satisfy the requirements of individuality, measurement stability, durability, and clone resistance, in addition to possessing unique physical features. In this study, we proposed that nanostructures of synthetic quartz (SQ) deposited on an SQ plate may provide sophisticated artefact metrics if morphological changes could be intentionally introduced into the SQ nanostructures at certain positions. We fabricated SQ nanopillars using a mass-production method (ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography) and investigated their mechanical deformation using nanoindentation with a spheroid diamond tip through a loading and unloading cycle. The SQ nanopillars with an aspect ratio of 1 (i.e., diameters D of 100 and 200 nm with corresponding heights H of 100 and 200 nm, respectively) could be plastically deformed without collapsing within a specified pillar-array format at programmed positions. The plastically deformed SQ nanopillar arrays demonstrated multi-scale (sub-millimetre, micrometre, and nanometre) and multi-level (shape, area, diameter, and height) individuality authentication and clone resistance. Because SQ is physically and chemically stable and durable, individuality authentication can be a highly reliable tool on Earth and in space.

Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a pandemic threat worldwide and causes severe health and economic burdens. Contaminated environments, such as personal items and room surfaces, are considered to have virus transmission potential. Ultraviolet C (UVC) light has demonstrated germicidal ability and removes environmental contamination. UVC has inactivated SARS-CoV-2; however, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. It was confirmed here that UVC 253.7 nm, with a dose of 500 μW/cm2, completely inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in a time-dependent manner and reduced virus infectivity by 10–4.9-fold within 30 s. Immunoblotting analysis for viral spike and nucleocapsid proteins showed that UVC treatment did not damage viral proteins. The viral particle morphology remained intact even when the virus completely lost infectivity after UVC irradiation, as observed by transmission electronic microscopy. In contrast, UVC irradiation-induced genome damage was identified using the newly developed long reverse-transcription quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay, but not conventional RT-qPCR. The six developed long RT-PCR assays that covered the full-length viral genome clearly indicated a negative correlation between virus infectivity and UVC irradiation-induced genome damage (R2 ranging from 0.75 to 0.96). Altogether, these results provide evidence that UVC inactivates SARS-CoV-2 through the induction of viral genome damage.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19, which is a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted rapidly via contaminated surfaces and aerosols, emphasizing the importance of environmental disinfection to block the spread of virus. Ultraviolet C radiation and chemical compounds are effective for SARS-CoV-2 disinfection, but can only be applied in the absence of humans due to their toxicities. Therefore, development of disinfectants that can be applied in working spaces without evacuating people is needed. Here we showed that TiO2-mediated photocatalytic reaction inactivates SARS-CoV-2 in a time-dependent manner and decreases its infectivity by 99.9% after 20 min and 120 min of treatment in aerosol and liquid, respectively. The mechanistic effects of TiO2 photocatalyst on SARS-CoV-2 virion included decreased total observed virion count, increased virion size, and reduced particle surface spike structure, as determined by transmission electron microscopy. Damage to viral proteins and genome was further confirmed by western blotting and RT-qPCR, respectively. The multi-antiviral effects of TiO2-mediated photocatalytic reaction implies universal disinfection potential for different infectious agents. Notably, TiO2 has no adverse effects on human health, and therefore, TiO2-induced photocatalytic reaction is suitable for disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging infectious disease-causing agents in human habitation.

We measured the surface forces generated between fused silica surfaces in a low-viscosity oleophilic diacrylate monomer for reliably repeated ultraviolet (UV) nanoimprinting, and studied the influence of water in monomer liquids on the forces. Fused silica surfaces, with a static contact angle of 52.6 ± 1.7° for water, owing to the low degree of hydroxylation, hardly showed reproducible surface forces with repeated scan cycles, comprising approach and separation, even in an identical liquid monomer medium with both of low and high water content. The monomer liquid with a high water content of approximately 420 ppm showed a greater tendency to increase the surface forces at longer surface-surface distances compared with the monomer liquid with a low water content of approximately 60 ppm. On the other hand, silica surfaces with a water contact angle of < 5° after exposure to vacuum UV (VUV) light under a reduced air pressure showed reproducible profiles of surfaces forces using the monomer with a low water concentration of approximately 60 ppm for repeated surface forces scan cycles even in separately prepared silica surfaces, whilst they showed less reproducible profiles in the liquids with high water content of 430 ppm. These results suggested that water possibly adsorbed on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic silica surfaces in the monomer liquid of the high water concentration influenced the repeatability of the surface forces profiles.

Retinoids and 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) induce differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells into granulocyte and macrophage lineages, respectively. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), which is effective in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, can induce differentiation of other types of myeloid leukemia cells, and combined treatment with retinoid and 1,25(OH)2D3 effectively enhances the differentiation of leukemia cells into macrophage-like cells. Recent work has classified macrophages into M1 and M2 types. In this study, we investigated the effect of combined treatment with retinoid and 1,25(OH)2D3 on differentiation of myeloid leukemia THP-1 and HL60 cells. 9-cis Retinoic acid (9cRA) plus 1,25(OH)2D3 inhibited proliferation of THP-1 and HL60 cells and increased myeloid differentiation markers including nitroblue tetrazolium reducing activity and expression of CD14 and CD11b. ATRA and the synthetic retinoic acid receptor agonist Am80 exhibited similar effects in combination with 1,25(OH)2D3 but less effectively than 9cRA, while the retinoid X receptor agonist HX630 was not effective. 9cRA plus 1,25(OH)2D3 effectively increased expression of M2 macrophage marker genes, such as CD163, ARG1 and IL10, increased surface CD163 expression, and induced interleukin-10 secretion in myeloid leukemia cells, while 9cRA alone had weaker effects on these phenotypes and 1,25(OH)2D3 was not effective. Taken together, our results demonstrate selective induction of M2 macrophage markers in human myeloid leukemia cells by combined treatment with 9cRA and 1,25(OH)2D3.

We applied a super-resolution fluorescence imaging based on selective adsorption and redox switching of the fluorescent dye molecules for studying polymer nanostructures. We demonstrate that nano-scale structures of polymer thin films can be visualized with the image resolution better than 80 nm. The method was applied to image 100 nm-wide polymer nanopatterns fabricated by thermal nanoimprinting. The results point to the applicability of the method for evaluating residual polymer thin films and dewetting defect of the polymer resist patterns which are important for the quality control of the fine nanoimprinted patterns.

Nucleation from an aqueous solution is an important step in crystallization which controls the physicochemical properties of crystalline materials. Although dense liquid droplets are considered as a precursor of a crystal in the two-step nucleation model, their actual role is unclear. Our in-situ microscopic observations of the crystallization of DL-alanine from a dense liquid droplet trapped by laser tweezers show that liquid droplets play the role of a substrate, facilitating heterogeneous nucleation, rather than a precursor of a crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report the principle and experimental observation of fluorescence moiré interference fringes for alignment in the print and imprint methods. Concave bar and cross alignment marks on a silica mold and substrate without the deposition of any light-shielding or high-refractive-index layers could be visualized by fluorescence microscopy with a fluorescent liquid sandwiched between the patterned surfaces. Fluorescence moiré interference fringes with a pitch of 44 µm were generated by the superimposition of two sets of mold bar arrays with respective pitches of p1 = 4.0 µm and p2 = 4.4 µm on substrate bar arrays with different periodicity of p2 and p1 through a thin fluorescent liquid layer. The fluorescence moiré fringes were attributed to an additive-type generation by the interference of two luminous gratings with different periodicities, which was different from a multiplicative-type generation by the superimposition of two light-shielding metal gratings with different periodicities under illumination. Coarse alignment with 2-µm-wide cross marks was performed by manually operating the substrate-side stages, and the misalignment was evaluated with the two sets of fluorescence moiré fringes. The alignment method by fluorescence microscopy with a fluorescent liquid provided the possibilities of not only fine alignment with fluorescence moiré fringes but also in situ monitoring of the residual layer thickness formed between the mold and substrate surfaces before curing for ultraviolet nanoimprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sets of gold (Au) four-terminal microelectrodes comprising 100 µm-scale pad electrodes and 20 µm-wide lead lines were fabricated on a silicon substrate by a print-and-imprint method involving laser drilling and screen printing. Laser drilling of 12.5 µm-thick polyimide (PI) sheets with a picosecond-pulse laser enabled the fabrication of PI membranes with designed patterns of through holes. The through holes had a frustum shape, and the average hole diameters on both the laser entry and exit sides of the PI films enlarged with an increase in the applied repetition rate. The hole patterns designed with submicrometer position accuracy were prepared using a linear motor stage. Liquid ultraviolet (UV)-curable resin, exhibiting a high viscosity (11.0 Pa s) and a high dry-etching resistance to argon (Ar) ion beam milling after UV curing, was placed onto a substrate surface as droplets by screen printing, corresponding to the hole patterns of the PI through-hole masks. The average volume of the liquid droplets could be tuned in the range of 0.02-0.54 pl, which depended on the volumes of the laser-drilled frustum holes. The volumes of liquid resin necessary to fill the mold recesses were adjusted site-selectively by the number of resin droplets printed on a metal-deposited substrate surface. Fluorescence microscopy with a fluorescent dye-doped resin indicated that the imprinted resist patterns had a residual layer thickness in the range of 15-28 nm. The Au electrodes with a 30 nm-thickness could be fabricated by subsequent Ar ion beam milling and removal of a sacrificial metal layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the effect of immunophenotyping on the prognoses of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) treated with bortezomib plus dexamethasone was investigated. The study involved 46 patients with MM, and analyzed the prognostic significance of the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD)45, CD56 and mature plasma cell (MPC)-1, and other factors including the International Staging System (ISS) stage, age, gender, the immunoglobulin subtype and the treatment line number prior to bortezomib treatment. Although CD56 and MPC-1 expression did not appear to affect the time to next treatment (TNT) or overall survival rate (OS), the univariate analysis determined that CD45 positivity was an adverse prognostic factor for TNT and OS, and that being male was significantly associated with inferior TNT and OS. Multivariate analyses determined that CD45 expression was prognostically significant for TNT and OS. In conclusion, CD45 positivity is an adverse prognostic factor in MM patients treated with bortezomib. The data from the present study demonstrate the clinical importance of classifying MM cells immunophenotypically to determine the prognoses of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors demonstrated a "print and imprint" method comprising screen printing and ultraviolet (UV) nanoimprinting for preparing sub-100-nm-wide cured resin patterns. In the screen printing, UV-curable resins with viscosities in the range of 6.26-266 Pa s were deposited as droplet shapes on Si surfaces using a polyimide through-hole membrane mask with a hole diameter of 10 lm and a hole pitch of 45 μm. The low-volatile high-viscosity resin of 12.8 Pa s had an advantage of maintaining the droplet shapes 3 h after deposition. The spherical segmentshaped droplets showed an average diameter of 18.9 μm and height of 1.63 μm. The average volume was approximately 230 μm3 (0.230 pl) which was close to that dispensed by ink-jet printing. The droplet resin on a modified Si surface was filled into recesses of a fluorinated silica mold, and the molded resin was cured by UV nanoimprinting. Although the displacement of resin droplets was periodically uniform on substrate surfaces, the thicknesses of residual layers were almost identical to 0.12 μm in 45, 60, 80, and 100-nm-wide line and space patterns in the range of 1mm length. The authors confirmed that the resin droplets with a viscosity of 12.8 Pa s could be transformed into imprinted resin patterns with a residual layer thickness of 0.12 μm without obvious nonfill defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used fluorescencemicroscopy to show that low adsorption ofresin components by a mold surface was necessary for continuous ultraviolet(UV) nanoimprinting, as well as generation of a low release energyon detachment of a cured resin from a template mold. This is becausewith low mold pollution, fracture on demolding occurred at the interfacebetween the mold and cured resin surfaces rather than at the outermostpart of the cured resin. To achieve low mold pollution, we investigatedthe radical photopolymerization behaviors of fluorescent UV-curableresins and the mechanical properties (fracture toughness, surfacehardness, and release energy) of the cured resin films for six typesof di(meth)acrylate-based monomers with similar chemical structures,in which polar hydroxy and aromatic bulky bisphenol moieties and methacryloylor acryloyl reactive groups were present or absent. As a result, weselected bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate (BPAGDM), which containshydroxy, bisphenol, and methacryloyl moieties, which give good mechanicalproperties, monomer bulkiness, and mild reactivity, respectively,as a suitable base monomer for UV nanoimprinting under an easily condensablealternative chlorofluorocarbon (HFC-245fa) atmosphere. The fluorescentUV-curable BPAGDM resin was used for UV nanoimprinting and lithographicreactive ion etching of a silicon surface with 32 nm line-and-spacepatterns without a hard metal layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for determining the optimum condition of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure for high-throughput nanoimprinting was investigated by photo differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. The consumption of the acrylate moiety caused by radical photopolymerization of a UV-curable resin had a relationship with the square root of light intensity multiplied by the exposure period. Insufficiently cured resin gave round-shaped imprinted patterns and caused adhesion of the resin component to a mold surface owing to pull-out defects on demolding. We demonstrated that fluorescence microscopy was helpful for the optimum exposure condition in high-throughput UV nanoimprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated the types of additive nonreactive fluorinated surfactants that effectively decrease the release energy of a certain ultraviolet-cured base resin for radical photopolymerization. The release energies of resins containing various surfactants were compared in two atmospheres, namely air and 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (PFP, HFC-245fa). Tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctan-1-ol functioned as the most effective surfactant under an air atmosphere, for detachment of a silica surface modified with tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrotrimethoxysilane from the cured resins. Under a PFP atmosphere, heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecan-1-ol with a longer fluoroalkyl chain was necessary to effectively decrease the release energy. It was indicated that the segregation of liquid fluoroalkyl alcohols between the cured resin and modified mold was effective in decreasing the release energy of cured resins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors prepared ultraviolet (UV)-cured resin films with glycerin 1,3-dimethacrylate (GDM), modified by the addition of reactive fluoroalkyl acrylates. The authors then measured the decrease in the surface free energy of these materials to investigate their potential for successful demolding in UV nanoimprinting with unmodified silica molds. The fluoroalkyl acrylates of CHF2-terminus hexadecafluoro-1,1,9-trihydrononyl acrylate (16F-AC) and octafluoro-1,1,5-trihydropentyl acrylate (8F-AC) and CF3-terminus heptafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl acrylate (17F-AC) were used. The addition of 16F-AC, with its fluorinated long alkyl chain, to GDM effectively decreased the surface free energies, in comparison with 8F-AC. The solubility of 17F-AC in GDM improved in the presence of the 16F-AC and 8F-AC. As a result, the cured resin films made with the ternary monomers of GDM, 17F-AC, and 16F-AC or 8F-AC showed low surface free energies at small fluorine atomic percentages in comparison with the cured resin films made with the binary monomers of GDM and 17F-AC, 16F-AC, or 8F-AC. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the decrease in surface free energy in the ternary monomer system can be attributed to the effective surface segregation of the fluorinated alkyl moieties because of co-assembly of the fluoroalkyl acrylates. 16F-AC and 8F-AC function as surface segregation auxiliary agents for 17F-AC. Although it was difficult to perform repeated UV nanoimprinting in air, the ternary UV-curable resin with 17F-AC resulting in a low surface energy allowed step-and-repeat UV nanoimprinting using bare silica molds in a 1,1,1,3,3-petafluoropropane atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Au nanorods and Au nanogap split-ring (SR) structures were fabricated to investigate the ability of wet etching and Ar ion milling processes to remove an underlying Au electrode layer on shapes of electrodeposited Au structures. A reactive-monolayer-assisted thermal nanoimprint lithography process involving Au electrodeposition was used to make 100 nm x 500 nm Au nanorods and Au nanogap SR structures with widths of 125 nm and two 20 nm gaps. Individual Au bump structures were successfully demonstrated on transparent silica substrates by Ar ion milling and subsequent Cr wet etching. Au nanorod and nanogap SR structures were obtained almost uniformly over a 100-µm square area, which was sufficient to investigate their optical properties. The array comprising electrodeposited Au nanorods showed an anisotropic absorption band, attributable to a transverse plasmon band at wavelengths ranging from 500 to 700 nm when an incident light was linearly polarized perpendicular to the long axis of Au nanorods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoassisted fusion of a decanethiol-passivated Au-nanoparticle film on a glass substrate by exposure to vacuum-ultraviolet (vacuum-UV) light at 172 nm was investigated and compared to that by thermal fusion. On the basis of the thermal treatment at 200 °C, the X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the Au-nanoparticle film with the particle diameter of 2.1 nm is completely converted to a crystalline Au film, and the film surface was coarsely granular, having a roughness of several tens of nanometers by field emission-scanning electron microscopy observation. After exposure to vacuum-UV light, the UV−vis absorption spectra revealed that the surface plasmon band at 535 nm showed a red shift with the increasing exposure time, and then the absorption band at 770 nm was clearly observed at 30 min. The diameter of the fused Au nanoparticles was larger than 20 nm on the basis of a transmission electron microscopy observation. These changes indicated that the Au nanoparticles were converted to the crystalline state due to photodecomposition of the decanethiol. Thus, the controllable mild fusion among neighboring Au nanoparticles at room temperature was achieved by vacuum-UV-light exposure due to photodecomposition of the decanethiol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of pleural malignant mesothelioma (MM) is unusual and the cases that appear as a localized tumor are extremely rare. A case of localized pleural MM including immunohistochemical findings is presented. A 70-year-old man had an abnormal shadow found during a routine roentgenogram at an annual health checkup and was admitted to Toneyama National Hospital (Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan) for detailed examinations. Chest X-rays showed a 2 × 5 cm-sized nodule with relatively smooth margins in the right segment three. Computed tomography (CT) showed an extrapleural mass with a smooth surface and a thickened parietal pleura, and results of a biopsy performed under CT scanning yielded MM. Systematic examinations did not show any metastasis and the patient underwent surgery for removal of the mass. The resected tumor, measuring 3.2 × 3.1 cm, was firm, partially encapsulated, and irregularly shaped. Pathological examinations revealed that it consisted of large polygonal cells, partially showing myxoid patterns, which led to a diagnosis of localized pleural MM. Tumor recurrence was seen, and the duration between initial symptoms and death was 29 months. This case suggests that localized pleural MM has a high proliferative potential and aggressive course, and is considered an early stage of diffuse pleural MM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dewetting behaviors of sub-50-nm-thick ultraviolet-curable resin films comprising hydroxy-containing (meth)acrylate monomers on modified Au-plated substrates were investigated by fluorescence microscopy. Hydroxy-terminated alkanethiol-adsorbed monolayers on Au surfaces suppressed dewetting of the thin spin-coated films and allowed the fabrication of 50-nm-line-width Au split-ring resonator (SRR) arrays by ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface free energies of dimethacrylate resin films containing a fluorinated reactive additive, 1H,1H,9H-hexadecafluorononyl acrylate, cured by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, were investigated. Hansen's solubility parameter was useful for choosing a base monomer suitable for the fluorinated additive, which lowered the surface free energy of the cured resin film and decreased the release energy on demolding in UV nanoimprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabrication of Au mesh structures by reactive-monolayer-assisted thermal nanoimprint lithography was demonstrated. A fluorescent dye-doped polystyrene thin film on a Au-plated substrate modified with a photoreactive monolayer was transformed using a mold with a lattice pattern. Au mesh patterns were obtained by removal of the residual layers and subsequent wet etching. The aperture ratio could be tuned by controlled side-etching. Au mesh structures with a Au line width of approximately 1 µm are promising for transparent conductive substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To lower a viscosity range of UV-curable liquid applicable to print-and-imprint methods, surface modification of polyimide (PI) laser-drilled screen printing masks with a hydrophobic and oleophobic surface modifier of tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroocyltrimethoxysilane (FAS13) was investigated. The surface modification of PI surfaces with FAS13 was confirmed by measuring an increased contact angle for water after the surface modification. Three types of PI through-hole printing masks with a hole diameter of approximately 10 μm on a substrate-contact-side surface, named unmodified, surface-modified, and surface-and-hole-modified masks, were prepared by laser drilling using a picosecond pulse laser. The surface-modified mask only enabled selective screen printing of glycerol dimethacrylate (GDM)-based UV-curable liquid droplets onto a substrate surface. The mean volume of the printed and UV-cured droplets could be determined to be 0.55 pL. The comparison among the three PI masks in screen printing suggested that spreading of the low-viscosity UV-curable liquid on the substrate was suppressed by the surface-modified mask. The screen-printed droplets were molded by UV nanoimprinting with a fluorinated replica mold having 45 nm wide line-and-space patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological changes in thin film patterns of a positive-tone electron beam resist induced by sequential infiltration synthesis and solvent annealing were revealed by atomic force microscopy for the fabrication of silica imprint molds with sub-15 nm trenches. In sequential infiltration synthesis, the wiggling of 40-nm-thick resist film patterns was attributed to decreasing the widths of the resist terraces and baking at 100 °C rather than exposure to a vapor of trimethylaluminum. Reducing the thickness of the resist film from 40 nm to 20 nm prevented the wiggling of resist film patterns after sequential infiltration synthesis. Solvent annealing with a toluene vapor at 20 °C increased mouse-bite defects appearing at the line edges of the resist film patterns, and significantly increased mouse-bite and line-break defects of silica imprint molds after dry etching. These results suggest that the polymer/substrate interface had a significant impact on the morphological fidelity of resist film patterns during electron beam lithography procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To maintain the silica surface of imprint templates without a fluorine-containing passivation layer on sidewalls after dry etching, we investigated whether a physical dry etching process entailing exposure to Ar ion beam is useful for the fabrication of silica templates. An almost same etching rate of a positive-tone electron beam (EB) resist as silica in Ar ion beam milling allowed for the fabrication of bar-shaped patterns with micrometer lengths and widths for moiré alignment and of hole patterns with diameters of around 20 nm in silica templates. The EB resist layer of 40 nm thickness generated partially non-etched defects of 10-nm-diameter holes in silica templates because the Ar ion beam was completely unable to reach silica surfaces through resist sidewalls with a depth of 40 nm. The break-through etching of a hard mask sacrifice Cr layer with a thickness of 5 nm by Ar ion milling and the subsequent inductively coupled plasma etching of silica enabled the fabrication of silica hole templates with diameters of 7–20 nm and depths of 20–30 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO nanocrystals were obtained by adding an alcoholic solution of sodium methoxide containing a small amount of water to an alcoholic solution of zinc acetate dihydrate. Rod-like ZnO nanocrystals were obtained in ethanol solutions, while cubic ZnO nanocrystals were obtained in methanol solutions. X-ray diffraction analysis, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy revealed that ZnO nanorods having a length of about 50 nm and width of about 5 nm were thus synthesized easily on a gram scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the selection of bis(trimethylsilyl)phenyl-containing (meth)acrylates as additives to improve the durability to oxygen reactive ion etching (O2 RIE) of sub-50 nm imprint resist patterns suitable for bubble-defect-free UV nanoimprinting with a readily condensable gas. 2,5-Bis(2-acryloyloxyethoxy)-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzene, which has a diacrylate chemical structure similar to that of glycerol 1,3-diglycerolate diacrylate used as a base monomer, and 3-(2-methacryloyloxyethoxy)-1-(hydroxylethoxy)-2-propoxy-3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzene, which has a hydroxy group similar to the base monomer, were synthesized taking into consideration the Ohnishi and ring parameters, and the oxidization of the trimethylsilyl moiety to inorganic species during O2 RIE. The addition of the latter liquid additive to the base monomer decreased etching rate owing to the good miscibility of the additive in the base monomer, while the addition of the former crystalline additive caused phase separation after UV nanoimprinting. The latter additive worked as a compatibilizer to the former additive, which is preferred for etching durability improvement. The coexistence of the additives enabled the fabrication of a 45 nm line-and-space resist pattern by UV nanoimprinting, and its residual layer could be removed by O2 RIE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the etching properties of tripodal paraffinic triptycene (TripC12) used as a thermal nanoimprint lithography (TNIL) resist mask in Cl2 plasma etching. Using thermally nanoimprinted TripC12 films, we achieved microfabrication of a GaAs substrate by Cl2-based inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that the chemical structure of TripC12 remains intact after the ICP etching process using Cl2. We believe that TNIL using TripC12 films is useful for fabricating optical/electrical devices and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrated a coating method of screen printing for discharging droplets of a high-viscosity resin on a substrate for ultraviolet (UV) nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Compared with a spin-coated resin film on a silicon substrate, discharged resin droplets on a silicon substrate were effective in terms of the uniformity of residual layer thickness (RLT) in contact with a mold with various pattern densities. Fluorescence microscope observations with a fluorescent-dye-containing UV-curable resin enabled the evaluation of the shapes of resin droplets discharged on a substrate surface. Widely used screen mesh plates composed of a stainless mesh covered with a patterned emulsion film caused defects of undischarged parts, whereas defects-free resin droplets with a narrow size distribution were discharged by mesh-free plates prepared with laser ablation. The pitch-to-diameter ratio in the configuration of 10-µm-diameter holes needs to be larger than 2.5 times for printing a resin having a viscosity of 12,800 mPa s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usefulness of fluorescent ultraviolet (UV)-curable resins for reverse-tone UV nanoimprint lithography was demonstrated. Nanoimprinted concave patterns were fabricated as an underlayer on a Au-deposited substrate using a fluorescent UV-curable resin with a low etching durability after curing. The underlayer was coated with another fluorescent UV-curable resin with a high etching durability after curing. Fluorescence microscopic observation allowed the inspection of the morphological uniformity and thickness of both under and top layers in a nondestructive manner. UV-curing of the top layer in combination with pressing with a flat substrate was necessary for obtaining a flattened top layer surface, which was responsible for allowing the reverse-tone UV nanoimprint lithography. We demonstrated the fabrication of 10-nm-thick Au split-ring resonator structures with a line width of 55 ± 4 nm corresponding to the underlayer concave resist patterns by dry etching during Ar ion milling under the condition that the etching rate ratio of the underlayer to the top layer was 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]