A case of Primary Bone Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a relatively rare subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Like other types of NHL, ALCL primarily involves the nodal area, and sometimes it can involve several extra-nodal sites such as skin, soft tissue, and lungs. However, extensive bone involvement in cases of ALCL is very rare whether it is primary or secondary. Without nodular involvement, ALCL can be misdiagnosed as bone tumor or metastatic carcinoma such as lung, breast, or prostate cancer, which frequently spread to bone. CASE REPORT A 52-year-old woman with generalized pain and 2 months of fever of unknown origin presented to our institution. After extensive evaluation, only multiple osteolytic bone lesions with periosteal soft tissue reaction were identified. Repeated core needle biopsy revealed only inflammatory cells with histiocytic reactions. After pathologic and chromosomal analysis of sufficient tissue, which was acquired from incisional biopsy, primary bone ALCL was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians should keep in mind that ALCL can present with extensive bone involvement without nodal involvement.

Detection of graphene domains and defects using liquid crystals.

The direct observation of the domain size and defect distribution in a graphene film is important for the development of electronic applications involving graphene. Here we report a promising method for observing graphene domains grown by chemical vapour deposition. The unavoidable development of crack or pinhole defects during the growth and transfer processes is visualized using a liquid crystal layer. Liquid crystal molecules align anisotropically with respect to the graphene domains and exhibit distinct birefringence properties that can be used to image the graphene domains. This approach is useful for visualizing the crack distributions and their generation process in graphene films under external strain. This type of simple observation method provides an effective route to evaluating the quality and reliability of graphene sheets for use in various electronic devices.

Effect of molecular structure and packing density of an azo self-assembled monolayer on liquid crystal alignment.

We studied the alignment of liquid crystals (LCs) on a photo-switchable azo-containing self-assembled monolayer (azo-SAM) with different packing densities and molecular structures. The packing density of the azo-SAM substrates was varied by changing the dipping time of the substrate in azosilane monomers solution (2mM in toluene). The thickness of the monolayer on the silicon substrate increased as the dipping time was increased. The relative surface packing density on the glass substrates was estimated from the surface energies of the azo-SAM. The photo-induced dynamics of liquid crystal alignment on the azo-SAM significantly varied according to the packing density of the azo-SAM and the structure of the azo-SAM molecules. The azo-SAM from long octyloxy chain-terminated azosilane (azo-S1) possessed stable homeotropic alignment even after photobuffing, while the azo-SAM from short methyl group-terminated azosilane monomer (azo-S2) showed photo-switchable homeotropic and planar alignments. However, when the packing density was increased to an excessive degree, even the azo-SAM from azo-S2 exhibited stable homeotropic alignment regardless of photobuffing.

Alignment of liquid crystals using a molecular layer with patterned molecular density.

The surface of self-constructed molecular density modulation (SDM) exhibits a wide range of liquid crystal alignment capabilities including planar, tilted, and homeotropic alignments, disclination-free uniform and heterogeneous alignments, and even spatially varying alignments through the single non-contact process. Alignment defects are eliminated by temporary lowering the frictional energy barrier via the open-boundary elastic stabilization (OES) treatment.