During the atmospheric reentry phase, the communication between a vehicle and a ground station is interrupted. This phenomenon is called reentry blackout. A strong shock wave in front of the capsule can cause aerodynamic heating and ionize the gas. This plasma can block the propagation of electromagnetic waves emitted from its surface. It is necessary to reduce the number density of electrons near the capsule to mitigate the communication blackout. We focused on a new mitigation approach, which is the effect of air film. Cold gas injected from the surface forms a thin heat insulating layer. Electromagnetic waves can propagate inside the layer because of the low degree of ionization. In this study, we investigate the blackout mitigation effects using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) at a large-scaled arc- heated wind tunnel. The computational results indicated that injection gas forms the air film and works as a propagation path of the electromagnetic waves.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 mediates a broad range of biological processes, including cell survival and proliferation, and STAT3 has generally been regarded as a pro-oncogenic transcription factor. We investigated the phosphorylation status of STAT3 and the protein expression of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) by immunohistochemistry in 145 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of soft tissue leiomyosarcoma (LMS), including 129 primary tumors. Eight benign soft tissue smooth muscle tumors were also examined. Thirteen frozen LMS samples, which were paired with normal tissue samples, were assessed by Western blot analysis for the phosphorylation of STAT3 and SOCS3 expression. Immunohistochemical study showed that the phosphorylation of STAT3 was not a major event in LMS (37%). Moreover, phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) expression was significantly correlated with a better prognosis. Overexpression of SOCS3 was recognized in 52% of the cases and negatively correlated with pSTAT3 expression. Among the benign tumors, 63 and 25% were positive for pSTAT3 and SOCS3, respectively. Immunoblotting detected pSTAT3 in all tumor samples, but at lower levels than in non-neoplastic tissue. SOCS3 was detected in 92% (12 out of 13) of tumor tissues, but in none of the normal tissues. Contrary to the previous investigations of many other malignant tumors, STAT3 was inactivated in most LMS cases, likely owing to SOCS3 overexpression. STAT3 might not contribute to the progression of soft tissue LMS, and the phosphorylation status of STAT3 has the potential to be a favorable prognostic marker of LMS.
Abstract: Whether or not there are "tumor antigens" recognized by T cells had been controversial, until mouse and human tumor antigens have been identified one after another since the 1980s. In recent years, advances in genome sequencing technology have made possible to identify neo-antigens based on patient-specific gene mutations. Successful findings of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in clinical trials have shed a light on tumor antigens which plays a key role so that they could be a candidate of novel therapeutic target. Since correlation between response to ICIs and neo-antigen has been clarified, it has become gradually clear that the immune response recognizing the neo-antigens plays a central role in anti-cancer immunity. Neo-antigens can elicit a strong immune response and are promising targets for novel cancer vaccine therapy or T-cell therapy, even though there are still some issues such as exhaustion and refractory state of T cells that they recognize. There are some types of tumor antigens with various specificity and immunogenicity to subject tumor. Several approaches utilizing tumor specific antigens are emerging as candidates of combination therapy together with ICI to maximize benefit from ICI treatment. Further studies of cancer antigens are expected to be the key to the next breakthrough in immunotherapy.
In this study, we analyzed prognostic radiological tools and surgical outcomes for radiologically pure solid adenocarcinomas (AD) and squamous cell carcinoma (SQ) in clinical stage IA. We retrospectively investigated 130 patients who underwent surgical resections. We assessed the predictive risk factors for recurrence and pathological lymph node metastasis (LNM). There was no statistical difference in recurrence free survival (RFS) or cancer-specific survival (CSS) between AD and SQ groups (p = 0.642 and p = 0.403, respectively). In the whole cohort, tumor size on lung window and mediastinal settings, and tumor disappearance ratio using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were not prognostic parameters (p = 0.127, 0.066, and 0.082, respectively). The maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) using positron emission tomography-CT was associated with recurrence (p = 0.016). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, the cut-off value of SUVmax for recurrence was 4.6 (p = 0.016). The quantitative continuous variables using any radiological tools were not associated with LNM. However, tumor diameter on mediastinal setting ≥8 mm with SUVmax ≥2.4 could be a risk factor for LNM. Pure solid AD and SQ were equivalent for the RFS and CSS. SUVmax was useful to predict recurrence. The tumor diameter on a mediastinal setting and SUVmax were useful in predicting pathological LNM.
[Purpose] A new wireless laser Doppler blood flowmeter has facilitated easier, more stable measurement of skin perfusion during exercise. However, earlobe blood flow during the cardiopulmonary exercise test remains unascertained. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of earlobe blood flow during incremental exercise load in healthy individuals. [Participants and Methods] Among 25 healthy males (age 23.6 ± 2.5 years), cycle ergometer-based symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise test, after 4 minutes of rest, was conducted with a 4-minute 20W warm-up and a continuous 2W-increase in the work rate every 6 seconds; earlobe blood flow was measured using a wireless laser Doppler blood flowmeter. [Results] Compared with that at rest, earlobe blood flow increased significantly from 50% of exercise peak intensity to a maximum of 1.7 times, but decreased immediately after exercise. The earlobe blood flow %change did not significantly correlate with hemodynamic parameters and its inflection point 36.4% Load
Long-term pulmonary function which might include compensatory response (CR) significantly influences quality of life of long-term survivor after major lung resection. We investigated long-term pulmonary function after major lung resection.A total of 137 patients who had undergone lobar resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from May 2013 to June 2014 had spirometry at 10-14 months after surgery. Actual post-operative forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ) (FEV1apo )/predicted post-operative FEV1 (FEV1ppo ), actual post-operative forced vital capacity (FVC) (FVCapo )/predicted post-operative FVC (FVCppo ), its relationship with clinicopathological factors and immunohistochemistry for pro-surfactant protein C (pro-SPC), thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) were investigated.FEV1apo /FEV1ppo showed strong correlation with FVCapo /FVCppo (r = 0.628; P < 0.001). We defined greater CR as both FEV1apo /FEV1ppo and FVCapo /FVCppo were >120%. Greater CR was significantly associated with decreased smoking index (P < 0.001) and greater resected subsegments (P = 0.037). The never-smoker group revealed significantly greater CR compared with the smoker group in both FEV1apo /FEV1ppo (119.9 ± 12.5% vs 107.5 ± 14.2%; P = 0.030) and FVCapo /FVCppo (117.9 ± 9.98% vs 107.2 ± 13.1%; P = 0.046) in case-matched comparison. The expression of pro-SPC, TTF-1 and VEGFR2 in the normal lung parenchyma of greater CR group was significantly higher than those of lesser CR group (P < 0.001 for each). In addition, pro-SPC, TTF-1 and VEGFR2 expressions showed a significant correlation to the degree of CR especially in the smoker group (r = 0.631, 0.705 and 0.732, respectively; P < 0.001 for each).Our data suggest that smokers may develop lesser long-term CR after major lung resection. Decreased expression of pro-SPC, TTF-1 and VEGFR2 may indicate decreased capacity of CR, especially in patients who smoke.
The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of men's swimsuits on swimming position and muscle activity in gliding motion. For this objective, the swimming experiments to measure electromyogram and gliding position in sagittal plane simultaneously were conducted by using 3-types of men's swimsuit (A,B, and C). Next, we compared experimental results one-on-one between swimsuits by ANOVA (analysis of variance). The results of experiment and ANOVA showed that in wearing Swimsuit C, compared to Swimsuits A and B, hip became lower to shoulder (p<0.05), hip joint became more extended (p<0.05), and muscle activity of ES (Erector Spinae) and drag coefficient had tendency to decrease. In addition, we established a new index which is corrected muscle activity of ES considering the difference of hip joint angle. We confirmed statistically that Swimsuit C had effects of extending hip joint and/or reducing muscle activity of ES (p<0.05). The reason for this was considered to be that the high tension to direction of extension of hip joint produced these Swimsuit C's effects by helping the muscle to extend the hip joint.
