Carcinosarcoma of the Sigmoid Colon: Report of a Case

Our case was a 65-year-old male, with the chief complaints of diarrhea and abdominal distention. Three years earlier, the patient had undergone transcatheter arterial embolization and radiofrequency treatment based on a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma due to hepatitis B by another doctor. In October 2007, the patient developed diarrhea and increased abdominal distention. In December, CT examination conducted by the previous doctor revealed a 20-cm tumor within the pelvis. The patient was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer based on barium enema examination using gastrografin, and was introduced to our hospital for treatment. He was diagnosed with low-differentiated carcinoma by biopsy of the colon during endoscopy and underwent sigmoidectomy based on a diagnosis of sigmoid colon cancer. The tumor had infiltrated the bladder, and a tumorectomy was conducted through partially combined resection. The tumor was a huge lesion occupying the inside of the lumen, and histopathological findings revealed that the tumor, the main part of which lay beneath the mucous membrane, had a transitional image composed of both spindle-shaped atypical cells and sarcomatoid shape. The result of immunostaining was CK7(+), CK20(-), AFP(-), and the patient was diagnosed as having carcinosarcoma of the colon. Carcinosarcoma of the colon is a malignant tumor with poor prognosis, and the mean survival period in past reports was approximately 6 months. The patient was treated with FOLFIRI+Bevacizumab therapy according to chemotherapy for colon cancer, but he was refractory to the therapy

Effects of the Addition of Copper Chloride and Potassium Iodide to Methylammonium-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have the advantage of being able to implement a high conversion efficiency, easy fabrication process and low cost to commercial products of photovoltaic devices. The perovskite solar cells have a photovoltaic performance with reduced durability due to the volatility of organic cations and toxic lead in the perovskite crystal as an active layer. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of additives such as cupper chloride and potassium iodide in the perovskite crystal on the photovoltaic properties and electronic structure. The distribution of 3d orbital of cupper ion conjugated with 5p orbital of iodine ion at the valence band, and 6p orbital of lead ion at the conduction band, influences the charge generation and transfer, as well as the carrier mobility with a narrowing band gap. The addition of potassium iodide delocalizes the charge distribution near the cupper, iodide, and lead ions, which promotes the charge generation and carrier diffusion, yielding an increase in the short circuit current density relating to the conversion efficiency