Endoscopic Ablation of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Report of Two Cases with Long Disease Recurrence-Free Periods

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a relatively rare disease that accounts for 5% to 10% of all urothelial carcinomas (UCs). Radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) with a bladder cuff is the current gold standard for the management of UTUC; however, endoscopic ablation is also an option for low-risk UTUC to preserve kidney function. Herein, we present two cases of solitary kidney with a right lower ureteral tumor. Both patients underwent left RNU in the past. An 82-year-old man with a right ureteral tumor whose histopathological examination revealed low-grade UC. Laser ablation was performed with ureteroscopy, and there was no recurrence for 7 years after treatment. A 67-year-old woman with a right lower ureteral tumor whose histopathological examination also revealed low-grade UC. Laser ablation was performed, and there was no recurrence for 5 years after the treatment. We closely followed-up our two patients after RNU. This allowed for early detection of tumor recurrence, after which we could perform laser ablation therapy

Pre-elastofibroma-like colonic polyp: another cause of colonic polyp.

&lt;p&gt;We present a case of pre-elastofibroma-like lesion, a kind of elastic-producing fibrous tumor. The small colonic polyp, which was found in a 49-year-old asymptomatic man in association with a large colonic adenoma, showed submucosal nodular deposits of fine granular or fibrillar eosinophilic materials with interspersed fibroblastic cells. Elastic stain revealed these deposits to consist mainly of dark gray granular or partially fibrillar dense elastinophilic materials, most of which were digested with elastase. This stromal lesion somewhat resembled a pre-elastofibroma. Therefore, pre-elastofibroma-like lesions should be kept in mind as a possible origin of colonic polyp.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Dielectric collapse at the LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ (001) heterointerface under applied electric field

Abstract The fascinating interfacial transport properties at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterointerface have led to intense investigations of this oxide system. Exploiting the large dielectric constant of SrTiO3 at low temperatures, tunability in the interfacial conductivity over a wide range has been demonstrated using a back-gate device geometry. In order to understand the effect of back-gating, it is crucial to assess the interface band structure and its evolution with external bias. In this study, we report measurements of the gate-bias dependent interface band alignment, especially the confining potential profile, at the conducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (001) heterointerface using soft and hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with detailed model simulations. Depth-profiling analysis incorporating the electric field dependent dielectric constant in SrTiO3 reveals that a significant potential drop on the SrTiO3 side of the interface occurs within ~2 nm of the interface under negative gate-bias. These results demonstrate gate control of the collapse of the dielectric permittivity at the interface, and explain the dramatic loss of electron mobility with back-gate depletion

先天性全盲ろう児の音声言語訓練長期記録の分析状況及び保存活動

Waseda UniversityChiba University,Waseda University,Kogakuin UniversityTsukuba University of TechnologyKogakuin UniversityWaseda UniversityYamanashi Prefectural School for the Visually Impaired会議名: 言語資源活用ワークショップ2018, 開催地: 国立国語研究所, 会期: 2018年9月4日-5日, 主催: 国立国語研究所 コーパス開発センター山梨県立盲学校での先天性全盲ろう児に対する音声言語獲得訓練と生活指導に関する数万点に及ぶ、1950（昭和25）年からの長期時系列的多角的記録と教材資料などが残されている[1]～[4]。梅津八三東大教授が指導し、一貫して進めてきた盲人の認知行動・心理の研究の知見をベースに，先天盲ろう児への教育という未知の課題に対して取り組んだ科学的研究の実践過程記録である。言語獲得が極めて困難な先天性盲ろう児に対する数万件の実践記録群は、おそらく世界で唯一の極めて貴重な資料であり、盲ろう児当事者から表出された点字や録音資料からは、学習の進行程度を直接見ることが期待される。言語獲得プロセスの解明や盲ろう児教育に重要な示唆が得られるであろう。しかし最も質の悪い時代の紙や録音テープ等に記録され劣化が著しいため、現在電子化保存と「データベース開発」（DB化）を進めている。DB化後は山梨県立盲学校に移管、公開する計画である。訓練記録、訓練経緯、同校での分析状況および発音訓練用の木製口模型などの教材、現状の同保存活動等を紹介する

Vibrio vulnificus Damages Macrophages during the Early Phase of Infection▿

Vibrio vulnificus is an estuarine bacterium that can cause primary septicemia as well as serious wound infections. Generally, clinical isolates have a high lethal effect compared with environmental isolates. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which V. vulnificus causes disease. In this study, we compared the pathogenicity of a clinical isolate, strain M2799, with that of an environmental isolate, strain JCM3731. The clinical isolate showed 100 times higher lethality in mice than the environmental isolate. In strain M2799-inoculated mice, the number of macrophages decreased significantly, whereas there was no appreciable change in the number of macrophages in strain JCM3731-inoculated mice. The clinical isolate showed high cytotoxic activity, especially to macrophages, compared with the environmental isolate in vitro. The growth of the clinical isolate was almost completely inhibited in the presence of macrophages. Moreover, the survival rate of the clinical isolate-inoculated mice increased by recruitment of macrophages. These results indicate that V. vulnificus infection progresses by damage to macrophages during the early phase of infection