映像を利用した外国語教育の基礎研究：連想と予測の観点から

This article reports two experiments, in which the effects of visual information on EFL students’ word-association, comprehension, and hypothesis-forming were examined. In the first experiment, two viewing conditions, i.e., “visual information only” and “visual plus audio (in English) information”, were compared in terms of word-association and comprehension. In the second experiment, a comparison was made in terms of hypothesis-forming between “video plus a short summary” and “video only” conditions. The video in this experiment contained both visual and audio (in English) information. Presenting a short summary (in Japanese) was a pre-viewing activity designed to activate viewers’ schema. The results of these two experiments indicate 1) visual information promotes the process of association-making, while audio information limits the process; and 2) the schema-activating procedure, when used with the video, dose promote the forming of right hypothesis about the contents, though it dose not restrict the forming of wrong ones. Based on these results, some applications are suggested for using visual information effectively in foreign language teaching

Preparation of Hydrogen Permeable Membrane Using Nanoparticles Electrophoresis Technique

Hydrogen perm-selective membranes composed of Pd nanoparticles were investigated. The nanoparticles were prepared by ultrasonic reduction from PdII ions, and then deposited on a substrate disc with electrophoresis technique. These electrophoretic membranes have shown high performance of perm-selectivity for H2 with separation factor α = 3.85, under room temperature

Prolonged recurrence-free survival following OK432-stimulated dendritic cell transfer into hepatocellular carcinoma during transarterial embolization

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Despite curative locoregional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumour recurrence rates remain high. The current study was designed to assess the safety and bioactivity of infusion of dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with OK432, a streptococcus-derived anti-cancer immunotherapeutic agent, into tumour tissues following transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization (TAE) treatment in patients with HCC. DCs were derived from peripheral blood monocytes of patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis and HCC in the presence of interleukin (IL)-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and stimulated with 0.1 KE/ml OK432 for 2 days. Thirteen patients were administered with 5 × 106 of DCs through arterial catheter during the procedures of TAE treatment on day 7. The immunomodulatory effects and clinical responses were evaluated in comparison with a group of 22 historical controls treated with TAE but without DC transfer. OK432 stimulation of immature DCs promoted their maturation towards cells with activated phenotypes, high expression of a homing receptor, fairly well-preserved phagocytic capacity, greatly enhanced cytokine production and effective tumoricidal activity. Administration of OK432-stimulated DCs to patients was found to be feasible and safe. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed prolonged recurrence-free survival of patients treated in this manner compared with the historical controls (P = 0.046, log-rank test). The bioactivity of the transferred DCs was reflected in higher serum concentrations of the cytokines IL-9, IL-15 and tumour necrosis factor-α and the chemokines CCL4 and CCL11. Collectively, this study suggests that a DC-based, active immunotherapeutic strategy in combination with locoregional treatments exerts beneficial anti-tumour effects against liver cancer. © 2010 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Immunology © 2010 British Society for Immunology