Spontaneous regression of bone metastasis from renal cell carcinoma; A case report

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous regression of metastatic renal cell carcinoma is rarely observed. CASE PRESENTATION: Metastatic renal cell carcinoma was identified in a 70-year-old male using computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy. Two months after the diagnosis, a partial resection of the sternal bone was performed. Pathological examination revealed granulated tissue with bleeding and necrosis but no carcinogenic cells. CONCLUSION: We report a pathologically identified case in which a sternal bone metastasis that was noticed two years after radical nephrectomy regressed completely and spontaneously

Cytokine-Based Log-Scale Expansion of Functional Murine Dendritic Cells

BACKGROUND: Limitations of the clinical efficacy of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy, as well as difficulties in their industrial production, are largely related to the limited number of autologous DCs from each patient. We here established a possible breakthrough, a simple and cytokine-based culture method to realize a log-scale order of functional murine DCs (>1,000-fold), which cells were used as a model before moving to human studies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Floating cultivation of lineage-negative hematopoietic progenitors from bone marrow in an optimized cytokine cocktail (FLT3-L, IL-3, IL-6, and SCF) led to a stable log-scale proliferation of these cells, and a subsequent differentiation study using IL-4/GM-CSF revealed that 3-weeks of expansion was optimal to produce CD11b+/CD11c+ DC-like cells. The expanded DCs had typical features of conventional myeloid DCs in vitro and in vivo, including identical efficacy as tumor vaccines. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The concept of DC expansion should make a significant contribution to the progress of DC-based immunotherapy

Camshaft Drive Torque Measuring Device Built in a Chain Sprockt

A device built in a camshaft drive chain sprocket for detecting precise torque fluctuation with minimum change on the valve drive system dynamical characteristics was developed. Strain gages are placed on thin plate areas in the sprocket disc. The signal from the circuit goes through frequency modulation and is transmitted to demodulation circuit via coil antennas. By this arrangement, almost perfect linearity was observed in the relationship of the output voltage and the applied torque. Torque fluctuation measured with this device on a model cylinder head driven by a variable speed motor showed good correlation with simulation results

Lessons learned from Evaluation of an Eco-tour Designed to Support the Conservation Works for Wild Birds : A Case Study of Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis (Buppousou) and Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume (Kanmuriumisuzume) Watching Tour in Hiroshima Prefecture <Article>

ブッポウソウとカンムリウミスズメの保護活動を支援する環境事業として野鳥観察を中心としたエコツアーが広島県内で行われている。本稿では,広島市民を対象としたWEB アンケート調査と,ツアー参加者を対象とした,参加動機や評価に関するアンケート調査の結果を報告する。前者からは,鳥の知名度の低さにもかかわらず,1/4程度の回答者がツアーへの関心を示すとともに,野鳥保護や環境教育の効果を認めていることなどが明らかになった。後者からは,参加者が,いわゆる「マニア」層が中心となっていることを確認するとともに,ツアーの評価が,一般向けアンケートで重視される以上に,対象とした鳥を見られたかどうかに左右されることがわかった。今後,ツアー内容の充実や集客方法(宣伝方法)の検討が課題となる。An eco-tour designed to support the conservation works for wild birds is complemented in Hiroshima area. We clarified using two questionnaire surveys how the tour is evaluated. The survey for Hiroshima citizens shows that one forth of them express interest in the tour, instead of their blindness of the targeted birds. They accept a conservational value or an educational value of the tour. On the other hand, the survey for the tour participants shows that they are mainly the bird lovers, and that their evaluation of the tour are dependent on whether they could watch the targeted birds or not. It is necessary to improve tour programs and rethink about effective means of advertising, based on the results of these surveys