Endoscopic ultrasound-guided immunotherapy

AbstractAnti-tumoral endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle injection (EUS-FNI), with its minimally invasive access for anti-tumoral agent delivery, is the most exciting field of intervention EUS. Pancreatic cancer is regarded as a systemic disease even if imaging modalities reveal no visible metastasis. From that perspective, immunological therapy is performed. To date, several reports have described immunotherapy under EUS-guidance. The first report of EUS-FNI intended for immunotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer was published in 2000. In that study, an allogeneic mixed-lymphocyte culture was injected into tumors of eight patients with unresectable local pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The study of dendritic cells (DCs) for cancer has continued to develop in recent years. Actually, DCs are potent antigen-presenting cells for the induction of primary T-cell dependent immune response. When injected intratumorally, DCs acquire and process tumor antigens in situ, migrate to regional lymphoid organs, and initiate a strong tumor-specific immune response. To date, three reports have described EUS-FNI of DCs into pancreatic cancer: two for unresectable and one for pre-surgical operations. Every study has indicated the feasibility and safety. Furthermore, these reports showed that EUS-guided DCs injection might be an important option for treating advanced pancreatic cancer. EUS-guided immunotherapy is a very exciting field in interventional EUS for obstinate cancers

Shape Change and Crystal Orientation of B19 Martensite in Equiatomic TiPd Alloy by Isobaric Test

We investigated the texture and the shape change in the equiatomic TiPd alloy, and discussed the relationship between the shape change and the atomic movements associated with martensitic transformation. Thermomechanical analyzer tests indicate that the direction of the shape change was different between the 0° and 90° samples, cutting out parallel and perpendicular to the hearth side of button ingot, respectively. In the 0° sample, shrinking and expansion were observed during the reverse and forward martensitic transformations, respectively, whereas the opposite tendency was confirmed in the 90° sample compared to the 0° sample. During the isobaric test, the martensitic variants were oriented to a (010) plane with compressive loading, and the B2 parent phase crystals also became coarse. There is a close relationship between the shape change due to the crystal orientation by the isobaric test and the shear-shuffling direction due to martensitic transformation

Equiaxed α microstructure evolution in wrought Ti-10Al-1Zr-1Mo-1Nb alloy during annealing

Evolution of alpha microstructure on the thermomechanical treated Ti-10Al-1Zr-1Mo-1Nb alloy during annealing was studied. The solution-treated materials were groove-rolled or uniaxially compressed in the alpha+beta region and annealed at 1173 K. The flow softening behavior and crystal rotation in alpha platelets revealed an evolution of deformation texture. The volume fraction of equiaxed alpha grains was increased during annealing. Especially in the material compressed at a strain rate of 1 s(-1), the equiaxed alpha grains developed within a shorter annealing duration than 1.8 ks. The deformation with higher strain rates promoted the division and fragmentation of alpha platelets during annealing. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses were employed to characterize dislocation components and structure, where the installed screw dislocations provided a fine substructure and high energy alpha/alpha boundaries in a platelets. The triple junction consisting of alpha/beta boundaries and alpha/alpha boundaries may provide a site for thermal grooving, which induces the division and fragmentation of a platelets. Therefore, deformation at a higher strain rate is necessary in alpha+beta processing to develop a fine equiaxed a microstructure for the Ti-10Al-1Zr-1Mo-1Nb alloy during annealing.Web of Science854art. no. 15718

Mechanical properties of Ti-50(Pt,Ir) high-temperature shape memory alloys

To develop high-temperature shape memory alloys, Ti-50(Pt,Ir)mol% compounds are noted because of their martensitic transformation from B2 to B19(2H) or 4H(4O) structures above 1273 K. A thermal expansion measurement and loading-unloading compression test were performed for Ti-50(Pt,Ir) to determine if the shape memory effect or superelasticity was shown. The thermal expansion measurement indicated the shape recovery in some of the compounds. The maximum shape recovery was about 4% by reheating at the above martensite transformation temperature after a loading-unloading compression test. Superelasticity was also observed in ternary compounds. The potential of Ti-50(Pt,Ir) as a high-temperature shape memory alloy is discussed