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To summarize the results of treatment for sacral chordoma in Phase I-II and Phase II carbon ion radiotherapy trials for bone and soft-tissue sarcomas.We performed a retrospective analysis of 38 patients with medically unresectable sacral chordomas treated with the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba, Japan between 1996 and 2003. Of the 38 patients, 30 had not received previous treatment and 8 had locally recurrent tumor after previous resection. The applied carbon ion dose was 52.8-73.6 Gray equivalents (median, 70.4) in a total of 16 fixed fractions within 4 weeks.The median patient age was 66 years. The cranial tumor extension was S2 or greater in 31 patients. The median clinical target volume was 523 cm(3). The median follow-up period was 80 months. The 5-year overall survival rate was 86%, and the 5-year local control rate was 89%. After treatment, 27 of 30 patients with primary tumor remained ambulatory with or without supportive devices. Two patients experienced severe skin or soft-tissue complications requiring skin grafts.Carbon ion radiotherapy appears effective and safe in the treatment of patients with sacral chordoma and offers a promising alternative to surgery.

The structural kinetics of surface events on a Pt3Co/C cathode catalyst in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) was investigated by operando time-resolved X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) with a time resolution of 500 ms. The rate constants of electrochemical reactions, the changes in charge density on Pt, and the changes in the local coordination structures of the Pt3Co alloy catalyst in the PEFC were successfully evaluated during fuel-cell voltage-operating processes. Significant time lags were observed between the electrochemical reactions and the structural changes in the Pt3Co alloy catalyst. The rate constants of all the surface events on the Pt3Co/C catalyst were significantly higher than those on the Pt/C catalyst, suggesting the advantageous behaviors (cell performance and catalyst durability) on the Pt3Co alloy cathode catalyst.

Proton-conductive electrolytes of CsHSO 4 composite were synthesized, and the influence of the matrix on their structure and proton conductivity was investigated at intermediate temperatures. As the supporting matrix, heat-treated TiOSO 4 hydrate was used. When the matrix heat-treated at 300°C was employed, formation of new phases was observed in the composite during the heat-treatment at 200°C due to the interfacial chemical reaction between CsHSO 4 and the matrix. The resulting composite with a suitable composition exhibited higher conductivity than pure CsHSO 4 with linear temperature dependence. This anomalous behavior is quite different from that of the pure CsHSO 4 , which exhibits the "conductivity jump" at ca. 140°C because of the phase transition.

Single-chamber solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with an anode-supported Ce 0 . 9 Gd 0 . 1 O 1 . 9 5 electrolyte were operated in a mixture of butane and air at furnace temperatures of 200-300°C. The electromotive force (emf) of the cell and the voltage drop were strongly influenced by the catalytic activity of the anode for the partial oxidation of butane. The promotion of hydrogen formation by the addition of Ru to the anode caused an increase in the emf and a reduction in the voltage drop. As a result, stable power densities of 44 and 176 mW cm - 2 were obtained at 200 and 300°C, respectively.

We investigated the difference in cell-killing effect and mutation induction between carbon- and neon-ion beams in normal human cells. Carbon- and neon-ion beams were accelerated by the Riken Ring Cyclotron (RRC) at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan. Cell-killing effect was measured as the reproductive cell death using the colony formation assay. Mutation induction at the HPRT locus was detected to measure 6-thioguanine-resistant clones. The mutation spectrum of the deletion pattern of exons of induced mutants was analyzed using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Cell-killing effect was almost the same between carbon- and neon-ion beams with similar linear energy transfer (LET) values, while there observed a large difference in mutation frequency. Furthermore, in the case of neon-ion beams 60% of mutants showed total deletions and 35-40% showed partial deletions, while 95-100% of carbon-ion induced mutants showed total deletions. The results suggest that different ion species may cause qualitative and quantitative difference in mutation induction even if the LET values are similar.

This study examined the effects of therapeutic pulsed ultrasound (US) on the development of disuse muscle atrophy in rat gastrocnemius muscle. Male Wistar rats were randomly distributed into control, immobilization (Im), sham US, and US groups. In the Im, sham US and US groups, the bilateral ankle joints of each rat were immobilized in full plantar flexion with a plaster cast for a 4-wk period. The pulsed US (frequency, 1 MHz; intensity, 1.0 W/cm(2); pulsed mode 1:4; 15 min) was irradiated to the gastrocnemius muscle in the US group over a 4-wk immobilization period. The pulsed US irradiation delivered only non-thermal effects to the muscle. In conjunction with US irradiation, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected subcutaneously to label the nuclei of proliferating satellite cells 1 h before each pulsed US irradiation. Immobilization resulted in significant decreases in the mean diameters of type I, IIA and IIB muscle fibers of the gastrocnemius muscle in the Im, sham US and US groups compared with the control group. However, the degrees of muscle fiber atrophy for all types were significantly lower in the US group compared with the Im and sham US groups. Although the number of capillaries and the concentrations of insulin-like growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor did not change in the muscle, the number of BrdU-positive nuclei in the muscle was significantly increased by pulsed US irradiation in the US group. The results of this study suggest that pulsed US irradiation inhibits the development of disuse muscle atrophy partly via activation of satellite cells.

Malaria is endemic to Bangladesh. In this longitudinal study, we used hydrologic, topographic, and socioeconomic risk factors to explain single and multiple malaria infections at individual and household levels. Malaria incidence was determined for 1,634 households in 54 villages in 2009 and 2010. During the entire study period 21.8% of households accounted for all (n = 497) malaria cases detected; 15.4% of households had 1 case and 6.4% had ≥ 2 cases. The greatest risk factors for malaria infection were low bed net ratio per household, house construction materials (wall), and high density of houses. Hydrologic and topographic factors were not significantly associated with malaria risk. This study identifies stable malaria hotspots and risk factors that should be considered for cost-effective targeting of malaria interventions that may contribute to potential elimination of malaria in Bangladesh.

Nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH) thin films were prepared by reactive sputtering using H2O as a reactive gas, and the electrochromic (EC) properties of these thin films were investigated in alkaline, neutral, and acidic aqueous electrolyte solutions. A stable EC cycling of up to 100 cycles was obtained for the NiOOH thin films in electrolyte solutions with a wide pH range of 4.1–13.5. However, the EC cycling degraded drastically after several tens of cycles in an electrolyte with pH=2.0. In the stable pH region, the NiOOH films exhibited a large transmittance change from approximately 30–90%, although the response speed slowed with decreasing pH of the electrolytes.