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INTRODUCTION: The efficacy and safety of atezolizumab in previously treated patients with NSCLC have been established in the registrational phase 3 OAK trial. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of atezolizumab monotherapy in a large real-world cohort to confirm the reproducibility of the results of the registrational trial. METHODS: This was a multicenter, prospective, single-arm observational study. Consecutive patients with previously treated NSCLC scheduled to receive atezolizumab monotherapy were enrolled. The primary end point was the 18-month overall survival (OS) rate. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) and immune-related AEs was evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 1002 patients were included in the safety analysis set and 1000 in the full analysis set. Median follow-up was 11.5 months. Of the full analysis set, 62% were ineligible for the OAK trial (OAK-unlike subpopulation). The 18-month OS rate was 41.1%, with a median OS of 13.0 months (95% confidence interval: 12.2–15.1). The 18-month OS rate was 49.4% and 36.1% in OAK-like and OAK-unlike subpopulations, respectively; that in patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status greater than or equal to 2 was 14.3%. The incidence of AEs overall, in the OAK-like, and OAK-unlike subpopulations was 43.9%, 46.2%, and 42.5%; that of immune-related AEs was 19.0%, 20.1%, and 18.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that atezolizumab may be effective and safe for previously treated patients with NSCLC in real-world settings; however, atezolizumab administration should be considered carefully regarding the benefit–risk balance for the OAK-unlike subpopulation, especially in patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status greater than or equal to 2.

Asians who develop non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have a chance of approximately 50% of harboring the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. The G719X mutation in EGFR has 3 subtypes (i.e., G719A, G719C, or G719S), all of them being classified as uncommon EGFR mutations. The EGFR mutation G719X is most often associated with lung adenocarcinoma. Conversely, its occurrence in lung squamous cell carcinoma is rare. Its response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment remains unknown. A 50-year-old Asian male with no smoking history was admitted to our hospital (Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University) with an irritating dry cough and 1 month of progressive dyspnea. The patient was diagnosed with lung squamous cell carcinoma (cT4N3M0, stage IIIC). Lung biopsy revealed the presence of EFGR G719X mutation. The patient received a tracheobronchial stent, targeted therapy, chemotherapy, seed implantation and radiotherapy, and survived for 25.4 months following diagnosis. It is crucial that gene mutation analysis is performed in non-smoking male squamous cell carcinoma patients. Compared to lung adenocarcinoma patients with rare G719X mutation, this lung squamous cell carcinoma patient with G719X-mutant tumor had a higher sensitivity to 2(nd)-generation EGFR-TKI treatment, but similar progression-free survival. Importantly, the patient clearly benefited from the used comprehensive treatment plan. This article seeks to shed light on the treatment of lung squamous cell carcinoma patients with the uncommon EGFR G719X mutation.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Chemotherapy regimens. Table S2. Baseline urinary markers. Table S3. Correlation matrix for all pairs of tested biomarkers.

A list of ethical committees. A list of ethics committees, date of approval, and reference numbers. (DOCX 15 kb)

Additional information for exercise prescription. Appendix 1A: the algorism of prescribe exercise program at T1 point. Appendix 1B: the level of prescribe exercise program. Appendix 1C: modified Borg scale. Appendix 1D: the algorism of prescribe exercise program at T2â 4 point. Appendix 1E: the algorism of prescribe target steps. (PPTX 52 kb)

Chemotherapy hydration protocol used in this study. Cisplatin and other anticancer drugs were administrated with 3850Â ml of hydration, magnesium sulfate (40Â mEq) and mannitol (300Â ml). (PPTX 79Â kb)

Chemotherapy hydration protocol used in this study. Cisplatin and other anticancer drugs were administrated with 3850Â ml of hydration, magnesium sulfate (40Â mEq) and mannitol (300Â ml). (PPTX 79Â kb)

We have developed a novel sensor that enables us to measure the relative story displacement of a building structure in real time. This lateral displacement sensor (LDS) is composed of a light-emitting diode (LED) array, which is fixed on the ceiling, and a position-sensitive detector (PSD) unit, which is placed on the floor. We optimized the LDS to achieve high accuracy in lateral displacement measurement. The accuracy was evaluated to be 60 µm by conducting shaking table tests. Two LDSs were implemented in an actual building equipped with an active variable stiffness (AVS) system, and the building was vibrated with seismic waveforms by an exciter placed on the rooftop. The seismic displacement of the second floor relative to the first floor was measured using the LDS. Furthermore, the inclination angle of the second floor could be measured using the LDS during the seismic vibration. Using the AVS system, we realized the residual displacement of the second floor without inducing damage to the building, and succeeded in real-time residual displacement measurement for the first time. These results indicate that the LDS is useful for the health diagnosis of a building structure. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

We propose a novel sensor for directly measuring the relative displacement of a building structure. The sensor is composed of a laser light source and a phototransistor (PT) array. The PT array is immobilized on the floor together with a photo scattering plate made of glass, whereas the laser light source is separately immobilized on the ceiling. The photo scattering plate is placed in front of the PT array and distributes the laser beam on the multiple PTs. The relative displacement between the ceiling and the floor is estimated by the distribution of the PT output voltages, and the displacement is estimated with a resolution finer than the interval between the PTs. The accuracy of the relative displacement sensor (RDS) is experimentally assessed by conducting a shaking table test exhibiting several waves from harmonic sinusoidal waves to real seismic waves. We discuss the feasibility of real-time monitoring system utilizing this sensor. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recently, relative displacement measurement attracts much attention because of its capability for directly monitoring damages of a building structure. We have developed a noncontact-type relative displacement monitoring system by arranging a two-dimensional PSD paired with a LED array on each story, and investigated the feasibility of this system from the viewpoint of measurement accuracy.

Gas production technology from natural gas hydrate is under investigation. Recently, the efficiency of depressurization method has been clarified by laboratory experiments and numerical analyses. However, the decrease of gas-production rate could occur during depressurization due to the temperature drop of the reservoir in the vicinity of production well. The solution to this problem is important for efficient and stable gas production from methane hydrate reservoirs.In order to investigate the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on dissociation enhancement, experiments of methane-hydrate dissociation with ultrasonic irradiation are conducted under depressurized condition. Pressure vessel is originally designed for synthesizing methane hydrate sediments and for irradiating ultrasonic wave toward the synthesized sediments. Gas production rates are examined in the experiments of depressurization method and combined method of ultrasonic wave and depressurization. The efficiency of the combined method is evaluated by measured gas production rates. Results of the heat-balance calculations on the dissociation experiments are also reported.

斜面を写真計測して初期変位が起きた位置と大きさを効率よく検知するための仮説検定の式を導いた．斜面上に設置したターゲットを2回の時間のエポックで撮影し，変位したかを1点ずつ統計的に仮説検定する．Baardaの大誤差検知の方法であるデータスヌーピング法を適用して検定の式を導いた．2回のエポックの写真座標を同時調整し，各点の空間座標に変位のパラメータを与えることで当てはめ精度が向上したときに変位が発生したと判断する．写真座標の調整計算はフリーネットワークで行った．さらにモデル実験で方法の有効性を検証した．1m×0.5mの模型に設置したターゲット群の一部を50μm変位させ，この点が検知できることを示した．

A TEA CO 2 laser beam (500 mJ, 200 ns) was focused on film samples, under low pressure surrounding gas at around 1 Torr. It has been found that to generate the laser plasma for the sample of oil or powder, the sample should be attached in the form of thin film on the surface of a metal, such as copper plate, which acts as a sub-target. The plasma has favorable characteristics for spectrochemical analysis due to its low background and sharp line spectrum, and hence an optical multichannel analyzer (OMA) without gated function can be used for spectrum acquisition. Using the sub-target effect we have performed for analyses on water molecular layer and water impurities, where the water was condensed by heating process or electrolysis process on the sub-target so that impurities in the water were attached to the metal surface. It should be emphasized that in this case the sub-target itself has never been ablated and no any damaged on its surface. Another application of the sub-target effect is used for the analysis of oil contamination in soils. We have succeeded to detect clearly the emission line of C I 247.9 nm from the carbon as a major constituent of the oil. To derive the carbon emission intensity coming only from oil, compensation was made to cancel the contribution from other organic species using the emission of Ca, which inherently contains in other organic species in soil. As result, a good linear relationship between carbon emission intensity and oil concentration was obtained.

A unique technique for direct analysis of soil samples utilizing a special advantage of a transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser-induced plasma generated at atmospheric pressure on a metal target has been developed. In this technique, a metal subtarget, such as nickel plate, structured with intentional microholes on its surface, each with dimensions of around 100 μm in diameter and depth, was used to selectively trap small sized soil particles by immersing the metal plate subtarget into the polluted soil sample. The trapped small soil particles on the metal subtarget were irradiated by a TEA CO2 laser (10.6 μm, 1.5 J, 200 ns) at atmospheric pressure under defocused condition with a spot size of 3 mm × 3 mm. This trapping and confining scheme substantially suppresses the blowing off effect; thus, the trapped soil particles can effectively be dissociated and atomized in the microstructured holes. Using this method of a microstructured metal plate subtarget, quantitative analysis was carried out on loam soil samples polluted by Pb. A linear calibration curve was obtained with a detection limit of approximately 50 mg/kg. Preliminary quantitative studies were carried out for a quartz sand sample containing Cr and Hg, resulting in linear calibration curves with detection limits of approximately 25 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively, at this stage. This technique is promising as a potential field screening tool for soil analysis.

It has been demonstrated that a spectrochemical analysis of carbon using the laser plasma method can be successfully applied to inspect the carbonation of concrete by detecting carbon produced in aged concrete by a chemical reaction of Ca(OH)2 with CO2 gas in environmental air, turning into CaCO3, which induces degradation of the quality of building concrete. A comparative study has been made using a TEA CO2 laser (500–1000 mJ) and a Q-switched Nd– YAG laser (50–200 mJ) to search for the optimum conditions for carbon analysis, proving the advantage of the TEA CO2 laser for this purpose. Also, it was clarified that laser irradiation with suitable defocusing conditions is a crucial point for obtaining high sensitivity in the detection of carbon. Practical experiments on the inspection of carbonation were carried out using both a concrete sample that had been intentionally carbonated by exposure to high concentrations of CO2 gas and a naturally carbonated concrete sample. As a result, good coincidence was observed between the laser method and the ordinary method, which uses the chemical indicator phenolphthalein, implying that this laser technique is applicable as an in situ quantitative method of inspection for carbonation of concrete.

An experiment to investigate the potential of a laser-induced plasma method for determining concrete compressive strength was conducted by focusing a Nd:YAG laser on concrete samples with different degrees of compressive strength. This technique was developed in light of the role of the shock wave in the generation of a laser-induced plasma. It was found that the speed of the shock front depends on the hardness of the sample. It was also found that a positive relationship exists between the speed of the shock front and the ionization rate of the ablated atoms. Hence, the ratio of the intensity between the Ca(II) 396.8 nm and Ca(I) 422.6 nm emission lines detected from the laser-induced plasma can be used to examine the hardness of the material. In fact, it was observed that the ratio changes with respect to the change in the concrete compressive strength. The findings also show that the ratio increases with time after the cement is mixed with water.