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Abstract Background We report a case of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), who developed after the pembrolizumab treatment, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, against lung adenocarcinoma. The present case is discussed with the lung adenocarcinoma specimen which was stained by aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and with literature review of NMOSD linked to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Case presentation A 62-year-old Japanese man presented with acute diencephalic syndrome, left optic neuritis, and myelitis 5 months after initiation of pembrolizumab treatment for lung adenocarcinoma. He was diagnosed with NMOSD based on serum anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positivity. Immunohistochemistry of lung biopsy samples showed AQP4 expression on CD68+ cells. This is the fifth reported case of AQP4+ NMOSD triggered by an immune checkpoint inhibitor and the first with a brain lesion. Four out of five NMOSD cases, including the present case and one case with lung metastasis, had lung cancer. Conclusions Immune checkpoint inhibitors may trigger AQP4+ NMOSD owing to their molecular similarity to AQP4 expressed in lung and glial tissues. Prompt brain/spinal cord imaging and anti-AQP4 antibody testing may facilitate early diagnosis of immune-mediated adverse event in central nervous system associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A tomographic tactile sensor based on the contact resistance of conductors is a high sensitive pressure distribution imaging method and has advantages on the flexibility and scalability of device. While the addition of internal electrodes improves the sensor’s spatial resolution, there still remain variations in resolution that depend on the contact position. In this study, we propose an optimization algorithm for electrode positions that improves entire spatial resolution by compensating for local variations in spatial resolution. Simulation results for sensors with 16 or 64 electrodes show that the proposed algorithm improves performance to 0.81 times and 0.93 times in the worst spatial resolution region of the detection area compared to equally spaced grid electrodes. The proposed methods enable tomographic tactile sensors to detect contact pressure distribution more accurately than the conventional methods, providing high-performance tactile sensing for many applications.

Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic waves are attractive for use in nondestructive and biocompatible sensing applications. Thermal sensors are widely used for THz detection owing to the small photon energies of THz radiation, where this requires materials with low thermal conductivity and a small heat capacity to ensure the sensitive and fast operation of the sensors. In this study, we investigated the thermal and optical properties of porous nanomesh structures for sensitive THz bolometric detection. Nanometer (nm)-scale hole array structures were formed on gallium arsenide (GaAs) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) beams to improve their thermal properties. The thermal conductance of the porous MEMS beams was obtained by measuring their thermal bandwidths; it was found to decrease by as much as ~90% when the porosity (P) of the porous nanostructure was increased to ~0.69. We also measured the THz absorptance of the porous hole array structure. The results show that although the porous nanostructure has a much smaller area than the bulk material, it maintained a high coefficient of THz absorptance because the featured size was much smaller than the THz wavelength. The measured absorptance agreed well with that calculated by using the Drude model. These results demonstrate that the porous nanomesh structure is promising for developing highly sensitive THz thermal sensors.

Treatments for paraneoplastic optic neuropathy (PON), a tumor-related autoimmune disease, include immunosuppression, plasma exchange, and immunoglobulin therapies, as well as treatment of the underlying disease. Herein, we describe the clinical course of an older adult patient with PON whose loss of vision improved after switching between epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) treatments for cancer. A 76-year-old woman, who had been treated with gefitinib for lung adenocarcinoma for two years, presented with acute bilateral visual disturbances. Her decimal best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.3 in the right eye (RE) and 0.7 in the left eye (LE). Slit-lamp examination and funduscopy showed no abnormal findings. Two weeks later, her BCVA decreased to 0.2 in the RE and 0.01 in the LE. Goldman’s perimetry showed a defect in the lower nasal RE and extensive visual-field loss in the LE. Single-flash electroretinograms showed normal amplitudes. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed left optic neuritis and showed neither metastatic cancer nor multiple sclerosis. Pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials showed decreased P100 amplitudes in both eyes (BE). Based on a diagnosis of PON from clinical findings, methylprednisolone pulse treatment was administered. However, her BCVA became no light perception in BE two months after the first visit. Because the tumor tissue was found to be positive for the EGFR T790M resistance mutation by bronchoscopy, the EGFR-TKI treatment was changed to osimertinib, decreasing the size of the lung cancer lesions. Her BCVA improved to hand motion in BE. Her final BCVA was 0.01 in the RE, counting fingers 10 cm in the LE. She died at the age of 79 years. To our knowledge, no reports have shown improvement in BCVA in patients with PON after changing EGFR-TKI treatments. This report indicates that some patients may develop severe visual dysfunction without early treatment for the primary tumor.

Charles Kittel has written a masterpiece book, “Introduction to Solid State Physics” (ISSP). He mentions in the chapter on ferroelectrics in detail that barium titanate is the typical displacive-type ferroelectric compound where the Ti4+ displacement develops a dipole moment, which has made a deep impression in our mind. The author’s group, however, has arrived at an alternative viewpoint on the unit cell structure of barium titanate based on their exhaustive experimental studies. Accordingly, the author sent his relevant papers in 2006 and 2007 to Kittel. He endorsed the results frankly with reminiscence. He mentioned revising the ferroelectric chapter of ISSP according the author’s suggestions. It appears to be admissible to publish details now after Kittel has passed away. A long time misunderstanding of the phase transition in barium titanate is due to the text book knowledge of ISSP.

The prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) in liver disease of non-A, -B, -C viral hepatitis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C was determined. Two of 44 patients (4.5%) with liver injury without any hepatitis A, B or C marker were positive for HGV. One of five cases of hepatocellular carcinoma was positive for HGV. One of three cases with fulminant hepatitis was positive for HGV. This case was negative at the onset of fulminant hepatitis and became positive after plasmapheresis. No patient with acute (n=8) or chronic (n=5) hepatitis or liver cirrhosis (n=8) was positive for HGV in non-A, -B, -C liver disease. One of 30 patients with various HBV-positive liver diseases and nine (17.3) of 52 patients with type C liver disease were positive for HGV. In patients with hepatitis C, four (28.6%) of 14 HGV-co-infected patients were complicated with diabetes mellitus compared with four (10.5%) of 38 single hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients (not significant). In 12 HGV-positive patients, eight of 10 (80%) had a history of blood transfusion. In HCV-positive patients, co-infection with HGV was not a risk factor in patients with diabetes mellitus as a complication. HGV appeared to cause non-A, -B, -C hepatitis rarely, and its main route of infection was blood transfusion.