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We have carried out emission selected computerized tomography time and space measurements of the absolute net production rate of Ar(2p 1 ) in a pulsed capacitively coupled plasma for SiO 2 etching pulsively sustained at 100 MHz and continuously biased at 500 kHz between electrodes in CF 4 /Ar and pure Ar at 25 mTorr. Double-layer formation by excessive negatively charged particles in the interface close to the wafer is experimentally estimated only at the wafer's anodic phases during the off-period of the plasma source as seen by the probed net excitation rate. The successive space and time configuration of the net excitation rate will support a sufficient capability to inject energetic negative ions to the biased wafer having microstructures and to neutralize the inner wall to be etched.

We examined the biologic properties of a small-cell-lungcarcinoma (SCLC) cell line (designated MN-I I 12) established from a patient with SCLC who showed paraneoplastic retinopathy syndrome. Morphologic and immunocytochemical analyses showed that MN-I I I2 cells possess features of the classic type of SCLC. MN-I I I 2 cells grew in suspension forming relatively large clumps of cells with a doubling time of 72 hr. By light-microscope examination, the cells were relatively small and had scanty cytoplasm. The cells produced NSE, ACTH and CK (BB isozyme); they also expressed recoverin, a novel photoreceptor protein, detected by Northern-blot and Westernimmunoblot analysis using human-recoverin-specific DNA probe and anti-bovine-recoverin polyclonal antibody. This report shows that human recoverin is expressed in cultured SCLC cells. Our results support the hypothesis that, in cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) patients, auto-immune antibody targeting for ectopic recoverin in SCLC is initially produced and cross-reacts with the retinal protein, resulting in the retinal degeneration that occurs in CAR patients.o 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) occurs in approximately 15% of total lung carcinoma, which has become the most common cause of cancer deaths among Japanese men. SCLC may originate from the Kultschitzky cells lining the bronchial mucosa and possess characteristics of the APUD series of neuro-endocrine cells. They express neuronal differentiation antigens, including NSE, the BB isozyme of CK, receptors for nerve growth factor, and acetylcholine (Greco et al., 1981). Compared with non-SCLCs, they are more frequently associated with paraneoplastic neuropathy syndromes (PNS), such as Eaton-Lambert myasthenic syndrome (ELMS) and paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis/sensory neuropathy syndrome (PEM/ SNS), which are caused by remote effects of cancer (O'Neill et aL, 1988;Dalmau et al., 1992). The neuronal characteristics of SCLC may provide the antigenic stimulus required for production of a cross-reacting immune response (Kornguth, 1989). Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) syndrome is one of such syndromes, and is characterized by degenerative retina without evidence of severe inflammatory processes or metastasis or any known direct effect of the cancer cells (Thirkill et al., 1989). A high percentage of patients reveal a characteristic antibody, which recognizes a 23-kDa antigen (Thirkill et al., 1993). Recoverin, a photoreceptor-specific protein, has been determined as a candidate for the 23-kDa CAR antigen which was screened in human retinal cDNA library using autoantibodies from a CAR patient (Thirkill et al., 1992). According to the auto-immune hypothesis that has been proposed, the process arises as a reaction to the 23-kDa antigen shared by SCLC and the retina; however, such CAR antigen has not yet been clarified in SCLC cells (Thirkill et al., 1989(Thirkill et al., , 1993. In previous studies, however, these cells were usually derived from a tumor of patients without CAR (Thirkill et al.,...

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This is the first report of the successful treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer with gemcitabine single-agent chemotherapy in combination with Juzen-taiho-to (JTT), a Japanese traditional herbal medicine. An 84-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with general fatigue and appetite loss; she was diagnosed with advanced biliary tract cancer and accompanying colonic invasion and hepatic metastasis. The patient's response to combination chemotherapy was extremely good, and her tumors disappeared. Recent studies have confirmed the occurrence of spontaneous and induced antitumor immune responses, carried out by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment. The availability, antigen presentation, and proliferation of these immune cells are increased by cytokines such as granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-2. Recently, JTT has gained recognition as a biological response modifier that has stimulatory effects on systemic immune responses such as enhancement of cytokine expression (GM-CSF, IL-2, etc.). In addition, some chemotherapy agents, such as anthracyclines and gemcitabine, are effective boosters of the immune response through tumor-specific antigen overexpression after apoptotic tumor cell destruction. These findings suggest that JTT enhances the antitumor effects of gemcitabine, in particular its tumor-specific effects on immune response, and these drugs are a good combination for advanced biliary tract cancer therapy.