Primary and secondary streamers of positive pulsed corona discharge are observed in a point-to-plane gap using a short-gated intensified CCD camera in an air-like environment. The influences of oxygen concentration and applied voltage on the properties of both streamers are presented. It is shown that the propagation velocity, the diameter, and the shape of the streamers are strongly influenced by the oxygen concentration. In pure nitrogen, the primary streamer shows branching with a diameter of about 0.2-0.4 mm, while in air, the branching disappears almost completely and the shape of the primary streamer becomes quite smooth with a diameter of more than 1 mm. After the arrival of the primary streamer at the cathode, a secondary streamer develops from the anode toward the cathode as far as the middle of the gap. The propagation length of the secondary streamer increases approximately linearly with the applied voltage. It is shown that the ratio of the energy consumed by the secondary streamer to the whole energy consumed by the discharge increases with the applied voltage.

The gas temperature and OH density in the afterglow of pulsed positive corona discharge are measured using the laser-induced predissociation fluorescence (LIPF) of OH radicals. Discharge occurs in a 13 mm point-to-plane gap in an atmospheric-pressure H2O(2.8%)/O2(2.0%)/N2 mixture. The temperature measurement shows that (i) the temperature increases after discharge and (ii) the temperature near the anode tip (within 1 mm from the anode tip) is much higher than that of the rest of the discharge volume. Near the anode tip, the temperature increases from 500 K (t = 0 µs) to 1100 K (t = 20 µs), where t is the postdischarge time, while it increases from 400 K (t = 0 µs) to 700 K (t = 100 µs) in the rest of the discharge volume away from the anode tip. This temperature difference between the two volumes (near and far from the anode tip) causes a difference in the decay rate of OH density: OH density near the anode tip decays approximately 10 times slower than that far from the tip. The spatial distribution of OH density shows good agreement with that of the secondary streamer luminous intensity. This shows that OH radicals are mainly produced in the secondary streamer, not in the primary one.

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The dynamics of ozone and OH radicals are studied in pulsed corona discharge plasma in a humid-air environment. Ozone density is measured by the laser absorption method, and OH density is measured by the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) method. A 100-ns pulsed corona discharge occurs between a series of 25 needle electrodes and a plate electrode. After the pulsed discharge, the time evolutions of ozone and OH densities are measured in humid air or a humid nitrogen-oxygen mixture. Results show that the addition of 2.4% water vapor to dry air reduces ozone production by a factor of about 6, and shortens the ozone formation time constant from 30 to 6 μs. Water vapor may reduce atomic oxygen levels leading to the decreased production of ozone by O+O2 reaction. The LIF measurement for OH radicals shows that OH density is approximately constant for 10 μs after the pulsed discharge, then decays by recombination reaction and reactions with the discharge products of oxygen, such as ozone or atomic oxygen. Absolute OH density is estimated; it is about 3×1015 cm−3 in streamers at 10 μs after discharge in the H2O(2.4%)/N2 mixture.

The absolute density of OH radicals in an atmospheric-pressure helium plasma jet is measured using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The plasma jet is generated in room air by applying a pulsed high voltage onto a quartz tube with helium gas flow. The time-averaged OH density is 0.10 ppm near the quartz tube nozzle, decreasing away from the nozzle. OH radicals are produced from water vapour in the helium flow, which is humidified by water adsorbed on the inner surface of the helium line and the quartz tube. When helium is artificially humidified using a water bubbler, the OH density increases with humidity and reaches 2.5 ppm when the water vapour content is 200 ppm. Two-dimensional distribution of air–helium mixture ratio in the plasma jet is also measured using the decay rate of the LIF signal waveform which is determined by the quenching rate of laser-excited OH radicals.

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In recent years, it has become evident that tumor cells have immune escape mechanisms, and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody) has shown benefit in various cancers. In endometrial tumors with microsatellite-instability (MSI), somatic mutations have the potential to encode ‘’non-self’’ immunogenic antigens, and lymphocytes have been shown to infiltrate the tumor. Therefore, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy might be effective in endometrial cancers with MSI. Expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins (MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, and MSH6), the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD8+), and PD-1/PD-L1 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry in 149 patients with endometrial cancer. We examined whether tumors with MSI had an enhanced immune microenvironment and whether MSI could be a predictor of the therapeutic effect of PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy in endometrial cancer. Loss of MMR protein expression was identified in 42 (28.2%) of 149 patients (MSI group) with endometrial cancer. There was no significant relationship between MSI status and age (p = 0.193), histological grade (p = 0.097), FIGO stage (p = 0.508), pelvic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.139), or depth of myometrial invasion (p = 0.494). However, the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD8+) and PD-L1/PD-1 expression were significantly higher in the MSI group compared to the microsatellite-stable group (p = 0.002, p = 0.001, and p = 0.008, respectively). These results suggest that immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody) could be effective in endometrial cancers with MSI. The presence of MSI may be a biomarker for good response to PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy in endometrial cancer.