TAFRO syndrome is a rare systemic inflammatory disease characterized by thrombocytopenia, pleural effusion, fever, renal dysfunction, reticulin fibrosis of the bone marrow, and organomegaly. The clinical course varies significantly among patients. However, the prognosis is usually dismal in patients with severe TAFRO syndrome, and no optimal treatment has yet been established. We herein describe the first case of TAFRO syndrome, which was successfully treated with combination therapy consisting of tocilizumab, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide.

We experimentally prove that a Cr4+-doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) crystal exhibits saturable absorption in visible wavelengths at 639, 607, and 521 nm. From z-scan measurements, the saturation energies measured using laser pulse widths of 25 and 66 ns at 639 nm are estimated to ∼11.5 and 21.2 mJ/cm2, respectively. Therefore, the absorption response time will be shorter than these pulse widths. Using the Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the passive Q-switched and the Q-switched mode-lock Pr3+-doped LiYF4 (YLF) lasers at 639 nm pumped by an InGaN diode laser.

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Interaction between P-factor, a peptide pheromone composed of 23 amino acid residues, and its pheromone receptor, Mam2, on the cell surface of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was examined by an atomic force microscope (AFM). An AFM tip was modified with P-factor derivatives to perform force curve measurements. The specific interaction force between P-factor and Mam2 was calculated to be around 120 pN at a probe speed of 1.74 μm/s. When the AFM tip was modified with truncated P-factor derivative lacking C-terminal Leu, the specific interaction between the tip and the cell surface was not observed. These results were also confirmed with an assay system using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene to monitor the activation level of signal transduction following the interaction of Mam2 with P-factor.

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