Gravitational Effects of Rotating Bodies

We study two type effects of gravitational field on mechanical gyroscopes (i.e. rotating extended bodies). The first depends on special relativity and equivalence principle. The second is related to the coupling (i.e. a new force) between the spins of mechanical gyroscopes, which would violate the equivalent principle. In order to give a theoretical prediction to the second we suggest a spin-spin coupling model for two mechanical gyroscopes. An upper limit on the coupling strength is then determined by using the observed perihelion precession of the planet's orbits in solar system. We also give predictions violating the equivalence principle for free-fall gyroscopes .Comment: LaTex, 6 page

Dose equivalents of antidepressants: Evidence-based recommendations from randomized controlled trials

Dose equivalence of antidepressants is critically important for clinical practice and for research. There are several methods to define and calculate dose equivalence but for antidepressants, only daily defined dose and consensus methods have been applied to date. The purpose of the present study is to examine dose equivalence of antidepressants by a less arbitrary and more systematic method

Overstatements in abstract conclusions claiming effectiveness of interventions in psychiatry: A study protocol for a meta-epidemiological investigation

Introduction: Abstracts are the major and often the most important source of information for readers of the medical literature. However, there is mounting criticism that abstracts often exaggerate the positive findings and emphasise the beneficial effects of intervention beyond the actual findings mentioned in the corresponding full texts. In order to examine the magnitude of this problem, we will introduce a systematic approach to detect overstated abstracts and to quantify the extent of their prevalence in published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the field of psychiatry. Methods and analysis: We will source RCTs published in 2014 from the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) that claim effectiveness of any intervention for mental disorders. The abstract conclusions will be categorised into three types: superior (only stating significant superiority of intervention to control), limited (suggesting that intervention has limited superiority to control) and equal (claiming equal effectiveness of intervention as control). The full texts will also be classified as one of the following based on the primary outcome results: significant (all primary outcomes were statistically significant in favour of the intervention), mixed (primary outcomes included both significant and non-significant results) or all non-significant results. By comparing the abstract conclusion classification and that of the corresponding full text, we will assess whether each study exhibited overstatements in its abstract conclusion. Ethics and dissemination: This trial requires no ethical approval. We will publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number: UMIN000018668; Pre-results

Epidemiological Survey of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus in Ticks in Nagasaki, Japan

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging disease endemic in East Asia. Transmitted to other organisms by infected ticks, the SFTS virus (SFTSV) and is endemic to Nagasaki in western Japan. However, epidemiological information regarding SFTSV in Nagasaki ticks has not been available to date. In this study, we began by examining the sensitivities of SFTSV gene detection by real-time RT-PCR and virus isolation in cultured cells and mice. These methods could detect SFTSV in the samples containing more than 4 × 10° ffu. Next, we attempted to isolate SFTSV and to detect viral gene in 2,222 nymph and adult ticks collected from May to August 2013 among seven regions of Nagasaki. However, neither virus isolation nor viral gene detection were confirmed in the tick pools. SFTSV positivity rates are considered to be very low in ticks, and viral loads are also very limited. Further investigations increasing the number of ticks and including larval samples as well as improved detection methods, may be required to find SFTSV-positive ticks in this region

Strategic use of new generation antidepressants for depression: SUN(^_^) D protocol update and statistical analysis plan

Background: SUN(^_^)D, the Strategic Use of New generation antidepressants for Depression, is an assessor-blinded, parallel-group, multicenter pragmatic mega-trial to examine the optimum treatment strategy for the first- and second-line treatments for unipolar major depressive episodes. The trial has three steps and two randomizations. Step I randomization compares the minimum and the maximum dosing strategy for the first-line antidepressant. Step II randomization compares the continuation, augmentation or switching strategy for the second-line antidepressant treatment. Step III is a naturalistic continuation phase. The original protocol was published in 2011, and we hereby report its updated protocol including the statistical analysis plan. Results: We implemented two important changes to the original protocol. One is about the required sample size, reflecting the smaller number of dropouts than had been expected. Another is in the organization of the primary and secondary outcomes in order to make the report of the main trial results as pertinent and interpretable as possible for clinical practices. Due to the complexity of the trial, we plan to report the main results in two separate reports, and this updated protocol and the statistical analysis plan have laid out respective primary and secondary outcomes and their analyses. We will convene the blind interpretation committee before the randomization code is broken. Conclusion: This paper presents the updated protocol and the detailed statistical analysis plan for the SUN(^_^)D trial in order to avoid reporting bias and data-driven results. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01109693(registered on 21 April 2010)

Seroepidemiological evidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infections in wild boars in Nagasaki, Japan

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging disease in East Asia. It is thought that the SFTS virus (SFTSV) circulates between ticks and animals in nature and that the virus is transmitted to humans by tick bites. SFTS is endemic to Nagasaki in western Japan; however, epidemiological information regarding SFTSV in Nagasaki is not known. In this study, we performed SFTSV IgG ELISAs and neutralization antibody assays for a seroepidemiological survey using samples from wild boars captured in six areas of Nagasaki. SFTSV seropositive animals were found in three areas. Our findings provide epidemiological information on the distribution of SFTSV in Nagasaki

Concordance and Discordance Between Brain Perfusion and Atrophy in Frontotemporal Dementia

The aim of this study was to determine if a dissociation between reduced cerebral perfusion and gray matter (GM) atrophy exists in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The study included 28 patients with FTD and 29 cognitive normal (CN) subjects. All subjects had MRI at 1.5 T, including T1-weighted structural and arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging. Non-parametric concordance/discordance tests revealed that GM atrophy without hypoperfusion occurs in the premotor cortex in FTD whereas concordant GM atrophy and hypoperfusion changes are found in the right prefrontal cortex and bilateral medial frontal lobe. The results suggest that damage of brain function in FTD, assessed by ASL perfusion, can vary regionally despite widespread atrophy. Detection of discordance between brain perfusion and structure in FTD might aid diagnosis and staging of the disease

Observation of anomalous Upsilon(1S)pi+pi- and Upsilon(2S)pi+pi- production near the Upsilon(5S) resonance

We report the first observation of e+e- -> Upsilon(1S)pi+pi-, Upsilon(2S)pi+pi-, and first evidence for e+e- -> Upsilon(3S)pi+pi-, Upsilon(1S)K+K-, near the peak of the Upsilon(5S) resonance at sqrt{s}~10.87 GeV. The results are based on a data sample of 21.7 fb^-1 collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- collider. Attributing the signals to the Upsilon(5S) resonance, the partial widths Gamma(Upsilon(5S) -> Upsilon(1S) pi+pi-) = 0.59 +- 0.04 (stat) +- 0.09 (syst) MeV and Gamma(Upsilon(5S) -> Upsilon(2S) pi+pi-) = 0.85 +- 0.07 (stat) +- 0.16 (syst) MeV are obtained from the observed cross sections. These values exceed by more than two orders of magnitude the previously measured partial widths for dipion transitions between lower Upsilon resonances.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submit to PR