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Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Inderscience Publishers in International Journal of Project Organisation and Management on 24/09/2021.Available online: https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1504/IJPOM.2021.117940acceptedVersio

Analytical and Numerical Verification of the Nernst Theorem for Metals

In view of the current discussion on the subject, an effort is made to show very accurately both analytically and numerically how the Drude dispersion model gives consistent results for the Casimir free energy at low temperatures. Specifically, for the free energy near T=0 we find the leading term to be proportional to T^2 and the next-to-leading term proportional to T^{5/2}. These terms give rise to zero Casimir entropy as T approaches zero, and is thus in accordance with Nernst's theorem.Comment: 19 pages latex, 3 figures. v4: Figures updated. This is the final version, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Reply to "Comment on 'Analytic and Numerical Verification of the Nernst Theorem for Metals'"

In this Reply to the preceding Comment of Klimchitskaya and Mostepanenko (cf. also quant-ph/0703214), we summarize and maintain our position that the Drude dispersion relation when inserted in the Lifshitz formula gives a thermodynamically satisfactory description of the Casimir force, also in the limiting case when the relaxation frequency goes to zero (perfect crystals).Comment: 4 pages, no figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Safety and efficacy of rituximab as first- and second line treatment in multiple sclerosis – A cohort study

Background Rituximab is increasingly used as off-label therapy in multiple sclerosis (MS). More data are needed on safety and efficacy of rituximab, particularly in cohorts of de novo patients and patients in early therapy escalation. Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of off-label treatment with rituximab in an MS-cohort of predominantly de novo patients or as therapy escalation. Methods We retrieved safety and efficacy data from the Norwegian MS-registry and biobank for all MS-patients treated with rituximab at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, during a four year period. Results In the 365 MS-patients (320 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 23 secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 22 primary progressive MS (PPMS)), the overall annualized relapse rate (ARR) was 0.03 and annualized drug discontinuation rate (ADDR) was 0.05. NEDA-3 was achived in 79% of patients with available data (n=351). Sixty-one patients experienced infusion-related adverse events of which two were serious (CTCAE grade 3–4). Eighteen patients experienced serious non-infusion related adverse events, of which 16 were infections. Infections (n = 34; 9.3%, CTCAE grade 2-5), hypogammaglobulinemia (n = 19, 5.2%) and neutropenia (n = 16; 4.4%) were the most common non-infusion-related adverse events. Conclusion Rituximab was a safe and highly efficient disease modifying therapy in this cohort of MS-patients; however, infections and neutropenia need to be monitored.publishedVersio

Separation and identification of dominant mechanisms in double photoionization

Double photoionization by a single photon is often discussed in terms of two contributing mechanisms, {\it knock-out} (two-step-one) and {\it shake-off} with the latter being a pure quantum effect. It is shown that a quasi-classical description of knock-out and a simple quantum calculation of shake-off provides a clear separation of the mechanisms and facilitates their calculation considerably. The relevance of each mechanism at different photon energies is quantified for helium. Photoionization ratios, integral and singly differential cross sections obtained by us are in excellent agreement with benchmark experimental data and recent theoretical results.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Abuse and revictimization in adulthood in multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional study during pregnancy

Background: Knowledge concerning exposure to abuse in adulthood and in pregnancy in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is sparse. Objective: To determine the occurrence of adult abuse and abuse in relation to pregnancy in women with MS and their risk of revictimization (repeated abuse as adults after childhood abuse). Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised pregnant women from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort study. Information on abuse was acquired through self-completed questionnaires. We used logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: We identified 106 women with MS at enrollment through linkage with national health registries. The reference group consisted of 77,278 women without MS. Twenty-seven women (26%) with MS reported any adult abuse compared to 15,491 women (20%) without MS, aOR 1.33 (0.85–2.09). Twenty-two (21%) women with MS reported systematic emotional abuse compared to 13% without MS, aOR 1.75 (1.08–2.83). Ten women (10%) with MS reported sexual abuse, compared to 6% without MS, aOR 1.72 (0.89–3.33). More women with MS reported rape as an adult, aOR 2.37 (1.02–5.49). Women with MS had higher risk of revictimization as adults, after childhood abuse, aOR 2.23 (1.22–4.10). The risk of abuse during pregnancy or 6 months preceding pregnancy was similar between the groups. Conclusions: Women with MS had increased occurrence of systematic emotional abuse, rape, and revictimization as adults, compared to women without MS.publishedVersio

Month of birth and risk of multiple sclerosis: confounding and adjustments

A month of birth effect on multiple sclerosis (MS) risk has been reported from different countries. Recent critics have suggested that this finding is caused by confounding and that adequately adjusting for year and place of birth would markedly reduce this effect. All inhabitants in Norway are registered in the Norwegian Population Registry (Statistics Norway), making this an ideal area for performing adjusted analyses. Using the entire Norwegian population born between 1930 and 1979 (n = 2,899,260), we calculated the excess between observed and expected number of births for each month for 6649 Norwegian MS patients, 5711 mothers, 5247 fathers, and 8956 unaffected siblings. The analyses were adjusted for year of birth and place of birth according to the 19 counties in Norway. An unadjusted analysis revealed 13% fewer MS births than expected in February (P = 0.0015; Bonferroni corrected P = 0.018), 10% more in April (P = 0.0083; Bonferroni corrected P = 0.0996) and 15% more in December (P = 0.00058; Bonferroni corrected P = 0.007). Adjustments for both year and place of birth significantly altered our results for February and December, but even after these adjustments there were still 10% more MS births than expected in April (P = 0.00796; Bonferroni corrected P = 0.096). MS patients had a higher incidence of April births than their siblings (Fisher-exact test; P = 0.011), mothers (Fisher-exact test; P = 0.004), and fathers (Fisher-exact test; P = 0.011) without MS. Adjustments for confounding significantly affected our results. However, even after adjustments, there appears to be a persistent higher than expected frequency of April births in the MS population. © 2014 The Authors. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc on behalf of American Neurological Association