Error analyses of Sinc-collocation methods for exponential decay initial value problems

Nurmuhammad et al. developed Sinc-Nystr\"{o}m methods for initial value problems in which solutions exhibit exponential decay end behavior. In the methods, the Single-Exponential (SE) transformation or the Double-Exponential (DE) transformation is combined with the Sinc approximation. Hara and Okayama improved those transformations so that a better convergence rate could be attained, which was afterward supported by theoretical error analyses. However, due to a special function included in the basis functions, the methods have a drawback for computation. To address this issue, Okayama and Hara proposed Sinc-collocation methods, which do not include any special function in the basis functions. This study gives error analyses for the methods.Comment: Keywork: Ordinary differential equations, Initial value problems, Volterra integral equations, Sinc numerical methods, SE transformation, DE transformatio

Unusual flexibility of transparent poly(methylsilsesquioxane) aerogels by surfactant-induced mesoscopic fiber-like assembly

ガラスのように透明で曲げられるエアロゲル --高性能透明断熱材として期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2024-01-19.High-performance thermal insulators represented by aerogels are regarded as one of the most promising materials for energy savings. However, significantly low mechanical strength has been a barrier for aerogels to be utilized in various social domains such as houses, buildings, and industrial plants. Here, we report a synthetic strategy to realize highly transparent aerogels with unusually high bending flexibility based on poly(methylsilsesquioxane) (PMSQ) network. We have constructed mesoscopic fine fiber-like structures of various sizes in PMSQ gels by the combination of phase separation suppression by tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) and mesoscopic fiber-like assembly by nonionic poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO) type surfactant. The optimized mesoscale structures of PMSQ gels have realized highly transparent and resilient monolithic aerogels with much high bendability compared to those reported in previous works. This work will provide a way to highly insulating materials with glasslike transparency and high mechanical flexibility

Atomic-scale flattening of SiC surfaces by electroless chemical etching in HF solution with Pt catalyst

The authors present a method for flattening SiC surfaces with Pt as a catalyst in HF solution. The mechanism for flattening SiC surfaces is discussed. The flattened 4H-SiC (0001) surface is composed of alternating wide and narrow terraces with single-bilayer-height steps, which are induced by the rate difference of the catalytic reactions between adjacent terraces. Scanning tunneling microscopy images reveal a 1×1 phase on the terraces. The 1×1 phase is composed of coexisting of F- and OH-terminated Si atoms, which originate from the polarization of the underlying Si-C bonds. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.Kenta Arima, Hideyuki Hara, et al. "Atomic-scale flattening of SiC surfaces by electroless chemical etching in HF solution with Pt catalyst", Appl. Phys. Lett. 90(20), 202106 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2739084

Software Evaluation for Second Round Candidates in NIST Lightweight Cryptography

Lightweight cryptography algorithms are increasing in value because they can enhance security under limited resources. National Institute of Standards and Technology is working on standardising lightweight authenticated encryption with associated data. Thirty-two candidates are included in the second round of the NIST selection process, and their specifications differ with respect to various points. Therefore, for each algorithm, the differences in specifications are expected to affect the algorithm\u27s performance. This study aims to facilitate the selection and design of those algorithms according to the usage scenarios. For this purpose, we investigate and compare the 32 lightweight cryptography algorithm candidates using specifications and software implementations. The results indicate that latency and memory usage depend on parameters and nonlinear operations. In terms of memory usage, a difference exists in ROM usage, but not in the RAM usage from our experiments using ARM platform. We also discovered that the data size to be processed efficiently differs according to the padding scheme, mode of operation, and block size

半側空間無視症例の正中認知に与えるヘッドマウントディスプレイアダプテーションの即時効果

東京都立大

Lymphedema After Axillary Lymph Node Dissection in Breast Cancer: Prevalence and Risk Factors—A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Background: Lymphedema may develop when axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) injures and obstructs the lymph ducts in the upper limb. In patients with breast cancer, lymphedema is difficult to treat and can cause arm swelling, heaviness, and restricted movement. We aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors for lymphedema after ALND in patients with breast cancer.Methods and Results: This retrospective study included 175 patients with breast cancer who underwent ALND in the Nagasaki University Hospital, Japan, between 2005 and 2018. Lymphedema was defined as symptomatic arm swelling with a >2-cm difference in the arm circumference between the affected and contralateral arms. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of lymphedema. Surgical and pathological findings were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed, including the chi-square test, Student’s t-test, and logistic regression analysis. Lymphedema was prevalent in 20% of the study participants, and the mean time interval from surgery to development of lymphedema was 479 days. In the univariate analysis, a body mass index of >26 kg/m2, smoking, radiotherapy (RT), and dissection of >18 axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) significantly increased the risk of lymphedema. In the multivariate analysis, smoking, RT, and dissection of >18 ALNs significantly increased the risk of lymphedema.Conclusions: The prevalence of lymphedema in our study was 20%. Our findings suggest that smoking, RT, and dissection of >18 ALNs are risk factors for lymphedema. Aggressive and empiric ALND might be associated with axillary lymph duct damage

Drug retention of secondary biologics or JAK inhibitors after tocilizumab or abatacept failure as first biologics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis -the ANSWER cohort study-

Objectives: The aim of this multicenter, retrospective study was to clarify the retention of secondary biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were primarily treated by tocilizumab (TCZ) or abatacept (ABT) as first bDMARDs. Method: Patients who were treated by either TCZ (n = 145) or ABT (n = 76) and then switched to either tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), TCZ, ABT, or JAKi (including only cases switched from TCZ) from 2001 to 2019 (female 81.0%, age 59.5 years, disease duration 8.8 years; rheumatoid factor positivity 75.4%; Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using C-reactive protein 3.7; concomitant prednisolone (PSL) dose 6.0 mg/day (51.8%) and methotrexate (MTX) dose 8.0 mg/week (56.1%); 81.9% discontinued first bDMARDs due to lack of effectiveness) were included. Drug retention and discontinuation reasons were estimated at 24 months using the Kaplan-Meier method and adjusted for potential confounders by Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: Drug retentions for each of the reasons for discontinuation were as follows: lack of effectiveness in TCZ-switched group (TNFi (59.5%), ABT (82.2%), and JAKi (84.3%); TNFi vs. ABT; P = 0.009) and ABT-switched group (TNFi (79.6%) and TCZ (92.6%); P = 0.053). Overall retention excluding non-toxic reasons and remission for discontinuation were TNFi (49.9%), ABT (72.7%), and JAKi (72.6%) (TNFi vs. ABT; P = 0.017) in the TCZ-switched group and TNFi (69.6%) and TCZ (72.4%) (P = 0.44) in the ABT-switched group. Conclusions: Switching to ABT in TCZ-treated patients led to higher retention as compared with TNFi. Switching to TCZ in ABT-treated patients tended to lead to higher retention due to effectiveness, although total retention was similar as compared with TNFi.Key Point• This is the first retrospective, multi-center study aimed to clarify the retention rates of secondary bDMARDs or JAKi in patients with RA who were primarily being treated by TCZ or ABT as the first bDMARDs.This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05015-5Ebina K., Hirano T., Maeda Y., et al. Drug retention of secondary biologics or JAK inhibitors after tocilizumab or abatacept failure as first biologics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis -the ANSWER cohort study-. Clinical Rheumatology 39, 2563 (2020

Drug retention of 7 biologics and tofacitinib in biologics-naïve and biologics-switched patients with rheumatoid arthritis: The ANSWER cohort study

Background: This multi-center, retrospective study aimed to clarify retention rates and reasons for discontinuation of 7 biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and tofacitinib (TOF), one of the janus kinase inhibitors, in bDMARDs-naïve and bDMARDs-switched patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: This study assessed 3897 patients and 4415 treatment courses with bDMARDs and TOF from 2001 to 2019 (2737 bDMARDs-naïve courses and 1678 bDMARDs-switched courses [59.5% of switched courses were their second agent], female 82.3%, baseline age 57.4 years, disease duration 8.5 years; rheumatoid factor positivity 78.4%; Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using erythrocyte sedimentation rate 4.3; concomitant prednisolone [PSL] dose 6.1 mg/day [usage 42.4%], and methotrexate [MTX] dose 8.5 mg/week [usage 60.9%]). Treatment courses included abatacept (ABT; n = 663), adalimumab (ADA; n = 536), certolizumab pegol (CZP; n = 226), etanercept (ETN; n = 856), golimumab (GLM; n = 458), infliximab (IFX; n = 724), tocilizumab (TCZ; n = 851), and TOF (n = 101/only bDMARDs-switched cases). Drug discontinuation reasons (categorized into lack of effectiveness, toxic adverse events, non-toxic reasons, or remission) and rates were estimated at 36 months using Gray's test and statistically evaluated after adjusted by potential clinical confounders (age, sex, disease duration, concomitant PSL and MTX usage, starting date, and number of switched bDMARDs) using the Fine-Gray model. Results: Cumulative incidence of drug discontinuation for each reason was as follows: lack of effectiveness in the bDMARDs-naïve group (from 13.7% [ABT] to 26.9% [CZP]; P < 0.001 between agents) and the bDMARDs-switched group (from 18.9% [TCZ] to 46.1% [CZP]; P < 0.001 between agents); toxic adverse events in the bDMARDs-naïve group (from 4.6% [ABT] to 11.2% [ETN]; P < 0.001 between agents) and the bDMARDs-switched group (from 5.0% [ETN] to 15.7% [TOF]; P = 0.004 between agents); and remission in the bDMARDs-naïve group (from 2.9% [ETN] to 10.0% [IFX]; P < 0.001 between agents) and the bDMARDs-switched group (from 1.1% [CZP] to 3.3% [GLM]; P = 0.9 between agents). Conclusions: Remarkable differences were observed in drug retention of 7 bDMARDs and TOF between bDMARDs-naïve and bDMARDs-switched cases.Ebina K., Hirano T., Maeda Y., et al. Drug retention of 7 biologics and tofacitinib in biologics-naïve and biologics-switched patients with rheumatoid arthritis: The ANSWER cohort study. Arthritis Research and Therapy 22, 142 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-020-02232-w

Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis -The ANSWER cohort study-

Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the retention rates and reasons for discontinuation for seven biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in a real-world setting of elderly patients (65 years of age or older) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods This multi-center, retrospective study assessed 1,098 treatment courses of 661 patients with bDMARDs from 2009 to 2018 (females, 80.7%; baseline age, 71.7 years; disease duration 10.5 years; rheumatoid factor positivity 81.3%; Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 4.6; concomitant prednisolone dose 2.8 mg/day (45.6%) and methotrexate dose 4.4 mg/week (56.4%); and 60.2% patients were bio-naïve). Treatment courses included abatacept (ABT; n = 272), tocilizumab (TCZ; n = 234), etanercept (ETN; n = 184), golimumab (GLM; n = 159), infliximab (IFX; n = 101), adalimumab (ADA; n = 97), and certolizumab pegol (CZP; n = 51). Drug retention rates and discontinuation reasons were estimated at 36 months using the Kaplan-Meier method and adjusted for potential clinical confounders (age, sex, disease duration, concomitant PSL and MTX, starting date and switched number of bDMARDs) by Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results A total of 51.2% of treatment courses were stopped, with 25.1% stopping due to lack of effectiveness, 11.8% due to toxic adverse events, 9.7% due to non-toxic reasons, and 4.6% due to remission. Drug retention rates for each discontinuation reason were as follows; lack of effectiveness [from 55.4% (ETN) to 81.6% (ABT); with significant differences between groups (Cox P<0.001)], toxic adverse events [from 79.3% (IFX) to 95.4% (ABT), Cox P = 0.043], and remission [from 94.2% (TCZ) to 100.0% (CZP), Cox P = 0.58]. Finally, overall retention rates excluding non-toxic reasons and remission for discontinuation ranged from 50.0% (ETN) to 78.1% (ABT) (Cox P<0.001).Ebina K., Hashimoto M., Yamamoto W., et al. (2019) Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis -The ANSWER cohort study-. PLoS ONE 14, e0216624. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216624

Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in 4466 treatment courses of rheumatoid arthritis - The ANSWER cohort study

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the retention rates and reasons for discontinuation for seven biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in a real-world setting of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: This multi-center, retrospective study assessed 4466 treatment courses of 2494 patients with bDMARDs from 2009 to 2017 (females, 82.4%; baseline age, 57.4 years; disease duration 8.5 years; rheumatoid factor positivity 78.6%; Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 4.3; concomitant prednisolone (PSL) 2.7 mg/day (43.1%) and methotrexate (MTX) 5.0 mg/week (61.8%); and 63.6% patients were bio-naïve). Treatment courses included tocilizumab (TCZ; n = 895), etanercept (ETN; n = 891), infliximab (IFX; n = 748), abatacept (ABT; n = 681), adalimumab (ADA; n = 558), golimumab (GLM; n = 464), and certolizumab pegol (CZP; n = 229). Drug retention rates and discontinuation reasons were estimated at 36 months using the Kaplan-Meier method and adjusted for potential confounders (age, sex, disease duration, concomitant PSL and MTX, and switched number of bDMARDs) using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: A total of 56.9% of treatment courses were stopped, with 25.8% stopping due to lack of effectiveness, 12.7% due to non-toxic reasons, 11.9% due to toxic adverse events, and 6.4% due to disease remission. Drug retention rates for each discontinuation reason were as follows: lack of effectiveness [from 65.5% (IFX) to 81.7% (TCZ); with significant differences between groups (Cox P < 0.001)], toxic adverse events [from 81.8% (IFX) to 94.0% (ABT), Cox P < 0.001], and remission [from 92.4% (ADA and IFX) to 97.7% (ETN), Cox P < 0.001]. Finally, overall retention rates excluding non-toxic reasons and remission for discontinuation ranged from 53.4% (IFX) to 75.5% (ABT) (Cox P < 0.001). Conclusions: TCZ showed the lowest discontinuation rate by lack of effectiveness, ABT showed the lowest discontinuation rate by toxic adverse events, ADA and IFX showed the highest discontinuation rate by remission, and ABT showed the highest overall retention rates (excluding non-toxic reasons and remission) among seven bDMARDs in the adjusted model.Ebina K., Hashimoto M., Yamamoto W., et al. Drug tolerability and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologics in 4466 treatment courses of rheumatoid arthritis - The ANSWER cohort study. Arthritis Research and Therapy 21, 91 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-019-1880-4