All-mode Renormalization for Tensor Network with Stochastic Noise

In usual (non-stochastic) tensor network calculations, the truncated singular value decomposition (SVD) is often used for approximating a tensor, and it causes systematic errors. By introducing stochastic noise in the approximation, however, one can avoid such systematic errors at the expense of statistical errors which can be straightforwardly controlled. Therefore in principle, exact results can be obtained even at finite bond dimension up to the statistical errors. A previous study of the unbiased method implemented in tensor renormalization group (TRG) algorithm, however, showed that the statistical errors for physical quantity are not negligible, and furthermore the computational cost is linearly proportional to a system volume. In this paper, we introduce a new way of stochastic noise such that the statistical error is suppressed, and moreover, in order to reduce the computational cost we propose common noise method whose cost is proportional to the logarithm of volume. We find that the method provides better accuracy for the free energy compared with the truncated SVD when applying to TRG for Ising model on square lattice. Although the common noise method introduces systematic error originated from a correlation of noises, we show that the error can be described by a simple functional form in terms of the number of noises, thus the error can be straightforwardly controlled in an actual analysis. We also apply the method to the graph independent local truncation algorithm and show that the accuracy is further improved.Comment: 34 pages, 19 figures, 2 tables, version published in Phys.Rev.

Balloon-expandable Metallic Stents for Airway Diseases

Stent placement is an essential treatment for airway diseases. Although self-expandable metallic stents and silicone stents are commonly applied for the treatment of airway diseases, these stents are unsuitable for the treatment of small airway diseases encountered in pediatric patients and lung transplant recipients with airway complications. Currently, only vascular balloon-expandable metallic stents are available for the treatment of small airway diseases; however, little research has been conducted on the use of these stents in this field. We have launched a prospective feasibility study to clarify the safety and efficacy of balloon-expandable metallic stents for the treatment of airway diseases

Higher modified Glasgow Prognostic Score and multiple stapler firings for rectal transection are risk factors for anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection in rectal cancer

Objective: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most devastating complications of rectal cancer surgery. Not only does AL result in reduced quality of life, extended hospitalization and impaired defecatory function, it also has a high local recurrence rate. In this study, we investigated risk factors for AL as it may help to decrease its occurrence and improve patient outcomes. Methods: This study was a retrospective, single-institution study of rectal cancer patients who underwent elective low anterior resection between April 2002 and February 2018 at Fukushima Medical University Hospital. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of AL. Patient-, tumor-, and surgery-related variables were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: One hundred sixty-one patients, average age 63.5±11.5 years, were enrolled in the study. The overall AL rate was 6.8% (11/161). In the univariate analysis, modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS)=2 (p=0.003), use of multiple staplers (≥3 firings) for rectal transection (p=0.001) and intraoperative bleeding (≥250 g) were significantly associated with AL incidence. Multivariate analysis identified that mGPS = 2 (odds ratio [OR]: 19.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.96-125.00, p=0.002) and multiple firings (OR: 18.19, CI: 2.31-111.11, p=0.002) were independent risk factors for AL. Conclusion: Higher mGPS score and multiple firings were independent risk factors for AL

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition-converted tumor cells can induce T-cell apoptosis through upregulation of programmed death ligand 1 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive tumor, and it is urgently needed to develop novel therapeutic strategies including immunotherapy. In this study, we investigated the upregulation of the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) due to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in ESCC using an in vitro treatment system with the EMT inducer, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 inhibitor, and we also analyzed the correlation of EMT and PD-L1 expression in the clinical tumor samples of both tissue microarray (TMA) samples (n = 177) and whole tissue samples (n = 21). As a result, the inhibition of GSK-3β induces EMT phenotype with upregulated vimentin and downregulated E-cadherin as well as increased Snail and Zinc finger E box-binding homeobox (ZEB)-1 gene expression. Simultaneously, we showed that EMT-converted ESCC indicated the upregulation of PD-L1 at both protein (total and surface) and mRNA levels. Of importance, we showed that EMT-converted tumor cells have a capability to induce T-cell apoptosis to a greater extent in comparison to original epithelial type tumor cells. Furthermore, the immunohistochemical stains of ESCC showed that PD-L1 expression on tumor cells was positively correlated with EMT status in TMA samples (P = .0004) and whole tissue samples (P = .0029). In conclusion, our in vitro and in vivo study clearly demonstrated that PD-L1 expression was upregulated in mesenchymal type tumors of ESCC. These findings provide a strong rationale for the clinical use of anti-PD- 1/ anti-PD- L1 monoclonal antibodies for advanced ESCC patients

Validation of Gene Expression-Based Predictive Biomarkers for Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery is widely used for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. However, response to nCRT varies substantially among patients, highlighting the need for predictive biomarkers that can distinguish non-responsive from responsive patients before nCRT. This study aimed to build novel multi-gene assays for predicting nCRT response, and to validate our signature and previously-reported signatures in multiple independent cohorts. Methods: Three microarray datasets of pre-therapeutic biopsies containing a total of 61 non-responders and 53 responders were used as the discovery cohorts to screen for genes that were consistently associated with nCRT response. The predictive values of signatures were tested in a meta-analysis using six independent datasets as the validation cohorts, consisted of a total of 176 non-responders and 99 responders. Results: We identified four genes, including BRCA1, GPR110, TNIK, and WDR4 in the discovery cohorts. Although our 4-gene signature and nine published signatures were evaluated, they were unable to predict nCRT response in the validation cohorts. Conclusions: Although this is one of the largest studies addressing the validity of gene expression-based classifiers using pre-treatment biopsies from patients with rectal cancer, our findings do not support their clinically meaningful values to be predictive of nCRT response