Towards the QCD equation of state at the physical point using Wilson fermion

We study the (2+1)-flavor QCD at nonzero temperatures using nonperturbatively improved Wilson quarks of the physical masses by the fixed scale approach. We perform physical point simulations at finite temperatures with the coupling parameters which were adopted by the PACS-CS Collaboration in their studies using the reweighting technique. Zero temperature values are obtained on the PACS-CS configurations which are open to the public on the ILDG/JLDG. Finite temperature configurations are generated with the RHMC algorithm. The lattice sizes are 323×Nt with Nt=14, 13, ⋯, 4 which correspond to T≈160--550 MeV. We present results of some basic observables at these temperatures and the status of our calculation of the equation of state.This work is in part supported by JSPSKAKENHI Grant No. 26287040, No. 26400244, No. 26400251, and No. 15K05041. This work isin part supported also by the Large Scale Simulation Program of High Energy AcceleratorResearch Organization (KEK) No. 13/14-21 and No. 14/15-23.The 33rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (LATTICE 2015) ; Place : Kobe International Conference Center, Kobe, Japan ; Date : July 14 -18, 201

Nationwide public-access defibrillation in Japan

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether dissemination of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places can improve the rate of survival among patients who have had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: From January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2007, we conducted a prospective, population-based, observational study involving consecutive patients across Japan who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and in whom resuscitation was attempted by emergency responders. We evaluated the effect of nationwide dissemination of public-access AEDs on the rate of survival after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The primary outcome measure was the 1-month rate of survival with minimal neurologic impairment. A multivariate logistic-regression analysis was performed to assess factors associated with a good neurologic outcome. RESULTS: A total of 312,319 adults who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were included in the study; 12,631 of these patients had ventricular fibrillation and had an arrest that was of cardiac origin and that was witnessed by bystanders. In 462 of these patients (3.7%), shocks were administered by laypersons with the use of public-access AEDs, and the proportion increased, from 1.2% to 6.2%, as the number of public-access AEDs increased (P<0.001 for trend). Among all patients who had a bystander-witnessed arrest of cardiac origin and who had ventricular fibrillation, 14.4% were alive at 1 month with minimal neurologic impairment; among patients who received shocks from public-access AEDs, 31.6% were alive at 1 month with minimal neurologic impairment. Early defibrillation, regardless of the type of provider (bystander or emergency-medical-services personnel), was associated with a good neurologic outcome after a cardiac arrest with ventricular fibrillation (adjusted odds ratio per 1-minute increase in the time to administration of shock, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 0.92; P<0.001). The mean time to shock was reduced from 3.7 to 2.2 minutes, and the annual number of patients per 10 million population who survived with minimal neurologic impairment increased from 2.4 to 8.9 as the number of public-access AEDs increased from fewer than 1 per square kilometer of inhabited area to 4 or more. CONCLUSIONS: Nationwide dissemination of public-access AEDs in Japan resulted in earlier administration of shocks by laypersons and in an increase in the 1-month rate of survival with minimal neurologic impairment after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.From N Engl J Med,Kitamura, T., Iwami, T., Kawamura, T., Nagao, K., Tanaka, H., & Hiraide, A., Nationwide public-access defibrillation in japan., 362, 11 Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. Reprinted with permission.Original Articl

Characteristics and outcomes of emergency patients with self-inflicted injuries: A report from ambulance records in Osaka City, Japan

Background: Few studies have evaluated the actual situations of emergency patients with self-inflicted injuries treated by emergency-medical-service (EMS) personnel. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed population-based ambulance records in Osaka City, Japan, between January 2010 and December 2012, and enrolled emergency patients who suffered from self-inflicted injuries such as poisoning by drugs or gas, cutting/piercing skin, jumping from heights, hanging, and drowning. The endpoint was the annual incidence per 100,000 populations in Osaka City of emergency patients who presented with self-inflicted injuries by age and sex. Their outcomes including deaths at the scene and hospital arrival were also evaluated. Results: During the study period, a total of 8,671 patients with 9,424 incidents of self-inflicted injuries were documented. The annual incidence of self-inflicted injuries was higher among women than men in the whole population and in the age group =50 years (49.0 versus 68.9, P < 0.001). The total number of self-inflicted deaths was 1,564 (16.6 %), and the overall proportion of self-inflicted deaths was greater among men than women (32.2 % [1075/3340] vs. 7.5 % [451/6027], P < 0.001). The proportion of self-inflicted hanging was 76.7 % [1142/1489], followed by poisoning by carbon monoxide at 57.1 % [56/98] and jumping to death at 47.6 % [254/534]. Discussion: Using large-scale EMS records, we investigated characteristics and outcomes of emergency patients with self-inflicted injuries treated by EMS personnel. Our findings suggested the gender paradox that the proportion of self-inflicted deaths was higher among men than women, while the proportion of non-fatal self-inflicted injuries was higher among women than among men, particularly in the group aged <=49 years. Our findings showing the importance of the prevention for self-inflicted injuries as well as the gender paradox of self-inflicted injuries will provide important epidemiological information to improve psychiatric cares in prehospital emergency settings. Conclusions: In the total population, the annual incidence of self-inflicted injuries responded to by EMS personnel was higher among women than among men. However, the proportion of self-inflicted deaths was greater among men than women, and the most frequent manner among deceased patients was by hanging.Matsuyama, T., Kitamura, T., Kiyohara, K. et al. Characteristics and outcomes of emergency patients with self-inflicted injuries: a report from ambulance records in Osaka City, Japan. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med 24, 68 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-016-0261-

Latent trajectory modelling of pulmonary artery pressure in systemic sclerosis: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To visualise the trajectories of pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and identify the clinical phenotypes for each trajectory, by applying latent trajectory modelling for PAP repeatedly estimated by echocardiography. METHODS: This was a multicentre, retrospective cohort study conducted at four referral hospitals in Kyoto, Japan. Patients with SSc who were treated at study sites between 2008 and 2021 and who had at least three echocardiographic measurements of systolic PAP (sPAP) were included. A group-based trajectory model was applied to the change in sPAP over time, and patients were classified into distinct subgroups that followed similar trajectories. Pulmonary hypertension (PH)-free survival was compared for each trajectory. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed for baseline clinical characteristics associated with trajectory assignment. RESULTS: A total of 236 patients with 1097 sPAP measurements were included. We identified five trajectories: rapid progression (n=9, 3.8%), early elevation (n=30, 12.7%), middle elevation (n=54, 22.9%), late elevation (n=24, 10.2%) and low stable (n=119, 50.4%). The trajectories, in the listed order, showed progressively earlier elevation of sPAP and shorter PH-free survival. In the multinomial logistic regression analysis with the low stable as a reference, cardiac involvement was associated with rapid progression, diffuse cutaneous SSc was associated with early elevation and anti-centromere antibody was associated with middle elevation; older age of onset was associated with all three of these trajectories. CONCLUSION: The pattern of changes in PAP over time in SSc can be classified into five trajectories with distinctly different clinical characteristics and outcomes

Pre-hospital advanced airway management for adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Nationwide cohort study

Objective To determine survival associated with advanced airway management (AAM) compared with no AAM for adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Design Cohort study between January 2014 and December 2016. Setting Nationwide, population based registry in Japan (All-Japan Utstein Registry). Participants Consecutive adult patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, separated into two sub-cohorts by their first documented electrocardiographic rhythm: shockable (ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia) and non-shockable (pulseless electrical activity or asystole). Patients who received AAM during cardiopulmonary resuscitation were sequentially matched with patients at risk of AAM within the same minute on the basis of time dependent propensity scores. Main outcome measures Survival at one month or at hospital discharge within one month. Results Of the 310 620 patients eligible, 8459 (41.2%) of 20 516 in the shockable cohort and 121 890 (42.0%) of 290 104 in the non-shockable cohort received AAM during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. After time dependent propensity score sequential matching, 16 114 patients in the shockable cohort and 236 042 in the non-shockable cohort were matched at the same minute. In the shockable cohort, survival did not differ between patients with AAM and those with no AAM: 1546/8057 (19.2%) versus 1500/8057 (18.6%) (adjusted risk ratio 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 1.07). In the non-shockable cohort, patients with AAM had better survival than those with no AAM: 2696/118 021 (2.3%) versus 2127/118 021 (1.8%) (adjusted risk ratio 1.27, 1.20 to 1.35). Conclusions In the time dependent propensity score sequential matching for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in adults, AAM was not associated with survival among patients with shockable rhythm, whereas AAM was associated with better survival among patients with non-shockable rhythm.Izawa Junichi, Komukai Sho, Gibo Koichiro, Okubo Masashi, Kiyohara Kosuke, Nishiyama Chika et al. Pre-hospital advanced airway management for adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: nationwide cohort study. BMJ 2019; 364 :l43

Healthy Campus Trial: a multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) fully factorial trial to optimize the smartphone cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app for mental health promotion among university students: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Youth in general and college life in particular are characterized by new educational, vocational, and interpersonal challenges, opportunities, and substantial stress. It is estimated that 30-50% of university students meet criteria for some mental disorder, especially depression, in any given year. The university has traditionally provided many channels to promote students' mental health, but until now only a minority have sought such help, possibly owing to lack of time and/or to stigma related to mental illness. Smartphone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) shows promise for its accessibility and effectiveness. However, its most effective components and for whom it is more (or less) effective are not known. METHODS/DESIGN: Based on the multiphase optimization strategy framework, this study is a parallel-group, multicenter, open, fully factorial trial examining five smartphone-delivered CBT components (self-monitoring, cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, assertion training, and problem solving) among university students with elevated distress, defined as scoring 5 or more on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The primary outcome is change in PHQ-9 scores from baseline to week 8. We will estimate specific efficacy of the five components and their interactions through the mixed-effects repeated-measures analysis and propose the most effective and efficacious combinations of components. Effect modification by selected baseline characteristics will be examined in exploratory analyses. DISCUSSION: The highly efficient experimental design will allow identification of the most effective components and the most efficient combinations thereof among the five components of smartphone CBT for university students. Pragmatically, the findings will help make the most efficacious CBT package accessible to a large number of distressed university students at reduced cost; theoretically, they will shed light on the underlying mechanisms of CBT and help further advance CBT for depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN, CTR-000031307 . Registered on February 14, 2018

Prognostic factors and effect modifiers for personalisation of internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy among university students with subthreshold depression: A secondary analysis of a factorial trial

BACKGROUND: Internet-cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for depression can include multiple components. This study explored depressive symptom improvement prognostic factors (PFs) and effect modifiers (EMs) for five common iCBT components including behavioural activation, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, self-monitoring, and assertion training. METHODS: We used data from a factorial trial of iCBT for subthreshold depression among Japanese university students (N = 1093). The primary outcome was the change in PHQ-9 scores at 8 weeks from baseline. Interactions between each component and various baseline characteristics were estimated using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures. We calculated multiplicity-adjusted p-values at 5 % false discovery rate using the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure. RESULTS: After multiplicity adjustment, the baseline PHQ-9 total score emerged as a PF and exercise habits as an EM for self-monitoring (adjusted p-values <0.05). The higher the PHQ-9 total score at baseline (range: 5-14), the greater the decrease after 8 weeks. For each 5-point increase at baseline, the change from baseline to 8 weeks was bigger by 2.8 points. The more frequent the exercise habits (range: 0-2 points), the less effective the self-monitoring component. The difference in PHQ-9 change scores between presence or absence of self-monitoring was smaller by 0.94 points when the participant exercised one level more frequently. Additionally, the study suggested seven out of 36 PFs and 14 out of 160 EMs examined were candidates for future research. LIMITATIONS: Generalizability is limited to university students with subthreshold depression. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide some helpful information for the future development of individualized iCBT algorithms for depression