Moment of Inertia Dependence of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines in Pulsating Winds

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) are unaffected by changes in wind direction, and they have a simple structure and the potential for high efficiency due to their lift driving force. However, VAWTs are affected by changes in wind speed, owing to effects originating from the moment of inertia. In this study, changes in the rotational speed of a small VAWT in pulsating wind, generated by an unsteady wind tunnel, are investigated by varying the wind cycle and amplitude parameters. It is shown that the responses observed experimentally agree with simulations based on torque characteristics obtained under steady rotational conditions. Additionally, a simple equation expressing the relationship between the rotational change width and amplitude of the pulsating wind is presented. The energy efficiency in a pulsating wind remains constant with changes in both the moment of inertia and the wind cycle; however, the energy efficiency decreases when the wind amplitude is large

Mizoribine, tacrolimus, and corticosteroid combination therapy successfully induces remission in patients with lupus nephritis

Conventional cyclophosphamide-based treatment regimens for lupus nephritis (LN) are still not considered to be optimal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mizoribine, tacrolimus, and corticosteroid combination therapy for LN. We retrospectively evaluated a combination treatment of mizoribine and tacrolimus with corticosteroids as induction therapy in eight newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with biopsy-proven LN. All patients were women, and their mean [standard deviation (SD)] age was 48.5 (20) years. All patients (100 %) had positive anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody titers, and four (50.0 %) were nephrotic. Mean (SD) serum creatinine and daily proteinuria levels were 0.72 (0.4) mg/dl (range 0.33-1.55 mg/dl) and 4.56 (2.8) g (range 0.77-8.2 g), respectively. By month 2, significant improvements in the anti-dsDNA antibody titers, levels of proteinuria, serum albumin, and C3, and SLE disease activity index score were observed. By month 6, seven patients (87.5 %) were in complete remission, with normalized levels of both proteinuria and serum creatinine. This pilot study suggests that mizoribine and tacrolimus treatment with corticosteroids is well tolerated and may prove to be an optimal alternative remission-inducing regimen for LN

Robust 2D-3D alignment based on geometrical consistency

This paper presents a new registration algorithm of a 2D image and a 3D geometrical model, which is robust for initial registration errors, for reconstructing a realistic 3D model of indoor scene settings. One of the typical tech-niques of pose estimation of a 3D model in a 2D image is the method based on the correspondences between 2D pho-tometrical edges and 3D geometrical edges projected on the 2D image. However, for indoor settings, features extracted on the 2D image and jump edges of the geometrical model, which can be extracted robustly, are limited. Therefore, it is difficult to find corresponding edges between the 2D image and the 3D model correctly. For this reason, in most cases, the relative position has to be manually set close to correct position beforehand. To overcome this problem, in the pro-posed method, firstly the relative pose is roughly estimated by utilizing geometrical consistencies of back-projected 2D photometrical edges on a 3D model. Next, the edge-based method is applied for the precise pose estimation after the above estimation procedure is converged. The performance of the proposed method is successfully demonstrated with some experiments using simulated models of indoor scene settings and actual environments measured by range and image sensors. 1

Randomized phase II study to determine the optimal dose of 3-week cycle nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Background Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is commonly observed in patients treated with nanoparticle albumin–bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX). We conducted a multicenter randomized controlled study to evaluate the optimal dose of nab-PTX. Methods We compared three different doses of q3w nab-PTX (Standard: 260 mg/m2 [SD260] vs Medium: 220 mg/m2 [MD220] vs Low: 180 mg/m2 [LD180]) in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Grade 3/4 neuropathy rates in the three doses were estimated using the logistic regression model. The optimal dose was selected in two steps. Initially, if the hazard ratio (HR) for PFS was 1.33, the inferior dose was excluded, and we proceeded with the non-inferior dose. Then, if the estimated incidence rate of grade 3/4 neurotoxicity exceeded 10%, that dose was also excluded. Results One hundred forty-one patients were randomly assigned to SD260 (n = 47), MD220 (n = 46), and LD180 (n = 48) groups, and their median PFS was 6.66, 7.34, and 6.82 months, respectively. The HRs were 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.42–1.28) in MD220 vs SD260, 0.77 (95% CI 0.47–1.28) in LD180 vs SD260, and 0.96 (95% CI 0.56–1.66) in LD180 vs MD220. SD260 was inferior to MD220 and was excluded. The estimated incidence rate of grade 3/4 neurotoxicity was 29.5% in SD260, 14.0% in MD220, and 5.9% in LD180. The final selected dose was LD180. Conclusions Intravenous administration of low-dose nab-PTX at 180 mg/m2 q3w may be the optimal therapy with meaningful efficacy and favorable toxicity in patients with MBC

Changes in Behavior, Professionalism, and Views on Life and Death among Physical Therapists and Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan

Although the mental health disorders of healthcare workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been examined, little is known about the psychological impact of the pandemic on physical therapists. In this study, an online questionnaire survey was conducted on physical therapists and students aspiring to become physical therapists, to investigate changes in behavior/values and related factors. Increased anxiety about COVID- 19, awareness of voluntary restraint, and reduced motivation were observed in comparison with usual levels in both physical therapists and students. The desire to resign and concerns about patients increased significantly, and the desire to resign tended to increase with increases in years of clinical experience. The subjects’ views of the profession did not change, but decreased motivation was related to damage to the professionalism. Views on life and death changed significantly in both groups, and change was greater in students than in physical therapists. Anxiety and/or awareness of voluntary restraint and/or experience caring for patients were associated with changes in views on life and death. These results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the behaviors and values of physical therapists and students through anxiety and reduced motivation

Association of Genetic Polymorphism with Taxane-induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Sub-analysis of a Randomized Phase II Study to Determine the Optimal Dose of 3-week Cycle Nab-Paclitaxel in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is an important clinical challenge that threatens patients’ quality of life. This sub-study of the ABROAD trial investigated the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on CIPN, using genotype data from a randomized study to determine the optimal dose of a 3-week-cycle regimen of nab-paclitaxel (q3w nab-PTX) in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients with HER2-negative MBC were randomly assigned to three doses of q3w nab-PTX (SD: 260 mg/m2 vs. MD: 220 mg/m2 vs. LD: 180 mg/m2). Five SNPs (EPHA4-rs17348202, EPHA5-rs7349683, EPHA6-rs301927, LIMK2-rs5749248, and XKR4-rs4737264) were analyzed based on the results of a previous genome-wide association study. Per-allele SNP associations were assessed by a Cox regression to model the cumulative dose of nab-PTX up to the onset of severe or worsening sensory neuropathy. A total of 141 patients were enrolled in the parent study; 91(65%) were included in this sub-study. Worsening of CIPN was significantly greater in the cases with XKR4 AC compared to those with a homozygote AA (HR 1.86, 95%CI: 1.00001−3.46, p=0.049). There was no significant correlation of CIPN with any other SNP. A multivariate analysis showed that the cumulative dose of nab-PTX was most strongly correlated with CIPN (p<0.01)