Consistent Digital Curved Rays and Pseudoline Arrangements

Representing a family of geometric objects in the digital world where each object is represented by a set of pixels is a basic problem in graphics and computational geometry. One important criterion is the consistency, where the intersection pattern of the objects should be consistent with axioms of the Euclidean geometry, e.g., the intersection of two lines should be a single connected component. Previously, the set of linear rays and segments has been considered. In this paper, we extended this theory to families of curved rays going through the origin. We further consider some psudoline arrangements obtained as unions of such families of rays

Pressure-Induced Superconductivity in Iron-Based Spin-Ladder Compound BaFe_2+<i>δ</i>(S_1−<i>x</i>Se<i>_x</i>)₃

The iron-based superconductors had a significant impact on condensed matter physics. They have a common structural motif of a two-dimensional square iron lattice and exhibit fruitful physical properties as a strongly correlated electron system. During the extensive investigations, quasi-one-dimensional iron-based spin-ladder compounds attracted much attention as a platform for studying the interplay between magnetic and orbital ordering. In these compounds, BaFe2S3 and BaFe2Se3 were found to exhibit superconductivity under high pressure, having a different crystal and magnetic structure at low temperature. We report a brief review of the iron-based spin-ladder compound and recent studies for BaFe2+δ(S1−xSex)3. BaFe2(S0.75 Se0.25)3 is in the vicinity of the boundary of two different magnetic phases and it is intriguing to perform high pressure experiments for studying superconductivity, since effects of large magnetic fluctuations on superconductivity are expected. The effect of iron stoichiometry on the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity is also studied by changing the iron concentration in BaFe2+δSe3

A prospective phase II study of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and concomitant interstitial lung disease (HOT1302)

Objectives: Patients with concomitant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) are excluded from most clinical chemotherapy trials because of the high risk of exacerbating the latter condition. This study prospectively investigated the efficacy and safety of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) in combination with carboplatin in patients with both advanced NSCLC and ILD. Patients and methods: The enrolled patients had treatment-naive, advanced NSCLC with ILD. Patients received 100 mg/m(2) nab-paclitaxel weekly and carboplatin at an area under the concentration-time curve of 6 once every 3 weeks for 4-6 cycles. The primary endpoint was the overall response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints included toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results: Thirty-six patients were enrolled between April 2014 and September 2017. Sixteen patients (44.4%) had adenocarcinoma, 15 (41.7%) had squamous cell carcinoma (Sq), and 5 (13.9%) had non-small cell carcinoma. The median number of cycles administered were 4 (range: 1-6). The ORR was 55.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 39.6-70.5). The median PFS and OS were 5.3 months (95% CI: 3.9-8.2) and 15.4 months (95% CI: 9.4-18.7), respectively. A greater proportion of patients with Sq experienced improvements than did those with non-Sq: ORRs, 66.7% (95% CI: 41.7-84.8) vs. 47.6% (95% CI: 28.3-67.6) (P = 0.254); median PFS, 8.2 months (95% CI: 4.0-10.2) vs. 4.1 months (95% CI: 3.3-5.4) (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.30-1.20]; P = 0.15); and median OS, 16.8 months (95% CI: 9.8 not reached) vs. 11.9 months (95% CI: 7.3-17.4) (HR, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.24-1.28]; P = 0.17). Two patients (5.6%) experienced grade >= 2 pneumonitis and 1 patient (2.8%) died. Conclusion: Weekly nab-paclitaxel combined with carboplatin showed favorable efficacy with acceptable toxicity in patients with both advanced NSCLC and ILD

Low-Temperature CO₂ Methanation over Ru Nanoparticles Supported on Monoclinic Zirconia

CO2 is a critical reaction for achieving carbon neutrality. Low-temperature operation (below 250 °C) is important to promote selective CH4 production. In this study, we focused on Ru/m-ZrO2 catalysts, examining how the catalyst preparation method influenced the CO2 methanation. Interestingly, Ru/m-ZrO2 catalysts prepared via a selective deposition method exhibited remarkably high activity, achieving a CO2 conversion of 82% and CH4 selectivity of >99% at 250 °C. This exceptional low-temperature performance can be attributed to the robust interaction between Ru and ZrO2, which enhanced the activation of CO2. The catalytic performance remained unchanged for 70 h