Comment on "Conjectures on exact solution of three-dimensional (3D) simple orthorhombic Ising lattices" [arXiv:0705.1045]

It is shown that a recent article by Z.-D. Zhang [arXiv:0705.1045] is in error and violates well-known theorems.Comment: LaTeX, 3 pages, no figures, submitted to Philosophical Magazine. Expanded versio

Shutters, Boxes, But No Paradoxes: Time Symmetry Puzzles in Quantum Theory

The ``N-Box Experiment'' is a much-discussed thought experiment in quantum mechanics. It is claimed by some authors that a single particle prepared in a superposition of N+1 box locations and which is subject to a final ``post-selection'' measurement corresponding to a different superposition can be said to have occupied ``with certainty'' N boxes during the intervening time. However, others have argued that under closer inspection, this surprising claim fails to hold. Aharonov and Vaidman have continued their advocacy of the claim in question by proposing a variation on the N-box experiment, in which the boxes are replaced by shutters and the pre- and post-selected particle is entangled with a photon. These authors argue that the resulting ``N-shutter experiment'' strengthens their original claim regarding the N-box experiment. It is argued in this paper that the apparently surprising features of this variation are no more robust than those of the N-box experiment and that it is not accurate to say that the particle is ``with certainty'' in all N shutters at any given time.Comment: Presentation improved; to appear in International Studies in Philosophy of Scienc

Online and offline video game use in adolescents: measurement invariance and problem severity

Background: Despite the increasing popularity of videogame playing, little is known about the similarities and differences between online and offline videogame players. However, the characteristics of online and offline gaming might predispose different pattern of problematic use. Objectives: The aims of this study were to (i) test applicability and the measurement invariance of the previously developed Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) in both online and offline gamers; and (ii) examine the differences between online and offline gamers in the dimensions of problematic use. Methods: A total of 1,964 adolescent videogame players were recruited. Information on videogame use habits were collected and all gamers were administered the POGQ. Those gamers who played at least sometimes in an online context were considered as “online gamers” and “offline gamers” were those who played videogames exclusively offline. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the measurement invariance across online and offline videogame players. According to the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, online gamers were more likely to score higher on overuse, interpersonal conflict, and social isolation subscales of the POGQ. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that online and offline gaming can be assessed using the same psychometric instrument. These findings open the possibility for future research studies concerning problematic video game to include participants who exclusively play either online or offline games, or both. However, the study also identified important structural features about how online and offline gaming might contribute differently to problematic use. These results provide important information and ideas that could be utilized in parental education and prevention program about the possible detrimental consequences of online vs. offline video game use

Response to arXiv:0811.3876 "Comment on a recent conjectured solution of the three dimensional Ising model" by Wu et al

This is a Response to a recent Comment [F.Y. Wu et al., Phil. Mag. 88, 3093 (2008), arXiv:0811.3876] on the conjectured solution of the three-dimensional (3D) Ising model [Z.D. Zhang, Phil. Mag. 87, 5309 (2007), arXiv:0705.1045]. Several points are made: 1) Conjecture 1, regarding the additional rotation, is understood as performing a transformation for smoothing all the crossings of the knots; 2) The weight factors in Conjecture 2 are interpreted as a novel topologic phase; 3) The conjectured solution and its low- and high-temperature expansions are supported by the mathematical theorems for the analytical behavior of the Ising model. The physics behind the extra dimension is also discussed briefly.Comment: 11 pages, 0 figure

Drug survival of adalimumab, ustekinumab and secukinumab in patients with psoriasis: a prospective cohort study from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR).

BACKGROUND: Real-world biologic drug survival is an important proxy measure for effectiveness. Predictors of drug survival may help patients with psoriasis choose between biologic therapies. OBJECTIVES: (i) To assess the relative drug survival of adalimumab, ustekinumab and secukinumab in patients with psoriasis. (ii) To investigate predictors of biologic drug survival. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed in the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR) between November 2007 and August 2019. We performed survival analysis and fitted a flexible parametric survival model for biologic discontinuation due to ineffectiveness. RESULTS: In total 9652 patients were included: 5543 starting on adalimumab (57·4%), 991 on secukinumab (10·3%) and 3118 on ustekinumab (32·3%). The overall drug survivals of adalimumab, secukinumab and ustekinumab in year 1 were 0·78 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·77-0·79], 0·88 (95% CI 0·86-0·91) and 0·88 (95% CI 0·87-0·89), respectively. The adjusted hazard ratios (adjHRs) for discontinuation of adalimumab and secukinumab compared with ustekinumab were 2·11 (95% CI 1·76-2·54) and 0·67 (95% CI 0·40-1·11), respectively. The presence of psoriatic arthritis predicted for survival in the adalimumab and secukinumab cohorts (adjHR 0·67, 95% CI 0·51-0·88 and 0·70, 95% CI 0·40-1·24, respectively), but for discontinuation in the ustekinumab cohort (adjHR 1·42, 95% CI 1·12-1·81). Previous exposure to biologic therapies predicted for discontinuation in the ustekinumab and secukinumab cohorts (adjHR 1·54, 95% CI 1·26-1·89 and 1·49, 95% CI 0·91-2·45, respectively) and for survival in the adalimumab cohort (adjHR 0·71, 95% CI 0·55-0·92). CONCLUSIONS: Secukinumab and ustekinumab have similar sustained drug survival, while adalimumab has a lower drug survival in patients with psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis and previous biologic experience were predictors with differential effects between the biologic therapies. What is already known about this topic? There is conflicting evidence over the real-world drug survival of secukinumab in patients with psoriasis. Data from registries to date suggest that secukinumab has a lower drug survival than that reported from clinical trials. What does this study add? This study found that secukinumab and ustekinumab had similar sustained drug survival in the real world, while the drug survival of adalimumab was lower, suggesting that the real-world drug survival of secukinumab is higher than previously reported. We found that psoriatic arthritis and previous biologic experience had differential effects on drug discontinuation in the three biologic cohorts. These predictors may help patients and clinicians choose the most appropriate biologic therapy

Combinatorial RNA Design: Designability and Structure-Approximating Algorithm

In this work, we consider the Combinatorial RNA Design problem, a minimal instance of the RNA design problem which aims at finding a sequence that admits a given target as its unique base pair maximizing structure. We provide complete characterizations for the structures that can be designed using restricted alphabets. Under a classic four-letter alphabet, we provide a complete characterization of designable structures without unpaired bases. When unpaired bases are allowed, we provide partial characterizations for classes of designable/undesignable structures, and show that the class of designable structures is closed under the stutter operation. Membership of a given structure to any of the classes can be tested in linear time and, for positive instances, a solution can be found in linear time. Finally, we consider a structure-approximating version of the problem that allows to extend bands (helices) and, assuming that the input structure avoids two motifs, we provide a linear-time algorithm that produces a designable structure with at most twice more base pairs than the input structure.Comment: CPM - 26th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Pattern Matching, Jun 2015, Ischia Island, Italy. LNCS, 201

A standardization approach to compare treatment safety and effectiveness outcomes between clinical trials and real‐world populations in psoriasis

Background: Patients recruited in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for biologic therapies in psoriasis are not fully representative of the real‐world psoriasis population. Objectives: Firstly, to investigate whether patient characteristics are associated with being included in a psoriasis RCT. Secondly, to estimate the differences in the incidence of severe adverse events (SAEs) and the response rate between RCT and real‐world populations of patients on biologic therapies for psoriasis using a standardization method. Methods: Data from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR) were appended to individual participant‐level data from two RCTs assessing ustekinumab in patients with psoriasis. Baseline variables were assessed for association of being in an RCT using a multivariable logistic regression model. Propensity score weights were derived to reweigh the registry population so that variables had the distribution of the trial population. We measured the C‐statistic of the model with trial status as the dependent variable, and the risk differences in the incidence rate of SAEs in the first year and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) after 6 months in the BADBIR cohort before and after weighting. Results: In total 6790 registry and 2021 RCT participants were included. The multivariable logistic regression model had a C‐statistic of 0.82 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81–0.83]. The risk differences for the incidence rate of SAEs and the proportion of patients with PASI < 1.5 were 9.27 (95% CI −3.91–22.5) per 1000 person‐years and 0.95 (95% CI −1.98–4.15), respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that RCTs of biologic therapies in patients with psoriasis are not fully representative of the real‐world population, but this lack of external validity does not account for the efficacy–effectiveness gap