445 research outputs found
From the Editors—Deterrence, Multiattribute Utility, and Probability and Bayes' Updating
No full text We review the past year in this issue's “From the Editors” column, which is coauthored with Managing Editor Kelly M. Kophazi, then we preview this issue's five research articles. Our first article, by Naraphorn Haphuriwat, Vicki M. Bier, and Henry H. Willis, is on “Deterring the Smuggling of Nuclear Weapons in Container Freight Through Detection and Retaliation.” Next, Ali E. Abbas presents a method for “Decomposing the Cross Derivatives of a Multiattribute Utility Function into Risk Attitude and Value.” The next two articles contain methods for determining probabilities. In our third article, Robert F. Bordley develops a method for “Using Bayes' Rule to Update an Event's Probabilities Based on the Outcomes of Partially Similar Events.” Next, a method for “Aggregating Large Sets of Probabilistic Forecasts by Weighted Coherent Adjustment” is developed by Guanchun Wang, Sanjeev R. Kulkarni, H. Vincent Poor, and Daniel N. Osherson. The final article is by Xiting Yang, Joseph B. Kadane, Heidi M. Crane, and Mari M. Kitahata on “Whether to Retest the Lipids of HIV-Infected Patients: How Much Does Fasting Bias Matter?” </jats:p
Card from Kintaro Kitahara to Mitzi Naohara, December 1943
No full textAn invitation card to the wedding ceremony for Tayeko Kitahata and Sgt. Ray Kikumi Umade held at Third Christian Church Chapel 1 in the Poston camp in Arizona at 7:00 on Tuesday December 14, 1943. The caption reads: Tykies wedding announcement. An item from: Mitzi Naohara scrapbook (csudh_nao_0400), page 6.The George and Mitzi Naohara Papers consists of photo albums and scrapbooks compiled by George and Mitzi Naohara, and other documents pertaining to the Naohara and Masukawa family. Contained are photographs, correspondence, documents, and memorabilia depicting their experiences during World War II. George Nobuo Naohara is a Kibei Nisei, and his experiences include his farm labor in Idaho and Utah, incarceration in the Manzanar, Jerome, and Tule Lake camps, and the U.S. Army language school training and Korean War. He also engaged in Buddhist activities for his whole life and there are moving images depicting Gardena Buddhist Church activities after the war. Mitzi Masukawa Naohara was a preschool teacher at the Poston camp, Arizona, and also a member of a young Nisei women's club, "Sigma Debs.” Her collected materials depict her life as a teacher and social events in the Poston camp during the war
Theoretical study on the translation and rotation of an elliptic camphor particle
No full textThe spontaneous motion of an elliptic camphor particle floating on water is studied theoretically and experimentally. Considering a mathematical model for the motion of an elliptic camphor particle in a two-dimensional space, we first investigate the asymptotic solutions with numerical computation. We then introduce a small parameters into the definition of the particle shape, which represents an elliptic deformation from a circular shape and, by means of perturbation theory, we analytically calculate the travelling solution to within O(epsilon). The results show that short-axis-directed travelling solutions primarily bifurcate from stationary solutions and that long-axis-directed ones are secondary which means that elliptic camphor particles are easier to move in the short-axis direction. Furthermore, we show that rotating solutions bifurcate from stationary solutions and that the bifurcation point changes with 0(82), which suggests that elliptic camphor disks easily exhibit translational motion, rather than rotational, within the small deformation. Finally, our theoretical suggestions are confirmed by an experiment
Interaction of non-radially symmetric camphor particles
No full textIn this study, the interaction between two non-radially symmetric camphor particles is theoretically investigated and the equation describing the motion is derived as an ordinary differential system for the locations and the rotations. In particular, slightly modified non-radially symmetric cases from radial symmetry are extensively investigated and explicit motions are obtained. For example, it is theoretically shown that elliptically deformed camphor particles interact so as to be parallel with major axes. Such predicted motions are also checked by real experiments and numerical simulations. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Life expectancy of individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in high-income countries: a collaborative analysis of 14 cohort studies.
No full textBACKGROUND: Combination antiretroviral therapy has led to significant increases in survival and quality of life, but at a population-level the effect on life expectancy is not well understood. Our objective was to compare changes in mortality and life expectancy among HIV-positive individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: The Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration is a multinational collaboration of HIV cohort studies in Europe and North America. Patients were included in this analysis if they were aged 16 years or over and antiretroviral-naive when initiating combination therapy. We constructed abridged life tables to estimate life expectancies for individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in 1996-99, 2000-02, and 2003-05, and stratified by sex, baseline CD4 cell count, and history of injecting drug use. The average number of years remaining to be lived by those treated with combination antiretroviral therapy at 20 and 35 years of age was estimated. Potential years of life lost from 20 to 64 years of age and crude mortality rates were also calculated. FINDINGS: 18 587, 13 914, and 10 854 eligible patients initiated combination antiretroviral therapy in 1996-99, 2000-02, and 2003-05, respectively. 2056 (4.7%) deaths were observed during the study period, with crude mortality rates decreasing from 16.3 deaths per 1000 person-years in 1996-99 to 10.0 deaths per 1000 person-years in 2003-05. Potential years of life lost per 1000 person-years also decreased over the same time, from 366 to 189 years. Life expectancy at age 20 years increased from 36.1 (SE 0.6) years to 49.4 (0.5) years. Women had higher life expectancies than did men. Patients with presumed transmission via injecting drug use had lower life expectancies than did those from other transmission groups (32.6 [1.1] years vs 44.7 [0.3] years in 2003-05). Life expectancy was lower in patients with lower baseline CD4 cell counts than in those with higher baseline counts (32.4 [1.1] years for CD4 cell counts below 100 cells per muL vs 50.4 [0.4] years for counts of 200 cells per muL or more). INTERPRETATION: Life expectancy in HIV-infected patients treated with combination antiretroviral therapy increased between 1996 and 2005, although there is considerable variability between subgroups of patients. The average number of years remaining to be lived at age 20 years was about two-thirds of that in the general population in these countrie
Self-rated cognitive functions following chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer: a 6-month prospective study
No full textRyosuke Kitahata,1 Shinichiro Nakajima,1–4 Hiroyuki Uchida,1,3 Tetsu Hayashida,5 Maiko Takahashi,5 Shintaro Nio,1 Jinichi Hirano,1 Maki Nagaoka,1 Takefumi Suzuki,1 Hiromitsu Jinno,6 Yuko Kitagawa,5 Masaru Mimura1 1Psychopharmacology Research Program, Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; 2Multimodal Imaging Group – Research Imaging Centre, 3Geriatric Mental Health Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 4Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; 5Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, 6Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate subjective (self-rated), family-rated, and objective (researcher-rated) cognitive functions in patients with breast cancer after chemotherapy.Method: We conducted a prospective study to trace self-rated cognitive functions in 30 patients with breast cancer at the completion of chemotherapy (T0) and 6 months later (T1). Subjective cognitive functions were assessed with Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX-S), and Everyday Memory Checklist (EMC-S) for attention, executive function, and episodic memory, respectively. Their family members also completed DEX-I and EMC-I for executive function and episodic memory, respectively. We also examined objective cognitive functions. Self-rated cognitive functions were compared with the normative data. They were compared between T0 and T1. We calculated correlation coefficients between self-rated and other cognitive functions.Results: At T0, 6 (20.0%) and 2 (6.7%) participants showed higher DEX-S and EMC-S scores than the normative data, respectively, while no participant had abnormal CFQ scores. At T1, DEX-S and EMC-S scores were normalized in 3 (50.0%) and 2 (100.0%) participants, respectively. No participant showed increases in CFQ scores. No changes were found in objective cognitive functions from T0 to T1. DEX-S and DEX-I or EMC-S and EMC-I scores were correlated at both T0 and T1, which did not survive multiple corrections. There was no association between subjective and objective cognitive functions.Conclusion: Impairments in subjective cognition may be transient after chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Furthermore, patients and their families appear to share similar prospects on their cognitive functions. Keywords: breast cancer, chemotherapy, subjective cognitive function
Variable impact on mortality of AIDS‐Defining events diagnosed during combination antiretroviral therapy: Not All AIDS‐defining conditions are created equal
No full textBackground
The extent to which mortality differs following individual acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)–defining events (ADEs) has not been assessed among patients initiating combination antiretroviral therapy.
Methods
We analyzed data from 31,620 patients with no prior ADEs who started combination antiretroviral therapy. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate mortality hazard ratios for each ADE that occurred in >50 patients, after stratification by cohort and adjustment for sex, HIV transmission group, number of anti-retroviral drugs initiated, regimen, age, date of starting combination antiretroviral therapy, and CD4+ cell count and HIV RNA load at initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy. ADEs that occurred in <50 patients were grouped together to form a “rare ADEs” category.
Results
During a median follow-up period of 43 months (interquartile range, 19–70 months), 2880 ADEs were diagnosed in 2262 patients; 1146 patients died. The most common ADEs were esophageal candidiasis (in 360 patients), Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (320 patients), and Kaposi sarcoma (308 patients). The greatest mortality hazard ratio was associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (hazard ratio, 17.59; 95% confidence interval, 13.84–22.35) and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (hazard ratio, 10.0; 95% confidence interval, 6.70–14.92). Three groups of ADEs were identified on the basis of the ranked hazard ratios with bootstrapped confidence intervals: severe (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [hazard ratio, 7.26; 95% confidence interval, 5.55–9.48]), moderate (cryptococcosis, cerebral toxoplasmosis, AIDS dementia complex, disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex, and rare ADEs [hazard ratio, 2.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.76–3.13]), and mild (all other ADEs [hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–2.00]).
Conclusions
In the combination antiretroviral therapy era, mortality rates subsequent to an ADE depend on the specific diagnosis. The proposed classification of ADEs may be useful in clinical end point trials, prognostic studies, and patient management
Prolonged Culture of Mast Cells with High-Glucose Medium Enhances the FcεRI-Mediated Degranulation Response and Leukotriene C<sub>4</sub> Production
No full text<i>Background:</i> Mast cell-released chemical mediators such as histamine, leukotriene (LT) C<sub>4</sub> and prostaglandin (PG) D<sub>2</sub> lead to the onset of allergic disorders. ATP provided from glycolysis is essential for histamine release and LTC<sub>4</sub> secretion from mast cells upon Fc&#917;RI cross-linking, indicating that glucose is a primary environmental factor for mast cell activation. In this study, we investigated whether increases in concentrations of glucose in culture media affect the activation of bone marrow-derived mouse mast cells (BMMCs) upon Fc&#917;RI cross-linking. <i>Methods:</i> BMMCs were cultured in RPMI-1640 supplemented with varying concentrations (5.5, 11, 16.5, 22, 27.5 and 33 m<i>M</i>) of <i>D</i>-glucose for 3 h, or 1, 3 or 7 days. <i>D</i>-Mannitol was added to the medium containing 5.5 m<i>M</i><i>D</i>-glucose for osmotic control. After culturing, these cells were sensitized with anti-TNP IgE and then stimulated with TNP-BSA. <i>Results:</i> We found that long-term culture (7 days) of BMMCs with 33 m<i>M</i><i>D</i>-glucose increases the Fc&#917;RI-dependent release of β-hexosaminidase and LTC<sub>4</sub> without affecting surface expression levels of Fc&#917;RI, intracellular ATP levels or calcium signaling. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that Fc&#917;RI-dependent phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A<sub>2</sub> (cPLA<sub>2</sub>) at the Ser505 residue was significantly increased by culturing with 33 m<i>M</i> glucose. <i>Conclusions:</i> Taken together, our data suggest that glucose can augment Fc&#917;RI-mediated mast cell activation, particularly the degranulation response and LTC<sub>4</sub> secretion after prolonged culture of mast cells with high-glucose medium. Moreover, it is suggested that increased phosphorylation of cPLA<sub>2</sub> at the Ser505 residue contributes to the enhancement of LTC<sub>4</sub> secretion.</jats:p
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