A calculation method for higher-order moments of physical quantities, including magnetization and energy, based on the higher-order tensor renormalization group is proposed. The physical observables ...are represented by impurity tensors. A systematic summation scheme provides coarse-grained tensors including multiple impurities. Our method is compared with the Monte Carlo method on the two-dimensional Potts model. While the nature of the transition of the q-state Potts model has been known for a long time owing to the analytical arguments, a clear numerical confirmation has been difficult due to extremely long correlation length in the weakly-first order transitions, e.g., for q=5. A jump of the Binder ratio precisely determines the transition temperature. The finite-size scaling analysis provides critical exponents and distinguishes the weakly first-order and the continuous transitions.
Background:The current status and outcomes of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use have not been widely evaluated in unselected patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the real world.Methods and ...Results:The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective survey of AF patients who visited the participating medical institutions (n=80) in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan. Follow-up data with oral anticoagulant (OAC) status were available for 3,731 patients by the end of November 2015. We evaluated OAC status and clinical outcomes according to OAC status. The number (incidence rate) of stroke/systemic embolism (SE) and major bleeding events during the median follow-up of 3.0 years was 224 (2.3%/year) and 177 (1.8%/year), respectively. After the release of DOAC, the prevalence of DOAC use increased gradually and steadily, and that of warfarin, DOAC and no OAC was 37%, 26% and 36%, respectively in 2015. On Cox proportional hazards modeling incorporating change in OAC status as a time-dependent covariate for stroke/SE and major bleeding events, use of DOAC compared with warfarin was not associated with stroke/SE events (HR, 0.95; 95% CI: 0.59–1.51, P=0.82) or major bleeding events (HR, 0.82; 95% CI: 0.50–1.36, P=0.45).Conclusions:In real-world clinical practice, there were no significant differences in stroke/SE events or major bleeding events for DOAC compared with warfarin in patients with AF.
mVMC (many-variable Variational Monte Carlo) is an open-source software package based on the variational Monte Carlo method applicable for a wide range of Hamiltonians for interacting fermion ...systems. In mVMC, we introduce more than ten thousands variational parameters and simultaneously optimize them by using the stochastic reconfiguration (SR) method. In this paper, we explain basics and user interfaces of mVMC. By using mVMC, users can perform the calculation by preparing only one input file of about ten lines for widely studied quantum lattice models, and can also perform it for general Hamiltonians by preparing several additional input files. We show the benchmark results of mVMC for the Hubbard model, the Heisenberg model, and the Kondo-lattice model. These benchmark results demonstrate that mVMC provides ground-state and low-energy-excited-state wave functions for interacting fermion systems with high accuracy.
Program title: mVMC
Program Files doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xhgyp6ncvt.1
Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License version 3
Programming language: C
External routines/libraries: MPI, BLAS, LAPACK, Pfapack, ScaLAPACK (optional)
Nature of problem: Physical properties (such as the charge/spin structure factors) of strongly correlated electrons at zero temperature.
Solution method: Application software based on the variational Monte Carlo method for quantum lattice model such as the Hubbard model, the Heisenberg model and the Kondo model.
Unusual features: It is possible to perform the highly-accurate calculations for ground states in a wide range of theoretical Hamiltonians in quantum many-body systems. In addition to the conventional orders such as magnetic and/or charge orders, user can treat the anisotropic superconductivities within the same framework. This flexibility is the main advantage of mVMC.
During drug evaluation trials, information from clinical trials previously conducted on another population, indications or schedules may be available. In these cases, it might be desirable to share ...information by efficiently using the available resources. In this work, we developed an adaptive power prior with a commensurability parameter for using historical or external information. It allows, at each stage, full borrowing when the data are not in conflict, no borrowing when the data are in conflict or “tuned” borrowing when the data are in between. We propose to apply our adaptive power prior method to bridging studies between Caucasians and Asians, and we focus on the sequential adaptive allocation design, although other design settings can be used. We weight the prior information in two steps: the effective sample size approach is used to set the maximum desirable amount of information to be shared from historical data at each step of the trial; then, in a sort of Empirical Bayes approach, a commensurability parameter is chosen using a measure of distribution distance. This approach avoids elicitation and computational issues regarding the usual Empirical Bayes approach. We propose several versions of our method, and we conducted an extensive simulation study evaluating the robustness and sensitivity to prior choices.
Climate change has been an increasingly significant factor behind fluctuations in the yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.), particularly regarding chalky (white-back, basal-white, and ...milky-white) grain, immature thin grain, and cracked grain. The development and use of heat-tolerant varieties is an effective way to reduce each type of grain damage based on the existence of each varietal difference. Cultivation methods that increase the available assimilate supply per grain, such as deep-flood irrigation, are effective for diminishing the occurrence of milky-white grains under high temperature and low solar radiation conditions. The application of sufficient nitrogen during the reproductive stage is important to reduce the occurrence of most heat damage with the exception of milky-white grain. In regard to developing measures for heat-induced poor palatability of cooked rice, a sensory parameter, the hardness/adhesion ratio may be useful as an indicator of palatability within a relatively wide air-temperature range during ripening. Methods for heat damage to rice can be classified as either avoidance or tolerance measures. The timing of the measures is further divided into preventive and prompt types. The use of heat-tolerant varieties and late transplanting are preventive measures, whereas the application of sufficient nitrogen as a top dressing and irrigation techniques during the reproductive stage are prompt types which may function to lower the canopy temperature by enhancing evapotranspiration. Trials combining the different types of techniques will contribute towards obtaining more efficient and steady countermeasures against heat damage under conditions of climate change.
Abstract
Background
Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 12–15% of lung cancers and has a limited prognosis, with approximately one-third of SCLC patients having a poor performance status (PS). ...Patients with extensive-stage (ES) SCLC and a poor PS have a poor prognosis. For this population, overall survival from carboplatin and etoposide treatment is 7–8 months, and treatment development is an unmet medical need. Recently, the combination of an anti-PD-L1 (a ligand for programmed cell death 1) antibody and platinum-based chemotherapy has become the standard of care for ES-SCLC patients with a good PS (PS 0–1). We hypothesized that the combination of the anti-PD-L1 antibody durvalumab with carboplatin and etoposide would be feasible and effective for such patients.
Methods
We initiated a multicenter phase II study of durvalumab combined with carboplatin and etoposide in previously untreated ES-SCLC patients with a poor PS (PS 2–3). Eligible patients will receive durvalumab plus carboplatin and etoposide every 3 to 4 weeks for up to 4 cycles, followed by durvalumab every 4 weeks until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The dosages of carboplatin and etoposide for the second and subsequent cycles will be adaptively determined based on the adverse events of the first cycle. A total of 56 patients (43 patients with a PS of 2 and 13 patients with a PS of 3) will be enrolled in this study, with a 24-month enrollment period and a 12-month follow-up. The primary endpoint is the tolerability of carboplatin and etoposide plus durvalumab in previously untreated ES-SCLC patients with a poor PS. The secondary endpoints are the 1-year survival rate, objective response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, ratio of PS improvement, and safety.
Discussion
The results of this study are intended to establish the safety and efficacy of carboplatin and etoposide plus durvalumab in patients with ES-SCLC and a poor PS.
Trial registration
Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT), jRCTs031200319. Registered 21 January 2021,
https://jrct.niph.go.jp/en-latest-detail/jRCTs031200319
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