We focus on Internet rumors and present an empirical analysis and simulation results of their diffusion and convergence during emergencies. In particular, we study one rumor that appeared in the ...immediate aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, which later turned out to be misinformation. By investigating whole Japanese tweets that were sent one week after the quake, we show that one correction tweet, which originated from a city hall account, diffused enormously. We also demonstrate a stochastic agent-based model, which is inspired by contagion model of epidemics SIR, can reproduce observed rumor dynamics. Our model can estimate the rumor infection rate as well as the number of people who still believe in the rumor that cannot be observed directly. For applications, rumor diffusion sizes can be estimated in various scenarios by combining our model with the real data.
A palladium-catalyzed intramolecular reaction of carboxylic acids and alkynes in a novel cyclization manner was developed. This unique cyclization efficiently provided a wide range of complex ring ...systemsvinyl dioxanones bearing a quaternary allylic carbon. Mechanistic studies suggest an allenyl carboxylate as an intermediate.
Recently, with the deterioration of bridge facilities, demand has arisen for a method to inspect many bridges efficiently. One proposed bridge inspection method involves observation and inspection of ...cracks on undersides of bridges using a video camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that flies under the bridges. There is an option to have a pilot operate the UAV, but it is desirable to have the UAV fly autonomously when efficiency of inspection is considered. Though there is a method using GPS for autonomous flight control of UAVs, there are many cases in which GPS cannot be utilized under bridges, and a new method is required for autonomous flight control in such places. The authors have already shown that autonomous flight control of UAVs can be achieved within the range of a monocular camera image by measuring the position of a UAV using camera images. However, since the flight range is bounded by the monocular camera image, it is necessary to move the camera position to fly the UAV autonomously in a wider space. In this paper, it is shown that a UAV can achieve autonomous flight control in wider spaces by constructing a single coordinate system for a combination of two camera images. In addition, considering that various measuring instruments might be mounted on a UAV, an adaptive control method capable of obtaining good control performance without changing the design parameters of the controllers should be applied. This method is useful for maintaining control performance when the total weight of the UAV changes. To show the effectiveness of our proposed method, we give an appropriate practical flight target orbit and present its experimental results.
In this study, an autonomous traveling control system for a mobile robot was developed using the results for calculation of the relative positions and angles between the mobile robot and markers, ...based on the image information obtained from a camera mounted on the mobile robot. The mobile robot runs autonomously based on the path of the marker. However, as the conventional method uses OpenCV to identify the shape of the marker using the color information of the marker, the marker may be misrecognized owing to the influence of light. Furthermore, the specifications of the camera limit the detection distance of the marker placed opposite it, which inevitably limits the straight traveling distance of the mobile robot in the proposed method. The proposed method improves the accuracy of marker recognition by using deep learning, and also devises the method of placing markers that allows the user to move straight ahead over a longer distance. It can also easily achieve autonomous path travel control, including long-distance straight lines, for a mobile robot in an environment where global positioning systems (GPS) cannot be received. In addition, the system can be easily operated by an actual user, who need not have any knowledge of programming, because the travel path of the mobile robot can be set up simply by placing markers. The effectiveness of the proposed system was demonstrated through several experiments.
We have developed the photopolymers with pendant POSS group based on the synthetic approach using maleic anhydride, which was reacted with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate to enable the simultaneous ...incorporation of methacryloyl group for photocuring and carboxy group for solubilization in aqueous developers. Several photopolymers were prepared with different methacrylate component, which affects the physical properties of the resulting photopolymers. Investigation of the characteristics of the obtained photopolymers in comparison with a control sample revealed that the pendant POSS group as well as incorporated alicyclic structure enhance the thermal, low dielectric, and photoresist properties.
We encountered a patient with multiple myeloma treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) who developed repeated episodes of enteritis but regressed spontaneously. An ...endoscopic examination revealed no abnormalities, but biopsy specimens showed massive infiltration of CD4+ and Epstein-Barr encoding region (EBER+) abnormal lymphocytes in which a high copy number of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) genomes was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). EBV infection was exclusively detected in CD4+ T-cells, leading to a diagnosis of EBV-positive CD4+ T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD). This case suggests that an immediate biopsy and examinations, including qPCR for EBV DNA, should be considered for patients with recurrent enteritis after autologous HSCT, regardless of endoscopic findings.
In this study, we developed a system for calculating the relative position and angle between a mobile robot and a marker using information such as the size of the marker of the internal camera of the ...mobile robot. Using this information, the mobile robot runs autonomously along the path given by the placement of the marker. In addition, we provide a control system that can follow a trajectory using information obtained by recognizing the mobile robot when reflected in an external camera using deep learning. The proposed method can easily achieve autonomous path travel control for mobile robots in environments where GPS cannot be received. The effectiveness of the proposed system is demonstrated under several actual experiments.
Summary
The prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) has dramatically improved with the development of new drugs, and it has become important to determine the appropriate combinations of these novel ...agents. This study was a systematic review and network meta‐analysis (NMA) of randomized trials in patients with relapsed and/or refractory (RR) MM. The PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases were searched for randomized trials from 1 January 2002 to 28 February 2022 of patients treated for MM. The primary end‐point was progression‐free survival (PFS), evaluated as a hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) compared to dexamethasone (DEX). The p‐score was used to rank treatments. Of a total of 1136 s screened, 37 studies were selected, including 34 treatment options for RRMM. Daratumumab, lenalidomide and DEX was found to be the best treatment for RRMM, with the best HR compared to DEX (HR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.08–0.20; p‐score 0.9796). There was no evidence of significant heterogeneity (I2, 41.3%; p = 0.146). The current NMA confirmed the excellent efficacy of three‐drug regimens including anti‐CD38 antibodies to treat RRMM and provides background data to evaluate the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell treatments and bispecific T‐cell engager therapies.
Background Life-threatening cytomegalovirus infection (CMVI) has been reported even in patients with malignant lymphoma (ML) who have not received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (w/o HSCT) ...but had been treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, the CMVI incidence and risk factors (RFs) in patients with ML w/o HSCT have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical aspects, including incidence and RFs, of CMVI in patients with ML w/o HSCT. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients with ML who received chemotherapy or radiotherapy in our department from 2005 to 2013. The overall survival (OS), incidence and RFs of CMVI, and other characteristics of patients with CMVI were analyzed. Results Overall, 236 patients with ML w/o HSCT were evaluated. Of these, 5.5% (13/236) developed CMVI; 54% (7/13) received steroid pretreatment before primary therapy (PT) for ML; and 62% (8/13) received > 2 therapeutic regimens for ML. The OS curve of patients with CMVI was significantly worse than that of patients without CMVI (p < 0.0001, log-rank test). A univariate analysis identified B symptoms (p = 0.00321), serum albumin < 3.5 g/dL (p = 0.0007837), C-reactive protein level > the upper limit of normal (p = 0.0006962), steroid pretreatment before PT for ML (p = 0.0004262), > 2 therapeutic regimens for ML (p = 0.0000818), T cell lymphoma (p = 0.006406), and non-complete remission (p = 0.02311) as RFs for CMVI. A multivariate analysis identified steroid pretreatment before PT for ML odds ratio (OR): 4.71 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.06-21.0); p = 0.0419 and > 2 therapeutic regimens for ML OR: 9.25 (95% CI: 2.33-36.8); p = 0.00159 as independent RFs for CMVI in patients with ML w/o HSCT. Conclusions Attention should be paid to CMVI development in patients with ML w/o HSCT pretreated with steroids or who had multiple therapeutic regimens. Keywords: Malignant lymphoma, Cytomegalovirus infection, Steroid pretreatment, Multiple therapeutic regimens