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A new framework for the reflection positivity, based on order-preserving operator inequalities, is proposed. This framework is utilized to investigate one-dimensional fermion–phonon systems, with a particular focus on the detailed examination of ground state properties. Our analysis reveals that the reflection positivity provides a consistent description of the charge-density-wave (CDW) order in such systems. Additionally, we establish the existence of CDW long-range order in the ground state when the Coulomb interaction is long range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been found to be associated with certain peripheral organ injuries; however, a few studies have explored the chronological influences of TBI on multiple organs and the systemic effects of therapeutic interventions. Particularly, high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a potential therapeutic target for TBI; however, its effects on peripheral organs remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether severe TBI can lead to multiple organ injury and how HMGB1 inhibition affects peripheral organs. This study used a weight drop-induced TBI mouse model and found that severe TBI can trigger short-lived systemic inflammation, in the lungs and liver, but not in the kidneys, regardless of the severity of the injury. TBI led to an increase in circulating HMGB1 and enhanced gene expressions of its receptors in every organ. Anti-HMGB1 antibody treatment reduced neuroinflammation but increased inflammation in peripheral organs. This study also found that HMGB1 inhibition appears to have a beneficial role in early neuroinflammation but could lead to detrimental effects on peripheral organs through decreased peripheral immune suppression. This study provides novel insights into the chronological changes in multiple organs due to TBI and the unique roles of HMGB1 between the brain and other organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using HLA-identical sibling donors, PBSCT and BMT had similar survival outcomes and relapse rates for adult patients with hematological malignancies during the late period of 2015–2020. • PBSCT showed significantly faster neutrophil and platelet recovery compared with BMT, irrespective of the time period. • PBSCT showed significantly higher risks of acute and chronic GVHD compared with BMT, irrespective of the time period. Mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) have been widely used instead of bone marrow (BM) as the graft source for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Although early studies demonstrated no significant differences in survival between PBSC transplantation (PBSCT) and BM transplantation (BMT) from human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling donors to adults with hematological malignancies, recent results have been unclear. The objective of this retrospective study was to compare overall survival (OS), relapse, non-relapse mortality (NRM), hematopoietic recovery and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) between PBSCT and BMT according to the time period of HCT (2003–2008, 2009–2014, or 2015–2020). We retrospectively compared the outcomes after PBSCT versus BMT in 6064 adults with hematological malignancies using a Japanese registry database between 2003 and 2020. The adjusted probability of OS was significantly higher in BMT recipients compared to PBSCT recipients during the early period of 2003–2008 (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70–0.91; P < 0.001) and the middle period of 2009–2014 (adjusted HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.70–0.91; P < 0.001). However, during the late period of 2015–2020, the adjusted probability of OS was comparable between BMT and PBSCT recipients (adjusted HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.13; P = 0.564), which were mainly due to the reduction of NRM. There was no significant difference in the relapse rate between the groups, irrespective of the time period. Compared to BMT, PBSCT led to faster neutrophil and platelet recovery and the cumulative incidences of grades II–IV and grades III–IV acute and overall and extensive chronic GVHD were significantly higher in PBSCT recipients, irrespective of the time period. PBSCT and BMT had similar survival outcomes and relapse rates in adult patients with hematological malignancies during the late time period of 2015–2020 despite the hematopoietic recovery and acute and chronic GVHD being higher in PBSCT recipients in all time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of trends in the description items within the literature published from 2019 to 2021 with "maxillary sinus septum" in the title or subtitle. Methods: Electronic data from PubMed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were searched from 2019 to 2021. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) to select 21 of 243 articles and examined their studies. Statistical calculations from data recorded by the authors were performed using the Chi-square, Mann–Whitney, and independent tests. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The number of articles decreased annually. The highest number of publications was from Asia (64.3%), accounting for 71.4% of publications. The features of the septum were described for eight items, with one septum (70.14%) mentioned significantly more frequently, followed by on one side (65.89%) or the right side (62.22%). Location was mentioned significantly more frequently in the middle (55.22%) and for those aged 45 years and older (50.38%). No significant differences were observed in prevalence, age, height, or width between sexes; the patients' ages ranged from 18 to 90 years. Septa were significantly more prevalent in dentulous (45.38%) and partially edentulous (48.58%) patients, with significantly more patients exhibiting buccopalatal orientation (82.39%). Conclusions: This study focused primarily on anatomical features using CBCT examination, and analyses of male–female differences and the origin of the sinus septum are necessary for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With mathematical rigor, we demonstrate that electron–phonon interactions enhance the stability of charge density waves in low-temperature phases of many-electron systems. Our proof method involves an appropriate application of the Pirogov–Sinai theory to electron–phonon systems. Combining our findings with existing results, we obtain rigorous information regarding the low-temperature phase diagram for half-filled electron–phonon systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method to explore the flavor structure of quarks and leptons with reinforcement learning. As a concrete model, we utilize a basic value-based algorithm for models with U(1) flavor symmetry. By training neural networks on the U(1) charges of quarks and leptons, the agent finds 21 models to be consistent with experimentally measured masses and mixing angles of quarks and leptons. In particular, an intrinsic value of normal ordering tends to be larger than that of inverted ordering, and the normal ordering is well fitted with the current experimental data in contrast to the inverted ordering. A specific value of effective mass for the neutrinoless double beta decay and a sizable leptonic CP violation induced by an angular component of flavon field are predicted by autonomous behavior of the agent. Our finding results indicate that the reinforcement learning can be a new method for understanding the flavor structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a two-step detector called segmented object detection, whose performance is improved by masking the background region. Previous single-stage object detection methods suffer from the problem of imbalance between foreground and background classes, where the background occupies more regions in the image than the foreground. Thus, the loss from the background is firmly incorporated into the training. RetinaNet addresses this problem with Focal Loss, which focuses on foreground loss. Therefore, we propose a method that generates probability maps using instance segmentation in the first step and feeds back the generated maps as background masks in the second step as prior knowledge to reduce the influence of the background and enhance foreground training. We confirm that the detector can improve the accuracy by adding instance segmentation information to both the input and output rather than only to the output results. On the Cityscapes dataset, our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness and safety of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) desensitization therapy is insufficiently evaluated in hematological diseases. From 2002 to 2019, we retrospectively analyzed 112 patients with hematological diseases who underwent desensitization therapy after TMP/SMX prophylaxis withdrawal due to adverse events. They orally started TMP/SMX at 0.4 mg/2 mg, which was then increased daily to 80 mg/400 mg for 5 or 9 days. Eighty-eight patients (79%) had complete desensitization, and the major reason for failure was rash seen in 21 cases (19%). The cause of desensitization and reasons for failure matched in 22 cases (92%). Pneumocystis pneumonia was not observed throughout the study. In the failure group, the number of eosinophils and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were significantly increased after desensitization. In particular in the failure group, the slight increase in eosinophils was seen through the beginning to halfway during desensitization (36/μL (0–900/μL) and 48/μL (0–2560/μL), respectively, p = 0.025). These data show that TMP/SMX desensitization therapy is effective and safe in hematological diseases. The recurrence of adverse events could help predict desensitization success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate differences in 10 items of treatment details in patient regarding cases between 2015–2017 (EP) and 2018–2020 (LP) from scoping literature review of displaced dental implant (DDI) retrievals. Materials and methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were searched using key words including "displaced," "retrieved," "migrated," or "accidental" dental implants. Treatment details were analyzed for the differences between EP and LP in 92 cases from 32 articles published in 13 countries. Statistical significance was evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U-test, Fisher's exact test, and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results: In the comparison between EP and LP, there was no significant difference in the number of publication countries (11 vs. 10), number of published articles (17 vs. 15), distributions of cases (50 vs. 42), mean age of patients (55.9 ± 1.8 years vs. 55.3 ± 2.5 years), male-female distribution (31/19 vs. 24/18), and distribution of displacement into the maxillary sinus and other regions (46/4 vs. 34/8), and no significant difference in the Pearson's correlation between publication years and the number of articles. DDI retrievals utilized intraoral and endoscopic surgeries (61.2% and 82.5%), transoral and transnasal approaches (93.8% and 81.8%), and local and general anesthesia (64.7% and 76.3%) during EP and LP, respectively. Moreover, significant differences were observed in all distributions between the two factors (30/19 vs. 7/33 cases, 30/2 vs. 6/27 cases and 2/12 vs. 9/29 cases) in EP and LP, respectively (P < 0.01). Conclusions: These results suggest that most DDI retrievals in otorhinolaryngology since 2018 have been mostly performed using transnasal endoscopic approaches under general anesthesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity cliffs (AC) are formed by pairs of structural analogues that are active against the same target but have a large difference in potency. While much of our knowledge about ACs has originated from the analysis and comparison of compounds and activity data, several studies have reported AC predictions over the past decade. Different from typical compound classification tasks, AC predictions must be carried out at the level of compound pairs representing ACs or nonACs. Most AC predictions reported so far have focused on individual methods or comparisons of two or three approaches and only investigated a few compound activity classes (from 2 to 10). Although promising prediction accuracy has been reported in most cases, different system set-ups, AC definitions, methods, and calculation conditions were used, precluding direct comparisons of these studies. Therefore, we have carried out a large-scale AC prediction campaign across 100 activity classes comparing machine learning methods of greatly varying complexity, ranging from pair-based nearest neighbor classifiers and decision tree or kernel methods to deep neural networks. The results of our systematic predictions revealed the level of accuracy that can be expected for AC predictions across many different compound classes. In addition, prediction accuracy did not scale with methodological complexity but was significantly influenced by memorization of compounds shared by different ACs or nonACs. In many instances, limited training data were sufficient for building accurate models using different methods and there was no detectable advantage of deep learning over simpler approaches for AC prediction. On a global scale, support vector machine models performed best, by only small margins compared to others including simple nearest neighbor classifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ribosome biogenesis proceeds with the successive cleavage and trimming of the large 47S rRNA precursor, where the RNA exosome plays major roles in concert with the Ski2-like RNA helicase, MTR4. The recent finding of a consensus amino acid sequence, the arch-interacting motif (AIM), for binding to the arch domain in MTR4 suggests that recruitment of the RNA processing machinery to the maturing pre-rRNA at appropriate places and timings is mediated by several adaptor proteins possessing the AIM sequence. In yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Nop53 plays such a role in the maturation of the 3′-end of 5.8S rRNA. Here, we investigated the functions of PICT1 (also known as GLTSCR2 or NOP53), a mammalian ortholog of Nop53, during ribosome biogenesis in human cells. PICT1 interacted with MTR4 and exosome in an AIM-dependent manner. Overexpression of PICT1 mutants defecting AIM sequence and siRNA-mediated depletion of PICT1 showed that PICT1 is involved in two distinct pre-rRNA processing steps during the generation of 60S ribosomes; first step is the early cleavage of 32S intermediate RNA, while the second step is the late maturation of 12S precursor into 5.8S rRNA. The recruitment of MTR4 and RNA exosome via the AIM sequence was required only during the late processing step. Although, the depletion of MTR4 and PICT1 induced stabilization of the tumor suppressor p53 protein in cancer cell lines, the depletion of the exosome catalytic subunits, RRP6 and DIS3, did not exert such an effect. These results suggest that recruitment of the RNA processing machinery to the 3′-end of pre-5.8S rRNA may be involved in the induction of the nucleolar stress response, but the pre-rRNA processing capabilities themselves were not involved in this process. • PICT1 is involved in pre-rRNA processing and 60S ribosome biogenesis. • PICT1 interacts with MTR4 and RNA exosome via a conserved AIM sequence. • PICT1 is involved in two distinct steps in the pre-rRNA processing pathway. • Only the late 5.8S rRNA maturation step requires the AIM sequence in PICT1. • Depletion of MTR4 and PICT1 increases p53 levels in cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The mitochondria are highly plastic and dynamic organelles; mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported to play causative roles in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the relationship between mitochondrial fission and NAFLD pathogenesis remains unknown. We aimed to investigate whether alterations in mitochondrial fission could play a role in the progression of NAFLD. Methods: Mice were fed a standard diet or choline‐deficient, L‐amino acid‐defined (CDAA) diet with vehicle or mitochondrial division inhibitor‐1. Results: Substantial enhancement of mitochondrial fission in hepatocytes was triggered by 4 weeks of feeding and was associated with changes reflecting the early stage of human nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), steatotic change with liver inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning. Excessive mitochondrial fission inhibition in hepatocytes and lipid metabolism dysregulation in adipose tissue attenuated liver inflammation and fibrogenesis but not steatosis and the systemic pathological changes in the early and chronic fibrotic NASH stages (4‐ and 12‐week CDAA feeding). These beneficial changes due to the suppression of mitochondrial fission against the liver and systemic injuries were associated with decreased autophagic responses and endoplasmic reticulum stress in hepatocytes. Injuries to other liver cells, such as endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, and hepatic stellate cells, were also attenuated by the inhibition of mitochondrial fission in hepatocytes. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that excessive mitochondrial fission in hepatocytes could play a causative role in NAFLD progression by liver inflammation and fibrogenesis through altered cell cross‐talk. This study provides a potential therapeutic target for NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Detection of newly transposed events by transposable elements (TEs) from next generation sequence (NGS) data is difficult, due to their multiple distribution sites over the genome containing older TEs. The previously reported Transposon Insertion Finder (TIF) detects TE transpositions on the reference genome from NGS short reads using end sequences of target TE. TIF requires the sequence of target TE and is not able to detect transpositions for TEs with an unknown sequence. Result: The new algorithm Transposable Element Finder (TEF) enables the detection of TE transpositions, even for TEs with an unknown sequence. TEF is a finding tool of transposed TEs, in contrast to TIF as a detection tool of transposed sites for TEs with a known sequence. The transposition event is often accompanied with a target site duplication (TSD). Focusing on TSD, two algorithms to detect both ends of TE, TSDs and target sites are reported here. One is based on the grouping with TSDs and direct comparison of k-mers from NGS without similarity search. The other is based on the junction mapping of TE end sequence candidates. Both methods succeed to detect both ends and TSDs of known active TEs in several tests with rice, Arabidopsis and Drosophila data and discover several new TEs in new locations. PCR confirmed the detected transpositions of TEs in several test cases in rice. Conclusions: TEF detects transposed TEs with TSDs as a result of TE transposition, sequences of both ends and their inserted positions of transposed TEs by direct comparison of NGS data between two samples. Genotypes of transpositions are verified by counting of junctions of head and tail, and non-insertion sequences in NGS reads. TEF is easy to run and independent of any TE library, which makes it useful to detect insertions from unknown TEs bypassed by common TE annotation pipelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Stability of charge density waves in electron-phonon systems" published in the Journal of Statistical Physics. The notice includes two corrections that were overlooked during the refinement of the manuscript. The first correction addresses an error in the definition of the staggered density, and the second correction modifies Theorem 1.1, which is a corollary of the main theorem of the paper. The corrections provide accurate and updated information for readers conducting research on this topic. The text discusses staggered densities and magnetic order in a specific system. It states that no magnetic order exists in the system, and provides equations and graphs to support this claim. The text also mentions the exponential decay of the two-point correlation function for local observables. The author declares no financial interests, and the publisher remains neutral. No datasets were generated or analyzed in the study. [Extracted from the article]

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of infant death in high-income countries. Supporting models for categorization of sudden unexpected infant death into SIDS/non-SIDS could reduce mortality. Therefore, we aimed to develop such a tool utilizing forensic data, but the reduced number of SIDS cases renders this task inherently difficult. To overcome this, we constructed Bayesian network models according to diagnoses performed by expert pathologists and created conditional probability tables in a proof-of-concept study. In the diagnostic support model, the data of 64 sudden unexpected infant death cases was employed as the training dataset, and 16 known-risk factors, including age at death and co-sleeping, were added. In the validation study, which included 8 new cases, the models reproduced experts' diagnoses in 4 or 5 of the 6 SIDS cases. Next, to confirm the effectiveness of this approach for onset prediction, the data from 41 SIDS cases was employed. The model predicted that the risk of SIDS in 0- to 2-month-old infants exposed to passive smoking and co-sleeping is eightfold higher than that in the general infant population, which is comparable with previously published findings. The Bayesian approach could be a promising tool for constructing SIDS prevention models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Septic patients commonly present with central nervous system (CNS) disorders including impaired consciousness and delirium. Today, the main mechanism regulating sepsis-induced cerebral disorders is believed to be neuroinflammation. However, it is unknown how another component of the CNS, the spinal cord, is influenced during sepsis. In the present study, we intraperitoneally injected mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to investigate molecular and immunohistochemical changes in the spinal cord of a sepsis model. After LPS administration in the spinal cord, pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA were rapidly and drastically induced. Twenty-four-hour after the LPS injection, severe neuronal ischemic damage spread into gray matter, especially around the anterior horns, and the anterior column had global edematous changes. Immunostaining analyses showed that spinal microglia were significantly activated and increased, but astrocytes did not show significant change. The current results indicate that sepsis induces acute neuroinflammation, including microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine upregulation in the spinal cord, causing drastic neuronal ischemia and white matter edema in the spinal cord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-fat mayonnaise has gained widespread popularity as a condiment, driven in part by the global rise in obesity rates, which is partially linked to excessive fat consumption. In this study, the bigel systems were designed by preparing fish oil oleogels and gelatin hydrogels to produce low-fat mayonnaise. As the oleogel content increased in bigels, a phase inversion shifted from oil-in-water (O/W) systems to water-in-oil (W/O) systems. Rheology and mechanical property analysis revealed that the hardness and gel strength of bigels improved as the oleogel content increased. The freeze-thaw stability of bigels was impacted by the ratio of oil and water phases, with O/W systems enduring one additional freeze-thaw cycle compared to W/O systems. The bigel containing 40% oleogel (BG 40) and lemon essential oil significantly enhanced antioxidant properties, as measured by the levels of primary and secondary oxidation products. The antioxidative capacity of the gel, as indicated by the reduced development of primary and secondary oxidation products, was 301.4% and 196.7% greater, respectively, compared to that of the pure oleogel. Based on magnetic resonance imaging and sensory rating analysis, sample BG 40 demonstrated the most homogeneous structure and the best sensory properties. The sample BG 40, used as the fat substitute in preparing low-fat mayonnaise, reduced total oil content compared to full-fat mayonnaise. Our findings contributed to the development of low-fat mayonnaise using fish oil-based bigels, which exhibit exceptional sensory and antioxidant properties. [Display omitted] • Bigel systems with fish oil oleogels and gelatin hydrogels were prepared. • The bigels exhibited outstanding mechanical and rheological properties. • The O/W bigel with LEO had outstanding sensory and antioxidant properties. • The low-fat mayonnaise was employed as a substitute for less healthy fats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) are critical for self-tolerance induction in T cells via promiscuous expression of tissue-specific antigens (TSAs), which are controlled by the transcriptional regulator, AIRE. Whereas AIRE-expressing (Aire+) mTECs undergo constant turnover in the adult thymus, mechanisms underlying differentiation of postnatal mTECs remain to be discovered. Integrative analysis of single-cell assays for transposase-accessible chromatin (scATAC-seq) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) suggested the presence of proliferating mTECs with a specific chromatin structure, which express high levels of Aire and co-stimulatory molecules, CD80 (Aire+CD80hi). Proliferating Aire+CD80hi mTECs detected using Fucci technology express a minimal number of Aire-dependent TSAs and are converted into quiescent Aire+CD80hi mTECs expressing high levels of TSAs after a transit amplification. These data provide evidence for the existence of transit-amplifying Aire+mTEC precursors during the Aire+mTEC differentiation process of the postnatal thymus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an abstract framework describing energy-renormalized Hamiltonians in terms of local algebras. Within the framework, we examine the positivity improvingness of the semigroup generated by the renormalized Hamiltonian. As examples, we discuss the renormalized Nelson Hamiltonian and the renormalized Nelson Hamiltonian at fixed total momentum. The characteristic features of our approach are as follows: (i) in contrast with the probabilistic approach in the Schrödinger representation, our method works well in the Fock representation and (ii) the method covers the massless case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) and quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) models predict biological activity and molecular property based on the numerical relationship between chemical structures and activity (property) values. Molecular representations are of importance in QSAR/QSPR analysis. Topological information of molecular structures is usually utilized (2D representations) for this purpose. However, conformational information seems important because molecules are in the three-dimensional space. As a three-dimensional molecular representation applicable to diverse compounds, similarity between a test molecule and a set of reference molecules has been previously proposed. This 3D representation was found to be effective on virtual screening for early enrichment of active compounds. In this study, we introduced the 3D representation into QSAR/QSPR modeling (regression tasks). Furthermore, we investigated relative merits of 3D representations over 2D in terms of the diversity of training data sets. For the prediction task of quantum mechanics-based properties, the 3D representations were superior to 2D. For predicting activity of small molecules against specific biological targets, no consistent trend was observed in the difference of performance using the two types of representations, irrespective of the diversity of training data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove that the Aizenman–Lieb theorem on ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model holds true even if the electron–phonon interactions and the electron–photon interactions are taken into account. Our proof is based on path integral representations of the partition functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to compare retrospectively the rates of renal morbidity and mortality in surgical patients receiving 6% HES 130/0.4 to those receiving albumin. Methods: From a Japanese nationwide medical database between 2014 and 2016, we identified adults who received HES 130/0.4 (HES group) or albumin (albumin group) as a single colloid solution on the day of surgery. After propensity score matching, the two groups were analyzed with χ2 or Mann Whitney U test. The primary outcome was the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). Secondary outcomes included the incidence of renal-replacement therapy, hospital length of stay, in-hospital 30-day mortality, the use of vasoactive agents, and the fluid requirement on the day of surgery. Results: Of 76,048 patients in the database, propensity score matching identified 289 matched pairs. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of AKI between the HES and the albumin group (15.2% vs. 20.8%, respectively: P = 0.08). The secondary outcomes did not differ between groups except the following. Median hospital stay was 5 days shorter in the HES group (18 vs. 23 days; P < 0.001), and the median net fluid requirement on the day of surgery was 15 mL/kg lower in the HES group (140 vs. 155 mL/kg, respectively; P = 0.01). Conclusions: Postoperative renal morbidity and mortality did not differ between patients receiving HES 130/0.4 and those receiving albumin. HES 130/0.4 was associated with shorter hospital stay and less fluid requirement compared to albumin. These findings support the use of 6% HES 130/0.4 for perioperative volume replacement as an alternative to albumin. Trial registration: UMIN000027896 and the date of registration was June 30, 2017 at https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index-j.html. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with 7/8 HLA allele-matched unrelated bone marrow (7/8 UBMT) and umbilical cord blood (UCBT) make use of alternative donor sources for patients with acute leukemia who lack HLA- identical donors. • This report provides an updated comparison of 7/8 UBMT and UCBT in a Japanese nationwide cohort. • Disease risk- and conditioning intensity-based stratification was used for donor source selection. • A lower incidence of graft-versus-host disease was seen in UCBT recipients. • There was a survival advantage in 7/8 UBMT recipients with standard risk-disease who received a myeloablative conditioning regimen. The outcomes of 7/8 allele-matched unrelated bone marrow transplantation (7/8 UBMT) and umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) have been improving. We retrospectively analyzed adults with acute leukemia who underwent their first 7/8 UBMT or UCBT in Japan. Between January 2008 and December 2017, a total of 4150 patients were recorded, including 488 who underwent 7/8 UBMT and 3662 who underwent UCBT. Only 32 patients with 7/8 UBMT had graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) high-risk HLA mismatched pairs. Overall survival at 3 years was 54% for 7/8 the UBMT group and 46% for the UCBT group, a nonsignificant difference in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI],.88 to 1.17; P =.89). The 7/8 UBMT and UCBT groups showed a similar nonrelapse mortality rate (HR, 1.16; 95% CI,.96 to 1.45; P =.16) and relapse rate (HR,.85; 95% CI,.71 to 1.02; P =.08). However, the UCBT group had a lower risk of grade II-IV acute GVHD (HR,.76; 95% CI,.65 to.88; P <.001) and chronic GVHD (HR,.77; 95% CI,.66-.91; P =.002) compared with the 7/8 UBMT group. In stratified analyses combining disease risk with conditioning intensity, 7/8 UBMT showed superior overall survival to UCBT in standard risk and myeloablative conditioning (HR,.72; 95% CI,.56 to.93; P =.014). Both 7/8 UBMT and UCBT are appropriate alternative donor procedures. The stem cell source can be selected on the basis of disease risk, patient tolerability, or concerns regarding GVHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a hereditary cardiomyopathy and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. However, the role and significance of school screening for LVNC have not been fully elucidated. In this multicenter, retrospective cohort study, a total of 105 children with LVNC were included from 2000 to 2017. At the initial presentation, 44 patients (41.9%) were diagnosed by school screening. One (1.0%) patient underwent heart transplantation and four (3.8%) patients died during the study. Electrocardiogram data showed a high prevalence of fragmented QRS (33.4%) and J wave (15.7%). Treatments were needed in eight (18.2%) patients who were detected by school screening. The multivariable proportional hazards model showed T-wave abnormality on electrocardiogram in first graders was independent risk factors for major adverse cardiac events (odds ratio 4.94, p value = 0.0007). Moreover, dilation of the left atrium on chest X-ray and low ejection fraction on echocardiogram at the initial treatment were independent risk factors for treatment (odds ratio 1.7 × 107 and 22.3, p = 0.0362 and 0.0028, respectively). This study is the first report focusing on school screening in a large pediatric cohort with LVNC. With the use of abnormalities in electrocardiogram, school screening may be a good detector of and predictor for LVNC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines changes in the effects of unconventional monetary policies in the United States. To this end, we estimate a Markov‐switching VAR model with absorbing regimes to capture possible structural changes. Our results detect regime changes around the beginning of 2011 and the middle of 2013. Before 2011, the U.S. large‐scale asset purchases (LSAPs) had relatively large impacts on the real economy and prices, but after the middle of 2013, their effects were weaker and less‐persistent. In addition, after the middle of 2013, which includes the monetary policy normalization period, the asset purchase (or balance sheet) shocks had slightly weaker effects than during the early stage of the LSAPs but stronger effects than during the late stage of the LSAPs, while interest rate shocks had insignificant effects on the real economy and prices. Finally, our results suggest that the positive responses of durables and capital goods expenditures to interest rate shocks weakened the negative impacts of interest rate hikes after the middle of 2013 including the period of monetary policy normalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TBX5 is a transcription factor that has an important role in development of heart. TBX5 variants in the region encoding the T-box domain have been shown to cause cardiac defects, such as atrial septal defect or ventricular septal defect, while TBX5 variants have also been identified in a few cardiomyopathy patients and considered causative. We identified a TBX5 variant (c.791G>A, p.Arg264Lys), that is over-represented in cardiomyopathy patients. This variant is located outside of the T-box domain, and its pathogenicity has not been confirmed by functional analyses. Objective: To investigate whether the TBX5 R264K is deleterious and could contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy. Methods and results: We developed mice expressing Tbx5 R264K. Mice homozygous for this variant displayed compensated dilated cardiomyopathy; mild decreased fractional shortening, dilatation of the left ventricle, left ventricular wall thinning and increased heart weight without major heart structural disorders. There was no difference in activation of the ANF promotor, a transcriptional target of Tbx5, compared to wild-type. However, analysis of RNA isolated from left ventricular samples showed significant increases in the expression of Acta1 in left ventricle with concomitant increases in the protein level of ACTA1. Conclusions: Mice homozygous for Tbx5 R264K showed compensated dilated cardiomyopathy. Thus, TBX5 R264K may have a significant pathogenic role in some cardiomyopathy patients independently of T-box domain pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Rare co-existance of disease or pathology Background: Myocarditis is a rare but potentially fatal complication of mumps virus infection. Left ventricular non-compac- tion (LVNC) is a rare congenital abnormality that can lead to development of low cardiac output, cardiac dys- function, arrhythmias, or sudden cardiac death. To the best of our knowledge, no autopsy cases of mumps myocarditis with LVNC have been reported in the literature. Here, we report an autopsy case of a 21-month- old girl who died due to mumps myocarditis associated with an undiagnosed LVNC. Case Report: Postmortem computed tomography demonstrated bilaterally enlarged parotid glands. Serum analysis of anti- mumps IgM titer was positive. Macroscopic and histological examinations revealed glandular destruction with massive inflammatory cell infiltration of the enlarged parotid glands and mild inflammatory cell infiltration of the heart, which showed prominent trabeculations and deep intra-trabecular recesses, indicating LVNC. Immunohistochemical analyses showed positive immunostainings for mumps in the cardiac and salivary gland tissues. Conclusions: These findings suggest that mumps myocarditis associated with LVNC contributed to this patient's death. Myocarditis patients with other comorbidities, including LVNC, may be at higher risk of sudden death. Further reports of mumps myocarditis and LVNC are needed to better understand the mechanisms of sudden unex- pected deaths in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postannealing characteristics of in situ doped B atoms in poly-Si1-xGex (x<=0.5) films on SiON have been investigated. Supersaturated electrically active B (2×1020 cm-3) is obtained for as-chemical vapor deposition samples, and their thermal stability is significantly improved by increasing Ge fraction, e.g., the stability for poly-Si0.6Ge0.4 is ten times as high as that for poly-Si at 700–800 °C. Such a Ge induced improvement will be a powerful tool to achieve poly-SiGe gate electrode for the next generation ultralarge scale integrated circuits. In addition, the deactivation process of electrically active B has been analyzed. Results indicated that deactivation processes consist of fast and slow processes. The former is due to movement of B atoms from substitutional to interstitial sites, which is enhanced by a local strain induced by the difference in atomic radii between Si and B atoms. The slow process was due to trapping of B at grain boundaries during grain growth. The two-state model based on the local strain compensation by Ge doping is proposed, which can well explain the Ge dependent thermal stability of electrically active B atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During latent infections with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), viral transcription is restricted and the genomes are mostly maintained in silenced chromatin, whereas in lytically infected cells all viral genes are transcribed and the genomes are dynamically chromatinized. Histones in the viral chromatin bear markers of silenced chromatin at early times in lytic infection or of active transcription at later times. The virion protein VP16 activates transcription of the immediate-early (IE) genes by recruiting transcription activators and chromatin remodelers to their promoters. Two IE proteins, ICP0 and ICP4 which modulate chromatin epigenetics, then activate transcription of early and late genes. Although chromatin is involved in the mechanism of activation of HSV- transcription, its precise role is not entirely understood. In the cellular genome, chromatin dynamics often modulate transcription competence whereas promoter-specific transcription factors determine transcription activity. Here, biophysical fractionation of serially digested HSV-1 chromatin followed by short-read deep sequencing indicates that nuclear HSV-1 DNA has different biophysical properties than protein-free or encapsidated HSV-1 DNA. The entire HSV-1 genomes in infected cells were equally accessible. The accessibility of transcribed or non-transcribed genes under any given condition did not differ, and each gene was entirely sampled in both the most and least accessible chromatin. However, HSV-1 genomes fractionated differently under conditions of generalized or restricted transcription. Approximately 1/3 of the HSV-1 DNA including fully sampled genes resolved to the most accessible chromatin when HSV-1 transcription was active, but such enrichment was reduced to only 3% under conditions of restricted HSV-1 transcription. Short sequences of restricted accessibility separated genes with different transcription levels. Chromatin dynamics thus provide a first level of regulation on HSV-1 transcription, dictating the transcriptional competency of the genomes during lytic infections, whereas the transcription of individual genes is then most likely activated by specific transcription factors. Moreover, genes transcribed to different levels are separated by short sequences with limited accessibility. Author summary: Although chromatin epigenetics modulate transcription of the nuclear replicating DNA viruses, and play major roles in the process of establishment of, and reactivation from, latency, the specific mechanisms of this modulation are not totally clear. Chromatin often regulates the transcriptional competency of cellular genes, rather than the actual level of transcription of individual genes. Here, we show that chromatin dynamics regulate the transcription competency of entire herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) genomes, rather than the actual transcription level of individual genes. Moreover, CTCF/ insulator containing sequences flanking the immediate-early gene loci are more inaccessible when these genes are highly transcribed in a context of little transcription from the rest of the genome than when no gene was highly transcribed or all genes were. We postulate that chromatin dynamics modulate the transcriptional competency of the HSV-1 genome. Genes in genomes rendered transcriptionally inactive by chromatin dynamics cannot be transcribed, whereas transcription of individual genes, or of group of genes, is regulated separately in the transcriptionally competent genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria are crucial organelles for cell homeostasis and alterations of these organelles have been implicated in cardiovascular disease. However, their roles in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) pathogenesis remain largely unknown. In a recent issue of Clinical Science, Navas-Madronal et al. ((2019), 133(13), 1421-1438) reported that enhanced ER stress and dysregulation of mitochondrial biogenesis are associated with AAA pathogenesis in humans. The authors also proposed that disruption in oxysterols network such as an elevated concentration of 7-ketocholestyerol in plasma is a causative factor for AAA progression. Their findings highlight new insights into the underlying mechanism of AAA progression through ER stress and dysregulation of mitochondrial biogenesis. Here, we will discuss the background, significance of the study, and future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a model-independent framework describing stabilities of ferromagnetism in strongly correlated electron systems; Our description relies on the operator theoretic correlation inequalities. Within the new framework, we reinterpret the Marshall–Lieb–Mattis theorem and Lieb's theorem; in addition, from the new perspective, we prove that Lieb's theorem still holds true even if the electron–phonon and electron–photon interactions are taken into account. We also examine the Nagaoka–Thouless theorem and its stabilities. These examples verify the effectiveness of our new viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, computational compound screening strategies on the basis of two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) molecular representations were investigated including similarity searching and support vector machine (SVM) ranking. Calculations based on topological fingerprints and molecular shape queries and features were compared. A unique aspect of the analysis setting apart from previous comparisons of 2D and 3D virtual screening approaches has been the design of compound reference, training, and test data sets with controlled incremental increases in intra-set structural diversity and different categories of structural relationships between reference/training and test sets. The use of these data sets made it possible to assess the relative performance of 2D and 3D screening strategies under increasingly challenging conditions ultimately leading to the use of training and test sets with essentially unrelated structures. The results showed that 3D similarity searching had little advantage over 2D searching in identifying active compounds with remote structural relationships. However, 3D SVM models trained on the basis of shape features were superior to other approaches (including 2D SVM) when the detection of structure–activity relationships became increasingly challenging. Such 3D SVM methods has thus far only been little investigated in virtual screening, proving a wealth of opportunities for further analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate detection of polymorphisms with a next generation sequencer data is an important element of current genetic analysis. However, there is still no detection pipeline that is completely reliable. Result: We demonstrate two new detection methods of polymorphisms focusing on the Polymorphic Edge (PED). In the matching between two homologous sequences, the first mismatched base to appear is the SNP, or the edge of the structural variation. The first method is based on k-mers from short reads and detects polymorphic edges with k-mers for which there is no match between target and control, making it possible to detect SNPs by direct comparison of short-reads in two datasets (target and control) without a reference genome sequence. The second method is based on bidirectional alignment to detect polymorphic edges, not only SNPs but also insertions, deletions, inversions and translocations. Using these two methods, we succeed in making a high-quality comparison map between rice cultivars showing good match to the theoretical value of introgression, and in detecting specific large deletions across cultivars. Conclusions: Using Polymorphic Edge Detection (PED), the k-mer method is able to detect SNPs by direct comparison of short-reads in two datasets without genomic alignment step, and the bidirectional alignment method is able to detect SNPs and structural variations from even single-end short-reads. The PED is an efficient tool to obtain accurate data for both SNPs and structural variations. Availability: The PED software is available at: https://github.com/akiomiyao/ped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preoperative diagnosis of cecal volvulus (CV) is rare and difficult and emergent laparotomy is frequently performed. Here, we report a case of CV that was diagnosed by preoperative computed tomography in a patient with an intellectual disability. In addition, we demonstrate that elective laparoscopic cecopexy can be performed following conservative treatment, such as the use of an ileus tube per anus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We consider the renormalized Nelson model at a fixed total momentum P : H ren (P) ; the Hamiltonian H ren (P) is defined through an infinite energy renormalization. We prove that e − β H ren (P) is positivity improving for all P ∈ R 3 and β > 0 in the Fock representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Transition metal oxides showed 0.5–1% CH 4 coupling yields in supercritical water. • This was achieved at 658 K with 0.05 g catalyst in an 8.8-mL batch reactor. • Catalyst combination with ZrO 2 enhanced the yield almost twice as much. • The activity was correlated with the amount of an O species on catalyst surface. • It was further correlated with the lattice O–active O1s binding energy separation. Abstract Catalyst survey for oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) under supercritical water (SCW) environment at 658 K and 26 MPa using an 8.8-mL batch reactor and H 2 O 2 as a molecular oxygen source was performed at a feed concentration molar ratios of 0.10 CH 4 /H 2 O and 0.15 O 2 /CH 4. First and second transition metal oxides (V, Cr, Co, Cu, Zr and Mo) and some lanthanide oxides (La and Ce) showed relatively high OCM activities of ca. 0.5–1 % C yield at a very low catalyst loading of 0.05 g. Exploration of catalyst formulations found that oxides of transition metals combined with ZrO 2 were effective, with MnO 2 –ZrO 2 showing a high synergy effect giving almost twice as much methane coupling yield. The OCM activity was correlated with the surface amount of a low 1s binding energy (O1s, 526–527 eV) oxygen species on the catalyst, as well as its energy separation from the lattice oxygen. In terms of this oxygen species, SCW-OCM activity of Mn/Na 2 WO 4 /SiO 2 , known as a good gas phase OCM catalyst and also showed a high turnover efficiency for SCW-OCM was further improved by supporting Mn/Na 2 WO 4 on ZrO 2 instead of SiO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the current and thermal phenomena of multi-stacked No-Insulation (NI) REBa2Cu3O7−x (REBCO, RE = Rare Earth) pancake coils during a local normal-state transition. An NI winding technique is expected to enhance the thermal stability of REBCO pancake coils, and it was verified in numerical simulations on a single pancake coil. However, a multi-stack of pancake coils are used to generate a high magnetic field in practical applications. When a normal-state transition occurs in one of multi-stacked pancake coils, it may deteriorate the stability of the other pancake coils. Therefore, we have developed a numerical simulation code to clarify the current and thermal behaviors of multi-stacked NI REBCO pancake coils using a partial element equivalent circuit model and a thermal finite element method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined germanium surface segregation on silicon(100) and silicon(111) substrates during silicon molecular beam epitaxy using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Information on incorporation coefficients for silicon(111); Details on the thermal desorption of germanium from silicon substrates; Discussion on surface segregation on amorphous substrate.

Investigates low-temperature formation of a silicon-on-insulator structure by a solid-phase process. Details on the experiments; Experimental results; Conclusion.

We study the ground state properties of the Holstein-Hubbard model on some bipartite lattices at half-filling; The ground state is proved to exhibit ferrimagnetism whenever the electron-phonon interaction is not so strong. In addition, the antiferromagnetic long-range order is shown to exist in the ground state. In contrast to this, we prove the absence of the long-range charge order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape similarity searching is a popular approach for ligand-based virtual screening on the basis of three-dimensional reference compounds. It is generally thought that well-defined experimentally determined binding modes of active reference compounds provide the best possible basis for shape searching. Herein, we show that experimental binding modes are not essential for successful shape similarity searching. Furthermore, we show that ensembles of analogs of X-ray ligands—in the absence of these ligands—further improve the search performance of single crystallographic reference compounds. This is even the case if ensembles of virtually generated analogs are used whose activity status is unknown. Taken together, the results of our study indicate that analog ensembles representing fuzzy reference states are effective starting points for shape similarity searching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the thermal and electromagnetic behaviors of multistacked no-insulation (NI) REBa2Cu3O7-x (REBCO, RE = rare earth) pancake coils. The NI winding technique gives a high enough thermal stability not to damage REBCO coils even though a normal-state transition occurs. The high thermal stability has been verified through overcurrent tests. Moreover, the numerical simulation of multistackedNIREBCOpancake coils has been performed to investigate the electromagnetic behaviors in detail. The simulation results also confirmed the high thermal stability of NI REBCO pancake coils. However, it does not mean that an NI REBCO magnet never quenches. In experiments, it was observed that a quench in one of the pancake coils propagated to the other pancake coils sequentially. The above sequential quench from pancake to pancake has not been confirmed in the numerical simulation since the thermal behavior is not considered. For the more reliable verification, we have developed a numerical simulation to investigate the thermal and electromagnetic behaviors by the partial element equivalent circuit method and the two-dimensional thermal finite-element method. In this paper, the six-stacked NI REBCO pancake coil is simulated with several operating temperatures, and the sequential quench is reproduced. The velocity of the sequential quench is also shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treebanks are important resources for researchers in natural language processing. They provide training and testing materials so that different algorithms can be compared. However, it is not a trivial task to construct high-quality treebanks. We have not yet had a proper treebank for such a low-resource language as Vietnamese, which has probably lowered the performance of Vietnamese language processing. We have been building a consistent and accurate Vietnamese treebank to alleviate such situations. Our treebank is annotated with three layers: word segmentation, part-of-speech tagging, and bracketing. We developed detailed annotation guidelines for each layer by presenting Vietnamese linguistic issues as well as methods of addressing them. Here, we also describe approaches to controlling annotation quality while ensuring a reasonable annotation speed. We specifically designed an appropriate annotation process and an effective process to train annotators. In addition, we implemented several support tools to improve annotation speed and to control the consistency of the treebank. The results from experiments revealed that both inter-annotator agreement and accuracy were higher than 90%, which indicated that the treebank is reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anguillid eels are a high value species for aquaculture in East Asian countries, but natural stocks of eels have been decreasing. Mass production of glass eels is one of the most effective ways to solve this problem. Genetic improvements will become important to establish mass production of glass eels in the near future. However, there is a lack of basic information, such as parentage assignments, for implementing an eel breeding program. In this study, we aimed to understand the parentage assignment of Japanese eel ( Anguilla japonica ) using a multiple breeding method and microsatellites from eight loci. Five female and 15 male eels were used for mass spawning, and the progeny were collected at the pre-leptocephalus (2 days post-hatch [dph]) and the leptocephalus stage (30 dph). Almost all progeny (297/301 = 98.7%) were assigned to a parental couple. Only two female eels (F86 and F88) contributed to the next generation, whereas 13 of 15 males contributed to the next generation. Although there were no statistical differences in the paternity ratio between stages, some males changed the ratio in both females. These data are not directly useful for a breeding program, but are useful to maintain pedigree information, which is essential for implementing a breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomalous congenital band (ACB) is rare and difficult to identify preoperatively. Here we report a pediatric ACB case that was preoperatively suspected using computed tomography and was difficult to differentiate from omphalomesenteric duct anomaly. ACB should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The periodic Anderson model (PAM) is a fundamental model describing heavy fermion systems' behavior. In this paper, we investigate the PAM in the presence of electron–phonon interactions. By utilizing a novel analytical methodology based on operator inequalities, we demonstrate that the ground state at half-filling is unique and in a spin-singlet state. Additionally, we establish that the ground state exhibits short-range antiferromagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric health checkups have been mandatory for all citizens since 1966 based on the Maternal and Child Health Law in Japan, and cryptorchidism or undescended testis in adult males are rare. We report a case of an adult right inguinal hernia and cryptorchidism treated simultaneously with laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal repair and laparoscopic orchiectomy. A 35-year-old man came to our department with a chief complaint of bulging in the right inguinal region for several months. He was diagnosed with a right inguinal hernia and was scheduled for transabdominal preperitoneal repair. During intraoperative intraperitoneal observation, a white 30-mm mass was found in the hernia orifice. A diagnosis of right cryptorchidism was made, and transabdominal preperitoneal repair and laparoscopic orchiectomy were performed. Laparoscopic simultaneous surgery could be safely performed in an adult patient with a hernia complicated by a cryptorchidism. It can be recommended as a surgical option in such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nagaoka's theorem on ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model is extended to the Holstein-Hubbard model. This shows that Nagaoka's ferromagnetism is stable even if the electron-phonon interaction is taken into account. We also prove that Nagaoka's ferromagnetism is stable under the influence of the quantized radiation field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the current behavior and axial Lorenz force of stacked no-insulation (NI) REBa2Cu3O7-x (REBCO, RE = Rare Earth) double-pancake coils during local normal-state transition. The NI winding technique enhances the thermal stability and increases the engineering current density in REBCO pancake coils. The high thermal stability of NI REBCO coil has been verified in experiments of overcurrent test. In addition, the numerical simulations of NI REBCO single-pancake coils have been performed to confirm the high stability. However, REBCO magnets usually consist of some stacked double-pancake coils to generate a high magnetic field for practical applications. When a normal-state transition occurs in one of the stacked pancake coils, it may affect the other pancake coils. For the more reliable verification, the current and electromagnetic force behavior of stacked NI REBCO pancake coils during a normal-state transition should be simulated. To examine the stacked NI REBCO pancake coils, we extend the previously proposed partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) model to deal with a few double-pancake coils. In this paper, an NI REBCO double-pancake coil and their three stacked coils are simulated by using the extended PEEC model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]