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Abstract Background People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) require high rates of medication adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for a successful treatment outcome. Understanding the factors associated with incomplete adherence among those receiving integrase strand transfer inhibitor-containing single-tablet regimens (INSTI-STRs) is crucial for improving treatment outcomes. This study aimed to identify the factors contributing to incomplete ART adherence among Japanese PLWH receiving INSTI-STRs. Methods This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted at 11 Japanese institutions as an anonymous survey. ART adherence was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. We defined incomplete ART adherence as missing ≥ 1 dose of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) over the past month. The factors associated with incomplete ART adherence were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Additionally, we investigated the associations between patients’ satisfaction score with and need for ARVs and their adherence to ART. Results The final analysis included data of 387 patients who were treated with INSTI-STRs. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated significant association of younger age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.79; 95%confidence interval [CI]: 0.64–0.99 for each 10-year increment) with incomplete ART adherence. Additionally, female sex (aOR, 3.98; 95%CI: 1.36–11.60); depressive symptoms (mild depression: aOR, 1.68; 95%CI: 1.001–2.82, moderate depression: aOR, 2.98; 95%CI: 1.35–6.53, and severe depression: aOR, 8.73; 95%CI: 1.38–55.00 vs. minimal depression); were also significantly associated with incomplete ART adherence when compared with the reference categories. Concomitant medication usage was significantly associated with a lower rate of incomplete ART adherence (1–4 medications: aOR, 0.53; 95%CI: 0.31–0.89 and ≥ 5 medications: aOR, 0.30; 95%CI: 0.13–0.70 vs. no concomitant medication usage). In the incomplete ART adherence group, satisfaction scores for various aspects were significantly lower. Furthermore, a lower proportion of patients in the incomplete ART adherence group preferred the option of “taking tablets daily and visiting the hospital every 3 months,” compared to those in the complete ART adherence group (p = 0.008). Conclusions This study demonstrated that factors associated with incomplete ART adherence include younger age, female sex, no concomitant medication, and depressive symptoms. Despite ART simplification, incomplete adherence among PLWH receiving INSTI-STRs, remains a challenge, requiring additional actions.

Steel damper columns (SDCs) are energy-dissipating members that are suitable for reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frames (MRFs) and those often used for multistory housing. In a previous study, the authors proposed an energy-based prediction procedure for the peak and cumulative response of an RC frame building with SDCs. In this procedure, the accuracy of the equivalent velocity of the maximum momentary input energy (VΔE1*)–peak equivalent displacement (D1*max) relationship is essential for improved prediction. In this article, the seismic capacity curve (VΔE1*–D1*max relationship) of RC MRFs with and without SDCs is evaluated using incremental critical pseudo-multi impulse analysis (ICPMIA). In the ICPMIA, which is based on a study by Takewaki and coauthors, the structure is subjected to various intensities of critical pseudo-multi impulsive lateral force. An ICPMIA of planer four 8- and 16-story RC MRFs with and without SDCs is performed to obtain their structural behaviors under various intensities of pulsive input. Then, the seismic capacity curve obtained from the ICMPIA results are compared with the predicted results based on the simplified equations. The main findings of this article are as follows. (i) The seismic capacity curve of RC MRFs without SDCs strongly depends on the number of impulsive lateral forces (Np). As Np increases, the seismic capacity decreases. The predicted seismic capacity curve severely underestimates that obtained from the ICMPIA in the case of large Np. This trend is notable when the level of pinching behavior in the RC members is severe. (ii) In the case of an RC MRF with SDCs, however, the influence of Np on its seismic capacity curve is small. The predicted seismic capacity curve agrees very well with that obtained from the ICMPIA. The influence of the level of pinching behavior in RC members on the seismic capacity curve is small.

Abstract Background Long-acting injectable formulations for HIV infection have been approved and are now available in Japan. Although not currently recommended as first-line drugs in Japanese or overseas guidelines, use of such formulations may increase, in accordance with patient conditions and preference. We determine the level of satisfaction with current anti-HIV drugs and analyzed the preferences of patients who favor long-acting injectable drugs based on their satisfaction level with the present anti-HIV drugs. Methods People living with HIV (PLWH) who had received antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least one month and consented to the study between 1 April and 31 December 2021 were included in a survey conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The content of the survey included satisfaction with seven items (tablet size, ease and feeling when taking the medicine, color, taste, portability, daily oral therapy, and co-payment) related to the anti-HIV drugs they were taking and their need for future drugs (dosage form, frequency of dosing, long-acting injectable, etc.). In addition, factors related to the need for long-acting injectable medications were analyzed with regard to the relationship with satisfaction with anti-HIV drugs. Results Overall, 667 patients available for analysis were included in this study. Satisfaction with anti-HIV drugs was highest with regard to “co-payment” and lowest with “daily oral therapy”. Regarding the need for long-acting injectable medications, logistic regression analysis indicated that tablet size and daily oral therapy were significant predictors of patient preference for a once-every-eight-weeks intramuscular formulation in terms of their requirement for long-acting injectable medications (tablet size, OR = 2.14, 95%CI 1.030–4.430, p = 0.042; and daily oral therapy, OR = 1.75, 95%CI 1.010–3.030, p = 0.044). Conclusions Patients currently receiving anti-HIV drugs who express dissatisfaction with tablet size and daily oral therapy may prefer a long-acting injectable formulation, taking into consideration patient age, employment status, ART history, frequency of daily dosage and concomitant medications other than ART.

Steel damper columns (SDCs) are energy-dissipating members that are suitable for reinforced concrete (RC) buildings and are often used for multistory housing. The evaluation of the peak deformation and hysteretic dissipated energy of such building structures is essential for the rational seismic design of RC buildings with SDCs. In a previous study, the authors proposed an energy-based prediction procedure for the peak and cumulative response of an RC frame building with SDCs. In this procedure, the accuracy of the equivalent velocity of the maximum momentary input energy (VΔE1*)–peak equivalent displacement (D1*max) relationship is essential for high quality predictions. In this article, the VΔE1*–D1*max relationships of RC moment-resisting frames with and without SDCs are investigated using a critical pseudo-double impulse (PDI) analysis based on a study by Takewaki and coauthors. The results show that the VΔE1*–D1*max relationship obtained from the critical PDI analysis agrees well with that calculated from the equations proposed in the previous study.

The response of structures under pulse-like ground motions is characterized by the large amount of energy input in a few cycles. Consequently, structures with insufficient strength may suffer severe damage owing to excessive deformation. In a previous paper, the energy-based prediction procedure for the peak and cumulative response of a reinforced concrete (RC) frame building with steel damper columns was proposed (Fujii and Shioda, Buildings, 2023, 13, 401). Although this procedure was verified by comparison to the nonlinear time-history analysis (NTHA) results, the performance of the proposed procedure with pulse-like ground motion records has not been verified yet. In this study, the accuracy of the energy-based prediction procedure for an RC frame building with steel damper columns was investigated by considering pulse-like ground motions. The numerical analysis results reveal that the accuracy of the predicted peak response is satisfactory, which agrees with the results of the author’s previous study. However, the accuracy of the predicted total input energy to the building model depends on the ratio of the pulse period of the ground motion to the effective fundamental period of the building model. The reasons for this underestimation of the total input energy are discussed in this paper.

In general, isolators and dampers used in seismically isolated buildings are designed to be isotropic in any horizontal direction. However, in the case of buildings with plan irregularities, their nonlinear responses depend on the direction of seismic loading. To discuss the influence of the angle of seismic incidence (ASI) on the nonlinear response of irregular building structures, it is important to define the angle of the critical axis of the horizontal ground motion. One possible choice is the “principal axis of ground motion” proposed by Arias (A measurement of earthquake intensity, 1970). However, because this principal axis is independent of the natural period of a structure, it could be complicated to use for seismically isolated structures with long natural periods. In this study, the influence of the ASI of long-period pulse-like seismic input on an irregular base-isolated building is investigated. First, the angle of the principal axis of ground motion is defined in terms of the cumulative energy input. Then, a nonlinear time-history analysis of a five-story irregular base-isolated building is performed using 10 long-period pulse-like ground motion records considering various ASIs. The results show that, compared with the principal axis of ground motion proposed by Arias, defining the principal axis of ground motion in terms of the cumulative energy input is more suitable for discussions concerning the influence of the ASI on the response of an irregular base-isolated building.

A steel damper column is an energy-dissipating member that is suitable for reinforced concrete (RC) buildings and multistory housing. To assess the seismic performance of buildings with steel damper columns, the peak displacement of the whole building and the energy dissipation demand of the dampers must be evaluated. This article proposes an energy-based prediction procedure for the peak and cumulative response of an RC frame building with steel damper columns. The proposed procedure considers two energy-related seismic intensity parameters, namely the maximum momentary input energy and the total input energy. The peak displacement is predicted considering the energy balance during a half cycle of the structural response, using the maximum momentary input energy. The energy dissipation demand of the dampers is then predicted considering the energy balance during a whole response cycle using the total input energy. The local responses (e.g., peak drift, maximum plastic rotation of beams, maximum shear strain, and energy dissipation demand of dampers) are predicted using pushover analysis. Numerical analysis results for 8- and 16-story RC buildings show that the proposed prediction method achieves satisfactory accuracy.

There was an error in the original publication [...]

The steel damper column is an energy-dissipating member that is suitable for reinforced concrete (RC) buildings and those used for multistory housing in particular. However, the effectiveness of steel damper columns may be affected by the behavior of surrounding members, and this effect can be severe in the case of seismic sequences. This article investigates the nonlinear response of building models with an RC moment-resisting frame (MRF) with and without steel damper columns under seismic sequences. The applicability of the concept of the momentary energy input to the prediction of the peak response of RC MRFs with damper columns under seismic sequences is also investigated. The main findings of the study are summarized as follows. (1) The peak response of RC MRFs with damper columns subjected to sequential accelerations is similar to the peak response obtained considering only the mainshock, whereas the cumulative strain energy of RC MRFs accumulates more for sequential accelerations. (2) The steel damper column is effective in reducing the peak and cumulative responses of RC MRFs in the case of sequential seismic input. (3) The relation of the hysteretic dissipated energy during a half cycle of the structural response and the peak displacement of the first modal response can be properly evaluated using the simple model proposed in this study.

Abstract The applicability of a simplified procedure, namely mode‐adaptive bidirectional pushover analysis (MABPA), to the prediction of the non‐linear peak response of a multistory asymmetric building subjected to bidirectional excitation is discussed. The first part of the paper summarizes the formulation of 2 independent equivalent single‐degree‐of‐freedom models representing the first and second modal responses. The relationship between the critical assumptions of MABPA and the torsional index defined based on mode shape is then discussed. In the latter part of the paper, non‐linear time‐history analyses of 4‐story torsionally stiff (TS) or torsionally flexible asymmetric buildings are described, and the results are compared with the predictions. The results show that MABPA predicts the peak response displacement of only the TS asymmetric buildings satisfactorily. Therefore, MABPA should be considered applicable only to TS buildings. The applicability of MABPA to a given asymmetric building may be evaluated by using the torsional indices of the first 3 modes.

In this article, the applicability of mode-adaptive bidirectional pushover analysis (MABPA) to base-isolated irregular buildings was evaluated. The point of the updated MABPA is that the peaks of the first and second modal responses are predicted considering the energy balance during a half cycle of the structural response. In the numerical examples, the main building of the former Uto City Hall, which was severely damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, was investigated as a case study for the retrofitting of an irregular reinforced concrete building using the base-isolation technique. The comparisons between the predicted peak response by MABPA and nonlinear time-history analysis results showed that the peak relative displacement can be properly predicted by MABPA. The results also showed that the performance of the retrofitted building models was satisfactory for the ground motion considered in this study, including the recorded motions in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.

The test results obtained for reinforced concrete columns by several studies have revealed that the peak displacement and cumulative hysteresis energy are important parameters for evaluating the damage of columns under horizontal bidirectional and unidirectional loading. Therefore, the seismic parameters related to the nonlinear peak displacement and cumulative hysteresis energy with regard to horizontal bidirectional seismic input should be investigated. In this study, the bidirectional seismic input to an isotropic nonlinear one-mass two-degree-of-freedom system was evaluated. First, a dimensionless parameter γ, which controls the low-cycle fatigue effect, was formulated as a function of two energy input parameters (the maximum momentary input energy and total input energy) and a nonlinear system (ductility and normalized hysteresis energy absorption during a half cycle). Then, the maximum momentary input energy and total input energy were evaluated according to the ground motion characteristics (Fourier coefficient of horizontal ground motion components) and system properties. Finally, the nonlinear peak displacement and parameter γ of the nonlinear system were evaluated on the basis of the maximum momentary input energy and total input energy. The results revealed that the nonlinear peak displacement and parameter γ can be properly evaluated using two energy parameters.

The evaluation of the maximum and cumulative response is an important issue for the seismic design of new base-isolated buildings. This study predicts the maximum and cumulative response of a 14-story reinforced concrete base-isolated building using a set of pushover analyses. In the proposed pushover analysis method, the maximum and cumulative responses of the first and higher modes are evaluated from the nonlinear analysis of equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) models. Then, the maximum local responses are predicted by enveloping the two pushover analysis results by referring to the contribution of the first and higher modal responses, while the cumulative strain energies of the lead-rubber bearings and steel dampers are predicted from the cumulative response of the first mode. The results reveal that the responses predicted by the proposed set of pushover analyses have satisfactory accuracy.

A dynamic double torsion testing machine and measurement system were developed on the basis of the split Hopkinson pressure bar test and the theoretical one-dimensional wave propagation in the input and output bars, and their validity was confirmed by measuring the dynamic fracture toughnesses of non-stoichiometrically cured epoxy resins. The applicable range of the stress intensity factor, as formulated by Fuller was determined from the specimen shape and loading conditions for the dynamic double torsion test. The available crack length was found to be below 70% of the specimen length by measuring the static fracture toughness and analyzing the natural frequency of the specimen. The duration of the impact force until dynamic fracture in the dynamic double torsion test was found to be longer than the reciprocal of the lowest natural frequency of the out-of-plane bending mode of the specimen, as expressed by an approximate equation. Because the mechanical properties of the epoxy resin had little dependency on time in the experiments at room temperature, the validity of the testing machine and measuring system were able to be confirmed by comparing the dynamic and static fracture toughnesses of the epoxy resins and observing the fracture surfaces.

It is very unfortunate that there are some errors in the nonlinear analysis program used for this published article [...]

It is essential for the seismic design of a base-isolated building that the seismic response of the superstructure remains within the elastic range. The evaluation of the maximum seismic member force in a superstructure is thus an important issue. The present study predicts the maximum seismic member force of five- and fourteen-story reinforced concrete base-isolated frame buildings adopting pushover analysis. In the first stage of the study, the nonlinear dynamic (time-history) analysis of the base-isolated frame buildings is carried out, and the nonlinear modal responses of the first and second modes are calculated from pushover analysis results. In the second stage, a set of pushover analyses is proposed considering the combination of the first and second modal responses, and predicted maximum member forces are compared with the nonlinear time-history analysis results. Results show that the maximum member forces predicted in the proposed set of pushover analyses are satisfactorily accurate, while the results predicted considering only the first mode are inaccurate.

The seismic capacity of the main Uto City Hall building, which was severely damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, was evaluated by the proposed pushover-based procedure. In this procedure, the seismic capacity index of the building is defined as the maximum scaling factor of the seismic input, for which the local responses do not exceed their limit values. From the pushover analysis result, the displacement limit of the equivalent single-degree-of-freedom model was determined. Then, the seismic capacity index was evaluated using an equivalent linearization technique. The evaluated index was re-evaluated by considering the bidirectional excitation. The pushover analysis result revealed that the torsional response is significant in the nonlinear behavior of this building. The evaluated seismic capacity implied that some structural damages, including the yielding of the beam-column joint, may have occurred during the first earthquake on 14 April 2016.

The α-diimine nickel (II) complexes immobilized into the clay mineral interlayer were prepared by the reaction of the Ni2+ ion-exchanged fluorotetrasilicic mica and the α-diimine ligand. These procatalysts showed a high catalytic activity for the slurry polymerization of ethylene in the presence of methylalumoxane, triethylaluminum or triisobutylaluminum. The activity was strongly affected by the solvent used in the preparation and the steric bulk of the ligand. A high activity (2313 kg-PE mol-Ni−1 h−1) was obtained by the polymerization at 50 °C in the presence of triisobutylaluminum using the procatalyst prepared with the [Ar–NC(CH3)C(CH3)N–Ar (Ar = 2,6-C6H3(CH3)2)] ligand in acetonitrile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

: Objectives The objectives of this study were to characterize renal accumulation of arbekacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic for treatment of infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and to modulate renal uptake of arbekacin, leading to prevention of arbekacin-induced nephrotoxicity. : Methods In vivo renal uptake studies were performed using mice. Renal concentrations of arbekacin after a bolus intravenous administration at various doses were analysed by HPLC. In addition, renal concentrations were investigated 24 h after an injection of arbekacin alone or in combination with low-molecular weight proteins and basic peptides. : Results When administered by bolus injection at various doses, renal accumulation of arbekacin showed saturation kinetics with increasing dose. Renal concentration of arbekacin after a bolus administration remained constant from 4 to 24 h and subsequently decreased by a first-order process with a half-life of 42.7 h. The influences of three dosage regimens (a single injection of 4 mg/kg, two injections of 2 mg/kg and three injections of 1.33 mg/kg) were investigated. A single injection resulted in lower renal level of arbekacin than the multiple administrations. Co-administration of cytochrome c, lysozyme and N-WASP181–200 decreased renal accumulation of arbekacin in a dose-dependent manner. N-W(N1n), N-W(N1n,I2i,S3s) and N-W(N1n,K20k), in which the N- and/or C-terminal regions of N-WASP181-200 were substituted by one to three d-isomers, more potently decreased renal arbekacin accumulation than N-WASP181-200. : Conclusions These data may be useful for prevention of arbekacin-induced nephrotoxicity owing to reduction of renal accumulation of the aminoglycoside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]