Simultaneous measurements of temporal evolutions of the voltage and the current on the load of the Seoul National University X-pinch device using the optics-based systems.

Optics-based measurement systems have been developed to measure the voltage and the current on a load of the Seoul National University X-pinch device [Ryu et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92, 053533 (2021)]. A lithium niobate crystal that changes the polarization state of the propagating laser beam due to the Pockels effect induced by the electric field across the crystal, thus capable of measuring the voltage, is located next to the load. For the current measurement, an optic fiber is wound around the load to detect the change in the polarization state of the propagating laser beam due to the Faraday rotation induced by the magnetic field. As both voltage and current measurement systems utilize optical effects, the sensors, i.e., the lithium niobate crystal and the optic fiber, do not require any electrical grounds, in contrast to circuit-based probes, such as voltage dividers or Rogowski grooves. This facilitates an easy access to shield other required electronic devices, such as lasers and photodetectors, from the electromagnetic interference generated by the X-pinch power system. In addition, the sensors can be placed in close proximity to the load with fewer concerns on the electrical insulation. Temporal evolutions of the simultaneously measured voltage and current on the load of the X-pinch are successfully obtained and discussed.

Association between switching to integrase strand transfer inhibitors and incident diabetes in people with HIV.

OBJECTIVE: Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) are associated with weight gain in people with HIV (PWH), but their impact on diabetes is unclear. We evaluated the association between switching from nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) or protease inhibitors (PI) to INSTI and incident diabetes. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. METHODS: We included PWH aged ≥18 years from the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort (2007-2023) without history of diabetes who had used NNRTI or PI for ≥180 days. We followed participants up to 10 years from HIV primary care visits where they switched to INSTI or continued NNRTI or PI. We estimated the hazard of incident diabetes associated with switching to INSTI using weighted Cox regression with robust variance estimator. RESULTS: We included 2075 PWH who attended 22 116 visits where they continued NNRTI or PI and 631 visits where they switched to INSTI. Switching to INSTI was associated with a weighted hazard ratio (wHR) of 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.77-1.59] for incident diabetes. The association if no weight gain occurred during the first two years was not qualitatively different (wHR 1.22; 95% CI, 0.82-1.80). In a posthoc analysis, switching to INSTI conferred a significant wHR of 1.79 (95% CI, 1.13-2.84) for diabetes within the first two years but not after. CONCLUSIONS: Switching from NNRTI or PI to INSTI did not significantly increase overall diabetes incidence in PWH, although there may be elevated risk in the first two years. These findings can inform considerations when switching to INSTI-based regimens.

Oral lesions associated with imatinib mesylate therapy: five new cases and a literature review.

This study aimed to report the collective clinical characteristics of oral side effects associated with imatinib therapy according to age, sex, and clinical condition. A bibliographic review was performed using the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases. Forty-five cases of oral side effects due to imatinib therapy were identified in the literature. With the addition of five new cases seen at the authors' institution, a total of 50 cases were analysed. Of the five new cases, four with gastrointestinal stromal tumours developed oral lichenoid lesions (OLLs), and one with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) developed oral hyperpigmentation (OHP). Of the total 50 patients, 26 were male and 24 were female, and age ranged from 29 to 86 years. Most patients were ≥50 years old (80%); only three patients were jaw was the least common, with just five cases (10%). Among the patients with OHP, the predominant clinical condition was CML (22 cases, 91.7%). In conclusion, the possibility of oral side effects needs to be considered during the examination of patients receiving imatinib therapy.

Risk of Major Bleeding Associated with Concomitant Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulant and Clopidogrel Use: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Combined anticoagulant-antiplatelet therapy is often indicated in adults with cardiovascular disease and atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism. The study aim was to assess the comparative risk of bleeding between rivaroxaban and apixaban when combined with clopidogrel. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of commercially insured US adults newly treated with a combination of rivaroxaban+clopidogrel or apixaban+clopidogrel (2015-2018) using Merative™ Marketscan Research Databases. We used propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to balance the treatment groups. Weighted Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the risk of major bleeding. RESULTS: The study cohort included 2895 rivaroxaban+clopidogrel users and 3628 apixaban+clopidogrel users. The median (range) duration of follow up was 61 (73) days. Rivaroxaban+clopidogrel users had a similar risk of major bleeding compared with apixaban+clopidogrel users (IPTW incidence rate per 100 person-years 7.96 vs 7.38; IPTW hazard ratio [HR] 1.13 [95% CI 0.78-1.63]). In the subcohort of adults who were treated with DOAC or clopidogrel monotherapy prior to the combined therapy, the risk of major bleeding did not differ by the drug of monotherapy (IPTW HR for rivaroxaban+clopidogrel group: 0.66 [95% CI 0.33-1.32]; IPTW HR for apixaban+clopidogrel group: 1.10 [95% CI 0.55-2.23]) CONCLUSIONS: In our study of commercially insured US adults, the concomitant use of rivaroxaban+clopidogrel and apixaban+clopidogrel conferred a similar risk of major bleeding. DOAC versus clopidogrel monotherapy prior to the concomitant therapy did not influence the risk of major bleeding.