Information on the efficacy of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and predictors of the response based on real-world data is limited. Consecutive 201 patients who underwent PEG-IFN treatment for CHB were reviewed. A virological response (VR) was defined as a serum HBV DNA of <2000 IU/mL, and a combined response (CR) was defined a VR accompanied by serological response for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB. For HBeAg-positive CHB patients, the HBeAg seroconversion rate and CR rate were 30.5% and 21.2% at 48 weeks after end of treatment (EOT), respectively. Baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was associated with HBeAg seroconversion, while baseline hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) levels of <250 IU/mL and HBV DNA <2.5 × 107 IU/mL were strongly associated with sustained off-treatment CR. For HBeAg-negative CHB, the VR rates were 85.5%, and 27.7% at EOT, and 48 weeks after EOT, respectively; a baseline HBsAg <1,250 IU/mL was associated with sustained off-treatment VR. PEG-IFN treatment has durable HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg-positive CHB, but results in a high risk of relapse among HBeAg-negative CHB patients. Pre-treatment HBsAg level is an important predictor of VR in CHB patients undergoing PEG-IFN treatment.

A competing risks phenomenon arises in industrial life tests, where multiple types of failure determine the working duration of a unit. To model dependence among marginal failure times, copula models and frailty models have been developed for competing risks failure time data. In this paper, we propose a frailty‐copula model, which is a hybrid model including both a frailty term (for heterogeneity among units) and a copula function (for dependence between failure times). We focus on models that are useful to investigate the reliability of marginal failure times that are Weibull distributed. Furthermore, we develop likelihood‐based inference methods based on competing risks data, including accelerated failure time models. We also develop a model‐diagnostic procedure to assess the adequacy of the proposed model to a given dataset. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the operational performance of the proposed methods, and a real dataset is analyzed for illustration. We make an R package “gammaGumbel” such that users can apply the suggested statistical methods to their data.

A highly spectral-efficient M-ary amplitude shift keying M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MASK-MQAM-OFDM) was proposed for the access network. With the highly spectral-efficient characteristic of MASK-MQAM-OFDM, seamless integration among passive-optical network (PON), wireless fiber-to-the-antenna (FTTA), and optical wireless visible light communication (VLC) can be achieved without using extra bandwidth for different services. A proof-of-concept experiment was demonstrated. The relation between the spectral efficiency of the MASK-MQAM-OFDM and the upstream signal performance was also discussed.

The article introduces the unique characteristics of CNC machining center cutter compared to traditional cutters, analyzes the choice of CNC machining cutter and factors of choice. Meanwhile, proved by the examples with manufacture software CAXA2004, the correct choice of CNC machining center cutter can give full play to the advantages of CNC machining and improve the economic efficiency and production levels of enterprises.