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The performances of international construction projects are quite vulnerable to the conditions of the host country. Because going overseas requires a substantial amount of resources, the process of country evaluation and selection is important in a firm's decision making. Despite an emerging interest and need for the systematic evaluation of countries, existing studies remain limited to case studies for one or a few countries because of the lack of multiple country databases. To overcome this limitation, this paper performs a quantitative analysis to classify countries in the construction industry. Based on international marketing theory and a literature review, the authors not only identify country classification variables but also suggest an analytical approach for diagnosing multidimensional aspects of countries in terms of country attractiveness and past project performance. To evaluate 32 countries, this study uses international institutional (construction industry-specific and country-specific) data and project-level data for Korean firms over the 25-year period from 1990 to 2014. Using a factor analysis and cluster analysis, this study classifies 32 countries according to four different factors (business environment, market opportunity, the possibility of project success, and market experience) and explains each country's current status. Compared with existing country risk indices, which provide only one deterministic value, the proposed approach has the potential to capture construction industry--specific trends and actual project performance, enabling firms to not only evaluate and classify candidate countries in a timely manner but also to make better decisions when addressing country-related problems in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a pillar-shaped microelectrode array (MEA) with varying heights for enhancing the spherical conformity of fully implantable epiretinal prosthesis comprising a 3D stacked retinal chip. The fabricated MEA is composed of 100 pillar electrodes with heights ranging from 60 to 80 &mgr;m. The Pt-coated Cu pillar electrode with a surface diameter of 70 µm and a height of 75 &mgr;m and the Pt planar electrode with a surface diameter of 70 &mgr;m have 24.6 and 125 k&OHgr; impedances, respectively, at 1 kHz in vitro experiment. The pillar electrode shows lower impedance than the planar electrode because of a larger surface area. However, to avoid cross-talking between pillar electrodes, we developed a sidewall passivation process of the pillar electrode by using the surface tension of polyimide. The impedance of the isolated pillar electrode 116 k&OHgr; at 1 kHz is similar to the impedance of the planar electrode, because they have similar electrode surface areas. The pillar-shaped MEA shows a better spherical [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests two useful methods to obtain true stress-strain curves with the variation of the strain rate ranging from 0.001 to 200/s using a finite element technique and optimization for two typical polymers: a polypropylene; and a polypropylene composite. The polypropylene is adopted as a core material of a vehicle's instrument panel and the polypropylene composite sustains the passenger-side air bag module (PAB module) as a structural member. Their dynamic tensile characteristics are important to predict deformation modes of the PAB module which undergoes high speed deformation during air bag expansion. Since the polymers are temperature sensitive materials, the dynamic tensile tests were performed at the three levels of temperature: the low temperature (-30°C); the room temperature (21°C); the high temperature (85°C). During tensile tests of two polypropylene composites, the gage region in the specimen of the polypropylene composite elongates uniformly while that of the polypropylene does not elongate uniformly. In the case of the polypropylene, experimental stress-strain curves were modified by enforcing the load response calculated by finite element analysis coincident with that of the experiment. In the case of the polypropylene composite, experimental stress-strain curves were scaled by applying change rate of the gage length. Stress-strain curves of both cases provide excellent performance in their numerical response with the finite element analysis. The material properties obtained are indispensible to estimate the high speed deformation mode during air bag expansion at both normal and harsh operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Albuminuria predicts progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN) but lacks specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and progressive decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). We evaluated the decline in renal function in patients with DN and analyzed the prognosis of renal function according to the level of albuminuria and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular diseases, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) according to the level of albuminuria. Methods: This retrospective study included 331 patients with eGFR >60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and urinary albumin/creatinine (Cr) ratio (ACR) >30 mg/g Cr who were treated at the Chungnam National University Hospital between January 2012 and December 2018. Patients were divided into mildly increased albuminuria, moderately increased albuminuria, and severely increased albuminuria groups according to their urine ACRs of 30-300, 300-900, and >900 mg/g Cr, respectively. Renal outcomes and incidence of CVD, cerebrovascular disease, and PAD were compared among the three groups. Results: More severe albuminuria was associated with higher rates of progression to CKD (p< 0.001) and >50% reduction in eGFR from baseline (p< 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of PCI with angina or myocardial infarction (p=0.030). However, cerebrovascular disease and PAD did not significantly differ among the three groups. Conclusion: Among patients with DN who maintained a relatively preserved renal function with an eGFR >60 mL/min/1.73 m2, the rates of renal deterioration and progression to CKD were significantly more frequent in those with more severe albuminuria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the development of system-on-silicon large-scale integration chips. Increasing demand for wiring connectivity; Use of 3D technology as the basis for the chips; Information concerning heat generation; Description of various technologies which are important for the development of the chip.

Background: This study assessed the proportion of risk-stratified Korean patients with dyslipidemia achieving their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets as defined by the European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS) (2011) guidelines while receiving lipid-modifying treatments (LMTs). Methods: In this multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study, we evaluated data from Korean patients aged ≥19 years who were receiving LMTs for ≥3 months and had an LDL-C value within the previous 12 months on the same LMT. Data were collected for demographics, cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, medical history, and healthcare consumption. Patients were risk-stratified according to the ESC Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) chart and LDL-C target achievement rate was assessed. Results: Guideline-based risk-stratification of the 1,034 patients showed the majority (72.2%) to be in the very high-risk category. Investigators' assessment of risk was underestimated in 71.6% compared to ESC/EAS guidelines. Overall LDL-C target achievement rate was 44.3%; target achievement was the highest (66.0%) in moderate-risk patients and the lowest (39.0%) in very high-risk patients. Overall 97.1% patients were receiving statin therapy, mostly as a single-agent (89.2%). High-intensity statins and the highest permissible dose of high-intensity statins had been prescribed to only 9.1% and 7.3% patients in the very high-risk group, respectively. Physician satisfaction with patients' LDL-C levels was the primary reason for non-intensification of statin therapy. Conclusion: Achievement of target LDL-C level is suboptimal in Korean patients with dyslipidemia, especially in those at very high-risk of CV events. Current practices in LMTs need to be improved based on precise CV risk evaluation posed by dyslipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis (IMGN) is commonly diagnosed in adults with proteinuria. Rapid deterioration of renal function is a rare complication of IMGN, except when accompanied by renal vein thrombosis, malignant hypertension, or other underlying disease, including lupus nephritis. Here, we present a case of rapid deterioration of renal function in a patient with MGN superimposed with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated rapidly progressive crescentic glomerulonephritis (RPGN). Overall, about 20 cases of MGN with ANCA-associated RPGN have been reported. This case of biopsy-proven MGN with ANCA-associated RPGN is the first to be reported in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sildenafil was the first selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) to be widely used for treating erectile dysfunction. Many recent studies have investigated the cardioprotective role of sildenafil in animal models. We evaluated the protective effects of sildenafil in experimental renal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in two studies. In study 1, male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: sham, sildenafil-treated sham, vehicle-treated IR, and sildenafil-treated JR groups. In study 2, we divided the rats into two groups: sildenafil-treated JR rats and PD98059 (ERK inhibitor)+sildenafil-treated JR rats. Functional parameters of the kidney were evaluated at the molecular and structural levels. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine levels were lower in sildenafil-treated IR rats than in vehicle-treated JR rats. The expression of inducible (iNOS) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) proteins in sildenafil-treated JR rats was significantly higher than in vehicle-treated JR rats. Pretreatment with sildenafil in JR rats increased ERK phosphorylation and reduced the renal Bax/BcI-2 ratio, renal caspase-3 activity, and terminal dUTP nick end-labelingpositive apoptotic cells. In contrast, PD98059 treatment increased BUN and serum creatinine levels and attenuated the sildenafil-induced expression of pERK, iNOS, eNOS, and Bcl-2. PD98059 also increased caspase-3 activity but did not decrease the sildenafil-induced accumulation of cGMP. In conclusion, this study suggests that sildenafil has antiapoptotic effects in experimental JR renal injury via ERK phosphorylation, induction of iNOS and eNOS production, and a decrease in the BaxlBcl-2 ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed numerical analyses using an explicit code to evaluate the cumulative impact damage of an automotive aluminum front-end bumper back beam during low-speed crash events, as described by CMVSS215. we used a coupled numerical analysis scheme and considered the several fracture criterion such as EWK rupture model and plastic strain limit in the PAM-CRASH code to improve our damage and fracture estimates. Tensile test experiments for the notched and un-notched specimens were conducted to tune the performance of the EWK rupture model; The resulting material properties and fracture criterion were incorporated into the numerical analyses of the low-speed crash events. The simulation results were compared with the impact test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the proinflammatory gene expression and macrophage recruitment in rat remnant kidney. Influence of macrophage infiltration on the chronic renal injury development; Determination of renal cortex messenger RNA levels for cell adhesion molecules; Effects of nephron loss.