Search

Pleural effusion can be caused by a wide range of benign and malignant conditions. Pleural biopsy and effusion cytology represent two key methods of pathological diagnosis. To compare the performance these two methods, a large cohort of matched pleural biopsy and effusion cytology with clinical follow-up was reviewed.Pleural biopsies and effusion cytology specimens over a period of 18 years were retrieved. Cytology specimens collected within 7 days of pleural biopsy were matched. Reports were reviewed, and the cause for pleural effusion was determined by hospital disease coding and clinical data.Totally, 3026 cases were included. The leading cause of benign effusion was tuberculosis (n = 650). Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) was more common in older females (p 0.001) and mostly due to lung cancer (n = 959), breast cancer (n = 64), and mesothelioma (n = 48). The inadequate/insufficient (B1/C1) rate of biopsy was higher than cytology (15.6% vs. 0.3%) but the rates for other diagnostic categories were similar. Biopsy and cytology showed a correlation coefficient of 0.315, improving to 0.449 when inadequate/insufficient (B1/C1) cases were excluded. The ROM for benign cytology (C2) was lower than biopsy (B2) (p 0.001). Compared with biopsy, the diagnostic accuracy was higher in cytology overall and for metastatic carcinomas (p 0.001) but lower for hematolymphoid malignancies (p = 0.014) and mesotheliomas (p = 0.002).These results suggest that effusion cytology may be better for confirming benignity and diagnosing carcinomatous MPE. In these cases, pleural biopsy may be withheld to reduce procedural risks. However, for suspected hematolymphoid malignancies and mesothelioma, biopsy should be considered.

The α resonant scattering on 18Ne was measured in inverse kinematics to understand the α-clustering of proton-rich 22Mg nucleus, performed at the CNS Radio-Isotope Beam Separator (CRIB) of Center for Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo, located at the RIBF of RIKEN Nishina Center. The excitation function of 22Mg was obtained for the excitation energies of 10–16 MeV by adopting the thick-target method. Several resonances were evident in the present work, which implies the existence of energy levels with large α widths. Since energy levels were not clearly observed at the astrophysically important energy range, upper limits on the 18Ne (α, α)18Ne cross section were set. The astrophysical impact was also investigated by estimating the 18Ne (α, p)21Na cross section.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): This study was supported by unrestricted grants from the Korean Society of Interventional Cardiology. Aims Despite the benefit of culprit-only percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the CULPRIT-SHOCK trial, the optimal revascularization strategy for a refractory cardiogenic shock (CS) requiring mechanical circulatory support devices remains controversial. This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes between the culprit-only and immediate multi-vessel PCI strategies in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by CS who underwent venoarterial-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). Methods and Results This study was patient-pooled data from the RESCUE and SMC-ECMO registries. A total of 408 AMI patients with multi-vessel disease who underwent VA-ECMO due to refractory CS were included in this analysis. The study population was classified into culprit-only versus immediate multi-vessel PCI according to non-culprit lesion (NCL) treatment strategies. The co-primary endpoints were 30-day mortality or renal-replacement therapy and 12-month follow-up mortality. Among the study population, 241 (59.1%) underwent culprit-only PCI and 167 (40.9%) underwent immediate multi-vessel PCI. Compared with culprit-only PCI, immediate multi-vessel PCI was associated with significantly lower risks of 30-day mortality or renal-replacement therapy (66.8% vs. 54.5%, p=0.02) and all-cause mortality during 12 months of follow-up (59.5% vs. 47.8%, hazard ratio [HR] 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53–0.92, p=0.01) in patients with AMI and CS who underwent VA-ECMO. These results were also consistent in the 290 pairs of propensity score-matched population (55.6% vs. 46.1%, HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.51–0.98, p=0.04). Conclusion Among AMI patients with multi-vessel disease complicated by advanced CS, immediate multi-vessel PCI might be associated with improved clinical outcomes in those undergoing VA-ECMO.

The Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment (AMoRE)-Pilot experiment is an initial phase of the AMoRE search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $$^{100}$$ 100 Mo, with the purpose of investigating the level and sources of backgrounds. Searches for neutrinoless double beta decay generally require ultimately low backgrounds. Surface $$\alpha $$ α decays on the crystals themselves or nearby materials can deposit a continuum of energies that can be as high as the Q-value of the decay itself and may fall in the region of interest (ROI). To understand these background events, we studied backgrounds from radioactive contaminations internal to and on the surface of the crystals or nearby materials with Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations. In this study, we report on the measured $$\alpha $$ α energy spectra fitted with the corresponding simulated spectra for six crystal detectors, where sources of background contributions could be identified through high energy $$\alpha $$ α peaks and continuum parts in the energy spectrum for both internal and surface contaminations. We determine the low-energy contributions from internal and surface $$\alpha $$ α contaminations by extrapolating from the $$\alpha $$ α background fitting model.

Background As the indications for trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) expand, it is expected that the number of TAVR patients would increase and the follow-up duration would be longer. It is known that the incidence of leaflet thrombosis is higher in TAVR than in surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), but not much is known about the risk factors of late leaflet thrombosis in TAVR. Aim Therefore, in this study, the incidence and risk factors of late leaflet thrombosis at late term after TAVR and the effect on clinical course of late leaflet thrombosis would be investigated. Method There were 176 patients undergone TAVR from January 2015 to October 2020 in one tertiary hospital of south korea. 94 patients had follow-up cardiovascular computed tomography (CT) between 3 months and 2 years after TAVR. Among 94 patients, late leaflet thrombosis was discovered at 20 patients, and risk factors were analyzed by comparing clinical factors, echocardiographic and cardiovascular CT information, and angiographic data between the group with and without late leaflet thrombosis. And the difference in aortic valve hemodynamics between the group with and without leaflet thrombosis was examined and clinical outcomes were compared. Clinical outcome was defined as the composite of all-cause death, stroke, heart failure (HF) admission, redo-aortic valve (AV) replacement and major bleeding after detection of late leaflet thrombosis. Results Indexed mean sinus of Valsalva diameter, AV calcium score and post procedure estimated orifice area (EOA) had predictability of late leaflet thrombosis with AUC value of 0.670 (95% CI [0.546–0.795], p value = 0.020), AUC value of 0.698 (95% CI [0.544–0.851], p value = 0.012) and AUC value of 0.665 (95 percent CI [0.548–0.782], p value = 0.031), respectively (Figure 1). In echocardiography performed at the time of follow-up CT, AV max velocity and AV mean pressure gradient were higher in thrombosis group and EOA and Doppler velocity index were lower in thrombosis group than in no thrombosis group within normal range (Figure 2). Clinical outcome was not significant different between the two groups (log rank p value = 0.560). Conclusion Larger indexed sinus of Valsalva diameter, higher AV calcium score and smaller post procedure AV EOA were risk factors for late leaflet thrombosis after TAVR. Subclinical late leaflet thrombosis have a benign course when properly managed. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Introduction Throughout the years of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the debate regarding access route, whether it being trasns-radial or femoral, is an ongoing agenda yet to be solved. Recent guidelines suggest trans-radial approach as an option to be considered in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, data on cardiogenic shock patients undergoing PCI is relatively sparse. Purpose Compare the clinical implication of trans-radial and femoral approach in cardiogenic shock patients who had undergone PCI. Method Cardiogenic shock patients who had undergone PCI from January 2014 to December of 2018 were enrolled. Patients were divided according to their access route respectfully. Primary outcome was composite endpoints including all-cause death, re-admission due to heart failure, myocardial infarction (MI) and cerebrovascular accident. Result A total of 694 (572 via femoral approach, 122 via radial approach) cardiogenic shock patients who received PCI were enrolled. Mean age femoral and radial groups was 66.59±12.51 and 66.66±12.8 respectfully. Disease severity was higher for femoral patients compared to radial patients as represented by their LM involvement, mechanical organ support (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, continuous renal replacement therapy, mechanical ventilation), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and vasoactive inotropic score. Cox regression analysis after adjusting for conventional risk factors showed that femoral route was a poor prognosticator with respect to composite endpoints (HR=2.059, 95% CI 1.249–3.397, p value = 0.005). Radial approach patients had higher survival probability compared to femoral approach patients (Figure 1). Conclusion Radial approach in cardiogenic shock patients who are in need for PCI with relatively less severe clinical condition could be a reasonable option for access route. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Inha University Hospital

Background In a few studies, obesity was associated with better outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). Although this phenomenon, the “obesity paradox”, reportedly manifests differently based on sex in other disease entities, it has not yet been investigated in CS patients. Methods and results 1,227 patients with CS from The REtrospective and prospective observational Study to investigate Clinical oUtcomes and Efficacy of left ventricular assist device for Korean patients with cardiogenic shock (RESCUE) registry in Korea were analyzed. The study population was classified into obese and non-obese groups according to Asian-Pacific criteria (BMI >25.0 kg/m2 for obese). Clinical impact of obesity on in-hospital mortality according to sex was analyzed using logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline curves. In-hospital mortality rate was significantly lower in obese men than non-obese men (34.2% vs. 24.1%, p=0.004) while the difference was not significant in women (37.3% vs. 35.8%, p=0.884). As a continuous variable, higher BMI showed a protective effect in men conversely, BMI was not associated with clinical outcomes in women. Comparing to normal-weight patients, obesity was associated with a decreased risk of in-hospital death in men (multivariable-adjusted OR 0.63, CI 0.43–0.92, p=0.016), not in women (multivariable-adjusted OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.55–1.61, p=0.828). Interaction P value for the association between BMI and sex was 0.023. Conclusions Obesity paradox exists and apparently occurs in men among CS patients. The differential effect of BMI on in-hospital mortality was observed according to sex. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

Background Even though the presence of hyperglycemia has shown to affect the clinical outcome of cardiogenic shock patients, the extent of hyperglycemia and its association with prognosis have not been fully addressed in large population Purpose Investigate the clinical relationship between hyperglycemic status and in-hospital mortality in cardiogenic shock patients Method A total of 1,177 consecutive cardiogenic shock patients were enrolled from January 2014 to December of 2018 at 12 hospitals in South Korea. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Patients were divided into four groups according to their initial plasma glucose level in each of diabetes patients (n=752) and non-diabetes patients (n=425); group 1 (≤8 mmol/L), group 2 (8–12 mmol/L), group 3 (12–16 mmol/L) and group 4 (≥16 mmol/L). Results The groups with higher admission plasma glucose were associated with lower systolic blood pressure and higher lactic acid level in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. In-hospital mortality increased in groups with higher admission plasma glucose level in non-diabetic patients (group-1:24.2%, group-2: 28.6%, group-3: 38.1%, group-4: 49.0%, p Conclusion In cardiogenic shock patients, plasma glucose obtained at admission was associated with in-hospital mortality in non-diabetic patients Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Inha University hospital

There have been limited data on the risk of onward transmission from individuals with Omicron variant infections who return to work after a 5-day isolation.To evaluate the risk of transmission from healthcare workers (HCWs) with Omicron variant who returned to work after a 5-day isolation and the viable-virus shedding kinetics.This investigation was performed in a tertiary care hospital, Seoul, South Korea. In a secondary transmission study, we retrospectively reviewed the data of HCWs confirmed as COVID-19 from March 14Of the 248 HCWs who were diagnosed with COVID-19 within 5 days of the return of an infected HCW, 18 (7%) had contact with the returned HCW within 1-5 days after their return. Of these, nine (4%) had an epidemiologic link other than with the returning HCW, and nine (4%) had contact with the returning HCW, without any other epidemiologic link. In the study of the kinetics of virus shedding (N = 32), the median time from symptom onset to negative conversion of viable virus was four days (95% confidence interval: 3-5).Our data suggest that the residual risk of virus transmission after 5 days of isolation following diagnosis or symptom onset is low.

Résumé Avec l’adhésion de la Corée du Sud à l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) et l’organisation des Jeux Olympiques d’hiver de 2018 à Pyeongchang, en Corée du Sud, la francophonie suscite un intérêt croissant. Une enquête a été menée auprès d’interprètes de conférence exerçant avec un français actif afin d’évaluer la situation actuelle du marché de l’interprétation coréen-français, ainsi que ses perspectives d’avenir. L’essor actuel de la demande survivra-t-il à l’effet Jeux Olympiques ?

A negative muonium ion (${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) source using an aluminum foil target (Al target) was developed as a low-energy muon source. ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ions are produced by irradiating the Al target with a 3-MeV positive muon (${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}$) beam and observed using a microchannel plate. An experiment to produce ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ions was conducted to evaluate the performance of this ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ion source. The measured event rate of ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ions was $(1.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}/\mathrm{s}$ when the event rate of the incident ${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}$ beam was $1.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}/\mathrm{s}$. The experiment was conducted at the Muon Science Establishment, D-line in the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility within the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex. The formation probability, defined as the ratio of the ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ions to the incident muons on the Al target, was $(1.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2(\mathrm{stat}{)}_{+0.1}^{\ensuremath{-}0.0}(\mathrm{syst}))\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$. This ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ion source was first adopted in the commissioning of the muon accelerator at the D-line, and the event rate of the accelerated ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ions was consistent with the expectation. This ${\mathrm{Mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ion source boosted the development of the muon accelerator, and the practicality of this low-energy muon source obtained using a relatively simple apparatus was demonstrated.

Background The Korean Organ Transplantation Registry (KOTRY) began to register lung transplants in 2015. This is an initial report on the status of patients receiving lung transplants over the past 2 years. Methods We analyzed a total of 69 patients who received lung transplants in 2015 and 2016 and who registered with the KOTRY. Results The 69 patients were treated in 5 institutions. The average (SD) donor age was 39.2 (12.6) years; there were 40 male patients. The average (SD) recipient age was 55.7 (10.0) years, and the number of male recipients was 46. A total of 66 patients underwent bilateral lung transplantation, 3 underwent single-lung transplantation, and 1 underwent simultaneous heart-lung transplantation. The most frequent indication for lung transplantation was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (35 patients), followed by connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease (9) and acute respiratory failure (8). Prior to transplantation, 23 patients required ventilator care, and 12 required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation while on the waiting list. Episodes of acute rejection during follow-up were reported in 4, 2, 1, and 1 patients at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively. Infections requiring hospitalization were reported in 27, 10, 4, and 3 patients at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively. Conclusion The establishment of KOTRY renders it possible to collect nationwide data on lung transplantation, improving research on the topic and clarifying clinical feasibility.

The α-clusterization of an atomic nucleus has been studied for a long time, even from the earliest days of nuclear physics. Our understanding of the α-cluster structure is, however, mainly limited to the self-conjugate A = 4n (n = 2, 3, 4, · · · ) light nuclei and some of the neutron-rich radionuclides such as 10Be, 11B, and 14C. In order to study the α-cluster structure of a neutron-deficient 22Mg nucleus, we have measured the 18Ne(α, α)18Ne scattering in inverse kinematics by using radioactive 18Ne beams and the 4He gas target at the Center for Nuclear Study radioactive ion beam separator of the University of Tokyo. Recoiling α particles from the scattering were detected by using silicon strip detectors, which constitute ΔE-E telescopes for particle identification. By adopting a thick target method, we were able to investigate a wide range of excitation energies Ex = 9.9 - 16.5 MeV in 22Mg in this work.

The intense γ-rays from classical novae are emitted due to the β-decay of 18F which is produced by the Hot-CNO cycle. The reaction rate of 18F(p,α)15O affects the prediction of the abundance of 18F. The main contribution to this reaction rate is from the resonances in 19Ne near and above the proton threshold. Hence, many experiments and theoretical works have been performed on the low-lying 18F+p resonances. One of the methods for investigating 19Ne parameters is studying the mirror nucleus 19F. α elastic scattering experiment was performed with a 7 MeV/u 15N beam for investigating the resonance parameters in 19F using the thick target method in inverse kinematics at the radioactive beam facility CRIB of the Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo. The excitation function of 19F was obtained for the excitation energy Ex = 6.7 - 7.7 MeV, and the parameters of the resonance states in 19F were determined using an R-matrix analysis.

We conducted a measurement of 18Ne + α scattering in inverse kinematics , in order to search for experimental evidence of α -cluster structure in 22Mg above the alpha threshold ( E thr = 8 . 14 MeV ) and determine the astrophysical rates of the 18Ne( α , p)21Na reaction under the conditions of break-out from the Hot-CNO cycle. A high intensity 18 Ne beam at 2.54 AMeV was successfully produced at CRIB (CNS Radioactive Ion Beam separator) of the Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo. This paper presents the in-flight production of the radioactive 18Ne beam by using the production reaction 3He(16O, 18Ne)n with a windowed cryogenic gas target, which was employed in the mentioned resonant α -scattering experiment.

Performances of high-speed switches operating as terahertz on–off-keying (OOK) modulators are reported. Two types of switches, a passive shunt switch and an amplifier switch, are fabricated using 0.25- $\mu \text{m}$ InP double heterojuction bipolar transistor (DHBT) technology. Small-signal tests show that the amplifier switch possesses superior on–off ratio, but the passive switch has broader bandwidth and smaller group delay ripples. A modulator test setup is built with 20-dB path loss between the transmitter and the receiver. The results indicate that carrier power levels of 14 dBm for the shunt switch and 8 dBm for the amplifier switch are required for 20-Gb/s OOK modulation with bit error rate (BER) of 10−2 at 290 GHz.

Summary Background Although fomites or contaminated surfaces have been considered as transmission routes, the role of environmental contamination by human parainfluenza virus type 3 (hPIV-3) in healthcare settings is not established. Aim To describe an hPIV-3 nosocomial outbreak and the results of environmental sampling to elucidate the source of nosocomial transmission and the role of environmental contamination. Methods During an hPIV-3 outbreak between May and June 2016, environmental surfaces in contact with clustered patients were swabbed and respiratory specimens used from infected patients and epidemiologically unlinked controls. The epidemiologic relatedness of hPIV-3 strains was investigated by sequencing of the haemagglutinin–neuraminidase and fusion protein genes. Findings Of 19 hPIV-3-infected patients, eight were haematopoietic stem cell recipients and one was a healthcare worker. In addition, four had upper and 12 had lower respiratory tract infections. Of the 19 patients, six (32%) were community-onset infections (symptom onset within

Aims Transfusion long after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may pose a significant risk but is not sufficiently understood. We investigated the long-term patterns and impact of transfusion on the clinical outcome of patients undergoing PCI. Methods and results Five-year clinical outcomes of all Korean undergoing PCI using stent in year 2011 (n=48786) were investigated. Primary outcome was the incidence density of transfusion. The association of transfusion with major adverse clinical event (MACE) consisting all-cause death, revascularization, critically ill cardiovascular status, or stroke was assessed after reflecting the propensity of each patient for transfusion and adjusting transfusion frequency and intervals. The 5-year incidence density of transfusion was 4.74 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.70–4.79) per 100 person-year. Patients who received transfusion were older, were more often women, and had overall higher frequency of clinical risk factors (p Year of transfusion and outcome Conclusions One out of every 4 Koreans undergoing PCI received transfusion within 5 years, and had 3-fold higher risk of MACE compared to patients without transfusion. These observational findings may warrant the establishment of transfusion strategies for patients undergoing PCI.

Global concerns for environmental sustainability obligate manufacturers under the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to reduce carbon emission substantially. While green awareness inspires manufacturer investment in green upgrade, it is crucial for emission-limited firms to improve production scheduling in order to compete in the stringent low-carbon market. This paper solves the emission ordering problem by considering the green investment strategy. It adopts newsvendor models with novelty in the use of the Lagrange Multipliers and Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions to achieve the optimality subject to emission constraints. Although this method has been used in economics, it is first explored in this paper for low-carbon production to achieve optimality together with the emission targets. The results call for the manufacturer to make better decisions for achieving both the optimality and the emission reduction.

We constructed an underground laboratory called Cheongpyeong Underground Radiation Laboratory (CURL) for measuring the radioactivity levels of various samples by using HPGe detectors. CURL is located underground at a depth of 1000-m water equivalent in the Cheongpyeong Pumped Storage Power Plant. We developed a shielding system, which consists of 15-cm-thick Pb blocks and 5-cm-thick Cu blocks and completely surrounds a 100% HPGe detector. We measured the background radiations and the gamma peaks from sources with and without the shield. The shielding efficiencies were also estimated using MCNP5 simulations, and they were compared to our measured data. The shielding system blocked more than 99.99% of gamma rays with energies up to 3.0 MeV. The HPGe detector with the shielding system at CURL blocked both high-energy cosmic rays and background radiation from surrounding rocks and materials. Our CURL detector system was optimized for gamma-ray measurements of meterials with ultra-low radioactivity.

Background and Purpose Pain is common in post-stroke patients and has been shown to be associated with depression, fatigue, and decreased quality of life (QOL). However, studies examining different types of post-stroke pain are scarce. We investigated differences in the related factors and their QOL impacts between musculoskeletal pain (MSP) and central post-stroke pain (CPSP). Methods We assessed 364 consecutive stroke patients who were admitted to Asan Medical Center and contacted 12 months after stroke onset. We categorized pain and paresthesia as MSP, CPSP, combined pain, or other pain. Post-stroke depression (Beck Depression Inventory), fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale), sleep disturbance (Verran Snyder-Halpern scale), social support (ENRICHED Social Support Instrument), and QOL (Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form) were assessed. Results Of the 364 patients analyzed, 135 (37.1%) had pain, 78 (21.4%) had MSP, 22 (6.0%) had CPSP, 16 (4.4%) had combined pain, and 19 (5.2%) had other pain. In multivariate analyses, CPSP was related to modified Rankin scale (P=.004), sensory dysfunction (P

The use of plastic in vehicle development has increased. In particular, a design trend has resulted in chromiumplated plastics being used in exterior panels. Recently, as the appearance has become more important in design, the plastic radiator grille has become larger, to where it can become the primary member when a front collision happens. The radiator grille should be designed with considerations of the geometric structure, such as delamination, and material characteristics, when plastics are plated with chromium. The enlarged grille has to pass regulations like FMVSS Part 581. Although the material property of plastic has been studied before, what seems to be lacking is study on the crashworthiness of plastic radiator grilles that are plated using chromium. In this paper, in order to evaluate the crashworthiness, tensile test and front collision analysis using finite element method are performed. Tensile test is conducted with 4 types of materials, and then material properties of chromium-plated plastics are obtained. Meanwhile radiator grille’s crashworthiness is evaluated using finite element analysis method. Analysis result is evaluated according to failure criterion. Through this study, method of the assessment of plastic radiator grille’s crashworthiness considered material properties of chromium plated plastics is proposed, and it can be predicted the delamination and the failure point of radiator grille at the design step.

Summary Introduction We evaluated the prevalence and severity of asymptomatic neutropenia in a healthy Korean population according to sex and age. We explored normal neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in an asymptomatic Korean population and the association of these ratios with biomarkers related to inflammation, rheumatoid disease, and glucose metabolism. Methods We analyzed complete blood cell counts in 83 740 subjects who participated in a routine health check-up program. NLR and PLR were compared to age, rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hemoglobin A1c, and fasting glucose levels. Results Of the entire study population, 7.48% exhibited neutropenia; 8.61% of females and 6.69% of males. The neutropenia was more severe in females compared to males (P < 0.01). Median NLR and PLR values were 1.53 and 121.07, respectively. An inverse relationship was observed between NLR and age, but no differences were seen between sexes. CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and fasting glucose level were significantly correlated with NLR. Conclusion Our data indicate that the normal range of absolute neutrophil counts should be adjusted and cutoff values for neutropenia should be re-established according to sex and race. NLR and PLR cutoff values for disease evaluation should be established separately according to race and age.

Besides the emission trading scheme (ETS), a mandatory measure to reduce carbon emission, the increasing green awareness encourages the manufacturing industry to invest in green upgrades for reducing its emission. Under the increasingly stringent low-carbon environment, the manufacturer needs to restructure its production by holding emission reserves or investing in greener production. Relatively few research works have discussed how the risk-bearing manufacturer performs in consideration of the emission options to achieve low-carbon production, although its contributions to the long-run success of ETS have been proven. This paper fills this research gap by combining the method of Lagrange Multipliers and Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions to obtain production optimality under emission constraints. Although this method is famous in economics, it has rarely been used in emission reduction. The objective of this research is to investigate the emission and production strategy with green awareness under an emission-limited market, where emission options are available and uncertainties exist. Analytical and numerical results show that emission options make scheduling production beyond the emission cap beneficial under almost all the conditions. Specifically, the firm may gain under reasonable emission restrictions than under emission-free market. Setting reasonable emission caps helps the manufacturer achieve higher profitability and larger emission reduction, out of the green-inclined demand and low-carbon restrictions. This helps reduce resistance to the emission reduction regulations and encourages the manufacturer to join in low-carbon production.

Detector array with on-chip crowding honeycomb-shaped patch(CHP) is proposed for high resolution sub-millimeter wave imaging application. The proposed detector array design is focused on size reduction of antenna array to include as many pixels as possible for fixed area to obtain high resolution. Moreover, the size reduction ratio reaches up to 1/9 when the number of pixel increases to common real image level. The detector array is validated by fabrication for test samples containing 2 × 1 pixels using CMOS 65 nm technology and responsivity measurement shown in Fig. 1(b). The result shows that the designed array system operate well in spite of closely spaced adjacent pixel, offering 18 GHz of 3-dB responsivity bandwidth centered at 320 GHz which is about 70% wider bandwidth compared to standard patch pixel.

Biomedical objects are used as prostheses to repair damaged bone structures and missing body parts, as well as to study complex human organs and plan surgical procedures. They are, however, not economical to make by traditional manufacturing processes. Researchers have therefore explored the multi-material layered manufacturing (MMLM) technology to fabricate biomedical objects from CAD models. Yet, current MMLM systems remain experimental with limited practicality; they are slow, expensive, and can only handle small, simple objects. To address these limitations, this chapter presents the multi-material virtual prototyping (MMVP) technology for digital fabrication of complex biomedical objects cost-effectively. MMVP integrates MMLM with virtual reality to fabricate biomedical objects for stereoscopic visualization and analyses to serve biomedical engineering purposes. This chapter describes the principle of MMVP and the processes of digital fabrication of biomedical objects. Case studies are presented to demonstrate these processes and their applications in biomedical engineering.

We hybridise EDA with GA to solve stochastic permutation flowshop scheduling problems.An efficient two-stage simulation model is developed for performance evaluation.A self-adaptive learning mechanism is adopted to generate the population. The permutation flowshop scheduling problem (PFSP) is NP-complete and tends to be more complicated when considering stochastic uncertainties in the real-world manufacturing environments. In this paper, a two-stage simulation-based hybrid estimation of distribution algorithm (TSSB-HEDA) is presented to schedule the permutation flowshop under stochastic processing times. To deal with processing time uncertainty, TSSB-HEDA evaluates candidate solutions using a novel two-stage simulation model (TSSM). This model first adopts the regression-based meta-modelling technique to determine a number of promising candidate solutions with less computation cost, and then uses a more accurate but time-consuming simulator to evaluate the performance of these selected ones. In addition, to avoid getting trapped into premature convergence, TSSB-HEDA employs both the probabilistic model of EDA and genetic operators of genetic algorithm (GA) to generate the offspring individuals. Enlightened by the weight training process of neural networks, a self-adaptive learning mechanism (SALM) is employed to dynamically adjust the ratio of offspring individuals generated by the probabilistic model. Computational experiments on Taillard's benchmarks show that TSSB-HEDA is competitive in terms of both solution quality and computational performance.

Lot sizing in queuing networks is pivotal to batch manufacturing, especially in stochastic environments. Despite development in lot sizing optimisation, the results are often rendered unrealistic because few studies have considered the impacts of relevant environmental regulation policies on production planning. This paper incorporates stochastic lot sizing optimisation with two dominant carbon emission reduction mechanisms – the carbon emission constraint and the cap-and-trade system – to examine their operational and environmental impacts on make-to-order manufacturing. It also compares these two mechanisms in environmental conservation. Numerical experiments validate the importance of considering the carbon emission regulations to traditional production planning problems. The results highlight that the market-based characteristics of the cap-and-trade mechanism motivate firms with economic benefits to adopt low-carbon technologies and environmental-friendly facilities to curb greenhouse gases emission....

Most types of cancers are made up of heterogeneous mixtures of genetically distinct subclones. In particular, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been shown to undergo substantial clonal evolution over the course of the disease. AML tends to harbor fewer mutations than solid tumors, making it challenging to infer clonal structure. Here, we present a 9-year, whole-exome sequencing study of a single case at 12 time points, from the initial diagnosis until a fourth relapse, including 6 remission samples in between. To the best of our knowledge, it covers the longest time span of any data set of its kind. We used these time series data to track the hierarchy and order of variant acquisition, and subsequently analyzed the evolution of somatic variants to infer clonal structure. From this, we postulate the development and extinction of subclones, as well as their anticorrelated expansion via varying drug responses. In particular, we show that new subclones started appearing after the first complete remission. The presence and absence of different subclones during remission and relapses implies differing drug responses among subclones. Our study shows that time series analysis contrasting remission and relapse periods provides a much more comprehensive view of clonal structure and evolution.

Item-level RFID applications rely on reading multiple tags for batch identification.We propose a mechanised 3D scanning method to improve batch reading rate.RFID readers are required only to scan tagged items in X and Y directions.Scanning in Z direction is achieved by spinning the items on a turntable.Experiments show that the proposed method outperforms current approaches.A correlation between batch reading rate and bulk density is established.The proposed method facilitates RFID-based supply chain management. The automatic, non-line-of-sight characteristics of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for identifying multiple objects are conducive to full visibility and traceability of individual product items in a supply chain. However, practical implementation of item-level RFID-based applications necessitates solving some critical issues. Among these issues, reading tag data to identify a relatively large number of individual product items, which are usually packed in batches and distributed on pallets, is particularly a bottleneck, because it affects the accuracy and trustworthiness of batch distribution of products and all subsequent logistics operations in the supply chain. Current techniques for batch identification at item-level of palletised products suffer low reading rate and incomplete tag data acquisition, rendering the RFID systems unreliable. We address this issue by proposing a mechanised 3D scanning method for identification of tagged products in large numbers to facilitate supply chain management. The proposed method requires installing RFID readers only in the X-Y plane. The readers scan tagged products in the X and Y directions while the pallet is simultaneously rotated around to be effectively scanned in the Z direction. Different scanning patterns are adopted to alleviate the problems due to randomness of tag orientation and reader collisions. As such, 3D scanning of RFID tags for item-level applications is effectively achieved without incurring much hardware cost. The performance of the proposed method is validated using an RFID-enabled gate-door for identification of palletised apparel products with item-level RFID tagging. Experiment results show that the proposed method can achieve batch reading rates remarkably higher than those reported in literature. Moreover, a correlation between the batch reading rate and the batch density is established. Apparently, the proposed mechanised 3D scanning method for batch identification of item-level tagged product items can substantially enhance the accuracy and reliability of RFID-based supply chain management systems.

We use item-level RFID to enhance customer shopping experience in apparel retail.We install RFID devices to collect customer shopping behaviour.We implement intelligent fuzzy screening algorithms to analyze customer preferences.We use the results for apparel collocations to improve marketing and services. In the customer-oriented apparel retail industry, providing satisfactory shopping experience for customers is a vital differentiator. However, traditional stores generally cannot fully satisfy customer needs because of difficulties in locating target products, out-of-stocks, a lack of professional assistance for product selection, and long waiting for payments. Therefore, this paper proposes an item-level RFID-enabled retail store management system for relatively high-end apparel products to provide customers with more leisure, interaction for product information, and automatic apparel collocation to promote sales during shopping. In this system, RFID hardware devices are installed to capture customer shopping behaviour and preferences, which would be especially useful for business decision-making and proactive individual marketing to enhance retail business. Intelligent fuzzy screening algorithms are then developed to promote apparel collocation based on the customer preferences, the design features of products, and the sales history accumulated in the database. It is expected that the proposed system, when fully implemented, can help promote retail business by enriching customers with intelligent and personalized services, and thus enhance the overall shopping experience.

The histone variant, macroH2A1, has an important role in embryonic stem cell differentiation and tumor progression in various types of tumors. However, the regulatory roles of macroH2A1 on bladder cancer progression have not been fully elucidated. Here, we show that macroH2A1 knockdown promotes stem-like properties of bladder cancer cells. The knockdown of macroH2A1 in bladder cancer cells increased tumorigenicity, radioresistance, degeneration of reactive oxygen species, increased sphere formation capability and an increase in the proportion of side populations. We found that macroH2A1 is required for the suppression of Lin28B identified as a novel downstream target of macroH2A1 in bladder cancer. Loss of macroH2A1 expression significantly correlated with the elevated levels of Lin28B expression and subsequently inhibited the mature let-7 microRNA expression. Furthermore, the stable overexpression of Lin28B enhances the several phenotypes, including tumorigenicity and sphere-forming ability, which are induced by macroH2A1 depletion. Importantly, Lin28B expression was regulated by macroH2A1-mediated reciprocal binding of p300 and EZH2/SUV39H1. Our results suggest that Lin28B/let-7 pathway is tightly regulated by macroH2A1 and its cofactors, and have a pivotal role in the bladder tumor progression and the regulation of stem-like characteristics of bladder cancer cells.

Ultrasound infrared thermography non-destructive analysis system for main shaft of offshore wind power generator is established. As preliminary study, optimal design of ultrasound excitation equipment and infrared thermography analysis for optimal design and external energy control is investigated. For the improved defect detection capability through higher energy penetration, optimal design for ultrasound transducer and excitation time (defect detection time) is determined. Impact of ultrasound incident angle and contact point of ultrasound horn is analysed. In addition, amplitude is controlled through controller for ultrasound excitation, and elastic wave from ultrasonic energy will be injected to test unit in a short amount of time using lock-in wave mode. Periodic injection causes heat generation in defect area, and time for preventing significant temperature increase and cooling time is also controllable. Using the specially designed and fabricated jig for ultrasound infrared thermography, optimal de...

We address the issues in e-pedigree management for RFID-based track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting.We propose an algorithm for RFID tag data processing and synchronization (TDPS) to generate initial e-pedigree for apparel products during production.We identify and study tag EPC writing as a major bottleneck of e-pedigree generation.We incorporate an integrated method for EPC block writing and verification to optimise the TDPS algorithm for practical implementation in packaging lines. With advancement in radio frequency identification (RFID), RFID-based track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting has attracted considerable research interests. Track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting demands a trustworthy electronic pedigree (e-pedigree), which records the movements of product items from manufacturers to retailers, to ensure high supply chain visibility and to provide evidence for product authentication. Creation and synchronization of initial e-pedigrees in the manufacturing stage is particularly crucial to the accuracy and trustworthiness of subsequent processing of the e-pedigrees and authentication of product items. This is a critical yet challenging task, as it involves a number of practical issues, such as incomplete tag writing/locking, environment disturbances, and potential data falsification. This paper first presents an innovative track-and-trace anti-counterfeiting system, and then proposes a tag data processing and synchronization (TDPS) algorithm to generate initial e-pedigrees for general, tangible products during production. An RFID-enabled apparel packaging line is established to validate the performance of TDPS and identify the bottleneck of e-pedigree generation. Experiment results show that TDPS can create accurate and secure initial e-pedigrees for fast moving product items, and that tag EPC writing is a major bottleneck of e-pedigree generation. Thus, we optimise TDPS by incorporating a block writing method and an integrated verification step to remove the bottleneck. Further experiments demonstrate the optimised TDPS can be adapted to suit different practical requirements to achieve a good balance between tag writing/locking rate and the moving speed of product items in packaging lines without severing the throughput.

A comparative analysis of the total number of admissions to the Graduate School of Interpretation & Translation (GSIT) at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) revealed that the number of male students drastically increased during certain years. A statistical analysis of GSIT total admissions at HUFS indicated that there is a correlation between the increased number of male students and job landing difficulties due to heightened unemployment following economic recession. In particular, the number of male students admitted to GSIT soared during the years when unemployment sky-rocketed due to economic recession. The first such instance occurred in 1999 following the Asian financial crisis when unemployment reached record highs, and the second occurrence was in 2014, when the unemployment rate was at its peak following another economic downturn.Since job seekers believe that the ability to communicate in foreign languages is a major requirement for gainful employment, they consider GSIT an option to improve their communication skills in foreign languages. Consequently, the number of male students attending GSIT increases when unemployment rates rise during economic recessions. Thus, it can be concluded that a functional relationship exists between economic recession and increasing numbers of male applicants to GSIT.

We previously demonstrated that bovine subcutaneous preadipocytes promote adipogenic gene expression in muscle satellite cells in a co-culture system. Herein we hypothesize that saturated fatty acids would promote adipogenic/lipogenic gene expression, whereas mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids would have the opposite effect. Bovine semimembranosus satellite cells (BSC) and intramuscular preadipocytes (IPA) were isolated from crossbred steers and cultured with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS)/Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) and 1% antibiotics during the 3-d proliferation period. After proliferation, cells were treated for 3 d with 3% horse serum/DMEM (BSC) or 5% FBS/DMEM (IPA) with antibiotics. Media also contained 10 μg/mL insulin and 10 μg/mL pioglitazone. Subsequently, differentiating BSC and IPA were cultured in their respective media with 40 μM palmitic, stearic, oleic, or linoleic acid for 4 d. Finally, BSC and IPA were single- or co-cultured for an additional 2 h. All fatty acid treatments increased (p = 0.001) carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 beta (CPT1β) gene expression, but the increase in CPT1β gene expression was especially pronounced in IPA incubated with palmitic and stearic acid (6- to 17- fold increases). Oleic and linoleic acid decreased (p = 0.001) stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene expression over 80% in both BSC and IPA. Conversely, palmitic and stearic acid increased SCD gene expression three fold in co-cultured in IPA, and stearic acid increased AMPKα gene expression in single- and co-cultured BSC and IPA. Consistent with our hypothesis, saturated fatty acids, especially stearic acid, promoted adipogenic and lipogenic gene expression, whereas unsaturated fatty acids decreased expression of those genes associated with fatty acid metabolism.

The internal and external semiconductors in the power cable have semiconducting properties and serve as a polymer material to prevent the concentration of electric fields that may occur between the insulator and the conductor and to uniformly distribute the electric field radially. In this paper, we will construct a model cable using commercial and Nano-semiconductor and evaluate long-term reliability by measuring VLF (Very Low Frequency) TD (Tan Delta).

Current research in production planning focuses mainly on optimising operational objectives, taking little consideration of the primary principle of corporate governance and investor interests. Such approaches often overlook the critical roles of the cost structure and financial position of a firm, rendering the optimisation results unreliable. This paper studies stochastic lot sizing optimisation in make-to-order manufacturing, with an aim to maximise the full investor interests, well known as shareholder wealth. It presents a relatively simple yet reliable lead time model based on probability theory and stochastic processes. Moreover, the impacts of macroeconomic factors are examined to seek potential drivers for shareholder wealth. Theoretical optimality properties are proved to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model in dealing with batch production planning. Numerical examples and analytical results are presented to illustrate the significance of considering such economic and financial const...