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Objective: For decades, LYD ([Landrace×Yorkshire] ♀×Duroc ♂) pigs are the most commonly-used commercial breed for meat production in Korea. Recently, due to the increasing demand for premium pork, the National Institute of Animal Science (Korea) has synthesized a novel pig breed named Woori Heukdon (WHD). This study aimed at comparing the carcass traits, meat yield and quality characteristics between the LYD and WHD pigs under identical rearing condition.Methods: The WHD and LYD pigs (n = 15 each) were reared under identical conditions and fed the same commercial diet until reaching recommended market weight (100 to 120 kg). After slaughter, the carcasses were evaluated for traits and meat yield, and the meat quality was assessed on shoulder butt and belly cuts.Results: Although no significant differences (p>0.05) occurred in slaughter weight between two pig types, WHD had a lower meat yield (by about 6 kg corresponding to approximately 7%) compared to the LYD pigs (p

BACKGROUND: Neer type II/bilateral distal clavicular fracture is an extremely rare injury combination, with few cases having been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: This paper reports a case of polytrauma in a 16-year-old female following a road traffic accident. The radiographs revealed distal fractures of the bilateral clavicles (Neer type II), and an open reduction and internal fixation procedure was performed. Initially, the distal fracture of the right clavicle was fixed with a six-hole hook plate before the fracture of the left clavicle was fixed using a pre-contoured lateral locking plate following reduction. At the two-year follow-up, the patient had an excellent constant score in terms of the bilateral shoulder joints. CONCLUSION: It is important to achieve stability and to aim for excellence in terms of full shoulder function in this rare combination injury.

In order to solve the problems existing in the construction of underground structures located in the downtown of saturated soft soil area, such as insufficient construction site, complex adjacent structures and great impact on the surrounding environment, the construction method of underground bundled integrate tunnel(U-BIT) is proposed. In this method, after steel pipes jacking completed, concrete is filled into the pipes, and prestress is tensioned to make each independent pipe combined to form a whole bearing structure, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the size of structural components, improving the structural stiffness and bearing capacity. Based on the structural mechanical properties test and the project of Wuding Road Station of Shanghai Metro Line 14, the failure mechanism of bundled integrate structure, the tension technology of prestressed tendons in narrow space and the variation rules of ground surface subsidence are systematically studied. The research shows that structural seam sections will be destroyed before pipe sections, so ensuring the mechanical performance of seam sections is very important to make sure the structural safety. Since each independent pipe is combined to form an overall stable structure under the prestress effect, the subsequent soil excavation has little influence on the tension of prestressed tendons and ground surface deformation. Therefore, the above construction method can control the ground surface subsidence effectively and reduce the influence of underground engineering construction on the surrounding environment.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for an improved version of the implantable catheter for malignant ascites in the abdominal cavity. OBJECTIVE: New implantable catheters have been developed that drain ascites from the abdominal cavity to the bladder by applying pressure. Based on pigtail catheters, these newly designed catheters have silicone membranes and apertures. METHODS: Experimental instruments controlled flow rates and water level to observe changes of the activation pressure and its cycle time along flow rates and turns of catheters. Furthermore, various normality tests, difference tests and non-parametric tests were investigated to observe statistical validity. RESULTS: Cycle times were significantly affected by flow rate (3/4 cases of p< 0.05). The effects of flow rate on activation pressure, however, were not significant (1/4 case of p< 0.05). Cycle times were not significantly affected by the number of turns of the catheter (3/8 cases of p< 0.05). In contrast, the effects of the turns on activation pressure were significant (5/8 cases of p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Overall, there was no significant difference between cycle times for 1.5 turns and 2.0 turns of catheters. In addition, catheters with 1.5 turns have a lower activation pressure than catheters with 2.0 turns. It is possible to customize catheters based on the ascites excretion and urination rates of various terminal patients.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have continuously investigated FFRs using binaural beat (BB) stimulations and their related effects. However, only a few studies have investigated the differences in BB stimulation effects according to basic demographic characteristics, such as gender and age. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the alpha wave activity after a 10-Hz BB stimulation and subsequently identify differences according to gender across all brain areas (frontal, central, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas). METHODS: A total of 23 healthy adults (11 male and 12 female), aged 20–29, participated in the study. For the 10-Hz BB stimulation, pure tone auditory stimuli of 250 and 260 Hz were given to the left and right ear, respectively. Through a power spectrum analysis of the phase-excluding BBs (non-BBs) and phase-including 10-Hz BBs (α-BBs), the alpha power at each brain area was estimated. These values were compared using a mixed-design ANOVA. RESULTS: With the exception of the temporal area, all other brain areas showed a significant increase in alpha power for α-BBs compared to those of non-BBs. However, the difference according to gender was not significant. CONCLUSION: The results indicated the lack of gender effects in alpha wave generation through a 10-Hz BB stimulation.

Objective This study investigated associations of life stressors and serum ghrelin levels with suicidal ideation (SI), and evaluated the potential mediating effect of ghrelin on associations between life stressors and SI in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods In total, 969 ACS patients recruited from a tertiary university hospital in Korea within 2 weeks of disease onset were evaluated in terms of life stressors (using the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire), serum ghrelin levels, and SI (using the “suicidal thoughts” item of the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale). Covariates included sociodemographics, depression, vascular risk factors, and disease severity. After 1 year, 711 patients were re-evaluated in terms of SI; logistic regression was performed with adjustment for covariates.Results Life stressors were significantly associated with SI at baseline and follow-up. Serum ghrelin showed no such associations, but high levels thereof mediated associations of life stressors with SI; significant interaction terms were also observed after adjustment for covariates.Conclusion By evaluating life stressors and serum ghrelin levels, clinical prediction of SI in the acute and chronic phases of ACS could be improved.

INTRODUCTION: Epidemiological studies have reported an association between exposures to ambient air pollution and respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pneumonitis is a critical driving factor of COPD and exposure to air pollutants (e.g., acrolein) is associated with increased incidence of pneumonitis. OBJECTIVES: Currently available anti-inflammatory therapies provide little benefit against respiratory diseases. To this end, we investigated the preventive role of curcumin against air pollutant-associated pneumonitis and its underlying mechanism. METHODS: A total of 40 subjects was recruited from Chengdu, China which is among the top three cities in terms of respiratory mortality related to air pollution. The participants were randomly provided either placebo or curcumin supplements for 2 weeks and blood samples were collected at the baseline and at the end of the intervention to monitor systemic markers. In our follow up mechanistic study, C57BL/6 mice (n = 40) were randomly allocated into 4 groups: Control group (saline + no acrolein), Curcumin only group (curcumin + no acrolein), Acrolein only group (saline + acrolein), and Acrolein + Curcumin group (curcumin + acrolein). Curcumin was orally administered at 100 mg/kg body weight once a day for 10 days, and then the mice were subjected to nasal instillation of acrolein (5 mg/kg body weight). Twelve hours after single acrolein exposure, all mice were euthanized. RESULTS: Curcumin supplementation, with no noticeable adverse responses, reduced circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines in association with clinical pneumonitis as positive predictive while improving those of anti-inflammatory cytokines. In the pre-clinical study, curcumin reduced pneumonitis manifestations by suppression of intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling, which is attributed to enhanced redox sensing of Nrf2 and thus sensitized synthesis and restoration of GSH, at least in part, through curcumin-Keap1 conjugation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study collectively suggests that curcumin could provide an effective preventive measure against air pollutant-enhanced pneumonitis and thus COPD.

The shaping of matter into desired nanometric structures with on-demand functionalities can enhance the miniaturization of devices in nanotechnology. Herein, strong light–matter interaction was used as an optical lithographic tool to tailor two-dimensional (2D) matter into nanoscale architectures. We transformed 2D black phosphorus (BP) into ultrafine, well-defined, beyond-diffraction-limit nanostructures of ten times smaller size and a hundred times smaller spacing than the incident, femtosecond-pulsed light wavelength. Consequently, nanoribbons and nanocubes/cuboids scaling tens of nanometers were formed by the structured ablation along the extremely confined periodic light fields originating from modulation instability, the tailoring process of which was visualized in real time via light-coupled in situ transmission electron microscopy. The current findings on the controllable nanoscale shaping of BP will enable exotic physical phenomena and further advance the optical lithographic techniques for 2D materials.

To improve the meat quality of Nei Mongol mutton and the benefits for farmers, we selected Australian salmon hybrid lambs as experimental subjects to investigate the effects of Allium mongolicum Regel powder (AMR) and yeast-fermented distiller’s grains (DGS) on their production performance and economic efficiency. The results showed that the DGS group had higher kidney index, the AMR group had better meat quality, and the economic efficiency ratio of DGS and AMR was 2.08. In conclusion, both feeds had no adverse effects on the production performance of lambs, and the DGS group had greater potential for promotion.

The effects of pre-existing {10–12} extension twins on the precipitation behavior of an extruded AZ80 material during aging and on its mechanical properties after peak aging are investigated. The material containing {10–12} twins—which are formed by compression before aging (twinned material)—has a finer grain size and higher dislocation density than the extruded material. Although the peak hardnesses of the twinned and extruded materials are almost the same, the time to reach the peak hardness is considerably shorter in the former material than in the latter (4 h and 24 h, respectively). In the twinned material, the high dislocation density of the {10–12} twins promotes continuous precipitation, which results in the formation of numerous fine Mg17Al12 precipitates within the twins in the early stage of aging. The formation of these continuous precipitates reduces the driving force for discontinuous precipitation, which consequently suppresses the formation and growth of coarse Mg17Al12 precipitates at the grain boundaries. Despite its shorter peak-aging time, the 4 h-peak-aged twinned material shows higher tensile strength and elongation than the 24 h-peak-aged extruded material. These higher mechanical properties of the former material are attributed primarily to the presence of more abundant fine continuous precipitates, which are effective in strengthening the material, and less abundant coarse discontinuous precipitates, which can act as crack initiation sites. These results demonstrate that the introduction of {10–12} twins into wrought Mg–Al-based alloys can accelerate the Mg17Al12 precipitation kinetics considerably and improve the strength and ductility of the peak-aged alloys simultaneously.

This study aimed to investigate associations of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and social support (SS) levels with suicidal ideation (SI), and to evaluate potential modifying effects of SS on the associations between serum hsCRP levels and SI in two longitudinal cohorts with cardio-/cerebrovascular diseases.1152 acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 423 stroke patients were recruited at baseline within 2 weeks of disease onset, and evaluated for: i) serum hsCRP levels; ii) SS by the Social Support Scale and Social Undermining Scale; iii) SI by the "suicidal thoughts" item of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale; and iv) covariates including socio-demographics, depression, vascular risk factors, and index disease severity. At 12-month follow-up, SI was re-evaluated. Logistic regression models were used to adjust for potential covariates.In the ACS cohort, higher serum hsCRP and lower SS levels were significantly associated with SI at baseline; and only lower SS levels were significantly associated with SI at follow-up. In the stroke cohort, lower SS levels were significantly associated with SI at baseline; but no other association was found. Associations of serum hsCRP levels with SI at both baseline and follow-up were only significant at higher SS levels with significant interaction terms in both cohorts.This study evaluated SI, but not suicide attempts or death; it also used a single-center design.By considering SS evaluations with routine serum hsCRP levels in cardio-/cerebrovascular disease, clinical prediction of SI both at acute and chronic phases of the diseases might be improved.

Passivation during ageing of precipitation-hardened UNS N07718 in 5 wt% NaCl + 0.5 wt% CH3COOH was investigated.

As the capacity of lithium-based batteries rapidly is increasing, the number of applications using them is continuously increasing. However, this leads to the risk of fire and explosion, and thus, the number of accidents is increasing. To analyze the magnitude of short circuit currents according to the battery capacity and external circuit impedance and the necessity of protective coordination, this study conducted experiments using cylindrical batteries with capacities of 800, 2200, 3000, and 5000 mAh and cables with an impedance of 0.1Ω/m. Results indicated that as the battery capacity increased, the short circuit current increased and circuit-opening time decreased. However, as the circuit impedance increased, the short circuit current decreased and circuit-opening time increased. Based on these results, we reviewed protective systems applied to batteries and analyzed their problems. For protective systems designed considering the maximum short circuit current, if the state of charge is low or the impedance is high at the point of short circuit, the protective system does not operate when short circuit occurs, thus failing to block the circuit and potentially leading to fire. Therefore, while designing protective systems, it is appropriate to use multiple circuit breakers and fuses, considering the short circuit current according to the battery capacity and circuit impedance to enable protective coordination between devices.

This study examines the change of criteria for selecting texts for translation in Shinchunji, the most influential magazine in liberated Korea. Using data mining methods, the study analyzes the topics and narratives of the source texts on the two occupiers of Korea: the US and the USSR. The results reveal that institutional, domestic, and international changes affected the magazine’s selection process, as its editors’ perceptions of the two powers changed over time. The selected texts’ topics and narratives show the ideological transformation of the publishing company from a left-leaning or moderate to an anti-communist governmental mouthpiece, expressing the editors’ desire to win over the minds of the Koreans for nation-building.

An AZ91–0.9Ca–0.6Y–0.5 MM (AZXWMM91100) alloy, which has higher corrosion resistance, ignition resistance, and extrudability than a commercial AZ91 alloy, has been developed recently. In this study, the AZXWMM91100 alloy is extruded at various temperatures (300–400 °C) and ram speeds (1–14.5 mm/s), and the cracking behaviors, microstructure, and tensile properties of the extruded materials are systematically analyzed. On the basis of the pressure limit and surface and internal cracking limit, the extrusion limit diagram providing a safe extrusion processing zone is established. All of the materials extruded at temperatures and speeds within the safe extrusion processing zone have high surface quality and moderate tensile ductility with an elongation higher than 10%. Moreover, they have a fully recrystallized grain structure and contain undissolved particle stringers arranged parallel to the extrusion direction. The grain size of the extruded material does not show any relationship with the Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z). However, the yield strength (YS) of the extruded material is inversely proportional to the logarithm of the Z value, and their relationship is expressed as YS = −31.2•log(Z) + 536. These findings may broaden the understanding of the AZXWMM91100 alloy with excellent chemical and physical properties and provide valuable information for the development of high-performance extruded Mg products using this alloy.