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Bronchoscopic biopsy of peripheral pulmonary nodules has evolved in recent years with the emergence of new technologies such as shape-sensing robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. The use of three-dimensional (3D) fluoroscopy for intraoperative visualization of the biopsy tool in relation to the target nodule aims to overcome computed tomography-to-body divergence encountered during the procedure and allows for more accurate sampling to improve adequacy and diagnostic performance. Until recently, the robotic-assisted navigation plan and 3D imaging function as separate systems. We present a case where intraoperative 3D fluoroscopy images were integrated to the robotic bronchoscopy navigation system, resulting in a single, dynamic, real-time 3D virtual plan showing readjusted paths toward the lesion displayed in the robotic bronchoscopy navigation system, allowing in this case, biopsying two bilateral pulmonary nodules, resulting in different diagnosis within the same endoscopic procedure.

Residents and workers exposure to high carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in buildings may cause headache, dyspnea, fatigue, or drowsiness. However, the effect of plants on in-building CO2 reduction and adverse effect relief is largely unknown. We recruited 36 healthy participants from an office room with plants and 32 healthy participants from another office room without plant in the same office building in Taipei. The participants in the office room with plants during 2020 would move to the office room without plant in 2021. The twelve repeated measurements per year of CO2, fine particles (PM2.5), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), blood pressure (BP), serum CO2 (TCO2), and four rating questions of headache, dyspnea, fatigue, and drowsiness were obtained for each participant. The statistical results showed that levels of drowsiness and systolic BP were significantly lower among participants in the office room with plants compared to those in the office room without plants by t -test and paired t -test. The associations between increased indoor CO2 and increased serum CO2 were observed in the office room with plants (1.32%) and without plant (4.52%) by mixed-effects models. Also, the associations between indoor CO2 and drowsiness were observed in office rooms (with plants: 14.57%; without plant: 3.82%). The conclusion of the present study is that plants in office environment can reduce CO2 levels and may lower CO2-related health effects.

Even though the combined use of ultrasound (US) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is recommended for the surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the utilization of AFP has its challenges, including accuracy dependent on its cut-off levels, degree of liver necroinflammation, and etiology of liver disease. Though various studies have demonstrated the utility of protein induced by vitamin K absence II (PIVKA-II) in surveillance, treatment monitoring, and predicting recurrence, it is still not recommended as a routine biomarker test. A panel of 17 experts from Asia-Pacific, gathered to discuss and reach a consensus on the clinical usefulness and value of PIVKA-II for the surveillance and treatment monitoring of HCC, based on six predetermined statements. The experts agreed that PIVKA-II was valuable in the detection of HCC in AFP-negative patients, and could potentially benefit detection of early HCC in combination with AFP. PIVKA-II is clinically useful for monitoring curative and intra-arterial locoregional treatments, outcomes, and recurrence, and could potentially predict microvascular invasion risk and facilitate patient selection for liver transplant. However, combining PIVKA-II with US and AFP for HCC surveillance, including small HCC, still requires more evidence, whilst its role in detecting AFP-negative HCC will potentially increase as more patients are treated for hepatitis-related HCC. PIVKA-II in combination with AFP and US has a clinical role in the Asia-Pacific region for surveillance. However, implementation of PIVKA-II in the region will have some challenges, such as requiring standardization of cut-off values, its cost-effectiveness and improving awareness among healthcare providers.

Objective: TLRI 211-1 is a novel Bacillus subtilis strain. This experiment was to investigate dietary supplementation of TLRI 211-1 on laying performance, egg quality and blood characteristics of layers.Methods: One hundred and twenty 65-wk-old Leghorn layers were divided into four treatment groups for 8 weeks experiment. Each treatment had three replicates. The basal diet was formulated as control group with crude protein 17% and metabolizable energy 2,850 kcal/kg and supplemented with TLRI 211-1 0.1%, 0.3%, and commercial Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 0.1% as treatment 2, 3 and 4 groups, respectively. Both TLRI 211-1 and commercial Bacillus amyloliquefaciens were adjusted to contain 1×109 colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL (g), hence the 0.1% supplemental level was 1×109 CFU/kg.Results: The results showed that TLRI 211-1 0.3% and commercial B. amyloliquefaciens groups had higher weight gain than the other groups; TLRI 211-1 0.1% group had better feed to eggs conversion ratio than the control and commercial B. amyloliquefaciens groups (pBacillus subtilis supplementation increased yolk weight (pB. subtilis TLRI 211-1 can be used as feed additives for improving egg production performance and egg quality.

PurposeCorporate governance scholars have long been interested in understanding the impact of former chief executive officers (CEOs) who do not fully leave office but rather remain as board members. Departing from the inconclusive findings of retaining Janus-faced predecessor CEOs on boards, this study revisits the concept of retaining predecessor CEOs on boards (RPCB) and its influence on successors and firm performance under certain conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes a sample of 461 Taiwanese firms from 2015 to 2019, adopting the ordinary least squares regression method to examine the correlation between RPCB and firm performance. It specifically analyzes the moderating effects of the complexity of firms' internal and external environments in this context.FindingsThe empirical results show that there is no direct relationship between RPCB and post-succession performance, indicating that this association is shaped by contextual factors. Indeed, the influence of predecessors is more pronounced in situations of high internal and external complexities such that the value of RPCB is situation specific.Originality/valueThis study is the first to generate the resource-based view theory to recognize that the relationship between predecessors on boards and financial consequences is moderated by contextual factors. The authors are the first to extend extant research by considering internal and external complexity in the context of succession and RPCB. In such situations, successors' need for regular mentoring is heightened and the benefits of prior CEO knowledge and resources are more substantial.

Computer vision techniques are widely applied to the object detection, license plate recognition, remote sensing, and outdoor monitoring system. The performance of these applications mainly relies on the high quality of outdoor image. However, an outdoor image can be led to contrast decrease, color distortion, and unclear structure by poor weather conditions and human factors such as haze, fog, and air pollution. These issues may lower down the sharpness of a photo. Despite of the single-image dehazing is used to solve these issues, it cannot achieve a satisfactory result when the method deals with the bright scene and sky area. In this article, we aim to design an adaptive dehazing technique based on fusion transmission and sky weight detection. The sky weight detection is employed to distinguish the foreground and background, while detected results are applied to the fusion strategy to calculate deep and shallow transmissions. Thus, this can get rids of the subject of over-adjustment. Experimental results have demonstrated that the new method can outperform the latest state-of-the-art methods in terms of subjective and the objective assessments. &nbsp

This study aimed to carry out a cross-cultural adaptation of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) for use in Traditional Chinese-speaking patients with low back pain (LBP) and to investigate its psychometric properties.A total of 224 patients with LBP 6 weeks who visited our spine center from May 2018 to May 2019 were included in the study. Patients completed a booklet of questionnaires including the following: (1) pain Numeric Rating Scale, (2) Oswestry Disability Index, (3) Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, (4) EuroQol-five dimension (EQ-5D), and (5) COMI. Patients were sent a second booklet (also containing a transition question to indicate any change in condition) to be completed again within one month after the first. Fifty-two patients did not receive any intervening treatment (group 1), while the other 172 patients received medical treatment (group 2) between the two questionnaires.The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the COMI summary score was 0.94 (95% CI 0.89-0.97); the standard error of measurement (SEM) was 0.41 and the minimum detectable change (MDC) score was 1.14. The COMI summary scores showed a low floor effect (1.8%) and ceiling effect (0.4%). All COMI item scores demonstrated the hypothesized correlations with their corresponding full-length questionnaires except for the pain item (correlation stronger than hypothesized). Standardized response means (SRM) for the COMI items in the treated group were between 0.58 and 1.30. Regarding the ability of the COMI change score to differentiate between good and poor outcomes, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was 0.77 [standard error (SE) 0.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.84] and the minimal clinically important change (MCIC) score was ≥ 1.85 points.The Traditional Chinese COMI represents a practical and reliable tool for the assessment of Traditional Chinese-speaking patients with back problems.

Incorporating deep learning (DL) classification models into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can significantly augment search-and-rescue operations and disaster management efforts. In such critical situations, the UAV's ability to promptly comprehend the crisis and optimally utilize its limited power and processing resources to narrow down search areas is crucial. Therefore, developing an efficient and lightweight method for scene classification is of utmost importance. However, current approaches tend to prioritize accuracy on benchmark datasets at the expense of computational efficiency. To address this shortcoming, we introduce the Wider ATTENTION EfficientNet (WATT-EffNet), a novel method that achieves higher accuracy with a more lightweight architecture compared to the baseline EfficientNet. The WATT-EffNet leverages width-wise incremental feature modules and attention mechanisms over width-wise features to ensure the network structure remains lightweight. We evaluate our method on a UAV-based aerial disaster image classification dataset and demonstrate that it outperforms the baseline by up to 15 times in terms of classification accuracy and 38.3% in terms of computing efficiency as measured by Floating Point Operations per second (FLOPs). Additionally, we conduct an ablation study to investigate the effect of varying the width of WATT-EffNet on accuracy and computational efficiency. Our code is available at \url{https://github.com/TanmDL/WATT-EffNet}., Comment: This paper is accepted in IEEE Trans. GRSL

Earthquake swarms have provided useful insights into driving mechanisms for triggered earthquakes. However, a majority of earthquake swarms consist of microseismicity in which observations sometimes are limited because of detection ability. Here, we apply a multi-station template matching technique to two temporary seismic networks and investigate microseismicity in southern Hispaniola. We detect a total of 6065 and 1366 new events for the 2010 and 2013–2014 datasets, respectively, using templates from pre-existing catalogs. The magnitude of completeness (Mc) of our updated catalogs drops from 1.7 to 1.2 and from 2.2 to 1.4 for the 2010 and 2013–2014, respectively, after combining new detections with the templates. With the improvement of seismic detections, the spatiotemporal distribution of the seismicity showcases three instances of earthquake swarms. The first one is located offshore on the Trois Baies fault, with over one thousand events triggered during mid-February to early March 2010, whereas the other one is distributed along the western Léogâne fault, which occurs within a day and shows many earthquakes with similar waveforms. The third one is found in the north of Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic, which outlines a nearly vertical fault plane. Our updated earthquake catalogs and observations of these swarms provide necessary information for seismic hazard assessment in southern Hispaniola and will facilitate continued investigations of seismology in the area.

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose early since tumor markers have low sensitivity and specificity. We simultaneously measured serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, pancreatic elastase-1, lipase, and amylase, and evaluated the accuracy of a single marker or a combination of two, three, or four markers in the diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Seventy-six patients with PDAC were included, and 75 patients with non-PDAC diseases were enrolled as the control group. Blood specimens were collected and analyzed for pancreatic elatase-1, CA19-9, amylase and lipase. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for each individual marker and in combination were determined.In PDAC subjects, abnormal CA19-9 was seen most frequently at 80.3%, followed by pancreatic elastase-1 at 57.9%, lipase at 53.9%, and amylase at 51.3%. In non-PDAC subjects, the percentage of abnormal serum pancreatic elastase-1, CA19-9, lipase, and amylase were 50.7%, 41.3%, 40.0%, and 28.0%, respectively. The accuracy rate of amylase and CA19-9 results combined was 64.9% and was higher than the combination of other markers in the intersection set. In the union set, the group of amylase and CA19-9 combined and the group of lipase and CA19-9 combined had the highest accuracy at 66.2%. In the intersection and union set, the area under the curve of CA19-9 was the highest at 0.695.CA19-9 as a single marker is the most accurate in the clinical diagnosis of PDAC. Combination of lipase, amylase, or pancreatic elastase-1 results does not significantly increase the accuracy of PDAC diagnosis.

Background Long-term opioid and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse may affect immunological function and impair executive function. We aimed to determine whether biomarkers of inflammation and executive function were associated with substance use in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and ATS use disorder (ATSUD). The interactions between these biomarkers were also explored. Methods We assessed plasma cytokines [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and executive function in terms of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Continuous Performance Test (CPT) in OUD and ATSUD patients and healthy controls (HC). OUD and ATSUD patients were followed for 12 weeks, and their urine morphine and amphetamine tests, cytokine levels, and executive function were repeatedly measured. Results We enrolled 483 patients and 145 HC. Plasma TNF-α, CRP, IL-8, IL-6, and BDNF levels and most subscale scores on the WCST and CPT significantly differed between OUD and ATSUD patients and HC. Increased TNF-α levels and more perseveration error on the WCST were significantly associated with more urine drug-positive results and less abstinence. Plasma IL-6 and CRP levels were significantly negatively correlated with WCST and CPT performance. Conclusion OUD and ATSUD patients had more inflammation and worse executive function than HC. Inflammatory markers and WCST performance were associated with their urinary drug results, and higher inflammation was associated with poor executive function. Studies on regulating the inflammatory process and enhancing executive function in OUD and ATSUD are warranted.

Purpose To characterize ambulatory care adverse drug events reported to the Collaborative Healthcare Patient Safety Organization (CHPSO), a network of 400 hospitals across the United States, and identify addressable contributing factors. Methods We abstracted deidentified ambulatory care CHPSO reports compiled from May 2012 to October 2018 that included medication-related adverse events to identify implicated medications and contributing factors. We dual-coded 20% of the sample. We quantitatively calculated co-occurring frequent item sets of contributing factors and then applied a qualitative thematic analysis of co-occurring sets of contributing factors for each drug class using an inductive analytic approach to develop formal themes. Results Of 1,244 events in the sample, 208 were medication related. The most commonly implicated medication classes were anticoagulants (n = 97, or 46% of events), antibiotics (n = 24, 11%), hypoglycemics (n = 19, 9%), and opioids (n = 17, 8%). For anticoagulants, timely follow-up on supratherapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) values occurred before the development of symptoms. Incident reports citing antibiotics often described prescribing errors and failure to review clinical contraindications. Reports citing hypoglycemic drugs described low blood sugar events due to a lack of patient education or communication. Reports citing opioids described drug-drug interactions, commonly involving benzodiazepines. Conclusion Ambulatory care prescribing clinicians and community pharmacists have the potential to mitigate harm related to anticoagulants, antibiotics, hypoglycemics, and opioids. Recommendations include increased follow-up for subtherapeutic INRs, improved medical record integration and chart review for antibiotic prescriptions, enhanced patient education regarding hypoglycemics, and alerts to dissuade coprescription of opioids and benzodiazepines.

The effect of climate prevails on a diverse time scale from days to seasons and decades. Between 1993 and 2013, global warming appeared to have paused even though there was an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. The variations in oceanographic variables, like current speed and sea surface temperature (SST), under the influence of the global warming hiatus (1993–2013), have drawn the attention of the global research community. However, the magnitude of ocean current and SST characteristics oscillates and varies with their geographic locations. Consequently, investigating the spatio-temporal changing aspects of oceanographic parameters in the backdrop of climate change is essential, specifically in coastal regions along Kuroshio current (KC), where fisheries are predominant. This study analyzes the trend of ocean current and SST induced mainly during the global warming hiatus, before and till the recent time based on the daily ocean current data from 1993 to 2020 and SST between 1982 and 2020. The Kuroshio extent is delineated from its surrounding water masses using an aggregation of raster classification, stretching, equalization, and spatial filters such as edge detection, convolution, and Laplacian. Finally, on the extracted Kuroshio extent, analyses such as time series decomposition (additive) and statistical trend computation methods (Yue and Wang trend test and Theil–Sen’s slope estimator) were applied to dissect and investigate the situations. An interesting downward trend is observed in the KC between the East coast of Taiwan and Tokara Strait (Tau = −0.05, S = −2430, Sen’s slope = −5.19 × 10−5, and Z = −2.61), whereas an upward trend from Tokara Strait to Nagoya (Tau = 0.89, S = 4344, Sen’s slope = 8.4 × 10−5, and Z = 2.56). In contrast, a consistent increasing SST in trend is visualized in the southern and mid-KC sections but with varying magnitude.

Research has addressed the benefits of immersive virtual reality (IVR) for affective learning rather than cognitive performance, indicating the necessity to explore what factors may influence learners’ attitudinal learning, defined as the result of instruction for changing learners’ attitudes, when engaging in immersive instructional mediums. This study proposes an affection-oriented model to understand the roles of young learners’ epistemic curiosity traits and triggered situational interest in their attitudinal learning from the affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions in IVR learning contexts. Through a series of PLS-SEM analyses with 90 elementary school students, the results of the measurement model test have verified the reliability and validity of the instruments employed in this study. The structural relationships among epistemic curiosity, situational interest, and attitudinal learning were also confirmed. The triggered situational interests of novelty and exploration intention during the IVR learning process were further identified as the mediators in the research model. While the students’ senses of novelty mediated the relationship between curiosity and cognitive attitudinal learning, their senses of interest in exploration intention mediated both the relationships between curiosity and affective attitudinal learning and between curiosity and behavioral attitudinal learning. This study contributed to establishing the theoretical framework for affection-oriented IVR learning.

PURPOSE: To assess whether aqueous cytokine profiles and pupil size are altered when high capsulotomy energy is used in eyes undergoing femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery (FLACS), and if preoperative use of a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) has an effect on this. METHODS: This prospective study recruited 83 eyes (63 patients) that were allocated to four treatment groups: conventional phacoemulsification (n = 20 eyes); FLACS with 90% capsulotomy energy without NSAID pretreatment (n = 20 eyes); FLACS with 90% capsulotomy energy with NSAID pre-treatment (n = 21 eyes); and FLACS with 150% capsulotomy energy with NSAID pretreatment (n = 22 eyes). Aqueous humor was collected before and after phacoemulsification to assess cytokine profiles. Pupil size was measured before and after laser capsulotomy. RESULTS: FLACS increased aqueous concentrations of pros-taglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ), interferon γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) compared to conventional phacoemulsification. However, when increasing capsulotomy energy from 90% to 150% (with topical NSAID pretreatment), there was no significant increase in aqueous concentrations of PGE 2 (37.7 ± 21.7 vs 33.6 ± 27.6 pg/mL, P = .99), IFN-γ (3.6 ± 1.1 vs 3.6 ± 0.8 pg/mL, P = .99), or IL-6 (7.1 ± 2.9 vs 6.3 ± 2.4 pg/mL, P = .99). For 90% and 150% capsulotomy energy, there was significant miosis following laser capsulotomy. Increased PGE 2 concentration was significantly correlated with a reduction in pupil area ( r = −0.58, P < .001) and pupil diameter ( r = −0.57, P < .001). However, when a topical NSAID was given preoperatively, there was no difference in the degree of miosis between the 90% and 150% capsulotomy energy groups. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with a topical NSAID prevented a rise in PGE 2 , IFN-γ, and IL-6 levels and excessive miosis when a higher capsulotomy energy was used. When a topical NSAID is used preoperatively, it is safe to use higher capsulotomy energy settings (with a low pulse energy femtosecond laser system) to achieve a satisfactory capsulotomy. [ J Refract Surg . 2022;38(9):587–594.]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incapacitating neurodegenerative disease. Patients with PD and their caregivers may have interactive effects on each other’s psychological well-being. This study aimed to assess the dyadic dynamics of resilience, fatigue, and suicidal ideation on the depression severity of PD patients and their caregivers. In total, 175 PD patients and 175 caregivers were recruited at a medical center from August 2018 to May 2020. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the actor/partner effects on the psychological well-being of both the PD patients and their caregivers. The most common psychiatric diagnoses of both the PD patients (28.6%) and their caregivers (11.4%) were depressive disorders. The PD patients’ and their caregivers’ fatigue, suicidal ideation, and lack of resilience were significantly associated with the severity of their depression, respectively. Interactive effects existed between psychological well-being of individuals with PD and their caregivers. Clinicians must be aware of, and manage, these contributing factors between PD patients and their caregivers in order to prevent them from worsening each other’s depression.

This paper proposes a synchronous measurement system of four position-independent geometric errors (PIGEs) and two position-dependent geometric errors (PDGEs) for the rotary axis in five-axis machine tools. The measuring instruments used in this system are a touch-trigger probe and two standard calibration spheres. The contribution of this paper is the simultaneous measurement of four PIGEs and two PDGEs (axial and angular positioning errors) can be directly analyzed through only one measuring process. It is expected to improve the shortcomings of previous studies that separately measured PIGEs and PDGEs. This paper analyzed the geometric errors of C-axis of a mill-turn machine tool MT-540. The process of calculation includes the establishment of the mathematical model of the machine and geometric error equations. Using the least squares method to solve the linear overdetermined system and calculate the values of the geometric errors. Before solving the geometric errors, the accuracy of the calculated process is ensured by using the simulated method. The simulation results also confirm the feasibility of this measurement system. Then using the data obtained from the experiment to calculate the geometric errors in the machine tool. During the experiment, the calibration procedure of the touch-trigger probe will be calibrated. After the calibration is completed, the mechanical coordinate values of the two standard calibration balls can be measured. The geometric error equations are programmed on the computer side, and the calibration spheres data obtained from the experimental measurement is substituted into the program to calculate the four PIGEs and two PDGEs.

This paper proposes a design process based on the aspects of structure, configuration, and function. A mechatronic integrated design combining a switched reluctance motor with a planetary gear train (PGT) reducer is developed systematically. First, feasible design concepts are generated from the identified design requirements and constraints by considering existing SRMs and PGT reducers. The integration elements are selected to fit the design requirements. Then, detailed design and analysis are performed regarding the performance of the PGTS as well as the electromagnetic characteristics and output performance of the motor. In addition, the Taguchi method is employed to identify the optimal electrical parameters and geometric configuration of the motor. Finally, the output characteristics of the integrated device and existing design are compared. The integrated design has a 12.94% higher average torque, 40.74% lower torque ripple, and 9.10% smaller axial space.

Metal cutting is the commonly used method in mechanical design, and the tool is the most important key factor in metal cutting. When the tool is severely worn, it will cause the tool to break. This article takes the current value of machining precision turret as an example to study the relationship between current value and tool wear. We used statistical mathematical models to predict tool life and used scatter diagrams to verify the timing of tool change and the actual degree of tool wear, to achieve accurate prediction and reduce tool waste. In our experiment, the core part of the indexing plate (turret) is machined by the horizontal machining center, The CCD image capture system was utilized to evaluate cutting tool wear. Three methods are analyzed to predict tool wear and current. The probability statistical mathematical model shows good match to predict the tool life. it is possible to find out the holes with poor quality caused by tool wear and calculate the exchange rate.

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) in premature infants is a rare condition. We present SSSS in a preterm infant, who developed all signs and symptoms of SSSS at birth, with a fatal outcome due to fungemia caused by Candida parapsilosis. The clinical presentation was challenging to differential diagnosis. SSSS diagnosis was

Marine microplastics are a global environmental issue. However, there are still large data and knowledge gaps in microplastics from sea-based sources. One of the concerned sea-based microplastic sources is ships' greywater discharge. Greywater generated from galley, laundries, showers, and washbasins in a ship can be discharged directly to the sea without treatment. In this study, we present the sampling approach of greywater and information about the abundance and characteristics of microplastics. To our knowledge, it is the first attempt to determine microplastic abundance and characteristics in ships' greywater according to its use categories (galley, laundry and shower, and cabin washbasin). Greywater samples were collected from three different holding tanks (tanks A, B, and C) at R/V Onnuri of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). To enable the sample collection, the discharge system was converted to manual discharge and an additional pump and valve were installed on the pipeline connected to each tank. Greywater was sampled when the vessel was at anchor (1st sample) and during the research cruise (2nd sample). For the 1st sample, a grab sampling was conducted and for the 2nd sample, samples were collected at 5-day intervals. Semi-automated FTIR analysis was conducted for microplastic identification. During the analysis, fiber bundles composed of polyester (PES) and polypropylene (PP) were detected. Bundles were counted as one individual particle or composing particles were counted individually, if possible. The highest microplastic abundance was found in tank C from the laundry and shower room in which a large number of microfibers such as PES fibers were detected. The average microplastic abundances were 149,660±77,574 n/m3 (62,000–209,600 n/m3) in 1st sample and 135,563±87,141 n/m3 (75,000–177,667 n/m3) in 2nd sample. The microplastic abundances were similar and this can be attributed to the fact that people use the ship's facilities where greywater can be generated even while at anchor. In addition, not only the generation of microplastics but also greywater could be large during navigation. Though the microplastic abundances were similar in 1st and 2nd samples, a greater variety of polymers were detected in 2nd sample (25 types) than in 1st sample (15 types). Polymers used in paint were also highly detected in the 2nd sample (8%) than in the 1st sample (2%). This might be due to more diverse activities took place on the deck and inside the ship during the research activity than when at anchor. Fibers were more dominant in 2nd sample (66%) than in 1st sample (25%). This may be because more people use washing machines while sailing than at anchor. In addition, since many cabins are occupied during the research cruise than when at anchor, washing in cabins and fibers detached from fabrics from people’s activity during navigation might have contributed to relatively higher PES fiber composition in 2nd sample. The results of this study would be useful in understanding the sea-based microplastic pollution through ship’s greywater, and for estimation of the microplastic emission from ships to the marine environment.

Surface water and groundwater interactions between the stream and the hyporheic zone profoundly affect river intermittency and biogeochemical processes, yet they are rarely quantified. As an excellent natural tracer, temperature was used to quantify unknown patterns of hydrologic fluxes and to understand their impact on heat budget over time and space. The Yousheng Creek (a first-order upstream of Chichiawan Creek in Taiwan) is one of the crucial habitats for the endangered species of Formosan land-locked salmon. In recent years, stream disconnection seriously limited the expansion of the salmon habitat, hampering the rehabilitation work. This study takes heat as a tracer to examine exchange processes in the intermittent reach of Yousheng Creek, with the application of fiber-optic distributed temperature sensor (FO-DTS). The combined use of FO-DTS, stream heat budget model (the HFLUX computer program), drone imagery, meteorological measurements, and field surveys allowed for identifying, quantifying, and mapping groundwater inputs beneath the 1924 meters reach. Analysis of the temperature traces measured from June 23rd to June 25th, 2019, have identified several active hyporheic zones and groundwater discharge points, providing significant cooling in the study section. HFLUX successfully modeled the river temperature through time and space with a normalized root mean square error of 3.12%. Inference from the model indicates a series of high infiltration zones at midstream whereas primary groundwater discharge from the downstream. The results suggest that different groundwater contributions along the Yousheng Creek significantly impact river temperatures. These insights of groundwater-surface water interactions can be applied to improve the knowledge of hydrology processes and energy budgets in headwaters

The Yuli belt in eastern Taiwan attests to tectonic evolution involving subduction metamorphism because two metamélange units contain high-pressure (HP) blocks or layers of metaigneous rocks and serpentinites enclosed in metasedimentary schists. Metasomatic reaction zones occur locally along the contact between serpentinite (SP) and pelitic schist (PS). In the Tsunkuanshan area, we recognized five metasomatic zones. From PS to SP, the dominant minerals in each zone are: (I) albite, chlorite, phengite; (II) albite, amphibole, biotite, stilpnomelane; (III) chlorite, phengite, albite, epidote; (IV) epidote, chlorite, albite; and (V) talc, chlorite. Minor garnet and glaucophane are present in zone I and II, respectively. Field and petrographic observations combined with whole-rock major elements data suggest that this rock association was formed by diffusive exchanges between the PS and SP. Zones I - IV and PS samples show identical rare earth element (REE) patterns, indicating that these zones are of PS protolith. Hence, the original boundary between the PS and SP is likely in the zone IV and V. The isocon method was applied to quantify the mass balance among the metasomatic zones. The result shows mass changes in zones: I: +12%; II: -4%; III: +50%; IV: +56%. Enrichment of Ca is present in the entire reaction zones, especially the zone IV (up to 91%), whereas Na is only enriched within the zone I (~80%) and II (~89%). These enrichments are likely due to the involvement of external fluids. The formation of these metasomatic rocks was not only controlled by diffusive exchanges between PS and SP, but also by the Na and Ca rich fluid infiltrations. The existence of glaucophane within the zone II indicates that the metasomatism occurred under HP metamorphic conditions in a paleo-subduction interface.Keywords: Fluid-rock interactions, isocon method, Na and Ca rich fluids, high-pressure, Yuli belt.

Greywater drained from showers, washbasins, laundry, and dishwashers can be discharged to the sea without further treatment unless in no discharge zone. In 2021, International Maritime Organization indicated greywater generated from ships as one of the possible sources of sea-based microplastics. However, there are only a few studies on microplastics in greywater, most of which have used the scientific literature for statistical estimation of the amount of microplastics in cruise ships. It is necessary to evaluate the amount of microplastics in real ships’ greywater for accurate calculation of emission. This study aims to measure microplastics in a ship’s greywater by its usage and to estimate the preliminary global emission of microplastics from a ship’s greywater discharge into the ocean.Greywater was collected in three different holding tanks at 5-day intervals from a research vessel Onnuri of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (1,370 tons) before and during the cruise for 18 days (April 21–May 9, 2022) with 33 persons on board. A total of 83 m3 of greywater was generated during the cruise. The average microplastic abundance was 135,563±87,141 n/m3 (range: 60,500–322,500 n/m3) in greywater. There were no significant differences in the abundance of microplastics in greywater usage (mainly galley, laundry and shower, and cabin washbasin). The level of microplastics in greywater in this study was several orders of magnitude higher than those in effluents from terrestrial wastewater treatment plants in the literature.The greywater generation rate during navigation was 0.15 m3/person/day, which was comparable to previous studies with various types of ships. The greywater sub-flows accounted for 51%, 17%, and 32% of tank A (drained from the galley and 5 cabins with showers), tank B (18 cabins, 2 laboratory rooms, and 4 washbasins), and tank C (laundry, shower, and washbasin), respectively. The number of microplastic from total greywater was highest in tank C (44%), followed by tank A (29%) and tank B (18%). However, there was no difference in the number and mass of microplastics. The annual microplastic load in greywater from R/V Onnuri was estimated to be 1.2ⅹ108 n/year or 91 g/year. Based on the greywater microplastic emission factor abundance in this study, it is estimated that about 28ⅹ1012 particles or 13–29 tons of microplastics could enter the global oceans from greywater of global fleets (>100 gross tonnages) in a year.

A visual survey using a vessel is a representative method to assess the degree of pollution of floating plastic debris in marine environments. However, the visual survey may more easily miss plastic items on and just below water (e.g. plastic bags) than above water (e.g. PET bottles). In addition, there are very limited comparison studies for floating plastic debris on the water surface and suspended plastic debris in the water column. None of the studies quantitatively determined the difference in detection rate by visual and surface trawl surveys. The aim of this study is to evaluate what could be relatively missed and underestimated by surface water visual surveys.Floating plastic debris was monitored by visual and trawl surveys (depth of 0.5 m) in three coastal areas (rural area, GJ; aquafarm area, JH; urban and near river mouth area, SY) of Korea over the four seasons in 2022. In addition, during the visual survey of floating plastic debris in a fishing area (GH), near the river mouth of Han River, a shrimp beam trawl was used to collect plastic debris in the water column (water depth of 10 m) except for thin surface and bottom layer over three seasons in 2022. The seasonal patterns and composition of floating plastic debris in the surface water of JH, GJ, and SY were similar between the visual and trawl surveys. But, the mean densities of most plastics obtained from trawl surveys were 3 to 7 times higher than those from visual surveys. In particular, it was hard to detect small-sized, submerged, or dark-colored fishing gear with the visual survey. Patches with small items can increase the uncertainty of the visual survey. Therefore, visual surveys may underestimate the amount of marine plastic debris above and just below the water.Various types of floating plastic debris were observed by visual survey in the surface water of GH: plastic bags/sheets (54%), expanded polystyrene pieces (18%), plastic containers (4%), strapping (3%), plastic bottles/caps (3%), discarded fishing gear (1%), and other hard plastic pieces (14%). In the water column of GH, however, plastic bags/sheets (93%) predominated and followed by strapping (4%), discarded fishing gear (1%), and other plastics (1%). These results indicate that plastic bags/sheets and strapping would mainly submerge in the water column, but expanded polystyrene pieces, plastic containers, plastic bottles/caps, and other hard plastic pieces are more likely to float rather than sink. Thus, the application of only visual surveys for plastic pollution monitoring in water may largely miss and underestimate the plastic items transported on and below water such as plastic bags and sheets.

ObjectiveUnilateral sensorineural hearing loss is a condition commonly encountered in otolaryngology clinics. However, its molecular pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the genetic underpinnings of childhood unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and analyze the associated audiological features.Study DesignRetrospective analysis of a prospectively recruited cohort Setting: Tertiary referral center Methods: We enrolled 38 children with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and performed physical, audiological, imaging, and congenital cytomegalovirus examinations as well as genetic testing using next-generation sequencing targeting 30 deafness genes. The audiological results were compared across different etiologies.ResultsCausative genetic variants were identified in eight (21.1%) patients, including five withGJB2variants, two withPAX3variants, and one withEDNRBvariant.GJB2variants were associated with mild-to-moderate unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in various audiogram configurations, whereasPAX3andEDNRBvariants were associated with profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in flat audiogram configurations. In addition, whole genome sequencing and extended next-generation sequencing targeting 213 deafness genes were performed in two multiplex families compatible with autosomal recessive inheritance; yet no definite causative variants were identified. Cochlear nerve deficiency and congenital cytomegalovirus infection were observed in nine and two patients without definite genetic diagnoses.ConclusionGenetic underpinnings can contribute to approximately 20% of childhood unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and different genotypes are associated with various audiological features. These findings highlight the utility of genetic examinations in guiding the diagnosis, counseling, and treatment of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss in children.