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Background and Objectives Fungal biofilm is commonly found in non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. Previous endodontic maxillary teeth treatments have increased fungus ball development in the maxillary sinus. We sought to evaluate the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO), the main component of endodontic sealers, on developing the Aspergillus fumigatus biofilms on primary human nasal epithelial cells.Subjects and Method Primary human nasal epithelial cells were cultured with A. fumigatus spores with (1 and 3 µg/mL) or without ZnO for 72 h. Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 levels in cultural supernatant were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. ZnO’s effects on the formation of A. fumigatus biofilm were determined using crystal violet, safranin, concanavalin A staining, and confocal scanning laser microscopy.Results IL-6, IL-8, and TGF-β1 protein levels in primary human nasal epithelial cells increased significantly by A. fumigatus exposure. During coculturing with ZnO and A. fumigatus, biofilm dry weight, crystal violet, safranin, and concanavalin A staining intensity increased with time. On the other hand, ZnO did not enhance A. fumigatus biofilm formation.Conclusion A. fumigatus biofilm formation increased in the presence of primary human nasal epithelial cells. However, in vitro study, ZnO alone did not influence or aggravate biofilm formation in sinonasal mucosa.

Parathyroid carcinoma is very rare malignant neoplasm, accounting for less than 0.005% of all cancers. Most parathyroid carcinoma is a functioning tumor that causes hyperparathyroidism, leading to hypercalcemia. We report a parathyroid carcinoma case that was suspicious for spontaneous infarction of cancer, leading to resolution of hypercalcemia. A 29-year-old male visited our hospital presenting with right neck swelling and pain. He has been experiencing frequent urolithiasis for four years but laboratory tests showed normal serum calcium level. Right vocal cord paresis was identified with laryngoscopy. Ultrasonography revealed a 3.7 × 3.5 cm mass in the right thyroid containing a focal cystic portion. Computed tomography confirmed the presence of a low-density right thyroid mass. Right thyroid lobectomy was performed and pathological evaluation revealed parathyroid carcinoma with central necrosis. We report this very rare case with a literature review.

The objective of this study is to achieve a fundamental understanding of polymorphic interconversion during the tableting process, including during compaction, dwell, decompression/unloading, and ejection using an in situ mechanical Raman spectroscopy. The fit-for-purpose in situ mechanical Raman spectroscopy developed herein can provide simultaneous measurement of Raman spectra and densification for the powder compacts. Chlorpropamide (CPA), an antidiabetic drug, was selected as a model pharmaceutical compound because of its mechanical shear-induced polymorphic conversions. The results confirm that CPA polymorph A (CPA-A) was transformed to CPA polymorph C (CPA-C) under different compaction stresses. We also observed that the converted polymorph CPA-C could be reverted to the CPA-A due to the elastic recovery of powder compacts as detected during dwelling and unloading. This study is the first depiction of the dynamics of CPA polymorphic interconversion during compression, dwell, unloading, and ejection. Mechanistically, this study illustrates a correlation between the change in the powder compact's relative density and polymorphic interconversion of the drug substance in different solid-state forms. The present research suggests that the process-induced polymorph conversion is a complicated dynamic process, which could be affected by the compaction pressure, the elasticity/plasticity of the material, the level of elastic recovery, and the dissipation of residual stress. In summary, this study demonstrates that the in situ mechanical Raman spectroscopy approach enables the simultaneous detection of mechanical and chemical information of the powder compact throughout the tableting process.

Wood-based materials are multifunctional green and environmentally friendly natural construction materials, and are widely used in decorative building materials. For this reason, a lot of research has been carried out to develop new and innovative wood surface improvements and make wood more appealing through features such as fire-retardancy, hydrophobicity, and antibacterial properties. To improve the performance of wood, more and more attention is being paid to the functioning of the surface. Understanding and mastering technology to improve the surface functionality of wood opens up new possibilities for developing multifunctional and high-performance materials. Examples of these techniques are ion crosslinking modification and coating modification. Researchers have been trying to make wooden surfaces more practical for the past century. This study has gradually gained popularity in the field of wood material science over the last 10 years. This paper provides an experimental reference for research on wood surface functionalization and summarizes the most current advancements in hydrophobic, antibacterial, and flame-retardant research on wood surfaces.

The use of virtual reality as a safety training technology is gaining attention in the construction industry. While current studies focus mainly on the development of VR-based safety training programs, studies focusing on improving its effectiveness is still lacking. Thus, this study aims to understand the psychological process of training transfer and determine the factors that affect VR safety training effectiveness. The study analysed survey data from 248 construction workers who finished construction safety training using VR using PLS-SEM. The results show that the telepresence experienced through the VR and the risk perception of the trainees regarding occupational accidents significantly affect their satisfaction with VR safety training, which affected its effectiveness. Considering that the use of VR in the construction safety training context is still in its early stages, the results of our study, which comprehensively analyses both the technological and psychological aspects of VR safety training, could provide meaningful implications to VR training content developers. Furthermore, the theoretical approach of our study could be implemented in future studies focusing on the topic of training effectiveness.

A novel design for thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters was developed by decorating dibenzofuran with four carbazole type electron donors and two CN electron withdrawing units. The four carbazole type donors were attached to one side of the dibenzofuran, and two CN units were introduced on the other side of the dibenzofuran for highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) separation. The HOMO and LUMO were largely separated, and they were overlapped in the dibenzofuran due to aromatic nature of dibenzofuran. Two TADF emitters, DBFCzCN and DBFtCzCN, were built on the design platform decorating the dibenzofuran, and they showed high EQEs of 25.2% and 17.4% in the vacuum deposited TADF devices. Additionally, the DBFtCzCN emitter showed a high EQE of 13.9% in the solution processed TADF devices.

A newly designed ruthenium(II) complex (Ru-Se) bearing a selone moiety showed unexpected enhancement in low-oxidation-potential (LOP) electrochemiluminescence (ECL) observed at electrode potentials before the oxidation of Ru-Se in the presence of tri-n-propylamine (TPrA), which was primarily attributed to the heavy atom effect caused by the selone in Ru-Se.

Lung lobe segmentation in chest CT has been used for the analysis of lung functions and surgical planning. However, accurate lobe segmentation is difficult as 80% of patients have incomplete and/or fake fissures. Furthermore, lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can increase the difficulty of differentiating the lobar fissures. Lobar fissures have similar intensities to those of the vessels and airway wall, which could lead to segmentation error in automated segmentation. In this study, a fully automated lung lobe segmentation method with 3D U-Net was developed and validated with internal and external datasets. The volumetric chest CT scans of 196 normal and mild-to-moderate COPD patients from three centers were obtained. Each scan was segmented using a conventional image processing method and manually corrected by an expert thoracic radiologist to create gold standards. The lobe regions in the CT images were then segmented using a 3D U-Net architecture with a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) using separate training, validation, and test datasets. In addition, 40 independent external CT images were used to evaluate the model. The segmentation results for both the conventional and deep learning methods were compared quantitatively to the gold standards using four accuracy metrics including the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Jaccard similarity coefficient (JSC), mean surface distance (MSD), and Hausdorff surface distance (HSD). In internal validation, the segmentation method achieved high accuracy for the DSC, JSC, MSD, and HSD (0.97 ± 0.02, 0.94 ± 0.03, 0.69 ± 0.36, and 17.12 ± 11.07, respectively). In external validation, high accuracy was also obtained for the DSC, JSC, MSD, and HSD (0.96 ± 0.02, 0.92 ± 0.04, 1.31 ± 0.56, and 27.89 ± 7.50, respectively). This method took 6.49 ± 1.19 s and 8.61 ± 1.08 s for lobe segmentation of the left and right lungs, respectively. Although various automatic lung lobe segmentation methods have been developed, it is difficult to develop a robust segmentation method. However, the deep learning–based 3D U-Net method showed reasonable segmentation accuracy and computational time. In addition, this method could be adapted and applied to severe lung diseases in a clinical workflow.

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a rare benign disease that replaces a normal bone with abnormal fibrous and weak osseous tissue. It is usually detected in childhood and rarely occurs in old age. Although the disease is known to be caused by a genetic mutation, only a single case of FD secondary to surgery is reported in the literature. We report a case of monostotic FD of the maxillary sinus in a 70-year-old Asian woman who presented with incidental calcific lesion in the maxillary sinus on a brain computed tomography scan. At 32 months prior to presentation, the patient had undergone an endoscopic sinus surgery for a fungal ball of the same sinus. The lesion was removed by endoscopic surgery, and the histopathological evidence was consistent with FD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case of a postsurgical craniofacial FD, and a rare case that occurred in old age.

Recently, the number of hip dysplasia (DDH) that occurs during infant and child growth has been increasing. DDH should be detected and treated as early as possible because it hinders infant growth and causes many other side effects In this study, two modelling techniques were used for multiple training techniques. Based on the results after the first transformation, the training was designed to be possible even with a small amount of data. The vertical flip, rotation, width and height shift functions were used to improve the efficiency of the model. Adam optimization was applied for parameter learning with the learning parameter initially set at 2.0 × 10e−4. Training was stopped when the validation loss was at the minimum. No significant difference in angle measurements was found between the model and doctor. The differences in the maxi-mum, minimum, and mean base angles were 6.93, 0, and 1.81°, respectively. The differences in the maximum, minimum, and mean α angle were 19.78, 0.01, and 3.56°, respectively. The differences in the maximum, minimum, and mean β angle were 25.92, 0.01, and 4.51°, respectively A novel image overlay system using 3D laser scanner and a non-rigid registration method is implemented and its accuracy is evaluated. By using the proposed system, we successfully related the preoperative images with an open organ in the operating room.

PURPOSE: This study aims to understand the impact of spray drying nozzles on particle surface composition and aerosol stability. METHODS: The combination formulations of colistin and azithromycin were formulated by 2-fluid nozzle (2N) or 3-fluid (3N) spray drying in a molar ratio of 1:1. A 3-factor, 2-level (2(3)) factorial design was selected to investigate effects of flow rate, inlet temperature and feed concentration on yield of spray drying and the performance of the spray dried formulations for the 3N. RESULTS: FPF values for the 2N formulation (72.9 ± 1.9% for azithromycin & 73.4 ± 0.8% for colistin) were higher than those for the 3N formulation (56.5 ± 3.8% for azithromycin & 55.1 ± 1.6% for colistin) when stored at 20% RH for 1 day, which could be attributed to smaller physical size for the 2N. There was no change in FPF for both drugs in the 2N formulation after storage at 75% RH for 90 days; however, there was a slight increase in FPF for colistin in the 3N formulation at the same storage conditions. Surface enrichment of hydrophobic azithromycin was measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for both 2N and 3N formulations and interactions were studied using FTIR. CONCLUSIONS: The 3-fluid nozzle provides flexibility in choosing different solvents and has the capability to spray dry at higher feed solid concentrations. This study highlights the impact of hydrophobic azithromycin enrichment on particle surface irrespective of the nozzle type, on the prevention of moisture-induced deterioration of FPF for hygroscopic colistin.

We propose a novel airway segmentation method in volumetric chest computed tomography (CT) and evaluate its performance on multiple datasets. The segmentation is performed voxel-by-voxel by a 2.5D convolutional neural net (2.5D CNN) trained in a supervised manner. To enhance the accuracy of the segmented airway tree, we simultaneously took three adjacent slices in each of the orthogonal directions including axial, sagittal, and coronal and fine-tuned the parameters that influence the tree length and the number of leakage. The gold standard of airway segmentation was generated by a semi-automated method using AVIEW™. The 2.5D CNN was trained and evaluated on a subset of inspiratory thoracic CT scans taken from the Korean obstructive lung disease study, which includes normal subjects and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. The reliability and further practicality of our proposed method was demonstrated in multiple datasets. In eight test datasets collected by the same imaging protocol, the percentage detected tree length, false positive rate, and Dice similarity coefficient of our method were 92.16%, 7.74%, and 0.8997 ± 0.0892, respectively. In 20 test datasets of the EXACT’09 challenge, the percentage detected tree length was 60.1% and the false positive rate was 4.56%. Our fully automated (end-to-end) segmentation method could be applied in radiologic practice.

배경 및 목적: 국내 대학에 언어재활전공이 처음 개설된 1988년을 기점으로 2018년 현재 총 50개의 대학(대학교, 전문대학, 대학원)에서 총 87개의 프로그램이 운영되고 있다. 이러한 양적 팽창이 이루어진 현 시점에서 각 프로그램들의 운영 현황을 살펴보고 미래를 준비하는 노력이 필요할 것으로 판단된다. 이에 본 연구에서는 전국 대학에 개설되어 있는...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop dry powder inhaler (DPI) combination formulations of ciprofloxacin and colistin for use in respiratory infections. Effects of colistin on physical stability and aerosolization of spray-dried ciprofloxacin were examined. METHODS: The combination DPI formulations were produced by co-spray drying colistin and ciprofloxacin in mass ratios of 1:1, 1:3 and 1:9. Colistin and ciprofloxacin were also co-sprayed with L-leucine in the mass ratio of 1:1:1. The physical and aerosolization stability of the selected co-sprayed formulations stored at 20, 55 and 75% relative humidity (RH) were examined. Formulation characterizations were carried out using Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) for crystallinity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology and particle size distribution, and Dynamic Vapor Sorption (DVS) for moisture sorption. Particle surface analysis was performed using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX) and Nano-Time-of-flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (Nano ToF-SIMS). Potential intermolecular interactions were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Aerosol performance was evaluated using a multi-stage liquid impinger (MSLI) with a RS01 Monodose inhaler device. RESULTS: PXRD diffractograms showed that the co-spray dried colistin-ciprofloxacin formulation in the mass ratio (1:1) was amorphous at 55% RH for up to 60 days; whereas the co-spray dried colistin-ciprofloxacin (1:3) and colistin-ciprofloxacin (1:9) crystallized after storage for 3 days at 55% RH. However, the extent of crystallization for the combination formulations was less as compared to the spray-dried ciprofloxacin alone formulation. Surface morphology of the co-spray dried formulations at different concentrations did not change even after storage at 55% RH for 60 days, unlike the spray-dried ciprofloxacin alone powder which became rougher after 3 days of storage at 55% RH. Surface analysis data indicated surface enrichment of colistin in the co-spray dried formulations. Increasing colistin concentration on the composite particles surfaces improved aerosol performance of ciprofloxacin. FTIR data demonstrated intermolecular interactions between colistin and ciprofloxacin, thereby delaying and/or preventing crystallization of ciprofloxacin when co-spray dried. Co-spray drying ciprofloxacin with colistin in the mass ratio (1:1) completely prevented crystallization of ciprofloxacin at 55% RH for up to 60 days. However, the colistin-ciprofloxacin formulation (1:1) began to fuse when stored at 75% RH due to moisture absorption resulting in compromised aerosol performance. However, the colistin-ciprofloxacin-leucine (1:1:1) formulation demonstrated no particles fusion, enabling a stable aerosol performance at 75% RH for 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that incorporation of colistin in the spray-dried formulations can improve physical stability and aerosolization of amorphous ciprofloxacin at 55% RH. At 75% RH for 7 days, further addition of L-leucine in the formulation prevents particle fusion and deterioration in aerosol performance, attributed to enrichment of non-hygroscopic L-leucine on the particle surface.

Three novel green thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials, (5,5′-bis(4-(9,9-dimethylacridin-10(9H)-yl)phenyl)-2,2′-bipyrimidine (22bpmAc), 10,10′-([2,5′-bipyrimidine]-2′,5-diylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine) (25bpmAc), and 2,2′-bis(4-(9,9-dimethylacridin-10(9H)-yl)phenyl)-5,5′-bipyrimidine (55bpmAc)) based on bipyrimidine cores as the new electron-accepting units and acridine as the electron-donating unit were designed, synthesized, and applied as green emitters in TADF devices. The TADF emitters were designed to have different nitrogen orientations in the bipyrimidine core. Two emitters, 25bpmAc and 55bpmAc, showed higher quantum efficiencies and narrower emission spectra relative to 22bpmAc. The former emitters have restricted geometry by hydrogen-bonding interactions on a central core, whereas the latter emitter does not have hydrogen bonding. The intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interaction suppressed a nonradiative mechanism in the 25bpmAc and 55bpmAc TADF e...

Solution-processed high-efficiency fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes with an external quantum efficiency over 18% were developed by engineering a host material and device structure designed for solution process. A high triplet energy host material designed for the solution process, (oxybis(3-(tert-butyl)-6,1-phenylene))bis(diphenylphosphine oxide) (DPOBBPE), worked efficiently as the host of blue fluorescent devices because of good solubility, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and good film properties. The DPOBBPE host enabled a high external quantum efficiency of 18.8% in the fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes by the solution process. Moreover, 25.8% external quantum efficiency in the soluble blue thermally activated delayed fluorescent devices was also realized. The 25.8% external quantum efficiency of the DPOBBPE delayed fluorescent device and 18.8% external quantum efficiency of the fluorescent device are the highest efficiency values achieved in the solution-processed blue fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes. Moreover, the solution-processed fluorescent device showed an improved blue color coordinate of (0.14, 0.20) compared to (0.17, 0.31) of the delayed fluorescent device.

A high triplet energy material with the ability to suppress intermolecular interactions was synthesized as a host for a blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter for blue-shifted emission color and high quantum efficiency in solution-processed TADF organic light-emitting diodes. The host material, (5-(tert-butyl)-2-(4-(tert-butyl)phenoxy)phenyl)diphenylphosphine oxide (POBBPE), was designed to have a phenoxyphenyl core structure for high triplet energy, a diphenylphosphine oxide group for electron transport, and two tert-butyl units to prevent intermolecular interaction. Solution-processed blue TADF devices were developed using the POBBPE host and 2,3,4,5,6-penta(9H-carbazol-9-yl)benzonitrile (5CzCN) as the emitter, and a high quantum efficiency of 23.3% was achieved. In particular, the color coordinates of the solution-processed POBBPE:5CzCN devices were (0.16, 0.23), which were significantly blue-shifted compared to the color coordinates of (0.17, 0.31) from a previous 5CzCN device fabricated using a well-known bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether oxide host.

The solubilities of cilostazol in aqueous solutions containing polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000), polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000), polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30), and poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP/VA) are measured at temperatures ranging from 298.15 to 318.15 K. It increased with the increase in the hydrophilic carrier concentration and temperature. PVP/VA was the most effective polymer to solubilize cilostazol. The transfer Gibbs free energy (Δ tr G °) and enthalpy (Δ tr H °) values were negative, indicating that the transfer of cilostazol from only water to an aqueous hydrophilic polymer solution is spontaneous and energetically favorable. Furthermore, the Δ tr G ° and Δ tr H ° values decreased with the increase in the hydrophilic polymer concentration, indicating that solubilization is more favorable with the increase in the hydrophilic polymer concentrations. In particular, the Δ tr G ° values considerably decreased for PVP/VA compared to PEG 4000, PEG 6000, and PVP K30. This result indicated that PVP/VA is an effective solubilizing additive for developing oral solid formulations of cilostazol.

INTRODUCTION: Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are popular for pulmonary drug delivery. Various techniques have been employed to produce inhalation drug particles and improve the delivery efficiency of DPI formulations. Physical stability of these DPI formulations is critical to ensure the delivery of a reproducible dose to the airways over the shelf-life. AREAS COVERED: This review focuses on the impact of solid-state stability on aerosolization performance of DPI drug particles manufactured by powder production approaches and particle engineering techniques. It also highlights the different analytical tools that can be used to characterize the physical instability originating from production and storage. EXPERT OPINION: A majority of the DPI literature focuses on the effects of physico-chemical properties such as size, morphology and density on aerosolization. While little has been reported on the physical stability, particularly the stability of engineered drug particles for use in DPIs. Literature data have shown that different particle engineering methods and storage conditions may cause physical instability of dry powders for inhalation and can significantly change the aerosol performance. A systematic examination of physical instability mechanisms in DPI formulations is necessary during formulation development in order to select the optimum formulation with satisfactory stability. In addition, the use of appropriate characterization tools are critical to detect and understand physical instability during the development of DPI formulations.

The purpose of this study was to develop a resveratrol nanosuspension with enhanced oral bioavailability, based on an understanding of the formulation and process parameters of nanosuspensions and using a quality by design (QbD) approach. Particularly, the antisolvent method, which requires no solvent removal and no heating, is newly applied to prepare resveratrol nanosuspension. To ensure the quality of the resveratrol nanosuspensions, a quality target product profile (QTPP) was defined. The particle size (z-average, d90), zeta potential, and drug content parameters affecting the QTPP were selected as critical quality attributes (CQAs). The optimum composition obtained using a 3-factor, 3-level Box&ndash, Behnken design was as follows: polyvinylpyrrolidone vinyl acetate (10 mg/mL), polyvinylpyrrolidone K12 (5 mg/mL), sodium lauryl sulfate (1 mg/mL), and diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DEGEE, 5% v/v) at a resveratrol concentration of 5 mg/mL. The initial particle size (z-average) was 46.3 nm and the zeta potential was &minus, 38.02 mV. The robustness of the antisolvent process using the optimized composition conditions was ensured by a full factorial design. The dissolution rate of the optimized resveratrol nanosuspension was significantly greater than that of the resveratrol raw material. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats showed that the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC0&ndash, 12h) and the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) respectively, than those of the resveratrol raw material. Therefore, the prepara values of the resveratrol nanosuspension were approximately 1.6- and 5.7-fold higher,tion of a resveratrol nanosuspension using the QbD approach may be an effective strategy for the development of a new dosage form of resveratrol, with enhanced oral bioavailability.

We created composite nanoparticles containing hydrophilic additives using a supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process to increase the solubility and dissolution properties of trans-resveratrol for application in oral and skin delivery. Physicochemical properties of trans-resveratrol-loaded composite nanoparticles were characterized. In addition, an in vitro dissolution&ndash, permeation study, an in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats, and an ex vivo skin permeation study in rats were performed. The mean particle size of all the composite nanoparticles produced was less than 300 nm. Compared to micronized trans-resveratrol, the trans-resveratrol/hydroxylpropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC)/poloxamer 407 (1:4:1) nanoparticles with the highest flux (0.792 &mu, g/min/cm2) exhibited rapid absorption and showed significantly higher exposure 4 h after oral administration. Good correlations were observed between in vitro flux and in vivo pharmacokinetic data. The increased solubility and flux of trans-resveratrol generated by the HPMC/surfactant nanoparticles increased the driving force on the gastrointestinal epithelial membrane and rat skin, resulting in enhanced oral and skin delivery of trans-resveratrol. HPMC/surfactant nanoparticles produced by an SAS process are, thus, a promising formulation method for trans-resveratrol for healthcare products (owing to their enhanced absorption via oral administration) and for skin application with cosmetic products.

A robust lung segmentation method using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed and evaluated on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and volumetric CT of various types of diffuse interstitial lung disease (DILD). Chest CT images of 617 patients with various types of DILD, including cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), were scanned using HRCT (1–2-mm slices, 5–10-mm intervals) and volumetric CT (sub-millimeter thickness without intervals). Each scan was segmented using a conventional image processing method and then manually corrected by an expert thoracic radiologist to create gold standards. The lung regions in the HRCT images were then segmented using a two-dimensional U-Net architecture with the deep CNN, using separate training, validation, and test sets. In addition, 30 independent volumetric CT images of UIP patients were used to further evaluate the model. The segmentation results for both conventional and deep-learning methods were compared quantitatively with the gold standards using four accuracy metrics: the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Jaccard similarity coefficient (JSC), mean surface distance (MSD), and Hausdorff surface distance (HSD). The mean and standard deviation values of those metrics for the HRCT images were 98.84 ± 0.55%, 97.79 ± 1.07%, 0.27 ± 0.18 mm, and 25.47 ± 13.63 mm, respectively. Our deep-learning method showed significantly better segmentation performance (p

Homogeneous mixing of 2 cohesive jet-milled drug powders is a challenge for pharmaceutical manufacturing on account of their cohesive nature resulting in the formation of strong and random agglomerates. In this study, colistin and ciprofloxacin were co-jet milled to develop combination alantibiotic dry powder formulations for inhalation. The properties of particle size, morphology, content uniformity, and in vitro aerosolization were evaluated. The distribution of 2 drugs in the co-jet milled powders was assessed using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The co-jet milled powders demonstrated an acceptable content uniformity indicating homogeneity. In general, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry images showed relatively homogeneous distributions of ciprofloxacinand colistin in the co-milled formulations. Importantly, the 2 drugs generally had the similar fineparticle fraction and deposition behavior in each combinational formulation supporting that the particlemixtures were relatively homogenous and could maximize the antimicrobial synergy. In conclusion, cojetmilling could be a viable technique to produce the combination powders for inhalation. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

New green thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials built on a directly coupled dual emitting core based backbone structure were designed, synthesized, and applied as green dopants in TADF devices. An ortho-linkage between a carbazole or 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole donor and a triazine acceptor facilitated the TADF emission, and direct coupling of the two TADF emitting cores more than doubled the external quantum efficiency of the TADF devices. The TADF emitter based on the directly coupled dual emitting core design exhibited a green emission with a CIE coordinate of (0.23, 0.52) and a maximum external quantum efficiency of 20.8% compared with less than 10% efficiency of a conventional TADF emitter with the corresponding chemical structure.

In these days, the wearable devices have been developed for measuring biological data effectively. However, wearable devices have tissue allege and noise problem. Also, it is impossible for a remote center to identify the person whose data are measured by wearable devices, which could trigger a communication problem over treatment. To solve these problems, biometric measurement based on a non-contact method, such as face image sequencing is necessary. This makes it possible to measure biometric data without any operation and side effects. This system can monitor the biological signals of people in real time without allege and noise and simultaneously identify them. In this paper, we propose an authentication process while measuring biometric data, through a non-contact method.

We present a regenerative molecular sensor for biothiols where a non-fluorescent copper(II) coumarin complex (CuIIL) probe turns to a strongly fluorescent Cu(I) complex by thiol-containing amino acids (Cys, Hcy, GSH). During the recognition process, Cu(II) ion of CuIIL undergoes chemical reduction followed by substitution of the coordinating ligands with the biothiols. Interestingly, the strongly fluorescent Cu(I) complex, which quantifies the amount of the target biothiol, was oxidized back to its original CuIIL by chemical (or electrochemical) oxidation, and could be repeatedly reused as a thiol probe for several turn-overs. CuIIL was successfully applied in fluorescent imaging of the cellular GSH.

New and highly stable Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes based on two triarylborane functionalized cyclen derivative ligands L1 and L2, have been achieved. The Eu(III) and Tb(III) lanthanide compounds have been found to display highly distinct and contrasting temperature-dependent dual emission and decay lifetimes, rendering them as potential sensitive temperature probes. The emission colors of the new lanthanide complexes can be tuned by controlling the ratio of the Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes in a binary composite and the temperature. Bright white light emission based on the new binary Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes has been achieved. Furthermore, the triarylborane functionality of the new complexes enables their use as effective probes for anions such as fluoride ions, allowing the further tuning of the lanthanide emission.

This study shows a molecular design strategy for controlling the dihedral angle of two carbazole donors linked to a 2,4-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazine acceptor by a phenyl unit. Using this approach, six thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters were synthesized with donors placed in various positions around a central phenyl core, and the photophysical relationship between the donor position and its dihedral angle was investigated. We demonstrate that this angle can affect both the strength of the charge transfer state and the conjugation across the entire molecule, effectively changing the singlet-triplet energy gap of the system. We conclude that materials containing two substituted -ortho donors or one -ortho and an adjacent -meta have the smallest energy gaps and the shortest delayed fluorescence lifetimes. On the other hand, emitters with no -ortho substituted donors have larger energy gaps and slow-to-negligible delayed fluorescence. When applying these materials to organic light-emitting diodes, these blue-emitting devices have a range of electrical properties, the best producing efficiencies as high as 21.8% together with high resistance to roll-off that correlate with the reverse intersystem crossing rates obtained.

Antibiotic combination therapy is promising for the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Inhaled antibiotic therapy offers the advantage of direct delivery of the drugs to the site of infection, as compared to the parenteral administrations. In this study, we developed composite particle formulations of colistin and meropenem. The formulations were characterized for particle size, morphology, specific surface area, surface chemical composition, in-vitro aerosolization performance and in-vitro antibacterial activity. The combinations demonstrated enhanced antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii N16870 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 19147, when compared with antibiotic monotherapy. Spray-dried meropenem alone showed a poor aerosolization performance as indicated by a low fine particle fraction (FPF) of 32.5 ± 3.3%. Co-spraying with colistin improved the aerosolization of meropenem with up to a two-fold increase in the FPF. Such improvements in aerosolization can be attributed to the enrichment of colistin on the surface of composite particles as indicated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and the increases in particle porosity. Intermolecular interactions between colistin and meropenem were observed for the combination formulations as measured by FT-IR. In conclusion, our results show that co-spray drying with colistin improves the antibacterial activity and aerosol performance of meropenem and produces a formulation with synergistic bacterial killing. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The aim of this study was to formulate probiotics-encapsulated pellets with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) using a dry powder coating technique to improve the storage stability, acid resistance, and intestinal adherence of viable bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria animalis ssp. Lactis). Dry coated pellet (DCP) loaded with probiotics was optimized with respect to the quantity of the HPMCAS, an enteric coating polymer (108 mg), and the kinds and amounts of plasticizer (triethyl citrate, 15.7 mg; acetylated monoglyceride, 6.8 mg), by evaluating the survival rate of the bacteria during preparation process and in an acidic medium. Dry coating process allows the whole survivals of living bacteria during preparation process. The DCP formulation exhibited markedly higher acid tolerability and storage stability compared to uncoated viable bacteria. In an in vivo mucosal adherence study in rats, a profound colonization of viable bacteria in the small and large intestine was observed in rats receiving DCP system (p0.05) compared to rats receiving uncoated probiotics. Moreover, we found that the repeated DCP administration noticeably inhibited intestinal penetration of endotoxin, a potent inflammatory stimulant, from intestinal mucus. The novel DCP system may be an alternative approach for improving bacterial viability in the preparation process and in an acidic medium, and to promote mucosal colonization of probiotic bacteria in the human gut.

진공가압 수지함침 처리에 의한 목재의 치수안정화 정도를 측정하기 위하여 침엽수 3수종에 수용성 멜라민 수지를 수지농도와 처리시간별로 처리한 후, 수지함침 열압축목재(compreg)를 제조한 다음 치수안정성 개선효과를 검토하였다. 수지농도가 높고 처리시간이 길수록 용적 수축률과 항용적 팽윤율은 증가하였으나, 용적 팽윤율, 항용적 수축률 및 흡수성은 감소하였다. 또한 중량 증가율은 수지의 농도가 높을수록 현저히 증가하였으나 처리시간과는 일정한 관계가 없었다.