Search

The treatment of coal ash produced at coal-fired power plants requires high costs and has environmental problems. Therefore, a high proportion of coal ash has been reused, and the effective reuse of coal ash has been investigated extensively. In this study, the physical-chemical characteristics of bottom ash and fly ash sampled from a domestic coal-fired power plant were investigated. In addition, the shear behavior of bottom and fly ashes-sand mixtures was evaluated to verify the reuse potential of bottom and fly ashes. Direct shear tests were performed to evaluate the friction angle of the coal ash-sand mixture, which was used as an input parameter in the numerical analysis for slope stability to establish a framework for assessing the reuse potential of coal ash.

Immune checkpoint therapies, such as programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade, have shown remarkable clinical benefit in many cancers by restoring the function of exhausted T cells. Hence, the identification of novel PD-L1 regulators and the development of their inhibition strategies have significant therapeutic advantages. Here, we conducted pooled shRNA screening to identify regulators of membrane PD-L1 levels in lung cancer cells targeting druggable genes and cancer drivers. We identified WNK lysine deficient protein kinase 3 (WNK3) as a novel positive regulator of PD-L1 expression. The kinase-dead WNK3 mutant failed to elevate PD-L1 levels, indicating the involvement of its kinase domain in this function. WNK3 perturbation increased cancer cell death in cancer cell–immune cell coculture conditions and boosted the secretion of cytokines and cytolytic enzymes, promoting antitumor activities in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. WNK463, a pan-WNK inhibitor, enhanced CD8+ T-cell-mediated antitumor activity and suppressed tumor growth as a monotherapy as well as in combination with a low-dose anti-PD-1 antibody in the MC38 syngeneic mouse model. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-JUN pathway underlies WNK3-mediated transcriptional regulation of PD-L1. Our findings highlight that WNK3 inhibition might serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer immunotherapy through its concurrent impact on cancer cells and immune cells.

This paper investigates the accuracy of different design equations given in design specifications and literatures in determining the block shear strength of the lean duplex stainless steel fillet welded connections with base metal fracture. It points out the problem inherent in the block shear provision specified in the North American cold-formed design specification, which does not consider shear strain hardening. The previous test results have found that full shear strain hardening can be assumed for the carbon steel and ferritic stainless steel welded connections, but not applicable to the thin-walled lean duplex stainless steel welded connections with a higher ratio of the tensile strength to yield stress. Based on the results of finite element analysis including ductile damage simulation, this study reveals that the block shear strength of the lean duplex stainless steel specimens can be determined accurately using the mean between the shear yield stress and the shear ultimate stress. This paper also investigates the effect of stress triaxiality incorporated in the block shear equations found in the literature through comparative analysis with the bolted connection. The effect is shown to be negligible for the thin-walled lean duplex stainless steel welded connection, although higher stress triaxiality is developed in welded connection than in bolted connection. This paper recommends a block shear equation assuming the normal tensile stress in the net area in conjunction with partial shear strain hardening. The recommended equation was found to be more accurate than other equations for determining the block shear strength of the thin-walled lean duplex stainless steel welded connections.

A steel slit damper has been used to enhance the seismic performance of structures with several advantages. The damper can be easily manufactured at a low cost. Furthermore, it can dissipate a significant amount of seismic energy through the stable hysteretic behavior of steel. This study presents a preliminary investigation of the development of a composite steel slit damper that can respond effectively at multiple levels of seismic loading. The performance of the prototype composite steel slit damper is investigated in both experimental and analytical ways. In the experiments, the specimen shows the stable hysteretic response with sufficient ductility, where the multi-phased response is observed in the incremental-amplitude cyclic loading case. Furthermore, a nonlinear numerical analysis that combines both kinematic hardening and isotropic hardening models can reliably describe such characteristics.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, extremely flammable, and highly toxic gas. It is produced when there is insufficient oxygen supply during the combustion of carbon to produce carbon dioxide (CO2). CO is produced from operating engines, stoves, or furnaces. CO poisoning occurs when CO accumulates in the bloodstream and can result in severe tissue damage or even death. Many types of CO sensors have been reported, including electrochemical, semiconductor metal-oxide, catalytic combustion, thermal conductivity, and infrared absorption-type for the detection of CO. However, despite their excellent selectivity and sensitivity, issues such as complexity, power consumption, and calibration limit their applications. In this study, a fabricbased colorimetric CO sensor is proposed to address these issues. Potassium disulfitopalladate (II) (K2Pd(SO3)2) is dyed on a polyester fabric as a sensing material for selective CO detection. The sensing characteristics and performance are investigated using optical instruments such as RGB sensor and spectrometer. The sensor shows immediate color change when exposed to CO at a concentration that is even lower than 20 ppm before 2 min. The fast response time of the sensor is attributed to its high porosity to react with CO. This easy-to-fabricate and cost-effective sensor can detect and prevent the leakage of CO simultaneously with high sensitivity and selectivity toward CO.

The debris from exploded buildings can ricochet after colliding with the ground, thus increasing the debris travel distance and danger from any associated impacts or collisions. To reduce this danger, the travel distance of ricocheted debris must be accurately predicted. This study analyzed the change in the travel distance of ricocheted concrete debris relative to changes in the properties of a sand medium. Direct shear tests were conducted to measure the change in internal friction angle as a function of temperature and water content of the sand. Finite element analysis (FEA) was then applied to these variables to predict the speed and angle of the debris after ricochet. The FEA results were compared with results of low-speed ricochet experiments, which employed variable temperature and water content. The travel distance of the debris was calculated using MATLAB, via trajectory equations considering the drag coefficient. As the internal friction angle decreased, the shear stress decreased, leading to deeper penetration of the debris into the sand. As the loss of kinetic energy increased, the velocity and travel distance of the ricocheted debris decreased. Changes in the ricochet velocity and travel distance of the debris, according to changes in the internal friction angle, indicated that the debris was affected by the environment.

As hydrogen (H2) gas is highly reactive and explosive in ambient atmosphere, its prompt detection in industrial areas is imperative to prevent serious accidents. In particular, high-performance H2 sensors that can promptly detect even low-concentrations of H2 gas are necessary for safety. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a large surface area and a high surface-to-volume ratio, and therefore, they are suitable for use as sensing materials in gas sensors. Moreover, gold, platinum, and palladium are known to be excellent catalyst metals that increase reactivity with H2 gas through the catalytic effect referred to as spill-over mechanism. In this study, a CNT felt sensor with a palladium (Pd) layer was fabricated, and its reactivity with H2 was evaluated. The sensitivity of a CNT felt sensor to H2 gas at room temperature was found to improve when coated with Pd layer.

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GI bleeding) can range from mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions that require emergency intervention. Therefore, it is important to first identify the high-risk and low-risk patients in the emergency department (ED).This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of a three-hourly interval for determining the lactate clearance, which is shorter than the time interval in previous studies, in order to predict the prognosis early in patients with GI bleeding.This retrospective study involved patients who visited for complaining of GI bleeding symptoms. Initial lactate levels were measured upon arrival at the ED and measured again 3 h later after performing initial resuscitation. And 3-h lactate clearance was calculated. Lactate and 3-h lactate clearance for predicting outcomes were evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve.A total of 104 patients were enrolled and 21 patients (20.2%) died in the hospital. Multivariate logistic regression showed that 3-h lactate clearance was a significant predictor of in-hospital mortality. The AUROC of 3-h lactate clearance for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.756. The sensitivity and specificity were 66.67% and 75.90%. On combining lactate clearance, total bilirubin, and PTT, the AUROC was 0.899 for predicting in-hospital mortality.This study validated that lactate clearance at three-hourly intervals is useful for early prediction of mortality and prognosis in patients with GI bleeding. It is important to perform not only an initial lactate measurement, but also a follow-up lactate measurement after initial resuscitation to check the lactate clearance.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)–related multiphenotypic sinonasal carcinoma (HMSC) is a recently described neoplasm entity that presents only in the sinonasal tract. Histologically, it displays features of both a surface-derived carcinoma and a salivary gland carcinoma, and is associated with high-risk HPV, specifically HPV type 33. Whereas majority of the cases display high-grade histologic features, HMSC paradoxically behaves in a relatively indolent fashion. It is important and meaningful to distinguish HMSC from other histopathologic mimickers as the clinical features and management are distinctive. A 64-year-old woman presented having intermittent left-side epistaxis and progressive nasal obstruction. A well-defined, solitary, friable mass with an irregular surface that easily bled upon contact was found in the posterior part of the left nasal cavity. Endoscopic excision of the tumor which was originated from left nasal septum was done and the tumor was confirmed as HMSC. After surgery, definitive radiotherapy was performed in 28 fractions. HMSC is a histopathological type that has been rarely reported so that we report this case with literature review.

Background and Objectives Several studies have assessed the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) on the health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), showing significant impairment of HR-QoL. This study aims to assess the impact of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment of LPRDs to enhance HR-QoL.Subjects and Method We prospectively collected data from LPRD patients from April 2017 to July 2019. Patients who have reflux symptom index (RSI) of ≥13 or reflux finding score (RFS) of ≥7 were enrolled in this study. We assessed HR-QoL using a questionnaire with EORTC QLQ-H&N35, -C30 on the first visit. Patients were treated with PPI (Ilaprazole 20 mg/day) on their visits at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. RSI and RFS were measured at each visit and HR-QoL was reevaluated on the last visit.Results Ninety-five patients completed the 3-months follow-up and were enrolled in this study. Female : male ratio was 71:24 and the mean age was 57.0±11.9 (27-80). The initial RSI and RFS were 16.3±8.8 and 12.6±2.9, respectively, but were changed to 11.1±9.7 and 9.7±2.6 (p

Autophagy is elevated in metastatic tumors and is often associated with active epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the extent to which EMT is dependent on autophagy is largely unknown. This study aimed to identify the mechanisms by which autophagy facilitates EMT.We employed a liquid chromatography-based metabolomic approach with kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene (KRAS) and liver kinase B1 (LKB1) gene co-mutated (KL) cells that represent an autophagy/EMT-coactivated invasive lung cancer subtype for the identification of metabolites linked to autophagy-driven EMT activation. Molecular mechanisms of autophagy-driven EMT activation were further investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting analysis, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence staining, and metabolite assays. The effects of chemical and genetic perturbations on autophagic flux were assessed by two orthogonal approaches: microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3) turnover analysis by Western blotting and monomeric red fluorescent protein-green fluorescent protein (mRFP-GFP)-LC3 tandem fluorescent protein quenching assay. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) activity was measured by coordinated lysosomal expression and regulation (CLEAR) motif-driven luciferase reporter assay. Experimental metastasis (tail vein injection) mouse models were used to evaluate the impact of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CAMKK2) or ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) inhibitors on lung metastasis using IVIS luciferase imaging system.We found that autophagy in KL cancer cells increased acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), which facilitated the acetylation and stabilization of the EMT-inducing transcription factor Snail. The autophagy/acetyl-CoA/acetyl-Snail axis was further validated in tumor tissues and in autophagy-activated pancreatic cancer cells. TFEB acetylation in KL cancer cells sustained pro-metastatic autophagy in a mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-independent manner. Pharmacological inhibition of this axis via CAMKK2 inhibitors or ACLY inhibitors consistently reduced the metastatic capacity of KL cancer cells in vivo.This study demonstrates that autophagy-derived acetyl-CoA promotes Snail acetylation and thereby facilitates invasion and metastasis of KRAS-LKB1 co-mutated lung cancer cells and that inhibition of the autophagy/acetyl-CoA/acetyl-Snail axis using CAMKK2 or ACLY inhibitors could be a potential therapeutic strategy to suppress metastasis of KL lung cancer.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in asthmatic patients has a high recurrence rate even after surgery. For this reason, oral steroids are frequently used, but their long-term use may cause side effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term effects of budesonide nasal irrigation (BNI) in CRSwNP and asthma. An analysis of 33 patients with CRSwNP and well-controlled asthma, who performed BNI for more than 12 months, was performed. We compared oral steroid and antibiotic dosages as well as nasal endoscopy scores before, and every six months after, BNI. The six-month dosages of oral steroids and antibiotics prescribed were significantly decreased at all time points after BNI compared to before BNI. When the dosages were compared at the time point immediately preceding six months, oral steroid intake decreased significantly until 12 months, and antibiotic intake decreased until 6 months. Furthermore, the endoscopic score decreased significantly until 12 months. The nasal symptom questionnaire score also significantly improved after BNI. Therefore, BNI is considered an effective treatment method that can improve subjective symptoms and objective intranasal findings while reducing oral steroid and antibiotic doses after long-term use in patients with CRSwNP accompanied by asthma.

Herein, we describe an original synthetic method for a series of fluorescent thieno[3,2

Palladium-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube (Pd-MWCNT) nanocomposites have been experimentally proven to show highly improved hydrogen (H2) gas detection characteristics at room temperature when compared with single MWCNTs. In this context, we develop an efficient and convenient method for forming nanocomposites by coating Pd nanoparticles on an MWCNT film. Furthermore, we test the applicability of the nanocomposites as sensing materials in detecting H2 gas at room temperature in a reliable and sensitive manner in contrast with ordinary metal-oxidebased gas sensors that operate at high temperatures. We first study the detection efficacy of the Pd-MWCNT film relative to pure MWCNT film. Subsequently, we investigate the Pd-MWCNT sensor’s sensitivity over time for different gas concentrations, the sensor response time, and sensor reproducibility and reliability under various conditions including bending tests. Our sensor exhibits stable reliable detection characteristics and excellent structural flexibility.

Explosions and fires on offshore drilling units and process plants, which cause loss of life and environmental damage, have been studied extensively. However, research on drilling units increased only after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. A major reason for explosions and fires on a drilling unit is blowout, which is caused by a failure to control the high temperatures and pressures upstream of the offshore underwater well. The area susceptible to explosion and fire due to blowout is the drill floor, which supports the main drilling system. Structural instability and collapse of the drill floor can threaten the structural integrity of the entire unit. This study simulates the behavior of fire subsequent to blowout and assesses the thermal load. A heat transfer structure analysis of the drill floor was carried out using the assessed thermal load, and the risk was noted. In order to maintain the structural integrity of the drill floor, passive fire protection of certain areas was recommended.

This study presents a numerical analysis to reduce the overpressure inside protective tunnels for external detonations. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of a tunnel subjected to detonation for a hemispherical charge with a charge weight of 555 kg and a standoff distance of 7.6 m was established, based on a mesh sensitivity study to obtain an optimal element size, stability analysis of overpressure, and validation study to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical results based on Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 3-340-02. A parametric analysis was performed using the validated numerical model to investigate the effects of the entrance shape and blast pockets on the reduction in the maximum overpressure. The maximum overpressures were effectively reduced as the slope angle of the tunnel entrance decreased and the length of the blast pocket divided by the tunnel width decreased. An optimized shape of the tunnel was proposed based on the numerical results, where the peak overpressures were reduced by a maximum of 64.5%. This study aims to protect facilities, personnel, and equipment and further reduce construction costs by lowering the overpressure rating of blast valves in protective tunnels.

The early discovery of factors that compromise a civil infrastructure’s structural integrity allows for safety monitoring, timely prevention, and a prompt remedy to the discovered problem. As a result, researchers have been researching various methodologies and types of structural health monitoring (SHM). A systematic search was performed following the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) in Scopus and ScienceDirect from Elsevier, Google Scholar, MDPI, Springer, Wiley Online and ASCE Library, EOP and IOP Science, IEEE, and other databases with the reliable peer review process. From 1480 identified pieces of literature, one hundred and nine (109) sources met the criteria for inclusion and exclusion and were used to produce our findings. This study presents the identified purpose and application of image-based SHM, which includes: (1) identifying and discovering; (2) measuring and monitoring; (3) automating and increasing efficiency; and (4) promoting development and creating 3D models. Furthermore, the responsibilities and relevance of components and parameters for implementing image-based SHM devices and systems, and their issues, are covered in this paper. Future research can benefit from the stated applications for innovation and the requirements of image-based SHM.

Developing an accurate tourism forecasting model is essential for making desirable policy decisions for tourism management. Early studies on tourism management focus on discovering external factors related to tourism demand. Recent studies utilize deep learning in demand forecasting along with these external factors. They mainly use recursive neural network models such as LSTM and RNN for their frameworks. However, these models are not suitable for use in forecasting tourism demand. This is because tourism demand is strongly affected by changes in various external factors, and recursive neural network models have limitations in handling these multivariate inputs. We propose a multi-head attention CNN model (MHAC) for addressing these limitations. The MHAC uses 1D-convolutional neural network to analyze temporal patterns and the attention mechanism to reflect correlations between input variables. This model makes it possible to extract spatiotemporal characteristics from time-series data of various variables. We apply our forecasting framework to predict inbound tourist changes in South Korea by considering external factors such as politics, disease, season, and attraction of Korean culture. The performance results of extensive experiments show that our method outperforms other deep-learning-based prediction frameworks in South Korea tourism forecasting., Accepted to IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (IEEE SSCI 2021)

Sox2 is a core transcription factor in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and O-GlcNAcylation is a type of post-translational modification of nuclear-cytoplasmic proteins. Although both factors play important roles in the maintenance and differentiation of ESCs and the serine 248 (S248) and threonine 258 (T258) residues of Sox2 are modified by O-GlcNAcylation, the function of Sox2 O-GlcNAcylation is unclear. Here, we show that O-GlcNAcylation of Sox2 at T258 regulates mouse ESC self-renewal and early cell fate. ESCs in which wild-type Sox2 was replaced with the Sox2 T258A mutant exhibited reduced self-renewal, whereas ESCs with the Sox2 S248A point mutation did not. ESCs with the Sox2 T258A mutation heterologously introduced using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, designated E14-Sox2TA/WT, also exhibited reduced self-renewal. RNA sequencing analysis under self-renewal conditions showed that upregulated expression of early differentiation genes, rather than a downregulated expression of self-renewal genes, was responsible for the reduced self-renewal of E14-Sox2TA/WT cells. There was a significant decrease in ectodermal tissue and a marked increase in cartilage tissue in E14-Sox2TA/WT-derived teratomas compared with normal E14 ESC-derived teratomas. RNA sequencing of teratomas revealed that genes related to brain development had generally downregulated expression in the E14-Sox2TA/WT-derived teratomas. Our findings using the Sox2 T258A mutant suggest that Sox2 T258 O-GlcNAc has a positive effect on ESC self-renewal and plays an important role in the proper development of ectodermal lineage cells. Overall, our study directly links O-GlcNAcylation and early cell fate decisions., Stem cell development: hold the sugar Cells that can grow into any type of cell, called embryonic stem cells (ESCs), are signaled to stay in stem cell mode (maintain stemness) by addition of a single sugar molecule to Sox2, a regulatory protein coded for by a developmental gene. Sugar modification of Sox2 was known to be involved in maintaining stemness and sometimes implicated in cancer, but the mechanism was poorly understood. When Hyonchol Jang at the National Cancer Center in South Korea and co-workers prevented sugar modification of Sox2 by changing an amino acid at the sugar-binding site, ESCs showed reduced self-renewal. Rather than repressing genes related to stemness, the modification failed to repress developmental genes, permitting cells to grow into other cell types. These results illuminate both the role of Sox2 in cancer and the importance of sugar modification in stemness.

We have investigated the effect of the Sr-substitution for Ba on the superconductivity in Yb0.6Ca0.4Ba2-ySryCu3O6 without Ochain forming the so-called Cu(1)O chain in the blocking layer. It has been found that Tc increases with increasing y even though no holes are doped through the Sr2+-substitution for Ba2+. The increase in Tc is because holes doped by the Ca-substitution for Yb are more likely supplied to the superconducting Cu(2)O2 plane than the blocking layer of Cu(1) owing to the contraction of the Cu(2)O2 plane through the substitution of smaller Sr2+ for larger Ba2+. The highest Tconset = 73 K observed for y(Sr) = 0.6 is greatly higher than the previous record of Tconset = 50 K in (RE,Ca)Ba2Cu3O6 (RE: rare-earth element). The reason why it is lower than ∼90 K for REBa2Cu3O7 is the low hole-concentration in the Cu(2)O2 plane.

In this study, pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the CNTs functionalized through heat treatment were fabricated, and their hydrogen (H2) gas sensing characteristics were evaluated at room temperature. Pristine CNTs exhibited relatively low reactivity toward H2 gas, whereas functionalized CNTs demonstrated linear electrical response characteristics with an increase in the gas concentration due to the presence of functional groups (such as COOH and OH) on the CNT surface, which reduced the activation energy for the adsorption of H2 molecules and provided additional reactive sites. Thus, functionalized CNTs can be potentially utilized in various fields because their operation does not require high-temperature environments (unlike the currently used metal oxide-based H2 sensors), while the power consumption and explosion risks of these materials are easily reduced through a simple heat treatment process.

Unscheduled revisits to emergency departments (EDs) are important because they indicate the quality of emergency care. However, the characteristics of pediatric patients visiting EDs changed during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and these changes may have affected their revisit patterns. Therefore, we aimed to compare the ED revisit patterns of pediatric patients between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. This retrospective multicenter study included patients aged below 18 years who visited the ED in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. ED revisit rates were analyzed using five age groups and three visit-revisit intervals. In the pre-COVID-19 period, the revisit rates decreased with increasing age. In the COVID-19 period, the revisit rates were the lowest for the group aged 4–6 years, and the rates increased for those aged ≥7 years. In conclusion, there were changes in the patterns of revisit rates of pediatric patients according to age between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the reasons for revisits according to age and establish strategies to reduce the revisit rates of pediatric patients.

In this study, experimental variables pertaining to the formation of nano-pillar arrays using p-type silicon were optimized by controlling current density and chamber temperature. Three factors aff...

In this study, we have studied coating method using high reflective White silicon on the whole Zener diode in order to resolve the reducing the luminance of the LED problem caused by the Ze...

Comparative properties of pin-type amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells with different PH3 flows for the i-layer and the presence of a buffer layer at the p–i interface were inv...