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Why do some UN targeted sanctions (or "smart" sanctions) cause collateral damage to the general population, while others minimize it? We suggest the scope and the effectiveness of smart sanctions, as well as the political institutions of target countries, are critical determinants of sanctions' adverse effects on human rights. Leaders targeted by sanctions with a broad scope will have a greater incentive to oppress people to ward off potential support for challengers. The degree to which they can carry out successful oppression, however, hinges upon the effectiveness of the implementation of sanctions. Furthermore, we expect that authoritarian systems are more likely to encourage oppression than other ones. We conduct a quantitative analysis of 56 UN-imposed smart sanction episodes. Our study reveals sanctions with a broad scope that are less effective result in deteriorated human rights conditions, especially in authoritarian countries. However, we find when sanctions with a narrow scope work effectively, they do not hurt innocent citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the clean development mechanism (CDM) in order to overcome the limits that exist in the conventional financing methods for North Korea's development. In examining North Korea's CDM projects implemented thus far, it is found that the use of the CDM as a financing platform for North Korea's development is taking place at a very low level. However, if North Korea applies this framework effectively, it can expect additional financial inflows and technology transfer. Especially with regard to financial inflows, the diverse finances used in the implementation of CDM projects can also be adopted into North Korean CDM projects. Moreover, the adoption methods are expected to be more innovative than the conventional finance for development (FfD) methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to identify aid discourses as applied to the North Korean case, and examines whether or not international assistance has been promptly delivered. The aid discourse on fragile states in accordance with the New Deal, which focuses on strengthening a recipient country's foundation of development by alleviating its fragility, is deemed to be the relevant discourse because the international community considers North Korea to be a fragile state. However, the corresponding norms have not been applied by major international donors in the delivery and disbursement of aid to North Korea, despite its fragile state status and in spite of the fact that its fragility has not declined and is still perceived to be critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional role of cars as a means of transport is now expected to undergo major changes as a result of the emerging smart car industry, whereby connection to the Internet can not only improve traffic safety by enabling self-driving but also entertain passengers. Under these circumstances, it is important to explore the killer services that are expected to be in high demand by consumers and keystone players in the emerging market. This study identifies the promising services from a consumer's perspective using analytic hierarchy process analysis and examines experts' views on which industries and firms, as keystone players, are expected to provide the competitive killer services in the market. The results show that the service that consumers find the most important is driving assistance, followed by infotainment and Internet of Things hubs. Meanwhile, the experts rank the importance of industrial player as in the order of Information Technology device manufacturers, followed by platform providers, automobile manufacturers, and network providers, while at the company level, the rank is in the order of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Naver, and SK Telecom, respectively. These findings show that consumers regard smart cars as futuristic vehicles, yet continue to emphasize their conventional value as a means of transport, while the experts expect that among the various industry players, IT companies are most likely to enable the concept of the smart car to become a reality. • Evaluates relative importance of services unique to smart cars. • Driving assistance service ranked highest followed by infotainment and IoT hubs. • Explores firms and industries expected to lead the smart car market. • Samsung Electronics ranks highest, followed by Hyundai Motor, Naver, SK Telecom. • Industries rank in order of IT equipment, platform, automobile, network provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: According to the eighth TNM (tumor-node-metastasis) staging system, the presence of separate tumor nodules in the same lobe is designated as a T3 descriptor. However, it remains unclear whether adjuvant chemotherapy confers survival advantages in this setting., Methods: We retrospectively identified 142 pathologic T3N0M0 patients with additional pulmonary nodules in the same lobe from a single-institutional database from 2004 to 2019. The main outcomes were overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Multivariable Cox regression was used to identify the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy while adjusting for other variables., Results: Sixty-one patients received adjuvant chemotherapy (adjuvant group) and 81 patients did not receive adjuvant therapy after surgery (surgery-only group). There were no demonstrable differences between the 2 groups regarding hospital mortality and postoperative complications, indicating that treatment selection had not significantly occurred. However, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with improved 5-year overall survival (70% vs. 59%, p=0.006) and disease-free survival (60% vs. 46%, p=0.040). A multivariable Cox model demonstrated that adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a survival advantage (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.54; p<0.001). In exploratory analyses of subgroups, the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy seemed to be insufficient in those with small main tumors (<4 cm)., Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with better survival in T3 cancers with an additional tumor nodule in the same lobe. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in patient subgroups with small tumors or those without risk factors should be determined via large studies.

Esophagectomy and esophageal reconstruction are commonly chosen as surgical options for esophageal cancer. However, prolonged untreated chyle leakage is associated with a poor prognosis. We report the case of a patient with refractory chylous ascites. To limit the ongoing fluid loss, we utilized the chylous ascites as an additional fluid source in a renal replacement therapy system. A continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) drainage system was modified to drain both the chylous ascites and venous blood. The ascites drainage rate was determined empirically and regulated by a dial-flow extension set. The CRRT mode was set to continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration and maintained for 7 days. After the patient was weaned from CRRT, ascites did not reaccumulate, and the patient's general condition improved dramatically. No infections related to the system occurred. This procedure temporarily alleviates symptoms and provides more time for alternative treatment strategies.