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Summary Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are being widely studied as a light-absorber for high-efficiency solar cells. With efforts being made throughout the globe, the power conversion efficiency of MHP solar cells has recently soared up to 25.2%. MHPs are now being spotlighted as a next-generation light-emitter as well. Their high color purity and solution-processability are of particular interest for display applications, which in general benefit from wide color gamut and low-cost high-resolution subpixel patterning. For this reason, research activities on perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are rapidly growing, and their external quantum efficiencies have been dramatically improved to over 20%. As more and more research groups with different backgrounds are working on these perovskite optoelectronic devices, the demand is growing for standard methods for accurate efficiency measurement that can be agreed upon across the disciplines and, at the same time, can be realized easily in the lab environment with due diligence. Herein, optoelectronic characterization methods are revisited from the viewpoint of MHP solar cells and LEDs. General efficiency measurement practices are first reviewed, common sources of errors are introduced, and guidelines for avoiding or minimizing those errors are then suggested to help researchers in fields develop the best measurement practice.

In the case of the developed countries, pulveriser systems exhibit a high level of sophistication, but competitive pressures threaten family farm units and rural communities. Also, the improvement of the added values of existing products has been concentrated. Until now, high-speed rotary milling machine which be capable of producing 20 kg/h of materials containing a large amount of fat without heat denaturation of about 20μm or less has not yet been commercialized in the world. There are two air stream mill techniques such as the jet and high-speed rotary mill methods among the air stream-type pulverizing method in the world markets. However, the high-speed rotary mill method is known as the only method of crushing the raw materials not only soybeans, but also coffee. In order to optimise the pulverised fluid flow, many aspects need to be taken into account. The objective of this paper is concentrated on a technique that can be finely pulverized to submicron size while maintaining the composition and nutrition without heat denaturation. First, a FEA (Finite Element Analysis) that the optimal number of revolution as input parameter is obtained through the impulse analysis to minimize the thermal denaturation has been carried out. Second, the optimum inlet velocity for producing particles less than 20μm is derived by checking the particle size distributions which employed particle behaviour analysis. Finally, the relationship between the flow and the kinetic characteristics of particles generated by crushing of soybeans for the development of high-speed rotary milling machine using the developed FEA models has been discussed

Introduction Meniscal extrusion is a typical finding of medial meniscus posterior root tear, and it causes loss of the chondroprotective function of the meniscus as well as progression of osteoarthritis; it is therefore associated with poor clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with meniscal extrusion in degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tear. It was hypothesized that larger displacement from the posterior root insertion was associated with larger meniscal extrusion. Materials and methods One hundred and nine knees with degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tears were retrospectively reviewed. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether factors such as age, weight, body mass index, chondral wear at surgery, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade, alignment, tibial slope, and tear gap on performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were associated with meniscal extrusion. Subjects were divided based on the amount of displacement (displaced group: tear gap ≥ 1 mm, non-displaced group: tear gap Results The mean age of the patients was 58.14 ± 9.64 years, the mean absolute extrusion was 4.02 ± 1.22 mm, the mean relative percentage of extrusion was 44.53 ± 13.09%, and the mean tear gap was 2.39 ± 2.42 mm. Multiple regression analysis showed that absolute extrusion was only associated with tear gap on MRI (B = 0.242, p = 0.001) and that the relative percentage of extrusion was associated with tear gap (B = 1.894, p = 0.001) and the K-L grade (B = 4.492, p = 0.024). Absolute extrusion was significantly higher in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (4.29 ± 1.04 mm vs. 3.01 ± 1.35 mm, p = 0.001). Relative percentage of extrusion was also significantly higher in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (47.70 ± 11.44% vs. 36.17 ± 13.65%, p = 0.001). The proportion of chondral wear (Outerbridge grade III and IV) on the medial femoral condyle and K-L grade III and IV were significantly greater in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (76% vs. 53.3%, p = 0.023 and 13.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.001, respectively). Discussion Greater tear gap is significantly associated with increasing meniscal extrusion in medial meniscus posterior root tear. Additionally, severity of arthritis is significantly associated with increasing relative percentage of extrusion. Chondral wear and severity of arthritis tended to be significantly worse in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group. Level of evidence III, comparative retrospective study.

An ideal conducting polymer anode (CPA) in organic and perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) requires high electrical conductivity κ, high work function WF, and prevention of exciton quenching between an anode and an overlying emitting layer. However, increasing the κ and WF at the same time has been a very challenging unsolved issue due to their trade-off relationship: previous approaches to increase the WF have reduced the films’ κ and vice versa. Therefore, delicate molecular scale control of the conducting polymer compositions are required to solve this fundamental issue. Here, we introduce an effective molecular scale control strategy to decouple the WF with κ in a CPA while maintaining blocking capability of exciton quenching. This change resulted in a high current efficiency up to 52.86 cd A−1 (10.93% ph el−1) in green polycrystalline perovskite LEDs. Our results provide a significant clue to develop effective CPAs for highly-efficient organic and perovskite LEDs.

Background Patients with severe preoperative varus deformity have been reported to have high rates of loosening after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), primarily on the tibial side. This study investigated whether a short extension stem for the tibial component in severely varus knees would reduce the failure rate due to loosening on the tibial side. Methods Patients who underwent TKA, performed by a single surgeon using a single implant between November 1998 and January 2009, were retrospectively evaluated. Patients diagnosed with primary osteoarthritis, having a hip-knee-ankle axis greater than varus 8° on preoperative long-film radiographs, and postoperatively followed up for more than 2 years were included. Patients were divided into “stem” and “nonstem” groups, followed by 1:1 propensity score matching according to age, gender, body mass index, preoperative mechanical axis, and postoperative alignment. Tibial loosening rates in the 2 groups were compared. Results The study cohort included 602 patients, divided into “stem” and “nonstem” groups. Propensity score matching yielded 88 pairs of patients. Mean follow-up duration was similar in the stem and nonstem groups (109.22 vs 103.81 months, P = .451). None of the patients in the stem group, compared with 5 in the nonstem group, experienced aseptic loosening. The overall implant survival rate was significantly higher in the stem group than in the nonstem group (P = .0201). Conclusion Using a short extension stem for the tibial component in primary TKA in patients with severe varus deformity greater than 8° may reduce the rate of loosening of the tibial side and increase the longevity of the implant. Level of evidence Level III.

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite light emitting diode (PeLED) as a narrow band emitter is an emerging research field. To overcome limited electroluminescence efficiency of PeLEDs, trap-assisted non-radiative recombination in polycrystalline perovskite films should be reduced and the electron-hole balance in the PeLEDs must be improved. In this work, we investigated a practical way to effectively overcome above-mentioned issues by unravelling additive-based nanocrystal pinning (A-NCP) process using the carefully controlled electron transporting organic material solutions diluted in a volatile non-polar solvent. We found that without affecting the intrinsic crystal structure, A-NCP improved the radiative recombination rate by reducing effective defect density at grain boundaries due to the defect healing effect. Moreover, it induced the improved electron-hole balance in the dominantly p-type CH3NH3PbBr3 based PeLEDs, leading to the highest efficiency of 8.79% ever reported to date among organic-inorganic halide perovskite-based green PeLEDs. Therefore, our work gives the effective approaches for efficient PeLEDs from the investigations of the role of A-NCP incorporating a tiny amount of an electron transporting molecule as an additive to increase radiative recombination rate of polycrystalline perovskite films.

Lithium-rich antiperovskite-type (LiRAP) solid electrolytes have received a great deal of attention due to their high mobile ion occupancy rate and narrow activation barrier. Oxide-based LiRAPs are widely studied. However, almost no reports are available on the electrochemical nature of sulfide-based LiRAPs. Here, we prepared the first antiperovskite-like Li3SI – solid solution type solid electrolyte and studied its electrochemical properties. The crystalline nature of the electrolyte was evaluated by powder X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the Li3SI solid electrolyte exhibited an ionic conductivity of 2.2 × 10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature. The electrochemical stability of the electrolyte was studied with cyclic voltammetry and DC cycle tests, which showed that the proposed electrolyte was stable up to 10 V and >100 h, respectively. An assembled all-solid-state lithium battery using the Li3SI solid electrolyte exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 96.8 mAh g−1 at a current density of 3 mA g−1.

In this study, solid electrolytes with improved performance are synthesized by mixing Li3SI with an anti-perovskite structure that is stable to lithium metal and Li6PS5Cl with high ionic conductivity. (100–x)Li3SI-xLi6PS5Cl (x = 0, 10, 20, 30), which is a mixture of two sulfide-based solid electrolytes, is prepared by ball milling. The structural characteristics, surface morphology, and particle size of the electrolyte material are analyzed using physico-chemical characterization technologies, such as high-power X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to calculate the ionic conductivity of the mixed solid electrolyte. The ionic conductivity of 80Li3SI–20Li6PS5Cl, which exhibits the best all-solid-state lithium battery performance, is 5.84 × 10−4 S cm−1. In addition, 80Li3SI–20Li6PS5Cl shows excellent stability against lithium metal. The 2032-type coin cell composed of fabricated Li–In/80Li3SI–20Li6PS5Cl/NCM811 composites shows a superior capacity of 165 mAh g−1 in the initial cycle. This study provides high ionic conductivity and excellent electrochemical performance through the mixing of two kinds of solid electrolyte materials to obtain a promising solid electrolyte.

Generally, heat exchanger is a thermodynamic system which has been employed to transfer thermal energy between two or more fluids, between a solid surface and a fluid, or between solid particulates and a fluid, at different temperatures and in thermal contact. Recently, the growing requirements to save energy and reduce overall environmental impacts has placed greater emphasis on the use of heat exchangers with better thermal efficiency. Therefore, the plate-type heat exchanger that uses metal plates to transfer heat between two fluids has a major advantage over a conventional heat exchanger in which the fluids are exposed to a much larger surface area because the fluids spread out over the plates. However, fouling with the flow of fluid for a long period occurs on the plate surface. So, it might be necessary to carry out numerical simulation for the hot and cold fluid flow model which can reflect the real situation of hot and cold fluid heat transfer. In this paper, plate-type heat exchanger is simulated which based on the computational fluid dynamics method. The calculated model is established for fluid flow and heat transfer in cold and hot flow channels of a chevron-type plate-type heat exchanger. The flow pattern and heat transfer effect of the cold and hot fluids are analyzed under the water-to-water heat transfer by using the simulation software, ANSYS. At the same time, 3D numerical model of the local computation domains for the plate-type heat exchanger are simulated at different parameters which included the corrugated angle, corrugated depth and corrugated pitch. With the development of CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics) technology, numerical guidance can be provided for the improvement of plate-type heat exchanger and optimization of the design.

Generally, the heat transfer performance of plate-type heat exchanger has been shown lower than other heat exchangers. Recently titanium material that has high formability and performance has been payed attention to a plate material of the plate-type heat exchange. However, the material has a spring-back due to the high strength as well as the mold design for die and punch processes determined by the operator's experience. Furthermore, the factors that affect the sheet forming are too large and complex to describe by mathematical method so that it is quite difficult for the exact design by experimental methods. Since the chevron shape and pattern are important factors in the performance of the plate-type heat exchanger, the heat exchanger that has the same performance with the targeted one has been manufactured in conjunction with mold design. This design has been employed to predict and determine performance of plate-type heat exchanger. If the mold design of the plate-type heat exchanger has considered to the spring-back phenomenon, the design of two-dimensional shape should necessarily be required. Therefore, the compatibility and adequacy of mold design in the plate-type heat exchanger which is used in the industries, can be verified using three-dimensional(3D) Finite Element Method(FEM). In this paper, a forming analysis of a plate-type heat exchanger with its numerical simulation has been carried out. The optimization of mold design in plate-type heat exchanger that has the complex shape has been proposed using the computer simulation. Since the high-tensile steel plate such as Ti material has high stability when designing a metal mold in the new product, an optimization in the quality of plate-type heat exchanger using the developed numerical model has been proposed.

The one of challenging position in the welding process is a vertical-position due to the difficulty. Compared to a horizontal-position, arc welding on the vertical-position is much more difficult because the metal transfer is influenced by the gravity force. Moreover, the gravity force leads to the welding quality decreased that caused by welding fault. To detect the welding fault, the method has still been used based on off-line method which has many disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is the welding fault detection can be performed after the welding process finished. Therefore to deal with this problem, this study is proposed the new algorithm based on Mahalanobis Distance (MD) method for on-line monitoring system. The experimental was carried out with 3 different setting of welding current in order to find out the optimal setting. From the experimental result, it proved that developed algorithm could achieved the highest welding quality at 250A welding current setting which the welding quality is 98.98% for the start section and 98.96% at the middle section. By additional experiment, It was verified that the developed algorithm based on optimized welding current could determine the good quality of weld.

Background aims Few studies have examined the migration pattern of natural killer (NK) cells, especially after radiation treatment for cancer. We investigated whether irradiation can modulate the expression of chemokines in cancer cells and the migration of NK cells to irradiated tumor cells. Methods The expression of chemokine receptors (CXCR3, CXCR4 and CXCR6) on interleukin-2 (IL-2)/IL-15–activated NK cells was assessed using flow cytometry. Related chemokine ligands (CXCL11, CXCL12 and CXCL16) in human breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, SKBR3 and MDA-MB231) irradiated at various doses were assessed using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The cell-free culture supernatant was collected 96 h after irradiation of breast cancer cell lines for migration and blocking assays. Results The activated NK cells expressed CXCR6. Expression of the CXCR6 ligand CXCL16 increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner in all analyzed cancer cell lines. CXCL16 expression was statistically significantly enhanced in all breast cancer cell lines on day 3 after 20 Gy irradiation. Activated NK cells migration correlated with CXCL16 concentration ( R 2 = 0.91; P 0.0001). Significantly enhanced migration of NK cells to irradiated cancer cells was observed for a dose of 20 Gy in MCF7 ( P = 0.043) and SKBR3 ( P = 0.043) cells, but not in MDA-MB231 ( P = 0.225) cells. A blocking assay using a CXCR6 antibody showed a significant decrease in the migration of activated NK cells in all cancer cell lines. Conclusions Our data indicate that irradiation induces CXCL16 chemokine expression in cancer cells and enhances the migration of activated NK cells expressing CXCR6 to irradiated breast cancer cells. These results suggest that radiation would improve the anti-tumor effect of NK cells through enhanced migration of NK cells to tumor site for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

The design and synthesis of a novel homoleptic triply cyclometalated iridium(III) complex containing the 6-(pyridin-2-yl)isoquinoline moiety [Ir(pyiq)3] was demonstrated for the first time. The performance of a phosphorescent organic light emitting diode (PHOLED) based on Ir(pyiq)3 is described with adoption of tris(4-carbazoyl-9-ylphenyl)amine (TCTA) and 2,2′,2"-(1,3,5-benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole) (TPBi) which are co-host materials showing excellent compatibilities as well as CBP host with the prepared phosphorescent dopants. The photoluminescence (PL) of Ir(pyiq)3 produced orange emission with maximum emission peak at 583 nm. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy (LUMO) levels of Ir(pyiq)3 were −5.41 eV and −3.20 eV. An optimized solution-processed device doped with Ir(pyiq)3 had a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 8.71% and a maximum current efficiency (CE) of 22.51 cd/A. This correspond to 17% higher efficiency than that with bis(2-phenylbenzothiozolato-N,C2′)iridium(acetylacetonate) (bt)2Ir(acac), which is commonly used in orange PHOLEDs. This study rationalizes the promising application of new trimeric organometallic complex that possesses isoquinoline and pyridine in solution-processed PHOLEDs with good quantum and power efficiency.

Study Design Prospective cohort. Introduction Patient comprehension of their injury, its treatment, and health care provider's instructions plays an important role in health management and recovery from trauma. Purpose of the Study This study investigates the effects of health literacy (the ability to obtain, process, and understand health information needed to make appropriate health decisions) on treatment outcomes and satisfaction in patients with mallet finger injuries. Methods A total of 72 patients who had been treated with an orthosis for an acute mallet finger injury were enrolled in this prospective study. Health literacy was measured according to the newest vital sign during the initial visit, and adherence according to the treatment protocol was rated at week 7 when orthotic intervention was ceased. At 6 months, a follow-up visit was conducted to assess the extensor lag, treatment satisfaction, and disability (through the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score). Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to determine whether patient demographics, injury characteristics, and health literacy factors accounted for following outcomes: extensor lag, satisfaction, and disability. Results The newest vital sign scores were moderately correlated with patient adherence and age. Extensor lag was associated with an increase in age, poor adherence, and low health literacy, and these 3 factors accounted for 28% of the variation in the extensor lag. A greater disability was associated with poor adherence, which accounted for 12% of the variance in disability. Lower treatment satisfaction was associated with low health literacy and poor adherence, and these 2 factors accounted for 21% of the variation in treatment satisfaction. Discussion and Conclusions Limited health literacy was associated with poor adherence in orthosis care for mallet finger injuries and led to poorer treatment outcomes in terms of extensor lag and treatment satisfaction. Level of Evidence 2B

Background Invasive ductal carcinoma with predominant intraductal component (DCIS-IDC) has a favorable survival outcome. However, whether subtypes of DCIS-IDC have prognostic significance remains unknown. We assessed the prognostic value of immunohistochemical subtypes in DCIS-IDC compared with DCIS or IDC without predominant intraductal component. Methods We retrospectively studied 37,049 early breast cancer patients enrolled in the Korean Breast Cancer Registry between January 1993 and February 2011. We categorized DCIS, DCIS-IDC and IDC by estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expressions, such as luminal A, B, HER2 and Triple negative breast cancer(TNBC). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to estimate associations between subtypes and survival. Results In total, 8346 patients (26.3%) had DCIS, 20,427 (64.4%) had IDC and 2938 (9.3%) had DCIS-IDC. Luminal A type was the most predominant type in all three groups (DCIS=66.5%, IDC=64.7%, DCIS-IDC=46.9%). HER2 subtype was more frequent in DCIS-IDC (27.0%) than in IDC (8.3%) and DCIS (13.3%) ( p p Conclusions Different distribution of subtypes and indistinct prognostic effects in DCIS-IDC indicates that DCIS-IDC is a distinct clinical and biological entity from pure IDC or pure DCIS. MicroAbstract Through a large-sized, registery-based study, we reported differences of IHC-breast cancer subtypes or outcomes in pure IDC, pure DCIS and mixed DCIS-IDC cases with a predominant DCIS component (more than 80% of tumor was DCIS). IHC-breast cancer subtypes of invasive ductal carcinoma with predominant intraductal component were not significant prognostic factor unlike either pure IDC or DCIS. Clinical Practice points We subdivide breast cancer into pure IDC (64%), pure DCIS (26%) and mixed DCIS-IDC cases (9%) with a predominant DCIS component (more than 80% of tumor was DCIS). Within IDC, they observed differences in outcome that correlated with phenotype, among approximately 37,000 cases entered into the Korean cancer registry. They did not observe statistical differences in outcome with phenotypes for the DCIS-IDC group. This study supports that there is a biologic difference between DCIS-IDC cases compared to pure DCIS or pure IDC.

We investigated the effect of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) in poly (3,4 ethylenedioxythiophence):poly (styrene-sulfonate) layer for the light harvestation in poly (3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-pheny-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester organic solar cells. The role of tungsten trioxide nanoparticles (WO 3 ) and molybdenum trioxide nanoparticles (MoO 3 ) in enhancing the efficiency of solar cells was compared. Due to the difference in the energy band structure of the two nanoparticles, the WO 3 NPs acted as a hole blocking layer, whereas MoO 3 NPs helped in the hole transfer. The solar cell with WO 3 NPs at 1.5 wt% concentration showed a power conversion efficiency of 4.22% under AM 1.5G illumination and the device blended with 2 wt% of MoO 3 NPs showed a power conversion efficiency of 4.40%. We measured various electrical properties including, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and recombination mechanisms using the light intensity dependent current–voltage measurement of organic solar cell.

This study investigates the mechanism of the ω-to-α phase transformation in a titanium–molybdenum alloy. Using aberration-corrected high annular angle dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory (DFT), the authors demonstrate that the ω-to-α phase transformation is mediated by vacancy ordering. Atomic resolution Z-contrast images display high- and low-contrast regions in a single ω precipitate, and it was found that the low Z-contrast regions are composed of an unknown structure, which differs significantly from the ω-phase crystal structure. DFT calculations show that the vacancies could be stabilized by Mo and should preferably be assembled with ordering. The relaxed ω-phase structure with ordered defects explains the intricate atomic images in the low Z-contrast regions of the ω phase. It was found that this distorted ω phase with defects is similar to the hexagonal α-phase structure with vacancies. It was confirmed that these vacancies could easily be occupied by Ti atoms and could form a perfect α phase.

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) can enhance the effector function of natural killer (NK) cells but also limits their proliferation when continuously combined with IL-2/IL-15. Paradoxically, membrane-bound (mb)-IL-21 has been shown to improve human NK cell proliferation when cultured with IL-2/mb-IL-15. To clarify the role of IL-21, we investigated the effect of the timing of IL-21 addition to NK cell culture.IL-2/IL-15-activated NK cells were additionally treated with IL-21 according to the following schedules; (i) control (without IL-21); (ii) first week (day 0 to day 7); (iii) intermittent (the first 3 days of each week for 7 weeks); (iv) after 1 week (day 8 to day 14); and (v) continuous (day 0 to day 49). The expression of NK receptors, granzyme B, perforin, CD107a, interferon-γ, telomere length and NK cell death were measured by flow cytometry.Compared with the control (2004.2-fold; n = 10 healthy donors) and intermittent groups (2063.9-fold), a strong proliferative response of the NK cells on day 42 was identified in the "first week" group (3743.8-fold) (P 0.05). NK cells treated with IL-21 in the "first week" group showed cytotoxicity similar to that in control cells. On day 28, there was a significant increase in cytotoxicity of "first week" NK cells that received IL-21 treatment for an additional 2 days compared with the "first week" NK cells (P 0.05).These data suggest that controlling temporal exposure of IL-21 during NK cell proliferation can be a critical consideration to improve the yields and cytotoxicity of NK cells.

The aim of this study is to develop an aqueous parenteral solution of docetaxel using prodrugs. Docetaxel (DTX) is a highly lipophilic drug and practically insoluble in water. To overcome insolubility of docetaxel, three kinds of docetaxel prodrugs were synthesized using succinyl linker such as DTX-G, DTX-L or DTX-S and physicochemically characterized. The solubility of docetaxel prodrugs was determined by changing the concentration and type of surfactants, cosolvents or cyclodextrins. It was observed that the novel mixture of 15% PEG 400, 2.5% Tween 80 and 20% hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin significantly increased the solubility of DTX-G up to 5.7 mg/mL. After subjected to the study of the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities, it was shown that the novel mixture did not show the hemolysis compared to Taxotere. It was suggested this novel mixture might have the potential to develop an aqueous parenteral formulation.

Conventionally, welding processes are highly labor-intensive and need skilled operators. Compared to plate welding process, pipe welding process imposes higher skill requirement on operators and sound welds which guaranteed to be repeatable from weld to weld because of the harsh environment and intense process disturbance. Also, the automated arc welding process becomes important for productivity, quality and cost-efficiency. Even if many welding parameters, such as the arc current, welding voltage and weld speed, can affect the result of weldability, most of the automated welding system cannot handle so many welding parameters online to adapt the change of conditions during the weld process. Therefore, a suitable control algorithm to get a good weld quality in the pipe welding process must be developed The objective of this study is focused on developing an automatic control algorithm not only to improve the productivity, quality and efficiency of the STT (Surface Tension Transfer) welding process, but also to select the optimal welding conditions for root-pass welding. This algorithm should be able to adjust the optimal welding parameters to ensure the welding quality and overcome the process variability, fluctuation and disturbance.

Introduction Meniscal extrusion is a typical finding of medial meniscus posterior root tear, and it causes loss of the chondroprotective function of the meniscus as well as progression of osteoarthritis; it is therefore associated with poor clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with meniscal extrusion in degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tear. It was hypothesized that larger displacement from the posterior root insertion was associated with larger meniscal extrusion. Materials and methods One hundred-nine knees with degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tears were retrospectively reviewed. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine whether factors such as age, weight, body mass index, chondral wear at surgery, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade, alignment, tibial slope, and tear gap on performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were associated with meniscal extrusion. Subjects were divided based on the amount of displacement (displaced group: tear gap ≥1 mm, non-displaced group: tear gap Results The mean age of the patients was 58.14 ± 9.64 years, the mean absolute extrusion was 4.02 ± 1.22 mm, the mean relative percentage of extrusion was 44.53 ± 13.09 %, and the mean tear gap was 2.39 ± 2.42 mm. Multiple regression analysis showed that absolute extrusion was only associated with tear gap on MRI (B = 0.242, p = 0.001) and that the relative percentage of extrusion was associated with tear gap (B = 1.894, p = 0.001) and the K-L grade (B = 4.492, p = 0.024). Absolute extrusion was significantly higher in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (4.29 ± 1.04 mm vs. 3.01 ± 1.35 mm, p = 0.001). Relative percentage of extrusion was also significantly higher in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (47.70 ± 11.44 % vs. 36.17 ± 13.65 %, p = 0.001). The proportion of chondral wear (Outerbridge grade III and IV) on the medial femoral condyle and K-L grade III and IV were significantly greater in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group (76 % vs. 53.3 %, p = 0.023 and 13.9 % vs. 0 %, p = 0.001, respectively). Discussion Greater tear gap is significantly associated with increasing meniscal extrusion in medial meniscus posterior root tear. Additionally, severity of arthritis is significantly associated with increasing relative percentage of extrusion. Chondral wear and severity of arthritis tended to be significantly worse in the displaced group than in the non-displaced group. Level of evidence III, comparative retrospective study.

We report a pentacene thin-film transistor integrated with microfluidic channel as an ultrafast DNA sensor. The microchannel assisted in easy transport of sample onto the pentacene active layer. The DNA immobilization time on active layer was drastically shortened by applying low positive electric field at the gate electrode. This helps by attracting the negatively charged DNA toward the pentacene layer. This device was evaluated for the label-free detection of single stranded DNA. The electrical property of the device fiercely changed due to the adsorption of DNA. Furthermore, the electrical characteristics were studied as a function of immobilization voltage and time.

Titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) film, as a possible substitute for the conventional tantalum nitride (TaN) or tantalum-aluminum (TaAl) heater resistor in inkjet printheads, was deposited on a Si(100) substrate at 400 °C by radio frequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering using titanium nitride (TiN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) as ceramic targets. The temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) and oxidation resistance, which are the most important properties of a heat resistor, were studied depending on the plasma power density applied during sputtering. With the increasing plasma power density, the crystallinity, grain size and surface roughness of the applied film increased, resulting in less grain boundaries with large grains. The Ti, Al and N binding energies obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis disclosed the nitrogen deficit in the TiAlN stoichiometry that makes the films more electrically resistive. The highest oxidation resistance and the lowest TCR of −765.43 × 10 −6 K −1 were obtained by applying the highest plasma power density.

We developed a simple and effective method for the large scale formation of self-assembled Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) nanocrystals by ion beam irradiation. The compositional changes and morphological evolution were observed as a function of the irradiation time. As the ion irradiation time increased, the nano-dots were transformed into a nano-ridge structure due to the competition between sputtering and diffusion processes during irradiation. In terms of the stoichiometry of the CIGS nano-dots, an increase in the Cu content was observed while the Se content decreased. The PL peak of the nano-dots formed CIGS thin film exhibited a blue-shift. Uniformly formed crystalline CIGS nano-dots can be adopted to increase the p–n junction area and the size confinement effect between the CdS and CIGS film in solar cell systems. This simple method can be exploited for band-gap engineering and enhancing photovoltaic properties.

Aluminum nitride (AlN) film, which is being investigated as a possible passivation layer in inkjet printheads, was deposited on a Si (1 0 0) substrate at 400 °C by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering using an AlN ceramic target. Dependence on various reactive gas compositions (Ar, Ar:H 2 , Ar:N 2 ) during sputtering was investigated to determine thermal conductivity. The crystallinity, grain size, and Al–N bonding changes by the gas compositions were examined and are discussed in relation to thermal conductivity. Using an Ar and 4% H 2 , the deposited AlN films were crystalline with larger grains. Using a higher nitrogen concentration of 10%, a near amorphous phase, finer morphology, and an enhanced Al–N bonding ratio were achieved. A high thermal conductivity of 134 W/mk, which is nine times higher than that of the conventional Si 3 N 4 passivation film, was obtained with a 10% N 2 reactive gas mixture. A high Al–N bonding ratio in AlN film is considered the most important factor for higher thermal conductivity.

IntroductionA primary cancer causing thyroid metastasis is extremely rare. In western countries, the most common primary tumors causing thyroid metastases include kidney, lung, breast, and gastrointestinal cancers. In contrast, breast is the most common primary site, followed by kidney, colon, and lung cancers in Korea. To the best of our knowledge, surgically confirmed thyroid metastasis from cholangiocarcinoma has not been reported. Herein, we report the first case of thyroid metastasis secondary to cholangiocarcinoma on which surgery was performed.Presentation of caseA 55-year-old man was diagnosed with hepatic malignancy in December 2008. He subsequently received 2 cycles of transarterial chemoembolization and 4 cycles of radio-frequency ablation between 2008 and 2010. At follow-up in January 2011, brain metastasis was identified in the right parietal area secondary to cholangiocarcinoma. In April 2011, the patient was found to have palpable masses on the left thyroid and lateral neck. The patient subsequently underwent total thyroidectomy followed by left radical neck dissection. Intraoperatively, an ill-defined mass measuring 6.0cm was found infiltrating the subcutaneous tissue into the prevertebral fascia. Microscopic and immunohistochemical findings confirmed that the thyroid masses and lymph nodes were metastatic cholangiocarcinoma.DiscussionPositive immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 19, and AFP and negative results for TG, TTF-1, and cytokeratin 20 can be definitely helpful in arriving at a correct diagnosis.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report on surgically resected thyroid and lateral neck metastases secondary to cholangiocarcinoma.

We examined the formation and morphological evolution of germanide formed in a ternary Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system using ex situ and in situ annealing experiments. Ni germanide in the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system remained stable at temperatures up to 550^oC whereas Ni germanide in a Ni/Ge system agglomerated and was unstable. Microstructural and chemical analyses of the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system during and after in situ annealing in a transmission electron microscope confirmed that the Zr atoms were retained uniformly on the top region of the Ni germanide layer during the diffusion reaction. Ultimately, the level of agglomeration in the Ni germanide film was reduced by the Zr-interlayer, and the thermal stability of Ni germanide was improved.

Objectives To evaluate the relationship between hopefulness and immune function in patients with breast cancer. Methods A total of 196 patients with breast cancer were enrolled. The subjects were divided into two groups using the abbreviated version of the seven-item Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS-7). Subsets of circulating lymphocytes were assessed using flow cytometry: CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD19+ and CD56+. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and EORTC QLQ-C30 were administered. Results A total of 104 patients (53.6%) showed a hopeful attitude, with a score of 0 on the BHS-7. Scores on the MADRS and BDI were significantly higher in the nonhopeful group, whereas global and total functioning scores on the EORTC QLQ-C-30 were significantly higher in the hopeful group. The hopeful group showed significantly higher CD8+ T-cell percentage and counts and significantly lower CD4+ T-cell percentage and CD19+ B-cell percentage and counts compared with the nonhopeful group. All statistically significant differences between the two groups were maintained after adjusting for age and scores on the BDI and EORTC QLQ-C-30 as covariates, except for CD 19+ cell counts. Conclusion The results suggest that hopefulness may be associated with immunity in patients with breast cancer, independent of depression and quality of life.

This study investigated a method for controlling the interfacial reaction between a Sn–3.5Ag–0.7Cu (wt.%) solder and an electroless nickel-immersion gold-plated Cu substrate through heat treatment. The interfacial reaction layer was controlled by heat treating of the electroless Ni–P plated layer. By applying a heat treatment, the thickness of the reaction layer (intermetallic compounds, P-rich Ni layer) was observed to be reduced. The formation of Ni2SnP, which significantly affects the mechanical reliability of solder joints, was suppressed.

This study examined the morphological and compositional changes that occur in oxidized poly-Si 1− x Ge x film during electron-beam irradiation in a transmission electron microscope. Before irradiation, the oxide layer was composed of a mixture of SiO 2 and GeO 2 phases. However, during electron-beam irradiation, there were significant changes in the microstructure and elemental distribution. For the oxidized poly-Si 0.6 Ge 0.4 films, the agglomeration of GeO 2 was observed at the surface region. On the other hand, in the case of the oxidized poly-Si 0.4 Ge 0.6 films, the crystallization of GeO 2 occurred in the oxide layer. Ge lattice fringes and twinning were also observed in the oxide layer.

A method of determining an optimum blank shape for non-circular deep drawing processes is investigated. The rigid–plastic finite-element method (FEM) is introduced and the computer program is developed. The ideal shape of a drawn cup with uniform wall height is assumed and the metal flow is traced backwards step-by-step to predict the initial blank shape of the ideal cup. As examples of non-circular deep-drawn products, two cases of drawn cups with quadrilateral punch shapes and a L-shaped cup are considered, the optimum blank shapes for each case being proposed and compared with experimental results.

Digital road map is a fundamental element in the Vehicle Navigation System, which in turn, is the most basic component of IVHS. Digital road map for vehicle navigation system requires the ability to represent precise location, optimal route analysis, terrain feature information, and other information on demand. In order to satisfy the above requirements, quality and accuracy standards for the digital road map must be defined from the beginning. This paper focuses on the following issues: setting up a new standard coordinate system to reduce projection errors, defining the allowable locational accuracy, networking and structuring the database items needed for route guidance, and establishing the production schemes for digital road map database.

This paper describes a fault-tolerant control system for a high performance induction motor drive.A new fault-tolerant scheme using three microprocessor-based controllers is presented. In the proposed scheme, two of the three processors always compare the results of their computations with each other in order to detect a fault, and when a fault is detected, the third processor is used to locate it. By this, the proposed scheme guarantees high reliability and provides the flexibility for the utilization of redundancies. Through the comparison of the estimated reliability, it is verified that the proposed scheme gives higher reliability than the TMR (Triple Modular Redundancy) to the control system for the induction motor drive.

A novel model reference adaptive control (MRAC) scheme for electrical servo drives is proposed, in which the control input is synthesized without any parameter identification mechanism and a PI controller is inserted ahead of the plant to reduce the steady state chattering. The proposed scheme is shown to be asymptotically stable in case that load torque disturbance sati sfies a certain condition. An application to a permanent magnet synchronous motor drive shows that the output error between the plant and the reference model tends to zero and the chattering is greatly reduced.

oxidase activity. At the same time, nuclear expression of NF-kappa;B proteins (p50 and p65) and cellular expression of protein products of the NF-kappa;B-dependent genes (c-myc, bcl-xl, inos, cox-2) were decreased but expression of the NF-kappa;B inhibitor protein (IuBa) and p53 protein was enhanced in the same tumors. PPh ability to strengthen antitumor effect of the synthetic inhibitors of PA synthesis – polyhexamethyleneguanidine (PMG) and a-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) – was tested. GTE was shown to be able to sum up its antitumoral effect with PMG one and, being combined with DFMO, to prolong lifetime of tumor-bearing animals. Conclusion: GTE and GTEW, can essentially retard experimental tumor growth. Their molecular pathways include inhibition of PA synthesis and interconversion and also inhibition of NF-kappa;B activation and expression of NF-kappa;B-dependent oncogenes. PPh can strengthen antitumoral effect of PMG and have antioxidant and antitoxic properties. Therefore, GTE and GTEW are perspective for cancer prevention in the cancer risk groups and for treatment of cancer patients. Work is support by STCU, grant #4894. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared