Search

The power consumption of a network becomes a critical performance metric for a petabit-per-second scale Internet, in addition to the system cost. We investigate the power and cost efficiency of all-optical and electrical technologies to understand the design principle for petabit-scale hybrid optical switch nodes for optical packet and burst switching. In order to achieve an efficient hybrid design, we point out the interesting observation that the use of long packets switched by passive-medium photonic switches can substantially reduce power consumption and system cost. For contention resolution, shared electronic memory buffers are more effective and power efficient than fiber delay line buffers. An empirical optimization exhibits that a traditional all-optical solution is not the best choice for power and cost efficiency. Using passive-medium photonic switches with electronic memory buffers, we can introduce a substantial savings in power and cost, approximately half of those of commercially available optical cross-connect systems, with a packet loss rate as low as 10—6. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is an attractive target for developing immune modulators to enhance innate immunity against ssRNA virus infections, including hepatitis C and COVID-19. Ten 3-(5-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenyl-2-pyrazolines were tested using TLR7 reporter cells, overexpressing TLR7 and the NF-κB-inducible SEAP reporter gene to discover a novel TLR7 agonist enhancing innate immunity. Of these, 2-(3-(2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)thiazol-4(5H)-one (compound 6) showed the best TLR7 agonistic activity, and further experiments were carried out to study the immune-modulatory capability of compound 6. Treatment with compound 6 rapidly induced phosphorylation of IRAK4, IKKα/β, IκBα, and p65/RelA in THP1 monocytic cells. In addition, it increased the expression of NF-κB-regulated innate cytokines, such as TNFα and IL1β, in THP1 monocytic cells. These data suggest that compound 6 induces an innate immune response by agonizing TLR7 activity in THP1 human monocytic cells. Therefore, compound 6 can be used as an innate immune modulator to develop antiviral agents and vaccine adjuvants.

Objectives In extracorporeal septoplasty (ECS), the entire septal cartilage is harvested, and a neo-L strut is built extracorporeally. Thus, ECS can simultaneously achieve septum straightening and tip projection. This study evaluated the functional and esthetic outcomes of the ECS technique for rhinoplasty in Asian patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of 64 patients who underwent rhinoplasty using ECS between January 2016 and March 2018. Subjective patient satisfaction was assessed and objective surgical outcomes were evaluated. Improvement in nasal obstruction was rated using a visual analog scale (VAS). Anthropometric changes were compared between preoperative and postoperative facial photographs. Complications and revisions were also analyzed. Results The participants comprised 64 patients (48 males and 16 females, with a mean age of 29.3 years). The mean operative time was 89.3 minutes. In total, 61 patients were satisfied with the esthetic outcome, and the overall objective rhinoplasty outcome score was 3.45. Preoperative nasal obstruction symptoms (7.9±1.2 on VAS) improved postoperatively (3.1±1.3, P

Chronic exposure to some environmental polluting chemicals (EPCs) is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance is a major biochemical abnormality in the skeletal muscle in patients with metabolic syndrome. However, the causal relationship is inconsistent and little is known about how EPCs affect the insulin signaling cascade in skeletal muscle. Here, we investigated whether exposure to 100 pM of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) as a low dose of dioxin induces insulin resistance in C2C12 myocytes. The treatment with TCDD inhibited the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). The low-dose TCDD reduced the expression of insulin receptor β (IRβ) and insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 without affecting the phosphorylation of Akt. The TCDD impaired mitochondrial activities, leading to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the blockage of insulin-induced Ca2+ release. All TCDD-mediated effects related to insulin resistance were still observed in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-deficient myocytes and prevented by MitoTEMPO, a mitochondria-targeting ROS scavenger. These results suggest that low-dose TCDD stress may induce muscle insulin resistance AhR-independently and that mitochondrial oxidative stress is a novel therapeutic target for dioxin-induced insulin resistance.

The current study aimed to assess the effects of a customized three-dimensional (3D) printed writing and typing assistive device in patients with cervical spinal cord injury who presented with severe hand dysfunction. Three patients with cervical spinal cord injury who presented with severe hand dysfunction were included in the analysis. The patients’ writing and typing abilities were evaluated after using the silicon assistive device made from a 3D-printed frame for 4 weeks. Patient discomfort and issues were evaluated. Customized 3D-printed writing and typing assistive devices were developed. The Korean Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB), particularly the writing part, and the word practice program of Hangeul were utilized to assess device effects. All patients with cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs) performed writing or typing using a customized assistive device. Patients 2 and 3 had better typing and writing accuracies based on the word practice program of Hangeul and the K-WAB, respectively. However, patient 3 had increased time, which was associated with the process of adapting to the use of the customized device. Nevertheless, he was highly satisfied with the device. The patient’s typing and writing speed and accuracy improve with the customized 3D-printed device, which can lead to a better performance in the activities of daily living.

No Abstract.

Objective Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination is mandatory whenever central nervous system (CNS) infection is suspected. However, pleocytosis is not detected in a substantial number of suspected patients who undergo CSF examination. This study aimed to identify parameters that can aid in predicting negative CSF examination results (defined as a white blood cell count of 0.7, and the best cutoff values were 6.0 (accuracy 70.3%) and 12.7 mg/L (accuracy 76.2%), respectively. Conclusion The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥6 and C-reactive protein level ≥12.7 mg/L was significantly associated with negative CSF examination result.

Limited data are available regarding the association between renal dysfunction and clinical outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the drug-eluting stent (DES) era.Between March 2003 and December 2010, 2,181 diabetic patients were enrolled in a single-center registry. We divided diabetic patients into a renal dysfunction group (n = 518) and a non-renal dysfunction group (n = 1,663) according to a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate

An energy shell structure depending on eccentricity is analyzed in a dielectric elliptic microcavity. Through the analysis, it is explicated that the energy shell structure is governed by classical constant actions of periodic orbits. For clarification, the relation between dominances of the periodic orbits and bifurcation behaviors are obtained and the length spectra based on eigenvalues computed by a numerical method are compared with the exact lengths of the periodic orbits obtained by analytic calculations. By matching effective wave numbers obtained from the periodic orbit lengths to exact wave numbers of stationary states in closed and open cavities, we find deviations provoked from the openness. We show that these deviations are caused by additional phase factors in the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]