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Ulcerative colitis (UC), a pathological condition of inflammatory bowel disease, is a chronic inflammatory disorder that involves an abnormal immune response and epithelial barrier dysfunction. Although we have previously reported the anti-inflammatory effects of 7-hydroxyl-1-methylindole-3-acetonitrile (7-HMIA), a synthesized analog of arvelexin on macrophages and paw edema, its anti-colitis effect and its mechanism are not known. In this study, colitis was induced in mice model by 4% (w/v) dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) solution in drinking water for 9 days. At the same time, from the first day of administering drinking water containing DSS, the animals were treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), 75 mg/kg/day, orally) or 7-HMIA (10 or 20 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally), depending on the experimental group, respectively. The studies were terminated on the tenth day of the experiment. Our data showed that 7-HMIA reduced the disease activity index and spleen/body weight (S/B) ratio, and improved the shortened colon length comparable to the effects of 5-ASA observed in the DSS-exposed mice. 7-HMIA, like 5-ASA, inhibited the histological damage, such as a thickened colonic muscle layer and shortened crypt length in the colon of the mice with DSS-induced colitis. 7-HMIA restored the tight junction-related proteins (occludin, claudin-1, and claudin-2) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-mediated proteins (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin) in the colon tissue of mice with DSS-induced colitis. Additionally, 7-HMIA (20 mg/kg/day) showed the inhibitory effects similar to that of 5-ASA on the myeloperoxidase activity, interleukin (IL)-6 production, and expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and even showed greater inhibition of IL-1β production in the DSS-induced mice. Furthermore, the DSS-induced activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) were effectively suppressed by 7-HMIA treatment like the effects of 5-ASA. Overall, our findings revealed that 7-HMIA decreased the severity of colitis by protecting the inflamed mucosal barrier by interfering with NF-κB and STAT3 activation.

This study aimed to investigate the utility of facial nerve ultrasonography in the functional and structural assessment of early-stage Bell's palsy and the prognostic value of facial nerve ultrasonography in Bell's palsy.Prospective longitudinal study.Single center, a university-affiliated neurology clinic.Patients with unilateral Bell's palsy who had visited our clinic within 3 days of symptom onset were enrolled in this study. Demographic information and House-Brackmann grade were collected. Electrophysiologic studies and facial nerve ultrasonography were then performed. The facial nerves on each side were scanned longitudinally with a 5- to 12-MHz probe. The diameter of the facial nerves with and without the sheath was measured at the proximal and distal portions. Follow-up examinations, including House-Brackmann grade analysis, electrophysiologic studies, and facial nerve ultrasonography, were performed after 2 months.Fifty-four patients with unilateral Bell's palsy were enrolled, and 22 underwent the follow-up examinations. The diameters of the facial nerves were larger on the affected side than on the unaffected side at the proximal and distal portions (Ultrasonography could be a useful tool for evaluating the facial nerve in Bell's palsy. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to demonstrate its prognostic value.

In a previous study, the authors investigated that abnormal Vth behaviour could occur due to polyimide charging when a voltage was applied to the gate in thin film transistors fabricated on polyimide substrates. The authors propose a barrier structure that could prevent this charging effect when fabricating flexible thin film transistors on polyimide substrates. The barrier layer was changed to an SiOCH/SiO2 double layer to reduce the influence of fluorine ions generated in PI by negative bias temperature stress. To confirm the effect of the SiOCH layer, Al/PI/SiO2/Al, Al/PI/SiOCH/SiO2/Al metal‐insulator‐metal capacitors were fabricated and electrical properties were measured. When bias stress was applied, changes in current and capacitance were observed only in the device with a single SiO2 barrier layer. In addition, it was confirmed through secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements that the Si–CH3 bonds in the SiOCH layer were replaced with Si–F bonds by the fluorine ions originating from PI. It was also verified that the abnormal behaviour of Vth did not occur after negative bias temperature stress of the thin film transistor fabricated using an SiOCH/SiO2 double layer.

BACKGROUND Research on whether wearable devices and app-based interventions can effectively prevent metabolic syndrome (MetS) by increasing physical activity (PA) among middle-aged people living in the rural areas of South Korea remains insufficient. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine whether mobile and wearable device interventions can improve health indicators, including PA, in MetS risk groups in rural South Korea. METHODS In this clinical trial, performed from December 2019 to June 2020, participants were asked to use a wearable device (GalaxyWatch Active1) alone (standard intervention) or the wearable device and mobile app (Yonsei Health Korea) (enhanced intervention). Clinical measures and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) scores were evaluated initially and after 6 months. The number of steps was monitored through the website. The primary outcome was the difference in PA and clinical measures between the enhanced intervention and standard intervention groups. The secondary outcome was the decrease in MetS factors related to the change in PA. RESULTS A total of 267 participants were randomly selected, 221 of whom completed the 6-month study. Among the 221 participants, 113 were allocated to the enhanced intervention group and 108 were allocated to the standard intervention group. After 6 months, the body weight and BMI for the enhanced intervention group decreased by 0.6 (SD 1.87) and 0.21 (SD 0.76), respectively (P1c (HbA1c) decreased (PP=.002), whereas this number did not increase significantly in the standard intervention group (n=108), from 8 (7.4%) to 16 (14.8%) (P=.72). The number of participants without any MetS factors increased by 12 (11%) and 8 (7%) in the enhanced and standard intervention group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS PA monitoring and an intervention using wearable devices were effective in preventing MetS in a rural population in Korea. Blood pressure, waist circumference, and HbA1c were improved in both intervention groups, which were effective in reducing MetS factors. However, only the participants in the enhanced intervention group continuously increased their MVPA and step counts above the recommended level to prevent MetS. Body weight and BMI were further improved, and a higher number of participants with zero MetS factors was attained from the enhanced intervention. CLINICALTRIAL Clinical Research Information Service KCT0005783; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do/16123

BACKGROUND Hyperkalemia monitoring is very important in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in emergency medicine. Currently, blood testing is regarded as the standard way to diagnose hyperkalemia (ie, using serum potassium levels). Therefore, an alternative and noninvasive method is required for real-time monitoring of hyperkalemia in the emergency medicine department. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to propose a novel method for noninvasive screening of hyperkalemia using a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) based on a deep learning model. METHODS For this study, 2958 patients with hyperkalemia events from July 2009 to June 2019 were enrolled at 1 regional emergency center, of which 1790 were diagnosed with chronic renal failure before hyperkalemic events. Patients who did not have biochemical electrolyte tests corresponding to the original 12-lead ECG signal were excluded. We used data from 855 patients (555 patients with CKD, and 300 patients without CKD). The 12-lead ECG signal was collected at the time of the hyperkalemic event, prior to the event, and after the event for each patient. All 12-lead ECG signals were matched with an electrolyte test within 2 hours of each ECG to form a data set. We then analyzed the ECG signals with a duration of 2 seconds and a segment composed of 1400 samples. The data set was randomly divided into the training set, validation set, and test set according to the ratio of 6:2:2 percent. The proposed noninvasive screening tool used a deep learning model that can express the complex and cyclic rhythm of cardiac activity. The deep learning model consists of convolutional and pooling layers for noninvasive screening of the serum potassium level from an ECG signal. To extract an optimal single-lead ECG, we evaluated the performances of the proposed deep learning model for each lead including lead I, II, and V1-V6. RESULTS The proposed noninvasive screening tool using a single-lead ECG shows high performances with F1 scores of 100%, 96%, and 95% for the training set, validation set, and test set, respectively. The lead II signal was shown to have the highest performance among the ECG leads. CONCLUSIONS We developed a novel method for noninvasive screening of hyperkalemia using a single-lead ECG signal, and it can be used as a helpful tool in emergency medicine.

Background Hyperkalemia monitoring is very important in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in emergency medicine. Currently, blood testing is regarded as the standard way to diagnose hyperkalemia (ie, using serum potassium levels). Therefore, an alternative and noninvasive method is required for real-time monitoring of hyperkalemia in the emergency medicine department. Objective This study aimed to propose a novel method for noninvasive screening of hyperkalemia using a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) based on a deep learning model. Methods For this study, 2958 patients with hyperkalemia events from July 2009 to June 2019 were enrolled at 1 regional emergency center, of which 1790 were diagnosed with chronic renal failure before hyperkalemic events. Patients who did not have biochemical electrolyte tests corresponding to the original 12-lead ECG signal were excluded. We used data from 855 patients (555 patients with CKD, and 300 patients without CKD). The 12-lead ECG signal was collected at the time of the hyperkalemic event, prior to the event, and after the event for each patient. All 12-lead ECG signals were matched with an electrolyte test within 2 hours of each ECG to form a data set. We then analyzed the ECG signals with a duration of 2 seconds and a segment composed of 1400 samples. The data set was randomly divided into the training set, validation set, and test set according to the ratio of 6:2:2 percent. The proposed noninvasive screening tool used a deep learning model that can express the complex and cyclic rhythm of cardiac activity. The deep learning model consists of convolutional and pooling layers for noninvasive screening of the serum potassium level from an ECG signal. To extract an optimal single-lead ECG, we evaluated the performances of the proposed deep learning model for each lead including lead I, II, and V1-V6. Results The proposed noninvasive screening tool using a single-lead ECG shows high performances with F1 scores of 100%, 96%, and 95% for the training set, validation set, and test set, respectively. The lead II signal was shown to have the highest performance among the ECG leads. Conclusions We developed a novel method for noninvasive screening of hyperkalemia using a single-lead ECG signal, and it can be used as a helpful tool in emergency medicine.

UNSTRUCTURED The aim of this study is to introduce the implemented big data platform (MEDBIZ) based on the internet of medical things (IoMT) supporting digital healthcare services and to discuss about application cases of this platform. Implemented MEDBIZ platform based on the IoMT devices and big data to provide digital healthcare services to the enterprise and users. The big data platform is consisting of four main components: IoMT, Core, Analytics, and Services. IoMT component is used for lifelog data acquisition and collection from the IoMT devices. The core components are composed of the main functional operations including the metadata, resource brokers and computing elements, virtual file system, security, and system logs. Analytics component is covered data analyzing frameworks such as Hadoop, Spark, R, and TensorFlow. Finally, the service component can support the web-based or mobile app-based digital healthcare services through the Open API to the end-users. As a result, an implemented big data platform can provide various digital healthcare services using various IoMT devices. Among them, we are focusing on detailed empirical studies about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metabolic syndrome, vital sign, arrhythmia, and diabetes monitoring services. We demonstrated the implemented MEDBIZ platform based on IoMT supporting digital healthcare services by acquiring real-world data for getting the real-world evidence. And then through this platform, we are developing Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), digital therapeutics, and digital healthcare services, and contributing to the development of the digital health ecosystem.

Power utilities worldwide commonly use the radial distribution system because of its advantages of being simple in structure and having relatively inexpensive installation costs. It has a disadvantage in that its power supply reliability is low because the load side of the fault section will suffer from an outage in the event of a fault in the system. However, recently, with ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) development, system reliability is required to be high as the outage-susceptible loads increase. In addition, the increase in the connection of distributed resources such as renewable energy and electric vehicles is making it impossible to predict the power flow and reducing line utilization. Therefore, a loop power distribution system is proposed as a measure to solve this problem. Because all buses (nodes) in a loop distribution system have two or more power supply routes, they are more reliable than the radial system. It allows them to improve line utilization by connecting lines with different load peak times. However, in the case of a fault in the loop distribution system, the fault current is supplied from both directions, making it impossible to properly isolate the fault section with the protection method of the conventional distribution system. The permissive overreach transfer trip (POTT) method using communication to compensate for the limitations of conventional protection devices, and the other method using directional distance relay, is proposed. However, these methods operate by determining the direction of the fault current but have a disadvantage. It is difficult to detect a fault due to the effects of ground faults and distributed generation (DG) occurring in other lines. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a protection coordination algorithm that uses the negative-sequence component of voltage and current that occur when an unbalanced fault occurs, rather than the determination of the directionality and use of communication. To validate this, we configured a system using PSCAD/EMTDC (Manitoba Hydro International Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), a system analysis program package and verified the results depending on the type of faults with the proposed algorithm.

To date, the current COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has infected 99.2 million while killed 2.2 million people throughout the world and is still spreading widely. The unavailability of potential therapeutics against this virus urges to search and develop new drugs. SARS-CoV-2 enters human cells by interacting with human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor expressed on human cell surface through utilizing receptor-binding domain (RBD) of its spike glycoprotein. The RBD is highly conserved and is also a potential target for blocking its interaction with human cell surface receptor. We designed short peptides on the basis of our previously reported truncated ACE2 (tACE2) for increasing the binding affinity as well as the binding interaction network with RBD. These peptides can selectively bind to RBD with much higher affinities than the cell surface receptor. Thus, these can block all the binding residues required for binding to cell surface receptor. We used selected amino acid regions (21–40 and 65–75) of ACE2 as scaffold for the de novo peptide design. Our designed peptide Pep1 showed interactions with RBD covering almost all of its binding residues with significantly higher binding affinity (−13.2 kcal mol−1) than the cell surface receptor. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results showed that designed peptides form a stabilized complex with RBD. We suggest that blocking the RBD through de novo designed peptides can serve as a potential candidate for COVID-19 treatment after further clinical investigations.

Facility walls with high relative humidity, such as bathrooms or kitchens installed with tiles by spot-bonding methods, become far more prone to defect or adhesion failure when using large or heavy tiles and insufficient application area of adhesive but is still continued to be practiced due to their low costs in the material. Most importantly, if this practice is to be continued, the changes in adhesion strength of the tiles based on different adhesive application areas of adhesives must be clarified such that the very least secure application can be achieved even by using spot-bonding methods. In this regard, an experiment was conducted in this study where tile-adhered specimens with different adhesive-applied area ratios (AR) of 60 ± 2%, 80 ± 2%, and 100% were prepared. Tile adhesion strength was subsequently measured, after sectioning the entire surface of the tile into 40 pieces. Experimental results showed that the adhesion strength above the standard criteria could be achieved for about 75% of the entire tile with AR 100% conditioning, followed by 30% of the entire tile with AR 80 ± 2% conditioning, and 20% of the entire tile for AR 60 ± 2% conditioning. Further analysis showed that with AR 80 ± 2% and AR 60 ± 2% conditions, the overall adhesion strength decreased by the range of about 59–67% compared to the AR 100% application conditions. The results of the study intended to provide an analytical basis of guidelines and risks with the potential usage of spot-bonding and should only be used if AR 100% application is planned.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is widely used as a building material, and recent interest in this material has increased rapidly due to environmental problems. For instance, the phenol resorcinol formaldehyde (PRF) used as an adhesive in CLT can release toxic gases during a fire, resulting in adverse health effects. These properties cause concern regarding the use of CLT as a building material and restrict its use. In this study, the effects of the particle size and size distribution of clays on the thermal properties and flame retardancy of composites were investigated. Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/clay adhesive sheets were prepared to substitute for the PRF that is used to cohere the timber in CLT. To increase the dispersibility of clay inside the EVA matrix, the clays were organically treated using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and the interlayer spacing was determined via X-ray diffraction. In addition, the EVA/clay adhesive sheets presented a broad peak due to their good dispersion. As the clay contents increasingly degraded, the thermal properties, such as the degradation temperature and final residue, of the EVA/clay adhesive sheets enhanced. However, the adhesive sheets showed continuous improvement only for a specific particle size and size distribution due to the difference in the degree of organic treatment. The results from cone calorimetry showed a decrease in the heat release rate (HRR) as the clay content increased. With respect to the flame retardancy of EVA/clay adhesive sheets, clay with a large particle size is more effective than clay with a small particle size, while the size distribution does not have a strong influence.

The objective of this study was to investigate morphological characteristics and functional roles of vaginal plug formation and release in female hibernating Korean greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum korai) using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Vaginal plug formation begins by part of semen first jetted from cervical region and secretions of vaginal epithelium immediately after mating (at the end of August). These secretions are gradually solidified, accumulated, and moved toward the vaginal introitus while filling the vaginal lumen. This formation process continues through the copulation period and the hibernation period (from end of October to middle of March), maintaining vaginal plug throughout the next pregnancy period (from end of March to end of May). Finally, vaginal plug is discharged to the outside of vagina immediately before giving birth. Normal vaginal structures are taken from the nurturing period (from the beginning of June to the middle of August) and before mating period. Therefore, vaginal plug generated immediately after mating is important as a protective barrier to prevent re-mating with male. In addition, vaginal plug during pregnancy can protect fetus in the uterus from physical stimulation by preventing re-mating with male as a kind of defense mechanism to maintain healthy development of fetus in uterus.

Vascular cambium, a lateral plant meristem, is a central producer of woody biomass. Although a few transcription factors have been shown to regulate cambial activity1, the phenotypes of the corresponding loss-of-function mutants are relatively modest, highlighting our limited understanding of the underlying transcriptional regulation. Here, we use cambium cell-specific transcript profiling followed by a combination of transcription factor network and genetic analyses to identify 62 new transcription factor genotypes displaying an array of cambial phenotypes. This approach culminated in virtual loss of cambial activity when both WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 4 (WOX4) and KNOTTED-like from Arabidopsis thaliana 1 (KNAT1; also known as BREVIPEDICELLUS) were mutated, thereby unlocking the genetic redundancy in the regulation of cambium development. We also identified transcription factors with dual functions in cambial cell proliferation and xylem differentiation, including WOX4, SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) and PETAL LOSS (PTL). Using the transcription factor network information, we combined overexpression of the cambial activator WOX4 and removal of the putative inhibitor PTL to engineer Arabidopsis for enhanced radial growth. This line also showed ectopic cambial activity, thus further highlighting the central roles of WOX4 and PTL in cambium development. The vascular cambium contains meristem cells that produce secondary xylem and phloem in the stems and roots of many plants. Its activity largely determines wood formation. Now, a genome-wide transcript profiling of Arabidopsis thaliana root cambium is presented to unlock the complex network that regulates cambium development and activity.

Fixing layers in flexible displays requires acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) that can withstand deformation and folding stress. In this study, the effects of a styrene–isoprene–styrene (SIS) elastomer on the adhesion performance and recovery of an acrylic PSA were investigated. In simple blends, the peel strength and probe tack of a PSA sheet decreased slightly as the SIS content increased owing to the elastomer’s soft nature. In contrast, the lap shear stress increased slightly owing to entanglement of the SIS polymer chains. In stress relaxation tests, the effect of SIS on PSA recovery was limited by weak bonding. Therefore, the use of thermal crosslinking to improve bonding within PSA/SIS blends was examined. Although increased crosslinking decreased the peel strength and probe tack, the adhesion properties were maintained and the lap shear stress and strain increased. Further, PSA recovery improved in stress relaxation tests, but a specific strain could not be endured above 1 phr crosslinking agent. Thus, crosslinking with an elastomer plays an active role in the adhesion performance and recovery of acrylic PSAs. However, as the PSA sheet becomes opaque in the presence of SIS, the display applications of this system are limited and further improvements are necessary.

With the increasingly widespread use of modern communication systems, advanced medical equipment, advanced living facilities, and emergency systems requiring high-quality energy, there is an increasing need for reliable, efficient, and uninterrupted electricity supplies. Consequently, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) have recently experienced growing demand. However, because the stored energy of a UPS battery is only used in emergency situations, the battery utilization rate of a UPS is very low. Therefore, a hybrid UPS that integrates an Energy Storage System (ESS) with a UPS has recently been developed. Unlike the conventional UPS, this hybrid UPS can increase the battery utilization rate by using the stored energy of the battery when the grid is under normal operation. However, when a grid fault occurs, the hybrid UPS has to supply emergency power to critical loads. Therefore, transient voltage across the DC-link that could affect the power quality of critical loads can occur during mode transition. This paper proposes the operation method of a hybrid UPS with ESS function to minimize the transient voltage across the DC-link. PSCAD/EMTDC software is used to verify the validity of the proposed operation method.

This study aimed to analyze long-term performance of JPCP (jointed plain concrete pavement) according to changes in standard mix design using evaluation of concrete properties based on Korea HPMS (highway pavement management system) and Korea LTPP (long-term pavement performance) data accumulated for over 15 years. The concrete pavements built in the 2010s by the specification of a durability-based mix design adopted in 2010 were found to have better performance with much fewer surface distresses than the concrete pavements built before 2010 by the specification of a classical strength-based mix design. Also, in order to realize long-life concrete pavement, experimental construction was carried out for high-durability concrete mix design. The performance monitoring data for the construction site implied that the high-durability mix design can make it possible to lead a long-life concrete pavement.

(E)-3,4-Dihydroxybenzylideneacetone (compound 1) inhibited receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-induced osteoclastogenesis of C57BL/6 bone marrow monocyte/macrophages with IC50 of 7.8 μM (IC50 of alendronate, 3.7 μM) while stimulating the differentiation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells, accompanied by the induction of Runt-related transcription factor 2, alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin. (E)-4-(3-Hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one (compound 2c) showed a dramatically increased osteoclast-inhibitory potency with IC50 of 0.11 μM while sustaining osteoblast-stimulatory activity. (E)-4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one (compound 2g) stimulated alkaline phosphatase production 2-fold at 50 μM without changing osteoclast-inhibitory activity, compared with compound 1. Oral administration of compounds 1, 2c, and 2g prevented ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in ddY mice to a degree proportional to their osteoclastogenesis-inhibitory potencies. The administration of 1 (mg/kg)/d compound 2c ameliorated histomorphometry of osteoporotic bone to a degree comparable with 10 (mg/kg)/d alendronate. Conclusively, the in vitro capacity of a few benzylideneacetone derivatives to inhibit osteoclastogenesis supported by independent osteoblastogenesis activation was convincingly reflected in in vivo management of osteoporosis, suggesting a potential novel therapeutics for osteopenic diseases.

Background:While emergency patient triage system is effective when the pre-hospital triage acuity scale is linked with the in-hospital triage acuity scale. However, the 119 emergency medical triage system and the Korea Triage and Acuity Scale are not linked in Korea.Objective:This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the two triage systems and to utilize the results as basic data for the future development of a pre-hospital triage system.Methods:Among the 1114 patients who visited a regional emergency medical center by a 119 ambulance from April to May 2016, we analyzed the correlation between the pre-hospital and in-hospital triage systems based on the general characteristics of the patients and their reason of hospital visit (non-trauma or trauma).Results:Upon reclassifying the pre-hospital and in-hospital triage systems into three levels, among the 289 patients (28.1%) in level 3 of the pre-hospital triage, 79 (27.3%) were reclassified as the highest level (Resuscitation) in the in-hospital triage. The kappa coefficient as a measure of agreement between the two triage systems was very low at 0.211 (95% confidence interval, 0.164–0.258), and the kappa coefficient of the paramedic category was 0.232 (95% confidence interval, 0.161–0.303).Conclusion:There is a low agreement between the pre-hospital and in-hospital triage systems.

Traditional Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) only provide stable power to critical loads in emergency situations, while Energy Storage Systems (ESS) perform functions such as generator output stabilization, frequency control, peak shaving, and load leveling. As the global ESS market expands, various ESS supply policies are being implemented in a number of countries. Accordingly, research and development of a hybrid UPS-ESS system combining the advantages of UPS and ESS are underway in order to ensure critical load stability in case of emergency. For such a situation, we propose the development of a system with a customer load management function by simply adding a converter and battery pack to a widely used conventional UPS. The proposed system in this paper is more economical than a hybrid UPS-ESS system or an ESS. In addition, the proposed system performs peak-clipping and load-shifting according to time-based rates, and has a longer power outage time in case of emergency without needing to communicate with the existing UPS.

Materials that store lithium based on a conversion reaction are promising candidates for high-capacity electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. However, studies on the reaction mechanisms behind these electrochemical behaviors are still lacking, as it is difficult to detect the conversion products due to their nanoscale and structural disorder. Here, we report a study on the phase transformation of CuS during lithiation and delithiation processes using a combination of in situ and ex situ analytical tools. During the lithiation process, CuS exhibits two distinct voltage plateaus, undergoing an insertion reaction, followed by a conversion reaction into Li2S and Cu, without noticeable formation of Cu2−δS intermediates (0 ≤ δ < 1), which are discussed in the thermodynamic aspects on the basis of the operando and ex situ X-ray diffraction. Operando Raman spectroscopy and mapping reveals that the conversion reaction starts on the first plateau of lithiation, and the phase distribution of CuS changes on the microscale through the electrochemical process. It is believed that the conversion reaction competes with the insertion reaction that evolves a ‘Li-rich’ insertion phase until ∼0.75 V vs. Li/Li+. The high irreversibility of CuS upon initial lithiation/delithiation and the capacity fading during subsequent cycles appear to result from deep lithiation processes, including the conversion reaction, electrolyte decomposition and Cu nanoparticle agglomeration at low voltages, together with soluble polysulfide formation.

Microgrids are small-scale power grids that combine a renewable energy source with an energy storage system (ESS) to power loads. They are operated in connection with commercial power grids and operate independently in mountainous areas where commercial power grids are not provided. Microgrids are mainly classified into AC and DC types. Independently operating microgrids typically use diesel generators to supply power to customers. However, the use of distributed generators, such as solar power, wind turbines, and ESSs, is increasing worldwide as conventional fossil-fueled power systems face the problem of gradual depletion of resources. DC microgrids are being actively studied because they require only voltage control, and most distributed generators produce DC power. In particular, the voltage of the DC bus must be maintained using ESSs to maintain the voltage of the microgrids. In this study, we propose two stable power supplies, namely, MAIN ESS for voltage control in DC microgrids and SUB ESS for power supply of loads, and a stable operation by switching a voltage-controlled ESS unit at the MAIN ESS dropout. We demonstrate that DC microgrids can be modeled and operated stably throughout PSCAD/EMTDC.

International audience; Resistance to β-lactams is one of the most serious problems associated with Gram-negative infections. β-Lactamases are able to hydrolyze β-lactams such as cephalosporins and/or carbapenems. Evolutionary origin of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), conferring critical antibiotic resistance threats, remains unknown. We discovered PNGM-1, the novel subclass B3 MBL, in deep-sea sediments that predate the antibiotic era. Here, our phylogenetic analysis suggests that PNGM-1 yields insights into the evolutionary origin of subclass B3 MBLs. We reveal the structural similarities between tRNase Zs and PNGM-1, and demonstrate that PNGM-1 has both MBL and tRNase Z activities, suggesting that PNGM-1 is thought to have evolved from a tRNase Z. We also show kinetic and structural comparisons between PNGM-1 and other proteins including subclass B3 MBLs and tRNase Zs. These comparisons revealed that the B3 MBL activity of PNGM-1 is a promiscuous activity and subclass B3 MBLs are thought to have evolved through PNGM-1 activity.

To study the applications for ferroelectric non-volatile memory and ferroelectric memristor, etc., deposition pressure dependent electric the properties of (Hf, Zr)O2 thin films by RF sputtering deposition method were investigated. The bottom electrode was TiN thin film to produce stress effect on the formation of orthorhombic phase and top electrode was Pt thin film by DC sputtering deposition. Deposition pressure was varied along with the same other deposition conditions, for example, sputtering power, target to substrate distance, post-annealing temperature, annealing gas, annealing time, etc. The structural and electric properties of the above thin films were investigated. As a result, it is confirmed that the electric properties of the (Hf, Zr)O2 thin films depend on the deposition pressure which affects structural properties of the thin films, such as, structural phase, ratio of the constituents, etc.

To attain power generation with body heat, the thermal resistance matched design of the thermoelectric generator was the principal factor which was not critical in the case of thermoelectric generator for the waste heat generation. The dimension of thermoelectric legs and the number of thermoelectric leg-pairs dependent output power performances of the thermoelectric generator on the human wrist condition was simulated using 1-dimensional approximated heat flow equations with the temperature dependent material coefficients of the constituent materials and the dimension of the substrate. With the optimum thermoelectric generator design, thermoelectric generator modules were fabricated by using newly developed fabrication processes, which is mass production possible. The electrical properties and the output power characteristics of the fabricated thermoelectric modules were characterized by using a home-made test set-up. The output voltage of the designed thermoelectric generator were a few tens of millivolts and its output power was several hundreds of microwatts under the conditions at the human wrist. The measured output voltage and power of the fabricated thermoelectric generator were slightly lower than those of the designed thermoelectric generator due to several reasons.

β-Lactam antibiotics target penicillin-binding proteins and inhibit the synthesis of peptidoglycan, a crucial step in cell wall biosynthesis. Staphylococcus aureus acquires resistance against β-lactam antibiotics by producing a penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a), encoded by the mecA gene. PBP2a participates in peptidoglycan biosynthesis and exhibits a poor affinity towards β-lactam antibiotics. The current study was performed to determine the diversity and the role of missense mutations of PBP2a in the antibiotic resistance mechanism. The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from clinical samples were identified using phenotypic and genotypic techniques. The highest frequency (60%, 18 out of 30) of MRSA was observed in wound specimens. Sequence variation analysis of the mecA gene showed four amino acid substitutions (i.e., E239K, E239R, G246E, and E447K). The E239R mutation was found to be novel. The protein-ligand docking results showed that the E239R mutation in the allosteric site of PBP2a induces conformational changes in the active site and, thus, hinders its interaction with cefoxitin. Therefore, the present report indicates that mutation in the allosteric site of PBP2a provides a more closed active site conformation than wide-type PBP2a and then causes the high-level resistance to cefoxitin.

The article's abstract is not available.

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) employ porous, composite-type electrodes, where few weight percentages of carbonaceous conducting agents and polymeric binders are required to bestow electrodes with electrical conductivity and mechanical robustness. However, the use of such inactive materials has limited enhancements of battery performance in terms of energy density and safety. In this study, we introduced graphene/polyvinylidene fluoride (Gr/PVdF) composites in Ni-rich oxide cathodes for LIBs, replacing conventional conducting agents, carbon black (CB) nanoparticles. By using Gr/PVdF suspensions, we fabricated highly dense LiNi0.85Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) cathodes having a uniform distribution of conductive Gr sheets without CB nanoparticles, which was confirmed by scanning spreading resistance microscopy mode using atomic force microscopy. At a high content of 99 wt.% NCA, good cycling stability was shown with significantly improved areal capacity (Qareal) and volumetric capacity (Qvol), relative to the CB/PVdF-containing NCA electrode with a commercial-level of electrode parameters. The NCA electrodes using 1 wt.% Gr/PVdF (0.9:0.1) delivered a high Qareal of ~3.7 mAh cm−2 (~19% increment) and a high Qvol of ~774 mAh cm−3 (~18% increment) at a current rate of 0.2 C, as compared to the conventional NCA electrode. Our results suggest a viable strategy for superseding conventional conducting agents (CB) and improving the electrochemical performance of Ni-rich cathodes for advanced LIBs.

In this paper, the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers and PAN nanofibers bonded with different transition metal (Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) acetates were successfully prepared and their thermal oxidative stabilization process were analysed by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The structural evolution of process was characterized by examining the FTIR spectral peaks generated at four different thermal oxidative stabilization temperatures. Based on the thermal oxidative stabilization rates obtained from each transition metal, Co-PAN and Cu-PAN are the only effective precursors for the thermal oxidative stabilization process and, according to differential scanning calorimetry, Co-PAN is the most effective and suitable precursor for the PAN with different transition metals. Although Co-PAN increased the exothermic reaction (ΔH) by approximately 140%, it alleviates the heat release rate (ΔH/ΔT) by approximately 44%.

We study thermodynamics and quantum correlations of the string cloud geometry whose field theory dual is the quark-gluon medium. We found the novel universality of the entanglement entropy first law in the high quark density limit. We also showed that a correlation function generally decreases as the entanglement entropy of the background medium increases due to the screening effect of the background. We study the UV and IR effects of the medium on phase transition behaviour observed in the holographic mutual information using both perturbative and numerical computations. Moreover, by numerical computation, we show that in the IR region the critical length obtained from the mutual information behaves similar to the correlation length of the two-point function., 18 pages, 2 figures, reference added, minor changes

We holographically study the finite-size scaling effects on macroscopic and microscopic quantum correlations deformed by excitation and condensation. The excitation (condensation) increases (decreases) the entanglement entropy of the system. We also investigate the two-point correlation function of local operators by calculating the geodesic length connecting two local operators. As opposed to the entanglement entropy case, the excitation (condensation) decreases (increases) the two-point function. This is because the screening effect becomes strong in the background with the large entanglement entropy. We further show that the holographic renormalization leads to the qualitatively same two-point function as the one obtained from the geodesic length.

We previously reported that an exopolysaccharide-enriched fraction from Bacillus subtilis J92 (B-EPS) could improve immune functions by regulating the immunological parameters of IFN-γ-primed macrophages, CD3/CD28-stimulated splenocytes, and in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice. In the present study, we investigated whether B-EPS contributes to the maintenance of intestinal barrier integrity in a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model that mimics human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). B-EPS treatment improved histological characteristics and common features including a high disease activity index (DAI), an increased spleen weight, and colon shortening in DSS-induced colitis. B-EPS also effectively restored intestinal barrier function by modulating tight junction-related proteins (claudin-1, claudin-2, and occludin) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker proteins (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin). Moreover, B-EPS downregulated immune cell infiltration and inflammatory responses including the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and IL-1β, and activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Taken together, these results suggest that B-EPS could serve as a functional food ingredient for improving intestinal barrier function and alleviating colonic inflammation in IBD.

Acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are used as fixatives between layers of a display. PSAs&rsquo, function is an important factor that determines the performance of the display. Of the various display types available, the touch screen panel (TSP) of smart devices is firmly related to the relative permittivity of the elementals. Therefore, adjusting the relative permittivity of the PSA is indispensable for driving the TSP. Accordingly, selected acrylic pre-polymers were polymerized and the pre-polymer was blended and cross-linked with monomers with different chemical structure to adjust the relative permittivity. The monomers were hexametyldisiloxane (HMDS), N-vinylcaprolactam (NVC), tert-butyl acrylate (TBA), and isooctadecyl acrylate (ISTA). The gel fraction and transmittance as a function of the monomers show a similar result to the pure acrylic PSA. However, the gel fraction value decreased to about 90% and the transmittance decreased to about 85%, due to the immiscibility between nonpolar HMDS and acrylic PSA. On the other hand, the adhesion properties were improved when NVC was added because of the polarity of the nitrogen group. In addition, the relative permittivity of the PSA decreased regardless of the monomer chosen. There was, however, a difference in the optimal content of each monomer, and NVC decreased from 4 phr content to about 3.4 in reducing relative permittivity. Through the above results, it was confirmed that NVC having a nitrogen group is most advantageous in lowering adhesion properties and relative permittivity, and necessitates further research based on the findings.

The article's abstract is not available.

Purpose We propose the Lifelog Bigdata Platform as a sustainable digital healthcare system based on individual-centric lifelog datasets and describe the standardization of lifelog and clinical data in its full-cycle management system. Materials and Methods The Lifelog Bigdata Platform was developed by Yonsei Wonju Health System on the cloud to support digital healthcare and precision medicine. It consists of five core components: data acquisition system, de-identification of individual information, lifelog integration, analyzer, and service. We designed a gathering system into a dedicated virtual machine to save lifelog or clinical outcomes and established standard guidelines for maintaining the quality of gathering procedures. We used standard integration keys to integrate the lifelog and clinical data. Metadata were generated from the data warehouse after loading combined or fragmented data on it. We analyzed the de-identified lifelog and clinical data using the lifelog analyzer to prevent and manage acute and chronic diseases through providing results of statistics on analysis. Results The big data centers were built in four hospitals and seven companies for integrating lifelog and clinical data to develop the Lifelog Bigdata Platform. We integrated and loaded lifelog big data and clinical data for 3 years. In the first year, we uploaded 94 types of data on the platform with a total capacity of 221 GB. Conclusion The Lifelog Bigdata Platform is the first to combine lifelog and clinical data. The proposed standardization guidelines can be used for future platforms to achieve a virtuous cycle structure of lifelogging big data and an industrial ecosystem.

A Li/LiF-LiCl-LiBr/Sn battery cell is prepared for the first time to investigate the feasibility of pure tin metal as an environmentally friendly cathode material in the liquid metal battery. The Li-Sn cell can achieve the mean voltages of 0.820 and 0.607 V during charge and discharge at 100 mA cm−2, respectively. Increasing the discharge current density from 100 to 700 mA cm−2 results in 1.3% capacity loss, and the capacity loss is 12.4% when the charge current density increased from 100 to 1000 mA cm−2. This high rate capability of the cell is due to ultrafast charge-transfer kinetics at the interface of liquid electrode and liquid electrolyte. The Li-Sn cell exhibits a capacity retention of 94.0% after 220 cycles. The capacity loss originates from the loss of active Sn by forming SnFe and CrSn2 intermetallics in side reaction between the Sn and stainless steel case, and these intermetallics are inert to lithium within the voltage window of 0.5–1.2 V.

The solar neutrino is a good probe for understanding the internal structure and the energy production mechanism of stars with masses of about that of the sun because it does not interact with other materials of the star. The production rate of the solar neutrino is largely uncertain due to the lack of nuclear structure information on the 8B nucleus. In the search for resonances in the highly unstable nucleus 8B, which affect the production of solar neutrino, the 2H(7Be, p+3He+4He)n reaction was studied by using a radioactive 7Be beam produced at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two layers of annular silicon strip detectors were used for particle identification, and the excitation energy of 8B was reconstructed by requiring triple coincidence for p, 3He, and 4He.

Unintended defects are a significant problem for mass production of graphene membranes. Herein, we report a method to fabricate scalable CVD graphene polymer membranes through the formation of a polysulfone (PSf) supporting layer, which is capable of duplicating the Cu morphology. Unintended defects were limited by minimizing defects associated with graphene wrinkles and eliminating polymer residues used in the transfer process. Consequently, the KCl leakage by diffusion of raw graphene membranes fabricated with this method was only ~ 0.5% that of the supporting membrane; there was also no water flux under a pressure of 20 bar. Excellent ion selectivity was achieved by controlling the duration of H2 plasma treatment. The selectivity of KCl over NaCl was 2.61, the selectivity of KCl over MgCl2 was 15.62, and the selectivity of NaCl over MgCl2 was 5.98.

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are present in major Gram-negative pathogens and environmental species, and pose great health risks because of their ability to hydrolyze the β-lactam rings of antibiotics such as carbapenems. PNGM-1 was the first reported case of a subclass B3 MBL protein that was identified from a metagenomic library from deep-sea sediments that predate the antibiotic era. In this study, PNGM-1 was overexpressed, purified and crystallized. Crystals of native and selenomethionine-substituted PNGM-1 diffracted to 2.10 and 2.30 Å resolution, respectively. Both the native and the selenomethionine-labelled PNGM-1 crystals belonged to the monoclinic space group P21, with unit-cell parameters a = 122, b = 83, c = 163 Å, β = 110°. Matthews coefficient (V M) calculations suggested the presence of 6–10 molecules in the asymmetric unit, corresponding to a solvent content of ∼31–58%. Structure determination is currently in progress.

Herein, we demonstrate that butein (1) can prevent swelling in a murine lymphedema model by suppressing tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production. Butein derivatives were synthesized and evaluated to identify compounds with in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Among them, 20 μM of compounds 7j, 7m, and 14a showed 50% suppression of TNF-α production in mouse peritoneal macrophages after lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Compound 14a, exhibited the strongest potency with an in vitro IC50 of 14.6 μM and suppressed limb volume by 70% in a murine lymphedema model. The prodrug strategy enabled a six-fold increase in kinetic solubility of compound 1 and five-fold higher levels of active metabolite in the blood for compound 14a via oral administration in the pharmacokinetics study. We suggest that the compound 14a could be developed as a potential therapeutic agent targeting anti-inflammatory activity to alleviate lymphedema progression.

Silk fibroin (SF) has attracted great interest as gate dielectric in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), owing to outstanding characteristics such as high dielectric constant, transparency, flexibility, and solution processability. In this report, we investigated the relationship between the structural properties of SF films and their performance as SF gate dielectrics in OFETs. Solvent vapor treatment with water or methanol altered the structural properties of the SF films, which adopted a β-sheet structure; accordingly, both the surface energy and areal capacitance of the SF films were reduced. Notably, atmospheric water contributed to the increased capacitance of the SF film, especially before the solvent vapor treatment. The growth characteristics of pentacene on the SF films were determined by the surface conditions of the films; in particular, Stranski-Krastanov (layer-plus-island) growth mode with mixed standing-up/lying-down orientation of pentacene on the SF film was observed before solvent vapor treatment, whereas Volmer-Weber mode with standing-up orientation dominated after solvent vapor treatment. Pentacene OFETs based on the untreated SF film exhibited a higher on-current compared with the devices based on the solvent vapor-treated SF film. The hydroscopic characteristics of the untreated SF film enhanced its capacitance, thereby inducing accumulation of hole carriers. The present results show that the structural characteristics of SF films have a marked impact on the electrical properties of OFETs based on SF gate dielectrics. In particular, the water uptake capability of SF is a key factor in the electrical properties of organic electronic devices using SF materials.

컨테이너 터미널의 선박대기율에 관한 정부의 공식적 발표가 없는 상황에서 부산항 컨테이너 터미널의 선박 입항척수는 연 2.9%이상 증가하고 있다. 컨테이너 터미널의 선석 혼잡이 발생하고 있지만 실제 선박대기율 및 평균 대기시간은 측정되지 않고 있어 터미널 운영 정책 결정에 어려움이 예상된다. 본 연구는 항만시설사용실적자료와 터미널운영데이터자료를 통해 컨테이너 터미널의 대기율을 공인된 대기시간으로 산정하고자 한다. 이를 통해 컨테이너터미널의 선박대기율 측정 방식을 제안하고 터미널의 실제 대기율과 대기행렬이론상의 대기율을 비교하여 차이가 어떻게 발생하는지를 밝혀내고자 한다. 분석결과, 부산항 A터미널의 최근 3년간(2014∼2016) 발생한 대기 척수는 총 587척이며, 월평균 16.3척의 대기선박이 발생하는 것으로 나타났으며 대기율은 123.9%를 보이고 있다. 반면, 행렬이론상의 대기율과 실제 터미널의 대기율을 비교하였으며, 점유율 70%일 때 대기행렬이론상 대기율은 31.1%이 도출되었다. 이러한 차이가 나는 이유로는 항만의 특성상 입항선박이 많은 피크요일로 인한 것이라 추정된다. 피크요일 시 대기척수를 조사한 결과, 일요일 197척, 화요일 89척, 수요일 89척의 선박이 대기한 것으로 나타났다.

Purpose To study whether the measurement of hepatic fibrosis on gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging using the coefficient of variation (CV) might be correlated with the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Materials and methods This study included 104 patients with and without CHB, who were divided into 4 groups: control group, CHB without liver cirrhosis (LC; Group I), CHB with LC (Group II), and CHB with LC and HCC (Group III). MR images were analyzed to measure the inhomogeneity of signal intensities calculated using the CV map of the liver parenchyma. Intergroup comparisons of CV values were performed using ANOVA. The diagnostic performance of the CV map and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for diagnosing HCC was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results On the hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced T1-weighted imaging, the mean CV values of the control group and Groups I, II, and III were 3.9 ± 0.99, 3.97 ± 1.09, 5.58 ± 2.05, and 6.80 ± 2.34, respectively (P = 0.000). On ROC analysis of the CV value for predicting HCC, the value of the area under the curve (AUC) on Gd-EOB-DTPA MR imaging was 0.788 (95% CI: 0.697-0.862). The sensitivity and specificity were 84.2% and 63.6%, respectively, at a CV cutoff value >4.75. The value of AUC determined using AFP was 0.766. Conclusion The CV value for hepatic fibrosis on Gd-EOB-DTPA MR imaging may be correlated with the presence of HCC in patients with CHB, and shows comparable diagnostic performance to AFP analysis.