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The deposition of beta-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain precedes the onset of symptoms such as cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD); therefore, the early detection of Aβ accumulation is crucial. We previously reported the applicability of the QPLEXTM Alz plus assay kit for the prescreening of Aβ accumulation. Here, we tested the specific application of the kit in a large cohort of cognitively normal (CN) individuals of varying ages for the early detection of Aβ accumulation. We included a total of 221 CN participants with or without brain Aβ. The QPLEXTM biomarkers were characterized based on age groups (1st–3rd tertile) and across various brain regions with cerebral amyloid deposition. The 3rd tertile group (>65 years) was found to be the most suitable age group for the application of our assay kit. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC, discrimination power) was 0.878 with 69.7% sensitivity and 98.4% specificity in the 3rd tertile group. Additionally, specific correlations between biomarkers and cerebral amyloid deposition in four different brain regions revealed an overall correlation with general amyloid deposition, consistent with previous findings. Furthermore, the combinational panel with plasma Aβ1–42 levels maximized the discrimination efficiency and achieved an AUC of 0.921 with 95.7% sensitivity and 67.3% specificity. Thus, we suggest that the QPLEXTM Alz plus assay is useful for prescreening brain Aβ levels in CN individuals, especially those aged >65 years, to prevent disease progression via the early detection of disease initiation.

Background Desflurane is not recommended during anesthesia induction because of its sympathetic stimulation effect, particularly in patients with myocardial ischemic disease. To date, the hemodynamic response to 1 MAC desflurane inhalation in combination with remifentanil infusion during anesthesia induction has rarely been reported. Methods This investigation was designed to compare hemodynamic responses to 1 MAC desflurane (group D, n = 200) with sevoflurane (group S, n = 200) during anesthesia induction and endotracheal intubation in adult patients undergoing elective spine surgery. Subgroup analysis of the different age subgroups was also performed. With continuous infusion of remifentanil 0.1 μg/kg/min, anesthesia was induced with propofol bolus, and endotracheal intubation was performed after muscle relaxation. Heart rate (HR) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) were measured every minute for 5 min after anesthesia induction (T1-5) and after endotracheal intubation (T6-10). Results HR was significantly higher in group D (n = 182) than in group S (n = 173) at T3-10 except at T6 (1 min after intubation) (all P P Conclusion Inhalation of 1 MAC desflurane during anesthesia induction with propofol bolus and remifentanil continuous infusion and during endotracheal intubation was more likely to induce elevations in HR more likely than 1 MAC sevoflurane, especially in younger patients. Trial registration This study was registered in the Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS, http://cris.nih.go.kr) of the Republic of Korea on Feb 12, 2016 (Registration No. KCT 0,001,813).

It is important to apply the Length types of Processed Rebar Simplification (LPRS) to rebar work for improving work efficiency and reducing labor in construction fields. However, when used excessively, LPRS can also bring about adverse results, as the increase in the amount of wasted rebars can scale with the cutting process, leading to an increase in material cost. Therefore, it is crucial to find a proper level of simplification for considering labor and material cost together. In this study, various simplification tests were conducted based on BIM software to quantitatively validate the variation of the amount of rebar and LPRS according to the simplification. These tests were conducted for each member and the shape of the building, using the data of five projects, by dividing the unit of simplified rebar length into three cases. The research analysis showed that simplifying the unit of rebar lengths to 500 mm and 1000 mm increased the amounts of materials at a greater rate, making them undesirable. Further, it was recognized that irregular slabs, compared to regular slabs, more efficiently reduced the number of LPRS when adopting simplification methods. This study is expected to contribute to preventing material costs from increasing excessively by quantitatively analyzing the impact level of simplification on the amount of rebar materials and LPRS.

In accordance with the paradigm of the 4th and Industrial Revolution, the introduction of building information modeling is expected in all areas related to railroad construction, operation and management, along with the establishment of a metaverse platform that combines big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. The performance of tasks related to the safety and maintenance of railway facilities is aided by the use of digital systems free from physical and temporal constraints. Three-dimensional (3D) modeling and other 4th industrial technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), are increasingly implemented in many types of infrastructure. With respect to railroads, the use of these methods to monitor tunnel spaces has been hindered by the limitations of modeling with UAV and inadequate Global Positioning System reception. Here, we conducted the domestic application of 4th industrial technologies to a railway tunnel; we addressed these problems using a BLK360, a fixed LiDAR device that combines two-dimensional panoramic images and a 3D point cloud method. The outcomes of this research will benefit railway operation managers by providing a platform combining a two-dimensional panoramic virtual reality (VR) image and a 3D model developed from a 3D scan framework for the maintenance of existing railway facilities (tunnels). Our approach was optimized for the maintenance and operational management of railroad facilities, as demonstrated for tunnels, because it continuously acquires time-series data that is appropriate for the maintenance of the corresponding space. In the future, this approach can be used for test tracks and operational lines.

Background : The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) infections is rapidly increasing and represents a serious public threat. In 2020, a total of 16,883 carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales strains were collected; among these isolates, 21 strains were repeatedly isolated in a local tertiary care hospital. Methods : Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the broth microdilution method. All 21 strains of CRKP were analyzed by PFGE after XbaI digestion. The 21 CRKP strains were sequenced on the Illumina Miseq and Oxford Nanopore GridION platforms. Results : These 21 CRKP isolates showed an identical antimicrobial resistance profile, such as resistance to ampicillin, carbapenems, cephems, chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolone, macrolides and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Based on whole-genome analysis, these 21 CRKP isolates shared a common genetic structure (ISAba125-IS630-blaNDM-1-bleMBL) and harbored additional resistance determinants (blaOXA-1, blaCTX-M-15, blaSHV-11, blaSHV-67, aac(6')-Ib-cr, qnrS1, OqxA, OqxB, catB3, mph(A), sul1, and dfrA12) and mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of gyrA (S83I) and parC (S80I). These isolates belonged to the ST147 and KL64 capsular types, which were carried on IncFIB replicon plasmids. The 21 CRKP strains collected from one hospital were divided into five PFGE patterns, and they were closely related with a minimum similarity value of 95.2%. These isolates were found to be highly related based on the presence of between 2 and 27 SNPs. Conclusions : These findings indicate that NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae ST147 may have been introduced via a common source, implying nosocomial transmission; furthermore, continuous monitoring is necessary to prevent endemic transmission.

BackgroundMild behavioral impairment (MBI) is a neurobehavioral syndrome characterized by later life emergence of sustained neuropsychiatric symptoms, as an at-risk state for dementia. However, the associations between MBI and a risk of progression to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its neuroanatomical correlates in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are still unclear.MethodA total 1,184 older adults with amnestic MCI was followed for a mean of 3.1 ± 2.0 years. MBI was approximated using a transformation algorithm for the Neuropsychiatric Inventory at baseline. A two-step cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups of individuals with amnestic MCI based on profiles of 5 MBI domain symptoms (decreased motivation, affective dysregulation, impulse dyscontrol, social inappropriateness, abnormal perception/thought content). A Cox regression analysis was applied to investigate differences in the risk of progression to AD between subgroups. A subset of participants (n = 202) underwent 3D T1-weighted MRI scans at baseline and cortical thickness was compared between the subgroups of amnestic MCI patients.ResultThe cluster analysis classified the patients into 3 groups: (1) patients without any MBI domain symptoms (47.4%, asymptomatic group); (2) those with only affective dysregulation (29.4%, affective dysregulation group); (3) those with multiple MBI domain symptoms, particularly affective dysregulation, decreased motivation and impulse dyscontrol (23.2%, complex group). Compared to the asymptomatic group, the complex group was associated with a higher risk of progression to AD (hazard ratio = 2.541 [1.904–3.392], p p = 0.232). In cortical thickness analysis, the complex group revealed cortical thinning bilaterally in the inferior parietal, lateral occipital, lateral superior temporal, and frontopolar regions compared with the affective dysregulation group.ConclusionThe multiple co-occuring MBI domains in individuals with amnestic MCI are associated with a higher risk of progression to AD and cortical thinning in temporal, parietal and frontal areas. These results suggest that evaluation of MBI could be useful for risk stratification for AD and appropriate intervention in MCI individuals.

This study aimed to plan an alternative for community street lighting in an older community by simulating illuminance improvements. We applied the natural surveillance principle of crime prevention through environmental design to an older community in Busan Metropolitan City in South Korea. We conducted four field investigations to identify lighting sources and measure their illuminance and heights. Using the Relux Pro program, the gaps in lighting were identified and alternative plans for improvement for night lighting were simulated. Narrow alleys and houses were sources of light disruption and lighting blind spots. We determined the location and type of lighting within the community and considered the continuity necessary to meet natural surveillance standards in alternative settings. We considered visibility, facial recognition, the risk of traffic accidents, and other variables (i.e., lamp type). Our results confirmed that the community’s average horizontal illuminance met the requirement of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards and the minimal illuminance criterion of the International Commission on Illumination in all community lighting spaces—which was improved by about 2.2% to 85.7% compared to the previous situation. The results of this study are meaningful in that they present an effective planning support tool using simulation methods to establish community street lighting alternatives and determine their suitability.

With development of advanced technologies, the field of beauty is under strong pressure to try new approaches in line with the highly increasing interest in advance 3D printing based on 3D graphic design data. An increasing number of researches have been conducted to develop beauty and art design object using computer design programs. As part of this, three works were presented in this paper in which body painting designs and object were applied to mannequins by producing them with help of 3D printing techniques based on the motive of fractal that started from nature. This study examined how the generation principle of fractal geometry appears in the form of nature. The generation principle of fractal geometry models nature, fibonacci, and crystalline pattern by non-linearity, irregularity, and randomness around the iterative rule of self similarity. The present study is thought to be meaningful in that it suggests the possibility and practical value of a design method that can be technically and easily accessible to those majoring in beauty by means of its utility as a low-end 3D printing object.

Neural underpinnings of Parkinson’s Disease psychosis (PDP) remain unclear to this day with relatively few studies and reviews available. Using a systematic review approach, here we aimed to qualitatively synthesize evidence from studies investigating PD psychosis-specific alterations in brain structure, function or chemistry using different neuroimaging modalities. PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases were searched for fMRI, rsfMRI, DTI, PET, and SPECT studies comparing PDP patients with PD patients without psychosis (PDnP). We report findings from 18 studies (291 PDP patients, mean age ± SD = 68.65 ± 3.76 years; 48.5% males; 433 PDnP patients, mean age ± SD = 66.97 ± 3.80 years; 52% males). Qualitative synthesis revealed widespread patterns of altered brain function across task-based and resting-state fMRI studies in PDP compared to PDnP patients. Similarly, white matter abnormalities were reported in parietal, temporal, and occipital regions. Hypometabolism and reduced dopamine transporter binding were also reported whole brain and in subcortical areas. This suggests extensive alterations affecting regions involved in high order visual processing and attentional networks.