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본 연구는 알베르토 카이로의 정보시각화 모델을 이용하여 인포그래픽의 동향을 연구하였다. 우선 OECD 가입한 국가를 대상으로 코로나19의 확진자 수가 많은 곳의 인포그래픽을 수집하였다. 원활한 분석을 위해 다루고 있는 정보가 동일한 샘플을 수집하였고, 대한민국의 인포그래픽과 비교하여 분석하였다. 수집된 각국의 인포그래픽에서는 공통적으로 그래픽 내용의 깊이가 얕고 심플한 성향이 두드러지는 특징이 발견되었으며, 이는 질병을 예방하거나 대처하기 위한 행동 지침을 담고 있는 인포그래픽의 특수성과도 연결하여 생각할 수 있는 결과였다. 본 연구 결과는 코로나19와 같은 질병뿐만 아니라 재난, 안전 등에 대해 대응하기 위한 행동 지침의 인포그래픽 개발에 대한 기초자료로 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Background and Objectives: acute kidney injury (AKI), formerly called acute renal failure (ARF), is commonly defined as an abrupt decline in renal function, clinically manifesting as a reversible acute increase in nitrogen waste products—measured by blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine levels—over the course of hours to weeks. AKI occurs in about 20% of all hospitalized patients and is more common in the elderly. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of AKI, and to detect and treat early, since it is known that a prolonged period of kidney injury increases cardiovascular complications and the risk of death. Despite advances in modern medicine, there are no consistent treatment strategies for preventing the progression to chronic kidney disease. Through many studies, the safety and efficacy of natural products have been proven, and based on this, the time and cost required for new drug development can be reduced. In addition, research results on natural products are highly anticipated in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In relation to AKI, many papers have reported that many natural products can prevent and treat AKI. Conclusions: in this paper, the results of studies on natural products related to AKI were found and summarized, and the mechanism by which the efficacy of AKI was demonstrated was reviewed. Many natural products show that AKI can be prevented and treated, suggesting that these natural products can help to develop new drugs. In addition, we may be helpful to elucidate additional mechanisms and meta-analysis in future natural product studies.

The objective of this study was to evaluate probiotic effects of two Lactobacillus plantarum strains (GBL16 and 17) isolated from black raspberry. Results revealed that the number of GBL16 was gradually decreased as bile salt concentration was increased from 0.3 to 1%. However, GBL17 did not show any difference when GBL17 was applied to 1% bile salt, and it indicates that GBL17 is more tolerant to bile salt than GBL16. GBL17 exhibited higher heat resistance and adhesion ability to Caco-2 cells than GBL16. Regarding gut microbiome, no significant change in the number of total bacteria in intestines of mice after treatment with GBLs was determined. However, the combination of GBL16 and GBL17 significantly increased the number of total bacteria in intestines of mice after they were orally administered. Therefore, the results suggest that both GBL16 and 17 strains could be one of major probiotics that can improve human gut health.

Ba ckground: Incontinence and muscle loss are important senior health issues. Nevertheless, there are no available domestic or international studies on the association between urinary incontinence and muscle loss. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between muscle loss and urinary incontinence in elderly Korean woman. Me thods: Korean women (1,313) ≥65 years of age whose complete body composition data were collected using dual X-ray absorptiometry were analyzed from the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys. Class I and II losses of the appendicular, truncal, and total muscle mass were defined using adjustments for weight and height. Each participant’s incontinence status was collected using constructed questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression was performed to examine the association between muscle loss and incontinence. Re sults: On the basis of physician-diagnosed incontinence, weight- and height-adjusted muscle loss showed no association with urinary incontinence (weight-adjusted muscle loss: class I adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34 to 1.73; class II aOR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.59 to 3.18; height-adjusted muscle loss: class I aOR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.18 to 1.51; class II aOR, 1.86; 95% CI, 0.22 to 15.79). Similar results were observed for truncal muscle and total muscle mass as well as self-reported urinary incontinence. Co nclusion: Our study found no association between urinary incontinence and appendicular, truncal, and total muscle loss in elderly Korean women.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the mental health of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with that of the general population of Korea.Online surveys were completed by patients registered with the KRPS (Korean Retinitis Pigmentosa Society), an online organization that promotes research on RP and provides advocacy and online and offline support and information for patients with RP. Control population was selected from the fourth round of the KNHANES (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). One hundred eighty-seven patients with RP were matched with the control population using the propensity-score method to optimize comparative analysis.Stress was reported in 51.9% of RP patients and 29.4% of controls (p0.001). Depressive mood of at least 2 weeks' duration in the previous year was reported by 34.8 and 17.1% of patients and controls, respectively (p0.001). Suicidal thoughts were reported by 38.5 and 12.9% of patients and controls, respectively (p0.001), although there was no significant difference in the number of suicide attempts between the groups (2.1 vs. 1.6%, p = 0.703). In multivariate analysis, disability rating was significantly associated with stress (adjusted odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.24 to 0.88).People with RP had poorer mental health than the general population. Further investigations are warranted on the mental health of RP patients, and appropriate welfare services are needed to decrease the impact of mental illness in this population.

Objectives: This study is to investigate life style and weight control based on the body mass index, and tongue diagnosis in adolescent girls. Help controling unnecessary weight and establishing proper understanding of desirable body images and healthy life for adolescents are expected. Methods: The questionnaire surveys and physical examinations were conducted to examine the life style, weight-control behaviors, and the health status of 173 adolescent girls in Jeonju. Among the students surveyed, 162 answered seriously and were accepted as subjects for the study. Results: 1. The mean height was 160.4 cm and weight was 54.21 kg. The mean BMI of the girls was 21.1 kg/m2, which is normal. The percentages of the normal weight group (71.6%), overweight group (16.7%), obesity group (9.9%), underweight group (1.9%) were shown respectively. 2. The oriental medicine doctor examined the tongue diagnosis. The thin and white tongue fur was the most common (20.7%). This diagnosis showed no statistical significance to BMI. 3. The ideal height for the girls was 165 cm, and the ideal weight was 49 kg. 4. A considerable number of girls (50.6%) thought that a thin body figure was the most beautiful body shape for the women. 5. Even though the percentages of an actual overweight or obese group were 26.6%, 42.0% of the girls thought that they were plump. 6. 94.83% of the normal weight group concerned about the weight regulation. 7. Many girls were dissatisfied with their own body shape, and 86.9% of girls regarded being in a shape was important. 70.69% of the normal weight group answered that they were under stress of their body shapes. Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that there are serious misconceptions on body shapes of the adolescent girls, and mostly, unnecessary and inadequate weight control behaviors were done. Therefore, establishing adequately education on their desirable body images and healthy life is needed for the adolescent girls. In this study, there is no significant relationship between BMI and tongue diagnosis. For the number of subjects is not enough, further study on the relationship between the two is expected.

Epitaxial ZnO/Mg0.1Zn0.9O (MZO) nano-scale multilayer thin films were prepared on Al2O3 (0001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The ZnO/MZO multilayer thin films were grown by stacking alternate layers of ZnO and Mg0.1Zn0.9O with a laser fluence, repetition rate, substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure of 3 J/cm2, 5 Hz, 600 °C and 3.8 × 10− 7 Pa, respectively. The thickness of an individual ZnO layer was maintained at 3 nm, whereas that of the MZO layers was varied from 3 nm to 15 nm. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed alternating layers of bright and dark contrast, indicating the formation of a ZnO/MZO multilayer. X-ray diffraction results showed that multilayer thin films were epitaxially grown as a hexagonal wurzite phase with orientation relationship of ( 0001 ) [ 10 1 ¯ 1 ] multilayer | | ( 0001 ) [ 10 1 ¯ 1 ] substrate . The 2θ value of the (0002) peak of the ZnO/MZO multilayer thin films increased from 34.30° to 34.71°, indicating that Mg is replaced with Zn in the hexagonal lattice in the MZO of ZnO/MZO multilayer. UV–visible spectroscopy showed a systematic increase in the band gap of the ZnO/MZO multilayer thin films from 3.34 eV to 3.70 eV with increasing MZO layer thickness, which suggests that the band gap energy of a ZnO/MZO multilayer thin film can be controlled by varying the thickness of each constituent layer.

ZnO thin films that consist of elongated nano-prisms and nano-rods were successfully grown on 100 nm-thick ZnO seeded glass substrates by hydrothermal synthesis at 60 °C and pH 10.3 in an aqueous solution containing Zn(NO 3 )·6H 2 O, Al(NO 3 ) 3 ·9H 2 O, Na 3 -citrate and NH 4 OH. The effect of Al(NO 3 )·6H 2 O and Na 3 -citrate, as surfactant chemicals, on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction results showed that all the deposited films were grown as a polycrystalline wurtzite hexagonal phase with a c -axis preferred, out-of-plane orientation and without unwanted second phase. ZnO thin films deposited without any surfactant chemicals or deposited only with Al(NO 3 )·6H 2 O consist of elongated needle shaped nano-rods with a very rough surface morphology. On the other hand, ZnO thin films prepared using Na 3 -citrate as a surfactant chemical consist of hexagonal nano-prisms with a very smooth surface morphology. The thickness of the ZnO thin films with the very smooth surface morphology was increased remarkably using both Na 3 -citrate and Al(NO 3 )·6H 2 O as surfactant chemicals, in which ZnO thin films consisted of elongated hexagonal nano-prisms. These results show that relatively thick ZnO thin films with a good surface morphology can be grown easily by the appropriate use of surface modifying chemicals, such as Na 3 -citrate and Al(NO 3 )·6H 2 O. The photoluminescence results showed strong defect-related emission peak centered near 545 nm in the rough surfaced ZnO thin film grown without any surfactant chemicals and strong band-edge peak centered near 368 nm in the smooth surfaced ZnO thin film grown using both Na 3 -citrate and Al(NO 3 )·6H 2 O as the surfactant chemicals.

e1, e2, e3 = reference orthogonal unit vectors in the undeformed configuration e11, e12, e13 = strain vectors at the reference point e 1 , e 2 , e 3 = reference orthogonal unit vectors in the deformed configuration i1, i2, i3 = fixed orthogonal unit vectors 1, 2, 3 = strain curvature vectors in the undeformed configuration q = generalized nodal displacement vector T x1 = transformation matrix between a deformed-beam axis and a reference beam axis te x1 = transformation matrix between an undeformedbeam axis and a deformed-beam axis u, v, w = elastic displacements in the x, y, and z directions, respectively w1, w2, w3 = warping displacement = specific heat ratio

In this study, the inter-metal dielectric material of FSG was changed by low-k material in foundry-compatible technology (FCT) device process based on fluorinated silicate glass (FSG). Black diamond (BD) was used as a low-k material with a dielectric constant of 2.95 for optimization and yield-improvement of the low-k based device process. For yield-improvement in low-k based device process, some problems such as photoresist (PR) poisoning, damage of low-k in etch/ash/cleaning process, and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) delamination must be solved. The PR poisoning was not observed in BD based device. The pressure in CMP process decreased to 2.8 psi to remove the CMP delamination for Cu-CMP and USG-CMP. ashing process was selected instead of ashing process due to the lowest condition of low-k damage. NE14 cleaning after ashing process lot the removal of organic residues in vias and trenches was employed for wet process instead of dilute HF (DHF) process. The similar-state of SRAM yield was obtained in Cu/low-k process compared with the conventional FCT device by the optimization of these process conditions.

Image guided surgery using medical robots is becoming popular these days. For image guided surgery, a tracking system is required to provide 6DOF information of patient coordinate, surgical instruments and medical robots used in surgery. To provide 6DOF information, a marker has to be attached to the target. However, it is hard to use many markers all together because the markers will take too much space in the surgical area. The tracking system proposed in this study utilizes down sized markers compared to traditional markers by using micro-engraved data- coded pattern with a lens instead of using geometrically specified marker spheres as a tracking target. A tracking system is developed that has a measurement area of 1m to 2.5m from the tracking system. Experiment has been done for surgical navigation using the proposed tracking system and a medical robot.

Image-guided surgery using medical robots supports surgeons by providing critical real-time feedback information, such as surgical instrument tracking, patient-specific models, and the use of surgery robots. An image-guided surgery system based on afocal optics was developed to overcome the problems associated with conventional optical tracking systems. An optical tracking system was developed that utilizes afocal optics. Instead of using geometrically specified marker spheres as tracking targets, the proposed system uses a marker with a lens and a micro-engraved data-coded pattern. A position and orientation-tracking algorithm was developed to utilize the observed afocal images of the marker patterns. The marker used in this tracking system can be manufactured in a smaller size than traditional optical tracker markers, and the accuracy of the proposed tracking system has significant potential for improvement due to its focused and highly magnified image. The system was tested in vitro on an optical bench with position and orientation measurement experiments using a commercial optical tracker, Polaris Vicra (NDI Corp.) for comparison. The afocal optical system provided accuracy in position and orientation that was equal or better than a commercial optical tracker system, and provided a high degree of consistency during in vitro testing. The position error was 219 $$\upmu $$ m, and the orientation error was 0.093 $$^{\circ }$$ . An afocal optical tracker is feasible and potentially advantageous for surgical navigation, as it is expected to have fewer occlusions and provide greater efficiency for coordinate matching and tracking of patient-specific models, surgical instruments, and surgery robots. This promising new system requires in vivo testing.

The optical tracker is the equipment for real-time 3D position and pose measurement of marker using camera. The general optical tracker uses the stereo camera and rigid body marker. When using in surgical application, the rigid body marker is attached to the surgical instrument or patient. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the size of attached marker for the convenience of surgeon. But if the size of the attached marker reduces, the size shown in the camera image also reduces. Then the accuracy of calculated coordinates decreases. To solve this problem, a novel coordinate tracking method is proposed which uses the bokeh phenomenon. The afocal system which uses this method is used with a marker which has a fisheye lens in front, behind it a 10 mm× 10 mm glass pattern with 30 μm× 30 μm datamatrices printed on. If the camera lens is out of focused, these small datamartices are magnified and shown in the image took by the camera. The tracking method calculates the geometrical relation of the camera and the marker using the information of the patterns. Then the position and pose of the marker are calculated using the result of geometrical relations. Because the patterns are magnified, the accuracy of measurement is high. Also for the size of glass pattern is small, the total size of the marker also can be reduced. The result of experiments shows that the proposed algorithm is usable in image based surgical navigation.

Objective: This study aims to assess the current status of shared decision-making on instituting postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT). Methods: Two cross-sectional nationwide surveys of postmenopausal women and primary care physicians in the Republic of Korea were conducted in 2012 via face-to-face interviews. A total of 685 women (aged 50-69 y) who with natural menopause and 250 primary care physicians were included. Results: Only 56.8% of primary care physicians reported that they explain the benefits and risks of HT and leave the decision to postmenopausal women. The others usually recommended using or not using HT. Of those postmenopausal women who had discussed such therapy with physicians (147 of 685; 21.5%), not all were aware of breast cancer or cardiovascular risks (only 65.3% and 38.8% were informed, respectively). Although most physicians perceived HT as beneficial for menopausal symptom control (99.6%) and acknowledged the related risk of breast cancer (84.8%), nearly half had the impression that HT was preventive of cardiovascular diseases. The interviewed women were less informed of the benefits and risks of HT than were the physician respondents. The awareness levels of the treated and untreated women did not differ. Conclusions: Participation of postmenopausal women in deciding whether to use HT is not prevalent. Physicianwoman information transfer is suboptimal, and treatment decisions often are not based on the best available evidence. The current status of shared decision-making in this setting is clearly in need of improvement.

요 약 본 연구는 통합물류정보시스템(물류정보시스템의 기능별 활용 수준, 물류활동 연계, 물류조직구 조, 물류전략 유형)이 물류성과에 미치는 영향 요인에 대해 실증적으로 조사하였다. 이를 위하여 조사한 결과 다음과 같은 시사점을 얻을 수 있었다 기업적인 측면에서 물류정보시스템을 운영은 하고 있으나 기능별 활용 수준이 낮고 각 시 스템을 독립적으로 운영하고 있으며 사내와 고객 그리고 공급자 연계가 잘 이루어지지 못 하고 있는 실점이다. 그리고 대부분의 기업들은 시스템 기기들이 도입 초기 단계 또는 기능 별 정착 단계에 있다. 장기적인 관점에서 물류합리화를 위해 기업경쟁력을 강화시키기 위해 서는 물류 각 기능별로 독립적으로 구축된 시스템보다는 전사적인 차원에서 기능간 연계가 이루어지는 통합적인 물류정보시스템이 구축되어야 하고 이러한 통합적 관점에서 또한 공급 사슬관리가 이루어져야 한다. 이를 통하여 물류운영의 효과성과 효율성을 크게 개선할 수 있고 구매비용, 수송비용, 재고 및 창고 관리 비용간의 상층관계를 원활하게 해결할 수 있 다. 그리고 공급사슐 네트워크상의 파트너들과의 긴밀한 상호협조를 통하여 최종 고객에게 제공하는 서비스를 제고시킬 수 있으며 공급사슬상의 물류비용을 절감시킬 수 있다.

This study aimed to examine the association of educational level with metabolic syndrome (MS) and its risk factors by gender in South Korea. A total of 6178 participants aged 20 years or older from The Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in this study. A generalized linear model and adjusted proportion were used to identify educational disparities in MS, its components, and its risk factors (smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, obesity, and stress). In women, a clearly inverse association between education level and MS were observed with significant trend, and the decreasing trends of all risk factors across education quartiles were in line with the inverse association. However, the association between education level and MS was not observed with a significant trend among men. An opposite trend of risk factors across education levels was shown in men, with an increasing trend for obesity and decreasing trends for smoking and high-risk alcohol consumption. These findings demonstrate that obesity can explain gender differences in the association between education level and MS in South Korea.

We report the measurement of magnetoresistance in a c -axis-oriented MgB 2 thin film while varying the magnetic field and temperature. The scaling functions for the critical fluctuations were employed to analyze the excess conductance of these thin films. The fluctuating magnetoresistance, R ( T , H ), followed the 3D scaling suggested by Ullah and Dorsey.

We report on a novel refractive variable optical attenuator with a wedge-shaped silicon optical leaker, in which a part of the light signal is successively transmitted and refracted outside the acceptance angle of the output fiber. This device can be simply fabricated using a deep reactive ion etching and does not require sidewall metallization. We have theoretically estimated its optical characteristics and experimentally showed its high performances, such as low insertion loss of 0.6 dB and wide attenuation range of 43 dB. The fabricated device also showed a high return loss of over 39 dB even in an air-ambient condition and its polarization-dependent loss was smaller than 10% of the attenuation level.

There is little information on how the change in serum aminotransferase affects mortality. We investigated the association between changes in serum aminotransferase levels and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and liver disease.Three percent of men from the Korean National Health Insurance database were sampled randomly at the end of 2002. After excluding patients with cancer, CVD, CVD risk factors, or liver disease, those who participated in 2 consecutive rounds of the national health screening examination were included (n = 68,431). The primary outcome was CVD mortality. Secondary outcomes were liver disease mortality and all-cause mortality. Change in metabolic profiles was analyzed based on changes in liver enzyme levels. Elevated levels of serum aminotransferase were associated with CVD, liver disease, and all-cause mortality. Men who had sustained elevation of serum aminotransferase during 2 subsequent liver enzyme tests showed a significantly higher risk of CVD mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-3.56, 2.29; 1.27-4.12) than the sustained normal group. In contrast, the normalization group (aHR 1.52, 95% CI 0.82-2.81 for aspartate aminotransferase [AST]; aHR 1.35, 95% CI 0.70-2.61 for alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) and the new elevation group (aHR 1.27, 0.66-2.44 for AST; aHR 0.99, 95% CI 0.49-2.20 for ALT) were not different from the sustained normal group in CVD mortality.Individuals with serum aminotransferase elevation, particularly when sustained, are at higher risk of mortality, and should receive appropriate medical attention.

OBJECTIVE To perform meta-analyses using observational studies to assess the association between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of colorectal cancer. METHODS A systematic search of relevant studies published through February 2012 was carried out using the Medline (PubMed), Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. We reviewed the observational studies that were associated with our subject and carried out a meta-analysis. RESULTS Out of 324 screened articles, six observational studies were included in the final analyses. According to this meta-analysis, the use of SSRIs was not associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer in pooled analyses (adjusted odds ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.79-1.01). This finding was consistently observed in subgroup analyses of study area, location of colorectal cancer, duration of SSRI use, study quality, adjustment for NSAID use, and the prevalence of overweight. CONCLUSION Our research shows that the use of SSRIs does not increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between SSRIs and colorectal cancer.

Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the association between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of fracture. We identified relevant studies by searching three electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library) from their inception to October 20, 2010. Two evaluators independently extracted data. Because of heterogeneity, we used random-effects meta-analysis to obtain pooled estimates of effect. We identified 12 studies: seven case-control studies and five cohort studies. A meta-analysis of these 12 observational studies showed that the overall risk of fracture was higher among people using SSRIs (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51–1.90, I2 = 89.9%). Subgroup analysis by adjusted number of key risk factors for osteoporotic fracture showed a greater increased fracture risk in those adjusted for fewer than four variables (adjusted OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.57–2.13, I2 = 88.0%) than those adjusted for four or more variables (adjusted OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.27–1.49, I2 = 46.1%). The pooled ORs anatomical site of fracture in the hip/femur, spine, and wrist/forearm were 2.06 (95% CI 1.84–2.30, I2 = 62.3%), 1.34 (95% CI 1.13–1.59, I2 = 48.5%), and 1.51 (95% CI 1.26–1.82, I2 = 76.6%), respectively. Subgroup analysis by exposure duration revealed that the strength of the association decreased with a longer window of SSRI administration before the index date. The risk of fracture was greater within 6 weeks before the index date (adjusted OR = 3.83, 95% CI 1.96–7.49, I2 = 41.5%) than 6 weeks or more (adjusted OR = 1.60, 95% CI 0.93–2.76, I2 = 63.1%). Fracture risk associated with SSRI use may have a significant clinical impact. Clinicians should carefully consider bone mineral density screening before prescribing SSRIs and proper management for high-risk populations. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

We have investigated electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage influence on the carrier dynamics and the reliability characteristics by using current-voltage (I–V), capacitance-voltage-temperature (C-V-T), and electroluminescence (EL) data. Measurements show that the ESD-damaged LED yields on increase in the generation/recombination current and ideality factor more than those of the normal LED. It means that the generation of the 2nd defect concentration occurs as a result of electrostatic discharge damage. The capacitance accumulation at deep-level, around 2 V was found out the ESD-damaged LED rather than the normal LED. In addition, the shallow-level ionization is more dominant for the normal LED without ESD, while the deep-level ionization is more dominant for the ESD-damaged LED. These results mean that the ESD failure mechanisms described in terms of shallow level/deep level carrier dynamics, generation of 2nd deep level defects, and non-radiative/radiative recombination.

We report here a case of acute hepatitis A, which was complicated by Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). A 32-year old male admitted to our hospital with the symptoms of acute hepatitis and was diagnosed to have acute hepatitis A with positive IgM anti hepatitis A virus antibody. On 9th day after the onset of jaundice, acute progressive, ascending, symmetric motor paralysis were developed and eventually respiratory failure ensued. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed albumino-cytologic dissociation and nerve conduction velocity test suggested a polyradiculopathy. He was diagnosed to have GBS and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and required a ventilatory support. After 90 hospital days, he recovered in ambulatory condition with the aid of crutches. The clinical course, prognosis and the outcome of neuropathic symptoms of GBS following acute hepatitis A were relatively poor in our case.

One of major research issues associated with 3D range acquisition is the creation of sensor systems with various functionalities and small size. A variety of machine vision techniques have been developed for the determination of 3D scene geometric information from 2D images. As one of active sensors, structured lighting method has been widely used because of its robustness on the illumination noise and its extractability of feature information of interest. As one of passive sensors, stereo vision does also due to its simple configuration and easy construction. In this work, we propose a novel visual sensor system for 3D range acquisition, using active technique and passive one simultaneously. The proposed sensor system includes inherently two types of sensors, an active trinocular vision and a passive stereo vision. In the active vision part of this sensor, the structured lighting method using multi-lasers is basically utilized. In its stereo vision part, a general passive stereo is constructed. Since each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages on the measurements of various objects, we propose sensor fusion algorithms for acquiring more reliable range information from them. To see how the proposed sensing system can be applied to real applications, we mount it on a mobile robot, and a series of experimental tests is performed for a variety of configurations of robot and environment. The sensing results are discussed in detail.

Two types of photo-induced gratings, birefringence and surface relief gratings, were formed on an azo polymer film when two orthogonal circularly polarized writing beams irradiated the film. All the diffracted beams from the gratings were measured during irradiation and the surface relief height inscribed on the film was measured by using atomic force microscope (AFM) after the irradiation. The transmitted beam intensities were calculated using a Jones matrix for two gratings. The phase differences for the two gratings were separately determined by fitting the experimental results to the theory. Next, the changes of the phase differences of two gratings were measured in-situ using an exact equations. The results from this method agreed with previous one. The phase difference between two gratings was measured. The phase difference between two gratings converged on about 45 degrees in our case. Diffraction efficiency measurement and analysis revealed that the two gratings were independent of each other and that the mechanisms for the two gratings were different.

Adipose tissue, where various metabolic hormones are secreted, plays a role in metabolizing different substances including androgen. Within fat tissue, enzymes such as aromatase and aldo-keto reductase 1C are responsible for metabolizing testosterone into estrogen and 5-dihydrotestosterone into inactive metabolites. Adipose tissue can also affect the secretion of gonadotropin, which influences the formation of androgen in the testes. At the same time, androgen has an impact on the distribution and proliferation of adipose tissue. The adrenoreceptors for catecholamines, which have been proven to play an essential role in controlling lipolysis, function by being up-regulated by androgens. Furthermore, androgens regulate the activity of lipoprotein lipase, a key enzyme involved in intracellular esterification of adipose tissue.

Background Epidemiologic studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the association between the use of antidepressants and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) risk. We performed a meta-analysis to systematically assess the association between antidepressants and type 2 DM risk. Methods We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (through Dec 31, 2011), including references of qualifying articles. Studies concerning the use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), or other antidepressants and the associated risk of diabetes mellitus were included. Results Out of 2,934 screened articles, 3 case-control studies, 9 cohort studies, and no clinical trials were included in the final analyses. When all studies were pooled, use of antidepressants was significantly associated with an increased risk of DM in a random effect model (relative risk [RR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29 to 1.71). In subgroup analyses, the risk of DM increased among both SSRI users (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.58) and TCA users (RR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.96). The subgroup analyses were consistent with overall results regardless of study type, information source, country, duration of medication, or study quality. The subgroup results considering body weight, depression severity, and physical activity also showed a positive association (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.28). A publication bias was observed in the selected studies (Egger's test, P for bias = 0.09). Conclusion Our results suggest that the use of antidepressants is associated with an increased risk of DM.

Acute aortic dissection is an uncommon disorder which can have fatal results in the event of treatment delay or misdiagnosis. This case examines a 77-year-old woman presenting with chest pain relieved by nitroglycerin. She was referred to the emergency room with clinical suspicion of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, she was later diagnosed with acute aortic dissection and an emergency operation was performed with successful recovery. Aortic dissection may manifest in various ways depending on the site involved and may mimic other disorders such as ACS or pulmonary embolism. Therefore, clinicians must always be aware of aortic dissection and its different clinical manifestations must be understood.

Cu/low-k dielectrics are required to reduce resistance-capacitance (RC) delay and parasitic capacitance at the back-end-of-line (BEOL) interconnection. Integration of Cu/low-k dielectrics (black diamond) for BEOL interconnection in 0.13μm technology has gained wide acceptance in the microelectronics industry in recent years. In this article, the authors discuss the process-integration issues of 0.13μm Cu/low-k dual-damascene integration for static random access memory (SRAM) device yield. The same scheme of 0.13μm Cu/fluorinated silicate glass–based device was used for the full process of making a low-k based device. Black diamond was used as a low-k material with a dielectric constant of 2.95. To reduce the damage of low-k and improve the yield of a low-k based device, H2O ashing, organic cleaning, and reduced down pressure in chemical-mechanical planarization were selected for the study. Specifically, the cleaning process after the ashing process was very effective for the removal of organic residues fr...