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BACKGROUND: Substance P (SP) is a neuropeptide that functions as a neuromodulator. It is released mainly in the brain stem and in nerve endings. AIMS: The present study aimed to provide fundamental data that may be applied to the assessment of pain in dogs by evaluating their serum SP concentrations. METHODS: Two groups of dogs were designated as pain groups that included 10 dogs with medial patella luxation (MPL) and 10 dogs with fractures, respectively, and 20 healthy dogs were enrolled as the control group. RESULTS: The SP concentrations in the serum of the pain groups reached 485.5 ± 250.1 pg/ml that was significantly higher than those of the control group, which reached 116.4 ± 38.5 pg/ml. In particular, serum SP concentrations in dogs with fractures (663.3 ± 225.3 pg/ml) were significantly higher compared to those of dogs with MPL (307.8 ± 105.3 pg/ml), indicating that serum SP levels increased when the dogs experienced greater pain. CONCLUSION: These findings propose the possibility that SP might be a useful biomarker for pain assessment in dogs. The present study may provide fundamental data that can aid in future pain management in dogs.

The objective of this particular study was to recover valuable metals from waste plasma display panels using high energy ball milling with subsequent acid dissolution. Dissolution of milled (PDP) powder was studied in HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4acidic solutions. The effects of dissolution acid, temperature, time, and PDP scrap powder to acid ratio on the leaching process were investigated and the most favorable conditions were found: (1) valuable metals (In, Ag, Mg) were recovered from PDP powder in a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl:H2O = 50:50); (2) the optimal dissolution temperature and time for the valuable metals were found to be 60°C and 30 min, respectively; (3) the ideal PDP scrap powder to acid solution ratio was found to be 1:10. The proposed method was applied to the recovery of magnesium, silver, and indium with satisfactory results.

In this paper, “Foundry Platform” for coming new HPC/IoT era is introduced. Key features for the platform technology are (1) Easy migration with performance improvement, (2) Various special devices offering to serve different design purposes, such as ultra-low Vdd operation, extreme low leakage, RF and eNVM. Our platform technology can provide the best solution for a variety of products to enhance an overall chip performance.

Herein we describe a case of granular cell type trichoblastoma in a dog. A nine-year-old, intact male Scottish terrier presented with a solitary, exophytic and non-ulcerated nodule on the shoulder. Histopathologically, the nodule showed a ribbon-like structure, which was composed of branching cords of epithelial cells surrounded by fibrous stroma. In addition, islands of large clear cells were also noted. The clear cells showed eccentric nuclei and abundant cytoplasmic vacuoles, which were strongly positive for periodic acid-Schiff staining. Cytoplasmic immunostaining for cytokeratin (CK) 14 and nuclear immunostaining for p63 were observed in the neoplastic cells. In contrast, CK18 staining was scant. Furthermore, the hair bulge stem cell marker CK15 showed strong cytoplasmic staining. Based on these histopathological and immunohistochemical findings, the tumour was diag

Using CAPTURE, DEPOSIT and RICODE computer codes, electron-capture and electron-loss cross sections are calculated for Uq+ ions, 1 ⩽ q ⩽ 92, colliding with H2, He, N2, Ne and Ar gaseous targets in the ion energy range of E = 1 keV/u–10 GeV/u. The calculated cross sections are compared with available experimental data and other calculations. The present data are fitted by the 7-order polynomials and the corresponding fitting parameters are given.

The thin, flexible, flat belt system is frequently employed for power transmission, conveyor systems, and various manufacturing process equipments, such as printers, elevators, and automated teller machines. In general, some critical problems can happen during operation, since a thin flexible belt on rollers can easily skew. This is especially serious for high-speed belt operations. In this skewed situation, due to possible relative roller misalignment, roller deflection, and/or belt non-uniformity itself, a thin flexible belt can move along the perpendicular direction to the travelling direction. In this investigation, an efficient analysis method for simulating skewing phenomena of thin flexible belt systems is presented using the complete integration of large deformable finite element methods and multibody dynamics. A 4-node shell element is used to describe a thin flexible belt and two rigid cylindrical bodies describe the roller. Each cylindrical body is fixed with a pin joint and the positions of the rollers are adjusted to impose a tension to thebelt. For the interactions between the belt and the rollers, an efficient contact search algorithm based on a compliant contact force model is presented in this study. The contact search algorithm is composed of a pre-search and a detailed search to identify points of contact between the belt and the rollers. In the pre-search, a simple algorithm is used to identify lines on the belt that are close enough to the rollers that there might potentially be contact between them. The detailed search is performed by making efficient two-dimensional (2D) comparisons of the cross-section of the roller with a 2D projection of the belt lines identified in the pre-search. Afterwards, the contact force is generated by a compliant force model that uses a stick–slip frictional algorithm. The simulation model is validated against experimental measurement systems for thin flexible belt and rollers. It shows a good agreement with the numerical results. Furthermore CPU time with commercial software ANSYS Workbench is compared to check the performance of the algorithm. The proposed method is more than 10 times faster compared with ANSYS Workbench.

This study was to investigate whether the sexual abstinence period (SAP) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) affects clinical outcomes. We compared the rate of clinical outcomes between 2-7 and ≥8 days of SAP in first fresh embryo transfer after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in groups of young maternal age (YMA

One-electron capture and target-ionization cross-sections in collisions of He+ ions with neutral atoms: He+ + A → He + A+ and He+ + A → He+ + A+ + e, A = H, He(1s2, 1s2s), Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, are calculated and compared with available experimental data over the broad energy range E = 0.1 keV/u–10 MeV/u of He+ ions. The role of the metastable states of neutral helium atoms in such collisions, which are of importance in plasma physics applications, is briefly discussed. The recommended cross-section data for these processes are presented in a closed analytical form (nine-order polynomials) which can be used for a plasma modeling and diagnostics.

Extensive calculations of single, multiple and total electron-loss cross-sections of fast heavy ions in collisions with neutral atoms are performed in the semi-classical approximation using the DEPOSIT code based on the energy deposition model and statistical distributions for ionization probabilities. The results are presented for Ar 1+ , Ar 2+ , Kr 7+ , Xe 3+ , Xe 18+ , Pb 25+ and U q+ ( q = 10, 28, 39, 62) ions colliding with H, N, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and U atoms at energies E > 1 MeV/u and compared with available experimental data and the n -particle classical-trajectory Monte Carlo ( n CTMC) calculations. The results show that the present semi-classical model can be applied for estimation of multiple and total electron-loss cross-sections within accuracies of a factor of 2. From calculated data for the total electron-loss cross-sections σ tot , their dependencies on relative velocity v , the first ionization potential I 1 of the projectile and the target atomic number Z A are found and a semi-empirical formula for σ tot is suggested. The velocity range, where the semi-classical approximation can be used, is discussed.

To store, retrieve, and digest vast quantities of data have been of great interest since the need of scientific and technical data are explosively increased with a remarkable growth of industry. Also, the demands of reliable and accurate data have been greatly increased. A great while ago, advanced countries have archived and distributed data which are evaluated on accuracy and reliability and authorized by government. These activities are strengthening the international competitiveness of industry. For keeping pace with advanced countries, Korean government established National Center for Standard Reference Data (NCSRD) and started to develop and distribute SRD. Especially, in semiconducting industry, physical and chemical property data of plasma are key parameter to developing semiconducting device and semiconductor production technology. With these demands of reliable and accurate data, NCSRD is developing and distributing SRD Database for physical and chemical properties of plasma for strengthen international competitiveness of industry. In this paper, it is introduced that the overall national system of standard reference data and the development and distribution of SRD for physical and chemical property of plasma.

The comparison between calculated and measured dose rates of the cask for 12 spent fuels has been performed and this result confirms the shielding integrity of KN-12 transport cask to transport the spent fuel with safe. In February 2007, the dose rate measurements of KN-12 cask were performed in the spent fuel decontamination pit at the KORI Nuclear Power Plant in Korea. The general specifications of spent fuels being loaded into the cask were a burnup of around 33 GWD/MTU, an initial enrichment of 3.4 wt% and cooling times ranging from 15.8 years to 17 years. The discrete measurements were performed at several points for acquiring axial and radial dose rate profiles along the cask’s surface. All calculated and measured values showed the far less than dose rate requirements of 2000 μSv/h. The C/E ratios for neutron cases were generally about 1.0~2.8 except for the trunnions regions at cask’s side. The C/E ratios in gamma ray cases were about 1.1~2.7 at cask’s side. By this program the shielding integrity ...

This study aimed to investigate the effect of statins for the treatment of depression in individuals with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We used 1-year follow-up data of a 24-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of escitalopram and a naturalistic prospective observational cohort study. Of 446 participants with comorbid depressive disorders and ACS at baseline, 300 participated in a randomised escitalopram trial and the remaining 146 participated in a naturalistic observational study. The participants in the two studies were approached for a 1-year follow-up investigation. Treatment response rates, defined as a ⩾50% reduction in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, were used as the outcome variables. In the escitalopram trial, both HAM-D and BDI response rates were highest in patients taking escitalopram and statins together and lowest in patients receiving neither medication. Logistic regression analyses revealed that statin use was significantly associated with higher response rates on both the HAM-D and BDI at 1 year, whereas no such associations were found for escitalopram. In the naturalistic observational study, the response rates at 1 year did not differ significantly by statin use. Instead, the HAM-D response rate was significantly higher in patients taking lipophilic statins than in those who did not. In conclusion, statins may be effective for the treatment of depression independent of medical status and escitalopram use, and they may potentiate the antidepressant action of serotonergic antidepressants in patients with ACS.

The intensity ratios of He I emission lines are used to determine electron density and temperature in Diversified Plasma Simulator (DiPS). The Hel line ratios are measured by optical emission spectroscopy and are calculated using the collisional-radiative equilibrium (CRE) model. The measured He I line ratios are 706.52 nm / 728.13 nm for electron temperature and 728.13 nm / 667.82 nm for electron density determination, respectively. The results obtained from the collisional-radiative equilibrium model are crosschecked with those of electrical probe measurement.

A long-pulse plasma discharge for more than 30 min. was achieved on the Large Helical Device (LHD). A plasma of ne = 0.8× 1019 m−3 and Ti0 = 2.0 keV was sustained with PICH = 0.52 MW, PECH = 0.1 MW and averaged PNBI = 0.067 MW. Total injected heating energy was 1.3 GJ, which was a quarter of the prepared RF heating energy. One of the keys to the success of the experiment was a dispersion of the local plasma heat load to divertors, accomplished by shifting the magnetic axis inward and outward.

BackgroundDepression is common after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with adverse effects on prognosis. There is little evidence on whether depression treatment improves quality of life (QoL) in ACS patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of co-morbid depression and its treatment on QoL in ACS.MethodIn total, 1152 patients were recruited at baseline, 2–14 weeks after a confirmed ACS episode, and 828 were followed 1 year thereafter. Of 446 baseline participants with co-morbid depressive disorders, 300 were randomized to a 24-week double blind trial of escitalopram or placebo, while the remaining 146 received medical treatment only (MTO). QoL was measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life –Abbreviated form (WHOQOL-BREF).ResultsAt baseline, QoL was significantly lower in patients with co-morbid depressive disorder than those without. QoL improvement was significantly greater in those receiving escitalopram than those receiving placebo over the 24-week treatment period. In the 1-year follow-up, the better outcomes associated with escitalopram remained evident against both placebo and MTO.ConclusionsDepression was significantly associated with worse QoL even in patients with recently developed ACS. Depression treatment was associated with QoL improvement in ACS patients in the 24-week treatment period, the effects of which extended to 1 year.

This paper explores the use of on-chip or on-wafer loopback implementations for verifying performance of 5-GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) IC circuits. The loopback test diagram, the test-circuit design, and the characterization data are reported for subcircuits (attenuators, and switches) necessary to implement 5-GHz transceiver loopback. A loopback circuit that can be applied to transceiver loopback measurements is demonstrated. This research is exploratory in nature and is a first attempt at a new on-chip RF test technique.

The HANBIT device is a simple mirror-type device of which the length, radius, and magnetic field are about 5 m, 0.18 m, and 0.1-0.3 T, respectively, in the central cell. In HANBIT, two antenna systems are used for the plasma production, heating, and MHD stabilization; one is the slot antenna located near the center region with the maximum power of 500 kW and the typical frequency of 3.5 MHz, and the other DHT antenna located near the mirror throat with the maximum power of 100 kW and the frequency of 3.75 MHz. Recent experimental studies in HANBIT indicate that the slot antenna system can produce stable, high-density plasmas in apparently two different regimes; one is the fast wave regime with the ratio w/Wci∼2 and the other is the slow wave regime with w

HANBIT is a magnetic mirror confinement device. Recent physics experiments have been mainly focused on identifying discharge characteristics and on getting stable plasma production and operation modes, by using a 500 kW slot antenna system at a fixed RF frequency of 3.5 MHz and varying discharge conditions such as fueling rate, RF power, and B-field intensity in central cell. Two distinct operation modes are found to be very sensitive to the RF power as well as the ratio of the RF frequency to the ion cyclotron frequency. A MHD interchange mode of m = -1 is clearly observed and the stabilizing mechanism can be explained by the sideband coupling theory.

This study was conducted to make on - site survey on the output pattern and utilization situation of 19 by - products selected, to evaluate their nutritional characteristics, to find out a reliable index with which digestion of by - products can be predicted on the basis of chemical compositions analyzed and to diagnose the risk of using book values in the absence of the actual values analyzed for diet formulation. Production and utilization situations of by - products were quite various. Nutritionally, fruit processing by- products such as apple pomace (AP), pear pomace (PP), grape pomace (GP), and persimmon peel (PSP), and bakery by - products (BB) were classified as energy feeds. Soybean curd meal (SCM), animal by - products such as blood (BD), feather meal (FM) and poultry by - products (PB), and activated milk processing sludge (AMS) were classified as protein feeds. Soy hulls (SH), spent mushroom compost (SMC), barley malt hulls (BMH), waste paper (WP) and broiler litter (BL) were classified as roughage. Rumen contents (RC) and restaurant food waste (FW) were nutritionally analogous to complete diets for cattle and swine, respectively. Compared to soybean meal (SBM), BD and FM contained high (P

Optical power splitters made of photonic crystal waveguides are believed to become essential components for compact photonic integrated circuits used in fiber optic networks. We design a 1 × 4 optical power splitter made of linear-defect waveguides in photonic crystals, and analyze its properties using the finite-difference time-domain method. Our simulation results show that the transmission properties vary with wave frequency and branch geometry, and that an incident wave is divided equally into four output ports. To reduce the reflections at the three branching regions in the 1 × 4 splitter, we place the defects of extra rods in the branching region, and achieve high transmission in each output waveguide.

Long-standing prosthetic eye wearing induces ocular surface inflammation. We investigated the short-term effects of topical cyclosporine A 0.05% (Restasis) in patients with ocular discomfort resulting from long-standing prosthetic eye wearing.This was a prospective, interventional case series. Patients who were unilateral prosthetic eye wearers over a period of 5 years were enrolled at a single institution from March to July 2013. The subjects were instructed to instill topical cyclosporine A 0.05% twice per day. Measurements were made pre-treatment and after 1 and 3 months of treatment. Outcome measures were the ocular symptom score, the lid margin abnormality score, the Schirmer test, and the tear meniscus amount, using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography.In total, 20 consecutive patients (mean age: 60.1 years, 8 males, 12 females) were included. Ocular symptoms were improved after treatment for 1 month in all patients (ocular symptom score pre-treatment 76.83 vs 46.75 after treatment; P0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in lid margin abnormality score or tear meniscus amount. The Schirmer test results were improved after treatment for 3 months (pre- and after treatment, 6.70 vs 11.40; P0.001).Topical cyclosporine A 0.05% showed a satisfactory effect in long-standing prosthetic eye wearers. Ocular symptoms were markedly relieved in all subjects after treatment for 1 month.

Sixteen healthy volunteers received dothiepin 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg and placebo in a double-blind crossover study. Each subject received the four treatments once, with a 6-day washout period between test days. On each occasion psychomotor performance and cognitive function were measured 30 min before dosing and 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h after drug administration. The test battery comprised: Critical Flicker Fusion, Choice Reaction Time, Continuous Tracking and Short Term Memory. Subjective ratings of sedation were measured using Line Analogue Rating Scales. Dothiepin at the subtherapeutic dose of 75 mg was shown to produce statistically significant impairment (p

Wall recycling and results of ICRH discharge in the HANBIT mirror device are presented. The amount of gas loading due to recycling from the wall and recycling coefficient are estimated quantitatively by the time evolution of the pressures in each region of the HANBIT mirror device during plasma discharges. These measured pressures are compared with a model calculation made in terms of a coupled set of rate equations. Also we introduce a gas recycling model based on atomic and molecular processes. In this model, enhancement of fueling due to the recycling is evaluated on the basis of the calculated probabilities of neutral and ion production by using the rate coefficients of these reactions.

To investigate if TSH-receptor antibody (TRAb) levels measured in early Graves' orbitopathy (GO) stages are predictive of clinical disease course beyond 1 year after initial GO diagnosis and to compare performance of two newly developed TRAb assays (third-generation thyrotropin-binding inhibitor immunoglobulin (TBII) assay vs Mc4-thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) bioassay) in predicting disease course.Newly diagnosed, untreated GO patients whose duration of ocular symptoms was less than 6 months were included. One year after initial diagnosis, all patients were classified as presenting either a mild (Group 1) or severe course (Group 2) according to their clinical manifestations. The measurements of two TRAb assays at initial GO diagnosis were used for analysis.Data from 112 patients were available for analysis. Seventy-three patients (65.2%) were designated as Group 1, and 39 patients (34.8%) as Group 2. Patients with higher initial TRAb levels demonstrated a higher risk of severe disease course upon multiple regression analysis (P0.01). The cutoff values for the prediction of severe course of the third-generation TBII and Mc4-TSI assays were 10.67 IU/l and 555.10%, respectively, with assay specificities of 84.9 and 89.0%. The TBII assay predictive power (area under the curve (AUC)=0.817; 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.732-0.902) was equivalent to the TSI bioassay (AUC=0.868, 95% CI=0.803-0.934) (P=0.203).The predictive power of the third-generation TBII assay and Mc4-TSI bioassay are similarly strong. Measurement of TRAb using either third-generation TBII or Mc4-TSI in early GO periods would provide important prognostic information on future GO course.

TiN films have been synthesized by ion beam assisted deposition employing xenon ions with an energy of 40 keV. The formed TiN films were investigated systematically in respect of surface morphology, composition, structure and mechanical properties. Then, they were applied to surface protection of scoring dies. Atomic force microscopy and interferometric observation showed that the TiN film is relatively smooth. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy analysis indicated that few xenon atoms are retained in the film. It was found by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction experiments that the formed TiN is a nanocrystal (< 10 nm) film and exhibits slightly (200) preferred orientation. An ultra low load microhardness indentor system was used to examine the plastic property of the film and a hardness of 2300 kgf mm−2 was calculated from the measured data. Scratch tests showed that the adhesion of TiN film deposited by ion beam assisted deposition at ambient temperature is superior to that of high temperature physical vapour deposited (PVD) TiN film. Both a pin-on-dick tribotest and SRV wear test revealed that the wear resistance of the specimen can be greatly improved by TiN coating. A five times increase of service life of different scoring dies could be obtained by protection of TiN coating.

Indigo carmine is a blue dye that is widely applied to localise ureteral orifices. It is generally believed to be a safe, biologically inert substance, and hypotensive reactions are extremely rare. However, we experienced three cases of indigo carmine-induced hypotension within a period of two weeks.

Nasal packing after dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is an optional procedure to prevent nasal bleeding [1,2]. Although improvements in surgical technique have reduced the need for this practice, nasal packing is still needed more for Asians than for Caucasians due to anatomical differences. Compared to Caucasians, Asians have a thicker lacrimal bone, a thicker frontal process of the maxilla, and a narrower nasal passage [3-5]. In addition, the proportion of the maxilla to the lacrimal bone in the lacrimal sac fossa is greater than in Caucasians [4]. Such anatomical differences make osteotomy more difficult and prone to nasal bleeding in Asians when performing DCR. Postoperative nasal bleeding is unpleasant for patients and can be severe in certain cases [2,6]. It can potentially affect the mucosal healing process and can cause fibrosis and induce scarring at the newly formed rhinostomy site, all of which could result in an impairment of ostial patency [7]. Therefore, the minimization of intra- and postoperative bleeding is important to consider in an attempt to achieve successful surgical results. The effects of nasal packing are not limited to hemostasis, as it also directly affects wound healing [8-14]. In the field of endoscopic sinus surgery, a number of papers have investigated whether or not nasal packing, both in general and in regard to the type used, affected nasal mucosal re-epitheliazation, fibrous tissue proliferation, granulation, and synechiae formation [8,11-13]. More recently, the effects of nasal packing materials after DCR have started to draw attention [10], but there are no well-established conclusions due to the scarcity of reports. Furthermore, the lack of standardization in the measurement of DCR surgical outcomes makes it difficult to compare and interpret the results of previous studies [15]. Packing materials are broadly divided into non-absorbable and absorbable materials. Non-absorbable materials include Vaseline gauze strips and Merocel, which inhibit bleeding through a compression mechanism [8]. Absorbable materials such as Gelfoam [1,9] and MeroGel [10] have been reported to be successful as packing materials after DCR. Nasopore, a bioresorbable dressing for the nasal cavity, is composed of fully synthetic biodegradable, fragmentable foam that absorbs fluids while supporting and providing pressure against the surrounding tissue. As such, it could potentially prevent undesired postoperative adhesions [13]. To investigate the effects of postoperative packing with Nasopore, we placed Nasopore at the anastomosis site of newly formed anterior mucosal flaps. Patients who had their nasal cavities packed with Merocel packing were recruited as a control group. Merocel, due to its non-absorbable character, is supposed to be removed within 2 to 3 days after its application. We investigated the degree of postoperative re-bleeding and the level of patient discomfort and compared the anatomical and functional success rate 3 months post-surgery between Nasopore and Merocel. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the effect of Nasopore on the surgical outcome of DCR.