Search

Abstract This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study aims to investigate the association between Moyamoya disease (MMD) and open-angle glaucoma (OAG). In this study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, a total of 36,432 patients having diagnostic code with MMD between 2002 and 2022, and their age-, sex-matched non-MMD controls (n = 346,769) were included. We used a Cox proportional hazard model to determine the association between MMD and subsequent OAG after excluding cases with preexisting diagnosis of MMD for the initial 2-year. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses with log-rank test were performed to compare the incidence probability of OAG based on the MMD diagnosis. Cox regression analysis showed that the diagnosis of MMD was associated with increased risk of subsequent diagnosis of OAG (adjusted HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.14–1.38; P

Airway management is a fundamental and complex process that involves a sequence of integrated tasks. Situations requiring emergency airway management may occur in the emergency department, intensive care units, and various other clinical settings A variety of challenges can arise during emergency airway preparation, intubation, and postintubation, which may result in significant complications for patients. Therefore, many countries are establishing step-by-step systemization and detailed guidelines and/or updating their content based on the latest research. This clinical review discusses the current trends in emergency airway management, such as emergency airway management algorithms, comparison of video and direct laryngoscopy, rapid sequence intubation, pediatric airway management, prehospital airway management, surgical airway management, and airway management education.

Study region: A valley area in South Korea Study focus: Sand dams are cost-effective water-storage facilities for water-stressed areas in arid and semi-arid climates, with the advantages of reducing evaporation losses and filtering pollutants. Generally, sand dams are constructed by placing a horizontal barrier across the river bed, creating a naturally sand-filled structure upstream. Unlike this typical construction, a sand dam in Korea in the monsoon climate region was built near a mountainous valley, not in a stream, in Mulori, Chuncheon City, to ensure a sustainable water supply throughout the year, and especially to prevent freezing in the winter. Furthermore, a small-scale groundwater dam was additionally constructed downstream of the sand dam to increase the water supply capacity in preparation for severe droughts. In this study, the hydrological reservoir-routing simulations were performed to evaluate the effects of the combined use of the two dams on increasing water supply. New hydrological insights for the region: Daily discharge rates for the period from March 16, 2020 to July 6, 2022 were simulated for several hybrid operations that supplies water primarily through the sand dam under the normal conditions, but combines both water sources to manage severe droughts. The simulated results showed that, compared with operating the sand dam alone, the hybrid operations could satisfy the village’s water demand by increasing the minimum water supply rates by 24.6–50.0 m³/day for different simulation conditions. The combined use of sand and groundwater dams presented in this study will help provide sustainable water supply in water-stressed areas, especially mountainous uplands vulnerable to droughts and freezes.

This study introduces an overhead heat-integrated distillation column (OHIDiC), a novel approach that maximizes heat recovery by multiple heat exchanges and product circulation. By utilizing the overhead vapor as a direct heat source, low-temperature feed and product water were used as cooling agents, thereby significantly reducing the condenser duty and reliance on cooling utilities. Additionally, the heated feed transfers heat to the column, leading to a substantial reduction of reboiler heat duty. Some of the heated product water is recycled back to the decanter for product cycling, while the rest is released as the final product. This circulation process ensures a continuous coolant supply, which contributes the reduction of condenser duty. Two processes were considered in this study, utilizing the water product from a non-reactive, and from a reactive separation within the system. When applied to the separation of a water-dodecanol mixture, OHIDiC reduced the condenser duty by 69.21% compared to a traditional distillation column, with a 31.46% reduction in the total utility consumption. When reactive distillation was incorporated into the OHIDiC, the higher overhead vapor temperature facilitated high heat transfer in the multiple heat exchange sections, thereby significantly reducing the total thermal load. This resulted in a reduction of up to 46.96% in total heat duty and a 36.06% decrease in CO2 emissions. These findings confirm that the OHIDiC achieves significant energy savings through the utilization of process-derived substances, with pronounced benefits when the temperature of the overhead vapor becomes higher.

This study outlines a methodology for determining the durability specifications of electronically controlled dampers by examining performance degradation observed on actual driving roads. It identifies areas of performance decline and the primary causes affecting major actuator dampers. Traditionally, the durability performance of automobile parts has been assessed by calculating damage based on load profiles. However, analyzing actual road conditions is essential because the control commands of electronically controlled suspension systems change in real time according to load conditions. Simulations based on Road Load Data Acquisition (RLDA) use statistically independent representative road surfaces to assess damper deterioration performance. Following this analysis, a rig test of the damper is performed to establish the durability specifications for damper actuator products. The primary form of performance degradation observed was a change in the tensile damping force, which was more substantial than the degradation observed on the compression side. Oil leakage and cavitation were identified as significant influencing factors from a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) perspective. The study concludes that additional design research is necessary, focusing on damper oil and leakage, while also considering the control algorithm’s effects in designing electronically controlled dampers.

Small-scale magnetic flux ropes (SMFRs) fill much of the solar wind, but their origin and evolution are debated. We apply our recently developed, improved Grad–Shafranov algorithm for the detection and reconstruction of SMFRs to data from Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, Wind, and Voyager 1 and 2 to detect events from 0.06 to 10 au. We observe that the axial flux density is the same for SMFRs of all sizes at a fixed heliocentric distance but decreases with distance owing to solar wind expansion. Additionally, using the difference in speed between SMFRs, we find that the vast majority of SMFRs will make contact with others at least once during the 100 hr transit to 1 au. Such contact would allow SMFRs to undergo magnetic reconnection, allowing for processes such as merging via the coalescence instability. Furthermore, we observe that the number of SMFRs with higher axial flux increases significantly with distance from the Sun. Axial flux is conserved under solar wind expansion, but the observation can be explained by a model in which SMFRs undergo turbulent evolution by stochastically merging to produce larger SMFRs. This is supported by the observed log-normal axial flux distribution. Lastly, we derive the global number of SMFRs above 10 ^15 Mx near the Sun to investigate whether SMFRs begin their journey as small-scale solar ejections or are continuously generated within the outer corona and solar wind.

Quercetin is a flavonol belonging to the flavonoid group of polyphenols. Quercetin is reported to have a variety of biological functions, including antioxidant, pigment, auxin transport inhibitor and root nodulation factor. Additionally, quercetin is known to be involved in bacterial pathogen resistance in Arabidopsis through the transcriptional increase of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying how quercetin promotes pathogen resistance remain elusive. In this study, we showed that the transcriptional increases of PR genes were achieved by the monomerization and nuclear translocation of nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related proteins 1 (NPR1). Interestingly, salicylic acid (SA) was approximately 2-fold accumulated by the treatment with quercetin. Furthermore, we showed that the increase of SA biosynthesis by quercetin was induced by the transcriptional increases of typical SA biosynthesis-related genes. In conclusion, this study strongly suggests that quercetin induces bacterial pathogen resistance through the increase of SA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

This paper presents a data-driven adaptive steady state-integral-derivative (SS-ID) control algorithm that uses gradient descent and recursive least squares (RLS) with a forgetting factor. A simplified first-order differential equation of the control system was designed and its parameters were estimated in real-time using the RLS algorithm. The steady-state control input for target-state tracking was derived based on the estimated parameters and steady-state performance conditions. The gradient of the integrated control error to the gain was estimated based on the least-squares method, using the saved past error and gain data in a finite sliding window to determine the control input. The integral gain was adapted based on the gradient descent method, using the estimated gradient, integrated error, and adaptation rate. Simplified control error dynamics were designed, and their parameter was estimated using the RLS algorithm. The derivative control gain can be adapted in real time using the estimated parameters from the simplified control error dynamics and time constant-based performance conditions. The proposed controller was designed in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. A performance evaluation was conducted under various scenarios using a DC motor simulation model and an actual test platform equipped with an optical encoder.

Abstract Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been attracting interest as a new radiation modality for cancer therapy because it can selectively destroy cancer cells while maintaining the healthy state of surrounding normal cells. Many experimental trials have demonstrated significant BNCT treatment efficacy using neutron beams from research reactors. However, nuclear reactor technology cannot be scaled to sites in hospitals delivering patient treatment. Therefore, compact accelerator-based neutron sources that could be installed in many hospitals are under development or have even been commissioned at many facilities around the world. In Korea, a radio-frequency (RF) linac-based BNCT (A-BNCT) facility is under development by DawonMedax (DM). It provides the highly efficient production of an epithermal neutron beam with an optimized neutron energy spectrum range of 0.1~10 keV. With a 2-mA 10-MeV proton beam from the accelerator, the irradiation port epithermal neutron flux is higher than 1 × 109 n/cm2⋅s. Comprehensive verification and validation of the system have been conducted with the measurement of both proton and neutron beam characteristics. Significant therapeutic effects from BNCT have been confirmed by DM in both in vitro and in vivo non-clinical trials. Further, during exposure to epithermal neutrons, all other unintended radiation is controlled to levels meeting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations. Recently, the Korean FDA has accepted an investigational new drug (IND) and the first-in-human clinical trial of BNCT is now being prepared. This paper introduces the principles of BNCT and accelerator-based neutron sources for BNCT and reports the recent advances of DM A-BNCT facility which is the main part of this paper.

Spicules, the smallest observable jetlike dynamic features ubiquitous in the chromosphere, are supposedly an important potential source for small-scale solar wind transients, with supporting evidence yet needed. We studied the high-resolution H α images (0.″10) and magnetograms (0.″29) from the Big Bear Solar Observatory to find that spicules are an ideal candidate for the solar wind magnetic switchbacks detected by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP). It is not that spicules are a miniature of coronal jets, but that they have unique properties not found in other solar candidates in explaining solar origin of switchbacks. (1) The spicules under this study originate from filigrees, all in a single magnetic polarity. Since filigrees are known as footpoints of open fields, the spicule guiding field lines can form a unipolar funnel, which is needed to create an SB patch, a group of field lines that switch from one common base polarity to the other polarity. (2) The spicules come in a cluster lined up along a supergranulation boundary, and the simulated waiting times from their spatial intervals exhibit a number distribution continuously decreasing from a few seconds to ∼30 minutes, similar to that of switchbacks. (3) From a time–distance map for spicules, we estimate their occurrence rate as 0.55 spicules Mm ^−2 s ^−1 , which is sufficiently high for detection by PSP. In addition, the dissimilarity of spicules with coronal jets, including the absence of base brightening and low correlation with EUV emission, is briefly discussed.

Small-scale interplanetary magnetic flux ropes (SMFRs) are similar to ICMEs in magnetic structure, but are smaller and do not exhibit coronal mass ejection plasma signatures. We present a computationally efficient and GPU-powered version of the single-spacecraft automated SMFR detection algorithm based on the Grad–Shafranov (GS) technique. Our algorithm can process higher resolution data, eliminates selection bias caused by a fixed 〈 B 〉 threshold, has improved detection criteria demonstrated to have better results on an MHD simulation, and recovers full 2.5D cross sections using GS reconstruction. We used it to detect 512,152 SMFRs from 27 yr (1996–2022) of 3 s cadence Wind measurements. Our novel findings are the following: (1) the SMFR filling factor (∼ 35%) is independent of solar activity, distance to the heliospheric current sheet, and solar wind plasma type, although the minority of SMFRs with diameters greater than ∼0.01 au have a strong solar activity dependence; (2) SMFR diameters follow a log-normal distribution that peaks below the resolved range (≳10 ^4 km), although the filling factor is dominated by SMFRs between 10 ^5 and 10 ^6 km; (3) most SMFRs at 1 au have strong field-aligned flows like those from Parker Solar Probe measurements; (4) the radial density (generally ∼1 detected per 10 ^6 km) and axial magnetic flux density of SMFRs are higher in faster solar wind types, suggesting that they are more compressed. Implications for the origin of SMFRs and switchbacks are briefly discussed. The new algorithm and SMFR dataset are made freely available.

We present observations and analysis of an eruptive M1.5 flare (SOL2014-08-01T18:13) in NOAA active region (AR) 12127, characterized by three flare ribbons, a confined filament between ribbons, and rotating sunspot motions as observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The potential field extrapolation model shows a magnetic topology involving two intersecting quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) forming a hyperbolic flux tube (HFT), which constitutes the fishbone structure for the three-ribbon flare. Two of the three ribbons show separation from each other, and the third ribbon is rather stationary at the QSL footpoints. The nonlinear force-free field extrapolation model implies the presence of a magnetic flux rope (MFR) structure between the two separating ribbons, which was unclear in the observation. This suggests that the standard reconnection scenario for eruptive flares applies to the two ribbons, and the QSL reconnection for the third ribbon. We find rotational flows around the sunspot, which may have caused the eruption by weakening the downward magnetic tension of the MFR. The confined filament is located in the region of relatively strong strapping field. The HFT topology and the accumulation of reconnected magnetic flux in the HFT may play a role in holding it from eruption. This eruption scenario differs from the one typically known for circular ribbon flares, which is mainly driven by a successful inside-out eruption of filaments. Our results demonstrate the diversity of solar magnetic eruption paths that arises from the complexity of the magnetic configuration.

Minifilament eruptions producing small jets and microflares have mostly been studied based on coronal observations at extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths. This study presents chromospheric plasma diagnostics of a quiet-Sun minifilament of size ∼ 2″ × 5″ with a sigmoidal shape and an associated microflare observed on 2021 August 7 17:00 UT using high temporal and spatial resolution spectroscopy from the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS) and high-resolution magnetograms from the Near InfraRed Imaging Spectropolarimeter (NIRIS) installed on the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. Using FISS H α and Ca ii 8542 Å line spectra at the time of the minifilament activation we determined a temperature of 8600 K and a nonthermal speed of 7.9 km s ^−1 . During the eruption, the minifilament was no longer visible in the Ca ii 8542 Å line, and only the H α line spectra were used to find the temperature of the minifilament, which reached 1.2 × 10 ^4 K and decreased afterward. We estimated thermal energy of 3.6 × 10 ^24 erg from the maximum temperature and kinetic energy of 2.6 × 10 ^24 erg from the rising speed (18 km s ^−1 ) of the minifilament. From the NIRIS magnetograms we found small-scale flux emergence and cancellation coincident with the minifilament eruption, and the magnetic energy change across the conjugate footpoints reaches 7.2 × 10 ^25 erg. Such spectroscopic diagnostics of the chromospheric minifilament complement earlier studies of minifilament eruptions made using coronal images.

Abstract We recently reported a lack of interference between inactivated rotavirus vaccine (IRV) and inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and their potential dose sparing when the two vaccines were administered intramuscularly either in combination or standalone in rats and guinea pigs. In the present study, we optimized the formulations of both vaccines and investigated the feasibility of manufacturing a combined IRV-IPV dissolving microneedle patch (dMNP), assessing its compatibility and immunogenicity in rats. Our results showed that IRV delivered by dMNP alone or in combination with IPV induced similar levels of RV-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody. Likewise, IPV delivered by dMNP alone or in combination with IRV induced comparable levels of neutralizing antibody of poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3. We further demonstrated high stability of IRV-dMNP at 5, 25, and 40 °C and IPV-dMNP at 5 and 25 °C, and found that three doses of IRV or IPV when co-administered at a quarter dose was as potent as a full target dose in inducing neutralizing antibodies against corresponding rotavirus or poliovirus. We conclude that IRV-IPV dMNP did not interfere with each other in triggering an immunologic response and were highly immunogenic in rats. Our findings support the further development of this innovative approach to deliver a novel combination vaccine against rotavirus and poliovirus in children throughout the world.

In this paper, a 24–40 GHz broadband millimeter-wave (mmWave) down-conversion double-balanced mixer with a dual-band local oscillator (LO) buffer employing RF and IF coupled resonators is presented for 5G new radio (NR) frequency range 2 (FR2) cellular applications. The proposed mixer comprises a transformer-coupled $g_{m}$ -boosted common-gate (CG) $G_{m}$ -stage, a single-to-differential current-to-current RF capacitor-tuned coupled resonator, active switching stages with dual-band three-stage LO buffers, a current-to-voltage IF coupled resonator with gain equalization, and a wideband IF buffer with a transformer-based balun. The transformer-coupled $g_{m}$ -boosted CG $G_{m}$ -stage improves the NF and provides broadband input power matching. RF and IF coupled resonators enable an RF operating frequency range of 24–40 GHz and IF 1 dB bandwidth of more than 0.8 GHz, respectively. The implemented mixer was fabricated using a 40 nm CMOS process and characterized primarily in the 5G NR FR2 bands. The active die area was 0.654 mm2, and the mixer drew a bias current of 16 mA from a nominal supply voltage of 1.1 V. The mixer exhibited an RF operating frequency range of 24–40 GHz, noise figure of 12.4 dB, conversion gain of 1.2 dB, IF 1 dB bandwidth of 1.1 GHz, and output-referred third-order intercept point of 6.8 dBm.

Patents provide inventors exclusive rights to their inventions by protecting their intellectual property rights. However, analyzing patent documents generally requires knowledge of various fields, considerable human labor, and expertise. Recent studies to alleviate this problem on patent analysis deal only with the analysis of claims and abstract parts, neglecting the descriptions that contain essential technical cores. Moreover, few studies use a deep learning approach to handle the entire patent analysis process, including preprocessing, summarization, and key-phrase generation. Therefore, we propose a novel multi-stage framework that can aid in analyzing patent documents by using the description part of the patent rather than abstracts or claims with deep learning. The framework comprises two stages: key-sentence extraction and key-phrase generation tasks. These stages are based on the T5 model structure, transformer-based architecture that uses a text-to-text approach. To further improve the framework’s performance, we employed two key factors: i) post-training the model with a patent-related raw corpus for encouraging the model’s comprehension of the patent domain, and ii) utilizing a text rank algorithm for efficient training based on the priority score of each sentence. We verified that our key-phrase generation method of the framework shows higher performance in both superficial and semantic evaluation than other extraction methods. In addition, we provided the validity and effectiveness of our methods through quantitative and qualitative analysis, demonstrating the practical functionality of our methods. We also provided a practical contribution to the patent analysis by releasing the framework as a demo system.

Abstract Background Midazolam is frequently used for sedation during spinal anesthesia. However, external environmental factors, such as bright surgical lights, may hamper patient relaxation, which may lead to an increase in the dose of midazolam required and the likelihood of adverse drug effects. We investigated whether using an eye mask to block the external environment could reduce midazolam requirements during spinal anesthesia. Methods Participants aged 18–‒80 years, scheduled for elective surgery under spinal anesthesia, were randomly divided into a masked group (wearing eye masks during surgery, n = 20) and a control group (no mask, n = 18). The sedation level was assessed using a modified Observer Assessment of Alertness and Sedation (MOAA/S) scale. Midazolam (1 mg) was incrementally administered every 5 min until moderate sedation (MOAA/S score of 3) was achieved. The bispectral index (BIS) was monitored, and the onset and maintenance times of a BIS

Abstract Background Hemodynamic instability is a frequent adverse effect following administration of dexmedetomidine (DMED). In this study, we evaluated the incidence of DMED-induced hemodynamic instability and its predictive factors in clinical regional anesthesia practice. Methods One hundred sixteen patients who underwent orthopedic upper limb surgery under brachial plexus block with intravenous DMED administration were retrospectively identified. The primary outcome was the incidence of DMED-induced hemodynamic instability. The participants were allocated to a stable or unstable group by their hemodynamic instability status. Patients’ characteristics were compared between the groups. The relationship between the potential risk factors and development of DMED-induced hemodynamic instability was analyzed with a logistic regression model. Results DMED-induced hemodynamic instability was observed in 14.7% of patients (17/116). The unstable group had more women than the stable group (76.5% vs. 39.4%, P = 0.010). When patients were classified into four subgroup according to body mass index (underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity), there was significant difference in the composition of the subgroups in the two groups (P = 0.008). In univariate analysis, female sex, obesity, and pre-existing hypertension were significant predictors of DMED-induced hemodynamic instability. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that female sex (adjusted OR 3.86, CI 1.09; 13.59, P = 0.036) and obesity (adjusted OR 6.41, CI 1.22; 33.57, P = 0.028) were independent predictors of DMED-induced hemodynamic instability. Conclusions Female and obese patients are more likely to have hemodynamic instability following intravenous DMED administration in clinical regional anesthesia practice. This study suggests that DMED dose may be diminished to prevent hypotensive risk in these populations. Trial registration This article was retrospectively registered at WHO clinical trial registry platform (Trial number: KCT0005977 ).

Background Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i) and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade are reported to affect the clinical course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods As of May 2020, analysis was conducted on all subjects who could confirm their history of claims related to COVID-19 in the National Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database in Korea. Using this dataset, we compared the short-term prognosis of COVID-19 infection according to the use of DPP-4i and RAS blockade. Additionally, we validated the results using the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) of Korea dataset. Results Totally, data of 67,850 subjects were accessible in the HIRA dataset. Of these, 5,080 were confirmed COVID-19. Among these, 832 subjects with DM were selected for analysis in this study. Among the subjects, 263 (31.6%) and 327 (39.3%) were DPP-4i and RAS blockade users, respectively. Thirty-four subjects (4.09%) received intensive care or died. The adjusted odds ratio for severe treatment among DPP-4i users was 0.362 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.135 to 0.971), and that for RAS blockade users was 0.599 (95% CI, 0.251 to 1.431). These findings were consistent with the analysis based on the NHIS data using 704 final subjects. The adjusted odds ratio for severe treatment among DPP-4i users was 0.303 (95% CI, 0.135 to 0.682), and that for RAS blockade users was 0.811 (95% CI, 0.391 to 1.682). Conclusion This study suggests that DPP-4i is significantly associated with a better clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19.

Single-cell profiling: understanding disease at the cellular level The expansion of single-cell profiling technologies will provide unprecedented insights into the molecular mechanisms inherent in disease. Novel technologies known collectively as ‘single-cell multiomics’ enable systematic, high-resolution profiling of DNA, RNA and proteins in individual cells. This provides valuable data about gene regulation and molecular populations, and cellular processes during disease development and progression. Daehee Hwang and co-workers at Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, reviewed existing single-cell multiomics technologies and highlighted ways to integrate the data generated. Analytical features of multiomics allow scientists to isolate, sequence and label (or ‘barcode’) multiple molecules in single cells. Different sequencing techniques can be used for different purposes, such as exploring gene mutation coverage or measuring RNA transcripts. Combining these sequencing data will help identify links between significant features during disease.

Microwave maps may provide critical information on the flux rope interaction and the breakout eruption if their polarization is measured with high precision. We demonstrate this diagnostic capability using the 17 GHz maps from the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) of a circular ribbon flare SOL2014-12-17T04:51. The EUV images from SDO/AIA and the coronal magnetic field extrapolated from the HMI magnetogram are also used to support the interpretation of the microwave data. The most obvious evidence for the breakout eruption comes from the sign change of the microwave polarization over the AR at heliographic coordinates S20E09, indicating change of the overlying fields from a closed fan structure to a spine-like structure. Another important piece of evidence comes from the spatial and temporal variations of quasi-periodic pulsations (QPP) detected at the 17 GHz. The QPP was more obvious in one loop leg before the eruption and later moved to the spine field region on and after the flare. This indicates that the oscillatory power is transferred from an interacting flux rope to the outer spine, along which the reconnection launches torsional Alfvén waves, in good agreement with MHD model predictions for breakout eruption. In the practical viewpoint, these two diagnostics work because microwave observations are free of saturation even in strong flaring regions.

Magnetic reconnection is regarded as the mechanism for the rapid release of magnetic energy stored in active regions during solar flares, and quantitative measurements of the magnetic reconnection rate are essential for understanding solar flares. In the context of the standard two-ribbon flare model, we derive the coronal magnetic reconnection rate of the M6.5 flare on 2015 June 22 in two terms, reconnection flux change rate and reconnection electric field, both of which can be obtained from observations of the flare morphology. Data used include a sequence of chromospheric H α images with unprecedented resolution during the flare from the Visual Imaging Spectrometer of the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory and a preflare line-of-sight photospheric magnetogram from the GST Near-InfraRed Imaging Spectropolarimeter along with hard X-ray data from the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. The temporal correlation between the magnetic reconnection rate and nonthermal emission is found, and the variation of the reconnection electric field is mainly determined by the ribbon speed, not by the local magnetic field encountered by the ribbon front. Spatially, the hard X-ray source overlaps with the location of the strongest electric field obtained at the same time. The ribbon motion shows abundant fine structures, including a local acceleration at the location of a light bridge with a weaker magnetic field.

Solar type III radio bursts are generated by beams of energetic electrons that travel along open magnetic field lines through the corona and into interplanetary space. However, understanding the source of these electrons and how they escape into interplanetary space remains an outstanding topic. Here we report multi-instrument, multiperspective observations of an interplanetary type III radio burst event shortly after the second perihelion of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP). This event was associated with a solar jet that produced an impulsive microwave burst event recorded by the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array. The type III burst event also coincided with the detection of enhanced in situ energetic electrons recorded by both PSP at 0.37 au and WIND at 1 au, which were located very closely on the Parker spiral longitudinally. The close timing association and magnetic connectivity suggest that the in situ energetic electrons originated from the jet’s magnetic reconnection region. Intriguingly, microwave imaging spectroscopy results suggest that the escaping energetic electrons were injected into a large opening angle of about 90°, which is at least nine times broader than the apparent width of the jet spire. Our findings provide an interpretation for the previously reported, longitudinally broad spatial distribution of flare locations associated with prompt energetic electron events and have important implications for understanding the origin and distribution of energetic electrons in interplanetary space.

Light bridges (LBs) are narrow structures dividing sunspot umbra, and their role in active region evolution is yet to be explored. We investigated the magnetic structure of the two LBs: a narrow LB (with width ∼810 km) and a considerably wider LB (2475 km) in the active region NOAA 12371. We employed: (1) the high-spatial-resolution spectropolarimetric data obtained by the Near InfraRed Imaging Spectropolarimeter (NIRIS) of the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope (GST) for studying the magnetic structure at the photosphere, and (2) the nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) models, extrapolated from both the photospheric magnetogram from GST/NIRIS and from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, for studying the three-dimensional (3D) magnetic structure on a larger scale. Our observations reveal the presence of a field-free (or, more precisely, weak-field) region and the different velocity structures inside the two LBs. Analysis of the 3D NLFFF model shows a low-lying magnetic canopy as well as the enhanced current system above the LBs. The substantial difference between the LBs and the umbrae is found in the overall magnetic topology in that the field lines emanating from the two LBs are more twisted than that from the neighboring umbrae.

Background Errors in counting spinal segments are common during interventional procedures when there are transitional vertebrae. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of the transitional vertebrae including thoracolumbar transitional vertebra (TLTV) and lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV). The relationship between the existence of TLTV and abnormal rib count or the existence of LSTV were also evaluated. Methods The vertebral levels were counted craniocaudally, starting from C1, based on the assumption of 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, and 5 lumbar vertebrae, using whole spine spiral three-dimensional computed tomographic images. The 20th and 25th vertebrae were defined as L1 and S1, respectively. Results In total, 150 patients had TLTV, with a prevalence of 11.2% (150/1,340). LSTV was observed in 111 of 1,340 cases (8.3%). Sacralization was observed in 68 of 1,340 cases (5.1%) and lumbarization in 43 of 1,340 cases (3.2%). There was a significant relationship between the existence of TLTV and the abnormal rib count (odds ratio [OR]: 117.26, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 60.77–226.27; P < 0.001) and LSTV (OR: 7.38, 95% CI: 3.99–13.63; P < 0.001). Conclusions Our study results suggest that patients with TLTV are more likely to have an abnormal rib count or LSTV. If a TLTV or LSTV is seen on the fluoroscopic image, a whole spine image is necessary to permit accurate numbering of the lumbar vertebra.

While car-centric culture and children’s mobility have been studied in industrialized countries, there are limited data on developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This study analyzes children’s active transportation to school in the Dominican Republic using audit observations of the built environment and surveys. The study assesses how parents’ and children’s environmental perceptions vary and how children’s mode choice is influenced by physical features and perceived safety levels. Land use and built environment attributes were evaluated for each street segment within a 400-m radius of 20 schools using the audit method. The findings indicate that safety problems are the main obstacle preventing children from bicycling or walking to school. Particularly, industrial land use, abandoned buildings, and bars hampered children’s active travels to school. Interestingly, public school students are nearly four times more likely to walk or bike to school than private school students. Furthermore, children who live in an area with fast-moving cars were more inclined to walk to school as captive walkers. The study’s conclusions have implications for urban environments where children’s independent mobility is constrained by car-oriented policies.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a radiation therapy that selectively kills cancer cells and is being actively researched and developed around the world. In Korea, development of the proton linear accelerator-based BNCT system has completed development, and its anti-cancer effect in the U-87 MG subcutaneous xenograft model has been evaluated. To evaluate the efficacy of BNCT, we measured 10B-enriched boronophenylalanine (BPA) uptake in U-87 MG, FaDu, and SAS cells and evaluated cell viability by clonogenic assays. In addition, the boron concentration in the tumor, blood, and skin on the U-87 MG xenograft model was measured, and the tumor volume was measured for 4 weeks after BNCT. In vitro, the intracellular boron concentration was highest in the order of SAS, FaDu, and U-87 MG, and cell survival fractions decreased depending on the BPA treatment concentration and neutron irradiation dose. In vivo, the tumor volume was significantly decreased in the BNCT group compared to the control group. This study confirmed the anti-cancer effect of BNCT in the U-87 MG subcutaneous xenograft model. It is expected that the proton linear accelerator-based BNCT system developed in Korea will be a new option for radiation therapy for cancer treatment.

Recent studies have attempted to understand natural language and infer answers. Machine reading comprehension is one of the representatives, and several related datasets have been opened. However, there are few official open datasets for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), which is widely used for evaluating people’s English proficiency, and research for further advancement is not being actively conducted. We consider that the reason why deep learning research for TOEIC is difficult is due to the data scarcity problem, so we therefore propose two data augmentation methods to improve the model in a low resource environment. Considering the attributes of the semantic and grammar problem type in TOEIC, the proposed methods can augment the data similar to the real TOEIC problem by using POS-tagging and Lemmatizing. In addition, we confirmed the importance of understanding semantics and grammar in TOEIC through experiments on each proposed methodology and experiments according to the amount of data. The proposed methods address the data shortage problem of TOEIC and enable an acceptable human-level performance.

Solar microwave bursts carry information about the magnetic field in the emitting region as well as about electrons accelerated during solar flares. While this sensitivity to the coronal magnetic field must be a unique advantage of solar microwave burst observations, it also adds a complexity to spectral analysis targeted to electron diagnostics. This paper introduces a new spectral analysis procedure in which the cross-section and thickness of a microwave source are expressed as power-law functions of the magnetic field so that the degree of magnetic inhomogeneity can systematically be derived. We applied this spectral analysis tool to two contrasting events observed by the Owens Valley Solar Array: the SOL2003-04-04T20:55 flare with a steep microwave spectrum and the SOL2003-10-19T16:50 flare with a broader spectrum. Our analysis shows that the strong flare with the broader microwave spectrum occurred in a region of highly inhomogeneous magnetic field and vice versa. We further demonstrate that such source properties are consistent with the magnetic field observations from the Michelson Doppler Imager instrument onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft and the extreme ultraviolet imaging observations from the SOHO extreme ultraviolet imaging telescope. This spectral inversion tool is particularly useful for analyzing microwave flux spectra of strong flares from magnetically complex systems.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to study the bulk polycrystalline properties of NiTi. Thermally driven phase transitions of NiTi between martensite and austenitewere simulated using single crystalline simulation domains. With external stress boundary conditions, MD simulation successfully predicted experimentally observed phase transformation temperatures of bulk polycrystalline. Elastic characteristics of NiTi martensite were simulated using polycrystalline simulation domains that consist of realistic disorientations and grain boundary structures. The existence of grain disorientation and grain boundary lowered the potential energy of the simulation domain, which led to more realistic elastic modulus prediction. Analysis of simulation domains that predicted realistic bulk polycrystalline properties showed that the major difference between single crystalline and polycrystalline structures is atomic stress distribution.

Solar wind density depletions are phenomena that solar wind density is rapidly decreased and keep the state. They are generally believed to be caused by the interplanetary (IP) shocks. However, there are other cases that are hardly associated with IP shocks. We set up a hypothesis for this phenomenon and analyze this study. We have collected the solar wind parameters such as density, speed and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) data related to the solar wind density depletion events during the period from 1996 to 2013 that are obtained with the advanced composition explorer (ACE) and the Wind satellite. We also calculate two pressures (magnetic, dynamic) and analyze the relation with density depletion. As a result, we found total 53 events and the most these phenomena’s sources caused by IP shock are interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). We also found that solar wind density depletions are scarcely related with IP shock’s parameters. The solar wind density is correlated with solar wind dynamic pressure within density depletion. However, the solar wind density has an little anti-correlation with IMF strength during all events of solar wind density depletion, regardless of the presence of IP shocks. Additionally, In 47 events of IP shocks, we find 6 events that show a feature of blast wave. The quantities of IP shocks are weaker than blast wave from the Sun, they are declined in a short time after increasing rapidly. We thus argue that IMF strength or dynamic pressure are an important factor in understanding the nature of solar wind density depletion. Since IMF strength and solar wind speed varies with solar cycle, we will also investigate the characteristics of solar wind density depletion events in different phases of solar cycle as an additional clue to their physical nature.

Sunspots are concentration of magnetic field visible on the solar surface, which were thought to be unaffected by solar flares that take place in the solar corona. Here the authors report evidence of a flare-induced rotation of a sunspot, showing nonuniform acceleration following the peaks of X-ray emissions.

Storm sudden commencements (SSCs) occur due to a rapid compression of the Earth's magnetic field. This is generally believed to be caused by interplanetary (IP) shocks, but with exceptions. In this paper we explore possible causes of SSCs other than IP shocks through a statistical study of geomagnetic storms using SYM-H data provided by the World Data Center for Geomagnetism – Kyoto and by applying a superposed epoch analysis to simultaneous solar wind parameters obtained with the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite. We select a total of 274 geomagnetic storms with minimum SYM-H of less than –30nT during 1998-2008 and regard them as SSCs if SYM-H increases by more than 10 nT over 10 minutes. Under this criterion, we found 103 geomagnetic storms with both SSC and IP shocks and 28 storms with SSC not associated with IP shocks. Storms in the former group share the property that the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), proton density and proton velocity increase together with SYM-H, implying the action of IP shocks. During the storms in the latter group, only the proton density rises with SYM-H. We find that the density increase is associated with either high speed streams (HSSs) or interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), and suggest that HSSs and ICMEs may be alternative contributors to SSCs.

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process occurring in a wide range of astrophysical, heliospheric and laboratory plasmas. This process alters magnetic topology and triggers rapid conversion of magnetic energy into thermal heating and nonthermal particle acceleration. Efforts to understand the physics of magnetic reconnection have been made across multiple disciplines using remote observations of solar flares and in-situ measurements of geomagnetic storms and substorms as well as laboratory and numerical experiments. This review focuses on the progress achieved with solar flare observations in which most reconnection-related signatures could be resolved in both space and time. The emphasis is on various observable emission features in the low solar atmosphere which manifest the coronal magnetic reconnection because these two regions are magnetically connected to each other. The research and application perspectives of solar magnetic reconnection are briefly discussed and compared with those in other plasma environments.

Why do Western powers support ruthless dictatorships in allied countries, but at other times condemn the actions of these same dictatorships in support of democratic revolutionaries? Based on this puzzle, this paper argues that Western support of democratization is dependent upon the economic ties that develop between the two allied states during the dictatorial era, prior to a democratic revolution. In contexts where the Western power has strong historical relations rooted in economic ties, a regime change is likely to be supported to ensure a continuation of the economic benefits previously received. We use the analytical perspective offered by the linkage and leverage thesis offered by Levitsky and Way (2013) and reformulate it to offer an alternative view in which to analyze foreign policy shifts and the breakdown of authoritarian regimes.

N2O, which is emitted mainly from nitrogen decomposition via bacteria, livestock manure, agricultural fertilizer use, fossil fuel combustion and waste incineration, is classified as a substance that causes significant destruction of the ozone layer. The N2O measurement methods for these emission sources may be divided into chromatography, optical, and electrical current measurements. Chromatography has been widely utilized for analyzing N2O. However, up until now, few studies have been conducted on N2O using photoacoustic spectroscopy. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate performance of photoacoustic spectroscopy in this regard based on laboratory and field test results. The repeatability of photoacoustic spectroscopy was measured at 1.12%, which is lower than the repeatability of 3.0% suggested by the ISO 1564 standard, so, it has shown an excellent repeatability. The detection limit was determined to be 0.025 ppm, and the response time was confirmed to be 3 min and 26 s. The results of comparison between these measurements and GC show that the latter has superior accuracy, but mobility and convenience are superior for PAS. On the contrary, GC has a continuous measurement limitation, but PAS makes it possible to conduct continuous measurements. Therefore, PAS can be extremely useful to confirm the characteristics of N2O emissions and to quantify their amount.

BackgroundThe use of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) has been increasing because it has advantages such as improved pain relief, greater patient satisfaction, and fewer postoperative complications. However, current research has not considered the patients' thoughts about IV-PCA's cost-effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the willingness to pay (WTP) for IV-PCA and the relationship between patients' characteristics and WTP in Korea.MethodsWe enrolled 400 adult patients who were scheduled for elective surgery. The patient was requested to indicate a series of predefined amounts of money (Korean won; 30,000/50,000/100,000/150,000/200,000/300,000/500,000). We also recorded patient characteristics, such as age, sex, type of surgery, IV-PCA history, education level, the person responsible for medical expenses, type of insurance, net annual income, and residential area. Three days after surgery, we asked about the degree of satisfaction and the WTP for IV-PCA.ResultsFor IV-PCA, the median WTP was 100,000 won (25-75%; 50,000-200,000 won: US$1 = W1078.04; July 19, 2011) before surgery. All patients' characteristics were not related to preoperative WTP for IV-PCA, whereas the increase in WTP after surgery showed a tendency correlated to higher IV-PCA satisfaction.ConclusionsThe median WTP was 100,000 won. The satisfaction of IV-PCA increased patients' WTP after surgery, but the WTP may be independent of patient characteristics in Korea.

Lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease that is characterized by the progressive proliferation of atypical smooth muscle-like cells, which leads to severe respiratory impairment and death. Dyspnea, cough, recurrent pneumothorax, and hemoptysis are the most common clinical symptoms of LAM. We report a 29-year-old female patient with massive hemoptysis during laparoscopic gynecologic surgery under general anesthesia, who was diagnosed with pulmonary LAM.

Tracheal rupture is a rare but serious complication that occurs after endotracheal intubation. It usually presents as a linear lesion in the membranous wall of the trachea, and is more prevalent in women and patients older than 50 years. The clinical manifestations of tracheal injury include subcutaneous emphysema and respiratory distress. We report the cases of three female patients of old age presenting tracheal rupture after endotracheal intubation. Two cases received surgical repair without complication and one recovered uneventfully after conservative management. We presume that the tracheal injuries were caused by over-inflation of cuff and sudden movement of the tube by positional change. Therefore, we recommend cuff pressure monitoring during general anesthesia and minimized movement of the head and neck at positional change.

BackgroundA preanesthetic visit can increase a patient's satisfaction. However, it is uncertain whether a preanesthetic visit by an anesthesiology resident can achieve the goal. We studied the time distribution for content of preanesthetic interviews (PI) and evaluated the patient's satisfaction with the PI.MethodsWe recorded the PI duration of 200 patients by a voice recorder. The degrees of patient satisfaction with the PI and the changes of anxiety level after the PI were quantified by a questionnaire. We analyzed the time distribution for content of the PI and the correlation between patient characteristics and PI duration or a patient's satisfaction.ResultsThe total PI duration was 184 (134-286) sec (median, 25-75%), and the time distributions for content of the PI were 8 (5-10) of greeting, 45 (23-70) of history taking, 15 (10-20) of physical examination, 50 (25-98) for obtainingan informed consent, 20 (10-30) of explanation for anesthetic planning, 15 (5-28) for explanation of patient controlled analgesia, and 10 (0-4) sec for questions and answers. Age, ASA physical status, and educational level were correlated with PI duration (P < 0.001). The patient's level of satisfaction was "very satisfied" in 39%, "satisfied" in 50%, and "moderate" in 11% of interviews. The anxiety level was "decreased" in 50%, "increased" in 8%, and "not changed" in 42% of patients.ConclusionsAlthough the duration of a PI given by residents was a relatively short, 89% of patients of were satisfied with the interview. The PI took a longer time to complete in patients of older age, higher ASA physical status, or lower educational levels.

Korea-specific GHG emissions should be estimated correctly in order to ensure effective measurement of climate change variables. The use of country-specific data that reflects fuel and technology characteristics is needed for accurate GHG emissions estimation. Oxidation factors are used to convert existing data into equivalent GHG emissions, and changes in these oxidation factors are directly related to changes in emissions. As such, the oxidation factor is one of the most important variables in using country-specific data to determine GHG emissions. In this study, the oxidation factor of bituminous coal in large scale boilers was estimated using 4,527 data points sampled from eight large-scale boilers that had been using bituminous coal for two years. The average oxidation factor was determined to be 0.997, which is lower than the oxidation factor of 1 that is recommended by the IPCC G/L for large scale boilers when estimating national GHG emissions. However, an oxidation factor less than 1 is assumed for fluidized bed boilers, internal combustion engines, and other small-scale boilers. Accordingly, studies on oxidation factor estimation should be continued to allow for accurate estimation of GHG emissions.

In order to tackle climate change effectively, the greenhouse gas emissions produced in Korea should be assessed precisely. To do so, the nation needs to accumulate country-specific data reflecting the specific circumstances surrounding Korea’s emissions. This paper analyzed element contents of domestic anthracite, calorific value, and concentration of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the exhaust gases from circulating fluidized bed plant. The findings showed the concentration of CH4 and N2O in the flue gas to be 1.85 and 3.25 ppm, respectively, and emission factors were 0.486 and 2.198 kg/TJ, respectively. The CH4 emission factor in this paper was 52% lower than default emission factor presented by the IPCC. The N2O emission factor was estimated to be 46% higher than default emission factor presented by the IPCC. This discrepancy can be attributable to the different methods and conditions of combustion because the default emission factors suggested by IPCC take only fuel characteristics into consideration without combustion technologies. Therefore, Korea needs to facilitate research on a legion of fuel and energy consumption facilities to develop country-specific emission factors so that the nation can have a competitive edge in the international climate change convention in the years to come.