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OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis aims to assess the susceptibility to and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (AIRD) and following AIRD drug use.\ud \ud MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included observational and case-controlled studies assessing susceptibility and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with AIRD as well as the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 with or without use of steroids and conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs).\ud \ud RESULTS: Meta-analysis including three studies showed that patients with AIRD are not more susceptible to COVID-19 compared to patients without AIRD or the general population (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.58 to 2.14). Incidence of severe outcomes of COVID-19 (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 0.76 to 2.35) and COVID-19 related death (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 0.68 to 2.16) also did not show significant difference. The clinical outcomes of COVID-19 among AIRD patients with and without csDMARD or steroid showed that both use of steroid (OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 0.96 to 2.98) or csDMARD (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.63 to 3.08) had no effect on clinical outcomes of COVID-19.\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS: AIRD does not increase susceptibility to COVID-19, not affecting the clinical outcome of COVID-19. Similarly, the use of steroids or csDMARDs for AIRD does not worsen the clinical outcome.

The aim of this study is to compare the risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) between patients suspending and continuing estrogen therapy perioperatively, in male to female gender-affirming surgery (vaginoplasty).The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research on male to female gender-affirming study, which compared the risk of VTE among the usage of estrogen perioperatively.A total of 209 studies were identified as potentially eligible among PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library databases. Among the studies, 191 studies were excluded due to their abstract inappropriateness. Out of the remaining 18 studies, only 3 articles were eligible and were finally included. Meta-analysis was performed and showed odds ratio of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.04, 14.01).Perioperative estrogen therapy does not increase VTE risk on male to female gender-affirming surgery. Therefore, estrogen therapy may be continued perioperatively in vaginoplasty. More prospective studies are needed.

Einleitung: TREATgermany ist ein Forschungsregister, das deutschlandweit Informationen zu Erkrankungsschwere, Therapieverlauf und Patient Reported Outcomes bei erwachsenen Patienten mit moderater bis schwerer Neurodermitis (AD) dokumentiert. Im Beitrag wird der Zusammenhang der globalen Einschätzung der Erkrankungsschwere der AD durch Ärzte und Patienten zur Baselinevisite und deren Abhängigkeit von Erkrankungssymptomen untersucht. Methoden: Skalen: Globale Einschätzung der Schwere der AD (0 (abgeheilt) - 5 (sehr schwer)) durch Patienten (PGA) und Ärzte (IGA). Symptome: NRS für Schmerzen, Juckreiz und Schlafstörungen der letzten 3 Tage (0 (kein Auftreten des Symptoms) - 10 (schwerst-vorstellbares Auftreten)). Statistik: Stata 15, Wilcoxon-Vorzeichen-Rang-Test. + TREATgermany wird durch Sanofi, LEO, Galderma und Lilly finanziell unterstützt. Ergebnisse: 2016-2020 wurden 1.025 Patienten (Alter 42±15 Jahre; 42% Frauen) in 38 Zentren eingeschlossen. PGA und IGA lagen im Median bei beiden Geschlechtern bei 3 (moderat). Frauen (F) litten stärker unter den erfragten Symptomen als Männer (M) (Mediane: Schmerzen: 4 vs 3, Juckreiz: 7 vs 6, Schlafstörungen: 5 vs 4). PGA und IGA stimmten bei 38,4% der Patienten überein. 30,2 bzw. 31,4% der Frauen sowie 35,1 bzw. 26,5% der Männer schätzten ihre AD leichter bzw. schwerer ein als der Arzt (F: p = 0,9; M: p = 0,002). 50,3% der Patienten litten stark unter Schmerzen, Juckreiz oder Schlafstörungen (mind. 1 Wert ≥7), 14,2% unter allen 3 Symptomen. Je 38,0 bzw. 46,2% dieser Patienten schätzten ihre AD schwerer ein als der Arzt (M 33,8 vs 39,7%; F 42,5 vs 52,0%). Fazit: Arzt- und Patientenbeurteilung der AD stimmen geschlechtsspezifisch insbesondere bei schwerem Symptomerleben nicht immer überein. Dies zeigt den Bedarf an individualisierter Behandlung der AD, die Patientenpräferenzen im Fokus hat.

The aim of this study is to analyze the disease prevalence of a rural African village and discuss how to maximize the outcomes of health projects. The analysis was based on electronic medical records (EMR) at a clinic in Bududa, Uganda. The installation of EMR in such a low-resource setting enabled efficient statistical analysis.Medical records from January 2013 to September 2017 were analyzed. During the study period, the top five disease categories diagnosed in Bududa district were diseases of the respiratory system, certain infectious and parasitic diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, and others.Infectious and parasitic disease, diseases of digestive system, and diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissue are major diseases. With the exception of the year 2017, extracted data shows that there is a significant increased prevalence of malaria after the rainy season, April and May.The authors expect an installation of EMR in the developing world in association with epidemiological research will guide different stakeholders including the government and healthcare providers to optimize the use of limited resources for which disease categories at what time. In addition, establishing a map of disease prevalence and incidence will yield more cost-effective strategies for enhancing the quality of life in low-resource settings.

Although previous research has reported beneficial effects of statins on infectious diseases, these have yet to be concluded. Therefore, we conducted an umbrella review to provide a comprehensive understanding of the strength of evidence and validity of claimed associations between statins (hydroxymethyl glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors) and infectious diseases.We conducted an umbrella review and re-analyzed data from meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and observational studies on associations between statin use and different infectious diseases such as bacteremia/sepsis and pneumonia. We also evaluated the level of evidence for each re-analyzed outcome based on the criteria using p-values of random and fixed-effects, 95% prediction intervals, small-study effects, between-study heterogeneity, and concordance between the effect estimate of the largest study and summary estimates of the meta-analysis. Moreover, publication bias was also examined.Through a systematic literature search, we obtained 14 eligible articles including 25 meta-analyses. All 4 meta-analyses on overall infection, 3 out of 14 meta-analyses on bacteremia/sepsis, and 5 out of 7 meta-analyses on pneumonia demonstrated that statin use was associated with reduced mortality due to infections (caused by infections). Nonetheless, most significant results only showed a weak level of evidence, and one study with convincing evidence prior to adjustment also showed weak evidence after adjustment.The present review identified a protective effect of statins on infection-related mortality, but all available studies had a weak level of evidence. Therefore, further studies with a strong level of evidence are needed, and it is also necessary to investigate the types of statins and to study clinical outcomes other than mortality to gain further insights.

Although some previous meta-analyses have demonstrated a relationship between statin therapy and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), conflicting results have been reported. Thus, we performed an umbrella review to understand the strength of evidence and validity of the claimed associations between statin use and all cause and cardiovascular mortality in CKD patients, including patients on dialysis (CKD stage 5D) and transplant recipients.We comprehensively re-analyzed the data of 14 meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized controlled trials on associations between statin use and different CKD groups - CKD, CKD stage 5D, and kidney transplant recipients. We also assessed the strength of evidence of the re-analyzed outcomes, which were determined from the criteria, including the statistical significance of the p-value of random-effects, as well as fixed-effects meta-analyses, small-study effects, between-study heterogeneity, and a 95% prediction interval.For CKD patients, statin use showed suggestive evidence for an association with reduced all-cause mortality [relative risk (RR) 0.77, 95% confidence interval (0.69-0.87)]. For kidney transplant recipients, statin use showed suggestive evidence for an association with reduced cardiovascular mortality [RR 0.67, 95% CI (0.50-0.90)]. However, for patients on dialysis, statins showed neither cardiovascular [RR 0.93, 95% CI (0.86-1.01)] nor all-cause mortality [RR 0.98, 95% CI (0.89-1.08)] benefits.Our finding indicates that statin could improve all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with non-dialysis CKD.

OBJECTIVE: Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly used as a lipid-lowering agent or dietary supplement for the purpose of prevention of cardiovascular diseases. However, even large-scale clinical trials have not shown significant results demonstrating clear clinical benefits in cardiovascular diseases. Thus, this umbrella review aims to summarize and evaluate the evidence of clinical effects of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation on cardiovascular outcomes through comprehensive analyses of previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or observational cohort studies.\ud \ud MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted relevant publication search in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. We retrieved and analyzed 3,298 articles published until August 28th, 2019.\ud \ud RESULTS: We identified 29 relevant articles and analyzed 83 meta-analyses of RCTs or cohort studies therefrom. As a result, we identified 12 cardiovascular outcomes that are related to omega-3 fatty acids supplementation. Among them, total mortality from major cardiovascular causes (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.98) had significant inverse associations, and moreover, statistical significances were maintained even in subgroup analysis of large-scale RCTs including more than 1,000 patients (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.99).\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS: Our umbrella review study shows that omega-3 fatty acids supplementation have a clinical benefit in reducing mortality from cardiovascular causes. However, many studies still have shown conflicting results, and therefore, further studies will be needed to verify the clinical benefit of omega-3 supplementation.

Although many previous meta-analyses of epidemiological studies have demonstrated a relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality, inconsistent findings among cardiovascular disease patients have been observed. Thus, we performed an umbrella review to understand the strength of evidence and validity of claimed associations between BMI and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases.We comprehensively re-analyzed the data of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomized controlled trials on associations between BMI and mortality among patients with cardiovascular diseases. We also assessed the strength of evidence of the re-analyzed outcomes, which were determined from the criteria including statistical significance of the p-value of random-effects, as well as fixed-effects meta-analyses, small-study effects, between-study heterogeneity, and a 95% prediction interval.We ran comprehensive re-analysis of the data from the 21 selected studies, which contained a total of 108 meta-analyses; 23 were graded as convincing evidence and 12 were suggestive, 42 were weak, and 23 were non-significant.Underweight increased mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), heart failure, and after therapeutic intervention for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Overweight, on the other hand decreased mortality in patient's ACS, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure with convincing evidence.

Hematologic cancer patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) tend to have a more serious disease course than observed in the general population. Herein, we comprehensively reviewed existing literature and analyzed clinical characteristics and mortality of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19.Through searching PubMed until June 03, 2020, we identified 16 relevant case studies (33 cases) from a total of 45 studies that have reported on patients with COVID-19 and hematologic malignancies. We investigated the clinical and laboratory characteristics including type of hematologic malignancies, initial symptoms, laboratory findings, and clinical outcomes. Then, we compared those characteristics and outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19 to the general population infected with COVID-19.The median age was 66-year-old. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia was the most common type of hematologic malignancy (39.4%). Fever was the most common symptom (75.9%). Most patients had normal leukocyte counts (55.6%), lymphocytosis (45.4%), and normal platelet counts (68.8%). In comparison to patients with COVID-19 without underlying hematologic malignancies, dyspnea was more prevalent (45.0 vs. 24.9%, p=0.025). Leukocytosis (38.9 vs. 9.8%, p=0.001), lymphocytosis (45.4 vs. 8.2%, p=0.001), and thrombocytopenia (31.3 vs. 11.4%, p=0.036) were significantly more prevalent and lymphopenia (18.2 vs. 57.4%, p=0.012) less prevalent in patients with hematologic malignancies. There were no clinical and laboratory characteristics predicting mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies. Mortality was much higher in patients with hematologic malignancies compared to those without this condition (40.0 vs. 3.6%, p0.001).Co-occurrence of hematologic malignancies and COVID-19 is rare. However, due to the high mortality rate from COVID-19 in this vulnerable population, further investigation on tailored treatment and management is required.

Despite the recognized association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Parkinson's disease (PD), the implications of glycaemic variability for patients with PD are as yet unknown. For this reason, our study assessed the future risk of incident PD according to visit-to-visit fasting plasma glucose (FPG) variability, as calculated by standard deviation (FPG-SD), coefficient variance (FPG-CV) and variability independent of the mean (FPG-VIM).Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service Health Screening Cohort, 131,625 Korean adults without diabetes were followed. They were divided into a midlife group (age65 years) and an elderly group (age≥65 years) throughout a median follow-up of 8.4 years.Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using multivariable Cox proportional-hazards analysis. In the midlife group, HRs for incident PD in the highest quartile of FPG variability (as measured by SD, CV and VIM) were 1.37 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09-1.73], 1.33 (95% CI: 1.06-1.68) and 1.35 (95% CI: 1.07-1.70), respectively, vs the lowest variability quartile group. However, while incident PD did not differ according to FPG variability in the elderly group, Kaplan-Meier curves of PD probability in the midlife group showed a progressively increasing risk of PD the higher the FPG variability. According to a multivariable adjusted model, every 1-SD unit increment in glycaemic variability was associated with a 9% higher risk of incident PD in the midlife group.Increased long-term glycaemic variability may be a precipitating risk factor for developing PD in the midlife population without diabetes.

The key remaining physics design issue for the ITER tungsten (W) divertor is the question of monoblock (MB) front surface shaping in the high heat flux target areas of the actively cooled targets. Engineering tolerance specifications impose a challenging maximum radial step between toroidally adjacent MBs of 0.3mm. Assuming optical projection of the parallel heat loads, magnetic shadowing of these edges is required if quasi-steady state melting is to be avoided under certain conditions during burning plasma operation and transiently during edge localized mode (ELM) or disruption induced power loading. An experiment on JET in 2013 designed to investigate the consequences of transient W edge melting on ITER, found significant deficits in the edge power loads expected on the basis of simple geometric arguments, throwing doubt on the understanding of edge loading at glancing field line angles. As a result, a coordinated multi-experiment and simulation effort was initiated via the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) and through ITER contracts, aimed at improving the physics basis supporting a MB shaping decision from the point of view both of edge power loading and melt dynamics. This paper reports on the outcome of this activity, concluding first that the geometrical approximation for leading edge power loading on radially misaligned poloidal leading edges is indeed valid. On this basis, the behaviour of shaped and unshaped monoblock surfaces under stationary and transient loads, with and without melting, is compared in order to examine the consequences of melting, or power overload in context of the benefit, or not, of shaping. The paper concludes that MB top surface shaping is recommended to shadow poloidal gap edges in the high heat flux areas of the ITER divertor targets. Keywords: ITER, Tungsten, Divertor, Shaping, Melting, MEMOS

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.

Given that energy-efficiency policies focus on meso- or macro-scale interventions, it is imperative to establish a macro-scale evaluation approach for building retrofits to support policymaking in building energy conservation, management and sustainability. This study applies the generic idea of optimising the energy, economic and environmental outputs to propose a facile framework for evaluating the prospects of building retrofits on a macro-scale. Here, an extensive optimisation approach integrating life cycle cost evaluation and an environmental assessment is formulated, involving coordinated on-site survey, modelling and data analytics. The model framework is corroborated by a case study analysis focused on identifying the optimal retrofit solution for low-rise office buildings in Shanghai. Simulation results show that modifications in occupancy regime, improvements in natural ventilation, heating and cooling systems, cool roofs insulation and installation of renewable energy systems (such as geothermal and solar/photovoltaics) are the basic retrofit measures for a macro-scale intervention to attain maximum life-cycle benefits. Individually, an estimated investment cost for each retrofit project varied within RMB 1 – 5 million with a payback period

The enormous building energy consumption in Shanghai necessitates the identification of standard buildings to offer guidance for the adequate design of retrofitting strategies in order to promote a sustainable built and architectural environment. In this regard, this study develops a methodological approach to establish prototypical buildings using performance index system (PIS) founded on an on-site survey. Emphasis is focused on low-rise office buildings in Shanghai. A total of 10 office parks containing 136 single low-rise office buildings in Min Hang District were systemically selected for survey and data collection. The proposed PIS includes building orientation, number of floors, window/wall ratio, heat and cold source type, plan form, and construction year. Using cluster and correlation analysis, the surveyed buildings are classified based on the impact of each PIS on the annual building energy use intensity. Based on this approach, the most influencing indexes are construction year, the number of floors, window-wall ratio and building orientation. This result refines the surveyed building samples to four prototypical buildings as representative standards for low-rise office buildings. Subsequently, typical buildings representing each of the prototypical buildings were defined. The stipulated approach provides a systematic framework for building classification, characteristic-based evaluation of building energy performance and identification of key performance index for building retrofit purposes.

In this work, we present a highly-sensitive refractive index sensor based on metatronic nanocircuits operating at near-infrared spectral range. The structure is designed based on simple nanorod geometry and fabricated by nanopatterning of transparent conducting oxides. The functionality of these polarization dependent metatronic nanocircuits is enhanced by applying tunable response. This feature is investigated by depositing NH2 (Amine) groups via plasma polymerization technique on top of indium-tin-oxide nanorods. The dielectric constant of Amine groups is a function of their thickness, which can be controlled by the RF power and the time duration of the applied plasma polymerization process. The resonance wavelengths of nanocircuits shift to higher wavelength, as the dielectric constant of the deposited material increases. An excellent agreement between the design and experimental results are obtained. Our metatronic based nanosensor offers a high-sensitive performance of 1587 nm/RIU with a satisfactory figure of merit for this class of sensors.

The efficiencies of the fueling system in the KSTAR have been studied for the 2013 experimental results. The absolute amount of injected fuel or deuterium has been calibrated in advance of the main plasma experiments. This includes the primary actuator of fueling, i.e., gas puffing (GP) with piezoelectric valves located on mid-plane, and supersonic molecular beam injector (SMBI). In addition, neutral beam injectors (NBIs) and their base facility chamber also contribute to the amount of fuel injection whenever they are operated. Low fueling efficiency combined with particle loss due to wall retention essentially results in poor performance of density feedback control magnetic fusion devices such as the KSTAR.

Introduction Graft rejection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality following renal transplantation. One of the main determinants of success after renal transplantation is histocompatibility between donor and recipient. Most of the research on this topic has addressed human leukocyte antigen (HLA), but the roles played by minor histocompatibility antigens (mHAgs), such as mitochondrially transmitted antigens, are poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated immune responses induced by minor antigens originating from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in a large animal model. Methods To characterize whole swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) allele in 8 cloned pigs, we performed SLA genotyping for SLA-1, SLA-2, SLA-3, SLA-DQB1, and SLA-DRB1 as well as the hypervariable region 1 (HV1) of mtDNA. Renal transplantation was performed using SLA-matched pigs with different mtDNA as well as SLA-mismatched cloned animals. Cytokine profiling was performed by incubating peripheral leukocytes with cellular components from SLA-matched different mtDNA and SLA-mismatched cells to evaluate mtDNA-mediated immune response. Results SLA types were confirmed to be identical, but mtDNA sequences of HV1 varied among cloned pigs. Rejection episodes in the SLA-matched group with different mtDNA were similar to those in the SLA-mismatched group; that is, plasma creatinine and BUN levels were increased and mononuclear cell infiltration was observed in perivascular regions in the matched and SLA-mismatched groups. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed interleukin (IL)-1β expression to be elevated in SLA-matched and SLA-mismatched groups. Conclusion Cloned pigs are a useful preclinical model to evaluate the immunogenicity of mtDNA encoding minor antigens. The mtDNA originating from nongenomic DNA induced cell-mediated immune rejection after kidney transplantation.

Although the research of plasma-material interaction (PMI) is rather immature comparing the recent success of Korean fusion program, there are several facilities and programs of PMI research in Kor...

Heat loads deposited on the first wall by mitigated Type I ELMs are expected to be the dominant contributor to the total thermal plasma wall load of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), particularly in the upper main chamber regions during the baseline H-mode magnetic equilibrium, due to the fast radial convective heat propagation of ELM filaments before complete loss to the divertor. Specific Type I ELMing H-mode discharges have been performed with a lower single null magnetic geometry, where the outboard separatrix position is slowly (similar to 7 s) scanned over a radial distance of 7 cm, reducing the wall probe-separatrix distance to a minimum of similar to 9 cm, and allowing the ELM filament heat loss to the wall to be analyzed as a function of radial propagation distance. A fast reciprocating probe (FRP) head is separately held at fixed position toroidally close and 4.7 cm radially in front of the wall probe. This FRP monitors the ELM ion fluxes, allowing an average filament radial propagation speed, found to be independent of ELM energy, of 80-100 ms(-1) to be extracted. Radial dependence of the peak filament wall parallel heat flux is observed to be exponential, with the decay length of lambda(q,ELM) similar to 25 +/- 4 mm and with the heat flux of q(parallel to,ELM) = 0.05 MWm(-2) at the wall, corresponding to q(parallel to) similar to 7.5 MWm(-2) at the second separatrix. Along with the measured radial propagation speed and the calculated radial profile of the magnetic connection lengths across the SOL, these data could be utilized to analyze filament energy loss model for the future machines. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Qin, Y., Kabir, M. A., Wang, H. W., Lee, Y. H., Hong, S. H., Kim, J. Y., Yook, M. J., Kim, D. S., Kim, C. S., Kwon, H. and Kim, W. 2013. Assessment of genetic diversity and relationships based on RAPD and AFLP analyses in Miscanthus genera landraces. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 171–182. In this study, molecular markers, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) as well as combined RAPD and AFLP analysis were used to assess genetic diversity in a reference set of 38 Miscanthus accessions of which 32 were collected from South Korea and 6 from foreign countries. Using 30 selected RAPD primers, 197 amplified products were generated with an average of 6.6 bands, of which 135 bands were polymorphic (68.6%). A total of 1150 bands were detected by four-primer AFLP combinations with an average of 287.5 bands, out of which 923 bands were polymorphic (80.3%) across all the accessions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that a high proportion of the genetic variation (56% for RAPD and 58% for AFLP) was found among the Miscanthus species in South Korea. Genetic relationship was estimated using the Jaccard's coefficient values between different accessions, ranging from 0.23 to 0.93 in RAPD and 0.34 to 0.94 in AFLP. The un-weighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis demonstrated less difference between RAPD and AFLP when alternative similarity coefficient was applied. The principal coordinates (PCO) analysis also revealed the significant geographic structure in the tested accessions. Among the accessions, SNU-M-040, 074 and 157 were highly divergent. Pattern of isolation by distance was observed in Miscanthus accessions, indicating that significant genetic differentiation among accessions might be due to the geographic distance.

Summary Administration of vasopressors or inotropes during liver transplant surgery is almost universal, as this procedure is often accompanied by massive haemorrhage, acid–base imbalance, and cardiovascular instability. However, the actual agents that should be used and the choice between a vasopressor and an inotrope strategy are not clear from existing published evidence. In this prospective, randomised, controlled and single-blinded study, we compared the effects of a vasopressor strategy on intra-operative blood loss and acid–base status with those of an inotrope strategy during living donor liver transplantation. Seventy-six adult liver recipients with decompensated cirrhosis were randomly assigned to receive a continuous infusion of either phenylephrine at a dose of 0.3–0.4 μg.kg−1.min−1 or dopamine and/or dobutamine at 2–8 μg.kg−1.min−1 during surgery. Vascular resistance was higher over time in the phenylephrine group than in the dopamine/dobutamine group. Estimated blood loss was significantly lower in the phenylephrine group than in the dopamine/dobutamine group (mean (SD) 4.5 (1.8) l vs 6.1 (3.4) l, respectively, p = 0.011). Patients in the phenylephrine group had lower lactate levels in the late pre-anhepatic and the early anhepatic phase and needed less bicarbonate administration than those in the dopamine/dobutamine group (median (IQR [range]) 40 (0–100 [0–160]) mEq vs 70 (40–163 [0–260]) mEq, respectively, p = 0.018). Postoperative clinical outcomes and laboratory-measured hepatic and renal function did not differ between the groups. Increased vascular resistance and reduction of portal blood flow by intra-operative phenylephrine infusion is assumed to decrease the amount of intra-operative bleeding and thereby ameliorate the progression of lactic acidosis during liver transplant surgery.

With the development of information and communication technology (ICT), various tools designed to utilize the ubiquity of portable devices have been launched. This is also true within the construction industry, where many such tools seek to enhance work efficiency by utilizing ICT and to transform PC-based environments into mobile-based environments to enhance the convenience of use. In accordance with this trend, building information modeling (BIM) has now been extended to portable devices. A number of BIM tools are currently available, such as Formit (provided by Autodesk), BIMx (Graphisoft) and BIMsight (Tekla); however, they are limited to model-related functions such as viewer and model modification. Recently, additional functions such as communication and cloud-based information sharing have been developed, but user-oriented demand research using tools are not yet available. Therefore, based on a literature review, this study summarizes the external variables which affect the use of BIM application tools and describes the expected effects when the relationships between these variables are hypothesized and verified using the technology acceptance model. This study contributes to the development of user-oriented BIM utilization tools for portable devices.

The growth of an AlGaN-based non-phosphor white light emitting diode (LED) on a templated n-GaN (0001) sapphire substrate is performed by using mixed-source hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) with a multi-sliding boat. The DH (doublehetero) structure is grown by using a selective area growth (SAG) method. The non-phosphor white LED structure consists of a Te-doped AlGaN cladding layer, an AlGaN active layer, a Mg-doped AlGaN cladding layer and a Mg-doped GaN capping layer. The gas ow rates of HCl and NH3 are maintained at 20 sccm and 800 sccm, respectively. The growth temperatures of the source zone and the growth zone are 900 C and 1090 C, respectively. The electroluminescence (EL) main peak of the AlGaN-based white LED is observed at 400 nm and minor peaks are emitted in a broad spectrum from 450 nm to 600 nm. A combination of blue and broadband yellow peaks creates a white light. The non-phosphor white LED has a measured color rendering index (CRI) from 76 to 87. These results show mixed-source HVPE with a multi-sliding boat can be used to fabricate a non-phosphor white LED. Additionally, optical module measurements and X-ray di raction (XRD) veri ed the optical and the crystal quality of the white LED.

In this paper, we report structural changes in InGaN micro-structures grown by using mixed-source hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Hexagonal nanorods, bunched with many submicron-sized legs and tetrapod-shaped InGaN micro-structures, are grown on r-plane sapphire, c-plane sapphire and Si (111) substrates. As the growth temperature is increased, the overall shape of the InGaN structures changes from clusters of some needle-like legs to bunch shapes of many legs with thicker and hexagonal edges. The grown InGaN structures were analyzed by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to characterize the InGaN ternary crystal alloy. The indium mole fractions of the InGaN structures grown at 650 C, 700 C and 750 C were 44 %, 37 % and 27 %, respectively.

Histidine decarboxylase (HDC) catalyzes the formation of histamine from histidine. Histamine has various effects in physiological and pathological reactions, such as inflammation, cell growth, and neuro-transmission. We investigated the role of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 on hypoxia-induced HDC expression in human mast cell line, HMC-1 cells and mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs). Hypoxia significantly increased histamine production. HDC expression and activity were induced by hypoxia. Additionally, when cells were transfected with a native form of HIF-1alpha, hypoxia could induce higher HDC expression than in the nontransfected cell. HIF-1 binding activity for HDC 5' flanking region (HFR) was similar to that for the hypoxia-responsive element. Using HDC promoter deletion analysis, we also demonstrated that HFR was regulated by HIF-1 activation. In addition, depletion of HIF-1alpha prevents hypoxic induction of HDC in BMMCs. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that hypoxia induces HDC expression by transcriptional mechanisms dependent upon HIF-1.

Radial profiles of the ion saturation current and its fluctuation statistics are presented from probe measurements in L-mode, neutral beam heated plasmas at the outboard mid-plane region of KSTAR. The familiar two-layer structure, seen elsewhere in tokamak L-mode discharges, with a steep near-SOL profile and a broad far-SOL profile, is observed. The profile scale length in the far-SOL increases drastically with line-averaged density, thereby enhancing plasma interactions with the main chamber walls. Time series from the far-SOL region are characterised by large-amplitude bursts attributed to the radial motion of blob-like plasma filaments. Analysis of a data time series of several seconds duration under stationary plasma conditions reveals the statistical properties of these fluctuations, including the rate of level crossings and the average duration of periods spent above a given threshold level. This is shown to be in excellent agreement with predictions of a stochastic model, giving novel predictions of plasma-wall interactions due to transient transport events., Comment: 16 figures, PSI 2016

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has been increasingly used in many industries due to its low frictional coefficient and excellent chemical inertness. The surface properties of PTFE are of importance in various applications. The surface properties of PTFE can be modified by different techniques. In this study, PTFE film was treated in oxygen plasma for improving surface wettability. The effects of plasma treatment on dynamic wetting behavior were characterized using Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and dynamic contact angle (DCA) measurements. SPM observations revealed the etching effect of the plasma treatment on the film. The introduction of hydrophilic groups by plasma treatment was detected by FTIR. The roughened and functionalized surface resulted in the change in both advancing and receding contact angles. Advancing and receding contact angles were significantly reduced, but the contact angle hysteresis was obviously increased after plasma treatment.

By introducing a partial order and using the Monch fixed point theorem, we establish the existence of maximal and minimal solutions in Banach spaces to a boundary value problem for the equation of the bending of an elastic beam.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has been increasingly used in many industries due to its low frictional coefficient and excellent chemical inertness. The surface properties of PTFE are of importance in various applications. The surface properties of PTFE can be modified by different techniques. In this study, PTFE film was treated in oxygen plasma for improving surface wettability. The effects of plasma treatment on dynamic wetting behavior were characterized using Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and dynamic contact angle (DCA) measurements. SPM observations revealed the etching effect of the plasma treatment on the film. The introduction of hydrophilic groups by plasma treatment was detected by FTIR. The roughened and functionalized surface resulted in the change in both advancing and receding contact angles. Advancing and receding contact angles were significantly reduced, but the contact angle hysteresis was obviously increased after plasma treatment.