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Classification of facial and truncal segmental vitiligo and its clinical courses including recurrence rate and patterns: a retrospective review of 956 patients

The current study establishes baseline water quality properties for Sydney estuary, Australia for long periods of quiescence, which characterize the region. The study was undertaken in response to numerous requests for such data by researchers, government agencies and contractors. During quiescent periods, the range in Secchi depth transparency, turbidity, salinity and total suspended solid (TSS) values was 0.3–5.3 m, 18.6–0.1 NTU, 26.4–35.3 PSU and 8.3–1.0 mg/L in the upper and lower estuary, respectively. Baseline particulate metal concentrations were high, however TSS metal mass was greater during high rainfall. Tables and GIS-based maps allow baseline physio-chemical values to be extracted from the database for any location in Sydney estuary for quiescent conditions. Strong inter-parameter baseline relationships enable interpolation between water quality data. Baseline physio-chemical values were used to assess the impact of a high-precipitation event to demonstrate the utility of the new database.

Background: Dementia shows sex difference in its epidemiology. Childbirth, a distinctive experience of women, is associated with the risk for various diseases. However, its association with the risk of dementia in women has rarely been studied. Methods: We harmonized and pooled baseline data from 11 population-based cohorts from 11 countries over 3 continents, including 14,792 women aged 60 years or older. We investigated the association between parity and the risk of dementia using logistic regression models that adjusted for age, educational level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cohort, with additional analyses by region and dementia subtype. Results: Across all cohorts, grand multiparous (5 or more childbirths) women had a 47% greater risk of dementia than primiparous (1 childbirth) women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-1.94), while nulliparous (no childbirth) women and women with 2 to 4 childbirths showed a comparable dementia risk to primiparous women. However, there were differences associated with region and dementia subtype. Compared to women with 1 to 4 childbirths, grand multiparous women showed a higher risk of dementia in Europe (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.38-6.47) and Latin America (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.04-2.12), while nulliparous women showed a higher dementia risk in Asia (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.33-3.47). Grand multiparity was associated with 6.9-fold higher risk of vascular dementia in Europe (OR = 6.86, 95% CI = 1.81-26.08), whereas nulliparity was associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer disease (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.07-3.39) and non-Alzheimer non-vascular dementia (OR = 3.47, 95% CI = 1.44-8.35) in Asia. Conclusion: Parity is associated with women's risk of dementia, though this is not uniform across regions and dementia subtypes. © 2020 The Author(s).

AIMS: To investigate the association between parity and the risk of incident dementia in women. METHODS: We pooled baseline and follow-up data for community-dwelling women aged 60 or older from six population-based, prospective cohort studies from four European and two Asian countries. We investigated the association between parity and incident dementia using Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for age, educational level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cohort, with additional analysis by dementia subtype (Alzheimer dementia (AD) and non-Alzheimer dementia (NAD)). RESULTS: Of 9756 women dementia-free at baseline, 7010 completed one or more follow-up assessments. The mean follow-up duration was 5.4 ± 3.1 years and dementia developed in 550 participants. The number of parities was associated with the risk of incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.13). Grand multiparity (five or more parities) increased the risk of dementia by 30% compared to 1-4 parities (HR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.02-1.67). The risk of NAD increased by 12% for every parity (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.23) and by 60% for grand multiparity (HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.00-2.55), but the risk of AD was not significantly associated with parity. CONCLUSIONS: Grand multiparity is a significant risk factor for dementia in women. This may have particularly important implications for women in low and middle-income countries where the fertility rate and prevalence of grand multiparity are high.

Background Atherosclerosis is one of the main mechanisms of stroke and cardiovascular diseases and is associated with increased risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events. Intima-medial thickness (IMT) is a well-known surrogate marker of atherosclerosis and has been used to predict stroke and cardiovascular events. However, the clinical significance of IMT and IMT change in stroke has not been investigated in well-designed studies. The PreventIon of CArdiovascular events in iSchemic Stroke patients with high risk of cerebral hemOrrhage—Intima-Media Thickness (PICASSO-IMT) sub-study is designed to investigate the effects of cilostazol, probucol, or both on IMT in patients with stroke. Methods PICASSO-IMT is a prospective sub-study of the PICASSO study designed to measure IMT and plaque score at 1, 13, 25, 37, and 49 months after randomization. Results The primary outcome is the change in mean carotid IMT, which is defined as the mean of the far-wall IMTs of the right and left common carotid arteries, between baseline and 13 months after randomization. Conclusion PICASSO-IMT will provide the largest IMT data set in a stroke population and will provide valuable information about the clinical significance of IMT in patients with ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Assessment of the collateral status has been emphasized for appropriate treatment decisions in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to introduce a multiphase MRA collateral imaging method (collateral map) derived from time-resolved dynamic contrast-enhanced MRA and to verify the value of the multiphase MRA collateral map in acute ischemic stroke by comparing it with the multiphase collateral imaging method (MRP collateral map) derived from dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR perfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From a prospectively maintained registry of acute ischemic stroke, MR imaging data of patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by steno-occlusive lesions of the unilateral ICA and/or the M1 segment of the MCA were analyzed. We generated collateral maps using dynamic signals from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRA and DSC-MRP using a Matlab-based in-house program and graded the collateral scores of the multiphase MRA collateral map and the MRP collateral map independently. Interobserver reliabilities and intermethod agreement between both collateral maps for collateral grading were tested. RESULTS: Seventy-one paired multiphase MRA and MRP collateral maps from 67 patients were analyzed. The interobserver reliabilities for collateral grading using multiphase MRA or MRP collateral maps were excellent (weighted κ = 0.964 and 0.956, respectively). The agreement between both collateral maps was also excellent (weighted κ = 0.884; 95% confidence interval, 0.819–0.949). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the dynamic signals of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRA could be used to generate multiphase collateral images and showed the possibility of the multiphase MRA collateral map as a useful collateral imaging method in acute ischemic stroke.

We present the dynamic thermal analysis of a residential ground-source heat pump (GSHP) with the following objectives: (1) to present a comprehensive GSHP model accounting for the dynamic behavior of a vapor compression unit, lumped serviced space, and the ground heat exchanger (GHE); (2) to identify a set of GHE temperature, mass flow rate, and evaporator area fraction ( α ) improving the time-averaged coefficient of performance ( COP ‾ ) while retaining thermal comfort in the serviced space; and (3) to propose a GHE design satisfying the desired design and operating conditions determined in (2). For a 4-ton residential GSHP considered herein, we verified the existence of a critical GHE mass flow rate of 1 kg / s after which the COP ‾ hardly varied. Furthermore, we observed a design trade-off between cooling and heating modes wherein a smaller α was preferred in cooling mode while the heating mode favored a higher α . Cooling COP ‾ was sensitivity to both α and GHE temperature ( T B ), whereas that in heating mode was insensitive to T B as long as both α and L t were sufficiently high. The optimal α impartial to both modes was 0.29 and the peak COP ‾ = 5.49 and 3.6 in cooling and heating mode, respectively.

Dengue virus is a major issue of tropical and sub-tropical regions. The proliferation of virus results in immense number of deaths each year because of unavailability of on-shelf drugs. This issue necessitates the design of novel anti-Dengue drugs. The protease enzyme pathway is the critical target for drug design due to its significance in the replication, survival and other cellular activities of Dengue virus. Keeping in mind the worsening situation regarding Dengue virus, approximately eighteen million drug-like compounds from the ZINC small molecule database have been screened against Nonstructural Protein 3 (NS3) previously by our group. In this study, in order to investigate the effect of extended time of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on structural and dynamical profiles of used complexes, simulation run time is increased from 50-ns to 100-ns for the each system. In addition, a well-known Dengue virus inhibitor (MB21) from literature is used as reference structure (positive control) to compare the proposed molecules. Post-processing MD analyses including Molecular Mechanics/Generalized Born Surface Area (MM/GBSA) calculations were conducted to predict binding free energies of inhibitors from derived trajectory frames of MD simulations. Identified compounds are further directed to Quantum-Polarized Ligand Docking (QPLD), molecular fingerprint-based virtual screening of another small molecule database (Otava Drug Like small molecule database), and Structure-based Pharmacophore Modeling (E-Pharmacophore). Finally, cell proliferation and cytotoxicity tests as well as pre- and post-treatment on HUH7 cells infected with DENV2 NGC strain are applied for four identified hit molecules (ZINC36681949, ZINC44921800, ZINC95518765 and ZINC39500661) to check whether these drugs inhibit DENV2 from entry and/or exit pathways. Based on cell-based Dengue quantification assays, there is no effect seen on pre-treatment of cells with these compounds indicating that the early infection processes of virus is not affected. In contrast, the post-treatment of cells with these compounds after Dengue virus infection has resulted in a significant 1 log PFU/ml reduction of the virus infectious titre. © 2017 Elsevier Inc.

Objective To investigate the effects of completed pregnancy with childbirth and incomplete pregnancy without childbirth on the late-life cognition and the risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) in women. Methods Using the pooled data of 3,549 women provided by 2 population-based cohort studies, we conducted logistic regression analyses to examine retrospectively the associations of completed and incomplete pregnancy with the risks of mild cognitive impairment and AD. For women without dementia, we also conducted analyses of covariance to examine the associations of completed and incomplete pregnancy with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score. Results Grand multiparous women who experienced =5 completed pregnancies showed an 1.7-fold higher risk of AD than those who experienced 1 to 4 completed pregnancies (odds ratio [OR] 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-2.72), while those who had incomplete pregnancies showed half the level of AD risk compared with those who never experienced an incomplete pregnancy (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.24-0.76 for 1 incomplete pregnancy; OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.92 for =2 incomplete pregnancies). In women without dementia, the grand multiparous had worse MMSE scores than those with 1 to 4 completed pregnancies (p < 0.001), while those who experienced =1 incomplete pregnancies had better MMSE scores than those who never experienced an incomplete pregnancy (p = 0.008). Conclusions Grand multiparity was associated with high risk of AD, while incomplete pregnancy was associated with low risk of AD in late life. Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

We reported the dramatic improvement in electrochemical properties of high capacity orthosilicate, Li2MnSiO4 by conventional sol–gel route. Simple inclusion of metallic Cu and subsequent hybridization with polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers certainly promotes superior electrochemical activity in terms of high reversibility i.e. beyond one electron reaction and cycling stability. First, the Li2MnSiO4 nanoparticles are prepared by adipic acid assisted sol–gel technique at 700 °C under Ar flow by fine tuning the sintering duration. Then, optimization of adipic acid and Cu concentrations are performed based on the mentioned sintering conditions to yield high performance cathode active material. The Cu–Li2MnSiO4-PANI hybrid exhibits the reversible insertion of ∼1.15 and 0.73 mol of Li for first and 50th cycles, respectively. This corresponds to the ∼63% of retention.

The aim of the current study was to predict the plastic deformation behavior of a heated slab during hot rough rolling. FEsimulations were performed to investigate the metal flow and to locate the position of surface material from the slab through the rough rolling and onto the strip, using a material point tracking technique. In addition, experimental hot rolling trials were conducted where artificial defects were impressed onto a heated slab in order to validate the FE-simulation results. The simulated results show the same tendency of deformation behavior as the experimental measurements. The movement of slab defects from the side surface towards the strip center is directly linked to the extent of lateral spread during the rolling.

The aim of the current study was to predict shape recovery behavior of Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA) wire after loading-unloading and after wire drawing. The superelasticity of SMA was analyzed by a hyper-elastic model for the Mullins effect using ABAQUS. Firstly, tensile tests and loading-unloading tests of the Ni-Ti SMA wire with a diameter 1.0 mm were performed using an MTS servo-hydraulic tester. The parameters for the Mullins effect were computed by ABAQUS based on curve-fitting of the loading-unloading test data. The proposed FE-model predicted the shape recovery of Ni-Ti SMA after wire drawing. Finally, the effectiveness of the model was verified by drawing experiments. The wire drawing experiments using the Ni-Ti SMA were conducted on a drawing machine(1ton, 50mm/s). In order to evaluate the shape recovery of Ni-Ti SMA, the drawn wires are annealed for 30min at 450℃. Key Words : Shape Memory Alloy, Ni-Ti Alloy, Hyper-Elasticity, Mullins Effect, Wire Drawing

This paper deals with the multi-objective optimization of tire reinforcement structures such as the tread belt and the carcass path. The multi-objective functions are defined in terms of the discrete-type design variables and approximated by artificial neutral network, and the sensitivity analyses of these functions are replaced with the iterative genetic evolution. The multi-objective optimization algorithm introduced in this paper is not only highly CPU-time-efficient but it can also be applicable to other multi-objective optimization problems in which the objective function, the design variables and the constraints are not continuous but discrete. Through the illustrative numerical experiments, the fiber-reinforced tire belt structure is optimally tailored. The proposed multi-objective optimization algorithm is not limited to the tire reinforcement structure, but it can be applicable to the generalized multi-objective structural optimization problems in various engineering applications.

60 MHz pulsed radio frequency (rf) source power and 2 MHz continuous wave rf bias power, were used for SiO 2 etching masked with an amorphous carbon layer (ACL) in an Ar/C 4 F 8 /O 2 gas mixture, and the effects of the frequency and duty ratio of the 60 MHz pulse rf power on the SiO 2 etch characteristics were investigated. With decreasing duty ratio of the 60 MHz pulse rf power, not only the etch rate of SiO 2 but also the etch rate of ACL was decreased, however, the etch selectivity of SiO 2 over ACL was improved with decreasing the duty ratio. On the other hand, when the pulse frequency was varied at a constant duty ratio, no significant change in the etch rate and etch selectivity of both materials could be observed. The variation of the etch characteristics was believed to be related to the change in the gas dissociation characteristics caused by the change in the average electron temperature for different pulsing conditions. The improvement in the etch selectivity with the decrease of duty ratio, therefore, was related to the decreased gas dissociation of C 4 F 8 by the decrease of average electron temperature and, which resulted in a change in composition of the fluorocarbon polymer on the etched materials surface from C–C rich to CF 2 rich. With decreasing the duty ratio, not only the etch selectivity but also the improvement in the SiO 2 etch profile could be observed.

This work investigated the hydrogenation of carbon oxides (CO and CO 2 ) into methane (“methanation”) in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor packed with Ni/zeolite pellets. For the present investigation, plasma-assisted catalytic hydrogenation and conventional catalytic hydrogenation were examined for a temperature range of 180–360 °C by varying nickel loading up to 10 wt.%. In the catalysis-alone case, the conversions of CO and CO 2 were less than 15%, regardless of nickel loading, indicating that thermal activation of the catalyst was not enough to achieve significant methanation rate for the temperature range explored. On the other hand, with nonthermal plasma created in the catalyst bed, a precipitous rise in the conversion of more than 95% was observed for either CO or CO 2 . It is inferred that reactive species generated in the plasma reactor can speed up the rate-determining-step of the catalytic hydrogenation. The catalyst characterizations by using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope analyses revealed that Ni particles got smaller and were more uniformly dispersed over the support material after the plasma reaction, leading to increased conversion efficiencies of carbon oxides.

Layered Li1+x(Mn0.4Ni0.4Fe0.2)1-xO2 (0 < x < 0.3) solid solutions were synthesized using solgel method with adipic acid as chelating agent. Structural and electrochemical properties of the prepared powders were examined by means of X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling. All powders had a phase-pure layered structure with R3m space group. The morphological studies confirmed that the size of the particles increased at higher x content. The charge-discharge profiles of the solid solution against lithium using 1 M LiPF6 in EC/DMC as electrolyte revealed that the discharge capacity increases with increasing lithium content at the 3a sites. Among the cells, Li1.2(Mn0.32Ni0.32Fe0.16)O2 (x = 0.2)/ Li + exhibits a good electrochemical property with maximum initial capacity of 160 mAhg �1 between 2-4.5 V at 0.1 mAcm �2 current density and the capacity retention after 25 cycles was 92%. Whereas, the cell fabricated with x = 0.3 sample showed continuous capacity fading due to the formation of spinel like structure during the subsequent cycling. The preparation of solid solutions based on LiNiO2-LiFeO2-Li2MnO3 has improved the properties of its end members.

In this study, we assessed the temporal response of growth hormone (GH)/ghrelin to the intravenous administration of GH releasing hormone (GHRH) in 11- (period 1) and 15-month-old (period 2) Korean native steers, as well as the insulin induction response to glucose administration after completion of the feeding scheme in 11-month-old Korean native steers experiencing stair-step and extended restriction feeding schemes. The experiment was divided into periods 1, 2, 3, and 4 with durations of 3, 2, 4, and 2 months, respectively. The control group (n=9) was fed according to a standard feeding program during all 4 periods. The T1 (n=9; stair-step fed group) was fed a diet with total digestible nutrients (TDN) at concentrations 20% less and more than the TDN concentration fed to the control group in periods 1 and 3 and periods 2 and 4, respectively, whereas the T2 (n=9; extended restricted group) was fed increasing levels of TDN, having concentrations of 30%, 20%, 10% less than and 20% more than the TDN concentration of control group, during periods 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Randomly chosen steers (n=4, total 12 heads) from the C, T1, and T2 groups were used for the experiment of GHRH and glucose administration. Compared to the control group, the T1 showed elevated levels of plasma GH and insulin after GHRH and glucose administration (p

Inclusive photoproduction of D*+- in ep collisions at HERA has been measured with the ZEUS detector for photon-proton centre of mass energies in the range 115 < W < 280 GeV and photon virtuality Q**2 < 4 GeV**2. The cross section sigma(ep --> D*X) integrated over the kinematic region pt(D*) > 3 GeV and -1.5 < eta(D*) < 1.0 is (10.6+-1.7(stat.)+1.6(syst.)-1.3(syst.)) nb. Differential cross sections as functions of pt(D*), eta(D*) and W are given. The data are compared with two next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions. For a calculation using a massive charm scheme the predicted cross sections are smaller than the measured ones. A recent calculation using a massless charm scheme is in agreement with the data., 18 pages including 4 figures

High- and intermediate-energy protons are not able to directly form a track in a CR-39 etch detector (TED). Such detectors, however, can be used for the detection and dosimetry of the beams of these particles through the registration of secondary charged particles with sufficiently high values of linear energy transfer (LET). High-energy protons (72–220 MeV) and Intermediate-energy protons (10–30 MeV) with low LET values ranging from 1.1 down to 0.4 keV/μm and 5.87 down to 2.40 keV/μm, respectively are considered in this study. It seems to be sufficient to create secondary particles, although the LET values are low. This phenomenon can modify the characteristics of the energy transfer process due to these particles, which should be taken into account when such particles are used for radiobiology studies or for radiotherapy. The importance of these secondary particles was investigated experimentally by means of an LET spectrometer based on a chemically etched track detector in which the tracks of the primary protons are not revealed. Experiments were performed with proton beams available at the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine (NRCAM) in Karaj, Iran and at the National Cancer Center (NCC) in Seoul, Korea with protons of primary energies of about 10–30 MeV and 72–220 MeV respectively. The contribution of the secondary particle dose increases as the proton energy decreases. The origin of the secondary particles in interactions with protons having high and intermediate energies due to various nuclear reactions was calculated by the both ALICE and TALYS computer codes. The secondary microdosimetry doses were also calculated by GEANT4 code. There is large discrepancy between experimental and calculated results in low proton energies. It has been verified that there is a good correlation between the experimentally obtained results and the reaction cross sections predicted by ALICE and TALYS codes.

The effects of cutting condition and tempering temperature for the shape of cutting chip were investigated. For this purpose, a lead-free brass containing 1wt.% of Bi extruded at in straight turning was used in this study. The cutting chip preferred was mainly found to be loose form of arc chips with curling discontinuity, and these were formed by shear fracture. However, some of fragmental element chip were found to be mixed when tempering temperature was as high as . The form and size of chip was more affected by feed rate than by tempering temperature and cutting rate. In addition, the cutting surface was observed to be formed more rough in the case of high feed rate and low cutting rate compared to low feed rate and high cutting rate.

Low-temperature Scanning Laser Microscopy (LTSLM) was carried out to reveal the spatial distribution of the local resistive transition temperature and the local current density in commercial YBCO coated conductors near the superconducting transition. The result of the sample with an array of holes of various sizes shows that the signal δV is proportional to the current density. The distribution of the critical temperature of the sample with two parallel bridges is quite homogeneous and the transport current flows mainly along the outer edge of the sample. Using LTSLM we directly image the current path in YBCO coated conductors of different patterns.

The purpose of this work is to develop of a press forming process for mobile phone battery cover as an alternative to the current manufacturing process by laser welding. This press forming process consists of a combination of bending, side pressing and side bending operations. The dimensional error for each process was investigated by finite element(FE) analysis and the Taguchi optimization method. The spreading of the cover width in the side pressing process was adjusted by modifying the blank shape with a notch. The over-bending method was adopted to compensate the spring-back which occurs after bending. Forming experiments were performed to verify the reliability of the developed press forming process. In addition, the strength of the product was evaluated to verify the suitability of the battery cover manufactured with this new press forming process. The results of the forming experiments indicate that the dimensional accuracy of the battery cover is within the required tolerance. The strength of the battery cover was evaluated to 547N which is larger than required strength of 400N.

Selective proteolysis in plants is largely mediated by the ubiquitin (Ub)/proteasome system in which substrates, marked by the covalent attachment of Ub, are degraded by the 26 S proteasome. The 26 S proteasome is composed of two subparticles, the 20 S core protease (CP) that compartmentalizes the protease active sites and the 19 S regulatory particle that recognizes and translocates appropriate substrates into the CP lumen for breakdown. Here, we describe an affinity method to rapidly purify epitope-tagged 26 S proteasomes intact from Arabidopsis thaliana. In-depth mass spectrometric analyses of preparations generated from young seedlings confirmed that the 2.5-MDa CP-regulatory particle complex is actually a heterogeneous set of particles assembled with paralogous pairs for most subunits. A number of these subunits are modified post-translationally by proteolytic processing, acetylation, and/or ubiquitylation. Several proteasome-associated proteins were also identified that likely assist in complex assembly and regulation. In addition, we detected a particle consisting of the CP capped by the single subunit PA200 activator that may be involved in Ub-independent protein breakdown. Taken together, it appears that a diverse and highly dynamic population of proteasomes is assembled in plants, which may expand the target specificity and functions of intracellular proteolysis.

In the multi-pass shape drawing process, it is important to design the intermediate dies for producing sound products. Up to now, the design of the intermediate dies is mainly carried out by the industrial experts based on their experience. In this study, a design program was developed to design the intermediate dies for multi-pass shape drawing process. The program was programmed by using VisualLISP. In this program the intermediate dies can be designed by using the initial material shape and the final product shape. In order to verify the effectiveness, the program was applied to design the intermediate dies of multi-pass shape drawing for producing four teeth spline and gun slide. Finally, FE analysis and shape drawing experiment were performed to verify the effectiveness of the designed intermediate dies. As a result, it was possible to produce the drawn products with the required dimensional accuracy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thromboembolic events related to CAS continue to be the main limitation to the widespread use of this technique as a first-line treatment for carotid occlusive disease. Our aim was to evaluate thromboembolism during CAS using DWI for catheterization techniques of the carotid artery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two consecutive patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis underwent CAS involving 1 of 2 carotid artery catheterization techniques: One used a 7F or 8F catheter (group 1, n = 16) and the other used a coaxial system in which a 7F or 8F catheter was used in conjunction with a 4F or 5F catheter (group 2, n = 16). DWI was performed before and after CAS. Clinical variables, the number and location of NES on DWI after CAS, were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: NES on DWI occurred in 53% of all patients. The incidence of NES was significantly higher in patients 65 years of age and older versus those younger than 65 years of age ( P = .013). All NESs were asymptomatic, and their rate of occurrence did not differ significantly between groups 1 and 2. The incidence of NES in the other territories that were outside that of the treated carotid artery ( P = .004) and the incidence of multiple NESs ( P = .04) were significantly higher in group 1. CONCLUSIONS: NES in the other territories mainly arises from the atherosclerotic aortic arch and arch vessels during the manipulation of endoluminal devices. The carotid artery catheterization technique using the coaxial system with a 7F or 8F catheter in conjunction with a 4F or 5F catheter reduced the incidence of NES in the other territories.

During the multi-pass wire drawing process, wires suffer a great amount of plastic deformation that is through the cross-section. This generates tensile residual stress at surface of drawn wires. The generated residual stress on surface is one of the problems for quality of wires so that prediction and reduction of residual stresses is important to avoid unexpected fracture. Therefore, in this study, the effect of process variables such as semi-die angle, bearing length and reduction ratio on the residual stress was evaluated through Finite Element Analysis. Based on the results of the Analysis, a prediction model was established for predicting residual stress on the surface of high carbon steel(AISI1072, AISI1082). To identify the effectiveness of the proposed model, X-ray diffraction is used to measure the residual stresses on the surface. As the result of the comparison between calculated residual stresses and measured residual stresses, the model could be used to predict residual stresses in cold drawn wire.

The objective of this study is to propose the FE model for mechanical clinched joint using cohesive zone model to analyze its failure behavior under impact loading. Cohesive zone model (CZM) is two-parameter failure criteria approach, which could describe the failure behavior of joint using critical stress and fracture toughness. In this study, the relationship between failure behavior of mechanical clinched joint and fracture parameters is investigated by FE analysis with CZM. Using this relationship, the critical stress and fracture toughness for tensile and shear mode are determined by H-type tensile test and lap shear test, which were made of 5052 aluminum alloy. The fracture parameters were applied to the top-hat impact test to evaluate the crashworthiness. Compared penetration depth and energy absorption at the point where 50% of total displacement in result of FE analysis and experiment test for impact test, those has shown similar crashworthiness. Key Words : Clinching, Cohesive Zone Model, Cohesive Element, Finite Element Method, Crash Box, Impact Test

Nanoscale carbon-coated Li2MnSiO4 powder is prepared using a conventional solid-state method and can be used as the negative electrode in a Li2MnSiO4/activated carbon (AC) hybrid supercapacitor. Carbon-coated Li2MnSiO4 material presents a well-developed orthorhombic crystal structure with a Pmn21 space group, although there is a small impurity of MnO. The maximum specific capacitance of the Li2MnSiO4/AC hybrid supercapacitor is 43.2 F g−1 at 1 mA cm−2 current density. The cell delivers a specific energy as high as 54 Wh kg−1 at a specific power of 150 W kg−1 and also exhibits an excellent cycle performance with more than 99% columbic efficiency and the maintenance of 85% of its initial capacitance after 1000 cycles.

In the multi-pass shape drawing process, the appropriate process design is very important to produce sound products. The reduction ratio, die angle, and the intermediate die shape are very important process variable of the multi-pass shape drawing. The aim of this study is the determination of the reduction ratio, die angle, and the intermediate die shape of the 2 pass shape drawing process for producing steering spline shaft. In this study, FE analysis, Taguchi method, and ANN(artificial neural network) were applied to determine the appropriate reduction ratio, die angle, and intermediate die shape. After the determination of the process variables, FE analysis and drawing experiment were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the determined process variables. The dimensional accuracy of the final drawn spline shaft was evaluated by using 3D surface profiler and 3D laser digitizing system.

The synthesis of LiFePO4 nanoparticles by an adipic acid-assisted sol–gel route has been optimized based on cycling and structural analysis. Formation of the crystalline phase was investigated through thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). Among the optimized conditions, a 0.5 molar ratio of the adipic acid to total metal ions at a 670 °C calcination temperature under an Ar atmosphere yielded LiFePO4 particles with the desired properties. The synthesized particle sizes ranged from 50 to 100 nm. The Li/LiFePO4 cell exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 150 mAh g−1 that was maintained for 100 cycles. Elevated temperature (50 °C) performance of the cell is also described, showing a stable discharge behavior up to 60 cycles without any decline in capacity. Furthermore, the cell was subjected to rate capability studies (1–30 C) that suggested excellent capacity retention of the cell at ambient temperature. We conclude that the adipic acid-assisted sol–gel process is an excellent route to product LiFePO4 powders on large scale with high rate capability and retention.