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Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Panic disorder is highly associated with autonomic dysfunction, and is often accompanied by depression. The aim of this study is to determine the association between depression and HRV indices in patients with panic disorder.A total of 110 outpatients diagnosed with panic disorder participated in this study. The medical records of patients with panic disorder who visited the outpatient clinic of Konkuk University Hospital between December 2018 and March 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Measurements used in this study include the Panic Disorder Severity Scale-Self Report, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Insomnia Severity Index, and HRV. Patients were divided into depressive and non-depressive groups based on their BDI-II scores. The association between HRV indices and depressive symptoms was statistically analyzed.The low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio was reduced in patients with depression (mean = -0.095,We confirmed that the LF/HF ratio decreases when depression is accompanied by panic disorder. HRV indices may be useful markers for detecting depressive symptoms in patients with panic disorder.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether insomnia can independently affect suicide ideation or whether insomnia affect suicide ideation by mediating depression or anxiety in adjustment disorder (AD). Methods: Electronic medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 65 patients with diagnosed AD visited an outpatient clinic between January 2018 and December 2020. Measurements include the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Statistical analyses were performed to assess relationship between insomnia and suicide ideation in AD and the mediating role of depression or anxiety in this association. Results: During 3 years of study period, of the AD patients, 37 (57%) were male and 28 (43%) were female. Among them, 45 (69.2%) and 23 (35.4%) had clinically significant symptoms of insomnia (ISI ≥15) and suicide ideation (MMPI scale score ≥70), respectively. In a mediation model using depression and anxiety as mediating variable, there were significant effects of insomnia on depression (t=5.55, p

Atomic layer deposition of MoS2 reveals stepwise growth – ‘stop and go’ growth of MoS2 – behavior where the surface migration energy of the adsorbates is significantly enhanced.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the appropriate dose of quetiapine in clinical psychiatric diseases by examining the drug prescription dose in the elderly and insomnia group through an analysis of the tendency of quetiapine dose prescribed by psychiatric diagnosis.Methods: Among the patients who had been taking outpatient treatment to the mental health department for about 7 years and 8 months from May 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017, 2,794 patients who were continuously taking quetiapine immediate-release form drugs were retrospectively tested. In addition, all subjects were classified into a total of four groups according to their maintenance dose, four mental diseases that most commonly prescribe quetiapine were selected and grouped, and further analyzed whether there was a difference in prescription capacity by age and comorbidities for the insomnia group.Results: Prescription dose of quetiapine was found to be less than 50 mg in depressive disorders and insomnia, which is a relatively low dose prescribed compared to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In the case of insomnia, quetiapine prescribed in the elderly patient group was 30.03±9.14 mg, which was relatively high compared to the non-elderly group. And in the case of insomnia accompanied by depressive disorder, 50.28±11.41 mg was prescribed, more than 60% higher doses than that of primary insomnia.Conclusion: In the case of primary insomnia, quetiapine dose prescribed in the elderly patient group is higher than that in the non-elderly patient group.

Background There are growing concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of older adults. We examined the effect of the pandemic on the risk of depression in older adults. Methods We analyzed data from the prospective cohort study of Korean older adults, which has been followed every 2 years. Among the 2308 participants who completed both the third and the fourth follow-up assessments, 58.4% completed their fourth follow-up before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the rest completed it during the pandemic. We conducted face-to-face diagnostic interviews using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and used Geriatric Depression Scale. We performed generalized estimating equations and logistic regression analyses. Results The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased depressive symptoms in older adults [b (standard error) = 0.42 (0.20), p = 0.040] and a doubling of the risk for incident depressive disorder even in euthymic older adults without a history of depression (odds ratio = 2.44, 95% confidence interval 1.18–5.02, p = 0.016). Less social activities, which was associated with the risk of depressive disorder before the pandemic, was not associated with the risk of depressive disorder during the pandemic. However, less family gatherings, which was not associated with the risk of depressive disorder before the pandemic, was associated with the doubled risk of depressive disorder during the pandemic. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influences the risk of late-life depression in the community. Older adults with a lack of family gatherings may be particularly vulnerable.

The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the risk factors for dangerous driving between older adults with normal cognition and those with cognitive impairment.The driving risk questionnaire (DRQ) that was applied to a community-dwelling older adult cohort and 2 years of accident/violation records from the National Police Agency were analyzed. We conducted regression analyses with the presence or absence of risky driving based on records (accidents + violations) 2 years before and after evaluation as a dependent variable and dichotomized scores of each risky driving factor as independent variables.According to four identified factors-crash history, safety concern, reduced mileage, and aggressive driving-significant associations were found between risky driving over the past 2 years and crash history and for aggressive driving in the normal cognition group. In the cognitive impairment group, only crash history was significantly associated, although safety concerns showed a trend toward significance.In this study, it was suggested that the factors of DRQ have a significant association with actual risky driving. Our results are expected to contribute to establishing the evidence for evaluating and predicting risky driving and advising whether to continue driving in clinics.

The recent surge in the frequency and seriousness of cyber attacks is alarming and poses a critical threat against the stability of our society. Previously, most effort to mitigate cyber attacks has focused on the technical countermeasures. However, a number of recent cyber attacks showed the necessity of constantly offering proper massive Cyber Defense eXercise (CDX) to the workforce in a timely manner. In order to meet the ever growing demand, the most recent massive CDX platform utilizes various edge computing concepts to locally manage the overhead related to the trainees (blue team members) in real time unlike the traditional centralized CDX platform. So far, such massive CDX platform cannot be fully operational without sufficient number of qualified trainers (red team members) who have strong expertise in cyber offense and are willing to participate the CDX. Unfortunately, securing enough number of such red team members is greatly challenging in practice. To address this issue, this paper introduces an intelligent recommendation algorithm for the red team in a massive CDX so that such massive CDX can be organized without enough number of red team members with a strong expertise in cyber offense. Given a known attack graph for each cyber defense training module, we formally define the problem of identifying a subgraph including a victorious strategy for the red team as the victory subgraph computation problem. Then, we introduce a new algorithm to solve this problem as well as a new strategy to obtain a winning strategy for the offense team to assist such red team members. Besides, we also discuss about various approach to utilize our result to organize massive CDXs in an efficient manner.

ImportanceAlthough couples may share many risk factors for depressive disorders in their lifetime, whether these factors mediate the shared risk of depressive disorders has rarely been investigated.ObjectivesTo identify the shared risk factors for depressive disorder in couples and investigate their mediating roles in the shared risk of depressive disorders among older adult couples.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis nationwide, multicenter, community-based cohort study assessed 956 older adults from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia (KLOSCAD) and a cohort of their spouses (KLOSCAD-S) between January 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021.ExposuresDepressive disorders of the KLOSCAD participants.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe mediating roles of shared factors in couples on the association between one spouse’s depressive disorder and the other’s risk of depressive disorders was examined using structural equation modeling.ResultsA total of 956 KLOSCAD participants (385 women [40.3%] and 571 men [59.7%]; mean [SD] age, 75.1 [5.0] years) and their spouses (571 women [59.7%] and 385 men [40.3%]; mean [SD] age, 73.9 [6.1] years) were included. The depressive disorders of the KLOSCAD participants were associated with an almost 4-fold higher risk of depressive disorders in their spouses in the KLOSCAD-S cohort (odds ratio, 3.89; 95% CI, 2.06-7.19; P P = .04; mediation proportion [MP] = 6.1%) and through chronic illness burden (β = 0.003; 95% CI, 0.000-0.006; P = .04; MP = 1.5%). Chronic medical illness burden (β = 0.025; 95% CI, 0.001-0.050; P = .04; MP = 12.6%) and presence of a cognitive disorder (β = 0.027; 95% CI, 0.003-0.051; P = .03; MP = 13.6%) mediated the association.Conclusions and RelevanceThe risk factors shared by older adult couples may mediate approximately one-third of the spousal risk of depressive disorders. Identification of and intervention in the shared risk factors of depression among older adult couples may reduce the risk of depressive disorders in the spouses of older adults with depression.

Although couples could share many risk factors of cognitive disorders in their lifetime, whether shared risk factors mediate the shared risk of cognitive disorders has rarely been investigated.To identify the risk factors of cognitive decline shared within couples and investigate their mediating roles in the shared risk of cognitive disorders and cognitive functions within couples.A prospective cohort study was launched in November 1, 2010, and 784 participants were followed up every 2 years until December 31, 2020. This nationwide, multicenter, community-based study included older couples from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia (KLOSCAD) and a cohort of their spouses (KLOSCAD-S).The cognitive disorder of a spouse was defined as mild cognitive impairment or dementia.The mediating roles of factors shared within couples on the association between one spouse's cognitive disorder and the other's risk of cognitive disorders was examined with structural equation modeling.Included were 784 KLOSCAD participants (307 women [39.2%] and 477 men [60.8%]; mean [SD] age, 74.8 [4.8] years) and their spouses (477 women [60.8%] and 307 men [39.2%]; mean [SD] age, 73.6 [6.2] years). The cognitive disorder of the KLOSCAD participants was associated with almost double the risk of cognitive disorder of their spouses in the KLOSCAD-S cohort (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.12-2.69; P = .01). History of head injury (β = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.09-0.90; P = .02) and age (β = 2.57; 95% CI, 1.37-3.76; P .001) mediated the association between cognitive disorder in the KLOSCAD participants and their spouses' risk of cognitive disorder. Physical inactivity mediated the association through major depressive disorder (β = 0.33, 95% CI, 0.09-0.57, P = .006 for physical inactivity; β = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.13-0.44, P .001 for major depressive disorder). These factors similarly mediated the association between spousal cognitive disorder and cognitive functions such as memory and executive function.These findings suggest that the risk factors shared within couples may mediate approximately three-quarters of the spousal risk of cognitive disorders. Identification of and intervention in the shared risk factors of dementia within couples may reduce the risk of cognitive disorders in the spouses of people with dementia.

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder presenting panic attacks as a defining feature, with cognitive and behavioral symptoms that are associated with the panic attacks. Recently, the use of network analysis is increasing to determine the symptoms and mutual reinforcing patterns that conceptualize a mental disorder. This study aimed to improve our understanding of panic disorder by estimating a network structure of its symptoms.Data from 257 patients diagnosed with panic disorder who visited the outpatient psychiatric clinic from 2018 to 2020 were collected. Panic attacks, cognitive and behavioral symptoms concerning the panic attacks, depression, and anxiety sensitivity dimensions such as fear of cardiovascular symptom, fear of publicly observable anxiety reaction, fear of respiratory symptom, and fear of cognitive dyscontrol were computed. Bootstrapping was applied to estimate the 95% confidence intervals for each edges.The resulting network indicated fear of cognitive dyscontrol, impairment in social functioning, phobic avoidance of situations, and panic-focused anticipatory anxiety to be central symptoms in panic disorder. Interestingly, panic attacks and distress during panic did not emerge as central. Depression was strongly linked to fear of cognitive dyscontrol.The sample size limits network comparison tests between those with comorbid depression or agoraphobia. In addition, the cross-sectional design limits the opportunity to draw causal conclusions regarding the symptoms.These results have implications in etiology of panic disorder and support the efficaciousness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Future network analyses may employ longitudinal designs to investigate causal relationships between the symptoms.

ImportanceThe association between social support and dementia risk has been debated. Most previous prospective studies have not differentiated the subtypes of social support.ObjectiveTo examine whether the association between social support and risk of dementia differs by subtype of social support and by sex.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis nationwide prospective cohort study included randomly sampled South Korean adults 60 years or older. The study was launched November 1, 2010, with follow-up every 2 years until November 30, 2020. The 5852 participants who completed the assessment for social support and were not diagnosed as having dementia, severe psychiatric disorders including major depressive disorder, or major neurological disorders at the baseline assessment were included in the analysis.ExposuresGeriatric psychiatrists administered the structured diagnostic interviews and physical examinations to every participant based on the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer Disease (CERAD-K) Assessment Packet Clinical Assessment Battery.Main Outcomes and MeasuresBaseline levels of emotional and tangible support using the Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support Survey.ResultsAmong the 5852 participants (mean [SD] age, 69.8 [6.6] years; 3315 women [56.6%]; mean [SD] follow-up duration, 5.9 [2.4] years), 237 (4.0%) had incident all-cause dementia and 160 (2.7%) had incident Alzheimer disease (AD) subtype of dementia. Compared with women who reported having emotional support, those with low emotional support had almost a 2-fold higher incidence of all-cause dementia (18.4 [95% CI, 13.6-23.2] vs 10.7 [95% CI, 9.0-12.5] per 1000 person-years) and AD (14.4 [95% CI, 10.2-18.6] vs 7.8 [95% CI, 6.3-9.3] per 1000 person-years). Adjusted Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that low emotional support was associated with increased risk of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio, 1.61 [95% CI, 1.10-2.36]; P = .02) and AD (hazard ratio, 1.66 [95% CI, 1.07-2.57]; P = .02) only in women. Low tangible support was not associated with a risk of all-cause dementia or AD regardless of sex.Conclusions and RelevanceThe findings of this cohort study suggest that older women with low emotional support constitute a population at risk for dementia. The level of emotional support should be included in risk assessments of dementia.

Many natural compounds have been reported to improve cognitive function in cell- and animal-based studies. In this clinical trial, we evaluated the efficacy of ethanolic extract of

BACKGROUND Cognitive training can potentially prevent cognitive decline. However, the results of recent studies using semi-immersive virtual reality (VR)-assisted cognitive training are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine the hypothesis that cognitive training using fully immersive VR, which may facilitate visuospatial processes, could improve visuospatial functioning, comprehensive neuropsychological functioning, psychiatric symptoms, and functional connectivity in the visual brain network in predementia. METHODS Participants over 60 years old with subjective cognitive decline or mild cognitive impairment from a memory clinic were randomly allocated to the VR (n=23) or the control (n=18) group. The VR group participants received multidomain and neuropsychologist-assisted cognitive training in a fully immersive VR environment twice a week for 1 month. The control group participants did not undergo any additional intervention except for their usual therapy such as pharmacotherapy. Participants of both groups were evaluated for cognitive function using face-to-face comprehensive neuropsychological tests, including the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) copy task; for psychiatric symptoms such as depression, apathy, affect, and quality of life; as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) at baseline and after training. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the effect of cognitive training between groups. Seed-to-voxel–based analyses were used to identify the cognitive improvement–related functional connectivity in the visual network of the brain. RESULTS After VR cognitive training, significant improvement was found in the total score (F1,39=14.69, P=.001) and basic components score of the RCFT copy task (F1,39=9.27, P=.005) compared with those of the control group. The VR group also showed improvements, albeit not significant, in naming ability (F1,39=3.55, P=.07), verbal memory delayed recall (F1,39=3.03, P=.09), and phonemic fluency (F1,39=3.08, P=.09). Improvements in psychiatric symptoms such as apathy (F1,39=7.02, P=.01), affect (F1,39=14.40, P=.001 for positive affect; F1,39=4.23, P=.047 for negative affect), and quality of life (F1,39=4.49, P=.04) were found in the VR group compared to the control group. Improvement in the RCFT copy task was associated with a frontal-occipital functional connectivity increase revealed by rsfMRI in the VR group compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS Fully immersive VR cognitive training had positive effects on the visuospatial function, apathy, affect, quality of life, and increased frontal-occipital functional connectivity in older people in a predementia state. Future trials using VR cognitive training with larger sample sizes and more sophisticated designs over a longer duration may reveal greater improvements in cognition, psychiatric symptoms, and brain functional connectivity. CLINICALTRIAL Clinical Research Information Service KCT0005243; https://tinyurl.com/2a4kfasa

BackgroundCognitive training has potential in staving off cognitive decline. Recent studies using semi-immersive virtual reality (VR)-assisted cognitive training have shown inconsistent results. We aimed to test the hypothesis that cognitive training using fully immersive VR, which may facilitate visuospatial process, would improve visuospatial function, comprehensive neuropsychological functions, psychiatric symptoms, and functional connectivity (FC) of the visual network in the resting brain in pre-dementia state.MethodsParticipants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were randomly assigned to a VR (n = 23) or a control group (n = 18). VR group participants received multi-domain cognitive training in a fully immersive VR environment twice a week for one month. Both groups were evaluated for cognitive function using comprehensive neuropsychological tests including the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) copy task, for psychiatric symptoms using the Geriatric Depression Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-positive affect (PANAS), Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), and Quality of Life-Alzheimer’s disease, as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) at baseline and post-training. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to compare the effect of the cognitive training between the groups. Seed-to-voxel based analyses were used to find the cognitive improvement-related FC in the visual network of the brain.ResultsAfter VR cognitive training, the VR group showed improvements in the RCFT copy task (F = 15.44, p

Occupant presence and behavior in buildings have significant impact on space heating, cooling and ventilation demand, energy consumption of lighting and appliances, and building controls. For this reason, there is a growing interest on modeling occupant behavior, especially occupancy information. An occupancy prediction model based on an indirect approach using indoor environmental data is important due to privacy concerns and inaccurate measurements associated with the direct approach using cameras and motion sensors. However, such an indirect-approach-based occupancy prediction model has not yet fully discussed in building simulation domain. To tackle these issues, this study aims to develop an indoor environmental data-driven model for occupancy prediction using machine learning techniques. The experiments in the Building Integrated Control Test-bed (BICT) at Dankook University was conducted to collect the ground truth occupancy profiles, indoor and outdoor CO 2 concentrations and electricity consumptions of lighting systems and appliances for a data mining study. The results show that the proposed indoor environmental data-driven models for occupancy prediction using the decision tree and hidden Markov model (HMM) algorithms are well suited to account for occupancy detection at the current state and occupancy prediction at the future state, respectively.

Peptides containing multiple disulfide bonds are usually problematic when expressed in Escherichia coli. We conducted the expression of β-defensin with three disulfide bonds, hepcidin with four disulfide bonds, and DkTx with six disulfide bonds using a small leader protein mosaic expression in the periplasm of E. coli, and purified them by affinity chromatography and characterized them by mass spectroscopy. The result showed that the expression level was high. A large amount of the pure recombinant peptide was also recovered after purification with a Ni2+ affinity column. The mass results by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) indicated that the recombinant peptides had a folding structure, with the native status of all of the cysteines participating in disulfide bond formation. Moreover, after removing the tags, the result was identical to its natural form as well. We thus provide a method for producing large amounts of soluble peptides containing multiple disulfide bonds in E. coli.

This study investigates the indoor pollutant levels in school buildings according to the operation of mechanical ventilation system. Three classrooms at two different elementary schools and four classrooms at two children's day care center in Korea were chosen for investigation of indoor air quality with mechanical ventilation systems. Measurements were conducted for particulate matter, formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, radon, and total bacteria counts. Differences in indoor pollutants concentrations with and without operation of ventilation systems in each classroom were analyzed. The results show that operation of ventilation systems could decrease the levels of indoor pollutants in the classrooms, especially showing the reduction of HCHO concentrations by 14.9-62.3%. representative samples in Singapore. This study reported that indoor CO 2 concentration levels were lower in Singapore child care centers when compared to child care centers from other cold climate countries due to the higher ventilation rate of child care centers in Singapore. St-Jean et al. (11) have assessed indoor air quality in 21 day care centers in Montreal, Canada and determined association between building characteristics and IAQ. They reported that over 85% of the day care centers had a mean CO 2 concentration higher than 1000 ppm. The mean formaldehyde concentration was 22.9 µg/m 3 . They also reported that the presence of a mechanical ventilation system and a large surface of play are per child were significantly associated with lower CO 2 levels. Chitra and Nagendra (4) have investigated indoor air quality parameters in a naturally ventilated school building located near an urban roadway in India. This study reported that the mean value of indoor PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1 and CO concentrations were found to be 149 ± 69, 61 ± 29, 43 ± 24, 0.10 ± 0.18 and 95 ± 61, 32 ± 16, 18 ± 9 µg/m 3 , 0.11 ± 0.14 ppm, respectively for winter and summer seasons. Norback et al. (12) have studied the relationship between VOCs, respirable dust, and personal factors to prevalence and incidence of sick building syndrome in six primary schools. They reported that the average CO 2 concentrations in all sites were greater than 800 ppm and indicated inadequate ventilation. Lee and Chang (13) investigated IAQ of five classrooms in Hong Kong. This study showed that the average respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) concentrations were higher than the Hong Kong air quality objective (annual average, 55 µg/m 3

Mould growth on building materials is a complex phenomenon involving various causes environmental conditions including temperature and relative humidity, nutrients, exposure time. Environmental conditions and nutrient are closely related to physical properties of building materials. Thus, the appropriate selection of building materials is very important for prevention of adverse health effects due to mould growth. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the hygric properties of interior finishing materials on the mould growth. This paper presents the results of mould growth risk evaluation with variation of hygric properties of interior finishing materials using hygrothermal and bio-hygrothermal simulation approaches. An experimental study was conducted to characterize the hygric properties of wallpapers which are used mainly as interior finishing material in residential buildings. Six types of wallpapers and two type of hygric properties (water vapour transmission property and moisture storage function) were selected for the study. WUFI Plus was selected for a whole building hygrothermal simulation. The results from the hygrothermal simulation were used for the assessment of mould growth risk using a biohygrothermal calculation model, WUFI-Bio. The simulation results show the clear correlation between the mould growth rates and the hygric properties of wallpapers.

To investigate sleep disturbances that induce cognitive changes over 4 years in nondemented elderlies.Data were acquired from a nationwide, population-based, prospective cohort of Korean elderlies (2,238 normal cognition [NC] and 655 mild cognitive impairment [MCI]). At baseline and 4-year follow-up assessments, sleep-related parameters (midsleep time, sleep duration, sleep latency, subjective sleep quality, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction) and cognitive status were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment, respectively. We used logistic regression models adjusted for covariates including age, sex, education, apolipoprotein E genotype, Geriatric Depression Scale, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, and physical activity.In participants with NC, long sleep latency (30 minutes), long sleep duration (≥7.95 hours), and late midsleep time (after 3:00 am) at baseline were related to the risk of cognitive decline at 4-year follow-up assessment; odds ratio (OR) was 1.40 for long sleep latency, 1.67 for long sleep duration, and 0.61 for late midsleep time. These relationships remained significant when these variables maintained their status throughout the follow-up period. Newly developed long sleep latency also doubled the risk of cognitive decline. In those with MCI, however, only long sleep latency reduced the chance of reversion to NC (OR = 0.69).As early markers of cognitive decline, long sleep latency can be used for elderlies with NC or MCI, whereas long sleep duration and relatively early sleep time might be used for cognitively normal elderlies only. Ann Neurol 2018;83:472-482.

The building envelope is normally subject to thermal and moisture gradients in practice. Due to the interrelationship, thermal and moisture transfer should be simultaneously calculated for an accurate building performance evaluation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of moisture transportation on energy efficiency, thermal comfort and mould growth risks in residential buildings based on the hygrothermal simulation. First, hygrothermal simulation is conducted to evaluate the energy efficiency and IAQ in the selected residential building. This paper also provides characteristics of the hygrothermal properties of domestic building materials which are used for the selected residential building. Differences between experimental data for the domestic materials and properties from embedded data in the hygrothermal simulation program are discussed. Second, a hygrothermal calculation model is calibrated with the measurement data for indoor air temperature and relative humidity in the selected residential building. Lastly, we illustrate the effect of moisture transfer on the overall building performance by comparing the hygrothermal simulation results with thermal-only simulation (only consideration of heat transfer through the building envelope) results. The results suggest that heating and cooling energy can be underestimated without consideration of moisture transportation mechanisms in the building energy simulation. Moreover, results show that the moisture buffering effect could significantly reduce the amplitude of relative humidity fluctuations during all seasons.

Mould infestation problems in building are a complex phenomenon involving various causes such as environmental conditions, substrates, exposure time, and so on. The physical properties of building materials, e.g. surface structure, can be a key factor for mould germination and growth. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the hygroscopic properties and surface structures of the wallpapers on the mould growth. An experimental study was conducted to characterize the hygroscopic properties and surface structures of the wallpapers. Four types of wallpapers with low chemical emissions were selected in order to exclude influence on chemicals on mould germination. Cross sections of the selected wallpapers were observed in order to characterize the surface structure of wallpapers using the scanning electron microscope. Three different fungi species were inoculated on the wallpapers, and mould growth on the selected wallpapers were observed for about two weeks. The results showed that the wallpapers with irregular patterns or a flat surface structure could delay mould growth. Wallpapers with higher moisture sorption capability would limit the development of mould growth under the experimental condition. Our study has shown a clear correlation between the mould growth rate and hygroscopic properties of the wallpapers.

The increase in oil prices and energy consumption has been a great burden for Korea, which significantly depends on imported, foreign energy sources. In this context, the reduction of building energy consumption, which comprises 40% of total energy consumption, is a very important issue. The use of ICT to optimize energy control of building has surfaced as an effective solution. Therefore, this research empirically analyzed a hospital “P” that implemented ICT-based energy consumption and cost reduction initiative. The hospital first replaced the existing inefficient absorption type heating/cooling system with a hot water storage and pump system. This was accompanied by a change in electricity plans to maximize cost reduction. Second, the hospital applied an ICT-based optimized control algorithm that considers surrounding factors (external temperature and changes in energy demands). The analysis of these mechanisms indicates that the ICT-based energy consumption and cost reduction initiative for hospitals can reduce energy consumption by 52.7% by replacing low-efficiency equipment and additionally by 25.7% with implementation of an optimized control algorithm. Therefore, the implementation of the explored mechanisms will provide effective energy consumption reduction opportunities for other hospitals and buildings with high energy consumption.The increase in oil prices and energy consumption has been a great burden for Korea, which significantly depends on imported, foreign energy sources. In this context, the reduction of building energy consumption, which comprises 40% of total energy consumption, is a very important issue. The use of ICT to optimize energy control of building has surfaced as an effective solution. Therefore, this research empirically analyzed a hospital “P” that implemented ICT-based energy consumption and cost reduction initiative. The hospital first replaced the existing inefficient absorption type heating/cooling system with a hot water storage and pump system. This was accompanied by a change in electricity plans to maximize cost reduction. Second, the hospital applied an ICT-based optimized control algorithm that considers surrounding factors (external temperature and changes in energy demands). The analysis of these mechanisms indicates that the ICT-based energy consumption and cost reduction initiative for hospitals ...

Equine respiratory disease is a common cause of poor performance and training interruptions. The higher incidence rate of infectious upper respiratory disease (IURD) in thoroughbred racehorses at the Seoul Race Park coincided with the frequent stabling season, shorter stabling periods, and younger ages in this study. Incidence rates were also correlated with significantly lower proportions of cells expressing MHC class II-, CD2 antigen-, CD4 + - or CD8 + -T lymphocyte-, and B lymphocyte in IURD patients compared with healthy control groups in the summer and fall and in 2-and-3-year-old groups. The data suggested that movement and new environments may have resulted in immunosuppression and inappropriate responses to respiratory pathogens in IURD patients. The IURD incidence decreased with age, perhaps by the acquisition of immunity, and study results suggested that immunologic protection was associated with IURD, particularly in young thoroughbred racehorses. Streptococci isolates were identified in 11 of 72 IURD horses, and 3 of these isolates were identified as Streptococcus. equi subsp. equi. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus was isolated from 2 of 23 IURD horses in the spring (8.7%), 5 of 23 in the summer (21.7%), and 1 of 6 in winter (16.7%). S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus (5%) was also identified in 3 of 61 isolates from clinically normal horses. Racetracks should implement anti-IURD protective measures by assessing the capacity of equine immunologic protection at the Park and by limiting the introduction of specific respiratory pathogens (such as S. equi subsp. equi) by preventing the access of infected but subclinical horses with a specified respiratory pathogen-free certification system prior to Park entry.

A series of preclinical studies have suggested that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants not only stimulate neurogenesis but also have neuroprotective effects. The present study primarily aimed to investigate whether escitalopram would decelerate the brain atrophy of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). We also assessed the effects of escitalopram on the cognitive function and neuropsychiatric symptoms of these participants.Seventy-four probable AD patients without major depression were recruited from four dementia clinics of university hospitals and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio. Each group received 20 mg/day of escitalopram or placebo for 52 weeks. The primary outcome measures were the change rates of hippocampal and whole brain volume on magnetic resonance imaging for 52 weeks. The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale, Mini-Mental State Examination, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) were also applied.We did not find any significant differences in the changes of hippocampal or whole brain volume between the groups. Escitalopram showed significant beneficial effects on the CSDD score at 28 weeks compared with placebo (t = -2.17, df = 50.42, p = 0.035), but this finding did not persist throughout the study.The findings of the present study do not support the role of escitalopram as a progression-delaying treatment for AD. However, the negative results of the present trial should be interpreted cautiously because of the relatively small sample size. Further large-scale escitalopram trials targeting the earlier stages of AD, even prodromal AD, are still needed. Copyright © 2015 John WileySons, Ltd.

Previous studies have shown that the anionic alkali mineral complex BARODON has an immunoenhancing effect on pigs as an adjuvant and as a nonspecific immunostimulant. Likewise, the equine immune system has been defined with various monoclonal antibodies specific to equine leukocyte differentiation antigens to determine the possibility of enhancing equine resistance to respiratory diseases and promoting other immunostimulatory effects with the application of BARODON. Compared with the control group, after 3 weeks of treatment, BARODON-treated groups showed higher proportions of cells ( P < 0.05) expressing major histocompatibility complex class II and CD2, CD4 + , CD4 + CD25 + , CD8 + , and CD8 + CD25 + T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and surface immunoglobulin M + B lymphocytes in peripheral blood, as well as enhanced cell proliferative responses with phytohemagglutinin and increased phagocytic activity against Streptococcus equi and Staphylococcus aureus strains with high antibiotic resistance, the bacteria frequently identified as etiologic agents of equine respiratory diseases at the Seoul Race Park in Seoul, Korea. This study shows that BARODON may act as an immunostimulator and can be an effective alternative to antimicrobial feed additives for nonspecific improvements in equine immune responses, particularly against respiratory diseases.

The genes encoding dopamine receptor (DR) subtypes have received considerable attention for the past several years as a potential candidate that may affect susceptibility to addictive disorder, including alcoholism. The many association studies that compared the frequencies of alleles of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene between alcoholics and control groups have produced results, but some have been equivocal. Dopamine D3 receptor genes (DRD3) are in the same class as DRD2 but with different pharmacological properties. So we compared the distribution of genotypes and frequencies of Bal I polymorphism of the DRD3 gene in alcoholics and controls to assess the role of the DRD3 gene in Korean alcoholism. For this study, 67 male probands from alcoholics and 67 age-matched normal male controls were engaged. No evidence for an allelic association was found between the A1 allele of DRD3 and alcoholism in a Korean population. These results suggest that any role played by this receptor may account for only part of the variation in susceptibility to alcoholism.