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In this study , short -circuit processes were analyzed via simulations and experiments by applying a principle that can interpret the short-circuit marks, which are the most basic inspection criteria in fire-scene investigation. According to Fleming's left-hand rule, a Lorentz force is generated when current and magnetic fields are applied. Railgun, one of the typical applications, utilizes the same basic principle for generating trajectories. Using the same concept, it was interpreted that the molten copper balls generated during a short-circuit process scatter in the load direction similar to a ballistic launch. The simulation and experimental results also confirmed that the copper balls were scattered in the load direction owing to the Lorentz force. Although it is impossible to examine the source and load during a fire-scene investigation process, the study findings will aid in predicting the load by observing the portion where the copper bulbs are relatively frequent. Thus, based on an estimation of the cause of fire, it will be possible to infer reliable results through fire-scene investigation.

In this paper, fire caused by low-temperature ignition of wood was analyzed. The hourly change in wood characteristics caused by the radiant heat of a sheath heater was also studied. A sheath heater with a maximum heat output of 6 kW was installed in a cedar sauna room with dimensions of 120(W) × 100(D) × 185(H) cm3. Changes in the wood surface were monitored while decreasing the distance between the wood wall and the sheath heater from 10 to 5 cm. At a distance of 10 cm, the wood surface started to become discolored from amber to dark brown after approximately 32 h. At a distance of 5 cm, after approximately 56 h, the surface began to crack while being carbonized. At this time, the average temperature of the wood surface was ~120 °C. After 88 h, the temperature reached 644 °C and a fire started, generating white smoke. This study is important to the field of fire investigation owing to a lack of prior studies concerning the changes in the surface characteristics of wood upon sustained exposure to radiant heat.

A novel vertical augmentation channel housing a direct-drive cross-flow turbine, with nozzles on both the sides of the turbine, was designed and an optimized configuration was obtained. The geometries of the guide nozzle and the front nozzle were optimized under steady flow conditions. The performance of the cross-flow turbine was analyzed using commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS-CFX. The optimized design was then evaluated as a wave energy converter both experimentally and computationally. The waves in the numerical wave tank (NWT) were generated using a piston type wave-maker. The optimized design gave a maximum output power of 13.2 W and an efficiency of 48.31% at a wave height of 0.2 m and wave period of 2.75 s for a rotational speed of 35 rpm. The difference between numerical and experimental efficiencies was within 3.5%. In addition to this, particle image velocimetry was used to study the flow characteristics in the augmentation channel and the turbine. The results show that the CFD code captures the flow in the augmentation channel and around the turbine accurately. The optimized design, which occupies less space than other wave energy converters, can be used to efficiently harness energy from the waves.

BACKGROUND/AIM Effective ex vivo maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) can increase the efficiency of cancer immunotherapy. We aimed to identify novel chemicals with the potential to differentiate and activate immature DCs (iDCs) to mature DCs (mDCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS The expression of surface markers on THP-1 monocytes treated with the screened compounds was analyzed using FACS. Subsequent DC subset analysis and secreted cytokine profiling were also performed. RESULTS FACS analysis showed that THP-1 cells treated with amsacrine hydrochloride, a DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, exhibited the typical phenotype of conventional DCs (cDCs). The expression of DC activation markers was also increased after amsacrine treatment. The profile of cytokines produced by THP-1 cells treated with amsacrine was similar to that of mDCs. CONCLUSION Amsacrine has an ex vivo capability of differentiating THP-1 monocytes into cDCs. As amsacrine has been used as a stable chemotherapeutic agent in humans, it can be useful for producing mDCs for cancer immunotherapy.

Background and Objectives The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system 8th Edition has stated that gross extrathyroid extension (ETE) is more important than microscopic ETE, and that it plays an important factor in the classification of T stages. Therefore, the prediction of gross ETE before surgery is important in establishing the clinical stage and determining the surgical extent. However, there are few studies predicting gross ETE using preoperative ultrasonography (US). The purpose of this study is to predict the gross ETE of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) using preoperative US. Subjects and Method The preoperative US findings of 688 patients with PTC were compared with gross ETE confirmed during the surgery. The efficacy of preoperative US was statistically analyzed. Results A total of 70 (10%) patients were confirmed of their gross ETE. Thyroid tumors were classified into three groups (isolation, capsular contact, and capsular protrusion) according to their relationship with capsules, and evaluated using the preoperative US. There was a significant difference in gross ETE between groups (ppp=0.187). There was no difference in the degree of protrusion (p=0.868), but the difference in tumor size was significant (p

Background/Aims: The presence and clinical importance of tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells have been recently described in association with various cancer types. However, the frequency and the traditional naïve–effector–memory phenotypic characteristics of TRM cells are largely unknown. Methods: We analyzed single-cell populations of colorectal cancer (CC, n = 18), stomach cancer (SC, n = 13), renal cell carcinoma (RCC, n = 19), and breast cancer (BC, n = 16) by dissociation of tumor tissue with collagenase/hyaluronidase. We investigated populations of naïve, effector, and memory T and TRM cells by flow cytometry. Results: Among CD8− cells, CC was associated with a significantly higher proportion of CD103+ T cells than other tumor types (p < 0.001). Among CD8+ cells, CC and SC were associated with higher CD103+ T-cell proportions than RCC and BC (p < 0.001). Significantly more CD8+ than CD8− cells expressed CD103 (p < 0.001). In association with SC, RCC, and BC, CD8+ T cells had a similar T-cell phenotype composition pattern: fewer effector T cells and more memory-type T cells among CD103+ cells compared with CD103− cells (p < 0.05). Tumors with higher proportion of CD103+ cells had no specific clinicopathologic characteristics than those with lower proportion of CD103+ cells. Conclusion: TRM cell abundance and phenotypes varied among CC, SC, RCC, and BC. Further studies regarding the functional differences of TRM associated with various tumors are warranted.

N-acyl chitosans (N-acyl CSs) with various hydrophobic side chain length were synthesized to improve the resistance in acidic condition. The carrier for gentamicin was developed by N-acyl chitosan nanoparticles (N-acyl CSNPs), which were fabricated through self-aggregation method. N-acyl CSNPs were positive charged from 10.2 to 28.9 mV and the values were decreased from 4.2 to 11.1 mV after gentamicin loading. Particle sizes of N-acyl CSNPs increased from 208 to 480 nm with side chain length. When gentamicin was loaded into N-acyl CSNPs, the particle size decreased by up to 50%. Encapsulation efficiency was around 46-62%. In vitro release profiles of gentamicin in N-acyl CSNPs showed the sustained release properties during one week at pH 1.3 and pH 7.4. Therefore, gentamicin were efficiently loaded into N-acyl CSNPs, these nanoparticles showed a good morphology, nano-size distribution, and controlled release at acidic as well as neutral conditions that permit to propose them as a superior candidate for the delivery of gentamicin.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) typically use Nafion®, which has many drawbacks, such as high cost, fuel crossover, and strenuous synthesis processes. As such, an alternative Nafion®-ionomer free proton conductor has drawn significant interest. Graphene oxide membrane (GOM) is a promising alternative due to its hydrophilic nature and attractive proton conductivity under humidified conditions. However, pristine GOMs have drawbacks, including fuel crossover, a high reduction rate of negatively oxygenated functional groups during fuel cell operation, and proton conductivity showing excessive orientation dependence. We focused on nanocomposite-GOM (N-GOM) based on PFSAs, hydrocarbon polymers, synthetic polymers, inorganic-organic polymers, biopolymers, metal-organic frameworks, and micro- and nano-engineered surfaces. GO nanosheets have outstanding dispersion rate and compatibility with ionomer matrices that can be functionalized by sulfonation, polymerization, phosphorylation, cross-linking, incorporated inorganic nanoparticles, and blending with matrix, microscale-nanoscale fabrication. The N-GOM exhibits high-performance fuel cells with improved proton conductivity, physicochemical properties, and low fuel crossover compared to Nafion®. For instance, SCSP/SF membranes with 3% functionalized GO (FGO) content displayed the highest conductivity of 26.90 mS cm−1 and the best selectivity (methanol) of 4.10 × 105 S cm−3 at room temperature. Moreover, a new scalable, efficient chitosan (CA)-based composite membrane (CA/GO) was fabricated. In addition, surface-patterned nanostructures in thin films increased the PEMFC output power to 950 mW cm−2, higher than 590 mW cm−2 for non-patterned Nafion®. Finally, we report on the optimal composition ratio for each material of the N-GOM-based membrane. This review discusses the most crucial developments in proton conductivity and outlines the current progress for the N-GOM as a revolutionary form of PEM. The general objective of this research is to review all possible modifications of N-GOM from the perspective of their practical application as electrolytes in fuel cells.

In this paper, the fire cause of blackout occurred in the Busan-JungKwan Energy as a Community Energy System (CES) was analyzed. Through analysis of the data such as burn patterns at the site, melted shape of cable head by the fire, overcurrent relay (OCR) of the control system, and event log, it was confirmed that first ground fault occurred at the termination connection of secondary cable of transformer. It was concluded because the void space of insulation and electrical melting trace conductor were investigated in the cable stress cone by detailed investigation and X-ray inspection for cable termination. In addition, as the damage by the tool on the vertical direction to the conductor was identified, it was presumed that the accident occurred by deterioration progress of insulation which was accelerated than that of the other parts.

Femoral retroversion is an extra-articular cause of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) via early engagement with anterior rim. Valgus hip also causes extra-articular FAI by decreasing the range of motion. We present a case of valgus hip accompanied by femoral retroversion, which was refractory to prior arthroscopic femoroplasty. As a reasonable strategy, we have performed extra-articular correction via femoral subtrochanteric varus derotation osteotomy as well as intra-articular decompression by surgical hip dislocation. Femoral varus derotation osteotomy with surgical hip dislocation is a rational and appropriate solution in patients with extra-articular FAI, which is refractory to arthroscopic FAI surgery. Extra-articular causes of FAI should be suspected in every refractory case.

Current antipsychotics have limited effects on the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia patients, therefore, cognitive remediation has been applied to schizophrenia patients to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction. However, the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive training programs have not been well studied because established animal models are not suitable or because repetitive training has not been introduced in such animal models. In the present study, we employed Toll-like receptor 2 knockout (TLR2 KO) mouse as a schizophrenia mouse model and evaluated the effects of repetitive training as cognitive remediation therapy for schizophrenia. TLR2 KO mice could fully learn the Barnes maze paradigm through repetitive training to improve memory retrieval and reversal learning ability, although the learning speed was slower than that of wild-type (WT) animals. In addition, highly repetitive training activated the neuronal cells in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampal CA3 and hippocampal DG regions of TLR2 KO mice, similar to WT mice. These results indicated that TLR2 KO mouse would be a useful tool for studying the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive remediation in schizophrenia.

Background: The expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) has previously been reported to be negatively associated with estrogen receptor (ER) expression. Furthermore, the expression of MHC I, the level of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and the expression of interferon (IFN) mediator MxA are positively associated with one another in human breast cancers. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of association of MHC I with estrogen and IFN signaling. Methods: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-ABC protein expression was analyzed in breast cancer cell lines. The expressions of HLA-A and MxA mRNAs were analyzed in MCF-7 cells in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data. ER and HLA-ABC expressions and TIL levels in tumor tissue were also analyzed in ER+/ human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)- breast cancer patients who randomly received either neoadjuvant chemotherapy or estrogen modulator treatment following surgical resection. Results: HLA-ABC protein expression was decreased after β-estradiol treatment or hESR-GFP transfection and increased after fulvestrant or IFN-γ treatment in breast cancer cell lines. In GEO data, HLA-A and MxA expression was increased after ESR1 shRNA transfection. When comparing the two patient groups, ER Allred score was significantly lower and the HLA-ABC expression and TIL levels were significantly higher in the estrogen modulator treated group than the chemotherapy treated group. Conclusion: MHC I expression and TIL levels might be affected by ER pathway modulation and IFN treatment. Further studies elucidating the mechanism of MHC I regulation could suggest a way to boost TIL influx in cancer in a clinical setting.

Effective ex vivo maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) can increase the efficiency of cancer immunotherapy. We aimed to identify novel chemicals with the potential to differentiate and activate immature DCs (iDCs) to mature DCs (mDCs).The expression of surface markers on THP-1 monocytes treated with the screened compounds was analyzed using FACS. Subsequent DC subset analysis and secreted cytokine profiling were also performed.FACS analysis showed that THP-1 cells treated with amsacrine hydrochloride, a DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, exhibited the typical phenotype of conventional DCs (cDCs). The expression of DC activation markers was also increased after amsacrine treatment. The profile of cytokines produced by THP-1 cells treated with amsacrine was similar to that of mDCs.Amsacrine has an ex vivo capability of differentiating THP-1 monocytes into cDCs. As amsacrine has been used as a stable chemotherapeutic agent in humans, it can be useful for producing mDCs for cancer immunotherapy.

In November 2013, a case of sustained combustion of a female body was encountered in a Korean farming village. The body was almost completely incinerated from the neck to the knees, and other parts of the body, such as the head, arms, lower legs, and feet, were slightly damaged. The most likely external ignition source was the flame from a matchstick. The elderly woman was found incinerated on the floor of the living room, while other objects in the house were largely undamaged except for having a brown oily or greasy coating. Flammable substances were not detected from the woman’s intact pieces of clothing and socks, and her muscular tissues did not contain toxic chemicals. The concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in her peripheral blood was 11% and that of ethyl alcohol in her aqueous humor was below 0.010%. An autopsy failed to determine the exact cause of death because of excessive charring.

Protein conformational changes are frequently essential for enzyme catalysis, and in several cases, shown to be the limiting factor for overall catalytic speed. However, a structural understanding of corresponding transition states, needed to rationalize the kinetics, remains obscure due to their fleeting nature. Here, we determine the transition-state ensemble of the rate-limiting conformational transition in the enzyme adenylate kinase, by a synergistic approach between experimental high-pressure NMR relaxation during catalysis and molecular dynamics simulations. By comparing homologous kinases evolved under ambient or high pressure in the deep-sea, we detail transition state ensembles that differ in solvation as directly measured by the pressure dependence of catalysis. Capturing transition-state ensembles begins to complete the catalytic energy landscape that is generally characterized by structures of all intermediates and frequencies of transitions among them.

The presence and clinical importance of tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells have been recently described in association with various cancer types. However, the frequency and the traditional naïve-effector-memory phenotypic characteristics of TRM cells are largely unknown.We analyzed single-cell populations of colorectal cancer (CC, n = 18), stomach cancer (SC, n = 13), renal cell carcinoma (RCC, n = 19), and breast cancer (BC, n = 16) by dissociation of tumor tissue with collagenase/hyaluronidase. We investigated populations of naïve, effector, and memory T and TRM cells by flow cytometry.Among CD8- cells, CC was associated with a significantly higher proportion of CD103+ T cells than other tumor types (p0.001). Among CD8+ cells, CC and SC were associated with higher CD103+ T-cell proportions than RCC and BC (p0.001). Significantly more CD8+ than CD8- cells expressed CD103 (p0.001). In association with SC, RCC, and BC, CD8+ T cells had a similar T-cell phenotype composition pattern: fewer effector T cells and more memory-type T cells among CD103+ cells compared with CD103- cells (p0.05). Tumors with higher proportion of CD103+ cells had no specific clinicopathologic characteristics than those with lower proportion of CD103+ cells.TRM cell abundance and phenotypes varied among CC, SC, RCC, and BC. Further studies regarding the functional differences of TRM associated with various tumors are warranted.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Scrophularia buergeriana has been used for traditional medicine as an agent for reducing heat in the blood and for nourishing kidney ‘Yin’. Therefore, S. buergeriana might be a potential treatment for mental illness, especially schizophrenia, which may be attenuated by supplying kidney Yin and reducing blood heat. In a pilot study, we found that S. buergeriana alleviated sensorimotor gating dysfunction induced by MK-801. Aim of the study In the present study, we attempted to reveal the active component(s) of S. buergeriana as a candidate for treating sensorimotor gating dysfunction, and we identified 4-methoxycinnamic acid. We explored whether 4-methoxycinnamic acid could affect schizophrenia-like behaviors induced by hypofunction of the glutamatergic neurotransmitter system. Materials and methods Mice were treated with 4-methoxycinnamic acid (3, 10, or 30 mg/kg, i.g.) under MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like conditions. The effect of 4-methoxycinnamic acid on schizophrenia-like behaviors were explored using several behavioral tasks. We also used Western blotting to investigate which signaling pathway(s) is involved in the pharmacological activities of 4-methoxycinnamic acid. Results 4-Methoxycinnamic acid ameliorated MK-801-induced prepulse inhibition deficits, social interaction disorders and cognitive impairment by regulating the phosphorylation levels of PI3K, Akt and GSK-3β signaling in the prefrontal cortex. And there were no adverse effects in terms of catalepsy and motor coordination impairments. Conclusion Collectively, 4-methoxycinnamic acid would be a potential candidate for treating schizophrenia with fewer adverse effects, especially the negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunctions.

A better understanding of the mechanisms of H2 and O2 evolution over cocatalyst-loaded photocatalysts is an essential step in constructing efficient artificial systems for the overall water splitting. In this paper, La-doped NaTaO3 particles loaded with different cocatalysts (i.e., noble metals and metal oxides) have been synthesized and used as model photocatalysts to study the mechanisms of photocatalytic H2 and/or O2 evolution from pure water, aqueous methanol solution, and aqueous silver nitrate solution. It was found that the photocatalytic activity and selectivity toward H2 and/or O2 evolution strongly depend on the nature of the cocatalyst and the investigated system. For pure water and aqueous silver nitrate systems, the affinity of the cocatalyst nanoparticles to react with the photogenerated charge carriers (electrons or holes) was found to be the main reason for the observed selective behavior for H2 and O2 evolution. The creation of active sites and subsequent decrease in activation energy is ...

A series of supported EuOCl catalysts, and bulk EuOCl catalyst were selected for ethylene oxychlorination with HCl to produce a VCM. The supported EuOCl catalysts showed higher ethylene conversion and VCM yield than those of bulk EuOCl despite the low Eu content. The EuOCl/Y catalysts demonstrated the highest ethylene conversion and VCM selectivity followed by EuOCl/Al2O3. The catalysts were characterized in terms of redox properties, acidic properties, and adsorption behavior of the reactant and product. The reduction temperature of europium species decreased when EuOCl was loaded on various supports. The activity of HCl oxidation is strongly related to the improved redox properties, resulting in better activation of the reactant. We demonstrated that the number of acidic sites was proportional to the dehydrochlorination activity of EDC. Investigation of the adsorption behavior of C2H4 showed that the number of oxygen vacancies increased on the supported EuOCl catalysts. EuOCl/Y and EuOCl/Al2O3 catalysts, showed good catalytic performance, exhibited better redox and acidic properties, and had higher amounts of oxygen vacancies than the other catalysts. However, EuOCl/Y with excessively high acidity showed deactivation with time-on-stream owing to carbon deposition. Therefore, EuOCl/Al2O3 was found to be the most suitable supported catalyst for the oxychlorination of ethylene.