Spatio‐temporal trends in caries: A study on children in Berlin‐Mitte

Background: Significant inequalities in caries distribution among children in Germany have been reported, but small-scale areas remain understudied. Aim: To examine spatio-temporal trends in children's dental caries at the small-area level in Berlin-Mitte. Design: Routinely collected data from Berlin's annual Health Examination Surveys were used, which also include information on age, sex, country of origin, and residential area. The study population consists of 14,866 children aged 5 to 7 between 2006 and 2014 in the district of Berlin-Mitte. Outcome variables are the dmft (decayed, missing, and filled teeth), the presence of any caries experience, untreated caries, and caries risk. The outcomes are summarized descriptively and graphically presented for 10 quarters and 41 communities within Berlin-Mitte. Results: Relevant gaps in children's dental caries were discovered between the quarters of Mitte. Three quarters in the northeast part of Mitte have consistently indicated the lowest oral health status in all four outcomes, and children having high caries risk have been increasingly concentrating in this area over time. Despite the continuous improvements in the southern part, the averages in total of Mitte for all outcomes have risen. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the spatiotemporally mounting disparities in children's oral health between the quarters in Berlin-Mitte and that particular quarters need urgent attention. The small-area approach made it easier and more effective to reveal the spatial distribution of children's dental caries at the local level. The small-area analysis should be strongly encouraged in future caries research to narrow the inequalities in children's oral health

Incidence of harmful algal blooms in pristine subtropical ocean: a satellite remote sensing approach (Jeju Island)

Despite the increasing numbers of red tide events in the pristine subtropical ocean, a paucity of previous observations has limited understanding of harmful algae in the seas around the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, using six years (2012–2017) of Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite data, we characterized the red tides around Jeju Island, a volcanic island located near the paths of the Jeju Warm Current and Tsushima Warm Current, using the Normalized Red Tide Index (NRTI) method. The seawater around Jeju Island has for a long time been considered to be very clear, with relatively low suspended particulate matter concentrations and few harmful algae. Nonetheless, the satellite-based NRTI detection method used in this study detected and supported the existence of red tides in the coastal region around Jeju Island. Analysis of the red tide distribution showed that red tide first began to appear near the western coast of Jeju Island, then developed in the northern and eastern coastal regions, and finally vanished in the eastern coastal region. The monthly averages of the NRTI demonstrated a bloom event from April to May in every year. Additional fall blooms were detected in August–September, particularly in 2013 and 2016. The NRTI revealed strong interannual variations. The longest blooms occurred in 2015, and the most comprehensive and strongest event occurred in the spring of 2016. The latter three years (2015–2017) had much higher NRTI than the former three years (2012–2014). The probability of red tide occurrence at a given point during the 6-year study period revealed spatial differences. Relatively high probability of 0.3–0.5 was determined along the northern coastal region, whereas low probability of less than 0.2 was found along the southern region. Ground truth data also showed more frequent observations and higher red tide cell densities along the northern coast. Changes in NRTI in spring are positively correlated with changes in ENSO indices in winter. This study is the first to use a satellite-based approach with a vast long-term satellite database to elucidate the existence and probability of red tides near Jeju Island. We anticipate that this study will provide a useful strategy for remote monitoring of harmful algal blooms over wide regions using optical data

Student Piano Trio Concert: Ae-Sil Kim, Violin; Kyung-Jin Lee, Cello; Koo-Soon Youn, Piano; March 31, 1973

Centennial East Recital HallSaturday EveningMarch 31, 19738:15 p.m

A girl with sternal malformation/vascular dysplasia association

Sternal malformation/vascular dysplasia association is a rare congenital dysmorphology, which has not yet been reported in Korea. Its typical clinical features include a sternal cleft covered with atrophic skin, a median abdominal raphe extending from the sternal defect to the umbilicus, and cutaneous craniofacial hemangiomata. We report a case of a full-term newborn who presented with no anomalies at birth, except for a skin defect over the sternum and a supraumbilical raphe. Multiple hemangiomas appeared subsequently on her chin and upper chest wall, and respiratory distress due to subglottic hemangioma developed during the first 2 months of life. Her symptoms were controlled with oral prednisolone administration. No respiratory distress have recurred during the 3-year follow-up period

Surface currents from hourly variations of suspended particulate matter from Geostationary Ocean Color Imager data

Surface currents in Korean coastal regions were obtained using the maximum cross-correlation method applied to hourly suspended particulate matter images from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager. Preliminary current vectors were filtered out by applying a series of quality-control procedures. The current vectors resulting from the tests were compared with the currents from a numerical model with tide and wind field. It was found that the estimated currents were more similarly to the currents caused by both tide and wind. A high degree of discrepancy was detected in regions of strong tidal currents, where the fundamental assumption of horizontal movement was limited due to the dominant vertical tidal mixing in the shallow region. The hourly rotations of the current vectors within a day were clarified by a comparison of the time-varying orientation angles of tidal ellipses. This study emphasized how to understand the short-term surface flows from hourly high-resolution geostationary satellite images

Development of a Numerical Tablet Model in WLAN Band for SAR Study

This research proposes a numerical model for a tablet in the wireless local area network band for specific absorption rate (SAR) study. The design criteria, such as the tablet size, operating frequencies, antenna position, and target 1-g peak spatial-average SAR (psSAR) values in the flat phantom, are determined based on the SAR test reports of tablets distributed in South Korea from 2013 to 2017. An internal antenna is designed in a tablet platform to operate in dual bands of 2,450 MHz and 5,500 MHz. The numerical results illustrate that the 1-g psSAR values of the proposed numerical tablet model are within ±10% of the target values. Moreover, the return loss of the designed tablet model is larger than 10 dB, regardless of flat phantom, while its radiation efficiency is higher than 90% in free space

Comparison of gastric and other bowel perforations in preterm infants: a review of 20 years' experience in a single institution

PurposeIn this study, we aimed to review the clinical presentation of preterm infants with gastrointestinal perforations and compare the clinical features of gastric perforation with other intestinal perforations.MethodsThe medical records of preterm neonates with pneumoperitoneum, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between January 1994 and December 2013, were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsTwenty-one preterm infants underwent exploratory laparotomy to investigate the cause of the pneumoperitoneum. The sample consisted of five patients (23.8%) with gastric perforation and 16 patients (76.2%) with intestinal perforation. No statistical differences were found in the birth history and other perinatal factors between the two groups. Underlying necrotizing enterocolitis, bilious vomiting, and paralytic ileus preceding the perforation were statistically more common in the intestinal perforation group. All preterm infants with gastric perforation survived to discharge; however, six preterm infants with intestinal perforation expired during treatment in the NICU. In the gastric perforation group, sudden pneumoperitoneum was the most common finding, and the mean age at diagnosis was 4.4±1.7 days of life. The location and size of the perforations varied, and simple closure or partial gastrectomy was performed.ConclusionPatients with gastric perforation did not have a common clinical finding preceding the perforation diagnosis. Although mortality in previous studies was high, all patients survived to discharge in the present study. When a preterm infant aged less than one week presents with sudden abdominal distension and pneumoperitoneum, gastric perforation should first be excluded. Prompt exploratory laparotomy will increase the survival rates of these infants