A Study on the Burn Pattern Experiments in Structure Fire

The fire has created tremendous damage, yet skilled fire investigators can read the fire patterns left by the fire. Through the fire patterns interpretation and analysis, fire investigators should be able to determine exactly how and where the fire or explosion started. Fire patterns can help the fire investigator trace fire movement back to the point of origin. The origin and cause investigation for is attempting to determine the first material ignited, the source of ignition, and how the two brought together to cause the ignition. The investigators should read the fire scene to establish the area of origin. In this study, through burn pattern experiments, fire behavior in the compartment, fire pattern formation mechanism, fire patterns reproducibility, fire patterns persistence through flashover and full room involvement condition, fire scene reconstruction for fire origin determination, and other fire pattern’s temperature will be discussed and analyzed in depth. Burn test was conducted to recognize and analyze fire patterns created in the phase of pre flashover or post flashover in the compartment (container house). In addition, fire pattern experiments are designed to test combustible material, including polyurethane foam with a lower thermal inertia or wooden chair with a higher thermal inertia. During these experiments, through the thermocouple fire pattern’s temperature will be measured in the stage of pre flashover or post flashover.

DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED RBI PROGRAM FOR LNG PLANT CONSIDERING CRYOGENIC ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT Recently, Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) evaluation technique based on API 581 has become a preferred approach to determine economic feasibility and safety to plants. However, there are limitations of applying API 581 to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant because its liquefaction process is operated in cryogenic temperature under -162 ℃ . It could affect the risk of main components in liquefaction process, but API code considered the temperature range of about -40~149℃ to evaluate the brittle fracture damage factor. The objectives of this paper are to develop a RBI program based on a web-based reality environment to resolve the above issue and to evaluate the risk of equipment in LNG plant. To achieve these, Minimum Design Metal Temperature (MBDT) region of impact test exemption curves were extended to about -196℃. Risk evaluation results considering cryogenic temperature and applicability of the proposed RBI program are fully discussed in the paper. The proposed RBI program will be useful to evaluate risk of the major components in cryogenic environment

Hypocomplementemic Urticarial Vasculitis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Urticarial vasculitis is characterized clinically by urticarial skin lesions and histologically by leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis is associated with connective tissue diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report a case of urticarial vasculitis that preceded manifestations of SLE

Prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in Korean adults: The Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study (KSOS)

*Context:* Sarcopenic obesity (SO), a combination of excess weight and reduced muscle mass and/or strength, is suggested to be associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. 
*Objectives:* To examine the prevalence and characteristics of Sarcopenic and SO defined by using different indices such as Appendicular Skeletal muscle Mass (ASM)/height^2^ and Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI (%): skeletal muscle mass (kg)/weight (kg) × 100) for Korean adults. 
*Methods:* 591 participants were recruited from the Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study (KSOS) which is an ongoing prospective observational cohort study. Analysis was conducted in 526 participants (328 women, 198 men) who had complete data on body composition using Dual X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography. 
*Results:* The prevalence of sarcopenia and SO increases with aging. Using two or more standard deviations (SD) of ASM/height^2^ below reference values from young, healthy adults as a definition of sarcopenia, the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO was 6.3% and 1.3% in men and 4.1% and 1.7% in women over 60 years of age. However, using two or more SD of SMI, the prevalence of sarcopenia and SO was 5.1% and 5.1% respectively in men and 14.2% and 12.5% respectively in women. As defined by SMI, subjects with SO had 3 times the risk of metabolic syndrome (OR = 3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.26-7.26) and subjects with non-sarcopenic obesity had approximately 2 times the risk of metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.18-3.02) compared with normal subjects. 
*Conclusion:* Obese subjects with relative sarcopenia were associated with a greater likelihood for metabolic syndrome. As Koreans were more obese and aging, the prevalence of SO and its impact on health outcomes are estimated to be rapidly grow. Further research is requested to establish the definition, cause and consequences of SO.
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Oral intake of Lactobacillus rhamnosus M21 enhances the survival rate of mice lethally infected with influenza virus

BackgroundInfluenza viruses cause acute respiratory disease. Because of the high genetic variability of viruses, effective vaccines and antiviral agents are limited. Considering the fact that the site of influenza virus entry is the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, probiotics that can enhance mucosal immunity as well as systemic immunity could be an important source of treatment against influenza infection.MethodsMice were fed with Lactobacillus rhamnosus M21 or skim milk and were challenged with influenza virus. The resulting survival rate, lung inflammation, and changes in the cytokine and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels were examined.ResultsBecause of infection (influenza virus), all the mice in the control group and 60% of the mice in the L. rhamnosus M21 group died; however, the remaining 40% of the mice fed with L. rhamnosus M21 survived the infection. Pneumonia was severe in the control group but moderate in the group treated with L. rhamnosus M21. Although there were no significant changes in the proinflammatory cytokines in the lung lysates of mice collected from both groups, levels of interferon-γ and interleukin-2, which are representative cytokines of type I helper T cells, were significantly increased in the L. rhamnosus M21-treated group. An increase in sIgA as well as the diminution of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was also observed in the L. rhamnosus M21-treated group.ConclusionThese results demonstrate that orally administered L. rhamnosus M21 activates humoral as well as cellular immune responses, conferring increased resistance to the host against influenza virus infection

Extracellular matrixes and neuroinflammation

The extracellular matrix is a critical component of every human tissue. ECM not only functions as a structural component but also regulates a variety of cellular processes such as cell migration, differentiation, proliferation, and cell death. In addition, current studies suggest that ECM is critical for the pathophysiology of various human diseases. ECM is composed of diverse components including several proteins and polysaccharide chains such as chondroitin sulfate, heparan sulfate, and hyaluronic acid. Each component of ECM exerts its own functions in cellular and pathophysiological processes. One of the interesting recent findings is that ECM is involved in inflammatory responses in various human tissues. In this review, we summarized the known functions of ECM in neuroinflammation after acute injury and chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nerve systems