Entropy of Reissner-Nordstrom Black Holes with Minimal Length Revisited

Based on the generalized uncertainty principle, we study the entropy of a four-dimensional black hole by counting degrees of freedom near the horizon and obtain the (finite) entropy proportional to the surface area at the horizon without a cutoff introduced in the conventional brick-wall method.Comment: 5 page

Exosomes from Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Epidermal Barrier Repair by Inducing de Novo Synthesis of Ceramides in Atopic Dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial, heterogeneous disease associated with epidermal barrier disruption and intense systemic inflammation. Previously, we showed that exosomes derived from human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASC-exosomes) attenuate AD-like symptoms by reducing multiple inflammatory cytokine levels. Here, we investigated ASC-exosomes' effects on skin barrier restoration by analyzing protein and lipid contents. We found that subcutaneous injection of ASC-exosomes in an oxazolone-induced dermatitis model remarkably reduced trans-epidermal water loss, while enhancing stratum corneum (SC) hydration and markedly decreasing the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17, and TSLP, all in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, ASC-exosomes induced the production of ceramides and dihydroceramides. Electron microscopic analysis revealed enhanced epidermal lamellar bodies and formation of lamellar layer at the interface of the SC and stratum granulosum with ASC-exosomes treatment. Deep RNA sequencing analysis of skin lesions demonstrated that ASC-exosomes restores the expression of genes involved in skin barrier, lipid metabolism, cell cycle, and inflammatory response in the diseased area. Collectively, our results suggest that ASC-exosomes effectively restore epidermal barrier functions in AD by facilitating the de novo synthesis of ceramides, resulting in a promising cell-free therapeutic option for treating AD

The Mutational Landscape of Circulating Tumor Cells in Multiple Myeloma

The development of sensitive and non-invasive ‘‘liquid biopsies’’ presents new opportunities for longitudinal monitoring of tumor dissemination and clonal evolution. The number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is prognostic in multiple myeloma (MM), but there is little information on their genetic features. Here, we have analyzed the genomic landscape of CTCs from 29 MM patients, including eight cases with matched/paired bone marrow (BM) tumor cells. Our results show that 100% of clonal mutations in patient BM were detected in CTCs and that 99% of clonal mutations in CTCs were present in BM MM. These include typical driver mutations in MM such as in KRAS, NRAS, or BRAF. These data suggest that BM and CTC samples have similar clonal structures, as discordances between the two were restricted to subclonal mutations. Accordingly, our results pave the way for potentially less invasive mutation screening of MM patients through characterization of CTCs

Web-based infectious disease surveillance systems and public health perspectives: a systematic review

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a significant public health concern, and early detection and immediate response is crucial for disease control. These challenges have led to the need for new approaches and technologies to reinforce the capacity of traditional surveillance systems for detecting emerging infectious diseases. In the last few years, the availability of novel web-based data sources has contributed substantially to infectious disease surveillance. This study explores the burgeoning field of web-based infectious disease surveillance systems by examining their current status, importance, and potential challenges. Methods A systematic review framework was applied to the search, screening, and analysis of web-based infectious disease surveillance systems. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases to extensively review the English literature published between 2000 and 2015. Eleven surveillance systems were chosen for evaluation according to their high frequency of application. Relevant terms, including newly coined terms, development and classification of the surveillance systems, and various characteristics associated with the systems were studied. Results Based on a detailed and informative review of the 11 web-based infectious disease surveillance systems, it was evident that these systems exhibited clear strengths, as compared to traditional surveillance systems, but with some limitations yet to be overcome. The major strengths of the newly emerging surveillance systems are that they are intuitive, adaptable, low-cost, and operated in real-time, all of which are necessary features of an effective public health tool. The most apparent potential challenges of the web-based systems are those of inaccurate interpretation and prediction of health status, and privacy issues, based on an individuals internet activity. Conclusion Despite being in a nascent stage with further modification needed, web-based surveillance systems have evolved to complement traditional national surveillance systems. This review highlights ways in which the strengths of existing systems can be maintained and weaknesses alleviated to implement optimal web surveillance systems

The Relationship between Practitioners’ Trust in the City and Their Adoption of the Virtual Convention Platform—A Case Study of Virtual SEOUL 2.0

Many conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows planned in the early days of COVID-19 were canceled or postponed, and only some events were able to convert quickly to virtual events by using existing virtual conference and exhibition platforms. This study examined whether the virtual convention platform, combined with advanced technologies, can enhance the trust in Seoul city and further influence the attitude and intention to use Virtual SEOUL 2.0. Furthermore, this study applies the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) framework to identify external variables that affect perceived usefulness and ease of use and describes how practitioners embrace the new convention technology of Virtual SEOUL 2.0. The 300 usable survey data were collected and used to identify the proposed hypothesized relationship of seven latent constructs. The hypothesized relationships were tested by structural equation modeling (SEM). The analytic results confirmed the proposed hypothesized relationship among these seven constructs (Personal innovativeness, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Perceived trust of Seoul, Perceived enjoyment, Attitude toward using Virtual SEOUL 2.0, and Intention to use Virtual SEOUL 2.0). More interestingly, the study’s findings provide that perceived trust in a smart city is an essential factor that directly or indirectly enhances users’ intention to use technology

The Relationship between Practitioners’ Trust in the City and Their Adoption of the Virtual Convention Platform—A Case Study of Virtual SEOUL 2.0

Many conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows planned in the early days of COVID-19 were canceled or postponed, and only some events were able to convert quickly to virtual events by using existing virtual conference and exhibition platforms. This study examined whether the virtual convention platform, combined with advanced technologies, can enhance the trust in Seoul city and further influence the attitude and intention to use Virtual SEOUL 2.0. Furthermore, this study applies the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) framework to identify external variables that affect perceived usefulness and ease of use and describes how practitioners embrace the new convention technology of Virtual SEOUL 2.0. The 300 usable survey data were collected and used to identify the proposed hypothesized relationship of seven latent constructs. The hypothesized relationships were tested by structural equation modeling (SEM). The analytic results confirmed the proposed hypothesized relationship among these seven constructs (Personal innovativeness, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Perceived trust of Seoul, Perceived enjoyment, Attitude toward using Virtual SEOUL 2.0, and Intention to use Virtual SEOUL 2.0). More interestingly, the study’s findings provide that perceived trust in a smart city is an essential factor that directly or indirectly enhances users’ intention to use technology

Validation of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Water Vapor Retrievals Using Global Positioning System: Case Study in South Korea

The atmospheric infrared sounder (AIRS) sensor loaded on the Aqua satellite observes the global vertical structure of atmosphere and enables verification of the water vapor distribution over the entire area of South Korea. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of the accuracy of the total precipitable water (TPW) provided as the AIRS level 2 standard retrieval product by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) over the South Korean area using the global positioning system (GPS) TPW data. The analysis TPW for the period of one year in 2008 showed that the accuracy of the data produced by the combination of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit sensor with the AIRS sensor to correct the effect of clouds (AIRS-X) was higher than that of the AIRS IR-only data (AIRS-I). The annual means of the root mean square error with reference to the GPS data were 5.2 kg/m2 and 4.3 kg/m2 for AIRS-I and AIRS-X, respectively. The accuracy of AIRS-X was higher in summer than in winter while measurement values of AIRS-I and AIRS-X were lower than those of GPS TPW to some extent