Sensitivity of Simulated PM2.5 Concentrations over Northeast Asia to Different Secondary Organic Aerosol Modules during the KORUS-AQ Campaign

A numerical sensitivity study on secondary organic aerosol formation has been carried out by employing the WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry). Two secondary organic aerosol formation modules, the Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe/Volatility Basis Set (MADE/VBS) and the Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe/Secondary Organic Aerosol Model (MADE/SORGAM) were employed in the WRF-Chem model, and surface PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 mu m in size) mass concentration and the composition of its relevant chemical sources, i.e., SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, and organic carbon (OC) were simulated during the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign period (1 May to 12 June 2016). We classified the KORUS-AQ period into two cases, the stagnant period (16-21 May) which was dominated by local emission and the long-range transport period (25-31 May) which was affected by transport from the leeward direction, and focused on the differences in OC secondary aerosol formation between two modules over Northeast Asia. The simulated surface PM2.5 chemical components via the two modules showed the largest systematic biases in surface OC, with a mean bias of 4.5 mu g m(-3), and the second largest in SO42- abundance of 2.2 mu g m(-3) over Seoul. Compared with surface observations at two ground sites located near the western coastal Korean Peninsula, MADE/VBS exhibited the overpredictions in OC by 170-180%, whereas MADE/SORGAM showed underpredictions by 49-65%. OC and sulfate via MADE/VBS were simulated to be much higher than that simulated by MADE/SORGAM by a factor of 2.8-3.5 and 1.5-1.9, respectively. Model verification against KORUS-AQ aircraft measurements also showed large discrepancies in simulated non-surface OC between the two modules by a factor of five, with higher OC by MADE/VBS and lower IC by MADE/SORGAM, whereas much closer MADE/VBS simulations to the KORUS-AQ aircraft measurements were found. On the basis of the aircraft measurements, the aggregated bias (sum of four components) for PM2.5 mass concentrations from the MADE/VBS module indicated that the simulation was much closer to the measurements, nevertheless more elaborate analysis on the surface OC simulation performance would be needed to improve the ground results. Our findings show that significant inconsistencies are present in the secondary organic aerosol formation simulations, suggesting that PM2.5 forecasts should be considered with great caution, as well as in the context of policymaking in the Northeast Asia region

Lepidopterous Insect Fauna of Gyeongju National Park in Korea

AbstractLepidopterous insect fauna of Gyeongju National Park, was investigated during 25-28 April and 10-11 August 2007, especially in Mt. Namsan Zone. In total, 150 species of 21 families belonging to Lepidoptera were identified through this study. Therefore, a total of 183 species under 25 families are recorded from Gyeongju National Park, including the previous studies

Egy tanúságtevő hitvalló, szolgáló, tudományos és papi pálya lezárult

Passed a Wittness of the Faith, Scientist, a Servant of The Lord, True Priest: Nicefor Petrashevich (1915–2013), canon of the Preshov Greek Catholic Eparchy. Abstract Decease of the witness of the Faith, a servant of the Lord and a famous researcher of the religious folklore: Nicefor Joseph Petrashevich (1915–2013) distinguished member of the Capitol of Preshov Greek Catholic Eparchy. Born in Čukalovce, East-Slovakia (then Csukalóc, Upper-Hungary) in 1915 as the sixth of the eleven children in the family of a Greek Catholic bishop, he was inspired by his father and elder brother who served the Lord. He studied in the high school (gymnasium) of the Cistercian Order in Eger (Northern Hungary) which provided its pupils with knowledge and deep faith. He became a choir-minister of the Uzghorod Bishopric Basilica where he turned to the examination of folklore traditions reflected in the liturgical chants. Apparently, it was his calling and his findings on the Byzantine chants contributed significantly to the understanding of religious folklore. He was known as a gift ed composer and singer, too. The Greek Catholic Church was banned in the Soviet Union which obtained Subcarpathia after the World War II, and this church was oppressed in Slovakia as well, so he faced a dilemma: to convert to the Ortodox (Pravoslav) Christianity and live free, or to remain faithful to the Catholic Church and be persecuted. Moreover, he was a coelebs, a priest who did not have a wife (despite the fact that Greek Catholic priests are allowed to have families). Consequently, he could have been elected as bishop, as the higher ranks in the Byzantine Churches are open for monks. The communist authorities offered Father Nicefor the episcopate of the Slovak Ortodox Church, if he converted to the Ortodoxy. He refused it: “my head does not accept the mithra (bishops’ crone) by leaving my Catholic faith” –he said. As a result, he was imprisoned for more than two years in Slovakia. Later he came to Hungary where could not serve as a parochial priest, but worked as cantor or helping pope in various places and in centres of pilgrimage where performed the liturgy in Church Slavonic which he sang excellently. Continuing his researches in the folk sings in the liturgy and the local traditions of the liturgical chants, he gained a small grant of the Soros Foundation in 1986 and delivered lectures for two semesters at the Department of the Folklore at the Eötvös University in Budapest in 1988–89. His papers have been partially published, but most of them are still preserved as manuscripts in the Institute of Musicology at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, or even in unknown places worldwide, as he sent his works to his brothers-in-faith to the United States. In his eighties, instead of enjoying the golden days of ageing, he moved to Slovakia in order to serve as a pastor who spoke both Slovakian and Hungarian as mother tongues. He was buried in Szikszó, Hungary where the Greek Catholic Bishop of Preshov and approximately forty popes from Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia commemorated him on 20 July 2013. Church historians and folklorists honored his memory as a researcher with a conference on 4 October 2013 in Szikszó. Proceedings are to be published next year. A memorial website about him is open for bloggers

Effects of Infrared Radiation and Heat on Human Skin Aging in vivo

Sunlight damages human skin, resulting in a wrinkled appearance. Since natural sunlight is polychromatic, its ultimate effects on the human skin are the result of not only the action of each wavelength separately, but also interactions among the many wavelengths, including UV, visible light, and infrared (IR). In direct sunlight, the temperature of human skin rises to about 40°C following the conversion of absorbed IR into heat. So far, our knowledge of the effects of IR radiation or heat on skin aging is limited. Recent work demonstrates that IR and heat exposure each induces cutaneous angiogenesis and inflammatory cellular infiltration, disrupts the dermal extracellular matrix by inducing matrix metalloproteinases, and alters dermal structural proteins, thereby adding to premature skin aging. This review provides a summary of current research on the effects of IR radiation and heat on aging in human skin in vivo

Translation and validation of the Korean confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Delirium is a common problem and associated with poor outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Diagnosis of delirium in ICU patients is limited and usually underdiagnosed by physicians. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) is one of the most widely used screening methods for detection of ICU delirium. Our goal was to translate and validate the CAM-ICU for use in the Korean ICU setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Translation of the CAM-ICU was done according to the guidelines suggested by the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Group. For validation and interrater reliability assessment of the Korean CAM-ICU, two nurses independently assessed delirium in ICU patients and the results were compared with the reference evaluation, which was done by a psychiatrist using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two patients were evaluated by two nurses and one psychiatrist expert independently. During the study period, we have continuously educated study nurses. Based on DSM-IV criteria, 16 out of 22 (72.7%) patients developed delirium. The sensitivities of the two nurses' evaluations using the Korean CAM-ICU were 89.80% for nurse 1 and 77.40% for nurse 2. Their specificities were 72.40% and 75.80% and their overall accuracy was 83.33% and 88.37% respectively. The Korean CAM-ICU was done with reasonable interrater reliability between nurse 1 and nurse 2 (κ = 0.81, <it>p </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Korean CAM-ICU showed good validity and could be incorporated into clinical practice in Korean ICUs.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN50265663">ISRCTN50265663</a></p

Gene-based copy number variation study reveals a microdeletion at 12q24 that influences height in the Korean population

AbstractHeight is a classic polygenic trait with high heritability (h2=0.8). Recent genome-wide association studies have revealed many independent loci associated with human height. In addition, although many studies have reported an association between copy number variation (CNV) and complex diseases, few have explored the relationship between CNV and height. Recent studies reported that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are highly correlated with common CNVs, suggesting that it is warranted to survey CNVs to identify additional genetic factors affecting heritable traits such as height.This study tested the hypothesis that there would be CNV regions (CNVRs) associated with height nearby genes from the GWASs known to affect height. We identified regions containing >1% copy number deletion frequency from 3667 population-based cohort samples using the Illumina HumanOmni1-Quad BeadChip. Among the identified CNVRs, we selected 15 candidate regions that were located within 1Mb of 283 previously reported genes. To assess the effect of these CNVRs on height, statistical analyses were conducted with samples from a case group of 370 taller (upper 10%) individuals and a control group of 1828 individuals (lower 50%).We found that a newly identified 17.7kb deletion at chromosomal position 12q24.33, approximately 171.6kb downstream of GPR133, significantly correlated with height; this finding was validated using quantitative PCR. These results suggest that CNVs are potentially important in determining height and may contribute to height variation in human populations

A Case of Pseudo-Duane's Retraction Syndrome With Old Medial Orbital Wall Fracture

We report a case of pseudo-Duane's retraction syndrome with entrapment of the medial rectus muscle in an old medial orbital wall fracture presenting identical clinical symptoms as Duane's retraction syndrome. A 15-year-old boy presented with persistent limited right eye movement since a young age. Examination showed marked limited abduction, mildly limited adduction, and globe retraction accompanied by narrowing of the palpebral fissure during attempted adduction in the right eye. He showed a right esotropia of 16 prism diopters and his head turned slightly to the right. A slight enophthalmos was noted in his right eye. A computed tomography scan demonstrated entrapment of the medial rectus muscle and surrounding tissues in an old medial orbital wall fracture. A forced duction test revealed a marked restriction of abduction in the right eye. A 5 mm recession of the right medial rectus muscle was performed. Postoperatively, the patient's head turn and esotropia in the primary position were successfully corrected, but there was still some limitations to his ocular movement. The importance of several tests such as the forced duction test and an imaging study should be emphasized in making a diagnosis for limitation of eye movement