Detection of Sensor Attack and Resilient State Estimation for Uniformly Observable Nonlinear Systems having Redundant Sensors

This paper presents a detection algorithm for sensor attacks and a resilient state estimation scheme for a class of uniformly observable nonlinear systems. An adversary is supposed to corrupt a subset of sensors with the possibly unbounded signals, while the system has sensor redundancy. We design an individual high-gain observer for each measurement output so that only the observable portion of the system state is obtained. Then, a nonlinear error correcting problem is solved by collecting all the information from those partial observers and exploiting redundancy. A computationally efficient, on-line monitoring scheme is presented for attack detection. Based on the attack detection scheme, an algorithm for resilient state estimation is provided. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Division and Unification: Seen through the Eyes of Korean Migrants in Berlin

Based on qualitative fieldwork among first generation Korean immigrants in Berlin, this article sheds light on their lived experiences of German division and unification. Our research questions are threefold; first, how do these immigrants from the divided Korea perceive the division and unification of Germany? Second, did the fact that the division of Germany could be overcome affect their views on the division and unification of the Korean Peninsula? Third, are there any differences between Koreans in Germany and Koreans in Korea with respect to their views on unification? Our research suggests that different from South Korea, where the discourses in the media and the academia tend to assume sharply antagonistic attitudes, discourses among Koreans in Germany are generally much more supportive of unification. This is because they have a positive perception of German unification in everyday life and, furthermore, have constructed for themselves a future-oriented identity as a people of the Korean Peninsula that will eventually be unified. Korean immigrants in Germany are considerably more optimistic about the possibility of Korean unification than people in South Korea

A case of peripheral gangrene and osteomyelitis secondary to terlipressin therapy in advanced liver disease

Variceal bleeding and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) are serious and life-threatening complications of advanced liver disease. Terlipressin is widely used to manage both acute variceal bleeding and HRS due to its potency and long duration of action. The most severe (though rare) adverse event is ischemia. The present report describes the case of a patient with gangrene and osteomyelitis secondary to terlipressin therapy. A 71-year-old male with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh B) and chronic hepatitis C was admitted due to a drowsy mental status. The patient had several experiences of orthopedic surgery. His creatinine level had gradually elevated to 4.02 mg/dL, and his urine output decreased to 500 mL/24 hr. The patient was diagnosed as having grade III hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and type II HRS. Terlipressin and albumin were administered intravenously to treat the HRS over 11 days. Although he recovered from the HE and HRS, the patient developed peripheral gangrene and osteomyelitis in both feet. His right toes were cured with the aid of rescue therapy, but his left three toes had to be amputated. Peripheral gangrene and osteomyelitis secondary to terlipressin therapy occur only rarely, and there is no specific rescue therapy for these conditions. Thus, attention should be paid to the possibility of ischemia of the skin and bone during or after terlipressin therapy

A study of hepatitis B virus reactivation associated with rituximab therapy in real-world clinical practice: a single-center experience

Background/AimsThe widespread use of cytotoxic chemotherapy and immunosuppressants has resulted in reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) recently becoming an issue. Although rituximab (an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) has revolutionized the treatment of lymphoma, recent reports have suggested that rituximab therapy increases the risk of viral-mediated complications, and particularly HBV reactivation. This study analyzed real clinical practice data for rituximab-related HBV reactivation.MethodsBetween January 2005 and December 2011, 169 patients received treatment with rituximab. Screening status of the HBV infection and frequency of preemptive therapy were determined in these patients, and the clinical features of HBV reactivation were analyzed.ResultsSeventy-nine of the 169 patients with chronic or past HBV infection were selected for evaluation of HBV reactivation. Of the 90 patients who were excluded, 22 (13.0%) were not assessed for HBsAg and anti-HBc, and 14 (8.3%) were not assessed for anti-HBc due to seronegativity for HBsAg. The selected patients were divided into those with chronic HBV infection (n=12) and those with past HBV infection (n=67); six patients (7.6%) experienced HBV reactivation. Eight patients received preemptive therapy, but three patients (37.5%) underwent HBV reactivation. Although HBsAg seropositivity was an independent risk factor for HBV reactivation (P=0.038), of the six patients with HBV reactivation, two (33.3%) had past HBV infection and three (50%) died of liver failure.ConclusionsThe findings of this study demonstrate that adherence to guidelines for screening and preemptive therapy for HBV reactivation was negligent among the included cohort. Attention should be paid to HBV reactivation in patients with past as well as chronic HBV infection during and after rituximab therapy

CHARACTERIZATION OF THERMOMECHANICAL PULP MADE FROM PINE TREES INFECTED WITH NEMATODES

Pine wilt is a lethal disease caused by the nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. It causes tree death by blocking water and nutrient uptake in pine trees. Pine trees infected by these nematodes are used as fertilizer or fuel for thermal power plants, but their utilization is still only about 37%. To increase the utilization of the infected trees, this study investigated whether the shredded wood chips prepared from them could be used as raw materials for manufacturing thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP). TMP and CTMP prepared from the infected pine chips showed fewer pitch contents and better strength properties than those made from domestic pine. In conclusion, if the nematode-infected pine was used as raw materials for manufacturing TMP and CTMP, it is expected that it would contribute to the diversification of raw materials along with a high-temperature insecticidal effect. Keywords: Pine wilt, nematode disease, thermomechanical pulp, chemithermomechanical pulp, pulp strength, insecticidal effect &nbsp

COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF TMP PITCH CONTROL AGENTS WITH DIFFERENT MECHANISMS

The pitch contained in thermomechanical pulp negatively affects paper quality, pulp, and the papermaking process. Serious pitch and stickies problems may occur in paper recycling processes. In this study, the effects of chemicals used to control the pitch in the TMP(Themomechanical Pulp) rocess were compared. The method used to analyze the pitch-control effect was to perform image analysis after using a reagent that selectively stains only the hydrophobic pitch. Three different mechanisms, namely fixation, detackification, and dispersion, were applied to solve the pitch problem from TMP. All the control agents were effective in pitch control, and, in particular, the agents related to fixation and dispersion were found to be more effective in reducing the number and area of tacky particles per unit area in sheets and white water. However, for the detackifiers and the dispersants, but not for the fixatives, it was difficult to clearly distinguish the difference of the pitch control effects according to the change in the amount of these agents through image analysis after staining

Comparative analysis of multiple classification models to improve PM10 prediction performance

With the increasing requirement of high accuracy for particulate matter prediction, various attempts have been made to improve prediction accuracy by applying machine learning algorithms. However, the characteristics of particulate matter and the problem of the occurrence rate by concentration make it difficult to train prediction models, resulting in poor prediction. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, we proposed multiple classification models for predicting particulate matter concentrations required for prediction by dividing them into AQI-based classes. We designed multiple classification models using logistic regression, decision tree, SVM and ensemble among the various machine learning algorithms. The comparison results of the performance of the four classification models through error matrices confirmed the f-score of 0.82 or higher for all the models other than the logistic regression model

Efficacy and safety of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma as first-line therapy

Background/AimsHepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin for intractable advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may have survival benefits. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of HAIC for advanced HCC as first-line therapy.MethodsA total of 54 patients who received only HAIC with 5-fluorouracil (750 mg/m2 on days 1-4) and cisplatin (25 mg/m2 on days 1-4) for advanced HCC from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2011 were selected. According to Child-Pugh class, the overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and adverse events after HAIC were investigated retrospectively.ResultsMedian OS and PFS between the Child-Pugh A group (n=24) and the Child-Pugh B/C group (n=30) were 8.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.7-12.7) vs. 3.7 months (95% CI: 2.0-5.3), and 7.1 (95% CI: 3.8-10.4) vs. 3.6 months (95% CI: 2.0-5.2), respectively. Although median OS and PFS were not statistically significant between the two groups (P=0.079, P=0.196), the Child-Pugh class B/C tended to influence poor OS. Serious adverse events ≥ grade 3 occurred frequently in both groups (83.3 vs. 96.7%, P=0.159). Responders (22.2%, complete or partial response) significantly differed in median OS, compared to non-responders (13.1 vs. 4.4 months, P=0.019). Achievement of complete or partial response was an independent prognostic factor of OS (hazard ratio: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8, P=0.011).ConclusionsAchievement of response after HAIC provide a survival benefit in patients with advanced HCC, but HAIC should be administered cautiously in patients with Child-Pugh class B/C, because of a relatively low survival and high incidence of serious adverse events