Technical Efficiency in the Iron and Steel Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

In this paper we examine the technical efficiency of firms in the iron and steel industry and try to identify the factors contributing to the industry's efficiency growth, using a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Based on our findings, which pertain to 52 iron and steel firms over the period of 1978-1997, POSCO and Nippon Steel were the most efficient firms, with their production, on average, exceeding 95 percent of their potential output. Our findings also shed light on possible sources of efficiency growth in the industry. If a firm is government-owned, its privatization is likely to improve its technical efficiency to a great extent. A firm's technical efficiency also tends to be positively related to its production level as measured by a share of the total world production of crude steel. Another important source of efficiency growth identified by our empirical findings is adoption of new technologies and equipment. Our findings clearly indicate that continued efforts to update technologies and equipment are critical in pursuit of efficiency in the iron and steel industry.

User Analysis Mechanisms based Mobile Fitness System

Modern men have health problems caused by lack of exercise than in the past. But most modern people do not know what to do exercise. Mobile systems for fitness to solve this problem have been developed. In this paper, by analyzing the user's BMI (Body Mass Index) Index and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) value, the data is made available. The processed data is provided to the user which proposes the right exercise and the appropriate level of exercise intensity, for exercise machines. This is different from detecting the movement, like the existing system, and a fitness value showing the calorie consumption caused. Thus the user is considered to be able to efficiently proceed to a movement based on the provided data

Therapeutic effect of intraductal saline irrigation in chronic obstructive sialadenitis

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intraductal irrigation using normal saline in chronic obstructive sialadenitis. Patients who had one of the following symptoms were recruited: pain, swelling, stiffness, and dry mouth. A total of 58 salivary glands in 33 patients were diagnosed as having sialadenitis using sialography and ultrasonography. The patients were divided into two groups (swelling group and dry mouth group), according to the major complaint. Repeated intraductal irrigation was performed on each gland. Difference of symptom severity evaluated using numerical rating scale (NRS), and ductal width measured using ultrasonography were compared between the two groups. The average NRS score was significantly decreased from 6.0 to 3.3 after 3–5 visits of intraductal irrigation (P < 0.05). The reduction in NRS was greater in the swelling group than in the dry mouth group, although the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. There was no change of ductal width before and after the irrigation. Intraductal irrigation according to this study method using normal saline is a simple treatment for the patients with chronic obstructive sialadenitis. It provides a conservative treatment option reducing the subjective symptoms

A guanidine-appended scyllo-inositol derivative AAD-66 enhances brain delivery and ameliorates Alzheimer’s phenotypes

Alzheimer&apos;s disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions but lacks efficient therapeutic agents. Blocking toxic amyloid beta (A beta) could be beneficial for AD and represents a promising therapeutic strategy for AD treatment. scyllo-Inositol (SI) is a potential therapeutic for AD by directly interacting with the A beta peptide to inhibit A beta 42 fiber formation. Clinical studies of SI showed promising benefits on mild to moderate AD, however, with limitations on dosage regime. A new strategy to enhance the brain delivery of SI is needed to achieve the efficacy with minimum adverse effects. Herein, we report that a novel guanidine-appended SI derivative AAD-66 resulted in more effective reductions of brain A beta and plaque deposits, gliosis, and behavioral memory deficits in the disease-established 5xFAD mice. Overall, our present study reveals the potential of AAD-66 as a promising therapeutic agent for AD.111sciescopu

Clinical and panoramic radiographic features of osteomyelitis of the jaw: A comparison between antiresorptive medication-related and medication-unrelated conditions

Purpose: This study was performed to analyze the clinical and imaging features of contemporary osteomyelitis (OM) and to investigate differences in these features on panoramic radiography according to patients&apos; history of use of medication affecting bone metabolism. Materials and Methods: The records of 364 patients (241 female and 123 male, average age 66.8 +/- 14.9 years) with OM were retrospectively reviewed. Panoramic imaging features were analyzed and compared between patients with medication-related OM (m-OM) and those with conventional, medication-unrelated OM (c-OM). Results: The age of onset of OM tended to be high, with the largest number of patients experiencing onset in their 70s. The 2 most frequent presumed causes were antiresorptive medication use (44.2%) and odontogenic origin (34.6%). On panoramic radiographs, a mix of osteolysis and sclerosis was the most common lesion pattern observed (68.6%). Sequestrum, extraction socket, and periosteal new bone formation were found in 143 (42.1%), 79 (23.2%), and 24 (7.1%) cases, respectively. The m-OM group exhibited sequestrum and extraction socket more frequently and displayed significantly higher mandibular cortical index values than the c-OM group. Conclusion: We observed some differences in imaging features as shown on panoramic radiography according to the history of antiresorptive medication use. This study may help elucidate the predictive imaging features of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw.N

Correlation between spatial resolution and ball distortion rate of panoramic radiography

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between spatial resolution and ball distortion rate of panoramic radiography and to elucidate the minimum criterion for ball distortion rate, which is very relevant to clinical readability. Methods Horizontal and vertical spatial resolution and ball distortion rates were calculated in the same position, such as the incisor, premolar, molar, and temporomandibular joint area with various object depths corresponding to 48 mm. Three devices were evaluated. A region showing spatial resolution above the reference standard was selected, and the ball distortion rate corresponding to the same region was divided into horizontal and vertical phantom groups. The mean and standard deviation of the obtained ball distortion rates were calculated. Students t-test was used to statistically analyze the mean difference in ball distortion rates between vertical and horizontal phantom groups. Results In all devices, the horizontal line pair phantom, but not the vertical line pair phantom, was readable in all areas measured at the line pair value of at least 1.88 lp/mm. The line pair value tended to be higher toward the center and lower toward the outside. The ball distortion rate tended to decrease closer to the center and increased further away. In addition, ball distortion rates could not be measured at some areas as they were not recognized as balls due to the high degree of distortion at the outermost and innermost sides. The number of balls satisfying the reference value using the horizontal line pair phantom was 102 (mean of ball distortion rates, 20.98; standard deviation, 15.25). The number of balls satisfying the reference value using the vertical line pair phantom was 49 (mean of ball distortion rates, 16.33; standard deviation, 14.25). However, mean ball distortion rate was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions Image layer of panoramic radiography could be evaluated by the spatial resolution using horizontal and vertical line pair phantoms and by assessing ball distortion rates through a ball-type panorama phantom. A ball distortion rate of 20% could be used as a threshold to evaluate the image layer of panoramic radiography

Regorafenib Regulates AD Pathology, Neuroinflammation, and Dendritic Spinogenesis in Cells and a Mouse Model of AD

The oral multi-target kinase inhibitor regorafenib, which targets the oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), is an effective therapeutic for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors or metastatic colorectal cancer. However, whether regorafenib treatment has beneficial effects on neuroinflammation and Alzheimer&apos;s disease (AD) pathology has not been carefully addressed. Here, we report the regulatory function of regorafenib in neuroinflammatory responses and AD-related pathology in vitro and in vivo. Regorafenib affected AKT signaling to attenuate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated expression of proinflammatory cytokines in BV2 microglial cells and primary cultured microglia and astrocytes. In addition, regorafenib suppressed LPS-induced neuroinflammatory responses in LPS-injected wild-type mice. In 5x FAD mice (a mouse model of AD), regorafenib ameliorated AD pathology, as evidenced by increased dendritic spine density and decreased Aβ plaque levels, by modulating APP processing and APP processing-associated proteins. Furthermore, regorafenib-injected 5x FAD mice displayed significantly reduced tau phosphorylation at T212 and S214 (AT100) due to the downregulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3β) activity. Taken together, our results indicate that regorafenib has beneficial effects on neuroinflammation, AD pathology, and dendritic spine formation in vitro and in vivo.1

MTHFR C677T Polymorphism as a Risk Factor for Vascular Calcification in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Polymorphism of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T is one of the suggested risk factors for atherosclerosis. However, few studies have reported on the relationship between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and vascular calcification (VC) in chronic hemodialysis patients. We investigated the relationship between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and VC in 152 chronic hemodialysis patients. Patients with a TT genotype exhibited significantly higher VC scores than patients expressing CC and CT (P = 0.002). The prevalence of peripheral vascular disease increased with the incidence of MTHFR C677T mutations for all patients, and the incidence of cerebrovascular accidents also increased with the presence of mutations for young patients (≤ 60 yr) (P < 0.05). Patients with CT and TT genotypes had adjusted odds ratios for VC of 1.39 and 1.58, respectively (P < 0.05). In summary, these data suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism affects the degree of VC in chronic hemodialysis patients

The MAO Inhibitor Tranylcypromine Alters LPS- and A beta-Mediated Neuroinflammatory Responses in Wild-type Mice and a Mouse Model of AD

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) has been implicated in neuroinflammation, and therapies targeting MAO are of interest for neurodegenerative diseases. The small-molecule drug tranylcypromine, an inhibitor of MAO, is currently used as an antidepressant and in the treatment of cancer. However, whether tranylcypromine can regulate LPS- and/or Aβ-induced neuroinflammation in the brain has not been well-studied. In the present study, we found that tranylcypromine selectively altered LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine levels in BV2 microglial cells but not primary astrocytes. In addition, tranylcypromine modulated LPS-mediated TLR4/ERK/STAT3 signaling to alter neuroinflammatory responses in BV2 microglial cells. Importantly, tranylcypromine significantly reduced microglial activation as well as proinflammatory cytokine levels in LPS-injected wild-type mice. Moreover, injection of tranylcypromine in 5xFAD mice (a mouse model of AD) significantly decreased microglial activation but had smaller effects on astrocyte activation. Taken together, our results suggest that tranylcypromine can suppress LPS- and Aβ-induced neuroinflammatory responses in vitro and in vivo.1

Dasatinib regulates LPS-induced microglial and astrocytic neuroinflammatory responses by inhibiting AKT/STAT3 signaling

Background: The FDA-approved small-molecule drug dasatinib is currently used as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, the effects of dasatinib on microglial and/or astrocytic neuroinflammatory responses and its mechanism of action have not been studied in detail. Methods: BV2 microglial cells, primary astrocytes, or primary microglial cells were treated with dasatinib (100 or 250 nM) or vehicle (1% DMSO) for 30 min or 2 h followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 200 ng/ml or 1 μg/ml) or PBS for 5.5 h. RT-PCR, real-time PCR; immunocytochemistry; subcellular fractionation; and immunohistochemistry were subsequently conducted to determine the effects of dasatinib on LPS-induced neuroinflammation. In addition, wild-type mice were injected with dasatinib (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.) daily for 4 days or 20 mg/kg, orally administered (p.o.) daily for 4 days or 2 weeks) or vehicle (4% DMSO + 30% polyethylene glycol (PEG) + 5% Tween 80), followed by injection with LPS (10 mg/kg, i.p.) or PBS. Then, immunohistochemistry was performed, and plasma IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels were analyzed by ELISA. Results: Dasatinib regulates LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels in BV2 microglial cells, primary microglial cells, and primary astrocytes. In BV2 microglial cells, dasatinib regulates LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine levels by regulating TLR4/AKT and/or TLR4/ERK signaling. In addition, intraperitoneal injection and oral administration of dasatinib suppress LPS-induced microglial/astrocyte activation, proinflammatory cytokine levels (including brain and plasma levels), and neutrophil rolling in the brains of wild-type mice. Conclusions: Our results suggest that dasatinib modulates LPS-induced microglial and astrocytic activation, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and neutrophil rolling in the brain. © 2019 The Author(s).1