Feature Selection for Very Short-Term Heavy Rainfall Prediction Using Evolutionary Computation

We developed a method to predict heavy rainfall in South Korea with a lead time of one to six hours. We modified the AWS data for the recent four years to perform efficient prediction, through normalizing them to numeric values between 0 and 1 and undersampling them by adjusting the sampling sizes of no-heavy-rain to be equal to the size of heavy-rain. Evolutionary algorithms were used to select important features. Discriminant functions, such as support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors algorithm (k-NN), and variant k-NN (k-VNN), were adopted in discriminant analysis. We divided our modified AWS data into three parts: the training set, ranging from 2007 to 2008, the validation set, 2009, and the test set, 2010. The validation set was used to select an important subset from input features. The main features selected were precipitation sensing and accumulated precipitation for 24 hours. In comparative SVM tests using evolutionary algorithms, the results showed that genetic algorithm was considerably superior to differential evolution. The equitable treatment score of SVM with polynomial kernel was the highest among our experiments on average. k-VNN outperformed k-NN, but it was dominated by SVM with polynomial kernel

Subcutaneous Sacrococcygeal Myxopapillary Ependymoma in Asian Female:A Case Report

Subcutaneous sacrococcygeal myxopapillary ependymoma is extremely rare tumor that has a tendency to develop in children and adolescents. There have been several case reports and sporadic reports in the literature. However, no case has been reported in an Asian patient, to the best of our knowledge. We describe a 25-year-old Asian female patient with a subcutaneous sacrococcygeal myxopapillary ependymoma that had been clinically diagnosed as a pilonidal cyst. The tumor was treated successfully by surgical excision and the patient is doing well without evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis at 2 years after surgery.

Optical spectroscopic investigation on the coupling of electronic and magnetic structure in multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films

We investigated the effects of temperature and magnetic field on the electronic structure of hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films using optical spectroscopy. As the magnetic ordering of the system was disturbed, a systematic change in the electronic structure was commonly identified in this series. The optical absorption peak near 1.7 eV showed an unexpectedly large shift of more than 150 meV from 300 K to 15 K, accompanied by an anomaly of the shift at the Neel temperature. The magnetic field dependent measurement clearly revealed a sizable shift of the corresponding peak when a high magnetic field was applied. Our findings indicated strong coupling between the magnetic ordering and the electronic structure in the multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 compounds.Comment: 16 pages including 4 figure

pH-responsive high-density lipoprotein-like nanoparticles to release paclitaxel at acidic pH in cancer chemotherapy

Jae-Yoon Shin,1,* Yoosoo Yang,1,* Paul Heo,1 Ji-Chun Lee,1 ByoungJae Kong,1 Jae Youl Cho,1 Keejung Yoon,1 Cheol-Su Shin,2 Jin-Ho Seo,3 Sung-Gun Kim,4 Dae-Hyuk Kweon11Department of Genetic Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, and Center for Human Interface Nano Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, 2APTech Research Center, Suwon, 3Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 4Department of Biomedical Science, Youngdong University, Chungbuk, South Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Nanoparticles undergoing physicochemical changes to release enclosed drugs at acidic pH conditions are promising vehicles for antitumor drug delivery. Among the various drug carriers, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-like nanoparticles have been shown to be beneficial for cancer chemotherapy, but have not yet been designed to be pH-responsive.Methods and results: In this study, we developed a pH-responsive HDL-like nanoparticle that selectively releases paclitaxel, a model antitumor drug, at acidic pH. While the well known HDL-like nanoparticle containing phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and apolipoprotein A-I, as well as paclitaxel (PTX-PL-NP) was structurally robust at a wide range of pH values (3.8–10.0), the paclitaxel nanoparticle that only contained paclitaxel and apoA-I selectively released paclitaxel into the medium at low pH. The paclitaxel nanoparticle was stable at physiological and basic pH values, and over a wide range of temperatures, which is a required feature for efficient cancer chemotherapy. The homogeneous assembly enabled high paclitaxel loading per nanoparticle, which was 62.2% (w/w). The molar ratio of apolipoprotein A-I and paclitaxel was 1:55, suggesting that a single nanoparticle contained approximately 110 paclitaxel particles in a spherical structure with a 9.2 nm diameter. Among the several reconstitution methods applied, simple dilution following sonication enhanced the reconstitution yield of soluble paclitaxel nanoparticles, which was 0.66. As a result of the pH responsiveness, the anticancer effect of paclitaxel nanoparticles was much more potent than free paclitaxel or PTX-PL-NP.Conclusion: The anticancer efficacy of both paclitaxel nanoparticles and PTX-PL-NP was dependent on the expression of scavenger receptor class B type I, while the killing efficacy of free paclitaxel was independent of this receptor. We speculate that the pH responsiveness of paclitaxel nanoparticles enabled efficient endosomal escape of paclitaxel before lysosomal break down. This is the first report on pH-responsive nanoparticles that do not contain any synthetic polymer.Keywords: pH responsiveness, nanoparticle, apolipoprotein A-I, paclitaxe

Electronic structures of hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films

We investigated the electronic structure of multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho) thin films using both optical spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Using artificially stabilized hexagonal RMnO3, we extended the optical spectroscopic studies on the hexagonal multiferroic manganite system. We observed two optical transitions located near 1.7 eV and 2.3 eV, in addition to the predominant absorption above 5 eV. With the help of first-principles calculations, we attribute the low-lying optical absorption peaks to inter-site transitions from the oxygen states hybridized strongly with different Mn orbital symmetries to the Mn 3d3z2-r2 state. As the ionic radius of the rare earth ion increased, the lowest peak showed a systematic increase in its peak position. We explained this systematic change in terms of a flattening of the MnO5 triangular bipyramid

Ecological connectivity analysis based on the fish community in Jeongan Stream

This study focused on the longitudinal connectivity analysis, based on fish communities in the aspect of spatial variations of 34 sites from upstream to downstream. The Fish Assessment Index (FAI), based on ecological guilds and species composition, was applied to compare the ecological health among the sampling sites. The total number of 35 fish species, were sampled during the study period with dominant species of Zacco platypus (35.4%) and Zacco koreanus (11.8%). Cluster analysis showed that all sites were categorized as 4 distinct group communities (A, B, C, D). Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed distinct difference between upstream (A, B) and downstream groups (C, D). Indicator Value Analysis (IndVal method), conducted to identify indicator species within each group, indicated that the species favoring upstream environments Rhynchocypris oxycephalus for the Group A and Iksookimia koreensis for the Group B. In contrast, the analysis indicated that the species with a preference for downstream habitats Pseudogobio esocinus for the Group C and Carassius auratus for the Group D. Ecological health, based on the FAI scores, showed a declining pattern toward the downstream, along with an increasing proportion of tolerant species and omnivores within the fish community. Overall these findings suggest the compositions of fish communities, as four groups, were modified by the weir structures and organic matter, nutrient pollutions

Undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclast-like giant cells

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells is a rare neoplasm of the exocrine pancreas. Some similar cases have been reported, but the histogenesis of these tumors varies and is controversial. We report here on a case of undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclast-like giant cells. A 77-year old woman presented with abdominal pain and anorexia. Abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed an approximately 10 × 5 cm highly attenuated mass arising from the tail of the pancreas and invading the spleen and adjacent bowel loop. The initial impression was a malignant endocrine tumor or solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. The patient underwent a distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and left hemicolectomy. The histopathology and immunohistochemistry helped make the diagnosis that of an undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells of the pancreas

Carbon-free high-performance cathode for solid-state Li-O-2 battery

The development of a cathode for solid-state lithium-oxygen batteries has been hindered in practice by a low capacity and limited cycle life despite their potential for high energy density. Here, a previously unexplored strategy is proposed wherein the cathode delivers a specific capacity of 200 milliampere hour per gram over 665 discharge/charge cycles, while existing cathodes achieve only similar to 50 milliampere hour per gram and similar to 100 cycles. A highly conductive ruthenium-based composite is designed as a carbon-free cathode by first-principles calculations to avoid the degradation associated with carbonaceous materials, implying an improvement in stability during the electrochemical cycling. In addition, water vapor is added into the main oxygen gas as an additive to change the discharge product from growth-restricted lithium peroxide to easily grown lithium hydroxide, resulting in a notable increase in capacity. Thus, the proposed strategy is effective for developing reversible solid-state lithium-oxygen batteries with high energy density

Heritabilities of Facial Measurements and Their Latent Factors in Korean Families

Genetic studies on facial morphology targeting healthy populations are fundamental in understanding the specific genetic influences involved; yet, most studies to date, if not all, have been focused on congenital diseases accompanied by facial anomalies. To study the specific genetic cues determining facial morphology, we estimated familial correlations and heritabilities of 14 facial measurements and 3 latent factors inferred from a factor analysis in a subset of the Korean population. The study included a total of 229 individuals from 38 families. We evaluated a total of 14 facial measurements using 2D digital photographs. We performed factor analysis to infer common latent variables. The heritabilities of 13 facial measurements were statistically significant (p ＜ 0.05) and ranged from 0.25 to 0.61. Of these, the heritability of intercanthal width in the orbital region was found to be the highest (h2 = 0.61, SE = 0.14). Three factors (lower face portion, orbital region, and vertical length) were obtained through factor analysis, where the heritability values ranged from 0.45 to 0.55.The heritability values for each factor were higher than the mean heritability value of individual original measurements. We have confirmed the genetic influence on facial anthropometric traits and suggest a potential way to categorize and analyze the facial portions into different groups.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000040632/16SEQ:16PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000040632ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A077602DEPT_CD:902CITE_RATE:0FILENAME:heritabilities of facial measurements and their latent factors in korean families.pdfDEPT_NM:보건학과SCOPUS_YN:NCONFIRM: