A Feasibility Study on the Application of TVDI on Accessing Wildfire Danger in the Korean Peninsula

Wildfire is a major natural disaster affecting socioeconomics and ecology. Remote sensing data have been widely used to estimate the wildfire danger with an advantage of higher spatial resolution. Among the several wildfire related indices using remote sensing data, Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI) assesses wildfire danger based on both Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST). Although TVDI has physical advantages by considering both weather and vegetation condition, previous studies have shown TVDI does not performed well compare to other wildfire related indices over the Korean Peninsula. In this study we have attempted multiple modification to improve TVDI performance over the study region. In-situ measured air temperature was employed to increase accuracy, regression line was generated using monthly data to include seasonal effect, and TVDI was calculated at each province level to consider vegetation type and local climate. The modified TVDI calculation method was evaluated in wildfire cases and showed significant improvement in wildfire danger estimation

Sinapic acid alleviates inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through localization of tight junction proteins by direct binding to TAK1 and improves intestinal microbiota

Introduction: Although sinapic acid is found in various edible plants and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties including colitis, its underlying mechanism and effects on the composition of the gut microbiota are largely unknown. We aimed to identify an early response kinase that regulates the localization of tight junction proteins, act at the onset of the inflammatory response, and is regulated by sinapic acid. Additionally, we analyzed the effects of sinapic acid on the homeostasis of the intestinal microbiome.Methods: We examined the aberrant alterations of early response genes such as nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and activating transcription factor (ATF)-2 within 2 h of sinapic acid treatment in fully differentiated Caco-2 cells with or without lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α stimulation. To confirm the effect of sinapic acid on stimulus-induced delocalization of tight junction proteins, including zonula occludens (ZO)-1, occludin, and claudin-2, all tight junction proteins were investigated by analyzing a fraction of membrane and cytosol proteins extracted from Caco-2 cells and mice intestines. Colitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice using 2% dextran sulfate sodium and sinapic acid (2 or 10 mg/kg/day) was administrated for 15 days. Furthermore, the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical activities of sinapic acid for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) evaluated.Results: We confirmed that sinapic acid significantly suppressed the stimulus-induced delocalization of tight junction proteins from the intestinal cell membrane and abnormal intestinal permeability as well as the expression of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β and TNF-α in vitro and in vivo. Sinapic acid was found to bind directly to transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and inhibit the stimulus-induced activation of NF-κB as well as MAPK/ATF-2 pathways, which in turn regulated the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MLCK). Dietary sinapic acid also alleviated the imbalanced of gut microbiota and symptoms of IBD, evidenced by improvements in the length and morphology of the intestine in mice with colitis.Discussion: These findings indicate that sinapic acid may be an effective nutraceutical and pharmaceutical agent for IBD treatment as it targets TAK1 and inhibits subsequent NF-κB and ATF-2 signaling

Meteorological characteristics and assessment of the effect of local emissions during high PM10 concentration in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

In this study, we investigate the meteorological characteristics and the effect of local emissions during high PM10 concentrations in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) by utilizing data from a high-resolution urban meteorological observation system network (UMS-Seoul) and The Air Pollution Model (TAPM). For a detailed analysis, days with PM10 concentrations higher than 80 ??g m-3 for daily average PM10 concentration (classified as unhealthy by the Korean Ministry of Environment) in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) were classified into 3 Cases. Case I was defined as when the prevailing effect was from outside the SMA. Case II was defined as when the prevailing effect was a local effect with outside. Case III was defined as when the prevailing effect was local. Overall, high PM10 concentrations in the SMA mostly occurred under weak migratory anticyclone systems over the Korean Peninsula during warm temperatures. Prior to the PM10 concentration reaching the peak concentration, the pattern in each case was distinctive. After peak concentrations, however, the pattern for the 3 cases became less distinct. This study showed that nearly 50% of the high PM10 concentrations in the SMA occurred in spring and were governed by the conditions for Case II more than these for Cases I and III. In spring, the main sources of the high PM10 concentrations in the SMA were local emissions due to the predominance of weak winds and local circulation. The simulation showed that the non-SMA emissions were about 63 to 73% contribution to the spring high PM10 concentrations in the SMA. Specifically, local point sources including industrial combustion, electric utility, incineration and cement production facilities scattered around the SMA and could account for PM10 concentrations more than 10 ??g m-3 in the SMA

Generalized Pustular Psoriasis and Hepatic Dysfunction Associated with Oral Terbinafine Therapy

We report a case of 61-yr-old man with stable psoriasis who progressively developed generalized pustular eruption, erythroderma, fever, and hepatic dysfunction following oral terbinafine. Skin biopsy was compatible with pustular psoriasis. After discontinuation of terbinafine and initiating topical corticosteroid and calcipotriol combination with narrow band ultraviolet B therapy, patient'S condition slowly improved until complete remission was reached 2 weeks later. The diagnosis of generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) induced by oral terbinafine was made. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GPP accompanied by hepatic dysfunction associated with oral terbinafine therapy

Triplet host engineering for triplet exciton management in phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

The device performances of green phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes with a triplet mixed host emitting layer were correlated with the energy levels and composition of the host materials. Two hole-transport-type host materials, (4,4-N,N -dicarbazole)biphenyl (CBP) and 4,4 ,4 - tris(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine (TCTA), were combined with two electron-transport-type host materials, 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazole-2-yl)benzene (TPBI) and PH1. The maximum quantum efficiency was obtained in the 5:5 mixed host in the case of TCTA:TPBI and TCTA:PH1, while CBP:PH1 showed the best performances in the 9:1 mixed host. The quantum efficiency of the green mixed host devices was improved by more than 50% compared with that of the corresponding single host devices.Grant No. RTI04-01-02 from the Regional Technology Innovation Program of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE

Impact Comparison of Synoptic Meteorology and Nationwide/local Emissions on the Seoul Metropolitan Area during High PM Multi-event and Non-event Days

Meteorology and emissions play very important roles in the concentrations of air pollutants during severe haze/smog periods. This study compares the impacts of synoptic meteorology and nationwide/local emissions during high PM10 multi-event and non-event days in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA). The multi-event and non-event cases were selected based on daily mean PM10 concentrations in Seoul from January 2014 to March 2019. The multi-event cases in spring and winter were closely associated with weak synoptic winds, while that in autumn was due to the strong winds at the rear side of a strong cold front, which induced the Asian dust event in northeastern China and Korea. The multi-event case in spring was found to be mainly due to series of migratory anticyclones, while winter case was due to the stagnant system after northerly winds. The surrounding low pressure systems as well as high pressure systems could be important to determine whether the synoptic systems would be stagnant or not. The fractional contributions of SMA emissions to the mean PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 24%-35% and 22%-35% for the multi-event cases, respectively. The contributions to the maximum PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were larger than those to the mean concentrations by 16%-23% and 19%-26% for the multi-event cases, respectively

Isolated Biliary Granulocytic Sarcoma Followed by Acute Myelogeneous Leukemia with Multilineage Dysplasia: A Case Report and Literature Review

Granulocytic sarcoma is a rare extramedullary tumor composed of myeloid progenitor cells. Primary involvement of the biliary tract without evidence of leukemia is exceedingly rare. Here, we report an isolated biliary granulocytic sarcoma in a 30-yr-old man who presented with jaundice, fever, and chill without any evidence of leukemia. However, five months after the diagnosis, he developed acute myelogenous leukemia with multilineage dysplasia and chromosomal abnormality. A rare possibility of biliary granulocytic sarcoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with obstructive jaundice. A histologic evaluation by aggressive diagnostic intervention is important and may improve prognosis

Treatment of Facial Seborrheic Dermatitis with Pimecrolimus Cream 1%: An Open-Label Clinical Study in Korean Patients

Pimecrolimus cream 1% has shown to be effective in patients with a variety of inflammatory cutaneous disorders. And it might be a useful modality in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis. This prospective study was aimed at assessing the efficacy and tolerability of pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of facial seborrheic dermatitis. Twenty patients were instructed to apply pimecrolimus cream 1% for 4 consecutive weeks. Assessment of the disease severity was performed at baseline and at week 1, 2, and 4. Clinical assessments of erythema, scaling, and pruritus were measured using a 4-point scale (0-3). Global assessments of the disease severity by patients and investigators were performed at each visit. Mean clinical scores of erythema, scaling, and pruritus significantly improved by 87.4%, 91.9%, and 91.5% respectively at week 4 (p<0.001). Improvements in the global assessment of disease severity determined by patients and investigators also showed excellent results. No specific adverse events other than transient burning and tingling sensations were noted. The relapse of facial seborrheic dermatitis was mostly observed between 3 to 8 weeks after the discontinuation of pimecrolimus. We suggest that the topical application of pimecrolimus cream 1% can be an effective and safe alternative for treatment of facial seborrheic dermatitis