Audiological Follow-up Results after Newborn Hearing Screening Program

ObjectivesTo investigate the validity of newborn hearing screening protocol using automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) with a confirmation method using click auditory brainstem response (ABR) and to evaluate changes in hearing status of infants with confirmed congenital hearing loss.MethodsNeonates in the well-baby nursery were screened by staged AABR. Subjects whose final AABR result was "refer" were tested by diagnostic click ABR and 226 Hz tympanometry within 3 months of age. Changes in hearing status of subjects with confirmed hearing loss were analyzed by follow-up ABR at 3-6 month intervals.ResultsOf the 12,193 healthy babies born during this period, 10,879 (89.22%) were screened by AABR. Of 10,879 neonates screened by AABR, 148 (1.36%) were "referred"; of these, 45 subjects showed ABR thresholds over 30 dB nHL in at least one ear. Thirty-four subjects underwent serial follow-up ABR tests, with 11 (32.4%) found to have normal ABR thresholds. Most subjects with mild to moderate hearing loss were found to be normal before 1 year of age, whereas all infants with severe or profound hearing loss were identified as having congenital hearing loss.ConclusionThe referral rate and the positive predictive value of our protocol were acceptable. We have also found here that substantial temporary hearing loss can be included in the first confirmative diagnosis. Temporary hearing loss of our study on follow-up give emphasis to need of further differentiation using the testing for bone conduction and middle ear status

An optimal superconducting hybrid machine

Optimal engine performances are accomplished by quantum effects. Here we explore two routes towards ideal engines, namely (1) quantum systems that operate as hybrid machines being able to perform more than one useful task and (2) the suppression of fluctuations in doing such tasks. For classical devices, the absence of fluctuations is conditioned by a high entropy production as dictate the thermodynamic uncertainty relations. Here we generalize such relations for multiterminal conductors that operate as hybrid thermal machines. These relations are overcome in quantum conductors as we demonstrate for a double quantum dot contacted to normal metals and a reservoir being a generator of entangled Cooper pairs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures + Supplemental materia

Experimental study on the removal of sulfur compounds and siloxanes from biogas

Biogas is a renewable energy source, which can be produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms from agriculture waste, manure, municipal waste, sewage, food waste, etc. The biogas consists primarily of methane and carbon dioxide, but also smaller amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and volatile organic compounds including sulfur compounds, halogenated compounds and organic silicon compounds may be present. Here, methane which is the main component in the biogas may be used as a fuel in many applications such as heating, combined heat and power systems, fuel cells, etc. For the implementation of methane, therefore, the biogas needs purification to improve its quality in most cases by removing impurities from the biogas, resulting in no corrosion and scaling problems in the applications. In the present work, a hybrid biogas purification process, consisting of a physicochemical process with an adsorption for the removal of sulfur compounds and siloxanes and a membrane separation process for the removal of carbon dioxide, has been proposed. The main focus of this study is to examine the physical properties and adsorption characteristics of adsorbents being used to remove sulfur compounds and siloxanes from the biogas. Indeed, recent studies are on the desulfurization and siloxane removal process using an activated carbon and impregnated activated carbon. However, there are many different types of sulfur compounds and siloxanes in the biogas and each may have a different reaction rate and adsorption capacity. In this study, therefore, several commercially-available adsorbents are selected to analyze their removal capacities for the main components (methane) and major impurities in the biogas. The main impurities considered in this work are hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS2), Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), based on the measurements from the on-site sewage treatment plant in Incheon, Korea. In the bench-scale adsorption experiments, iron oxide, activated carbon, impregnated activated carbon and inorganic adsorbents such as zeolite and silica gel are used as adsorbents for the removal of impurities from synthetic biogas and their physical properties are analyzed with XRF, SEM and BET analyses. The experimental results show that the adsorption capacity of hydrogen sulfide in the iron oxide (IO) is superior to those of the activated carbon (AC) and impregnated activated carbon (IAC) with a relatively good adsorption capacity (Figure 1). In addition, the removal efficiency of carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide with the activated carbon is more effective than using the iron oxide having a very poor adsorption capacity (Figure 2). It is also shown that both activated carbon and zeolite exhibit a high adsorption capacity of siloxanes D4 and D5. Especially, in case of siloxane D5, the zeolite has a better adsorption capacity than the activated carbon (Figure 3). More detailed results will be presented at the conference. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Characterization of the ATP transporter in the reconstituted rough endoplasmic reticulum proteoliposomes

AbstractAdenosine triphosphate (ATP) transporter from rat liver rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) was solubilized and reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The RER proteoliposomes, resulting from optimizing some reconstitution parameters, had an apparent Km value of 1.5 μM and a Vmax of 286 pmol min−1 (mg protein)−1 and showed higher affinity for ATP and a lower Vmax value than intact RER (Km of 6.5 μM and Vmax of 1 nmol). ATP transport was time- and temperature-dependent, inhibited by 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, which is known as an inhibitor of anion transporters including ATP transporter, but was not affected by atractyloside, a specific inhibitor of mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier. The internal and external effects of various nucleotides on the ATP transport were examined. ATP transport was cis-inhibited strongly by ADP and weakly by AMP. ADP-preloaded RER proteoliposomes showed a specific increase of ATP transport activity while AMP-preloaded RER proteoliposomes did not show the enhanced overshoot peak in the ATP uptake plot. These results demonstrate the ADP/ATP antiport mechanism of ATP transport in rat liver RER

Insect Fauna of Mt. Jang-san, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea

AbstractAn entomofauna study of Jangsan Mountain (1,408.8 m) in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do was carried out from April to September, 2010. The distribution of 384 species, 91 families and 12 orders was confirmed from the study area

Assessment of Agricultural Drought Considering the Hydrological Cycle and Crop Phenology in the Korean Peninsula

Hydrological changes attributable to global warming increase the severity and frequency of droughts, which in turn affect agriculture. Hence, we proposed the Standardized Agricultural Drought Index (SADI), which is a new drought index specialized for agriculture and crops, and evaluated current and expected droughts in the Korean Peninsula. The SADI applies crop phenology to the hydrological cycle, which is a basic element that assesses drought. The SADI of rice and maize was calculated using representative hydrological variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff) of the crop growing season. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SADI, the three-month Standardized Precipitation Index, which is a representative drought index, and rainfed crop yield were estimated together. The performance evaluation of SADI showed that the correlation between rainfed crop yield and SADI was very high compared with that of existing drought index. The results of the assessment of drought over the past three decades provided a good indication of a major drought period and differentiated the results for crops and regions. The results of two future scenarios showed common drought risks in the western plains of North Korea. Successfully validated SADIs could be effectively applied to agricultural drought assessments in light of future climate change, and would be a good example of the water-food nexus approach

Assessment of Agricultural Drought Considering the Hydrological Cycle and Crop Phenology in the Korean Peninsula

Hydrological changes attributable to global warming increase the severity and frequency of droughts, which in turn affect agriculture. Hence, we proposed the Standardized Agricultural Drought Index (SADI), which is a new drought index specialized for agriculture and crops, and evaluated current and expected droughts in the Korean Peninsula. The SADI applies crop phenology to the hydrological cycle, which is a basic element that assesses drought. The SADI of rice and maize was calculated using representative hydrological variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff) of the crop growing season. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of SADI, the three-month Standardized Precipitation Index, which is a representative drought index, and rainfed crop yield were estimated together. The performance evaluation of SADI showed that the correlation between rainfed crop yield and SADI was very high compared with that of existing drought index. The results of the assessment of drought over the past three decades provided a good indication of a major drought period and differentiated the results for crops and regions. The results of two future scenarios showed common drought risks in the western plains of North Korea. Successfully validated SADIs could be effectively applied to agricultural drought assessments in light of future climate change, and would be a good example of the water-food nexus approach

Insect Fauna of Island Gangwha-do with its nearby Islands, Incheon Metropolitan city, Korea

AbstractThis study was conducted to clarify the current status of insects of Is. Gangwha-do (Mt. Goryeo-san, 436 m) as well as some nearby islands (Is. Gyodong-do, Is. Boleum-do, Is. Jumun-do and Is. Seokmo-do (Mt. Haemyeong-san, 327 m)) through June and September, 2009. A total of 206 insects of 104 species of 38 families and 6 orders was investigated by this survey

EFFECTS OF GENDER AND FOOT POSITION ON ACCELERATION PATTERN OF KNEE AND HIP JOINT DURING DEEP SQUAT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender and foot position on the acceleration patterns of the knee and hip joints during deep squat. Twenty-two male and 10 female collegiate students participated in this study. All the participants performed a deep squat two times in neutral foot position (NFP), with the foot rotated externally by 15° (ERFP). A wireless triaxial accelerometer was attached on the right-side knee and hip joints of each participant. Acceleration data generated in the anterior-posterior (AP), medio-lateral (ML), and superior-inferior (SI) directions during deep squat were collected through the attached acceleration sensor (2000Hz). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0, and mixed analysis of variance (p \u3c 0.05) was used to identify the interaction and main effects of gender and foot positions. The acceleration patterns of the knee joint during deep squat according to gender indicated differences between the AP and ML directions. The acceleration motion of the hip joint under the ERFP condition indicated a difference in the SI direction

Familial Glucocorticoid Deficiency with a Point Mutation in the ACTH Receptor: A Case Report

Familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe glucocorticoid deficiency associated with failure of adrenal responsiveness to ACTH but no mineralocorticoid deficiency. We report a 2 month-old boy of nonconsanguineous parents, presented with hyperpigmentation. Physical examination showed diffuse dark skin of body including, oral mucosa, gum, hands, nails and scrotum. Laboratory evaluation revealed low serum cortisol (0.3 µg/dL), with very high plasma ACTH level (18,000 pg/mL), and serum cortisol level did not increase after ACTH stimulation test. Serum sodium, potassium, plasma renin activity, aldosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone were normal. Sequence analysis of the ACTH receptor (MC2R) gene showed a homozygous mutation of D103N. Diagnosis of FGD was made and treatment started with oral hydrocortisone