A stochastic mixed integer programming approach to wildfire management systems

Wildfires have become more destructive and are seriously threatening societies and our ecosystems throughout the world. Once a wildfire escapes from its initial suppression attack, it can easily develop into a destructive huge fire that can result in significant loss of lives and resources. Some human-caused wildfires may be prevented; however, most nature-caused wildfires cannot. Consequently, wildfire suppression and contain- ment becomes fundamentally important; but suppressing and containing wildfires is costly. Since the budget and resources for wildfire management are constrained in reality, it is imperative to make important decisions such that the total cost and damage associated with the wildfire is minimized while wildfire containment effectiveness is maximized. To achieve this objective, wildfire attack-bases should be optimally located such that any wildfire is suppressed within the effective attack range from some bases. In addition, the optimal fire-fighting resources should be deployed to the wildfire location such that it is efficiently suppressed from an economic perspective. The two main uncertain/stochastic factors in wildfire management problems are fire occurrence frequency and fire growth characteristics. In this thesis two models for wildfire management planning are proposed. The first model is a strategic model for the optimal location of wildfire-attack bases under uncertainty in fire occurrence. The second model is a tactical model for the optimal deployment of fire-fighting resources under uncertainty in fire growth. A stochastic mixed-integer programming approach is proposed in order to take into account the uncertainty in the problem data and to allow for robust wildfire management decisions under uncertainty. For computational results, the tactical decision model is numerically experimented by two different approaches to provide the more efficient method for solving the model

rhBMP-2-Coated Acellular Dermal Graft for Chronic Rotator Cuff Healing: Translational Tendon Repair Research

A rotator cuff tear is a common shoulder injury in sports medicine. However, a rotator cuff repair still has the high failure rate (57%) in large torn (>8 cm2) rotator cuff cases. One of the main reasons is failing at suture-tendon cause of continuous tensional and torsional stresses even after surgery, and thus, an ideal biologic augmentation to overcome large tears is an essential challenge. The ECM graft, the biological material can be useful for augment repair of large torn rotator cuff. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2), which belongs to transforming growth factor-β superfamily, is well known as an osteoinductive growth factor. It plays an important role in the development of bone and cartilage. rhBMP-2 also facilitates chemotaxis in the host tissue. In this study, rhBMP-2-coated acellular dermal graft, which is isolated from human cadaveric donor, was transplanted in the rabbit with the chronic rotator cuff injury. The radiologic image, histomorphometric, histologic image analyses, and tensile test were performed to evaluate the effectiveness. The results showed the enhancement of increased host cell infiltration, new bone formation, and tensile mechanical property. The rhBMP-2-coated acellular dermal graft will be promising for chronic rotator cuff healing

The Injectable rhBMP-2-containing Collagen Gel for Tendon Healing in a Rabbit Extra-Articular Bone Tunnel Model

This rabbit animal study has a hypothesis that the collagen gel, which is injectable easily, can be an effective carrier for recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) for the tendon healing in a bone tunnel. The cut upper long digital extensor tendon of each rabbit was inserted into the proximal tibia bone tunnel, and rhBMP-2 conjugated collagen gel was injected into the tendon-bone tunnel interface using a syringe. Biomechanical and histological performances were analyzed at 3 and 6 weeks after surgery. The collagen sol at room temperature was transformed to a gel at 37°C. The rhBMP-2 was slowly released from the collagen gel for more than 4 weeks. The in vivo experiment showed the enhanced new fibrocartilage and bone tissue formation at 6 weeks after injecting the rhBMP-2-containing collagen gel. The calcification and enthesis-like tissue were detected radiologically in the repaired tendon-bone junction. The viscous collagen gel-containing rhBMP-2 increased the fusion rate of the repaired tendon in the bone tunnel. This study showed that viscous collagen gel can be an effective carrier for rhBMP-2 for tendon healing in the bone tunnel. The rhBMP-2-containing collagen gel will be promising for tendon-bone interface healing in the future

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of the zoonotic parasite Spirometra erinacei spargana (plerocercoids)

BACKGROUND: Although spargana, which are the plerocercoids of Spirometra erinacei, are of biological and clinical importance, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from this parasite have not been explored. To understand molecular and biological features of this parasite, sparganum ESTs were examined by large-scale EST sequencing and multiple bioinformatics tools. METHODS: Total RNA was isolated from spargana and then ESTs were generated, assembled and sequenced. Many biological aspects of spargana were investigated using multi-step bioinformatics tools. RESULTS: A total of 5,634 ESTs were collected from spargana. After clustering and assembly, the functions of 1,794 Sparganum Assembled ESTs (SpAEs) including 934 contigs and 860 singletons were analyzed. A total of 1,351 (75%) SpAEs were annotated using a hybrid of BLASTX and InterProScan. Of these genes, 1,041 (58%) SpAEs had high similarity to tapeworms. In the context of the biology of sparganum, our analyses reveal: (i) a highly expressed fibronectin 1, a ubiquitous and abundant glycoprotein; (ii) up-regulation of enzymes related with glycolysis pathway; (iii) most frequent domains of protein kinase and RNA recognition motif domain; (iv) a set of helminth-parasitic and spargana-specific genes that may offer a number of antigen candidates. CONCLUSIONS: Our transcriptomic analysis of S. erinacei spargana demonstrates biological aspects of a parasite that invades and travels through subcutaneous tissue in intermediate hosts. Future studies should include comparative analyses using combinations of transcriptome and proteome data collected from the entire life cycle of S. erinacei. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1756-3305-7-368) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Activation of CD147 with Cyclophilin A Induces the Expression of IFITM1 through ERK and PI3K in THP-1 Cells

CD147, as a receptor for Cyclophilins, is a multifunctional transmembrane glycoprotein. In order to identify genes that are induced by activation of CD147, THP-1 cells were stimulated with Cyclophilin A and differentially expressed genes were detected using PCR-based analysis. Interferon-induced transmembrane 1 (IFITM1) was detected to be induced and it was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. CD147-induced expression of IFITM1 was blocked by inhibitors of ERK, PI3K, or NF-κB, but not by inhibitors of p38, JNK, or PKC. IFITM1 appears to mediate inflammatory activation of THP-1 cells since cross-linking of IFITM1 with specific monoclonal antibody against it induced the expression of proinflammatory mediators such as IL-8 and MMP-9. These data indicate that IFITM1 is one of the pro-inflammatory mediators that are induced by signaling initiated by the activation of CD147 in macrophages and activation of ERK, PI3K, and NF-κB is required for the expression of IFITM1

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among Preschool Children in Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea

The present study was performed to determine the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among preschool children in Gimhae-si, Korea. A total of 6,921 preschool children in 76 kindergartens were examined using the cellotape perianal swab method. The overall egg positive rate (EPR) was 10.5%. The EPR in boys was higher than that in girls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.5, P<0.001), and it was higher in rural than in urban children (AOR: 1.2, P=0.022). The present study confirmed that the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection is fairly high among preschool children in Gimhae-si. Therefore, systematic control and preventive measures should be adopted to reduce morbidity associated with this nematode infection

The effect of phenylephrine on the onset time of rocuronium

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that ephedrine shortens the onset time of muscle relaxants, and it does so probably by increasing the cardiac output. However, elevation of the systemic blood pressure through α adrenergic stimulation via ephedrine may affect the onset of muscle relaxants during the induction of anesthesia. We investigated the effect of phenylephrine, which is a selective α-1 agonist, on the onset time of rocuronium and the intubating conditions in adults after the administration of propofol. METHODS: Sixty-four patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Phenylephrine (0.9 µg/kg) (P group) or the same volume of saline (S group) was injected before rocuronium (0.6 mg/kg) administration. Anesthesia was induced with fentanyl 2 µg/kg and propofol 2 mg/kg. The onset time was defined as the time from the end of rocuronium injection to the time when a single twitch height gets to 0% or the minimum level. A well-trained anesthesiologist who was 'blinded' to the treatment groups evaluated the intubating conditions. The mean arterial pressure and heart rate were recorded before induction, before intubation, immediately after intubation and 1 minute and 2 minutes after intubation. RESULTS: The onset time was 84 ± 18 sec in the P-group and 72 ± 14 sec in the S-group. There was no difference of the intubating conditions, the mean arterial pressure and the heart rate between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: A small dose of phenylephrine, which has a limited effect on blood pressure, delayed the onset time of rocuronium after the administration of propofol, and the vasoconstriction effect of phenylephrine may affect the prolongation of the rocuronium onset time at the induction of anesthesia with using propofol.ope

Corneal cell viability and structure after transcorneal freezing–thawing in the human cornea

Purpose: Although cryotherapy has long been used to eradicate corneal lesions, there have been no reports of adverse effects of cryotherapy on human corneas. We performed this study to evaluate and characterize ultrastructural damage to the human cornea following the transcorneal freezing-and-thawing procedure. Methods: Seven human donor corneas were randomly divided into three groups. 1, 2, and 3 repetitive freezing-and-thawing procedures were respectively applied to donor corneas in each group. A cryoprobe was cooled to-80°C, and placed on the anterior surface 1.5 mm central to the limbus for 3 seconds. Samples were then allowed to spontaneously defrost. A cornea without the treatment was used as a control. Samples were evaluated through hematoxylin &amp; eosin staining, TUNEL assay, and electron microscopy. Results: After transcorneal cryoinjury, it was observed that corneal endothelial cells were lost and Descemet&apos;s membrane was denuded where the cryoprobe was applied. Corneal stromal cells were damaged, and the damage was more marked in the posterior stroma. The extent of damage increased with an increasing number of freezing-thawing repetitions. In contrast, corneal epithelial cells showed no cryo-induced damage, and Bowman&apos;s layer remained intact in all groups. Conclusions: The susceptibility to transcorneal cryo-injury differed among the corneal layers; the corneal endothelium was most susceptible, and the epithelium was least susceptible. Caution would thus be advised in regard to the potential damage in corneal endothelium when treating patients with corneal lesions using transcorneal cryotherapy.©2010 Oh et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.Y