Application of Computational Lower Extremity Model to Investigate Different Muscle Activities and Joint Force Patterns in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients during Walking

Many experimental and computational studies have reported that osteoarthritis in the knee joint affects knee biomechanics, including joint kinematics, joint contact forces, and muscle activities, due to functional restriction and disability. In this study, differences in muscle activities and joint force patterns between knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and normal subjects during walking were investigated using the inverse dynamic analysis with a lower extremity musculoskeletal model. Extensor/flexor muscle activations and torque ratios and the joint contact forces were compared between the OA and normal groups. The OA patients had higher extensor muscle forces and lateral component of the knee joint force than normal subjects as well as force and torque ratios of extensor and flexor muscles, while the other parameters had little differences. The results explained that OA patients increased the level of antagonistic cocontraction and the adduction moment on the knee joint. The presented findings and technologies provide insight into biomechanical changes in OA patients and can also be used to evaluate the postoperative functional outcomes of the OA treatments

The Singer's Formant and Speaker's Ring Resonance: A Long-Term Average Spectrum Analysis

ObjectivesWe previously showed that a trained tenor's voice has the conventional singer's formant at the region of 3 kHz and another energy peak at 8-9 kHz. Singers in other operatic voice ranges are assumed to have the same peak in their singing and speaking voice. However, to date, no specific measurement of this has been made.MethodsTenors, baritones, sopranos and mezzo sopranos were chosen to participate in this study of the singer's formant and the speaker's ring resonance. Untrained males (n=15) and females (n=15) were included in the control group. Each subject was asked to produce successive /a/ vowel sounds in their singing and speaking voice. For singing, the low pitch was produced in the chest register and the high notes in the head register. We collected the data on the long-term average spectra of the speaking and singing voices of the trained singers and the control groups.ResultsFor the sounds produced from the head register, a significant energy concentration was seen in both 2.2-3.4 kHz and 7.5-8.4 kHz regions (except for the voices of the mezzo sopranos) in the trained singer group when compared to the control groups. Also, the chest register had a significant energy concentration in the 4 trained singer groups at the 2.2-3.1 kHz and 7.8-8.4 kHz. For speaking sound, all trained singers had a significant energy concentration at 2.2-5.3 kHz and sopranos had another energy concentration at 9-10 kHz.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that opera singers have more energy concentration in the singer's formant/speaker's ring region, in both singing and speaking voices. Furthermore, another region of energy concentration was identified in opera singer's singing sound and in sopranos' speaking sound at 8-9 kHz. The authors believe that these energy concentrations may contribute to the rich voice of trained singers

Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Annealing Effects on MoS2 Transistors with Asymmetric and Symmetric Contacts

The ultra-short pulsed laser annealing process enhances the performance of MoS 2 thin film transistors (TFTs) without thermal damage on plastic substrates. However, there has been insufficient investigation into how much improvement can be brought about by the laser process. In this paper, we observed how the parameters of TFTs, i.e., mobility, subthreshold swing, I on /I off ratio, and V th , changed as the TFTs’ contacts were (1) not annealed, (2) annealed on one side, or (3) annealed on both sides. The results showed that the linear effective mobility (µeff_lin) increased from 13.14 [cm 2 /Vs] (not annealed) to 18.84 (one side annealed) to 24.91 (both sides annealed). Also, I on /I off ratio increased from 2.27 x 10 5 (not annealed) to 3.14 x 10 5 (one side annealed) to 4.81 x 10 5 (both sides annealed), with V th shifting to negative direction. Analyzing the main reason for the improvement through the Y function method (YFM), we found that both the contact resistance (R c ) and the channel interface resistance (R ch ) improves after the pulsed laser annealings under different conditions. Moreover, the Rc enhances more dramatically than the R ch does. In conclusion, our picosecond laser annealing improves the performance of TFTs (especially, the R c ) in direct proportion to the number of annealings applied. The results will contribute to the investigation about correlations between the laser annealing process and the performance of devices. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.1

Customized Energy Down-Shift using Iridium Complexes for Enhanced Performance of Polymer Solar Cells

School of Molecular Sciences(Chemistry)For the higher performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs), many researchers tried to develop new polymers that can absorb broader range of spectrum. However, there are some limits to absorb broader range with single donor. Therefore, multi donor systems and energy transfer systems have been researched. With two different donors it is easier to enhance absorption range. As a result, multi donor and energy transfer was successful to increase performance. However, the existing systems are applying polymer-polymer systems. When two different polymers are mixed, the compatibility between two polymers is critical to morphology of blend film. Also, in polymer-polymer energy transfer, the boundary between charge transfer and energy transfer is unclear. Therefore, for the first time, we developed customized iridium (Ir(III)) complexes, with Ir(III) complex incorporated into the active materials poly(thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene/benzodithiophene) (PTB7, amorphous) or poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT, high crystalline) as energy donor additives. The Ir(III) complex with the 2-phenyl quinolone ligand energy donor increased the power conversion efficiency of the corresponding devices by approximately 20%. The enhancements are attributed to the improved molecular compatibility and energy level between the Ir(III) complex and the active materials, long F??rster resonance energy transfer radius, and high energy down-shift efficiency. Overall, we reveal Ir(III) complex additives for amorphous and highly crystalline polymer active materialsthese additives would enable efficient energy transfer in polymer solar cells, while retaining the desirable active layer morphology, thereby resulting in improved light absorption and conversion.ope

Conformal and Ultra Shallow Junction Formation Achieved Using a Pulsed-Laser Annealing Process Integrated With a Modified Plasma Assisted Doping Method

Recently, a shallow and conformal doping profile is required for promising 3D structured devices. In this study, we deposited the dopant phosphorus (P) using modified plasma assisted doping (PaD) followed by an annealing process to electrically activate the dopants. A rapid thermal annealing process (RTP) was the first approach tested for activation but it resulted in a deep junction ( > 35 nm). To reduce the junction depth, we tried the fiash lamp annealing process (FLP) to shorten the annealing time. We also predicted the annealing temperature by numerical thermal analysis, which reached 1,020 degrees C. However, the FLP resulted in a deep junction (similar to 30 nm), which was not shallow enough to suppress short channel effects. Since an even shorter annealing process was required to form a ultra-shallow junction, we tried the laser annealing process (LAP) as a promising alternative. The LAP, which had a power density of 0.3 J/cm(2), increased the surface temperature up to 1,100 degrees C with a shallow isothermal layer. Using the LAP, we achieved a USJ with an activated surface dopant concentration of 3.86 x 10(19) cm(-3) and a junction depth of 10 nm, which will allow further scaling-down of devices.1

Effect of multiple debris flow countermeasures on flow characteristics and topographic changes through real-scale experiment

In this study, to investigate the effect of multiple countermeasure on the flow characteristics of debris flows, a real-scale experiment was conducted in a natural gully by reproducing a debris flow with a installation of multiple countermeasures. In addition, the topographic changes before and after experiment by debris flow were investigated using UAV-LiDAR. Based on the experiment results, the effect of multiple countermeasures and the topographic changes against the gully erosion and deposition caused by debris flow were also analyzed. The installation of multiple countermeasures significantly decreased the frontal velocity of debris flow. Furthermore, the countermeasure induced the deposition of debris material on the back of the countermeasure

Direct cell-to-cell transfer in stressed tumor microenvironment aggravates tumorigenic or metastatic potential in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer exhibits a characteristic tumor microenvironment (TME) due to enhanced fibrosis and hypoxia and is particularly resistant to conventional chemotherapy. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying TME-associated treatment resistance in pancreatic cancer are not fully understood. Here, we developed an in vitro TME mimic system comprising pancreatic cancer cells, fibroblasts and immune cells, and a stress condition, including hypoxia and gemcitabine. Cells with high viability under stress showed evidence of increased direct cell-to-cell transfer of biomolecules. The resulting derivative cells (CD4

Heterosporis anguillarum infections in farm cultured eels (Anguilla japonica) in Korea

Ten eels (Anguilla japonica) from a fish farm in Korea were examined and diagnosed with a Heterosporis infection. The gross lesions on the trunk were uneven and the concave parts were pasty. Histopathologically, lyses of the trunk muscles, degenerative muscle fibers and the scattered spores were observed. The sporophorocyst (SPC) contained several spores with a variety of shapes. Some SPC were disrupted and the spores in the SPC were scattered in the muscle tissues. Macrophages existed near the scattered spores. Electron microscopy revealed special structures such as sporophorocyst containing various developmental parasitic stages such as meronts, sporonts, sporophorous vesicles and spores

Adenomatous Hyperplasia Arising from Dual Ectopic Thyroid

Ectopic thyroid tissue is an uncommon embryologic aberration characterized by the presence of thyroid tissue in a site other than its usual pre-tracheal location. Single ectopic thyroid tissue is the most common variant, and the base of the tongue is the most frequent ectopic location. Dual ectopic thyroid is extremely rare, and only eleven cases have been reported in the English literature. Furthermore, adenomatous hyperplasia has never been reported to arise from dual ectopic thyroid. There has been only one reported case of adenomatous hyperplasia arising from a single intratracheal ectopic thyroid. We report a case of adenomatous hyperplasia arising from dual ectopic thyroid tissue that presented as a sublingual mass in a 37-yr-old woman. The diagnosis was made through pathologic examination after surgical resection. We also discuss the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic thyroid, along with a review of the literature