Textile Relics Conservation and Effective Cleaning Methods - Conservation of the Korean Youth Baseball Tournament Championship Flag

This study analyzes the effectiveness of the cleaning methods applied to the Korean Youth Baseball Tournament championship flag, Korean cultural asset no. 498, which is currently owned by the Korean Sports Council. This championship flag was first given to the winning baseball team during the Chosun National Athletic Meet in July, 1920 and therefore carries importance in Korean sports history. The conservation process began with the following goals: to understand the current condition of the relic, to reduce the soils, to repair and reinforce the deteriorated areas, and to prevent further major damages to the relic

Luxury Fashion Consumption: The Interplay of Guilt and Pleasure

We draw on the Affect Balance Theory to (a) explore whether two distinct modes of luxury consumption (i.e., conspicuous consumption and style consumption) are related to pleasure (i.e., positive affect) and guilt (i.e., negative affect); and (b) determine whether pleasure and guilt interplay to make interactive impacts, as well as independent impacts, on consumers’ repurchase intention

Photothermal Polymer Nanocomposites of Tungsten Bronze Nanorods with Enhanced Tensile Elongation at Low Filler Contents

We present polymer nanocomposites of tungsten bronze nanorods (TBNRs) and ethylene propylene diene monomers (EPDM). The combination of these components allows the simultaneous enhancement in the mechanical and photothermal properties of the composites at low filler contents. The as-synthesized TBNRs had lengths and diameters of 14.0 +/- 2.4 nm and 2.5 +/- 0.5 nm, respectively, and were capped with oleylamine, which has a chemical structure similar to EPDM, making the TBNRs compatible with the bulk EPDM matrix. The TBNRs absorb a wide range of near-infrared light because of the sub-band transitions induced by alkali metal doping. Thus, the nanocomposites of TBNRs in EPDM showed enhanced photothermal properties owing to the light absorption and subsequent heat emission by the TBNRs. Noticeably, the nanocomposite with only 3 wt% TBNRs presented significantly enhanced tensile strain at break, in comparison with those of pristine EPDM, nanocomposites with 1 and 2 wt % TBNRs, and those with tungsten bronze nanoparticles, because of the alignment of the nanorods during tensile elongation. The photothermal and mechanical properties of these nanocomposites make them promising materials for various applications such as in fibers, foams, clothes with cold weather resistance, patches or mask-like films for efficient transdermal delivery upon heat generation, and photoresponsive surfaces for droplet transport by the thermocapillary effect in microfluidic devices and microengines

Comparison of gastric and other bowel perforations in preterm infants: a review of 20 years' experience in a single institution

PurposeIn this study, we aimed to review the clinical presentation of preterm infants with gastrointestinal perforations and compare the clinical features of gastric perforation with other intestinal perforations.MethodsThe medical records of preterm neonates with pneumoperitoneum, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between January 1994 and December 2013, were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsTwenty-one preterm infants underwent exploratory laparotomy to investigate the cause of the pneumoperitoneum. The sample consisted of five patients (23.8%) with gastric perforation and 16 patients (76.2%) with intestinal perforation. No statistical differences were found in the birth history and other perinatal factors between the two groups. Underlying necrotizing enterocolitis, bilious vomiting, and paralytic ileus preceding the perforation were statistically more common in the intestinal perforation group. All preterm infants with gastric perforation survived to discharge; however, six preterm infants with intestinal perforation expired during treatment in the NICU. In the gastric perforation group, sudden pneumoperitoneum was the most common finding, and the mean age at diagnosis was 4.4±1.7 days of life. The location and size of the perforations varied, and simple closure or partial gastrectomy was performed.ConclusionPatients with gastric perforation did not have a common clinical finding preceding the perforation diagnosis. Although mortality in previous studies was high, all patients survived to discharge in the present study. When a preterm infant aged less than one week presents with sudden abdominal distension and pneumoperitoneum, gastric perforation should first be excluded. Prompt exploratory laparotomy will increase the survival rates of these infants

Focal Nodular Hyperplasia with Retraction of Liver Capsule: A Case Report

Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is characterized by the presence a central scar with radiating fibrous septa. Our case had a capsular retraction, which was the result of an extension of the central scar to the surface. In addition, a hypointense scar on the T2-weighted image and a minimal enhancing central scar on the enhanced T1-weighted image, which was due to dense, sclerotic collagenous tissue, were observed. We report the first case of FNH with a capsular retraction

Human Leukocyte Antigen Class II Association with Spontaneous Recovery from Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Koreans: Analysis at the Haplotype Level

It has been speculated that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are associated with the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection although the data obtained from various populations have shown some inconsistencies. A total of 464 HBV-infected Korean individuals (80 spontaneously recovered [SR] and 384 chronically infected [CI]) were selected to investigate the association of HLA class II alleles with the viral clearance and persistence. Our results showed that: 1) multiple HLA class II alleles and haplotypes were associated with viral clearance (DRB1*1302, DRB1*1502, DQB1*0302, DQB1*0609, and related-haplotypes) and persistence (DRB1*0701, DQB1*0301, and related-haplotypes); 2) DRB1*1302 and DQB1* 0609 were more strongly associated with viral clearance. And the association of DQB1*0609 (pc=0.0084; OR, 7.24) with vial clearance was much stronger than previously recognized, DRB1*1302 (pc=0.0038; OR, 4.34); and 3) linkage to a specific DPB1 allele in a haplotype strengthened the association with viral clearance, although DPB1 itself was not associated with the outcome. These results indicate the existence of multiple factors controlling viral clearance in the HLA class II gene region. Further extended investigation on the genetic factors related to the outcome of HBV infection will provide valuable insights into the understanding of the mechanisms involved

Isolation of Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Cord Blood and Induction of Differentiation by Ex Vivo Expansion

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been reported to possess the capacity to colonize vascular grafts and hold promise for therapeutic neovascularization. However, limited quantities of EPCs have been the major factor impeding effective research on vasculoangiogenesis. In this study, cytokine and culture conditions necessary for the provision of large quantities of endothelial cells (ECs) were investigated. Cord blood was collected from 18 normal full-term deliveries and CD34+ cells were isolated by MACS system (Miltenyi Biotech, Bergish-Gladbach, Germany). To evaluate the effect of cytokines, CD34+ cells were cultured with various cytokine combinations, such as stem cell factor (SCF), flt3-ligand (FL), and thrombopoietin (TPO) with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-1β, fibroblast growth factor-basic (FGF-b) as basic cytokines. The quantities of non-adherent and adherent cells were the greatest with SCF, FL and TPO. The addition of TPO to all other cytokines significantly increased the number of non-adherent and adherent cells (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon rank sum test). After four weeks of culture, adherent cells expressed endothelial specific markers such as KDR, CD31 and CD62E. Typical morphology of ECs was observed during culture, such as cord-like structure and cobblestone appearance, suggesting that the adherent cells were consistent with ECs. In this study, the experimental conditions that optimize the production of ECs for therapeutic neovascularization were described. And it was possibly suggested that TPO plays a major role in differentiation from EPCs to ECs