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Orthopedic Surgery Planning Based on the Integration of Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping
This paper describes orthopedic surgical planning based on the integration of RE and RP.
Using symmetrical characteristics of the human body, CAD data of the original bone without
damages for the injured extent are generated from a mirror transformation of undamaged bone
data for the uninjured extent. The physical model before the injury is manufactured from RP
apparatus. Surgical planning, such as the selection of the proper implant, pre-forming of the
implant, decision of fixation positions and incision sizes, etc., is determined by a physical
simulation using the physical model. In order to examine the applicability and efficiency of
surgical planning technology for orthopedics, various case studies, such as a proximal tibia
plateau fracture, a distal tibia comminuted fracture and an iliac wing fracture of pelvis, are
carried out. As a result of the examination, it has been shown that the orthopedic surgical
planning based on the integration of RE and RP is an efficient surgical tool.Mechanical Engineerin
Recent Progress of Multiferroic Perovskite Manganites
Many multiferroic materials, with various chemical compositions and crystal
structures, have been discovered in the past years. Among these multiferroics,
some perovskite manganites with ferroelectricity driven by magnetic orders are
of particular interest. In these multiferroic perovskite manganites, not only
their multiferroic properties are quite prominent, but also the involved
physical mechanisms are very plenty and representative. In this Brief Review,
we will introduce some recent theoretical and experimental progress on
multiferroic manganites.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures. A brief revie
Trends in health behaviors and mental health among Korean adolescents in Korea over 5 years, 2017–2021: focusing on the comparisons before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
ObjectivesWe investigated recent trends in health behaviors and mental health conditions among Korean adolescents from 2017 to 2021 and compared the changes before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsData analysis was conducted on 289,415 adolescents participating in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey, an annual cross-sectional study from 2017 to 2021. All analysis was conducted using sex stratification, and the annual percentage change (APC) was calculated.ResultsAlcohol consumption and smoking decreased in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before, except for girls from the low-income level. The prevalence of inadequate physical activity for both boys and girls increased in 2020 compared with the pre-COVID-19 period and decreased again by 2021. The prevalence of obesity in both sexes increased regardless of the period (boys, APC = 8.2%, 95% confidence intervals (CI), 6.4–10.1; girls, APC = 3.3%, 95% CI, 1.8–4.8). The prevalence of stress, depression, and suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts for both sexes decreased in 2020 compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. By 2021, this prevalence had returned to a level similar to before the pandemic. No significant APC changes were observed in the prevalence of mental health.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate the trends and APCs in health behaviors and mental health conditions among Korean adolescents over the last 5 years. We must pay attention to the heterogeneous and multifaceted features of the COVID-19 pandemic
Immunoglobulin VH Chain Gene Analysis of Peripheral Blood IgM-Producing B Cells in Patients with Kawasaki Disease
PURPOSE: Kawasaki disease is a systemic vasculitis, and its etiology and pathogenesis are still not clear. Our study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of the activation of B cells in the peripheral blood of Kawasaki disease (KD) patients and evidence of stimulation by superantigens.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from three patients (2 males, 1 female) with KD, who were admitted to our Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The mean age was 1.2 years. Distribution of B cells was studied in the acute and subacute phases of KD patients. From the RNA of B cells, we obtained complementary DNA (cDNA) and performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To determine the oligoclonal expansion of immunoglobulin M (IgM) V(H) family, we cloned and sequenced the PCR products from each group and analyzed DNA.
RESULTS: In the peripheral blood of acute phase patients, T cells were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas B cells were significantly increased (p < 0.05). When the first PCR was done on the B cell chains, V(H)1 to V(H)6 were all found to be expressed. The number of micro gene clones obtained from 3 patients was 312, and they belonged to V(H)3, V(H)4 and V(H)5 family. M99686 germ line was most frequently used and the next most frequently used, were X92224/J, L21967 and L21964. A similar order was seen in patients. Among the clones, 20 sets of clones showed the same base sequence and this was frequent between V(H)2 and V(H)5. There was one set, which showed almost the same base sequence between different patients, and the homology was 99.5%. Twenty sets of clones that had the same base sequence showed high similarity to the germ line (94 - 100%). Among these, the clones that utilized the M99686 germ line were 4 sets which were most frequent. The 3-dimensional structure of one of these clones showed typical beta, sheet structure of immunoglobulin chains.
CONCLUSION: The IgM transcripts expressed by the B cells in the peripheral blood of KD patients in the acute phase of the disease clearly showed an oligoclonal expansion, suggesting that KD is caused not by stimulation of a superantigen, but rather by a conventional antigen.ope
Breakdown of the interlayer coherence in twisted bilayer graphene
Coherent motion of the electrons in the Bloch states is one of the
fundamental concepts of the charge conduction in solid state physics. In
layered materials, however, such a condition often breaks down for the
interlayer conduction, when the interlayer coupling is significantly reduced by
e.g. large interlayer separation. We report that complete suppression of
coherent conduction is realized even in an atomic length scale of layer
separation in twisted bilayer graphene. The interlayer resistivity of twisted
bilayer graphene is much higher than the c-axis resistivity of Bernal-stacked
graphite, and exhibits strong dependence on temperature as well as on external
electric fields. These results suggest that the graphene layers are
significantly decoupled by rotation and incoherent conduction is a main
transport channel between the layers of twisted bilayer graphene.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Status of MgB2 superconducting wires at Sam Dong
MgB2 superconducting wires have remarkable potential as cost-effective materials for transformers, generators, power transmission, and superconducting magnetic energy storage to enable highly efficient power-grid networks for sustainable development. Herein, we report multifilamentary MgB2 wires with variously designed architectures that have been developed by Sam Dong Co., Ltd. The
customized manufacturing process can also produce long-length pieces up to 3 km in length, indispensable in constructing large-scale devices, including cables. Based on this progress, we will continue to develop high-performance MgB2 wires and related superconducting technologies
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