The Impact of Job Retention on Continuous Growth of Engineering and Informational Technology SMEs in South Korea

This study aims to explore what factors are critically associated with job retention in Engineering and Information Technology small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea, and how employers think about sta retention policy in relation to business growth. This contrasts with previous studies that mainly focus on employee motivation, job retention, and turnover. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with founder Chief Executive O cers (CEOs). The results suggest that an important factor influencing job retention policies of these SMEs was to motivate employees to make greater voluntary e ort, including through developing a collaborative organizational culture, rather than solely o ering them additional financial rewards or using other Human Resource Management (HRM) practices to improve individual performances. Interviewees believed that job retention and business growth were closely related, and they discussed various ways of eliciting emotional commitment from employees. Unlike research on larger firms, these suggestions did not involve immediate financial rewards. How employers thought that the roles played by employees strongly influenced their firm’s productivity and competitiveness. This study suggests SME employers adjust their retention policy specifically to improve their firm’s survival and long-term growth

Tgif1 Counterbalances The Activity Of Core Pluripotency Factors In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Core pluripotency factors, such as Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog, play important roles in maintaining embryonic stem cell (ESC) identity by autoregulatory feedforward loops. Nevertheless, the mechanism that provides precise control of the levels of the ESC core factors without indefinite amplification has remained elusive. Here, we report the direct repression of core pluripotency factors by Tgif1, a previously known terminal repressor of TGF beta/activin/nodal signaling. Overexpression of Tgif1 reduces the levels of ESC core factors, whereas its depletion leads to the induction of the pluripotency factors. We confirm the existence of physical associations between Tgif1 and Oct4, Nanog, and HDAC1/2 and further show the level of Tgif1 is not significantly altered by treatment with an activator/inhibitor of the TGF beta/activin/nodal signaling. Collectively, our findings establish Tgif1 as an integral member of the core regulatory circuitry of mouse ESCs that counterbalances the levels of the core pluripotency factors in a TGF beta/activin/nodal-independent manner.Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) R1106Molecular Bioscience

Analysis of abnormal muscle activities in patients with loss of cervical lordosis: a cross-sectional study

Background This study aimed to detect the differences in cervical muscle activation patterns in people with versus without cervical lordosis and explore the possible mechanism of cervical pain originating therein. Methods This cross-sectional design included 39 participants without and 18 with normal cervical lordosis. Muscular activation was measured for 5 s in both groups using surface electromyography. Subsequently, the root mean square (RMS) of muscle amplitude was obtained at the bilateral splenius capitis, upper and lower parts of the splenius cervicis, upper and lower parts of the semispinalis cervicis, sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and rhomboid muscles in five cervical positions: 0° (resting), 30° of flexion, 30° of extension, 60° of extension, and upon a 1-kg load on the head in a resting posture. Results The RMS values of the upper trapezius muscle at all postures and the rhomboid muscles at 60° of extension were significantly lower in the loss of lordosis than control group. Comparing the RMS ratio of each posture to the resting position, the ratio of the upper trapezius at flexion was significantly higher and that of the rhomboids at 60° of extension and upon loading was significantly lower in the loss of lordosis than control group. Moreover, the pattern changes in the RMS values according to posture showed a similar shape in these two muscles, and lower in the loss of lordosis than the normal group. Conclusions The loss of normal cervical alignment may correlate with predisposed conditions such as reduced muscle activation of the trapezius and rhomboid muscle, and may also provoke over-firing of the upper trapezius muscle, possibly increasing neck musculoskeletal pain. Trial registration. Clinicaltrials.gov, registration number: NCT03710785.This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI18C1169

Fully integrated lab-on-a-disc for simultaneous analysis of biochemistry and immunoassay from whole blood

We report a fully integrated device that can perform both multiple biochemical analysis and sandwich type immunoassay simultaneously on a disc. The whole blood is applied directly to the disposable "lab-on-a-disc" containing different kinds of freeze-dried reagents for the blood chemistry analysis as well as reagents required for the immunoassay. The concentrations of different kinds of analytes are reported within 22 min by simply inserting a disc to a portable device. Using the innovative laser irradiated ferrowax microvalves together with the centrifugal microfluidics, the total process of plasma separation, metering, mixing, incubation, washing, and detection is fully automated. The analyzer is equipped with an optical detection module to measure absorbances at 10 different wavelengths to accommodate the various kinds of reaction protocols. Compared to the conventional blood analysis done in clinical laboratories, it is advantageous for point-of-care applications because it requires a smaller amount of blood (350 mu L vs. 3 mL), takes less time (22 min vs. several days), does not require specially trained operators or expensive instruments to run biochemical analysis and immunoassay separately.close554

Developing parametric design fashion products using 3D printing technology

This study created wearable fashion products with parametric design characteristics, using 3D printing technology. The goal of the study was to understand what parametric design features can be simulated with 3D modeling and printing technology, as well as to demonstrate what techniques can be used to produce fashion products using 3D printing technology. This study created two different parametric motifs using an FDM-type 3D printer with TPU and ABS as the printing materials. With those motifs, we produced three garments and two accessories. The limitations found during the process were modeling the exact measurement of the motifs that will merge with the apparel design seamlessly while maintaining the parametric features, as well as attaching the printed motifs to fabric without ruining the integrity of the textile. A significant implication of this study is that it recreates parametric designs on the human body and utilizes 3D printing technology for fashion products. This paper cast a light on a discussion about the technique can be applied on fashion design with full-sized body and encouraged designers to explore further with technological advancements in the future

Resolution comparison between integral-imaging-based hologram synthesis methods using rectangular and hexagonal lens arrays

Abstract: We compare the resolution of the hologram reconstruction synthesis methods based on integral imaging using rectangular and hexagonal lens arrays. By using a hexagonal lens array instead of conventional rectangular lens array, the three-dimensional objects are sampled with hexagonal grids. Due to more efficient sampling of the hexagonal grid, the resolution of the reconstructed object is higher compared with the case of using rectangular lens array. We analyze the resolution enhancement of the hologram reconstruction quantitatively and verify it experimentally. ©2011 Optical Society of Americ

Molecular mechanisms of choroid fissure closure and ventral retina formation in the zebrafish eye

textDuring optic cup morphogenesis, the neuroectodermal layers of the optic vesicle (OV) invaginate ventrally, and fuse at the choroid fissure (CF) along the proximo-distal axis such that the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are confined within the cup. Failure of CF closure results in colobomas, which are characterized by the persistence of a cleft or hole at the back of the eye. While CF closure is a critical aspect of ocular development, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this process are poorly understood. My research examined CF closure and colobomas using zebrafish as a model system. In the first study, I determined that early cell fate changes within the eye field could cause colobomas using the zebrafish mutant blowout. Colobomas in blowout resulted from defects in optic stalk morphogenesis whereby the optic stalk extended into the retina and impeded the edges of the CF from meeting and fusing. Positional cloning of blowout identified a nonsense mutation in patched1, a negative regulator of the Hedgehog pathway. Up-regulation of Hedgehog pathway activity causes disruption in the patterning of the OV into proximal and distal territories, revealing that cell fate determination, mediated by Hedgehog signaling, is intimately involved in regulating CF closure. In the second study, I examined Bcl6 function and regulation during zebrafish eye development. bcl6 encodes a transcriptional repressor expressed in the ventral retina during zebrafish eye development. Loss of Bcl6 function leads to colobomas along with up-regulation of p53, a previously known Bcl6 target, and an increase in the number of apoptotic cells in the retina, demonstrating that Bcl6 plays a critical role in preventing apoptosis in the retina during early eye development. I also showed that Vax1 and Vax2 act upstream of bcl6 in the ventral retina. Furthermore, I identified functional interactions between Bcl6, Bcor and Hdac1 during eye development, demonstrating that Bcl6 functions along with Bcor and Hdac1 to mediate cell survival by regulating p53 expression. Together my studies expand the gene regulatory network involved in cell fate determination and cell survival during CF closure and ventral retina formation, and provide mechanistic insight into coloboma formation.Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biolog

Debiased Distillation through Feature Distillation

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Alternative Pedicle Screw Design via Biomechanical Evaluation

With the recent increase in the elderly population, many people suffer from spinal diseases, and, accordingly, spinal fusion surgery using pedicle screws has been widely applied to treat them. However, most research on pedicle screw design has been focused on the test results rather than the behavior of the screws and vertebrae. In this study, a design platform with a series of biomechanical tests and analyses were presented for pedicle screw improvement and evaluation. The platform was then applied to an alternative hybrid screw design with quadruple and double threads. An experimental apparatus was developed to investigate the bending strength of the screw, and several tests were performed based on the ASTM F1717 standard. In the experiments, it was confirmed that the alternative pedicle screw has the highest bending strength. To examine the stress distribution of pedicle screws, finite element models were established, through which it was found that the proposed pedicle screw has sufficient mechanical safety to make it acceptable for spinal fusion treatment. Finally, we conclude that the platform has good potential for the design and evaluation of pedicle screws, and the alternative dual screw design is one of the best options for spinal fusion surgery

Prediction of geometric characteristics in polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds produced by extrusion-based additive manufacturing technique for tissue engineering

Purpose Extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) has been considered as a promising technique to fabricate scaffolds for tissue engineering due to affordability, versatility and ability to print porous structures. The reliability and controllability of the printing process are necessary to produce 3D-printed scaffolds with desired properties and depend on the geometric characteristics such as porosity and pore diameter. The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical model and explore its effectiveness in the prediction of geometric characteristics of 3D-printed scaffolds. Design/methodology/approach An analytical model was developed to simulate the geometric characteristics of scaffolds produced by extrusion-based AM using fluid mechanics. Polycaprolactone (PCL) was chosen as a scaffold material and was assumed to be a non-Newtonian fluid for the model. The effectiveness of the model was verified through comparison with the experimental results. Findings A comparison study between simulation and experimental results shows that strut diameter, pore size and porosity of scaffolds can be predicted by using extrusion pressure, temperature, nozzle diameter, nozzle length and printing speed. Simulation results demonstrate that geometric characteristics have a strong relationship with processing parameters, and the model developed in this study can be used for predicting the scaffold properties for the extrusion-based 3D bioprinting process. Originality/value The present study provides a prediction model that can simulate the printing process by a simple input of processing parameters. The geometric characteristics can be predicted prior to the experimental verification, and such prediction will reduce the process time and effort when a new material or method is applied