Topological Structure of Dense Hadronic Matter

We present a summary of work done on dense hadronic matter, based on the Skyrme model, which provides a unified approach to high density, valid in the large $N_c$ limit. In our picture, dense hadronic matter is described by the {\em classical} soliton configuration with minimum energy for the given baryon number density. By incorporating the meson fluctuations on such ground state we obtain an effective Lagrangian for meson dynamics in a dense medium. Our starting point has been the Skyrme model defined in terms of pions, thereafter we have extended and improved the model by incorporating other degrees of freedom such as dilaton, kaons and vector mesons.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Talk given at the KIAS-APCTP Symposium in Astro-Hadron Physics "Compact Stars: Quest for New States of Dense Matter", November 10-14, 2003, Seoul, Korea, published by World Scientific. Based on talk by B.-Y. Par

Identification of the optimal hiit protocol for fatigue resistance in adolescent athletes: a randomized controlled trial

The combat sports athletes developed great gains in both muscular function and fatigue resistance by utilizing high-intensity interval training (HIIT). However, it has not been investigated fully whether different work-to-rest ratios of HIIT show the effectiveness on muscle function in adolescent athletes. The purpose of the study was to compare different work-to-rest ratios by applying different rest times in response to the identical work time during HIIT on muscle function in adolescent taekwondo athletes. Forty-seven adolescent male taekwondo athletes (mean age: 16.7±0.8 years) were randomly assigned to the control group (n=11) vs. three HIIT groups by work-to-rest ratios; (1) 1:2 [30s:60s] (n=12), (2) 1:4 [30s:120s] (n=12), and (3) 1:8 [30s:240s] (n=12). All groups completed 10 experimental sessions over four weeks, while the control group maintained their regular taekwondo training. Muscular functions were measured by assessing isokinetic muscle strength and endurance of the knee extensor and flexor. The participants performed three sets of twenty maximal extension and flexion contractions at 120°s-1 with a 1-min interval between the sets for fatigue resistance. Blood samples were collected to measure free-testosterone, cortisol, creatine kinase, and urea as stress-to-recovery indicators. A positive effect on improving muscle fatigue resistance was observed at the first set of assessments in the HIIT with 1:4 (Δ10.2%, p<.05) and 1:8 groups (Δ8.6%, p<.05). Additionally, the 1:4 group exhibited fatigue resistance improvement in the second set (Δ7.7%, p<.01) without any changes of stress-to-recovery indicators, while the other groups did not show any improvement. The 30s all-out work with 120s rest time, lasting over a brief 4-week period, improved participants’ fatigue resistance. A certain amount of rest time between high-intense movements is required to optimize muscle development in adolescent athletes compared with insufficient rest time

Metal work-function-dependent barrier height of Ni contacts with metal-embedded nanoparticles to 4H-SiC

Metal, typically gold [Au], nanoparticles [NPs] embedded in a capping metal contact layer onto silicon carbide [SiC] are considered to have practical applications in changing the barrier height of the original contacts. Here, we demonstrate the use of silver [Ag] NPs to effectively lower the barrier height of the electrical contacts to 4H-SiC. It has been shown that the barrier height of the fabricated SiC diode structures (Ni with embedded Ag-NPs) has significantly reduced by 0.11 eV and 0.18 eV with respect to the samples with Au-NPs and the reference samples, respectively. The experimental results have also been compared with both an analytic model based on Tung's theory and physics-based two-dimensional numerical simulations

A Universal Analysis Pipeline for Hybrid Capture-Based Targeted Sequencing Data with Unique Molecular Indexes

Hybrid capture-based targeted sequencing is being used increasingly for genomic variant profiling in tumor patients. Unique molecular index (UMI) technology has recently been developed and helps to increase the accuracy of variant calling by minimizing polymerase chain reaction biases and sequencing errors. However, UMI-adopted targeted sequencing data analysis is slightly different from the methods for other types of omics data, and its pipeline for variant calling is still being optimized in various study groups for their own purposes. Due to this provincial usage of tools, our group built an analysis pipeline for global application to many studies of targeted sequencing generated with different methods. First, we generated hybrid capture-based data using genomic DNA extracted from tumor tissues of colorectal cancer patients. Sequencing libraries were prepared and pooled together, and an 8-plexed capture library was processed to the enrichment step before 150-bp paired-end sequencing with Illumina HiSeq series. For the analysis, we evaluated several published tools. We focused mainly on the compatibility of the input and output of each tool. Finally, our laboratory built an analysis pipeline specialized for UMI-adopted data. Through this pipeline, we were able to estimate even on-target rates and filtered consensus reads for more accurate variant calling. These results suggest the potential of our analysis pipeline in the precise examination of the quality and efficiency of conducted experiments

A Case of Disseminated and Fulminant Plasmacytomas That Developed during Bortezomib Treatment

Multiple myeloma is an incurable and slow growing plasma cell neoplasm. The introduction of new drugs has increased the number of treatment options. Bortezomib, the first-in-class proteasome inhibitor, has been shown to have a significant antitumor activity in the treatment of relapse/refractory patients with multiple myeloma. Additionally, plasmacytomas have shown significant response to bortezomib. In this case report, we describe a patient who developed disseminated and fulminant extramedullary plasmacytomas during combination chemotherapy treatment with bortezomib within a short period, after having shown clinical improvement