3,649 research outputs found
Dependence of GCRs influx on the Solar North-South Asymmetry
We investigate the dependence of the amount of the observed galactic cosmic
ray (GCR) influx on the solar North-South asymmetry using the neutron count
rates obtained from four stations and sunspot data in archives spanning six
solar cycles from 1953 to 2008. We find that the observed GCR influxes at
Moscow, Kiel, Climax and Huancayo stations are more suppressed when the solar
activity in the southern hemisphere is dominant compared with when the solar
activity in the northern hemisphere is dominant. Its reduction rates at four
stations are all larger than those of the suppression due to other factors
including the solar polarity effect on the GCR influx. We perform the student's
t-test to see how significant these suppressions are. It is found that
suppressions due to the solar North-South asymmetry as well as the solar
polarity are significant and yet the suppressions associated with the former
are larger and more significant.Comment: 17 pages, 3figures, accepted to JAST
Acute dystonia by droperidol during intravenous patient-controlled analgesia in young patients.
Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is an important means for postoperative analgesia with parenteral opioid. However, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains a major problem with a PCA system. Droperidol is used in PCA to prevent PONV. Extrapyramidal reactions by droperidol are, however, occasionally induced. We describe two cases of severe extrapyramidal hypertonic syndrome with an intravenous administration of droperidol in PCA in young patients, following orthopedic surgery
Novel water filtration of saline water in the outermost layer of mangrove roots
The scarcity of fresh water is a global challenge faced at present. Several desalination methods have been suggested to secure fresh water from sea water. However, conventional methods suffer from technical limitations, such as high power consumption, expensive operating costs, and limited system durability. In this study, we examined the feasibility of using halophytes as a novel technology of desalinating high-concentration saline water for long periods. This study investigated the biophysical characteristics of sea water filtration in the roots of the mangrove Rhizophora stylosa from a plant hydrodynamic point of view. R. stylosa can grow even in saline water, and the salt level in its roots is regulated within a certain threshold value through filtration. The root possesses a hierarchical, triple layered pore structure in the epidermis, and most Na+ ions are filtered at the first sublayer of the outermost layer. The high blockage of Na+ ions is attributed to the high surface zeta potential of the first layer. The second layer, which is composed of macroporous structures, also facilitates Na+ ion filtration. This study provides insights into the mechanism underlying water filtration through halophyte roots and serves as a basis for the development of a novel bio-inspired desalination method.Creative Research Initiative (Diagnosis of Biofluid Flow Phenomena and Biomimic Research) of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) , National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea , ICT R&D program of MSIP/IITP (Korea
Spatial mapping of short-term solar radiation prediction incorporating geostationary satellite images coupled with deep convolutional LSTM networks for South Korea
A practical approach to continuously monitor and provide real-time solar energy prediction can help support reliable renewable energy supply and relevant energy security systems. In this study on the Korean Peninsula, contemporaneous solar radiation images obtained from the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) Meteorological Imager (MI) system, were used to design a convolutional neural network and a long short-term memory network predictive model, ConvLSTM. This model was applied to predict one-hour ahead solar radiation and spatially map solar energy potential. The newly designed ConvLSTM model enabled reliable prediction of solar radiation, incorporating spatial changes in atmospheric conditions and capturing the temporal sequence-to-sequence variations that are likely to influence solar driven power supply and its overall stability. Results showed that the proposed ConvLSTM model successfully captured cloud-induced variations in ground level solar radiation when compared with reference images from a physical model. A comparison with ground pyranometer measurements indicated that the short-term prediction of global solar radiation by the proposed ConvLSTM had the highest accuracy [root mean square error (RMSE) = 83.458 Wcenterdotm−2, mean bias error (MBE) = 4.466 Wcenterdotm−2, coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.874] when compared with results of conventional artificial neural network (ANN) [RMSE = 94.085 Wcenterdotm−2, MBE = −6.039 Wcenterdotm−2, R2 = 0.821] and random forest (RF) [RMSE = 95.262 Wcenterdotm−2, MBE = −11.576 Wcenterdotm−2, R2 = 0.839] models. In addition, ConvLSTM better captured the temporal variations in predicted solar radiation, mainly due to cloud attenuation effects when compared with two selected ground stations. The study showed that contemporaneous satellite images over short-term or near real-time intervals can successfully support solar energy exploration in areas without continuous environmental monitoring systems, where satellite footprints are available to model and monitor solar energy management systems supporting real-life power grid systems
Automatic 3D Registration of Dental CBCT and Face Scan Data using 2D Projection images
This paper presents a fully automatic registration method of dental cone-beam
computed tomography (CBCT) and face scan data. It can be used for a digital
platform of 3D jaw-teeth-face models in a variety of applications, including 3D
digital treatment planning and orthognathic surgery. Difficulties in accurately
merging facial scans and CBCT images are due to the different image acquisition
methods and limited area of correspondence between the two facial surfaces. In
addition, it is difficult to use machine learning techniques because they use
face-related 3D medical data with radiation exposure, which are difficult to
obtain for training. The proposed method addresses these problems by reusing an
existing machine-learning-based 2D landmark detection algorithm in an
open-source library and developing a novel mathematical algorithm that
identifies paired 3D landmarks from knowledge of the corresponding 2D
landmarks. A main contribution of this study is that the proposed method does
not require annotated training data of facial landmarks because it uses a
pre-trained facial landmark detection algorithm that is known to be robust and
generalized to various 2D face image models. Note that this reduces a 3D
landmark detection problem to a 2D problem of identifying the corresponding
landmarks on two 2D projection images generated from two different projection
angles. Here, the 3D landmarks for registration were selected from the
sub-surfaces with the least geometric change under the CBCT and face scan
environments. For the final fine-tuning of the registration, the Iterative
Closest Point method was applied, which utilizes geometrical information around
the 3D landmarks. The experimental results show that the proposed method
achieved an averaged surface distance error of 0.74 mm for three pairs of CBCT
and face scan datasets.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Quantitative Understanding of Probabilistic Behavior of Living Cells Operated by Vibrant Intracellular Networks
For quantitative understanding of probabilistic behaviors of living cells, it is essential to construct a correct mathematical description of intracellular networks interacting with complex cell environments, which has been a formidable task. Here, we present a novel model and stochastic kinetics for an intracellular network interacting with hidden cell environments, employing a complete description of cell state dynamics and its coupling to the system network. Our analysis reveals that various environmental effects on the product number fluctuation of intracellular reaction networks can be collectively characterized by Laplace transform of the time-correlation function of the product creation rate fluctuation with the Laplace variable being the product decay rate. On the basis of the latter result, we propose an efficient method for quantitative analysis of the chemical fluctuation produced by intracellular networks coupled to hidden cell environments. By applying the present approach to the gene expression network, we obtain simple analytic results for the gene expression variability and the environment-induced correlations between the expression levels of mutually noninteracting genes. The theoretical results compose a unified framework for quantitative understanding of various gene expression statistics observed across a number of different systems with a small number of adjustable parameters with clear physical meanings.National Research Foundation of Korea (Grant 2011-0016412)National Research Foundation of Korea (Priority Research Center Program 2009-0093817
Enhanced Chromatin Accessibility and Recruitment of JUNB Mediate the Sustained IL-4 Expression in NFAT1 Deficient T Helper 2 Cells
Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is a family of transcription factors composed of five proteins. Among them, NFAT1 is a predominant NFAT protein in CD4+ T cells. NFAT1 positively regulates transcription of a large number of inducible cytokine genes including IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 and other cytokines. However, disruption of NFAT1 results in an unexpected increase of IL-4. In this study, we have investigated the role of NFAT1 in regulation of IL-4 gene expression in T helper 2 cells (Th2) from an epigenetic viewpoint. NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells showed a sustained IL-4 expression while wild type (WT) cells reduced its expression. We tested whether epigenetic maintenance and changes in the chromatin architecture of IL-4 promoter locus play a role in differential IL-4 transcription between in WT and NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells. Compared with WT, NFAT1 deficient CD4+ Th2 cells exhibited enhanced chromatin accessibility with permissive histone modification and DNA demethylation in the IL-4 promoter region. Transcription factors bound to IL-4 promoter region in the absence of NFAT1 were identified by Micro-LC/LC-MS/MS analysis. Among the candidates, preferential recruitment of JUNB to the IL-4 promoter was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis. Overexpression of JUNB together with SATB1 synergistically upregulated IL-4 promoter activity, while knockdown JUNB significantly reduced IL-4 expression. Our results suggest that the prolonged IL-4 expression in NFAT1 deficient Th2 cells is mediated by preferential binding of JUNB/SATB1 to the IL-4 promoter with permissive chromatin architecture
Chemical composition and anti-inflammatory effects of essential oil from Hallabong flower
A number of essential oils derived from plants are claimed to have several medicinal functions, including anti-cancer and anti-inflammation effects. However, the chemical composition and biological activities of flower-derived components have
not been sufficiently characterized. Therefore, we investigated the composition of essential oils from Hallabong flower
[(Citrus unshiu Marcov × Citrus sinensis
Osbeck) × Citrus reticulata Blanco] and their anti-inflammatory effects. Hydro-dist
illed essential oils (HEOs) were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). In total, 21 components were identified, representing more than 98 % of the oils, with sabinene (34.75 %), linalool (14.77 %), β-ocimene (11.07 %), 4-terpineol (9.63 %), L-limonene (5.88 %), and γ-terpinene (4.67 %) as the main components. In the present study, we also investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of HEOs on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 26
4.7 macrophage cells. HEOs were found to
inhibit nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and to suppress the LPS-
induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein. In addition, HEOs downregulated the production of the inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1
β(IC50 values are 0.05 %, 0.02 %, and 0.01 %, respectively). On the basis of these
results, we suggest that HEOs can be consid
ered potential anti-inflammatory candidates for therapeutic use in humans
Newly developed post-operative atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of late recurrence of atrial fibrillation in patients who underwent open heart surgery: Long-term follow up
Background: Herein is sought to determine whether the occurrence of post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) increases the risk of late recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing open heart surgery (OHS).
Methods: This study included 938 patients (56.7 ± 13.1 years old, 550 males) with no history of AF who underwent OHS. All patients were monitored continuously for development of POAF after surgery until the time of hospital discharge and received clinical follow up with serial evaluation of rhythm status.
Results: Among the total population, POAF occurred in 207 (22.1%) patients and late AF in 88 (9.4%) patients during the mean follow up period of 78.1 ± 39.1 months. Development of late AF oc¬curred more frequently in patients with POAF than in those without [29.0% (60/207) vs. 3.8% (28/731), p < 0.01]. Higher septal E/e’ ratio (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.08, p = 0.04) was an independent predic¬tor of late occurrence of AF and an episode of POAF (HR 27.12, 95% CI 8.46–86.96, p < 0.01) was the most powerful predictor.
Conclusions: POAF is significantly associated with an increased risk of late AF recurrence during long-term follow up. Careful concern regarding late recurrence of AF with serial evaluation of rhythm status is required in patients with POAF
Friction Tubes to Generate Nanobubble Ozone Water with an Increased Half-Life for Virucidal Activity
Nanobubbles and related technologies are expected to be highly utilized in
water resource-based industries such as water purification, crops,
horticulture, medicine, bio, and sterilization. Ozone, a chemical with high
sterilizing power, is known as a natural substance that is reduced to oxygen
and water after reacting with pollutants. Ozone water, which is generated by
dissolving ozone in water, has been used in various industrial sectors such as
medical care, food, and environment. Due to the unstable molecular state of
ozone, however, it is difficult to produce, use, and supply ozone at industrial
sites in a stable manner. This study proposed a method for constructing a
system that can generate high-concentration ozone water in large quantities
using low power in real time and maintaining the concentration of the generated
ozone water over the long term. Friction tubes (called 'nanotube') played a key
role to generate nanobubble ozone water with an increased half-life for virus
killing activity. In addition, the safety of ozone water during its spray into
the air was explained, and virucidal activity test cases for the influenza A
(H1N1/A/PR8) and COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus using high-concentration ozone
water as well as its technical efficacy were described
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