Occupational Factors Associated with Changes in the Body Mass Index of Korean Male Manual Workers

OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to analyze and compare the occupational factors that could influence changes in body mass index (BMI) in male manual workers stratified into short-term and long-term work experience groups. METHODS: The subjects were 299 male manual workers (sampled systematically) from 27 workplaces, who had undergone travelling medical examinations at a university hospital between March 28 and May 10, 2013, and had also undergone medical examinations at the same hospital in 2012. Their general and occupational characteristics were investigated through a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The BMI at each point in time was calculated based on the anthropometric results of the medical examinations. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on outcomes of the BMI change and predictors composed of the general and occupational characteristics, with the subjects stratified into groups with 5 years or less (short-term) versus more than 5 years (long-term) of work experience at the present post. RESULTS: In the short-term work experience group, the BMI increases of 3-shift workers and groups reporting disagreement with feeling “insufficient job control” and “lack of reward” at work, two of the subscales of job stress, were significantly higher than those of daytime workers and high-stress groups, respectively. In the long-term work experience group, However, although the BMI increase for 3-shift workers was also significantly higher than that of daytime workers, none of the job stress factors were significantly associated with a BMI increase, whereas the social factors of education and marital status were significant, and some lifestyle factors (such as smoking and regular exercise) were also significant. CONCLUSION: This study showed that, except for 3-shift work, the factors associated with BMI increase could differ depending on the length of job experience. Consequently, different strategies may be needed for workers with short-term versus long-term job experience when designing interventions for preventing their obesity

Peccei-Quinn Inflation at the Pole and Axion Kinetic Misalignment

We propose a minimal extension of the Standard Model with the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) scalar field and explain the relic density of the QCD axion through the kinetic misalignment with a relatively small axion decay constant. To this purpose, we consider a slow-roll inflation from the radial component of the PQ field with the PQ conserving potential near the pole of its kinetic term and investigate the post-inflationary dynamics of the PQ field for reheating. The angular mode of the PQ field, identified with the QCD axion, receives a nonzero velocity during inflation due to the PQ violating potential, evolving with an approximately conserved Noether PQ charge. We determine the reheating temperature from the perturbative decays and scattering processes of the inflaton and obtain dark radiation from the axions produced from the inflaton scattering at a testable level in the future Cosmic Microwave Background experiments. We show the correlation between the reheating temperature, the initial velocity of the axion and the axion decay constant, realizing the axion kinetic misalignment for the correct relic density.Comment: 25 pagesm 3 figure

Increasing the Durability of Piezoelectric Impact-based Micro Wind Generator in Real Application

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to increase the durability of piezoelectric impact-based micro wind generator (PIMWG) in real application. Using new PIMWG design, numerical simulation, and experimental comparison analysis, we improved the durability of PIMWGs in real application. The experimental results show that the optimized PIMWG generated 2.4 mW (RMS value), and it did not crack within 40h. In this study, we improved the durability of PIMWGs for real application

Quantum diamond microscopy with sub-ms temporal resolution

Quantum diamond magnetometers using lock-in detection have successfully detected weak bio-magnetic fields from neurons, a live mammalian muscle, and a live mouse heart. This opens up the possibility of quantum diamond magnetometers visualizing microscopic distributions of the bio-magnetic fields. Here, we demonstrate a lock-in-based wide-field quantum diamond microscopy, achieving a mean volume-normalized per pixel sensitivity of 43.9 $\mathrm{nT\cdot\mu m^{1.5}/Hz^{0.5}}$. We obtain the sensitivity by implementing a double resonance with hyperfine driving and magnetic field alignment along the $$ orientation of the diamond. Additionally, we have demonstrated that sub-ms temporal resolution ($\sim$ 0.4 ms) can be achieved at a micrometer scale with tens of nanotesla per-pixel sensitivity using quantum diamond microscopy. This lock-in-based diamond quantum microscopy could be a step forward in mapping functional activity in neuronal networks in micrometer spatial resolution

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Local Therapy for Pancreatic Neoplasms

Surgical resection is considered the only treatment option for pancreatic cancer and other pancreatic neoplasms with malignant potential, such as neuroendocrine tumors, mucinous cystic neoplasms, and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. However, only 10%–20% of all patients with pancreatic cancer present with resectable forms of the disease as the symptoms are rarely manifested during the early stages, and the disease tends to progress rapidly. Furthermore, pancreatic surgery is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The development of linear-array endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) techniques has increased the indications of EUS-guided local therapy for pancreatic neoplasms. We assessed the studies that investigated various treatment modalities, such as fine-needle injection, radiofrequency ablation, irreversible electroporation, and radiotherapy, under EUS guidance to better understand the usefulness of these techniques with respect to the efficacy and associated complications

Acute Symptoms after a Community Hydrogen Fluoride Spill

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients who visited a general hospital because of the release of chemically hazardous hydrogen fluoride that occurred on September 27, 2012 in Gumi City, Korea. METHODS: The medical records at 1 general hospital 9 km from the accident site were reviewed using a standardized survey format. There were 1,890 non-hospitalized and 12 hospitalized patients exposed to hydrogen fluoride between September 27 and October 13 2012. RESULTS: Among the 12 hospitalized patients, 11 were discharged within 1 week and the other was hospitalized for 10 days. The chief complaints were respiratory symptoms such as hemoptysis and shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms, neurologic symptoms, sore throat, and lip burn. The number of non-hospitalized patients exhibited a bimodal distribution, peaking on the first and twelfth days after the accident. Their chief complaints were sore throat (24.1%), headache (19.1%), cough (13.1%), and eye irritation (9.2%); some patients were asymptomatic (6.2%). Patients who visited the hospital within 3 days (early patients) of the spill more often had shortness of breath (27.0%) and nausea (6.3%) as the chief complaints than patients who visited after 3 days (late patients) (3.5% and 2.6%, respectively). However, cough and rhinorrhea were more common in the late patients (14.0% and 3.3%, respectively) than in the early patients (5.0% and 0.0%, respectively). Patients who were closer to the accident site more often had shortness of breath and sputum as the chief complaints than patients who were farther away. The mean serum calcium concentration was 9.37 mg/dL (range: 8.4–11.0 mg/dL); none of the patients had a decreased serum calcium level. Among 48 pulmonary function test results, 4 showed decreased lung function. None of the patients had abnormal urine fluoride levels on the eighth day after exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients hospitalized due to chemical hazard release of hydrogen fluoride had acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurologic health problems. Non-hospitalized patients have acute symptoms mainly related to upper respiratory irritation

Performance Analysis On A Variable Capacity Swash Plate Compressor

A numerical study on the performance of a variable capacity swash plate compressor for an automotive air-conditioning system was carried out. The compressor under investigation had six cylinders and capacity regulation was made by changing the swash plate inclination angle. A numerical simulation program was made based on mathematical modelings on the swash plate dynamics, refrigerant states in various control volumes such as cylinders and crank room, and flows in the opening passages of electric control valve for crank room pressure control. The simulation results such as mass flow rate, compressor power consumption, cooling capacity and COP were compared with measurements within ±5% deviation over various operating conditions except at low operating speed such as idling condition. By using the simulation program, the effect of the crank room pressure on the swash plate inclination angle and the determination of the crank room pressure level by the electric control valve openings could be investigated