Wideband Channel Measurements and Modeling for In-House Power Line Communication

This paper reports the results of extensive wideband channel measurements conducted on in-house outlets at 10~30MHz. Two kinds of measurements were performed: impulse response measurements and noise measurements. Impulse responses were obtained in two different time scales: 50 impulse responses taken for 1 minute to see short term variation and for 6 milliseconds to see very short term variation. Noise measurements were carried out to measure background noise, appliance noise and periodic noise. These measurements at a specific outlet are repeated in every other hour over 24 hours. The measured data were carefully reduced and analyzed to extract relevant information to obtain time-varying channel and noise characteristic for in-house power line communication

Detection of swine hepatitis E virus in the porcine hepatic lesion in Jeju Island

Swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen due to its close genomic similarity to human HEV. The prevalence of swine HEV in the hepatic lesion of pigs from the Jeju Island was investigated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In total, 40 pigs with hepatitis lesions were selected from 19 different farms, based on examination by microscopy. RTPCR findings revealed swine HEV in 22 cases (55%), including 18 suckling pigs and 4 growing pigs. Several histopathological lesions, including multifocal lymphoplasmacytic hepatitis, portal inflammation, and focal hepatocellular necrosis, were observed in liver sections of swine HEV PCR-positive pigs. The present study suggests that the prevalence of swine HEV is very high in the pig population in Jeju Island, and that pigs are infected at early stages of growth (under 2 months of age). The high prevalence of swine HEV in pigs in Jeju Island and the ability of this virus to infect across species puts people with swine-associated occupations at possible risk of zoonotic infection.This work was supported by the Research Project on the Production of Bio-organs (No. 200503010403), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Korea

Performance Evaluation of the GlucoDr Plus Glucometer

Background: Because strict glucose control is important for reducing the complications of diabetes, the self-monitoring of blood glucose is one of the fundamental treatment modalities. Many glucometers have been developed. In the present study, we evaluated a new glucometer: GlucoDr (TM) Plus (Allmedicus, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea). Methods: The evaluation was performed based on Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Interferences by ascorbic acid, uric acid, maltose, and acetaminophen were examined, and the performance of the unit was compared to those of six other glucometers. The effects of hematocrit, of oxygen partial pressure (PaO(2)), and of multiple users were also evaluated. Results: Within-run, between-run, between- day, and total imprecision (coefficients of variation) were 0.99-4.98%. Satisfactory linearity was found for glucose concentrations of 32.5-786.5 mg/dL (R(2) = 0.9985). A comparison with the reference laboratory method showed close concordance over the entire range of concentrations evaluated (R(2) = 0.9869). No significant effects were noted due to added interferents, hematocrit, and PaO(2). Conclusions: The GlucoDr Plus showed acceptable performance in terms of precision and linearity. It was minimally affected by various interferents. GlucoDr Plus is suitable for the self-monitoring of blood glucose by patients with diabetes.Schleis TG, 2007, PHARMACOTHERAPY, V27, P1313Tsujimura S, 2006, BIOSCI BIOTECH BIOCH, V70, P654D`Orazio P, 2006, CLIN CHEM LAB MED, V44, P1486, DOI 10.1515/CCLM.2006.275Nathan DM, 2005, NEW ENGL J MED, V353, P2643Wild S, 2004, DIABETES CARE, V27, P1047*CLIN LAB STAND I, 2004, EP5A2 CLSI*CLIN LAB STAND I, 2003, EP6A CLSI*INT ORG STAND, 2003, 151972003E ISO*CLIN LAB STAND I, 2002, EP7A CLISTang ZP, 2001, CRIT CARE MED, V29, P1062Tang ZP, 2000, AM J CLIN PATHOL, V113, P75Turner RC, 1998, LANCET, V352, P837*CLIN LAB STAND I, 1995, EP9A CLSI1994, DIABETES CARE, V17, P81MERENSTEIN GB, 1993, PEDIATRICS, V92, P4741993, N ENGL J MED, V329, P977BARRETT AE, 1979, J CLIN PATHOL, V32, P893

Detection of swine hepatitis E virus in the porcine hepatic lesion in Jeju Island

Swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen due to its close genomic similarity to human HEV. The prevalence of swine HEV in the hepatic lesion of pigs from the Jeju Island was investigated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In total, 40 pigs with hepatitis lesions were selected from 19 different farms, based on examination by microscopy. RT-PCR findings revealed swine HEV in 22 cases (55%), including 18 suckling pigs and 4 growing pigs. Several histopathological lesions, including multifocal lymphoplasmacytic hepatitis, portal inflammation, and focal hepatocellular necrosis, were observed in liver sections of swine HEV PCR-positive pigs. The present study suggests that the prevalence of swine HEV is very high in the pig population in Jeju Island, and that pigs are infected at early stages of growth (under 2 months of age). The high prevalence of swine HEV in pigs in Jeju Island and the ability of this virus to infect across species puts people with swine-associated occupations at possible risk of zoonotic infection

Age is a determinant factor in the susceptibility of domestic ducks to H5 clade 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.4.4e high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses

High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) is a viral disease with devastating consequences for the poultry industry worldwide. Domestic ducks are a major source of HPAI viruses in many Eurasian countries. The infectivity and pathogenicity of HPAI viruses in ducks vary depending on host and viral factors. To assess the factors influencing the infectivity and pathogenicity of HPAI viruses in ducks, we compared the pathobiology of two HPAI viruses (H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c and H5N6 clade 2.3.4.4e) in 5- and 25-week-old ducks. Both HPAI viruses caused mortality in a dose-dependent manner (104, 106, and 108 EID50) in young ducks. By contrast, adult ducks were infected but exhibited no mortality due to either virus. Viral excretion was higher in young ducks than in adults, regardless of the HPAI strain. These findings demonstrate the age-dependent mortality of clade 2.3.2.1c and clade 2.3.4.4e H5 HPAI viruses in ducks

Comparison of angiographic patterns of in-stent restenosis between sirolimus-and paclitaxel-eluting stent

Abstract Background: Angiographic pattern of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation was known to be different to that after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation. But the different angiographic patterns of ISR and its prognosis between sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) has not been properly addressed in large scale studies. Results: In angiographic ISR pattern, diffuse ISR was more common in PES implantation (SES vs PES; 23.7% vs 48.7%, p = 0.001) mainly because of higher incidence of diffuse intrastent ISR (8.2% vs 33.8%, p b 0.001, respectively) whereas focal ISR was more common in SES implantation (76.3% vs 51.3%, p = 0.001, respectively) mainly because of higher incidence of focal margin ISR (27.8% vs 2.5%, p b 0.001, respectively). Among 177 ISR lesions, clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) was performed in 53.6% in SES implantation and 56.3% in PES implantation ( p = 0.725). Conclusion: Angiographic pattern of ISR differed after SES and PES implantation, but their subsequent TLR rate was similar to both types of DES

Corporatism as a process of working class containment and roll-back: The recent experiences of South Africa and South Korea

In this article we argue that recent debates in the corporatist literature about whether corporatism is best understood as a process of structured interest representation or political dialogue miss the point as to corporatism's central task - the shift of material resources and power away from the working class to the capitalist class, in which two processes are evident - containment and roll-back. We discuss these processes in the context of successive waves of corporatism in Western Europe from the 1940s to the 1990s before moving on to an analysis of the contrasting fortunes of corporatism in South Africa and South Korea during democratic transition. We conclude that the ability of corporatism to carry out the processes of containment and roll back in these two cases have been dependent on the existence (or absence) of supportive prior political relationships between organised labour and the state

Stretchable and recoverable acrylate-based pressure sensitive adhesives with high adhesion performance, optical clarity, and metal corrosion resistance

In the era of the Internet of Things, digital displays play a critical role in human-machine interfaces. In particular, displays applied to contemporary devices such as flexible smart watches and foldable/rollable electronics underline the need for pertinent materials and device technologies to fulfill their designed functions. However, despite the technical advancements of electronic components such as stretchable/flexible electrodes and flexible backplanes, their proper assembly remains a challenge. Herein, we report the compositional effect of acrylic acid (AA) on the physical properties of as-synthesized pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs), especially on their adhesion performance in terms of wettability and peel adhesion. Accordingly, an empirical criterion for intimate wetting is proposed based on the storage modulus of the PSAs. In this study, the PSA with the best adhesion performance was evaluated for its viscoelastic properties and suitability for specific applications. The results demonstrated the strain-dependent conformational recovery of the adhesive; the implementation of the prestrain strategy enables rapid strain reversibility at 25% of the total strain. Furthermore, the AA-incorporated PSAs exhibited remarkable metal corrosion resistance as well as high optical clarity. Thus, this fundamental study of stretchable PSAs can provide useful guidance for the development of advanced PSAs that can be used in a wide range of applications involving display devices

Genetic Traceability of Black Pig Meats Using Microsatellite Markers

Pork from Jeju black pig (population J) and Berkshire (population B) has a unique market share in Korea because of their high meat quality. Due to the high demand of this pork, traceability of the pork to its origin is becoming an important part of the consumer demand. To examine the feasibility of such a system, we aim to provide basic genetic information of the two black pig populations and assess the possibility of genetically distinguishing between the two breeds. Muscle samples were collected from slaughter houses in Jeju Island and Namwon, Chonbuk province, Korea, for populations J and B, respectively. In total 800 Jeju black pigs and 351 Berkshires were genotyped at thirteen microsatellite (MS) markers. Analyses on the genetic diversity of the two populations were carried out in the programs MS toolkit and FSTAT. The population structure of the two breeds was determined by a Bayesian clustering method implemented in structure and by a phylogenetic analysis in Phylip. Population J exhibited higher mean number of alleles, expected heterozygosity and observed heterozygosity value, and polymorphism information content, compared to population B. The FIS values of population J and population B were 0.03 and −0.005, respectively, indicating that little or no inbreeding has occurred. In addition, genetic structure analysis revealed the possibility of gene flow from population B to population J. The expected probability of identify value of the 13 MS markers was 9.87×10−14 in population J, 3.17×10−9 in population B, and 1.03×10−12 in the two populations. The results of this study are useful in distinguishing between the two black pig breeds and can be used as a foundation for further development of DNA markers