Gender and Measuring-position Differences in the Radial Pulse of Healthy Individuals

AbstractIn this research, radial pulse differences according to gender and measuring positions in healthy individuals were investigated in an objective manner. A total of 372 healthy volunteers (189 males and 183 females) participated in this study. The radial pulse was measured at six different measuring positions using a multistep tonometry system. The pulse data were compared between males and females and between different measuring positions. Compared to the pulses in females, those in males were deeper and slower, with a longer diastolic proportion and a shorter systolic proportion. Amplitude of the radial pulse increased as it went distal. The pulse was deepest at the Cheock position and shallowest at the Gwan position. Compared to the right pulse, the radial augmentation index was higher and the main peak angle was larger in case of the left pulse. The results of this research show that the radial pulses in healthy individuals differ significantly according to gender and measuring positions

Dedicated preparation for in situ transmission electron microscope tensile testing of exfoliated graphene

Graphene, which is one of the most promising materials for its state-of-the-art applications, has received extensive attention because of its superior mechanical properties. However, there is little experimental evidence related to the mechanical properties of graphene at the atomic level because of the challenges associated with transferring atomically-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials onto microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. In this study, we show successful dry transfer with a gel material of a stable, clean, and free-standing exfoliated graphene film onto a push-to-pull (PTP) device, which is a MEMS device used for uniaxial tensile testing in in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through the results of optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM, we demonstrate high quality exfoliated graphene on the PTP device. Finally, the stress???strain results corresponding to propagating cracks in folded graphene were simultaneously obtained during the tensile tests in TEM. The zigzag and armchair edges of graphene confirmed that the fracture occurred in association with the hexagonal lattice structure of graphene while the tensile testing. In the wake of the results, we envision the dedicated preparation and in situ TEM tensile experiments advance the understanding of the relationship between the mechanical properties and structural characteristics of 2D materials

Porphyra-334, a mycosporine-like amino acid, attenuates UV-induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells

The main aim of the current research was to study the effect of porphyra-334, one of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), well known as UV-absorbing compounds, on UV-induced apoptosis in human immortalized keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. Due to their UV-screening capacity and ability to prevent UV-induced DNA damage, MAAs have recently attracted considerable attention in both industry and research in pharmacology. Herein, human HaCaT cells were used to determine the biological activities of porphyra-334 by various in vitro assays, including proliferation, apoptosis and Western blot assays. The proliferation rate of UV-irradiated HaCaT cells was significantly decreased compared to the control group. Pretreatment with porphyra-334 markedly attenuated the inhibitory effect of UV and induced a dramatic decrease in the apoptotic rate. Expression of active caspase-3 protein was increased in response to UV irradiation, while caspase-3 levels were similar between cells treated with porphyra-334 and the non-irradiated control group. Taken together, our data suggest that porphyra-334 inhibits UV-induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells through attenuation of the caspase pathway

Analysis of Yield of Eleutherosides B and E in Acanthopanax divaricatus

An analysis of the yield of eleutherosides B and E in Acanthopanax divaricatus and A. koreanum was performed using high performance liquid chromatography to evaluate production by different cultivation methods. In A. divaricatus and A. koreanum, the total content of eleutherosides B and E was 2.466–7.360 mg/g varying by plant section, 3.886–11.506 mg/g by pinching site, 3.655–10.083 mg/g by planting time, and 3.652–10.108 mg/g by fertilizer ratio. Thus the total content of eleutherosides B and E in A. divaricatus and A. koreanum differed depending on cultivation methods. These results present useful information for high eleutheroside content applications in A. divaricatus and A. koreanum. This information can affect selection of plant section and cultivation methods for nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical material development

2D solar wind speeds from 6 to 26 solar radii in solar cycle 24 by using Fourier filtering

Measurement of the solar wind speed near the Sun is important for understanding the acceleration mechanism of the solar wind. In this study, we determine 2D solar wind speeds from 6 to 26 solar radii by applying Fourier motion filters to \textit{SOHO}/LASCO C3 movies observed from 1999 to 2010. Our method successfully reproduces the original flow speeds in the artificially generated data as well as streamer blobs. We measure 2D solar wind speeds from 1-day to 1-year timescales and their variation in solar cycle 24. We find that the solar wind speeds at timescales longer than a month in the solar maximum period are relatively uniform in the azimuthal direction, while they are clearly bimodal in the minimum period, as expected from the \textit{Ulysses} observations and IPS reconstruction. The bimodal structure appears at around 2006, becomes most distinctive in 2009, and abruptly disappears in 2010. The radial evolution of the solar wind speeds resembles the Parker's solar wind solution.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures; accepted by PR

Legacy of culture heritage building revitalization: place attachment and culture identity

Cultural heritage buildings are revitalized to promote culture instead of being neglected or demolished. For locals, the revitalization of heritage buildings symbolizes a commitment to the community and a taste of collective memory. The study attempts to test the effectiveness of heritage cultural building on visitors’ post-experience behavior through cultural identity and place attachment. “Cultural activities engagement” and “knowledge transfer” serves as moderating attributes. Their moderating the effects on cultural identity and place attachment are examined, respectively. A valid sample size of 348 from four heritage buildings located in Hong Kong: Tai Kwun, Police Married Quarters (PMQ), Mei Ho House and The Mills. A data analysis platform for PLSSEM is chosen for this study. Results demonstrate that the effectiveness of heritage building revitalization on visitors’ local cultural identity and emotions leading to place attachment. In our study, the effectiveness of heritage building encompasses three elements which includes appearance and components; technology and planning as well as contribution. Knowledge transfer positively moderates the effectiveness of heritage building revitalization and cultural identity. However, cultural activity engagement negatively moderates place attachment. Findings also exhibit that place attachment in heritage building revitalization leads to a positive experience extension. For the practical contribution, the study provides insights to policy makers and planners for historic building design such as appearance and components, technology in facilitating local visitors’ local identity

Brucellosis among ruminants in some districts of Bangladesh using four conventional serological assays

Brucellosis causes a great economic loss to the livestock industries through abortion, infertility, birth of weak and dead offspring, increased calving interval and reduction of milk yield and it is endemic in Bangladesh. The present study was performed to know the seroprevalence of brucellosis for 1000 ruminants (135 Buffaloes, 465 cattle, 230 goats and 170 sheep) in five different districts of Bangladesh by four conventional serological tests such as: Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBT), tube agglutination test (TAT), competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA), and Fluorescent polarization assay (FPA). Sheep has the highest prevalence (8.24%) of brucellosis. The seroprevalence of brucellosis was significantly higher in animals with previous abortion record in case of buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep than that with no abortion record. C-ELISA can be the most suitable choice for extensive use in many kinds of livestocks and accurate estimation of Brucella antibodies in ruminants in Bangladesh