Income Distribution and Public Transfers as Social Safety Nets in Korea

Using 5-year balanced household panel data, this paper shows that the inequality of per capita income in Korea aggravated during the financial crisis in 1998. The decomposition analysis of income inequality by factor component shows that the dominant positive effect on the income inequality is by the asset income. Next is the wage income, followed by the other income. Furthermore, this paper shows that social safety net programs were not yet in place during the initial period of the crisis. Public transfers were not effective social safety net devices and did not contribute in decreasing income inequality. Private transfers, on the other hand, were effective devices and narrowed the disparity in household income.

MiR-31/SDHA Axis Regulates Reprogramming Efficiency through Mitochondrial Metabolism

Metabolism is remodeled when somatic cells are reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), but the majority of iPSCs are not fully reprogrammed. In a shift essential for reprogramming, iPSCs use less mitochondrial respiration but increased anaerobic glycolysis for bioenergetics. We found that microRNA 31 (miR-31) suppressed succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A (SDHA) expression, vital for mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complex II. MiR-31 overexpression in partially reprogrammed iPSCs lowered SDHA expression levels and oxygen consumption rates to that of fully reprogrammed iPSCs, but did not increase the proportion of fully reprogrammed TRA1-60(+) cells in colonies unless miR-31 was co-transduced with Yamanaka factors, which resulted in a 2.7-fold increase in full reprogramming. Thus switching from mitochondrial respiration to glycolytic metabolism through regulation of the miR-31/SDHA axis is critical for lowering the reprogramming threshold. This is supportive of multi-stage reprogramming whereby metabolic remodeling is fundamental

A machine-learning approach to predict postprandial hypoglycemia

Background For an effective artificial pancreas (AP) system and an improved therapeutic intervention with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), predicting the occurrence of hypoglycemia accurately is very important. While there have been many studies reporting successful algorithms for predicting nocturnal hypoglycemia, predicting postprandial hypoglycemia still remains a challenge due to extreme glucose fluctuations that occur around mealtimes. The goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of easy-to-use, computationally efficient machine-learning algorithm to predict postprandial hypoglycemia with a unique feature set. Methods We use retrospective CGM datasets of 104 people who had experienced at least one hypoglycemia alert value during a three-day CGM session. The algorithms were developed based on four machine learning models with a unique data-driven feature set: a random forest (RF), a support vector machine using a linear function or a radial basis function, a K-nearest neighbor, and a logistic regression. With 5-fold cross-subject validation, the average performance of each model was calculated to compare and contrast their individual performance. The area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the F1 score were used as the main criterion for evaluating the performance. Results In predicting a hypoglycemia alert value with a 30-min prediction horizon, the RF model showed the best performance with the average AUC of 0.966, the average sensitivity of 89.6%, the average specificity of 91.3%, and the average F1 score of 0.543. In addition, the RF showed the better predictive performance for postprandial hypoglycemic events than other models. Conclusion In conclusion, we showed that machine-learning algorithms have potential in predicting postprandial hypoglycemia, and the RF model could be a better candidate for the further development of postprandial hypoglycemia prediction algorithm to advance the CGM technology and the AP technology further.11Ysciescopu

Effects of eccentricity on seismic behavior of non-seismically designed reinforced concrete beam-column joint

The staggering numbers of eccentric reinforced concrete beam-column joints without seismic design details were used in existing RC frame building due to geometrical constraints, which implied high susceptibility of the building structures to anticipated seismic risk. Three exterior RC beam-column joints were fabricated and tested, which were applied reversed cyclic loads to simulate seismic action. In this study, the effects of stirrup ratio in joints and the eccentricity which is defined as the distance between the axis of the beam and column on seismic performance are investigated. The test results provide a further understanding of the failure mode and shear strength of exterior beam-column joints. It is shown that the eccentricity will significantly reduce the seismic performance and shear strength of the joints, which will cause the brittle failure of frame buildings, while the stirrups in the joint core can improve the seismic performance. To verify the availability of current codes in predicting the shear strength of eccentric beam-column joints with non-seismic detailed, the experimental results are compared with the predicted shear force of two nonseismic codes (HK code and Eurocode 2) and three seismic codes (Eurocode 8, NZS 3101 and ACI 318-14). The comparison results indicate that the existing non-seismic and seismic design codes of practice do not predict the shear strength of the exterior non-seismically designed joints precisely

A Study on the Burn Pattern Experiments in Structure Fire

The fire has created tremendous damage, yet skilled fire investigators can read the fire patterns left by the fire. Through the fire patterns interpretation and analysis, fire investigators should be able to determine exactly how and where the fire or explosion started. Fire patterns can help the fire investigator trace fire movement back to the point of origin. The origin and cause investigation for is attempting to determine the first material ignited, the source of ignition, and how the two brought together to cause the ignition. The investigators should read the fire scene to establish the area of origin. In this study, through burn pattern experiments, fire behavior in the compartment, fire pattern formation mechanism, fire patterns reproducibility, fire patterns persistence through flashover and full room involvement condition, fire scene reconstruction for fire origin determination, and other fire pattern’s temperature will be discussed and analyzed in depth. Burn test was conducted to recognize and analyze fire patterns created in the phase of pre flashover or post flashover in the compartment (container house). In addition, fire pattern experiments are designed to test combustible material, including polyurethane foam with a lower thermal inertia or wooden chair with a higher thermal inertia. During these experiments, through the thermocouple fire pattern’s temperature will be measured in the stage of pre flashover or post flashover.

Outcomes of endovascular treatment for aortic pseudoaneurysm in Behcet's disease

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of endovascular stent grafting for surgical management of aortic pseudoaneurysm in patients with Behcet's disease (BD).MethodsWe present a single-institution retrospective cohort of patients with aortic pseudoaneurysm and BD treated with aortic stent grafting. Computed tomography imaging was obtained preoperatively in all patients and once within 2 weeks postoperatively, and then annually. Clinical follow-up and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were used to follow BD activity. Immunosuppressant therapy was instituted prior to endovascular treatment unless a contraindication existed.ResultsFrom 1998 to 2012, 10 patients (eight male, two female; median age, 39) with BD and aortic pseudoaneurysm were treated with endovascular stent grafting at this institution. Ninety percent of these patients received immunosuppressive therapy before and after surgical treatment. The median follow-up period was 57 months (interquartile range, 43-72). The locations of the 12 pseudoaneurysms treated in this cohort were infrarenal abdominal aorta (seven), descending thoracic aorta (four), and aortic arch (one). Median pseudoaneurysm size was 4.5 cm (interquartile range, 3.4-5.9). At long-term follow-up, complete resolution of the aortic pseudoaneurysm was noted in all patients. No endoleaks occurred. Newly developed pseudoaneurysm at the distal margin of the stent graft was noted in one patient 17 months after the stent graft procedure. One patient required a subsequent stent graft placement for an expanding pseudoaneurysm of the subclavian artery. No patient deaths occurred during the follow-up period.ConclusionsEndovascular treatment of aortic pseudoaneurysm with stent-grafting in patients with BD is safe and effective with long-term durability