Determination and comparison of freely dissolved PAHs using different types of passive samplers in freshwater

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well-known for their recalcitrant properties and biotoxicity in organisms, leading to serious environmental and health problems. Despite various analytical methods available, accurate determination of the bioavailable fraction is warranted in order to evaluate the precise toxic potentials of these compounds. Currently, the passive sampler is used worldwide to measure the bioavailable PAHs in the environment using the equilibrium partitioning principle. In this study, we co-deployed different types of passive samplers, which are linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), to determine freely dissolved concentrations (Cfree) of PAHs using the performance reference compounds (PRCs) in Kentucky Lake (KL), Ohio River (OH), and Mississippi River (MS). The fractional equilibrium (feq) of BeP-d12 was observed to be high in LLDPE compared with LDPE in OH and MS. In contrast, the feq of all PRCs was similar in both passive samplers in KL due to slow flow velocity. The sum of average freely dissolved PAH concentrations in LLDPE and LDPE during the exposure period were 2.89 and 1.27 ng/L in KL, 8.13 and 3.31 ng/L in OH, and 5.19 and 3.82 ng/L in MS, respectively. The results revealed that LLDPE is a suitable alternative tool to LDPE for both short-term and long-term monitoring of PAHs

Trends of Value Changes in Korea : Comparison of the Survey Results of 1979, 1998 and 2010

Translated from the article published in the Korean Journal of Social and Personality Psychology vol. 24, no. 4 (2010), with permission from the Society for Social and Personality Psychology in Korean psychological Association.By combining the survey result of 2010 to those of 1979 and 1998, this research aims to figure out how Koreans values have shifted for three decades and how it is expressed in generation gap. For that purpose, we conducted a face-to-face interview survey to 800 people after sampling 100 women and men respectively from people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s living in Seoul, six metropolitan cities and Gyeonggi Provinces cities and towns. The questionnaires in the survey were composed of 21 questionnaires on values (three questionnaires for individualism centered on oneself and family, post-authoritarianism, assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, future orientation, gender egalitarianism, and affluent life), the same ones as those used in 1998, and one questionnaire on post-materialism The result showed that just like during the 19 years from 1979 to 1998, individualism centered on oneself and family and gender egalitarianism increased the most during the 12 years from 1998 to 2010. In some questionnaires in regards to post-authoritarianism and assertiveness, the importance on consideration for the seniors and humility showed a tendency of significant growth during the latter 12 years. In most of the values that radically changed, people in their 20s showed a much faster change during the first 19 years compared to people in their 50s, which contributed a significant generation gap. However, during the latter 12 years, we witnessed a generation gap being a little bit narrowed down as people in their 50s swiftly started to adjust to the changing world. Moreover, the survey conducted in 1998 right after the Asian financial crisis showed that people were retreating a little bit towards materialism and such tendency was spreading much more quickly among younger people. However, in 2010, even though the proportion of post-materialists was still higher among the younger population, the mixed type has decreased as the proportion of materialists among youngsters increased. The mixed type increased among the older generation as materialists among them has decreased, bringing down the generation gap. The 2010 survey was unique in that an increased number of respondents said that we do not have to be particularly hospitable to foreigners, which reflects a new cultural environment of the 21st century where the number of foreigners with various nationalities is dramatically rising. The values that received more than the majority of peoples approval regardless of their age and gender for the last three decades are important as the common ground for communication

Spatial-temporal Vehicle Re-identification

Vehicle re-identification (ReID) in a large-scale camera network is important in public safety, traffic control, and security. However, due to the appearance ambiguities of vehicle, the previous appearance-based ReID methods often fail to track vehicle across multiple cameras. To overcome the challenge, we propose a spatial-temporal vehicle ReID framework that estimates reliable camera network topology based on the adaptive Parzen window method and optimally combines the appearance and spatial-temporal similarities through the fusion network. Based on the proposed methods, we performed superior performance on the public dataset (VeRi776) by 99.64% of rank-1 accuracy. The experimental results support that utilizing spatial and temporal information for ReID can leverage the accuracy of appearance-based methods and effectively deal with appearance ambiguities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Extensive Emphysematous Pyelonephritis in a Nondiabetic Female Cat - Treatment with Unilateral Nephroureterectomy

Background: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is an acute, severe necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma and surrounding tissues that results in gas formation in the kidney, collecting system, or surroundings. EPN is a rare condition in veterinary medicine and occurs most frequently in dogs with diabetes mellitus. Although the prognosis of medical management in animals is poor, the standardized treatment protocol according to EPN severity is unclear. This report describes the first case of a nondiabetic female cat with extensive EPN and good prognosis following direct nephroureterectomy (NU). Case: A 10-year-old spayed female cat presented with the chief complaint of an acute loss of weight within 1 week, vomiting, and disorientation including stumbling, discoordination, circling, wobbling, head tilting, and difficulties in standing. At presentation, the patient had a body condition score of 1/9 and weighed 2.6 kg. Blood examination revealed leukocytosis, anemia, and hypoproteinemia. Abdominal radiography revealed severely decreased serosal details. A massive gas silhouette observed in the peritoneal and retroperitoneal cavities, was diagnosed as abdominal free gas. Abdominal ultrasound showed an accumulation of moderately anechoic fluid mixed with gas and cyst-like capsules around the left kidney. Left partial ureteral obstruction and dilation were also observed. Computed tomography (CT) was performed without sedatives or anesthetic drugs. The findings showed severe inflammatory changes in the peritoneum and a loss of the normal inner structure in the left kidney. A pyelogram of the left kidney was not observed after injection of the contrast material. Diffuse fat stranding and free gas observed in the mesentery of the entire abdominal cavity and around the left kidney were considered septic peritonitis. Urinalysis revealed proteinuria and hematuria. Numerous neutrophils with rod-type bacteria were observed in the ascites. Following diagnostic examinations, the patient was diagnosed with extensive left EPN, including inflammatory ascites and abdominal free gas. Therefore, emergency NU of the nonfunctional left kidney and ruptured ureter and thorough abdominal lavage were conducted. Diffuse inflammation and a nephrolith were observed in the section of the harvested kidney. The nephrolith was composed of 100% calcium oxalate monohydrate. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) was negative. Escherichia coli was detected in the ascites, and antibiotic therapy was administered following the antibiotic sensitivity test. The histological findings from the left kidney and ureter included marked chronic inflammation and fibrosis. The patient was discharged 4 days after surgery. During the 8-month follow-up period, the patient’s condition improved. Discussion: This was a unique case of EPN in a nondiabetic cat and the first reported case of EPN with a ruptured ureter, including abdominal free gas, inflammatory ascites, and peritonitis. This patient had a bacterial urinary tract infection with E. coli, which is the most frequently isolated pathogen in humans. This gas-forming bacteria produced a massive amount of gas and inflammation that were considered to have ruptured the urinary tract, so that the gas was released into the abdomen. This case corresponded to class 3B, with two risk factors according to the human EPN classification system. Direct NU and abdominal lavage were performed as emergency surgeries. The patient stabilized gradually and showed a good prognosis. Immediate surgical intervention is recommended in animal patients showing the extensive EPN stage. Keywords: kidney, nephroureterectomy, emphysematous pyelonephritis, peritonitis, cat, E. coli.

Vertical-Type Organic Light-Emitting Transistors with High Effective Aperture Ratios

The inherent complexity of the structures of active-matrix (AM) organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays severely limits not only their size but also device performance. Surface-emitting organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) may offer an attractive alternative to AM displays. We report some characteristics of vertical-type OLETs (VOLETs) composed of a source electrode of low-dimensional materials and an emissive channel layer. With a functionalized graphene source, it is shown that the full-surface electroluminescent emission of a VOLET can be effectively controlled by the gate voltage with a high luminance on/off ratio (104). The current efficiency and effective aperture ratios were observed to be more than 150% of those of a control OLED, even at high luminances exceeding 500 cd m−2. Moreover, high device performance of micro-VOLET pixels has been also successfully demonstrated using inkjet-patterned emissive channel layers. These significant improvements in the device performance were attributed to the effective gate-voltage-induced modulation of the hole tunneling injection at the source electrode

Longitudinal relationship between depression and antisocial behaviors in Korean adolescents

BackgroundIt is well known that depression and delinquency in adolescents are highly correlated, but longitudinal studies on the causal relationship between them are not active in East Asia compared to in Western culture. In addition, even the results of research on causal models and sex differences are inconsistent.ObjectivesThis study examines the longitudinal reciprocal effects between depression and delinquent behavior in Korean adolescents based on sex differences.MethodsWe conducted multiple-group analysis by using an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ACLM). Longitudinal data from 2,075 individuals (2011–2013) were used for analysis. The longitudinal data are from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), and data were used beginning with students at 14 years old (in the second grade of middle school) and tracked them until they were 16 (in the first grade of high school).ResultsBoys’ delinquent behaviors at 15 years (the third grade of middle school) affected their depression at 16 years (the first grade of high school). In contrast, girls’ depression at 15 years (the third grade of middle school) influenced their delinquent behaviors at 16 years (the first grade of high school).DiscussionThe findings support the failure model (FM) among adolescent boys and the acting-out model (ACM) among girls. The results imply that strategies to effectively prevent and treat delinquency and depression in adolescents must consider sex effects

Locally-applied 5-fluorouracil-loaded slow-release patch prevents pancreatic cancer growth in an orthotopic mouse model

To obtain improved efficacy against pancreatic cancer, we investigated the efficacy and safety of a locally-applied 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-loaded polymeric patch on pancreatic tumors in an orthotopic nude-mouse model. The 5-FU-releasing polymeric patch was produced by 3D printing. After application of the patch, it released the drug slowly for 4 weeks, and suppressed BxPC-3 pancreas cancer growth. Luciferase imaging of BxPC3-Luc cells implanted in the pancreas was performed longitudinally. The drug patch delivered a 30.2 times higher level of 5-FU than an intra-peritoneal (i.p.) bolus injection on day-1. High 5-FU levels were accumulated within one week by the patch. Four groups were compared for efficacy of 5-FU. Drug-free patch as a negative control (Group I); 30% 5-FU-loaded patch (4.8 mg) (Group II); 5-FU i.p. once (4.8 mg) (Group III); 5-FU i.p. once a week (1.2 mg), three times (Group IV). The tumor growth rate was significantly faster in Group I than Group II, III, IV (p=0.047 at day-8, p=0.022 at day-12, p=0.002 at day-18 and p=0.034 at day-21). All mice in Group III died of drug toxicity within two weeks after injection. Group II showed more effective suppression of tumor growth than Group IV (p=0.018 at day-12 and p=0.017 at day-21). Histological analysis showed extensive apoptosis in the TUNEL assay and by Ki -67 staining. Western blotting confirmed strong expression of cleaved caspase-3 in Group II. No significant changes were found hematologically and histologically in the liver, kidney and spleen in Groups I, II, IV but were found in Group III.113Ysciescopu

Preparation, Characterization, and Properties of Polyurethane-Grafted Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Derived Polyurethane Nanocomposites

We incorporated hydroxyl groups into the polyurethane backbone and then used the “grafting to” approach to functionalize the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) via the esterification reaction between MWNTs and segmented polyurethanes (PUs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra showed that the sidewalls of MWNTs had been functionalized with acid treatment, and the amount of COOH increased with increasing acid treatment time. FTIR spectra further confirmed that PU was covalently attached to the sidewalls of MWNTs. The functionalized acid amount and the grafted PU amount were determined by thermogravimetric analyses (TGAs). Comparative studies based on SEM images of the PU-functionalized and chemically defunctionalized MWNT samples also revealed the covalent coating character. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of nanocomposite films prepared from PU and PU-functionalized MWNTs showed enhanced mechanical properties and increased soft segment . Tensile properties indicated that PU-functionalized MWNTs were effective reinforcing fillers for the polyurethane matrix

Metformin acts as a dual glucose regulator in mouse brain

Aims: Metformin improves glucose regulation through various mechanisms in the periphery. Our previous study revealed that oral intake of metformin activates several brain regions, including the hypothalamus, and directly activates hypothalamic S6 kinase in mice. In this study, we aimed to identify the direct effects of metformin on glucose regulation in the brain.Materials and methods: We investigated the role of metformin in peripheral glucose regulation by directly administering metformin intracerebroventricularly in mice. The effect of centrally administered metformin (central metformin) on peripheral glucose regulation was evaluated by oral or intraperitoneal glucose, insulin, and pyruvate tolerance tests. Hepatic gluconeogenesis and gastric emptying were assessed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Liver-specific and systemic sympathetic denervation were performed.Results: Central metformin improved the glycemic response to oral glucose load in mice compared to that in the control group, and worsened the response to intraperitoneal glucose load, indicating its dual role in peripheral glucose regulation. It lowered the ability of insulin to decrease serum glucose levels and worsened the glycemic response to pyruvate load relative to the control group. Furthermore, it increased the expression of hepatic G6pc and decreased the phosphorylation of STAT3, suggesting that central metformin increased hepatic glucose production. The effect was mediated by sympathetic nervous system activation. In contrast, it induced a significant delay in gastric emptying in mice, suggesting its potent role in suppressing intestinal glucose absorption.Conclusion: Central metformin improves glucose tolerance by delaying gastric emptying through the brain-gut axis, but at the same time worsens it by increasing hepatic glucose production via the brain-liver axis. However, with its ordinary intake, central metformin may effectively enhance its glucose-lowering effect through the brain-gut axis, which could surpass its effect on glucose regulation via the brain-liver axis