An Exploratory Pilot Study with Plasma Protein Signatures Associated with Response of Patients with Depression to Antidepressant Treatment for 10 Weeks.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of global disability with a chronic and recurrent course. Recognition of biological markers that could predict and monitor response to drug treatment could personalize clinical decision-making, minimize unnecessary drug exposure, and achieve better outcomes. Four longitudinal plasma samples were collected from each of ten patients with MDD treated with antidepressants for 10 weeks. Plasma proteins were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively with a nanoflow LC-MS/MS technique. Of 1153 proteins identified in the 40 longitudinal plasma samples, 37 proteins were significantly associated with response/time and clustered into six according to time and response by the linear mixed model. Among them, three early-drug response markers (PHOX2B, SH3BGRL3, and YWHAE) detectable within one week were verified by liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring/mass spectrometry (LC-MRM/MS) in the well-controlled 24 patients. In addition, 11 proteins correlated significantly with two or more psychiatric measurement indices. This pilot study might be useful in finding protein marker candidates that can monitor response to antidepressant treatment during follow-up visits within 10 weeks after the baseline visit

Seismic performance of reinforced concrete frames retrofitted with inserted steel frame and adhered waved steel panel

In this paper, two types of seismic retrofitting methods for reinforced concrete frames were suggested and examined through the cyclic loading tests: one is to insert a steel frame to existing partially masonry infilled concrete frame of the building after removing masonry from the concrete frame and the other is to adhere waved steel panels to the existing masonry fully infilled concrete frame. In order to evaluate validity of the suggested methods in seismic performance, five specimens were manufactured and tested: a bare concrete frame, a partially masonry infilled concrete frame, a masonry infilled concrete frame, a steel frame inserted concrete frame, and a waved steel panel adhered concrete frame. Compared were crack pattern, failure mode, load-displacement relation, ductility, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. The specimens retrofitted with the inserted steel frame showed a maximum load approximately twice that of the partially masonry infilled frame, and the specimen retrofitted with the adhered waved steel panel showed a maximum load approximately twice that of the masonry fully infilled frame

SOLiDzipper: A High Speed Encoding Method for the Next-Generation Sequencing Data

Background Next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods pose computational challenges of handling large volumes of data. Although cloud computing offers a potential solution to these challenges, transferring a large data set across the internet is the biggest obstacle, which may be overcome by efficient encoding methods. When encoding is used to facilitate data transfer to the cloud, the time factor is equally as important as the encoding efficiency. Moreover, to take advantage of parallel processing in cloud computing, a parallel technique to decode and split compressed data in the cloud is essential. Hence in this review, we present SOLiDzipper, a new encoding method for NGS data. Methods The basic strategy of SOLiDzipper is to divide and encode. NGS data files contain both the sequence and non-sequence information whose encoding efficiencies are different. In SOLiDzipper, encoded data are stored in binary data block that does not contain the characteristic information of a specific sequence platform, which means that data can be decoded according to a desired platform even in cases of Illumina, Solexa or Roche 454 data. Results The main calculation time using Crossbow was 173 minutes when 40 EC2 nodes were involved. In that case, an analysis preparation time of 464 minutes is required to encode data in the latest DNA compression method like G-SQZ and transmit it on a 183 Mbit/s bandwidth. However, it takes 194 minutes to encode and transmit data with SOLiDzipper under the same bandwidth conditions. These results indicate that the entire processing time can be reduced according to the encoding methods used, under the same network bandwidth conditions. Considering the limited network bandwidth, high-speed, high-efficiency encoding methods such as SOLiDzipper can make a significant contribution to higher productivity in labs seeking to take advantage of the cloud as an alternative to local computing. Availability http://szipper.dinfree.com . Academic/non-profit: Binary available for direct download at no cost. For-profit: Submit request for for-profit license from the web-site

Cephalometric predictors of long-term stability in the early treatment of class III malocclusion

The aim of this study was to examine the differences in the early craniofacial morphology of Class III malocclusions. Lateral cephalograms of 45 subjects with a Class III malocclusion and an anterior crossbite in the deciduous or mixed dentition were examined before treatment, after treatment, and during the long-term retention stage. The anterior crossbites of all patients were corrected after a series of orthodontic treatments. After a mean follow-up period of 5.7 years, all the subjects were reevaluated and divided into three groups according to the final occlusal status: good, fair, and poor occlusal stability. Twenty cephalometric variables on the pretreatment lateral cephalograms were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and discriminant analysis to identify the key determinants for discriminating among the three groups. Among the 20 variables, 11 showed statistical significance. Generally, the subjects with a smaller gonial angle and a more hypodivergent skeletal pattern had good prognosis after the early treatment of Class III malocclusion. When the AB to mandibular plane angle and N-perpendicular to point A were selected in discriminant analysis, the AB to mandibular plane angle was the most significant variable. Discriminant analysis showed a relatively high degree of correct classifications of the patients with early Class III malocclusion. In particular, discriminant analysis showed the highest accuracy (93.3%) when predicting a poor prognosis.This study was supported by a grant from the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (03- PJ1-PG1-CH09-0001)

The Effects of Consumption Value and Ethical Fashion Consumption Awareness on Ethical Fashion Consumption Behavior

This study addresses the research gap by exploring relationship between consumption value and ethical fashion consumption by its category

Proto-type installation of a double-station system for the optical-video-detection and orbital characterisation of a meteor/fireball in South Korea

We give a detailed description of the installation and operation of a double-station meteor detection system which formed part of a research & education project between Korea Astronomy Space Science Institute and Daejeon Science Highschool. A total of six light-sensitive CCD cameras were installed with three cameras at SOAO and three cameras at BOAO observatory. A double-station observation of a meteor event enables the determination of the three-dimensional orbit in space. This project was initiated in response to the Jinju fireball event in March 2014. The cameras were installed in October/November 2014. The two stations are identical in hardware as well as software. Each station employes sensitive Watec-902H2 cameras in combination with relatively fast f/1.2 lenses. Various fields of views were used for measuring differences in detection rates of meteor events. We employed the SonotaCo UFO software suite for meteor detection and their subsequent analysis. The system setup as well as installation/operation experience is described and first results are presented. We also give a brief overview of historic as well as recent meteor (fall) detections in South Korea. For more information please consult http://meteor.kasi.re.kr .Comment: Technical/instrumentation description of a professional meteor detection system, 23 pages, 20 figures (color/monochrome), 5 tables, submitted to the Journal of Korean Astronomical Society (JKAS, http://jkas.kas.org/, http://jkas.kas.org/history.html