Effect of time-varying flow-shear on the nonlinear stability of the boundary of magnetized toroidal plasmas

We propose a phenomenological yet general model in a form of extended complex Ginzburg-Landau equation to understand edge-localized modes (ELMs), a class of quasi-periodic fluid instabilities in the boundary of toroidal magnetized high-temperature plasmas. The model reproduces key dynamical features of the ELMs (except the final explosive relaxation stage) observed in the high-confinement state plasmas on the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research: quasi-steady states characterized by field-aligned filamentary eigenmodes, transitions between different quasi-steady eigenmodes, and rapid transition to non-modal filamentary structure prior to the relaxation. It is found that the inclusion of time-varying perpendicular sheared flow is crucial for reproducing all of the observed dynamical features

Bone regeneration potential of sub-microfibrous membranes with osteogenic induction of rBMSC for tissue engineering

Purpose: To examine the biocompatibility and osteoinductive potential of  sub-microfibrous membranes with cells in vitro and in vivo.Methods: Polylactic acid (PLA) and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) were blended at various volume ratios (PLA:PCL = 100:0, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70 and 0:100) and each membrane form was prepared by electrospinning. Cell viability,  biocompatibility, and bone regeneration were measured.Results: The membranes from the PLA/PCL blends prepared by an electrospinning process showed a range of diameter distribution ranging from 1,580 to 550 nm. The cells of 100 % PCL membrane (smallest diameter) exhibited significantly higher adhesion and proliferation than those of the other membranes. Among the  membranes from PLA/PCL blends, PCL membrane showed weak inflammatory changes in the early stages of implantation without acute or chronic inflammation. PCL membranes with osteogenically-induced cells successfully stimulated new bone formation in a rate calvarial defect model.Conclusion: The results indicate that biodegradable PCL sub-microfibrous membrane produced by electrospinning process seems to have excellent biocompatibility, and may be used as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering.Keywords: Biocompatibility, Hard tissue, Biomaterial availability, Bone remodeling, Polylactic acid, Poly-ε-caprolactone, Osteoinductive potential, Sub-microfibrous membrane

Aortic Dissection and Rupture in a Child

After developing sudden severe chest pain, an 11-year-old boy presented to the emergency room with chest pain and palpitations and was unable to stand up. The sudden onset of chest pain was first reported while swimming at school about 30 minutes prior to presentation. Arterial blood pressure (BP) was 150/90 mmHg, heart rate was 120/minute, and the chest pain was combined with shortness of breath and diaphoresis. During the evaluation in the emergency room, the chest pain worsened and abdominal pain developed. An aortic dissection was suspected and a chest and abdomen CT was obtained. The diagnosis of aortic dissection type B was established by CT imaging. The patient went to surgery immediately with BP control. He died prior to surgery due to aortic rupture. Here we present this rare case of aortic dissection type B with rupture, reported in an 11-year-old Korean child

Physician Compliance with Nutrition Support Team Recommendations: Effects on the Outcome of Treatment for Critically Ill Patients

Purpose Attending physicians in Korea are aware of the existence of the Nutrition Support Team (NST), but even when the NST are consulted, compliance with their recommendations may be low. This study was performed to identify physicians’ compliance with the NST advice and how this affected the outcome of treatment for critically ill patients. Methods This study was a retrospective observational study. Critically ill patients who were older than 18 years, younger than 90 years, and had been admitted and managed in the intensive care unit were selected for this study. Patients were assigned to either the compliance group or the non-compliance group according to physician compliance with the NST advice. Each group were compared using variables such as calorie supply, protein supply, laboratory findings, hospital stay, 30-day mortality, and survival rate. Results The compliance group (81% of cases) was supplied with a significantly higher energy (1,146.36 ± 473.45 kcal vs. 832.45 ± 364.28 kcal, p < 0.01) and a significantly higher protein (55.00 ± 22.30 g/day vs. 42.98 ± 24.46 g/day, p = 0.04) compared with the non-compliance group. There was no significant difference in the basic demographics between groups, although the compliance group had a better outcome in the 30-day mortality rate (8% vs. 26%, p = 0.02), and in survival beyond 1 year (Crude model, hazard ratio: 2.42, CI: 1.11–5.29). Conclusion Critically ill patients whose attending physician complied with the NST advice, received an increased energy intake and supply of protein which was positively associated with survival

Organ aging signatures in the plasma proteome track health and disease

Animal studies show aging varies between individuals as well as between organs within an individua

The Korean urban rural elderly cohort study: study design and protocol

BACKGROUND: Korea is one of the fastest aging countries and is expected to become a super-aged society within 12 years. The Korean Urban Rural Elderly (KURE) study was developed to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics and establish the prevention and management of major disorders of the elderly in Korea. METHODS/DESIGN: The KURE study is a community-based prospective cohort study on health, aging, and common geriatric disorders of Korean elderly persons aged at least 65 years. To construct a cohort reflecting both urban and rural areas, we selected 2 representative communities in the country. To establish multidisciplinary approaches to geriatric health, this study was performed by researchers in the divisions of geriatrics, preventive medicine, endocrinology, and sociology. The baseline examinations began in 2012; the study will follow more than 4,000 elderly Koreans over 10 years. The first and second follow-up health examinations will be performed every 4 years. Every 2 years after each health examination, inter-assessment interview will be conducted to improve participant retention. DISCUSSION: The KURE study will provide longitudinal epidemiologic data on health, aging, and common geriatric disorders of the elderly in Korea. This is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary study of the elderly with respect to biological, physical, socio-economic, and environmental factors. The results of this study will contribute to improve public health and welfare policies for the aging society in Korea

Electrical current suppression in Pd-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires caused by reduction in PdO due to hydrogen exposure

Pd nanoparticle-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires (Pd-VONs) were synthesized. Electrical current suppression was observed when the Pd-VON was exposed to hydrogen gas, which cannot be explained by the work function changes mentioned in previous report such as Pd-doped carbon nanotubes and SnO 2 nanowires. Using the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we found that the reduction in PdO due to hydrogen exposure plays an important role in the current suppression of the Pd-VON.open4

Who Are Less Likely to Receive Subsequent Chemotherapy Beyond First-Line Therapy for Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer?: Implications for Selection of Patients for Maintenance Therapy

BackgroundProspective studies have implied that maintenance therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has its effect by giving active drugs earlier to patients who otherwise die without receiving second-line therapy. The purpose of this study was to select patients with NSCLC who could most benefit from maintenance therapy, by evaluating which patients would be less likely to receive second-line therapy.MethodsClinicopathologic data of patients with advanced NSCLC who received four cycles of first-line chemotherapy followed by time-off therapy and eventual disease progression or death were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were grouped into ones with first-line therapy only or ones with more than first-line therapy. Clinical characteristics between the two groups were compared.ResultsA total of 271 patients were eligible for analysis, and 39 patients (14.4%) received only first-line therapy. Patients significantly more likely to receive only first-line therapy had performance status of two or three after first-line therapy, large volume of initial target lesions (sum of long diameters ≥70 mm), or smaller decrease in target lesions (decrease <20%) after first-line therapy. Median overall survival of the 143 patients (52.8%) with at least one of these characteristics (16.3 months) was significantly shorter than that of patients without any of these characteristics (23.5 months, p = 0.007).ConclusionMaintenance therapy may be of greater benefit to patients with NSCLC who have clinical characteristics including poor performance status after first-line therapy, large initial target lesions, or smaller decrease in target lesions after first-line therapy