Selection Criteria for Scuba Diver\u27s Wetsuit

The purpose of this study was to assess the functional, expressive, and aesthetic attributes of wetsuits considered important by scuba divers. To identify the functional, expressive, and aesthetic attributes of wetsuits, FEA Consumer Needs Model (Lamb & Kallal, 1992) was used. Research questions examined are: (1) What are the wetsuit attributes considered important by scuba divers based on gender? (2) What are the wetsuit attributes considered important by scuba divers based on age? (3) What are the wetsuit attributes considered important by scuba divers based on scuba diving commitment level

THE ROLE OF THE N-END RULE PATHWAY IN CARDIOVASCULAR DEVELOPMENT, SIGNALING, AND HOMEOSTASIS

The N-end rule pathway relates the in vivo half-life of a protein to the identity of its N-terminal residue. The conjugation of arginine (Arg) from Arg-tRNAArg to N-terminal Asp, Glu, or Cys is a universal eukaryotic protein modification that can lead to ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of the resulting Arg-conjugated proteins through the N-end rule pathway. The mammalian ATE1 gene encodes Arg-transferase that mediates all known N-terminal arginylation reactions. ATE1-/- embryos die owing to various cardiovascular defects including ventricular hypoplasia, ventricular septal defect, and late angiogenesis. The genomewide functional proteomics previously identified a set of RGS proteins (RGS4, RGS5, and RGS16) as in vivo substrates of ATE1. These RGS proteins are important negative regulators of Gáq-activated signaling for myocardial growth and vascular maturation/integrity. In my first project, I attempted to determine the role of ATE1-dependent posttranslational arginylation in Gáq-dependent cardiac signaling. I constructed and characterized ATE1-/-GáqTg compound mutant mice, where Gáq is exclusively overexpressed in the heart from áMHC promoter. I found that while Gáq overexpression in the heart rescues significantly cardiac defects in ATE1-/- embryonic hearts, it does not cause a noticeable change in vascular defects. These results together suggest that ATE1 controls cardiac development and signaling in part through Gq-activated signaling pathways. In the second project, I generated RGS5 transgenic mouse (TG) strains overexpressing either MC-RGS5 (wild-type, short-lived) or MV-RGS5 (mutant, long-lived) from vascular smooth muscle-specific SM22á promoter to determine the physiological importance of RGS5 proteolysis in Gq signaling of VSMC. Both MC-RGS5 and MV-RGS5 mice were viable and fertile without any visible defects. However, MC-RGS5 femalevmice demonstrated impaired delivery in that newborn pups were often found dead associated with an absence of milk in their stomachs. In contrast, MV-RGS5 mice did not show this phenotype. The mis-regulated RGS5 proteolysis in MC-RGS5 mice may result in the failure in oxytocin-induced uterine and mammary gland smooth muscle contraction. In summary, my research provides an insight into the role of N-end rule pathway in cardiovascular Gq signaling

Development of Eco-VE Function for Construction

AbstractRecently accepted “Paris Agreement” has restricted the Earth temperature increase to be below 1.5 degrees Celsius contrast to previous industrialization. To follow this agreement, there should be efforts such as carbon emission reduction and eco design etc. One of these efforts is development of eco-VE function that applied eco-friendly concept on VE which is commonly used at design phase. Concept of this model includes carbon productivity concept and potential environment pollution index that reflects eco-VE function on original VE. The carbon productivity concept is a cause of production increase that offset production decrease factor depending on green-house gas reduction. The potential environment pollution index presents the possibility of environment pollution through construction phase. The carbon productivity is ‘Construction cost/Carbon emission’. The construction costs are consisted of material, equipment, labour cost and indirect expenses. Carbon emissions are calculated by emission for material production and equipment fuel consumption. The potential environment pollution index is composed of environmental pollution and conservation cost. The environmental pollution cost includes environmental damage and destruction cost. The environmental conservation cost includes environmental pollution prevention cost, waste treatment cost, environmental pollution compensation, environmental pollution test research funds and law cost

The Morphologic Assessment of Rectal Neuroendocrine Tumors

AbstractBackground and aimsThe histopathologic features of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), including size, lymphovascular invasion, invasion of proper muscle, and mitotic rate, have a limited role to play in determining a treatment plan preoperatively. We aimed to investigate the morphologic parameters associated with metastasis, and to evaluate their predictive value.MethodsBetween January 2000 and May 2011, the medical records and endoscopic findings of 468 patients presenting with rectal NETs at the Samsung Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively. All tumors were classified according to size and endoscopic features such as color, shape, contour, and surface change.ResultsTwenty-one of the 468 patients (4.5%) with rectal NETs had lymph node (LN) metastasis and 11 patients (2.4%) had distant metastasis. Risk factors for metastasis included tumor size (≥10mm in diameter), hyperemic change, polypoid lesions, irregular contours, and surface ulceration (p=0.000). Independent risk factors that were predictive of metastasis on multivariate analysis included tumor size (≥10mm in diameter), hyperemic change, and surface ulceration. As the number of independent risk factors for metastasis increased, the risk of metastasis rose.ConclusionsEndoscopic features such as hyperemic change, polypoid lesions, irregular contours, and surface ulcers with tumor size ≥10mm in diameter are associated with metastasis in rectal NETs. In particular, atypical endoscopic features including hyperemic change, and surface ulcer with tumor size ≥10mm in diameter may help to predict the risk of metastasis of rectal NETs