Thermal-Infrared Remote Target Detection System for Maritime Rescue based on Data Augmentation with 3D Synthetic Data

This paper proposes a thermal-infrared (TIR) remote target detection system for maritime rescue using deep learning and data augmentation. We established a self-collected TIR dataset consisting of multiple scenes imitating human rescue situations using a TIR camera (FLIR). Additionally, to address dataset scarcity and improve model robustness, a synthetic dataset from a 3D game (ARMA3) to augment the data is further collected. However, a significant domain gap exists between synthetic TIR and real TIR images. Hence, a proper domain adaptation algorithm is essential to overcome the gap. Therefore, we suggest a domain adaptation algorithm in a target-background separated manner from 3D game-to-real, based on a generative model, to address this issue. Furthermore, a segmentation network with fixed-weight kernels at the head is proposed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and provide weak attention, as remote TIR targets inherently suffer from unclear boundaries. Experiment results reveal that the network trained on augmented data consisting of translated synthetic and real TIR data outperforms that trained on only real TIR data by a large margin. Furthermore, the proposed segmentation model surpasses the performance of state-of-the-art segmentation methods.Comment: 12 page

The role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people in rural areas of South Korea: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the number of studies on anti-smoking interventions has increased, studies focused on identifying social contextual factors in rural areas are scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people living in rural areas of South Korea.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study employed a cross-sectional design. Participants included 1,057 adults, with a mean age of 60.7 years, residing in rural areas. Information on participants' tobacco use, stress, social support, and social networks was collected using structured questionnaires. The chi-square test, the t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used for data analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall smoking prevalence in the study was 17.4% (men, 38.8%; women, 5.1%). Overall, stress was high among women, and social support was high among men. Smokers had high levels of social support (t = -2.90, p = .0038) and social networks (t = -2.22, p = .0271), as compared to non- and former smokers. Those in the high social support group were likely to be smokers (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.15-4.26). Women with moderate social ties were less likely to smoke (AOR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.05-0.61).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There was a protective role of a moderate social network level among women, and a high level of social support was associated with smoking behaviors in rural areas. Findings suggest the need for a comprehensive understanding of the functions and characteristics of social contextual factors including social support and social networks in order to conduct more effective anti-smoking interventions in rural areas.</p

Neuroprotective Activity of Sibjeondaebo-tang on Aβ Peptide-Induced Damages

Background. Sibjeondaebo-tang (SJDBT) has been used to treat diverse disorders including neuropsychiatric disabilities in traditional Korean medicine. Objective. The present study aims to investigate the potential effects of SJDBT on neuroprotection against Aβ peptide-induced damage using in vitro culture and in vivo rat brain systems. Materials and Methods. PC12 cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay, and neurite arborizations and caspase 3 protein signals in cultured PC12 cells and in vivo cortical neurons were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. Phospho-Erk1/2 protein was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis. Results. In PC12 cells, atrophied cell body and reduced neurite extension by Aβ treatment were recovered by SJDBT treatment. Caspase 3 protein signals were increased in Aβ-treated PC12 cells, but SJDBT treatment decreased apoptotic cell death. Caspase 3 activation in cortical neurons, which was induced similarly by Aβ treatment, was reduced by SJDBT treatment. Furthermore, phospho-Erk1/2 protein levels, which had been decreased by Aβ treatment, were elevated in the cortical neurons by SJDBT treatment. Conclusion. These data show that SJDBT may play a role in protecting from damages induced by Aβ in neuronal tissue and further suggest that SJDBT can be explored as the potential therapeutic target for AD treatments in human

4.EAFES International Congress in Mokpo, Korea

Korea Forest Research InstituteProject Number 14404021, Peport of Research Project ; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(B)(2), from April 2002 to March 2006, Edited by Muramoto,Ken-ichiroKamata, NaotoKawanishi, TakuyaKubo, MamoruLiu, JiyuanLee, Kyu-Sung , 人工衛星データ活用のための東アジアの植生調査、課題番号14404021, 平成14年度～平成17年度科学研究費補助金, 基盤研究（B)(2)研究成果報告書, 研究代表者：村本, 健一郎, 金沢大学自然科学研究科教

Long-term Results of Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty with and without Patellar Resurfacing

Among patients that underwent total knee arthroplasty from June, 1990 to January, 1999, 61 cases (44 patients) that could be followed for more than 10 years were included in this study. The patients were divided into a patellar retention group and a patellar resurfacing group, and were compared with regard to their clinical and radiological outcomes. In patients undergoing primary TKA, a selective patellar resurfacing protocol was used. The indications for patellar retention were a small patella, nearly normal articular cartilage, minimal preoperative patellofemoral pain, poor patellar bone quality, and young patient age. When patellar retention was performed, osteophytes of the patella were removed and marginal electrocauterization was carried out. There were 25 cases (20 patients) in the patellar retention group and 36 cases (29 patients) in the patellar resurfacing group. The mean follow-up period was 140.7 months in the patellar retention group and 149.0 months in the patellar resurfacing group. The selective patellar resurfacing with total knee arthroplasty had a favorable outcome;there were a significant difference noted between the 2 groups in the functional scores, which showed better outcomes in the patellar resurfacing group than in the patellar retention group

Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in a community-based population : a potential role in adult-onset asthma

Background: Recent studies suggest that Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin sensitization is a risk factor for asthma. However, there is a paucity of epidemiologic evidence on adult-onset asthma in community-based populations. Objective: We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and the clinical significance of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in community-based adult populations. Methods: The present analyses were performed using the baseline data set of Korean adult population surveys, consisting of 1080 adults (mean age=60.2years) recruited from an urban and a rural community. Questionnaires, methacholine challenge tests, and allergen skin tests were performed for defining clinical phenotypes. Sera were analysed for total IgE and enterotoxin-specific IgE using ImmunoCAP. Results: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization (0.35kU/L) had a prevalence of 27.0%. Risk factors were identified as male sex, current smoking, advanced age (61years), and inhalant allergen sensitization. Current asthma was mostly adult onset (18years old) and showed independent associations with high enterotoxin-specific IgE levels in multivariate logistic regression tests. In multivariate linear regressions, staphylococcal enterotoxin-specific IgE level was identified as the major determinant factor for total IgE level. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization was independently associated with adult-onset asthma in adult community populations. Strong correlations between the enterotoxin-specific IgE and total IgE levels support the clinical significance. The present findings warrant further studies for the precise roles of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in the asthma pathogenesis

Survey of Public Attitudes toward the Secondary Use of Public Healthcare Data in Korea

Objectives Public healthcare data have become crucial to the advancement of medicine, and recent changes in legal structure on privacy protection have expanded access to these data with pseudonymization. Recent debates on public healthcare data use by private insurance companies have shown large discrepancies in perceptions among the general public, healthcare professionals, private companies, and lawmakers. This study examined public attitudes toward the secondary use of public data, focusing on differences between public and private entities. Methods An online survey was conducted from January 11 to 24, 2022, involving a random sample of adults between 19 and 65 of age in 17 provinces, guided by the August 2021 census. Results The final survey analysis included 1,370 participants. Most participants were aware of health data collection (72.5%) and recent changes in legal structures (61.4%) but were reluctant to share their pseudonymized raw data (51.8%). Overall, they were favorable toward data use by public agencies but disfavored use by private entities, notably marketing and private insurance companies. Concerns were frequently noted regarding commercial use of data and data breaches. Among the respondents, 50.9% were negative about the use of public healthcare data by private insurance companies, 22.9% favored this use, and 1.9% were “very positive.” Conclusions This survey revealed a low understanding among key stakeholders regarding digital health data use, which is hindering the realization of the full potential of public healthcare data. This survey provides a basis for future policy developments and advocacy for the secondary use of health data

Adaptive Square-Shaped Trajectory-Based Service Location Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper we propose an adaptive square-shaped trajectory (ASST)-based service location method to ensure load scalability in wireless sensor networks. This first establishes a square-shaped trajectory over the nodes that surround a target point computed by the hash function and any user can access it, using the hash. Both the width and the size of the trajectory are dynamically adjustable, depending on the number of queries made to the service information on the trajectory. The number of sensor nodes on the trajectory varies in proportion to the changing trajectory shape, allowing high loads to be distributed around the hot spot area