Simulation of wave-induced alongshore current during high waves at Haeundae beach, Korea

Strong wave-induced currents frequently develop at Haeundae Beach, Korea. Rip currents at the beach have threatened safety of swimmers in water. Near-shore currents at Haeundae Beach during a high wave time were measured on 4 June 2008 by using drogues equipped with GPS. The current field during measurement period showed westward flow along shoreline. Major driving force of the measured currents is thought to be the wave-induced force, and the tide-induced force was the second important driving force at the time. The wave-induced current field at the time is quantitatively described by using a numerical modelling system CST3D which adopts rearrangement of driving wave-induced forces, and the PESM for computation of advection terms. The computed wave-induced current field agrees reasonably well with the drogue measurements. The numerical model predicts development of rip current around the beach centre for S wave case, the result of which could be used for warning of possible rip current development at the site

Precore Mutation of Hepatitis B Virus May Contribute to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: Evidence from an Updated Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Studies focused on the correlation of mutations in the genome of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) like Pre-S mutation, Basal Core promoter (BCP), Enhancer II (EnhII), especially Precore mutation, with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have triggered stiff controversies. With an increasing number of studies in this field recently, we conducted this meta-analysis to appraise the correlations. METHODS: We searched the commonly used databases both in English and Chinese till February 1(st), 2012. Meta-analysis was performed in fixed/random-effects models using STATA 10.0. Publication bias was examined through Egger's test and Begg's funnel plot. RESULTS: In total, 85 case-control studies were included involving 16745 HBV-infected patients, of whom 5781 had HCC. Statistically significant correlations were observed in Precore mutation G1896A (OR = 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15-1.85, P(OR) = 0.002), G1899A (OR = 3.13, 95%CI = 2.38-4.13, P(OR)<0.001) and Pre-S mutation especially Pre-S1 deletion (OR = 2.94, 95%CI = 2.22 to 3.89) and Pre-S2 deletion (OR = 3.02, 95%CI = 2.03 to 4.50). Similar correlation existed between BCP double mutation A1762T/G1764A, T1753V, C1653T and HCC. In subgroup analysis, the Asians, genotype C or HBeAg positive patients with certain above mutations may be more susceptible to HCC. Besides, the mutations like G1896A and BCP double mutation may be associated with the progression of the liver diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Precore mutation G1896A, G1899A, deletions in Pre-S region as well as the other commonly seen mutations correlated with the increased risk of HCC, especially in Asians and may predict the progression of the liver disease

A fast and low-power microelectromechanical system-based non-volatile memory device

Several new generation memory devices have been developed to overcome the low performance of conventional silicon-based flash memory. In this study, we demonstrate a novel non-volatile memory design based on the electromechanical motion of a cantilever to provide fast charging and discharging of a floating-gate electrode. The operation is demonstrated by using an electromechanical metal cantilever to charge a floating gate that controls the charge transport through a carbon nanotube field-effect transistor. The set and reset currents are unchanged after more than 11 h constant operation. Over 500 repeated programming and erasing cycles were demonstrated under atmospheric conditions at room temperature without degradation. Multinary bit programming can be achieved by varying the voltage on the cantilever. The operation speed of the device is faster than a conventional flash memory and the power consumption is lower than other memory devices

Augmented Mechanical Forces of the Surface-Modified Nanoporous Acupuncture Needles Elicit Enhanced Analgesic Effects

Over the past several decades, clinical studies have shown significant analgesic effects of acupuncture. The efficacy of acupuncture treatment has improved with the recent development of nanoporous needles (PN), which are produced by modifying the needle surface using nanotechnology. Herein, we showed that PN at acupoint ST36 produces prolonged analgesic effects in an inflammatory pain model; the analgesic effects of PN acupuncture were sustained over 2 h, while those using a conventional needle (CN) lasted only 30 min. In addition, the PN showed greater therapeutic effects than CN after 10 acupuncture treatments once per day for 10 days. We explored how the porous surface of the PN contributes to changes in local tissue, which may in turn result in enhanced analgesic effects. We showed that the PN has greater rotational torque and pulling force than the CN, particularly at acupoints ST36 and LI11, situated on thick muscle layers. Additionally, in ex vivo experiments, the PN showed greater winding of subcutaneous connective tissues and muscle layers. Our results suggest that local mechanical forces are augmented by the PN and its nanoporous surface, contributing to the enhanced and prolonged analgesic effects of PN acupuncture.1

A Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiment Using J-PARC Neutrino Beam and Hyper-Kamiokande

Document submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresDocument submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresDocument submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresHyper-Kamiokande will be a next generation underground water Cherenkov detector with a total (fiducial) mass of 0.99 (0.56) million metric tons, approximately 20 (25) times larger than that of Super-Kamiokande. One of the main goals of Hyper-Kamiokande is the study of $CP$ asymmetry in the lepton sector using accelerator neutrino and anti-neutrino beams. In this document, the physics potential of a long baseline neutrino experiment using the Hyper-Kamiokande detector and a neutrino beam from the J-PARC proton synchrotron is presented. The analysis has been updated from the previous Letter of Intent [K. Abe et al., arXiv:1109.3262 [hep-ex]], based on the experience gained from the ongoing T2K experiment. With a total exposure of 7.5 MW $\times$ 10$^7$ sec integrated proton beam power (corresponding to $1.56\times10^{22}$ protons on target with a 30 GeV proton beam) to a $2.5$-degree off-axis neutrino beam produced by the J-PARC proton synchrotron, it is expected that the $CP$ phase $\delta_{CP}$ can be determined to better than 19 degrees for all possible values of $\delta_{CP}$, and $CP$ violation can be established with a statistical significance of more than $3\,\sigma$ ($5\,\sigma$) for $76$ ($58$) of the $\delta_{CP}$ parameter space

Stilbene derivatives promote Ago2-dependent tumour-suppressive microRNA activity

It is well known that natural products are a rich source of compounds for applications in medicine, pharmacy, and biology. However, the exact molecular mechanisms of natural agents in human health have not been clearly defined. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that the polyphenolic phytoalexin resveratrol promotes expression and activity of Argonaute2 (Ago2), a central RNA interference (RNAi) component, which thereby inhibits breast cancer stem-like cell characteristics by increasing the expression of a number of tumour-suppressive miRNAs, including miR-16, -141, -143, and -200c. Most importantly, resveratrol-induced Ago2 resulted in a long-term gene silencing response. We also found that pterostilbene, which is a natural dimethylated resveratrol analogue, is capable of mediating Ago2-dependent anti-cancer activity in a manner mechanistically similar to that of resveratrol. These findings suggest that the dietary intake of natural products contributes to the prevention and treatment of diseases by regulating the RNAi pathway

Technology-assisted training of arm-hand skills in stroke: concepts on reacquisition of motor control and therapist guidelines for rehabilitation technology design

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is the purpose of this article to identify and review criteria that rehabilitation technology should meet in order to offer arm-hand training to stroke patients, based on recent principles of motor learning.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature search was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE (1997–2007).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred and eighty seven scientific papers/book references were identified as being relevant. Rehabilitation approaches for upper limb training after stroke show to have shifted in the last decade from being analytical towards being focussed on environmentally contextual skill training (task-oriented training). Training programmes for enhancing motor skills use patient and goal-tailored exercise schedules and individual feedback on exercise performance. Therapist criteria for upper limb rehabilitation technology are suggested which are used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a number of current technological systems.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This review shows that technology for supporting upper limb training after stroke needs to align with the evolution in rehabilitation training approaches of the last decade. A major challenge for related technological developments is to provide engaging patient-tailored task oriented arm-hand training in natural environments with patient-tailored feedback to support (re) learning of motor skills.</p

Health-related quality of life of patients following selected types of lumbar spinal surgery: A pilot study

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Anesthetic Propofol Reduces Endotoxic Inflammation by Inhibiting Reactive Oxygen Species-regulated Akt/IKKβ/NF-κB Signaling

BACKGROUND: Anesthetic propofol has immunomodulatory effects, particularly in the area of anti-inflammation. Bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces inflammation through toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 signaling. We investigated the molecular actions of propofol against LPS/TLR4-induced inflammatory activation in murine RAW264.7 macrophages. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Non-cytotoxic levels of propofol reduced LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and NO as determined by western blotting and the Griess reaction, respectively. Propofol also reduced the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Western blot analysis showed propofol inhibited LPS-induced activation and phosphorylation of IKKβ (Ser180) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB (Ser536); the subsequent nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 was also reduced. Additionally, propofol inhibited LPS-induced Akt activation and phosphorylation (Ser473) partly by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation; inter-regulation that ROS regulated Akt followed by NF-κB activation was found to be crucial for LPS-induced inflammatory responses in macrophages. An in vivo study using C57BL/6 mice also demonstrated the anti-inflammatory properties against LPS in peritoneal macrophages. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that propofol reduces LPS-induced inflammatory responses in macrophages by inhibiting the interconnected ROS/Akt/IKKβ/NF-κB signaling pathways