The Rise Of The Machines: Robotis, A Frontier In Educational And Industrial Robots In Korea

Robot industry is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Already used in various fields, robots are replacing more and more labors. The prospects for this industry is quite bright since many countries in the world are adopting programs and policies to develop the robot markets. In this paper, we will look into a Korean venture firm that is growing together with the robot industry: ROBOTIS. Beginning with the growth story of ROBOTIS, we will analyze the business environment the firm is facing. We will also look into the main products of ROBOTIS and how they correspond with the trend of the robot industry

The Impact of Youtube on International Trade

Many researchers in the field of international business have argued that cultural proximity can positively influence bilateral trade. These researchers have attempted to develop proxy measures for cultural proximity, such as language, ethnicity, religion, and trade of cultural goods. However, the conventional measures failed to capture the time-variant characteristics of cultural affinity or digitization in international trade. As an alternative approach, in this study, we focused on cultural affinity in social media like YouTube. Based on the recent popularity of Korean pop (K-pop) on YouTube, we hypothesized that online consumption of K-pop content creates an affinity for Korea as a country, resulting in higher Korean exports. We used panel data analysis for YouTube comments on K-pop music videos that were published from the second quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2012; these comments were segregated on the basis of the users’ home countries. We found that the YouTube comments of each country in the current and previous quarters are significant predictors of Korea’s total exports and exports of consumer goods such as processed food, clothes, and cosmetics to that particular country

Exact Algorithm for the Capacitated Team Orienteering Problem with Time Windows

The capacitated team orienteering problem with time windows (CTOPTW) is a problem to determine players' paths that have the maximum rewards while satisfying the constraints. In this paper, we present the exact solution approach for the CTOPTW which has not been done in previous literature. We show that the branch-and-price (B&P) scheme which was originally developed for the team orienteering problem can be applied to the CTOPTW. To solve pricing problems, we used implicit enumeration acceleration techniques, heuristic algorithms, and ng-route relaxations

Phase II randomized trial of neoadjuvant metformin plus letrozole versus placebo plus letrozole for estrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer (METEOR)

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor has shown efficacy comparable to that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor activity. This prospective, multicenter, phase II randomized, placebo controlled trial was designed to evaluate the direct anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Methods/Design Patients meeting the inclusion criteria and providing written informed consent will be randomized to 24 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with letrozole (2.5 mg/day) and either metformin (2000 mg/day) or placebo. Target accrual number is 104 patients per arm. The primary endpoint will be clinical response rate, as measured by calipers. Secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response rate, breast conserving rate, change in Ki67 expression, breast density change, and toxicity profile. Molecular assays will be performed using samples obtained before treatment, at week 4, and postoperatively. Discussion This study will provide direct evidence of the anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic, postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT0158936

Phase II randomized trial of neoadjuvant metformin plus letrozole versus placebo plus letrozole for estrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer (METEOR)

This study is being supported by grant no 04-2012-0290 from the SNUH Research fund and by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP)(No. 2013005540). Letrozole and metformin are being supplied by the pharmaceutical company, Shin Poong Pharm. Co., Ltd.Background : Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor has shown efficacy comparable to that of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with postmenopausal breast cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin has anti-tumor activity. This prospective, multicenter, phase II randomized, placebo controlled trial was designed to evaluate the direct anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic postmenopausal women with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Methods/Design : Patients meeting the inclusion criteria and providing written informed consent will be randomized to 24 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with letrozole (2.5 mg/day) and either metformin (2000 mg/day) or placebo. Target accrual number is 104 patients per arm. The primary endpoint will be clinical response rate, as measured by calipers. Secondary endpoints include pathologic complete response rate, breast conserving rate, change in Ki67 expression, breast density change, and toxicity profile. Molecular assays will be performed using samples obtained before treatment, at week 4, and postoperatively. Discussion : This study will provide direct evidence of the anti-tumor effect of metformin in non-diabetic, postmenopausal patients with ER-positive breast cancer. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01589367Peer Reviewe

Exact Algorithm for the Capacitated Team Orienteering Problem with Time Windows

The capacitated team orienteering problem with time windows (CTOPTW) is a problem to determine players’ paths that have the maximum rewards while satisfying the constraints. In this paper, we present the exact solution approach for the CTOPTW which has not been done in previous literature. We show that the branch-and-price (B&P) scheme which was originally developed for the team orienteering problem can be applied to the CTOPTW. To solve pricing problems, we used implicit enumeration acceleration techniques, heuristic algorithms, and ng-route relaxations

Open-source-based Quality Management Software for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

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3D Bioprinting with Light Active Tissue-specific Bioink to Improve Structural Fidelity and Tissue Function

Development of tissue-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based bioinks is increasingly emerging as a next generation bioink for 3D bioprinting. However, it is associated with challenges pertaining to the fabrication of multilayered 3D bioprinted construct with structural fidelity as a result of inferior mechanical properties. Photo-crosslinking utilizing light could offer a promising and alternative strategy to enhance the mechanical properties. the visible light (> 400 nm) photoinitiators, such as ruthenium/sodium persulfate (Ru/SPS) has been investigated as a mild photoinitiator for cell printing purposes. In this study, we investigate the novel method to find proper combination of the cytocompatible visible light photoinitiators (Ru/SPS) and dECM-based bioinks for the fabrication of complexshaped 3D bioprinted constructs with high aspect ratio, improved shape fidelity, and enhanced tissue functions. Results demonstrated successful fabrication of visible light crosslinked hdECM-based constructs with improved printability. In addition, we fabricated various patterned patches for drug delivery by co-axial extrusion printing.1

Role of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 in Sonic Hedgehog-Dependent Taste Bud Differentiation

Taste bud cell differentiation is extremely important for taste sensation. Immature taste bud cells cannot function during taste perception transmission to the nerve. In this study, we investigated whether hedgehog signaling affected taste bud cell differentiation and whether transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) played a key role in dry mouth. The induction of dry mouth due to salivary gland resection (SGR) was confirmed on the basis of reduced salivation and disrupted fungiform papillae. The expression of keratin 8 (K8) of taste bud cells, neurofilament (NF), sonic hedgehog (Shh), and glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (Gli1) around taste bud cells was downregulated; however, the expression of TRPV1, P2X purinoceptor 3 (P2X3), and hematopoietic stem cell factor (c-Kit) was upregulated at the NF ends in the dry mouth group. To investigate the effect of TRPV1 defect on dry mouth, we induced dry mouth in the TRPV-/- group. The K8, NF, and P2X3 expression patterns were the same in the TRPV1 wild-type and TRPV1-/- dry mouth groups. However, Shh and c-Kit expression decreased regardless of dry mouth in the case of TRPV1 deficiency. These results indicated that TRPV1 positively regulated proliferation during taste bud cell injury by blocking the Shh/Gli1 pathway. In addition, not only cell proliferation but also differentiation of taste bud cells could not be regulated under TRPV1-deficiency conditions. Thus, TRPV1 positively regulates taste bud cell innervation and differentiation; this finding could be valuable in the clinical treatment of dry mouth-related taste dysfunction

Enhanced electron heat conduction in tas3 1d metal wire

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The 1D wire TaS3 exhibits metallic behavior at room temperature but changes into a semiconductor below the Peierls transition temperature (Tp), near 210 K. Using the 3! method, we measured the thermal conductivity k of TaS3 as a function of temperature. Electrons dominate the heat conduction of a metal. The Wiedemann–Franz law states that the thermal conductivity k of a metal is proportional to the electrical conductivity σ with a proportional coefficient of L0, known as the Lorenz number—that is, k = sL0T. Our characterization of the thermal conductivity of metallic TaS3 reveals that, at a given temperature T, the thermal conductivity σ is much higher than the value estimated in the Wiedemann–Franz (W-F) law. The thermal conductivity of metallic TaS3 was approximately 12 times larger than predicted by W-F law, implying L = 12L0. This result implies the possibility of an existing heat conduction path that the Sommerfeld theory cannot account for.11Nsciescopu