국내 논필지 모니터링 자료를 이용한 APEX-paddy 모델 적용성 평가

APEX 모형은 다양한 영농 활동의 토양과 물환경에 대한 영향을 필지 및 유역 규모로 평가하기 위해 개발된 모형이다. 최근 APEX의 주요기작을 바탕으로 논에서의 수도작 운영에 따른 물수지, 양분 유출에 대한 모의가 가능하도록 한 APEX-Paddy가 고안된 바 있다. 본연구에서는 익산 지역의 논 시험포 모니터링 자료를 이용하여 APEX-Paddy 모형의 적용성을 평가하고자 하였다. 2013년과 2014년의 논유출량과 부하량 자료를 수집하고 자동보정 툴 APEX-CUTE 4.1과 추가적 수동보정을 통해 모형의 모의성능을 검토하고 한계점을고찰하였다. 연구결과, 논의 물수지와 질소 배출부하량은 대체로 합리적인 수준의 모의성능을 보이는 한편 유사량과 인 배출부하량 모의에있어 논의 담수상태 유사배출 기작에 대한 고려가 미흡하여 모의성능에 한계가 있는 것으로 분석되었으며 원인에 대해 고찰하였다. 더불어자동보정 툴의 적용에 있어 매개변수 민감도를 바탕으로 한 수동보정 결과보다 정확도가 다소 떨어지는 경향을 보여 그 활용에 유의가필요한 것으로 판단되었다. The APEX model has been developed for assessing agricultural management efforts and their effects on soil and water at the field scale as well asmore complex multi-subarea landscapes, whole farms, and watersheds. Recently, a key component of APEX application, named APEX-Paddy, hasbeen modified for simulating water quality by considering paddy rice management practices. In this study, the performance of the APEX-Paddy modelwas evaluated using field data at Iksan experimental paddy sites in Korea. The discharge and pollutant load data during 2013 and 2014 were usedto both manually and automatically calibrate the model. The APEX auto-calibration tool (APEX-CUTE 4.1) was used for model calibration andsensitivity analysis. Results indicate that APEX-Paddy reasonably performs in predicting runoff discharge rate and nitrogen yield. However, sedimentand phosphorus yield is not correctly predicted due to the limitation of model schemes. With APEX-Paddy, the performance in reproducing thedischarge and nitrogen yield is found to be a satisfactory level after manual calibration. The manually calibrated model performed better than theautomatically calibrated model in nearly all comparisons. For runoff, manual calibration reduced PBIAS while R2 and NSE values of the automaticallycalibrated model were the same as the manual calibration. For T-N, NSE and PBIAS were reduced when using manual calibration, whereas R2 valuewas the same as manual calibration. The limitation of the APEX-Paddy model for predicting sediment, as well as the phosphorous yield, was discussedin this study.N

Changes of Alpha1-Antitrypsin Levels in Allergen-induced Nasal Inflammation

ObjectivesAlpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) is the main inhibitor of human neutrophil elastase, and plays a role in counteracting the tissue damage caused by elastase in local inflammatory conditions. The study evaluated the involvement of AAT in nasal allergic inflammation.MethodsForty subjects with mono-sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) were enrolled. Twenty allergic rhinitis patients frequently complained of nasal symptoms such as rhinorrhea, stuffiness, sneezing, and showed positive responses to the nasal provocation test (NPT) with Dpt (Group I). The other 20 asymptomatic patients showed sensitization to Dpt but negative NPT (Group II). The levels of AAT, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and Dpt-specific IgA antibodies were measured in the nasal lavage fluids (NLFs), collected at baseline, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 3 hours, and 6 hours after the NPT. Nasal mucosa AAT expression was evaluated with immunohistochemical staining from Group I and Group II.ResultsAt baseline, only the Dpt-specific IgA level was significantly increased in the NLFs of Group I compared with Group II, while ECP and AAT levels were not significantly different between two groups. After Dpt provocation, AAT, ECP, and Dpt-specific IgA levels were significantly increased in the NLFs of Group I during the early and late responses. The protein expression level of AAT was mostly found in the infiltrating inflammatory cells of the nasal mucosa, which was significantly increased in Group I compared to Group II.ConclusionThe increment of AAT showed a close relationship with the activation of eosinophils induced by allergen-specific IgA in the NLFs of patients with allergic rhinitis after allergen stimulation. These findings implicate AAT in allergen-induced nasal inflammation

Molecular diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis by multi-gene target sequencing in Korea: matching with osmotic fragility test and presence of spherocyte

Background Current diagnostic tests for hereditary spherocytosis (HS) focus on the detection of hemolysis or indirectly assessing defects of membrane protein, whereas direct methods to detect protein defects are complicated and difficult to implement. In the present study, we investigated the patterns of genetic variation associated with HS among patients clinically diagnosed with HS. Methods Multi-gene targeted sequencing of 43 genes (17 RBC membrane protein-encoding genes, 20 RBC enzyme-encoding genes, and six additional genes for the differential diagnosis) was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform. Results Among 59 patients with HS, 50 (84.7%) had one or more significant variants in a RBC membrane protein-encoding genes. A total of 54 significant variants including 46 novel mutations were detected in six RBC membrane protein-encoding genes, with the highest number of variants found in SPTB (n = 28), and followed by ANK1 (n = 19), SLC4A1 (n = 3), SPTA1 (n = 2), EPB41 (n = 1), and EPB42 (n = 1). Concurrent mutations of genes encoding RBC enzymes (ALDOB, GAPDH, and GSR) were detected in three patients. UGT1A1 mutations were present in 24 patients (40.7%). Positive rate of osmotic fragility test was 86.8% among patients harboring HS-related gene mutations. Conclusions This constitutes the first large-scaled genetic study of Korean patients with HS. We demonstrated that multi-gene target sequencing is sensitive and feasible that can be used as a powerful tool for diagnosing HS. Considering the discrepancies of clinical and molecular diagnoses of HS, our findings suggest that molecular genetic analysis is required for accurate diagnosis of HS.Support was provided by: the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (NRF-2017R1A2A1A17069780) http://www.nrf.re.kr/

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

Simulating the Effects of Agricultural Management on Water Quality Dynamics in Rice Paddies for Sustainable Rice Production—Model Development and Validation

The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model is widely used for evaluating agricultural conservation efforts and their effects on soil and water. A key component of APEX application in Korea is simulating the water quality impacts of rice paddies because rice agriculture claims the largest cropland area in the country. In this study, a computational module called APEX-Paddy (National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wanju, Korea) is developed to simulate water quality with considering pertinent paddy management practices, such as puddling and flood irrigation management. Data collected at two experimental paddy sites in Korea were used to calibrate and validate the model. Results indicate that APEX-Paddy performs well in predicting runoff discharge rate and nitrogen yield while the original APEX highly overestimates runoff rates and nitrogen yields on large storm events. With APEX-Paddy, simulated and observed flow and mineral nitrogen yield (QN) are found to be highly correlated after calibration (Nash &amp; Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) = 0.87 and Percent Bias (PBIAS) = −14.6% for flow; NSE = 0.68 and PBIAS = 2.1% for QN). Consequently, the APEX-Paddy showed a greater accuracy in flow and QN prediction than the original APEX modeling practice using the SCS-CN (Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number) method

Pathological gambling in motion pictures; A systematic review

Background: The aim of this study is to analyze the movies of pathologic gambling from comprehensive samples.Methods: Movies (all 102 titles) related to gambling were collected by keyword search in IMDB (International Movie Database, www.imdb.com). Among them, 16 titles were selected in which the storyline was directly related to gambling, gambling scene was exposed in individual plots, and the result of gambling influenced the development of storyline. The films were reviewed and analyzed.Results: Protagonists were all males. The reasons why they first started gambling were mostly by temptation (46%). Purpose of their gambling act was to get rich (81%). Most of the gambling sites were casino (31%) or gambling house (25%). Most frequent type of gambling was poker (40%), followed by black jack (13%) and sports gambling (13%). Most of the gambling (63%) was illegal. In 56%, the gaming was temperate and the 42% was impulsive. In 67%, protagonist followed the gambling rule, but in 33%, he ran crooked gambling. In 57%, protagonist did not have any particular advantageous skill for gambling. In 2/3, the protagonist lost the game, won in 1/3. The protagonist was regretful for his gambling act in 45%. In 12 titles of 14 titles, 6 protagonist become happy irrespective of the result (2 win, 4 lose), but 6 became unhappy (1 win, 5 lose) (Odds ratio=2.5).Conclusion: How these people perceive ‘gambling’, from the exposed media information may be different from reality. We hope the result of this study might be helpful in education of gambling addicts.</p