Background: Transit-time flow measurement (TTFM) is frequently used to evaluate intraoperative quality control during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Although TTFM has the ability to assess graft failure intraoperatively, the perioperative factors affecting TTFM during CABG surgery remain poorly understood. Methods: Patients who underwent CABG surgery at a single institution between July 2016 and May 2018 were prospectively evaluated. Patients’ demographic characteristics, previous medical history, Euroscore, the results of preoperative blood tests, and intraoperative data were recorded. TTFM and blood viscosity were measured hemodynamically, and mean flow (mL/min) and pulsatility index (PI) were recorded. Arterial blood gas was analyzed immediately after anastomosis of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to the left descending artery (LAD) and before sternal closure. Factors associated with TTFM were assessed by multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Of the 62 patients who underwent CABG surgery during the study period, 57 were evaluated, including 49 who underwent off-pump and eight who underwent on-pump surgery. Blood viscosity was not significantly associated with TTFM (p > 0.05). However, TTFM was significantly associated with body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, and cardiac index (p < 0.05 each). Conclusions: Blood viscosity was not significantly associated with intraoperative graft flow. Blood flow of graft vessels, however, was significantly associated with BMI, systolic blood pressure, and cardiac index.

Underwater image often exhibit detail blurring and color distortion due to light scattering, impurities, and other influences, obscuring essential textures and details. This presents a challenge for existing super-resolution techniques in identifying and extracting effective features, making high-quality reconstruction difficult. This research aims to innovate underwater image super-resolution technology to tackle this challenge. Initially, an underwater image degradation model was created by integrating random subsampling, Gaussian blur, mixed noise, and suspended particle simulation to generate a highly realistic synthetic dataset, thereby training the network to adapt to various degradation factors. Subsequently, to enhance the network's capability to extract key features, improvements were made based on the symmetrically structured Blind Super-Resolution Generative Adversarial Network (BSRGAN) model architecture. An attention mechanism based on energy functions was introduced within the generator to assess the importance of each pixel, and a weighted fusion strategy of adversarial loss, reconstruction loss, and perceptual loss was utilized to improve the quality of image reconstruction. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieved significant improvements in Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Underwater Image Quality Measure (UIQM) by 0.85 dB and 0.19, respectively, significantly enhancing the visual perception quality and indicating its feasibility in super-resolution applications.

Patients undergoing dialysis through a permanent catheter often experience infection or malfunction. However, few studies have clarified the predictors of permanent catheter patency survival in patients undergoing hemodialysis. We assessed the relationship between parameters of body composition monitoring (BCM) determined before the initiation of dialysis and the patency survival of the permanent catheters inserted in 179 patients who commenced hemodialysis between January 14, 2020 and August 31, 2021. The relationships between permanent catheter patency at 6 weeks and BCM parameters, laboratory tests, age, sex, comorbidities, and medications at baseline were studied using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Permanent catheter patency was observed to be superior at high extracellular-to-intracellular (ECW/ICW) ratio (P<0.005). After adjustment for covariates, the ECW/ICW ratio remained an independent factor associated with permanent catheter patency survival. When patients with non-patent catheters were subdivided into infection and malfunction groups, and the associations of BCM parameters were evaluated in those groups, the ECW/ICW ratio was not significantly associated with permanent catheter patency survival in the infection group (P = 0.327); instead, a significant association was found for the lean tissue index (P<0.001). In the malfunction group, the ECW/ICW ratio remained significantly associated with permanent catheter patency survival (P < 0.001).

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibrotic lung disease with a poor prognosis. Pirfenidone is approved and widely used for the treatment of IPF and reduces lung function decline. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of different doses of pirfenidone for the prevention of disease progression in patients with IPF. Methods: This was a prospective, observational, single-center cohort study conducted in Haeundae Paik Hospital, Republic of Korea, from April 2021 to March 2023. IPF patients were assigned to three groups according to the dose of pirfenidone (600mg, 1,200mg, 1,800mg). The primary endpoint was the efficacy of pirfenidone according to dose for the prevention of disease progression over 12 months. The secondary endpoint was the role of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) in predicting disease progression. Results: A total of 44 patients were enrolled, of whom 39 completed the study, with 13 patients assigned to each of the three groups. The median age was 71.7 years, and 79.5% of patients were men. The baseline characteristics were similar across groups, except the 600mg group was older (75.9 vs. 69.2 vs. 68.2 years, p = 0.016). Fourteen patients (35.9%) suffered disease progression. The rate of disease progression did not differ according to the dose of pirfenidone (38.5 vs. 38.5 vs. 30.8%, p = 1.000). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, KL-6 was not a statistically significant predictor of disease progression. Conclusions: In our study, regardless of dose, consistent pirfenidone use for 12 months resulted in similar efficacy for the prevention of disease progression in patients with IPF. Large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed.

Microbubbles and nanobubbles can be prepared using various shells, such as phospholipids, polymers, proteins, and surfactants. They are echogenic and can be used as contrast agents for ultrasonic and photoacoustic imaging. These bubbles can be engineered in various sizes as vehicles for gas and drug delivery applications with novel properties and flexible structures. Hypoxic areas in tumors develop owing to an imbalance of oxygen supply and demand. In tumors, hypoxic regions have shown more resistance to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and photodynamic therapies. The efficacy of photodynamic therapy depends on the availability of oxygen in the tumor to generate reactive oxygen species. Micro/nanobubbles have been shown to reverse hypoxic conditions and increase tissue oxygen levels. This review summarizes the synthesis methods and shell compositions of micro/nanobubbles and methods deployed for oxygen delivery. In addition, the shortcomings and prospects of engineering micro/nanobubbles are discussed for their potential use in photodynamic therapy.

Febrile seizure (FS), which occurs as a response to fever, is the most common seizure that occurs in infants and young children. FS is usually accompanied by diverse neuropsychiatric symptoms including impaired social behaviors; however, no causative link between FS and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has yet been established. Here, we provide evidence linking FS occurrence with ASD pathogenesis in rats. We developed an FS juvenile rats model and found ASD-like abnormal behaviors including deficits in social novelty, repetitive behaviors, and hyperlocomotion. In addition, FS model juvenile rats showed enhanced levels of gliosis and inflammation in the hippocampal CA2 region and cerebellum. Furthermore, abnormal levels of social and repetitive behaviors persisted in adults FS model rats. These findings suggest that occurrence of FS in infants can cause behavioral endophenotypes of ASD.

As symbionts of fungi and algae, lichens produce a variety of secondary products which pharmacological activities. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory activities of Heterodermia hypoleuca and its main compound, atraric acid. The results confirmed that atraric acid could regulating induced pro-inflammatory cytokine, nitric oxide, induced nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Means while, atraric acid down-regulated expression of phosphorylated IκB, ERK and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signaling pathway to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Based on these results, the anti-inflammatory effect of atraric acid during LPS-induced endotoxin shock in a mouse model was confirmed. In the atraric acid treated-group, cytokine production was decreased in the peritoneum and serum, and each organ damaged by LPS-stimulation was recovered. These results show that atraric acid has an anti-inflammatory effect and its molecular mechanism may be involved in the inactivation of the ERK/NFκB signaling pathway, demonstrating its value as a potential therapeutic for inflammatory diseases.

In South Korea, demolition waste (DW) management has become increasingly significant owing to the rising number of old buildings. Effective DW management requires an efficient approach that accurately quantifies and predicts the generation of DW (DWG) of various types, which necessitates access to the required information or technology capable of achieving this. Hence, we developed an artificial intelligence-based model that predicts the generation of ten DW types, specifically from buildings in redevelopment areas. We used an artificial neural network algorithm with < 10 neurons in the hidden layer to derive individual input variables and optimal hyperparameters for each DW type. All DWG prediction models achieved an average validation and test prediction performance (R²) of 0.970 and 0.952, respectively, with their ratios of percent deviation ≥ 2.5, ver-ifying them as excellent models. Moreover, a Shapley additive explanations analysis revealed that DWG was most impacted by the floor area for all the DW types, with a positive correlation with DWG. Conversely, other factors showed either a positive or negative correlation with DWG de-pending on the DW type. The study findings will enable demolition companies and local gov-ernments in making informed decisions for efficient DW management and resource allocation by accurately predicting the generation of various types of DW.

Previously, we demonstrated that IR triggers the invasion/migration of A549 cells via activation of an EGFR–p38/ERK–STAT3/CREB-1–EMT pathway. Here, we have demonstrated the involvement of a novel intracellular signaling mechanism in γ-ionizing radiation (IR)-induced migration/invasion. Expression of receptor-interacting protein (RIP) 1 was initially increased upon exposure of A549, a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line, to IR. IR-induced RIP1 is located downstream of EGFR and involved in the expression/activity of matrix metalloproteases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and vimentin, suggesting a role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Our experiments showed that IR-induced RIP1 sequentially induces Src-STAT3-EMT to promote invasion/migration. Inhibition of RIP1 kinase activity and expression blocked induction of EMT by IR and suppressed the levels and activities of MMP-2, MMP-9, and vimentin. IR-induced RIP1 activation was additionally associated with stimulation of the transcriptional factor NF-κB. Specifically, exposure to IR triggered NF-κB activation and inhibition of NF-κB suppressed IR-induced RIP1 expression followed by a decrease in invasion/migration as well as EMT. Based on the collective results, we propose that IR concomitantly activates EGFR and NF-κB and subsequently triggers the RIP1–Src/STAT3–EMT pathway, ultimately promoting metastasis.

(1) Background: The analysis of athletic performance has always aroused great interest from sport scientist. This study utilized machine learning methods to build predictive models using a comprehensive CrossFit (CF) dataset, aiming to reveal valuable insights into the factors influencing performance and emerging trends.; (2) Methods: The study used Random Forest (RF) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models to predict performance in four key weightlifting exercises within CF: clean &amp; jerk, snatch, back squat, and deadlift. Performance was evaluated using R-squared (R2) values and Mean Squared Error (MSE). Feature importance analysis was conducted using RF, XGBoost, and AdaBoost models.; (3) Results: The RF model excelled in deadlift performance prediction (R2 = 0.80), while the MLR model demonstrated remarkable accuracy in clean &amp; jerk (R2 = 0.93). Across exercises, clean &amp; jerk consistently emerged as a crucial predictor. The feature importance analysis revealed intricate relationships among exercises, with gender significantly impacting deadlift performance.; (4) Conclusions: This research advances our understanding of performance prediction in CF through machine learning techniques. It provides actionable insights for practitioners, optimize performance, and demonstrates the potential for future advancements in data-driven sports analytics.

This study emphasizes the necessity of introducing a blockchain-based joint logistics system to strengthen the competency of medical supply chain management (SCM) and tries to develop a healthcare supply chain management (HSCM) competency measurement item through an analytic hierarchy process. The variables needed for using blockchain-based joint logistics are the performance expectations, effort expectations, promotion conditions, and social impact of the UTAUT model, and the HSCM competency results in increased reliability and transparency, enhanced SCM, and enhanced scalability. Word cloud results, analyzing the most important considerations to realize work efficiency among medical industry-related agencies, mentioned numerous words, including sudden situations, delivery, technology trust, information sharing, effectiveness, urgency, etc. This might imply the need to establish a system that can respond immediately to emergency situations during holidays. It could also suggest the importance of real-time information sharing to increase the efficiency of inventory management. Therefore, there is a need of a business model that can increase the visibility of real-time medical SCM through big data analysis. By analyzing the importance of securing reliability based on the blockchain technology in the establishment of a supply chain network for HSCM competency, we reveal that joint logistics can be achieved and synergistic effects can be created by implementing the integrated database to secure HSCM competency. Strengthening partnerships, such as joint logistics, will eventually lead to HSCM competency. In particular, HSCM should seek ways to upgrade its competitive capabilities through big data analysis based on the establishment of a joint logistics system.

In this paper, we investigate the recently introduced degenerate Bernstein polynomials and operators and derive some of their properties. Also, we give some properties of the degenerate Euler numbers and polynomials and their connection with the degenerate Euler polynomials.

Halide perovskite materials gain enormous attention for their semiconducting properties, higher power conversion efficiency and potential applications in a wide range field of studies along with their two key limitations: stability and toxicity. In spite of great progress made on the halide perovskites and many promising research developments, overcoming these limitations is not realized yet. Therefore, coordination engineering of new framework for obtaining alternative new halide perovskite materials and fundamental understanding of the coordination chemistry and electronic interactions forming the structure of these newly engineered halide perovskite materials might be one way in order to overcome the issues related to both stability and toxicity. In this review, the current development of halide perovskite families, both lead halide perovskites and lead free halide perovskites followed by coordination engineering of the new frameworks to engineer new halide perovskite materials will be reviewed comprehensively. Moreover, all the concerns of the fundamental ideas of coordination chemistry and electronic interactions that are keys in forming the halide perovskite structures are discussed in detail and form the main aim of this review. Interestingly, we also discuss recent potential energy applications beyond photovoltaic and this review has completed with an essential and open question: ‘what could happen in the future of halide perovskites?’ in order to excite commercial enterprises and research institutions again as well as to get motivating new predictions on the future continuity of this field.

The chelating aluminum complex [2-(Me2NCH2)C2B10H10]AlX2 (X = Br 3, CH3 4) was synthesized using 2-dimethylaminomethyl-o-carboranyl lithium (2) with aluminum tribromide or dimethylaluminum bromide, resulting in a modest yield. Compound 4 was obtained by reacting compound 3 with CH3Li in toluene. All compounds were characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, 1H, 11B, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography. X-ray structural studies of CabNAlBr2 (3) and CabNAlMe2 (4) indicated that the Al atom was located at the center of a distorted tetrahedron. Crystal structures of the CabNAlBr2 (3) [a = 8.9360(3) Å, b = 12.0358(9) Å, c = 14.7730(4) Å, α = β = γ = 90°] and the CabNAlMe2 (4) [a = 8.9551(3) Å, b = 11.9126(9) Å, c = 14.7711(4) Å, α = β = γ = 90°] were obtained. The reactivity of aluminum complexes 3 and 4 with Lewis bases, such as H2O, pyridine, alkylamines, and arylamines, confirmed their rapid decomposition.

Rice bran (RB) is a promising food ingredient that can improve biological function. In this study, we investigated the effects of RB, both unfermented (RB30) and fermented (RBF30) with five different microorganisms on the neurobehavioral activity in zebrafish larvae. Analytical methods such as UV spectrum and MS scan were performed. Interestingly, niacin content, which is known to improve brain functions such as cognition and emotion, was found to be higher in RBF30 than in RB30. Furthermore, niacin content was highly increased in the RBF30-exposed fish, compared to those in control fish. Therefore, we profiled behavioral patterns and various neurochemistry in zebrafish larvae following supplementation with RBF30 as well as performed calcium imaging on Tg (huC:GAL4-VP16);(UAS:GCaMP7a) zebrafish larvae to determine the correlation of neural activity. RBF30 revealed greater stimulation of locomotor activity without negatively affecting decision-making behavior in zebrafish larvae, as compared to RB30 or niacin. Its behavioral activation is mainly linked with the elevations of neural activity and several neurochemicals such as serotonergic and dopaminergic systems that are implicated in the control of anxiety and stress. Taken together, these results suggest that RBF30 could be a food material that improve the behavioral health by modulating neural activity and brain neurochemistry.

This study investigated the impact of boron and copper on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Spheroidal graphite Cast Iron (SCI). The addition of boron increased the ferrite content, while copper increased the stability of pearlite. The interaction between boron and copper significantly increased the ferrite content. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) revealed that boron decreased the enthalpy change of the α + Fe3C -> γ transformation and increased the enthalpy change of the α -> γ transformation. The addition of boron and copper reduced the tensile and yield strength but increased elongation and impact energy. The findings provide valuable insights into the effect of boron and copper on SCI, facilitating the design and development of high-performance SCI materials.

Recent scholarship highlights the significant environmental impact of the expanding hydraulic fracturing industry, necessitating up-to-date, comprehensive, national-scale assessments. Addressing this gap, this literature review provides a thorough analysis of the contamination and induced seismicity associated with shale-gas hydraulic fracturing in the United States. Employing systematic reviews of literature and federal reports up until July 2023, this study reveals multiple areas of concern. Notably, water and soil contamination, seismic activity, and air pollution are identified as significant challenges linked to shale gas extraction. However, ongoing studies are actively exploring remediation strategies, including advancements in monitoring and treatment technologies, aimed at mitigating the impact of contamination. These findings underscore the need for stringent regulations, continuous research, and effective management practices. This work emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach that leverages field studies, experimental investigations, and computational advancements to ensure the responsible development of shale gas resources.

The microbiota of human breast milk (HBM) contributes to infant gut colonization; however, whether bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are present in HBM or might contribute to this process remains unknown. In the present study, we characterized the HBM microbiota of healthy Korean mothers and measured the key bacteria likely affecting infant gut colonization by analyzing both the microbiota and bacterial EVs. A total of 22 HBM samples were collected from lactating mothers. The DNA of bacteria and bacteria-derived EVs was extracted from each sample. Gene analysis was performed using Illumina MiSeq. Firmicutes accounted for the largest portion among the phyla, followed by Proteobacteria, Bacteroides, and Actinobacteria in both bacteria and bacterial EV samples. At the genus level, Streptococcus (25.1%) and Staphylococcus (10.7%) were predominant in bacterial samples, whereas Bacteroides (9.1%), Acinetobacter (6.9%), and Lactobacillaceae(f) (5.5%) were prevalent in bacterial EV samples. Several genera including Bifidobacterium were significantly positively correlated between the two samples. Our findings reveal the diverse bacterial communities in HBM of healthy lactating mothers and suggest the presence of key bacteria with metabolic activity in HBM and that EVs derived from these bacteria may contribute to the vertical transfer of gut microbiota from mother to infant.

Biocontrol strategies are gaining tremendous attention with the growing awareness of the irreparable harm caused by the continuous use of synthetic pesticides. This study examines the proteolytic and chitinolytic activities of Bacillus velezensis CE 100 and its termiticidal effect through cuticle degradation. The proteolytic and chitinolytic activities of B. velezensis CE 100 systematically increased with cell growth to the respective peak of 68.3, and 128.3 units/mL after seventh days of inoculation, corresponding with the highest cell growth of 16 x 107 colony forming units (CFU)/mL. The in vitro termiticidal assay showed that B. velezensis CE 100 caused a rapid and high rate of termite mortality with the median lethal time (LT50) of &gt; 1h, and the highest mortality rate of 91.1% and 92.2% recorded at 11h and 12h in the bacterial broth culture and crude enzyme fraction, respectively. In addition to broken setae and deformed sockets, termites treated with the bacterial broth culture exhibited degraded epicuticles, while the crude enzyme fraction caused severe disintegration of both the epicuticle and endocuticle. These results indicate a tremendously higher prospect of B. velezensis CE 100 in the biological control of subterranean termites compared to the previously used entomopathogenic bacteria.

The negative energy solutions of the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations have been used to define the antiparticle with the positive energy from the Feynman - Stueckelberg interpretation in the standard model based on the 4-D Minkowski space with the relative time. The negative energy solutions of the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations are used to define the antiparticles with the negative energy in the present 3-D quantized space model. Note that all the present results are based on the 4-D Euclidean space with the absolute time (t) and relative time (t_l). Then the particle with the positive energy and antiparticle with the negative energy have the 4-D P₄ = TCP = T_cP symmetry. The continuity equations are derived from the Klein-Gordon, Dirac and Schrodinger equations. The Klein-Gordon and Schrodinger equations with the potential barriers are solved. The Klein paradox is explained by using the pair production of the electron with the positive energy and positron with the negative energy under the P₄ = _TcP symmetry, The effective velocity ( c_eff=√2 " c " ) and effective energy ("Etl =" √2 E ) along the relative time axis (ctl) give the relative time momentum of "p_tl"=E_tl/c_eff =(√2 E)/(√2 c)=E/c=p_t=p_x. This indicates that the photons with the energy of E have the constant photon velocity of c and the constant photon momentum of "ptl"=E_tl/c_eff =(√2 E)/(√2 c)=E/c=p_t=p_x. For the negative energy particles, the space momentum directions are opposite to the particle velocity directions because the energy is negative. And the matter collapse to the photons at the very high particle velocity is discussed from the length expansion. It is, for the first time, proposed that the gamma ray burst is originated from the matter collapse to the photons near the black hole. Also, the wave function collapse is explained from the length expansion. The wave function collapse takes place when the measurement makes the particle velocity to be zero. It is concluded that the negative energy solutions of the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations support the existence of the partner antimatter universe with the negative energy and negative time direction. Our matter universe has the positive energy and the positive time direction.

The properties of the charged dark matters are discussed in terms of the new three-dimensional quantized space model. Because of the graviton evaporations, the very small Coulomb’s constant (k(dd)) of 10 ⁻⁴⁸ k and large gravitation constant (G_N(dd)) of 10⁶ G_N for the charged dark matters at the present time are expected. The tentative values of G and k are used for the explanation purpose. Therefore, F_c(mm) > F_g(dd) > F_g(mm) > F_g(dm) > F_c(dd) > F_c(dm) = F_c(lq) = 0 for the proton-like particle. Also, the gravitation constant has been changed with increasing of the time because of the graviton evaporation. In the present work, the B1, B2 and B3 bastons with the condition of k(mm) = k >> k(dd) > k(dm) = 0 are explained as the good candidates of the dark matters. Also, the particle creation, dark matters and dark energy could be deeply associated with the changing gravitation constants (G). It is expected that the changing process of the gravitation constant between the matters from G_N(mm) ≈ 10³⁶ G_N to G_N(mm) = G_N happened mostly near the inflation period. Therefore, during most of the universe evolution the gravitation constant could be taken as G_N(mm) = G_N. And the effective charges and effective rest masses of the particles are defined in terms of the fixed Coulomb’s constant (k) and fixed gravitation constant (G_N). Then, the effective charge of the B1 dark matter with EC = −2/3 e is (EC)_eff = −2/3·10⁻²⁴ e. It is concluded that the photons, gravitons and dark matters are the first particles created since the big bang. The particles can be created from the decay of the matter universe and the pair production of the particle and anti-particle with decreasing of the gravitation constant (G_N(mm)). Also, the weak force, strong force and dark matter force bosons are created from the interactions of the elementary particles with the T fluctuations of the vacuum energy.

RISC-V offers a modular technical approach combined with an open, royalty-free instruction set architecture (ISA). This openness allows various researches to incorporate RISC-V into both open and proprietary solutions or services. However, despite its advantages as a fundamental building block for many embedded systems, the escalating complexity and functional demands of real-time applications have made adhering to response time deadlines challenging. This has led to an increased demand for comprehensive development insights for real-time systems based on RISC-V. To improve development efficiency, we offer a detailed performance analysis of RISC-V in comparison to various ISAs. In this paper, we analyze the real-time performance of RISC-V through two real-time approaches based on processor architectures. For RTOS applications, we adopted FreeRTOS and evaluated its performance on HiFive1 Rev B (RISC-V) and STM3240G-EVAL (ARM M) to evaluate real-time performance. For Real-time Linux, we utilized Linux with the Preempt-RT patch and tested its performance on VisionFive 2 (RISC-V), MIO5272 (x86-64), and Raspberry Pi 4 B (ARM A). Through these experiments, we examined the real-time mechanism of each operating system. Additionally, in the Preempt-RT experiments, scheduling latencies were evaluated using cyclictest. Finally, in order to practically show the real-time capabilities of RISC-V, we implemented motion control of a six-axis collaborative robot, which was performed on the VisionFive 2 platform. This implementation provided a comparative result of RISC-V’s performance against the x86-64 architecture of MIO-5272. Ultimately, the results indicated that the real-time performance of RISC-V for real-time applications was slightly inferior to that of the x86-64 architecture. A noticeable achievement of this research was the first implementation of an EtherCAT Master on RISC-V designed for real-time applications featuring a multi-tasking structure. The research offers valuable insights into the real-time capabilities of RISC-V compared to established architectures like x86-64. While RISC-V might not surpass these architectures in real-time performance, its flexibility, modularity, and open nature make it a compelling choice for a wide range of real-time applications. The successful implementation of the EtherCAT Master on RISC-V further expands its potential in the domain of real-time embedded control systems.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which block the activity of cyclooxygenase (COX) isoenzymes and inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandin, have been used for pain relief. We have developed a method to separate a mixture of three NSAIDs, such as aspirin, paracetamol, and naproxen, using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). An isocratic mobile phase consisting of acidic water and acetonitrile was selected to run at a low flow rate, such as 0.8 mL/min. The mixture of three NSAIDs was injected at a low volume into a C18 column that was 150 mm in length and characterized using a UV detector at 230 nm. We identified three peaks in the chromatogram indicating the three compounds. The elution time of the peaks was less than 10 minutes. To identify multiple peaks on the isocratic flow using a short column, further studies are required regarding the proposed method to generate microfluidic devices for nanoLC.

The spin magnetic moments and spin g factors (g_s = -2) of electron, muon and tau are explained based on the electric charges (EC) and lepton charges (LC) in terms of the three-dimensional quantized space model. The spin g factors of electron, muon and tau are g_s = -2 which is the sum of the EC g factor (g_EC = -1) and the LC g factor (g_LC = -1). The spin g factor (g_s = -2) of the electron is predicted by the Dirac’s equation. The orbit g factors of electron, muon and tau are g_L = g_EC = -1 from the EC g factor (g_EC = -1) without the contribution of the LC g factor (g_LC = -1). The spin g factors of the elementary fermions are calculated from the equation of g_s = g_EC + g_LC + g_CC where g_EC = EC/|EC|, g_LC = LC/|LC| and g_CC = CC/|CC|. For example, the spin g factors of the neutrinos and dark matters are g_s = -1. The spin g factors of the u and d quarks are g_s = 0 and g_s = -2, respectively. The g factor problem of neutrinos with the non-zero LC charges are solved by the LC Coulomb force of F_c(LC) ≈0. It is, for the first time, proposed that the binary motion (fluctuations) of the m_EC and m_LC masses for the electron, muon and tau leptons make the anomalous g factor. This binary motion could be originated from the virtual particle processes including the photons. Also, the weak force (beta) decay is closely related to the binary motion of the m_EC and m_LC for the electron, muon and tau leptons.

The properties of the dark matter, dark energy, graviton and photon are discussed in terms of the new three-dimensional quantized space model. Three new particles (bastons) with the electric charges (EC) are proposed as the dark matters. It is proposed that the EC, LC and CC charges are aligned along the time axes but not along the space axes. The photon is confined on its corresponding three-dimensional quantized space. However, the graviton can be evaporated into other three-dimensional quantized spaces. The rest mass of the electron neutrino (n_e) of 3.494·10⁻³ eV/c² is obtained from the experimental vacuum energy density in terms of quantum field theory (QFT). The rest mass and force range of the massive g(0,0,0) graviton with the Planck size are m_g = 3.1872·10⁻³¹ eV/c² and x_r = 3.0955·10²³ m = 10.0 Mpc, respectively, based on the experimental rest mass and rms charge radius of the proton. The possible diameter (10 Mpc) of the largest galaxy cluster is remarkably consistent with the gravitational force range (10 Mpc). Then, the diameter of the largest dark matter distribution related to the largest galaxy cluster is 9.2865·10²³ m = 30 Mpc equal to the force range of the massive g(0) graviton with the rest mass of 1.0624·10⁻³¹ eV/c². Because of the huge number (N) of the evaporated gravitons, the very small Coulomb’s constant of about 10⁻⁴⁸k and large gravitation constant of 10⁶G_N are expected for the charged dark matters. Therefore, F_c(mm) > F_g(dd) > F_g(mm) > F_g(dm) > F_c(dd) > F_c(dm) = 0 for the proton-like particle. The proposed weak gravitational force between the dark matters and normal matters explains the observed dark matter distributions of the bullet cluster, Abell 1689 cluster and Abell 520 cluster. The transition from the galaxy without the dark matters to the galaxy with the dark matters are explained. Also, the accelerated space expansion is caused by the new space quanta created by the evaporated gravitons into the x1x2x3 space and repulsive electromagnetic force between dark matters corresponding to the dark energy. The decreasing coupling constant of the strong force, neutron lifetime anomaly and the pressure distribution inside the proton are explained by the unobservable proton and hadronization. And the rest mass of 1.4 TeV/c² is assigned to the Le particle with the EC charge of −2e. The proposed rest mass (26.12 eV/c²) of the B1 dark matter is indirectly confirmed from the supernova 1987A data. Also, the gravitation constant has been changing with the time because of the graviton evaporation.

The aim of this study was to study the effect of leisure identity, flow, satisfaction, and re-participate intention among outdoor leisure activity participants in South Korea. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a tendency to more frequently participate in outdoor leisure activities as opposed to indoor leisure activities. Leisure activities bestow various benefits. Therefore, this study was used to analyze the relationships amongst leisure identity, flow, leisure satisfaction, and re-participate intention among various theories about leisure. The participants in this study were collected from amongst 369 people who were frequent participants in outdoor leisure activities. For the data analysis, the researchers used frequency, confirmatory analysis, reliability, correlation and structural equaling modeling. The findings were as follows: First, leisure identity had wielded an influence on leisure flow. Second, leisure identity had influence leisure satisfaction. did not have any significant influence on recreation specialization. Third, leisure identity had influence on re-participate intention. Fourth, leisure flow did not have any significant influence on leisure satisfaction. Fifth, leisure flow did not have any significant influence on leisure satisfaction. And finally, leisure satisfaction had an influence on re-participate intention. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new leisure identity has been formed, and it is believed to be a new study on leisure flow, leisure satisfaction, and re-participation intention. This study aims to provide basic data for constructing infrastructure to enable continued participation in outdoor sports in Korea.

The time symmetry of T_c = CT is redefined based on the 4-D Euclidean space. The time inversion symmetry of T_c = CT changes the signs of the charge (q) and absolute time (ct) of the particle. The P symmetry changes the signs of the space momenta and handedness of the particle. The T_c symmetry changes the signs of the time momentum (P_t=E/c) and charges. The handedness are classified as the left-handedness and right-handedness on the 3-D space. The charges (|q| = cDt) and energies (E= cDtDV) of the particles are originated from the upward warping (q>0) and downward warping (q<0) of the particles along the time axis. The evolution of our matter universe with P_t > 0 since the big bang can be interpreted based on the CTP symmetry with the partner antimatter universe with p_t < 0. The photon space is called as the vacuum space. Then the E and M waves are the space fluctuations, and the gravitational G wave is the time fluctuations. And the E, M and G fields are newly explained. The zero E and M fields of the photon space indicates that the photon space and gamma ray are the 2EM waves. The rest mass energy of the particle is the 4-D space volume of the warped photon space. In the present work, the quantum wave function is considered as the 4-D vector with the space wave function and time axis wave function in the 4-D Euclidean space. The warped photon space corresponds to the squared wave function which is the probability density. It is concluded that, in the quantum mechanics, the imaginary number concept is introduced in the quantum wave functions instead of the time axis component of the 4-D wave function vector. The left-handed neutrino puzzle is explained from the handedness partner relation with the right-handed dark matters. Finally, the modified Lorentz transformations derived in the 4-D Euclidean space are compared with the Lorentz transformations of the special and general relativity theories in the 4-D Minkowski space.

In the present work, the charged B1, B2 and B3 bastons with the condition of k(mm) = k >> k(dd) > k(dm) = k(lq) = 0 are explained as the good candidates of the dark matters. The proposed rest mass (26.12 eV/c²) of the B1 dark matter is indirectly confirmed from the supernova 1987A data. The missing neutrinos are newly explained by using the dark matters and lepton charge force. The neutrino excess anomaly of the MinibooNE data is explained by the B1 dark matter scattering within the Cherenkov detectors. And the rest masses of 1.4 TeV/c² and 42.7 GeV/c² are assigned to the Le particle and the B2 dark matter, respectively, from the cosmic ray observations. In the present work, the Q1 baryon decays are used to explain the anti-Helium cosmic ray events. Because of the graviton evaporation and photon confinement, the very small Coulomb’s constant (k(dd)) of 10^x-54k and gravitation constant (G_N(dd)) of 10^xG_N for the charged dark matters at the present time are proposed. The x value can have the positive, zero or negative value around zero. Therefore, F_c(mm) > F_g(dd) (?) F_g(mm) > F_g(dm) > F_c(dd) > F_c(dm) = F_c(lq) = 0 for the proton-like particle.

In the present work, the charged dark matters of B1, B2 and B3 bastons are explained as the right-handed partners of the left-handed neutrinos. The new Higgs mechanism of SU(2)_DM×SU(2)_Weak×SU(2)_Strong including electromagnetic and gravitational forces is applied. And the rest masses of the elementary particles depend on their charge configurations. The left-handed neutrinos have only the lepton charges (LC) and the right-handed dark matters have only the electric charges (EC). This explains the fact that the rest masses of the left-handed neutrinos are so small, and the rest masses of the right-handed dark matters are relatively very large. The proposed rest mass (26.12 eV/c²) of the B1 dark matter is indirectly confirmed from the supernova 1987A data. The missing neutrinos are newly explained by using the dark matters and lepton charge force. The neutrino excess anomaly of the MinibooNE data is explained by the B1 dark matter scattering within the Cherenkov detectors. The quark mixing and neutrino mixing are not required in the present model. It is shown that our matter universe and its partner antimatter universe can be created from the big bang in the point of view of time -, charge -, space -, and quantum state – symmetric universe evolution.

Origins of the time, mass, electric charges and magnetic monopoles are explained. The energies, electric charges and magnetic charges of the particles are defined as E = cDtDV and |q| = cDt = E/DV, and |q_m| = c²Dt, respectively, for the 3-D quantized spaces warped along the time axis direction of ct in the 4-D Euclidean space. The energy (or mass) and charges (or electric charges and magnetic charges) are the vectors along the time axis of ct in the 4-D Euclidean space. This new concept is closely connected to the wave function of the quantum mechanics. The electric charges, magnetic charges and energies have the property of the space direction independence. Magnetic monopoles (charges) are the force carrying bosons with the inside electric field time loop. Electric monopoles are the elementary fermions. Photon space fluctuations are explained with the quantized magnetic charges.

Space-time evolution of our universe is explained by using the 3-dimensional quantized space model (TQSM) based on the 4-dimensional (4-D) Euclidean space. The energy (E = cDtDV), charges and energy density (|q| = r = cDt) and absolute time (ct) are newly defined based on the 4-D Euclidean space. The photon flat space with the constant energy density of r = cDt_q is proposed as the dark energy (DE). The dark energy is separated into the n DE and photon DE which create the new photon spaces with the constant energy density of r = cDt_q. The v DE is from the n pair production by the CPT symmetry and the photon DE is from the photon space pair production by the T symmetry. The vacuum energy crisis and Hubble’s constant puzzle are explained by the photon space with the n DE and photon DE. The big bang and inflation of the primary black hole is connected to the accelerated space expansion and big collapse of the photon space through the universe evolution. The big bang from the nothing is the pair production of the matter universe with the positive energy and the partner anti-matter universe with the negative energy from the CPT symmetry. Our universe is the matter universe with the negative charges of electric charge (EC), lepton charge (LC) and color charge (CC). This first universe is made of dark matter -, lepton -, and quark - primary black holes with the huge negative charges which cause the Coulomb repulsive forces much bigger than the gravitational forces. The huge Coulomb forces induce the inflation of the primary black holes, that decay to the super-massive black holes and particles.

The relative force strengths of the Coulomb forces, gravitational forces, dark matter forces, weak forces and strong forces are compared for the dark matters, leptons, quarks, and normal matters (p and n baryons) in terms of the 3-D quantized space model. The quark confinement and asymptotic freedom are explained by the CC merging to the A(CC=-5)₃ state. The proton with the (EC,LC,CC) charge configuration of p(1,0,-5) is p(1,0) + A(CC=-5)₃. The A(CC=-5)₃ state has the 99.6% of the proton mass. The three quarks in p(1,0,-5) are asymptotically free in the EC and LC space of p(1,0) and are strongly confined in the CC space of A(CC=-5)₃. This means that the lepton beams in the deep inelastic scattering interact with three quarks in p(1,0) by the EC interaction and weak interaction. Then, the observed spin is the partial spin of p(1,0) which is 32.6 % of the total spin (1/2) of the proton. The A(CC=-5)₃ state has the 67.4 % of the proton spin. This explains the proton spin crisis. The EC charge distribution of the proton is the same to the EC charge distribution of p(1,0) which indicates that three quarks in p(1,0) are mostly near the proton surface. From the EC charge distribution of neutron, the 2 lepton system (called as the koron) of the koron is, for the first time, reported in the present work.

The origins of the stellar mass neutron black holes and supermassive dark matter black holes without the singularities are reported based on the 4-D Euclidean space. The neutron black holes with the mass of m_BH = 5 – 15 m_sun are made by the 6-quark merged states (N_6q) of two neutrons with the mass (m(N_6q) = 10 m(n)) of 9.4 GeV/c² that gives the black hole mass gap of m_BH = 3 – 5 m_sun. Also, the supermassive black holes with the mass of m_SMBH = 10⁶ – 10¹¹ msun are made by the merged 3-D states (J(B1B2B3)₃ particles) of the dark matters. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky way galaxy has the mass of mSMBH = 4.1 10⁶ m_sun that is consistent with m_SMBH = 2.08 - 6.23 10⁶ m_sun calculated from the 3-D states (J(B1B2B3)₃ particles) of the dark matters with the mass of m(J) = 1.95 10¹⁵ eV/c². In other words, this supports the existence of the B1, B2 and B3 dark matters with the proposed masses. The first dark matter black hole (primary black hole) was created at the big bang. This first dark matter black hole decayed to the supermassive dark matter black holes through the secondary dark matter black holes that are explained by the merged states of the J(B1B2B3)₃ particles. The universe evolution is closely connected to the decaying process of the dark matter black holes since the big bang. The dark matter cloud states are proposed at the intermediate mass black hole range of m_IMBH = 10² – 10⁵ msun. This can explain why the dark matter black holes are not observed at the intermediate mass black hole range of m_IMBH = 10² – 10⁵ m_sun.

Our matter universe is made up of four components of dark energy (DE), dark matters (DMs), leptons and quarks which are created from the decay of the primary black hole through the inflation after big bang. In the three-dimensional quantized space model, the sum (DER) of the dark energy (DE) and radiations (R) is the flat photon space and there are 39 particles of 3 dark matters, 9 leptons and 27 quarks. Generally speaking, the mass ratio of the quarks with the 27 particles is smallest and the mass ratio of the DER photon space with the 1 massless photon is largest. Therefore, the mass ratios of DER, DMs, leptons and quarks are inversely proportional to the particle numbers of DER, DMs, leptons and quarks as the first assumption. This simple rule is called as the universe mass ratio golden rule in Fig. 12. This simple rule is successfully applied to the observed mass ratios of the Planck and WMAP missions. The best particle number combination (1, 3, 9, 27) of the four components (DER, DMs, Leptons, Quarks) to explain the Planck 2018 and WMAP results is the same as the particle number combination (1, 3, 9, 27) of the 3-dimensional quantized space model. The calculated mass ratios of DER, DMs, leptons and quarks are 67.5 %, 22.5 %, 7.5 % and 2.5 %, respectively. And the calculated mass ratios of neutrinos and ordinary matters are 5.0 % and 5.0 %, respectively. The mass ratios of the dark energy (68.47(23) %) and matters (31.53(23) %) obtained from the Planck 2018 results are consistent with the calculated mass ratios of the DER (67.5 %) and matters (32.5 %). The mass ratio of the dark energy (72.1(15) %) obtained from the WMAP 9 year results is explained as the summed mass ratio (72.5 %) of DER (67.5 %) and neutrinos (5.0 %). The universe evolution including the super-massive black holes (SMBHs) is shown in Fig. 4. The accelerated space expansion of our universe requires the addition of the new dark energy. If this new dark energy is added, the mass ratio of the dark energy is a little bit increased. The difference (0.97 %) between the observed value (68.47(23) %) and calculated value (67.5 %) is explained by adding the new dark energy in Figs. 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The corrected mass ratios of DER, DMs, leptons and quarks are 68.47 %, 21.8286 %, 7.2762 % and 2.4254 %, respectively. The corrected mass ratios of the neutrinos (called as cosmic background neutrinos) and ordinary matters (OMs) are 4.8508 % and 4.8508 %, respectively. These corrected mass ratios can explain the mass ratios obtained from the WMAP and Planck missions. In other words, the mass ratios calculated from the best particle number combination support the elementary particles, dark matters and dark energy (photon space) proposed by the three-dimensional quantized space model based on the 10-D Euclidean space.

Space-time evolution is briefly explained by using the 3-dimensional quantized space model (TQSM) based on the 4-dimensional (4-D) Euclidean space. The energy (mass), charges and absolute time are newly defined based on the 4-D Euclidean space. The photons and gravitons are understood as the 2-D space fluctuations along the space axes and 1-D time fluctuations along the time axis, respectively. This indicates that the electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational (G) waves can be unified into the so called gravityelectromagnetic (GEM) wave which has both space and time fluctuations. The photon with zero force fields is the 2EM wave because an EM wave corresponds to a charged fermion. The dark matter bosons, weak force bosons, strong force bosons are the 1-D time fluctuations which can be expressed by the G waves. This indicates that all five forces are unified by the GEM wave. It is called as the super unification theory in the present work. And the force carrying bosons and mesons are, for the first time, proposed as the possible candidates of the magnetic monopoles like the fermions and baryons are the electric monopoles. The signs of the magnetic charges quantized as q_m=cq are newly defined. The big bang is understood by the space-time evolution of the 4-D Euclidean space but not by the sudden 4-D Minkowski space-time creation. The big bang process created the matter universe with the positive energy and the partner anti-matter universe with the negative energy from the CPT symmetry.

Three-dimensional quantized space model is newly introduced. Quantum mechanics and relativity theory are explained in terms of the warped three-dimensional quantized spaces with the quantum time width (Dt=t_q). The energy is newly defined as the 4-dimensional space-time volume of E = cDtDV in the present work. It is shown that the wave function of the quantum mechanics is closely related to the warped quantized space shape with the space time-volume. The quantum entanglement and quantum wave function collapse are explained additionally. The special relativity theory is separated into the energy transition associated with the space-time shape transition of the matter and the momentum transition associated with the space-time location transition. Then, the quantum mechanics and the general relativity theory are about the 4-dimensional space-time volume and the 4-dimensional space-time distance, respectively.

Space-time evolution is briefly explained by using the 3-dimensional quantized space model (TQSM) based on the 4-dimensional (4-D) Euclidean space. The energy (E=cDtDV), charges (|q|= cDt) and absolute time (ct) are newly defined based on the 4-D Euclidean space. The big bang is understood by the space-time evolution of the 4-D Euclidean space but not by the sudden 4-D Minkowski space-time creation. The big bang process created the matter universe with the positive energy and the partner anti-matter universe with the negative energy from the CPT symmetry. Our universe is the matter universe with the negative charges of electric charge (EC), lepton charge (LC) and color charge (CC). This first universe is made of three dark matter -, lepton -, and quark - primary black holes with the huge negative charges which cause the Coulomb repulsive forces much bigger than the gravitational forces. The huge Coulomb forces induce the inflation of the primary black holes, that decay to the super-massive black holes. The dark matter super-massive black holes surrounded by the normal matters and dark matters make the galaxies and galaxy clusters. The spiral arms of galaxies are closely related to the decay of the 3-D charged normal matter black holes to the 1-D charged normal matter black holes. The elementary leptons and quarks are created by the decay of the normal matter charged black holes, that is caused by the Coulomb forces much stronger than the gravitational forces. The Coulomb forces are very weak with the very small Coulomb constants (k₁(EC) = k_dd(EC) ) for the dark matters and very strong with the very big Coulomb constants (k₂(EC) = k_nn(EC)) for the normal matters because of the non-communication of the photons between the dark matters and normal matters. The photons are charge dependent and mass independent. But the dark matters and normal matters have the similar and very weak gravitational forces because of the communication of the gravitons between the dark matters and normal matters. The gravitons are charge independent and mass dependent. Note that the three kinds of charges (EC, LC and CC) and one kind of mass (m) exist in our matter universe. The dark matters, leptons and quarks have the charge configurations of (EC), (EC,LC) and (EC,LC,CC), respectively. Partial masses of elementary fermions are calculated, and the proton spin crisis is explained. The charged black holes are not the singularities.

When disposing of waste metal resources in landfills, environmental issues such as soil contamination may arise. Recycling these resources not only recovers valuable metals but also mitigates environmental pollution. Platinum (Pt), a valuable metal used in fuel cells for its high water production activity, will see increased future demand as a fossil fuel alternative. This study analyzes the environmental and resource reduction effects of recycled Pt, considering the growing emphasis on its recycling for stable supply and demand of Pt. The environmental impact and resource consumption of recycled Pt with primary Pt (from natural mines) were compared and analyzed using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique. Results revealed that resource consumption for primary Pt was 8.25E+01 kg Sb-eq./kg, significantly more than the 5.45E+00 kg Sb-eq./kg for recycled Pt. This represents an environmental reduction effect of approximately 93%. In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, primary Pt emitted 1.35E+04 kg CO2-eq./kg, while recycled Pt emitted 6.94E+02 kg CO2-eq./kg, resulting in an environmental reduction effect of approximately 95%. In conclusion, recycling Pt, compared to primary extraction, offers substantial environmental and resource reduction benefits. This study underscores the significance of recycling and highlights the potential environmental improvements achievable through sustainable practices.

The absolute time and relative time are defined in terms of the 4-D Euclidean space. Our universe is the 3-D x₁x₂x₃ quantized photon space which follows the absolute time simultaneity when the universe moves along the absolute time axis of ct. The length expansion of Dx = gDx₀ is derived under the condition of the absolute time (ct) simultaneity. From the similarity between this length expansion of Dx = gDx₀ and the energy increasing of E = gE₀, it is assumed that the energy is proportional to the particle size of Dx. The extension of this assumption to the 4-D Euclidean space gives the new definition that the particle energy (E) is the 4-D volume. Then, the particle mass energy is defined as E= mc² = cDtDV = gE₀. The masses of the elementary particles are originated from the 4-D warped volume of the photon space because the particle is the warped photon space with the velocity of v < c. Therefore, the Higgs boson concept in the standard model (SM) is not needed in the present 3-D quantized space model (TQSM). The scalar boson with the spin of zero, photon with the spin of 1 and graviton with the spin of 2 are the two-boson states. Therefore, the observed Higgs boson is reinterpreted as the two-boson state of the scalar boson with the spin of zero. The cosmic muon observation and twin paradox are explained by using the absolute time and relative time. The relative time is the observed time in the twin paradox and cosmic muon observation. In the twin paradox, a person who travels the long distance is more aged than a person on the earth in terms of the relative time ages because of the space and time conversion effect (STCE effect) of the moving space distance (x). But twins are in the same ages in terms of the absolute time without STCE effect. The fast-moving cosmic muon has the expanded half-life from the time expansion of the relative time. Also, the quantum entanglement and Pauli exclusion principle are explained. The quantum base of the photon space line connects two entangled particles. Two particles and quantum base system is fluctuated along the absolute time axis by the time clicking when one particle is measured. Another particle is instantly selected by the time clicking. This is called as the quantum entanglement. The photons which are the flat photon space with the constant speed of c along the space axis and absolute time axis have the 4-D photon velocity of c_eff = 2^0.5 c. Total 10-D Euclidean space including three 3-D quantized spaces and one absolute time axis is required for the electric charges (EC), lepton charges (CC) and color charges (CC) of the elementary particles. The 3-D photon space is very stiff along the absolute time (ct) axis and very soft along the space axes. The Coulomb force through the photons (2EM waves) of the space fluctuations is much stronger than the Gravitational force through the gravitons (G waves) of the time fluctuations between two electrons.

In this study, we address the formidable challenge of solving large-scale Max-Cut problems (MCP). We introduce a rapid computational procedure utilizing a hybrid 1-flip/r-flip local search heuristic. This innovative strategy significantly reduces the computational time required for MCP problems while consistently generating solutions of exceptional quality. The paper presents substantial computational insights, showcasing the effectiveness of our approach on very-large-scale Max-Cut instances with varying densities. Our proposed heuristic is rigorously evaluated by comparing its performance against a quantum annealing solver, leveraging a multi-start Tabu Search framework. The results underscore the potency of this unique combination as an efficient and effective solution for large-scale QUBO problems. Notably, our hybrid heuristic consistently delivers high-quality solutions within the stringent CPU time limits of 600 seconds, demonstrating its efficacy across Max-Cut instances ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 variables. This research contributes to advancing the state-of-the-art in large-scale QUBO problem-solving, offering a powerful and time-efficient approach with broad applicability.

Regulated autophagy is involved in the repair of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). ω3-Polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3-PUFAs) show protective effects against various renal injuries. It was recently reported that ω3-PUFAs regulate autophagy. We assessed whether ω3-PUFAs attenuated IR-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and evaluated associated mechanisms. C57Bl/6 background fat-1 mice and wild-type mice (wt) were divided into four groups: wt sham (n = 10), fat-1 sham (n = 10), wt IRI (reperfusion 35 min after clamping both the renal artery and vein; n = 15), and fat-1 IRI (n = 15). Kidneys and blood were harvested 24 h after IRI. Renal histological and molecular data were collected. The kidneys of fat-1 mice showed better renal cell survival, renal function, and pathological damage than those of wt mice after IRI. In addition, fat-1 mice showed less oxidative stress and autophagy impairment; greater amounts of LC3, Beclin-1, and Atg7; lower amounts of p62; and higher levels of renal cathepsin D and ATP6E than wt kidneys. They also showed more AMPK activation, which resulted in the inhibition of phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Collectively, ω3-PUFAs in fat-1 mice contributed to AMPK mediated autophagy activation, leading to a renoprotective response.

Herein, we present the design technique of a resonant rectifier for piezoelectric (PE) energy harvesting. We propose two diode equivalents to reduce the voltage drop in the rectifier operation, a minuscule-drop-diode equivalent (MDDE) and a low-drop-diode equivalent (LDDE). The diode equivalents are embedded in resonant rectifier integrated circuits (ICs), which use symmetric bias-flip to reduce the power wasted for charging and discharging the internal capacitance of a PE transducer. The self-startup function is supported by synchronously generating control pulses for the bias-flip from the PE transducer. Two resonant rectifier ICs, using both MDDE and LDDE, are fabricated in a 0.18 μm CMOS process and their performances are characterized under external and self-power conditions. Under the external-power condition, the rectifier using LDDE delivers an output power POUT of 564 μW and a rectifier output voltage VRECT of 3.36 V with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 90.1%. Under self-power conditions, the rectifier using MDDE delivers a POUT of 288 μW and a VRECT of 2.4 V with a corresponding PCE of 74.6%. The result shows that the power extraction capability of the proposed rectifier is 5.9 and 3.0 times higher than that of a conventional full-bridge rectifier.

Thin people who undergo implant insertion into the chest wall face a high risk of implant exposure to the external environment. Five months after an 8-year-old boy underwent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation in a subcutaneous pocket in the left anterolateral chest wall to manage long QT syndrome, ICD replacement became necessary owing to exposure risk from distal and lateral thinning of the ICD pocket. Pocket rupture and exposure would increase the risk of infection; therefore, we performed ICD removal and primary pocket closure. Two weeks later, a new suprafascial pocket was created, acellular dermal matrix (ADM) was attached to the inner wall to prevent ICD protrusion, and a new ICD was inserted. One year postoperatively, the ADM was engrafted, and no complications were observed. A thin subcutaneous layer increases the risk of ICD implantation complications. Inner wall strengthening with ADM can help prevent pocket rupture.

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have potential for various gas and ion separations due to their well-defined pore structure and relatively easy fabrication process compared to other metal-organic frameworks. As a result, many reports have focused on preparing polycrystalline and continuous ZIF layers on porous supports. In this study, we investigated how humidity and chamber temperature influence the structure of a ZIF-8 layer prepared by the hydrothermal method. We controlled the chamber temperature (ranging from 50 °C to 70 °C) and relative humidity (ranging from 20 % to 100 %) using a thermos-hygrostat chamber. We found that as the chamber temperature increased, ZIF-8 preferentially grew into particles rather than forming a continuous polycrystalline layer. By measuring the temperature of the reacting solution based on chamber humidity, we discovered that the heating rate of the reacting solution varied with humidity, even at the same chamber temperature. At higher humidity, thermal energy transfer was accelerated as water vapor delivered more energy to the reacting solution. Therefore, a continuous ZIF-8 layer could be formed more easily at low humidity ranges (ranging from 20 % to 40 %), while micron ZIF-8 particles were synthesized at a high heating rate. Our findings suggest that controlling the heating rate of the reacting solution is critical to preparing a continuous ZIF-8 layer, particularly for future scale-up of ZIF-8 membranes.

There are two major proposed forms of dark energy: the cosmological constant and the quintessence scalar field. However, the former has the cosmological constant problem and the latter does not have observational evidence to support the theory. In this paper, we propose a dark energy paradigm to solve the cosmological constant problem and to predict lepton masses as evidence. The dark energy paradigm is a unified dark sector that is based on Planck's dimensional analysis, Lambda CDM, energy conservation, and force equilibrium. We find that dark energy can vary from the cosmological constant to the Planck scale. We find that the predicted values of lepton masses based on the dark energy paradigm agree with the observed values to 1% (or within error ranges).

This research intended to report amine-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) prepared by a simple method for efficient and rapid removal of Reactive Yellow 2 (RY2) from water. EDS analysis showed that the N content increased from 0 to 2.42% and from 2.42 to 8.66% after modification by APTES and PEI, respectively. BET analysis displayed that the specific surface area, average pore size, and total pore volume were reduced from 405.22 to 176.16 m2/g, 39.67 to 6.30 nm, and 4.02 to 0.28 cm3/g, respectively. These results proved that the PEI/APTES-MWCNTs were successfully prepared. pH edge experiment indicated that pH 2 was optimal for RY2 removal. At pH 2 and 25 °C, the time required for adsorption equilibrium was 10, 15, and 180 min at initial concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/L, respectively; and the maximum RY2 uptake calculated by the Langmuir model was 714.29 mg/g. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. 0-0.1 mol/L of NaCl showed negligible effect on RY2 removal by PEI/APTES-MWCNTs. Five adsorption/desorption cycles confirmed the good reusability of PEI/APTES-MWCNTs in RY2 removal. Overall, the PEI/APTES-MWCNTs are a potential and efficient adsorbent for reactive dye wastewater treatment.

This study surveyed the variation in Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) concentration entering urban wastewater treatment plants and proposed an optimal PFCS treatment method. The PFCS concentration in influent was shown to be affected by the types of industries and operating rate. The concentration of PFCs in the wastewater treatment effluent was slightly lower than that of influent. Thus, PFCs were considered to have barely been removed by the existing biological treatments. The pilot test result showed that about 10% of PFCs were removed by coagulation and precipitation, and the ozone and chlorine test also showed that few PFCs were removed regardless of the amount of injection. The activated carbon adsorption test showed that the removal was significantly increased by the empty bed contact time, with about a 60% removal in five minutes and over a 90% removal in 15 minutes. Therefore it is determined that a more stable and higher PFCs removal would result from the continuous oxidation processes such as ozone and adsorption processes such as activated carbon rather than a single biological treatment.

This study investigates the impact of brand lovemark on three customer behavioral outcomes (i.e., green brand loyalty, willingness to pay a deposit, and machine use intention) in coffee shops’ CSR practices. We used a scenario-based experimental design on CSR practices in two coffee shop brands (i.e., Starbucks and Dunkin'). The study demonstrates that consumers with a high level of brand lovemark respond more positively to CSR practices of coffee shops than do customers with a low level of brand lovemark. In addition, the interactions between brand lovemark and gender appear to be important in all three behavioral outcomes. Specifically, it confirms that men and women show different levels of behavior outcomes depending on their level of brand lovemark. Theoretical and managerial implications are also suggested with the direction for future study.

This study presents three forms of interdisciplinary expertise in the healthcare design context to approach a particular multifaceted problem around the current healthcare for older adult patients with chronic low-back pain (LBP). Using an interdisciplinary co-design framework, first, our design approach performs the role of an initiator to define the problem by exploring the current context of healthcare. Second, it facilitates the experiences of experts and patients to reach the roots of the problem by functioning as a mediator. Third, our approach fulfills the primary role of healthcare design in producing new meanings considering the principles of patient-centeredness. These roles significantly contributed to the design of healthcare innovations. Our framework transformed the distributed disciplinary knowledge developed while tackling the multifaceted problem into new forms of expertise for collaboration in healthcare innovation.

Human Pose Estimation (HPE) is a technique in computer vision and AI for detecting and tracking human body parts and poses from images or videos. Widely used in augmented reality, animation, fitness applications, and surveillance, HPE methods using monocular cameras are highly versatile due to their applicability in standard video and CCTV footage. These methods have evolved from 2D to 3D pose estimation. However, current 3D HPE methods trained on laboratory-based motion capture data encounter challenges such as limited training data, depth perception ambiguity, left/right switching, and issues with occlusions when applied in real-world environments. This study compares two representative 3D HPE methods by assessing their strengths and weaknesses with real-world videos. Then, we propose data processing techniques to eliminate and correct anomalies like left/right inversion and false detections of joint positions in daily life motions. Finally, we obtain joint angle trajectories using an optimization method based on a 3D humanoid simulator, taking as input the joint coordinate data corrected by applying the proposed human joint data processing technique. The efficacy of the proposed 3D HPE method is verified by applying it to three-dimensional freehand gymnastics exercises and comparing the joint angle trajectories during the motion.

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) exhibit self-renewal activity and give rise to other cell types in tumors. Due to the infinite proliferative potential of CSCs, drugs targeting these cells are necessary to completely inhibit cancer development. beta-lapachone (bL) has been widely used to treat cancer development, but its effect on cancer stem cells remain elusive. Thus, we investigated the effect of bL on mammosphere formation using breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) marker positive cells, MDA-MB-231. Methods: MDA-MB-231 Cells, which is negative for NQO1 expression, was constructed to stably express NQO1(NQO1 stable cells) to see the effect of bL. The effect of bL on cells were evaluated by wound healing and Transwell cell culture chambers, and ALDEFLUOR assay. Results: Here, we show that bL inhibited the proliferative ability of mammosphere derived from BCSC marker-positive cells, MDA-MB-231, in an NQO1-dependent manner. bL treatment efficiently downregulated expression level of BCSC markers CD44, ALDH1A1, and DLGAP5 that recently identified as a stem cell proliferation marker in both cultured cells and mammosphered cells. Moreover, bL efficiently downregulates cell proliferation and migration activities. Conclusions: These results strongly suggest that bL could be a therapeutic agent targeting breast cancer stem cells with proper NQO1 expression.

Accurate expression of bracket prescription is important for successful orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of digital scan images of brackets produced by four different intraoral scanners (IOSs) in terms of the height, position, and angle of the bracket slot when scanning the surface of dental model attached with bracket materials made from different composition of materials. Brackets made from stainless steel, polycrystalline alumina, composite and composite/stainless steel slot were considered, which have been scanned from 4 different IOSs (Primescan, Trios, CS3600 and i500). SEM images were used as references. Each bracket axis was set in the reference scan image, and the axis was set identically by superimposing with the IOS image, and then only the brackets were divided and analyzed. The difference between the manufacturer's nominal torque and bracket slot base angle was 0.39 in SEM, 1.96 in Primescan, 2.04 in Trios, and 5.21 in CS3600 (P <0.001). The parallelism, which is the difference between the upper and lower angles of the slot wall, was 0.55 in SEM, 7.55 in Primescan, 6.74 in Trios3, 6.59 in CS3600, and 24.95 in i500 (p <0.001). This study evaluated the accuracy of the bracket only and it must be admitted that there is some error in recognizing slots through scanning in general

PEBAX-2533/metal salt/Al salt membranes were prepared for mixed olefin/paraffin separation. PEBAX-2533 with 80% ether group and 20% amide group was suggested as the polymer matrix for comparison of separation performance according to the functional group ratio in copolymer PEBAX. In addition, Al salts were used to stabilize metal ions for a long time as additives. High permeance was expected with the proportion of high ether groups since these functional groups provided relatively permeable regions. As a result, the PEBAX-2533 composite membrane showed a selectivity of 5 (propylene/propane) with 10 GPU. However, the permeance of membrane was not unexpectedly improved and the selectivity was reduced. The result was analyzed by SEM, FT-RAMAN and TGA, including FT-IR. The reduction in separation performance was determined by FT-IR. From these results, in order to stabilize the metal ions interacting with the polymer through Al(NO3)3, it was concluded that specific ratio of amide group was needed in PEBAX as polymer matrix.

This study aimed to learn disturbance information to effectively control multiple small unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for marine research purposes at sea. The learned disturbance information was used to investigate the control of multiple USV swarms based on the leading–following formation technique. Numerous studies have already been conducted on swarm control using drones in the air; however, there has been a paucity of studies on swarm control in the sea. Contrary to swarm control in aviation, the fluid density of the sea is high, and the environment is constantly changing; thus, a robot system would be significantly affected by disturbances. This ultimately influences the maintenance of swarm formations and the accomplishment of missions [1,2]. Therefore, it is difficult to control numerous moving objects while maintaining a formation at sea by using the existing aerial drone swarm control technology. To solve this problem, we learned a long short-term memory (LSTM) model with time-series marine environmental data to predict maritime disturbances. Thereafter, the model was applied to a mission-based position control algorithm of each USV constituting the swarm to design a marine unmanned floating vessel swarm control system that can be applied to various marine environments. Specifically, to effectively control numerous small USVs for marine research purposes, ocean currents are learned using the LSTM algorithm, and the predicted ocean currents are used to generate a swarm USV control system for USV formations. In this study, a control system model of several small USVs equipped with two rear thrusters and a front lateral thruster was designed. The LSTM algorithm was learned using the previous ocean current data, and the velocity of the following ocean currents was predicted. The predictions were then used as a system disturbance to determine the thrust of the controller. To measure ocean currents in the sea when each USV moves, the velocity, azimuth, and position (latitude, longitude) data from the GPS mounted on the USV were used to measure the velocity and direction of the hull's movement. Further, the flow rate was measured using a flow rate sensor on a small USV. The USV movement and position were controlled using an artificial neural network-PID (ANN-PID) controller. This study entailed a comparative analysis of the designed USV model results and those generated by the simulator, including the behavior control rule of the USV swarm and the path of the actual USV swarm at sea. It was verified that the effectiveness of the USV mathematical model and behavior control rules. By comparing the movement path of the swarm USV with and without the disturbance learning algorithm and ANN-PID control algorithm applied to the designed simulator, the position error and maintenance performance of the swarm formation were analyzed, and the application results were compared.

The purpose of this study is to develop a cranial traction therapy program to help correct facial asymmetry of the hard tissues through the means of the treatment of soft tissues—a non-surgical therapeutic method for the correcting of facial asymmetry. We have formed a group of experts who have agreed to the study. In the primary survey, open questions were used. In the second survey, the results of the first survey were summarized and the degree of agreement was presented to the questions in each category. In the third survey, we conducted a statistical analysis of the degree of agreement on each item of question. All surveys also performed email. The distribution was calculated using the SPSS (ver.23.0) program, and the mean difference between the result and X² was calculated. The significance level was set to p&lt;.05. Most of the questions attained a certain level of consensus by the experts (average of 4.0 or higher), it can be said that most are important and suitable questions. the results regarding the degree of importance for each of the points of evaluation made by the groups of experts in both the second and third stage of the cranial traction therapy program were verified using content validity ratio (CVR 77). The ratio for the cranial traction 13 points of evaluation was within the range of 0.40∼1.00, so the Delphi program for the cranial traction therapy verified that the content was valid.

In Newtonian mechanics, time as well as space are perceived as absolute entities. In 2 Einstein’s special relativity, time is frame dependent. Time is also affected by gravitational field 3 and as the field varies in space, time also varies throughout space. In the present article, a 4 thermodynamic-based time is investigated. The entity is called "irreversibility", which is generated 5 when availability (also known as exergy) is destroyed. Since each thermodynamic system may 6 generate different amount of irreversibility, this quantity is system dependent. The time’s arrow is 7 automatically satisfied, since irreversibility generation always proceeds in one direction (toward 8 future). We have demonstrated that, like common time, irreversibility is frame dependent, and 9 affected by gravity in the similar manner as the common time. For this reason, we propose to 10 assign the entity irreversibility of the system as thermodynamic time. A possible application of the 11 thermodynamic time is an interpretation and managing of the aging of biological systems. The 12 metabolic efficiency is related to the irreversibility of the chemical processes and affect the aging of 13 the system. Our sensation of time-flow may be attributed to the flow of availability and destruction 14 of it through the living system. It is shown by other authors that entropy generation (equivalent to 15 irreversibility) is a parameter for the human life span. Since the thermodynamic time is based on a 16 concept of thermodynamics that is universal, further applications to other subjects, such as biological 17 clock, telomere, and cosmology are possible.

The molecular dynamics simulation has been used to investigate the structural and transport properties of (Ba_0.5-xSr_x)La_0.5InO_3-δ (x=0, 0.1, 0.2) oxygen-ion conductor. The previous studies reported that the ionic conductivity of Ba-doped LaInO3 decreases because Ba dopant forms narrow oxygen path in the lattice, which could hinder the diffusion of oxygen ion. In this study, we reveal the mechanism to improve the ionic conductivity by Ba and Sr co-doping on La site in LaInO3 perovskite oxide. The results show that the ionic conductivity of (Ba_0.5-xSr_x)La_0.5InO_3-δ increases with increasing numbers of Sr ions, which oxygen diffusion paths including Sr ion have larger critical radius than Ba ions. The RDF calculations showed the heights of peak in composition including Sr ions is lower and broaden, so oxygen ions moved easily into other oxygen sites.

In this work, we report the electric energy storage properties of (1-x)Bi0.5(Na0.8K0.2)0.5TiO3-xBi0.2Sr0.7TiO3 (BNKT-BST; x = 0.15-0.50) relaxor ferroelectric ceramics enhanced via a domain engineering method. A rhombohedral–tetragonal phase, the formation of highly dynamic PNRs, and a dense microstructure are confirmed from XRD, Raman vibrational spectra, and microscopic investigations. The relative dielectric permittivity (2664 at 1 kHz) and loss factor (0.058) were gradually improved with BST (x=0.45). The incorporation of BST into BNKT can disturb the long-range ferroelectric order, lowering the dielectric maximum temperature Tm and inducing the formation of highly dynamic polar nano-regions. In addition, the Tm shifts toward high temperature with frequency and a diffuse phase transition, indicating relaxor ferroelectric characteristics of BNKT-BST ceramics, which is confirmed by the modified Curie Weiss law (γ=1.83). The rhombohedral–tetragonal phase, fine grain size, and lowered Tm with relaxor properties synergistically contribute to a high recoverable energy density Wrec of 0.81 J/cm3 and a high energy efficiency η of 86.95% at 90 kV/cm for x = 0.45.

To analyze the combined response of ocular cyclotorsion and head tilt during body tilt and to interpret the physiologic role of those movements, each of the three subjects completed six different experiments of body tilt not fixating their head movements using a flight simulator, which consisted of combinations of three tilt angles (30, 45, and 60) and two visual conditions. Head tilt and ocular cyclotorsion of the right eye before, during, and after the tilt maneuver were recorded and analyzed by time sequence. In the active tilting phase, the right eye showed a stepladder pattern of multiple repeats of fast and slow cyclotorsion along with head tilt to obtain maximum visual information. During the stationary tilting phase, there occurred a small amount (mean, 2.3) of ocular cyclotorsion which was reciprocal to that of head tilt. The visual cue of body tilt through the central visual field induced a larger amount of head tilt but affected little ocular cyclotorsion. The maximum degree of ocular cyclotorsion during each experiment was 10.2 on average. In conclusion, the combined response of ocular cyclotorsion and head tilt develops during body tilt and it compromises the conflicting needs between binocular vision and gravitational orientation.

Effective oral care is important to maintain a high quality of life. Therefore, plaque control can prevent the development and recurrence of periodontitis. Brushing with a toothbrush and toothpaste is a common way to remove plaque; however, excessive brushing or brushing with abrasive toothpaste can cause wear and tear on the dental crown. Hence, we aimed to quantitatively compare the plaque-removal efficiency and tooth wear of toothbrushes using bioelectric effect (BE) with those of mechanical electric toothbrushes. To generate the BE signal, an electronic circuit was developed and embedded in a toothbrush. Further, typodonts were coated with cultured artificial plaques and placed in a brushing simulator. A toothpaste slurry was applied, and the typodonts were eluted with tap water after brushing. The plaques of the typodonts were captured, and the images were quantified. For the tooth wear experiment, polymethyl methacrylate disk resin blocks were brushed twice a day, and the thickness of the samples was measured. Subsequently, statistical differences between the experimental toothbrushes and typical toothbrushes were analyzed. The BE toothbrush had a higher plaque-removal efficiency and could minimize tooth wear. This study suggests that the application of BE may be a new solution for oral care.

This study examines the negative impacts of dark stores on the urban environment from three perspectives: land use, transportation, and streetscape. It is conducted on B-Mart, a representative dark store in South Korea. First, in terms of land use, we find that dark stores that function as logistics facilities conflict with the surrounding land use. Second, by analyzing the location of dark stores and the hourly traffic volume of delivery vehicles, we find that the impact on the surrounding transportation infrastructure and pedestrian traffic is not as significant as previously claimed. However, during the transportation and loading process of the dark store, several problems such as traffic violations, illegal parking, and illegal loading were observed, posing a risk to nearby vehicles and pedestrians. Third, in terms of streetscapes, the location of dark stores on the ground floor of buildings can harm streetscapes. The current urban planning system in South Korea does not clearly define the status and function of dark stores, making it unclear how to manage them. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify their legal definition and introduce urban planning and design guidelines that are consistent with their appropriate location and appearance.

The objective of this study is to design and synthesize substituted η6-chromium tricarbonyl metal complexes carrying o-carborane units as potential boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) agents. In this study, 1,2-Diphenyl-o-carborane units were used as starting materials to generate biologically active species. We investigated how the structural changes of 1,2-diphenyl-o-carborane substituted with chromium(0) tricarbonyl affect the biological properties; [(CO)3Cr]Ph2C2 (2) and [(CO)3Cr]2Ph2C2 (3) species were produced in moderate yields. The molecular structures of compounds 1–3 were identified and established by infrared (IR), 1H, 11B, and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and X-ray crystallography analyses. Crystal structures of o-carboranyl chromium complexes 1 [a = 10.859(1) Å, b = 24.953(3) Å, c = 13.938(2) Å, β = 111.854(2)º], 2 [a = 10.621(3) Å, b = 17.056(5) Å, c = 12.174(4) Å, β = 106.622(5)º], and 3 [a = 17.540(2) Å, b = 18.060(2) Å, c = 19.484(4) Å, α = 105.746(2)º, β = 110.226(2)º, γ = 91.256(2)º] were obtained. In vitro study using B16 and CT26 cancer cells containing the triphenyl-o-carboranyl chromium (0) complexes Ph3C2BCr2 and Ph3C2BCr3, which we have previously reported, the compounds 2 and 3 accumulated at higher levels than compounds Ph3C2BCr2 and Ph3C2BCr3. However, the phenylated o-carboranyl chromium(0) complexes have been found to be more cytotoxic than p-boronophenylalanine (BPA).

The present study propose an innovative turn-boring operation method and focuses on finding optimal turn-boring process parameters for 15-5PH Stainless steel by considering multiple performance characteristics using Taguchi orthogonal array with the grey relational analysis, the effect of machining variables such as concentration of cutting fluid , temperature of cutting fluid , feed rate, depth of cut and cutting speed are optimized with considerations of multiple performance characteristics namely surface roughness, roundness error and material removal rate, the optimal values were found out from the Grey relational grade. The result of the Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) is shown that the most significant factor is cutting speed, followed by feed rate, concentration of cutting fluid, radial depth of cut and temperature of cutting fluid. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to make a comparison between the experimental results and developed model. Experimental results have shown that machining performance in the turn-boring process can be improved effectively through this approach.

Ozonated sunflower oil (OSO) is well known functional oil with its antioxidant, antimi-crobial, anti-allergic, and skin-moisturizing properties. However, studies on the effects of OSO on high-cholesterol diet (HCD)-induced metabolic disorders have been scarce. In the current study, we aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of OSO on lipid me-tabolism in adult hypercholesterolemic zebrafish and its embryo. Microinjection of OSO (final 2%, 10 nL) into zebrafish embryos under presence of carboxymethyllysine (CML, 500 ng) protected acute embryo death upto 61% survival, while sunflower oil (final 2%) showed much less protection around 42% survival. The microinjection of OSO was more effective than SO to inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis in the CML induced embryo toxicity. Intraperitoneal injection of OSO under presence of CML protected acute death from CML-induced neurotoxicity with improved hepatic inflamma-tion, less detection of ROS and interleukin (IL)-6, and lowering blood total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG), while SO-injected group did not protect the CML-toxicity. Long-term supplementation of OSO (final 20%, wt/wt) with HCD for 6 months resulted higher sur-vivability than HCD alone group or HCD+SO group (final 20%, wt/wt) with significant lowering of plasma TC and TG levels. The HCD+OSO group showed the least hepatic in-flammation, fatty liver change, ROS, and IL-6 production. In conclusion, short-term treat-ment of OSO by injection exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity against acute neuro-toxicity of CML in zebrafish and its embryo. Long-term supplementation of OSO in diet also revealed the highest survivability and blood lipid-lowering effect through potent an-ti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

(1)Background: Early-age concrete shrinkage induces stress that impact the cost and service life of concrete pavements. (2)Methods: In this study, strain measurements of field slabs were conducted and a methodology was presented that independently derived autogenous, drying, and thermal shrinkages in the initial stages of concrete placement. Total strain was measured according to five different environmental conditions and shrinkage strain was calculated for each condition. (3)Results: By measuring the strain of the slab and the specimen, the drying shrinkage strain was measured to be approximately 54% better than that by the conventional non-stressed cylinder method because it was possible to measure the drying shrinkage strain at the surface rather than in the middle part of the slab along its depth direction. When the water-to-cement ratio increased (35→40%), there was a considerable reduction (317με→82με) of autogenous shrinkage strain for the concrete at 28 days of age. Furthermore, calculation of stress-dependent strain allowed the presentation of more intuitive and accurate results. (4)Conclusion: As the measurement of independent shrinkage occurrence is possible, the consequent calculated result of the stress-dependent strain acting on real slabs will facilitate improvement in the construction quality, reduction in the development of defects in the concrete structure, and increase in the service life.

This paper treats the connection problem of expressing sums of finite products of Chebyshev polynomials of the third and fourth kinds in terms of five classical orthogonal polynomials. In fact, by carrying out explicit computations each of them are expressed as linear combinations of Hermite, generalized Laguerre, Legendre, Gegenbauer, and Jacobi polynomials which involve some terminating hypergeometric functions ${}_2 F_0, {}_2 F_1$, and ${}_3 F_2$.

This study explored the effects of a comprehensive health care program (CHCP) on blood pressure, blood glucose, body composition, and depression in older adults living alone. We used a quasi-experimental, two-group, pre-posttest design. The CHCP consisted of open lectures, health counseling, exercise classes, nutrition counseling, and self-help group meetings at a local senior welfare center. Fifty-eight subjects participated in this study, with thirty subjects in the experimental group and twenty-eight subjects in the control group. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics, χ²-test, and t-test. Comparisons of the pretest and posttest systolic blood pressure (t = - 2.530, p < .016) and blood glucose (t = 3.089, p < .004) between the experimental and control groups showed significant differences. In both the experimental (t = 3.949, p < .001) and control groups (t = 3.816, p < .002), depression symptoms showed a significant decrease post-test, compared with pre-test. Our findings infer that older adults require physical and psychosocial healthcare and that more efforts must be made to improve the general health and wellbeing of this population group.

In this paper, we study sums of finite products of Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind and Lucas polynomials and represent each of them in terms of Chebyshev polynomials of all kinds. Here the coefficients involve terminating hypergeometric functions ₂F₁ and these representations are obtained by explicit computations.

In recent years, hetero atom incorporated specially structured metal-free carbon nanomaterials have drawn huge attention among researchers. In comparison to the un-doped carbon nanomaterials, hetero atoms like nitrogen, sulphur, boron, phosphorous etc. incorporated nanomaterials become well-accepted as potential electrocatalysts in water splitting, supercapacitors and dye-sensitized solar cells. This review emphasizes on the mostly popular synthetic strategies utilized in last two decades and their excellent performance in electrocatalytic studies.

Ozonated sunflower oil (OSO) is renowned for its diverse therapeutic benefits. Nonetheless, the consequences of extended dietary intake of OSO have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Herein, the effect of 2-year dietary supplementation of OSO was examined on the zebrafish survivability, obesity, skeletal deformities, swimming behavior, and liver, kidney, ovary, and testis function. Results showed that the zebrafish feed supplemented with 20% (wt/wt) OSO for 2 years emerged with higher survivability and body weight management compared to sunflower oil (SO) and normal diet (ND) supplemented zebrafish. Radio imaging (X-ray) based analysis revealed 2.6o and 15.2o lower spinal curvature in the OSO-supplemented groups than in SO and ND-supplemented groups; consistently, OSO-supplemented zebrafish showed better swimming behavior. The histology analysis of the liver revealed a least fatty liver change and interleukin 6 (IL-6) generation in the OSO-supplemented group. Additionally, a significantly lower level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptotic, and senescent cells were observed in the liver of the OSO-supplemented zebrafish. Also, no adverse effect on the kidney, testis, and ovary morphology was detected during 2 years of OSO consumption. Moreover, lower senescence with diminished ROS and apoptosis was noticed in the kidney and ovary in response to OSO consumption. The OSO supplementation was found to be effective in countering age-associated dyslipidemia by alleviating total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C) and elevating high-density lipoproteins (HDL-C)/TC levels. Conclusively, prolonged OSO consumption showed no adverse effect on the morphology and functionality of vital organs; in fact, OSO supplementation displayed a protective effect against age-associated detrimental effects on spinal deformities, vital organ functionality, cell senescence, and survivability of zebrafish.

This paper is concerned with representing sums of finite products of Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind and of Fibonacci polynomials in terms of several classical orthogonal polynomials. Indeed, by explicit computations each of them is expressed as linear combinations of Hermite, generalized Laguerre, Legendre, Gegenbauer and Jacobi polynomials which involve the hypergeometric functions ${}_1 F_1$ and ${}_2 F_1$.

Though Moracin D derived from Morus alba was known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, the underlying antitumor mechanism of Moracin D was never unveiled so far. Thus, in the recent study, the apoptotic mechanism of Moracin D was elucidated in breast cancer cells. Herein, Moracin D exerted significant cytotoxicity in MDA-MB231 and MCF7 cells. Also, Moracin D increased sub G1 population, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and attenuated the expression of pro-cysteine aspartyl-specific protease (procaspase 3), c-Myc, cyclin D1, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2),and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) in MDA-MB231 cells. Of note, Moracin D reduced expression of Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), β-catenin, Wnt3a, and upregulated glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK 3β) on Tyr216 along with disturbed binding of FOXM1 with β-catenin in MDA-MB-231 cells. Conversely, GSK3β inhibitor SB216763 reversed the apoptotic ability of Moracin D to reduce expression of FOXM1, β-catenin, pro-caspase3 and pro-PARP in MDA-MB-231 cells. Overall, these findings provide novel insight that Moracin D inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis via suppression of Wnt3a/FOXM1/β-catenin signaling and activation of caspase and GSK3β

Several treatment guidelines for sporadic, nonmetastatic nonfunctioning neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas (NF-pNETs) have recommended resection, however, tumors ≤ 2 cm do not necessarily need surgery. This study aimed to establish a surgical treatment plan for NF-pNETs ≤ 2 cm. From 2000 to 2017, 483 patients who underwent resection for NF-pNETs ≤ 2cm in 18 institutions from Korea and China were enrolled and their medical records were reviewed. Median age was 56 (range 16- 80) years. The 10-year overall survival rate (10Y-OS) and recurrence-free survival rate (10Y-RFS) were 89.8 and 93.1%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, tumor size (> 1.5cm; p = 0.001) and nodal metastasis (p = 0.013) were independent adverse prognostic factors for OS. Perineural invasion (p = 0.008) and high Ki-67 index (≥3%; p < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for poor RFS. NF-pNETs ≤ 2 cm showed unfavorable prognosis after resection when the tumor was larger than 1.5cm, Ki-67 index ≥ 3%, or nodal metastasis was present. NF-pNET patients with tumors ≤ 1.5cm can be observed if the preoperative Ki-67 index is under 3%, and if nodal metastasis is not suspected in preoperative radiologic studies. These findings support the clinical use to make decision about small NF-pNETs.

Mental wellness can be related to healthier living, the learning process and working environments for people in the university community. A wide range of mental wellness programmes have been explored to provide students with pleasant and satisfying experiences. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of integrating Zen meditation(禪)and music listening on the mindfulness and happiness levels of university music therapy students. Qualitative methodology was used, and data were collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews. To investigate various aspects of data regarding the role of meditation and music (MM) programme for mindfulness and happiness, this study used thematic analysis within a qualitative research design. The results of this study indicate that the 8-week MM programme is effective in enhancing mindfulness and happiness and has positive responses to daily life stress (e.g., exam anxiety, financial difficulties, and emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic). The role of meditation and music in promoting mental health and well-being has long been discussed and the combination of the two has been recognised as a beneficial intervention. This paper could contribute to the support of mental health resources and coping strategies in higher education, as well as expand the potential range of integrating practices involving music and meditation.

Background A mycotic aortic aneurysm is a rare type of aortic aneurysm that can cause serious and adverse outcomes. Most mycotic aneurysms originate from infectious sources, such as trauma, vegetation in the heart, and adjacent infectious sources. If a mycotic aneurysm is diagnosed, it should be treated simultaneously with the primary source of the infection. Case Report A 63-year-old male presented to the emergency room with a fever, the primary source of which had not been confirmed, and had not responded to antibiotic treatment for two weeks. Treatment was initiated for a mycotic aneurysm of the brachial artery that occurred suddenly while undergoing treatment for the fever. Further investigation revealed that a mycotic aneurysm of the brachial artery was the cause of the fever, followed by aneurysms in the abdomen and lower extremities, and even vegetation on the heart that was not initially present. The patient declined to undergo treatment for personal reasons. After five months, a contained rupture of the abdominal aortic aneurysm that was initially considered as normal aorta was diagnosed and was treated successfully. Conclusions A peripheral mycotic aneurysm may be associated with multiple aneurysms. Appropriate diagnosis and complete management are necessary to prevent fatal consequences.

The spring-in phenomenon of the composite parts can affect the assembly process. This study aims to predict the spring-in phenomenon of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) part. Here, we predict the spring-in of the CFRP part using a coupled analysis of the forming and cooling processes during the stamping process. First, a simulation of the entire forming process, such as the transfer of the composite laminate, gravity analysis, and forming was performed to obtain the temperature distribution of the CFRP part. Subsequently, a finite-element (FE) simulation of the cooling process was conducted to predict the spring-in phenomenon of the shaped CFRP part using the temperature data obtained in the forming simulation. Finally, a CFRP part was manufactured and compared with the results of the FE simulation.

Recently, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been shown to act as precursors of secondary organic particles that react with ultraviolet rays in the atmosphere and contribute to photochemical smog, global warming, odor, and human health risks, highlighting the importance of VOC management. In this study, we measured VOC concentrations in various contexts including industrial and residential areas of Bucheon, Korea, through mobile laboratory and proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry methods to determine winter VOC concentrations, visualized the data based on spatial information, and used the results to develop an air quality management plan. For this purpose, global information system (GIS)-based air quality data and various environmental variables were comprehensively reviewed to assess spatial and temporal concentrations in three dimensions rather than in tables and graphs. Among VOCs, the levels of toluene, methanol, and n+i-butene were relatively high, with average concentrations of 48.3 ± 67.2, 34.4 ± 102.7, and 32.6 ± 57.7 ppb, respectively, at the end of the working day. The highest concentrations occurred near the Ojeong Industrial Complex. Mobile pollution sources are also a major driver of VOCs, highlighting the necessity of comprehensively reviewing traffic variables such as road level, estimated traffic volume, and average speed when identifying hotspots of air pollution. GIS-based visualization analysis techniques will improve the efficiency of air quality management.

This study focuses on the increased risk of high heat release and asphyxiation (toxic gas poisoning) in the event of a fire of polyurethane (PU) and MDF-based building materials, which are commonly used in building fires. Among them, polyurethane (PU) building materials are essential for buildings except in Europe and some other countries due to their excellent thermal insulation performance, but problems of short-term heat release and spread of toxic gases in the event of a fire continue to occur. To overcome these problems, researchers are actively working on introducing various flame retardants into building materials. Therefore, in this study, we produced a laboratory-sized (500mm*500mm) plate flame retardant board that can be utilized as a building material with a lower heat release rate and a lower toxicity index by mixing expanded graphite and ceramic binder as flame retardants in a main material based on the cellulose of waste paper by replacing the existing building materials with a hot-press method. According to the ISO-5660-1 test on the heat release rate of the plate flame retardant board, the THR value was 2.9 (MJ/m2) for 10 minutes, showing an effect of reducing the THR value by 36.3 (MJ/m2) compared to the THR value of 39.2 (MJ/m2) of the specimen made using only paper. In addition, the toxicity index of the flame retardant board was checked through the NES 713 test. As a result, the test specimen showed a toxicity index of 0.7, which is 2.4 lower than the toxicity index of 3.1 of MDF, which is utilized as a conventional building material. Based on the results of this study, the cellulose fire retardant board showed the effect of reducing the heat release rate and toxicity index of building materials in a building fire, which reduces the risk of rapid heat spread and smoke toxicity. This has the potential to improve the evacuation time (A-SET) of evacuees in fires. It is also important to show that recycling waste paper and utilizing it as the main material for building materials can be an alternative in terms of sustainable development.

Objectives: Robotic bilateral axillary breast approach (BABA) thyroid surgery began in 2008 and is now one of the most widely used remote-access thyroid surgeries worldwide. This study aimed to analyze the results of 500 robotic BABA thyroid surgeries performed in a single institution in Korea compared with open thyroid surgery. Methods: From December 2018 to March 2020, 502 robotic BABA thyroidectomies (RTs) and 531 conventional open thyroidectomies (OTs) were performed in our institution by a single endocrine surgeon. We retrospectively reviewed patient medical records and performed a comparative analysis of OT and RT. Results: The RT group was younger (43.41±11.41 versus 54.28±13.41 years, p<0.001) and had a higher proportion of females (84.3% versus 69.3%, p<0.001), a lower BMI (24.66±3.97 versus 25.83±4.07 kg/m2), a higher proportion of lobectomies (52.6% versus 45.2%) and a lower proportion of lateral neck dissections (3.4% versus 10.0%, p<0.001). The RT group had a lnger operation time (145.33±40.80 versus 93.39±43.55 minutes, p<0.001) and higher surgical cost. Although the OT group had a larger tumor size and higher proportion of extrathyroidal extension, the numbers of retrieved lymph nodes were not significantly different between the two groups. Additionally, there was no difference in the stimulated thyroglobulin level before radioactive iodine therapy (7.01±35.73 versus 8.39±58.77, p=0.782). The rates of transient vocal cord palsy and transient hypoparathyroidism were significantly lower in the RT group, and those of scar-related complications were higher in the OT group. Conclusion: Robotic BABA thyroid surgery has advantages not only in better cosmetic outcomes but also in lower rates of vocal cord palsy and hypoparathyroidism, with comparable lymph node retrieval and serum thyroglobulin levels.

This study reports the recovery of Pd(II) from acid solution by a polyethylenimine (PEI) crosslinked chitin (PEI-chitin) biosorbent. FE-SEM analysis demonstrated that there are many slot-like pores on PEI-chitin. N2 adsorption-desorption experiment revealed that the average pore size was 47.12 nm. Elemental analysis verified the successful crosslinking of PEI with raw chitin. The Langmuir model better explained the isotherm experimental data and the theoretical maximum Pd(II) uptake was 59.6 mg/g. The adsorption kinetic data was better described by pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 30 min for all initial Pd(II) concentrations of 50-200 mg/L. In the fixed-bed column, the adsorption of Pd(II) on PEI-chitin showed slow breakthrough and fast saturation performance. The desorption experiments achieved a concentration factor of 8.4 ± 0.4. In addition, adsorption-desorption cycles in the fixed-bed column were performed up to 3 times, consequently confirming the good reusability of PEI-chitin for Pd(II) recovery. Therefore, the PEI-chitin can be used as a promising biosorbent for the recovery of Pd(II) in practical applications.

Hybrid fiber reinforced composites can be controlled by price, weight and various mechanical properties depending on fiber ratio and lamination method. Despite these excellent hybrid properties, there is a disadvantage that inter-laminar fracture due to external impact, which is the biggest weakness of fiber reinforced composite materials, is weak. The test specimens were prepared by using a vacuum bag method, which is manufactured by using an autoclave device. The pre-preg is manufactured in the form of a B-stage. In the process of fabricating the nanoparticle pre-preg, the homogeneizer using an ultrasonic wave was used to disperse the epoxy subject without the curing agent into nanoparticles. The dispersion of the nanoparticles was dispersed by the weight of the epoxy resin. This is to take into account the cohesion of HNT and to understand the range of cohesion of HNT in a matrix with viscosity and its phenomenon. According to the Comparison of the interlayer interfacial properties and mechanical properties of Aramid / Basalt fiber hybrid composites by HNT addition, the fracture toughness, ILSS and bending strength of specimens with HNT content of more than a certain level were decreased because of the aggregation of HNT.

Ozonated sunflower oil (OSO) is an established therapeutic agent and nutraceutical harboring various therapeutic values, including antiallergic, derma-protective, and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Conversely, the medicinal aspects of OSO for wound healing, tissue regeneration, and treatment of inflammation in dyslipidemia have yet to be fully elucidated. Herein, a comparative effect of OSO and sunflower oil (SO) was investigated to heal cutaneous wound and tissue regeneration of zebrafish impediment by carboxymethyllysine (CML) toxicity, following impact on hepatic inflammation and blood lipid profile. After OSO (final 2%, 1 μL) and SO's (final 2%, 1 μL) treatment, substantial healing was elicited by OSO in the cutaneous wound of zebrafish impaired by CML (final 25 mg). As an important event of wound healing, OSO scavenges the reactive oxygen species (ROS), rescues the wound from oxidative injury, and triggers the essential molecular events for the wound closer. Furthermore, the intraperitoneal injection of OSO was noted to counter the CML-induced adversity and prompt tissue regeneration in the amputated tail fin of zebrafish. Additionally, OSO counters the CML-induced neurotoxicity and rescues the zebrafish from acute mortality and paralysis, along with meticulous recovery of hepatic inflammation, fatty liver changes, and diminished ROS and proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 production. Besides, OSO efficiently ameliorated CML-induced dyslipidemia by alleviating the total blood cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and increasing high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C). The outcome of multivariate assessment employing principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis supports a superior therapeutic potential of OSO over SO against the clinical manifestation of CML. Conclusively, OSO owing to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential, counters CML-induced toxicity and promotes wound healing, tissue regeneration, hepatoprotection, improved blood lipid profile, and survivability of zebrafish.

This study examines the synergistic interaction between the immunomodulatory functions of lactic acid bacteria postbiotics and the anti-inflammatory properties of Smilax China L. extract through a combined fermentation process. Using atopic dermatitis (AD) as a model, characterized by an immune imbalance that leads to skin inflammation, we developed a fermented product, MB-2006, and compared its effects to those of heat-killed probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus (LAC) and Lac-tobacillus rhamnosus (LRH). Our experiments focused on elucidating the mechanism of action of MB-2006 in AD-like HaCaT keratinocyte cells, particularly its impact on the NF-kB pathway, a pivotal regulator of inflammation. MB-2006 proved more effective in reducing inflammation markers such as IL-4 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and in inhibiting NF-kB activation, compared to LAC and LRH. Significantly, MB-2006 also reduced the expression of thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), highlighting a synergistic effect that enhances its thera-peutic potential. These results suggest that the combined fermentation of Smilax china L. extract with lactic acid bacteria enhanced both the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, pre-senting a promising integrative approach to treating conditions like AD. Further studies are needed to validate these results in clinical settings and fully explore the potential of this synergistic fer-mentation process.

As technologies such as eco-friendly ships, electric propulsion vessels, and multi-fuel propulsion systems advance, the scope of IoT applications in maritime field is expanding, resulting in increased complexity in control factors. The gradual progression towards Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) is further driving the evolution of ship-based IoT applications. These advancements underscore the necessity for a platform capable of ensuring reliable connectivity between ships and onshore, while also being adaptable for deployment and operation to meet the demands of service availability. The limitations of the existing single cloud architecture become evident in this context. In response to these emerging challenges, this paper presents a cloud-based horizontal data platform structure anchored in the architecture of a Multi-Region Fog Cloud. This approach is tailored to fulfill the crucial requirement of maintaining robust and seamless connectivity for vessels navigating globally. Leveraging the capabilities of the Fog Cloud, the platform enhances service responsiveness by facilitating localized data collection and distribution, complemented by efficient data caching from the Cloud Center, serving users within the same geographical region. We outline a strategic framework for enhancing and executing key ship services within the proposed architecture. These services encompass data sharing between ships to elevate collision avoidance, disseminating weather data for optimized route planning, and constructing an operator training simulator (OTS) environment through the integration of digital twin technology. After, we implement an architecture using the AWS Cloud and gauges latency and Packet Loss Rate (PLR) through connections to Seoul, California, and Frankfurt regions. The test results reveal that latency in different regions is about 2-5 times higher than that in the same region for the payload. Furthermore, packet loss occurred at roughly 2-3 Hz packet generation rate (PGR) in different regions, whereas in the same region, it commenced at approximately 10-20 Hz PGR.

The R&D and propagation of sustainable appropriate technology requires the provision of stable funding. Crowdfunding is a form of funding whereby small sums of investments or contributions are collected from among the general public and used to finance the development of goods or services. This method has been in use widely in arts and culture fields, and presents a useful alternative means for funding appropriate technology projects. The aim of this study is to identify the factors influencing the backers who participate in appropriate technology projects through crowdfunding platforms, analyzing the relationships between these factors, and thereby establishing the usefulness of crowdfunding as a viable new alternative. The analysis results indicate that key factors influencing user intention to crowdfund appropriate technology projects include social influence, effort expectancy, and perceived trust. In contrast to the findings of previous studies, performance expectancy was not found to have a significant effect. This reflects the fact that, compared to the crowdfunding conducted for other purposes, crowdfunding for appropriate technology is closer in nature to donations. These findings indicate that for funding to be successful, aggressive online exposure using the SNS of backers should be pursued from the early stages of funding.

Emphasis on primary health care (PHC) is the most efficient and economical approach to achieving universal health coverage. The aim of the study is to examine PHC publications from 2011 to 2023 in the Asian Pacific region (APR) using the Web of Science (WoS) database. Academic papers in the WoS PHC subject category published in the APR from 2011 to 2023 were retrieved and analyzed. A total of 4,283 papers were published in the WoS PHC category from APR onwards. The annual number of published papers and their citations increased from 2011 to 2023. Australia led PHC publications in APR with 3,049 publications (71.19% of APR regional output). New Zealand had the highest number of citations per paper (13.76) and the highest mean impact factor (3.23±1.80). Publications in the WoS PHC category also covered a wide range of topics, including Medicine General Internal (64.77%), Health Care Sciences Services (21.88%), Health Policy Services and Public Environmental Occupational Health (21.36%), demonstrating the breadth of PHC research. Australia dominates the output of PHC publications in the APR. Australian Family Physician and Australian Journal of Primary Health are the leading journals publishing PHC papers in the APR.

This review explores the field of retreatment strategies for the cases filled with calcium silicate-based root canal sealers. Since the introduction of calcium silicate-based materials in dentistry, calcium silicate-based root canal sealers have become popular among dentists because of their biocom- patibility, bioactivity, and sealing ability. Therefore, effective retreatment strategies are indispensable. This article aims to identify the challenges associated with the removal of calcium silicate-based sealers itself and gutta-percha with the sealers during retreatment, evaluate current techniques and materials, and provide future directions for research in this field. Regarding the strategies of removal of root canal sealers, calcium silicate-based sealers are still relatively new materials for clinicians compared with the traditional sealers such as epoxy- or eugenol-based sealers. First, no clinically established solvents have been reported. Second, calcium silicate-based sealers are currently utilized by clinicians in either cold sealer-based technique or warm vertical condensation technique. Third, the setting process of calcium silicate-based sealers generates byproducts primarily calcium hydroxide and secondarily hydroxyapatite, which could interact with dentine. Lastly, there is a lack of clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of retreatment protocols for teeth filled with calcium silicate-based sealers. Therefore, it is important to investigate chemo-mechanical properties of calcium silicate- based sealers itself and their reactions to solvents and/or mechanical instruments, and identify the interfacial properties of calcium silicate-based sealers in respect to dentine and gutta-percha. In addition, researchers in clinical field need to actively gather and report data on retreatments of teeth filled with calcium silicate-based sealers.

Arthroscopic capsular release (ACR) is used for persistent shoulder stiffness after an index surgery. No cases of post-ACR humeral head osteonecrosis have been reported to date. A 56-year-old male patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation using a hook plate for acromioclavicular joint dislocation. Despite hardware removal, the patient presented with unresolved shoulder pain and range-of-motion (ROM) limitation. He had a history of hypertension, chronic hepatitis B infection, and alcohol consumption. Preoperative ROM was forward flexion 90°and internal rotation sacral level. Preoperative functional status was visual analog scale (VAS) score 4, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score 51, and Constant–Murley (CMS) score 48, and normal radiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Standard ACR was performed with 360° release of the joint capsule via electrocautery ablation. Six-months post-ACR, ROM (forward flexion: 135°, abduction: 135°, external rotation: 70°, internal rotation: T10 vertebra) and functional outcomes (VAS 2; ASES79; CMS 75) were significantly improved, without interval change in radiographic assessment. However, 21 months later, he had recurrent shoulder pain and decreased ROM. Radiography revealed humeral head osteonecrosis. Patients with intrinsic or extrinsic risk factors related to humeral head circulation disturbance should be monitored for humeral head osteonecrosis post-ACR.

In industrial settings, gears play a crucial role by assisting various machinery functions such as speed control, torque manipulation, and altering motion direction.The malfunction or failure of these gear components can have serious repercussions, resulting in production halts and financial losses. As a result, there is an increasing requirement to monitor the state of these components in order to avoid such issues from occurring. To address this need, research efforts have focused on early defect detection in gears in order to reduce the impact of possible failures. This study focused on analyzing vibration and thermal datasets from two extruder machine gearboxes using an autoencoder Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model. The major goal is to implement an outlier detection approach to detect and classify defects. The results of this study highlighted the extraordinary performance of the Autoencoder LSTM model, which achieved an impressive accuracy rate of 94.42% in recognizing malfunctioning gearboxes within the extruder machine system. Furthermore, the study used a thorough global metrics evaluation methodology to further test the model’s dependability and efficacy, consequently substantiating the proposed approach’s validity.

As broiler farming facilities have become larger and more concentrated in response to external environmental changes, there is a possibility of increased concentrations of fine dust and aerosols inside these facilities due to enclosure. In particular, workers are exposed to high concentrations of organic particulate matter and harmful gases while performing their tasks, and as they age, they become more vulnerable to respiratory diseases. It is essential to directly monitor the concen-trations to which workers are exposed, along with the spatial distribution of aerosols inside broiler house. In this study, we analyzed the regional aerosol concentrations using passive samplers in commercial tunnel-ventilated broiler farms. Simultaneously, we employed active samplers at the height of the workers' breathing zones to monitor real-time aerosol concentrations by particle size along their work routes. Spatial aerosol concentrations generally increased from the inlet to the exhaust in the breathing zone. The average aerosol concentrations were TSP -1,042 µg/m³, PM-10 718 µg/m³, and PM-2.5 137 µg/m³. To analyze the workers' exposure environments, we categorized the tasks in the barn into Static work period (SWP) and Moving work period (MWP) based on video analysis. The results showed that during MWP, fine dust concentrations exceeded the standards by up to 214%. Particularly, during MWP, the concentrations were 1.74 times higher for TSP, 1.40 times higher for PM-10, and 1.22 times higher for PM-2.5 compared to SWP. It was observed that during the movement of workers, physical generation of particles around 10 µm, such as feces, feed, and bedding, occurred due to the movement of chicken, which influenced the aerosol concentration.

Many farms utilize closed-type livestock systems to enhance productivity and facilitate effective environmental management. However, the confined nature of these closed spaces poses an increased risk of exposure to harmful gases and organic dust for both workers and livestock. Additionally, the introduction of outside air through ventilation systems can lead to temperature fluctuations within the breeding environment, resulting in potential productivity issues. This research paper employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to develop ventilation operation management plans that address both the working environment and the breeding environment simultaneously. The proposed plans are designed to be easily implemented in practical farm settings. The findings of this study, based on simulation analysis, indicate that while ventilation is effective in reducing harmful gases and improving the working environment, its efficiency decreases after the initial 3 minutes of operation. Furthermore, uncontrolled ventilation can cause sudden temperature changes, which may adversely affect the well-being of the livestock. However, when upgraded ventilation structures are implemented, significant improvements in the working environment (an average of 27.3% improvement) can be achieved while maintaining temperature stability for the livestock. These results highlight the importance of referring to the provided ventilation operation management table before commencing work, as it enables workers to improve the working environment while minimizing the potential impact of ventilation on the breeding environment.

Recently, the demand for electric vehicle is increasing worldwide due to eco-friendly policies and stricter emission regulations. As a traction motor for electric vehicle, interior permanent magnet synchronous motors are mainly used. For the design of the interior permanent magnet synchronous motor, the magnetic equivalent circuit method, which is a method of lumped constant circuit, and the finite element method, which is a method of distributed constant circuit, mainly are used. Magnetic equivalent circuit method is useful for simple design through fast and intuitive parameters, but it cannot derive the distribution of magnetic field. The finite element method can derive an accurate magnetic field distribution, but it takes a long time to analyze and it is difficult to analyze intuitive design parameters. In this paper, magnetic equivalent circuit method and Carter coefficient are mixed for rotor structure design. This design method will be called the hybrid magnetic equivalent circuit method. Intuitive design parameters are derived through this hybrid magnetic equivalent circuit method. We will derive the Air gap flux density distribution according to rotor shape, no-load induced voltage, and cogging torque, and compare and verify it with the finite element method.

In previous researches, Job Crafting questionnaire to develop is consists of 3 factors which are Task Crafting, Cognitive Crafting, and Relationship Crafting with 12 to 17 items. The purpose of study is to develop JCQ for leisure sports instructor of Korean. 274 valid samples are used for analysis. Data collecting is purposeful sampling. At result, for Korean Sports Instructor Job Crafting Scale is constructed 3 factors with 12 items is constructed by 3 step procedure. KSIJCQ is confirmed on convergent discriminant validity evidence. In conclusion, KSIJCQ is a valid scale of the measuring and distributes Job Crafting of generalization in sports.

The degradation of Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) gasket materials is crucial in electric vehicles as it can cause hazardous hydrogen fuel leaks, which are usually due to high temperatures, pressures, and hydrogen fuel exposure. Degradation of gasket materials in PEMFC presents a critical concern for electric vehicle safety due to potential hydrogen fuel leaks. This study utilizes finite element analysis (FEA) to assess the suitability of gasket materials for PEMFC applications, focusing on aging and tensile conditions. The dual degradation framework, incorporating contact pressure and von Mises stress, is employed to evaluate Liquid Silicon Rubber (LSR) and Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) materials. Under aging techniques, the Yeoh model exhibits the least Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and computational cost of 0.27 seconds, while the Ogden model records the highest computational cost of 0.89 seconds. In evaluating MAE, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and R-squared metrics, LSR and EPDM materials demonstrate respective averages of 0.25%, 0.275%, 0.945%, and 0.815%, 0.685%, 0.77%. Tensile testing (Uniaxial) reveals RMSE and MAE values of 0.30%, 0.40%, and 0.50%, 0.40%, respectively. FEA proves instrumental in identifying suitable gasket materials for PEMFC applications. LSR emerges as the superior choice, demonstrating enhanced FEA modelling performance under aging and tensile conditions. These findings contribute valuable insights to the design and development of improved gasket materials, bolstering the safety and reliability of electric vehicles.

The aim of this study is to propose and validate the state space mode decomposition technique for precise mode separation of non-classical damping systems and closely distributed modal systems. To assess the reliability and applicability of this technique, a 40-story building with a tuned mass damper is investigated, and acceleration responses measured by the building's health monitoring system are used for the verification of the technique. The mode separation results reveal that the separated modal power spectrum becomes distorted at neighboring natural frequency ranges when the performance index only considers the concentration of power spectral energy at the target natural frequency. However, by introducing an augmented performance index that includes a constraint condition to account for distortion, more accurate mode decomposition can be achieved.

The move to a low carbon economy is very important for enhancing international competitiveness. The eco-innovation is the critical factor of the green paradigm. This study is designed to investigate deeply the determinants of eco-innovation of manufacturing firms in Korea by suggesting anticipated regulations, self-regulations, and industry-specific characteristics as external factors and open information sources as internal factors. The data used in the analysis is 1946 sample firms from Korean Innovation Survey 2010 based on the Oslo Manual. Using the multi-variate probit analysis and the zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression analysis, we have found out that the anticipated regulations and self-regulations have significant influences both on eco-process innovation and eco-product innovation, while industrial characteristics have no effects. The empirical results also show that the breadth of information sources has a positive effect on businesses in implementing eco-innovations. Our findings show that the Korean government should provide a good platform where firms can better understand the future trends of environmental policies, particularly policies on anticipated and self-regulations. At the same time, Korean firms should establish a voluntary system to control environmental activities so that they can improve eco-innovations through integrating external information.

This paper addresses a method to transmit streaming data via rolling shutter camera-based optical camera communications (OCC). Since the amount of data that can be contained within one frame is limited, and the continuity of received data cannot be guaranteed due to OCC environmental variations, we introduce the concept of dividing the streaming data into several fragmented sets that are transmitted sequentially. We propose a superframe to contain sequential packets of fragmented data and corresponding indexes, so that sequential packets for streaming data can be continuously collected. When redundant frame transmission is considered, any packet lost due to OCC environmental conditions can be recovered. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be successfully used to transmit streaming data, with the number of redundant frames required to acquire all data packets based on image resolution. In addition, we describe how to identify missing packets from a network point of view to reduce the number of redundant frames needed to acquire all the data. This paper presents baseline results of communication performance when sending streaming data via a rolling shutter-based OCC.

A lead zirconate titanate [PZT;Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃] layer embedded infrared (IR) detector decorated with wavelength-selective plasmonic crystals has been investigated for high-performance non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy. A plasmonic IR detector with an enhanced IR absorption band has been designed based on numerical simulations, fabricated by conventional microfabrication techniques, and characterized with a broadly tunable quantum cascade laser. The enhanced responsivity of the plasmonic IR detector at specific wavelength band has improved the performance of NDIR spectroscopy and pushed the limit of detection (LOD) by an order of magnitude. In this paper, a 13 fold enhancement in the LOD of a methane gas sensing using NDIR spectroscopy is demonstrated with the plasmonic IR detector.

Abstract: (1) Background: existing treatment methods for neglect are concentrated on egocentric neglect and lead to various problems, such as cost/space constraints and portability. Therefore, this study seeks to determine how treatment (a.k.a., Twins Therapy, TT) can improve an existing problem in relation to neglect in stroke patients; (2) Method: The research design was a pre-post test control group design and both groups maintained existing rehabilitation treatment and added TT intervention only to the experimental group. TT intervention was conducted for a total of 20 sessions (1 session 30 min/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks); (3) Result: as a result of comparison be-fore and after the TT intervention, there was no significant difference in MFT and MBI items (p>.05). However, the score and execution time of the Apple Cancellation Test showed significant reduction only in the experimental group (p<.05); (4) Conclusion: as a result of the study, TT im-proved not only egocentric neglect, but also allocentric neglect symptoms in stroke patients

This study used secondary data from the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey to compare the associations of socio-physical environment, social support networks, and social activities with happiness among older adults with three different family types. As per the results, there was a significant difference in happiness index between the three groups (F = 86.688, p < .001). Older adults living alone (odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57–0.99) and those living with family (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.99) showed greater happiness as the frequency of contact with family increased. Older adults living with only their spouse showed an increase in happiness when their contact with friends was higher (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.56–0.84). It was confirmed that there were differences in factors influencing happiness according to the family type of the older adults in this study. Therefore, the happiness of older adults needs to be adequately ensured, while considering their various circumstances, including family type.