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Purpose: This study aimed to predict future visual field tests using a bidirectional gated recurrent unit (Bi-GRU) and assess its performance based on the number of input visual field tests and the prediction time interval. Materials and methods: This study included patients who underwent visual field tests at least four times at five university hospitals between June 2004 and April 2022. All data were accessed in October 2022 for research purposes. In total, 23,517 eyes with 185,858 visual field tests were used as the training dataset, and 1,053 eyes with 9,459 visual field tests were used as the test dataset. The Bi-GRU architecture was designed to take a variable number of visual field tests, ranging from 3 to 80, as input and predict visual field tests at the desired arbitrary time point. It generated the mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD), Visual Field Index (VFI), and total deviation value (TDV) for 54 test points. To analyze the model performance, the mean absolute error between the actual and predicted values was calculated and analyzed for glaucoma severity, number of input visual field tests, and prediction time interval. Results: The prediction errors of the Bi-GRU model for MD, PSD, VFI, and TDV ranged from 1.20 to 1.68 dB, 0.95 to 1.16 dB, 3.64 to 4.51%, and 2.13 to 2.60 dB, respectively, depending on the number of input visual field tests. Prediction errors tended to increase as the prediction time interval increased; however, the difference was not statistically significant. As the severity of glaucoma worsened, the prediction errors significantly increased. Conclusion: In clinical practice, the Bi-GRU model can predict future visual field tests at the desired time points using three or more previous visual field tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionospheric Anomaly Monitoring by Magnetometer And Plasma-probe (IAMMAP) is a suite of scientific instruments used in the Compact Advanced Satellite 500-3 (CAS 500-3), which is planned to be launched by the KSLV (Korean Space Launch Vehicle) in 2025. The main scientific objective of IAMMAP is to understand the complicated correlation between the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), both of which play important roles in the dynamics of ionospheric plasma in the dayside equator region. The magnetic field generated by the EEJ is tiny (~several nT) compared to the background geomagnetic field (~30,000 nT); thus, a high-resolution magnetometer with a wide dynamic range is required to investigate its correlation with the EIA. To achieve this required resolution, IAMMAP includes a set of improved fluxgate magnetometers named the AIMAG (Adaptive In-phase MAGnetometer), which was developed by adopting new technologies. Here, we report the analysis results of the manufactured AIMAG performance based on trade-off studies for optimizing the circuit and sensor configurations. The results support that the AIMAG sensor and electronic circuits with new concepts and technologies will lead to successful observations of EEJ signatures in the ionosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Nucleic acid amplification‐based methods are limited by their inability to discriminate between viable and dead cells. To overcome this drawback, propidium monoazide (PMA) combined with qPCR has been used to differentiate viable from nonviable cells in environmental samples. However, assessing bacterial physiology using PMA‐qPCR remains a challenge due to its incapability of detecting metabolic activities, leading to overestimation of the viable bacteria population under an inactivation condition (e.g. antibiotic treatments). A recent advanced technique to amplify ribosomal RNA precursors (pre‐rRNA) has been shown to detect viable cells because pre‐rRNAs are intermediates in rRNA synthesis. This study investigated the effect of different types of antibiotics on the bacterial viability or viable but non‐culturable (VBNC) state using both PMA‐qPCR and pre‐rRNA analyses with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study demonstrated that P. aeruginosa was more sensitive to colistin than it was to carbenicillin, gentamicin and levofloxacin. We could discriminate VBNCP. aeruginosa cells using PMA‐qPCR when antibiotic pressure induced the VBNC state. Also, pre‐rRNA was able to distinguish viable cells from colistin‐inactivated bacteria cells, and it could detect the presence of VBNC and persister cells. Our results showed that these two molecular methods could successfully eliminate false‐positive signals derived from antibiotics‐inactivated cells. The effect of different types of antibiotics on the bacterial viability or viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state have been tested using both PMA‐qPCR and pre‐rRNA analysis with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our results showed that these two molecular methods could successfully eliminate false positive signals derived from antibiotics‐inactivated cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters made of glass fiber media are prone to recycling problem and restrictions in extreme environmental condition such as high flow rate, high temperature, and fire. Therefore, metal fiber filters with minimal maintenance can replace conventional HEPA filters. The objective of the study is to evaluate the theoretical and experimental characteristics of a SUS316L metal fiber filter made from the fiber diameter of 8 µm. Theoretical modeling for predicting the collection efficiency of the radioactive aerosol is performed on the metal fiber as a function of particle size, filter thickness, and flow rate. Comparison between the experimental and theoretical results demonstrates that they are in good agreement. Consequently, the model is later utilized for performance optimization of the metal fiber filter. Also the metal filter for collecting the radioactive aerosol is optimized at the particle collection efficiency of 99.97% in most penetrating particle size (MPPS) of region 0.3 µm which complies with the standards established for conventional glass fiber HEPA filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) gene plays an important role in the biosynthesis process controlled by a number of fatty acid transcription factors. This study investigates the relationships between 130 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PPARγ gene and the fatty acid composition of muscle fat in the commercial population of Korean native cattle. We identified 38 SNPs and verified relationships between 3 SNPs (g.1159-71208 A>G, g.42555-29812 G>A, and g.72362 G>T) and the fatty acid composition of commercial Korean native cattle (n = 513). Cattle with the AA genotype of g.1159-71208 A>G and the GG genotype of g.42555-29812 G>A and g.72362 G>T had higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and carcass traits (p<0.05). The results revealed that the 3 identified SNPs in the PPARγ gene affected fatty acid composition and carcass traits, suggesting that these 3 SNPs may improve the flavor and quality of beef in commercial Korean native cattle.