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Purpose: This study assessed recent trends in the incidence of urologic cancer and patient survival in Korea.Materials and Methods: The incidence of urologic cancer in Korea was calculated based on the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database and the South Korean Statistical Information Service Database. Data from 2000 to 2020 were used to determine the incidence, death, prevalence, and survival rates of urologic cancer.Results: Urologic cancer was diagnosed in 27,514 cases, accounting for 11.1% of the total cancer incidence. In 2020, there were 16,815 prostate cancer cases, 5,946 kidney cancer cases, and 4,753 bladder cancer cases. The age-standardized rate (ASR) for the incidence of prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer increased from 2000 to 2020. The overall ASR was 56 per 100,000 in 2020. In 2000, the ASRs for prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer were 2.9, 3.1, and 4.8 per 100,000, respectively, whereas they were 32.7, 11.6, and 9.3 per 100,000, respectively, in 2020. Urologic cancer has also seen a steady increase in the death rate, prevalence rate, and relative survival rate over the past 20 years. The 5-year relative survival rates for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer during the 5-year period from 2015 to 2019 were 94.4%, 84.7%, and 76.5%, respectively. Among urologic cancers, prostate cancer had the highest survival rate, and bladder cancer had the lowest.Conclusions: The survival rate for urologic cancer is increasing; however, the incidence and prevalence rates continue to rise.

This article proposes a current-scaling gain-compen-sation algorithm for motor drive applications under the locked-rotor condition. In heavy industrial applications, such as elevators and cranes, initial commissioning tests are performed with the rotor locked. To compensate for errors in the current-scaling gain, the proposed method controls the current in the d–q axis using two-phase current-sensing methods in a stationary reference frame. The three-phase scaling gains are then estimated using the resulting d -axis current command and output voltage and are compensated for using these estimations. The proposed method delivers accurate compensations by considering the inequality between phase resistances. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified through simulations and experiments.

Pelubiprofen (PEL), which is a commercialized non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), is associated with the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events following long-term exposure and has poor water-soluble properties. Here, a new pelubiprofen tromethamine (PEL-T) with improved solubility, permeability, GI safety, and absorption, compared to PEL, has been developed. The nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results confirmed that the PEL-T was well formed. The powder of PEL-T showed the presence of additional 6H protons at δ 3.66–3.61 in the 1H NMR spectrum, and shifted the sharp endothermic peaks at 129 °C in DSC, and the spectrum of distinct absorption peaks in FT-IR. In addition, compared with PEL, PEL-T showed a significantly improved solubility in various media and an increased permeability coefficient (Kp) in Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, compared to PEL oral administration, PEL-T was found to significantly reduce the damaged area in an acute gastric damage rat model. The pharmacokinetic study of the PEL-T powder showed higher maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration–time curve from 0 h to the last time point (AUCt) than those of the PEL powder. Taken together, our data suggest that PEL-T is a recommendable candidate with enhanced gastrointestinal safety and better absorption compared with commercial PEL.

This study numerically verified the enhanced efficiency of a steel reheating furnace when applying oxy-fuel combustion instead of air-fuel combustion. Only radiation heat transfer was considered to analyze the periodically transient slab heating for an axial-fired furnace. The radiation field was computed without flow field calculation by dividing the entire furnace into ten subzones of which the temperatures were calculated by taking the overall heat balance for all the subzones. A total of five cases, 2 for air-fuels and 3 for oxy-fuels, was analyzed to compare the slab heating behavior between air-fuel and oxy-fuel combustion. The modified 5-gas WSGGM was used for oxy-fuel combustion cases to fulfill the characteristics of CO2 and H2O enriched medium, while ordinary 4-gas WSGGM was used for air-fuel combustion cases. From the efficiency analysis for the total of five cases, it was predicted that oxy-fuel combustion gave an approximately 50% enhancement in efficiency compared to air-fuel combustion.

Mitochondrial calcium overload is a crucial event in determining the fate of neuronal cell survival and death, implicated in pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. One of the driving forces of calcium influx into mitochondria is mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨm). Therefore, pharmacological manipulation of ΔΨm can be a promising strategy to prevent neuronal cell death against brain insults. Based on these issues, we investigated here whether nobiletin, a Citrus polymethoxylated flavone, prevents neurotoxic neuronal calcium overload and cell death via regulating basal ΔΨm against neuronal insult in primary cortical neurons and pure brain mitochondria isolated from rat cortices. Results demonstrated that nobiletin treatment significantly increased cell viability against glutamate toxicity (100 µM, 20 min) in primary cortical neurons. Real-time imaging-based fluorometry data reveal that nobiletin evokes partial mitochondrial depolarization in these neurons. Nobiletin markedly attenuated mitochondrial calcium overload and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in glutamate (100 µM)-stimulated cortical neurons and isolated pure mitochondria exposed to high concentration of Ca2+ (5 µM). Nobiletin-induced partial mitochondrial depolarization in intact neurons was confirmed in isolated brain mitochondria using a fluorescence microplate reader. Nobiletin effects on basal ΔΨm were completely abolished in K+-free medium on pure isolated mitochondria. Taken together, results demonstrate that K+ influx into mitochondria is critically involved in partial mitochondrial depolarization-related neuroprotective effect of nobiletin. Nobiletin-induced mitochondrial K+ influx is probably mediated, at least in part, by activation of mitochondrial K+ channels. However, further detailed studies should be conducted to determine exact molecular targets of nobiletin in mitochondria.

A method for the identification of mechanical parameters based on integral calculation is presented. Both the moment of inertia and the friction constant are identified by the method developed here, which is based on well-known mechanical differential equations. The mechanical system under test is excited according to a pre-determined low-frequency sinusoidal motion, minimizing the distortion, and increasing the accuracy of the results. The parameters are identified using integral calculation, increasing the robustness of the results against measurement noise. Experimental data are supported by simulation, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The performance improvements shown here are of use in the design of speed and position controllers and observers. Owing to its simplicity, this method can be readily applied to commercial inverter products.

This paper proposes a design guideline for the feedback gain of the adaptive full-order observer in the speed sensorless control of induction machines. The performance of the adaptive full-order observer is dependent on its feedback gain. This paper presents a pole placement method for the observer feedback gain design to improve the estimation performance of the speed adaptive observer. In the proposed method, the observer poles can be chosen independently of the induction motor poles. Instead, they can be positioned according to the operating speed. An analysis and experimental results obtained with the proposed method reveals better performances under general operating conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of roasted jinpi extract (RJE) under various roasting conditions (e.g., 100–155 °C). The total phenolic contents, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities in RJE increased with increased roasting temperature, and the highest efficacy was observed at 155 °C. The narirutin and hesperidin contents in RJE reached 15.32 and 11.50 mg/g, respectively, under this optimal temperature (155 °C). The roasting process caused the Maillard reaction to occur which increased the amounts of 2,4-diamino-5-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-6-methyl pyrimidine (DDMP) and 5-hydroxymethlyfurfural (5-HMF) but decreased the total sugar content in RJE. Among the compounds contained in RJE, DDMP had the strongest diethylene glycol, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, which was determined by DPPH-HPLC analysis. These results suggest that roasting jinpi under optimal conditions increases the amount of phenolics and flavonoids and thereby enhances the antioxidant activity of jinpi.

Citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) has been quarantined by many countries in the world. Recently, the usage of methyl bromide should be limited, application by gamma irradiation on the agricultural production is raised as an alternative method. In this study, the level of gamma irradiation which could decrease of population of Xcc in the suspension or on the surface of citrus fruit was investigated. The D10 value of Xcc, which is radiation dose required to reduce the number of the microorganism, was 55 and 28 Gy in the suspension and on the surface of citrus fruit, respectively. Furthermore, disease severity was suppressed on the citrus leaves inoculated with Xcc suspension pre-treated with gamma irradiation. Based on this study, it is suggested that Xcc on the citrus fruit could be eradicated by gamma irradiation and the results of this study may be valuable for application of gamma ray in quarantine activity

This study was conducted to investigated effects of water relation of mulching and trickle irrigation on the external and internal fruit quality in Satsuma mandarin grafted on trifoliate orange rootstock in a orchard assigned to randomly three groups; whole period of Tyvex mulching (TM), Tyvex mulching with trickle irrigation once a week from October 22 to harvesting season (WM) and non-mulching treatment (NM). The average soil moisture content in the TM was lower than the WM during the time of trickle irrigation from Oct. 21 to Nov. 28. The leaf water potential was at the level of Ψmax of -1.5 to -2.5 MPa during whole period of Tyvex mulching treatment but gradually increased at the point of supplement of water. The water and osmotic potential in juice vesicle was decreased by drought but increased again in response to the supply of water in WM. The total soluble solids (TSS) in fruit juice was increased by drought stress, but diminished in response to supply of water after drought. The content of titratible acidity was increased by drought stress but gradually decreased due to supplement of water after drought, reached it at the level of 1%. It was suggested that the accumulation of the total soluble solids compensates the degree of active osmoregulation and the decrease in content of acidity accounts for the fast respiration and water uptake resulted of the water after drought.

Speed germination success and robust vegetative growth of citrus rootstock through improved sowing methods and fertilizer inputs offer the usage of root system for the citrus. The current study evaluated the influence of seed coat removal and different fertilizer concentrations on plant germination and plant growth of spontaneous rootstock siblings. Decoated and coated seeds of diploid and tetraploid plants were sown in tubes. Commercial fertilizer concentrations of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and were added. The experimental layout followed a randomized block factorial design (seed coat removal fertilizer concentration) for each rootstock. Fertilizer concentrations were 0, 10, 20 and of the fertilizer for the resistance of the strength on the salt level. The germination rate of seeds without testa sown in vitro was improved (67-80%) compared to that of nontreated seeds. The eventual tree height of the seeds without testa in the diploid group was increased due to higher fertilization compared to that in the nontreated group. The removal of seed testa promoted the seed germination of both diploid and tetraploid trifoliate orange and resulted in greater height. Their vegetative development was also increased due to the increased fertilization of the rootstock. The Fv/Fm value for the diploid plants was 0.4 and 0.8 for the tetraploid ones under salt stress after 11 days of treatment. The removal of seed testa may improve the seed germination of trifoliate orange. Tetraploid trifoliate orange appears to possess resistance to salt stress compared to the diploid variety.

In this study, we compare the quality of the mango cv. Irwin cultivated in Jeju and Okinawa by evaluating the total soluble solids (TSS) and antioxidant activity (AA) from ethanol extracts of the fruit. TSS and AA were higher in fruit cultivated at the Research Institute of Climate Change and Agriculture in Jeju (RICA) and Okinawa farm, where the low tree height cultivation method is used, than in fruit cultivated on farm in Jeju. Also, the mangiferin content of the Okinawa farm was higher than those produced on the RICA and Jeju farm house. These results suggest that the lowering tree height cultivation method improves the quality of the mango cv. Irwin.

A transient radiative slab heating analysis was performed to investigate the effect of various fuel mixtures on the performance of an axial-fired reheating furnace. The various fuel mixtures tested were assumed to be attained by mixing COG (coke oven gas) and BFG (blast furnace gas), which are the two main byproduct gases found in the integrated steel mill industry. The numerical prediction of radiative heat transfer was calculated using an FVM radiation solving method, which is a well-known and efficient method for curvilinear coordinates. The WSGGM (weighted sum of gray gas model) was also adopted to calculate the radiative heat transfer in composition dependent media. The entire furnace was divided into fourteen sub-zones to calculate the radiative thermal characteristics of the furnace without flow field calculations. Each sub-zone was assumed to have homogeneous media and wall temperatures. All of the medium and wall temperatures were computed by calculating the overall heat balance using some relevant assumptions. The overall heat balance was satisfied when the net heat input equaled the three sources of heat loss in each sub-zone, wall loss, skid loss, and slab heating loss.

A 3D unsteady numerical simulation of a reheating furnace was performed to obtain the optimal slab residence time. Too long residence time decrease the efficiency of the reheating furnace, whereas too short residence time cannot satisfy the required heating quality of a slab. The total five cases of residence times – 6032 s, 6496 s, 6960 s, 7424 s and 7888 s – were investigated for the optimum residence time analysis with the two slab requirements, those of emission temperature and uniformity. In this study, the slab emission temperature should be in the range between 1373 K and 1573 K. The skid mark severity of an emitted slab should be lower than 50 K to satisfy the uniformity requirement. The numerical analysis was done for the identical geometry and operating condition of the reheating furnace using FLUENT. Slabs were assumed to move very quickly that it took no time for them to move next positions. The quick movements of slabs were processed with the own developed User-Defined Function program. Among the five cases of residence times, the residence time of 7427 s turned out to be most efficient.

This study revealed the behavior of droplets formed through leak process in deep water. There was a threshold depth named the universal attraction depth (UAD). Droplets rose upward in the zone below the UAD called the rising zone, and settled down in the zone above the UAD called the settling zone. Three mass loss modes were identified and formulated: dissolution induced by mass transfer, condensation by heat transfer and phase separation by pressure decrease. The first two were active for the settling zone, and all the three were effective for the rising zone. In consequence, the life time of the droplets in the rising zone was far shorter than that of the droplets in the settling zone.

Numerical analysis of slab heating characteristics in a reheating furnace has been accomplished using FLUENT, a commercial software. The phenomena in the furnace are periodically transient because the slabs are transported toward a rolling mill with every time interval controlled. Unsteady calculation has been performed to obtain a periodically transient solution. A User-Defined Function (UDF) program has been developed to process the movement of slabs because FLUENT cannot handle the movement using its default functions. When the mean temperature of a slab emitted to the rolling mill does not change, calculation is considered to have converged and is stopped. This convergence criterion is appropriate for achieving an analytical solution. With the boundary and initial conditions given, over 55 new slabs are inserted to get a converged solution. Skid posts and beams are included in the calculation because they disturb radiation heat transfer from hot combustion gas to the slabs. This article examines what the slabs experience in the furnace before they are emitted to the rolling mill and whether a slab emitted to the rolling mill satisfies the required slab conditions, such as target temperature and skid severity.

In this study, the unknown wall temperature profile of a cylinder was predicted by applying the inverse method. The temperature profile of the cylinder wall was predicted from the given temperature data at measurement points near the cylinder wall. The cylinder was assumed to represent a typical pipe in a bundle of heat exchange tubes operating in a high temperature system. Radiative heat transfer was incorporated as one of major heat transfer modes to consider a hot gas flow passing over the cylinder. The corresponding inverse problem was solved by minimizing an objective function by applying the iterative conjugate gradient method. A multi-block grid composed of three different blocks was used for better computational accuracy and convenience in locating the measurement points. A new method, which could be applicable to non-symmetric geometry, was adopted to solve the adjoint equation. In this study, the effects of number and location of the measurement points were numerically investigated. When the measurement points were too close to the cylinder, the predicted temperature profile exhibited larger fluctuations. The results have also shown that an appropriate number of measurement points were required to improve the prediction of the boundary temperature profile.

Transient radiative heating characteristics of slabs in a walking beam type reheating furnace is predicted by the finite-volume method (FVM) for radiation. The FVM can calculate the radiative intensity absorbed and emitted by hot gas as well as emitted by the wall with curvilinear geometry. The non-gray weighted sum of gray gas model (WSGGM) which is more realistic than the gray gas model is used for better accurate prediction of gas radiation. The block-off procedure is applied to the treatment of the slabs inside which intensity has no meaning. Entire domain is divided into eight sub-zones to specify temperature distribution, and each sub-zone has different temperatures and the same species composition. Temperature field of a slab is acquired by solving the transient 3D heat conduction equation. Incident radiation flux into a slab is used for the boundary condition of the heat conduction equation governing the slab temperature. The movement of the slabs is taken into account and calculation is performed during the residence time of a slab in the furnace. The slab heating characteristics is also investigated for the various slab residence times. Main interest of this study is the transient variation of the average temperature and temperature non-uniformity of the slabs.

A numerical program has been developed and applied to investigate the heating characteristics of the slab in a bench scale reheating furnace. Its numerical results were validated by comparison with the experimental data obtained in the test facility in POSCO company

Aeroponics, used mainly for the production of virus-free seed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in South Korea, poses several problems, particularly, the risk of blackout and lenticle hypertrophy. Recently, a capillary culture system that supplies nutrient solution through wicks was developed to overcome these problems. In a capillary culture system, the nutrients that the plant cannot take up remain in the solid media in which they accumulate, while the plant roots adhere to the wicks. In this study, a complete nutrient solution, a NPK fertilizer, and different levels of the controlled release fertilizers of Multicote, Osmocote, and Magamp K, were tested with water supplied through wicks. The final fresh weight per plant, in the nutrient solution plot weighed 72.9 g while that from the Multicote (100 g/box) plot weighed 66.4 g. The total tuber yield per square meter, in the Multicote (100 g/box) plot and Osmocote (80 g/box) plot were 13 and 4% higher, respectively, than that of the nutrient solution plot. The degree of the root penetration into the styrofoam bed of the controlled release fertilizer plot was only 13% of the nutrient solution plot.

The concentration of a constituent in a fruit, which is often related to fruit quality, is caused by changes in the accumulation of a constituent, water, or both. In this study, changes in dry matter percentage and sugar concentration of 'Hayward' kiwifruits were analyzed with respect to the accumulation of dry matter, sugars, or water during growth in 1995 and 1996. Fruit growth curve by fresh weight and water content showed a clear double sigmoid curve, whereas that based on dry matter did not. Percentage of dry matter, which increased until the end of stage II, decreased immediately after the start of stage III, and then recovered gradually. The decrease in dry matter was accompanied by a rapid inflow of water into the fruit, which indicates that the increase in water import into fruits is responsible for the re-starting of rapid growth at the beginning of stage III. During the latter half of stage III, dry matter content increased without an increase in water content. Starch concentration increased during stages I and II to reach a plateau at the beginning of stage III. Toward the end of stage III, starch concentration decreased, and total sugar concentration increased rapidly. Since no change in water content occurred during this period, the increase in total sugar content reflected directly to the concentration.

Native berries of Jeju in Korea, Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum and Rubus buergeri Miq., were extracted each fruit or leaves with stem in 80% ethanol to investigate the antioxidant activities. Tota...

We report on the improvement of light output power of InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) of GaN using a pyramidal-shaped SiO(2) mask. The light output power was increased by 80% at 20 mA of injection current compared with that of conventional LEDs without LEO structures. This improvement is attributed to an increased internal quantum efficiency by a significant reduction in threading dislocation and by an enhancement of light extraction efficiency by pyramidal-shaped SiO(2) LEO mask.

The effect of chip area on the temperature-dependent light-output power (LOP) in GaInN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is investigated. The larger the chip size, the faster the reduction in LOP with increasing temperature becomes, indicating that increasing the size of LED chips, a technology trend for reducing the efficiency droop at high currents, is detrimental for high temperature-tolerant LEDs. In addition, it is found that regardless of chip size, the temperature-dependent LOP is identical for the LEDs operating at the same current density.

This experimental study was performed to investigate the flow characteristics in the pipe of the blow-down system. When a liquid CO2 container is found to lose mechanical integrity, possibly by material or mechanical defects, the liquid inventory should be drained out rapidly for the purpose of safety by the so-called blow-down process. In the course of the blow-down, the liquid CO2 experiences the state change into a two-phase mixture of vapor and solid before releasing into atmosphere. The release rate of blow-down is affected by the characteristics of phase change., Temperature and pressure was measured in capillary tube passages representing blow-down flow lines and the location of phase change was inferred with the measured data. The experimental result shows that phase change occurs just before CO2 flow is exposed to ambient air for any tube length of this study.