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Background When studying the quality of sleep in relation to athletic performance, the athlete’s chronotype and habitual time consider important factors. We aim to investigate the sleep quality and athletes’ performance according to chronotype in elite athletes. Methods Three hundred forty elite athletes (males = 261, females = 79) were recruited for the present study. All participants were screening for chronotype by the Korean versions of the Morningness - Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ-K). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) were measurement after screening. Results PSQI global score, PSQI sleep quality, PSQI sleep onset latency, PSQI sleep disturbance, and PSQI daytime dysfunction were significant differences among the groups. WAnT mean power (W), mean power (W/kg), peak power (W), and peak power (W/kg) were significant differences among the groups. A negative correlation coefficient was found between PSQI score and WAnT mean power (W) (r = − 0.256, p r = − 0.270, p r = − 0.220, p r = − 0.248, p Conclusions This study indicates that related poor sleep quality and late-type chronotype may reduce the athletes’ performance in elite athletes. In addition, the sleep quality is much higher in the early-type chronotype than in the late-type chronotype. Moreover, it also the athletic performance was better in the early-type chronotype than in the late-type chronotype.

Research Summary Ethnic migrant inventors may differ from locals in terms of the knowledge they bring to host firms. Using a unique dataset of Chinese and Indian herbal patents filed in the United States, we find that an increase in the supply of first‐generation ethnic migrant inventors increases the rate of codification of herbal knowledge at U.S. assignees by 4.5%. Our identification comes from an exogenous shock to the quota of H1B visas and from a list of entities exempted from the shock. We also find that ethnic migrant inventors are more likely to engage in reuse of knowledge previously locked within the cultural context of their home regions, whereas knowledge recombination is more likely to be pursued by teams comprising inventors from other ethnic backgrounds. Managerial Summary Managers and policy makers around the world face a vigorous debate on whether to hire skilled migrants or hire locals. We argue that if western firms stop hiring ethnic migrants, innovation at these firms would suffer in two ways: knowledge transfer and knowledge recombination would both be impeded. We argue and show that skilled ethnic migrants bring to their employers, unique knowledge from the cultural context of their host country. Also, local inventors engage in “knowledge recombination” by combining their existing knowledge to knowledge transferred by migrants. Our empirical results relate to the patenting of Chinese and Indian herbal formulations at western pharmaceutical firms before and after an immigration shock related to the admittance of skilled migrants from these two countries.

Displays play a significant role in delivering information and providing visual data across all media platforms. Among displays, the prominence of reflective displays is increasing, in the form of E-paper, which has features distinct from emissive displays. These unique features include high visibility under daylight conditions, reduced eye strain and low power consumption, which make them highly effective for outdoor use. Furthermore, such characteristics enable reflective displays to achieve high synergy in combination with wearable devices, which are frequently used for outdoor activities. However, as wearable devices must stretch to conform to the dynamic surfaces of the human body, the issue of how to fabricate stretchable reflective displays should be tackled prior to merging them with wearable devices. In this paper, we discuss stretchable and reflective displays. In particular, we focus on reflective displays that can be divided into two types, passive and active, according to their responses to stretching. Passive displays, which consist of dyes or pigments, exhibit consistent colors under stretching, while active displays, which are based on mechanochromic materials, change their color under the same conditions. We will provide a comprehensive overview of the materials and technologies for each display type, and present strategies for stretchable and reflective displays.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of tooth displacement on frictional force when conventional ligating lingual brackets (CL-LBs), CL-LBs with a narrow bracket width, and self-ligating lingual brackets (SL-LBs) were used with initial leveling and alignment wires. Methods: CL-LBs (7th Generation), CLLBs with a narrow bracket width (STb), and SL-LBs (In-Ovation L) were tested under three tooth displacement conditions: no displacement (control); a 2-mm palatal displacement (PD) of the maxillary right lateral incisor (MXLI); and a 2-mm gingival displacement (GD) of the maxillary right canine (MXC) (nine groups, n = 7 per group). A stereolithographic typodont system and artificial saliva were used. Static and kinetic frictional forces (SFF and KFF, respectively) were measured while drawing a 0.013-inch copper-nickel-titanium archwire through brackets at 0.5 mm/min for 5 minutes at 36.5 o C. Results: The In-Ovation L exhibited lower SFF under control conditions and lower KFF under all displacement conditions than the 7th Generation and STb (all p < 0.001). No significant difference in SFF existed between the In-Ovation L and STb for a 2-mm GD of the MXC and 2-mm PD of the MXLI. A 2-mm GD of the MXC produced higher SFF and KFF than a 2-mm PD of the MXLI in all brackets (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: CLLBs with narrow bracket widths exhibited higher KFF than SL-LBs under tooth displacement conditions. CL-LBs and ligation methods should be developed to produce SFF and KFF as low as those in SL-LBs during the initial and leveling stage. [Korean J Orthod 2016;46(2):87-95]

Increasingly, a firm’s ability to create value depends on its ability to achieve alignment with its ecosystem of suppliers and complementors. In such contexts, a firm’s strategy may encompass “open...

The latent tracks formed on CR-39 solid state track detector on exposure of alpha radiations emanating from a collimated 241 Am source were developed by a chemical etching method. Alpha track images were captured by an optical microscope and were processed by using Image Pro-Plus (6.0) software. GEANT4 simulations were carried out to obtain the angular and energy distribution profiles of the alpha particles. Apart from fluence, geometric parameters like aspect ratio (the ratio of the major to minor axis) and the depth profiles of etched tracks were measured experimentally and correlated with simulated angular and energy profile of incident radiations. Reasonable agreement was observed in the fluence and depth profile information obtained from experiments and simulations.

Purpose: We performed a comparative analysis of the clinicopathologic features and oncologic outcomes of colorectal cancer patients with metachronous versus synchronous metastasis, according to the prognostic factors. Methods: Ninety-three patients who underwent curative resection for distant metastatic colorectal cancer were included in the study between December 2001 and December 2011. We assessed recurrence-free survival and overall survival in patients with distant metastasis who underwent curative surgery. Results: The most common site of distant metastasis was lung alone (n = 19, 51.4%) in patients with metachronous metastasis, while liver alone was most common in those with synchronous metastasis (n = 40, 71.4%). Overall survival rate was significantly different between patients with synchronous metastasis and metachronous metastasis (34.0% vs. 53.7%; P = 0.013). Incomplete resection of the metastatic lesion was significantly related to poor overall survival in both, patients with synchronous metastasis, and metachronous metastasis. Conclusion: Our study indicates that patients developing distant metastasis after initial treatment show a different metastatic pattern and better oncologic outcomes, as compared to those presenting with distant metastasis. Resection with tumor free margins significantly improves survival in patients with metachronous as well as synchronous metastasis.

Purpose: Clinical usefulness of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping in colorectal cancer remains controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the SLN mapping technique using serial sectioning, and to compare the results between ex vivo and in vivo techniques. Methods: From February 2011 to October 2012, 34 colon cancer patients underwent SLN mapping during surgical resection. Eleven patients were analyzed with the in vivo method, and 23 patients with the ex vivo method. Patient characteristics and results of SLN mapping were evaluated. Results: The SLN mapping was performed in 34 patients. Mean age was 67.3 years (range, 44?81 years). Primary tumors were located in the following sites: 13 in the right colon (38.2%) and 21 in the left colon (61.8%). SLN mapping was performed successfully in 88.2% of the patients. There was no significant difference in the identification rate between the two methods (90.9% vs. 87.0%, P = 1.000). Both the mapping methods showed a low sensitivity and high rate of skip metastasis. Conclusion: This study showed that SLN evaluation using serial sectioning could not predict the nodal status with clinically acceptable accuracy despite the high detection rate.

Background and Objectives Metastatic colon cancer patients are treated with the chemotherapy regimens, FOLFOX and FOLFIRI, in either order. So far, we cannot predict the response of chemotherapeutic agent, so it is necessary to find which regimen is adequate before starting chemotherapy. Methods Enrolled patients are randomized into either conventional treatment or planned treatment preceded by pretreatment genetic analysis. Blood samples of patients in planned treatment group (N = 53) were analyzed for the genetic polymorphism before selection of chemotherapeutic agents. Target genes were XPD-751, GSTP-1-105, XRCC1-399 for oxaliplatin, UGT1A1 for irinotecan. The response was measured by computed tomographic scan after completion of three cycles of chemotherapy. Results Overall response rate was significantly higher in planned group (67.9% vs. 46.3%, P = 0.020). In FOLFOX group, response rate was significantly improved in the planned patients(77.1% vs. 50%, P = 0.018). In FOLFIRI group, the difference didn't reach statistical significance (50% vs. 42.5%, P = 0.776). Conclusions We found significantly improved response rates in the chemotherapy of metastatic colon cancer by pretreatment genetic analysis, especially in FOLFOX group. J. Surg. Oncol. 2014 109:250–254. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for resectable colorectal liver metastases is a subject of debate. We compared the oncologic outcomes between neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy combined with surgery for resectable synchronous colorectal liver metastases. Methods We analyzed 30 patients who underwent liver resection for resectable colorectal liver metastases combined with oxaliplatin-based neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy between May 2003 and August 2010. We assessed recurrence-free and overall survival in patients treated using neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared with those who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Results Of the 30 patients with colorectal liver metastases, 15 underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 15 underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. Nine (60%) patients in the adjuvant group relapsed and nine (60%) patients in the neoadjuvant group relapsed. The neoadjuvant chemotherapy group had no significant difference in recurrence-free and overall 3-y survival (37.5% versus 45.0%, P = 0.938; 44.0% versus 66.7 %, P = 0.466) compared with the adjuvant chemotherapy group. Conclusion Our results indicate that neoadjuvant chemotherapy is not inferior to adjuvant chemotherapy for resectable colorectal liver metastases, although the study was not randomized and included a limited number of patients.

Cancer chemotherapy drugs command a large share of the market, and the development of new therapeutics with high efficacy and specificity is an active area of study. Recently, the development of cancer therapeutics from natural products targeting angiogenesis has drawn attention due to conventional chemotherapeutics showing serious side effects and resistance in cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the pharmacological efficacy of Gomisin A, an active ingredient of Schizandra chinensis baillon, on tumor growth and metastasis. Administration of Gomisin A at 10 and 100 μg/ml reduced tumor growth in vivo by 80.5±8.1% and 96.2±2%, respectively, compared with positive tumor controls. Treatment of Gomisin A in normal and various tumor cell lines did not exert significant toxicity. Mice treated with Gomisin A at a concentration of 10 and 100 μg/head showed a significant reduction in tumor-induced angiogenesis of 151±16.9% and 98.5±29.5%, respectively. Furthermore, tumor metastasis analysis revealed that the administration of Gomisin A at a concentration of 10 and 100 μg/head inhibited tumor metastasis by 13.5±8.56% and 58.3±9.12%, respectively. In addition, Gomisin A significantly decreased cell adhesion of the B16BL6 cells to the extracellular matrix. These results demonstrate that Gomisin A inhibits tumor growth via suppression of angiogenesis and tumor metastasis inhibition, without cellular toxicity. The pharmacological efficacy of Gomisin A suggests that it may be a potential candidate for the development of cancer drugs.

Objectives: We evaluated the long-term results of tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy in elderly patients with chronic otitis media (COM). Methods: We included 192 patients with intractable COM who underwent both tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy from the same surgeon between January 2003 and December 2006 and were followed up for more than 3 years. The patients were divided into two groups: An “old COM group” of 83 patients (more than 65 years of age) and a “young COM group” of 109 patients (between 21 and 40 years of age). We compared the preoperative and postoperative levels of hearing, the types of tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy, and the postoperative complications of the two groups. Results: Among the old COM group, 11 patients (13.3%) showed temporary postoperative complaints without serious sequelae. Between the old and young COM groups, there were no significant differences in the rates of associated cholesteatoma, middle ear swab culture results, or type of tympanoplasty, ossiculoplasty, and mastoidectomy. In the comparison of postoperative hearing improvement, both the old and young COM groups showed a significant decrease in air-bone gap, although the old COM group showed a significantly worse preoperative air-bone gap. There were no significant differences in the rates of re-perforation of the tympanic membrane or of reoperation between the two groups. Conclusions: From this study, we conclude that there is no reason to withhold surgery for COM on the assumption that older patients do not have good results or that the procedure is too risky.

This paper proposes a powerful SVM-ASM filter, the adaptive switching median(ASM) filter based on support vector machines(SVMs), to effectively reduce impulse noise in corrupted images while preserving image details and features. The proposed SVM-ASM filter is composed of two stages: SVM impulse detection and ASM filtering. SVM impulse detection determines whether the pixels are corrupted by noise or not according to an optimal discrimination function. ASM filtering implements the image filtering with a variable window size to effectively remove the noisy pixels determined by the SVM impulse detection. Experimental results show that the SVM-ASM filter performs significantly better than many other existing filters for denoising impulse noise even in highly corrupted images with regard to noise suppression and detail preservation. The SVM-ASM filter is also extremely robust with respect to various test images and various percentages of image noise.

Color, as perceived through the eye, transcends mere information in the visible range of electromagnetism and serves as an agent for communication and entertainment. Mechanochromic systems have thus far only aimed at satisfying the sense of vision and have overlooked the possibility of generating acoustic vibrations in concert with their visual color responses that would enable the simultaneous satisfaction of the auditory system. Transcending the boundaries of the two senses (i.e., sound and color), herein a strategy for their concurrent and synesthetic fulfillment is elucidated by electrically actuating an organogel photonic device, controlled by a single input signal. This new class of devices that integrate a color module with a speaker is fabricated from a mechanochromic layer that comprises close-packed photonic lattice with an organogel matrix pervading the void fraction. Exploiting a dielectric elastomer actuator, the system's mechanical response permits the simultaneous, yet independent, exploration of visible-light reflection alongside audible sound-wave generation. Large areal strains at low frequencies of actuation tune the photonic stop-band, whereas the layer remains incompressible and exhibits negligible strain when actuated at higher frequencies (e.g., tens of Hz), thereby making it amenable to modulate sound and color simultaneously yet independently.

Ethnic migrant inventors might differ from locals in terms of knowledge they bring to host firms. We study the role of first- generation ethnic migrant inventors in cross-border transfer of knowled...

Images are often corrupted by impulse noise due to a noise sensor or channel transmission errors. The filter based on SVM(Support Vector Machine) and the improved adaptive median filtering is proposed to preserve image details while suppressing impulse noise for image restoration. Our approach uses an SVM impulse detector to judge whether the input pixel is noise. If a pixel is detected as a noisy pixel, the improved adaptive median filter is used to replace it. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed filter, extensive simulation experiments have been conducted under both salt-and-pepper and random-valued impulse noise models to compare our method with many other well known filters in the qualitative measure and quantitative measures such as PSNR and MAE. Experimental results indicate that the proposed filter performs significantly better than many other existing filters.

The authors report on the optical properties of multi-dimensional ZnO hybrid structures, consisting of film (2D)/nanorods (1D)/sapphire substrate (2D), grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Photoluminescence investigations reveal that the sample with top layer grown at a decreased growth temperature of 240 °C and increased reactor pressure of 5 Torr exhibits superior emission properties. The presence of strong E2high optical phonon mode at 438.5 cm− 1 in the visible micro-Raman spectra demonstrates the wurtzite nature of ZnO. Although the ultraviolet Raman scattering measurements of the hybrid structures reveal the presence of in-plane tensile stress in the top ZnO layer, the sample with the improved emission performance shows the release of tensile stress.

The This paper presents a novel Geo-Pointing algorithm consists of three phases; 1) estimating coordinates with line of sight(LOS) from the quadcopter to the target objects, and then 2) tracking the stationary objects for orienting the line of sight toward the object (Point of Interest, POI), and 3) the quadcopter automatically around an object (Circle of Interest, COI). With application of these functions that enables the desired objects always on screen, all that is required is to fly above the object and mark it in flight via Ground Control System (GCS). The performance and its usefulness are verified through flight experiments.

Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) is a complex and time-consuming procedure, which is increasingly used for early gastric cancer (EGC). We provide a multidimensional analysis of the learning curve in LAG.Cumulative sum method was used to analyze outcomes of 109 patients undergoing LAG for EGC by one surgeon over a two year period; the influence of patient selection was evaluated. Target failure rate was set at 10%, with failure defined as open conversion, mortality, major morbidity, residual tumor, or inappropriate lymphadenectomy.There were 19 failures--fourteen performance and five oncologic. The learning curve, which displayed a slight rising trend and three phases was achieved after 40 cases with selected patients; it was broken, however, by the introduction of advanced procedures and unselected patients.Advanced procedures and broad indications in LAG should be delayed until a learning curve is completed under the target failure rate.

The one-dimensional ZnO nanostructures prepared through thermal evaporation under various cooling down procedures by changing the flow rates of the carrier gas and the reactive gas were investigated. The nanorod structures were changed into the nanonail types with a broad head through the reduction of the flow rate of the carrier gas. The decrease of the reactive gas reduced the length of the nail heads due to the limited mass transport of reactive gas. The intensity ratio of the ultraviolet emission/green emission of photoluminescence was proportional to the length of the broad head showing a larger surface area. The vertically aligned nanostructures were grown along the [0 0 0 1] direction of ZnO regardless of the aligned directions. The crystal direction of the nanostructures was determined by that of the initial ZnO crystal.

This paper deals with a matching problem of finding correspondences of features in two omnidirectional images. To produce reliable matching results even though there are large translation and rotation of a sensor, we proposed a method that combines the advantages of sum of squared difference (SSD) and dynamic time warping (DTW). Dominant corresponding feature pairs are found using a proximity matrix and an SSD-based similarity matrix, and then the remaining feature matching is accomplished by DTW. Experimental results show that a zero failure rate of matching can be achieved in an indoor environment if the baseline is less than 20 cm.

This article describes real-time gaze control using position-based visual servoing. The main control objective of the system is to enable a gaze point to track the target so that the image feature of the target is located at each image center. The overall system consists of two parts: the vision process and the control system. The vision system extracts a predefined color feature from images. An adaptive look-up table method is proposed in order to get the 3-D position of the feature within the video frame rate under varying illumination. An uncalibrated camera raises the problem of the reconstructed 3-D positions not being correct. To solve the calibration problem in the position-based approach, we constructed an end-point closed-loop system using an active head-eye system. In the proposed control system, the reconstructed position error is used with a Jacobian matrix of the kinematic relation. The system stability is locally guaranteed, like image-based visual servoing, and the gaze position was shown to converge to the feature position. The proposed approach was successfully applied to a tracking task with a moving target in some simulations and some real experiments. The processing speed satisfies the property of real time.

We have investigated the notion of machine intelligence, based on extensive literature survey and have proposed two methods to measure intelligence of a machine. Specially, we have first analyzed those engineering systems or products that are said to be intelligent and have extracted four common constructs, each of which consists of several variables. Based on them, we have then suggested two typical models, which are represented as entities in three-dimensional construct space. In order to find a number, called machine intelligence quotient (MIQ), we adopt two fuzzy integrals, Sugeno fuzzy integral and Choquet fuzzy integral. Two application examples are given for the typical models using two fuzzy integrals, and comparative comments are made.

We study the role of ethnic Chinese/Indian migrant inventors in transferring contextual knowledge across borders and the role of ethnic networks in further disseminating such knowledge. Using a uni...

The performance and photocatalytic activity of the well-known CdS/ZnO nanorod array system were improved significantly by the layer-by-layer heterojunction structure fabrication of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) CdO layer on the CdS/ZnO nanorods. Accordingly, a CdO layer with a thickness of approximately 5-10 nm can be formed that surrounds the CdS/ZnO nanorod arrays after annealing at 500 °C under air. At an external potential of 0.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the CdO/CdS/ZnO nanorod array electrodes exhibit an increased incident photon to conversion efficiency, which is significantly higher than that of the CdS/ZnO nanorod array electrodes. The high charge separation between the electrons and holes at the interfaces of the heterojunction structure results from the specific band energy structure of the photoanode materials, and the unique high conductivity of the CdO layer is attributed to the suppression of electron-hole recombination; this suppression enhances the photocurrent density of the CdO/CdS/ZnO nanorod arrays. The photoresponse of the electrodes in an electrolytic solution without sacrificial agents indicated that the CdO layer also has the ability to suppress the well-known photocorrosive behavior of CdS/ZnO nanorods.

Membranes with nano-apertures are versatile templates that possess a wide range of electronic, optical and biomedical applications. However, such membranes have been limited to silicon-based inorganic materials to utilize standard semiconductor processes. Here we report a new type of flexible and free-standing polymeric membrane with nano-apertures by exploiting high-wettability difference and geometrical reinforcement via multiscale, multilevel architecture. In the method, polymeric membranes with various pore sizes (50-800 nm) and shapes (dots, lines) are fabricated by a hierarchical mould-based dewetting of ultraviolet-curable resins. In particular, the nano-pores are monolithically integrated on a two-level hierarchical supporting layer, allowing for the rapid (

At room-temperature ambient, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were selectively synthesized on each bridge of the microheater array (MHA) formed on a glass substrate. Both multiwalled (MW) and single-walled CNTs could be formed by controlling the MHA temperature, which was confirmed from Raman spectroscopy. By incorporating the selectively grown MW CNTs into the lateral-gated field-emitter arrays, high current density of electron emission was observed with low device leakage.

Little is known of the oncological outcomes after adjuvant FOLFOX chemotherapy in patients with stage III colon cancer showing microsatellite instability high (MSI-H). In the present study we investigated the prognostic impact of MSI-H in patients with stage III colon cancer receiving FOLFOX chemotherapy.We analyzed the MSI status in 127 patients with stage III colon cancer who underwent curative surgical resection followed by FOLFOX chemotherapy between January 2003 and December 2010. We assessed disease-free and overall survival (OS) in patients with MSI-H colon cancer compared with those showing microsatellite instability low or microsatellite stable (MSI-L/MSS) disease.Sixteen of the patients (12.6 %) were MSI-H, and 111 patients (87.4 %) were MSI-L/MSS. There was no significant difference between patients showing MSI-H and MSI-L/MSS except for age (P = 0.030), tumor location (P0.001), and differentiation (P = 0.031). Compared with MSI-L/MSS colon cancer, patients with MSI-H colon cancer had no significant difference in 5-year disease-free and OS (72.2 vs 68.5 %, P = 0.874; 68.1 vs 71.1 %, P = 0.437).Our study indicates that FOLFOX chemotherapy can be considered to treat stage III colon cancer patients with MSI-H after surgery, although the study was not randomized and included only a limited number of patients.

Nano-objects would be of great interest for the development of new types of electronic circuits if one could combine their nanometer scale with original functionalities beyond the conventional transistor action. However, the associated circuit architectures will have to handle the increasing variability and defect rate intrinsic to the nanoscale. In this context, there is a very fast growing interest for memory devices, and in particular resistive memory devices, used as building blocks in reconfigurable circuits tolerant to defects and variability. It was recently shown that optically gated carbon nanotube field effect transistors (OG-CNTFETs) based on large assemblies of nanotubes covered by an organic photoconductive thin film can be operated as programmable resistors and thus used as artificial synapses in circuits with function-learning capabilities. Here, the potential of such approach is evaluated in terms of scalability by integrating and addressing several individually programmable resistances on a single carbon nanotube. In addition, the charge storage mechanism can be controlled at a length scale smaller than the device length allowing to also program the direction in which the current flows. It thus demonstrates that a single nanotube section can combine all-in-one the properties of an analog resistive memory and of a rectifying diode with tunable polarity.

Objective: It is desirable for patients to have realistic expectations before surgery with preoperative use of a BAHA test-band. We aimed to investigate how much gain patients can obtain with preoperative use of a BAHA test-band with full-on gain and compared the results with those of BAHA users with the volume control at the comfortable level.Method: Nineteen patients with single-sided deafness were included. Sound-field threshold and speech understanding were measured with naked ears under sound field (condition 1), with an ear-plug on the intact ear (condition 2), and with an ear-plug on the intact ear and a BAHA testband on the lesioned ear (condition 3).Results: The speech reception thresholds (SRTs) at condition 2 were higher than those at condition 1 by 26 dB, which means that the sound attenuation by an ear-plug was 26 dB. Although SRTs (17 ± 7 dB HL) at condition 3 were similar to those (19 ± 9 dB HL) at condition 1, tonal thresholds at condition 3 were better at 1 and 2 kHz and poorer at 250 Hz ...

Field emission properties of CNTs(carbon nanotubes) have been investigated in the various field, such as flat panel display and x-ray sources. Especially, the x-ray tube which fabricated using the CNTs can be operated with low power consumption compare with filament-based x-ray tubes. The cold cathode — CNTs- can be operated at the lower voltage and the electron which coming out from the CNTs can be controlled easilly by focus electrode. And for high emission current, the device should be stable at the high operate voltage. The gate electrode-mesh-type electrode- can be layered by using glass frit and firing process. At this point, the mesh structure can be controlled for the higher adhesion force which is for the emission stability at the high voltage. The glass frit could be act effectively between mesh electrode and insulating layer because of the designed mesh structure.

The triode-typed field emission (FE) devices using carbon nanotube (CNT) emitters for the x-ray application were fabricated. For the stability of the device, the leakage current between cathode and gate, and the emission current to the anode electrode should be controlled. We realized that the thickness of insulating layer-gap distance between cathode and gate- and the space between the gate electrodes-electron path from cathode and anode- should be controlled for the ratio of the current from cathode to anode (Ia) to the current from cathode to gate (Ig). The ratio of Ia to Ig can be represented the device efficiency. The rectangular-mesh electrode and screen printed insulating layer were controlled for Ia/Ig. When the size of gate hole was the 50 by 700 um — the electrode size is 25 by 700 um — and the thickness of insulator layer was 65 um, the maximum ratio of Ia/(Ia+Ig) was 0.63.

Device convergence is one of the most significant trends in current intelligence technology (IT). It is incorporating various kinds of existing services into one device that enables users to provide converged services. However, device convergence is not the whole counterplan that in some fields, costumers prefer divergent application-specific device. In addition, service is always hardware dependent that if a new service appears device convergence will be helpless in case of the hardware not supporting the service. In this situation to use the new service, we have to purchase the whole new device. Therefore, we propose a framework for service convergence via device cooperation supported by the wireless network to overcome the constraint of device convergence. Our framework shows a guideline that enables a device to provide a service by cooperating with other devices despite it lacks the hardware support or only provides one or two specialized services.

Internet-based health data exchange, which is particularly useful for the management of cooperative health care and life time health care records, requires the use of a common format to allow access to heterogeneous reservoirs scattered at different hospitals, as well as protection from intrusion and piracy. However, the unified management of multiple reservoirs is difficult to achieve, due to the different policies operated by different hospitals and the heterogeneous format of their information reservoirs. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent based secure architecture which can be used to retrieve healthcare information in a common format through the internet from multiple heterogeneous reservoirs. The proposed system is organized in the form of a 4-tier architecture, consisting of the client application, access control central agent, local access control agent and hospital information system, involving distributed processing with multiple matching agents connected to heterogeneous reservoirs and one flexible master controller to unify the different formats and different hospital policies, thus providing a secure common format and simplifying the problem of reservoir maintenance, including the addition, removal and modification of reservoirs. The combination of XML and RABC provides an efficient means of reservoir management, allowing for access control, a common format for information exchange, device independent display for diverse display resolutions of terminal devices, user identification for authentication, digital signature for data integrity, and selective encryption for protecting confidential health information.

The objective of this study was to design a triage system for emergency patients in the pre-hospital EMS phase without special knowledge related to the triage system. For this, we selected the Manchester system considering the pre-hospital emergency situation. Through this study, without the special knowledge about the complex triage system, the paramedics were able to produce the triage result by recording information through a newly designed ambulance report.

In this paper, we describe EMI noise reduction in LCD driver IC of which uses the spread spectrum clock generator. The proposed spread spectrum clock generator use pseudo random modulation technique for providing clock edge offset with coarsely and use fine selecting that make numerous time-offset in each coarse-offset signal. As a result of spread spectrum technique, the original clock edges which are used in LCD driver IC has been spread in time domain maximally about 3 n sec. Moreover the proposed SSCG has analog bias in delay circuit for the immunity of power supply variation. The LCD driver IC including proposed spread spectrum clock generator has been fabricated with one poly three metal 0.45 mum CMOS technology when the logic supply voltage varies from 2.3 V to 3.6 V and the driver supply voltage varies from 8 V to 13.5 V. The 6 pieces of test chips have been assembled to 17" LCD monitor, and have been under tested in anechoic chamber which has been surrounded with absorbers. As a test result, we achieved that the EMI noise levels of newly designed LCD driver IC have been reduced about 3 dBu at harmonic frequency of the system clock comparing with conventional one.

A (040)-crystal facet engineered BiVO4 ((040)-BVO) photoanode is investigated for solar fuel production. The (040)-BVO photoanode is favorable for improved charge carrier mobility and high photocatalytic active sites for solar light energy conversion. This crystal facet design of the (040)-BVO photoanode leads to an increase in the energy conversion efficiency for solar fuel production and an enhancement of the oxygen evolution rate. The photocurrent density of the (040)-BVO photoanode is determined to be 0.94 mA cm−2 under AM 1.5 G illumination and produces 42.1% of the absorbed photon-to-current conversion efficiency at 1.23 V (vs RHE, reversible hydrogen electrode). The enhanced charge separation efficiency and improved charge injection efficiency driven by (040) facet can produce hydrogen with 0.02 mmol h−1 at 1.23 V. The correlation between the (040)-BVO photoanode and the solar fuel production is investigated. The results provide a promising approach for the development of solar fuel production using a BiVO4 photoanode.

Combination chemotherapy using oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid (FOLFOX) is known to be effective in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer. Genes regulating the actions of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin have been identified, but precisely which gene is dominant has not yet been determined. The aim of the investigation reported here was to identify which gene polymorphism is a dominant factor in FOLFOX chemotherapy–the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene for 5-fluorouracil or the X-ray cross-complementing1 (XRCC1) gene for oxaliplatin. Paraffin-embedded tissues from 54 patients with unresectable metastases from colorectal cancer who had undergone chemotherapy with the FOLFOX regimen were analyzed for MTHFR polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene (677C➔T, Ala➔Val mutation) and XRCC1 gene (Arg➔Gln substitution in exon 10). Response rates and survivals were compared by types of polymorphism. Analyses of the patterns of MTHFR polymorphism revealed that 29.6% of the patients showed no mutation, 51.6% showed heterozygous mutations, and 11.8% showed homozygous mutations. Analyses of the XRCC1 polymorphism revealed that 60.8% of the patients showed no mutation, 31.4% showed heterozygous mutations, and 7.8% showed homozygous mutations. After four cycles of chemotherapy, 3.7% showed a complete response, 57.4% showed a partial response (PD) or stable disease, and 38.9% showed PD. The MTHFR polymorphism was not significant in predicting response and 30-month-survival (P > .1), whereas the XRCC1 polymorphism was a significant prognostic factor for both response (P = .038) and survival (P = .011). We found a higher rate of mutations in the MTHFR gene than in the XRCC1 gene in Korean colorectal cancer patients. Response to FOLFOX was better in the patient group with mutations for MTHFR and worse in the patient group with mutations for XRCC1. However, only the XRCC1 polymorphism was a significant prognostic factor for the response to FOLFOX chemotherapy and short-term survival.

In recent decades, active vision systems have been studied widely because they can control the gaze direction of their mounted vision sensors and overcome many shortcomings of passive vision systems which have fixed vision sensors. Due to an increasing interest in humanoid robots and social robots, many researchers in the active vision area are focusing their research on developing active vision systems with socially interacting with humans. In this paper, we discuss an active vision system developed for interaction with humans, and we introduce a fast and simple system architecture which includes a high-speed serial communication bus (IEEE 1394a). In addition, we propose a distributed and jerkbounded control algorithm to ensure smooth system motion.

A custom designed optical system is reported for tissue spectroscopy over four wavelengths of 677 nm, 780 nm, 830 nm, and 977 nm. A high speed laser driver is designed with a flat frequency response using pre-emphasis circuit. The driver is employed for high current in high power lasers. Phantom and intra-lipid experiments are performed to extract optical parameters of a turbid media. Broadband measurement is used to extract optical parameters of the phantom model simulating a breast tissue using forward scattering models. The optical parameters () are extracted with a very good accuracy.

Purpose: Preoperative localization is the most important preparation for laparoscopic surgery. Preoperative marking with India ink has widely been used and is considered to be safe and effective. However, India ink can cause significant inflammation, adhesions and bowel obstruction. Therefore, we have used the patient’s blood instead of the ink since 2011. In this retrospective study, we wanted to examine the feasibility of preoperative localization by using the patient’s blood. Methods: Twenty-five patients who underwent preoperative localization in which 10 mL of their own venous blood was used as a tattooing agent were included in this study. The characteristics of the patients, the anatomy of the colon cancer, and the efficacy and the side effects of using this procedure were analyzed. Results: In 23 cases (92%), through the laparoscope, we found perfectly localized bloody smudges in the serosa. However, in 2 cases (8%), we could not find the exact location of the lesion. No patients showed any complications. Conclusion: Preoperative localization of early colon cancer or a malignant polyp by using patient’s blood is feasible, safe and simple. We think that using the patient’s blood for localization of a lesion is better than using some other foreign material such as India ink.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiological incidence of parastomal hernia and to analyze the risk factors for parastomal hernia. Methods: We reviewed retrospectively 108 patients with end colostomy from January 2003 to June 2010. Age, sex, surgical procedure type, body mass index (kg/m2), stoma size, and respiratory comorbidity were documented. Results: There were 61 males (56.5%) and 47 females (43.5%). During an overall median follow-up of 25 months (range, 6 to 73 months), 36 patients (33.3%) developed a radiological parastomal hernia postoperatively and 29 patients (26.9%) presented with a clinical parastomal hernia. In multivariate analysis, gender (odds ratio [OR], 6.087; P = 0.008), age (OR, 1.109; P = 0.009) and aperture size (OR, 6.907; P 〈 0.001) proved to be significant and independent risk factors after logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: This study showed that the incidence of radiological parastomal hernia is higher than clinical parastomal hernia. Risk factors for parastomal hernia proved to be female, age, and aperture size.

Purpose: This study reviews the feasibility of a total colectomy with ileo-rectal anastomosis (TCIRA) and the functional outcome following the operation. Methods: The cases of a total of 50 patients (31 men and 19 women) with a median age of 61 who underwent a TCIRA were reviewed retrospectively. The median follow-up time was 28 months (4∼72). The clinical records were reviewed to analyze the postoperative complications and bowel function. The clinical outcomes were examined directly from patients' scoring. Results: The indications of TCIRA were metachronous or synchronous colorectal cancer (34 percent), multiple polypoid lesions (22 percent), malignant colon obstruction (24 percent), ischemic colitis (2 percent), Crohn's disease (6 percent), and tuberculosis colitis (2 percent). The overall mortality and morbidity rates were 0 and 31 percent, respectively. The morbidity included postoperative bleeding, obstruction, intra-abdominal abscess formation, pneumonia, and wound complications. We used the CCIS index to evaluate postoperative functional bowel habit change. The CCIS index evaluation revealed perfect continence in 57 percent of the patients with short-term follow up (＜6 months) and in 83 percent of the patients who had undergone a TCIRA more than 2 years ago. Conclusions: Most patients were satisfied with their bowel function on long-term follow up, and we think the TCIRA is a safe operation, and the clinical outcomes are relatively satisfactory.

We report our experience with a case of performing laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy along with pancreas-preserving splenectomy for treating early gastric cancer. laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy was planned for a 62-year-old male patient with a double early gastric cancer located in the upper and lower third of the stomach. Five trocars were placed and we used a harmonic scalpel to dissect the greater curvature. Enlarged splenic hilar lymph node was encountered and they were proved to be metastasis by frozen section biopsy. We then performed total gastrectomy with pancreas-preserving splenectomy for the purpose of completely dissecting the lymph nodes along the splenic artery and splenic hilum. We created a 4 cm sized longitudinal mini-laparotomy below the xiphoid process to remove the specimen, and anastomosis was done via the Roux-en-Y method. The patient was discharged on the 9th postoperative days after an uneventful recovery. Our experience shows that laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy with pancreas-preserving splenectomy is a relatively safe procedure for treating upper third early gastric cancer with metastatic splenic hilar lymph nodes.

For field emitters as an electron source of traveling wave tube microwave power amplifiers, field-emission properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) grown in situ onto an electrically conducting substrate were systematically characterized. MWNTs grown on a TiN-coated Ta substrate with NH3 plasma pre-treatment exhibited the best field-emission property. The maximum current density and corresponding total emission current were 9.4 mA/cm2 and ∼5 mA at 18.8 V/μm, respectively. These enhanced field-emission properties are caused by the highly conducting buffer layer (TiN), the optimum metal substrate (Ta) that produces high field-emission current, and the control of site density of MWNTs by NH3 plasma pre-etching. Details on the correlation between the field-emission properties and the morphological parameters will be discussed.