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Background/Aims: Ascertaining the prevalence of isolated nocturnal hypertension (INHT) in the general population and identifying the characteristics of patients with INHT may be important to determine patients who should receive 24- hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) measurements. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of INHT in the general population.Methods: Of 1,128 participants (aged 20 to 70 years), we analyzed 823 who had valid 24-hour ambulatory BP measurements and were not on antihypertensive drug treatment.Results: The prevalence of INHT in the study was 22.8%. Individuals with INHT had a higher office, 24-hour, and daytime and nighttime ambulatory systolic and diastolic BPs compared to individuals with sustained day-night normotension. INHT was more prevalent in individuals with masked hypertension (MH) than in those with sustained hypertension (59.8% vs. 15.6%, p < 0.001). Among individuals with INHT, 92.6% had MH. Among individuals with office BP-based prehypertension, 34.5% had both INHT and MH. The prevalence of INHT was highest in individuals with office BP-based prehypertension. INHT was an independent determinant of MH after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, 24-hour systolic and diastolic BP, systolic and diastolic BP dipping, and systolic and diastolic BP non-dipping.Conclusions: The present study showed that INHT is not uncommon and is a major determinant of MH. Our findings strongly suggest the use of 24-hour ambulatory BP measurement for individuals within the prehypertension range of office BP owing to the high prevalence of INHT and MH in this population.

Silicon nitride (SiN) optical phased arrays (OPAs) have emerged as a potential alternative to their silicon counterparts, owing to their low nonlinearity, easy scalability, and low propagation loss. However, the development of SiN OPAs for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications has attracted less attention due to the low thermo–optic (TO) effect of SiN. Moreover, SiN OPAs are considered to be undesirable for transmitters in LiDAR systems because of the limited longitudinal tuning efficiency of SiN grating antenna. We present a hybrid integrated SiN–polymer OPA for realizing an efficient LiDAR. Owing to the large TO effect of polymer, the proposed OPA with polymeric phase modulators resolves the power dissipation drawback of the SiN devices. The polymeric modulators are integrated with a SiN power splitter and grating antenna, and the coupling loss is alleviated via a spot-size converter. Additionally, a steering angle magnifying lens is used to enhance the tuning efficiency of the antenna, expanding the longitudinal beam steering range. The prepared OPA transmitter equipped with the lens exhibits decent two-dimensional beam steering, featuring stable emission characteristics over a 12° × 30° field of view. With the transmitter, efficient time-of-flight based LiDAR is demonstrated to provide a detection range of 10 m under a peak optical power of 55 dBm. The proposed SiN–polymer OPA is highly anticipated to circumvent the challenges of conventional SiN counterparts and potentially spearhead the development of a prominent OPA platform for advanced LiDAR schemes.

Internet-enabled smartphones and wireless communication technologies are opening new ways to conduct web-based self-administered data collection for academic or nonacademic research. Considering the relative advantages of self-administration such as the low cost, overall convenience, and collection of better data about sensitive topics, survey researchers are eager to explore conducting national web surveys of the general population via smartphones, especially if they can use probability-based random-digit-dialing (RDD) sampling methods. But questions about the feasibility of such surveys remain. We conducted an experiment using national samples drawn from an RDD wireless sampling frame to compare two administration methods: a smartphone web survey using SMS (text messages) invitations and a cell phone (smartphone or feature phone) survey through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). This study was conducted using the National Survey of Smoking and Health in South Korea, a country with a very high rate of smartphone ownership. The geographic and demographic representativeness of respondents in the smartphone web mode (self-administered mode) was similar to that of the cell phone CATI survey (interviewer-administered mode), although the completion rate in the former was nearly half that of the latter. A majority of demographic variables and measures of experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of cigarettes or smoking showed significant mode differences for both unweighted and weighted estimates. The total cost of the web survey was about one fifth that of the telephone survey. The results demonstrate the potential of a smartphone web survey as a stand-alone or primary mode of data collection, if carefully designed and implemented.

This paper presents a model of a linear roller guide that considers geometric errors in rails. A five degree-of-freedom model of a table supported by linear roller guides with guide rail errors was built to determine table-motion errors during its motion along erroneous rails. The model was verified by comparing the simulated displacements of a linear guide estimated by the proposed model and those by an existing transfer-function method. Two types of geometric errors were considered for the guide rail: general form and waviness errors. The influence of external load, initial preload, and a few important parameters of the rail—such as wavelength and amplitude—on the displacement of the carriage and table were investigated extensively. The simulation results demonstrated the ability of the model to obtain complicated motion errors for moving tables with a number of supporting linear guides subjected to guide errors.

Corneal thickness measurement is important for assessing intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. This study investigated the changes in corneal epithelial thickness (CET) induced by antiglaucoma medications and explored the factors affecting CET measurement. CET was measured over a 9.0 mm diameter area by using Fourier domain optical coherence tomography in 125 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and 125 age-matched controls without glaucoma. The influence of sex, age, benzalkonium chloride (BAK)-containing instillations, disease severity, and types and numbers of medications was analyzed using simple and multiple regression analyses. CET over 25 sectors was smaller in the glaucoma group than in the control group (mean difference of 4.2 µm in the central 2.0 mm zone, 52.8 ± 3.6 vs. 48.5 ± 3.9, p &lt, 0.001). Simple regression analysis revealed age, use of β-blockers, prostaglandin, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, total number of medications, and number of daily BAK-containing instillations were associated with a thinner epithelium. Multiple regression analysis revealed β-blockers, prostaglandin, and number of BAK-containing instillations were significant factors. Use of β-blockers and number of BAK-containing instillations were also associated with a thinner epithelium in the monotherapy subgroup analysis. CET was significantly smaller in patients with glaucoma receiving topical medications and was affected by the use of β-blockers, prostaglandin, and BAK.

Background To report the first case of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) associated with alcaftadine 0.25% ophthalmic solution. Case presentation The patient was a 51-year-old woman with no previous history of side effects to ophthalmic antihistamine agents. She had been prescribed alcaftadine 0.25% for allergic conjunctivitis. On first application of the medication, she did not experience any cutaneous reaction. One day later, after the second alcaftadine 0.25% application, both eyelids became swollen, and erythematous changes were evident. On slit-lamp examination, conjunctival injection was noted in the absence of conjunctival swelling or any other findings. Fundus examination was unremarkable. To evaluate the cause of ACD, a patch test was performed and 48 h later was noted to be positive for alcaftadine 0.25%. Based on the positive patch test, the patient was diagnosed with ACD caused by alcaftadine 0.25%. After 9 days of treatment, the swelling and erythema completely resolved. Conclusions Although there have been no previous reports of alcaftadine 0.25%-associated ACD, it should be suspected in patients with swelling and erythematous change of both eyes after using alcaftadine 0.25%.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between sodium intake and blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients taking antihypertensive medications by using 24‐hour urine collection and 24‐hour ambulatory BP. This is a cross‐sectional community‐based study and conducted in 2011 and 2012. A total of 1128 participants were recruited from five cities in Korea. Among them, 740 participants who had complete 24‐hour urine collection and valid 24‐hour ambulatory BP data were included in this study. Participants were divided into four groups: normotensives (NT, n = 441), untreated hypertensive patients (UTHT, n = 174), controlled hypertensive patients (CHT, n = 62), and uncontrolled hypertensive patients (UCHT, n = 63). UCHT and CHT groups showed higher mean age than NT and UTHT groups. UCHT and UTHT groups showed higher 24‐hour systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) than NT and CHT groups. UCHT group had the highest level of 24‐hour urine sodium. Multivariate analysis adjusted with age, gender, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and use of diuretics showed higher level of 24‐hour urine sodium in UCHT group than that in CHT group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed independent association of the amount of 24‐hour urine sodium with uncontrolled BP in hypertensive patients on antihypertensive drug treatment. Higher level of 24‐hour urine sodium excretion in uncontrolled hypertensive patients suggests that excessive sodium intake could be associated with blunted BP lowering efficacy of antihypertensive medications.

Aims We investigated the dose–response association of 24-hour urine sodium and potassium with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure. Design Cross-sectional community-based study. Methods Among the 1128 participants in the community-based cross-sectional survey, 740 participants (aged 20–70 years) with complete 24-hour urine collection and valid 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were included in the study. Participants were grouped into younger (Results In the older population, nighttime blood pressure linearly increased with 24-hour urine sodium and the sodium to potassium ratio. For 24-hour urine sodium, adjusted β was 0.171 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.036–0.305) for nighttime systolic blood pressure and 0.144 (95% CI 0.012–0.276) for nighttime diastolic blood pressure. For the 24-hour urine sodium to potassium ratio, adjusted β was 0.142 (95% CI 0.013–0.270) for nighttime systolic blood pressure and 0.144 (95% CI 0.018–0.270) for nighttime diastolic blood pressure. The 24-hour blood pressure linearly increased with the 24-hour urine sodium to potassium ratio and adjusted β was 0.133 (95% CI 0.003–0.262) for 24-hour systolic blood pressure and 0.123 (95% CI 0.003–0.244) for 24-hour diastolic blood pressure. Daytime blood pressure and 24-hour systolic blood pressure showed a significant but non-linear association with 24-hour urine sodium among the older population. In the younger population, 24-hour urine sodium, potassium and the sodium to potassium ratio were not associated with ambulatory blood pressure. Conclusion In the older population, 24-hour urine sodium and the sodium to potassium ratio showed a linear and positive association with nighttime blood pressure, and 24-hour urine sodium was associated with 24-hour systolic blood pressure and daytime blood pressure in a non-linear fashion.

In this paper, a tapered slot antenna (TSA) for indoor wireless positioning at 2D coordinates is proposed. Three square slots and a semi-circular structure are added to the radiation element and the tapered aperture edge to obtain a high gain. The typical performance of the proposed antenna is analyzed by the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), the radiation pattern, and the realized gain. In order to verify the practicality of the indoor wireless positioning system at 2D coordinates, the fabricated TSA was connected to an NVA-R661 module developed by Xethru Inc. The impedance bandwidth result of the fabricated TSA has a wide bandwidth of 7.5 GHz by satisfying a VSWR ≤2 in a band of 4.5-12.0 GHz. Therefore, the radiation pattern indicated good directional characteristics, the maximum gain obtained is 8.92 dBi in the 9-GHz band. Finally, the target detection results of the indoor positioning system showed a minimum error of 3.27 cm and a maximum error of 16.33 cm, and thereby confirming the possibility of its use.

Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (N-TOS) is a chronic compressive brachial plexopathy that involves the C8, T1 roots, and/or lower trunk. Medial antebrachial cutaneous (MABC) nerve conduction study (NCS) abnormality is reportedly one of the most sensitive findings among the features of N-TOS. The aim of the present study was to report clinical features, imaging findings, treatment, and prognoses of two N-TOS patients with no abnormalities in electrophysiological studies. Both patients presented with paresthesia of unilateral arm, and examination revealed no neurologic deficits. Electrophysiologic studies including MABC NCS were normal. Computed tomography (CT) angiography and brachial plexus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the patients showed compression and displacement of the neurovascular bundle in the thoracic outlet by causative structures. Due to their sensory symptoms and CT angiography and brachial plexus MRI findings, after excluding other diseases, we diagnosed them with N-TOS. With the development of imaging techniques, more patients presenting with clinical features of lower trunk brachial plexopathy and anomalous structures compressing the neurovascular bundle on imaging studies can be diagnosed with N-TOS, even if electrophysiologic studies including MABC NCS do not show abnormalities.

The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effect of a hinged steel damping system on the shear behavior of a nonductile reinforced concrete frame with an opening. For the experimental test, a total of three full-scale reinforced concrete frame specimens were planned, based on the &ldquo, no retrofitting&rdquo, (NR) specimens with non-seismic details. The main research questions were whether the hinged steel damping system is reinforced and whether torsion springs are installed in the hinged steel damping system. From the results of the experiment, the hinged steel damping system (DR specimen) was found to be effective in seismic retrofitting, while isolating the opening of the reinforced concrete (RC) frame, and the torsion spring installed at the hinged connection (DSR specimen) was evaluated to be effective in controlling the amount of deformation of the upper and lower dampers. The strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity of the DSR specimen were slightly improved compared to the DR specimen, and it was confirmed that stress redistribution was induced by the rotational stiffness of the torsion spring installed in the hinge connection between the upper and lower frames.

Objectives Muscle involvement in Behçet’s disease (BD) is rare, and several cases have been reported in the literature. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the clinical, laboratory and imaging findings in adult patients presenting with BD-associated myositis before the diagnosis of BD. Methods We retrospectively screened patients who visited a locomotive medicine clinic presenting with myalgia, local swelling, or tenderness of extremities without an established diagnosis of BD. We enrolled patients whose pain in the extremities was proven to be suggestive of focal vasculitic myositis and who were eventually diagnosed as having BD at the initial visit or during follow-up. We thoroughly reviewed the clinical, histological and imaging findings and treatment outcomes in patients who presented with focal vasculitic myositis as the primary manifestation of BD. Results Ten adult patients with focal vasculitic myositis as the primary manifestation of BD were enrolled. The lower and upper extremities were affected in eight and two patients, respectively. The affected lower extremities were the calf (n = 6) and thigh muscles (n = 2). The common findings of MRI included high signal intensity of the affected muscles and intermuscular fascia on fat-suppressed images, suggestive of myofascitis and oedematous changes in the subcutaneous layer. The results of skin or muscle biopsy were suggestive of vasculitis. All the patients were pain-free at the short-term follow-up (1–3 weeks) after oral steroid therapy. Conclusion Focal vasculitic myositis can be a primary manifestation of BD warranting medical attention. BD-associated myositis responds well to oral steroid therapy.

Background To evaluate corneal epithelial thickness change during medical treatment for eyes with myopic regression after femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK). Methods This study included 84 eyes of 54 subjects diagnosed with myopic regression after FS-LASIK and treated using topical steroid and anti-glaucoma drugs. Corneal epithelial thickness was measured using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography before and after treatment. Subjects were divided into three groups based on their corneal epithelial thickness at the time of myopic regression and regression analyses were used to investigate the association between corneal epithelial thickness, visual acuity, and refraction. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine whether corneal epithelial thickness could predict the success of treatment, improvements of ≥ two lines in uncorrected distance visual acuity and ≥ 0.5 diopter in refraction or K. Results Corneal epithelial thickness decreased with greater change in the center as myopic regression subsided during medical treatment. Subgroup with the thickest epithelium (≥ 62 μm) showed a higher success rate and greater changes in refraction and vision. Reduced magnitude of corneal epithelial thickness showed significant correlations with changes of K and refractive error (all P 60.50 μm had 81.5% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity for the success of medical treatment. Conclusion Corneal epithelial thickness decreases proportionally with the magnitude of improvement of myopic regression during treatment with steroid and anti-glaucoma drugs in post-LASIK eyes with myopic regression.

Neurolymphomatosis (NL) is a disease characterized by the infiltration of malignant lymphocytes into the peripheral nervous system. We report clinical features, radiographic findings, modes of treatment, and outcomes of patients with NL. We retrospectively investigated patients with NL. We extracted data, including clinical features, magnetic resolution imaging (MRI), 18F-fludeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans, cerebrospinal fluid cytology findings, the results of electrodiagnostic studies, as well as patient treatments and outcomes. Ten NL patients were identified. All patients reported pain/paresthesia and weakness in the affected area. The MRI scans were abnormal in eight out of nine patients with an enhancement of the spinal nerve root, plexus, peripheral nerve trunk, and cranial nerve. The FDG PET/CT scans were positive in all patients. Radiculopathy or radiculoplexopathy was the most common electrodiagnostic finding. Neurological improvement was observed in only three patients. The condition of the nine patients who underwent multimodality treatments for cancer eventually deteriorated and the patients died. NL should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any type of neuropathy in patients with lymphoma. Because it could be confused with other neuropathies in lymphoma and various musculoskeletal diseases, a high index of suspicion and familiarity with clinical manifestation of NL are key. FDG PET/CT was the most sensitive diagnostic imaging modality to detect relevant neural invasion. The root within the spinal neural foramen was the most frequently affected neural structure. Early diagnosis of this rare neurologic manifestation of lymphoma may improve treatment outcomes.

In a three-dimensional (3D) foot scanning, a 3D point cloud is generated and meshed to create a 3D foot model with depth information. In the previous analog process of foot scanning is to draw an outline of the foot and imitate the foot directly. This method has some disadvantage that has a measurement error, difficult to recreate, inaccuracy of reference point and an error by an expert abilities. In this paper, in-plane deformation measurement method is proposed to solve this problem. In-plane deformation measurement method is a novel method to measure foot size from a 3D foot scanning data. The Shrink-Wrap method is used to reconstruct a foot model, that estimate the foot model by wrapping the surface of a foot of the square template mesh model. For comparison, foot length, foot width and height of the instep is measured with the proposed method. In comparison with handcrafted method, the experimental results show that our proposed method has complexity reduction, higher precision and accurate reproducibility.

This paper aims to investigate Korean advanced L2 English learners’ strategies for ellipsis resolution during sentence processing. Ellipsis resolution is known to involve several stages of information processing from the initial step of detecting an ellipsis-licensing element by the parser to the final stage of integrating the ellipsis site with the information retrieved from the antecedent of the ellipsis site. In examining these steps, we have manipulated three factors: (i) TP vs. VP-ellipsis; (ii) two types of discourse coherence relations (resemblance(-contrast) vs. cause-effect relations); (iii) voice match vs. mismatch. We found through the ERP recordings that voice mismatch in TP ellipsis elicited N400, followed by P600, irrespective of discourse coherence relations. In contrast, voice mismatch in VP-ellipsis registered N400 only in resemblance(-contrast) relation, but not in cause-effect relation. These findings lead us to conclude that Korean advanced L2 learners of English seem to undergo the full sequence of processing stages required for ellipsis resolution.

This paper presents a novel five degrees-of-freedom model for the static analysis of linear roller bearings subjected to external loading. In this study, first, a rigid analytical model was developed to obtain the roller contact loads and displacements of carriage caused by the elastic deformation at the roller–carriage and roller–rail contacts. The non-Hertzian contact loads between the rollers and raceways were utilized to consider the profiled roller and/or profiled guide rail. Next, the structural deformations of the carriage owing to the contact loads were computed using the finite element method. The associated displacements of the carriage top were derived systematically. Then, the total displacements of the carriage top were obtained by summing the displacements estimated from the rigid model and the induced structural displacements obtained by finite element method. The proposed model was validated by comparing the calculated displacements of the carriage with those from a commercial program under various loading conditions. Further investigation regarding the effect of preload on displacements of the linear roller bearing was conducted. The simulation results showed the dependence of carriage rigidity and internal load distribution on the linear roller bearing characteristics.

Smartphones have become very popular globally, and smartphone ownership has overtaken conventional cell phone ownership in many countries in recent years. With this rapid rise in smartphone penetration, researchers are looking at ways to conduct web surveys using smartphones. This is particularly true of student populations where smartphone penetration is very high and web surveys are already the norm. However, researchers are raising concerns about selection biases and measurement differences between PC and smartphone respondents. Questions also remain about comparisons to traditional interviewer-administered approaches. We designed an experimental comparison between a PC web survey, a smartphone web survey and a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey. This study was conducted using an annual survey of students at a large university in South Korea. The CATI (interviewer-administered) survey had a higher response rate, lower margins of error, and better representation of the student population than the two web (self-administered) modes, but at a higher cost. The CATI survey also had lower rates of item nonresponse. More significant differences were found between the modes for sensitive questions than for nonsensitive ones. This suggests that CATI surveys may still have a role to play in surveys of college students, even in a country with high rates of mobile technology adoption.

In cardiac surgery, median sternotomy is often necessary during certain surgical processes and it can cause the rare complication of brachial plexus injury. Retraction of the rib cage during median sternotomy may produce a fracture of the first thoracic rib at the costovertebral junction which might penetrate or irritate the lower root of the brachial plexus. Because the C8 ventral root is located immediately superior to the first thoracic rib, the extraforaminal C8 root is thought to be the key location of brachial plexus injury by the first rib fracture. This report describes three cases of brachial plexus injury after median sternotomy in a single center. In our cases, fracture of the first rib and consequent brachial plexus injury is confirmed with imaging and electrophysiologic studies. The fracture of the first rib is not detected with standard plain images and it is confirmed only with CT or MRI studies. Advanced imaging tools are recommended to assess the first rib fracture when brachial plexus injury is suspected after median sternotomy.

Background: The FIB-4 index, a noninvasive tool (FIB-4 index = age × aspartate transaminase (AST)/(platelet count × √alanine aminotransferase (ALT)), is a useful assessment for liver fibrosis. Patients with a high FIB-4 index were reported to have a high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study analyzed the clinical association of the FIB-4 index with HCC development in patients with coexisting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic hepatitis B (NAFLD–CHB). Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 237 consecutive patients with NAFLD–CHB between January 2006 and December 2010 at the National Police Hospital in Korea. Patients with HCC at baseline and those diagnosed with HCC within 6 months from baseline were excluded. Propensity score matching analysis (PSM) was adopted to balance the baseline characteristics between patients with low and high FIB-4 index values. The cumulative rates of HCC development were compared between the two groups using the Kaplan–Meier method in the matched population. Results: The median follow-up duration was 13 years (interquartile range, 8.2–15.7). The optimal cutoff for the FIB-4 index of 1.77 was calculated based on the maximum Youden index value, with an AUC of 0.70. Among a total of 237 patients with NAFLD–CHB, HCC developed in 20 patients (8.4%) (14 of the 90 patients with a high FIB-4 index vs. 6 of the 147 patients (4.1%) with a low FIB-4 index, log-rank p = 0.003). Patients with a high FIB-4 index had a significantly and independently higher risk of HCC than those with a low FIB-4 index (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.35, 95%, confidence interval, 1.42–13.24, log-rank test, p = 0.006). Conclusion: A high FIB-4 index (≥1.77) might be a useful marker for predicting the development of HCC in patients with NAFLD–CHB.

PURPOSE: To comparatively investigate changes in epithelial thickness between myopic femtosecond laser–assisted LASIK (FS-LASIK) and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). METHODS: This study compared the topographic epithelial thickness changes in 175 myopic eyes undergoing FS-LASIK (62 eyes) or SMILE (113 eyes). Epithelial thickness was obtained using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography before surgery and 1 and 3 months after surgery. Topographic epithelial thickness obtained by automatic algorithm and thickness variability (standard deviation over 17 imaged areas) was compared between two groups. Postoperative epithelial thickness changes were correlated with treatment parameters. RESULTS: For FS-LASIK, the mean epithelial thickness of the center zone (2 mm in diameter), paracenter (2 to 5 mm), and mid-periphery (5 to 6 mm) increased by 3.4, 4.3, and 2.1 µ m, respectively, at 1 month and by 4.4, 5.1, and 2.9 µ m, respectively, at 3 months. There was an increase of 2.5, 3.9, and 4.5 µ m, respectively, at 1 month and 3.0, 4.2, and 4.9 µ m, respectively, at 3 months following SMILE. The epithelial thickness did not change between 1 and 3 months postoperatively following SMILE, whereas it increased further after FS-LASIK. A larger increase of epithelial thickness was observed in the central zone at 3 months following FS-LASIK than SMILE, whereas the opposite was observed in the mid-periphery. The topographic thickness variability was greater after FS-LASIK than SMILE. Corneal epithelial thickening was proportional to the amount of myopia correction after both procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Topographic epithelial remodeling patterns differ following FS-LASIK or SMILE. Epithelial remodeling appears to stabilize more rapidly following SMILE than FS-LASIK. [ J Refract Surg. 2017;33(4):250–256.]

We propose a wide bandwidth antenna with a circular polarization for universal Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader applications. To achieve a wide 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth, three T-shaped microstrip lines are inserted into the ground plane. The measured impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 480 MHz and extends from 660 to 1080 MHz, and the 3 dB AR bandwidth is 350 MHz and extends from 800 to 1155 MHz. The radiation pattern is a bidirectional pattern with a maximum antenna gain of 3.67 dBi. The overall size of the proposed antenna is 114 × 114 × 0.8 mm3.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an appropriate new product development (NPD) process of Company “T”, a medium-sized firm, by analyzing the existing NPD process and failure cases of the Company. Design/methodology/approach The proposed research framework is as follows: first, prospective studies of the NPD process are performed using the existing literature and preliminary references; second, comparative analysis between the current processes and a NPD process is performed; third, phase-based evaluations upon failed product cases are conducted with a NPD process so as to identify the abridged steps and root-causes of failures; finally, renewed priorities are set forth by utilizing the analytic hierarchy process analysis and questionnaire analysis upon the above identified causes of failures. Findings The resulting accomplishments include the establishment of NPD processes that resonates with the current states of Company “T”, which, in turn, ensures the increase of efficiency, the decrease in development duration and the strategy of capacity-concentration and priority-selection. Originality/value As Company “T”’s development process is outdated and products are developed without adequate market information research and feasibility analysis, the percentage of failed development project is as high as 87 per cent. Thus, this study aims to develop an appropriate NPD process of Company “T” by analyzing the existing NPD process and failure cases of the Company.

A millimeter wave Franklin array Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with defected ground structure is proposed in this paper. The parameters of Franklin array elements are optimized to achieve desired antenna performance of high bandwidth as well as beam steering. A defect is made in the ground plane of the MIMO antenna, achieving bandwidth of 23.6-33 GHz and lower mutual coupling below −22 dB. The proposed antenna is suitable for Internet of Things (IoTs) and 5G communication applications.

Objective True neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TN-TOS) is an extremely rare neuromuscular disease. We report clinical, electrodiagnostic and radiologic features of patients with TN-TOS. Methods Retrospective chart review of patients satisfying criteria was done. Nerve conduction study (NCS) and needle electromyography (EMG) of upper extremity were reviewed. Brachial plexus MRI and computed tomography angiography (CTA) were also reviewed. Results Thirteen TN-TOS patients were identified. The most common neurologic signs were hypesthesia in the medial forearm or ulnar digits and weakness of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle. In NCS, medial antebrachial cutaneous (MABC) sensory nerve action potential amplitude was decreased in all tested patients. The APB muscle was most commonly involved in EMG. Among radiologic criteria, focal stenosis of subclavian artery in CTA was the most common finding. Conclusion We confirmed that TN-TOS is T1 predominant lower roots/trunk brachial plexopathy with clinical and electrodiagnostic features. Radiologic studies may be used to detect structural abnormalities. Significance As MABC NCS showed abnormal results in all tested patients, it should be added to electrodiagnostic study as screening method. If present, structural abnormalities might be confirmed with radiologic studies.

Stem cell therapy offers promising solutions to diseases and injuries that traditional medicines and therapies can't effectively cure. To get and explain their full therapeutic potentials, the survival, viability, integration, homing, and differentiation of stem cells after transplant must be clearly understood. To meet these urgent needs, noninvasive stem cell imaging and tracking technologies have been developed. Metabolic labeling technique is one of the most powerful tools for live cell imaging and tracking. In addition, it has many advantages for in vivo live cell imaging and tracking such as low background, correlation of survival, and very toxic and nontoxic by-products. Herein, we described the fundamental information and process of metabolic labeling techniques and suggested optimal condition for in vitro and in vivo imaging and tracking of human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (hUCB-EPCs). Based on this study, metabolic labeling techniques can be helpful for understanding the safety and effectiveness of stem cell-based therapy and determining the utility of stem cells in downstream experiments.

Data on corneal epithelial and stromal thickness in school-aged children in relation to gender, age, and ocular and growth parameters are limited. In this retrospective study, we analyzed corneal epithelial and stromal thickness measured with the RTVue system (Optovue, Inc., Fremont, CA, USA) in 122 male and 201 female Korean children (mean age 9.59 &plusmn, 2.18 years) with myopia. We used simple and multiple regression analysis to establish the relationships between gender, age, refractive status, axial length, anterior chamber depth (ACD), corneal refractive power, white-to-white corneal diameter (WTW), height, and body weight. Age, body weight, height, and central corneal thickness were positively associated with corneal epithelial thickness, whereas WTW was negatively associated. The multiple regression analysis showed corneal epithelial thickness was affected by sex, body weight, WTW, and central corneal thickness (CCT), while stromal thickness was influenced by age, sex, and WTW. Both corneal epithelial and stromal thickness were significantly greater in male than in female children and were affected by growth. Neither corneal epithelial nor stromal thickness were associated with the severity of myopia, corneal refractive power, or axial length.

The authors developed an equation to estimate 24‐hour urine sodium (24HUNa) using the average of three spot urine (SU) samples (morning‐first, morning, and evening) from 74 individuals and validated this equation using the average of three SU samples (morning‐first, daytime, and evening) from 174 additional individuals. Compared with previously published equations using a single SU sample, the currently developed equation using the average of three SU samples showed much lower bias from measured 24HUNa (−2.9 vs >10 mmol/24 h). The intraclass and concordance correlation coefficients of the proposed equation using the average of three SU samples were 0.909 and 0.832, respectively. The limits of agreement were −64.1–58.3 mmol/24 h and approximately 100 mmol/24 h for the currently developed and previously published equations, respectively. All equations showed a tendency to overestimate or underestimate 24HUNa in a manner dependent on the level of 24HUNa but irrespective of the number of SU samples considered. Nonetheless, among the currently tested equations, our equation using the average of three SU samples provided the best estimation of 24HUNa at a population level.

Bleeding is largely unavoidable following syringe needle puncture of biological tissues and, while inconvenient, this typically causes little or no harm in healthy individuals. However, there are certain circumstances where syringe injections can have more significant side effects, such as uncontrolled bleeding in those with haemophilia, coagulopathy, or the transmission of infectious diseases through contaminated blood. Herein, we present a haemostatic hypodermic needle able to prevent bleeding following tissue puncture. The surface of the needle is coated with partially crosslinked catechol-functionalized chitosan that undergoes a solid-to-gel phase transition in situ to seal punctured tissues. Testing the capabilities of these haemostatic needles, we report complete prevention of blood loss following intravenous and intramuscular injections in animal models, and 100% survival in haemophiliac mice following syringe puncture of the jugular vein. Such self-sealing haemostatic needles and adhesive coatings may therefore help to prevent complications associated with bleeding in more clinical settings.

This paper dealt with the fatigue life of cylindrical roller bearings with several significant error sources that may occur during installations. A four degree-of-freedom quasi-static model for cylindrical roller bearings was developed, which took into account potential error sources such as angular misalignment, axial offset, and radial clearance, together with inertial loading by rotational speed and induced moment loads. A 3D contact model was employed to provide contact pressure distributions in rolling elements. The fatigue life of a cylindrical roller bearing was analyzed as a function of angular misalignment under various loading conditions. Then, the fatigue life analysis was extended to the combined effects of radial clearance, axial offset, and the number of rollers, along with angular misalignment. The computational results showed the significance of each error source on fatigue life. They further showed that cylindrical roller bearing fatigue life maximized when the radial clearances were slightly negative, and that it increased almost linearly with the number of rollers.

In this paper We argue against the repair-by-ellipsis approach to the contrast between non-contrastive fragments and contrastive fragments in terms of syntactic island constraints and rather argue for the non-isomorphic approaches for island evasion strategies. It is presented that non-isomorphic sources for island evasion strategies can be supplied satisfying the felicitous condition for the discourse if the correlates of remnants stays within the scope of [-definite] feature, but cannot if the correlates of fragments are not located within the scope of [-definite] feature. We propose the generalization that island evasion strategies can be available when the correlate of a fragment is [-definite] or within the [-definite] scope. It will be proved that this generalization provides a successful account for some problematic data. Finally, We conclude that the fragments for which island evasion strategies are available can be derived by PF-movement and ellipsis out of appropriate non-isomorphic sources.