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This paper compares the performance of the unicast routing protocol and the broadcast routing protocol in a small-sized wireless multi-hop network, such as home network. Normally, ad-hoc routing protocols are designed for general wireless multi-hop networks, not being said to be optimized for the small-sized ad hoc network. This paper compares some unicast routing protocols and optimal broadcast routing protocol, and shows the result. The result of the simulation says the broadcast routing protocol shows better performance than the ad-hoc routing protocols in the small-sired wireless multi-hop network. Especially, the result shows that the broadcast protocol has higher packet delivery ratio and lower packet latency than unicast routing protocols

This paper describes the system which provides home entertainment services to users using the middleware-cooperation module which makes UPnP and ACAP cooperate with each other. UPnP or ACAP providespowerful functionalities to its own network to play multimedia contents using its own resources. U one middleware uses the information and the resources of another middleware, itcould provide services with more contents and more powerful functionalities than those which it originally provides. This paper develops the middleware-cooperation module to make two middleware cooperate with each other and use resources of another middleware. The middleware-cooperation module makes UPnP and ACAP cooperate with each other, and it makes them share their information and resources without resource collision.

Background Otolaryngologists encounter cases of various foreign bodies in the oral and pharyngeal regions. One commonly found foreign body is a fish bone, ingested in most cases by carelessness or an accident. These foreign materials are removed by endoscopy or through a simple procedure. However, hypopharyngeal damage is rarely caused by a foreign body in the pharynx following the swallowing of a toothbrush. Case presentation A 44-year-old Asian male visited the emergency room with chief complaints of intraoral pain and dysphagia that had started on the same day. The patient had paranoid-type schizophrenia that began 10 years ago; he had been hospitalized and was being treated at another clinic, and was transferred to the emergency room by the medical staff after swallowing a toothbrush. We successfully removed a toothbrush located within the pharynx of a patient with a history of a psychologic disorder via surgery and conservative treatment. Conclusion The case with this patient, and a rapid diagnosis as well as treatment is imperative. The presence and state of a foreign body must be determined through a careful physical examination and imaging, followed by the immediate removal of the foreign body, all while keeping in mind the possibility of accompanying damage to nearby tissues.

This paper presents the IEEE 1394/UPnP software bridge for representing legacy IEEE 1394 devices to UPnP devices. UPnP devices must provide SSDP discovery, SOAP control, and GENA event processes. To represent the legacy IEEE1394 devices to UPnP devices, there have to be the IEEE 1394/UPnP software bridge to provide those functionalities on behalf of IEEE 1394 devices. The bridge can provide additional functions such as A/V data transferring with format converting between IEEE 1394 and UPnP devices. With those functionalities, the bridge makes UPnP control points recognize IEEE 1394 devices as UPnP devices, and makes possible exchange the A/V data between IEEE 1394 legacy devices and normal UPnP devices. Based on the general structure of the bridge, it can be easily extended to support a new IEEE 1394 device type.

Perforation of the hypopharynx, which can occur after anterior cervical approach, is a very rare type of complication. If diagnosed late, it can lead to very fatal course, such as mediastinitis and hematosepsis. Therefore, a precise and prompt diagnosis is crucial. When conservative treatment alone is not expected to heal the perforated site or is likely to lead to serious complications, surgical treatment becomes necessary. This report demonstrates that surgical intervention performed immediately after an early diagnosis can lead to the successful treatment of a large perforation in the hypopharynx on a 58-year-old male patient.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) is the key enzyme for bilirubin conjugation. Defects in this enzyme can cause a nonhemolytic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia, such as Crigler–Najjar syndrome type 1 (CN1) and 2 (CN2) and Gilbert syndrome (GS). In 1991, the cDNA of the human UGT1A1 gene was cloned, and this led to the identification of genetic defects in patients with CN1, CN2, and GS (1)(2)(3). It was shown that homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations of the UGT1A1 gene can lead to these inheritable unconjugated hyperbilirubinemias, and >30 variants have been identified (4)(5). In GS, a TATAA box variant [A(TA)6TAA>A(TA)7TAA] in the promoter region of the UGT1A1 gene has been reported in Caucasian populations, and several polymorphisms in the coding region, including 211G>A (G71R), have been reported to have similar associations with GS in Japanese populations (6)(7)(8). Recently, Sugatani et al. (9) identified a T-to-G substitution in the phenobarbital-responsive enhancer module 3279 bp upstream from the UGT1A1 gene. They suggested that the −3279T>G polymorphism could be another risk factor for the development of mild hyperbilirubinemia Presumably, different combinations of the polymorphisms (haplotypes) in the UGT1A1 gene associated with GS or mild hyperbilirubinemia might produce a variety of serum total bilirubin (T-Bil) concentrations. Because these polymorphisms in the UGT1A1 gene lie in a relatively small region (Fig. 1A⇓ ), a certain extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) among these polymorphisms is expected. Therefore, haplotype analysis is more reasonable than association analysis using any single polymorphism to reveal the genetic background of an increased serum T-Bil concentration. We analyzed the haplotype structure of the UGT1A1 gene and investigated its relationship to the serum T-Bil concentration in healthy Korean males. The study participants were 324 healthy Korean males [mean (SD) age, 49.8 …

Dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1) plays a critical role in mitochondrial fission which allows cell proliferation and Mdivi-1, a specific small molecule Drp1 inhibitor, is revealed to attenuate proliferation. However, few molecular mechanisms-related to Drp1 under stimulus for restenosis or atherosclerosis have been investigated in vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). Therefore, we hypothesized that Drp1 inhibition can prevent vascular restenosis and investigated its regulatory mechanism. Angiotensin II (Ang II) or hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 )-induced proliferation and migration in SMCs were attenuated by down-regulation of Drp1 Ser 616 phosphorylation, which was demonstrated by in vitro assays for migration and proliferation. Excessive amounts of ROS production and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were prevented by Drp1 inhibition under Ang II and H2 O2 . Under the Ang II stimulation, activated Drp1 interacted with PKCδ and then activated MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling cascade and MMP2, but not MMP9. Furthermore, in ex vivo aortic ring assay, inhibition of the Drp1 had significant anti-proliferative and -migration effects for vSMCs. A formation of vascular neointima in response to a rat carotid artery balloon injury was prevented by Drp1 inhibition, which shows a beneficial effect of Drp1 regulation in the pathologic vascular condition. Drp1-mediated SMC proliferation and migration can be prevented by mitochondrial division inhibitor (Mdivi-1) in in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo, and these results suggest the possibility that Drp1 can be a new therapeutic target for restenosis or atherosclerosis.

We report the nanogap resonator with the straight waveguide without the ring shape resonator, which is replaced with a straight waveguide, metallic layer, and nanogap. We use the numerical method to investigate the resonant properties of the structure. The results reveal that the proposed structure has the band stop characteristic.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to repair and regenerate ischemic heart tissue; however, the poor viability of transplanted MSCs in the ischemic region is a major obstacle to their therapeutic use. This cell death is caused by Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) interactions under harsh conditions. To investigate improving the survival and therapeutic effects of MSCs, we focused our research on Fas–FasL-mediated cell death. In this study, we found that the poor viability of transplanted MSCs was caused by Fas–FasL interactions between host ischemic myocardial cells and implanted MSCs. In addition, we found that increased Fas expression and the corresponding decrease of cell survival were in close relation to hypoxic MSCs treated with FasL and H2O2. When MSCs were treated with a recombinant Fas/Fc chimera (Fas/Fc) inhibiting Fas–FasL interactions, the expressions of proapoptotic proteins including caspase-8, caspase-3, Bax, and cytochrome-c were attenuated, and the survival of MSCs was recovered. In ischemia–reperfusion injury models, the interaction between FasL in ischemic heart and Fas in implanted MSCs caused a loss of transplanted MSCs, whereas the inhibition of this interaction by Fas/Fc treatment improved cell survival and restored heart function. Thus, our study suggests that Fas–FasL interactions are responsible for activating cell death signaling in implanted stem cells and could be a potential target for improving therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in treating ischemic heart diseases.

Background: Abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a common feature of disease progression in atherosclerosis. Cell proliferation is regulated by cell cycle regulatory proteins. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to act as important gene regulators and play essential roles in the proliferation and migration of VSMCs in cardiovascular disease. However, the roles and mechanisms of miRNAs in VSMCs and neointimal formation are far from being fully understood. Methods & Results: In this study, cell cycle specific cyclin D1 was found to be a potential target of miR-365 by direct binding. Through an in vitro experiment, we showed that exogenous miR-365 overexpression reduced VSMC proliferation and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, while miR-365 was observed to block G1/S transition in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced VSMCs. In addition, the proliferation of VSMCs by various stimuli, including PDGF, angiotensin II (Ang II), and serum, led to the downregulation of miR-365 expression levels. The expression of miR-365 was confirmed in balloon injured carotid arteries. Taken together, our results suggest an anti-proliferative role for miR-365 in VSMC proliferation, at least partly via modulating the expression of cyclin D1. Conclusions: Therefore, miR-365 may influence neointimal formation in atherosclerosis patients.

Objective:Ototoxicity due to cisplatin therapy interferes with treatment and often forces a reduction in the dosage, duration and frequency of the cisplatin therapy. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate is known to have the highest antioxidant potency among all tea catechins. This study aimed to investigate the effect of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate on cisplatin ototoxicity in an auditory cell line: House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 cells.Methods:Cultured House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 cells were exposed to cisplatin with or without pre-treatment with (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Cell viability was evaluated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Hoechst 33258 staining was used to identify cells undergoing apoptosis. Western blot analysis was conducted to determine whether (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibited cisplatin-induced caspase activation. Intracellular reactive oxygen species production was examined to investigate whether (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate was capable of scavenging cisplatin-induced reactive oxygen species accumulation.Results:Cell viability significantly increased in cells pre-treated with (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate compared with cells exposed to cisplatin alone. Cisplatin increased cleaved caspase-3 on Western blot analysis; however, pre-treatment with (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibited the expression of caspase-3. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate attenuated reactive oxygen species production and apoptosis in House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 cells.Conclusion:(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate protected against cisplatin cytotoxicity through anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects. Therefore, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate could play a preventive role in cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.

The proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are considered to be key steps in the progression of atherosclerosis and restenosis. Certain stimuli, such as, interleukin-3 (IL-3) are known to stimulate proliferation and migration in vascular diseases. Meanwhile, microRNAs (miRs) have been revealed as critical modulators of various diseases in which miR-29b is known to regulate cell growth by targeting Mcl-1 and MMP2. However, roles of miR-29b in vascular smooth muscle cells remain almost unknown. We hypothesized that miR-29b may control the proliferation and migration processes induced by IL-3 stimulation by inhibiting its own specific targets in SMCs. MiR-29b significantly suppressed the proliferation and migration of SMCs through the inhibition of the signaling pathway related to Mcl-1 and MMP2. We also found that miR-29b expression levels significantly declined in balloon-injured rat carotid arteries and that the overexpression of miR-29b by local oligonucleotide delivery can inhibit neointimal formation. Consistent with the critical role of miR-29b in vitro, we observed down-regulated expression levels of Mcl-1 and MMP2 from the neointimal region. These results indicate that miR-29b suppressed the proliferation and migration of SMCs, possibly through the inhibition of Mcl-1 and MMP2, and suggest that miR-29b may serve as a useful therapeutic tool to treat cardiovascular diseases such as, atherosclerosis and restenosis.

Objective To verify the clinical outcomes of posterior C2-C3 fixation for unstable Hangman's fracture compared with posterior C1-C3 fixation. Methods Twenty four patients for unstable Hangman's fracture were enrolled between July 2007 and June 2010 in this study. Thirteen patients underwent posterior C2-C3 fusion and 11 patients underwent posterior C1-C3 fusion. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores during preoperative and postoperative follow up period. Plain radiographs were obtained on postoperative 1 day, 1 week, and then at 1, 2, 6, and 12 months. CT was done at postoperative 12 months in all patients for evaluation of bone fusion. The mean period of clinical follow-up was 15 months. Results The mean ages were 43.3 years in C2-C3 group and 50.0 years in C1-C3 group. Mean follow-up period was 17.2 months in C2-C3 group and 16.3 months in C1-C3 group. VAS scores and NDI scores in C2-C3 group were much less than those in C1-C3 group at each follow-up period. The differences of VAS score and NDI scores between C2-C3 and C1-C3 groups at each follow-up period were statistically significant (p

The use of synovial fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SFMSCs) obtained from patients with degenerative arthropathy may serve as an alternative therapeutic strategy in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). For treatment of OA and RA patients, autologous transplantation of differentiated MSCs has several beneficial effects for cartilage regeneration including immunomodulatory activity. In this study, we induced chondrogenic differentiation of SFMSCs by inhibiting protein kinase A (PKA) with a small molecule and microRNA (miRNA). Chondrogenic differentiation was confirmed by PCR and immunocytochemistry using probes specific for aggrecan, the major cartilaginous proteoglycan gene. Absorbance of alcian blue stain to detect chondrogenic differentiation was increased in H-89 and/or miRNA-23btransfected cells. Furthermore, expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and MMP-2 was decreased in treated cells. Therefore, differentiation of SFMSCs into chondrocytes through inhibition of PKA signaling may be a therapeutic option for OA or RA patients.

Even when there is a sufficient heat dissipation area from the heat sink to the environment, if the heat flux in the chip package substrate cannot be transferred rapidly to the heat sink, a thermal problem may occur.[1] In this study, a relatively thin CPV module compared to general models was considered. Because four solar chips are mounted on a center column in the CPV module, heat can accumulate rapidly. Therefore, a heat pipe with high thermal conductivity was considered as the heat dissipation method.[2] The heat pipe adopted in the present study is commercially available and has a circular type sintered wick in it. To apply the heat pipe to the CPV module with thin thickness and a central column with 4 solar cells, it should be pressed and bent. The thermal characteristics of the pressed and bent heat pipe was investigated experimentally.

Abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a common feature of disease progression in atherosclerosis. Cell proliferation is regulated by cell cycle regulatory proteins. MicroRNAs (miR) have been reported to act as important gene regulators and play essential roles in the proliferation and migration of VSMCs in a cardiovascular disease. However, the roles and mechanisms of miRs in VSMCs and neointimal formation are far from being fully understood. In this study, cell cycle-specific cyclin D1 was found to be a potential target of miR-365 by direct binding. Through an in vitro experiment, we showed that exogenous miR-365 overexpression reduced VSMC proliferation and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression, while miR-365 was observed to block G1/S transition in platelet-derived growth factor-bb (PDGF-bb)-induced VSMCs. In addition, the proliferation of VSMCs by various stimuli, including PDGF-bb, angiotensin II (Ang II), and serum, led to the downregulation of miR-365 expression levels. The expression of miR-365 was confirmed in balloon-injured carotid arteries. Taken together, our results suggest an anti-proliferative role for miR-365 in VSMC proliferation, at least partly via modulating the expression of cyclin D1. Therefore, miR-365 may influence neointimal formation in atherosclerosis patients.

This paper describes user activity recognition in home network - several ways for developers to define some model for logging, analyzing, mining, measuring and recommending user's activity. These activities are based on home networking between devices (gadgets, sensors, appliances, and some software applications at computers) and providing some standard interfaces for these activities. Users spend a lot of time at home and even if mobile gadget should be synced within home appliances. User's life pattern can be achieved from some data such as network traffic, control data, energy consumption, pims (calendar, email, todo, and so on), contents and actual user's profile. In this paper, we will explain how to care a diabetic patient using user activity recognition at home.

A lipoblastoma is a rare, benign tumor arising from embryonic white fat. The tumors occur primarily in infancy and early childhood and commonly arise from the limbs and the trunk, but neck involvement is extremely rare. Our case arose in a 22-month-old male presenting with a rapidly enlarging soft mass in the right submandibular area. Lipoblastoma was diagnosed by histologic evaluation, the mass was completely removed, and there was no recurrence at 1-year follow-up.

Successful surgical correction of nasal tip position requires preoperative analysis. Perceived adequate nasal tip position depends on its relationship with other facial features. Nasal tip position can be affected by the subnasal contour, proportion of facial height, and relative facial size and shape. The relation of these factors to the nasolabial angle may not be as important as previously believed.To investigate and compare the factors affecting the ideal location of the tip of the nose in Asian patients using standard photographic measurements.We analyzed measurements of profile photographs and compared different factors that affect nasal tip location, including the nasofrontal, nasolabial, nasomental, and Legan angles and the ratios of the dorsal height to tip projection, the radix height to tip projection, the glabella to subnasale, and the subnasale to mentum.One hundred men, 100 women, 20 to 40 years old, seen for rhinoplasty at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Chosun University College of Medicine.Contribution of different facial measurements to the ideal nasal tip position.Nasolabial and nasomental angles exerted a statistically significant effect on ideal nasal tip position, whereas the Legane angle, the ratio of midface to lower face, and the ratio of nasal length to lower face did not show significant effects on nasal tip position.The nasolabial and nasomental angles have important effects on ideal nasal tip position and should be considered together during preoperative evaluation of the location of the nasal tip. Concurrent genioplasty should optimize rhinoplasty outcomes in appropriately selected patients.NA.

This paper describes a method and a platform for generating a treatment plan for a patient with a chronic disease such as diabetes. The planning process considers the user's living environment so the doctor's prescription can be easily implemented as a monitored activity. The process utilizes OWL representation for the knowledge modeling and Answer Set Programming for managing the patient's goals.

This paper describes user activity recognition for lifestyle disease patients at home: ways to define data mining system for sensing, logging, analyzing, mining, measuring and recognizing user's daily activities. Lifestyle disease patients spend most of the time at home. There are lots of sensing data that can be based on home devices with home networking (sensors, gadgets, appliances, cameras, smart phones and some software applications running on computers). Main problem is interoperability, there is no standard framework for logging, analyzing and utilizing the available data sources. In this paper, we will introduce our layered architecture to do data mining for user's activity recognition. Understand user's life pattern can help medical services to cure and prevent diseases from developing.

We reported continuous-wave 528mW at 532nm from a compact visible-laser module. The green light was achieved from single-pass second harmonic generation with a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate planar waveguide. For frequency-doubling, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tapered laser diode having a single-frequency spectrum and watt-level power was used as a pump source. The highest conversion efficiency of 18.7% and power stability of 5% for a 1 hour period were attained from a compact laser module.

Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the dipolar plasmonic resonance of a single metallic nanoparticle inserted in the core of a dielectric waveguide can be excited with higher order photonic modes of the waveguide only if their symmetry is compatible with the charge distribution of the plasmonic mode. For the case of a symmetric waveguide, we demonstrate that this condition is only achieved if the particle is shifted from the center of the core. The simple and comprehensive analysis presented in this contribution will serve as basis for applications in integrated nanophotonic/metamaterials devices, such as optical filters, modulators and mode converters.

Second branchial cleft cysts are the most common neck masses found in adults. However, the parapharyngeal presence of branchial cleft cyst is very rare. We report three cases of parapharyngeal branchial cleft cyst in adults. They suffered from frequent oropharyngeal infection or abscess. We performed a transoral resection without any surgical complications. Biopsy revealed a squamous lined epithelial wall with lymphoid aggregation, which is characteristic of branchial cleft cyst. No evidence of recurrence was observed in 2 years. Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2016;59(2):140-4 Key WordsZZBranchial cleft cyst ㆍNeck mass ㆍParapharynx.

A possible prothrombotic effect of elevated thyrotropin (TSH) has been suggested. The mean platelet volume (MPV), which is used to measure the platelet size, can reflect platelet activity. Although limited and inconsistent data regarding the effects of thyroid function on the MPV are available from small-scale case-control studies, no study has been based on a general population, particularly in euthyroid states. The objective of the present study was to determine whether there is an association between the MPV and serum TSH concentrations in an apparently healthy Korean population without overt thyroid disease, but including subjects with unsuspected subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH).We retrospectively studied 6893 asymptomatic Korean adults who were 20 years of age or older and who underwent voluntary regular health check-ups at the Health Promotion Center of Chosun University Hospital. The subjects who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were subdivided into four groups, such as tertile groups for the TSH reference range and an SCH (TSH ≥4 μIU/mL with a normal free T4 concentration) group according to the TSH level. We compared the mean values of the MPVs among the groups. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify associations between the highest tertile of the MPV and the TSH subgroups.The mean level of the MPV in all study subjects was 8.12±0.75 femtoliters (fL), and the mean value of the MPV was significantly different in each group. The mean MPV in SCH was significantly higher compared with those of the first tertile (T1) and second tertile (T2). Moreover, the mean MPV increased statistical significantly by increasing tertiles of the TSH concentration and was highest in SCH (T1, 8.08±0.81 fL; T2, 8.09±0.62 fL; T3, 8.13±0.77 fL; SCH, 8.21±0.81 fL; p for trend=0.012). After adjusting for risk factors associated with increasing MPVs and platelet counts, SCH was independently associated with the highest tertile of the MPV (all subjects, odds radio (OR) 1.58 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.09]; men, OR 1.70 [CI 1.10-2.64]; women, OR 1.55 [CI 1.06-2.26]).The MPV was positively correlated with the TSH level. SCH is an independently associated factor with the highest tertile of MPV in a general Korean population. We propose that the MPV may contribute to the prothrombotic condition that is associated with SCH and perhaps even in putative euthyroid states where the TSH level is the higher part of the normal range.

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are an attractive candidate for cell therapy in heart disease. Low survival and incomplete electromechanical integration between resident cardiomyocytes and transplanted hMSCs remain unsolved. In order for an infarcted heart to tolerate transplantation, differentiation capacity in stem cells must be reinforced. In this study, we found that compound 56, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, promotes cardiogenic differentiation of hMSCs and the transplantation of hMSCs treated with compound 56 resulted in enhancement of heart functions. Furthermore, hMSCs transfected with microRNA-133a (miR-133a), which targets EGFR, were observed to express cardiac-specific markers. We also discovered that luciferase activity is exclusively decreased by targeting EGFR in hMSCs transfected with miR-133a mimic. These results suggest that EGFR plays a key role in the regulation of cardiogenic differentiation in hMSCs.

This paper proposes an efficient autonomous fault diagnosis system for connected home. The system takes a model-based approach and initiates an automated fault diagnosis without user intervention when an error is notified from the home network resource management system. Our system performs two fault diagnosis methods of resource probing and code mapping to find the root cause of the error in the resource relation model. Our experiments show that it can identify a smallest set of symptoms effectively and efficiently.

We demonstrated simultaneous RGB light generation in z-cut MgO-doped periodically-poled LiNbO 3 crystal with ridge waveguide. The green (532nm) and blue (460nm) lights were generated by quasi-phase-matched (QPM) second-harmonic generation pumped at 1064nm and 920nm. Various visible laser colors were obtained by adjusting coupled pump source and generated visible light intensity ratio.

We fabricated QPM-SHG (quasi-Phase-Matched Second-Harmonic-Generation) ridge type waveguide using PPMgLN Dry-etch Fabricaion process. We measured sidewall Roughness of ridge waveguide using AFM. We calculated optical scattering Loss with sidewall roughness RMS and Ridge Waveguide structure inspection result. As a result of calculated loss, sidewall scattering roughness little contributes to the propagation loss. By using optimized period and NLD dry-etch Process, high conversion efficiency can be obtained by using a SHG device at room temperature.

To achieve effective regeneration of injured myocardium, it is important to find physiological way of improving the cardiogenic differentiation of stem cells. Previous studies demonstrated that cardiomyocytes from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) activated with phorbolmyristate acetate (PMA), a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, restore electromechanical function in infarcted rat hearts. In this study, we investigated the effect of PMA on cardiogenic differentiation of adipose-derived MSCs (ASCs) for clinical applications. To confirm the effect of PMA, ASCs treated with 1 μM PMA were grown for nine days. The expression of cardiac-specific markers (cardiac troponin T, myosin light chain, myosin heavy chain) in PMA-treated MSCs was demonstrated by immunocytochemistry. Alhough few α1A receptors exist in ASCs, α1-adrenergic receptor subtypes were preferentially expressed in PMA-treated ASCs. Moreover, expression of the β-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors increased in PMA-treated ASCs compared to normal cells. The mRNA levels of Ca2+-related factors (SERCA 2a; sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, LTCC; L-type Ca2+ channel) in treated ASCs were similar to the levels in cardiomyocytes. Following the transplantation of chemically activated cardiogenic ASCs into infarcted myocardium, histological analysis showed that infarct size, interstitial fibrosis, and apoptotic index were markedly decreased and cardiac function was restored. In conclusion, PMA might induce the cardiogenic differentiation of human ASCs as well as BMSCs. This result suggests successful use of human ASCs in cardiac regeneration therapy.

Clear cell myoepithelial carcinoma is a very rare disease which develops primarily in the parotid gland. To date, only 17 cases of clear cell myoepithelial carcinoma have been reported worldwide. Among them, only three cases developed in the minor salivary gland in the oral cavity. No cases developed in the base of the tongue. Here, we report a new case of clear cell myoepithelial carcinoma that developed in the tongue base of a 52-year-old female patient. A mass was discovered on the left side of the tongue base. We successfully removed the mass through suprahyoid pharyngotomy approach. The light microscopy examination and various immunohistochemical stainings revealed clear cell myoepithelial carcinoma. During a two year follow-up period, there was no recurrence or local or distant metastasis.

This paper presents a virtual energy planning(VEP) system that monitors energy usage of home appliances and simulates it when one or more virtual devices are removed or newly added. With the system users could minimize energy waste and manage usage pattern efficiently. 1

Pathological stress including myocardial infarction and hypertension causes a negative effect on calcium regulation and homeostasis. Nevertheless, few studies reveal that Ca(2+) regulatory genes are related to pathological status in cardiomyocytes under early hypoxia. To determine the alteration of Ca(2+)-related gene in hypoxic myocytes, primary neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVCMs) was isolated. Survival of hypoxic NRVCMs was significantly decreased in 6 h. We confirmed an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and Ca(2+) overload in hypoxic NRVCMs by using 2',7'-dichlorodihydro-fluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) and FACS analysis. Furthermore, survival/apoptotic signals were also regulated in same condition. The expression profiles of more than 30,000 genes from NRVCMs that were subjected to early hypoxia revealed 630 genes that were differentially regulated. The intracellular Na(+) overload and Ca(2+) handling genes with at least two-fold changes were confirmed. The levels of Ca(2+)-handling proteins (calsequestrin, calmodulin, and calreticulin), ion channels (NCX, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, SERCA2a, and PLB), and stress markers (RyR2, ANP, and BNP) were significantly altered in early hypoxia. These results demonstrate that early hypoxia alters Ca(2+)-related gene expression in NRVCMs, leading to pathological status.

African populations, including the Sudanese, are underrepresented in warfarin pharmacogenetic studies. We designed a study to determine the associations between the polymorphisms and haplotype structures of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 and warfarin dose response in Sudanese patients, one of the most genetically diverse populations in Africa. The effect of the CYP2C9 polymorphisms (*2, *3, *5, *6, *8, *9, and *11), 20 VKORC1 tag SNPs and haplotypes, and clinical covariates were comprehensively assessed in 203 Sudanese warfarin-treated patients. Patients with the CYP2C9*2,*5,*6, or *11 variant required a daily warfarin dose that was 21% lower than those with CYP2C9*1/*1 (4.7 vs 5.8 mg/day, P

Device handover based on user's movement without relying on an infrastructure enables various services in a localized personal area. We present an audio speaker handover system based on wireless distance estimation in a Bluetooth environment. It is designed to enable smooth device handover at walking speed without any help from the infrastructure. For smooth device handover, we studied the distance estimation method which satisfies a fast reaction and high resolution. We collected received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values and transmission power level (TPL) values and determined a relative distance using the model function obtained by statistical analysis method. With these methods, we experimented and analyzed the performance of device handover. Based on these experiments, we proposed a modified RSS based distance estimation that limit the transmission power control function. We also showed that the proposed system achieves good performance in the aspects of handover delay time and handover failure rate.

Network-based real-time computing applications which require tightly bounded end-to-end delays have been increasing at a steady rate in recent years. A messaging layer that yields tight bounds on the latencies in detecting message losses and enables the application layer to initiate a timely recovery action has thus become highly desirable. In this paper we present a new reliable real-time messaging scheme called the Delay-Bounded Reliable Messaging Scheme (DB-RMS) that is aimed at meeting such requirements. It is built on top of the UDP sub-layer. DB-RMS provides multiple service options, each with different fault detection/recovery capabilities and different costs in terms of the execution overhead. This feature makes DB-RMS suitable for a variety of applications. The service options and the corresponding support protocols are presented first, followed by a formal analysis on the detection and reaction latency bounds under various service options. A messaging layer prototype using DB-RMS has been implemented. Performance measurements of the prototype implementation have been taken and the positive results obtained are also presented.

A middleware model named ROAFTS (Real-time Object-oriented Adaptive Fault Tolerance Support) has been evolving in the UCI DREAM Lab. over the past decade as the core of a reliable execution engine model for fault-tolerant (FT) real-time (RT) distributed computing (DC) applications. It is meant to be an integration of various mechanisms for fault detection and recovery in a form that meshes well with high-level RT DC object-/component- based programming, in particular, TMO (Time-triggered Message-triggered Object) programming. Using ROAFTS as a backbone and low-layer middleware, we developed a model and a skeleton implementation for FT DC middleware providing efficient FT execution services for component-based home network applications. Capabilities for management of home information processing devices, including health monitoring of home devices, reconfiguration of device connections, and servicing queries on device status, were added to ROAFTS. Those additions were first designed as a network of high-level RT DC components, i.e., TMOs. Then the TMO network was extended into an FT TMO network by applying the replication scheme called the PSTR (Primary-Shadow TMO Replication) scheme and incorporating a component responsible for reconfiguring TMO replicas. This extension of ROAFTS is called ROAFTS-HNE (Home Network Extension) and its architecture is presented here. In addition, during the development of the ROAFTS-HNE model, we formulated a new approach for applying the PSTR scheme to RT DC components supported by ROAFTS. Finally, evaluations of the recovery times of a prototype implementation have been conducted.

Comparisons of targeted genotyping chips to ready-made chips are important because targeted chips are suitable for fine-scale association mapping with a reasonable cost. Genotypes produced by the Affymetrix Targeted Genotyping (TG) 25K, Affymetrix 500K, and Illumina 550K arrays for regions on chromosomes 2 and 7 of 90 individuals were assessed to investigate genotype accordance between the platforms. The common SNPs in TG the Affymetrix and Illumina arrays showed similar genotype accordance. The consistency rate of the Illumina array to consensus genotypes, i.e., identically called by more than two platforms, was the highest, and that of the Affymetrix array was the lowest. The TG array data showed high accordance and reasonable consistency between platforms.

Given the diversity of home environment, appliances, and residents, the applications for smart homes must be configurable and adaptive. Instead of programming each household, we propose an ontology-based framework to facilitate the automatic composition of appropriate applications. The system composes appropriate services depending upon the available equipments in each individual household automatically. Meanwhile, it dynamically adjusts the environment parameters to match the customer needs and to encompass the available resource. With its supporting on customized function template editing, customers are able to specify their usual behavior templates as different mode.

Objectives Despite the ongoing development of treatment protocols for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), the patients suffering with this malady have shown only a modestly improved outcome. This poor outcome has been attributed to the lack of therapy that's individualized to the tumor's biological properties. Various studies have showed that galectin-8 is widely expressed in tumor tissues as well as in normal tissues, and the level of the galectin-8 expression may correlate with the malignancy of human squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression of galectin-8 and to investigate its correlations with the primary stage, the nodal involvement, the clinical stage and the histologic grade of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. Methods The paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 77 patients who were diagnosed as LSCC between 1993 and 2007 were immunohistochemically stained for galectin-8. Results Immunohistochemical analysis showed that a strong positive expression of galectin-8 was correlated with the T-stages, the nodal stages and the clinical stages. However, the histopathologic grades were not correlated with the galectin-8 expression in LSCC. Conclusion The expression of galectin-8 protein can be used as a prognostic factor for patients with LSCC.

Universal middleware bridge (UMB) provides seamless interoperation among heterogeneous home network middleware. There have been high demands for the UMB components (UMB core and adaptors) to have fault- tolerance capabilities. This paper presents a TMO structuring approach together with new implementation techniques for the fault-tolerant TMO-replica structuring scheme called PSTR. PSTR implementations of UMB components provide fault tolerance capabilities essential in realizing high reliability for the UMB facility.

For the future premium home network services, the high volume of network bandwidth and QoS support is essential in the home networks. Even though ultra-wideband (UWB) is considered as a promising technology because of its high bandwidth up to 480 Mbps, it has a limitation of short transmission range. To overcome UWB short coverage, we converge here UWB and high-speed powerline communication. Here we introduce a high-speed powerline communication bridge, more specifically a HomePlug AV and WiMedia UWB bridge. We explain the functions of hardware and software structure of it. Our bridge provides not only the connectivity between two networks but also supports various types of QoS for multi-media services.

This paper proposes the design of the autonomous fault processing mechanism that can be used to solve abnormal faults in home network. In home network environments that consists of several kind of networks and devices, their unrevealed functionalities can cause non-instinct faults (combination or inferred situation). Usually many researches had tried to make a model-based fault processing mechanism. But, those works depended on the characteristics of the model for the specific environment. We focus on the process in which faults are induced and establish fault categories that can be caused in home network and the autonomous fault processing mechanism.

Proinflammatory genotypes of the IL-1 (interleukin-1) gene have been associated with an increased gastric cancer risk in Caucasians, whereas some studies in Asian populations did not find such association. Furthermore, the risk genotypes differed somewhat between Caucasian and Asian populations. These findings might reflect more complex genetic mechanisms in Asian compared with Caucasian populations. Therefore, we examined a polymorphism (rs1864169) in the general transcription factor 2A1 (GTF2A1) gene as a test of the hypothesis that this transcription factor and IL-IB gene polymorphisms interact in the effects on the gastric cancer risk due to the possible biological relationship between the two genes. Genotyping of the 515 control and 342 case samples was performed by primer extension assay and SNaPshot assays. We found an association between carriage of the IL1B-31C allele and gastric cancer among Koreans, which was observed only in subjects with GTF2A1 GG genotype. The GTF2A1GG/IL1B-31C carrier genotype combination showed stronger association with diffuse type gastric cancer cases. These findings indicate that the effect of the two genetic polymorphisms on risk of gastric cancer is synergistic. Our results also suggest that an additional host genetic factor acting epistatically may differentially contribute to the histogenesis of the diffuse and intestinal subtypes.