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The Physical property changes of calcined clay by carburization were investigated studied. The carburization mechanism is the penetration of carbon which occurred during incomplete fuel combustion into crevice of clay structure. The experiments for elasticity and freeze-thaw resistance were conducted, and the results can be summarized as follows: Dynamic modulus of elasticity and also freeze-thaw resistance of calcined clay by carburization treatment increased more than 92% after testing 300 cycle, which was more improved than 88% of calcined clay. Therefore, it can decrease the possibility of wintersowing, which is one the weakness of calcined clay. It is on the basis of the fact that the porosity of calcined clay by carburization treatment is about 12%, which indicates smaller pore spaces comparing with the 14% of porosity of calcined clay and those values were calculated by apparent porosity show and also supported by SEM images. Infrared emissivity of calcined clay by carburization treatment and calcined clay were respectively 0.92 and 0.91 at 80℃. However, those values were 0.91 and 0.88 at 200℃, which means infrared emissivity of calcined clay by carburization treatment shows 3.6% higher than the calcined clay. Moreover, within the wavelength range from 3 to 7 ㎛, while the calcined clay had low infrared emissivity, the calcined clay by carburization treatment had increased infrared emissivity. It is inferred that it was affected by carbon element that has high infrared absorptivity within this wavelength range.

316L stainless steel welding tube was electrolytically polished and the inner surface characteristics of the tube were tested. Electro-polishing variables such as current, voltage, concentration of electrolyte and electropolishing time were changed to seek for optimum condition. These makes a optimum conditions for the electro-polishing as 4000 A, 9 V, 1.7 specific gravity of electrolyte, and 30 minute of electro-polishing time. It makes the surface roughness as Ra . XPS test resulted as the ratio of CrO/FeO equals or more to 3/1. AES test resulted as the thickness of CrO film of . DTA test resulted as the tube did not react with gas below 1073K. As summarize above results, the electro- polished 316L stainless steel welding tube satisfied the conditions to apply as a pipeline for semi- conductor production facility and clean room.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered (SPS) Al 2 O 3 -Co composites were investigated depending on the sintering temperatures (900-1200°C) and cobalt contents (0∼12mass%). The material properties of relative density and fracture toughness increased as the sintering temperature and Co content (up to 12mass%Co) increased. In the SPSed Al 2 O 3 -Co composite sintered at 1200°C, maximum values of relative density and fracture toughness about 99.3% and 8.1 MPam 1/2 , respectively were obtained. The fracture morphology of SPSed Al 2 O 3 -12mass%Co composite showed a semi-brittle fracture mode due to the homogeneous dispersion of fine-sized Co particles.

In this study, the influence of different surface hydrophilicity on flow rate of microchannel was investigated. Rectangular microchannel was made by only PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane). In making microchannel, the patterned PDMS and the bottom PDMS were treated by argon plasma and then coated by allyl alcohol (99%) in the vacuum plasma instrument. PDMS surface contact angle was controlled by the change of power density during the vacuum plasma treatment process. The length and the width of microchannel were changed but the depth of microchannel was fixed at 100 μm. Several different external voltages were applied to investigate the flow rate change in microchannel. In spite of the channel length change, flow rates of microchannels were practically same at the same electric field. But microchannels, of which PDMS surface contact angles were 20° and 80°, showed different flow rates at the same electric field. Such flow rate difference was explained by relative zeta potential to show the effect of surface hydrophilicity change. This result showed that surface contact angle change affects the flow rate change of fluid in microchannel.

The paper proposes a new duplexing scheme, which is called the hybrid division duplex (HDD), that is suitable for fourth-generation mobile communication systems. The proposed mobile communication system is much more flexible and efficient in providing asymmetric data service and managing intercell interference by exploiting the advantages of both time division duplex (TDD) and frequency division duplex (FDD) schemes. The HDD scheme has a pair of frequency bands such as the FDD, performing a TDD operation using one of the bands in such a manner that allows for simultaneous FDD and TDD operations. Considering the properties of the HDD system architecture, frequency hopping orthogonal frequency division multiple (OFDM) access is adopted in one band for the TDD operation and code division multiple access (CDMA) in the other band for the FDD uplink operation. The important advantage of the HDD scheme is the robustness against cross time slot interference that is inherent to the TDD system, which is caused by the asynchronous downlink/uplink switching boundaries among all neighbor cells. From the simulation results, the proposed system can achieve approximately 7% and 30% improvement with regard to the downlink and uplink throughput, respectively, as compared to the conventional TDD system under cell-independent downlink/uplink traffic asymmetries. It demonstrates that the HDD scheme is a viable solution for future communication systems that are projected to have a cell-independent asymmetric-traffic-supported hierarchical cell structure.

Pt-Pd catalysts were prepared by using the spontaneous deposition method and their characteristics were analyzed in a direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC). Effects of calcination temperature and atmosphere on the cell performance were investigated. The calcination temperatures were 300, 400 and 500 °C and the calcination atmospheres were air and nitrogen. The fuel cell with the catalyst calcined at 400 °C showed the best cell performance of 58.8 mW/cm2. The effect of calcination atmosphere on the overall performance of fuel cell was negligible. The fuel cell with catalyst calcined at air atmosphere showed high open circuit potential (OCP) of 0.812 V. Also the effects of anode and cathode catalyst loadings on the DFAFC performance using Pt-Pd (1: 1) catalyst were investigated to optimize the catalyst loading. The catalyst loading had a significant effect on the fuel cell performance. Especially, the fuel cell with anode catalyst loading of 4 mg/cm2 and cathode catalyst loading of 5 mg/cm2 showed the best power density of 64.7 mW/cm2 at current density of 200 mA/cm2.

In this study, we investigated the potential changes of a rectangular cross section having different aspect ratio and area. A 2D Poisson-Boltzmann equation was used to model the electric double layer field of the cross section. The potential change of the cross section was studied numerically with FEMLAB 3.0 to understand the geometry effects of the rectangular microchannel used for electroosmotic flow. According to the result, the cross-section geometry shows significant influences on the potential field. The potential distribution shows same tendency with various cross-section areas in the same aspect ratio. The potential gradient increases with the increase of the cross section area.

A pyroprocessing technology is being developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. This technology development is conducted in a completely sealed argon cell where, as the cell is active, human operators' access to the in-cell is not possible owing to the nature of the toxicity of argon gas. Relevant processing equipment installed inside the cell should be operated and maintained in a fully remote manner by using remote handling systems. This paper describes the procedures of evaluating the processing equipment from the remote operation and maintenance viewpoints from the design stage to the fabrication using evaluation systems such as a simulator and an evaluation mock-up. The remote operability and maintainability of the design models of the processing equipment were evaluated in a simulator. The fabricated processing equipment was tested in an evaluation mock-up before being installed in the argon cell. The evaluation results conducted on the 3D models of electro-refining processing equipment in a simulator and the fabricated electrolytic reduction processing equipment in an evaluation mock-up are also demonstrated.

This paper introduces a manipulator that is under development as a remote maintenance tool in the argon-filled cell of PRIDE, a nuclear facility. This remote manipulator was designed to be able to operate in areas where other remote equipment such as a mechanical master-slave manipulator or bridge-transported dual servo manipulator cannot reach. The remote maintenance tool can be used to support the maintenance of process and cell equipment. In this paper, the mechanical design and manufacturing of the remote manipulation tool are addressed.

A 6.4Gb/s TX-interleaving (TI) technique at sub-1V supply voltage is implemented with 25nm DRAM process for the future mobile DRAM interface which requires 51.2 GBps (2X Bandwidth of LPDDR4). A newly proposed 2-channel TX interleaving technique with a bootstrapping switch can save power consumption drastically by eliminating repeaters, while operating at 6.4 Gb/s with 40 % enhancement of I/O power efficiency compared to that of the LPDDR4.

Background Surgical excision is conventionally regarded as the treatment of choice for nodular basal cell carcinoma (nBCC), and methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) has relatively low efficacy for nBCC. However, Er:YAG ablative fractional laser (AFL)-primed MAL-PDT (Er:YAG AFL-PDT) may offer enhanced efficacy for nBCC, especially thin nBCC (thickness ≤2 mm). Objective We compared Er:YAG AFL-PDT with conventional MAL-PDT for thin facial nBCC in Korean patients. Methods Thirty-nine patients (42 lesions) with primary, histologically proven thin nBCCs were randomized to Er:YAG AFL-PDT (single session, n = 20) or conventional MAL-PDT (two sessions, 7 days apart, n = 19). Efficacy, recurrence rate, cosmetic outcomes and safety were assessed 1 week, 3 months and 12 months after the last treatment. Results Three months after the final treatment, overall complete response rates were 84.2% with Er:YAG AFL-PDT and 50% with MAL-PDT (P = 0.026). The recurrence rate was significantly lower with Er:YAG AFL-PDT (6.3%) than with MAL-PDT (55.6%) at 12 months (P = 0.006). Er:YAG AFL-PDT and MAL-PDT did not differ significantly with respect to cosmetic outcomes or safety. Conclusions Er:YAG AFL-PDT can be used as an alternative treatment option for patients who have thin nBCC and are not suitable for surgical treatment.

In obesity, cardiac insulin resistance is a putative cause of cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction. In our previous study, we observed that Magnolia extract BL153 attenuated high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced cardiac pathogenic changes. In this study, we further investigated the protective effects of the BL153 bioactive constituent, 4-O-methylhonokiol (MH), against HFD-induced cardiac pathogenesis and its possible mechanisms. C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet or a HFD with gavage administration of vehicle, BL153, or MH (low or high dose) daily for 24 weeks. Treatment with MH attenuated HFD-induced obesity, as evidenced by body weight gain, and cardiac pathogenesis, as assessed by the heart weight and echocardiography. Mechanistically, MH treatment significantly reduced HFD-induced impairment of cardiac insulin signaling by preferentially augmenting Akt2 signaling. MH also inhibited cardiac expression of the inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and increased the phosphorylation of nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (Nrf2) as well as the expression of a Nrf2 downstream target gene heme oxygenase-1. The increased Nrf2 signaling was associated with decreased oxidative stress and damage, as reflected by lowered malondialdehyde and 3-nitrotyrosine levels. Furthermore, MH reduced HFD-induced cardiac lipid accumulation along with lowering expression of cardiac fatty acid translocase/CD36 protein. These results suggest that MH, a bioactive constituent of Magnolia, prevents HFD-induced cardiac pathogenesis by attenuating the impairment of cardiac insulin signaling, perhaps via activation of Nrf2 and Akt2 signaling to attenuate CD36-mediated lipid accumulation and lipotoxicity.

In this paper, the development of compact transmission soft x-ray microscopy (XM) with sub-50 nm spatial resolution for biomedical applications is described. The compact transmission soft x-ray microscope operates at lambda = 2.88 nm (430 eV) and is based on a tabletop regenerative x-ray source in combination with a tandem ellipsoidal condenser mirror for sample illumination, an objective micro zone plate and a thinned back-illuminated charge coupled device to record an x-ray image. The new, compact x-ray microscope system requires the fabrication of proper x-ray optical devices in order to obtain high-quality images. For an application-oriented microscope, the alignment procedure is fully automated via computer control through a graphic user interface. In imaging studies using our compact XM system, a gold mesh image was obtained with 45 nm resolution at x580 magnification and 1 min exposure. Images of a biological sample (Coscinodiscus oculoides) were recorded.

Functionally pore-gradient Al 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 composites where the porosity is dependent on the extrusion ratio and number of shell layer were fabricated by a fibrous monolithic process. The size and volume fraction of the pores were controlled by different numbers of shell layers, which contained various sizes and a different volume percentage of the pore-forming agent. In the pore-gradient, Al 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 bodies having a dense core part, some defects such as cracks, swelling and delamination occurred during the sintering process due to the low extrusion ratio. However, these defects were completely removed as the extrusion ratio increased, and the shell layers as well as the core part had a continuously porous structure. In the shell part, various sizes of pores from 70 to 250 μm in diameter were observed.

In this article we propose cross-layer design frameworks for 802.16e OFDMA systems that are compatible with WiBro based on various kinds of cross-layer protocols for performance improvement: a cross-layer adaptation framework and a design example of primitives for cross-layer operation between its MAC and PHY layers. In addition, we provide a simulation framework for cross-layer analysis between the MAC and PHY layers in 802.16e systems. Through this cross-layer simulator, we show that average cell throughput can be improved by 25-60 percent by applying careful cross-layer adaptation schemes.

Many researchers have employed cryopreserved amniotic membrane (CAM) in the treatment of a severely damaged cornea, using corneal epithelial cells cultured on an amniotic membrane (AM). In this study, two Teflon rings were made for culturing the cells on the LAM and CAM, and were then used to support the AM, which is referred to in this paper as an Ahn’s AM supporter. The primary corneal epithelial cells were obtained from the limbus, using an explantation method. The corneal epithelium could be reconstructed by culturing the third-passage corneal epithelial cells on the AM. A lyophilized amniotic membrane (LAM) has a higher rate of graft take, a longer shelf life, is easier to store, and safer, due to gamma irradiation, than a CAM. The corneal epithelium reconstructed on the LAM and CAM, supported by the two-Teflon rings, was similar to normal corneal epithelium. However, the advantages of the LAM over that of the CAM make the former more useful. The reconstruction model of the corneal epithelium, using AM, is considered as a goodin vitro model for transplantation of cornel epithelium into patients with a severely damaged cornea.

This study develops a haptic display model which is an indispensable for the force generation in the virtual environment. In developing the haptic display model, a Proxy concept and a Karnopp friction model are utilized to generate the reaction force and the friction force. Also this study develops a 2 D.O.F. remote wiping system. This system is composed of a 2 D.O.F. master manipulator, a force sensor equipped 2 D.O.F. slave manipulator and a real time controller. With the developed remote wiping system, this study identifies the friction characteristic of the aluminum, acryl and rubber plate. The results are used as the dynamic friction coefficient of the haptic display model. This study shows the efficiency of the developed haptic display model by the comparison between the friction characteristic of the haptic display with the developed haptic display model and the friction characteristic of the real aluminum, acryl and rubber plate.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a relatively common entity in rheumatology. Skin involvements such as nodules, vasculitis, and calcifications are commonly reported in patients with SLE [1,2]. In our center, we encounter many rheumatoid patients referred from our rheumatology clinic. However, the case shown here was very unusual even to our experienced eyes.

Effects of methyl alcohol on the morphology and conformational characteristics of silk sericin (SS) were studied. Scanning electron microscope showed that morphology of SS lyophilized was dramatically changed from sponge-like structure to spherical fine particle type. X-ray diffraction method, infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry showed that the conformation of SS was random coil structure regardless of the addition of methyl alcohol. On the other hand, circular dichroism showed that the molecular states of SS were more densely packed.

The antitumor activity of a synthetic chenodeoxycholic acid derivative, HS-1200, on the p815 mastocytoma cell line was investigated. We present several lines of evidence indicating that HS-1200 at 35 microM induced apoptosis of p815 cells. Reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, the release of cytochrome to cytosol, activation of caspase-3, nuclear condensation, production of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, generation of DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation were demonstrated. Importantly, HS-1200 inhibited proteasome activity. Next, the combination treatment of HS-1200 or a proteasome inhibitor lactacystin was undertaken. Although the single treatment of 20 microM HS-1200 or 1 microM lactacystin induced apoptosis slightly, the combination treatment of them augmented prominently the extent of apoptosis. The combination therapy of HS-1200 and lactacystin could be potentially a therapeutic strategy reducing the extent and severity of treatment-related toxicity.

Silk sericin (SS) possessing moisture-retaining property was reacted with activated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to obtain self-assembled SS nanoparticles. The aliphatic and aromatic hydroxyl groups of serine and tyrosine residues as the reaction sites in SS were clarified by amino acid analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy, respectively. From IR and circular dichroism (CD) measurements, introduction of PEG into SS induced the conformational change from random coil to beta-sheet. DSC thermogram of sericin-PEG conjugate suggests that mutual miscibility between PEG and SS chains was poor. Nanoparticles of sericin-PEG conjugate with sizes measured by dynamic light scattering ranging about 200-400 nm in diameter, were prepared by the diafiltration method. Shape of sericin-PEG conjugate nanoparticles observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopes was spherical. The results suggest that sericin-PEG conjugates are self-associated to form spherical nanoparticles through hydrophobic interaction.

This article introduces the vision and requirements for future development of mobile communications systems, and discusses several key enabling technologies such as modulation and multiple access schemes, multiple antenna techniques, and an IP-based network, considered important to realize this vision in real-world systems.

Background Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) tends to have a fulminant course and be associated with critically ill diseases, there have been reports of AAC without any risk factors but good prognosis. Goals To assess the risk factors, clinical features and prognosis of AAC. Study All patients who had a cholecystectomy due to acute cholecystitis at Pundang Jesaeng General Hospital during a 43-month period were prospectively enrolled. AAC was defined by ultrasonographic, intraoperative and pathologic findings of acute cholecystitis without evidence of gallstones. Clinical features and pathologic findings were analyzed and outcome was assessed. Results 156 patients with acute cholecystitis were enrolled and 14% (22 of 156) met the criteria of AAC. Fifteen (68%) of the patients with AAC were male and the average age was 63 year old. Twenty patients were presented with AAC as outpatients of whom seven of them (35%) had atherosclerotic vascular disease. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed in 126 patients (80.8%) with acute cholecystitis but was possible in only 12 patients (54.5%) with AAC. AAC was associated with a high incidence of gangrene (59%) but no patients died of acute cholecystitis. Conclusions We conclude that AAC frequently occurs in elderly male outpatients without critical illness and gangrene is common but the prognosis is better than reported previously.

For the fast fading channels, e.g., fast mobile channels, non-coherent detection scheme is promising because the receiver does not require to measure the channel information, which results in reducing transmission overhead. In this paper, we compare the bit error rate of two non-coherent encoding/decoding schemes for multiple transmit antennas under fast fading environments when the number of antenna varies from two to three. The first approach is a unitary space-time modulation (USTM) that aims to achieve the non-coherent channel capacity. The second one is a differential space-time block code (DSTBC), which projects information symbols to a number of orthogonal bases that consist of the previously sent symbols. We exhibit the fact that the block length of both schemes affects the performance significantly rather than encoding/decoding methods when the channel varies fast. In addition, we present some problems of the DSTBC sending the complex symbols with more than two transmit antennas.

For the aim of thin electromagnetic wave absorbers used in quasi-microwave frequency band, this study proposes the high-permittivity ferroelectrics of quarter wavelength thickness (λ/4 spacer) coated with ITO thin film of 377 Ω/sq (impedance transformer). For high-permittivity dielectrics, BaTiO3 (BT), 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.1PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) and 0.8Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.2Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN-PZN) are prepared by conventional ceramic processing technique. The ferroelectric materials show high dielectric constant and dielectric loss in microwave frequency range and their dominant loss mechanism is considered to be domain wall relaxation or dynamics of polar clusters. The microwave absorbance (determined at 2 GHz) of BT, PMN-PT and PMN-PZN are found to be 65% (at a λ/4 thickness of 3.5 mm), 20% (2.5 mm) and 37% (2.5 mm), respectively. By coating ITO thin films on the ferroelectric substrates with a thickness of λ/4, the microwave absorbance is greatly improved. Particularly, when the sheet resistance of ITO films is closed to 377 Ω/sq, the reflection loss is reduced to −20 dB (99% power absorption). This is attributed to the wave impedance matching led by ITO thin film combined with a λ/4 thickness of high-permittivity dielectric spacer. It is, therefore, successfully proposed that the ITO/ferroelectrics structure with controlled electrical properties and thickness can be useful as thin microwave absorbers used in quasi-microwave frequency band.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a rare, hereditary, chronic, non-inflammatory mechanobullous disease. Esophageal involvement is invariable in RDEB patients. A 15-year-old girl visited with protracted vesiculobullous skin eruptions since birth. On physical examination, bullae, atrophic scars, milia, crusts and erosions were noted primarily on the distal extremities. Loss of entire nails and syndactyly of the right fourth and fifth toes were seen. Diagnosis of RDEB was confirmed by clinical, histopathologic, immunofluorescent and electron microscopic findings. Endoscopic and esophagographic studies revealed a stenosis and several hemorrhagic bullae and erosions. She successfully underwent bougienage under endoscopic and fluoroscopic control

Although genistein has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis of various cells, there is no report of its effect on mast cell proliferation. Here we show that genistein reduced the viability of mast cell tumor cell lines, p815 and RBL-2H, but not of a human mast cell line, HMC-1. Further investigation on its growth-inhibitory mechanism was undertaken on p815 mastocytoma cells. Genistein induced G2/M arrest and subsequent apoptotic death. p815 cells undergoing apoptosis showed many apoptotic manifestations, such as reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c to cytosol, translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor to nucleus, activation of caspase-3, nuclear condensation, and generation of DNA fragmentation. Genistein treatment resulted in the increase of Bax expression and its translocation into mitochondria, whereas expression levels of Bcl-2 remained unchanged. Proteasome activity decreased at the early time points after genistein treatment, but thereafter it fluctuated at increased levels. A proteasome inhibitor, lactacystin, potentiated the induction of apoptosis. Taken together, genistein-induced apoptosis of p815 mastocytoma cells is at least in part mediated by proteasome, Bax, apoptosis-inducing factor, and caspase and augmented by cotreatment with a proteasome inhibitor, lactacystin.

A 26-year-old woman was referred to our department due to fever and skin rash after having taken medication for a common cold. Physical examination revealed erythematous skin changes on her body associated with mucosal involvement in her eyes and oral cavity. Peripheral blood examination revealed leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Liver function test showed hyperbilirubinemia. She was managed with high dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) at 1.0 gm/kg of body weight infused for 5 consecutive days. Although the patient's skin lesion improved dramatically with IVIG therapy, her hyperbilirubinemia aggravated progressively. Eighteen months after her presentation, liver cirrhosis was diagnosed by ultrasonography, laboratory and liver biopsy findings.

In toe reconstruction, amputation procedures are much more common than salvage procedures. However, toe resurfacing, rather than amputation, provides superior functional and aesthetic results. In this study, we report the clinical outcomes of toe resurfacing using a thin thoracodorsal artery perforator flap.Between January 2004 and June 2013, a total of 15 patients underwent toe resurfacing using thoracodorsal artery perforator flaps. Thin flaps were harvested by discarding the deep adipose layer. Twelve cases involved a great toe defect, three, a second toe defect, three, a third toe defect, and one, a fourth toe defect. Patient ages ranged from 19 to 82 years (mean, 42.9 years). The mechanism of injury varied, including crushing injury, degloving injury, and diabetic foot infection.The size of thoracodorsal artery perforator flap ranged from 4 × 3 to 20 × 8 cmToe resurfacing with thin thoracodorsal artery perforator flaps appears to be a safer and more reliable option than amputation for preserving their function. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 37:312-318, 2017.

Summary Background Early identification and treatment of actinic cheilitis (AC) is recommended. Although photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an attractive therapeutic option for AC, PDT for AC does not result in the same satisfactory outcomes as in actinic keratosis (AK). Objectives The aim of our study was to compare efficacy, recurrence rate, cosmetic outcome and safety between erbium:yttrium–aluminium–garnet ablative fractional laser-assisted methyl aminolaevulinate–PDT (Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT) and standard MAL-PDT. Methods Thirty-three patients with histologically confirmed AC randomly received either one session of Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT or two sessions of MAL-PDT. In the MAL-PDT group, the second session of MAL-PDT was administered 7 days later. Patients were followed up at 1 week and 3 and 12 months, and biopsies were taken from all patients at 3 and 12 months after the last treatment session. At the final 12-month follow-up, cosmetic outcomes were assessed. Adverse events were assessed at week 1 of the treatment phase and every subsequent follow-up visit. Results In the per-protocol (PP) population, Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT was significantly more effective (92% complete response rate) than MAL-PDT (59%; P = 0·040) at the 3-month follow-up, and differences in efficacy remained significant at the 12-month follow-up (85% in Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT and 29% in MAL-PDT). The recurrence rate was significantly lower for Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT (8%) than for MAL-PDT (50%) group at 12 months (P = 0·029). No significant difference in cosmetic outcome or safety was observed between Er:YAG AFL MAL-PDT and MAL-PDT. Conclusions Ablative fractional laser pretreatment has significant benefit for the treatment of AC with PDT.

Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) is an effective first-line treatment for actinic keratosis (AK). Erbium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Er:YAG) ablative fractional laser-assisted MAL-PDT (AFL-PDT) has shown significant benefit for the treatment of AK. Objectives The objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy, recurrence rate, cosmetic outcome and safety between AFL-PDT with 2 and 3 h of incubation vs. Conventional MAL-PDT in patients with facial and scalp AK. Methods This prospective randomized trial initially enrolled 440 facial and scalp AK lesions in 93 patients. Patients were randomly assigned to AFL-PDT with a 2-h incubation time (2h-AFL-PDT), 3h-AFL-PDT and 3h-MAL-PDT. All patients underwent one session of MAL-PDT using a red light-emitting diode lamp at 37 J/cm2, and AFL-PDT groups were assigned to pretreatment with Er:YAG AFL. Patients were followed up at 1 week, 3 months and 12 months post treatment. Efficacy, cosmetic outcomes and adverse events were assessed. Finally, 427 facial AK lesions in 88 patients were analysed in this study. Results Three months after the last treatment session, 3h-AFL-PDT (91.7%) was significantly more effective than 2h-AFL-PDT (76.8%) and 3h-MAL-PDT (65.6%, P

Portulaca oleracea extracts, known as Ma Chi Hyun in the traditional Korean medicine, show a variety of biomedical efficacies including those in anti-inflammation and anti-allergy. In this study, we investigate the protective activity of the P. oleracea extracts against UVB-induced damage in human epithelial keratinocytes and fibroblasts by several apoptosis-related tests. The results suggest that P. oleracea extracts have protective effects from UVB-induced apoptosis.

Pigmented basal cell carcinoma (PBCC) occurs more frequently in Asian population. The efficacy of fluorescence diagnosis (FD) for PBCCs treated with Mohs micrographic surgery has not yet been determined. This study enrolled 255 patients with 258 biopsy-proven BCC lesions: 199 PBCCs (77.1%) and 59 non-PBCCs (22.9%). We compared the clinicopathological and surgical features of the PBCCs and non-PBCCs. Each group was divided into 2 sub-groups, those assessed and not assessed by FD, to retrospectively analyse surgical features. Aggressive histological subtypes were less prevalent in PBCCs than in non-PBCCs. PBCCs required significantly fewer stages of Mohs excision, with significantly smaller surgical margins and surgical depth, than non-PBCCs. FD did not confer any benefits on PBCCs during Mohs micrographic surgery. However, non-PBCCs assessed by FD required significantly fewer Mohs stages, with significantly smaller surgical margins, than lesions not assessed by FD. These findings suggest that FD should be performed before Mohs micrographic surgery to delineate the margins of non-PBCCs in Asians.

Magnoliaas an herbal material obtained fromMagnolia officinalishas been found to play an important role in anti-inflammation, antioxidative stress, and antiapoptosis. This study was designed to investigate the effect ofMagnoliaextract (BL153) on obesity-associated lipid accumulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the heart. C57BL/6 mice were fed a low- (10 kcal% fat) or high-fat (60 kcal% fat) diet for 24 weeks to induce obesity. These mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD) were given a gavage of vehicle, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg body weight BL153 daily. The three doses of BL153 treatment slightly ameliorated insulin resistance without decrease of body weight gain induced by HFD feeding. BL153 at 10 mg/kg slightly attenuated a mild cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction induced by HFD feeding. Both 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg of BL153 treatment significantly inhibited cardiac lipid accumulation measured by Oil Red O staining and improved cardiac inflammation and oxidative stress by downregulating ICAM-1, TNF-α, PAI-1, 3-NT, and 4-HNE. TUNEL staining showed that BL153 treatment also ameliorated apoptosis induced by mitochondrial caspase-3 independent cell death pathway. This study demonstrates that BL153 attenuates HFD-associated cardiac damage through prevention of HFD-induced cardiac lipid accumulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis.

In this paper, we describe the design of a novel crane system for use in a small argon hot-cell where only a mechanical master-slave manipulator (MSM) within the limitation is available for the maintenance of the crane. To get a practically achievable solution for the design problem, we devised a remote actuation mechanism in which the electrical parts of the crane are separated from the mechanical parts and installed inside the workspace of the MSM for remote maintenance. Even though the design concept does not provide a thoroughly sufficient solution because the mechanical parts are placed out of the MSM's workspace, the durability of the mechanical parts can be easily increased if they have a high safety margin. Therefore, the concept may be one of best solutions for our special crane system. In addition, we developed a servo-control system based on absolute positioning technology; therefore, it is possible for us to perform the given tasks more safely through an automatic operation.

O-Glycosylation of phenol derivatives is an important synthetic method for natural products containing carbohydrate molecules.[1] Although various O-glycosylation methods have been studied in order...

Ammonium ion accumulation in mammalian cell culture media causes toxicity which inhibits cell growth and productivity. To reduce the level of the accumulated ammonium ion, carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS I) and ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC) were used, which catalyze the first and second steps of the urea cycle in the liver. To examine the effects of overexpressed CPS I and OTC genes on the concentration of the ammonium ion in culture media, the two genes were introduced into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) dhfr-cells. The CPS I expressing cell lines (CPS I-CHO) and both CPS I and OTC expressing cell lines (CPS I/OTC-CHO) were confirmed at the mRNA level and analyzed in terms of the cell growth and the accumulation of ammonium ion in culture media. The accumulation of ammonium ion was approximately 25-33% less in CPS I/OTC-CHO than in either CPS I-CHO or the vector-control cell lines. Interestingly however, the cell growth was approximately 15-30% faster in both CPS I-CHO and CPS I/OTC-CHO than in the control cell lines. Forced expression of urea cycle enzymes in the CHO cells revealed that both the expression of CPS I and OTC can reduce the accumulation of ammonium ion in the culture media.

A poly(uridylic acid) analogue, poly{(19-(b-uracil-1-yl)-59-deoxy-D-erythro- pent-49-enofuranose)-alt-(maleic acid)} (3), was synthesized by the alternating copoly- merization of nucleoside derivative 1 and maleic anhydride and subsequent hydrolysis. N-glycosidic bonds of the polymer were hydrolyzed spontaneously to liberate uracil from the polymer backbone in a buffer solution (pH 7.4) at room temperature. The depyrimidination rate constant of the polymer at pH 7.4 at 80 °C was 8.2 3 10 25 s 21 , which was 10 4 times higher than that of the depyrimidination of DNA (1.2 3 10 29 s 21 ) under the same condition. The activation energy for the depyrimidination was 16 kcal/mol, which was about half of that for the relevant nucleoside reactions. The increase in the depyrimidination rate was attributable to the high potential energy of the polymer caused by the crowded environment around the bases, so that the polymer was more susceptible to the hydrolysis. Because natural nucleic acids often have compact structures with a crowded environment around the bases by an intricate chain folding, the pyrimidination also may have been accelerated in a similar manner in the biological system. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 423- 429, 2000

Sjogren's syndrome is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the lacrimal and salivary glands, leading to dryness of eyes (kerato-conjunctivitis sicca) and mouth (xerostomia). The skin lesions in Sjogren's syndrome are usually manifested as xeroderma, but sometimes appear as annular erythema or vasculitis. Central nervous system symptoms may be presented as one of extraglandular manifestations, though rare in incidence, and need differential diagnosis from multiple sclerosis. We report a case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed as multiple sclerosis at first but later as neurologic manifestation of primary Sjogren's syndrome, showing signs of multiple sclerosis and cutaneous erythematous lesions.

Ion-nitriding for S45C, SCM435 and pure iron was carried out using an Al subsidiary cathode at 823 K for 10.8 ks in 665 Pa mixed gas of 30% N 2 – X % H 2 – Y % Ar. The nitriding layers formed on each steel were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), microscopic observation and microhardness measurement. The surface hardness of S45C was increased with Ar contents up to 20% at 30% N 2 . After the ion-nitriding, iron nitride phases of e-Fe 2–3 N and γ′-Fe 4 N were found on the surface of S45C and SCM435, and γ′-Fe 4 N phase was found on the pure iron. From the results of XPS analysis, Al was found as a combined form with nitrogen in the nitrided layer. Using an Al subsidiary cathode, the surface hardness and thickness of the compound layer were greater than those without. The surface hardness of S45C, SCM435 and pure iron was Hv 820–890, >Hv 1000 and Hv 240, respectively. These may be due to the presence of the sputtered Al atoms, which were deposited and/or diffused into the iron nitrides and then increased the lattice strain.