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Abstract High-performance structural materials that combine superior mechanical properties and robust corrosion resistance are vital for sustainable infrastructure and offshore equipment. Here, we report a multi-component (18Mn3Cr0.5Mo1V)-based ferrous alloy with a face-centered cubic structure that demonstrates high strength, hardness, ductility, and extended service life in harsh chloride environments. In contrast to conventional carbon steels for seawater use and Cr/Mo/V-free 18Mn-bearing alloys, this multi-component alloy showed much lower corrosion rates (i.e., lower weight loss and corrosion current density, and higher polarization resistance), which could be comparable even to that of ferritic stainless steel. These surface-inhibiting properties were attributed primarily to the synergistic interactions of the micro-alloying of Cr, V, and Mo, maximizing Cr-enrichment in the oxides composed of inner scale with refined particle size in its structure. Moreover, the cation selectivity characteristics of scale impedes effectively the penetration of Cl ions into the alloy surface.

Abstract The challenges associated with liquid biopsy of colorectal cancer (CRC) are closely linked to the substantial variations observed in gene expression profiles among patients. This variability complicates the selection of an ideal biomarker for accurate diagnosis. In this report, we propose that employing a combination of miRNAs offers a better change for enhancing the accuracy of CRC diagnosis compared to solely relying on single miRNAs. As an illustrative example, we measured 9 miRNAs from 45 patient samples (comprising 31 CRC cases and 14 healthy controls) via RT-qPCR. We then utilized two methods: (1) LASSO regression for marker ranking and (2) linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to identify the optimal weighted combination of multiple markers. Our data indicates that combination of triple markers, selected based on their ranking, exhibited the highest diagnostic performance, including a sensitivity of 93.6% (95% confidence interval, CI 79.3–98.9%), specificity of 100% (CI 78.5–100.0%), positive predictive value (PPV) of 100%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 87.5%, and an overall accuracy of 95.6%. In contrast, the diagnostic performance of each individual miRNA used in the triple marker combination ranged from 53.3 to 80.0% in accuracy. While we acknowledge the need for further extensive studies involving larger patient cohorts and the consideration of additional miRNA candidates, our research undeniably highlights the potential of combining multiple markers as a robust methodology for identifying biomarkers among heterogeneous patient profiles.

This work aims to demonstrate that the resistance to hydrogen embrittlement of conventional advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) with a bainitic ferrite structure can be significantly enhanced through two metallurgical strategies. Firstly, a smaller fraction of cementite in a mixture of bainitic ferrite and lath-martensite structures is realized by an intercritical annealing process with rapid cooling. Secondly, a higher fraction of alloy carbides (MC) with a mean size of less than 30 nm is formed through the combined addition of Ti, Mo, and V as micro-alloying elements. The reduction of cementite precipitation in the matrix leads to an increased resistance to hydrogen evolution/adsorption on the surface under cathodic polarization. Moreover, a large number of V-bearing nanoprecipitates ((Ti,Mo,V)-carbides and V-carbides) provides intermediate trapping for hydrogen atoms, effectively delaying the diffusion kinetics of hydrogen towards potential crack-forming areas in the matrix. Consequently, the lower strain reduction during slow strain rate test and the higher resistance to cracking during the four-point bending test in acidic aqueous solutions are manifested in the newly designed AHSS.

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the association between angiolymphatic invasion (ALI) and bladder cancer in patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC). Materials and Methods Multicenter retrospective data from 495 bladder cancer patients who underwent RC between 2007 and 2019 were enrolled in this study. Patients were stratified into 2 groups according to the presence of ALI. The effect of ALI was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression hazard models for patients’ cancer-specific survival (CSS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results The median age of the 495 patients in the study was 65 years, with median and mean follow-up durations of 23.3 months and 37.1 months, respectively. ALI was present in 182 patients (36.8%). ALI was significantly associated with worse RFS as well as CSS and OS (p

Abstract Background Open reduction and plate fixation are the preferred treatment options for most distal humerus fractures in adults. However, it is often challenging for orthopedic surgeons because of the complex anatomy and the difficulty in achieving stable fixation. This multicenter study aimed to analyze the complication types and rates of patients with distal humerus fractures treated with open reduction and plate fixation, and compare the results with those found in the literature. In addition, we describe the clinical outcomes. Methods This retrospective multicenter study was conducted between September 2001 and March 2021 and included data from four hospitals. In total, 349 elbows underwent surgical treatment at these hospitals during the study period. Patients > 17 years of age who were treated by plate fixation were included, and patients who were treated by other fixation methods were excluded. A total of 170 patients were included in the study. The following types of complications were investigated: (1) nerve related; (2) fixation and instrument related; (3) osteosynthesis related; (4) infection; and (5) others. Results The following complications were found: (1) 26 (15.3%) cases of postoperative ulnar nerve symptoms; 4 (2.4%) of postoperative radial nerve symptoms; (2) one (0.6%) case of screw joint penetration and screw loosening; and eight (4.7%) cases of hardware removal due to instrument skin irritation; (3) seven (4.1%) cases of nonunion; (4) two (1.2%) and four (2.2%) cases of superficial and deep infection, respectively, and seven (3.9%) cases of wound complication; and (5) 37 (21.8%) cases of heterotrophic ossification, 79 (46.5%) cases of elbow stiffness (did not achieve functional range of motion [ROM]), and 41 (24.1%) cases of osteoarthritis over Broberg and Morrey Grade I. Paradoxically, the postoperative ulnar nerve symptoms were more frequent in the prophylactic ulnar nerve anterior transposition group. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.086). The mean ROM was 123.5° flexion to 9.5° extension. The average Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score was 14.5 ± 15.6. Conclusions Open reduction and plate fixation for distal humeral fractures is a reasonable treatment option with acceptable complication rates and favorable clinical outcomes. Surgeons must be vigilant about ulnar nerve complications. Level of Evidence Therapeutic Level III.

Abstract Various experimental analyses on hydrogen evolution, absorption, and cracking behaviors were conducted to gain a fundamental understanding of the hydrogen embrittlement of ultrastrong steel sheets with galvanized (GI) and galvannealed (GA) coatings. The hydrogen evolution and absorption behaviors are controlled primarily by the potential differences between the coating and exposed steel substrate, and the corrosion-induced damage pattern of the coating. The higher absorption rate of hydrogen was more pronounced in corroded GI-coated steel caused by the larger cathodic polarization applied to the exposed substrate, and a more severe form of coating dissolution by aqueous corrosion in a 3.5% NaCl + 0.3% NH4SN solution. In contrast, the corrosive species can only penetrate through the pre-existing cracks in the brittle Fe-Zn intermetallic phases composed of the GA coating, and the driving force for hydrogen evolution becomes smaller. These result in significant differences in hydrogen penetration and cracking behaviors between the two coated ultrastrong steels.

This study examined the applicability of Cu-alloying in minute quantities to medium C-based ultrahigh-strength automotive steel with a tensile strength of more than 2000 MPa to improve the resistance to mechanical degradation caused by aqueous corrosion. Cu-alloying of this steel favored the precipitation of fine-(Ti,Mo)C particles, leading to a smaller prior-γ grain size (PAGS) and inter-lath size, resulting in higher tensile strain. In addition, Cu-alloyed steel showed the surface inhibiting characteristics in a neutral aqueous condition based on higher corrosion resistance (i.e., larger polarization resistance and less weight loss). The smaller particle size of corrosion scale (CuxFe3-xO4), more uniform surface roughness, and smaller PAGS can be the major mechanistic reasons for suppressing the reduction in the mechanical properties of Cu-alloyed ultrahigh-strength steel in the corrosive environment.

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the hands and wrists of fishermen working as oyster shuckers, and to identify the risk factors associated with oyster shucking. Material and Methods A total of 590 fishery workers including those working as oyster shuckers in 2015–2017 were included in the study analysis. Hand osteoarthritis (OA), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and ulnar impaction syndrome were diagnosed using X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and physical examinations according to each diagnostic criterion. The Rapid Entire Body Assessment was used as a measurement tool for analyzing the occupation-related burden factors. Results The prevalence of hand OA, CTS, and ulnar impaction syndrome was higher in oyster shuckers than in aquaculture/offshore fishery workers. The prevalence of upper limb disease was higher in oyster shuckers than in other fishery workers, even in the prevalence of exposure to occupational burden factors. In oyster shuckers, the incidence of hand and wrist OA was 84%, that of CTS was 72%, and that of ulnar impaction syndrome was 41%. In addition, oyster shuckers were more likely to be exposed to occupational burden factors than were other types of fishermen. Conclusions The prevalence of hand OA, CTS, and ulnar impaction syndrome was higher in oyster shuckers. Therefore, proper stretching or exercises for rest and musculoskeletal relaxation, along with health-care education and promotion, will be needed for the fishermen’s repeated posture and impact work. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(5):603–15

Abstract The ternary-based Fe-24Mn-3Cr alloy has superior mechanical properties based on an attractive combination of high strength and ductility, with long-term environmental stability in highly corrosive environments compared to conventional ferritic steel alloys. This study reports that the environmental instability caused by the rapid electrochemical corrosion kinetics on the surface of conventional high Mn-bearing ferrous alloys could be overcome by a combination of high Mn–low Cr-balanced Fe and their synergistic interactions. In contrast to Cr-free Mn-bearing alloys, the high Mn–low Cr-bearing alloy showed comparatively lower corrosion kinetic parameters, without a continuously increasing trend, and higher polarization resistance according to electrochemical polarization and impedance spectroscopy measurements. Moreover, the rate of degradation caused by erosion–corrosion synergistic interaction under erosion–corrosion dynamic flow conditions was the lowest in the high Mn–low Cr-bearing alloy. These surface-inhibiting characteristics of the alloy were attributed primarily to the formation of a bilayer scale structure consisting of inner α-Fe2−x Cr x O3/outer Fe x Mn3−x O4 on the surface.

Abstracts Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exercise on physical fitness and strength according to their frailty level of the hypertensive female elderly aged over 65. Methods Female elderly subjects (>65 year) with hypertension (n=90) were classified according to their level of frailty (Fr_), and were divided into control group (Ctrl) and exercise group (Ex). Hypertensive female elderly in exercise groups were subjected to 8-week combined exercise of aerobic (stretching and walking) and resistance (elastic band and weight training) exercise twice per week (50 minutes×2 times×8 weeks). Body composition, functional fitness and skeletal muscle strength were evaluated as main variables (Ctrl, n=27; Ex, n=23; Fr_Ctrl, n=17; Fr_Ex, n=23). Results Body composition, blood pressure, fasting glucose level (include hemoglobin A1c) and blood lipid profile did not interact with the exercise intervention and frailty level. Records of 30-second chair stretch test, two-minute walk test and arm curl increased after exercise intervention regardless of frailty level. The strength of quadriceps femoris increased after exercise intervention regardless of the level of frailty. However, the strength of biceps femoris (p

Cannabis is a historical plant which has been used as a medicine in East Asia. These days, there are active debates about using cannabis in clinical field. Collecting and comparing cannabis research articles which had been published in the Opening of Japan to spot the interactions between the traditional medicine of Japan, Rangaku which was established in Edo Period and the European medicine which is transferred after Perry Expedition is academically meaningful. This study searched publications, which were listed on Open-Access databases by Dec. 11th, 2019. We collected research articles which had been published from January 3rd, 1867 to July 30th, 1912 also known as Meiji era and uploaded on Open-Access databases. Our searching databases were J-stage, CiNii (Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator), Tokyo Metropolitan Library, The National Diet Library, IRDB (Institutional Repositories DataBase) and KAKEN (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research Database). Searching keywords were cannabis, hemp and all their Japanese synonyms and available combinations. We selected final 15 studies which met every selection criteria in the 346,393 collected studies. Cannabis was prescribed in Meiji era of Japan to alleviate pain and cure the digestive, respiratory, urinary, and nervous system diseases such as indigestion, asthma, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and its complications, insomnia, and nervous prostration. Cannabis was medically used in Meiji era of Japan and the reporting and sharing of its clinical effect was published on the medical journals like present days. There were already Cannabis regulations in that era, but its medicinal use was more liberated than nowadays. It may be a chance to reconsider the current legal system, which strictly controls the use of Cannabis.

Summary: Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is diagnosed based on history, physical examination, and nerve conduction testing; however, there are no clear criteria for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Recently, studies have aimed to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome through ultrasound or MRI. The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the cross-sectional area of the median nerve between patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and a control group. Methods: From July 2015 to August 2017, we retrospectively analyzed fishery and white-collar workers (164 people, 37 men, 127 women). Carpal tunnel syndrome was diagnosed on the basis of both physical examination and nerve conduction testing. A negative result in either test led to exclusion from the study. Results: In total, 164 wrist MRI were retrieved, with 67 patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and 97 patients allocated to the control group. The mean value of cross-sectional area at the pisiform was 18.8 mm2 in the MRI of the carpal tunnel syndrome patients and 12.1 mm2 (p-value

Aim This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia and change in bone mineral density (BMD) and functional outcome in hip arthroplasty patients. Methods: Among the 221 patients who had undergone hip arthroplasty, 147 patients were enrolled. All patients were divided into 2 groups according to presence of sarcopenia. Bone mineral density (BMD) at hospitalization and 1-year after surgery and Barthel index was measured at the time of before injury, hospitalization, 3 months and 1-year after surgery. Results: BMD at hospitalization showed .627 ± .082 (g/cm2) in Sarcopenia and .726 ± .059 (g/cm2) in Non-sarcopenia at femur (total) site ( P < .001), .531 ± .085 (g/cm2) vs .629 ± .057 (g/cm2) at femur neck site (P=.002), .715 ± .084 (g/cm2) vs .807 ± .058 (g/cm2) at lumbar (L1-L4) site ( P < .001). BMD at 1-year follow-up period, Sarcopenia showed .626 ± .082 (g/cm2) and Non-sarcopenia showed .725 ± .060 (g/cm2) at femur (total) site ( P < .001), .530 ± .085 (g/cm2) vs .629 ± .058 (g/cm2) at femur neck site ( P < .001), .715 ± .084 (g/cm2) vs .806 ± .058 (g/cm2) at lumbar (L1-L4) site ( P < .001). Change of BMD showed −.01 ± .25% for Sarcopenia and −.15 ± .47% for Non-sarcopenia in femur (total) site (P=.089), −.08 ± .63% vs −.01 ± 1.01% in femur neck site ( P = .058), .00 ± .09% vs −.12 ± .33% for each group in lumbar (L1-L4) site ( P = .052). Barthel index score showed 79.94 ± 5.66 for Sarcopenia and 84.74 ± 5.36 for Non-sarcopenia at pre-injury status ( P < .001), 33.89 ± 4.94 vs 33.87 ± 5.36 at the time of hospitalization ( P = .977), 57.42 ± 7.19 vs 60.06 ± 5.39 at 3 months follow up ( P = .015), 73.86 ± 5.94 vs 80.71 ± 4.81 for each group at 1-year follow up ( P < .001). Conclusions: Our study found that the sarcopenia showed lower BMD than the non-sarcopenia, but there was no significant difference of BMD change in the follow-up period. In addition, the sarcopenia showed poor functional results at all points except at the time of hospitalization.

ABSTRACT: The increasing global temperature is causing economic losses and animal welfare problems in the poultry industry. Because poultry do not have sweat glands, it is difficult for them to return to their usual body temperature. Heat stress has negative impact on production and health in broilers. Given the effects of chronic stress on broilers, the objective of this study was to identify physiological changes in differentially expressed proteins in broilers with different growth performances using liver tissue from 35-day-old chickens (Ross-308). Changes in protein levels were analyzed with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and mass spectrometry. This study contained 2 groups (control and heat treatment groups) with 8 replicates per group. After d 20, ten birds were assigned to each replicate. On d 35, the heat treatment group was subdivided into 2 groups, a heat stressed high body weight group (HH) and a heat stressed low body weight group (HL). Body weight was lower in the heat treatment group than that in the control group. In the heat treatment group, the HH group had a significantly higher body weight than the HL group. The expression of heat shock protein 70 significantly increased in the HL group. Protein spots with significant differences in 2DE analysis were screened and selected. Thirteen significant spots were excised and analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF). Among the 13 spots, 8 spots were identified. The identified spots were MRP-126, fatty acid binding protein, ferritin heavy chain, glutathione S-transferase, agmatinase; mitochondrial, alpha-enolase, 60 kDa heat shock protein; mitochondrial, and tubulin beta-7 chain. Our study has showed that high temperature stress aggravated oxidative stress in broilers, which resulted in comparatively slow growth to preserve body homeostasis.

Although cerebellar alterations have been implicated in stress symptoms, the exact contribution of the cerebellum to stress symptoms remains to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated the crucial role of cerebellar neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the development of chronic stress-induced behavioral alterations in mice. Chronic chemogenetic activation of inhibitory Purkinje cells in crus I suppressed c-Fos expression in the DN and an increase in immobility in the tail suspension test or forced swimming test, which were triggered by chronic stress application. The combination of adeno-associated virus-based circuit mapping and electrophysiological recording identified network connections from crus I to the VTA via the dentate nucleus (DN) of the deep cerebellar nuclei. Furthermore, chronic inhibition of specific neurons in the DN that project to the VTA prevented stressed mice from showing such depression-like behavior, whereas chronic activation of these neurons alone triggered behavioral changes that were comparable with the depression-like behaviors triggered by chronic stress application. Our results indicate that the VTA-projecting cerebellar neurons proactively regulate the development of depression-like behavior, raising the possibility that cerebellum may be an effective target for the prevention of depressive disorders in human.

There has been an increasing awareness of sarcopenia, which is characterized by a concomitant decrease in skeletal muscle mass and quality due to aging. Resistance exercise is considered more effective than aerobic exercise in terms of therapeutic exercise. To confirm the effect of long-term aerobic exercise in preventing sarcopenia, we evaluated the skeletal muscle mass, quality, and angiogenic capacity of super-aged mice that had undergone lifelong spontaneous exercise (LSE) through various experiments. Our findings show that LSE could maintain skeletal muscle mass, quality, and fitness levels in super-aged mice. In addition, ex vivo experiments showed that the angiogenic capacity was maintained at a high level. However, these results were not consistent with the related changes in the expression of genes and/or proteins involved in protein synthesis or angiogenesis. Based on the results of previous studies, it seems certain that the expression at the molecular level does not represent the phenotypes of skeletal muscle and angiogenesis. This is because aging and long-term exercise are variables that can affect both protein synthesis and the expression patterns of angiogenesis-related genes and proteins. Therefore, in aging and exercise-related research, various physical fitness and angiogenesis variables and phenotypes should be analyzed. In conclusion, LSE appears to maintain the potential of angiogenesis and slow the aging process to maintain skeletal muscle mass and quality. Aerobic exercise may thus be effective for the prevention of sarcopenia.

From the very first time that graphene was used as a transparent electrode for OLED applications, the emergence of active-matrix (AM)-graphene OLED displays has been envisioned. Realizing this expectation, however, turned out to be difficult. Two obstacles are the growth and transfer of a large-area graphene film and the patterning of a graphene film into pixels. To solve these problems, a process of patterning a graphene film without surface contamination was developed. The fabrication of OLED panels by the patterned graphene anode on Gen 2(370 × 470 mm)-sized and flexible substrates was successfully demonstrated. In this work, oxide TFT arrays were combined as a switching backplane, and a pixelated graphene OLED was used as an emissive layer, to realize AM-graphene OLED displays. To explore the technical feasibility of flexible AM-graphene OLED displays, the aforementioned components were formed on a flexible substrate. For commercial-level production, all the processes that were used were chosen to be compatible with the conventional display processes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of oral carbohydrate intake for cephalomedullary nailing on proximal femoral fractures and patient satisfaction. Subjects and Methods: 88 patients were admitted to our hospital with proximal femoral fracture from July 2019 to December 2019. All patients were treated with closed reduction and internal fixation (CR&IF, Cephalomedullary nailing) under spinal anesthesia. The exclusion criteria included the presence of endocrine disorders including diabetes mellitus (DM), patients treated with steroids, and cognitive impairment. Additionally, those with fasting blood glucose levels above 126 mg / dl or HbA1C> 6.5% were considered as having undiagnosed DM. After obtaining informed consent, the subjects were randomized into either the preoperative oral carbohydrate (POC) group or control group. Patients who were assembled into the control group fasted including water from midnight of the day of the surgical procedure according to the conventional method. Patients assembled into the POC group received 400 ml of oral carbohydrate solution (Nucare NONPO, DAESANG, 12.8%, 1 kcal/ml)) between 21-24 hours on the day before operation and 400 ml oral carbohydrate solution 2 hours before the administration of anesthesia. Serum glucose on the day before operation at 7 am (before breakfast, baseline), immediately before anesthesia, at skin incision, 1 hour, 4 hours, 6 hours, 24 hours after anesthesia, and 3 days after surgery (before breakfast) was measured, and insulin, cortisol, and IL-6 were measured at baseline 7 am at day before operation, immediately before anesthesia, 4 hours and 24 hours after anesthesia, and 3 days after surgery (before breakfast). The patients completed questionnaires about their satisfaction (thirst, hunger, nausea and vomiting, and anxiety) in the morning (before the surgery) on the day of the surgery. Additionally, the length of hospital stay (LOS) and preoperative opioid usage was also investigated. Results: The operative characteristics of the patients did not differ between the groups except for the actual fasting time. The glucose levels were higher in the control group at skin incision; however, there were no significant differences in both groups at other time points. Additionally, insulin, insulin resistance, cortisol, and IL-6 also did not differ significantly between the 2 groups at all time-points. Among the factors related to patient satisfaction, the POC group showed significantly higher scores for thirst and hunger factors and shorter LOS than the control group. Conclusion: The intake of oral carbohydrates in patients treated with closed reduction and internal fixation for proximal femoral fractures does not affect the improvement of post-operative insulin resistance. However, there was significant improvement in patients’ thirst and hunger before surgery and LOS.

Previous metallurgical studies have reported the beneficial effects of Ni addition to steels. In this study, however, the mechanical and corrosion-induced hydrogen embrittlement (CIHE) properties of medium C-based ultra-strong steel degraded with increasing Ni content. Steel samples with a higher Ni content had a higher fraction of undissolved cementite (Fe3C) in the martensite matrix, leading to a smaller prior-γ grain size and lattice parameter, and a lower tensile strength. Even at a higher austenitizing temperature, no significant change in the tensile strength of the sample with a higher Ni content was observed. This was attributed to the additional supply of C atoms into the lattice by the further dissolution of Fe3C. The tensile test at a slow strain rate did not reveal a proportional relationship between the Ni content and the CIHE indices, but an inflection point of the Ni quantity in the steel was noted. Based on the results, effective metallurgical strategies with respect to the optimal Ni contents and austenitizing conditions for the steel are proposed.

The nature of a passive film formed on high-strength carbon steel and degradation of its passivity in acidic phosphate solutions were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical polarization measurements. This study reveals that the steels show typical passivation and localized corrosion behaviors. The passivating film is composed mainly of FePO4·2H2O at a lower potential of 0.4 VSCE, but the major component of the film is changed to γ-Fe2O3 at a higher potential of 1.1 VSCE. At more than 1.5 VSCE, a number of shallow pores and/or pits were observed primarily at coarse-sized second phase particles. The four-point bending test suggested that the pre-existed pits/pores act as stress intensifiers under the subsequently applied tensile loading condition, resulting in higher anodic dissolution rates and lower resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Keywords: Carbon steels, Corrosion, Surface film, Phosphate solution

Quantitative analysis of cell nuclei in microscopic images is an essential yet challenging source of biological and pathological information. The major challenge is accurate detection and segmentation of densely packed nuclei in images acquired under a variety of conditions. Mask R-CNN-based methods have achieved state-of-the-art nucleus segmentation. However, the current pipeline requires fully annotated training images, which are time consuming to create and sometimes noisy. Importantly, nuclei often appear similar within the same image. This similarity could be utilized to segment nuclei with only partially labeled training examples. We propose a simple yet effective region-proposal module for the current Mask R-CNN pipeline to perform few-exemplar learning. To capture the similarities between unlabeled regions and labeled nuclei, we apply decomposed self-attention to learned features. On the self-attention map, we observe strong activation at the centers and edges of all nuclei, including unlabeled nuclei. On this basis, our region-proposal module propagates partial annotations to the whole image and proposes effective bounding boxes for the bounding box-regression and binary mask-generation modules. Our method effectively learns from unlabeled regions thereby improving detection performance. We test our method with various nuclear images. When trained with only 1/4 of the nuclei annotated, our approach retains a detection accuracy comparable to that from training with fully annotated data. Moreover, our method can serve as a bootstrapping step to create full annotations of datasets, iteratively generating and correcting annotations until a predetermined coverage and accuracy are reached. The source code is available at https://github.com/feng-lab/nuclei.

Polyimide membranes have been widely investigated in gas separation applications due to their high separation abilities, excellent processability, relatively low cost, and stabilities. Unfortunately, it is extremely challenging to simultaneously achieve both improved gas permeability and selectivity due to the trade-off relationship in common polymer membranes. Diamine modification is a simple strategy to tune the separation performance of polyimide membranes, but an excessive loss in permeability is also generally observed. In the present work, we reported the effects of diamine type (i.e., non-fluorinated and fluorinated) on the physicochemical properties and the corresponding separation performance of a modified membrane using a commercial Matrimid® 5218 polyimide. Detailed spectroscopic, thermal, and surface analyses reveal that the bulky fluorine groups are responsible for the balanced chain packing modes in the resulting Matrimid membranes compared to the non-fluorinated diamines. Consequently, the modified Matrimid membranes using fluorinated diamines exhibit both higher gas permeability and selectivity than those of pristine Matrimid, making them especially effective for improving the separation performance towards H2/CH4 and CO2/CH4 pairs. The results indicate that the use of fluorinated modifiers may offer new opportunities to tune the gas transport properties of polyimide membranes.

The primary role of modern information and communication technology infrastructures in smart factory is to collect a wide range of digital data from manufacturing resources; however, many manufacturing companies still have significant trouble in collecting data relevant for operations management. Especially, it is difficult to collect data about movement of mobile resources, such as human operators and material handling equipment. Moreover, managers of manufacturing companies often have significant troubles in utilizing the raw data collected by information and communication technology infrastructures due to its complexities and vast amount. To fill these gaps, this article proposes indoor positioning-based mobile resource movement data management system, which can be used to collect and process the mobile resource movement data flexibly. The indoor positioning technologies enable to track the positions of physical objects in real time; however, they generate time series data for 3D coordinates of object position not suitable for practical use. Therefore, this article aims to integrate the indoor positioning technology with a specialized user application, which allows the users to define what kinds of data should be collected and how the raw data should be transformed.

Mitochondrial autophagy (or mitophagy) is essential for mitochondrial quality control, which is critical for cellular and organismal health by attenuating reactive oxygen species generation and maintaining bioenergy homeostasis. Previously, we showed that mitophagy is activated in human cells through SIRT1 activation upon treatment of nicotinamide (NAM). Further, mitochondria are maintained as short fragments in the treated cells. In the current study, molecular pathways for NAM-induced mitochondrial fragmentation were sought. NAM treatment induced mitochondrial fission, at least in part by activating dynamin-1-like protein (Drp1), and this was through attenuation of the inhibitory phosphorylation at serine 637 (S637) of Drp1. This Drp1 hypo-phosphorylation was attributed to SIRT1-mediated activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which in turn induced a decrease in cellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and protein kinase A (PKA) activity, a kinase targeting S637 of Drp1. Furthermore, in NAM-treated cells, cytosolic Ca2+ was highly maintained; and, as a consequence, activity of calcineurin, a Drp1-dephosphorylating phosphatase, is expected to be elevated. These results suggest that NAD+-mediated SIRT1 activation facilitates mitochondrial fission through activation of Drp1 by suppressing its phosphorylation and accelerating its dephosphorylation. Additionally, it is suggested that there is a cycle of mitochondrial fragmentation and cytosolic Ca2+-mediated Drp1 dephosphorylation that may drive sustained mitochondrial fragmentation.

Screening tests for specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) to food allergens, such as the multiple allergen simultaneous test (MAST), are widely used in patients with suspected food allergies in South Korea. We evaluated whether MAST could effectively screen wheatdependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA) and a-gal syndrome (AGS). We retrospectively reviewed patients with WDEIA and AGS diagnosed with unequivocal history and positive sIgE results for omega-5 gliadin and a-gal using ImmunoCAP, respectively. The clinical manifestations and results of MAST and ImmunoCAP (sIgE to wheat for WDEIA and beef/pork for AGS) were reviewed. In the MAST and ImmunoCAP results, class 0 (<0.35 units in each test) was considered negative. Medical records of 45 patients with WDEIA and 39 patients with AGS were reviewed. For WDEIA, 37 (82.2%) of patients had a history of anaphylaxis. Among those positive for omega-5 gliadin sIgE, 39 (87.7%) and 25 (55.6%) tested positive for gluten- and wheat-sIgE using ImmunoCAP, respectively. MAST performed on 15 patients yielded positive results for wheat-sIgE in 5 (33.3%). For AGS, 23 (59.0%) of patients had a history of anaphylaxis. Among those positive for a-gal sIgE, 32 (85.7%) and 37 (96.4%) tested positive for pork- and beefsIgE using ImmunoCAP, respectively, whereas MAST could not detect sIgE for pork and beef (0%, 0/17). MAST for sIgE to food allergens cannot screen WDEIA and AGS. The tests for sIgE to a specific component of food allergen, such as omega-5 gliadin for WDEIA and a-gal for AGS, should be used to screen WDEIA and AGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite numerous studies identifying risk factors for proximal junctional failure (PJF), risk factors for recurrent PJF (R-PJF) are still not well established. Therefore, we aimed to identify the risk factors for R-PJF following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. Methods: Among 479 patients who underwent ≥5-level fusion surgery for ASD, the focus was on those who experienced R-PJF at any time or did not experience R-PJF during a follow-up duration of ≥1 year. PJF was defined as a proximal junctional angle (PJA) ≥28° plus a difference in PJA ≥22° or performance of revision surgery regardless of PJA degree. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to R-PJF development: no R-PJF and R-PJF groups. Risk factors were evaluated focusing on patient, surgical, and radiographic factors at the index surgery as well as at the revision surgery. Results: Of the 60 patients in the final study cohort, 24 (40%) experienced R-PJF. Significant risk factors included greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis (OR = 1.044), overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI- LL; OR = 7.794) at the index surgery, a greater total sum of the proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale (OR = 1.145), and no use of the upper instrumented vertebra cement (OR = 5.494) at the revision surgery. Conclusions: We revealed that the greater postoperative sagittal vertical axis and overcorrection relative to age-adjusted pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis at the index surgery, a greater proximal junctional kyphosis severity scale score, and no use of upper instrumented vertebra cement at the revision surgery were significant risk factors for R-PJF. Clinical Relevance: To reduce the risk of R-PJF after ASD surgery, avoiding under- and overcorrection during the initial surgery is recommended. Additionally, close assessment of the severity of PJF with timely intervention is crucial, and cement augmentation should be considered during revision surgery. Level of Evidence: 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]