• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.195-199
• /
• 2022

Nasolacrimal duct (NLD) damage is associated in the majority of type II and III naso-orbito-ethmoid (NOE) fractures. Our study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic NLD intubation in the setting of facial fractures, by comparing incidence of postoperative epiphora and wound infection. A retrospective matched control study was conducted on all patients with surgically treated facial fractures from 2008 to 2013 (n=280) (IRB ref number: DSRB 2013/01198). Patients with the following fracture types were included: NOE (n=16), frontal sinus (n=2), Le Fort II/III (n=8), and > 1 type (n=48). All patients in this study were included with the intention to treat. The study group comprised patients who were intubated, while the control group patients were not intubated. Each group had 37 patients matched for age, gender, fracture type, and injury type. A single oculoplastic surgeon skilled in lacrimal surgery performed the procedure for all intubated patients. Patients with more severe and complex facial fractures were intubated with bicanalicular Crawford stents. Postoperative epiphora and infective complications (both facial wound and dacryocystitis) were assessed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. There was no significant difference in incidence of either postoperative epiphora (p=0.152) or wound infection (p=0.556) comparing both groups. Reduced incidence of postoperative epiphora in the study group is statistically not significant and does not support the need for prophylactic intubation. If radiographic evidence of NLD disruption or regurgitation seen on syringing on the NLD intraoperatively is present, intubation is safe and efficacious only if performed by an expert.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2023

X-ray powder diffraction study was conducted on the bulk modulus and phase transition behavior of synthetic zeolite X under high temperature and high pressure. Water and HCO₃^- solution were used as a PTM. Sample was heated and pressurized up to 250 ℃ and 5.18 GPa. The change of unit cell volume and phase transition were observed by X-ray diffraction. The lattice constants and unit cell volume of zeolite X, gmelinite, natrolite, and smectite were calculated using the GSAS2 program to which Le Bail's whole powder pattern decomposition (WPPD) method was applied. The bulk modulus of each zeolite X and smectite were calculated using the EosFit program to which the Birch-Murnaghan equation was applied. The bulk modulus of zeolite X is 89(3) GPa in water run, and zeolite X is 92(3) GPa in HCO₃^- solution run. In both run, pressure induced hydration (PIH) occurred due to the inflow of PTM into the zeolite X framework at initial pressure. Zeolite X transited to gmelinite, natrolite, and smectite in water run. Zeolite X, however, transited to smectite in HCO₃^- solution run. Interzeolite transformation occurred in water run, and did not occur in HCO₃^- solution run, which is assumed that conflict between the environment to form zeolite and the pH of the HCO₃^- solution.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.204-215
• /
• 2023

The thermolabile haemolysin (tlh) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vptlh) from V. parahaemolyticus is a multiple-function enzyme, initially describes as a haemolytic factor activated by lecithin and phospholipase A2 enzymatic activity (Shinoda, 1991; Vazquez-Morado, 2021; Yanagase et al., 1970). Until now, the tlh structure has hypothesized including N-terminal and C-terminal domain, but what domain of the Vptlh structure does the haemolytic activity has not been refined yet. In this study, a 450-bp VpTLH nucleotide sequence of the entire Vptlh gene encoded the C-terminal domain cloned firstly to examine its responsibility in the activity of the Vptlh. The C-terminal domain fused with a 6-His-tag named the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain was expressed successfully in soluble form in the BL21 (DE3) PlysS cell. Remarkably, both expression and purification results confirmed a high agreement in the molecular weight of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain was 47 kDa. This work showed the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain lysed the erythrocyte membranes in the blood agar and the phosphate buffered saline (0.9%) media without adding the lecithin substrate of the phospholipase enzyme. Haemolysis occurred at all tested diluted concentrations of His-tag-VpC-terminal domain (p < 0.05), providing evidence for the independent haemolytic activity of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain. The content of 100 ㎍ of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain brought the highest haemolytic activity of 80% compared to that in the three remaining contents. Significantly, the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain demonstrated not to involve the phospholipase activity in Luria-Bertani agar supplemented with 1% (vol/vol) egg yolk emulsion. All results proved the vital responsibility of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain in causing the haemolytic activity without the required activation by the phospholipase enzyme. Raw extracts of Phellinus igniarus and Phellinus pipi at 10^-1 mg/mL inhibited the haemolytic activity of the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain from 67.7% to 87.42%, respectively. Hence applying the His-tag-VpC-terminal domain as a simple biological material to evaluate quickly potential derivatives against the Vptlh in vivo conditions will accessible and more advantageous than using the whole of the Vptlh.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.41-63
• /
• 2023

Organizational members' innovative behavior is a key element that promotes organizational growth and sustainability. With today's unstable environment of economic and market , the importance of employees' innovative behavior is being emphasized. The reason is that employees' innovative behaviors play an important role in securing a organizational competitiveness. Based on this, this study focused on ways to improve employees' innovation behavior. Specifically, the causal relationship between participatory leadership and employees' innovative behavior was identified and the influence of innovative behavior was also verified. Furthermore, in the process of participatory leadership influencing employees' innovative behavior, the serial multiple mediating effect of knowledge sharing and creativity was verified. In order to demonstrate the hyphotheses, this study focused on 237 employees who work in Chinese SMEs. The results of the empirical analysis showed that participatory leadership had a positive effect on knowledge sharing, creativity, and innovative behavior. In addition, the serial multiple mediating effects of knowledge sharing and creativity on the relationship between participatory leadership and innovative behavior was significant. Overall, this study verified the positive role of participatory leadership that enhances employees' innovative behavior in Chinese SMEs and contributed to expanding the research field related to employees' innovative behavior through serial multiple mediating model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.2139-2146
• /
• 2023

During reactor operation, the divertor must withstand unprecedented simultaneous high heat fluxes and high-energy neutron irradiation. The extremely severe service environment of the divertor imposes a huge challenge to the bonding quality of divertor joints, i.e., the joints must withstand thermal, mechanical and neutron loads, as well as cyclic mode of operation. In this paper, potassium-doped tungsten (KW) is selected as the plasma facing material (PFM), oxygen-free copper (OFC) as the interlayer, oxide dispersion strengthened copper (ODS-Cu) alloy as the heat sink material, and reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel as the structural material. In this study, a vacuum brazing technology is proposed and optimized to bond Cu and ODS-Cu alloy with the silver-free brazing material CuSnTi. The most appropriate brazing parameters are a brazing temperature of 940 ℃ and a holding time of 15 min. High-quality bonding interfaces have been successfully obtained by vacuum brazing technology, and the average shear strength of the as-obtained KW/Cu and ODS-Cu alloy joints is ~268 MPa. And a fabrication route for manufacturing the flat-type divertor target based on brazing technology is set. For evaluating the reliability of the fabrication technologies under the reactor relevant condition, the high heat flux test at 20 MW/m² for the as-manufactured flat-type KW/Cu/ODS-Cu/RAFM mockup is carried out by using the Electron-beam Material testing Scenario (EMS-60) with water cooling. This paper reports the improved vacuum brazing technology to connect Cu to ODS-Cu alloy and summarizes the production route, high heat flux (HHF) test, the pre and post non-destructive examination, and the surface results of the flat-type KW/Cu/ODS-Cu/RAFM mockup after the HHF test. The test results demonstrate that the mockup manufactured according to the fabrication route still have structural and interfacial integrity under cyclic high heat loads.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.60 no.4
• /
• pp.222-230
• /
• 2023

In the present work, the scale effect on the Boil-Off Rate (BOR) was investigated based on an analytical method to systematically evaluate the thermal performance of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Cargo Containment System (CCS). A two-dimensional thermal resistance network model was developed to accurately estimate the heat ingress into the CCS from the outside. The analysis was performed for the KC-1 LNG membrane tank under the IGC and USCG design conditions. The ballast compartment of both the LNG tank and cofferdam was divided into six sections and a thermal resistance network model was made for each section. To check the validity of the developed model, the analysis results were compared with those from existing literature. It was shown that the BOR values under the IGC and USCG design conditions were agreed well with previous numerical results with a maximum error of 1.03% and 0.60%, respectively. A SDR, the scale factor of the LNG CCS was introduced and the BOR, air temperature of the ballast compartment, and the surface temperature of the inner hull were obtained to examine the influence of the SDR on the thermal performance. Finally, a correlation for the BOR was proposed, which could be expressed as a simple formula inversely proportional to the SDR. The proposed correlation could be utilized for predicting the BOR of a full-scale LNG tank based on the BOR measurement data of lab-scale model tanks.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.96-109
• /
• 2024

The purpose of this study is to propose a method for evaluating the similarity of Show gardens using Deep Learning models, specifically VGG-16 and ResNet50. A model for judging the similarity of show gardens based on VGG-16 and ResNet50 models was developed, and was referred to as DRG (Deep Recognition of similarity in show Garden design). An algorithm utilizing GAP and Pearson correlation coefficient was employed to construct the model, and the accuracy of similarity was analyzed by comparing the total number of similar images derived at 1st (Top1), 3rd (Top3), and 5th (Top5) ranks with the original images. The image data used for the DRG model consisted of a total of 278 works from the Le Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont-sur-Loire, 27 works from the Seoul International Garden Show, and 17 works from the Korea Garden Show. Image analysis was conducted using the DRG model for both the same group and different groups, resulting in the establishment of guidelines for assessing show garden similarity. First, overall image similarity analysis was best suited for applying data augmentation techniques based on the ResNet50 model. Second, for image analysis focusing on internal structure and outer form, it was effective to apply a certain size filter (16cm × 16cm) to generate images emphasizing form and then compare similarity using the VGG-16 model. It was suggested that an image size of 448 × 448 pixels and the original image in full color are the optimal settings. Based on these research findings, a quantitative method for assessing show gardens is proposed and it is expected to contribute to the continuous development of garden culture through interdisciplinary research moving forward.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.1230-1238
• /
• 2020

Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of remote ischemic pre-conditioning (RIPC) on the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after an intravenous (IV) or intra-arterial injection of contrast medium (CM) in patient and control groups. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial included 26 patients who were hospitalized for the evaluation of the feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and underwent investigations including contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), with Mehran risk scores greater than or equal to six. All the patients underwent four cycles of five minute-blood pressure cuff inflation followed by five minutes of total deflation. In the RIPC group (n = 13), the cuff was inflated to 50 mm Hg above the patient's systolic blood pressure (SBP); in the control group (n = 13), it was inflated to 10 mm Hg below the patient's SBP. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of CIN. Additionally, variation in the serum levels of cystatin C was assessed. Results: One case of CIN was observed in the control group, whereas no cases were detected in the RIPC group (p = 0.48, analysis of 25 patients). Mean creatinine values at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 88 ± 32 μmol/L, 91 ± 28 μmol/L and 82 ± 29 μmol/L, respectively (p = 0.73) in the RIPC group, whereas in the control group, they were 100 ± 36 μmol/L, 110 ± 36 μmol/L, and 105 ± 34 μmol/L, respectively (p = 0.78). Cystatin C values (median [Q1, Q3]) at the baseline, 24 hours after injection of CM, and 48 hours after injection of CM were 1.10 [1.08, 1.18] mg/L, 1.17 [0.97, 1.35] mg/L, and 1.12 [0.99, 1.24] mg/L, respectively (p = 0.88) in the RIPC group, whereas they were 1.11 [0.97, 1.28] mg/L, 1.13 [1.08, 1.25] mg/L, and 1.16 [1.03, 1.31] mg/L, respectively (p = 0.93), in the control group. Conclusion: The risk of CIN after an IV injection of CM is very low in patients with Mehran risk score greater than or equal to six and even in the patients who are unable to receive preventive hyperhydration. Hence, the Mehran risk score may not be an appropriate method for the estimation of the risk of CIN after IV CM injection.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.57 no.1
• /
• pp.37-46
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The objective of this study was to characterize mental health issues among Vietnamese healthcare workers (HCWs) and to identify related factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 990 HCWs in 2021. Their mental health status was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Results: In total, 49.9%, 52.3%, and 29.8% of respondents were found to have depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The multivariable linear regression model revealed that factors associated with increased anxiety scores included depression scores (β, 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39 to 0.51) and stress scores (β, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.52). Factors associated with increased depression scores included being frontline HCWs (β, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.10 to 1.10), stress scores (β, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.56), and anxiety scores (β, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.47), while working experience was associated with reduced depression scores (β, -0.08; 95% CI, -0.16 to -0.01). Factors associated with increased stress scores included working experience (β, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.16), personal protective equipment interference with daily activities (β, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.07 to 1.00), depression scores (β, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.59), and anxiety scores (β, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.50), while age was associated with reduced stress scores (β, -0.12; 95% CI, -0.20 to -0.05). Conclusions: Specific interventions are necessary to enhance and promote the mental health of HCWs so they can successfully cope with the circumstances of the pandemic.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.181-190
• /
• 2024

Bovine mastitis-associated Escherichia coli (BMEC) is considered the main causative agent of significant financial losses in the dairy industry worldwide, as it alters both the quantity and quality of milk produced and increases the rate of culling. This creates a variety of challenges for researchers, veterinarians, and farmers in understanding and determining the most effective therapies and diagnostic techniques. Subclinical mastitis is particularly concerning, as infected bovines exhibit no obvious symptoms and continue to secrete apparently normal milk over an extended period, allowing the causative pathogen, E. coli, to spread within the herd. For effective prevention, understanding the pathogenesis of mastitis through three stages invasion, infection, and inflammation is essential. To date, no clear correlation has been found between virulence factors and pathogenicity contributing to the clinical severity of BMEC. Multidrug-resistant E. coli and the evolution of novel resistance mechanisms have become concerns owing to the extensive use of antibiotics to treat mastitis. Therefore, it is vital to explore alternative controls to enhance the efficacy of BMEC treatment. Over the past 30 years, various genetic typing techniques have been used to examine the subspecies-level epidemiology of bovine mastitis. These studies have advanced our understanding of the origin, transmission pathway, population structure, and evolutionary relatedness of BMEC strains. In this review we provide an overview of BMEC, including insights into its etiology, genetic relationship, pathogenesis, and management of the disease, as well as new therapy options.