Explore the vast range of titles available.

BackgroundThe secondary cell wall is a defining feature of xylem cells and allows them to resist both gravitational forces and the tension forces associated with the transpirational pull on their internal columns of water. Secondary walls also constitute the majority of plant biomass. Formation of secondary walls requires co-ordinated transcriptional regulation of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. This co-ordinated control appears to involve a multifaceted and multilayered transcriptional regulatory programme.ScopeTranscription factor MYB46 (At5g12870) has been shown to function as a master regulator in secondary wall formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Recent studies show that MYB46 not only regulates the transcription factors but also the biosynthesis genes for all of the three major components (i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of secondary walls. This review considers our current understanding of the MYB46-mediated transcriptional regulatory network, including upstream regulators, downstream targets and negative regulators of MYB46.Conclusions and OutlookMYB46 is a unique transcription factor in that it directly regulates the biosynthesis genes for all of the three major components of the secondary wall as well as the transcription factors in the biosynthesis pathway. As such, MYB46 may offer a useful means for pathway-specific manipulation of secondary wall biosynthesis. However, realization of this potential requires additional information on the ‘MYB46-mediated transcriptional regulatory programme’, such as downstream direct targets, upstream regulators and interacting partners of MYB46.

An alternator, which converts mechanical rotational energy into electrical energy, is an important component of a vehicle. Alternators operate over a broad range of rotational speeds, typically from 3,000 RPM to 18,000 RPM, which demands a cooling fan producing sufficient airflow, ideally with a minimum of noise. In the current study, an optimized alternator-cooling fan was developed through a linked DOE(Design OF Experiment) process and numerical analysis. The SC/Tetra and FlowNoise S/W programs were used to calculate flow rates and noise levels, respectively, for the newly developed fan. Compared with original model, the numerical results predicted a 3 dBA noise reduction; the measured reduction was 4 dBA.

Background In Korea, winter can cause skin dryness due to low relative humidity (RH); moreover, indoor heating devices promote moisture loss and air pollution. If dryness persists, dead skin cells accumulate, leading to skin problems; therefore, careful skin care is required. This study aimed to compare changes in skin conditions when exposed to an indoor environment for a short period of 6 h in winter, and to suggest proper winter skin care practices. Methods A randomized, split‐face clinical study was conducted in which healthy female participants with normal skin were exposed to an indoor environment with a heater turned on for a short period at least 6 h per day in the winter season, and cream was applied to one side of the face. Skin temperature, hydration, sebum, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), elasticity, texture, pores, redness, and wrinkles were measured at the treated and nontreated sites. Results After 6 h of exposure, skin temperature, pores, roughness, redness, and wrinkles significantly increased (p < 0.05) on the face, whereas TEWL significantly increased on the forearm (p < 0.05). However, sebum secretion appeared to function as a barrier to maintain homeostasis in the facial skin. Elasticity, pores, texture, and wrinkles in the cream‐treated ceramide site improved compared to those in the nontreated site (p < 0.05). The moisture content was also significantly higher in the forearm (p < 0.05). Conclusion Changes in skin parameters of participants with healthy skin were observed even after short‐term exposure to an indoor environment in winter. Creams containing ceramide maintain skin homeostasis and protect the skin barrier; therefore, it is recommended to use such creams to prevent skin damage and maintain healthy skin, particularly during prolonged exposure to indoor environments during winter.

Medication errors are one of the most common causes of patient injuries in healthcare systems. Poor labelling has been identified as a contributing factor of medication errors, particularly for those involving injectable drugs. Colour coding and colour differentiation are two major techniques being used on labels to aid drug identification. However, neither approach has been scientifically proven to minimize the occurrence of or harm from medication errors. This thesis investigates potential effects of different approaches for using colour on standardized labels on the task of identifying a specific drug from a storage area via a controlled experiment involving human users. Three different ways of using colour were compared: labels where only black, white and grey are used; labels where a unique colour scheme adopted from an existing manufacturer’s label is applied to each drug; colour coded labels based on the product’s strength level within the product line. In addition to the drug identification task under normal conditions, the different approaches for using colour were compared in terms of the accuracy and the amount of time to complete the tasks under two conditions designed to induce human error. These conditions simulated stocking errors involving the misplacement of a wrong drug with a look-alike, sound-alike name and also with a look-alike label as the correct drug at the place where the correct drug should have been, and the misplacement of two drugs of the same drug type but of different strengths in place of each other. The results show that people might be vulnerable to confusion from drugs that have look-alike labels and also have look-alike, sound-alike drug names. In particular, when each drug label had a fairly unique colour scheme, participants were more prone to misperceive the look-alike, sound-alike drug name as the correct drug name than when no colour was used or when colour was used on the labels with no apparent one-to-one association between the label colour and the drug identity. This result could suggest a perceptual bias to perceive stimuli as the expected stimuli especially when the task involved is familiar and the stimuli look similar to the expected stimuli. Moreover, the results suggest a potential problem that may arise from standardizing existing labels if careful consideration is not given to the effects of reduced visual variations among the labels of different products on how the colours of the labels are perceived and used for drug identification. The thesis concludes with recommendations for improving the existing standard for labelling of injectable drug containers and for avoiding medication errors due to labelling and packaging in general.

To identify risk factors for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mechanical ventilator usage among confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients and estimate the effects of mitigation efforts on ICU capacity in Korea. Data on profiles and medical history of all confirmed COVID-19 patients in the past 1 year were extracted from the Korean National Health Insurance System's claims database to assess risk factors for ICU admission and ventilator use. We used a time-series epidemic model to estimate the ICU census in Daegu from the reported hospital data. Multivariate regression analysis revealed male sex, old age, and residing in Daegu city as significant risk factors for ICU admission. The number of patients requiring ICU admission exceeded the bed capacity across all Daegu hospitals before March 9, 2020, and therefore, critically ill patients were transferred to nearby hospitals outside Daegu. This finding was consistent with our prediction that the ICU census in Daegu would peak on March 16, 2020, at 160 through mitigation efforts, without which it would have reached 300 by late March 2020. Older age and male sex were risk factors for ICU admission. In addition, the geographic location of the hospital seems to contribute to the severity of the COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU and to the ICU capacity.

Background Laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy is one of the definite methods for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids with lesser intraoperative bleeding and shorter hospitalization compared with abdominal hysterectomy. However, laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy cannot preserve uterus and can show postoperative complications by the change of pelvic structure. Thus, laparoscopic uterine artery ligation has been introduced for relieving the symptoms caused by uterine fibroids in place of hysterectomy. The current study was designed to compare postoperative quality of life between laparoscopic uterine artery ligation and laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, and to evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopic uterine artery ligation which can treat symptomatic uterine fibroids with the preservation of uterus. Methods and design Patients enrolled the current study are randomized to laparoscopic uterine artery ligation or laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. The primary outcome is to compare postoperative quality of life between laparoscopic uterine artery ligation and laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for Cancer patients version 3.0. Secondary outcomes are to evaluate the volume reduction of uterus, uterine fibroids and ovaries by the 2 treatments, to compare the improvement of subjective symptoms using 11-point symptom score and postoperative clinical outcomes between laparoscopic uterine artery ligation and laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, and to investigate the improvement of postoperative vaginal bleeding by laparoscopic uterine artery ligation. Discussion Among treatment methods for symptomatic uterine fibroids with the preservation of uterus, laparoscopic uterine artery ligation is expected to have the efficacy like uterine artery embolization, which appeared to be safe for routine use with symptomatic relief. The current study fully recruited in June 2008 and the results will be available in June 2009. If there is no difference of postoperative QOL between laparoscopic uterine artery ligation and laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids, the comparison of quality of life between laparoscopic uterine artery ligation and uterine artery embolization will be also needed as a surgical treatment for preserving uterus. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN76790866

The aeroacoustic characteristics of a centrifugal fan for a vacuum cleaner and its noise reduction method are studied in this paper. The major noise source of a vacuum cleaner is the centrifugal fan. The impeller of the fan rotates at over 3000 rpm, and generates very high-level noise. It was revealed that the dominant noise source is the aerodynamic interaction between the rotating impeller and stationary diffuser. The directivity of acoustic pressure showed that most of the noise propagates backward direction of the fan-motor assembly. In order to reduce the high tonal sound generated from the aerodynamic interaction, unevenly pitched impeller and diffuser, and tapered impeller designs were proposed and experiments were performed. Uneven pitch design of the impeller changes the sound quality while the overall sound power level (SPL) and the performance remains similar. The effect of the tapered design of impeller was evaluated. The trailing edge of the tapered fan is inclined. This reduces the flow interaction between the rotating impeller and the stationary diffuser because of some phase shifts. The static efficiency of the new impeller design is slightly lower than the previous design. However, the overall SPL is reduced by about 4 dB(A). The SPL of the fundamental blade passing frequency (BPF) is reduced by about 6 dB(A) and the 2^sup nd^ BPF is reduced about 20 dB(A). The vacuum cleaner with the tapered impeller design produces lower noise level than the previous one, and the strong tonal sound was dramatically reduced.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders caused by various genetic and environmental factors that result in synaptic abnormalities. ASD development is suggested to involve microglia, which have a role in synaptic refinement during development. Autophagy and related pathways are also suggested to be involved in ASDs. However, the precise roles of microglial autophagy in synapses and ASDs are unknown. Here, we show that microglial autophagy is involved in synaptic refinement and neurobehavior regulation. We found that deletion of atg7, which is vital for autophagy, from myeloid cell-specific lysozyme M-Cre mice resulted in social behavioral defects and repetitive behaviors, characteristic features of ASDs. These mice also had increases in dendritic spines and synaptic markers and altered connectivity between brain regions, indicating defects in synaptic refinement. Synaptosome degradation was impaired in atg7-deficient microglia and immature dendritic filopodia were increased in neurons co-cultured with atg7-deficient microglia. To our knowledge, our results are the first to show the role of microglial autophagy in the regulation of the synapse and neurobehaviors. We anticipate our results to be a starting point for more comprehensive studies of microglial autophagy in ASDs and the development of putative therapeutics.

The path of tokamak fusion and International thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) is maintaining high-performance plasma to produce sufficient fusion power. This effort is hindered by the transient energy burst arising from the instabilities at the boundary of plasmas. Conventional 3D magnetic perturbations used to suppress these instabilities often degrade fusion performance and increase the risk of other instabilities. This study presents an innovative 3D field optimization approach that leverages machine learning and real-time adaptability to overcome these challenges. Implemented in the DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks, this method has consistently achieved reactor-relevant core confinement and the highest fusion performance without triggering damaging bursts. This is enabled by advances in the physics understanding of self-organized transport in the plasma edge and machine learning techniques to optimize the 3D field spectrum. The success of automated, real-time adaptive control of such complex systems paves the way for maximizing fusion efficiency in ITER and beyond while minimizing damage to device components. Damaging energy bursts in a tokamak are a major obstacle to achieving stable high-fusion performance. Here, the authors demonstrate the use of adaptive and machine-learning control to optimize the 3D magnetic field to prevent edge bursts and maximize fusion performance in two different fusion devices, DIII-D and KSTAR.