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In this paper, we examine a real-world case related to the consumer product supply chain to analyze the value of supply chain coordination under the condition of moral hazard. Because of the characteristics of a buyback contract scheme employed in the supply chain, the supplier company's sales department encourages retailers to order more inventory to meet their sales target, whereas retailers pay less attention to their inventory level and leftovers at the end of the season. This condition induces moral hazard problems in the operation of the supply chain, as suppliers suffer from huge returns of leftover inventory. This, in turn, is related to the obsolescence of returned inventory, even with penalty terms in the contract for the return of any leftovers. In this study, we show under the current buyback-based supply chain operation, the inventory levels of both the supplier and retailers exceed customer demand and develop vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system with base stock policy to remove any mismatch of supply and demand. A comparison of both systems shows that through the proper coordination of supply chain operations, both suppliers and retailers can gain additional benefits while providing proper services to end customers.

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health threat. Patient education on the appropriate use of antibiotics is a key component in combating antimicrobial resistance. The purpose of this study was to analyze the utility of an origami fortune teller as a novel peer educational tool in promoting antimicrobial stewardship on a university campus. An origami fortune teller, with various case scenarios to demonstrate key antibiotic principles, was developed and used by peer educators to educate students attending a university wellness fair. The case studies included: antibiotic indications; differentiation between viral vs. bacterial infection; proper use of antibiotics; non-pharmacologic measures to combat infection; and antibiotic resistance. Students were asked to take an assessment pre and post working with the tool. One hundred and forty-three students received education using the novel tool. A significant improvement in the assessment score was observed after education was completed using the novel tool (69.5 vs. 96.6 p ≤ 0.05).

This study has evaluated the genetic characteristics and wheat processing-related properties of four Korean wheat landraces (KWLs). The KWLs were found to possess the vernalization alleles vrn-A1, vrn-B1, and Vrn-D1 and the photoperiod alleles Ppd-A1b, Ppd-B1b, and Ppd-D1a. The Korean cultivated variety Keumgang also shared these alleles with the exception of vrn-D1. With regard to grain hardness, KWL 2 was shown to possess Pina-D1a and Pinb-D1b like Keumgang, while other KWLs were classified as carrying Pina-D1a and Pinb-D1a. All KWLs were found to be non-waxy, carrying the alleles Wx-A1a, Wx-B1a, and Wx-D1a. With regard to the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes, all four KWLs carried low-activity alleles, in contrast to the Keumgang sample. The assessment of physicochemical properties revealed that KWL 1, 3, and 4 had a higher amylose content but a lower protein content than KWL 2 and Keumgang. In tests of solvent retention capacity KWL 1 and KWL 2 exhibited the lowest and highest values, respectively, for all four solvents used in the tests. With regard to the dough properties, the results of Mixolab analysis indicated a faster starch gelatinisation in KWL1, while in KWL 2 a high water absorption and the longest dough development and stability times were found. KWL 3 and 4 exhibited similar dough behaviours. Principal component analysis of the four KWL lines revealed distinct clustering based on their physicochemical and dough-related traits.

This article interrogates the ideological processes that have produced, sustained, and regulated the Asian American nuclear family as a privileged site for claiming citizenship in the post-1965 era. Through a reading of Ha Jin's novel War Trash (2004), which presents a grandfather's memoir of surviving a prisoner-of-war camp during the Korean War, I argue that the idealized nuclear family facilitates the erasure of the figure of the post-Cold War Asian immigrant as a racialized enemy, producing instead an image of the Asian American as a potentially desirable citizen. Examining the novel's staging of the disclosure of the narrator's forgotten Cold War past, I argue that the family comes to serve as a vehicle for both repressing memories of war and potentially recovering them.

This study aimed to assess the phenotypic and histological characteristics of leaves, stems, and roots of sweet potato (‘Hopungmi’ and ‘Sodammi’, Korean cultivars) under the low-temperature conditions induced by early transplanting. In leaves, early transplanting (ETP) led to reductions in vascular bundle width (from −22.6% to −53.7%), xylem diameter (from −51.6% to −52.6%), palisade parenchyma thickness (from −31.3% to −31.5%), and the palisade parenchyma thickness-to-leaf thickness ratio (from −31.2% to −32.1%), while the total leaf thickness remained unchanged. Principal component 1 (PC1: 69.7%) was positively correlated with vascular characteristics and palisade parenchyma thickness, reflecting enhanced development under optimal transplanting (OTP) and greater photosynthetic capacity. These findings indicate that low temperatures hinder palisade parenchyma development. In stems, ETP reduced stem radius (from −20.3% to −42.1%) and the pith-to-stem radius ratio (from −21.0% to −25.3%) but increased the xylem-to-stem radius ratio (from +45.8% to +47.1%) and the collenchyma-to-stem radius ratio (from +61.5% to +84.7%). PC1 (45.7%) showed positive correlations with xylem and collenchyma ratios and negative correlations with stem radius and pith ratio, suggesting that these anatomical adjustments helped maintain stem rigidity under stress. In roots, ETP significantly reduced root radius (from −78.0% to −94.5%), vascular radius (from −83.9% to −96.9%), cortex thickness (from −68.9% to −80.7%), and the vascular-to-root radius ratio (from −28.6% to −44.7%), while increasing the cortex-to-root radius ratio (from +53.0% to +248.0%). PC1 (93.8%) was positively associated with vascular characteristics and cortex thickness and negatively associated with the cortex-to-root radius ratio. Overall, the low temperatures resulting from early transplanting altered the anatomical structures of leaves, stems, and roots, indicating suboptimal conditions for storage root development. In particular, the vascular bundle radius of sweet potato roots was identified as a crucial indicator for evaluating storage root development, which can be utilized in future breeding strategies.

Background Immunotoxins consisting of a toxin from bacteria or plants and a targeting module have been developed as potent anti-cancer therapeutics. The majority of them, especially those in preclinical or clinical testing stages, are fusion proteins of a toxin and antibody fragment. Immunotoxins based on full-length antibodies are less studied, even though the fragment crystallizable (Fc) domain plays an important role in regulating the concentration of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the serum and in antibody-mediated immune responses against pathogens. Results We devised a method to site-specifically conjugate IgG and another protein using a cysteine residue introduced into the IgG and a bio-orthogonally reactive unnatural amino acid incorporated into the other protein. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2)-targeting IgG, trastuzumab, was engineered to have an unpaired cysteine in the heavy chain, and an unnatural amino acid with the azido group was incorporated into an engineered Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE24). The two protein molecules were conjugated site-specifically using a bifunctional linker having dibenzocyclooctyne and maleimide groups. Binding to Her2 and interaction with various Fc receptors of trastuzumab were not affected by the conjugation with PE24. The trastuzumab-PE24 conjugate was cytotoxic to Her2-overexpressing cell lines, which involved the inhibition of cellular protein synthesis due to the modification of elongation factor-2. Conclusions We constructed the site-specifically conjugated immunotoxin based on IgG and PE24, which induced target-specific cytotoxicity. To evaluate the molecule as a cancer therapeutic, animal studies are planned to assess tumor regression, half-life in blood, and in vivo immunogenicity. In addition, we expect that the site-specific conjugation method can be used to develop other antibody-protein conjugates for applications in therapeutics and diagnostics.

Abstract In an effort to reform education, Uzbekistan has adopted STEAM education as a basic principle of educational reform. However, as these efforts are largely being made from a top-down manner, knowledge about STEAM education in schools and informal settings is not yet well known. This paper introduces Uzbekistan's general education status and shares findings from surveys and interviews with in- and pre-service teachers, and professors about STEAM education. In addition, newspaper articles and government documents about STEAM education were analyzed to understanding how education reforms are being established. STEAM education is explored as a potential tool for helping to improve science teaching and learning in the Uzbekistan education system. Using survey responses and interviews, this paper shares how teachers think of STEAM education and makes suggestions for how the government can more effectively achieve reform goals related to STEAM education.

Abstract Context The long-term quality of life (QoL) in patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) underwent active surveillance (AS) and immediate surgery is unclear. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of initial treatment choice on 2-year QoL in patients with low-risk PTMC Design, Setting, and Participants We analyzed 2652 QoL surveys from 1055 subjects enrolled in ongoing multicenter prospective cohort study on active surveillance of PTMC, in which the median follow-up duration was 24.4 months. Major Outcome Measure We evaluated QoL of patients with low-risk PTMC according to their treatment modality using generalized estimating equation. Results Six hundred and seventy-four subjects (male = 161; mean age = 48.8 ± 11.9 years) with low-risk PTMC chose AS while 381 subjects (male = 75; mean age = 45.7 ± 10.4 years) chose immediate surgery, including lobectomy/isthmusectomy (L/I) and total thyroidectomy (TT). Among the 817 subjects who completed baseline QoL surveys, 2-year QoL was good in order of AS (n = 500), L/I (n = 238), and TT (n = 79) groups after adjustment for age, sex, baseline tumor size, and baseline QoL scores. Among the 101 subjects who changed their treatment from AS to surgery during the follow-up period, 35 subjects who changed treatment due to disease progression had better QoL than 66 subjects who had no disease progression. Conclusions This study identified QoL as a major issue in choosing an initial treatment of low-risk PTMC and highlighted the possibility of using AS as the primary treatment.

The role of viruses in pneumonia in adults and the impact of viral infection on mortality have not been elucidated. Previous studies have significant limitations in that they relied predominantly on upper respiratory specimens. To investigate the role of viral infection in adult patients with pneumonia requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. A retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort was conducted in a 28-bed medical ICU. Patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) were included in the study. A total of 198 patients (64 with CAP, 134 with HCAP) were included for analysis. Of these, 115 patients (58.1%) underwent bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), 104 of whom were tested for respiratory viruses by BAL fluid reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Nasopharyngeal specimen RT-PCR was performed in 159 patients (84.1%). Seventy-one patients (35.9%) had a bacterial infection, and 72 patients (36.4%) had a viral infection. Rhinovirus was the most common identified virus (23.6%), followed by parainfluenza virus (20.8%), human metapneumovirus (18.1%), influenza virus (16.7%), and respiratory syncytial virus (13.9%). Respiratory syncytial virus was significantly more common in the CAP group (CAP, 10.9%; HCAP, 2.2%; P = 0.01). The mortalities of patients with bacterial infections, viral infections, and bacterial-viral coinfections were not significantly different (25.5, 26.5, and 33.3%, respectively; P = 0.82). Viruses are frequently found in the airway of patients with pneumonia requiring ICU admission and may cause severe forms of pneumonia. Patients with viral infection and bacterial infection had comparable mortality rates.

Biopolyol production from lignocellulosic biomass is one of the promising strategies for environmentally benign bioplastic production. In this study, red pine wood Pinus densiflora biomass, the most abundant softwood biomass in Korea, was liquefied using biobutanediol solvent to obtain a 100% bio-based polyol. When the 15% (w/w) biomass liquefied with 2,3-butanediol (levo) in the presence of 3% (w/w) sulfuric acid at 130 °C for 60 min, highest biomass conversion was observed at 53.2% and it showed 864.4 mg KOH/g of hydroxyl number and 21.5 mg KOH/g of acid number. Liquefied biopolyol was directly used for biopolyurethane synthesis using tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate. The 5% weight loss temperature (T d5 ) was at 210 °C in the first decomposition stage. Replacement of petrochemical polyhydric alcohol with biobutanediol showed possibility of biopolyol-based bioplastic production from red pine wood.