A 1-year-old intact male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was presented with a ruptured anal sac. On routine preanesthetic screening tests for surgical resection, the thrombocytopenia was observed by an ...impedance-type autoanalyzer. A peripheral blood smear was used as a follow-up test and giant platelets were seen on the smear. DNA assay of this patient confirmed that the cause of the platelet abnormalities in this patient was genetic mutation. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of macrothrombocytopenia confirmed based on the DNA assay results, in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Korea. KCI Citation Count: 0
To fundamentally understand discretized equations and differential operators, this study investigates the eigenvalues of the spherical gradient matrix and spherical Laplacian matrix discretized by ...the spectral element method (SEM) on the cubed-sphere grid (CS) for solid-body rotation. The gradient matrix with prescribed wind for the solid-body rotation has small positive real numbers in the eigenvalues, which implies that the solutions of the advection equation for solid-body rotation can be unstable and distorted. However, the unstable model can be effectively controlled by the Laplacian matrix, and all eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix are aligned along the negative part of the real axis. The maximum eigenvalues of the gradient matrix and Laplacian matrix exhibit the characteristic of a linear function of the resolution, which is important to determine the upper limit of the time-step size for stable time integration. This study suggests suitable e-folding time scale of the diffusion using the 6th order for applications of the advection-diffusion equation. Regarding the characteristics of the eigenvalues, the setting of the stable time step is discussed. A method to implement the diffusion operators in the third-order Runge-Kutta time integration scheme in the advection-diffusion model is also discussed.
The Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems (KIAPS) began a national project to develop a new global atmospheric model system in 2011. The ultimate goal of this 9-year project is to replace ...the current operational model at the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), which was adopted from the United Kingdom’s Meteorological Office’s unified model (UM) in 2010. The 12-km Korean Integrated Model (KIM) system, consisting of a spectral-element non-hydrostatic dynamical core on a cubed sphere grid and a state-of-the-art physics parameterization package, has been launched in a real-time forecast framework, with initial conditions obtained via the advanced hybrid four-dimensional ensemble variational data assimilation (4DEnVar) over its native grid. A development strategy for KIM and the evolution of its performance in medium-range forecasts toward a world-class global forecast system are described. Outstanding issues in KIM 3.1 as of February 2018 are discussed, along with a future plan for operational deployment in 2020.
Cognitive and behavioral changes are common in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with about 15% of patients presenting with overt frontotemporal dementia and 30%-50% with varying degrees of ...impairments. We aimed to develop and validate the Korean version of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS-K), a brief multidomain assessment tool developed for ALS patients with physical disability.
We developed the ECAS-K according to the translation guidelines, and administered it to 38 patients with ALS and 26 age- and education-level-matched controls. We also administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) to investigate convergent validity, and the Center for Neurologic Study-Liability Scale to assess the association between pseudobulbar affect and cognitive/behavioral changes.
Internal consistency among the ECAS-K test items was found to be high, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87. Significant differences were found between patients with ALS and the controls in language, fluency, and memory functions (
<0.05). Abnormal performance based on the ECAS total score was noted in 39.4% of patients, and 66.6% presented behavioral changes in at least one domain. Significant correlations were observed between the scores of the ECAS-K and those of other cognitive screening tools (MoCA and FAB, with correlation coefficients of 0.69 and 0.55, respectively;
<0.01).
We developed and validated the ECAS-K which could be used as an effective tool to screen the cognitive and behavioral impairments in Korean patients with ALS.
Purpose We evaluated the risk factors for progression to chronic complicated bronchopleural fistula (BPF) after pulmonary resection using follow-up CT.
Materials and Methods We retrospectively ...reviewed 45 cases with BPF that had undergone pulmonary resection during 2010-2018. We compared the clinical and radiological characteristics of those with complicated BPF (n = 24) and those without complicated (sterilized) BPF (n = 21). The clinical and radiological risk factors for progression to chronic complicated BPF were examined by logistic regression analysis.
Results The thickness of the pleural cavity wall (p = 0.022), the size of the pleural cavity (p = 0.029), and the size increase of BPF on follow-up (p = 0.012) were significantly different between the two groups. The risk factors for progression to chronic complicated BPF were age > 70 years (odds ratio, 6.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–33.7), the thickness of the cavity wall > 5 mm (odds ratio, 52.5; 95% confidence interval, 5.1–545.4), and an increase in the size of the pleural cavity on follow-up CT (odds ratio, 12.5; 95% confidence interval, 2.1–73.5), only in the univariate analysis.
Conclusion The risk factors for progression to chronic complicated BPF can be evaluated using follow-up CT. KCI Citation Count: 0
Purpose This study investigated whether the respiratory phase during pleural puncture in CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) affects complications. Materials and Methods We ...conducted a retrospective review of 477 lung biopsy CT scans performed during free breathing. The respiratory phases during pleural puncture were determined based on the table position of the targeted nodule using CT scans obtained during free breathing. We compared the rates of complications among the inspiratory, mid-, and expiratory respiratory phases. Logistic regression analysis was performed to control confounding factors associated with pneumothorax. Results Among the 477 procedures, pleural puncture was performed during the expiratory phase in 227 (47.6%), during the mid-phase in 108 (22.6%), and during the inspiratory phase in 142 (29.8%). The incidence of pneumothorax was significantly lower in the expiratory puncture group (40/227, 17.6%; p = 0.035) and significantly higher in the mid-phase puncture group (31/108, 28.7%; p = 0.048). After controlling for confounding factors, expiratory-phase puncture was found to be an independent protective factor against pneumothorax (odds ratio = 0.571; 95% confidence interval = 0.360-0.906; p = 0.017). Conclusion Our findings suggest that pleural puncture during the expiratory phase may reduce the risk of pneumothorax during image guided PTNB. 목적 전산화단층촬영(이하 CT) 유도 경피 폐 생검에서 흉막 천자 시에 호흡 시기가 합병증 발생에 영향을 미치는지 조사하는 것이다. 대상과 방법 자유 호흡 중 시행된 폐 생검의 CT 스캔 477개를 후향적으로 검토하였다. 흉막 천자 시 호흡 시기는 자유 호흡 중 얻은 CT 영상에서 목표 결절의 table position의 차이로 분석 평가하였다. 세 가지 호흡 시기(흡기, 중간, 호기)에서의 합병증 발생률을 비교하였다. 기흉에 대한 교란변수를 통제하기 위해 로지스틱 회귀 분석을 하였다. 결과 477건의 시술 중에서 흉막 천자는 227건(47.6%)에서 호기, 108건(22.6%)에서 중기, 142건(29.8%)에서 흡기에서 시행되었다. 기흉 발생률은 호기에서 유의하게 낮았고(40/227, 17.6%; p = 0.035) 중기에서 유의하게 높았다(31/108, 28.7%; p = 0.048). 교란변수를 통제한 후, 호기 시 흉막 천자는 기흉에 대해 독립적인 보호 요인으로 작용하였다(오즈비 = 0.571; 95% 신뢰구간 = 0.360-0.906; p = 0.017). 결론 본 연구 결과는 이미지 유도하 경피적 폐 생검시 호기에서 흉막 천자를 시행하는 것이 기흉 발생률을 감소시킬 수 있음을 보여주었다.
This study used the time-split method for higher-order diffusion in a global numerical weather prediction model of the spectral element method on a cubed-sphere grid, and verified its performance ...compared to those of the explicit and implicit timestep diffusion schemes. Because the spectral element method on a cubed-sphere grid involves intrinsic characteristics of eigenvalues of the Laplacian operator, allowable timestep sizes are more restricted for stable time integration in higher-order diffusion. For example, the 6th-order diffusion significantly limits the timestep size for adequate filtering of small-scale numerical noise during simulation. The time-split scheme can be an alternative to overcome the severe constraints on the timestep size and allow the model a timestep size as large as is potentially acceptable even in higher-order diffusion, while maintaining atmospheric kinetic energy compared to that of the explicit and implicit schemes. During analysis of the amplification factor and numerical simulation of the schemes, it was shown that the time-split scheme has a theoretical response comparable to that of the explicit and implicit schemes. The numerical simulations were conducted using the Korean Integrated Model (KIM) with a 6th-order diffusion operator of three different diffusion schemes at resolutions of 0.25- or 0.125-degree grid spacing. The time-split scheme yields a forecast performance similar to both the explicit and implicit timestep schemes while greatly reducing the computational time.
The effects of compatibilizers and hydrolysis on the tensile and impact strength, interfacial tension and morphology of the PP/PLA (80/20) blends were investigated. For the PP/PLA (80/20) blends ...before hydrolysis, the tensile strength of the blends reached a maximum when the polypropylene-
g
-maleic anhydride (PP-
g
-MAH) copolymer was added at 3 phr. For the PP/PLA (80/20) blends after hydrolysis, the tensile strength did not change appreciably with the PP-
g
-MAH content. For the blends with the styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene-
g
-maleic anhydride (SEBS-
g
-MAH) before or after hydrolysis, the tensile strength of the blends decreased with increasing SEBS-
g
-MAH content. The interfacial tension of the PP/PLA (80/20) blend was determined from the relaxation time using the Palierne and Choi-Schowalter models, and showed a minimum value at a PP-
g
-MAH content of 3 phr in each model. For the PP/PLA (80/20) blends with the SEBS-
g
-MAH before and after hydrolysis, the increase in impact strength was more significant for the blends after hydrolysis. This suggests that PLA becomes less brittle after hydrolysis. The impact strength suggests that the SEBS-
g
-MAH is an effective impact modifier to improve the impact strength of the PP/PLA (80/20) blends.
