Fine particulate matters less than 2.5 µm (PM
) in the ambient atmosphere are strongly associated with adverse health effects. However, it is unlikely that all fine particles are equally toxic in ...view of their different sizes and chemical components. Toxicity of fine particles produced from various combustion sources (diesel engine, gasoline engine, biomass burning (rice straw and pine stem burning), and coal combustion) and non-combustion sources (road dust including sea spray aerosols, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and secondary organic aerosols (SOA)), which are known major sources of PM
, was determined. Multiple biological and chemical endpoints were integrated for various source-specific aerosols to derive toxicity scores for particles originating from different sources. The highest toxicity score was obtained for diesel engine exhaust particles, followed by gasoline engine exhaust particles, biomass burning particles, coal combustion particles, and road dust, suggesting that traffic plays the most critical role in enhancing the toxic effects of fine particles. The toxicity ranking of fine particles produced from various sources can be used to better understand the adverse health effects caused by different fine particle types in the ambient atmosphere, and to provide practical management of fine particles beyond what can be achieved only using PM mass which is the current regulation standard.
Purpose To compare the clinical and radiologic results of partial meniscectomy with those of refixation in patients with medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRTs) at a minimum 5-year follow-up. ...Methods Between 2005 and 2009, patients with MMPRTs who had been followed up for at least 5 years after a partial meniscectomy (group M, n = 20) or pullout repair (group R, n = 37) were recruited. The mean follow-up duration was 67.5 months in group M and 72.0 months in group R. Clinical assessments, including the Lysholm score and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form score, and radiographic assessments, including the Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grade and medial joint space width, were evaluated preoperatively and at final follow-up. We compared the preoperative results with the final results in each group, and we compared the final results of groups M and R. Five-year survival rates were also evaluated. Results The mean Lysholm score ( P = .039) and IKDC score ( P = .037) improved significantly. However, the width of the medial joint space ( P < .001) and K-L grade ( P < .001) worsened significantly in both groups. When we compared the final results, group R had significantly better Lysholm scores ( P = .002) and IKDC scores ( P < .001) than group M. Group R showed less K-L grade progression ( P = .005) and less medial joint space narrowing ( P < .001) than group M. The rate of conversion to total knee arthroplasty was 35% in group M, whereas there was no conversion to total knee arthroplasty in group R. The 5-year survival rates in groups M and R were 75% and 100%, respectively ( P < .001). Conclusions For MMPRTs, refixation was more effective than partial meniscectomy in terms of the clinical and radiologic outcomes and survival for at least 5 years' follow-up. Refixation slowed the progression of arthritic changes compared with partial meniscectomy, although it did not prevent the progression of arthrosis completely. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative study.
We evaluated the long-term effect of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ineligible for local therapy or surgery.
Forty-two HCC patients with ...tumors ≤ 100 cc and ineligible for local ablation therapy or surgical resection were treated with SBRT: 30-39 Gy with a prescription isodose range of 70-85% (median 80%) was delivered daily in three fractions. Median tumor volume was 15.4 cc (3.0-81.8) and median follow-up duration 28.7 months (8.4-49.1).
Complete response (CR) for the in-field lesion was initially achieved in 59.6% and partial response (PR) in 26.2% of patients. Hepatic out-of-field progression occurred in 18 patients (42.9%) and distant metastasis developed in 12 (28.6%) patients. Overall in-field CR and overall CR were achieved in 59.6% and 33.3%, respectively. Overall 1-year and 3-year survival rates were 92.9% and 58.6%, respectively. In-field progression-free survival at 1 and 3 years was 72.0% and 67.5%, respectively. Patients with smaller tumor had better in-field progression-free survival and overall survival rates (<32 cc vs. ≥32 cc, P < 0.05). No major toxicity was encountered but one patient died with extrahepatic metastasis and radiation-induced hepatic failure.
SBRT is a promising noninvasive-treatment for small HCC that is ineligible for local treatment or surgical resection.
•The heat capacity of the nasal cavity was investigated during the respiration period.•The variations of the surface heat and water-vapor fluxes were examined.•The air temperature in the nasopharynx ...during inspiration is 31.3–35.3 °C.•The air relative humidity in the nasopharynx during inspiration is 85.1–100 %.•Steady assumption is useful in predicting the cumulative thermal condition of the air.
The dynamic characteristics of air-conditioning in the human nasal cavity during a respiratory cycle were investigated using unsteady numerical simulations to assess whether inhaled air is sufficiently conditioned by the nasal cavity. Variations in the epithelial surface temperature, surface heat, and water vapor fluxes were found to vary significantly during inspiration while providing substantial air conditioning to the inhaled air, but variations and magnitudes were significantly reduced during the expiration period. Air temperature (31.3–35.3 °C) and relative humidity (85.1–100 %) in the nasopharynx exhibited significant variations during inspiration. Flow rate-weighted average values of the air temperature and relative humidity during inspiration were estimated to be 32.0 °C and 89.1 %, respectively. Inhaled air did not attain alveolar conditions before reaching the nasopharynx, and was therefore thought to be insufficiently conditioned by the nasal cavity alone. A steady flow of approximately 250 mL/s appears to be useful for evaluating the accumulated thermal state of air in the nasopharynx during inspiration.
A multi-channel multi-railgap spark switch (MRGS) is developed for linear transformer drivers(LTD) with high operating reliability and low circuit inductance. The switch has a multi-rail gap ...structure using a compact rectangular insulated case and rod-shaped electrodes with corona discharge for voltage balance, which (1) achieves miniaturization by making the switch flat, (2) ensures capacitors and the switch being compactly connected, and (3) reduces the cross-sectional area of the discharge current loop in the LTD discharge circuit, while maintaining a wide and flat current path in the switch section. To verify the operational reliability and performance of the new switch design, self-breakdown voltage and jitter have been experimentally characterized along with inductance reduction effect. Experimental results of this new MRGS are also compared with those of a 200 kV multi-gap multi-channel gas spark switch(MGS) used in various LTDs. The jitter was improved by up to about 50% compared to MGS.
The purpose of this study is to reveal the role of ethnic sport participants' subjective well-being as it interacts with its antecedents and consequences. The antecedents are participants' perceived ...benefits of sport participation and their satisfaction with an event. The consequences
are participants' organizational commitment and their ethnic identity. The dynamics of subjective well-being and those constructs were tested at the 2015 Korean American Sports Festival where 283 Korean American participants reported on self-administered questionnaires. The collected data
were first analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis; structural equation modeling was then used to secure the magnitude and significance of each path designed in the model. The social, psychological, and health benefits of sport participation positively affected satisfaction with the event,
and satisfaction in turn affected subjective well-being. Subjective well-being positively influenced organizational commitment. Ethnic identity had a mediating effect on the relation between subjective well-being and organizational commitment. This study highlights the importance of ethnic
sport participants' subjective well-being in understanding how the quality of their experience makes them committed to an ethnic sport organization. Ethnic sporting events can implement the findings to facilitate an increase in the subjective well-being of their events' participants.
In the present study, the ecotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was investigated in Caenorhabditis elegans using survival, growth, and reproduction, as the ecotoxicological endpoints, as well ...as stress response gene expression. Whole genome microarray was used to screen global changes in C. elegans transcription profiles after AgNPs exposure, followed by quantitative analysis of selected genes. The integration of gene expression with organism and population level endpoints was investigated using C. elegans functional genomics tools, to test the ecotoxicological relevance of AgNPs-induced gene expression. AgNPs exerted considerable toxicity in C. elegans, most clearly as dramatically decreased reproduction potential. Increased expression of the superoxide dismutases-3 (sod-3) and abnormal dauer formation protein (daf-12) genes with 0.1 and 0.5 mg/L of AgNPs exposures occurred concurrently with significant decreases in reproduction ability. Overall results of functional genomic studies using mutant analyses suggested that the sod-3 and daf-12 gene expressions may have been related to the AgNPs-induced reproductive failure in C. elegans and that oxidative stress may have been an important mechanism in AgNPs toxicity.
As the applications of industrial nanoparticles are being developed, the concerns on the environmental health are increasing. Cytotoxicities of titanium dioxide nanoparticles of different ...concentrations (5, 10, 20 and 40
μg/ml) were evaluated in this study using a cultured human bronchial epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B. Exposure of the cultured cells to nanoparticles led to cell death, reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase, reduced glutathione (GSH) decrease, and the induction of oxidative stress-related genes such as heme oxygenase-1, thioredoxin reductase, glutathione-
S-transferase, catalase, and a hypoxia inducible gene. The ROS increase by titanium dioxide nanoparticles triggered the activation of cytosolic caspase-3 and chromatin condensation, which means that titanium dioxide nanoparticles exert cytotoxicity by an apoptotic process. Furthermore, the expressions of inflammation-related genes such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), TNF-a, and C-X-C motif ligand 2 (CXCL2) were also elevated. The induction of IL-8 by titanium dioxide nanoparticles was inhibited by the pre-treatment with SB203580 and PD98059, which means that the IL-8 was induced through p38 mitogen-acitvated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and/or extracellular signal (ERK) pathway. Uptake of the nanoparticles into the cultured cells was observed and titanium dioxide nanoparticles seemed to penetrate into the cytoplasm and locate in the peri-region of the nucleus as aggregated particles, which may induce direct interactions between the particles and cellular molecules, to cause adverse biological responses.
Background
Immunologic function in innate and adaptive immunity changes with the ageing process. Thus, age‐related cytokine profiles in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) need to be investigated for ...precision medicine.
Objective
The objective of this study was to characterize age‐related changes in immunologic profiles according to CRS subtypes.
Methods
Subjects in control (n = 29), CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP, n = 86), and CRS with nasal polyps (eosinophilic NP: ENP, n = 81; non‐eosinophilic NP: NENP, n = 113) were enrolled in this study. Twenty markers for type 1/2/3 inflammation and other inflammatory processes were measured in homogenates of sinonasal tissues and statistically analysed.
Results
In control tissues, type 2/3 and proinflammatory mediators showed an inverse correlation with age. CRSsNP and NENP showed an age‐related increase in type 2 cytokines and a decline in type 3 cytokines. Interestingly, the age‐related decrease in type 3 mediators was associated with those of CT scores in NENP. ENP showed an age‐related increase in type 3 cytokines with type 2 mediators sustained at high levels. Smokers with ENP demonstrated age‐associated increases in type 1/2/3 mediators as well as CT scores. These age‐related patterns in each CRS were confirmed by statistically adjusting atopy status, smoking history, and disease duration.
Conclusion
Age‐associated cytokine changes differed among CRS subtypes and control tissues. CRSsNP and NENP demonstrated a decline in type 3 mediators and increase in type 2 mediators, whereas type 3 mediators increased with age in ENP.
Effective transmission of sound from water to air is crucial for the enhancement of the detection sensitivity of underwater sound. However, only 0.1% of the acoustic energy is naturally transmitted ...at such a boundary. At audio frequencies, quarter-wave plates or multilayered antireflection coatings are too bulky for practical use for such enhancement. Here we present an acoustic metasurface of a thickness of only ∼λ/100, where λ is the wavelength in air, consisting of an array of meta-atoms that each contain a set of membranes and an air-filled cavity. We experimentally demonstrate that such a meta-atom increases the transmission of sound at ∼700 Hz by 2 orders of magnitude, allowing about 30% of the incident acoustic power from water to be transmitted into air. Applications include underwater sonic sensing and communication.
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