Earticle

In this paper we present a system that enables the user to interact with large display system even without touching the screen. With two infrared sensitive cameras mounted on the bottom left and bottom right of the display system pointing upwards, the user fingertip position on the selected region of interest of each camera view is found using vertical intensity profile of the background subtracted image. The position of the finger in two images of left and right camera is mapped to the display screen coordinate by using pre-determined matrices, which are calculated by interpolating samples of user finger position on the images taken by pointing finger over some known coordinate position of the display system. The screen is then manipulated according to the calculated position and depth of the fingertip with respect to the display system. Experimental results demonstrate an efficient, robust and stable human computer interaction.

Multi-Relay Networks should accommodate mobile users of various speeds. The cellular system should meet the minimum residency time requirements for handover calls while considering an efficient use of available channels. In this paper, we design speed-sensitive handover under dynamic hierarchical cellular systems, in which mobile users are classified according to the mean speed of mobile users and each class has its cellular layer. In order to meet the minimum residency time, the cell size of each cellular layer is dynamically determined depending on the distributions of mean speeds of mobile users. Since the speed-dependent non-preferred cell can provide a secondary resource, overflow and take-back schemes are adopted in the system. We develop analytical models to study the performance of the proposed system, and show that the optimal cell size improves the blocking probability.

Energy efficiency in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a critical issue because batteries are used for operation and communication. In terms of scalability, energy efficiency, data integration, and resilience, WSN-cluster-based routing algorithms often outperform routing algorithms without clustering. Low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) is a cluster-based routing protocol with a high transmission efficiency to the base station. In this paper, we propose an energy consumption model for LEACH and compare it with the existing LEACH, advanced LEACH (ALEACH), and power-efficient gathering in sensor information systems (PEGASIS) algorithms in terms of network lifetime. The energy consumption model comprises energy-sensitive cluster formation and a cluster head selection technique. The setup and steady-state phases of the proposed model are discussed based on the cluster head selection. The simulation results demonstrated that a low-energy-consumption network was introduced, modeled, and validated for LEACH.

This paper introduces the use of temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) to obtain the whole-field temperature distributions in heat transfer enhancement applications. Knowing the surface temperatures in such applications is important to quantify the heat transfer, as well as to obtain insight into the flow physics. Applying the TSP to a flat plate with and without a vortex generator showed that the TSP Nusselt number distribution over the flat plate alone matched the Blasius solution with less than 10% error. The TSP temperature distribution of the flat plate with the delta wing vortex generator showed a local heat transfer enhancement of about 30% and the locations of temperature extremes. This paper also provides a detailed guideline for the application, image acquisition, and image processing procedures for TSP along with its calibration surfaces.

API(Application Program Interface) 콜 시퀀스 분석은 분석 대상 프로그램에서 API 콜 정보를 추출한 후 분석하는 기법으로 다른 기법들에 비해 대상의 행위를 특징할 수 있는 장점이 있다. 하지만 기존의 API 콜 시퀀스 분석기법은 동일한 기능을 수행하는 함수를 상이한 함수로 잘못 식별하여 분석을 수행하는 문제점이 존재한다. 본 연구에서는 API 각각을 추상화시키는 방식을 추가하여 기존의 식별 문제를 해결하고 분석 성능을 향상시키고자 한다. 그 후 분석 대상들에서 획득한 추상화된 API 콜 시퀀스에 LSH(Locality Sensitive Hashing) 기법을 적용하여 각 분석 대상들 간의 유사도를 계산하고 유사한 유형끼리 클러스터를 형성하는 과정을 수행하였다. 본 연구는 악성코드 분석 시 악성코드의 유형을 파악하는 데 요긴하게 사용할 수 있으며, 최종적으로는 해당 유형 정보를 기반으로 악성코드 분석의 정확도를 향상시키는 데 기여할 수 있다.

API call sequence analysis is a kind of analysis using API call information extracted in target program. Compared to other techniques, this is advantageous as it can characterize the behavior of the target. However, existing API call sequence analysis has an issue of identifying same characteristics to different function during the analysis. To resolve the identification issue and improve performance of analysis, this study includes the method of API abstraction technique in addition to existing analysis. From there on, similarity between target programs is computed and clustered into similar types by applying LSH to abstracted API call sequence from analyzed target. Thus, this study can attribute in improving the accuracy of the malware analysis based on discovered information on the types of malware identified.

Few studies have evaluated the role of autophagy in the development of oxaliplatin (OXT) resistance in colon cancer cells. In this study, we compared the role of autophagy between SNU-C5 colon cancer cells and OXT-resistant SNU-C5 (SNU-C5/OXTR) cells. At the same concentration of OXT, the cytotoxicity of OXT or apoptosis was significantly reduced in SNU-C5/OXTR cells compared with that in SNU-C5 cells. Compared with SNU-C5 cells, SNU-C5/OXTR cells exhibited low levels of autophagy. The expression level of important autophagy proteins, such as autophagy-related protein 5 (Atg5), beclin-1, Atg7, microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B I (LC3-I), and LC3-II, was significantly lower in SNU-C5/OXTR cells than that in SNU-C5 cells. The expression level of the autophagy-essential protein p62 was also lower in SNU-C5/OXTR cells than in SNU-C5 cells. In SNU-C5/OXTR cells, the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly higher than that in SNU-C5 cells, and treatment with the ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine restored the reduced autophagy levels. Furthermore, the expression of antioxidant-related nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 transcription factor, heme oxygenase-1, and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase were also significantly increased in SNU-C5/OXTR cells. These findings suggest that autophagy is significantly reduced in SNU-C5/OXTR cells compared with SNU-C5 cells, which may be related to the production of ROS in OXT-resistant cells.

Internet of Things (IoT) is getting growing interest to offer great opportunities in combination with Mobile Crowd Sensing for real-time applications. Existing approaches motivate mobile workers (MWs) for approaching the distant locations to receive attractive incentives for traveling. The main question addressed is that a number of tasks remain incomplete out of total al-located tasks. Moreover, the profitability and feasible budget constraints of the platform is also not considered. This paper presents Bargaining based Design Mechanism (BDM) to involve the nearest located MWs to improve the completion of tasks. The main method involves a bargaining based game model that increases the task completion ratio while considering the feasible budget constraint, platform profitability and social welfare. The proposed approach comprises of two algorithms: one for the selection of optimal MWs with low cost and less delay. Second is to organize bargaining for rewarding the platform on social welfare. Our work is validated by developing a testbed on Windows Azure cloud. Results prove that proposed BDM out-performs the counterparts in terms of decay coefficient, task completion ratio, participant’s winning ratio, fraction of task incompletion and social welfare.

As an alternative to radioimmunoassay a simple and highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed and validated for androstenedione quantification in plasma of Karan Fries bulls using second antibody coating technique. The wells of the microtitreplate were coated with affinity-purified goat immunoglobulin (antirabbit IgG) that binds the hormone specific antibody. The EIA was performed to analyze androstenedione directly in 40 μl of bull plasma. The androstenedione standards ranged from 0.20 to 200 pg/40 μl /well and the sensitivity of the assay was 5 pg/ml plasma. Serially diluted bull plasma containing high endogenous androstenedione showed good parallelism with bovine androstenedione standard curve. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) were found to be 8 and 9%, respectively. Peripheral plasma androstenedione concentrations determined in young and adult bull samples ranged between 104?990 pg/ml and 184?2040 pg/ml, respectively.

The incidence of air pollution-sensitive diseases (respiratory and cardiovascular conditions) in Zhangjiakou City is closely associated with atmospheric pollutants, meteorological factors, and their synergistic effects. Since the direct impact of concentrations of the city's primary air pollutants is relatively weak, while the synergistic effect of meteorological conditions significantly increases prediction difficulty, this study collected relevant disease outpatient data, meteorological data, and air quality data from January 2019 to April 2021 to develop high-performance prediction models. Three models-ARIMAX, CNN-LSTM, and CNN-LSTM-Attention-were constructed, all capable of fitting the variations in outpatient visits reasonably well. However, during sudden data fluctuations, the CNN-LSTM-Attention model demonstrated stronger predictive capability, showing significant advantages, particularly in handling nonlinear features and complex patterns. In terms of specific performance, for respiratory diseases, the CNN-LSTM-Attention model's predictions (RMSE=0.30, MAE=0.25, R²=0.92) were significantly superior to those of ARIMAX (RMSE=6.13, MAE=5.24, R²=0.62) and CNN-LSTM (RMSE=23.73, MAE=17.10, R²=0.81). The model's performance in predicting cardiovascular diseases was equally outstanding, with results (RMSE=0.31, MAE=0.27, R²=0.91) far superior to those of other models. Collectively, these findings indicate that the CNN-LSTM-Attention model is the optimal method for predicting the number of outpatient visits for air pollution-sensitive diseases in Zhangjiakou City, providing robust support for future prevention and control of such conditions.

The network coding mechanism has attracted much attention because of its advantage of enhanced network throughput which is a desirable characteristic especially in a multi-hop wireless network with limited link capacity such as the device-to-device (D2D) communication network of 5G. COPE proposes to use the XOR-based network coding in the two-hop wireless network topology. For multi-hop wireless networks, the Distributed Coding-Aware Routing (DCAR) mechanism was proposed, in which the coding conditions for two flows intersecting at an intermediate node are defined and the routing metric to improve the coding opportunity by preferring those routes with longer queues is designed. Because the routes with longer queues may increase the delay, DCAR is inefficient in delivering real-time multimedia traffic flows. In this paper, we propose a network coding-aware routing protocol for multi-hop wireless networks that enhances DCAR by considering traffic load distribution and link quality. From this, we can achieve higher network throughput and lower end-to-end delay at the same time for the proper delivery of time-sensitive data flow. The Qualnet-based simulation results show that our proposed scheme outperforms DCAR in terms of throughput and delay.

Treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) has always been challenged by the development of resistance. We investigated the antiproliferative activity of licochalcone H (LCH), a regioisomer of licochalcone C derived from the root of Glycyrrhiza inflata, in oxaliplatin (Ox)-sensitive and -resistant CRC cells. LCH significantly inhibited cell viability and colony growth in both Ox-sensitive and Ox-resistant CRC cells. We found that LCH decreased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and AKT kinase activities and related activating signaling proteins including pEGFR and pAKT. A computational docking model indicated that LCH may interact with EGFR, AKT1, and AKT2 at the ATP-binding sites. LCH induced ROS generation and increased the expression of the ER stress markers. LCH treatment of CRC cells induced depolarization of MMP. Multi-caspase activity was induced by LCH treatment and confirmed by Z-VAD-FMK treatment. LCH increased the number of sub-G1 cells and arrested the cell cycle at the G1 phase. Taken together LCH inhibits the growth of Ox-sensitive and Ox-resistant CRC cells by targeting EGFR and AKT, and inducing ROS generation and ER stress-mediated apoptosis. Therefore, LCH could be a potential therapeutic agent for improving not only Ox-sensitive but also Ox-resistant CRC treatment.

Despite the fact that obtaining accurate self-reports presents challenges for sensitive topics, investigators often employ them to estimate the prevalence of a variety of sensitive behavior. This study examined the effect of four data collection techniques (face-to-face, computer, randomized response technique, and item count technique) on estimates of the prevalence of five sensitive topics (stealing, anal intercourse, lying, marijuana use, and cheating). Each respondent answered all of the five sensitive items, so that item served as a repeated measure. Each respondent responded using the same data collection technique, so that technique served as an independent groups factor. Data were collected at four locations at a large university in the Midwest United States. Four experimenters, two males and two females, solicited respondents. Only those walking alone were solicited, with a random number (2 to 6 inclusive) determining which of the passersby were approached. Consistent with past research the randomized response technique yielded the highest overall prevalence estimates, although for the most sensitive items estimates were within sampling error of those found in the computer condition. Given the advantages in ease and efficiency associated with collecting self-report data with computers, relative to collecting self-report data using the randomized response technique, these results suggest that collecting sensitive information with computers provides considerable value.

Purpose: The purpose of this quasi experimental study was to evaluate the effects of Culturally Sensitive Sex Education Skill Development, a teacher-led sex education program in secondary schools in Thailand. Methods: Two public secondary schools in the suburban areas of Bangkok were randomly selected. One was designated as the experimental school and the other as the comparison school. Ninety grade seven and eight teachers, 45 from each school, were selected to participate in the study. Self efficacy theory and culturally appropriate basis were applied to develop the program which included 4 weeks of intervention and 2 weeks of follow up. Primary outcomes were attitudes toward sex education, perceived self efficacy, and sex education skills. Statistical analysis included independent and paired t test, and repeated oneway analysis of variance. Results: At the end of the intervention and during the follow-up period, the intervention group had significantly higher mean scores of attitudes toward sex education, perceived self efficacy, and sex education skills than their scores before (p < .001), and than those of the comparison group (p < .001). Conclusion: The results showed that Culturally Sensitive Sex Education Skill Development could enhance attitudes and sex education self efficacy to promote the implementation of sex education among teachers.

Objective To investigate the effect of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) on plasma nitric oxide (NO), Endothelin 1 (ET1), high sensitive C-reactive protein (HSCRP) and quality of life (QoL) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).Methods We conducted a pilot randomized clinical trial in order to evaluate plasma NO, ET1, HSCRP and QoL before and after twenty sessions of EECP (group A) and cardiac rehabilitation (CR, group B) in 42 patients with CAD (21 in each group).Results Forty-two patients (33 male and 9 female) were included in the study. The mean age was 58.2±10 years. The mean HSCRP was 1.52±0.7 in the EECP group and it was reduced to 1.27±0.4 after intervention. The reduction in HSCRP was not statistically significant in EECP and CR groups with p=0.33 and p=0.27, respectively. There was not significant improvement of NO, ET1, and QoL in the EECP and CR groups shortly after therapy (p>0.05).Conclusion Although the short-term EECP treatment in CAD patients improved HSCRP, NO, ET1, and QoL compared with the baseline those improvements are not statistically significant. Further studies are necessary with large study groups and more sessions.

Flexible and conductive hydrogels play an important role in the design and fabrication of wearable sensors. However, the preparation of high-performance hydrogel-based sensors that can work under extreme cold conditions is still challenging. Herein, we demonstrated the preparation of a novel composite hydrogel based on polyacrylamide (PAM), LiCl, and PEDOT:PSS coated cellulose nanofibrils (PEDOT:PSS/CNF). The introduction of PEDOT:PSS/CNF increased the hydrogen bonding between the molecular chains in the micro and enhanced the mechanical strength and the conductivity of the hydrogel in the macro. Moreover, the presence of LiCl endowed the hydrogel with excellent freezing tolerance. For example, the optimized hydrogel exhibited stable mechanical properties at extreme cold conditions (e.g., −40 ℃). Finally, the composite hydrogel was used to assemble a flexible sensor, which could detect a wide range of human movement and physiological activities in a stable, fast, and accurate manner. Overall, this work provided a simple and universal approach for the preparation of flexible and anti-freezing hydrogels that can be used for flexible electronic devices.

According to George Barna’s chronological division of modern generations and their birth years, Generation Xers who were born between 1965 and 1983 have been profoundly impacted by the entertainment culture. Generation Xers get easily bored with unified preaching forms such as “three-point” or “verse-by-verse.” A form-sensitive sermon can attract Generation Xers’ attention because the different forms in the text utilize various modes of language and rhetorical devices. For example, deductive (stentic) or inductive (tensive) modes of language have different functions and different oral rhetorical devices create various experiences. This writer asserts that a form-sensitive sermon is a strategic contact point that delivers the biblical propositional notion to the current generation. This paper will analyze the sociological and cultural background of Generation Xers, and then will explicate the types of literary form, oral rhetorical devices and the language function behind each textual form.

Multi stimuli-sensitive drug delivery system using poly(ethyleneimine)(PEI) and cinnamic acid(CA) was prepared by self-assembly. PEI and CA are combined by electrostatic attraction to form a conjugate. Since PEI is hydrophilic and CA is hydrophobic, the conjugate exhibits amphipathic properties. Thus, the conjugate forms a self-assembly in aqueous solution. The formed self-assembly is characterized by its response to various stimuli (pH, temperature, UV). In the case of pH, PEI/CA forms a self-assembly at acidic pH. However, as the pH increases, the degree of ionization of PEI decreases, and the electrostatic attraction between PEI and CA decreases so that the self-assembly is disassembled. In the case of temperature, PEI/CA forms a self-assembly at room temperature, but when the temperature increases, the PEI/CA conjugate decreases in amphipathicity as the solubility of CA increases, self-assembly is disassembled. In the case of UV, when UV light is applied to the self-assembly, CA is isomerized from trans to cis and the self-assembly is disassembled. The self-assembly having the multi stimuli-sensitive characteristic can be applied to the cubic phase, which is a lipid structure. In addition, gold nanoparticle (GNP) representing the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon can be added to the cubic phase to give a response characteristic to NIR. The cubic phase consists of lipid bilayer and water channel. The self-assembly is contained on the water channel and the GNP is inserted into the lipid bilayer. When the NIR are irradiated on the cubic phase, the solubility of CA is increased because the GNP generates heat due to the surface plasmon resonance. As a result, the self-assembly which blocks the inside of the water channel of cubic phase is disassembled and the contents are released.

목적: 피부 노화로 인해 민감한 피부의 얼굴 생리학적 매개 변수와 지질의 차이를 확인하고자 한다. 방법: 민감성 피부를 가진 여 성 지원자를 모집하여 S1 그룹(22-28세)과 S2 그룹(29-35세)으로 구분하였다. 피부 표면 지질 샘플과 생리학적 매개변수는 비침 습적 방법으로 수집하였고, 초고성능 액체 크로마토그래피 4중극자 비행 시간 질량 분석법(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS)과 부분 최소 제곱 판별 분석(PLS)을 사용하여 차등 지질을 식별하였다. 결과: S1군과 S2군 사이에 피부탄력, b* 값, ITA에서 유의한 차이가 관찰되었 다(p<0.05). 지질 질량분석에서 두 그룹은 양호한 수준의 분리를 나타냈다. PA(20:0/22:2(13Z,16Z)) 및 Cer(d18:0/24:0)를 포함하 여 두 그룹 간에 유의미한 차이가 있는 5개의 VIP 지질을 확인하였다. 지질은 피부 탄력도와 ITA 수치와 유의한 상관관계를 보였다 (p<0.05). ROC 분석에 따르면 PG(20:0/22:1(11Z))와 Cer(d18:0/24:0)의 AUC 값이 0.7보다 크다. 이 두 지질의 예측 성능이 다른 지질보다 우수하고 대표성이 있음을 보여주었다. 결론: S1군과 비교하여 S2군 지원자들의 얼굴 장벽 기능은 큰 변화가 없었으며, 이는 특정 기간 동안 민감성 피부가 피부에 미치는 영향이 연령 변화보다 피부 장벽 기능에 더 강한 것으로 나타났다. 염증과 관련 된 탄력성, 윤기 및 차등 지질의 유의한 변화는 S2 그룹의 지원자들이 염증성 노화와 함께 조기 노화 경향을 나냈타다.

Purpose: To explore sensitive skin facial physiological parameters and lipid differences caused by skin aging. Methods: Female volunteers with sensitive skin were enrolled into the S1 group (22-28 years old) and the S2 group (29-35 years old). Skin surface lipid samples and physiological parameters were collected by non-invasive methods. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) techniques and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS) were used to identify differential lipids. Results: Significant differences in skin elasticity, b* value and ITA was observed between S1 and S2 groups (p<0.05). In lipid profiling analysis, the two groups displayed a good degree of separation. There were five VIP lipids with significant differences between the two groups, including PA(20:0/22:2(13Z,16Z)) and Cer(d18:0/24:0). Lipids showed a significantly correlation with skin elasticity and ITA value (p<0.05). According to ROC analysis, the AUC values of PG(20:0/22:1 (11Z)) and Cer(d18:0/24:0) are greater than 0.7. The results showed that the prediction performance of these two lipids was better and more representative than other lipids. Conclusion: Compared with S1 group, the facial barrier function of the volunteers in S2 group did not change significantly, indicating that the effect of sensitive skin on the skin was stronger than the change of age on the skin barrier function in a certain period of time. Significant changes in elasticity, radiance and differential lipids involved in inflammation indicate that the volunteers in S2 group had exhibited a trend of early aging along with inflammatory aging.

目的: 探究敏感性皮肤面部生理参数及脂质因皮肤老化而产生的差异。方法: 招募敏感性皮肤的女性志愿者，将 其分为S1组(22-28 岁)和S2组(29-35 岁)。通过非侵入性方法采集皮肤表面脂质样本和生理参数。采用超高效液 相色谱四极杆飞行时间质谱(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS)技术和偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS)来鉴定差异脂质。结果: S1组和 S2组在皮肤弹性、b*值和ITA值方面存在显著差异(p <0.05)。在脂质谱分析中，两组显示出良好的分离度。两组 间存在五个具有显著差异的VIP脂质，包括PA(20:0/22:2(13Z,16Z))和Cer(d18:0/24:0)。脂质与皮肤弹性和ITA 值显著相关(p <0.05)。根据ROC分析，PG(20:0/22:1(11Z))和Cer(d18:0/24:0)的AUC值大于0.7。结果表明，这 两种脂质的预测性能优于其他脂质，且更具代表性。结论: 与S1组相比，S2组志愿者的面部屏障功能未发生显 著变化，这表明在一定时期内，敏感性皮肤对皮肤的影响比年龄变化对皮肤屏障功能的影响更强。弹性、光泽 度以及与炎症相关的差异脂质的显著变化表明，S2组志愿者出现了早期衰老以及炎症性衰老的趋势。

Red blood cells (RBCs) have been studied as models for infectious diseases, various symptoms of anemia, hemolysis, and erythrocyte aging. Although do not directly affect RBCs, other diseases may cause RBC physiological alterations that could be advanced for diagnostic aim or to convince better understanding of a certain pathological pattern. In this study, comparative RBC proteomics between healthy and abnormal conditions involve to promote aging related‐biomarker discovery. Peroxiredoxin II (Prdx II; a typical 2‐Cys Prdx) has been originally isolated from erythrocytes, and its structure and peroxidase activity have been adequately studied. Mice absent to Prdx II proteins had heinz bodies in their peripheral blood, and morphologically aged cells were detected in the dense RBC fractions, which contained markedly higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, a labeling experiment with the thiol‐modifying reagent biotinylated iodoacetamide (BIAM) in Prdx II‒/‒ mice revealed that a variety of RBC proteins were highly oxidized. To identify oxidation‐sensitive proteins in Prdx II‒/‒ mice, we performed RBC comparative proteome analysis by nano‐UPLC‐MSE shotgun proteomics with relative protein quantitative analysis. We found oxidation‐sensitive 18 membrane and 41 cytosol proteins from 32 and 85 peptides containing cysteine oxidation, and analyzed comparative expression pattern in healthy RBCs of Prdx II+/+ mice (W1), healthy RBCs of Prdx II‒/‒ mice (K1), and abnormal RBCs of Prdx II‒/‒ mice (K2). These proteins belonged to cellular functions related with RBC lifespan maintain, such as cytoskeleton, stress‐induced proteins, amino acid/nucleic acid metabolic enzymes, signal transduction, and molecular transporters. Furthermore, protein networks among identified oxidation sensitive proteins were analyzed to associate with aging consequence. Consequently, we expected that RBC proteome may provide clues to understand redox‐imbalanced diseases.