An X-band Bi-Directional Transmit/Receive Module for a Phased Array System in 65-nm CMOS.

We present an X-band bi-directional transmit/receive module (TRM) for a phased array system utilized in radar-based sensor systems. The proposed module, comprising a 6-bit phase shifter, a 6-bit digital step attenuator, and bi-directional gain amplifiers, is fabricated using 65-nm CMOS technology. By constructing passive networks in the phase-shifter and the variable attenuator, the implemented TRM provides amplitude and phase control with 360° phase coverage and 5.625° as the minimum step size while the attenuation range varies from 0 to 31.5 dB with a step size of 0.5 dB. The fabricated T/R module in all of the phase shift states had RMS phase errors of less than 4° and an RMS amplitude error of less than 0.93 dB at 9⁻11 GHz. The output 1dB gain compression point (OP1dB) of the chip was 5.13 dBm at 10 GHz. The circuit occupies 3.92 × 2.44 mm² of the chip area and consumes 170 mW of DC power.

Identification, validation and high-throughput genotyping of transcribed gene SNPs in cassava.

The availability of genomic resources can facilitate progress in plant breeding through the application of advanced molecular technologies for crop improvement. This is particularly important in the case of less researched crops such as cassava, a staple and food security crop for more than 800 million people. Here, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from five drought stressed and well-watered cassava varieties. Two cDNA libraries were developed: one from root tissue (CASR), the other from leaf, stem and stem meristem tissue (CASL). Sequencing generated 706 contigs and 3,430 singletons. These sequences were combined with those from two other EST sequencing initiatives and filtered based on the sequence quality. Quality sequences were aligned using CAP3 and embedded in a Windows browser called HarvEST:Cassava which is made available. HarvEST:Cassava consists of a Unigene set of 22,903 quality sequences. A total of 2,954 putative SNPs were identified. Of these 1,536 SNPs from 1,170 contigs and 53 cassava genotypes were selected for SNP validation using Illumina's GoldenGate assay. As a result 1,190 SNPs were validated technically and biologically. The location of validated SNPs on scaffolds of the cassava genome sequence (v.4.1) is provided. A diversity assessment of 53 cassava varieties reveals some sub-structure based on the geographical origin, greater diversity in the Americas as opposed to Africa, and similar levels of diversity in West Africa and southern, eastern and central Africa. The resources presented allow for improved genetic dissection of economically important traits and the application of modern genomics-based approaches to cassava breeding and conservation.

REDUCE-PCP study: radiographs in the emergency department utilization criteria evaluation-pediatric chest pain.

BACKGROUND: Many emergency physicians order chest x-rays (CXRs) for pediatric patients who present with a chief complaint of chest pain despite a paucity of research to support this testing, which exposes patients to radiation, cost, and delays. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to begin development of a decision making tool that will allow emergency physicians to selectively obtain CXR films in pediatric patients presenting with chest pain. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 400 consecutive pediatric patients with a chief complaint of chest pain and reviewed charts to determine how many received a CXR and which clinical characteristics were present in all patients. Chest radiograph findings were graded for significance as follows: (1) no or minor clinical significance: normal result in the CXR film without effect on the immediate evaluation of a patient; (2) moderate clinical significance: only impact on plan for follow-up; and (3) major clinical significance: result in the CXR film directly affects immediate management. We then evaluated each chart for historical or examination findings that might identify criteria associated with positive radiographic findings to propose a set of criteria that could lead to the development of a decision rule that allows a reduced utilization while having a high sensitivity for clinically significant positive findings on CXR film. RESULTS: Of the 400 pediatric patients reviewed, 63.5% (n = 254) received a CXR in the emergency department (ED). Of those receiving a CXR, only 8.26% (n = 21) had a finding that affected either ED management or follow-up planning. The criteria that would have identified all patients with positive results in the CXR films were abnormal vital signs, shortness of breath, palpitations, presence of comorbidities, abnormal or unilateral breath sounds, history of trauma, murmur, or cough. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates the potential for a decision rule to eliminate both cost and radiation exposure by using defined criteria to determine the need for a CXR in pediatric ED patients. We identified 8 simple criteria that would have identified all children who benefited from a CXR in this study. The next phase of this study will prospectively evaluate the utility of each of the criteria as part of a draft decision rule.

Cannabinoid Use in Musculoskeletal Illness: a Review of the Current Evidence.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The use of cannabinoids has increased since legalization of recreational and medical use in the USA. It is likely that many orthopaedic patients consume cannabinoid products during the traumatic or perioperative period. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-clinical data evaluating the mechanism of action of cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and to evaluate the current clinical data on the use of cannabinoids in musculoskeletal illness. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that cannabinoid use and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has an important role in bone healing and bone homeostasis. There is data that suggests that the use of cannabidiol (CBD) may increase bone healing, whereas the use of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the major psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, likely inhibits bone metabolism and repair. The clinical implications and consumption of marijuana by orthopaedic patients have not been thoroughly evaluated. Studies have demonstrated concern for negative cardiovascular and psychiatric effects caused by marijuana use, but have not yet elucidated outcomes in the orthopaedic literature. With the recent increase in advertising of CBD products and legalization of marijuana, it is likely that many orthopaedic patients are consuming cannabinoid products. The clinical implications and consumption of these products are unclear. We need more robust and well-designed clinical studies prior to making further recommendations to our patients on the consumption of these products.

Identifying the Causes of Nutrition Inadequacy in Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women and Korean Spouses through Qualitative Research

This study examined the possible causes of nutritional inadequacy in Vietnamese immigrant women married to Korean husbands. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 34 Vietnamese marriage immigrant women and 17 Korean spouses participating in or having experienced Nutrition Plus from four Community Health Centers in Seoul, Korea. The study results showed that the nutritional staus of the Vietnamese marriage immigrant women was affected by the unfamiliar Korean food (cultural factor), low household income (economical factor), difficulty in purchasing Vietnamese food (environmental factor), and low accessibility to nutrition support systems (social factor). The Korean husbands' nutritional status was affected by the unfamiliar Vietnamese food (cultural factor), low household income (economic factor), and irregular working conditions (social factors). Nutritional interventions as a public service to the community needs to be developed and applied. Suggestions are presented regarding the future efforts to better understand and meet the nutrition needs of intermarried couples to respond to their heterogeneous needs and deliver adequate nutrition service to ever increasing intermarried families.

Development of Nutrition Education Program for Vietnamese Female Marriage Immigrants in Korea Based on the Health Belief Model

This study was conducted to develop a nutritional education program based on the health belief model to improve nutritional status among Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. The education program was developed through literature review, focus group interviews, expert consultation, and pilot tests. Based on theoretical requirements and needs of beneficiaries, the education program was consisted of 16 sessions with nine topics: ‘how to evaluate own dietary habits and nutritional status’, ‘health problems according to dietary habits and nutritional status’, ‘understanding six food groups’, ‘healthy eating plan’, ‘understanding food cultures of Korea and Vietnam’, ‘traditional and seasonal Korean foods’, ‘how to cook Korean food’, ‘nutrition management of family members’, and ‘practicing of healthy dietary life’. Program contents in each session consisted of activities that could induce outcome and value expectations, self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and barriers and cues to actions regarding dietary behavior. This nutritional education program based on the health belief model would be helpful to implement healthy diet behaviors in Vietnamese marriage immigrants and their families. Extension of these nutritional education programs to health centers and multicultural family support centers would improve the current poor nutrition status of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women. Further studies are needed to validate our program.

Qualitative Study on Improvement of Operating System and Tailored Nutrition Education Program for Marriage Immigrants to Korea: Program Providers' Perspective / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to analyze the current status of nutrition education programs for multicultural families and to provide policy suggestions for improvement. METHODS: In-depth interviews of a total of 21 multicultural experts were conducted; 15 people were interviewed individually, while 6 people were interviewed in groups of three. RESULTS: In-depth interviews revealed various problems related to the operation of nutrition education programs. The causes of problems were analyzed and categorized as four factors: systemic, practical, environmental and cultural. As for the systematic factors, insufficient linkage between related organizations and duplicate performance of several projects were identified as concerns Establishment of a control tower and strengthening the linkage among the related organizations may be needed to address this concern. With regard to practical factors, the study identified that language barriers, and lack of nutritional education media and tools translated into multicultural languages were limiting factors. These limitations the development of nutrition education materials that aretranslated into multiple languages, implementation of education programs that are different from the Korean education, and by providing interpreters. As for the environmental factors, low educational level and poor nutritional knowledge of multicultural women made it difficult for them to understand the contents of the education. Demonstration, practical training and urgent education on pregnancy and childbirth nutrition were identified as needs to address these concerns. Withregard to cultural factors, food culture conflict with Korean families, and difficulties in home practices were detected as concerns. Participants in the study suggested that getting education with family and facilitation of weekend and nighttime programs health of this community. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to adopt more effective and efficient nutrition intervention to promote the healthy eating of the married immigrant women based on the study results.

Enhanced adaptive loop filter for motion compensated frame.

We propose an adaptive loop filter to remove the redundancy between current and motion compensated frames so that the residual signal is minimized, thus coding efficiency increases. The loop filter coefficients and offset are optimized for each frame or a set of blocks to minimize the total energy of the residual signal resulting from motion estimation and compensation. The optimized loop filter with offset is applied for the set of blocks where the filtering process gives coding gain based upon rate-distortion cost. The proposed loop filter is used for the motion compensated frame whereas the conventional adaptive interpolation filter (AIF) is applied to the reference frames to interpolate the subpixel values. Another conventional scheme adaptive loop filter (ALF), is used after deblocking filtering to enhance quality of reconstructed frames, not to minimize energy of residual signal. The proposed loop filter can be used in combination with the AIF and ALF. Experimental results show that proposed algorithm provides the averaged bit reduction of 8% compared to conventional H.264/AVC scheme. When the proposed scheme is combined with AIF and ALF, the coding gain increases even further.

Development and Evaluation of a Transitional Care Program for Patients Discharged from Military Hospitals

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a transitional care program for patients discharged from military hospitals. The study consists of two phases: developing the program and evaluating its effectiveness. METHODS: The conceptual framework used to guide the development of the program was Meleis's transition theory. A quasi-experimental design was employed for this study. Participants were recruited from patients discharged from one military hospital, 72 in the control group and 56 in the experiment group. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0 program with chi-square, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, and mixed model. RESULTS: Participants in the transitional care program reported promoting a positive personal condition, and more healthy patterns of response in the first week after being discharged and a smoother discharge transition. CONCLUSION: The transitional care program developed for discharge patients from military hospital promoted discharge readiness and promoted smooth discharge transition.

Immunological Observation of 46 Cases Poliomyelitis / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The Author reports here the statistical observation of poliomyelitis from the 46 cases during a 3 month period (June, August, 1971) at the department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Korea General Hospital under the support of Shrine Club in Korea. The statistical results were as follows: 1. Among 46 cases, 30 were male, age of infection of poliomyelitis ranged from 2 month to age of five. The majority of cases were under the age of one and 95% of total patients were under the age of three. 2. Among 46 cases, 78.2% was not vaccinated fer poliomyelitis. The sequela of paralysis were more prevalent in this group. 3. tibialis anterior muscle and quadriceps femoris muscle were paralized predominently, 78.2% and 60.8% respectively. 4. Seventy eight and two tenth percent (78.2%) of patient seeked Chinese medicine practitionar with herb and acupunture, following paralysis, only 39.1% reported to the hospital and 4.4% did not see any treatment at all.

Two-Stage Tendon Reconstruction Using Hunter Silicone Rod Prosthesis / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Flexor tendon injuries of the “no man's land”(Zone2) in the hand have long been considered one of the problem areas for hand surgeons because of the frequently unsatisfactory result of treatment. Two-stage tendon reconstruction using the silicone rod prosthesis is one of the recent valuable procedures for management of severely damaged hand. From Aug. 1977 to Jun. 1978, the authors performed this procedure using “Hunter Silicone Rod” on 4 cases of flexor tendon injuries accompanied by deep cicatrix of soft tissue and stiffness of finger joints. The follow-up results were excellent in 3 cases out of the 4, and poor in the remaing case which had marked wound infection and stiffness of finger joints.

An epidemiologic Study of Tennis Elbow in Tennis Player / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The etiologic factors of tennis elbow have been obscure in spite of increased concern and study. The true pathologic changes in tennis elbow are also not well established. The authors anslized 300 tennis players for a history of tennis elbow, finger size, body weight,weight and grip size of racket etc. The results were as follows; 1. 68 among 300 players have suffered from tennis elbow more than one time (22.7%). 2. There were no difference in correlation between body weight and racket weight. 3. Most players have used improper grip, especially in those who have suffered from tennis elbow.

Total Knee Replacement Report of Three Cases / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Stability, mobility, and freedom from pain are the requirements of a normal knee. Arthrodesis of a knee damaged by disease or injury will satisfy two of the three requirenents. The current status of knee replacement surgery suggests that high density polyethylene and chrome cobalt alloy or stainless steel are acceptable materials for use in the intra-articular environment of knee. These prosthetic components of artificial knees can be firmly cemented into bone and provide acceptable slinical results if used within their design limits. We have had 3 total knee replacements in the chronic rheumatoid patients. The results of 2 Geometric knee replacements and 1 Guepar knee replacement were assessed from 5 months to 2 years after operation. Total knee replacement improved mobility and reduced pain in these patients.

The Cloward Operation of the Cervical and Lumbar Spine / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Anterior cervical interbody fusion and posterior lumbar interbody fusion of the Clowards technique is based on those; 1. removal of the painful disc. 2. stabilization of the unstable joint by interbody fusion. This technique has many advantages compared with the others including followings; 1. very simple technique. 2. low morbidity. 3. rapid recovery. 4. no need of the external support device postoperatively. We operated 5 cervical spines and 2 lumbar ones. This is the report of their follow up study in 2 to 2 years.

Arthrographic Finding of Meniscus Tear / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Double-contrast arthrography of the knee, that is roentgenographic examination of the supporting structures of the knee joint with the aid of the radiopaque dyes, has been utilized infrequently until recent years in our country. A growing appreciation of the advantages of arthrography, increased experience with the technique, and an increasing ability to interprete the arthrogram have led to more frequent use of this diagnostic aid. Double-contrast arthrography of the knee is of particular value in the examination of the patient with an atypical history of in jury and unusual physical findings, or in the individual with an acute injury who cannot tolerate a manipulative physical examination. Its use has led to greater diagnostic acumen prior to operative intervention and in many cases has aided the orthopedic surgeon in determing whether or not surgery indicated and in surgical exploration. And its accuracy of the diagnosis of the meniscus tear has been very high, greater than 90% in many series. The followings are summary of result; 1) Double-contrast arthrography of the knee is a valuable diagnostic procedure. 2) Prolonged observation and procrastination in the treatment of patients with symptomatic knees could be avoided. 3) There were no complications of arthrography and all patients returned to work immediately after the procedure. 4) In this series, 2 cases out of the 6 cases of the torn lateral meniscus were not demonstrated correctly by arthrography. From this result, it is suggested that the interpretation of arthrographic findings is somewhat difficult at present time. In future, further experience and study for arthrography is demanded for more accurate interpretation of the conditions of the structures of the knee joint and also is desired to compare with the arthroscopic findings.

Kaposi's Sarcoma with Skeletal Lesion: A case report / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The morphologic unit of the disease process currently referred to as Kaposi's sarcoma consists of a complex growth of vascular channels and mesenchymal cells of various types and in different phases of differentiation. Kaposi's sarcoma, with its characteristic skin lesion, is an entity familiar to the pathologist and dermatologist. This case report represents an unusal bone cortex involvement of Kaposi's sarcoma with skin lesion in a lower extremity, which has survived for 26 years without no specific abnormality in laboratory study and no specific clinical change.

A Case of Traumatic Meningocele by Brachial Plexus Avulsion / 대한정형외과학회잡지

We are presenting the case of a patient who had had an injury to the right brachial plexus and was diagnosed by cervical myelography. A saccular collection of contrast medium was found at the level of C-6 to C-7 cervical vertebrae. Brachial plexus may be injured at two different levels, intraforaminal and extraforaminal, in traction lesions and their prognosis are somewhat different. It is important to determine as early as possible whether the lesion is intraforaminal or extraforaminal to be able to initiate definita treatment of the flail arm. Considering that it is relatively rare and no case has been reported in this journal, we present our case with diagnostic and therapeutic result.

Conservative Treatment of the Severely Comminuted Fracture of the leng Bone / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Open frsctures with extensive soft tissue injuries resulting from motor vehicles and sccidents present serious problems in the management. Authors present the cases who had open, severely com-minuted fractures of femurs with inoperable conditions and we present their follow up analysis.

A Climical Study of Unequal Leg Length following Femoral Shaft Fracture in Children / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The managements of fractures of shaft of the femur in children differ in manyways from those in adults. The union occurs rapidly and the remodelling of bone assists in realignment as the child grows. However, the greatest difference observed in the two groups is that in children the growing bone tends to respond to fracture and other influences with growth acceleration. Among the many kinds of methods in the treatment of femoral shaft fractures in children, we have used the method of skeletal traction with Charnleys balanced traction unit due to 1) Fixed traction that introduces the length remaining constant, 2) Weight traction, the tension remaining constant, 3) Eaay control of alignment, that is controlled by the splint not by the traction force, especially in correcting the deformity of retroflexion angulation. Twenty-two cases of fracture of the femoral shaft in children treated with skeletal traction in that method at Korea General Hospital during 4 years, were analyzed. The purpose of this study was, through a series of follow up examination, to elucidate to what extent fracture of the femoral shaft in children gives us increased longitudinal growth of the fractured bone as compared with the healthy limb. The result revealed that in about 72.7% of children with fracture of the frmoral shaft, the leg length discrepancy was within the range of 0+1 cm. The period of accelerated growth was between 6 months and g months after the fracture. Corrected angle at fracture site was noted 3.2 from 10.7 that had been measured as good callus formation.

The Lumbar Discogram Incidental to the Operation: Analysis of 35 Cases / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Since the time when the lumbar discogram was used as the clinical diagnostic method for the first time in 1952, many problems have been pointed out to this method, and moreover, in presentday tendencies for the diagnostic method, the lumbar discogram is carried on even useless by majority. One of the important reasons is that so many studies for the lumbar discograms have reported so many false positive lumbar discograms at the high ratio. Hower we found a certain usefulness of the lumbar discogram incidental to the operation. The purposes of our operative lumbar discogram are those; 1) to observe the radiological configuration of the lumbar discogram. 2) to measure the amount of the the dye injected into normal and abnormal lumbar discs, especially in our Koreans. 3) for confirmation of the diagnosis when the myelographic finding is suspicious. 4) for confirmation of the Ievel especially when the number of the possible lesion is more than one. We investigated and analyzed the 35 lumbar discograms of 26 patients and compiled the statistics.