Probing Inherent Optical Anisotropy in Substrates via Direct Nanoimaging of Mie Scattering.

In this study, we investigated the optical properties of a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) substrate via Mie-scattering-induced surface analysis (MISA). Employing near-field optical microscopy and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, we systemically prove and directly visualize the Mie scattering of superspherical gold nanoparticles (s-AuNPs) at the nanoscale. Molybdenum disulfide substrates exhibited optical isotropy, while rhenium disulfide (ReS2) substrates showed anisotropic behavior attributed to the interaction with incident light's electric field. Our study revealed substantial anisotropic trends in Mie scattering, particularly in the near-infrared energy range, with ReS2 exhibiting more pronounced spectral and angular responses in satellite peaks. Our results emphasize the application of Mie scattering, exploring the optical properties of substrates and contributing to a deeper understanding of nanoscale light-matter interactions.

Impact of 6-month triptorelin formulation on predicted adult height and basal gonadotropin levels in patients with central precocious puberty.

Background: Triptorelin, a long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, is available in 1-, 3-, and 6-month formulations to treat central precocious puberty (CPP). The triptorelin pamoate 22.5-mg 6-month formulation recently approved for CPP offers greater convenience to children by reducing the injection frequency. However, worldwide research on using the 6-month formulation to treat CPP is scarce. This study aimed to determine the impact of the 6-month formulation on predicted adult height (PAH), changes in gonadotropin levels, and related variables. Methods: We included 42 patients (33 girls and nine boys) with idiopathic CPP treated with a 6-month triptorelin (6-mo TP) formulation for over 12 months. Auxological parameters, including chronological age, bone age, height (cm and standard deviation score [SDS]), weight (kg and SDS), target height (TH), and Tanner stage, were evaluated at baseline, and after 6, 12, and 18 months of treatment. Hormonal parameters, including serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol for girls or testosterone for boys, were analyzed concurrently. Results: The mean age at treatment initiation was 8.6 ± 0.83 (8.3 ± 0.62 for girls, 9.6 ± 0.68 for boys). The peak LH level following intravenous GnRH stimulation at diagnosis was 15.47 ± 9.94 IU/L. No progression of the modified Tanner stage was observed during treatment. Compared to baseline, LH, FSH, estradiol, and testosterone were significantly reduced. In particular, the basal LH levels were well suppressed to less than l.0 IU/L, and the LH/FSH ratio was less than 0.66. The bone age/chronological age ratio remained stable with a decreasing trend (1.15 at the start of treatment, 1.13 at 12 months, 1.11 at 18 months). PAH SDS increased during treatment (0.77 ± 0.79 at baseline, 0.87 ± 0.84 at the start of treatment, 1.01 ± 0.93 at six months, and 0.91 ± 0.79 at 12 months). No adverse effects were observed during treatment. Conclusion: The 6-mo TP suppressed the pituitary-gonadal axis stably and improved the PAH during treatment. Considering its convenience and effectiveness, a significant shift to long-acting formulations can be expected.

Benchmark dataset for the Voronoi diagram of 3D spherical balls.

In this paper, we present a dataset to be used for the construction of the Voronoi diagram of 3D spherical balls (VD-B3). The dataset consists of sphere arrangements including general, anomaly, and extreme cases. The dataset also includes protein models downloaded from RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB). The dataset can be used as a standard benchmark dataset to verify and validate the correctness, efficiency, and robustness of the construction algorithm. The dataset is simple and easy to understand. The details of the experiment and analysis based on this dataset are presented in the original research article: "Robust Construction of the Voronoi Diagram of Spherical Balls in the Three-Dimensional Space" which introduces the topology-oriented incremental algorithm for the construction that is thoroughly validated and compared with two implementations of the well known edge-tracing algorithm.

A Dynamic Substrate Pool Revealed by cryo-EM of a Lipid-Preserved Respiratory Supercomplex.

Aims: Mitochondrial respiratory supercomplexes mediate redox electron transfer, generating a proton gradient for ATP synthesis. To provide structural information on the function of supercomplexes in physiologically relevant conditions, we conducted cryoelectron microscopy studies with supercomplexes in a lipid-preserving state. Results: Here, we present cryoelectron microscopy structures of bovine respiratory supercomplex I1III2IV1 by using a lipid-preserving sample preparation. The preparation greatly enhances the intercomplex quinone transfer activity. The structures reveal large intercomplex motions that result in different shapes and sizes of the intercomplex space between complexes I and III, forming a dynamic substrate pool. Biochemical and structural analyses indicated that intercomplex phospholipids mediate the intercomplex motions. An analysis of the different classes of focus-refined complex I showed that structural switches due to quinone reduction led to the formation of a novel channel that could transfer reduced quinones to the intercomplex substrate pool. Innovation and Conclusion: Our results indicate potential mechanism for the facilitated electron transfer involving a dynamic substrate pool and intercomplex movement by which supercomplexes play an active role in the regulation of metabolic flux and reactive oxygen species.

Dynamic Voronoi Diagram for Moving Disks.

Voronoi diagrams are powerful for understanding spatial properties. However, few reports have been made for moving generators despite their important applications. We present a topology-oriented event-increment (TOI-E) algorithm for constructing a Voronoi diagram of moving circular disks in the plane over the time horizon [0, t∞). The proposed TOI-E algorithm computes the event history of the Voronoi diagram over the entire time horizon in O(kF logn + kC n logn) time with O(n logn) preprocessing time and O(n + kF + kC) memory for n disk generators, kF edge flips, and kC disk collisions during the time horizon. Given an event history, the Voronoi diagram of an arbitrary moment can be constructed in O(k∗ + n) time where k∗ represents the number of events in [0, t∗). An example of the collision avoidance problem among moving disks is given by predicting future conjunctions among the disks using the proposed algorithm. Dynamic Voronoi diagrams will be very useful as a platform for the planning and management of the traffics of unmanned vehicles such as cars on street, vessels on surface, drones and airplanes in air, and satellites in geospace.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Related to COVID-19: the First Case in Korea.

Since mid-April 2020, cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with coronavirus disease 2019 that mimics Kawasaki disease (KD) have been reported in Europe and North America. However, no cases have been reported in Korea. We describe an 11-year old boy with fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea who developed hypotension requiring inotropes in intensive care unit. His blood test revealed elevated inflammatory markers, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, and coagulopathy. Afterward, he developed signs of KD such as conjunctival injection, strawberry tongue, cracked lip, and coronary artery dilatation, and parenchymal consolidation without respiratory symptoms. Microbiological tests were all negative including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. However, serum immunoglobulin G against SARS-CoV-2 was positive in repeated tests using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and fluorescent immunoassay. He was recovered well after intravenous immunoglobulin administration and discharged without complication on hospital day 13. We report the first Korean child who met all the criteria of MIS-C with features of incomplete KD or KD shock syndrome.

Trends of Sensitization to Inhalant Allergens in Korean Children Over the Last 10 Years.

PURPOSE: Climate and lifestyle changes increase an individual's susceptibility to various allergens and also the incidence of allergic diseases. We aimed to examine the changes in sensitization rate for aeroallergens over a 10-year period in Korean children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 4493 children who visited the allergy clinic at a tertiary hospital in Korea for allergic rhinitis or asthma from January 2009 to December 2018. The serum specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were measured to confirm the sensitization against Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinae), Alternaria, weed and tree pollen mixtures, as well as cat and dog dander through ImmunoCAP test. RESULTS: D. farinae was the most common sensitizing aeroallergen (45.9%) during the 10-year span. The sensitization rate for tree pollen mixture (p for trend <0.001), weed pollen mixtures (p for trend <0.001), dog dander (p for trend=0.025), and cat dander (p for trend=0.003) showed ascending trends during the 10-year study period. Furthermore, the sensitization rate for multiple allergens (≥2) in 2018 increased significantly compared to that in 2009 (p for trend=0.013). Compared with children without sensitization to D. farinae, those with sensitization to D. farinae showed higher sensitization rates to other aeroallergens (p for interaction <0.001). CONCLUSION: Children's sensitization rate to cat and dog dander and weed and tree pollen mixtures significantly increased during the 10-year period in Korea. Children with sensitization to D. farinae are likely to be sensitized to other aeroallergens as well.

Relationship between Breastfeeding, Birth History, and Acute Pyelonephritis in Infants.

BACKGROUND: Although the clinical importance of the immunological benefits of breastfeeding has been emphasized for decades, their direct relationship with acute pyelonephritis (APN) is still not clear. Our goal was to determine whether breastfeeding truly provides protection against APNs, while investigating the effects of other factors such as sex, age, mode of delivery, and birth weight on APN. METHODS: A total of 62 infants under 6 months of age who had both microbiologically and radiologically-confirmed APN were enrolled in the case group. Healthy infants (n = 178) who visited the hospital for scheduled vaccinations were enrolled in the control group. The following participant characteristics were compared between the case and control groups: age, sex, birth order among siblings, feeding methods, weight percentile by month, birth weight percentile by gestational age, gestational age at birth, and mode of delivery. RESULTS: Babies exclusively fed with manufactured infant formulae before 6 months of age had significantly higher risk for APN than breastfed or mixed-fed infants (odds ratio [OR], 3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.687-7.031; P = 0.001). Firstborn babies had lower risk for APN than 2nd- or 3rd-born babies (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.210-0.919). Other factors that increased the risk for APN were low birth weight percentiles (OR, 8.33; 95% CI, 2.300-30.166) and birth via caesarean section (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.097-4.887). There were more preterm births in the case group (10.9% vs. 1.7%; P = 0.002), but this did not increase the risk for APN (OR, 4.47; P = 0.063). CONCLUSION: Feeding exclusively with formula before 6 months of age was related to higher risk for APN, which demonstrates that breastfeeding has a protective effect against APN. The other risk factors for APN were birth order (≥ 2nd-born), low birth weight, and birth via caesarean section.

Beta-complex versus Alpha-complex: Similarities and Dissimilarities.

The beta-complex is a construct derived from the Voronoi diagram of spherical balls of arbitrary radii and has proven a powerful capability for proximity reasoning among spherical balls in three-dimensional space. Important applications related to molecular shapes in structural/computational molecular biology have been correctly, efficiently, and conveniently solved in the unified framework of the beta-complex and the Voronoi diagram. The beta-complex is a generalization of the ordinary alpha-complex. However, there are similarities and dissimilarities between the two complexes and it is necessary to correctly understand these similarities and dissimilarities to choose the right complex to solve application problems at hand. This paper presents the similarities and dissimilarities between these constructs and illustrates the consequence of the dissimilarity in application problems from both theoretical and practical points of view using examples of atomic arrangements.

Benchmark dataset for the convex hull of 2D disks.

In this paper, we present a benchmark dataset which can be used to evaluate the algorithms to construct the convex hull of 2D disks. The dataset contains disk arrangements including general and extremely biased cases, which are generated by a C++ program. The dataset is related to an article: "QuickhullDisk: A Faster Convex Hull Algorithm for Disks" in which the QuickhullDisk algorithm is presented and compared to the incremental algorithm which was reported by Devillers and Golin in 1995 [1].

Preoperative serum VEGF-C but not VEGF-A level is correlated with lateral neck metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A or VEGF-C levels and lymph node metastasis (LNM) status in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS: The study enrolled 150 patients with pathologically proven PTC who underwent surgery: PTC without LNM, PTC with central neck metastasis, and PTC with lateral neck metastasis. RESULTS: Preoperative serum VEGF-A levels were 300.12 ± 80.80 pg/mL overall and were not correlated with the presence of LNM. Preoperative serum VEGF-C levels were 132.41 ± 48.48 pg/mL overall and were significantly correlated with the presence of LNM. Serum VEGF-C levels were further increased in patients with lateral neck metastasis and positively correlated with the number of metastatic LNs (rho = 0.252, P = 0.002). Serum VEGF-C, but not VEGF-A, was identified as a significant predictor of lateral neck metastasis. CONCLUSION: Serum VEGF-C might be a clinically relevant biomarker of lateral neck metastasis in patients with PTC.

Increased procalcitonin level is a risk factor for prolonged fever in children with Mycoplasma pneumonia.

PURPOSE: Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is characterized by prolonged fever and radiological progression despite macrolide treatment. Few studies have examined serum procalcitonin (PCT) level in children with MPP. We aimed to investigate the association of acute inflammation markers including PCT with clinical parameters in children with MPP. METHODS: A total of 147 children were recruited. The diagnosis of MPP relied on serial measurement of IgM antibody against mycoplasma and/or polymerase chain reaction. We evaluated the relationships between C-reactive protein (CRP), PCT, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and white blood cell (WBC) counts, and clinical severity of the disease. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds ratio for prolonged fever (>3 days after admission) and hospital stay (> 6 days), comparing quintiles 2-5 of the PCT levels with the lowest quintile. RESULTS: The serum PCT and CRP levels were higher in children with fever and hospital stay than in those with fever lasting ≤ 3 days after admission and hospital stay ≤ 6 days. CRP level was higher in segmental/lobar pneumonia than in bronchopneumonia. The LDH level and WBC counts were higher in children with fever lasting for >3 days before compared to those with fever lasting for ≤ 3 days. The highest quintile of PCT levels was associated with a significantly higher risk of prolonged fever and/or hospital stay than the lowest quintile. CONCLUSION: Serum PCT and CRP levels on admission day were associated with persistent fever and longer hospitalization in children with MPP.

Acute Gastritis and Splenic Infarction Caused by Epstein-Barr Virus.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection can be presented with various clinical manifestations and different levels of severity when infected. Infectious mononucleosis, which is most commonly caused by EBV infection in children and adolescents, is a clinical syndrome characterized by fatigue, malaise, fever, sore throat, and generalized lymphadenopathy. But rarely, patients with infectious mononucleosis may present with gastrointestinal symptoms and complicated by gastritis, splenic infarction, and splenic rupture. We encountered a 16-year-old girl who presented with fever, fatigue, and epigastric pain. Splenic infarction and EBV-associated gastritis were diagnosed by using esophagogastroduodenoscopy and abdominal computed tomography. Endoscopy revealed a generalized hyperemic nodular lesion in the stomach, and the biopsy findings were chronic gastritis with erosion and positive in situ hybridization for EBV. As splenic infarction and acute gastritis are rare in infectious mononucleosis and are prone to be overlooked, we must consider these complications when an infectious mononucleosis patient presents with gastrointestinal symptom.

Does drug-induced sleep endoscopy predict surgical success of limited palatal muscle resection in patients with obstructive sleep apnea?

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine the associated factors affecting the success rate of limited palatal muscle resection (LPMR), and to investigate whether drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) could predict the therapeutic response to LPMR in patients with obstructive sleep apnea obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS: Twenty-one consecutive OSA patients underwent LPMR were enrolled. All patients received routine ENT examination, preoperative DISE, and polysomnography (PSG). Clinical, polysomnographic, cephalometric variables, and DISE findings were evaluated. The measurements were related to the success or failure of LPMR based on the results of preoperative and postoperative PSG. RESULTS: The overall success rate of LPMR was 66.6%. Postoperative AHI and minimal oxygen saturation were significantly decreased after LPMR (p<0.001). Comparison between success and failure groups revealed no significant differences in BMI, Friedman stage, preoperative AHI, minimal oxygen saturation, and all cephalometric parameters. However, the success of LPMR was significantly correlated with site, degree, and configuration of obstruction in DISE. In the velopharynx, complete obstruction (p=0.006) with anterolateral or concentric pattern (p=0.044) had significantly better success rate than partial obstruction with lateral pattern. CONCLUSION: DISE was only predictive method for identifying the success in OSA patients undergoing LPMR. Patients with anteroposterior or concentric total obstruction in the velopharynx might be suitable candidate for LPMR.

Nasal Cavity Actinomycosis Mimicking Rhinolith.

Actinomycosis is a subacute-to-chronic bacterial infection caused by filamentous, gram-positive, non-acid-fast, anaerobic-to-microaerophilic bacteria. It is characterized by continuous spread, suppurative and granulomatous inflammation, and formation of multiple abscesses and sinus tracts that may discharge sulfur granules. Although the most common clinical forms of actinomycosis are cervicofacial, involvement of the nose and paranasal sinuses are extremely rare. Furthermore, nasal cavity actinomycosis mimicking rhinolith has not been reported in the literature previously. This article reports a patient of nasal cavity actinomycosis causing symptoms similar to those of a rhinolith, which was successfully treated by surgical debridement and antibiotic therapy.

Mapping of Bernal and non-Bernal stacking domains in bilayer graphene using infrared nanoscopy.

Bilayer graphene (BLG) shows great potential as a new material for opto-electronic devices because its bandgap can be controlled by varying the stacking orders, as well as by applying an external electric field. An imaging technique that can visualize and characterize various stacking domains in BLG may greatly help in fully utilizing such properties of BLG. Here we demonstrate that infrared (IR) scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (sSNOM) can visualize Bernal and non-Bernal stacking domains of BLG, based on the stacking-specific inter- and intra-band optical conductivities. The method enables nanometric mapping of stacking domains in BLG on dielectric substrates, augmenting current limitations of Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques for the structural characterization of BLG.

Copula-Based Approach to Synthetic Population Generation.

Generating synthetic baseline populations is a fundamental step of agent-based modeling and simulation, which is growing fast in a wide range of socio-economic areas including transportation planning research. Traditionally, in many commercial and non-commercial microsimulation systems, the iterative proportional fitting (IPF) procedure has been used for creating the joint distribution of individuals when combining a reference joint distribution with target marginal distributions. Although IPF is simple, computationally efficient, and rigorously founded, it is unclear whether IPF well preserves the dependence structure of the reference joint table sufficiently when fitting it to target margins. In this paper, a novel method is proposed based on the copula concept in order to provide an alternative approach to the problem that IPF resolves. The dependency characteristic measures were computed and the results from the proposed method and IPF were compared. In most test cases, the proposed method outperformed IPF in preserving the dependence structure of the reference joint distribution.

BetaSCPWeb: side-chain prediction for protein structures using Voronoi diagrams and geometry prioritization.

Many applications, such as protein design, homology modeling, flexible docking, etc. require the prediction of a protein's optimal side-chain conformations from just its amino acid sequence and backbone structure. Side-chain prediction (SCP) is an NP-hard energy minimization problem. Here, we present BetaSCPWeb which efficiently computes a conformation close to optimal using a geometry-prioritization method based on the Voronoi diagram of spherical atoms. Its outputs are visual, textual and PDB file format. The web server is free and open to all users at http://voronoi.hanyang.ac.kr/betascpweb with no login requirement.

Nanocrack-regulated self-humidifying membranes.

The regulation of water content in polymeric membranes is important in a number of applications, such as reverse electrodialysis and proton-exchange fuel-cell membranes. External thermal and water management systems add both mass and size to systems, and so intrinsic mechanisms of retaining water and maintaining ionic transport in such membranes are particularly important for applications where small system size is important. For example, in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, where water retention in the membrane is crucial for efficient transport of hydrated ions, by operating the cells at higher temperatures without external humidification, the membrane is self-humidified with water generated by electrochemical reactions. Here we report an alternative solution that does not rely on external regulation of water supply or high temperatures. Water content in hydrocarbon polymer membranes is regulated through nanometre-scale cracks ('nanocracks') in a hydrophobic surface coating. These cracks work as nanoscale valves to retard water desorption and to maintain ion conductivity in the membrane on dehumidification. Hydrocarbon fuel-cell membranes with surface nanocrack coatings operated at intermediate temperatures show improved electrochemical performance, and coated reverse-electrodialysis membranes show enhanced ionic selectivity with low bulk resistance.