• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.973-979
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• 2024

In the framework of the Generation IV research and development project, in which the French Commission of Alternative and Atomic Energies (CEA) is involved, a main objective for the design of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is to meet the safety goals for severe accidents. Among the severe ones, the Unprotected Transient OverPower (UTOP) accidents can lead very quickly to a global melting of the core. UTOP accidents can be considered either as slow during a Control Rod Withdrawal (CRW) or as fast. The paper focuses on fast UTOP accidents, which occur in a few milliseconds, and three different scenarios are considered: rupture of the core support plate, uncontrolled passage of a gas bubble inside the core and core mechanical distortion such as a core flowering/compaction during an earthquake. Several levels and rates of reactivity insertions are also considered and the thermal-mechanical behavior of an ASTRID fuel pin from the ASTRID CFV core is simulated with the GERMINAL code. Two types of fuel pins are simulated, inner and outer core pins, and three different burn-up are considered. Moreover, the feedback from the CABRI programs on these type of transients is used in order to evaluate the failure mechanism in terms of kinetics of energy injection and fuel melting. The CABRI experiments complete the analysis made with GERMINAL calculations and have shown that three dominant mechanisms can be considered as responsible for pin failure or onset of pin degradation during ULOF/UTOP accident: molten cavity pressure loading, fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (FCMI) and fuel break-up. The study is one of the first step in fast UTOP accidents modelling with GERMINAL and it has shown that the code can already succeed in modelling these type of scenarios up to the sodium boiling point. The modeling of the radial propagation of the melting front, validated by comparison with CABRI tests, is already very efficient.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.8-17
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• 2024

Objective: This study aims to explore the relationship between isokinetic strength training and the enhancement of physical function in older adults. It also evaluates the effectiveness of isokinetic strength training equipment. Method: This study randomly divided twenty healthy adults into two groups.The experimental group engaged in isokinetic strength training for 30 minutes, three times a week, over a four-week period. In contrast, the control group did not participate in any exercise regimen. We assessed several outcome measures including physical functions (sit-to-stand test, flexibility, Timed Up and Go test), grip strength, balance, thigh circumference, the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Korean version of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Additionally, the experimental group's self-perceived improvement in lower limb condition was evaluated using the Global Rating of Change (GROC) scale. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements compared to the control group in various aspects: reduced sit-to-stand test duration (7.00±2.05 seconds), increased flexibility (4.69±3.90 cm), improved grip strength (1.54±1.74 kg), increased thigh circumference (left: 1.29±1.19 cm, right: 1.19±1.27 cm), enhanced Timed Up and Go test performance (-1.47±0.86 seconds), better balance (eyes open stance: -8.08±4.03 cm, eyes closed stance: -0.27±0.13 cm/s), and a decrease in depression severity (-0.15±1.51 points). Furthermore, significant increases were observed in the experimental group's maximal isokinetic strength at 90°/s for both flexion (19.62±7.03 Nm) and extension (19.60±14.65 Nm) over the study period. Conclusion: The findings suggest that isokinetic strength training equipment can significantly enhance physical functions in seniors when incorporated into an exercise regimen.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of a 12-week combined cognitive and physical exercise program on cognitive and physical functions in older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Design: A one-group pretest-posttest study. Methods: Twelve participants with MCI engaged in a weekly 60-minute session of combined cognitive and physical exercise program. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), while physical function was evaluated through measures of muscle strength, postural balance, and walking capabilities. Muscle strength assessments included the arm curl test, handgrip strength, and the 5 sit-to-stand test. Postural balance was evaluated using the one-leg stance test, timed up-and-go test, functional reach test, and four square step test. Walking function was analyzed through a gait analysis device. Pre- and post-intervention measurements were compared to determine the effects of the exercise program. Results: The results demonstrated significant improvements in MoCA, arm curl test, timed up-and-go test, walking speed, and cadence following the 12-week intervention (p<0.05). MoCA scores revealed enhanced cognitive performance, while measures of muscle strength, including the arm curl test, exhibited significant changes. Improvements in timed up-and-go test scores indicated enhanced mobility, accompanied by increased walking speed and cadence, as evidenced by gait analysis. Conclusions: This study suggests that a structured 12-week program incorporating both cognitive and physical exercises can lead to meaningful improvements in cognitive and physical functions among older adults with MCI.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2023

Background and Purpose: Analyzing brain amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) images to access the occurrence of β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in Alzheimer's patients requires much time and effort from physicians, while the variation of each interpreter may differ. For these reasons, a machine learning model was developed using a convolutional neural network (CNN) as an objective decision to classify the Aβ positive and Aβ negative status from brain amyloid PET images. Methods: A total of 7,344 PET images of 144 subjects were used in this study. The 18F-florbetaben PET was administered to all participants, and the criteria for differentiating Aβ positive and Aβ negative state was based on brain amyloid plaque load score (BAPL) that depended on the visual assessment of PET images by the physicians. We applied the CNN algorithm trained in batches of 51 PET images per subject directory from 2 classes: Aβ positive and Aβ negative states, based on the BAPL scores. Results: The binary classification of the model average performance matrices was evaluated after 40 epochs of three trials based on test datasets. The model accuracy for classifying Aβ positivity and Aβ negativity was (95.00±0.02) in the test dataset. The sensitivity and specificity were (96.00±0.02) and (94.00±0.02), respectively, with an area under the curve of (87.00±0.03). Conclusions: Based on this study, the designed CNN model has the potential to be used clinically to screen amyloid PET images.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1266-1274
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• 2019

Objective: To determine whether radiologic extranodal extension (ENE) appearing on pretreatment CT and MRI could predict the prognosis in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Materials and Methods: The study population was obtained from a historical cohort diagnosed with HPV-related OPSCC. A total of 134 OPSCC patients who had a metastatic lymph node on pretreatment CT or MRI were included, and radiologic ENE was evaluated by two experienced head and neck radiologists. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of radiologic ENE on progression-free survival (PFS). The diagnostic performance of CT and MRI for the diagnosis of ENE was also evaluated in patients who underwent neck dissection. Results: Seventy patients (52.2%) showed radiologic ENE-positive findings. Although patients showing radiologic ENE had a worse 3-year PFS (83.7% vs. 95.3%, p = 0.023), the association between radiologic ENE and PFS was not statistically significant on multivariate analysis (p = 0.141; hazard ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-9.97). CT or MRI had a sensitivity of 62%, specificity of 77.8%, and accuracy of 71.9% for predicting pathologic ENE. Conclusion: Radiologic ENE on CT or MRI did not predict poor PFS in patients with HPV-related OPSCC, although there was a trend towards worse PFS. Further studies are warranted to determine whether radiologic ENE is a useful imaging biomarker to risk-stratify patients with HPV-related OPSCC.

• Hip & pelvis
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.233-237
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• 2023

Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the results from a cohort of patients who underwent a revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) using a dual mobility cup (DMC) implant. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of revised THAs was conducted using the database from a single tertiary referral hospital. A total of 91 revision THAs from 91 patients were included in the study. There were 46 male hips and 45 female hips. The mean age was 56.3±14.6 years, and the mean follow-up period was 6.4±5.9 years. In performance of revision THAs, the DMC implants were used in 18 hips (19.8%), and the conventional implants were used in 73 hips (80.2%). Results: During the follow-up period, three dislocations were identified, and the overall dislocation rate was 3.3%. Early dislocation (at one month postoperatively) occurred in one patient, while late dislocation (at a mean of 7.5 years) occurred in two patients. There was no occurrence of dislocation in the DMC group (0%), and three dislocations were detected in the conventional group (4.1%). However, no significant difference in the rate of dislocation was observed between the two groups (P=0.891). Conclusion: Although the rate of dislocation was higher in the conventional group, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups due to the small number of patients. Nevertheless, we believe that the dual mobility design is advantageous in terms of reducing dislocation rate and can be recommended as an option for a revision THA.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.315-322
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• 2024

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-slaughter fasting time on carcass yield, meat quality, blood parameters and glucose metabolism in broilers. Methods: Four hundred and fifty Arbor Acres (AA) broilers at 42 days of age were divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates in each group and 15 chickens as one replicate. Following this period, broilers from each group were distributed among five groups according to preslaughter fasting period as 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 h. Results: With increasing fasting time, the carcass yield (p<0.01), the breast muscles yield (p<0.01) and the thigh yield (p<0.01) of the broilers were all linearly increased. With increasing fasting time, the L^* values (p<0.01), cooking loss (p = 0.020), moisture content (p<0.01) in the leg muscles linearly downregulated, while the drip loss (p = 0.043), pH_{45 min} (p<0.01) and pH_{24 h} (p<0.01) were linearly upregulated. A trend for a lower (p = 0.071) shear force in the leg muscles was also observed in broilers fasted for longer time. Similar results were also found in breast muscles. The different fasting treatments did not influence the breast muscles glycogen content (p>0.10), while the increase of fasting time resulted in a linear decrease of the blood glucose (p = 0.021) and, more specifically, the glycogen content of the liver and leg muscles (p<0.001). With increasing fasting time, the aspartate transaminase (p<0.01), uric acid (p<0.01), and triglycerides (p<0.01) in serum linearly downregulated, while the alanine aminotransferase was linearly upregulated. Conclusion: The results of this study show a significant influence of fasting time on carcass yield and meat quality in broilers. Moderate fasting (8 to 12 h) before slaughter can reduce the weight loss of broilers. Prolonged fasting (≥16 h) increased body weight loss, decreased slaughtering performance and fluctuating blood indexes of broilers.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2024

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the minimum number of teeth in the anterior dental arch that would yield accurate results for individual identification in forensic contexts. Materials and Methods: The study involved the analysis of 28 sets of 3-dimensional (3D) point cloud data, focused on the labial surface of the anterior teeth. These datasets were superimposed within each group in both genuine and imposter pairs. Group A incorporated data from the right to the left central incisor, group B from the right to the left lateral incisor, and group C from the right to the left canine. A comprehensive analysis was conducted, including the evaluation of root mean square error (RMSE) values and the distances resulting from the superimposition of dental arch segments. All analyses were conducted using CloudCompare version 2.12.4 (Telecom ParisTech and R&D, Kyiv, Ukraine). Results: The distances between genuine pairs in groups A, B, and C displayed an average range of 0.153 to 0.184mm. In contrast, distances for imposter pairs ranged from 0.338 to 0.522 mm. RMSE values for genuine pairs showed an average range of 0.166 to 0.177, whereas those for imposter pairs ranged from 0.424 to 0.638. A statistically significant difference was observed between the distances of genuine and imposter pairs(P<0.05). Conclusion: The exceptional performance observed for the labial surfaces of anterior teeth underscores their potential as a dependable criterion for accurate 3D dental identification. This was achieved by assessing a minimum of 4 teeth.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 2024

Objective : The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in academic and mental health status (generalized anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts) between adolescents exhibiting normal and excessive smartphone use patterns. Methods : The smartphone use times and academic and mental health status of 51,850 adolescents were analyzed using raw data from the 2022 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. Descriptive statistics of complex sample analysis, frequency analysis and linear regression analysis were performed. Results : The mean smartphone use time of middle and high school students was 6 hours 43 minutes on weekends and 4 hours 39 minutes on weekdays. There were significant differences in smartphone use time according to gender and grade. As a result of comparing differences in academic status between adolescents with excessive smartphone use times and those with normal use times. In terms of mental health status, adolescents with excessive use times had higher generalized anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, and suicidal thought scores than adolescents with normal use times. Conclusion : This study can be used as a basic reference for research on smartphone overuse.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.958-968
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• 2024

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the important role that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play in the immunological process of hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). An increasing number of studies have shown that certain lncRNAs hold great potential as viable options for diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice. The primary objective of our investigation was to devise an immune lncRNA profile to explore the significance of immune-associated lncRNAs in the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of LIHC. Gene expression profiles of LIHC samples obtained from TCGA database were screened for immune-related genes. The optimal immune-related lncRNA signature was built via correlational analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox analysis. Then, the Kaplan-Meier plot, ROC curve, clinical analysis, gene set enrichment analysis, and principal component analysis were performed to evaluate the capability of the immune lncRNA signature as a prognostic indicator. Six long non-coding RNAs were identified via correlation analysis and Cox regression analysis considering their interactions with immune genes. Subsequently, tumor samples were categorized into two distinct risk groups based on different clinical outcomes. Stratification analysis indicated that the prognostic ability of this signature acted as an independent factor. The Kaplan-Meier method was employed to conduct survival analysis, results showed a significant difference between the two risk groups. The predictive performance of this signature was validated by principal component analysis (PCA). Additionally, data obtained from gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed several potential biological processes in which these biomarkers may be involved. To summarize, this study demonstrated that this six-lncRNA signature could be identified as a potential factor that can independently predict the prognosis of LIHC patients.