Understanding the Influence of Gypsum upon a Hybrid Flame Retardant Coating on Expanded Polystyrene Beads.

A low-cost and effective flame retarding expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam was prepared herein by using a hybrid flame retardant (HFR) system, and the influence of gypsum was studied. The surface morphology and flame retardant properties of the synthesized flame retardant EPS were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cone calorimetry testing (CCT). The SEM micrographs revealed the uniform coating of the gypsum-based HFR on the EPS microspheres.

Electrocardiographic Manifestations in Patients with COVID-19: Daegu in South Korea.

Background And Objectives: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads worldwide, cardiac injury in patients infected with COVID-19 becomes a significant concern. Thus, this study investigates the impact of several electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters and disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Seven medical centers in Daegu admitted 822 patients with COVID-19 between February and April 2020.

Expanded Polystyrene Beads Coated with Intumescent Flame Retardant Material to Achieve Fire Safety Standards.

The compatibility and coating ratio between flame retardant materials and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is a major impediment to achieving satisfactory flame retardant performance. In this study, we prepared a water-based intumescent flame retardant system and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-coated expandable polystyrene microspheres by a simple coating approach. We investigated the compatibility, coating ratio, and fire performance of EPS- and MDI-coated EPS foam using a water-based intumescent flame retardant system.

Compression Molding of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Foam Sheets with Beads Expanded by Supercritical CO Foaming.

Expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (ETPU) beads were prepared by a supercritical CO foaming process and compression molded to manufacture foam sheets. The effect of the cell structure of the foamed beads on the properties of the foam sheets was studied. Higher foaming pressure resulted in a greater number of cells and thus, smaller cell size, while increasing the foaming temperature at a fixed pressure lowered the viscosity to result in fewer cells and a larger cell size, increasing the expansion ratio of the ETPU.

Late complication of the Nuss procedure: recurrent cardiac tamponade.

Pectus excavatum (PE) is known as one of the most common congenital deformities of the anterior chest wall. The Nuss procedure is an effective surgical therapy to correct PE. Here, we report a case of recurrent cardiac tamponade due to hemopericardium that occurred after 16 months following the Nuss procedure.

Self-assembly kinetics of debranched short-chain glucans from waxy maize starch to form spherical microparticles and its applications.

Starch microparticles (SMPs) of well-defined size and morphology were synthesized through pullulanase-mediated debranching of waxy maize starch followed by spontaneous re-assembly of the resulting short-chain glucan molecules in aqueous solution. Enzymatic debranching of amylopectins from native starch generated two major fractions corresponding to a smaller glucan and partially digested larger amylopectin molecules. The ratio of short-chain glucan (SCG) over partially digested amylopectin (PDAp) turned out to be the deterministic factors for the size and crystallinity of SMPs, of which the ratio could be controlled by the concentration of debranching enzyme.

Corrigendum: Hemorheologic Alterations in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Presented with an Acute Myocardial Infarction.

This corrects the article on p. 155 in vol. 42, PMID: 29676545.

Hemorheologic Alterations in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Presented with an Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Hemorheologic indices are known to be related to vascular complications in variable clinical settings. However, little is known about the associations between hemorheologic parameters and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the changes of hemorheologic environment inside of blood using hemorheologic parameters, especially the elongation index (EI) and critical shear stress (CSS) in diabetics with versus without AMI.

Microbial Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles in Different Culture Media.

Microbial biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles has been extensively studied for the applications in biomedical sciences and engineering. However, the mechanism for their synthesis through microorganism is not completely understood. In this study, several culture media were investigated for their roles in the microbial biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs).

Discordant Relationships between Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Burden of Oxidative Stress in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background And Objectives: Oxidative stress (OS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) by amplifying the inflammatory cascade, wherein augmented inflammation facilitates the atrial electrical remodeling process. Few studies have investigated the possible link between systemic inflammation and OS in AF.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 220 consecutive patients with AF (117 patients) or healthy controls (103 patients) were enrolled.

Effectiveness of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Therapy for Heart Failure Patients according to Ischemic or Non-Ischemic Etiology in Korea.

Background And Objectives: This study was performed to describe clinical characteristics of patients with left ventriculars (LV) dysfunction and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), and to evaluate the effect of ICD therapy on survival in Yeongnam province of Korea.

Subjects And Methods: From a community-based device registry (9 centers, Yeongnam province, from November 1999 to September 2012), 146 patients with LV dysfunction and an ICD implanted for primary or secondary prophylaxis, were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups, based on the etiology (73 with ischemic cardiomyopathy and 73 with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy), and indication for the device implantation (36 for primary prevention and 110 for secondary prevention).

Effect of short-chain fatty acids on the formation of amylose microparticles by amylosucrase.

Amylose microparticles can be produced by self-assembly of amylose molecules through an amylosucrase-mediated synthesis. Here we investigated the role of short-chain fatty acids in the formation of amylose microparticles and the fate of these fatty acids at the end of the reaction. The rate of self-assembly and production yields of amylose microparticles were significantly enhanced in the presence of fatty acids.

Stent Graft Using Kilt Technique for an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm with a Severely Angulated Neck.

Endovascular aneurysm repair has become a standard treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). However a severely angulated aneurysmal neck is one of the most common anatomical limitations of endovascular repair, and is associated with poor outcomes. We successfully treated a patient who had an abdominal aortic aneurysm with a severely angulated aortic neck using kilt technique with thoracic stent graft.

Five-year clinical outcomes of drug-eluting stents according to on-label and off-label use.

Background/aims: To compare the clinical outcomes of 'on-label' and 'off-label' drug-eluting stents (DESs) over a 5-year follow-up period.

Methods: A total of 929 patients that underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with DESs were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups according to on-label (n = 449) and off-label (n = 480) indications.

Increased variability of the coupling interval of premature ventricular contractions as a predictor of cardiac mortality in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: The characteristics and prognostic value of the variability of premature ventricular contraction (PVC) coupling intervals (CIs) for cardiac mortality are not yet decisive.

Methods and results: In 133 consecutive patients (58±14 years old, 53 women) who had left ventricular dysfunction (LVD: ejection fraction <50%) and frequent PVCs (≥10/h) who underwent 24-h ambulatory electrocardiography (AECG) recording and (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography simultaneously, the heart rate turbulence onset, slope, and T-wave alternans were analyzed from the 24-h AECG. The CI of the PVCs (MEANNV), standard deviation of the CI of the PVCs (SDNV) as an index of the variability of the PVC CI, and their ratio to the preceding N-N intervals (SDNV/SDNN) were calculated from constructed Poincaré plots using the annotated 24-h AECG QRS data.

Metabolic changes in serum steroids induced by total-body irradiation of female C57B/6 mice.

The short- and long-term effects of a single exposure to gamma radiation on steroid metabolism were investigated in mice. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to generate quantitative profiles of serum steroid levels in mice that had undergone total-body irradiation (TBI) at doses of 0Gy, 1Gy, and 4Gy. Following TBI, serum samples were collected at the pre-dose time point and 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after TBI.

One-pot synthesis of trimetallic Au@PdPt core-shell nanoparticles with high catalytic performance.

The development of an efficient synthesis method to produce multimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with a desirable structure is strongly required to clarify the structure-composition-property relationship of NPs and to investigate their possible applications. However, the controlled synthesis of NPs consisting of multiple (n ≥ 3) noble metal components has been relatively unexplored in comparison to bimetallic NPs. In the present work, we have demonstrated a facile one-pot aqueous approach for the controlled synthesis of trimetallic Au@PdPt core-shell NPs with a well-defined octahedral Au core and a highly crystalline dendritic Pd-Pt alloy shell (Auoct@PdPt NPs).

Simultaneous molecular formula determinations of natural compounds in a plant extract using 15 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Background: Plant extracts are a reservoir of pharmacologically active substances; however, conventional analytical methods can analyze only a small portion of an extract. Here, we report a high-throughput analytical method capable of determining most phytochemicals in a plant extract and of providing their molecular formulae from a single experiment using ultra-high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UHR ESI MS). UHR mass profiling was used to analyze natural compounds in a 70% ethanol ginseng extract, which was directly infused into a 15 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer for less than 10 min without a separation process.

One-pot synthesis of CeO₂-supported Pd-Cu-alloy nanocubes with high catalytic activity.

Cerium and nanocubes: CeO₂-supported Pd-Cu-alloy nanocubes (Pd-Cu NCs/CeO₂) with high content and good dispersion of the Pd-Cu NCs were prepared in high yields by heating a solution containing Pd, Cu, and Ce precursors. The prepared Pd-Cu NCs/CeO₂ have excellent catalytic activity and stability toward formic acid electro-oxidation due to the synergism between the Pd-Cu-alloy catalysts and the CeO₂ support.

Clarification of a peak at m/z 1634 from tryptically digested cytochrome c.

A peptide peak at m/z 1634 in the mass spectrum of tryptically digested cytochrome c has been ambiguously assigned to either a peptide IFVQKCAQCHTVEK or a peptide CAQCHTVEK combined with a heme group (CAQCHTVEK + heme (Fe(III))). A comprehensive investigation was performed to clearly identify the origin of the peak. Tryptic digests of cytochrome c were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS), LC-ultraviolet (LC-UV), and MALDI Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS.

Characterization of the left atrial vortex flow by two-dimensional transesophageal contrast echocardiography using particle image velocimetry.

This article is the first clinical investigation of the quantitative left atrial (LA) vortex flow by two-dimensional (2-D) transesophageal contrast echocardiography (2-D-TECE) using vector particle image velocimetry (PIV). The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of LA vortex flow analysis and to characterize and quantify the LA vortex flow in controls and in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Thirty-five controls and 30 patients with AF underwent transesophageal contrast echocardiography.

One-pot synthesis of monodisperse 5 nm Pd-Ni nanoalloys for electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation.

Highly monodisperse 5 nm Pd-Ni alloy nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by the reduction of Pd(acac)(2)/Ni(acac)(2) mixtures with tert-butylamine-borane complex (TBAB) in the presence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm). Employing TBAB as an effective reductant and OA/OAm combination as an effective stabilizing agent is crucial to the formation of monodisperse Pd-Ni NPs. Experimental results collectively verify that the Pd-Ni alloy NPs form through the sequential nucleation-interdiffusion process and the simultaneous reduction of both metal precursors by the one-pot protocol is the key to the formation of homogeneous NPs.