We investigated potential nosocomial aerosol transmission of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) with droplet precautions. During aerosol generating procedures, SFTSV was be transmitted from person to person through aerosols. Thus, airborne precautions should be added to standard precautions to avoid direct contact and droplet transmission.

While the rules of international trade regimes prevent governments from employing protectionist instruments, governments continue to seek out veiled means of supporting their national industries. This article argues that the news media can serve as one channel for governments to favor domestic industries. Focusing on media coverage of auto recalls in China, I reveal a systematic bias against foreign automakers in those newspapers under strict government control. I further analyze subnational reporting patterns, exploiting variation in the level of regional government interest in the automobile industry. The analysis suggests that the media’s home bias is driven by the government’s protectionist interests but rules out the alternative hypothesis that home bias simply reflects the nationalist sentiment of readers. I show that this home bias in news coverage has meaningful impact on actual consumer behavior, combining automobile sales data and information on recall-related web searches.

In 2004, South Korean lawmakers introduced sweeping legislation to regulate Korean private equity funds. I describe this Korean regulatory initiative as a ‘law-first’ approach to financial regulation: the laws first clearly outline the terms of an ideal private equity structure, and private equity funds and their managers are required to comply with such terms to gain entry into the Korean private equity market. Elsewhere, private equity funds are referred to as shadow banks, with the descriptor ‘shadow’ referring to the funds’ ability to remain outside of the regulatory purview. Attempts to regulate private equity funds and other shadow banks more extensively have been resisted with claims that such regulation will go either too far and regulate shadow banks out of existence, or not nearly far enough as shadow banks expediently exploit loopholes to navigate around new regulation. This article presents the Korean private equity regulatory regime as a counterexample to the existing discourse by showing that private equity funds can survive, and in some cases thrive, under a law-first regulatory approach.

A few epidemiological data are available assessing the associations of intakes of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to examine the associations of dietary intake of Na and K with the prevalence of ultrasound-diagnosed NAFLD. We performed a cross-sectional study of 100 177 participants (46 596 men and 53 581 women) who underwent a health screening examination and completed a FFQ at the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Total Healthcare Centers, South Korea, between 2011 and 2013. NAFLD was defined by ultrasonographic detection of fatty liver in the absence of excessive alcohol intake or other known causes of liver disease. The proportion of NAFLD was 35·6 % for men and 9·8 % for women. Increasing prevalence of NAFLD was observed with increasing Na intake. The multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) of NAFLD comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of energy-adjusted Na intake were 1·25 (95 % CI 1·18, 1·32; P trend<0·001) in men and 1·32 (95 % CI 1·18, 1·47; P trend <0·001) in women. However, when we additionally adjusted for body fat percentage, the association became attenuated; the corresponding PR of NAFLD were 1·15 (95 % CI 1·09, 1·21) in men and 1·06 (95 % CI 0·95, 1·17) in women. No inverse association was observed for energy-adjusted K intake. Our findings suggest that higher Na intake is associated with a greater prevalence of NAFLD in young and middle-aged asymptomatic adults, which might be partly mediated by adiposity.

When and why do individual companies lobby on environmental policies? Given the structural strength of business interests, the answer to this question is important for explaining policy. However, evidence on the strategic lobbying behaviour of individual companies remains scarce. We use data from lobbying disclosure reports on all major climate bills introduced during the 111th Congress (2009–2010). We then link the lobbying disclosure reports to detailed data on the fuel choices of all electric utilities in the United States along with socioeconomic, institutional and political data from the states where the utilities operate. The expected winners (renewable energy, natural gas users) from climate policy are much more likely to lobby individually on federal legislation than the expected losers (coal users). We find that expected winners lobby for specific provisions and rents as a private good, whereas expected losers concentrate their efforts on collective action through trade associations and committees to prevent climate legislation. The results suggest that the supporters of climate policy believed the probability of federal climate legislation to be nontrivial.

Liposomal drug delivery products have been already commercialized in tumor therapeutics, which can realize passive tumor targeting via enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect resulting from the leaky tumor vasculature. To control drug release out of the liposomes, thermo-sensitive liposomes (TSLs) have been developed so that an abrupt exposure of highly concentrated drugs to tumor tissues was enabled by locally treated thermal stimuli. As interests upon TSL have increased along with ongoing clinical trials, some types of TSLs with different physical properties in pharmacokinetics and the mechanism of drug release have been formulated. However, there are few protocols established with a desirable heat source to maximize the efficacy of different TSLs as treating tumors. In this study, we examined different protocols for the most effective application of different TSLs to tumor therapy. First, we examined if enhancing the accumulation of TSLs within tumor tissues prior to bursting drugs out of TSLs could lead to increasing anti-tumor efficacy. Second, we compared the efficiency of two different heat sources on the use of TSL, a warm water bath (42°C) and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Our study suggests that the specified protocol be setup for TSLs with different physical properties to optimally function in tumor therapies.

Several reports have indicated that dietary intake of DHA is associated with lower prevalence of periodontitis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of DHA on the production of proinflammatory mediators in murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Prevotella intermedia, a pathogen implicated in inflammatory periodontal disease, and its mechanisms of action. LPS was isolated from lyophilised P. intermedia ATCC 25 611 cells using the standard hot-phenol–water protocol. Culture supernatants were collected and assayed for NO, IL-1β and IL-6. Real-time PCR analysis was carried out to detect the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), IL-1β, IL-6 and haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) mRNA. Immunoblot analysis was carried out to quantify the expression of iNOS and HO-1 protein and concentrations of signalling proteins. DNA-binding activities of NF-κB subunits were determined using an ELISA-based assay kit. DHA significantly attenuated the production of NO, IL-1β and IL-6 at both gene transcription and translation levels in P. intermedia LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells. DHA induced the expression of HO-1 in cells treated with P. intermedia LPS. Selective inhibition of HO-1 activity by tin protoporphyrin IX significantly mitigated the inhibitory effects of DHA on LPS-induced NO production. DHA significantly attenuated the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase induced by LPS. In addition, DHA suppressed the transcriptional activity of NF-κB by regulating the nuclear translocation and DNA-binding activity of NF-κB p50 subunit and inhibited the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1. Further in vivo studies are needed to better evaluate the potential of DHA in humans as a therapeutic agent to treat periodontal disease.

When and how can advocacy groups influence the diffusion of new technologies, such as wind power? We examine the relationship between two different strategies that advocacy groups can adopt: political lobbying and campaigns aimed at potential end users of the new technology. Our game-theoretic analysis shows that without the opportunity to engage in political lobbying, end user campaigns by an advocacy group have the counterproductive effect of reducing the government's incentive to subsidise the new technology. Instead of supporting the advocacy group's campaigning, the government free rides on the social movement's campaigning efforts. While political lobbying cannot prevent free riding, it increases the government's incentive to subsidise the new technology, and thus increases the advocacy group's payoff. These findings suggest that advocacy groups can promote technology diffusion if they can effectively deploy a dual strategy of political lobbying and end user campaigning.

Is technology competition between commercial rivals an impediment to international co-operation? Or could it instead help states collaborate? Our game-theoretic model suggests that technology competition impedes international co-operation when states hold ‘techno-nationalist’ preferences but have starkly asymmetric abilities to capture new markets. States that expect to lose refuse to co-operate, so treaty formation fails. However, technology competition may also facilitate co-operation. While states invest in new technologies out of self-interest, doing so also reduces consumer prices for other states. Comparative case studies of environmental co-operation demonstrate the model's utility. For example, European co-operation on climate policy was easier to achieve because forerunner countries, such as Denmark and Germany, implemented industrial policies that enhanced the competitiveness of their renewable energy industries. This technology competition reduced the cost of renewable energy for other European countries, and thus lowered the economic costs of their emissions reductions.

We previously demonstrated that the chronic consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) promotes lung and liver metastases of 4T1 mammary carcinoma cells in obesity-resistant BALB/c mice. To examine early transcriptional responses to tumour progression in the liver and lungs of HFD-fed mice, 4-week-old female BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: sham-injected, control diet (CD)-fed; sham-injected, HFD-fed (SH); 4T1 cell-injected, CD-fed (TC); 4T1 cell-injected, HFD-fed (TH). Following 16 weeks of either a CD or HFD, 4T1 cells were injected into the mammary fat pads of mice in the TC and TH groups and all mice were continuously fed identical diets. At 14 d post-injection, RNA was isolated from hepatic and pulmonary tissues for microarray analysis of mRNA expression. Functional annotation and core network analyses were conducted for the TH/SH Unique gene set. Inflammation in hepatic tissues and cell mitosis in pulmonary tissues were the most significant biological functions in the TH/SH Unique gene set. The biological core networks of the hepatic TH/SH Unique gene set were characterised as those genes involved in the activation of acute inflammatory responses (Orm1, Lbp, Hp and Cfb), disordered lipid metabolism and deregulated cell cycle progression. Networks of the pulmonary Unique gene set displayed the deregulation of cell cycle progression (Cdc20, Cdk1 and Bub1b). These HFD-influenced alterations may have led to favourable conditions for the formation of both pro-inflammatory and pro-mitotic microenvironments in the target organs that promote immune cell infiltration and differentiation, as well as the infiltration and proliferation of metastatic tumour cells.

We report a significant improvement in the electrical properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) dielectrics by the BaTiO3 (BTO) additive. The addition of BTO to CCTO was performed using two different methods of a solid-state mixing and a sol-gel coating. Compared with pure CCTO ceramics (ε r ∼ 52,000 and tanδ ∼ 0.38 at 100 kHz), BTO-added CCTO samples commonly showed a large improvement in the dielectric loss property although their dielectric constants were depressed around one order of magnitude; ε r ∼ 5900 and tanδ ∼0.05 for 5 mol% BTO-coated CCTO sample and ε r ∼ 4,075 and tanδ ∼ 0.02 for 5 mol% BTO-mixed CCTO sample. In addition, BTO-coated CCTO samples showed relatively lower leakage current than those of BTO-mixed CCTO samples, implying that the sol-gel coating is more effective for improving the electrical properties of CCTO.

Aim: To determine whether or not the change in cervical length (CL) over time is valuable in predicting spontaneous preterm delivery (SPTD) in asymptomatic twin pregnancies with a normal mid-trimester CL (>25 mm). Methods: This was a prospective study including 190 consecutive asymptomatic twin gestations with a CL > 25 mm at 20–24 weeks. The women underwent an initial CL measurement at the time of routine ultrasound examination between 20 and 24 weeks’ gestation, followed 4–5 weeks later by a repeat CL measurement. The primary outcome measure was SPTD at <32 completed weeks’ gestation. Multicollinearity was a concern in the multivariable model since change in CL and follow-up CL were highly correlated. Results: The rate of SPTD at <32 weeks was 4.2%. Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the change in CL and the follow-up CL were significantly associated with SPTD before 32 weeks after adjusting for baseline covariate such as in vitro fertilization. The best cut-off values for the prediction of SPTD at <32 weeks’ gestation were 13% for the change in CL with a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 63.2%. There was no significant difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves between the change in CL and the follow-up CL. Conclusions: A greater change in CL is a good predictor of SPTD in asymptomatic twin pregnancies with a normal mid-trimester CL. However, the change in CL cannot provide data beyond the follow-up CL. In the setting of a normal mid-trimester CL, a follow-up CL measurement should be considered in asymptomatic twin pregnancies.

Oxidative stress may be affected by lead exposure as well as antioxidants, yet little is known about the interaction between dietary antioxidants and blood lead levels (BLL) on oxidative stress level. We investigated the interaction between dietary antioxidants and BLL on oxidative stress level. As part of the Biomarker Monitoring for Environmental Health conducted in Seoul and Incheon, Korea, between April and December 2005, we analysed data from 683 adults (female = 47·4 %, mean age 51·4 (sd 8·4) years) who had complete measures on BLL, dietary intakes and oxidative stress marker (urinary 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)). Dietary intakes were assessed by a validated semi-quantitative FFQ, BLL was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and 8-OHdG by ELISA. Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the influence of BLL on the association between dietary antioxidants and 8-OHdG. Geometric means of BLL and 8-OHdG concentrations were 4·1 (sd 1·5) μg/dl and 5·4 (sd 1·9) μg/g creatinine, respectively. Increases of vitamins C and E were significantly associated with the decrease of log10 8-OHdG in the adults from the lowest quartile of the BLL group ( ≤ 3·18 μg/dl, geometric mean = 2·36 μg/dl) than those of the highest quartile BLL group (>5·36 μg/dl, geometric mean = 6·78 μg/dl). Regarding antioxidant-related foods, vegetables excluding kimchi showed a higher inverse relationship with 8-OHdG in the lowest quartile BLL group than the highest group. These findings suggest a rationale for lowering the BLL and increasing the intake of dietary antioxidants in the urban population in Korea.

The oxidation behavior of Cu50Zr50 and Cu46Zr46Al8 glasses during continuous heating up to 1073 K has been investigated, with special emphasis on the oxidation resistance in the supercooled liquid (SCL) state. For Cu50Zr50, the oxide layer mostly consists of monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2), while for Cu46Zr46Al8, the oxide layer consists of two different layers: an outer layer consisting of tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2) + Al2O3 + metallic Cu (oxidation product from the SCL state of the glass matrix) and inner layer comprised of m-ZrO2 + metallic Cu islands (oxidation product from the crystallized matrix). Cu-enriched regions consisting of Cu51Zr14 (in Cu50Zr50) or AlCu2Zr + Cu70Zr15Al15 + Cu51Zr14 (in Cu46Zr46Al8) are present below the oxide layer. The present study shows that the addition of Al (8 at.%) in Cu50Zr50 results in a significant deterioration of the oxidation resistance in the SCL state since the solutionizing of Al in t-ZrO2 leads to a higher oxygen ion vacancy concentration, thus providing a higher activity of oxygen ions.

It is shown that a minimal surface in ℍ2×ℝ is invariant under a one-parameter group of screw motions if and only if it lies in the associate family of helicoids. It is also shown that the conjugate surfaces of the parabolic and hyperbolic helicoids in ℍ2×ℝ are certain types of catenoids.

We investigated the pressure dependence of the inductive coupled plasma (ICP) oxidation on the electrical characteristics of the thin oxide films. Activation energies and electron temperatures with different pressures were estimated. To demonstrate the pressure effect on the plasma oxide quality, simple N type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors were fabricated and investigated in a few electrical properties. At higher pressure than 200mTorr, plasma oxide has a slightly higher on-current and a lower interfacial trap density. The on-current gain seems to be related to the field mobility increase and the lower defective interface to the electron temperature during oxidation.