Background: Osteoarthritis is a common condition with an increasing prevalence and is a common cause of disability. Osteoarthritic pain decreases the quality of life, and simple gait training is used to alleviate it. Knee osteoarthritis limits joint motion in the sagittal and lateral directions. Although many recent studies have activated orthotic research to increase knee joint stabilization, no study has used patellar tendon straps to treat knee osteoarthritis. Objects: This study aimed to determine the effects of patellar tendon straps on kinematic, mechanical, and electromyographic activation in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Patients with knee osteoarthritis were selected. After creating the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), leg length difference, Q-angle, and thumb side flexion angle of the foot were measured. Kinematic, kinetic, and muscle activation data during walking before and after wearing the orthosis were viewed. Results: After wearing the patellar tendon straps, hip adduction from the terminal stance phase, knee flexion from the terminal swing phase, and ankle plantar flexion angle increased during the pre-swing and initial swing phases. The cadence of spatiotemporal parameters and velocity increased, and step time, stride time, and foot force duration decreased. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the increase in plantar flexion after strap wearing is inferred by an increase due to neurological mechanisms, and adduction at the hip joint is inferred by an increase in adduction due to increased velocity. The increase in cadence and velocity and the decrease in gait speed and foot pressure duration may be due to joint stabilization. It can be inferred that joint stabilization is increased by wearing knee straps. Thus, wearing a patellar tendon strap during gait in patients with knee osteoarthritis influences kinematic changes in the sagittal plane of the joint.

A 9-year-old, intact female, Pungsan dog was referred for purulent vaginal discharge and depression. Abdominal radiographs revealed gas-filled and soft tissue opacity tubular structures in the mid to caudal abdomen. On ultrasonography, fluid-filled uterus and cervix accompanied by hyperechoic foci and reverberation artifacts were identified. Multiple hyperechoic foci were found within the uterine wall, indicating gas content. Escherichia coli was isolated from aerobic and anaerobic bacterial cultures. Radiological differential diagnosis of tubular shaped, dilated gas-filled structure, and gas in the wall of the structure should consider emphysematous pyometra with endometrial pneumatosis in intact female dogs with vulvar discharge.

Echeveria is a genus belonging to the Crassulaceae family that comprises approximately 170 species. It is a representative plant known as a succulent with economic potential in the floriculture industry. Echeveria plants are widely distributed in dry environments and endemic to Mexico. These plants have a rosette formation and varied leaf colors and shapes, which are characteristics of interest for landscaping, cut flowers, or interior decoration. Given their range of locations in different climates or indoor conditions, it is important to have an understanding and knowledge of their leaf morphology and anatomy and how they function to provide optimum care and management. Owing to high demand in horticultural markets, many breeders have crossed their desired species. However, this method has progressively increased the number of species without proper records of parents or other natural unintended crossings, creating phylogenetic problems and identification issues. The use and understanding of phenotypes, anatomical data, and/or research to aid in taxonomic issues and improve cultural management practices have been reviewed and discussed in this paper. In this review, we have provided a brief background of Echeveria species, focusing on the challenges and studies that have attempted to address these issues.

As the 4th industrial revolution emerges, the implementation of smart factories are essential in the manufacturing industry. However, 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises that have introduced smart factories remain at the basic level. In addition, in root industries such as injection molding, PLC and HMI software are used to implement functions that simply show operation data aggregated by facilities in real time. This has limitations for managers to make decisions related to product production other than viewing data. This study presents a method for upgrading the level of smart factories to suit the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises. By monitoring the data collected from the facility, it is possible to determine whether there is an abnormal situation by proposing an appropriate algorithm for meaningful decision-making, and an alarm sounds when the process is out of control. In this study, the function of HMI has been expanded to check the failure frequency rate, facility time operation rate, average time between failures, and average time between failures based on facility operation signals. For the injection molding industry, an HMI prototype including the extended function proposed in this study was implemented. This is expected to provide a foundation for SMEs that do not have sufficient IT capabilities to advance to the middle level of smart factories without making large investments.

The decommissioning of nuclear power plant (NPP) consists of various activities, such system decontamination, take out of activated components, segmentation of the activated components, site remediation, etc. During various activities, the generation of radioactive wastes and radiation exposure to workers is expected. The systematic waste management during the activities is important to implement the decommissioning. The inefficient waste management usually bring significant delay in decommissioning process and results in increase of decommissioning cost. The radiation exposure management is also an important issue. It is generally accepted that the hot spot, generated from operation and decommissioning of NPP, is observed in many places within containment building. Although the health physicists measure the radiation in various points, the unintended hot spots are sometimes generated and observed. The effective radiation exposure management also requires the control of personnel and space during various activities. In this study, the radiation exposure and waste management experiences of Zion NPP is reviewed. The primary nuclides and radiation exposure during various activities are systematically studied to achieve the main objectives of this paper.

Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) is known as an important biomarker for fetal abnormality during first trimester and has a pivotal role in follicle development and corpus luteum formation. And also, it is being revealed that an expression of PAPP-A in various cells and tissues such as cancer and lesion area. PAPP-A is the major IGF binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4) protease. Cleavage of IGFBP-4 results in loss of binding affinity for IGF, causing increased IGF bioavailability for proliferation, survival, and migration. Additionally, PAPP-A can be used as a promising therapeutic target for healthy longevity. Despite growing interest, almost nothing is known about how PAPP-A expression is regulated in any tissue. This review will focus on what is currently known about the zinc metalloproteinase, PAPP-A, and its role in cells and tissues. PAPP-A is expressed in proliferating cells such as fetus in uterus, granulosa cells in follicle, dermis in wound, cancer cells, and Sertoli cells in testis. They have common characteristics of proliferation faster than normal cells with stimulating IGFs action and inhibiting IGFBPs. The PAPP-A functions and expression studies in livestock have not yet been conducted much. Further studies are needed to use PAPP-A as a marker for healthy longevity in animal science.