This review examines the microstructural and mechanical properties of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy produced by wrought processing and powder metallurgy (PM), specifically laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and hot isostatic pressing. Wrought methods, such as forging and rolling, create equiaxed alpha (α) and beta (β) grain structures with balanced properties, which are ideal for fatigue resistance. In contrast, PM methods, particularly LPBF, often yield a martensitic α′ structure with high microhardness, enabling complex geometries but requiring post-processing to improve its properties and reduce stress. The study evaluated the effects of processing parameters on grain size, phase distribution, and material characteristics, guiding the choice of fabrication techniques for optimizing Ti-6Al-4V performance in aerospace, biomedical, and automotive applications. The analysis emphasizes tailored processing to meet advanced engineering demands.

The surface of titanium (Ti) dental implants was modified by applying a zinc (Zn)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) coating. Initially, the Ti surfaces were etched with NaOH, followed by a hydrolysis co-condensation using tetrabutyl titanate (TBT, Ti(OC4H9)4) and zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO3)2 ‧ 6H2O), with ammonia water (NH3 ‧ H2O) acting as a hydroxide anion source. The morphology and chemical composition of the Zn-doped TiO2-coated Ti plates were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Synthesis temperatures were carefully adjusted to produce anatase Zn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with a bipyramidal structure and approximate sizes of 100 nm. Wettability tests and cell viability assays demonstrated the biomedical potential of these modified surfaces, which showed high biocompatibility with a survival rate of over 95 % (p < 0.05) and improved wettability. Corrosion resistance tests using potentiodynamic polarization reveal that Zn-TiO2-treated samples with an anatase crystal structure exhibited a lower corrosion current density and more noble corrosion potential compared to samples coated with a rutile structure. This method offers a scalable approach that could be adapted by the biomaterial industry to improve the functionality and longevity of various biomedical implants.

Background: The forward head posture acts as a factor that can cause various neurovascular and musculoskeletal dysfunctions. But searching for a study on quality of life for patient with forward head posture was challenging. Therefore, this study aims to find the factors that most affect the quality of life in patients with forward head posture. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between the cranio-vertebral angle (CVA), neck disability index (NDI), pain, and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) thickness of patients with forward head posture and the quality of life of the patients and to figure out important factors that affect the quality of life of the patients with forward head posture. Design: Cress-sectional study. Methods: To measure the CVA, the angle at which the visible protrusion of C7 and the ear bead were connected was measured, and the neck disorder index was evaluated using the Korean version of NDI. The degree of pain of the subject was measured using a visual-analog scale (VAS). The SCM thickness was measured using an ultrasound imaging device, and the quality of life was evaluated using the Korean version of the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQL-BREF). Results: A significant predictive model showing 88% explanatory power for the dependent variable was confirmed, with an appropriate regression equation being found. The factor that most affected patients' quality of life in the forward head posture was confirmed by the SCM thickness. Conclusion: When applying an intervention to improve a patient's quality of life for patient with forward head posture, an intervention method that improves the SCM thickness should be recommended.

Emotional labor, characterized by a dysfunctional type of emotional regulation called surface acting, has detrimental psychological consequences on employees, including depression and social anxiety. Because such disorders exhibit psychological characteristics manifested through brain activation, previous studies have succeeded in distinguishing individuals with depression and social anxiety from healthy controls using their functional connectivity characteristics. However, it has not been established whether the functional connectivity characteristics associated with emotional labor are distinguishable. Thus, we obtained resting-state fMRI data from participants in the emotion labor (EL) group and control (CTRL) group, and we subjected their whole-brain functional connectivity matrices to a linear support vector machine classifier. Our analysis revealed that the EL and CTRL groups could be successfully distinguished on the basis of individuals' connectivity patterns, and confidence in the classification was correlated with the scores on the depression and social anxiety scales. These results are expected to provide insight on the neurobiological characteristics of emotional labor and enable the sorting of employees undergoing adverse emotional labor utilizing neurobiological observations.

Recently, elevator inspection and self-examination were strengthened through the revision of the Elevator Safety Management Act, but there have been no significant reduction in serious accidents and major failures. Therefore, the government intends to lay the foundation for reflecting the safety quality rating system, which adjusts the elevator inspection cycle, as a policy to induce safety management of preemptive and active management entities. This study systematically reviewed and classified the safety quality rating system for elevator inspection cycle adjustment in previous studies, collected expert opinions, and reconstructed the key items into realistic evaluation items, and evaluated and scored the relative importance of each factor through the AHP technique.

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of drip irrigation volume on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown in a greenhouse using perlite medium. Plants were treated by three different irrigation treatment I0, I25, and I50 (where irrigation volume of I25 and I50 was 25% and 50% higher than I0, having limited or no leaching). Growth characteristics of plants, yield and water use efficiency were measured. The result showed that plant height, leaf length and leaf width were lowest in the I0 treated plants. However, these parameters were not statistically significant differences between the plants that were grown in the I25 and I50 treatment. Soluble solids content, acidity and dry matter of 111th, 132nd, and 143rd days harvested tomato were higher in the plants irrigated with lowest volume (I0) than the higher volume (I25 or I50). In addition, water content was lower in the 111th and 132nd days of harvested tomatoes from the I0 treatment. The number of big-size tomatoes (>180 g) was significantly higher in the I25 irrigated plants. There was no significant difference in the total number of harvested fruits among the treatments. The average fruit weight and total yield of harvested tomatoes were lowest in the I0 treated plants. The water consumption of tomato was not significantly different amongst the treatments but water use efficiency was lowest in the I0 treatment. Principal component analysis revealed that total soluble solid and acidity of tomato showed a positive correlation between each other. These results suggest that I25 was the optimum irrigation treatment for tomato based on its measured growth characteristics, yield and water use efficiency.

소나무재선충은 소나무에이즈라고 불리는 소나무해충으로서 전국적으로 큰 피해를 끼치고 있다. 최근 소나무재선충 피해는 경북지역의 경주 및 포항지역에 많이 발생하고 있다. 특히 경주지역에는 역사적인 유적지 및 고분공원이 많은데 이 지역의 소나무 숲에 재선충 피해가 확산되고 있어서 역사적 가치뿐만 아니라 관광산업에 큰 피해가 예상된다. 재선충 피해를 줄이기 위하여 재선충 감염목에 대한 신속한 제거작업이 필요한데 이에 대한 진단이 어려운 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 LAMP-PCR 진단키트를 이용하여 경주 고적지 지역의 재선충 감염이 의심되는 소나무를 진단하였다. 경주남산 및 불국사부근 7개 지역에서 재선충 감염 의심목으로부터 시료를 채취하여 조사해 본 결과 약 50%의 소나무에서 양성반응을 나타내었다. 본 연구를 통하여 경주 고적지의 재선충 감염여부를 신속하게 진단할 수 있었고 경주 유적지의 재선충 피해를 억제하는데 기여할 수 있을 것으로 판단한다.

The current study examined the influence of individual trait such as Need-For-Touch level (NFT; high vs. low) and swiping orientation (vertical vs. horizontal) on product evaluation and preference when using touch-screen interface like a smart phone and a tablet. Swiping is one of the most common interaction techniques for changing pages or searching some aligned pictures on touch-screen interface and it can be used in vertical and horizontal orientations. The experiment revealed a significant interaction between swiping orientation and NFT on preference, however the interaction on change-in-price of given products was only marginally significant. To be specific, high NFT participants reported higher preference for horizontal-swipe than vertical-swipe products, but such difference did not occur with low NFT participants. The current study illustrates the influence of swiping orientation and NFT on product preference and it provides a new perspective of design principles especially for online shopping websites.

Ceramic powder, such as MgO, is added as a binder to prepare the green compacts of molten salts of an electrolyte for a thermal battery. Despite the addition of a binder, when the thickness of the electrolyte decreases to improve the battery performance, the problem with the unintentional short circuit between the anode and cathode still remains. To improve the current powder molding method, a new type of electrolyte separator with porous MgO preforms is prepared and characteristics of the thermal battery are evaluated. A Spherical PMMA polymer powder is added as a pore-forming agent in the MgO powder, and an organic binder is used to prepare slurry appropriate for tape casting. A porous MgO preform with 300 μm thickness is prepared through a binder burnout and sintering process. The particle size of the starting MgO powder has an effect, not on the porosity of the porous MgO preform, but on the battery characteristics. The porosity of the porous MgO preforms is controlled from 60 to 75% using a pore-forming agent. The batteries prepared using various porosities of preforms show a performance equal to or higher than that of the pellet-shaped battery prepared by the conventional powder molding method.