PurposeThe purpose of this study was to observe and quantify the expression of interleukin-4 (IL-4), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in the gingival tissue of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and healthy adults with chronic periodontitis.MethodsTwelve patients with type 2 DM and chronic periodontitis (Group 3), twelve patients with chronic periodontitis (Group 2), and twelve healthy individuals (Group 1) were included in the study. Clinical criteria of gingival (sulcus bleeding index value, probing depths) and radiographic evidences of bone resorption were divided into three groups. The concentrations of cytokines were determined by a western blot analysis and compared using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test.ResultsThe expression levels of IFN-γ and TIMP-2 showed an increasing tendency in Groups 2 and 3 when compared to Group 1. On the other hand, the expression of IL-4 was highest in Group 1.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that IFN-γ and TIMP-2 may be involved in the periodontal inflammation associated with type 2 DM. IL-4 may be involved in the retrogression of the periodontal inflammation associated with type 2 DM.

Multifunctional weirs can be used to maintain water supply during dry seasons and to improve downstream water quality during drought conditions through discharge based on retained flux. Sixteen multifunctional weirs were recently constructed in four river systems as part of the Four Rivers Restoration Project. In this study, three multifunctional weirs in the Geum River Basin were investigated to analyze the environmental effects of multifunctional weir operation on downstream flow. To determine seasonal vulnerability to drought, the basin was evaluated using the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). Furthermore, the downstream flow regime and the effect on water quality improvement of a coordinated dam-multifunctional weir operation controlled by: (a) a rainfall-runoff model; (b) a reservoir optimization model; and (c) a water quality model, were examined. A runoff estimate at each major location in the Geum River Basin was performed using the water quality model, and examined variation in downstream water quality depending on the operational scenario of each irrigation facility such as dams and weirs. Although the water quality was improved by the coordinated operation of the dams and weirs, when the discharged water quality is poor, the downstream water quality is not improved. Therefore, it is necessary to first improve the discharged water quality on the lower Geum River. Improvement of the water quality of main stream in the Geum River is important, but water quality from tributaries should also be improved. By applying the estimated runoff data to the reservoir optimization model, these scenarios will be utilized as basic parameters for assessing the optimal operation of the river.

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Purpose Various dosimeters have been proposed for skin dosimetry in electron radiotherapy. However, one main drawback of these skin dosimeters is their lack of flexibility, which could make accurate dose measurements challenging due to air gaps between a curved patient surface and dosimeter. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to suggest a novel flexible skin dosimeter based on a thin‐film copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell, and to evaluate its dosimetric characteristics. Methods The CIGS solar cell dosimeter consisted of (a) a customized thin‐film CIGS solar cell and (b) a data acquisition (DAQ) system. The CIGS solar cell with a thickness of 0.33 mm was customized to a size of 10 × 10 mm2. This customized solar cell plays a role in converting therapeutic electron radiation into electrical signals. The DAQ system was composed of a voltage amplifier with a gain of 1000, a voltage input module, a DAQ chassis, and an in‐house software. This system converted the electrical analog signals (from solar cell) to digital signals with a sampling rate of ≤50 kHz and then quantified/visualized the digital signals in real time. We quantified the linearity/ sampling rate effect/dose rate dependence/energy dependence/field size output factor/reproducibility/curvature/bending recoverability/angular dependence of the CIGS solar cell dosimeter in therapeutic electron beams. To evaluate clinical feasibility, we measured the skin point doses by attaching the CIGS solar cell to an anthropomorphic phantom surface (for forehead, mouth, and thorax). The CIGS‐measured doses were compared with calculated doses (by treatment planning system) and measured doses (by optically stimulated luminescent dosimeter). Results The normalized signals of the solar cell dosimeter increased linearly as the delivered dose increased. The gradient of the linearly fitted line was 1.00 with an R‐square of 0.9999. The sampling rates (2, 10, and 50 kHz) of the solar cell dosimeter showed good performance even at low doses (<50 cGy). The solar cell dosimeter exhibited dose rate independence within 1% and energy independence within 3% error margins. The signals of the solar cell dosimeter were similar (<1%) when penetrating the same side of the CIGS cell regardless of the rotation angle of the solar cell. The field size output factor measured by the solar cell dosimeter was comparable to that measured by the ion chamber. The solar cell signals were similar between the baseline (week 1) and the last time point (week 4). Our detector showed curvature independence within 1.8% (curvatures of <0.10 mm−) and bending recovery (curvature of 0.10 mm−1). The differences between measured doses (CIGS solar cell dosimeter vs. optically stimulated luminescent dosimeter) were 7.1%, 9.6%, and 1.0% for forehead, mouth, and thorax, respectively. Conclusion We present the construction of a flexible skin dosimeter based on a CIGS solar cell. Our findings demonstrate that the CIGS solar cell has a potential to be a novel flexible skin dosimeter for electro...