Intracranial pial arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are rare cerebrovascular lesions consisting of one or more arterial connections to a single venous channel without an intervening nidus. Because of the location and high flow dynamics of these lesions, neurosurgeons may have a difficulty deciding between endovascular treatment and open surgical treatment. We report on a patient who underwent endovascular treatment with liquid embolic agent. A 50-year-old man with a decreased mental state and a tonic seizure event was brought to our hospital. Computed tomography (CT) of the brain showed a subcortical hematoma in the right temporoparietal lobe. On three-dimensional cerebral artery CT, there was no evidence of definite cerebrovascular abnormality. Cerebral angiography showed a pial AVF supplied by the right middle cerebral artery with early drainage into the right superior cerebral vein. The patient was treated with Onyx embolization for definitive closure of the fistula. The patient was transferred to the department of rehabilitation medicine two weeks later with grade 4 left hemiparesis. The application of advanced equipment, such as the latest angiography and endovascular tools, will facilitate the correct diagnosis and delicate treatment of pial AVF.

Bacillus subtilis HM1 was isolated from the rhizosphere region of halophytes for its antifungal activity against Colletotrichum acutatum, the causative agent of anthracnose. Treatment of postharvest apples with the cell culture or with a cell-free culture supernatant reduced disease severity 80.7% and 69.4%, respectively. Both treatments also exhibited antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi in vitro. The antifungal substances were purified and analyzed by acid precipitation, gel filtration, high-performance liquid chromatography, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Three compounds were identified as fengycin, iturin, and surfactin. The MALDI-TOF/ TOF mass spectrum revealed the presence of cyclized fengycin homologs A and B, which were distinguishable on the basis of the presence of either alanine or valine, respectively, at position 6 of the peptide sequence. In addition, the cyclized structure of fengycin was shown to play a critical role in antifungal activity.

The evolutionary process of the polar low, which caused the heavy snowfall in the East Coast area on 11~12 February 2011, was investigated to describe in detail using synoptic weather charts, satellite imageries, and ERA (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis) -Interim reanalysis data. It was revealed that 1) the polar low was generated over the sea near Busan where a large cyclonic shear in the inverted trough branched from the parent low existed, 2) during the developing and mature stages, there was a convectively unstable region in the lower layer around the polar low and its south side, 3) the polar low was developed in the region where the static stability in the 500~850 hPa layer was the lowest, 4) the result from the budget analysis of the vorticity equation indicated that the increase in the vorticity at the lower atmosphere, where the polar low was located, was dominated mainly by the stretching term, 5) the warm core structure of the polar low was identified in the surface-700 hPa layer during the mature stage, 6) there was a close inverse relationship between a development of the polar low and the height of the dynamic tropopause over the polar low, and 7) for generation and development of the polar low, large-scale circulation systems, such as upper cold low and its combined short wave trough, major low (parent low), and polar air outbreak, should be presented, indicating that the polar low has the nature of the baroclinic disturbance.

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In this study, the estimation of damage-causing thresholds and their application to regional classification were examined using logistic regression, critical success index, probability of detection, and a false-alarm ratio. For 10 stations where damage caused by heavy snow occurred frequently, the fresh snow depth data provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration and heavy snow-related damage data obtained by the Ministry of Interior and Safety were used. Results show that the estimated thresholds differed by region. These results are attributed to many factors such as analysis methods, regional disaster protection, the response of local residents, vulnerability of structures, and meteorological characteristics. Additionally, based on estimated thresholds, the area with the highest threshold-sensitivity and the areas with the most internal differences and similarities between calculated thresholds corresponded to the coastal region, the Gangwon region, and the inland region, respectively. Gangwon region, where heavy snow was often observed, had a long duration of snowfall, whereas inland regions faced snowfalls that were relatively weaker in intensity and shorter in duration.