Patients with AS had higher levels of OPN compared with controls. The plasma OPN level was correlated with serum ALP, OCN and CTX-I levels, but not with disease activity in AS. OPN might be involved in bone remodelling rather than in inflammation in AS.

Abstract. We measured the number concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and the size distributions of CCN/CN (CN: condensation nuclei) ratios at supersaturations (SSs) of 0.097, 0.27, 0.58, and 0.97% at Jeju Island, Korea during March-April 2005. We made simultaneous measurements of aerosol inorganic ions, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) in PM 2.5 . The CCN/CN ratios increased with increasing particle diameter, and the diameter at CCN/CN=0.5 was defined as D 50 . D 50 represents the activation dry diameter of atmospheric particles. The average D 50 at SS=0.097% and 0.97% was 136±17 nm and 31±3 nm, respectively. The temporal variation of D 50 at SS=0.097% was correlated with the mass fraction of water-soluble components (inorganic ions + WSOC), indicating that the temporal variation of CCN activity was mainly controlled by changes in the water-soluble components fraction. The critical dry diameter (D crit ), which is the threshold dry diameter for CCN activation, was calculated from the observed aerosol chemical compositions by Köhler theory for comparison with D 50 . The D 50 at SS=0.097% was correlated (r 2 =0.48) with calculated D crit , although D crit was larger than D 50 by 20-29% on average. The systematic difference between D 50 and D crit could be caused by the size dependence of the aerosol chemical compositions or surface tension lowering caused by the mixing of water-soluble organic compounds. This difference corresponds to a 27±14% uncertainty in the CCN number concentration estimated from the observed particle number size distribution.

Summary Objectives:  We investigated the association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) assessed using generalised and obesity‐specific QOL instruments. Methods:  We recruited 456 outpatients [age: 19–81 years, body mass index (BMI): 16.3–36.7 kg/m2] in the primary care division from 12 general hospitals in Korea. HRQOL was measured using EuroQol comprising the health states descriptive system (EQ‐5D) and visual analogue scale (EQ‐VAS) as a general instrument. The Korean Obesity‐related QOL scale (KOQOL) composed of six domains was used as a disease‐specific QOL instrument. MS was defined on the basis of International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria with Korean‐specific waist circumference cutoffs (men: 90 cm, women: 85 cm). Results:  Subjects with MS displayed significantly higher impairment of EQ‐5D and KOQOL. Binary logistic regression analysis of MS patients with controls for age, gender, smoking, alcohol, exercise, education, income, marital status and medication history disclosed odds ratio (OR) values of 2.13 (1.33–3.41) for impaired total KOQOL, 2.07 (1.31–3.27) for impaired physical health, 1.63 (1.03–2.60) for impaired work‐related health, 2.42 (1.45–4.04) for impaired routine life, 2.08 (1.27–3.40) for impaired sexual life and 2.56 (1.59–4.11) for diet distress. Among the EQ‐5D dimensions, only pain/discomfort displayed a significantly increased OR of 1.60 (1.01–2.56) in MS group. Conclusions:  Subjects with MS displayed a significantly impaired HRQOL compared with those without MS. MS and HRQOL were more strongly associated in obesity‐specific QOL than in generalised QOL.

Abstract. Total number concentrations of particles having a diameter larger than 10 nm (N CN ), cloud condensation nuclei at several supersaturation (S) values (N CCN ) and number size distributions of particles with 10-414 nm diameter were measured in Seoul between 2004 and 2010. Overall average values of N CN and geometric mean diameter were 17 811 ± 5581 cm −3 and 48 ± 6 nm. Average N CCN at 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 % S were 4145 ± 2016, 5323 ± 2453 and 6067 ± 2780 cm −3 and corresponding N CCN / N CN were 0.26 ± 0.11, 0.33 ± 0.11 and 0.37 ± 0.12. There is a clear seasonal variation in aerosol concentration, which seems to be due to the monsoon. N CN and N CCN are also found to depend on the volume of traffic and the height of the planetary boundary layer, respectively.During aircraft campaigns in 2009 and 2011, N CN and N CCN at 0.6 % S (N 0.6 % ) were measured in and around the Korean Peninsula. During the 2011 campaign, the aerosol scattering coefficient was also measured. N CN and N 0.6 % in the lower altitudes were generally higher than at higher altitudes, except for cases when particle formation and growth events were thought to occur at higher altitudes. N CN and N 0.6 % generally show a positive correlation with aerosol scattering coefficients but this correspondence tends to vary with altitude. Occasional instances of low (< 0.3) N 0.6 % / N CN in the boundary layer are demonstrated to be associated with particle formation and growth events. With the support of ground measurements, it is confirmed that a particle formation and growth event did indeed occur over the Yellow Sea on a flight day, and the areal extent of this event is estimated to be greater than 100 km × 450 km.With the combination of the current and several relevant previous studies, a composite map of N CN and N CCN in and around the Korean Peninsula is produced. Overall, the exhibited concentrations are typical of values measured over polluted regions elsewhere on the globe. Moreover, there is a generally decreasing trend from west to east over the region, implying that the region is constantly under the dominant influence of continental outflow.

Chien JH, Liu CC, Kim JH, Markman TM, Lenz FA. Painful cutaneous laser stimuli induce event-related oscillatory EEG activities that are different from those induced by nonpainful electrical stimuli. J Neurophysiol 112: 824 -833, 2014. First published May 21, 2014 doi:10.1152/jn.00209.2014.-The non-phase-locked EEG response to painful stimuli has usually been characterized as decreased oscillatory activity (event-related desynchronization, ERD) in the alpha band. Increased activity (event-related synchronization, ERS) in the gamma band has been reported more recently. We have now tested the hypothesis that the non-phase-locked responses to nonpainful electric cutaneous stimuli are different from those to painful cutaneous laser stimuli when the baseline salience of the two stimuli is the same and the salience during the protocol is modulated by count laser and count electric tasks. Both of these stimuli were presented in random order in a single train at intensities that produced the same baseline salience in the same somatic location. The response to the laser stimulus was characterized by five windows (designated windows I-V) in the time-frequency domain: early (200 -400 ms) and late (600 -1,400 ms) delta/theta ERS, 500 -900 ms alpha ERD, 1,200 -1,600 ms beta ERS (rebound), and 800 -1,200 ms gamma ERS. Similar ERS/ERD windows of activity were found for the electric stimulus. Individual participants very commonly had activity in windows consistent with the overall analysis. Linear regression of ERS/ERD for parietal channels was most commonly found for sensory (pain or unpleasantness)-or attention (salience)-related measures. Overall, the main effect for modality was found in window I-delta/theta and window V-gamma, and the Modality with Task interaction was found in all five windows. All significant interaction terms included Modality as a factor. Therefore, Modality was the most common factor explaining our results, which is consistent with our hypothesis. attention; cortex; event-related synchronization; EEG; human; pain EVENT-RELATED CHANGES in EEG spectral power can be measured by a decrease in oscillatory activity (event-related desynchronization, ERD) or an increase in oscillatory activity (event-related synchronization, ERS) (Lopes da Silva and Pfurtscheller 1999). These spectral responses (ERS/ERD) are not phase locked to the event but are analyzed by signal averaging in the frequency domain. Different frequency bands exhibit different temporal, spatial, and task-related characteristics, which are consistent with their involvement in different aspects of cerebral processing (Bastiaansen and Brunia 2001;Boiten et al. 1992;Klimesch et al. 1998;Tiihonen et al. 1991). Event-related spectral modulation of scalp EEG has also been applied to studies of the cortical processing of painful stimuli.In response to painful stimuli, ERD has been found most frequently in the alpha band (Babiloni et al. 2006;Ferracuti et al. 1994;Hu et al. 2013;Mouraux et al. 2003;Ploner et al. 2006). ERS has also been reported at long...