Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause serious respiratory infections, second only to influenza virus. In order to know RSV's genetic changes we examined 4028 respiratory specimens from local hospital outpatients in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea over six consecutive years by real-time one-step RT-PCR; 183 patients were positive for RSV infection. To investigate the specific distribution of RSV genotypes, we performed partial sequencing of the glycoprotein gene. Of the 131 RSV-A specimens sequenced, 61 (43·3%) belonged to the ON1 genotype, 66 (46·8%) were NA1 genotype, 3 (2·1%) were GA5 genotype, and 1 (0·7%) belonged to the GA1 genotype. Of the 31 RSV-B specimens sequenced, 29 were BA9 genotype (87·9%) and 2 were BA10 genotype (6·1%). The most common clinical symptoms were fever, cough, nasal discharge, and phlegm; multiple logistic regression analysis showed that RSV-positive infection on pediatric patients was strongly associated with cough (OR = 2·8, 95% CI 1·6-5·1) and wheezing (OR = 2·8, 95% CI 1·7-4·4). The ON1 genotype was significantly associated with phlegm (OR = 11·8, 95% CI 3·8-46·7), while the NA1 genotype was associated with the pediatric patients' gender (males, OR = 2·4, 95% CI 1·1-5·4) and presence of chills (OR = 5·1, 95% CI 1·1-27·2). RSV subgroup B was showed association with nasal obstruction (OR = 4·6, 95% CI 1·2-20·0). The majority of respiratory virus coinfections with RSV were human rhinovirus (47·2%). This study contributes to our understanding of the molecular epidemiological characteristics of RSV, which promotes the potential for improving RSV vaccines.

An 8‐year‐old female shih‐tzu was assessed for a 3‐year history of yellow intrastromal material in the right eye. Slit‐lamp biomicroscopy showed a yellow lesion in the upper half of the cornea, superficial corneal neovascularisation and oedema with negative fluorescein staining in the right eye. Ultrasound biomicroscopy revealed a nearly anechoic cystic space surrounded by hyperechoic oedematous cornea separating the stroma at three‐quarters of the corneal depth. Two partial‐thickness corneal incisions were performed around the lesion under topical anaesthesia. After cytology and culture sampling, intrastromal flushing was performed. A yellow viscous necrotic tissue was identified with no microorganism or evidence of tumour formation. Antibiotics, anti‐inflammatories and a bandage contact lens were applied. Ultrasound biomicroscopy confirmed no recurrence 8 days later. Corneal neovascularisation and oedema gradually resolved through a 2‐week follow‐up. There was no recurrence in the subsequent 8 months.

No abstract

Two strategies are introduced herein to improve current drivability of tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs). First, gate-to-channel coupling is increased by ∼22% in terms of effective gate capacitance (C ox) with the help of hemi-cylindrical device architecture. A novel iterative corner rounding process was developed for highly reliable gate dielectric formation without field crowding at sharp corner. The second approach is change channel orientation. The 〈100〉 and 〈110〉 oriented-channel TFETs were fabricated on (100) silicon surface. Consequently, both planar and hemi-cylindrical structures show consistent results that 〈110〉 is far better than 〈100〉 for higher on-current (I on). With these two structural improvements, the 〈110〉 hemi-cylindrical TFET shows ∼30× higher I on than that of the control (i.e. 〈100〉 planar TFET). Development Program) and in part by the Brain Korea 21 Plus Project in 2015.