A sandstorm image has features similar to those of a hazy image with regard to the obtaining process. However, the difference between a sand dust image and a hazy image is the color channel balance. In general, a hazy image has no color cast and has a balanced color channel with fog and dust. However, a sand dust image has a yellowish or reddish color cast due to sand particles, which cause the color channels to degrade. When the sand dust image is enhanced without color channel compensation, the improved image also has a new color cast. Therefore, to enhance the sandstorm image naturally without a color cast, the color channel compensation step is needed. Thus, to balance the degraded color channel, this paper proposes the color balance method using each color channel’s eigenvalue. The eigenvalue reflects the image’s features. The degraded image and the undegraded image have different eigenvalues on each color channel. Therefore, if using the eigenvalue of each color channel, the degraded image can be improved naturally and balanced. Due to the color-balanced image having the same features as the hazy image, this work, to improve the hazy image, uses dehazing methods such as the dark channel prior (DCP) method. However, because the ordinary DCP method has weak points, this work proposes a compensated dark channel prior and names it the adaptive DCP (ADCP) method. The proposed method is objectively and subjectively superior to existing methods when applied to various images.

An 84 yr-old male with a history of nausea and vomiting for 3 weeks was admitted to our hospital. Esopahgogastroduodenoscopy showed the diffuse infiltrative type of gastric cancer encircling from the cardia to the lower body. On abdominal computerized tomography, the gastric wall was diffusely thickened with overlying mucosal enhancement without lymph node involvement. Histologic examination revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. So surgical resection was planned. However, patient refused all medical care, and then he was discharged. He lived without any medical support and then he revisited our hospital and showed relieved symptoms on the follow-up exam. On esophagogastroduodenoscopy, the gastric mucosa of the body looked normal without any dysplastic change. Abdominal CT revealed a decreased thickening of the gastric wall of the body. The histology from the endoscopic forceps biopsy showed no evidence of malignancy. The patient is alive without any sign of tumor recurrence after 14 months.

A case of hemophagocytic syndrome associated with ulcerative colitis is very rare. A 32-year-old man visited the hospital complaining of fever and severe abdominal pain for 7 days. He was diagnosed to have ulcerative colitis 2 years ago and had been treated with sulfasalazine. Three months ago, he had abdominal pain, weight loss, and hematochezia, so prednisolone and mercaptopurine were added to the treatment. On admission, the physical examination showed splenomegaly. Peripheral blood counts revealed pancytopenia, and bone marrow aspirate smears showed many histiocytes with active hemophagocytosis. There was no evidence of viral and bacterial infections and other neoplasms, which were commonly associated with hemophagocytic syndrome. He was successfully treated with high dose steroid. We report this case along with a review of the related literatures.

This study aims to develop a plastic aspheric lens for a 13-megapixel mobile phone camera by injectioncompression molding. A mold for injection-compression molding experiments was fabricated with a movable upper plate and four springs. During cavity filling for an aspheric lens with a thickness ratio of 2, a weldline was formed under conventional injection molding, whereas no weldline was formed under injection-compression molding with a compression stroke of 0.3 mm. The flow patterns were in good agreement with the simulation results. The birefringence decreased as the compression stroke increased, and the birefringence produced by injection-compression molding was very low and more uniform compared with that produced by injection molding. In addition, the bulk birefringence of an assembly composed of four plastic lenses was significantly affected by the orientation of the lenses to be mounted.

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in auto workers of a mission assembly plants.Background: Most studies of musculoskeletal disorders have used car assembly line workers as their participants. However, little research has been done on musculoskeletal disorders afflictions of mission assembly line workers.Method: Through a focus group interview with an ergonomist and a manager at a mission assembly plant site, a questionnaire was developed for musculoskeletal disorders. The questionnaire consisted of five parts, demographic factors, musculoskeletal disorder symptoms, and musculoskeletal disorder experiences; 137 workers participated in this survey. The surveys were analyzed by correlation and Chi-squared analysis. Results:Musculoskeletal disorder symptoms and serious pain were reported in the neck, shoulder, back, and fingers. These problems were statistically related to various demographic factors, such as age, stature, stretching, and work satisfaction. Conclusion:Treatment of musculoskeletal disorders should consider the workers' traits. If there is no specific cause of the pain, developing stretches and exercises before and after work should be applied to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. Application:The results of this study can be used to develop guidelines to prevent injury in auto workers at mission assembly plants.