• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3675-3679
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• 2014

We assessed the association between frequency of heavy binge drinking and mortality from oropharynx and esophagus cancer after controlling for the total volume of alcohol intake among Korean men. The cohort comprised 2,677 male residents in Kangwha County, aged 55 or older in March 1985, for their upper digestive tract cancer mortality for 20.8 years up to December 31, 2005. For daily binge drinkers versus non-drinkers, the hazard ratios (95% Cls) for mortality were 4.82 (1.36, 17.1) and 6.75 (1.45, 31.4) for oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers, respectively. Even after adjusting for the volume of alcohol intake, we found the hazard ratios for frequency of binge drinking and mortality of oropharyngeal or esophageal cancer to not change appreciably: the hazard ratios were 4.90 (1.00, 27.0) and 7.17 (1.02, 50.6), respectively. For esophageal cancer, there was a strong dose-response relationship. The frequency of heavy binge drinking and not just the volume of alcohol intake may increase the risk of mortality from upper digestive tract cancer, particularly esophageal cancer in Korean men. These findings need to be confirmed in further studies with a larger sample size.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2011

This study was performed to assess the antioxidative properties of lipid from aquacultured mackerel Scomber japonicus fed with a diet fortified with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and ascidian Halocynthia roretzi tunic extracts by radical scavenging assay. The fish were separated into squid oil (Control) and 2.5% CLA (CA25) groups during the 8-week feeding period. The reducing power of each sample showed high levels of activity compared with ${\alpha}$-tocopherol and butylated-hydroxyanisol (BHA) at 0.2-1.0 mg/mL of lipid. Inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation in samples from Control and CA25 groups showed similar activity after 2 days of incubation at $40^{\circ}C$. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of CLA and carotenoid-deposited sample (CA25) were higher than those of the Control group. The results indicated that the lipid extracted from the viscera of mackerel showed slightly higher antioxidant activities than that from the muscle.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.413-418
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• 2008

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the associations between the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and inflammatory markers. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from 1578 Koreans aged 40-69 years residing in a rural area. We investigated associations between MetS and circulating high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), white blood cells (WBC) and adiponectin. MetS was defined using the criteria proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III). Results: Increased WBC counts and hs-CRP levels and decreased adiponectin levels were observed in subjects with MetS. WBC, hs-CRP and adiponectin levels linearly deteriorated with an increase in the number of MetS components (all ptrend <0.005). Finally, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of MetS by increase/decrease in 3 inflammatory markers were calculated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. In terms of changes in inflammation markers, in men, the adjusted ORs (95% confidence interval) were 1.15 (1.01-1.31) for WBC, 1.64 (1.02-2.64) for hs-CRP, and 0.19(0.08-0.45) for adiponectin, whereas corresponding adjusted ORs (95% Cls) in women were 1.27 (1.15-1.40), 0.98 (0.67-1.42), 0.09 (0.04-0.18), respectively. Conclusions: Serum adiponectin levels and WBC counts were found to be strongly associated with MetS in both sexes. However, hs-CRP lost its significance after adjusting for BMI and other inflammatory markers in women. This study shows that inflammatory response is associated with MetS in the Korean population. Further prospective studies are necessary to confirm the contribution made by inflammatory markers to the development of MetS.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.525-533
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of risperidone in healthy male subjects representing different CYP2D6 genotypes with respect to risperidone, 9-hydroxyrisperidone (9-OH-risperidone), and active moiety. A total of 506 Korean subjects were genotyped for $CYP2D6^*10$ by means of allele-specific polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Based on the genotype analysis, 24 subjects, 7 homozygous for $CYP2D6^*1$ for $^*10$, and 7 heterozygous for $^*10$, were recruited and received a single oral dose of 2 mg risperidone tablet in this study. Serum concentrations of risperidone and 9-OH-risperidone up to 48 h were simultaneously determined. There were no significant differences of the active moiety, risperidone, and 9-OH-risperidone between the two preparations in AUC_{0-{\propto}}$ and $C_{max}$. The 90% confidence intervals (Cls) for the ratio of means of the log-trans-formed AUC_{0-{\propto}}$ and $C_{max}$ for the active moiety, risperidone, and 9-OH-risperidone were all within the bioequivalence acceptance criteria of 0.80-1.25. The $CYP2D6^*10$ allele particularly was associated with higher serum concentrations of risperidone and the risperidone/9-OH-risperidone ratio compared with the $CYP2D6^*1$ allele. The results demonstrate that the two preparations of risperidone are bioequivalent and it can be assumed that they are therapeutically equivalent and exchangeable in clinical practice. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic parameters of risperidone and the risperidone/9-OH-risperidone ratio are highly dependent on the CYP2D6 genotypes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.60-60
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• 2000

The adhesion interface formation between copper and poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET), poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) and Polyimide films was treated using Ion assisted reaction system to sequential sputter deposition by High-Frequency ion source. The ion beam modification system used a new type of low power HF ion thruster for space application as new low thruster electric propulsion system. Low power HF ion thruster with diameter 100mm gives the opportunity to obtain beams of Ar+ with currents 20~150 mA (current density 0.5~3.5 mA/cm2) and energy 200~2500eV at HF power level 10~150 W. Using Ar as a working gas it is possible to obtain thrust within 3~8 mN. Contact angles for untreated films were over 95$^{\circ}$ and 80 for Pet, 10o for PMMA and 12o for PI samples as a condition of ion assisted reaction at the ion dose of 10$\times$1016 ions/cm2, the ion beam potential of 1.2 keV and 4 ml/min for environmental gas flow rate. 900o peel tests yielded values of 15 to 35 for PET, 18 to 40 and 12 to 36 g/min. respectively. High resolution X-ray photoelectron spectrocopy is the Cls region for Cu metal on these polymer substrates showed increases in C=O-O groups for polymide, whereas PET and PMMA treated samples showed only C=O groups with increase the ion dose. Finally, unstable polymer surface can be changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic formation such as C-O and C=O that were confirmed by the XPS analysis, conclusionally, the ion assisted reaction is very effective tools to attach reactive ion species to form functional groups on C-C bond chains of PET, PMMA and PI.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.3383-3397
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• 2023

Scene graphs serve as semantic abstractions of images and play a crucial role in enhancing visual comprehension and reasoning. However, the performance of Scene Graph Generation is often compromised when working with biased data in real-world situations. While many existing systems focus on a single stage of learning for both feature extraction and classification, some employ Class-Balancing strategies, such as Re-weighting, Data Resampling, and Transfer Learning from head to tail. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that decouples the feature extraction and classification phases of the scene graph generation process. For feature extraction, we leverage a transformer-based architecture and design an adaptive calibration function specifically for predicate classification. This function enables us to dynamically adjust the classification scores for each predicate category. Additionally, we introduce a Distribution Alignment technique that effectively balances the class distribution after the feature extraction phase reaches a stable state, thereby facilitating the retraining of the classification head. Importantly, our Distribution Alignment strategy is model-independent and does not require additional supervision, making it applicable to a wide range of SGG models. Using the scene graph diagnostic toolkit on Visual Genome and several popular models, we achieved significant improvements over the previous state-of-the-art methods with our model. Compared to the TDE model, our model improved mR@100 by 70.5% for PredCls, by 84.0% for SGCls, and by 97.6% for SGDet tasks.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.29.1-29.23
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• 2023

Cholesterol (CL) is required for various biomolecular production processes, including those of cell membrane components. Therefore, to meet these needs, CL is converted into various derivatives. Among these derivatives is cholesterol sulfate (CS), a naturally produced CL derivative by the sulfotransferase family 2B1 (SULT2B1), which is widely present in human plasma. CS is involved in cell membrane stabilization, blood clotting, keratinocyte differentiation, and TCR nanocluster deformation. This study shows that treatment of T cells with CS resulted in the decreased surface expression of some surface T-cell proteins and reduced IL-2 release. Furthermore, T cells treated with CS significantly reduced lipid raft contents and membrane CLs. Surprisingly, using the electron microscope, we also observed that CS led to the disruption of T-cell microvilli, releasing small microvilli particles containing TCRs and other microvillar proteins. However, in vivo, T cells with CS showed aberrant migration to high endothelial venules and limited infiltrating splenic T-cell zones compared with the untreated T cells. Additionally, we observed significant alleviation of atopic dermatitis in mice injected with CS in the animal model. Based on these results, we conclude that CS is an immunosuppressive natural lipid that impairs TCR signaling by disrupting microvillar function in T cells, suggesting its usefulness as a therapeutic agent for alleviating T-cell-mediated hypersensitivity and a potential target for treating autoimmune diseases.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.180-184
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• 2000

Tn order to be helpful to control dispersed microorganisms for stabLlization of wastewater treatment in a paper-makillg process, dominant strains were isolated aerobically and anaerobically. and identified and physiological characteristics were also analyzed. Pseudomonas carboxydohydrogena, Cardiobacten'm hominis, lvIicrococcus lylae, XanfomonCls campestris p" juglandis, Micrococcus diversus, and Comamonas terrigencl as aerobic dominants, and Streptococcus bovis and Prevotella buccae as anaerobIc dominants were identified fi'om the supernatent of the primary settling tank. It seemed that microflora in the treatment process would consist of many kinds of microorganisms, whose dominant would change easily according to environmental conditions, They all grew well at $37^{\circ}C$ and at different initial medium pH's. Especially, some of them required sulfate ion for their growth, which came from a chemical coagulant of aluminium sulfate in the primary settling tank. Interestingly. many anaerobes grew well even in the aerobic wastewater treatment process and seemed to have some functions. Population of anaerobes increased three times in the supematant of primary settling tank and ten times in Lhe bottom sludge of primary settling tank than in the prime wastewater. Therefore, these anaerobes contributed to the producH tion of offensive gases, which would make some microorganisms not precLpitate and be buoyant.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.49-63
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• 2018

We carry out a study of Sub-Millimeter Galaxies (SMGs) in the AKARI NEP-Deep field using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) SCUBA-2 $850{\mu}m$ source catalog, released as part of the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey (S2CLS) program. The SCUBA-2 $850{\mu}m$ map has a root mean square (rms) noise of $1.2mJy\;beam^{-1}$ and covers an area of $0.60degree^2$. We find four SMGs which have counterparts to Herschel sources with spectroscopic redshifts in the literature. In addition, three dust obscured galaxies (DOGs) detected in Herschel bands are selected as a comparison sample. We derive IR luminosities of SMGs using the CIGALE code, which are similar to those of high redshift SMGs from previous studies. The contribution of AGN to the total IR luminosity in SMGs (2%-11%) is smaller than the lower limit for the one in DOGs (19%-35%), which is consistent with the expectation from the evolutionary scenario of massive galaxies. We search for SMGs in overdense regions as protocluster candidates and investigate four regions, including candidates around three DOGs. Finally, we argue that follow-up spectroscopic observation for the NEP-Deep field will provide crucial information to understand the role of SMGs in the evolution of massive galaxies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7523-7527
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• 2015

Background: Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pALL) patients at King Abdulaziz Medical City represent a pure Saudi Arabian population. ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL patients have good prognosis as compared to ETV6-RUNX1 negative counterparts. Therefore, frequencies of these two patient groups have a huge consideration in treatment strategies of pALL in a given population. Different geographical locations have been reported to have different frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 ranging from 10% in Southeast Asia to 30% in Australia. Aim: Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the ETV6-RUNX1 status of Saudi Arabian pALL patients and its association with clinical parameters and early remission. Materials and Methods: Clinical parameters and ETV6-RUNX1 status (using FISH technique) of pALL patients attending the Pediatric Oncology Clinic, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh from 2006 to 2011 were studied. Comparisons between ETV6-RUNX1 positive and negative groups were accomplished using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Out of 54 patients, 33 were male and 21 were females (ratio 1.57:1). B- and T-cell lineages were found in 47 (87%) and 7 (13%) patients respectively. Only 5 (9.3%) patients were ETV6-RUNX1 positive while 49(80.7%) were ETV6-RUNX1 negative. All ETV6-RUNX1 patients (100%) were of B-cell lineage and 80% (4/5) were in the 3-7 year age group. None of the ETV6-RUNX11 patients had ${\geq}5%$ blasts (no remission) at day 14 as compared with 9% in the ETV6-RUNX1 negative group (Figure 1). Conclusions: Frequency of ETV6-RUNX1 positive patients (less than 10%) in our pALL patients is much lower than reported for most European countries, North America, Australia and Japan while it is in accordance with ETV6-RUNX1 frequencies from Egypt (11.6%), Pakistan (10%), Spain (2%) and India (5-7%). This shows ethnic differences in genetics of pALL as well as higher frequencies of ETV6-RUNX1 positive pALL mostly in more industrialized countries, probably due to some industrial pollutants or westernized lifestyle.