• IE interfaces
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.23-40
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• 1998

In this paper, a method to determine the optimal configuration of operating policies in an integrated-automated manufacturing system using the Taguchi method and computer simulation experiments is presented. An integrated-automated manufacturing system called direct-input-output manufacturing system(DIOMS) is described. We only consider the operational aspect of the DIOMS. Four operating policies including input sequencing control, dispatching rule for the storage/retrieval(S/R) machine, machine center-based part type selection rule, and storage assignment policy are treated as design factors. The number of machine centers, the number of part types, demand rate, processing time and the rate of each part type, vertical and horizontal speed of the S/R machine, and the size of a local buffer in the machine centers are considered as noise factors in generating various manufacturing system environment. For the performance characteristics, mean flow time and throughput are adopted. A robust design experiment with inner and outer orthogonal arrays are conducted by computer simulation, and an optimal configuration of operating policies is presented which consists of a combination of the level of each design factor. The validity of the optimal configurations is investigated by comparing their signal-to-noise ratios with those obtained with full factorial designs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2619-2623
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• 2012

The prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes differs in various target organs. HPV16 is the most prevalent genotype in the cervix while genotypes 6 and 11 are highly prevalent in skin and aero-digestive tract infections. In this study HPV11 positive specimens were selected from cervix, larynx and lung biopsy tissue to analyze the whole genome by PCR and direct sequencing. Five HPV11 whole genomes were characterized, consisting of two cervical specimens, two laryngeal specimens and one lung specimen. The results showed high homology of HPV11 in these organs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all HPV11 derived from various organs belonged to the same lineage. Molecular characterization and functional studies can further our understanding of virulence, expression or transmission. Additional studies on functional protein expression at different organ sites will also contribute to our knowledge of HPV infection in various organs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.370-374
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• 2010

A gene encoding the major secreted fibrinolytic protein of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CH86-1 was cloned from genomic DNAs. DNA sequencing showed that the gene, aprE86-1, could direct the synthesis of a mature protein 275 amino acids in length after processing. When aprE86-1 was introduced into B. subtilis, a mature 27-kDa protein was produced as expected. The fibrinolytic activity of the B. subtilis transformant (TF) was higher than that of B. amyloliquefaciens CH86-1, showing the possibility of increasing the fibrinolytic activity of Bacillus strains through genetic engineering.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.206-210
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• 2019

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is a rare X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by mutation of the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene. The mutation results in iduronate-2-sulfatase deficiency, which causes the progressive accumulation of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate in cellular lysosomes. The phenotype, age of onset, and symptoms of MPS II vary; accordingly, the disease can be classified into either the early-onset type or the late-onset type, depending on the age of onset and the severity of the symptoms. In patients with severe MPS II, symptoms typically first appear between 2 and 5 years of age. Patients with severe MPS II usually die in the second decade of life although some patients with less severe disease have survived into their fifth or sixth decade. Here, we report the establishment of a preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) strategy using multiplex nested polymerase chain reaction, direct sequencing, and linkage analysis. Unaffected embryos were selected via the diagnosis of a single blastomere, and a healthy boy was delivered by a female carrier of MPS II. This is the first successful application of PGD in a patient with MPS II in Korea.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.40-42
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• 2014

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by neurological, cutaneous, and ophthalmological manifestations. A 33-year-old woman with typical symptoms of NF1 visited Ajou University Hospital. Screening of the whole-messenger RNA region of NF1 at the complementary DNA level by polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing confirmed the presence of an NF1 mutation at the genomic level. The mutation analysis revealed an in-frame skipping of exon 46 (c.6757_6858del) caused by a point mutation (c. 6792C>A) in exon 46. In this report, we have described the first Korean case of a proband with NF1 that carries an allele with an exon 46 deletion caused by an exonic splicing enhancer site mutation, leading to the skipping of the whole of exon 46 (c.6757_6858del).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6619-6623
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• 2013

Background:The aim of the research was to explore a cost effective, fast, easy to perform, and sensitive method for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation testing. Methods: High resolution melting analysis (HRM) was introduced to evaluate the efficacy of the analysis for dectecting EGFR mutations in exons 18 to 21 using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues and plasma free DNA from 120 patients. Results: The total EGFR mutation rate was 37.5% (45/120) detected by direct sequencing. There were 48 mutations in 120 FFPE tissues assessed by HRM. For plasma free DNA, the EGFR mutation rate was 25.8% (31/120). The sensitivity of HRM assays in FFPE samples was 100% by HRM. There was a low false-positive mutation rate but a high false-negative rate in plasma free DNA detected by HRM. Conclusions: Our results show that HRM analysis has the advantage of small tumor sample need. HRM applied with plasma free DNA showed a high false-negative rate but a low false-positive rate. Further research into appropriate methods and analysis needs to be performed before HRM for plasma free DNA could be accepted as an option in diagnostic or screening settings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8837-8842
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• 2014

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important cause of liver cancer in Thailand. The highest prevalence of anti-HCV positive among Thai blood donors is found in the northeastern region. The present analysis of the genotype distribution among anti-HCV positive northeastern-Thai blood donors was conducted to provide a base for the epidemiological pattern of HCV infection in this region. Materials and Methods: A total of 112 HCV seropositive healthy blood donors were randomly selected and tested for the presence of HCV-RNA by RT-PCR. HCV-RNA positive samples were genotyped by direct sequencing at core region genomes and confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. Results: HCV viremia was found in 94.6% (106/112) of HCV seropositive blood donors. There were 3 major genotypes distributed among this population. HCV genotype 3a was the most prevalent (71.7%) followed by genotypes 1a (7.5%), 1b (7.5%), 6i (3.8%), 6f (2.8%) and 6n (1.9%). Conclusions: HCV genotype 3a in asymptomatic infections in northeastern Thailand is significantly higher than other previous reports. Subgenotype 6 prevalence is less than in neighboring countries and distribution patterns differ. The findings are relevant as predictors for using interferon therapy in this population.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.442-447
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• 1996

Mutations in codon 12, 13 and 61 of one of the three ras genes, H-ras, K-ras and N-ras, convert these genes into active oncogenes. The presence of H-ras gene mutations have important prognostic implications in various cancers. In this study, the H-ras gene mutations were investigated by two-step PCRRFLP in patients with bladder and stomach cancer. For the control experiments, T24 and SK2 cell lines were used. In a total of 36 bladder cancer patient cases, five (13.9%) mutations were found by this method. Of these, point 12 mutations were two (5.6%) cases and point 61 mutations were three (8.3%) cases. On the other hand, H-ras mutation was not found in 29 cases of stomach cancer. The results of the mutated H-ras gene confirmed by direct sequencing analysis were correlated well with PCR analysis. From the sensitivity test, the H-ras mutation was found to have about 0.2% of mutated DNA mingled in normal DNA. In conclusion, the H-ras mutation has a higher clinical Significance in bladder cancer than stomach cancer. Moreover the two-step PCR-RFLP method is sensitive, rapid and relatively simple for clinical work in detecting H-ras point mutations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3523-3525
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• 2015

Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Environmental as well as genetic factors have been shown to be involved in its genesis. Among genetic factors, loss of function of a tumor suppressive gene named promyelocytic leukemia (PML) has been demonstrated in gastric cancer. In order to cast light in the mechanism by which PML protein is under-expressed in gastric cancer cells, we analyzed all exons and intron-exon boundaries of PML gene in 50 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from gastric carcinoma tumors by means of PCR-SSCP and CSGE, with direct sequencing of abnormally shifted bands. We found a novel sequence variant of unknown significance localized in intron 5 in 3 samples (c.1398+84delA). We did not detect any deleterious mutations of the PML gene. This study shows that PML mutations may not contribute to gastric adenocarcinoma development. Post-translational modifications or protein degradation might be mechanisms by which PML is not expressed in gastric tumors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3505-3508
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• 2015

Background: Ras genes are thought to play an important role in human cancer since they have been found to be activated frequently in several types of tumors including breast cancer, where the overall incidence of K-RAS oncogene activation is 0-10%. Evaluation of K-RAS gene not only for mutational frequency but also for mutation types in this downstream signaling gene pathway is necessary to determine the mechanisms of action. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that K-RAS activation is involved in breast cancer risk of south Indian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 70 paired pathologically confirmed tumor and non-tumor tissues from the same breast cancer patients were analysed for most common K-RAS mutations of codon 12,13 and 61 by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction digestion and direct nucleotide sequencing method. Results: We found that a high rate of homozygous and heterozygous mutations of codon 12, but not codon 13 and 61, may influence the invasive ductal carcinoma of breast risk in this study. Conclusions: Our study indicated that only codon 12 may be involved in initiating breast carcinogenesis in India.