• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mixed methods research

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Antioxidant and Melanin-Reduction Effect of Mixed Extracts of Bixa orellana, Ammi majus, and Glycyrrhiza glabra

  • Mi Jeong Choi;Yu Ri Kim
    • Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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    • v.52 no.1
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    • pp.55-64
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    • 2024
  • The desire of modern people to maintain a healthy and beautiful appearance is increasing day by day along with the increasing interest in skin health and the demand for functional cosmetics. Accordingly, research on functional cosmetic materials with few side effects and excellent efficacy is being actively conducted. Therefore, this study tried to verify the antioxidant and whitening effects of the mixed extracts of Bixa orellana, Ammi majus, and Glycyrrhiza glabra, whose efficacy has been individually verified. Extracts (BAG-1~4) with different extraction methods such as steaming, fermentation, and ultrasonication were prepared for 3 types of natural plants, and antioxidant and whitening effects of these extracts were confirmed. For this purpose, antioxidant, tyrosinase activity, melanin production and stability experiments were conducted. Extracts (BAG-1~4) had no cytotoxicity, and antioxidant and whitening effects were confirmed. BAG-4 extracted by steaming and fermentation showed the best efficacy. It seems that enzymes such as lipase, protease, and amylase increase phenol components by various yeasts involved in the fermentation process, thereby improving antioxidant and melanin production inhibitory effects. It was confirmed that the three types of natural plant extracts could be used as safe and functional cosmetic materials.

Clarification of Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Juices Using Various Clarification Methods (혼합과채주스의 청징 및 품질특성 비교)

  • Sohn, Kyung-Suck;Lee, Jun-Ho
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.35 no.5
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    • pp.629-634
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    • 2006
  • Clarified mixed fruit and vegetable (apple, carrot and orange) juices were prepared using different clarification methods including centrifugation, ultrafiltration (UF), and combined treatment with the blend ratio of 1:1:2, 1:2:1, and 2:1:1 (apple, orange and carrot). Effects of clarification methods on the clarification efficacy as well as other quality parameters were investigated. Clarification was improved with increase in centrifugation speed but was less affected by lowering temperature. Ultrafiltration process was very effective to produce clarified mixed fruit and vegetable juice. Combined treatment did not significantly improve the clarification efficacy since most clarification was already achieved during ultrafiltration process (p>0.05). L*- and b*-values increased while a*-value decreased significantly after clarification regardless of methods in all blend juices (p<0.05). Blend juices with high amount of orange or carrot were better in clarification efficacy and high amount of apple resulted in high turbidity in blend samples.

Experience of Agent Orange and Depression and Quality of Life: Mixed Method (고엽제 노출 경험과 우울 및 삶의 질: 통합방법론)

  • Joo, Eun-Woo;Lee, Jae-Shin;Kim, Soo-Kyoung;Cha, Tae-Hyun
    • Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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    • v.9 no.4
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    • pp.33-43
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    • 2020
  • Objective: This study used a mixed methods analytical approach to analyze the level of depression in and quality of life of patients who had been exposure to Agent Orange. Methods: Data on the general characteristics, depression level, and the quality of life of 29 patients who were hospitalized because of exposure to Agent Orange were collected. Focus group interviews were conducted with 17 of these 29 patients. Regarding mixed methods, the sequential integrated design model proposed by Teddlie and Tashakkori (2003) was employed. The analytical methods were as follows: (1) general characteristics were examined using frequencies and proportional distributions; (2) depression scores and quality of life scores were assessed using descriptive statistical analysis; and (3) content analysis was used to examine the focus group interview data. Results: The average K-GDS depression score was 19.24 points, and the average WHOQOL-BREF quality of life score was 57.66 points. The focus group interview data yielded 3 topics were named "deployment route", "the manner of exposure to Agent Orange", and "life after Agent Orange exposure". Conclusion: There is an urgent need to increase public awareness, develop a public policy response, and conduct additional research on ground occupational therapy programs that include physical therapy.

Expression of ssrA in non-pathogen-induced adaptation in the oral cavity through signal exchange with oral pathogens

  • Kim, Sung-Ryoul;Kwak, Jae-Woo;Lee, Sung-Ka;Jung, Seung-Gon;Han, Man-Seung;Kim, Bang-Sin;Kook, Min-Suk;Oh, Hee-Kyun;Park, Hong-Ju
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.14-19
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    • 2012
  • Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate ssrA expression resulting from adaptation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) to oral pathogens through signal exchange. Materials and Methods: Human cell lines Hep2 and HT29, wild-type E. coli (WT K-12), ssrA knock-out E. coli (${\Delta}K$-12), and Scleropages aureus (S. aureus) were used. A single culture consisting of Hep2, HT29, WT K-12, and ${\Delta}K$-12, and mixed cultures consisting of Hep2 and WT K-12, Hep2 and ${\Delta}K$-12, WT K-12 and S. aureus, ${\Delta}K$-12 and S. aureus, and Hep2, WT K-12, and S. aureus were prepared. For HT29, a mixed culture was prepared with WT K-12 and with WT K-12 and S. aureus. Total RNA was extracted from each culture with the resulting expression of ssrA, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-${\kappa}B$), and p53 was evaluated by Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The expression of ssrA in a single culture of WT K-12 was lower than that observed in the mixed culture of WT K-12 with S. aureus. Greater ssrA expression was observed in the mixed culture of WT K-12 with Hep2 than in the single culture of WT K-12. The expression of NF-${\kappa}B$ was higher in the mixed culture of Hep2 with ${\Delta}K$-12 than that in the mixed culture of Hep2 with WT K-12, and was lowest in the single culture of Hep2. The expression of ssrA was higher in the mixed culture of WT K-12 with Hep2 and S. aureus than in the mixed culture of WT K-12 with Hep2. Conclusion: These results suggest that ssrA plays an important role in the mechanism of E. coli adaptation to a new environment.

Statistical Method of Ranking Candidate Genes for the Biomarker

  • Kim, Byung-Soo;Kim, In-Young;Lee, Sun-Ho;Rha, Sun-Young
    • Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.169-182
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    • 2007
  • Receive operating characteristic (ROC) approach can be employed to rank candidate genes from a microarray experiment, in particular, for the biomarker development with the purpose of population screening of a cancer. In the cancer microarray experiment based on n patients the researcher often wants to compare the tumor tissue with the normal tissue within the same individual using a common reference RNA. Ideally, this experiment produces n pairs of microarray data. However, it is often the case that there are missing values either in the normal or tumor tissue data. Practically, we have $n_1$ pairs of complete observations, $n_2$ "normal only" and $n_3$ "tumor only" data for the microarray. We refer to this data set as a mixed data set. We develop a ROC approach on the mixed data set to rank candidate genes for the biomarker development for the colorectal cancer screening. It turns out that the correlation between two ranks in terms of ROC and t statistics based on the top 50 genes of ROC rank is less than 0.6. This result indicates that employing a right approach of ranking candidate genes for the biomarker development is important for the allocation of resources.

Mixed Reality System for Virtual Chemistry Lab

  • Duan, Xiaoyun;Kang, Shin-Jin;Choi, Jong In;Kim, Soo Kyun
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.1673-1688
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    • 2020
  • This paper presents a new method for improving teaching aids with the design and development of a chemistry education platform - the Mixed Reality (MR) Chemistry Lab. Our system provides a new educational experience in which students can simulate a chemistry experiment in a virtual lab and interact with objects using Oculus Helmet-Mounted Displays (HMD) and hand controller devices. The proposed system aims to familiarize students with experimental procedures and safety knowledge before conducting actual experiments. Moreover, students will be able to observe microscopic atomic structure models in three dimensions. Our research also includes a five-part, quantitative evaluation system user tests perform using a quantitative questionnaire consisting of five items, including hardware equipment, immersion, education, interaction sense of control, and degree of difficulty. The evaluation results confirm that this system will be helpful to the educational experience of conducting chemistry experiments with scientific evaluation methods, and the proposed system is also expected to have a broad range of applications in many other subjects.

Weighted zero-inflated Poisson mixed model with an application to Medicaid utilization data

  • Lee, Sang Mee;Karrison, Theodore;Nocon, Robert S.;Huang, Elbert
    • Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.173-184
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    • 2018
  • In medical or public health research, it is common to encounter clustered or longitudinal count data that exhibit excess zeros. For example, health care utilization data often have a multi-modal distribution with excess zeroes as well as a multilevel structure where patients are nested within physicians and hospitals. To analyze this type of data, zero-inflated count models with mixed effects have been developed where a count response variable is assumed to be distributed as a mixture of a Poisson or negative binomial and a distribution with a point mass of zeros that include random effects. However, no study has considered a situation where data are also censored due to the finite nature of the observation period or follow-up. In this paper, we present a weighted version of zero-inflated Poisson model with random effects accounting for variable individual follow-up times. We suggested two different types of weight function. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated and compared to a standard zero-inflated mixed model through simulation studies. This approach is then applied to Medicaid data analysis.

Classification Rule for Optimal Blocking for Nonregular Factorial Designs

  • Park, Dong-Kwon;Kim, Hyoung-Soon;Kang, Hee-Kyoung
    • Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.483-495
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    • 2007
  • In a general fractional factorial design, the n-levels of a factor are coded by the $n^{th}$ roots of the unity. Pistone and Rogantin (2007) gave a full generalization to mixed-level designs of the theory of the polynomial indicator function using this device. This article discusses the optimal blocking scheme for nonregular designs. According to hierarchical principle, the minimum aberration (MA) has been used as an important criterion for selecting blocked regular fractional factorial designs. MA criterion is mainly based on the defining contrast groups, which only exist for regular designs but not for nonregular designs. Recently, Cheng et al. (2004) adapted the generalized (G)-MA criterion discussed by Tang and Deng (1999) in studying $2^p$ optimal blocking scheme for nonregular factorial designs. The approach is based on the method of replacement by assigning $2^p$ blocks the distinct level combinations in the column with different blocks. However, when blocking level is not a power of two, we have no clue yet in any sense. As an example, suppose we experiment during 3 days for 12-run Plackett-Burman design. How can we arrange the 12-runs into the three blocks? To solve the problem, we apply G-MA criterion to nonregular mixed-level blocked scheme via the mixed-level indicator function and give an answer for the question.

Characteristics of Mixed Urinary Incontinence and Stress Urinary Incontinence: Relationship between Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Urodynamic Parameters (복합성 요실금과 복압성 요실금의 특성: 하부요로증상과 요역동학 검사결과의 관계)

  • Lee, ji Yeon;Song, Misoon
    • Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.60-68
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    • 2017
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms and urodynamic parameters to investigate the characteristics of mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Methods: The subjects were 318 women with MUI and 128 women with SUI. Data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records including Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms-Scored Form (BFLUTS-SF), Incontinence Quality of Life Instrument (I-QOL), voiding diaries, and urodynamic parameters. Results: Compared with the SUI group, the MUI group was older and showed lower I-QOL and more severe urinary tract symptoms. The MUI group had more urinary frequency, more nocturia, and a higher urgency score than the SUI group. In the correlation analysis, the greatest difference between the two groups was that urgency was associated with Qmax, maximal cystometric capacity, and detrusor overactivity only in the MUI group (r = -.175, p= .004; r = -.281, p< .001; r= .232, p< .001, respectively). Conclusion: As a result of this study, we propose that a customized management program that emphasizes the control of urgency for the MUI group, and one that effectively strengthens the weak pelvic floor for the SUI group.

Study on Fast-Changing Mixed-Modulation Recognition Based on Neural Network Algorithms

  • Jing, Qingfeng;Wang, Huaxia;Yang, Liming
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.14 no.12
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    • pp.4664-4681
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    • 2020
  • Modulation recognition (MR) plays a key role in cognitive radar, cognitive radio, and some other civilian and military fields. While existing methods can identify the signal modulation type by extracting the signal characteristics, the quality of feature extraction has a serious impact on the recognition results. In this paper, an end-to-end MR method based on long short-term memory (LSTM) and the gated recurrent unit (GRU) is put forward, which can directly predict the modulation type from a sampled signal. Additionally, the sliding window method is applied to fast-changing mixed-modulation signals for which the signal modulation type changes over time. The recognition accuracy on training datasets in different SNR ranges and the proportion of each modulation method in misclassified samples are analyzed, and it is found to be reasonable to select the evenly-distributed and full range of SNR data as the training data. With the improvement of the SNR, the recognition accuracy increases rapidly. When the length of the training dataset increases, the neural network recognition effect is better. The loss function value of the neural network decreases with the increase of the training dataset length, and then tends to be stable. Moreover, when the fast-changing period is less than 20ms, the error rate is as high as 50%. As the fast-changing period is increased to 30ms, the error rates of the GRU and LSTM neural networks are less than 5%.