• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.2851-2857
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• 2013

Objective: REPS2 plays important roles in inhibiting cell proliferation, migration and in inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, now being identified as a useful biomarker for favorable prognosis in prostate and breast cancers. The purpose of this study was to assess REPS2 expression and to explore its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Protein expression of REPS2 in ESCCs and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from 120 patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patient outcome. Additionally, thirty paired ESCC tissues and four ESCC cell lines and one normal human esophageal epithelial cell line were evaluated for REPS2 mRNA and protein expression levels by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: REPS2 mRNA and protein expression levels were down-regulated in ESCC tissues and cell lines. Low protein levels were significantly associated with primary tumour, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and recurrence (all, P < 0.05). Survival analysis demonstrated that decreased REPS2 expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival and disease-free survival (both, P < 0.001), especially in early stage ESCC patients. When REPS2 expression and lymph node metastasis status were combined, patients with low REPS2 expression/lymph node (+) had both poorer overall and disease-free survival than others (both, P < 0.001). Cox multivariate regression analysis further revealed REPS2 to be an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that downregulation of REPS2 may contribute to malignant progression of ESCC and represent a novel prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for ESCC patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.212-219
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• 2017

Purpose: The aims of this study were to compare the 7th and 8th editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manuals on tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) staging systems and to evaluate whether the 8th edition represents a better refinement of the 7th staging system, when applied for the classification of gastric cancers. Materials and Methods: A total of 5,507 gastric cancer patients, who underwent treatment from January 1989 to December 2013 at a single institute, were included. We compared patient survival rates across the disease groups classified according to the 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC TNM staging systems. Results: Stage migration was observed in 6.4% (n=355) of the patients. Of these, 3.5% (n=192) and 2.9% (n=158) of patients showed a higher stage and lower stage, respectively. According to the 8th edition of the AJCC TNM staging criteria, the 5-year overall survival rates of the patients with stage IIIB and IIIC showed a significant difference (40.8% vs. 20.2%, P<0.001) whereas no significant differences in the 5-year overall survival rates were observed according to the 7th edition criteria (37.6% vs. 33.2%, P=0.381). Conclusions: Restaging stage III cancers according to the 8th edition of the AJCC TNM classification criteria improved survival rate discrimination, particularly, in institutes where the stage III patients were not distinctly categorized.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.27-30
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• 2001

Flow and transport at fracture intersections, and their effects on network scale transport, are investigated in three-dimensional random fracture networks. Fracture intersection mixing rules complete mixing and streamline routing are defined in terms of fluxes normal to the intersection line between two fractures. By analyzing flow statistics and particle transfer probabilities distributed along fracture intersections, it is shown that for various network structures with power law size distributions of fractures, the choice of intersection mixing rule makes comparatively little difference in the overall simulated solute migration patterns. The occurrence and effects of local flows around an intersection (local flow cells) are emphasized. Transport simulations at fracture intersections indicate that local flow circulations can arise from variability within the hydraulic head distribution along intersections, and from the internal no flow condition along fracture boundaries. These local flow cells act as an effective mechanism to enhance the nondiffusive breakthrough tailing often observed in discrete fracture networks. It is shown that such non-Fickian (anomalous) solute transport can be accounted for by considering only advective transport, in the framework of a continuous time random walk model. To clarify the effect of forest environmental changes (forest type difference and clearcut) on water storage capacity in soil and stream flow, watershed had been investigated.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2013

This study aims to improve the thermal comfort level of detached housing area by reducing the impact of thermal environment. The study focused on reducing surface temperature that is generated in buildings and adjacent spaces as a result of sensible heat load and presented a proposal on implementing planting method considering its outdoor condition and structure and composed materials. To perform the study, we utilized 3D-CAD to examine the outdoor condition and structure and composed materials that impact on surface temperature and conducted space design after reflecting climatic elements in simulations. The result is as follows. In reviewing temperature distribution of Heat Island Potential (HIP) of buildings and adjacent spaces, in case where green coverage ratio is increased, there was a $6^{\circ}C$ temperature difference and in regard to changes in the thermal environment in detached housing area, in case where rooftop planting, surface improvement, planting, and overall green coverage ratio is increased, there was a $10^{\circ}C$ temperature difference. In addition, there was difference in temperature in detached housing area following the changes in wind.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.63-76
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• 2012

Mother liquid discharged from a salt-manufacturing plant was electrodialyzed at 25 and $40^{\circ}C$ in a continuous process integrated with $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion low-permeable anion-exchange membranes to remove $Na_2SO_4$ and recover NaCl in the mother liquid. Performance of electrodialysis was evaluated by measuring ion concentration in a concentrated solution, permselectivity coefficient of $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ions against $Cl^-$ ions, current efficiency, cell voltage, energy consumption to obtain one ton of NaCl and membrane pair characteristics. The permselectivity coefficient of $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ions against $Cl^-$ ions was low enough particularly at $40^{\circ}C$ and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ transport across anion-exchange membranes was prevented successfully. Applying the overall mass transport equation, $Cl^-$ ion and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion transport across anion-exchange membranes is evaluated. $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion transport number is decreased due to the decrease of electro-migration of $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ions across the anion-exchange membranes. $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion concentration in desalting cells becomes higher than that in concentration cells and $SO_4{^{2-}}$ ion diffusion is accelerated across the anion-exchange membranes from desalting cells toward concentrating cells.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2006

Vitexin, a natural flavonoid compound identified as apigenin-8-C-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside, has been reported to exhibit antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated its effect on hypoxiainducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ (HIF-$1{\alpha}$) in rat pheochromacytoma (PC12), human osteosarcoma (HOS) and human hepatoma (HepG2) cells. Vitexin inhibited HIF-$1{\alpha}$ in PC12 cells, but not in HOS or HepG2 cells. In addition, it diminished the mRNA levels of hypoxia-inducible genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), smad3, aldolase A, enolase 1, and collagen type III in the PC12 cells. We found that vitexin inhibited the migration of PC12 cells as well as their invasion rates, and it also inhibited tube formation by human umbilical vein endothelium cells (HUVECs). Interestingly, vitexin inhibited the hypoxia-induced activation of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but not of extracellular-signal regulated protein kinase (ERK), implying that it acts in part via the JNK pathway. Overall, these results suggest the potential use of vitexin as a treatment for diseases such as cancer.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.613-624
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• 2014

The fractures in coal are the main migration and output channels of coalbed methane, directly influencing the permeability of the coal seams. It is of great significance to study the effect of fracture distribution in coals on the permeability of coal seam. The development rules of endogenetic and exogenetic fractures are different among various coal lithotypes. There is also difference in the fracture density for the same lithotype with different thicknesses. Through the observation and description of the macroscopic fractures in coal and the origin of fractures in coal, the effect of the coal lithotype and its thickness on fracture development in coal was discussed. It was found through the study that the density of fractures in vitrain band was the maximum for the same coal rank and thickness, followed by clarain band. There were few fractures developed in the durain band. However, the changes of fracture density in three types of bands presented different declining trends for low, medium and high coal rank. There were no fractures developed in the fusain. There were three variation patterns for the fracture densities at the same coal rank and coal lithotype: linear decrease, nonlinear decrease, and first decrease then remaining unchanged. However, the overall trend was that the fracture density decreased with the increase of thickness of coal band for the same coal rank and coal lithotype.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.207-211
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• 1987

A prospecitive study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Radionuclide Hysterosalpingography (RNHSG), that was modified by McCalley, et al. for the evaluation of fallopian tube. Using spontaneous migration of Tc99m labelled human albumin microsphers (HAM) and images got with Gamma camera, the study was made in 20 gynecological patients (44 tubes) in an effort to confirm the anatomical patency or obstruction as well as functional one at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Medical Center from January 1, 1986 to July 31, 1986. The efficacy was also compared with that of contrast hysterosalpingography and surgical observation. Results obtained were as follows; 1) The Radionuclide Hysterosalpingography appeared to be a simple and accurate procedure as a mean with which anatomical tubal patency, as well as functional patency can be detected, although it's some limit in showing anatomical details of uterine cavity and tubes in comparison with contrast hysterosalpingography. 2) The predicted value of tubal obstruction was 82.4%. and that of tubal patency was 88.9% respectively. Overall efficacy (percent of tube correctly classified) of Radionuclide Hysterosalpingography was 88.6%. 3) There was no nuclide related complication during and after the procedure.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.190-195
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• 2005

Objective : This study is performed to evaluate the procedural complications, aneurysm occlusion rate, and mid-term outcome of endovascular treatments in intracranial aneurysms. Methods : We retrospectively investigated 135 patients with 161 cerebral aneurysms who were treated by endovascular means at our institute from March 1999 to December 2004. We statistically analyzed overall outcome, occlusion rate, and occurrence of complications according to the location, size, rupture history, and neck size of aneurysms. Results : Forty-nine patients [36.3%] had experienced acute intracranial or extracranial complications related to the procedure. Among these, there were 13cases of perforation of the aneurysm, 9 of local vasospasm, 8 of thromboembolism, 4 of coil migration, 3 of occlusion of parent vessels due to coil protrusion, and 1 of seizure. Extracranial complications occurred in 14cases including alopecia [9cases], femoral artery thrombosis [2cases], acute renal failure [2cases], and hypovolemic shock [1case]. One hundred twenty-six aneurysms [78.3%] had complete occlusion of the aneurysm and 35 [21.7%] incomplete occlusion at 6months angiographic follow-up. Postembolization clinical follow-up ranged from 1 to 60months [mean, 14.2months]. Seven of the 161 aneurysms underwent additional embolization and 2 incomplete embolized aneurysms required subsequent surgery. Conclusion : The procedural complications and incomplete occlusion rates are substantial. Therefore, endovascular treatment needs close and continued neurosurgical and neuroradiological concerns for the therapy of intracranial aneurysms.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.19-30
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• 2019

Recent research on the behavior of silty sand tends to advocate the use of equivalent skeleton void ratio to characterize the density state of this type of soil. This paper presents an investigation to explore the physical meaning of the equivalent skeleton void ratio by means of DEM simulations for assemblies of coarse and fine particles under biaxial shear. The simulations reveal that the distribution pattern of fine particles in the soil skeleton plays a crucial role in the overall macroscopic response: The contractive response observed at the macro scale is mainly caused by the movement of fine particles out of the force chains whereas the dilative response is mainly associated with the migration of fine particles into the force chains. In an assembly of coarse and fine particles, neither all of the fine particles nor all of the coarse ones participate in the force chains to carry the external loads, and therefore a more reasonable definition for equivalent skeleton void ratio is put forward in which a new parameter d is introduced to take into account the fraction of coarse particles absent from the force chains.