• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3605-3610
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• 2016

Background: Histone acetylation in chromatin structures plays a key role in regulation of gene transcription and is strictly controlled by histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and deacetylase (HDAC) activities. HDAC deregulation has been reported in several cancers. Materials and Methods: The expression of 10 HDACs (including HDAC class I and II) was studied by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) in a cohort of mesenchymal stem cells (MM-MSCs) from 10 multiple myeloma patients with a median age 60y. The results were compared with those obtained for normal donors. Then, a coculture system was performed between MM-MSCs and u266 cell line, in the presence or absence of sodium butyrate (NaBT), to understand the effects of HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) in MM-MSCs on multiple myeloma cases. Also, the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) gene expression level and apoptotic effects were investigated in MM-MSCs patients and control group following NaBT treatment. Results: The results indicated that upregulated (HDACs) and downregulated (IL6 and VEGFA) genes were differentially expressed in the MM-MSCs derived from patients with multiple myeloma and ND-MSCs from normal donors. Comparison of the MM-MSCs and ND-MSCs also showed distinct HDACs expression patterns. For the first time to our knowledge, a significant increase of apoptosis was observed in coculture with MM-MSCs treated with NaBT. Conclusions: The obtained findings elucidate a complex set of actions in MSCs in response to HDAC inhibitors, which may be responsible for anticancer effects. Also, the data support the idea that MSCs are new therapeutic targets as a potential effective strategy for MM.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.152-157
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• 2005

Strain Kw07$^T$, a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, was isolated from granules in an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) bioreactor used in the treatment of brewery waste­water. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain Kw07T belongs to the a-4 subclass of the Proteobacteria, and the highest degree of sequence similarity was determined to be to Sphingopyxis macrogoltabida IFO 15033T (97.8%). Chemotaxonomic data revealed that strain Kw07T possesses a quinone system with the predominant compound Q-I0, the predominant fatty acid C,s:, OJ7c, and sphingolipids, aU of which corroborated our assignment ofthe strain to the Sphingopyxis genus. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization and physiological and biochemical tests clearly demonstrated that strain Kw07T represents a distinct species. Based on these data, Kw07T (= KCTC 12209T = NBRC 100800T) should be classified as the type strain for a novel Sphingopyxis species, for which the name Sphingopyxis granuli sp. novo has been proposed.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.35-40
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• 2013

In this paper, we propose a new image rejection receiver architecture using simultaneously the high-side and low-side injected LO signals. The proposed architecture has a lower noise figure (NF) performance and a higher linearity characteristic than the previous receiver architecture using a single LO signal. Also, the proposed receiver shows a higher IRR performance about 6dB than that of the previous Weaver image rejection architecture even though the same gain and phase errors between I-path and Q-path exist. To verify these characteristics, we derive an IRR formular of the proposed architecture as a function of mismatch parameters. And we demonstrate its formular's usefulness through the system simulation. Therefore, the proposed architecture will be widely used to implement the image rejection receiver due to its higher IRR performance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.260-267
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• 2017

Quantum-inspired Genetic Algorithm (QGA) is a probabilistic search optimization method combined quantum computation and genetic algorithm. In QGA, the chromosomes are encoded by qubits and are updated by quantum rotation gates, which can achieve a genetic search. Asset-based weapon target assignment (WTA) problem can be described as an optimization problem in which the defenders assign the weapons to hostile targets in order to maximize the value of a group of surviving assets threatened by the targets. It has already been proven that the WTA problem is NP-complete. In this study, we propose a QGA and a hybrid-QGA to solve an asset-based WTA problem. In the proposed QGA, a set of probabilistic superposition of qubits are coded and collapsed into a target number. Q-gate updating strategy is also used for search guidance. The hybrid-QGA is generated by incorporating both the random search capability of QGA and the evolution capability of genetic algorithm (GA). To observe the performance of each algorithm, we construct three synthetic WTA problems and check how each algorithm works on them. Simulation results show that all of the algorithm have good quality of solutions. Since the difference among mean resulting value is within 2%, we run the nonparametric pairwise Wilcoxon rank sum test for testing the equality of the means among the results. The Wilcoxon test reveals that GA has better quality than the others. In contrast, the simulation results indicate that hybrid-QGA and QGA is much faster than GA for the production of the same number of generations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.995-1015
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• 2016

In the design and condition assessment of bridges, it is usually necessary to take into consideration the extreme conditions which are not expected to occur within a short time period and thus require an extrapolation from observations of limited duration. Long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) provides a rich database to evaluate the extreme conditions. This paper focuses on the extrapolation of extreme traffic load effects on bridges using long-term monitoring data of structural strain. The suspension Tsing Ma Bridge (TMB), which carries both highway and railway traffic and is instrumented with a long-term SHM system, is taken as a testbed for the present study. Two popular extreme value extrapolation methods: the block maxima approach and the peaks-over-threshold approach, are employed to extrapolate the extreme stresses induced by highway traffic and railway traffic, respectively. Characteristic values of the extreme stresses with a return period of 120 years (the design life of the bridge) obtained by the two methods are compared. It is found that the extrapolated extreme stresses are robust to the extrapolation technique. It may owe to the richness and good quality of the long-term strain data acquired. These characteristic extremes are also compared with the design values and found to be much smaller than the design values, indicating conservative design values of traffic loading and a safe traffic-loading condition of the bridge. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the design and condition assessment of similar bridges carrying heavy traffic, analogous to the TMB.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.679-687
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• 2020

This study quantitatively analyzed the effects of self-efficacy in the workplace on job-stress and work-life balance (WLB) using a structural equation model (SEM) to seek ways to increase the WLB. Because the current government promotes the 52-hour weekly policy, WLB that refers to the balance between work and life that is used throughout society. In addition, self-efficacy, which was used mainly in the home and education system, has expanded its scope of application, and efforts to increase it in the workplace are working as demand for the times. The observation variables to be included in the SEM were collected from a questionnaire of 5,454 adults, and AMOS 21 was used for statistical analysis. As a result of the analysis, self-efficacy in the workplace has a negative correlation with stress, and a higher self-efficacy means a higher WLB. The results of this study did not show that the more workers are passionate about their work in the workplace due to work-oriented thinking and behavior rather than home had a lower WLB. In addition, these results can be used to analyze the WLB policy in the ROK Army.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1716-1721
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• 2021

Chikungunya fever is an arboviral disease caused by the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease has similar clinical manifestations with other acute febrile illnesses which complicates differential diagnosis in low-resource settings. We aimed to develop a rapid test for CHIKV detection based on the nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay technology. The system consists of a primer set that recognizes the E1 region of the CHIKV genome and test strips in an enclosed cassette which are used to detect amplicons labeled with FITC/biotin. Amplification of the viral genome was done using open-source PCR, a low-cost open-source thermal cycler. Assay performance was evaluated using a panel of RNA isolated from patients' blood with confirmed CHIKV (n = 8) and dengue virus (n = 20) infection. The open-source PCR-NALFIA platform had a limit of detection of 10 RNA copies/ml. The assay had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 67.56% - 100%) and 100% (95% CI: 83.89% - 100%), respectively, compared to reference standards of any positive virus culture on C6/36 cell lines and/or qRT-PCR. Further evaluation of its performance using a larger sample size may provide important data to extend its usefulness, especially its utilization in the peripheral healthcare facilities with scarce resources and outbreak situations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.301-309
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• 2022

Protective coatings are most widely used anticorrosive structures for steel structures. The corrosion under the coating damages the host material, but this damage is completely hidden. Therefore, a field-applicable under-coating-corrosion visualization method has been desired for a long time. Laser ultrasonic technology has been studied in various fields as an in situ nondestructive inspection method. In this study, a comparative analysis was carried out between a guided-wave ultrasonic propagation imager (UPI) and pulse-echo UPI, which have the potential to be used in the field of under-coating-corrosion management. Both guided-wave UPI and pulse-echo UPI were able to successfully visualize the corrosion. Regarding the field application, the guided-wave UPI performing Q-switch laser scanning and piezoelectric sensing by magnetic attachment exhibited advantages owing to the larger distance and incident angle in the laser measurement than those of the pulse-echo UPI. Regarding the corrosion visualization methods, the combination of adjacent wave subtraction and variable time window amplitude mapping (VTWAM) provided acceptable results for the guided-wave UPI, while VTWAM was sufficient for the pule-echo UPI. In addition, the capability of multiple sensing in a single channel of the guided-wave UPI could improve the field applicability as well as the relatively smaller size of the system. Thus, we propose a guided-wave UPI as a tool for under-coating-corrosion management.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2002

We developed an optical transmitter and receiver for an electrical time division multiplexed (ETDM) 20 Gb/s optical transmission system, and experimentally investigated their characteristics. Especially, the clock extraction circuit, which is a key component in realizing broadband optical transmission receivers, was realized by using an NRZ-to-PRZ converter implemented with a half-period delay line and an EX-OR, a high-Q bandpass filter using a cylindrical dielectric resonator, and a microstrip coupled-line bandpass filter. Finally, the bit-error-rate of demultiplexed 10 Gb/s electrical signal after back to-back transmission was measured, and a high receiver sensitivity [-26.2 dBm for NRZ ($2^{7}-1$) pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS)] was obtained

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.716-729
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• 2015

Small-scale household digesters have been promoted across Asia as a sustainable way of handling manure. The major advantages are that they produce biogas and reduce odor. However their disadvantages include the low recycling of nutrients, because digestate is dilute and therefore difficult to transport, and the loss of biogas as a result of cracks and the intentional release of excess biogas. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess the environmental impacts associated with biogas digesters in Vietnam. Handling 1,000 kg of liquid manure and 100 kg of solid manure in a system with a biogas digester reduced the impact potential from 4.4 kg carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) equivalents to 3.2 kg $CO_2$ equivalents compared with traditional manure management. However, this advantage could easily be compromised if digester construction is considered in the LCA or in situations where there is an excess of biogas which is intentionally released. A sensitivity analysis showed that biogas digesters could be a means of reducing global warming if methane emissions can be kept low. In terms of eutrophication, farms with biogas digesters had 3 to 4 times greater impacts. In order to make biogas digesters sustainable, methods for recycling digestates are urgently required.