• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2008

Purpose : We evaluated the prevalence and clinical, microbiological features of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) in pediatric patients. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed medical records of pediatric patients diagnosed with EPT at The Catholic University of Korea, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital between 2000 and 2007. Results : Of 109 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), 12 patients (11%) were admitted with EPT. At 2006-2007, the proportion of patients with EPT among patients with TB was the highest (20%) comparing with last 6 years. The ratio of male to female patients was 1.4:1 and the mean age was 9.2 years (range, 3 months-15 years). The involved sites were pleura in 5 (41.6%), central nervous system in 3 (25%), miliary TB in 2 (16.7%), gastrointestinal tract in 1 (8.3%) and bone and joint in 1 (8.3%). The most common symptom at admission was fever (91.6%) and mean duration of fever was 15.8 days (range, 0-47 days) in spite of the proper treatment. Confirmed rate for acid fast bacillus stain, culture, and polymerase chain reaction were 33.3%, 41.6% and 41.6%. Of 5 culture proven cases, 4 (80%) were resistant to more than one antituberculosis drugs. Eleven patients recovered without complication and 1 patient died. Conclusion : Total incidence of TB decreased steadily according to the nationwide survey. However, our results suggest that the proportion of diagnosis with EPT among diagnosis with TB in children has increased. Microbiological diagnosis of EPT in children was more difficult than that of pulmonary TB. And drug resistance rate has increased.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.135-141
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• 1997

The early studies demonstrated that the relative amount of FSH was important for stimulating normal ovarian activity and demonstrated the existence of a threshold level for FSH, above which follicular growth was activated. It was found that only a modest increase in circulating FSH level above the threshold (between 10 and 30%) was required to stimulate folliculogenesis. In addition, FSH is primary responsible for initiating estradiol production through the activation of the aromatase enzyme system in granulosa cells, follicular secretion and growth. LH on the other hand, plays a supportive role in ovarian steroidogenesis, stimulating the ovarian thecal cells to produce androgen, the precursor for estradiol synthesis. But there is now an increasing number of reports in the literature demonstrating an adverse effect of LH on fertility and miscarriage in infertile and fertile women. So HP-FSH is the drug of a highly purified FSH preparation which has a higher specific activity and far fewer impurities than FSH. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HP-FSH administered (SC; subcutaneous) versus FSH(IM; intramuscular) for ovulation induction. 20 candidates patients for ovulation induction were participated. All patients underwent pituitary desensitizing with a long gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist protocol and ovulation induction was started with HP-FSH SC (10 patients; group I) or FSH IM (10 patients; group II). After ovulation, outcome of ovulation induction and local reaction of injection site were compared. There were no difference of outcome of ovulation in two groups except pregnancy rate/embryo transfer. Group I had a higher pregnancy rate/ embryo transfer than Group II (44.4% Vs 28.6%). Pain, redness, tenderness, bruising and itching when the injection received on the first 5 days of treated (50 SC and 50 IM injections) were assessed. There were no significant difference (P>0.05) in the incidence of tenderness, bruising and itching between the IM and SC injection. But IM injection (FSH) had a tendency of higher above incidence. The number of reports of pain, redness were significantly increased in IM injection group (P<0.05). These results indicate that SC administration of HP-FSH has been shown to be as effect for superovulation as traditional gonadotropins, with an improved safety profile due to the removal of extaneous proteins.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1151-1158
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• 2012

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes are the major cause of cervical cancer. Hence, HPV genotype detection is a helpful preventive measure to combat cervical cancer. Recently, several HPV detection methods have been developed, each with different sensitivities and specificities. The objective of this study was to compare HPV high risk genotype detection by an electrochemical DNA chip system, a line probe assay (INNO-LiPA) and sequencing of the L1, E1 regions. A total of 361 cervical smears with different cytological findings were subjected to polymerase chain reaction-sequencing and electrochemical DNA chip assessment. Multiple infections were found in 21.9% (79/361) of the specimens, most prevalently in 20-29-year olds while the highest prevalence of HPV infection was found in the 30-39-year age group. The most prevalent genotype was HPV 16 at 28.2% (138/489) followed by HPV 52 at 9.6% (47/489), with the other types occurring at less than 9.0%. The electrochemical DNA chip results were compared with INNO-LiPA and sequencing (E1 and L1 regions) based on random selection of 273 specimens. The results obtained by the three methods were in agreement except for three cases. Direct sequencing detected only one predominant genotype including low risk HPV genotypes. INNO-LiPA identified multiple infections with various specific genotypes including some unclassified-risk genotypes. The electrochemical DNA chip was highly accurate, suitable for detection of single and multiple infections, allowed rapid detection, was less time-consuming and was easier to perform when compared with the other methods. It is concluded that for clinical and epidemiological studies, all genotyping methods are perfectly suitable and provide comparable results.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3791-3794
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• 2012

CD44v, especially splice variants containing exon v6, has been shown to be related closely to development of different tumors. High levels of CD44v6/v7 have been reported to be associated with invasiveness and metastasis of many malignancies. The objective of this study was to detect expression of CD44v6-containing variants in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and evaluate the potential of CD44v6/v7 for risk stratification. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) followed by PCR product purification, ligation into T vectors and positive clone sequencing were used to detect CD44 v6-containing variant isoforms in 23 APL patients. Real-time quantitative PCR of the CD44v6/v7 gene was performed in patients with APL and in NB4 cells that were treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) or arsenic trioxide ($As_2O_3$). Sequencing results identified four isoforms (CD44v6/v7, CD44v6/v8/v10, CD44v6/v8/v9/v10, and CD44v6/v7/v8/v9/v10) in bone marrow mononuclear cells of 23 patients with APL. The level of CD44v6/v7 in high-risk cases was significantly higher than those with low-risk. Higher levels of CD44v6/v7 were found in three patients with central nervous system relapse than in other patients inthe same risk group. Furthermore, in contrast to ATRA, only $As_2O_3$ could significantly down-regulate CD44v6/v7 expression in NB4 cells. Our data suggest that CD44v6/v7 expression may be a prognostic indicator for APL.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7169-7174
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• 2014

Background: NPAS2 is a product of the circadian clock gene. It acts as a putative tumor suppressor by playing an important role in DNA damage responses, cell cycle control and apoptosis. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) appears to be an apoptosis related disorder and alteration in the NPAS2 gene might therefore be directly involved in the etiology of CLL. Here, the Ala394Thr polymorphism (rs2305160:G>A) in the NPAS2 gene was genotyped and melatonin concentrations were measured in a total of seventy-four individuals, including thirty-seven CLL cases and an equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to examine the effect of NPAS2 polymorphism and melatonin concentrations on CLL risk in a Pakistani population. Materials and Methods: Genotyping of rs2305160:G>A polymorphism at NPAS2 locus was carried out by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR). Melatonin concentrations were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Results: Our results demonstrated no association of the variant Thr genotypes (Ala/Thr and Thr/Thr) with risk of CLL. Similarly, no association of rs2305160 with CLL was observed in either females or males after stratification of study population on a gender basis. Moreover, when the subjects with CLL were further stratified into shift-workers and non-shift-workers, no association of rs2305160 with CLL was seen in either case. However, significantly low serum melatonin levels were observed in CLL patients as compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05). Also, lower melatonin levels were seen in shift-workers as compared to non-shift-workers (p<0.05). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the melatonin levels across NPAS2 genotypes in all subjects, subjects with CLL who were either shift workers or non-shift-workers. General Linear Model (GLM) univariate analysis revealed no significant association (p>0.05) of the rs2305160 polymorphism of the NPAS2 gene with melatonin levels in any of the groups. Conclusions: While low melatonin levels and shift-work can be considered as one of the risk factors for CLL, the NPAS2 rs2305160 polymorphism does not appear to have any association with risk of CLL in our Pakistani population.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.207-215
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• 1986

A new method was proposed to improve removal of nitrogen oxides $(NO_x)$ in exhaust gas by the reduction method using ammonia. At the relative humidity of 60%, 50 ppm of $NO_x$ was decomposed at the rate of 1% per hour in the reaction chamber. On the other hand, by adding $NH_3$ which was 5 times more concentrated than NOx, the decomposition rate increased to 6% per hour for 50 ppm $NO_x$ and 10% per hour for 20ppm $NO_x$. Within the actual exhausted gases, the decomposition rate of $NO_x$ reached the maximum 15% per hour because of coexisted reducing gases, such as hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide, and excess humidity containing trace metal ions. In the presence of acidic $SO_2$ gas, the decomposition rate of $NO_x$ decreased. The decomposition of $NO_x$ seems to be caused by the mist which is added to the system, and $NH_3$ in the mist which reduces $NO_x$.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.79-84
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• 2014

To investigate the plating properties of a diethylene glycol-based Ag immersion plating solution containing citric acid, silver immersion plating was performed in a range from room temperature to $50^{\circ}C$ using sputtered Cu specimens. The used Cu specimens possessed surface structure with large numbers of pinholes which were created with over-acid etching. The Ag immersion plating performed at $40^{\circ}C$ exhibited that the pinholes and copper surface were completely filled with Ag just after 5 min mainly due to galvanic displacement reaction, indicating the best plating properties. Subsequently, the surface morphology of Ag-coated Cu became rougher as the plating time increased to 30 min because of the deposition of silver nanoparticles created by chemical reduction in the solution. The specimen that its overall surface was covered with silver indicated the start of oxidation at temperature higher than around $50^{\circ}C$ in air as compared with pure Cu, indicating enhanced anti-oxidation properties.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.28-41
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• 2012

The User-Oriented Public Transit Service provide public transit service through media devices, such as mobile, BIT and In-vehicle display devices, which considered user's individual characteristics and specific preference anytime and anywhere. The objective of this study is to develop and improve the services in the three media devices. This study applied user-satisfaction analysis in evaluating the service in Busan, analyze factor affecting the level of service user's satisfaction, and draw remedies based on the analysis results. The user's satisfaction average values in each media are 3.29 mobile, 3.62 BIT, and 4.05 In-vehicle display devices. Overall satisfaction average value 3.54 on the service showed a positive reaction from the survey participants. The important factor affected on general satisfaction of the User-Oriented Public Transit Service is "In-vehicle display devices" scored .632 (standardized coefficient) by categorical regression analysis. But users prefer to further improve the service environment rather than to add service information because they are already contented with the information they are getting. Furthermore, this study suggested ways of improving the User-Oriented Public Transit Service based on the satisfaction analysis results from the user's perspective.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.4205-4209
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• 2011

The $Li_2Mn_{0.5}Fe_{0.5}SiO_4$ silicate was prepared by blending of $Li_2MnSiO_4$ and $Li_2FeSiO_4$ precursors with same molar ratio. The one of the silicates of $Li_2FeSiO_4$ is known as high capacitive up to ~330 mAh/g due to 2 mole electron exchange, and the other of $Li_2FeSiO_4$ has identical structure with $Li_2MnSiO_4$ and shows stable cycle with less capacity of ~170 mAh/g. The major drawback of silicate family is low electronic conductivity (3 orders of magnitude lower than $LiFePO_4$). To overcome this disadvantage, carbon composite of the silicate compound was prepared by sucrose mixing with silicate precursors and heat-treated in reducing atmosphere. The crystal structure and physical morphology of $Li_2Mn_{0.5}Fe_{0.5}SiO_4$ was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The $Li_2Mn_{0.5}Fe_{0.5}SiO_4$/C nanocomposite has a maximum discharge capacity of 200 mAh/g, and 63% of its discharge capacity is retained after the tenth cycles. We have realized that more than 1 mole of electrons are exchanged in $Li_2Mn_{0.5}Fe_{0.5}SiO_4$. We have observed that $Li_2Mn_{0.5}Fe_{0.5}SiO_4$ is unstable structure upon first delithiation with structural collapse. High temperature cell performance result shows high capacity of discharge capacity (244 mAh/g) but it had poor capacity retention (50%) due to the accelerated structural degradation and related reaction.

• Clean Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.266-273
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• 2007

The adsorption properties of the activated carbon-based adsorbents were studied to remove COS emitted from $SO_2$ catalytic reduction process on the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system in this work. Transition metal supported catalysts and mixed metal oxide catalysts were used for the $SO_2$ catalytic reduction. The mechanism of COS produced from the $SO_2$ reduction and the COS concentration s according to the reaction temperature were investigated. In this study, an activated carbon and a modified activated carbon doped with KOH were used to remove the very low concentration of COS effectively. The adsorption rate and the breakthrough time of COS were measured by a thermo gravity analyzer (TGA, Cahn Balance) and a fixed bed flow reactor equipped with GC-pulsed flammable photometric detector (PFPD), respectively. It was confirmed that the COS breakthrough time of the activated carbon doped with KOH was longer than that of an activated carbon. In conclusion, the modified-activated carbon having a high surface area showed a high adsorption rate of COS produced from the $SO_2$ reduction.