• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7575-7581
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• 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential role in the development and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC). Despite advances in the field of cancer molecular biology and biomarker discovery, the development of clinically validated biomarkers for primary NPC has remained elusive. In this study, we investigated the expression and clinical significance of miRNAs as novel primary NPC diagnostic biomarkers. We used an array containing 2, 500 miRNAs to identify 22 significant miRNAs, and these candidate miRNAs were validated using 67 fresh NPC and 25 normal control tissues via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Expression and correlation analyses were performed with various statistical approaches, in addition to logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses to evaluate diagnostic efficacy. qRT-PCR revealed five differentially expressed miRNAs (miR-93-5p, miR-135b-5p, miR-205-5p and miR-183-5p) in NPC tissue samples relative to control samples (p<0.05), with miR-135b-5p and miR-205-5p being of significant diagnostic value (p<0.01). Moreover, comparison of NPC patient clinicopathologic data revealed a negative correlation between miR-93-5p and miR-183-5p expression levels and lymph node status (p<0.05). These findings display an altered expression of many miRNAs in NPC tissues, thus providing information pertinent to pathophysiological and diagnostic research. Ultimately, miR-135b-5p and miR-205-5p may be implicated as novel NPC candidate biomarkers, while miR-93-5p, miR-650 and miR-183-5p may find application as relevant clinical pathology and diagnostic candidate biomarkers.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2004

Petroleum reservoir characterization is a process for quantitatively describing various reservoir properties in spatial variability using all the available field data. Porosity and permeability are the two fundamental reservoir properties which relate to the amount of fluid contained in a reservoir and its ability to flow. These properties have a significant impact on petroleum fields operations and reservoir management. In un-cored intervals and well of heterogeneous formation, porosity and permeability estimation from conventional well logs has a difficult and complex problem to solve by conventional statistical methods. This paper suggests an intelligent technique using fuzzy logic and neural network to determine reservoir properties from well logs. Fuzzy curve analysis based on fuzzy logics is used for selecting the best related well logs with core porosity and permeability data. Neural network is used as a nonlinear regression method to develop transformation between the selected well logs and core analysis data. The intelligent technique is demonstrated with an application to the well data in offshore Korea. The results show that this technique can make more accurate and reliable properties estimation compared with previously used methods. The intelligent technique can be utilized a powerful tool for reservoir characterization from well logs in oil and natural gas development projects.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2016

Purpose: Patients suffering from acute poisoning by different substances often visit the emergency department (ED) and receive various prognoses according to the toxic material and patients' condition. Hyperlactatemia, which is an increased blood lactate level that generally indicates tissue hypoperfusion, is commonly utilized as a prognostic marker in critically ill patients such as those with sepsis. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between blood lactate and clinical prognosis in acute poisoned patients. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 2013 to June 2014 at a single and regional-tertiary ED. We enrolled study patients who were examined for blood test with lactate among acute intoxicated patients. The toxic materials, patient demographics, laboratory data, and mortalities were also reviewed. Additionally, we analyzed variables including blood lactate to verify the correlation with patient mortality. Results: A total of 531 patients were enrolled, including 24 (4.5%) non-survivors. Patient age, Glasgow coma scale (GCS), serum creatinine (Cr), aspartate transaminase (AST), and serum lactate differed significantly between survivors and non-survivors in the binary logistic regression analysis. Among these variables, GCS, AST, and lactate differed significantly. The median serum lactate levels were 2.0 mmol/L among survivors and 6.9 mmol/L among non-survivors. The AUC with the ROC curve and odds ratio of the initial serum lactate were 0.881 and 3.06 (0.89-8.64), respectively. Conclusion: Serum lactate was correlated with fatalities of acute poisoning patients in the ED; therefore, it may be used as a clinical predictor to anticipate their prognoses.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.17-25
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• 2007

Convergent flow tracer test for 2 m (IW-1 well) and 5 m (IW-2 well) of test scale was conducted at the alluvial aquifer with high permeability and storativity. Pumping rate for convergent flow tracer test were $2,500m^3/day$, and the chloride tracer of 5 kg was instantaneously injected into IW-1 and IW-2 wells. Differences of first arrival time and peak concentration were analyzed by using the concentration breakthrough curves of chloride. Recovered chloride mass were analyzed by recovered cumulative mass curves. And, increment and decrement for chloride concentration were analyzed through chloride concentration versus recovered cumulative mass ratio graphs. Also, increment and decrement ratios of chloride concentration were estimated through linear regression analyses for increment and decrement intervals of chloride concentration. Longitudinal dispersivities were estimated by quot;Converging Radial Flow With Instantaneous Injectionquot; method using CATTI code. Longitudinal dispersivities estimated by CATTI code were 0.4152 m between pumping well and IW-1 well, and 3.2665 m between pumping well and IW-2 well. Longitudinal dispersivity was increased according to far distance from the pumping well. The longitudinal dispersivity according to distance were estimated as 0.21 between pumping well and IW-1 well, and 0.65 between pumping well and IW-2 well.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.120-124
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• 2011

Predictive mathematical models were developed for predicting the kinetics of growth of Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon, which is the popular ready-to-eat foods in the world, as a function of temperature (4, 10, 20 and $30^{\circ}C$). At these storage temperature, the primary growth curve fit well ($r^2$=0.989~0.996) to a Gompertz equation to obtain specific growth rate (SGR) and lag time (LT). The Polynomial model for natural logarithm transformation of the SGR and LT as a function of temperature was obtained by nonlinear regression (Prism, version 4.0, GraphPad Software). Results indicate L. monocytogenes growth was affected by temperature mainly, and SGR model equation is $365.3-31.94^*Temperature+0.6661^*Temperature^{\wedge^2}$ and LT model equation is $0.1162-0.01674^*Temperature+0.0009303^*Temperature{\wedge^2}$. As storage temperature decreased $30^{\circ}C$ to $4^{\circ}C$, SGR decreased and LT increased respectively. Polynomial model was identified as appropriate secondary model for SGR and LT on the basis of most statistical indices such as bias factor (1.01 by SGR, 1.55 by LT) and accuracy factor (1.03 by SGR, 1.58 by LT).

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.276-282
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• 2020

Background: Orbital fractures are the most common pediatric facial fractures. Treatment is conservative due to the anatomical differences that make children more resilient to severe displacement or orbital volume change than adults. Although rarely, extensive fractures may result in enophthalmos, causing cosmetic problems. We aimed to establish criteria for extensive fractures that may result in enophthalmos. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients aged 0-15 years diagnosed with orbital fractures in our hospital from January 2010 to February 2019. Computed tomography images were used to classify the fractures into linear, trapdoor, and open-door types, and to estimate the defect size. Data on enophthalmos severity (Hertel exophthalmometry results) and fracture pattern and size at the time of injury were obtained from patients who did not undergo surgery during the follow-up and were used to identify the surgical indications for pediatric orbital fractures. Results: A total of 305 pediatric patients with pure orbital fractures were included-257 males (84.3%), 48 females (15.7%); mean age, 12.01±2.99 years. The defect size (p=0.002) and fracture type (p=0.017) were identified as the variables affecting the enophthalmometric difference between the eyes of non-operated patients. In the linear regression analysis, the variable affecting the fracture size was open-door type fracture (p<0.001). Pearson's correlation analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the enophthalmometric difference and the bony defect size (p=0.003). Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a cutoff value of 1.81 ㎠ was obtained (sensitivity, 0.543; specificity, 0.724; p=0.002). Conclusion: The incidence of enophthalmos in pediatric pure orbital fractures was found to increase with fracture size, with an even higher incidence when open-door type fracture was a cofactor. In clinical settings, pediatric orbital fractures larger than 1.81 ㎠ may be considered as extensive fractures that can result in enophthalmos and consequent cosmetic problems.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3485-3491
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• 2015

Background: Nodal invasion by colorectal cancer is a critical determinant in estimating patient survival and in choosing appropriate preoperative treatment. The present meta-analysis was designed to evaluate the diagnostic value of endorectal ultrasound (EUS) in preoperative assessment of lymph node involvement in colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases for relevant studies published on or before December 10th, 2014. The sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) were assessed to estimate the diagnostic value of EUS. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were performed to explore heterogeneity across studies. Results: Thirty-three studies covering 3,016 subjects were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.69 (95%CI: 0.63-0.75) and 0.77 (95%CI: 0.73-0.82), respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3.09 (95%CI: 2.52-3.78) and 0.39 (95%CI: 0.32-0.48), respectively. The DOR was 7.84 (95%CI: 5.56-11.08), and AUC was 0.80 (95%CI: 0.77-0.84). Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicated that EUS has moderate diagnostic value in preoperative assessment of lymph node involvement in colorectal cancer. Further refinements in technology and diagnostic criteria are necessary to improve the diagnostic accuracy of EUS.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.871-876
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• 2014

Objective: Desmogleins (DSGs) are major members among the desmosomal cadherins critically involved in cell-cell adhesion and the maintenance of normal tissue architecture in epithelia. Reports exploring links of DSG family member expression with cancers are few and vary. The aim of this study was to investigate the ratio of DSG2 and DSG3 mRNA expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissue to normal tissue (T/N ratio) and evaluate correlations with clinical parameters. Methods: The mRNA expression of DSGs, as well as ${\gamma}$-catenin and desmoplakin, was detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in 85 cases of ESCC tissue specimens. Results: The expression level of DSG3 mRNA was significantly higher than that of DSG2 in ESCC specimens (p=0.000). DSG3 mRNA expression highly correlated with histological grade (p=0.009), whereas that of DSG2 did not significantly relate to any clinicopathologic parameter. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that only DSG3 expression had an impact on the survival curve, with negative DSG3 expression indicating worse survival (p=0.038). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated DSG3 to be an independent prognostic factor for survival. Furthermore, correlation analysis demonstrated the mRNA level of DSG3 to highly correlate with those of ${\gamma}$-catenin and desmoplakin in ESCC samples (p=0.000), implying that the expression of desmosomal components might be regulated by the same upstream regulatory molecules. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that DSG3 may be involved in the progression of ESCC and serve as a prognostic marker, while expression of DSG2 cannot be used as a predictor of ESCC patient outcome.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.39-50
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• 2015

This research selected Daegu Metropolitan City representing a combination of natural space and urban space for this case study. To achieve this, a prerequisite was to set up an optimal block size to evaluate landscape diversity of the research site by using a RPR-Area Curve. Further, landscape diversity evaluation was conducted based on land cover map by using FRAGSTATS to analyze spatio-temporal changes. Notably, this research regarded it as the most significant to set forth criteria in order to apply landscape diversity to the development plans of the newtown and outskirt of a city under high pressure development. Results derived from this research are summarized as follows. According to the results derived from establishing the optimal block size, a size about $2km^2$ was analyzed to measure landscape diversity of the research site. Also, according to the results derived from land diversity evaluation based on land cover map, land diversity was highly measured around urban stream such as Nakdong River and Geumho River, and in particular, the value of landscape diversity was measured considerably high around the urban parks. Results derived from analysis on spatio-temporal changes of land diversity demonstrated that a certain level of urban development exerted a positive effect on an increase in land diversity, but consistent urban development lowered a value of landscape diversity. Results derived from regression analysis to set forth the optimal urban space showed that an urban area of a space about $2km^2$ exerted a positive effect at a rate of about 0~43.3% and a negative effect at a rate about 43.3~100%. In conclusion, the results of this research are considered to provide important basic data for future urban and landscape planning. Nonetheless, as only the layout on the 2D plane was analyzed in this research, further research in future is required to complexly consider diverse factors such as height of structure and change in visible real area arising from geographical features.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.251-261
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• 2020

The developmental ecology and temperature-dependent growth model were calculated to develop the Scotinophara lurida control technology, which is mainly affected by environmentally friendly rice cultivation. The survival rate of S. lurida after overwintering in 2019 showed that 167 of 224 survived and the survival rate was 72.8%. Overwintering adult of S. lurida occur in rice fields in mid-June, spawn in early July, and first-generation adults develop in mid-August. In order to determine the temperature-dependent growth model, the growth periods by temperature and development stage were investigated in a incubator at 18, 21, 24, 27, 30℃ and 14L: 10D. The period from egg to adult at the temperature of 18, 21, 24, 27, 30℃ was 119.8, 73.1, 53.5, 39.4, and 82.0 days, respectively. The best development temperature was at 27℃. The regression curve was obtained by analyzing the relationship between temperature and growth rate using the Excell program, and the base temperature threshold and effective cumulative temperature for each development stage were calculated. From eggs to 5 nymphs of S. lurida the base temperature threshold was 17.9℃ and the effective cumulative temperature was 380.2 DD.