• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.131-135
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• 2006

A commercial ion chamber matrix was examined the characteristics and its performance for radiotherapy qualify assurance. The device was the I'mRT 2D-MatriXX (Scanditronix-Wellhofer, Schwarzenbruck, Germany). The 2D-MatriXX device consists of a 1020 vented ion chamber array, arranged in $24{\times}24cm^2$ matrix. Each ion chamber has a volume of $0.08cm^3$, spacing of 0.762 cm and minimum sampling time of 20 ms. For the investigation of the characteristics, dose linearity, output factor, short-term reproducibility and dose rate dependency were tested. In the testing of dose linearity. It has shown a good signal linearity within 1% in the range of $1{\sim}800$cGy. Dose rate dependency was found to be lower than 0.4% (Range: 100-600 Mu/min) relative to a dose rate of 300 Mu/min as a reference. Output factors matched very well within 0.5% compared with commissioned beam data using a ionization chamber (CC01, Scanditronix-Wellhofer, Schwarzenbruck, Germany) in the range of field sizes $3{\times}3{\sim}24{\times}24cm^2$. Short-term reproducibility (6 times with a interval of 15 minute) was also shown a good agreement within 0.5%, when the temperature and the pressure were corrected by each time of measurement. in addition, we compared enhanced dynamic wedge (EDW, Varian, Palo Alto, USA) profiles from calculated values in the radiation planning system with those from measurements of the MatriXX. Furthermore, anon-uniform IMRT dose fluence was tested. All the comparison studies have shown good agreements. In this study, the MatriXX was evaluated as a reliable dosimeter, and it could be used as a simplistic and convenient tool for radiotherapy qualify assurance.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2001

Purpose : $T_2$-weighted half courier Echo Planar Imaging (T2HEPI) method is proposed to reduce measurement time of existing EPI by a factor of 2. In addition, high $T_2$ contrast is obtained for clinical applications. High resolution single-shot EPI images with $T_2$ contrast are obtained with $128{\times}128$ matrix size by the proposed method. Materials and methods : In order to reduce measurement time in EPI, half courier space is measured, and rest of half courier data is obtained by conjugate symmetric filling. Thus high resolution single shot EPI image with $128{\times}128$ matrix size is obtained with 64 echoes. By the arrangement of phase encoding gradients, high $T_2$ weighted images are obtained. The acquired data in k-space are shifted if there exists residual gradient field due to eddy current along phase encoding gradient, which results in a serious problem in the reconstructed image. The residual field is estimated by the correlation coefficient between the echo signal for dc and the corresponding reference data acquired during the pre-scan. Once the residual gradient field is properly estimated, it can be removed by the adjustment of initial phase encoding gradient field between $70^{\circ}$ and $180^{\circ}$ rf pulses. Results : The suggested T2EPl is implemented in a 1.0 Tela whole body MRI system. Experiments are done with the effective echo times of 72ms and 96ms with single shot acquisitions. High resolution($128{\times}128$) volunteer head images with high $T_2$ contrast are obtained in a single scan by the proposed method. Conclusion : Using the half courier technique, higher resolution EPI images are obtained with matrix size of $128{\times}128$ in a single scan. Furthermore $T_2$ contrast is controlled by the effective echo time. Since the suggested method can be implemented by software alone (pulse sequence and corresponding tuning and reconstruction algorithms) without addition of special hardware, it can be widely used in existing MRI systems.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 2007

The present study investigated anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity of glycoprotein isolated from Morus Indica Linne (MIL glycoprotein). We found that MIL glycoprotein has a molecular weight of 32 kD and consists of carbohydrate (40.03%) and protein (59.97%), and that it has a strong scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical $({\cdot}OH)$, and superoxide anion $(O_2{\cdot}\;^-)$ radicals. In addition, MIL glycoprotein had a stable character and an optimal DPPH radical scavenging activity in the alkaline and neutral pH solution, and up to at 105. However, the results indicated that it has a minimal scavenging activity in the metal ionic solution ($Ca^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$) in the presence of EDTA. In addition, we further investigated whether MIL glycoprotein scavenges oxygen radicals and blocks inflammation-related signals in the bisphenol A (BPA)-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells. The results in this study showed that it has a character to scavenge the productions of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) dose-dependently. Also it blocked the activities of inflammation-related signals such as nuclear factor-kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). For example, it had an inhibitory effect on the activation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ (p50) and iNOS proteins at 200 ${\mu}g/mL$ MIL glycoprotein. Here, we speculate that MIL glycoprotein is one of natural antioxidants and of modulators of the BPA-induced inflammation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.200-208
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• 2011

Most problematic antibiotic resistance mechanism for MLS (macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramn B) antibiotics encountered in clinical practice is mono- or dimethylation of specific adenine residue at 2058 (E. coli coordinate) of 23S rRNA which is performed by Erm (erythromycin ribosome resistance) protein through which bacterial ribosomes reduce the affinity to the antibiotics and become resistant to them. ErmSF is one of the four gene products produced by Streptomyces fradiae to be resistant to its own antibiotic, tylosin. Unlike other Erm proteins, ErmSF harbors idiosyncratic long N-terminal end region (NTER) 25% of which is comprised of arginine well known to interact with RNA. Furthermore, NTER was found to be important because when it was truncated, most of the enzyme activity was lost. Based on these facts, capability of NTER peptide to inhibit the enzymatic activity of ErmSF was sought. For this, expression system for two different proteins to be expressed in one cell was developed. In this system, two plasmids, pET23b and pACYC184 have unique replication origins to be compatible with each other in a cell. And expression system harboring promoter, ribosome binding site and transcription termination signal is identical but disparate amount of protein could be expressed according to the copy number of each vector, 15 for pACYC and 40 for pET23b. Expression of NTER peptide in pET23b together with ErmSF in pACYC 184 in E. coli successfully gave more amounts of NTER than ErmSF but no inhibitory effects were observed suggesting that there should be dynamicity in interaction between ErmSF and rRNA rather than simple and fixed binding to each other in methylation of 23S rRNA by ErmSF.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.218-228
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• 2010

Components of dental resin-based restorative materials are reported to leach from the filling materials even after polymerization. Hydroquinone (HQ) is one of the major monomers used in the dental resin and is known as a carcinogen. Thus, carcinogenic risk of HQ leaching from the dental resin becomes a public health concern. The present study attempted to examine the carcinogenic potentials of HQ on the human epithelial cell, which is the target cell origin of the most of oral cancers. Cytotoxicity of HQ was observed above 50${\mu}M$ as measured by LDH assay, indicating a relatively low toxicity of this substance in human epithelial cells. The parameters of neoplastic cellular transformation such as cell saturation density, soft agar colony formation and cell aggregation were analyzed to examine the carcinogenic potential of HQ. The study showed that 2-week exposure of HQ showed the tendency of increase in the saturation density and the significant enhancement of soft agar colony formation at the highest dose, 50 ${\mu}M$ only. It is suggested that HQ has a weak potential of carcinogenicity. When cells were treated with HQ and TPA, a well-known tumor promoter, the parameters of neoplastic cellular transformation was significantly increased. This result indicates that the potential risk of carcinogenicity from HQ is largely dependent upon the presence of promoter. Exposure of 50 ${\mu}M$ HQ increased the time-dependent apoptosis as measured by the ELISA kit. This concentration coincides with a dose of neoplastic transformation, indicating a possible link between apoptosis and HQ-induced cellular transformation. Hydroquinone generated Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) which was evidenced by the treatment of antioxidants such as trolox and N-acetyl cysteine and the GSH depleting agent, BSO. Antioxidants blocked the generation of ROS and the GSH depleting agent, BSO dramatically increased the ROS production. Since HQ is known to increase ROS production thru activation of transcriptional factor such as c-Myb and Pim-1, it is speculated that ROS generation by HQ plays a role in the activation of oncogene, which may lead to neoplastic transformation. In addition, ROS is involved in the alteration of signal transduction, which regulates the apoptosis in many cellular systems. Thus, ROS-mediated apoptosis may be involved in the HQ-induced carcinogenic processes. Protein kinase C (PKC) is known to play pivotal roles in neoplastic transformation of cells and its high expression is often found in a variety of types of tumors including oral cancer. PKC translocation of PKC-${\alpha}$ was observed following HQ exposure. Altered signaling system may also play a role in the transformation process. Taken together, HQ leached from the dental resin does not pose a significant threat as a cancer causing agent, but its carcinogenic potential can be significantly elevated in the presence of promoter. The mechanism of HQ-induced carcinogenesis involved ROS generation, apoptosis and altered signaling pathway. The present study will provide a valuable data to estimate the potential risk of HQ as a carcinogen and understand mechanism of HQ-induced carcinogenesis in human epithelial cells.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.31 no.12C
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• pp.1173-1183
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• 2006

In this paper, we propose an efficient method for improving visual quality of AR-FGS (Adaptive Reference FGS) which is adopted as a key scheme for SVC (Scalable Video Coding) or H.264 scalable extension. The standard FGS (Fine Granularity Scalability) adopts AR-FGS that introduces temporal prediction into FGS layer by using a high quality reference signal which is constructed by the weighted average between the base layer reconstructed imageand enhancement reference to improve the coding efficiency in the FGS layer. However, when the enhancement stream is truncated at certain bitstream position in transmission, the rest of the data of the FGS layer will not be available at the FGS decoder. Thus the most noticeable problem of using the enhancement layer in prediction is the degraded visual quality caused by drifting because of the mismatch between the reference frame used by the FGS encoder and that by the decoder. To solve this problem, we exploit the principle of cyclical block coding that is used to encode quantized transform coefficients in a cyclical manner in the FGS layer. Encoding block coefficients in a cyclical manner places 'higher-value' bits earlier in the bitstream. The quantized transform coefficients included in the ealry coding cycle of cyclical block coding have higher probability to be correctly received and decoded than the others included in the later cycle of the cyclical block coding. Therefore, we can minimize visual quality degradation caused by bitstream truncation by adjusting weighting factor to control the contribution of the bitstream produced in each coding cycle of cyclical block coding when constructing the enhancement layer reference frame. It is shown by simulations that the improved AR-FGS scheme outperforms the standard AR-FGS by about 1 dB in maximum in the reconstructed visual quality.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.193-200
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• 2015

The aim of this study is to present commissioning results of the ViewRay system. We verified safety functions of the ViewRay system. For imaging system, we acquired signal to noise ratio (SNR) and image uniformity. In addition, we checked spatial integrity of the image. Couch movement accuracy and coincidence of isocenters (radiation therapy system, imaging system and virtual isocneter) was verified. Accuracy of MLC positioing was checked. We performed reference dosimetry according to American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 51 (TG-51) in water phantom for head 1 and 3. The deviations between measurements and calculation of percent depth dose (PDD) and output factor were evaluated. Finally, we performed gamma evaluations with a total of 8 IMRT plans as an end-to-end (E2E) test of the system. Every safety system of ViewRay operated properly. The values of SNR and Uniformity met the tolerance level. Every point within 10 cm and 17.5 cm radii about the isocenter showed deviations less than 1 mm and 2 mm, respectively. The average couch movement errors in transverse (x), longitudinal (y) and vertical (z) directions were 0.2 mm, 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm, respectively. The deviations between radiation isocenter and virtual isocenter in x, y and z directions were 0 mm, 0 mm and 0.3 mm, respectively. Those between virtual isocenter and imaging isocenter were 0.6 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.2 mm, respectively. The average MLC positioning errors were less than 0.6 mm. The deviations of output, PDDs between mesured vs. BJR supplement 25, PDDs between measured and calculated and output factors of each head were less than 0.5%, 1%, 1% and 2%, respectively. For E2E test, average gamma passing rate with 3%/3 mm criterion was $99.9%{\pm}0.1%$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4517-4525
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• 2016

Background: Sperm DNA damage is underlying aetiology of poor implantation and pregnancy rates but also affects health of offspring and may also result in denovo mutations in germ line and post fertilization. This may result in complex diseases, polygenic disorders and childhood cancers. Childhood cancer like retinoblastoma (RB) is more prevalent in developing countries and the incidence of RB has increased more than three fold in India in the last decade. Recent studies have documented increased incidence of cancers in children born to fathers who consume alcohol in excess and tobacco or who were conceived by assisted conception. The aetiology of childhood cancer and increased disease burden in these children is lin ked to oxidative stress (OS) and oxidative DNA damage( ODD) in sperm of their fathers. Though several antioxidants are in use to combat oxidative stress, the effect of majority of these formulations on DNA is not known. Yoga and meditation cause significant decline in OS and ODD and aid in regulating OS levels such that reactive oxygen speues meditated signal transduction, gene expression and several other physiological functions are not disrupted. Thus, this study aimed to analyze sperm ODD as a possible etiological factor in childhood cancer and role of simple life style interventions like yoga and meditation in significantly decreasing seminal oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage and thereby decreasing incidence of childhood cancers. Materials and Methods: A total of 131 fathers of children with RB (non-familial sporadic heritable) and 50 controls (fathers of healthy children) were recruited at a tertiary center in India. Sperm parameters as per WHO 2010 guidelines and reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA fragmentation index (DFI), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) and telomere length were estimated at day 0, and after 3 and 6 months of intervention. We also examined the compliance with yoga and meditation practice and smoking status at each follow-up. Results: The seminal mean ROS levels (p<0.05), sperm DFI (p<0.001), 8-OHdG (p<0.01) levels were significantly higher in fathers of children with RB, as compared to controls and the relative mean telomere length in the sperm was shorter. Levels of ROS were significantly reduced in tobacco users (p<0.05) as well as in alcoholics (p<0.05) after intervention. DFI reduced significantly (p<0.05) after 6 months of yoga and meditation practice in all groups. The levels of oxidative DNA damage marker 8-OHdG were reduced significantly after 3 months (p<0.05) and 6 months (p<0.05) of practice. Conclusions: Our results suggest that OS and ODD DNA may contribute to the development of childhood cancer. This may be due to accumulation of oxidized mutagenic base 8OHdG, and elevated MDA levels which results in MDA dimers which are also mutagenic, aberrant methylation pattern, altered gene expression which affect cell proliferation and survival through activation of transcription factors. Increased mt DNA mutations and aberrant repair of mt and nuclear DNA due to highly truncatred DNA repair mechanisms all contribute to sperm genome hypermutability and persistant oxidative DNA damage. Oxidative stress is also associated with genome wide hypomethylation, telomere shortening and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to genome hypermutability and instability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report decline in OS and ODD and improvement in sperm DNA integrity following adoption of meditation and yoga based life style modification.This may reduce disease burden in next generation and reduce incidence of childhood cancers.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

This study was carried out to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effect of tuna oil (TO) using LPS-induced inflammation responses and mouse models. First, nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines levels were suppressed up to 50% with increasing concentrations of TO without causing any cytotoxicity. Also, the expression of a variety of proteins, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), was suppressed in a dosedependent manner by treatment with TO. Furthermore, TO also inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 protein kinase (p38). Moreover, in in vivo testing the formation of ear edema was reduced at the highest dose tested compared to that in the control, and a reduction of ear thickness and the number of mast cells was observed in histological analysis. In acute toxicity test, no mortalities occurred in mice administrated 5,000 mg/kg body weight of TO over a two-week observation period. Our results suggest that TO has a considerable anti-inflammatory property through the suppression of inflammatory mediator productions and that it could prove to be useful as a potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic material.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.94-100
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• 2011

Purpose: Basal/Acetazolamide-challenged brain perfusion SPECT is very useful to assess cerebral perfusion and vascular reserve. However, as there is a trade off between sensitivity and spatial resolution in the selection of collimator, the selection of optimal collimator is crucial. In this study, we examined three collimators to select optimal one for 1-day brain perfusion SPECT. Materials and Methods: Three collimators, low energy high resolution-parallel beam (LEHR-par), ultra resolution-fan beam (LEUR-fan) and super fine-fan beam (LESFR-fan), were tested for 1-day imaging using Triad XLT 9 (TRIONIX). The SPECT images of Hoffman 3D brain phantom filled with 99mTc of 170 MBq and a normal volunteer were acquired with a protocol of 50 kcts/frame and detector rotation of 3 degree. Filterd backprojection (FBP) reconstruction with Butterworth filter (cut off frequencies, 0.3 to 0.5) was performed. The quantitative and qualitative assessments for three collimators were performed. Results: The blind tests showed that LESFR-fan provided the best image quality for Hoffman brain phantom and the volunteer. However, images for all the collimator were evaluated as 'acceptable'. On the other hand, in order to meet the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), total acquisition time or radioactivity dose for LESFR-fan must have been increased up to almost twice of that for LEUR-fan and LEHR-par. The volunteer test indicated that total acquisition time could be reduced approximately by 10 to 14 min in clinical practice using LEUR-fan and LEHR-par without significant loss on image quality, in comparison with LESFR-fan. Conclusion: Although LESFR-fan provides the best image quality, it requires significantly more acquisition time than LEUR-fan and LEHR-par to provide reasonable SNR. Since there is no significant clinical difference between three collimators, LEUR-fan and LEHR-par can be recommended as optimal collimators for 1-day brain perfusion imaging with respect to image quality and SNR.