• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.389-397
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• 2006

The beneficial effects of graduated compression stockings (GCS) in prophylaxis and treatment of venous disorders of human lower extremity have been recognized. However, their pressure functional performances are variable and unstable in practical applications, and the exact mechanisms of action remain controversial. Direct surface pressure measurements and indirect material properties testing are not enough for fully understanding the interaction between stocking and leg. A three dimensional (3D) biomechanical mathematical model for numerically simulating the interaction between leg and GCS in dynamic wear was developed based on the actual geometry of the female leg obtained from 3D reconstruction of MR images and the real size and mechanical properties of the compression stocking prototype. The biomechanical solid leg model consists of bones and soft tissues, and an orthotropic shell model is built for the stocking hose. The dynamic putting-on process is simulated by defining the contact of finite relative sliding between the two objects. The surface pressure magnitude and distribution along the different height levels of the leg and stress profiles of stockings were simulated. As well, their dynamic alterations with time processing were quantitatively analyzed. Through validation, the simulated results showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental measurements, and the simulated pressure gradient distribution from the ankle to the thigh (100:67:30) accorded with the advised criterion by the European committee for standardization. The developed model can be used to predict and visualize the dynamic pressure and stress performances exerted by compression stocking in wear, and to optimize the material mechanical properties in stocking design, thus, helping us understand mechanisms of compression action and improving medical functions of GCS.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.237-242
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• 2012

Purpose: Despite the great advances in laparoscopic techniques, most active general surgeons do not apply laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of duodenal ulcer perforation when facing a real-life emergency. Therefore, our study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic surgery in duodenal ulcer perforation, and provide a step-by-step protocol with tips and recommendations for less experienced surgeons. Materials and Methods: Between March, 2011 and May, 2012, 21 patients presenting with duodenal ulcer perforation underwent laparoscopic primary repair with omentopexy. There were no contraindications to perform laparoscopic surgery, and the choice of primary repair was decided according to the size of the perforation. The procedure for laparoscopic primary repair with omentopexy consisted of peritoneal lavage, primary suture, and omentopexy using a knot pusher. Results: During the operation, no conversion to open surgery or intra-operative events occurred. The median operation time was 45.0 minutes (20~80 minutes). Median day of commencement of a soft diet was day 6 (4~17 days). After surgery, the median hospital stay was 8.0 days (5~27 days). Postoperative complications occurred in one patient, which included a minor leakage. This complication was resolved by conservative management. Conclusions: Although our study was carried out on a small number of patients at a single institution, we conclude that laparoscopic primary repair can be an effective surgical method in the treatment of duodenal ulcer perforation. We believe that the detailed explanation of our procedure will help beginners to perform laparoscopic primary repair more easily.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4363-4368
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• 2012

The epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) contains a large number of gene products which are crucial for the maturation of the human epidermis and can contribute to skin diseases, even carcinogenesis. It is generally accepted that activation of oncogenes and/or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes play pivotal roles in the process of carcinogenesis. Here, NICE-3, a novel EDC gene, was found to be up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Furthermore, overexpression of exogenous NICE-3 by recombinant plasmids could significantly promote cell proliferation, colony formation and soft agar colony formation in Focus and WRL-68 HCC cell lines. Reversely, NICE-3 silencing by RNA interference could markedly inhibit these malignant phenotypes in YY-8103 and MHCC-97H cells. Moreover, cell cycle analysis of MHCC-97H transfected with siRNA by flow cytometry showed that NICE-3 knockdown may inhibit cell growth via arrest in G0/G1 phase and hindering entry of cells into S phase. All data of our findings indicate that NICE-3 may contribute to human hepatocellular carcinoma by promoting cell proliferation.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.194-201
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• 2011

The air flow supplied to a fuel cell system is one of the most significant factors in determining fuel efficiency. The conventional method of controlling the air flow is to fix the oxygen supply at an estimated constant rate for optimal efficiency. However, the actual optimal point can deviated from the pre-set value due to temperature, load conditions and so on. In this paper, the maximum efficiency point tracking (MEPT) algorithm is proposed for finding the optimal air supply rate in real time to maximize the net-power generation of fuel cell systems. The fixed step MEPT algorithm has slow dynamics, thus it affects the overall efficiency. As a result, the variable step MEPT algorithm is proposed to compensate for this problem instead of a fixed one. The complete small signal model of a PEM Fuel cell system is developed to perform a stability analysis and to present a design guideline. For a design example, a 1kW PEM fuel cell system with a DSP 56F807 (Motorola Inc) was built and tested using the proposed MEPT algorithm. This control algorithm is very effective for a soft current change load like a grid connected system or a hybrid electric vehicle system with a secondary energy source.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.317-325
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• 2008

The electrocardiogram (ECG) measurement system consists of I/O interface to input the ECG signals from two electrodes, FPGA (Field programmable gate arrays) module to process the signal conditioning, and real time module to control the system. The algorithms based on wavelet transform were developed to remove the noise of the ECG signals and to determine the QRS-waves. Triangular wave tests were conducted to determine the optimal factors of the wavelet filter by analyzing the SNRs (signal to noise ratios) and RMSEs (root mean square errors). The hybrid rule, soft method, and symlets of order 5 were selected as thresholding rule, thresholding method, and mother wavelet, respectively. The developed wavelet filter showed good performance to remove the noise of the triangular waves with 10.98 dB of SNR and 0.140 mV of RMSE. The ECG signals from a total of 6 subjects were measured at different measuring postures such as lying, sitting, and standing. The durations of QRS-waves, the amplitudes of R-waves, the intervals of RR-waves were analyzed by using the finite impulse response (FIR) filter and the developed wavelet filter. The wavelet filter showed good performance to determine the features of QRS-waves, but the FIR filter had some problems to detect the peaks of Q and S waves. The measuring postures affected accuracy and precision of the ECG signals. The noises of the ECG signals were increased due to the movement of the subject during measurement. The results showed that the wavelet filter was a useful tool to remove the noise of the ECG signals and to determine the features of the QRS-waves.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2015

There are many traumatic foot and ankle problems in orthopaedic fields. Though it is not life-threatening problems, a delay in accurate diagnosis and treatments can danger limb function and therefore correct diagnosis can prevent long-term complications. Achilles tendon rupture is relatively common injury for active sports people. Ultrasonography is cost-effective, irradiation -free, effective for evaluation of soft tissues and dynamic analysis. It has been growing importance in Achilles tendon rupture. Ultrasonography is a diagnostic tool in Achilles tendon rupture. Physical examination and patient history is needed to diagnose Achilles tendon without image, but it is missed up by 20% in private clinic. Discontinuity of normal fibrillar architecture seen on an ultrasonographic image is diagnostic for Achilles tendon rupture, and can be accentuated by the performance of dorsi-flexion and plantar flexion, while observing in real time. And ultrasonography is a reliable method for serial observation after surgical treatment or conservative treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2655-2661
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• 2014

Background: Talin-1 is a cytoskeleton protein that participates in cell migration and plays a role in tumor formation, migration, and metastasis in different types of cancer. Chinese investigators have observed that the levels of Talin-1 protein and mRNA expression in HCC tissues are significantly lower than in the adjacent non-cancerous tissue. However, Japanese investigators have reported that Talin-1 is upregulated in HCC. Tln2 as homologous gene of Tln-1, which encodes a very similar protein, but the role of Talin-2 is very little known in primary liver cancer (PLC). We investigated whether the expression of Talin-1 in PLC may be associated with the histological subtype as well as the role of Talin-1 in tumor cell invasion and migration using human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Materials and Methods: We measured the mRNA expression levels of Talin-1 and Talin-2 in five human liver cancer cell lines and normal human liver cell ($LO_2$ cell line) by real-time PCR and the protein expression levels of Talin-1 by Western blot. Migration and invasion of the cells were assessed using transwell assays and cell scratch experiments, respectively, and proliferation was assessed by soft AGAR colony formation. Results: Talin-1 and Talin-2 expression differed significantly between the five human liver cancer cell lines and $LO_2$ cell line (p<0.05). Compared with the $LO_2$ cell line, the invasion and migration capabilities of the five cancer cell lines differed significantly (p<0.05). Similarly, the colony-forming ability differed (p<0.05). Conclusions: High levels of Talin-1 expression are correlated with reduced invasion and migration as well as decreased malignancy in human liver cancer cell lines; the suppression of Talin-1 promotes invasion and migration. In addition, Talin-2 may be correlated with invasion and migration in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1280-1287
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• 2019

For developing a wireless implantable device to monitoring the artery variation in real-time. The concept of a special vessel variation measurement capacitive sensor is presented in this paper. The sensor consists of two part; main sensor to measuring the arterial variation, and reference sensor is used to improve the accuracy of the capacitance value variation. Before sensor manufacture, a model of the sensor attached on the artery was designed in 3D to conduct in the FEA simulation to validate the validity and feasibility of the idea. The artery model was designed as layered structures and made of collagenous soft tissues with intima inside, followed by the media and the adventitia. Also, a grease layer was designed in the inner of the arterial wall to imitate the clogged arteries. The simulation was divided into two parts; sensor performance test by changing the diameter of the grease layer, and arterial wall tension test by changing the blood pressure. As the simulation results, the capacitance value measured by the proposed sensor is decreased follow the diameter of the grease increased. Also, large elastic deformation of the arterial wall since changing the blood pressure has been observed.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.401-407
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• 2016

IPMC is composed of thin ion conductive polymer film sandwiched between metallic electrodes plated on both surfaces. Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) generates voltages when bent by mechanical stimuli. IPMC has a potential for the variety of energy harvesting applications due to its soft and hydrophilic characteristics. However, the large-scale implementation is necessary to increase the output power. In this paper, the scale-up of surface area effect on voltage generation characteristics of IPMC was investigated using IPMC samples with different surface areas. Also, a circuit model simulating both the output voltage and its offset variations was designed for estimating the voltages from IPMC samples. The proposed model simulated the output voltages with offsets well corresponding to various frequencies of input bending motion. However, some samples showed that the increase of error between real and simulated voltages with time due to the nonlinear characteristic of offset variations.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.277-283
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• 2014

Recently, various cloud service has been being provided on mobile devices as well as desktop pc and server computer. Also, Smartphone users are very rapidly increasing, and they are using it for enjoying various services(cloud service, game, banking service, mobile office, etc.). So, research to utilize resources on mobile device has been conducted. In this paper, We have suggested efficient method of cloud resource management by using information of available physical resources(CPU, memory, storage, etc.) between mobile devices, and information of physical resource in mobile device. Suggested technology is possible to guarantee real-time process and efficiently manage resources.