• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1989-1992
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• 2014

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the response rates (clinical and pathological ) with docetaxel and epirubicin combination chemotherapy and its effect on outcome. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analysed locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients who received NACT from January 2008 to December 2012 in our tertiary care centre. LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases and 120 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The regimens used for NACT were, six cycles of DEC (docetaxel $75mg/m^2$, epirubicin $75mg/m^2$, cyclophosphamide $50mg/m^2$ on Day 1, 3 weekly) and a sequential regimen (4 cycles of FEC, 5-flurouracil $600mg/m^2$, epirubicin $75mg/m^2$, cyclophosphamide $600mg/m^2$ followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel $85mg/m^2$). Results: The median age was 47 years (range 23-72). Ninety six ( 80 %) had T4 disease and 90% had clinically palpable lymph nodes at diagnosis. The median size of primary tumor at presentation was 5.9 cm. Hormone receptor positivity was seen in 55% and HER2/neu positivity, in 25%. Triple negative breast cancers constituted 25 % of the cases. The overall clinical response rate (complete or partial ) was 85% and pathological complete responses were obtained in 15%. Four cases defaulted, 5 patients died of treatment related toxicity and 15% developed febrile neutropenia on DEC. The median duration of follow up was 22 months. The median time to relapse was 20 months and the 3 year relapse free and overall survival rates were 50% and 70% respectively. Conclusions: LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases at our institute. With NACT, pCR was seen in 15% of the cases. Sequential chemotherapy was better tolerated than concurrent anthracyline and taxane chemotherapy with a similar pCR.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.179-183
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• 2016

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer among women around the world, and mortality is primarily caused by micro-metastatic disease. The complex mechanisms of breast cancer invasion and metastasis are intrinsically related to the malignant cell type so that early detection of micro-metastases can help prolongation of survival for patient. The aim of the present research work was evaluation of the expression status of mammoglobin protein as a candidate molecular marker in the negative sentinel lymph node (SLN). Fifty tumor specimens, and 50 normal adjacent breast tissue samples from the same patients were selected on the basis of having more than 10% tumor content for RNA extraction from SLNs. Tumor samples and normal adjacent breast tissue were archived in the form of frozen fresh tissue in liquid nitrogen. Real-time PCR was performed on a Bioner life express gradient thermal cycler system. Mammoglobin gene overexpression in breast cancer metastasis was investigated. Single marker results were mammaglobin 66.7% and CK19 50.0%, with 58.3% for the two in combination. Due to improved outcome with at least 3 genes (83.3%), it seems, triple marker evaluation will be most likely useful for detecting micro-metastases instead of studying separate genes.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1773-1777
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• 2016

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiation fields are planned so as to reduce side-effects while maximising the dose to site but effects on healthy tissues are inevitable. Radiation causes strand breaks in DNA of exposed cells which can lead to chromosomal aberrations and cause malfunction and cell death. Several researchers have highlighted the damaging effects of high dose radiation but still there is a lacuna in identifying damage due to low dose radiation used for diagnostic purposes. Blood is an easy resource to study genotoxicity and to estimate the effects of radiation. The micronucleus assay and chromosomal aberration can indicate genetic damage and our present aim was to establish these with lymphocytes in an in vitro model to predict the immediate effects low dose radiation. Blood was collected from healthy individuals and divided into 6 groups with increasing radiation dose i.e., 0Gy, 0.10Gy, 0.25Gy, 0.50Gy, 1Gy and 2Gy. The samples were irradiated in duplicates using a LINAC in the radiation oncology department. Standard protocols were applied for chromosomal aberration and micronucleus assays. Metaphases were stained in Giemsa and 200 were scored per sample for the detection of dicentric or acentric forms. For micronuclei detection, 200 metaphases. Giemsa stained binucleate cells per sample were analysed for any abnormality. The micronuclei (MN) frequency was increased in cells exposed to the entire range of doses (0.1-2Gy) delivered. Controls showed minimal MN formation ($2.0%{\pm}0.05$) with triple MN ($5.6%{\pm}2.0$) frequency at the lowest dose. MN formation increased exponentially with the radiation dose thereafter with a maximum at 2Gy. Significantly elevated numbers of dicentric chromosomes were also observed, even at doses of 0.1-0.5Gy, compared to controls, and acentric chromosomes were apparent at 2Gy. In conclusion we can state that lymphocytes can be effectively used to study direct effect of low dose radiation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5081-5086
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• 2012

Background: The liver is one of the most common metastatic sites of breast cancer, hepatic metastases developing in 6%-25% of patients with breast cancer and being associated with a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the survival and clinical characteristics of patients with hepatic metastases from breast cancer of different molecular subtypes and to investigate the prognostic and predictive factors that effect clinical outcome. Methods: We retrospectively studied the charts of 104 patients with breast cancer hepatic metastases diagnosed at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from December 1990 to June 2009. Subtypes were defined as luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) enriched, triple-negative (TN). Prognostic factor correlations with clinical features and treatment approaches were assessed at the diagnosis of hepatic metastases. Results: The median survival time was 16.0 months, and the one-, two- three-, four-, five-year survival rates were 63.5%, 31.7%, 15.6%, 10.8%, and 5.4%, respectively. Median survival periods after hepatic metastases were 19.3 months (luminal A), 13.3 months (luminal B), 18.9 months (HER2-enriched), and 16.1 months (TN, P=0.11). In multivariate analysis, a 2 year-interval from initial diagnosis to hepatic metastasis, treatment with endocrine therapy, and surgery were independent prognostic factors. Endocrine therapy could improve the survival of luminal subtypes (P=0.004) and was a favorable prognostic factor (median survival 23.4 months vs. 13.8 months, respectively, P=0.011). Luminal A group of patients treated with endocrine therapy did significantly better than the Luminal A group of patients treated without endocrine therapy (median survival of 48.9 vs. 13.8 months, P=0.003). Conclusions: Breast cancer subtypes were not associated with survival after hepatic metastases. Endocrine therapy was a significantly favorable treatment for patients with luminal subtype.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.170-177
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• 2017

The price of land in Jeju is reaching a new high every day and this phenomenon not only causes real difficulties for the purchase of real estate by local residents, but also results in psychological deprivation. Therefore, this study analyzes the factors causing the increase of the land price in Jeju, in order to examine the measures required to stabilize the land price which is continuously rising. As a result of this study, we developed a land price prediction model including seven variables, including the 'inflation rate', 'interest rate', and 'population'. According to the model, land prices in Jeju are expected to rise steadily, and it is predicted that in 2020 the price will increase to 170% of that in 2015 and will triple by 2025. Based on the results of this study, this study suggested policy alternatives, such as 'Establishing a tourism policy for managing the number of tourists' and 'increasing the approval standards for development activities'. The two policies proposed in this study can be implemented as a regional initiative, which may be less effective than the changes in the national system, but it is meaningful that the efforts to stabilize the land price will continue at the regional level.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5095-5099
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• 2013

Background: The overall incidence of breast cancer in South Asian countries, including Nepal, is low compared to Western countries. However, the incidence of breast cancer among young women is relatively high. Breast cancer in such cases is characterized by a relatively unfavorable prognosis and unusual pathological features. The aim of this study was to investigate clinico-pathological and biological characteristics in younger breast cancer patients (<40 years) and compare these with their older counterparts. Materials and Methods: Nine hundred and forty four consecutive female breast cancer patients, admitted to the Department of Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal between November 1997 and October 2012, were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Out of the 944 female breast cancer patients, 263 (27.9%) were <40 years. The mean age was $34.6{\pm}5.0$ years among younger patients compared to $54.1{\pm}9.9$ for those ${\geq}40$ years. The mean age at menarche was also significantly lower ($13.5{\pm}1.5$ vs $14.2{\pm}1.5$ years p=0.001) while the mean duration of symptoms was significantly longer (7.6 vs 6.5 months p=0.004). Family history of breast cancer was evident in 3.0% of the young women versus 0.3% in the older one. Mammography was performed less frequently in younger patients (59.7%), compared to older (74.4%), and was of diagnostic benefit in only 20% of younger patients compared to 85% of older ones. At diagnosis, the mean tumor diameter was significantly larger in young women ($5.0{\pm}2.5$ vs $4.5{\pm}2.4cm$, p=0.005). Axillary lymph nodes were positive in 73% of younger patients and 59% of older patients. In the younger group, the proportion of stage III or IV disease was higher (55.1% vs 47.1%, $p{\leq}0.05$). The proportion of breast conserving surgery was higher in young patients (25.1% vs 8.7%) and a higher proportion of younger patients receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (9.9% vs 2.8%). The most common histological type was ductal carcinoma (93.1% vs 86%). The proportion of histological grade II or III was higher in younger patients (55.9% vs 24.5%). Similarly, in the younger group, lymphatic and vascular invasion was more common (63.2% vs 34.3% and 39.8% vs 25.4%, respectively). Patients in the younger age group exhibited lower estrogen and/or progesterone receptor positivity (34.7% vs 49.8%). Although statistically not significant, the proportion of triple negative tumors in younger age group was higher (22.4% vs 13.6%). Conclusions: Breast cancer in young Nepalese women represents over one quarter of all female breast cancers, many being diagnosed at an advanced stage. Tumors in young women exhibit more aggressive biological features. Hence, breast cancer in young women is worth special attention for earlier detection.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.153-173
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• 2013

The ontology has been gaining increasing interests by recent arise of the semantic web and related technologies. The focus is mostly on inference query processing that requires high-level techniques for storage and searching ontologies efficiently, and it has been actively studied in the area of semantic-based searching. W3C's recommendation is to use RDFS and OWL for representing ontologies. However memory-based editors, inference engines, and triple storages all store ontology as a simple set of triplets. Naturally the performance is limited, especially when a large-scale ontology needs to be processed. A variety of researches on proposing algorithms for efficient inference query processing has been conducted, and many of them are based on using proven relational database technology. However, none of them had been successful in obtaining the complete set of inference results which reflects the five characteristics of the ontology properties. In this paper, we propose a new index structure called hyper cube index to efficiently process inference queries. Our approach is based on an intuition that an index can speed up the query processing when extensive inferencing is required.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2015

Objectives : The aim of this study is to examine the neuroprotective effect of wheat bran extract (WBE) against ${\beta}$-amyloid ($A{\beta}$)-induced apoptotic cell death in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells and memory impairment in triple transgenic animal model's of Alzheimer's disease (3xTg AD mice). Methods : In SH-SY5Y cells, MTT assay and TUNEL staining were conducted to evaluate the protective effect of WBE against $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced neurotoxicity and apoptosis. Alterations in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MMP), expression of proapoptotic Bax and antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, cleavage of PARP, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were analyzed to elucidate the neuroprotective mechanism of WBE. To further investigate the memory enhancing effect of WBE, Morris water maze test was performed in 3xTg AD mice. Results : In SH-SY5Y cells, WBE protected against $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-caused cytotoxicity and apoptosis as shown by the restoration of cell viability in MTT assay and inhibition of DNA fragmentation in TUNEL staining. $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced apoptotic signals such as dissipation of MMP, decreased Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and cleavage of PARP were suppressed by WBE. Moreover, WBE up-regulated the protein levels of BDNF, which seemed to be mediated by activation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). In 3xTg AD mice, oral administration of WBE attenuated learning and memory deficit as verified by reduced mean escape latency in water maze test. Conclusions : WBE protects neuronal cells from $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced apoptotic cell death and restores learning and memory impairments in 3xTg AD mice. These findings suggest that WBE exhibit neuroprotective potential for the management of AD.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.38 no.12
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• pp.1223-1231
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• 2010

The design is presented for a SATCOM antenna capable of simultaneous multi-band (X/Ku/Ka-Band) communications without replacement of feed horns or change of other parts in the application as a ground satellite terminal for large data transfer. The antenna is the offset configuration and consists of a dual-band(X/Ka-band) feed horn, a single-band(Ku-band) feed horn, a frequency selective surface(FSS) sub-reflector and a parabolic main-reflector. The antenna has a main reflector defining a prime focus and a frequency selective surface sub-reflector defining an image focus. A dual-band feed and a single-band feed are provided at each of the prime focus and image focus. The antenna is designed using 3D EM simulator and the gains measured in X/Ku/Ka-band of the complete antenna assembly is more than 31.6dBi, 36.8dBi, 40.8dBi, and the cross polarization is 21.7dB, 26.6dB, 25.2dB, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.143-144
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• 2010

3-5족 화합물 반도체를 이용한 집광형 삼중 접합 태양전지는 40% 이상의 광변환 효율로 많은 주목을 받고 있다[1]. 삼중 접합 태양전지의 하부 셀은 기계적 강도가 높고 장파장을 흡수할 수 있는 Ge이 사용된다. Ge위에 성장될 III-V족 단결정막으로서 Ge과 격자상수가 일치하는 GaInP나 GaAs가 적합하고, 성장 중 V족 원소의 열확산으로 인해 Ge과 pn접합을 형성하게 된다. 이때 GaInP의 P의 경우 GaAs의 As보다 확산계수가 낮아 태양전지 변환효율향상에 유리한 얇은 접합 형성이 가능하고, 표면 에칭효과가 적기 때문에 GaInP를 단결정막으로 선택하여 p-type Ge기판 위 성장으로 단일접합 Ge구조 제작이 가능하다. 하지만 이종접합 구조 성장으로 인해 발생한 계면사이의 전위나 미세결함들이 결정막내부에 존재하게 되며 이러한 결함들은 광학소자 응용 시 비발광 센터로 작용할 뿐 아니라 소자의 누설전류를 증가시키는 원인으로 작용하여 태양전지 변환효율을 감소시키게 된다. 이에 결함감소를 통해 소자의 전기적 특성을 향상시키고자 수소 열처리나 플라즈마 공정을 통해 수소 원자를 박막내부로 확산시키고, 계면이나 박막 내 결함들과 결합시킴으로서 결함들의 비활성화를 유도하는 연구가 많이 진행되어 왔다 [2][3]. 하지만, 격자불일치를 갖는 GaInP/Ge 구조에 대한 수소 열처리 및 불순물 준위의 거동에 대한 연구는 많이 진행되어 있지 않다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 Ga0.45In0.55P/Ge구조에 수소 열처리 공정을 적용을 통하여 단결정막 내부 및 계면에서의 결함밀도를 제어하고 이를 통해 태양 전지의 변환효율을 향상시키고자 한다. <111> 방향으로 $6^{\circ}C$기울어진 p-type Ge(100) 기판 위에 유기금속화학증착법 (MOCVD)을 통해 Si이 도핑된 200 nm의 n-type GaInP층을 성장하여 Ge과 단일접합 n-p 구조를 제작하였다. 제작된 GaInP/Ge구조를 furnace에서 250도에서 90~150분간 시간변화를 주어 수소열처리 공정을 진행하였다. 저온 photoluminescence를 통해 GaInP층의 광학적 특성 변화를 관찰한 결과, 1.872 eV에서 free-exciton peak과 1.761 eV에서 Si 도펀트 saturation에 의해 발생된 D-A (Donor to Acceptor)천이로 판단되는 peak을 검출할 수 있었다. 수소 열처리 시간이 증가함에 따라 free-exciton peak 세기 증가와 반가폭 감소를 확인하였고, D-A peak이 사라지는 것을 관찰할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과는 수소 열처리에 따른 단결정막 내부의 수소원자들이 얕은 불순물(shallow impurity) 들로 작용하는 도펀트들이나, 깊은 준위결함(deep level defect)으로 작용하는 계면근처의 전위, 미세결함들과의 결합으로 결함 비활성화를 야기해 발광세기와 결정질 향상효과를 보인 것으로 판단된다. 본 발표에서는 상술한 결과를 바탕으로 한 수소 열처리를 통한 박막 및 계면에서의 결함준위의 거동에 대한 광분석 결과가 논의될 것이다.