• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2015

Background: Animal skin provides an ideal medium for the propagation of microorganisms and it is used like raw material in the tannery and footware industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate and identify the microbial load in oropharyngeal mucosa of tannery employees. Methods: The health risk was estimated based on the identification of microorganisms found in the oropharyngeal mucosa samples. The study was conducted in a tanners group and a control group. Samples were taken from oropharyngeal mucosa and inoculated on plates with selective medium. In the samples, bacteria were identified by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis and the yeasts through a presumptive method. In addition, the sensitivity of these microorganisms to antibiotics/antifungals was evaluated. Results: The identified bacteria belonged to the families Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Neisseriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Xanthomonadaceae, of which some species are considered as pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms; these bacteria were not present in the control group. Forty-two percent of bacteria identified in the tanners group are correlated with respiratory diseases. Yeasts were also identified, including the following species: Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida krusei. Regarding the sensitivity test of bacteria identified in the tanners group, 90% showed sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam, 87% showed sensitivity to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, 74% showed sensitivity to ampicillin/sulbactam, and 58% showed sensitivity to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Several of the bacteria and yeast identified in the oropharyngeal mucosa of tanners have been correlated with infections in humans and have already been reported as airborne microorganisms in this working environment, representing a health risk for workers.

• Spatial Information Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 1995

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.467-476
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• 2005

The main objective of this study was to develop and characterize pH-sensitive biodegradable polymeric materials. For pH-sensitivity, we employed three kinds of moieties: 2-amino-3-(lH-imidazol-4-yl)-propionic acid (H), N-[4-( 4,6-dimethyl-pyrimidin-2ylsulfamoyl)-phenyl]succinamic acid (SM), and 2- {3-[ 4-( 4,6-dimethyl-pyrim­idin- 2-ylsulfamoyl)-phenylcarbamoyl]-propionylamino} -3-(3 H - imidazol-4-yl)-propionic acid (SH). The pH -sensitive diblock copolymers were synthesized by ring opening polymerization and coupling reaction from poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG), $\varepsilon$-caprolactone (CL), D,L-lactide (LA) and pH-sensitive moieties. The pH-sensitive SH molecule was synthesized in a two-step reaction. The first step involved the synthesis of SHM, a methyl ester derivative of SH, by coupling reaction of SM and L-histidine methyl ester dihydrochloride, whereas the second step involved the hydrolysis of the same. The synthesized SM, SHM and SH molecules were characterized by FTIR, $^{1}H$-NMR and $^{13}C$-NMR spectroscopy, whereas diblock copolymers and pH-sensitive diblock copolymer were characterized by $^{1}H$-NMR and GPC analysis. The critical micelle concentrations were determined at various pH conditions by fluorescence technique using pyrene as a probe. The micellization and demicellization studies of pH-sensitive diblock copolymers were also done at different pH conditions. The pH-sensitivity was further established by acid-based titration and DLS analysis.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.411-417
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a set of interrelated metabolic risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Studies regarding the specificity and sensitivity of serum levels of leptin and uric acid as predictors of MetS are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of leptin and uric acid in terms of their specificity and sensitivity as predictors of MetS in the studied Jordanian group. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In this cross sectional study, 630 adult subjects (308 men and 322 women) were recruited from the King Hussein Medical Center (Amman, Jordan). The diagnosis of MetS was made according to the 2005 International Diabetes Federation criteria. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the efficacy of serum levels of leptin and uric acid as predictors of MetS in the studied Jordanian group. RESULTS: Study results showed that for identification of subjects with MetS risk, area under the curve (AUC) for leptin was 0.721 and 0.683 in men and women, respectively. Serum uric acid levels in men showed no significant association with any MetS risk factors and no significant AUC, while uric acid AUC was 0.706 in women. CONCLUSION: Serum leptin levels can be useful biomarkers for evaluation of the risk of MetS independent of baseline obesity in both men and women. On the other hand, serum uric acid levels predicted the risk of MetS only in women.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1066-1076
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the 2018 Korean Liver Cancer Association-National Cancer Center (KLCA-NCC) Practice Guidelines (hereafter, PG) for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI, compared to the Liver Imaging-Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) version 2018 (hereafter, v2018). Materials and Methods: From January 2013 to October 2015, treatment-naïve hepatic lesions (≥ 1 cm) on gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B or cirrhosis were retrospectively evaluated. For each lesion, three radiologists independently analyzed the imaging features and classified the lesions into categories according to the 2018 KLCA-NCC PG and LI-RADS v2018. The imaging features and categories were determined by consensus. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to compare the per-lesion diagnostic performance of the 2018 KLCA-NCC PG and LI-RADS v2018 using the consensus data. Results: In total, 422 lesions (234 HCCs, 45 non-HCC malignancies, and 143 benign lesions) from 387 patients (79% male; mean age, 59 years) were included. In all lesions, the definite HCC (2018 KLCA-NCC PG) had a higher sensitivity and lower specificity than LR-5 (LI-RADS v2018) (87.2% [204/234] vs. 80.8% [189/234], p < 0.001; 86.2% [162/188] vs. 91.0% [171/188], p = 0.002). However, in lesions of size ≥ 2 cm, the definite HCC had a higher sensitivity than the LR-5 (86.8% [164/189] vs. 82.0 (155/189), p = 0.002) without a reduction in the specificity (80.0% [48/60] vs. 83.3% [50/60], p = 0.15). In all lesions, the sensitivity and specificity of the definite/probable HCC (2018 KLCA-NCC PG) and LR-5/4 did not differ significantly (89.7% [210/234] vs. 91.5% [214/234], p = 0.204; 83.5% [157/188] vs. 79.3% [149/188], p = 0.071). Conclusion: For the diagnosis of HCC of size ≥ 2 cm, the definite HCC (2018 KLCA-NCC PG) had a higher sensitivity than LR-5, without a reduction in specificity. The definite/probable HCC (2018 KLCA-NCC PG) had a similar sensitivity and specificity to that those of the LR-5/4.

• Journal of the Korean Graphic Arts Communication Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.91-101
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• 2002

An acid amplifier is defined as an acid-generating agent which is decomposed autocatalytically to produce new strongly acidic molecules in a non-liner manner, The addition of the acid amplifiers to conventional chemically amplified photoresists consisting of photoacid generators and acid-sensitive polymers result in the improvement of photosensitivity due to the amplified generation of catalytic acid molecules as a result of the decomposition of acid amplifiers. We synthesized and evaluated 1-hydroxy-4-tosyloxy cyclohexane(AA-1) and 1,4-ditosyloxy cyclohexane(Ah-2) as novel acid amplifiers. The acid amplifiers(AA-1, AA-2) showed reasonable thermal stability for resist processing temperature. As estimated by the sensitivity curve, tort-butyl methacrylate homopolymer(ptBMA) film doped with AA-1 or 2 exhibited much higher photosensitivity than ptBMA film without AA-1 or 2. And AA-1 showed higher effect than AA-2 on enhancing photosensitivity of ptBMA film.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.236-241
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• 2018

Anoctamin 1 (ANO1) is an anion channel that is activated by changes in cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ concentration and noxious heat. Although the critical roles of ANO1 have been elucidated in various cell types, the control of its gating mechanisms by $Ca^{2+}$ and heat remain more elusive. To investigate critical amino acid residues for modulation of $Ca^{2+}$ and heat sensing, we constructed a randomized mutant library for ANO1. Among 695 random mutants, reduced $Ca^{2+}$ sensitivity was observed in two mutants (mutant 84 and 87). Consequently, the E143A mutant showed reduced sensitivity to $Ca^{2+}$ but not to high temperatures, whereas the E705V mutant exhibited reduced sensitivity to both $Ca^{2+}$ and noxious heat. These results suggest that the glutamic acids (E) at 143 and 705 residues in ANO1 are critical for modulation of $Ca^{2+}$ and/or heat responses. Furthermore, these findings help to provide a better understanding of the $Ca^{2+}$-mediated activation and heat-sensing mechanism of ANO1.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.342-352
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• 2022

Purine catabolite screening enables reliable diagnosis of certain diseases. In this regard, the development of a facile detection strategy with high sensitivity and selectivity is demanded for point-of-care applications. In this work, the simultaneous detection of uric acid (UA), xanthine (XA), and hypoxanthine (HX) was carried out as model purine catabolites by surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The detection assay was conducted by employing high-aspect ratio Au nanopillar substrates coupled with in-situ Au electrodeposition on the substrates. The additional modification of the Au nanopillar substrates via electrodeposition was found to be an effective method to encapsulate molecules in solution into nanogaps of growing Au films that increase metal-molecule contact and improve substrate's sensitivity and selectivity. In complex solutions, the approach facilitated ternary identification of UA, XA, and HX down to concentration limits of 4.33 𝜇M, 0.71 𝜇M, and 0.22 𝜇M, respectively, which are comparable to their existing levels in normal human physiology. These results demonstrate that the proposed platform is reliable for practical point-of-care analysis of biofluids where solution matrix effects greatly reduce selectivity and sensitivity for rapid on-site disease diagnosis.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2003

Purpose : Accurate diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis(APN) using clinical and laboratory parameters is often difficult in children. Clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated that renal scarring can be prevented or diminished by early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of acute pyelonephritis. dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA) renal scan has been reported to be useful in children for confirmation of the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis. An analysis was undertaken to correlate the clinical and laboratory manifestations of APN With the results of the DMSA renal scan in different age groups. Methods : We determined the sensitivity of DMSA renal scan in febrile urinary tract infections(UTI) in two groups according to age : group I in less than 2 years; group II in older than 2 years. During the period March 2001 through September 2002, 67 children presented with febrile UTIs. All patients had DMSA renal scan done in the acute period, 55 had voiding cystourethrography(VCUG) and 66 had renal ultrasonogram(RUS) done. Results : There were no significant difference between the two groups in DMSA renal scan (P>0.05). But, in group I sensitivity of DMSA renal scan was 47%; in group II sensitivity of DMSA renal scan was 70%. The grade of reflux correlated with a positive DMSA renal scan. Vesicoureteral reflux did not correlate with age. RUS did not correlate with a positive DMSA renal scan in any age group. Abnormality of RUS did not correlate with age. Conclusion : At present, we believe that DMSA renal scan is the prevailing method in differention of the APN. In addition, it is not invasive and less costly. Even though there is no statistical difference in the sensitivity of DMSA renal scan between young and older children, we can observe that in the younger group, the sensitivity of DMSA renal scan seemed to be lower(47%).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.433-436
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• 2007

Nano-structured polyaniline have been synthesized by interfacial polymerization method at room temperature. An aqueous solution of aniline in chloroform and another solution of ammonium peroxydisulfate in doping acid were prepared at different times terminated with methanol at room temperature. SEM, UV-vis were used to characterize the polyaniline with regard to their morphology and structure. The diameter and length of polyaniline can be controlled by the reaction time. Nano-structured polyaniline were found to have superior sensitivity for volatile organic compounds(VOCs). As the reaction time to increase from 30minute to 2hours the sensitivity were decreased to VOCs vapors. The sensitivity of Nano-structured polyaniline sensor appeared to VOCs better than the sensitivity of chemical synthesis sensors. The sensitivity of Nano-structured polyaniline sensor improved benzene vapors.